Well it's been a messed up day. I had a very busy day planned, but didn't end up doing a lot of what I had planned to do. The reason is that we had snow flurries yesterday. It was supposed to get cold enough for it to stick, but it didn't. It just snowed enough to make people buy bread and milk and be nervous.
I had a LOCK discussion scheduled on protocol and manners. I was really looking forward to it, because Miss Kat was going to present, and it's always nice to get the LOCK group together. They are the nicest, funniest, and most open-minded straight people I have ever met en mass. That was going to start at 1pm. I got a call from Billy that it was canceled, but we were going out to lunch.
Let me just say, it was not my restaurant day. There were six of us for lunch. Three of our orders were wrong, and when we got the check, that was wrong too. But we were having a good time, and what food we got was good, so we got it straightened out eventually and kind of laughed it off.
It was still snowing when we got out, so I took Sir Michael, Miss Carmina, and her boy adder over to the local alternative lifestyle shop, Out of Bounds, for a bit of shopping before they hit the road. That was fun. It was really interesting watching the guy who runs the store, who knows me, trying to figure out my connection to these folks. LOL They have a new item in the kink section. This leather paddle with SPANK spelled out in metal studs on it (if you're into leather, that is pretty fucking hilarious). It replaced the one that had DADDY spelled out in studs. Carmina says I'll see that at a bear thing soon, and have to laugh my ass off.
***
Also, Sir Michael rode over with me, since Carmina doesn't smoke in her car. He smokes cigars. And he has this whole hot nice kinky Daddy thing going on. His wife wilenda wasn't with him yesterday. So when he asks, "Do you smoke in your car?" (because he had a cigar going), I was like "SURE!" with a big smile. I'm thinking, 'Sir Michael cigar smell in my car? Hell I would BUY that!' I have to say, I have neither a cigar fetish, nor a particular thing for older guys, but Sir Michael is HOT. He wears his leather as casually as I wear sweatpants. There is just something about that air of completely un-cocky self confidence that makes me quiver beneath my bodice. And such a gentleman, complimenting me on my car, and graciously thanking me for playing Pocahontas. Yet underneath that veneer of charm, there is the knowledge that this man is capable of spinning such agony and ecstasy. It's compelling.
I have to say, that kind of thing really underlines my problems with the gay leather community. So many guys working through masculinity issues. So many guys wearing leather as a justification of what they want to present, rather than as an expression of who they are. Sir Michael just IS, like a glacier or a mountain - solid and beautiful, yet dangerous. His leather is just a part of him, like physical feature. Next to him, your run-of-the-mill gay leather daddy is shown up for the paper tiger he probably is.
There is a back story there. When I was new to the group, I helped teach a class on etiquette and white-glove service. It was a very fun day, but I was so surprised at how nervous so many of the subs were about serving food to the Doms (there was a formal dinner at the end of the class day). I'm thinking, 'You folks can have electrical wires hooked to you genitals for fun, and are afraid of serving asparagus?!' But I have to say, the genuine joy these people expressed when they greeted their partners just filled the room. Some of these people have been together for years. You just don't see that kind of excitement at seeing each other again in most long-term married couples. I think the apprehension was that the subs were afraid they would disappoint or embarrass their Dom. It was really sweet.
Anyway. I fell in love with wilenda during the course of the day. She is a doll - such a sweet person. When I met Sir Michael though, it was odd and strained. I immediately felt uncomfortable and awkward. I attributed this to the "straight guy weirded out by being around a gay guy" thing, but then I found out from Russ and Billy that this could not be the case. Later on, I realized that all that was coming from ME, not from him. I was projecting my own insecurities and issues about straight guys on to him. That high school crap of being teased and ridiculed was still tucked away in my mental baggage. This was a huge revelation to me. So the next time I saw him, I confessed, explained and apologized. I couldn't have asked for anyone to be more understanding and kind. It brought tears to my eyes, and filled my heart. I have loved Sir Michael ever since. I really work to lay down my straight guy thing, and know where its coming from before I decide what my reaction to someone means since then. Do I still meet straight guys that are assholes? Sure. But very seldom in LOCK. And much less often in the world at large since that time.
***
Anyway, after that, I went home for a while, and then got ready for Kimbley's birthday dinner. They were having it at a place called Sushi Murasaki. I had heard mixed reviews about it, but it was Kimbley's birthday, and I rationalized that I really wasn't going for the food. Well it's a good thing I wasn't, because I thought I was never going to get any. It was kind of like a live broadcast of "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares".
6:50 - arrive at the restaurant, we are told the party was scheduled for 8pm - this is not true
7:24 - still waiting for them to improvise a place to put us - there are two other parties in process, and apparently they thought that the large party in the semi-private room area would be gone in two hours. a) that's stupid; and b) as slowly as food was coming out, it was wildly optimistic.
7:45 - we are finally seated - after standing at the bar for 45 minutes
8:05 - my drink arrives. They are out of Saki cups, most likely because you have tackle a waiter to get your table pre-bussed.
8:17 - my appetizer arrives. Since I have waiting 30 minutes for it, I hug my plate to y chest and wolf it down. It was very good, I have say.
8:45 - the first part of my meal arrives - one maki roll. Again tasty, but it was a super crunch roll, and it had been made so long the crunchies were no longer crunchy.
9:25 - I finally go track down the waitress to find out about the other two things I ordered. One of them was eaten by someone else at the party. (By 9pm, it was pretty much every man for himself.) The other, another maki roll, I am offered no explanation for. The manger is standing there, and says they will have it out in 15 minutes. I am skeptical.
9:35 - I eat a birthday brownie in desperation
9:45 - I finally get the rest of my meal
For this meal, I paid almost $75. Not one thing was comped. I did have three drinks during the time I was waiting. A gratuity was added (there were 30 of us, so that wasn't a surprise, but I didn't leave an additional tip, as I ordinarily would). There was an after party, but by the time we left, I felt pretty crappy. All the alcohol on an empty stomach and all the waiting had fucked my blood sugar up (I am hypo-glycemic), so I went home and went to bed. That was the main thing I was pissed about. I missed out on a good time later.
Now, I will say, what I had was tasty, and if you went on a night that the restaurant wasn't ridiculously over-booked, the service would probably be better. The waiters were all cute as bugs. But after last night, it will be a while before I roll the dice on going back.
It was good to see Kimbley and Laura so happy. I love them dearly, and they so plainly love each other. And it was good to see their gang. Lots of love was there.
There was supposed to be a play party last night with some of the LOCK folks, and I was going to that, but it of course was canceled, dammit. Although the way I felt after dinner, I couldn't have gone anyway. At least when it's re-scheduled, I'll hopefully be able to go and enjoy it.
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