joe's birthday

joe's birthday was today. for weeks i've been flaunting that i have the perfect gift for him, & how crazy excited he should be, & how i could talk it up forever & it still would drop his jaw when he opened it. welp, i was right. :D

on march second, we attended an erotic art show (in which our friend jessie also participated). everything was very cocks-&-cunts except for these two little watercolor gouaches on the wall, each about 2x2" & painted with a single hair. they weren't outwardly erotic at all, but somehow gave the *idea* of sex. joe couldn't stop looking at them, & i agreed they were the best pieces in the entire show. they were reasonably priced, too - $175 & $200, framed.

he kept talking about them when we left, & remembered them a few times over the next couple weeks. i sneakily asked him which he preferred, the one painted in white on black, or the blue on white. he said he definitely liked the black one more, but would probably buy the white to live with long-term. by the time this conversation occurred, i had already purchased the black one. the white one was sold before i got there.

in late april, joe bought a piece of outsider art from a guy on the street for $5. it's pretty neat. he showed it to me, saying how it would've looked just PERFECT hung next to the erotic art miniatures he liked so much. he said, "man if i had the money i so would've bought them. i guess they probably sold, huh," & i was all, "yeah, they were THE coolest things there. i'm sure they're gone." he totally believed me - & why shouldn't he? it was an honest response! - & gave one of those "ah well, it was out of my budget anyhow" looks & changed the subject.

so i've been hiding the painting for him for nearly five months, & bursting to tell everyone in the world. i managed to keep it totally quiet. only jessie knew, because she helped me get the cash to the gallery & also picked up the painting for me after the show ended. now, to properly present it to joe, i wrapped the painting in the following, in order:

tissue paper

black tissue paper

a lingerie box (written on it: "you")

wrapping paper

the shipping carton the lingerie box came in (written on it: "love")

wrapping paper

a towel

tissue paper (written on it: "i")

a demonia shoes box

wrapping paper

& on monday night i leaned this huge package against the tv, effectively forcing him to stare at it all night. :D i kept telling him that i would've let him open it at midnight, but that i had to go to bed early because of work, so he'd have to wait until the evening of the 31st. i'm vaguely surprised i didn't get punched.

the weather reported that tuesday would be a very non-seattle "sunny, high 79, 0% chance of precipitation", which promised a lovely time for the get-together i orchestrated at gasworks park. the turnout wasn't fantastic since it's a tuesday evening & most people associate "party" with "get drunk", but we got twistedsyx, nina + two friends, 3ricj + friend, liquordrums, & steffie, plus of course gorthok & myself. we roasted some sausages i brought on the charcoal nina brought, & had a fine old time.

when it started getting towards dusk, i gathered everyone around so joe could finally open his gift. i recorded the event to mpeg so he'd be able to see his exact expression when he realized what he held in his hands. (& also because sic737 & jessie are currently out of the time zone. [we'll be having Birthday v2.0 for both jessie & joe once everyone's back in the state.]) anyhow, his jaw did indeed drop, & after a few moments to regain composure, he started telling the same story i wrote here. i'm fairly certain he's never been given a more ideal gift, & after the shock wore off on the drive back home, he kept trying to express this to me. it's a beautiful piece of art which inspires his imagination, & he's told me many times that i'm the only person he's ever dated who didn't strangle his creativity, & who wasn't merely neutral with regards to it, but actually inspires him, acts his muse, makes him feel like he can create. he said it may take a week before he can properly thank me so i understand how appreciative he is... but i think i have a pretty good idea already.

happy birthday, baby. many more.

(edit: what he had to say about it.)