Michael Charles Slaven

WHAT PEOPLE CALL ME:

Mike, Mikey, Dude, Michael, Slavey-slave, Slavemaster (etc.)
I actually don't like any of the "Slave" name derivitives, but don't usually speak up about it. This is partially because I learned long ago that the best way to avoid a nickname is to NOT react to it, but more so lately because I've heard all these Slave variations so many times before that I find it a bit sad how original the speakers usually think they're being. The exception to this rule is the Slavey-slave moniker. It was actually an original nickname heard for the first time only a few years back, and is very appropriate for a certain side of my work persona. And yes, G and I have funny little names we call each other, but those are really for us alone. If you're lucky, I might mention them here or there in the blog, but it's rather doubtful.

AGE:

35...Oops
Um no, I actually just turned 34, but I always add a year when someone asks. No idea why I do this. It seemed to make sense when I was younger, but not so much anymore.

MARITAL STATUS:

Not recognized by the U.S. government.
G and I are about as married as any of my hetero friends with a certificate, though I do feel weird calling him my husband since we've never had any sort of ceremony. Old habits (and old viewpoints) tend to linger long after their usefulness has worn away. For now, consider us as having a long term engagement. (For of how I feel about this important topic, go here...or here...or here.)

RACE:

Human

RESIDENCE

San Francisco
I came out to test drive this city "for a year" and have never wanted to leave...but I do miss being closer to family with a deep ache, and since the likelyhood of them all moving out here is slim, I still do think about moving back to the Northeast now and again.

IMPORTANT BOOKS:

All of them. Seriously.
Except one or two, and I don't want to embarass them by singling them out.

RECENT BOOKS:

The entire Harry Potter Series
A ritual before each new movie.

Life of Pi
Just got this one for my birthday and haven't started yet.

Escape From Fire Island
This book (and several hilarious others) is not authorized or licensed by, or otherwise affiliated with, Bantam Books, inc., or the owner of the Choose Your Own Adventure series of books. That being said, I don't work for them so I can freely make the comparison. It's Choose Your Own Adventure for adults and it's super funny!

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies Been working on this for a while. Very interesting, but it takes some time to digest and is too bulky to carry on Muni.

MAGAZINES I READ ON A SEMI REGULAR BASIS:

Newsweek

Businessweek

Entertainment Weekly

In Touch But only for the pictures, I swear!
OUT

Paper

Cargo

Men's Health

Men's Journal

GQ

Esquire

Dwell

Cooking Light Mostly to point out yummy things to G so that he'll magic them up for me.

MAGAZINES I WISH I COULD READ ON A SEMI REGULAR BASIS

The Advocate

Genre I do read these when in the doctor's office, at a friend's house, etc, but my budget can't justify extra subscriptions when there's plenty of free alternatives. One of the perks of being in marketing is the complimentary magazines you recieve. The downside is that you aren't always able to choose which ones you get. Speaking of which...

MAGAZINES WHICH I'M WILLING TO TRADE FOR ADVOCATE OR GENRE

ESPN

Sports Weekly I know I'm playing directly into a stereotype here, but I am what I am...and team sports don't really do it for me...except maybe a bit of baseball now and again over the summer, and on a very rare occasion hockey, but only on TV. Of course I love swimming, diving, gymnastics, and the pomp and ceremony of the Olympics but then there's that stereotype again just waiting for you to grab hold of it. Don't make me mention the fact that I once dated a man who's now a very closeted team sports guy and NO you can not know who he is. He'll come out when the money's right. (Cynical? Perhaps, but while I sometimes find hair on men sexy, I'm better off without a man who needs a beard* in order to keep himself comfortable.)

WHAT'S ON MY TIVO

Amazing Race

Six Feet Under

Lingo

Good Eats

Sappy Romantic Comedies

Charmed

Old Star Trek episodes That's old as in Next Generation or Voyager...not TOS. (Though I am enough of a geek to know that TOS stands for The Original Series)

RANDOM FACTS:

I like parenthesis and other forms of asides. (In fact it's almost an addiction.) Not that you couldn't have guessed this yourself already.

G and I are in a serodiscordant relationship. Makes for interesting challenges, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. It also makes me less likely to care about updating this site as often as possible. While G's health has been consistently good during our time together, and AIDS is slowly becoming less of a death sentence; it still puts things into perspective. Fretting over an unwritten entry is silly when there's a couch to snuggle up on with the one you love.

This page is always under construction. If there's really something else you want to know mail me and maybe I'll post the answer here.


*Beard: Term used to describe the wife or girlfriend of a gay man. A woman he uses in order to disguise the fact that he's gay.

----------------------

Return to Love