Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Regular Tuesday*

Got the write-offs back and was able to get them all processed.

Hit the gym, did a bit of laundry. Didn't really have plans for tonight. Watched Family Guy.

Ended up having a surprise visit from a buddy late, which was nice.

Monday, June 29, 2009

A post in which I spend the evening on the phone*

The day started out nicely with a visit from a buddy :)

I have official word from Big Red that I have PMS. I have been out-of-sorts and grouchy all day today for no good reason, and nothing has suited me. She’s a mental health professional, she should know.

I did at least work out after work.

After that I went by the grocery store for the ubiquitous salad greens. I got some spinach too. I was thinking about doing some spinach pasta, but now I’m not sure. I really want to play in the chimichurri this week, and so I’ve also been thinking about a pasta salad dressed with it. But I hate washing and cleaning the stems out of fresh herbs.

When I got home I had to make some calls. I talked to a guy on Bear411 this week, and we had made a date for dinner. When we then talked on the phone though, he told me he was 19 years old. He said he liked older guys, and gets tired of guys telling him he’s too young for them. I had been doing some thinking about this, and decided to call Justin to get his perspective on the situation. He is very sensitive to age-discrimination stuff. I just couldn’t get past the fact that when I went out for my first mixed drink, this guy wasn’t even born yet! Plus I was thinking about what it would be like for me to go out with a 60 year old, which would be the same age difference. I couldn’t really see me having anything in common with the guy, and God forbid what if I did? I couldn’t imagine meeting this guy’s parents, who would be closer to my age than he would. Basically, this just didn’t feel right, and I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. After talking to Justin, and him giving me down the road about it in addition to my own misgivings, I decided I just couldn’t go through with it.

So I’m violating my new rule about not eliminating guys before I go out with them. Plus I have to call the guy and cancel the date. Of course, since the guy in 19, he thinks he’s an adult, and just doesn’t understand my problem with this situation. Because after all, at 19 age is just a number. He was ticked off, and didn’t particularly hide it, but overall I didn’t get as much attitude as I was expecting. I was informed that he was used to this and that it was my loss. Which is about what I should have expected I guess. I was relieved to have that unpleasant duty behind me.

I had put a load of laundry in earlier. When I got off the phone I started cooking. I had some mushrooms in the fridge that needed to be used, and I had planned to make a quiche out of them. I made Billy Mushrooms to put in the quiche. I got the quiche in the oven, and had time to make a salad and eat before I called Big Red.

I had another follow-up to do with Her tonight after our scene at SELF. It was a good call, and we talked about a lot of stuff. I ended up being on the phone with Her for about an hour. She patiently listened to the M breakup story; bless Her, even though I know she listens to people’s problems all day. We then had a nice talk about the scene at SELF, and spent some time talking about recipes and food as well. That’s always interesting to me. By the time we wrapped up, my quiche was cool enough to eat and I was hungry again; so I had a piece, tended to my laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, and went to bed.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

A post in which it is a lazy Sunday**

I was up early, and got to Miss Kat and dana’s by 7:30. They had said we were leaving at 8. When I got there they were making breakfast. Blueberry pancakes! Yummy. They have blueberry bushes in their yard, and thus are blessed with a largess of them.

We had breakfast, drank coffee, smoked, talked, and watched snatches of Camille, which was on TCM this morning. Helen came up. This trip had kind of been planned as an outing for her because she gets so bored sitting at home. Eventually, we headed on up the road.

It was hot again today, but not as bad as yesterday. We were about halfway through the flea market when I called Justin to see if he wanted me to pick up a platter I found in his china pattern. I went back to get it, and got separated from dana and Helen. I didn’t find them for the rest of the trip. I hate it when that happens. dana had left her phone in the car, so I couldn’t get in touch with her.

I didn’t get anything exciting for me today. I found some borderline decent tomatoes (the first ones I have bought this year – apparently the tomato crops aren’t doing well) and some socks.

We eventually all found each other and headed on home to cool down.

By the time we got back to their place, I was ravenous. I hadn’t had any protein this morning, and so my sugar was out of whack. We ended up going for Mexican. I had shrimp quesadillas with extra cheese sauce – and they were SO good. It was one of those times that I knew exactly what I wanted and was able to get it. That always hits the spot.

After lunch, we were all ready for a nap. I went back to my house.

I fooled around on the computer for a bit, but eventually lay down for a while. When I woke up, a buddy came by for a bit. It was nice enough.

I should have cooked today. I figured out what I wanted to make for lunches this week. But once again, I was having a problem getting motivated today. After the nap, I did straighten up a very little bit, and I changed the sheets, but that was about all I could make myself do. I’m putting off everything until next weekend, since we get a long weekend then.

I had tomato sandwich in a bowl for dinner tonight. I love that. My friend Todd told me about it. There really isn’t anything better on a hot day. Plus you don’t have to heat up the house cooking.

I was relaxing with the FOX Sunday line up, and texting Jeremiah when I got a surprise text from Allen, a guy I went out with last month. I still hear from Jeremiah every now and then, although he usually doesn’t actually show up. I haven’t figured out what his deal is. Anyway Allen, surprisingly, wanted to come by. I was a bit nonplussed, but said sure. Apparently his mother is staying with him for the summer, and has taken a part-time job where he works. This seems to be a bit much for Allen, and he just needed to blow off some steam. We had a surprisingly good visit, and then I sent him on home to mama.

After which I turned in. Even after a nap today, it has been a long weekend. And another week starts tomorrow.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

A post in which it is movie night!

I was lazy and worthless today. This heat just seems to suck the life right out of me.

I went to White Horse Road flea market this morning. I had to go see the gourmet food lady, since she always has Drano and cleaners for cheap, and she’s not open on Sundays. I scored my Drano. I also scored a Bubble Glass platter. I have been wanting one to go with my set, and came very close to paying more than retail for one I found recently, but talked myself out of getting that one. I paid $2 for this one. The woman selling it didn’t have any change, and all I had was a 20. She walked across to the vegetable stand to get some change, and handed me 18 ones. But that was fine. I had plenty of change for other stuff. There wasn’t much else out there. I got some little seedless watermelon for fruit this week, and came on home. It was HOT. When I left, at 9:30, it was already 84F.

12" Bubble Glass platter in Sapphire Blue by Anchor Hocking, circa 1940-1965

I got home and worked on the bathroom sink drain for a bit. I don’t know what Terry had been shoving down it, and probably don’t want to know, but that drain has been a problem ever since I bought the house. With Drano and boiling water though, I had it going again in about a half hour. It’s draining as well as it ever has.

After that, I kind of lost my will to really do anything. I lay around and messed about on the computer. I took a nap for a while. I basically wasted the day. But I had cleaned up the house (at least to the point of looking OK) on Thursday night, and although it needs work it was just way too hot to get out in the yard. So I was lazy.

Eventually, I talked to Anna, and got ready and went over there.

She was very excited about taking me to a great new restaurant she had found, called the Latin Express CafĂ©. We walked around downtown for a while, since she wasn’t 100% sure where it was, but it was a beautiful evening, everyone was out walking, and I was enjoying walking with her. When we got there, the welcome and the food more than made up for any inconvenience. Anna of course exercises a strange and mystical charm over all service people. It’s not just that she’s pleasant and tries to treat them like people. I don’t know what it is, but it goes beyond that. I have been in convenience stores with her where battle-hardened clerks who seem permanently affixed to their stools with granite-like scowls drag out smiles for her that haven't seen daylight since the Eisenhower administration. It’s just a gift that Anna has.

But I digress. So of course when we go in, Anna knows everyone’s name, where they’re from, what relationship they have to each other; and can ask about their children, progress in school, and dog’s recent hernia surgery. So we got the big welcome. And then we started ordering. Everything was wonderful! Homemade empanadas with pastry so crisply and perfectly cooked that the filling was almost, almost superfluous, had it not added yet another layer of flavor. There was a decadently creamy family recipe potato salad with carrots and peas. The potatoes were perfectly done and tender; the sauce smoothly flavorful, but not interfering with the taste of the vegetables. After that I had a pizza with a spicy tomato sauce, boiled eggs, goat cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes. It was almost nothing like Italian pizza, but absolutely delicious. The crust was from scratch. Anna had a zucchini pie that was basically like a quiche, but the zucchini done perfectly, crisp tender and flavorful, while yet not watering down the pie. I have no idea how they do that. And again nestled in a tender, beautifully browned hand-made and crimped crust.

I also discovered the Argentenian version of pesto sauce tonight, called Chimichurri. It's a mix of fresh parsley, lemon juice, mint, garlic and oil. Apparently it is intended to be a relish to accompany meat, but it tasted good on everything we put it on, which was pretty much everything that hit the table. I have some definite plans to play with that stuff. I should be able to make it without too much trouble. I'm thinking an alternative pesto pasta, maybe with roasted vegetables tossed in...

Since Anna, as previously mentioned, was invited to the confirmations of the children of all of the staff already, they came out to talk to us while we finished our meal. I told them how wonderful everything was, and tried to make sure they’re going to make a run of it. The place has only been open for three months, and they already have a good lunch trade, and are picking up some breakfast trade too. I raved about the food to the point that the owner gave us coffee and dessert, both of which were scrumptious. Tiny cups of sweetened espresso that I can’t remember the name of, topped with foam thick and rich enough to practically hold the spoon (*note* per Michael, my coffee expert, I later found out that this is called a cortadito), plus flan topped with dulce de leche. Fabulous. And every dish was delicious.

My tiny delicious cup of sweetened espresso (with my hand for scale). Isn't that adorable little spatterware? And the little spoons too!

Anna and our incredibly sweet waitress (daughter of the owners), best of friends of course LOL

Well after such a sumptuous repast, it was actually pleasant to stroll back to the car, enjoying a post-prandial cigarette. We then went back to Anna’s to watch movies. I had taken a couple of things that I didn’t think Anna or her parents had seen, and we ended up watching Die Mommie Die!, which I could pretty much watch over and over. Anna and her folks are great people, and totally get snarky, sarcastic humor, which I love. It’s nice to hang out with people (especially straight people) who not only get, but appreciate kitch. It’s always nice to hang with people and not have to tell them when the commercials are on. The movie was a big hit. I’m excited about getting them into some heavy John Waters.

Anna’s mom was so funny tonight. We were talking about the M incident briefly – they were disappointed for me, and had been thinking about me, which I thought was very sweet. I had ventured “M just can’t help being what he is, it really isn’t his fault.” Anna’s Mom was like “We hate M.” very quietly from her chair. I thought that was pretty funny, actually; but I was touched too.

Anna and I stayed up and watched Girls Will Be Girls after the folks went to bed. Anna says they have to see that one too, but that’s another one I can watch any time. By the end of the movie, I was pretty beat, as was Anna. I headed on home. It was a great evening, and I really enjoyed myself. And it was only about 12:30 when I hit the road, which was good. I’m going to Barnyard in the morning...

Friday, June 26, 2009

A post in which it is date night*

It was an incredibly long day at work today, but at last it ended.

Despite problems reaching Jason in the past, he was pretty communicative today, and we were able to set up the date with no problem. I put things off until 7:30 so I had time to hit the gym after work, get home, shower, etc. I hate having to rush around before stuff, and I plenty of time to get ready. I also took a call from Anna. We had talked about going out for dinner this week, but hadn’t made it yet. We agreed to do that tomorrow night.

Jason not only got to the house pretty much right on time, but had called first because he thought he might be a few minutes late. That was nice - and unusual for dating now.
He is very cute, but does have what I call the “suspiciously flattering internet photos” on his Manhunt profile. Still, he is a good-looking guy, and we had a nice time together. He’s a sweet guy. We went for cheap sushi at Ni Hao, and talked and we talked over the meal. Well actually really mostly he talked. But in all fairness I was ravenous, and so it was fine for him to talk while I ate.

I had thought we might go over to Furman and walk around the lake after dinner, but it was still over 90 when we got out of the restaurant. We decided to go back to my place and put in a movie. He hadn’t seen a lot of John Waters but wanted to. I put in Lust in the Dust, which is one of my favorites.

We actually didn’t end up watching a lot of the movie. We started talking, and one thing just kind of led to another.

It was a nice evening, and I enjoyed myself. I’ll probably see him again.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

A post in which I clean up some

It was a quiet enough evening tonight.

I hit the gym after work - I also weighed, which I had been avoiding. If the scales at the office gym are right I have lost 18 pounds!! (Since February) I am so excited, but also have to make sure this doesn't make me feel like I can slack off. There is plenty more that needs to go.

I came home to clean house. I have a date tomorrow, and want the place to look decent.

dana had called, and came by to borrow some stuff from me. I caught her up on Terry’s latest trials.

I did eventually start cleaning, in between chatting online, which of course meant I could do neither very well, but eventually I got the house looking OK. If we end up here tomorrow night, between night and dim lights, it’ll pass. I really do need to do some stuff around here. But what with spending a month of heavy dating, and then a week of recuperation, I have basically just let the house go. I guess the dirt will still be there when I get ready.

I ate a late supper of salad that needed to be eating, watching Hairspray (the new one, with Nikki Blonsky) on DVD.

I talked to Terry for a bit while I was cleaning up the kitchen. He had a new cell phone number which should make it easier to reach him. He sounded MUCH better than the last time I saw him, and much more like himself. Since he isn’t working this weekend, he won’t be coming to stay. He offered to if I needed him, but I’m pretty much over the M situation, and I just have enough on my plate right now.

I finished up the house stuff, turned off the computer, and went to bed. I am beat!

A post in which I rant my two cents on Mark Sanford

The big topic of conversation today at work was the Mark Sanford scandal. I feel that eventually, Americans are going to be forced to adopt a more sophisticated attitude about sexual issues, or there won’t be anyone left to run the country. Personally, I could care less about a politician’s sex life if he is a good representative who agrees with me on the issues. 70% of men polled admit to cheating on their wives at some point in the marriage. I don’t understand why government representatives are held up to a different standard. But then I don’t understand the whole monogamy thing to start with.

Monogamous marriage is an out-dated patriarchal/religious concept we drag from medieval times. The church enforced it for four main reasons:

  1. To ensure the purity of line of succession. Property succession at the time went to sons. Nobles were considered to be of higher character, better people than serfs. They therefore wanted their property and birthright titles to go to the true heirs who were of pure blood. Plus men wanted to be sure that their property and money went to their own children.
  2. Prevention of disease. This is also why women were famously expected to be virgins on their wedding night. To ensure they did not have venereal disease which would harm the child or prevent pregnancy.
  3. To prevent moral impurity or sensual pleasure. If you had been told you couldn't have sex for the rest of your life, would you really want anyone else having a good time? For certain bitter people, that answer is no. They just really didn't want anyone else having a good time. There are still a lot of people like that. If you have lived a life of restraint and minimalism and that viewpoint is found to be invalid, you have wasted your life. You are a fool. There will always be those who want everyone to be just like themselves.
  4. To increase their financial, and thereby political, influence. If you had the approved choice of going to church or getting it on, which would you choose? I thought so. Since the church was the de facto police force of the time (it was much easier to keep order if people thought they would be struck by thunderbolts, rather than have to keep a large police force), it was in the nobles’ interest to support the church; at least in word, if not in deed. The more influence the church had, the more money they had, and so on. They wanted butts on the pews, tithing. They wanted nobles in those pews too, tithing, paying for churches, and purchasing dispensations.
Of course, even when these rules became so important, there was largely a nod and a wink to infidelity, originally. Nobles frequently begat bastards, some of whom were recognized, educated, and even ironically became important people in the church. Illegitimate children of Roman nobles could be ‘adopted’ and formally put in line for succession. Because they understood that this concept of absolute fidelity really didn’t make sense, and didn’t really work in the real world. It still doesn’t.

So why all this ridiculous barking in the media when yet another politician is discovered en flagrante delicto? It certainly isn’t "news" any longer.

  1. The ridiculous and hypocritical fascination Americans have with sex. Because of our Puritanical roots, we are absolutely horrified, yet absolutely transfixed, by any mention that someone has touched their naught bumpy bits, or those of another. Never mind that everyone does it. Never mind that it is a perfectly natural biological function. We still have a very outdated double standard of virtue when it comes to public figures in this country, despite the cultural saturation of sexual messages in which we live.
  2. The ridiculous romantic fantasy fairy tale we accept as the true expectation of marriage. Marriage was an institution used to consolidate political and financial power. It began as alliances between tribes to stop wars and increase wealth and trade. Marriage has traditionally had much more to do with property rights than with hearts. And yet uneducated conservatives continue to preach to unknowing masses about “unions sanctioned by God” that are to remain pure, etc. Balderdash. That is a relatively modern development that we collectively seem to believe is rooted in time immemorial. Not so. In the "chicken and egg" analysis, religious sanction of marriage was definitely late to the party.
  3. The 24 hour media cycle. I don’t agree with people who blame the media for everything. But. They are guilty of pandering to the lowest common denominator, and of a race for the bottom. There used to be a feeling of responsibility among journalists. They knew that they had a sacred trust to report things the public needed to know. Yes there have always been scandals, and those that reported on them, but by and large the media understood their place and responsibility. When Franklin D Roosevelt died, he did so in his mistress’s apartment. But his body was taken back to the White House and put into bed. The media didn’t report where he died, because it was more important that he was honored for his service to the country and the man he was than to expose a scandal. That kind of judgment and restraint is a thing of the past. I can only think this has become worse since the deregulation of media ownership. Our media now is collectively owned by huge corporations who care for nothing but profit. If a scandal sells, however irresponsibly, they will cash that check; and the responsibility of the media be damned.
I was all for outing Larry Craig. He was a sanctimonious hypocritical bastard, and frankly, hanging was too good for him in my opinion. Mark Spitzer should have been investigated for exactly who was purchasing his honey, plus he broke the law (another ridiculous law – but that is a topic for another rant). Hypocritical sanctimonious hubris is always going to lead to a fall. But I say let the Bill Clintons, and the Mark Sanfords, and the other regular married guys do their jobs. Who they are screwing, frankly, is none of our business. If they experiencing marital difficulties they should be allowed to resolve those quietly with their respective spouse. The American people have no place in their bedrooms.

I would actually rather have a politician in charge of things who understood a little about life, who maybe had a little sympathy for the common man, than some rich bloodless pillar of virtue who didn’t understand what it was like to be human.

I was not a Mark Sanford fan. I thought he was a bombastic show-boating politician who opposed the bailout money much more as a way to grandstand and attract attention than out of any personal conviction. But if the conservatives want to have anyone left to carry the flag, they need to get out of the morals business. You can’t legislate morality, whatever Bob Inglis says, the sanctimonious prig. But from a sheer practical perspective, if the Republicans want any standard-bearers left, they’re going to have to change their standards.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

A post in which I make a date

It was a fairly average day today.

I hit the gym after work, came home, and ate leftovers.

Justin called and we talked for a while. I love that boy. He does my heart good. We re-hashed the M scandal, and he has added his voice to my self-admonition to stay the hell away from M's Manhunt profile.

I called and talked to Jason for a while. I’m a bit discouraged about that situation. He is a nice guy, and certainly seems interested, but tonight I found out about some formidable roadblocks to that situation. It’s going to be tough to work out time to see each other, and even when we can, that time is going to be limited. Piled on top of the age difference and the distance, it’s a fairly intimidating wall to try to scale. Plus, he is just so young and pretty, which at the moment gives me pause, as attractive as he is. Burnt dog should fear fire and all that.

But I’m not eliminating guys before I meet them, and I definitely want to meet him. We have a date for dinner on Friday night. I’m looking forward to it, but at the same time my hopes are not quite as high as they were.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

A post in which I observe Father's Day

I was up at 5am again today. I woke from a very vivid dream in which I was making an impassioned plea before the court on behalf of the company, asking the judge to send down a verdict that would “hearken to the days of a truer America, and reinforce the doctrine of personal responsibility”. I was very eloquent in the dream. I thought upon awakening that I would have made a helluva lawyer. But it’s too late now. It takes so much schooling – and way too much money. It’s not enough to be ABLE to do something any more. You have to have a very expensive piece of paper saying that a bunch of other people agree that you can.

I called Dad first thing this morning. I was out all evening last night, and haven’t heard back from him. I caught him in a surprisingly good mood, and we agreed to do ‘Father’s Day’ dinner tonight.

Work was work. I’m waiting for my write-offs to be approved here, so I can beg for them to be approved in California, but my boss is just letting stuff sit in his in-box, as he sometimes does.

I got off early today to go to the dentist. I love my hygienist. She is so sweet to me. I told her today that if I hit the lottery I would take her away from all that and make her my personal teeth cleaner. I have a small cavity they’re going to have to fill.

I left there and went home to change clothes, go to the store, etc. While I was at the house, I did some evening stuff so I could go visit with Dad for a bit after we had dinner. He gets upset if I don’t go to the house after we eat. I did everything but remember his card, which I left on the bar in the kitchen. Dammit.

I went over and met him at the store. Eve decided we were eating Italian food because she wanted spaghetti, despite the fact that it was a Father’s Day thing, and I’m pretty sure that Dad wanted Mexican food. I left that for them to sort out. We went to a great place in Greer and I had a really good calzone. I also managed to snag the check from the waitress before Dad got it. He usually won’t let me pay when we go out, even on his birthday. I figured since I was doing this two days late and had even forgotten his card, paying for dinner was the least I could do.

Afterwards I did go back to the house for a bit and visited, but I wasn’t staying late. I’m having an awful time with my insomnia right now. No matter what time I go to bed I wake up at 5am. I wanted to get in bed early, but I also wanted to talk to Jason. I figured he’d be in early, since he had to be at work at 6:30am today, but I didn’t catch him.

I checked on Manhunt, and M was on again. Every time I go on, he’s on there. Interesting. (Were I of a more unkind and bitchy nature, I would think that he's busy laying the snare for the next unfortunate victim, but I'm not that bitter. Meow.) But then I suppose there’s no reason for him not to get right back out there, since he has no regrets and nothing to recover from. For that matter, I got right back out there too. I guess that’s just as bad as driving by his house, and I need to stop it.

I saw that Jason had viewed my profile again. The main reason I really go on now is to look at his pictures. He is soooo cute. I hope I get to meet him.

I practiced my Western grip, turned off my ringer, and went to bed.

Monday, June 22, 2009

A post in which I visit with Michael*

I was headed for work this morning with the best of intentions. I haven't worked on a Monday for a while. Things kept coming up. But something came up this morning, and I was bad. On my way in, as I was sitting in a 5 mile long traffic jam on 85, thanks to the spectacular spin out of a mini-van. Yeah. I got a text message from a buddy of mine. We'll call him R. It was R's birthday today, and he was thinking about me. Well I pretty much had to drop by and give him a birthday present right? It was good to see him again. I intentionally backed off from seeing him for a while because he is a really sweet guy, but tangled up in a failing relationship he can't get out of. Isn't that always the story? Anyway, I gave him his present, which ended up being really nice for both of us actually, and then I went on into the office. Not too late.

It was a very dull day at work. I'm pretty much caught up right now, and the few things I needed to do couldn't be done because part of the computer system was down all day. I was literally trying not to fall asleep at my desk. It was made worse by the fact that since I was late I got no lunch hour, so I had no break.

I'm not thinking a lot about M. But I'm re-reading A Houseful of Girls by, you guessed it, Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey. I have to confess that the differences between the steadfast, loving, reliable Maud; and the vain, superficial, thoughtless Lilias have never seemed more poignant.

After work I hit the gym and had a great workout. When I checked my phone, friend Michael (as opposed to ex Michael) had called, so I called him back. He was calling to check on me, and wanted to go to dinner, which was fine. I'd had a diet lunch today, plus I had exercised, so even after eating all that crap this weekend, I didn't feel bad about going. He said he'd meet me at the house. I then called Jason. We had texted back and forth a bit today, but he apparently doesn't have computer access, or email access, at work. We chatted a bit, but he had to go. We agreed to talk later.

Michael got to the house about the time I got cleaned up, and we went off to dinner at a little country buffet he likes over off Congaree Road. It was pretty much typical of the genre, but the food was pretty good, and the service was spectacular. The woman who waited on us went out of her way to make us feel welcomed and appreciated. While we were eating and chatting, a table full of cops came in to eat too, and ended up eating right beside us; so we had a floor show as well.

After supper we rode through the neighborhood and looked at some of the changes that have happened since Michael moved to Easley. He used to live right down the street from me. We ended up at my place, on the front porch, smoking and talking in the twilight. It was a gorgeous evening, the air soft and humid but not too terribly hot, and the bugs singing to each other from the trees. There was a gentle breeze that came by to brush my bare legs every now and again like a cat. Surprisingly for this time of year, the mosquitoes weren't too bad yet. We talked about life and death, family and love. It was one of those long talks you can only have with a friend you know very well, as the evening comes on and it's too dark to see each other's faces. When I finally checked the time, it was after 10.

I saw Michael off home, and came inside to get ready for bed. I called Jason to say goodnight. He was on his way to bed too, but I had told him we would talk before the day was over and I wanted to keep my promise. We chatted for a moment, with me snuggled up in my bed. It was a nice way to end the day.

A post in which I make an official announcement

I sent this email out to my friends today:

I am officially fine, as of today.

I appreciate the concern, and for ya'll putting up with my drunk ass this past couple of days, but you don't have to worry about me any longer; well at least not any more than you did before.

I just realized yesterday/today that:

1. OK, so what I thought was real wasn't real. That sucks, but it's part of getting back out there. I am disappointed that he couldn't communicate with me like a person, and the way he did it was completely shitty; but if he wasn't feeling it, I'm just as well out of it.

2. I didn't fall apart like this over Michael, my real relationship - there's no reason I should after spending a month with a narcissistic emotionally stunted child.

3. There will be other guys, and better guys. This wasn't my last shot. I just got thrown off the horse harder than I was expecting, and with no warning.

4. Getting hurt is the price you pay for being able to put yourself out there. I'm strong enough to survive it if making myself vulnerable gets me hurt. That's part of knowing you are healthy and strong enough to be back out there again.

I am not crawling back into a hole for six months. I am not suicidal. I may be a bit stuck in 'Hook Up To Forget The Ex' stage, but that's not going to go on too long. I think I may be talking to the Rebound Guy right now, but I'm not sure. Details as they happen.

Russ and Billy have official veto power over future boyfriends. If they say he's outta there, then he's gone.

I don't think I'm going to put you through this every time. I know I'm going to get my heart slammed in the door again. But thank you for putting up with the histrionics this time. This was the first time, and poorly done, so it was rough. I must be younger than I thought - I thought I had gotten rid of all the drama queen stuff, but there was still some left. Who knew?

I love you all, and thank you very sincerely for your love and support.

***

I mean it too.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

A post in which I reflect on things, and cook**

I awoke at 5am to the sound of Terry’s *&^%$#!! car alarm going off. Since he had the keys, I couldn’t think of a damn thing to do about it. I could have gone out and broken the window, but of course once I got in I wouldn’t be able to turn the alarm off. I was lying there, kind of half comatose, trying to figure out some kind of solution, when it cut itself off. Good enough. I went back to sleep.

I got back up around 9:30 and turned on the computer. I went to visit a guy I had talked to before online. He apparently has a lot of money, and I know he has some very flattering pictures. That’s all I was going to say about that… Nice enough guy, but built like the “Time for Timer” guy that sang the “Hanker for a hunka cheese” song. In a jock strap, yet.

Leaving there, I decided to go on to the grocery store. I had the directions on the back of my grocery list. I breezed through Publix downtown, and picked up stuff for a pasta recipe I was going to make.

When I got home, though, I just wanted more sleep. I ate some whole wheat bagels I had picked up, along with one of my favorite indulgences – smoked salmon flavored cream cheese. I usually pick some up when I go to the Edge. When we were there though, M wanted to go out for breakfast. The breakfast was kind of a nice compromise between needing to eat something real (whole wheat) with still feeling that I was entitled to indulge myself, since I’m still poorly. I had half a cucumber in the fridge, so I sliced that up and ate it with my bagels.

I turned on Gigi on TCM and watched that while I ate breakfast, then just finished watching the movie. I put in a David Attenborough DVD, which is pretty much as good as a sleeping pill for me. I slept until about 2pm.

Eventually, I decided I had to get up and do something today. I got up, got on the computer. I had been talking to a nice guy online last night, but he wasn’t on today. I ended up going to see another buddy I had kind of dropped ties with for a bit.

When I got home, I went into the kitchen to start cooking. I made a spicy tomato sauce pasta with ricotta salata cheese. It’s a good recipe. Since I had some milk that needed using, I made a cream sauce and mixed that in as well to make a kind of spicy blush sauce. It turned out tasty, but needed more garlic, I’m afraid. It should be better tomorrow.

The penny item at Publix this week was vanilla wafers, so I used up the rest of the milk making some pudding and putting together layered pudding and cookies. I will eat the bananas in polite company, but the real reason I eat banana pudding is for the soft cookies.

I did some laundry, took out the trash, cleaned up the kitchen, and basically just kind of got ready for the week to start. I threw out M's leftover Chinese food, and pondered the compulsion men have to leave dead chickens to rot in my fridge. Michael did the same thing before he moved out.

Lisa called; she had been to brunch with Dad for Father’s Day. Apparently Dad thinks I’m mad at him or something because I haven’t called or sent a card. Interestingly, they didn’t call me about the brunch, although Lisa told me about it yesterday. Frankly, I just plain didn’t go. It takes a lot of energy to deal with them, and I just don’t have it to spare right now. I’ll see him next week some time. I called to talk to him this evening, but there was no answer at home or on his cell, so I just left messages for him. I was actually a bit relieved. I don’t know how good I would be at placating and navigating the complications of his temper at the mo.

I watched the Fox Sunday night line-up and ate a bit of supper.

The guy I had talked to last night is named Jason. He lives in Clemson, and he seems very nice. We started talking because his ex screwed him over as well. But I liked him, and he’s cute as a fucking button. We exchanged numbers last night, and I had planned to call him today, but by the time I kind of felt like it it was after 9pm, and I wasn’t calling someone I didn’t know that well that late. I was quite surprised when the phone rang at 10pm. It was him. Apparently he’s a bit of a night owl. I was very pleased to hear from him, and since I had slept half the day anyway, I didn’t need to go to bed right away. We ended up talking for over an hour. It was nice. He’s a nice guy. He may be the Rebound Guy, but I kind of hope not. We’ll see.

I’ve basically been kind of trying to put things in perspective today, and it kind of boils down to this for me: M isn’t worth all this. He screwed me over, lied to me, and hurt me. But he wasn’t around long enough to warrant this kind of angst. I went into that situation and led with my heart. I was as good to him as I knew how to be. But the first person in any relationship M has is always going to be himself. So what I thought was real wasn’t, and I’m mourning something that didn’t exist. The way he dumped me shows that he never really cared about me at all. I’m done. I’m not letting him affect my happiness or who I am as a person. I refuse to be jaded or bitter.

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.

Trite, but true.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

A post in which my house becomes Drama Central

When I woke up this morning, I really didn't have any idea what I wanted to do today. I really didn't want to do anything. Terry hadn't even woken me up when he left for work this morning, and I usually get up and talk to him a bit.

I lay in bed for a while, messed about on the computer for few minutes, and the phone rang. Russ was calling on the house phone to check on me. I had gone to bed with my cell phone on vibrate last night, and hadn't been able to hear anyone calling. I called Miss Kat and dana, who were worried, and they invited me over. If I had stayed home, I had planned to try to get motivated enough to do some house stuff; but given the choice of spending time with Miss Kat and dana or cleaning house there was pretty much no contest. So I went.

I hadn’t eaten anything this morning, which wasn’t smart, but then I hadn’t been up that long either. It turned out fine. Miss Kat made eggs and cheese grits. I ended up being over there for about five hours, visiting, smoking, and talking. I ran out of cigarettes. Eventually it became obvious that we were all ready to lie down for a while, so I left and went on home.

When I walked out to the car, the heat literally almost took my breath. It was supposed to get up to 100 today. At 3pm, it was 102 according to my car. I got home, detouring around all the fallen trees in their neighborhood from the storms last week. Miss Kat and dana didn’t have power back until Friday night.

Today ushered in the phase of 'Eating Things Which Are Very Very Bad For Me', so I stopped on the way home and bought a bunch of chips and junk, which I ate for lunch. After that I moved to the bedroom, put in Sense and Sensibility, and just laid up for a time. I napped a bit, watched the movie, and just vegged. I put the Basil Rathbone movies away. I know I won’t be watching them for a while.

I got up and messed around on the computer for a bit. I decided to change the sheets. I was still sleeping on the ones we had been on Wednesday night. I decided M hadn't been around long enough to merit an official 'Ritual Cleansing Of The Bedroom', but I certainly needed to wash those sheets, which I did. I did a bit of laundry. I cleaned up the kitchen. There were other things that needed to be done, but I knew I wasn’t going to do them tonight. Had I sat at home tonight, I would have just sat around and felt bad. So I called Billy and Russ to see what they were doing.

Turns out they were having a game night with some friends, and invited me over. We played a phonetics game that was pretty cool. I had some cookies and ice cream for supper. My stomach was hurting, and I knew I was about done with the junk food phase. I was really glad I got small bags of chips and stuff today so there wasn’t a bunch of crap left in the house – I would have eaten it.

I got home around midnight, crept past a sleeping Terry, took my pills, and logged on to the computer for a mo to check my messages. I was actually chatting a bit with a nice guy on Manhunt. And then the real drama started.

The next thing I knew, Terry was standing behind me, saying "Well it must be in the fucking air or something." John had called earlier tonight and told him not to come to Washington. In the face of a real crisis, I got some perspective on my crap. Terry has sold everything he owns, given up the place they were living, and has been sending John money - a good bit of money - towards getting an apartment, utilities turned on, etc. This is also not the first time John has done this to Terry. I frankly never did understand why he went back to the guy. He isn't that nice looking, he isn't self supporting, and a lot of the time they were together here he wasn't even working. I know you can't help whom you love, but I never have understood the attraction.

I finished up online and went in to talk to Terry, who had worked himself up to make a phone call and cuss John out. Which he did. Afterwards, he was like "I need a drink." Well I know how to do this part. I went in the kitchen and got out the vodka. He poured a half a glass straight up, and downed it. He then explained that he had taken 4 Xanex before he went to bed. Within about 20 minutes, he was fairly incoherent. He had called his friend Saundra to come and get him because he wanted to indulge in other substances that I won't allow in my house.

I had already taken a sleeping pill, and it was kicking in. He told me to go lie down, but he became progressively more agitated. He was vacillating between cursing and crying, and in between was walking all over the house, tripping, falling over things, staggering around, and generally just acting a fool. I was afraid he was going to hurt himself, one of the cats, or tear something up. I eventually just had to get up and sit with him to wait for Saundra.

She called the house to get directions, and then Terry decided he was just going to go "drive to the corner to meet her." At this I had to put my foot down. He couldn't even stand up, much less drive. I got him calmed down a bit, grabbed the phone, and gave Saundra the directions.

We eventually got him poured in to her car. I had to basically carry him down my porch steps to make sure he didn't fall and kill himself or something. He kept trying to get back out to get to his car. Fortunately he couldn't find his keys, which I had picked up and packed with his things. This conversation got loud, and it was 2:30am in the morning. I felt embarrassed for my neighbors to hear this, but eventually we got him quieted down and they left.

I went back in the house, collapsed with relief, and went to sleep.

Friday, June 19, 2009

A post in which I return to Spartanburg

Of course, for a different reason than I have been going to Spartanburg lately.

I didn't have a hangover this morning, which is practically a miracle.

Work was work. I had things to do. I did them. It was an odd day. I felt spacey and kind of out of it all day. I wasn't really drunk, but I felt a teeny bit drunk all day. And sleepy.

I did not work out today, although I probably should have. The endorphins might have helped.

Justin and James started texting me today when they found out what happened. They wanted me to come to Spartanburg tonight. I really didn't want to go. What I wanted to do was go home and pull the covers over my head. But I figured I have the rest of my life to do that anyway, right? Initially, I didn't commit, and I frankly figured that James might forget about it, but I underestimated him.

Eventually, I was told that if I did not go to Spartanburg, they would just come down here. Justin threatened to call in a favor I have owed him for a while. In the end, my house is filthy, and it would have been selfish of me to make Justin redeem a favor I owe him to do me another kindness. I gave in and drove up. They wanted to be good to me, and I love them for caring. As I have told my Grandma Shumate many times, sometimes you just have to let people do for you because they love you, and they want to. I also reflected that, although this was not what I thought I needed, I have apparently been a remarkably poor judge of what is good for me of late. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to let someone else decide what I need for a bit.

I resisted the urge to drive by M's house to see if he was at home. I was only going to be one exit away... But I decided that would not be the thing for me to do.

I told them the detailed story of the breakup with M, and the various things he did to try to drive me away before he resorted to actual communication (however thoughtless and inadequate I found said communication). They listened, and both told me they were sorry my feelings were hurt, but that they weren't sorry I was no longer seeing M. They walked the fine line between being derisive of M, while at the same time not denigrating my former object of affection enough to make me feel more stupid than I already do for being interested in him in the first place. Justin walked the line judiciously, and James basically just stomped around it, but both with a touching amount of care. And of course many amusing snarky things were said.

We went out for pizza, and beer was consumed. We stopped for more beer on the way home. It was just as well there was no liquor. I had told Mom I wasn't planning to drink tonight. I really wasn't planning it, but it wasn't a shock to me that it happened. Besides, all she told me was to stay out of the liquor. I have plausable deniability - I did stay out of the liquor. By the time we finished dinner, I felt almost normal for a while. Justin and James basically did a pretty good 'Justin and James Show' and capered for my amusement.

We went back to James' place because we can smoke there, and because he had friends meeting him there to hang out for a while. I met Mandy, a woman that James knows from work and her husband Bobby (aka Stumpy), a veteran of the Iraqi conflict. They were nice. We hung out, shot the shit, drank, and talked.

I have been mentally going through the list of cliche break-up acting out behaviors. I got through most of them in 36 hours. Pretty good.

1 - get very, very drunk - did that last night (and some tonight too)
2 - send drunken text messages and drunk-dial people
3 - have irresponsible sex with a stranger

Well James' lover Jeff came home from work about the time we got to the house. He isn't a stranger, but I hadn't slept with him before. I guess that counts.

I have to get through the Ritual Cleansing of the Bedroom, which is kind of my own personal one, and then of course there is the Purging of His Shit from the house. I'm letting him take the lead on that one. He left a couple of articles of clothing here. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to wash them or not. That was the last thing I did for Michael before he left. I washed all of his clothes. The morning he left, I folded the last of the clean clothes into a large cardboard box, weeping because I would never wash his clothes again. Yeah, I know.

The last stage is the best one. That of Eating Many Things Which Are Really Bad for Me. That one is actually fun. I may buy a pint of ice cream to finish it off.

Part of this I don't even think is about him. It's about how I could think this man was showing me something real. How SURE I was that I was doing just the right thing, going into this the right way. I thought I was just so smart. It shakes my confidence in myself that I could be so wrong about someone. Thinking I had struck gold when it was just iron pyrite. The other part, of course, is that this is the first guy since Michael that I've had any feelings for. I thought this was my second chance, and I was going to put my whole heart in to it. At my age, I just don't know if there's going to be another chance. I'm trying to be OK with that, but I was so happy to think I might get the chance to share my life again with someone wonderful. It's hard to lay that down.

I got home about 3am, and sneaked in past a sleeping Terry. It was way time to get in my empty bed.

A post in which this quote is echoing around in my head

"Damn Mrs. Pearce, damn the coffee and damn you! And damn my own folly forlavishing my hard-earned knowledge and the treasure of my regard and intimacy on a heartless guttersnipe!" - Rex Harrison as Professor Higgins, My Fair Lady

A post in which I indulge in tragically dramatic song lyrics

Well I went into this with ridiculous music. It seems appropriate that I should come out of it the same way. Please forgive my adolescence, gentle readers. Pretty trite, huh? About as trite as an old guy falling for a young beauty. There is nothing new under the sun anyway.


Calm Before the Storm

Hotel room survival,
Room without a view,
Beside table Bible,
Throws the book at you,
And you can't make your mind up,
If you're angry or your dumb,
But you know the night before,
Has left you cold and numb,
Leave your bags unopened,
And feel a thousand years old,
In this room you've picked,
You feel you've been kicked,
Hard in the soul.

And it's the calm before the storm,
No one's arms to keep you warm,
And as the calm before the storm decends,
I know I'll never, never touch you again.

Hotel room survivor,
Divided in your thoughts,
Multiply the reasons,
Add up all the naughts,
You don't have to be a genius,
To put together two and two,
But everytime he's home,
He says he's so in love with you.

But lies and poor excuses,
Will always be the same,
And it's never you that chooses,
To be left out in the rain.
And it's the calm before the storm,
No one's there to keep you warm anymore,
And as the calm before the storm decends,
I know I'll never, ever touch you..again

Sheena Easton

A post in which my horoscope continues to be hopelessly dildonic

Quickie

You and you-know-who are like a super compatible team -- here, there and everywhere!

Overview

Try to wrap your head around some new idea or concept that is making its way through your world -- it's easier than you'd think! Your mental energy can absorb almost anything, of any size.

A post in which I probably shouldn't be posting

This post is going to be one big fucking pity party. You have been warned.

Well I couldn't really go home when I got off work today. I had to go get my hair cut. I'd already forgotten an appointment on Wednesday. So anxious to get home to M you know. I stopped on the way and bought a bottle of Wild Turkey. It has been a long time since I drank it. It tastes like despair. The choice of redneck fucking losers everywhere, now in the convenient 200ml traveling heartbreak size. Not the best tasting stuff in the world, but after a while it goes down easy enough.

I got drunk enough tonight to see the pile of withered branches we cut out of the yard together as poetic metaphor.

So this is my re-entry into the dating world. After two and a half fucking years. I go back into the pool with a huge belly flop - a spectacular fucking failure.

I can't even blame him for this. This is my fault. I'm just an old, used-up, fat, stupid fucking moron. How could I ever have thought someone like him could have feelings for someone like me? You know how you see some moronic doddering 80 year old who marries some gorgeous 20-something because he thinks she actually loves him? That's me. You know how idiot women stay with abusive men because they think if they just love him enough they'll fix him? That's me. I suppose I should be grateful he doesn't care enough to beat me. I wish someone would. I'd like to go get in a fight and just have the ever loving snot beat out of me. Although the liquor does a pretty damn good job of making the outside feel as bad as the inside does. He told me when he first met that I shouldn't put people into classes, and that I should see what happened when I stopped doing that. Well yeah, M, I see what happens. This is what I get for having aspirations above my station.

There used to be a video they played at the bar, way back when in the beginning days of CGI. A fish falls in love with a bird, and the resultant difficulty. Yeah this is what happens when a warty old toad fish falls in love with a bird of paradise. Splat.

Of course now I realize what was going on last weekend. He went off to River's Edge to act out. He then told me about it in hopes that I would break up with him. I wasn't even smart enough to keep that much of my dignity. I thought he was insecure about the relationship, and just needed reassurance. What a fucking joke. Russ blames Glen for all this, not that I need anyone else to help me fuck up my life - I usually do quite well on my own.

My fault. That's what I keep coming back to. I have disrespected people who really care about me. I have gone against the advice of good friends. I was warned. I knew this guy's reputation. And yet I, pathetic love-starved moron, went tits to the wind, joyously into the abattoir.

My friends have been very kind. As I was lying here drunk tonight, Laura called, Miss Kat called, dana called, Mys Shay called this afternoon. I had texts from lots of people today. They were very kind. When I got home, I had no power. Perfect fucking ending to a perfect fucking day.

When I woke up this morning, everything was fine. We took a shower together and I saw him off to work with a kiss. And now I'm back amongst the other rejects. Where I guess I belong. I guess I'll get used to it again. Like I have a fucking choice, right?

I threw up for a while, which was probably a good thing. My mother called eventually, and told me to take some aspirins and go to bed. So I did. I went to bed on sheets that we had made love on just the night before. Well, I was making love anyway.

The power has come back on, and I woke up freezing. I'm as cold and bleak as my heart and future.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Proof positive that horoscopes are full of shit

Virgo
8/23 – 9/22

Quickie
Your bags are packed and you're ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Is it love?

Overview
You're much closer to someone today -- or maybe to a group of people! It's a good time to work together on big projects, or to make plans that assume this same kind of bond in the future.

My heart is broken

Well M broke up with me today by fucking email. Out of the fucking blue. In the middle of the fucking work day. This morning, everything was apparently fine. We had been passing an email back and forth today about how our day was going. The subject of the email was “Hi Honey.” Here is the last response I got:

I have been thinking about us, our relationship, and my emotional development; I enjoy our time together and the friendship that we have developed, but the emotions of a deeper relationship just aren’t coming.

I think we have the opportunity of a really good friendship and support for each other. I would very much like to remain being your friend and doing things with you.
It sounds like a fucking rejection from a job interview or something.

Yesterday was our one month anniversary. Here is the email got from him yesterday,in response to my Happy Anniversary email:

And what a wonderful month it has been. I also have enjoyed getting to know
you and sharing our time together. I don’t think it was just your heart that I
woke up.

I can’t explain why I have started to show my softer side, but you
sure have made it easy to be myself.

I have no idea how to process this. It is out of the fucking blue. I am devastated.

I did finally get him on the phone today, at which point he had nothing coherent to say, other than that I am at a totally different place than he is.

Maybe I wasn’t ready to be out there again. I certainly don’t feel very strong at the moment. I just want to go somewhere and cry. But I have to somehow get through the rest of this Goddamn fucking awful, awful day.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

A post in which I drop, but more gently than I have at times

Discord must have just been in the atmosphere today. M and I both had lousy days at work. My boss kept me at my desk through my lunch hour, waiting for status on one account (that didn't come through) for a presentation I was doing for a meeting that he then canceled. Grrrrrrrrrr.

I found out yesterday that Anna doesn’t work in the cafeteria at work any longer. I was disappointed about that; I’ll miss seeing her every day. I left her a message yesterday, but of course didn’t get a response. She is really hard to get a hold of. But I called her this afternoon and caught her. We ended up talking for about 45 minutes. She caught me up on what was going on with her, and I told her all about SELF. She badly wants to get into the life, but just doesn’t seem to be able to reach out for it. It was really good to talk to her though.

I hit the gym and then ran by the grocery store after work. M had called to say he was having dinner with friends, and would be down after that. I grabbed some salad and grocery store sushi for dinner, and threw in a load of laundry when I got home.

I have been obsessively checking email today to see if I have a response from Big Red. She sent me an email last night, saying that she would look over my write-up this morning, and I haven’t heard from her. I don’t know if this is a patience exercise, or if she’s just tied up with other things. Mys Shay, though, sent a super nice email telling me how much she enjoyed what I wrote. I’ve decided not to call Big Red yet. When I talked to her last, she sounded as if she had a lot going on, kind of distant. I’m not sure if that was just my interpretation or not – her emails have been very nice. But I’m not going to bug her about this just yet. I’m taking a page from Robin’s book – I am patience. Well I know I’m supposed to be anyway.

I have generally just been feeling out-of-sorts, impatient, and like a wig that has been through the clothes dryer today. I guess today was my drop day. It’s always hard to shift from your True Self and what’s really important back to the inanity and stupidity you have to deal with in day-to-day life. Maybe that’s what heaven is. A place where you live life as it should be lived – doing only things that matter with people you care about - in a bullshit free zone. It’s a nice thought anyway.

I was messing around on the computer when M came in from dinner. We started venting about our days, and just ended up lying on the bed and talking for a good while. I love those kind of talks, when you have nowhere you have to be, and time to just wander through subjects and enjoy each other's company. When you have a chance to get to know each other better.

We ended up just reading together in the bed until it was time to turn in.

We were both kind of ready for sleep, but we found the energy to say goodnight properly :-)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

A post in which I go back to work

Eventually, of course, the real world had to intervene again. It was OK. I like mornings when M and I get ready together. There is something very intimate about preparing to face the day with someone.

Work wasn’t as bad as I had expected. I’m still waiting on that backlog of accounts to hit, but it hasn’t yet. By the end of the day, I was pretty much caught up.

M had called tonight as a ‘time off’ night; we can both use more “me time” than we have been getting. I hit the gym and came home to start the cooking I was supposed to do yesterday. I turned out four new lunches in pretty short order, and ate some left-over squash with saffron rice (that needed to be eaten) for dinner. I folded a load of laundry, and sat down to do my homework.

Big Red, like Mys Shay, likes to have a write-up done about a scene after it is over. She had sent me her format today, which is surprisingly formal, but nothing that I couldn’t do. I talked to her a couple of times tonight, asking for clarification. Writing about the scene was relatively easy, once I got it kind of organized in my head, but she also told me she wanted impressions about the whole weekend. That was a bit more work than I had thought it was going to be.

I also had my check-in call to do with Mys Shay tonight. Many Dommes will schedule a check-in call to see how you’re doing 24-48 hours after a scene. I ended up talking to her for a while. I really enjoy talking to Mys Shay. She is very down to earth, and I love that I can really talk to her in a relaxed way. I am respectful, of course, but she doesn’t demand excessive protocol outside of a scene. That’s easier for me. I just like her style, and see her as a friend. We ended up talking for longer than I expected; but I was really enjoying the conversation, as usual.

After the phone call, I finished up my homework, sent it out, and went to bed. I’m tired.

Monday, June 15, 2009

A post in which I get a few things done

I had taken the day off work today as a “drop” day. After a heavy scene, you fly for a while on endorphins, but you pay for that with a drop later many times. I was up early, about 5am. I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn’t. I was fidgety and antsy. I didn’t want to keep M awake, so eventually I just got up and came on home.

I had talked to Terry last night and told him I was staying in Spartanburg, so he just stayed at my place again last night. I figured he would be up at 6:30am to go to work anyway, and I’d try sleeping some more after he left; but he was off today. I read for a while on the sofa, and eventually drifted off there for a while. We both woke up around 9 or so, and started talking.

I made some coffee, and we smoked and talked for about two hours. We haven’t seen that much of each other since he’s been staying at the house. I’ve had a lot going on and have been out of town a lot, and even when I’m in town he leaves for work very early. I told him all about SELF, and we both talked about boyfriend problems and possible solutions. It was nice to have the luxury of mutual time for a good long talk with an old friend.

Around 11, I decided that I had to start getting something done, and he headed on home. I did some laundry and put fresh sheets on the bed. I had a bite to eat, read for a bit, and tried to get a little more sleep, but it just wasn’t working. I just got up, hauled stuff to the Goodwill, took the recycling, and ran to the grocery store.

I got home just in time to miss a thunderstorm. I had intended to do some cooking today for this week, but by the time I got home it was after 5. M was getting home about 6:30, and I had told him I would go to his place again tonight since I was off today. I stashed the groceries, saw to the cats, got cleaned up, and headed for Spartanburg.

M and I have agreed that we need to eat more at home. We’re both broke from a month-long blitz of nearly nightly dating. He was eating at his place, so I ran by Subway and just grabbed a veggie sub. Not the healthiest thing, but better than some stuff I could have eaten.

M and I ended up watching episodes of True Blood while we ate and snuggled. I had seen most of the first season with Russ and Billy (as well as having read the series of books on which the show is based), but M hadn’t seen them all. It’s a good show, and the episodes were worth sitting through again. Tara’s Southern accent is atrocious, but I like her character enough to look past it. Bill is a bit too brooding and his Elvis impersonation gets on my nerves, but I guess they have to have some way for him to be obviously different from the humans.

M apparently has a vampire fetish, and going to bed tonight was interesting. Maybe we need to watch more vampire stuff. I’m thinking maybe I’ll dress up as a vampire for Halloween this year…

Sunday, June 14, 2009

A post in which I learn a valuable lesson, and take it home with me

I was up early this morning, surprisingly. When I finally got to bed last night I was still wired for sound basically. R&B and I talked for a while, but then they went to sleep. And snored. Russ snores pretty badly. Then a scene started up across the hall. By this time it was like 4am, and I’m thinking I know they came to play, but give me a break!

I didn’t want to wake Russ and Billy, so I just got dressed as quietly as I could and left the room. I went downstairs and got a cup of coffee, then headed out to find some cigarettes. I had run out yesterday, and had been bumming off Mys Shay last night. I walked around for a while in the relative quiet of a Sunday morning in Decatur. I was still feeling really good. I eventually found a grocery store and got some smokes, then headed back to the hotel. There were a couple of other subs standing around outside, and we started talking. We talked about managing energy, how we each worked through pain, etc. Sub talk. One woman, orange, was very sweet, and talked to me for a long time about my new relationship with M, and how this trip had affected it, among other things. She had gotten matching cuttings on her thighs last night that were really cool.

I was very reassured to get some text messages from M this morning, and we had been texting back and forth a bit. I had left him a voice mail last night before I went down to the dungeon, but didn’t hear back from him last night. He went back to River’s Edge this weekend with Glen. He was in his usual jokey, snarky mode today, but as usual after a whoopin, I had the strength of ten Grinches plus two, was radiating sweetness, and kind of in “choir boy” mode.

I headed on in to the dungeon area, and just sat for a while in the space we had played in last night, getting in a little ‘air time’ before breakfast.

Eventually, Billy texted me that they were up, and I went upstairs to pack while he was in the shower. I got cleaned up and got all my stuff ready to go. When I went into the bathroom, I could see that I had lovely flogging patches on my shoulder blades from last night, and beautiful dark purple spots, kind of like leopard spots, across my shoulders. Eventually Russ got up, and we decided to go get brunch while Billy packed them up. He didn’t think he could walk to the restaurant. Russ and I went downstairs, and finally got our SELF t-shirts. They found two tank tops, but it was touch and go for a minute there. Russ gave me the first one, which I thought was very nice of him.

I remembered that Café Alsace had a brunch menu, and I had been wanting to try the food there, so we strolled over. The inside of the place was thick with ambiance. It was a small bistro with high ceilings. There were shelves all the way up the walls on the right, with various little things for sale (French soaps, little coffee sets, etc). On the left wall were many pictures (the ubiquitous French art advertising posters present among them, of course), and a vintage bicycle hung from the ceiling. The dishes on the menu were in French, but the food descriptions in English. The café au lait was translated as a latte, which kind of killed my hope that they would have true café au lait mixed at table. I had put my tank top on, and I could see the waitress sneaking glances at my shoulders as she took our order. I actually thought that was very funny. I felt extremely kinky sitting in this little café, my badges of honor for the world to see. It was like something out of a book.

We ordered our food and chatted in between listening to the very opinionated woman at the next table carry on a conversation with the waitress, the person at the table next to her, and pretty much anyone else who would listen. I was amused by the dĂ©cor, which was just a tad pretentious. They had bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau set high on shelves, as if to age, which was funny to me. Our food came. Russ had a crepe, which he said was delicious. I had an Omlette de Champignons-Epinard – a spinach and mushroom omelet (I couldn’t decide if I really wanted it, or if I just ordered it just because it was so much fun to say). I had ordered a side of hollandaise to go with it, but theirs wasn’t as good as mine. I like extra lemon, and this was a bit lumpy. We both ate cold, hard, European-style toast with what proclaimed itself to be French strawberry jam, but came in little plastic tubes.

We took a croissant sandwich back to Billy (I know, about as French as the so-named dressing), but he said it was soggy and not good. I was disappointed for him, because I had bought brunch as a way to say thank you to them for letting me stay in their room. That was the only way I could really afford to take this trip.

We got the cars all packed up, and then went on to the classes for today. I went into Big Red’s class on communication more to see more of she and dillan than because of the subject, but it turned out to be exactly what I needed. First, I learned what kind of communicator I am, and finally figured out the role I had in the death of the relationship with Michael. That was a huge thing. Secondly, it gave me the tools of how to have a conflict discussion without it turning into something unhealthy (hopefully). I have been feeling static on the line with M since last Thursday, and felt that now I could discuss it with him in the right way.

After class, R&B came in to say their good-byes. They were getting on the road. I was ready to go too, but there was a cookout going on, and Big Red, dillan, and lydia were going over there. They talked me into going with them. In truth, I did want to spend some more time with them, but I was torn because I was also anxious to get home. It was 4pm. When we went outside, they were out of plates at the cookout, and there was a long line. I was antsy, and Big Red could tell, so she gave me leave to go. I said my goodbyes to them and to Mys Shay, and hit the road.

I texted M as I left, and let him know I was on the way. He was surprised I was just then leaving, as was I. I had intended to come back earlier today, but was really glad I had stayed for the class. I got home, unpacked, cleaned up, and headed for his place. There was still static on the line between us. After being apart for three days, it sounded to me as if he was still making noises like he really didn’t want to see me initially. I found out why when I got to the house.

He has been having some problems he didn’t talk to me about, and acted out this weekend while I was gone. I hadn’t really intended to have this talk tonight. He was tired from camping and partying this weekend, and I was still kind of flying from the weekend. I was tired too – I only had about 4 hours sleep last night. But once we got started, I knew we needed to go ahead and do this. When he first told me about what happened, I was really hurt. I felt my heart just crush in my chest. But because I had the tools to talk to him about what happened, I thought it turned into a fairly productive talk about the relationship. M was also horrified when he saw my back. Apparently although he has dated a leather guy before, he wasn’t a heavy player. There are still things we need to talk about, but I feel as if we have re-established our connection.

We celebrated our reunion in appropriate and exuberant fashion, and then drifted off to sleep.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

A post in which it is the Main Event

I have struggled to try to put this into some kind of narrative in my head without “editing” the impressions or making them less organic to the experience. It was very complex for me and I went to a LOT of places that kept shifting like a kaleidoscope.

I was nervous before the scene. I usually am. Big Red had told me to be downstairs at 11 when the dungeon opened, then changed it to 11:15. I ended up outside smoking, which of course then made me more nervous because I had smoker's breath. It is hard for me to lay down physical concerns (bad breath, gas, having to pee, etc – these stem from body insecurity issues. One of my favorite things about playing is that is one of the few times the inner body critic shuts down and I don’t hear that little voice in my head telling me I’m fat, etc.)

Finally lydia came outside, and told me that everyone was down, but that I could finish my cigarette.

I trusted Big Red to take care of me – we had great energy, and I knew that if she was a close friend of Mys Shay's it was all good; but part of what I knew was that she has reputation as a heavy player. That’s good and bad. Good because she can take me to places I haven’t been, but bad for the same reason. I have a good idea of what I have done, and am confident in that, but I am also concerned about not disappointing during a scene – it is hard for me to end a scene when I'm in over my head. I have fainted during scenes before, and when I did I can’t shake the feeling that I have failed. It is really hard for me to say “no more” of something – that is why I prefer to communicate non-verbally, with sounds and movement.

It ended up being Big Red, Mys Shay, dillan, and lydia doing the scene with me. They started off with a group hug that felt really similar to the energy the night before. They bumped around in between them all. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to feel threatening - I felt less “ganged up on” than surrounded by a group of playful people – kind of like a beach ball - a new toy they were going to enjoy. That felt good!

We were playing on a big aluminum i-beam frame that had a padded platform suspended from it by chains. I thought they would put me on the platform, but instead they braced me against one of the support bars. Initially, was a bit worried about being braced on a bar. I don’t like worrying about my feet during a scene (which is why I like the horse so much), but that turned out to be a non-issue.

Before the scene started, I was blindfolded. The blindfold was a concern, but ended up being a very very good thing. In the past, blindfold play has made me less able to control my flight (visual focus being one tool i use to “reel in”), and I have flown too high, lost control, and had to end the scene. But I have grown as a player since then. The blindfold in this instance I think definitely facilitated my gaining headspace so quickly. On the one hand, I really loved being in the center of the big room, where everyone could see. Part of me loves attention, but of course that isn’t what a scene is about. Because I couldn’t see anyone watching it kept that attention from distracting me, kept me more “true” to the scene, and definitely contributed to some of the headspace. As it turned out, I didn't have to worry about controlling my own flight, they did a really good job of just pulling me in and out of places at will, like a kite on a string in the hands of a master kite-flyer. No kite-eating trees in this sky!

Interestingly, the music that was being played faded out, and music in my head was louder. At this point I was hearing the song “Three Hits” by the Indigo Girls, as I had intermittently all day when I thought about the upcoming scene. That hasn’t happened to me before, although music is a huge thing for me in a scene.

Flogging, for me, is going home. Those deep thuds on my shoulder blades are reassuring in a way I can’t really explain, and have been since I first felt them on my back. A feeling of being relaxed and in my place comes over me. Flogging in this case was joy – a pure, almost childlike joy. I felt like a gull, racing over the waves – I could see sea spray glittering in the sun. As the thudding intensified, I became the bird. I flew straight up to the sun, as if trying to reach it. But then there was a sensation of flying too high. As the impact on my back increased (I believe from a paddle on my shoulders) I was pulled abruptly to a very dark place.

Diving, I found myself in a black space. I felt utterly alone in this place. The place itself was silent, but it was as if there was a ghost of the real world there. Part of my consciousness of course still knew that the crowd was there, and that of course the others in the scene were there, but everything seemed muffled – sounds, presences, even the pain to a point. I was abruptly overcome with grief – in my mind I was on my knees before a plain black box/altar. The only light in this place came from above, and was focused on this bare altar in front of me. I somehow knew that this was where I was supposed to lay some things down – things I’d been carrying as burdens. I felt intense, overwhelming grief that was nameless and unfocused. That was when I began to cry for the first time. i had been carrying grief for my grandparents who died (two in the last month) because there had been so much going on there had been no time for me to grieve. It is really hard for me to cry, no matter how badly I need to. But this felt larger, much larger, as if i was grieving all pain, all death, all loneliness, all tragedy. The tears felt cathartic and cleansing.

As the pain increased, I was abruptly wrenched from this place. Pain on my ass feels hot, salty, and makes me crave more – it’s coppery like blood and salty like potato chips, but tasted with the skin. It brings out a bestial side. The animal in me snarls or growls with pleasure. Pain on my back feels similar, but it is less visceral and more spiritual. Too much pain breaks that space and puts me in penitent space. I cried out in despair and desperation, asking for mercy. I went to that place several times.

Sometimes, the overload would put me back into the black place, and even after the intensity lessened, I would still feel the need to cry. At first I was worried that tears would change the energy of the scene, despite Mys Shay’s reassurances. She was abruptly pulling me in and out of that space by tapping my dick and making a funny voice, going “oops, it’s in the way” and stuff (she only touches my penis during a scene if it is in the way). When she did that, I couldn’t help but giggle. That was odd, up and down, in and out of that space so quickly. I’ve never vacillated so violently between two totally different places. What made it OK was when I felt her in my face, crooning as she drank in that tearful energy. That happened the fourth time i cried. When I could tell it was bringing pleasure, that made it OK to do it for real, and I let go. That was when the crying started for the final time.

That was about the time some horribly stingy thing was being used on my shoulders - it felt like a neoprene looped or braided flogger. I don’t know what it was, because of course I couldn’t see it, but it hurt like hell. Big Red checked in with me and asked could I take some more for her though, and of course there was no way I was going to say no. And I did take it. Willingly. I am used to “1 to grow on”, but not to “5 or 6 to grow on”! Just as I was beginning to think i couldn’t take any more, she stopped and switched toys.

I remember some deep thuds on my ass, but had no idea what they were. I was very surprised later to find out that I had been kicked. I kind of wish I had seen that – I like boots, and that could have been hot to me.

Then I got a real scare, for moment. I remember Mys Shay telling me it was OK if I needed to end the scene if I needed to. Then she asked “OK, are you ready?” At first I thought she was asking me if i was OK for the scene to start! I had a panicked moment thinking “OH FUCK – all this was just the warm-up??” Then of course I realized what she meant.

Eventually, I was so high on endorphins I was swaying around when I wasn't being worked. They moved to bend me over the platform. I was totally flying. It seemed distracting and unnecessary to move, but of course they were right. I think they were afraid I was going to fall over. When I bent over and some more ass work started, I remember feeling like they were just tearing me up, but I guess i was still tender from the night before, because I didn’t have any marks on my behind the next day. Big Red did a lot of hand work on me, which I like. I love to spanked with hands. She got up behind me and dry-humped me, which a lot of Dommes seem to like.

She decided to get up on top of me on the platform, which was the only part of things that really went wrong. It was just too much. I felt as if my ribs were being crushed. I couldn’t get my breath, and my voice was so hoarse by this time that they couldn't hear me. I felt like I was smothering. Even for a short time after Big Red moved, my ribs hurt. That abruptly pulled me out of headspace. By that time the scene was pretty much over though.

Big Red didn't do extensive aftercare, but she did ask me what I needed, which was nice. I used to like a lot of aftercare, but now i find that sometimes it interferes with my endorphin flight. Generally i would rather sit and talk (and smoke) than hug, cuddle, etc for an extended period of time. After a scene I always have a “just been to church” feeling, but I felt more cleansed than usual. I felt as if I had been scrubbed clean.

It was a very good scene, and by far the most intense one I have ever experienced. After sitting for moment and having some water, I went outside to smoke with Mys Shay. We had started about 11:30. It was now almost 2am, and the dungeon was closing. I was shocked that I had been gone that long. But really, really happy about it too.

A post in which it is a busy SELF day

R, B, and I got up fairly early this morning, all things considered. I had been trying not to wake them up, but when I got back in the bed this morning after the pee alarm went off, I heard them start shifting around.

I debated on showering before breakfast, but decided I didn’t need to, having just showered before going down to the play space last night. Russ was saying “Pew! You smell like a spanked ass!” which I found endlessly hilarious.

We went down to breakfast at the hotel buffet. I thought the food was good, but the main reason we went was that they had gotten free food vouchers from the desk for meals over a room mix-up. We certainly didn’t go for the service, which sucked. I could have thirsted to death. The hotel was very over-booked, and they weren’t able to get a double room as requested. As a consequence, I am sleeping on a roll-away bed. That’s fine, but it’s not what we wanted. The roll-away is ok, but it bows down in the middle, and since I sleep on my stomach it kind of messes with my back.

By the time we finished breakfast the vendor area had opened. We went over to get SELF t-shirts, but they hadn’t put them back out for sale today for some reason. When we went through yesterday, nothing had really caught my eye. Going through, Billy and I were again lusting over this cute guy there selling stuff. He was straight, of course, but today he was wearing a leather men’s corset that one of the vendors there was selling. It looked so hot on him that I decided to try one on. I liked it so much I just went ahead and bought it. The price was fairly reasonable for that type of thing.

Ordinarily, I don’t wear a lot of leather. Usually when I see a guy dripping in leather, the first thought in my mind is that he’s compensating for something, or that he’s a leather fetishist instead of someone truly interested in BDSM. There are a lot of leather “daddies” out there who would faint dead away at the sight of a whip in use. Some guys can pull it off and it's like their leather is a part of them, but generally it's not the guys wearing 18 pounds of studs that spell out "Daddy" on every thing they own. Generally if you have to have a paddle tell me who you are, you're not who you think you are, IMHO. It also kind of wars with my veggie sensibilities to put on half a cow. But I have been looking for something new to wear to the camp out. My repertoire of fetish wear is very limited, but it usually doesn’t matter because I don’t have it on that much anyway. Still, it will be nice to have something new to show up in.

When we walked out, Miss Kat and dana were downstairs, and we stood and talked to them for a while. We ended up going back through the vendor area with Miss Kat. Corsets of all kinds are very hot this year, and there were a couple of people selling various styles. One in particular had caught my eye, because I thought it looked like Miss Kat. I was going to show it to her, but she got caught up talking to someone, and we went on to another area.

Russ and I decided to go get some lunch, but Billy didn’t feel like going. We had a demo with Russ that afternoon. So Billy lay down in the room while Russ and I went off exploring. We eventually settled on a little quirky coffee shop called Javamonkey, and had quite nice sandwiches and organic sodas. By the time we finished up lunch and got back to the hotel, it was time for the demo. I showered up and we went on down to the demo room. Unfortunately the demo room we had was one that was very hot. It was so hot in there that the door to the hall had been propped open to try to get some AC in there, and there were fans set up.

Also unfortunately, both Billy and I were nervous. Billy isn’t really a show off, and even if you are, it’s very different to be naked in front of a room full of clothed people than it is just be in a group of naked people. Also he had his back to worry about. Russ started talking about erotic shaving (the demo he was doing on Billy) but before he got ready for the actual demo to begin, we both had to go pee again. When we got back, he got to work on Billy.

I was concerned because Russ and I have never done anything remotely sexual. We are buds and just don’t see each other that way. Since he was going to demo cock and ball worship on me, you really want the demo to get hard, and I just didn’t think I could. I really thought it would be weird energy. By the time I got up there, I had to pee again too. He got started on me. Several people had remarked to me that they were expecting the demo to segue into CBT, which I am not at all into. It really didn’t –much. Russ, as a sadist, was naturally enjoying having me in a situation where I was in his control. Of course I wasn’t going to say anything in front of people and embarrass him pretty much whatever he did, and he knew that. He started off showing the CBW, but strayed. He had me oiled up and was doing manipulation on me. I had told him he could stretch my scrotum as much as he wanted. He had already done some light slapping and heavier tooth work with a comb on my taint, which of course I liked; but he then began pulling on my nuts! He pulled them almost to the point that I was going to have to say something. When he let go, they ached. There was just no way George was going to cooperate with all that going on. He was like, “fuck this, I’m checking out”, and he did. My dick lolled around like a lazy slug for the full demo.

After that, I went upstairs to put some more clothes on, clean up a bit, and visit dana in her room. I rounded up Russ and we met in there. It turned out that Miss Kat had bought the exact corset I thought looked like her, just in a different color. We visited for a while, and then got a call from Big Red and dillan. They had decided to eat at the hotel buffet for supper rather than try to go out somewhere. There was a Mexican buffet set up, it wasn’t crowded, and that suited me fine; but the service still sucked. I eventually chased down a waitress from another section to get some tea. How hard is it to fill tea glasses at a buffet? I ate supper with them and a group of their friends. It was a nice enough meal; I got to meet some new people, and R&B showed up to eat as well.

By the time we were through with supper, I was tired. It had been a long day, and I had a big scene coming up tonight with Big Red. I figured I needed to lie down and rest for a while before I got cleaned up for the dungeon. We went outside and smoked and talked to various people for a while. Kimberli came through. I adore Kimberli, and talked to her for a bit. I talked to a very nice woman named Ms. Marci. She's involved with KEY. That's another local group with which I haven't been that closely associated, but she was very nice. We talked about maybe playing later, I liked her, and she likes to flog (Yay!), but explained that Big Red had first dibs on my butt tonight. When I looked over at Billy, though, I could tell he was hurting. Eventually, I pulled him away and took him upstairs for us both to rest. I got him tucked in with ice, patches, a tens unit, ect. We were going to try to nap, but I can never nap at an event. I had too much going on, was too keyed up about tonight, and there’s just too much energy flying everywhere. Russ came in too, and we all started talking. We ended up just lying around talking.

I realized about 8 that I had missed the open play room for puppies. I really wanted to see that. Puppy play interests me, but I haven’t ever seen it done.

Big Red had already texted to tell me that my scene tonight would not be with just her, but with a whole gang o women! Part of me was thinking “Yay!”, but part of me was thinking “Eek!”, kind of like when you see a roller coaster you’re going to ride, and although you know you won’t really be hurt, that back part of your mind is still thinking maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all…