Mikeology

I regret that I missed the following showcase event in Providence last night. I was up in beautiful but chilly Boston presenting a short speech about human rights and about efforts by the U.S. Christian Right and ex-gay movement to sow terror and violence in Uganda.

This local TV news report captures several of the reasons why I like Providence (and WaterFire… but that goes without saying).

Twenty years after moving to the nation’s capital…

three years after leaving Washington, D.C., in 2005 for more affordable and less sprawling urban surroundings…

and after two years of living in a converted textile mill in suburban Hartford, Connecticut…

in the summer of 2008 I moved to a similar loft apartment in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. I liked Providence because it was close to the historic neighborhoods and Ivy League communities of Boston, surrounded by rivers and inlets of Narragansett Bay, located just 40 minutes from the ocean, smaller than cities such as Washington, much livelier than Hartford, more artistic and affordable than Beantown, and warmer than New Hampshire or Maine. Providence and the surrounding cities had also preserved, for better or worse, much of the brick 19th-century industrial architecture which have evolved into fun, practical, 21st-century loft living.

Pictures of my now-former Providence apartment

After settling in for a chilly winter and learning my way around Providence, for the first half of 2009 I decided to get to know the locals by volunteering for WaterFire Providence, the city’s bimonthly premiere evening arts and entertainment festival. Then in June I became briefly embroiled in an international mini-scandal involving antigay Rhode Island Catholics and the Tim Hortons doughnut chain. In no time I was an almost-famous celebrity among some Providence equality activists, and I joined the Providence Equality Action Committee.

In May, I took my first trip back to D.C. in two years, stayed at the Kensington home of my friends Bill and Lisa, and caught up on the lives of my old friends Walter, Sheena, Evelyn, Lou, David, Georganne, Pat, Steve, and many more.

Around this time, my Hartford friend Peterson Toscano came to town for a Quaker conference, and we enjoyed an all-too-healthy Quaker-style lunch at Bryant University.

By summertime, after nearly one year of paying $1,500 per month for a (very nice) one-bedroom apartment in Providence, I was more than ready to take advantage of New England’s depressed housing market, buy a loft that I could call my own, and reduce my monthly housing costs by 30 percent.

My very experienced and likable Realtor Peter Dandurand found me a near-perfect choice: A spacious converted loft condominium located just a couple miles from Providence that, thanks to a short sale, was priced 30 percent below its 2006 appraised value.

Pictures of my condominium before move-in

In October, I moved into my new home. Sadly, I discovered at the same time — belatedly — that a former Takoma Park, Md., housemate whom I cared deeply about had died back in late April of brain cancer. Our other housemate, Akili Tyson, had died in 1996 from AIDS complications; I’m now the sole survivor of that household.

Thanks to the generosity of my New York friend Wayne Besen, his partner Jamie, and cat Critter, I was able to spend an early-autumn week in Manhattan for free and catch up with friends Aura and Joanna.

I also had the pleasure of hosting my very first houseguests, L.A. friends Rob and Pat, who offered tips for making my barely-lived-in loft a bit more home-like.

In November, I traveled to south Florida for the first time since I was three years old, and caught up with countless friends (especially Anthony, Ken, and Patrick) at an equality and anti-prejudice conference.

As the year ends, I plan to spend New Year’s Eve volunteering on the fire-tending boats of WaterFire Providence during the event’s 15-year anniversary. In the new year, I plan to continue working for my current employer, a content-syndication company; tend to my ailing parents; renovate my condo; locate a compatible religious community; and lead the volunteer writing team of Truth Wins Out.

Happy new year to you and your loved ones!

If you like, you may stay in touch with me on a day-to-day basis via Facebook or Twitter.

Just as I expected to celebrate the move into my new home this week, I learned that a special friend from long ago had died from cancer last April.

As it happens, WaterFire Providence was celebrating the fight against cancer this weekend. Downtown was teeming with cancer survivors, cancer fighters, and their loved ones. After saying good-bye to some house guests, I walked over to the Capitol and the riverwalk with my camera.

I sobbed for my friend while taking these pictures of tributes and dedications.

I hope to have more to say soon.

I rarely update this blog — you may find me regularly on Facebook and various political sites — but for those of you who don’t possess or desire an addiction to social media…

I present to you some pictures of my new condominium prior to any renovations. All rooms have a western brick exposure; blinds are pulled shut to reduce glare.