2006 has been a great year. 

The big news in the first few months was our new house!  We had done some more exploratory house-hunting near the end of 2005, and we were happy to discover that our desires and preferences for what we want in our next house were almost identical!  So after the first of the year, we began looking in earnest. 

On Saturday, January 14, we looked at about ten houses.  We almost didn't go to the last one on our list, because it had been a long day, and that one seemed like it would be too close to a freeway.  But we decided, what the heck, we're nearby so we should at least go take a brief look.  It turned out to be exactly what we were looking for!  And it was in excellent, move-in condition.  So on Sunday, we made an offer, and by the end of the day we had a counter-offer and accepted it!  It happened to be Jeff's birthday, so you could say he got a new house for his birthday! 

With the indispensable help of about a dozen friends, we moved on Saturday, March 4.  The next two months were a whirlwind of unpacking and setting up our new house.  We bought a new spa (we left the old one at the old house), which also included having a concrete pad poured and an electric line run out to it.  We also bought a bar!  We were going to put it in the family room, but we were concerned that it would consume too much space and not allow sufficient room for the furniture.  Then, the day before the bar was to be delivered, eleventh-hour inspiration struck!  We put the bar in what would  have been the formal living room and turned it into a lounge!  We're very happy with the result.  We also bought, and had delivered, complementary coffee and end tables, and a really cool entertainment center. We christened it "The Prickly Pair Pub".

The year also included several fun trips.  March 31-April 2, Dave traveled back to Washington, DC, for a reunion of an a cappella group he sang in from 1989-1991 called Take Note!  Dave enjoyed catching up with several people that had been in the group during the time he was a member, as well as singing some of the old songs once again.  Dave also visited several of his other DC friends and drove around to many of the places he used to live and frequent.

May 14-19, Jeff traveled to Fishers, Indiana (just outside of Indianapolis) for a week of training classes for work.

July 14-21, we traveled to Chicago so that Dave could participate in Gay Games VII.  Dave's five swimming events were spread across five different days, but we still found time to eat several fabulous meals, visit the Field Museum to see "Tutenkhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs", take a double-decker bus tour, visit Dusty Groove records (one of Dave's favorite places to find imports and hard-to-find CDs) and do other shopping (including the Marshall Fields flagship store, two weeks before it was converted to a Macy's).  We stayed at the Hotel Allegro, a fun hotel in the theatre district.  We had a fun time and were favorably impressed by Chicago - although admittedly we were there during the beautiful summer weather and would have probably enjoyed it much less in January.

September 14-16, Dave returned to Chicago for the annual Out & Equal Workplace Summit.  It was his fifth year attending Out & Equal, and Dave still came away with lots of new knowledge and motivation.  There wasn't much time for sightseeing, but that was okay since Dave had just been there two months earlier.

Coinciding with Out & Equal, Dave launched two new web sites, www.DiversityCorner.com and www.GLBTworkplace.com.  These sites will enable Dave to share knowledge and information about workplace diversity issues outside of Intel, while building some name recognition.  On December 12, Dave was invited to give the keynote speech to the Intel Arizona site's annual Diversity Leadership Awards event.

The week of November 4-10, we went to an all-gay week at a luxurious all-inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  This vacation was organized by Atlantis Events, the same company that offers the all-gay cruises we've taken in the past.  We both agree that it was one of the best vacations we have ever taken!  It was relaxing and fun, and we made several new friends that we hope to keep in touch with.  On Wednesday, we took a step outside our comfort zone and took a day excursion to ride canopy zip lines across a scenic river gorge.  But we spent most days relaxing around the pool, eating and drinking all we wanted, and enjoying the hilarious entertainment.  We have already signed up for next year!

November 17-19, Dave returned to Washington, DC to attend the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce's annual awards banquet.  As always, he took the opportunity to connect with a few DC-area friends and re-visit some favorite record stores and restaurants.

In November, our dog Max had eye surgery.  He already had a cataract in his right eye when Jeff adopted him in early 2004, and had been having increasing problems with pressure build-up in that eye.  We had hoped to have the cataract removed, but upon examination, we discovered that he had a detached retina in that eye and was already totally blind.  So we opted to have the interior of his eye replaced with a silicon marble, which allows him to keep the eyeball, without the cataract and without the pressure.  His recovery has been going very well.

Also in November, Jeff started taking standup comedy classes.  He's thoroughly enjoying it (he has wanted to pursue comedy for years) and has received very positive, encouraging feedback from his instructor and classmates. 

So, it has truly been another busy, fun, and memorable year.  We hope 2006 has been good for you too.  We wish you a blessed holiday season and a prosperous new year, however you celebrate them.

      - Jeff and Dave