Adjusting

A conversation this weekend has helped me to think through some of the priorities in my life. As regular OYGA readers have no doubt noticed, my posts lately, though relatively consistent, have been severely lacking in any creative content besides the daily eye candy.

This has been unavoidable, as my life lately has been rather crazy, particularly with my job in a company that is in a tailspin it is unlikely to recover from. Consequently, I am trying to balance the demands of a very full-time job with the fairly-urgent need to find a new job in a more stable situation.

As a smart friend reminded me this weekend, I need to make sure I am dedicating the maximum amount of effort possible to my occupation situation and not allow myself to use other things (such as blogging) to be used as an escape from the stress I have been under for far too long. For, when I spend my time on things less important, I ultimately only will increase my stress and delay its resolve.

So, today OYGA is going on an indefinite hiatus. Although I have every intent to return to blogging at some point, I cannot today tell you at what point that will be. I will keep the blog up, and perhaps I will be able to give an update along the way. But at this point, I don't plan to post again until my job situation has settled down and I am comfortably-settled into whatever new opportunity awaits.

Thanks to all who have been so kind in your comments and visits. I do hope that I will be back here again soon....keep checking!

And, as a parting gift to you, thanks to the great work of the folks at Blogger and Picasa, you can see 1,000 of the photos I have posted on OYGA in photo albums on Picasa by clicking on the picture below. Enjoy!


Click here for photo albums!

Tattoos

I am a fan of tattoos. I think that, more often than not, a tattoo improves a guy's appearance. Even more, I think a tattoo, if seen as more than just decoration, can be a very powerful statement about a person's life, what he values, and what has shaped him into the person he is today. Unless someone is drunk, he probably doesn't get a tattoo without plenty of forethought and planning.

Personally, I have two tattoos (pictured below), and both of them reflect the most personal, life-changing events and times of my life. Previously I wrote about the smaller tattoo on my other blog, and today I posted the story about the dragon tattoo. You can read about it by clicking on the picture below (or here).



And, lest we get too sentimental, worry not! Here are some guys who are sexy with or without their tattoos!

The Spirit's Winter

Winter can come quickly and without warning. One day, the sun is shining, the air is crisp. We inhale deeply and savor the freshness of the morning. Then in the night, the winds pick up, and the temperature drops. By morning, the full force of nature has descended and threatens to bury you in its fury.

In the days that follow, you spend your time trying to dig yourself out of the snow, but if the storm was particularly fierce, you sometimes wonder if you will ever be able to find the path again and breathe freely. In your weak moments, you just sit down and feel it's never going to be the same.



But then, along the way, the sun peeks its face through the clouds, and you feel its warmth for a fleeting moment. Daring to hope a bit, you begin looking out the window in the morning, and you are filled with anticipation as you see the snow slowly giving ground, retreating into the earth.

Finally, the day comes when you can walk around freely. Though it is cold and wet, only patches of snow remain, and though all of nature seems dead and brown, you know that spring must be just around the corner, so you push through the cold days with a renewed vigor. You begin making plans: the flowers to plant in April, a fresh coat of paint for the house, a tropical vacation in summer. That mental bracing, preparing yourself to face the winter onslaught as you walk out the door, slowly relaxes, and you let down your guard.



But it's only January. Winter is not over; this is only a deceptive reprieve. The trust that had been so carefully guarded, you finally give it away again, and it's smashed to pieces. Again, the wind howls, and you run back inside, desperate to escape that pain that has numbed your extremities and threatens to freeze your heart.

Inside, safe from the elements again, you cuddle up under piles of blankets alone in a darkened room. I know that winter will pass. Spring will come, and flowers in my life will bloom again. But as I sit in the dark, I just wish it would get here soon.

Merry Christmas!

Today I join the mass exodus of bloggers abandoning their posts (sorry, I couldn't resist) for the holidays. Shortly, I will be leaving to drive 7 hours to visit my parents for a few days. And, since they live in the most boring place on earth, it is unlikely that I will be able to post during my visit. So, I wish all my Christmas-celebrating friends a merry one, and for everyone else, insert generic winter holiday greeting here.

I did not want to leave, however, without sharing a present with you all. So, take a look on this newly-redesigned blog and scroll down the right-hand column. There, just below the "Essential Reading" section, you will see my latest addition to the blog, titled "The Internet's Most Comprehensive Asian Male Links Compilation." This list includes 11 sections with over 165 different links to sites with pictures of Asian men. What I have shared with you here is the result of several years of scouring the internet, and it is my gift to share it with you. Of course, now not only will you not miss my posts over the next week, but once you start looking through that link list, you probably won't even notice that I'm gone!

Enjoy! If you happen to appreciate this resource, you can thank me by passing along new links when you find them (e-mail is ). I will do my best to keep the list updated, accurate, and growing.

If I am unable to post again before the New Year, I wish all the best in 2007. Make it your New Year's resolution to stop by O.Y.G.A. for a visit each day in the months to come!



Click on the Santas for the unedited pictures!