I was in boy mode driving through this parking lot the other evening around dusk and saw a lonely looking homeless woman over by the sidewalk with a cardboard sign. I sometimes give my spare change to the homeless (there are so many of them in L.A.) It’s not that I’m especially compassionate or religious or anything but I get this voice in my head saying, well, what if it was Jesus? I’d be the first to admit I probably do it because it makes me feel like I’m a “nice” person.

So anyway, I pulled over and she said, “Thank you, Ma’am.” Then immediately caught herself and seemed really embarrassed and said, “I’m sorry…Sir.” I smiled and said, “That’s Okay!” and drove off. I love when that happens – It really made my day.

This is about as trivial as it gets, but it’s amazing how tasty the .99 cent double cheeseburger is at McDonalds. How can something so cheap taste so good? I try not to eat them very often because they’re total crap but whenever I do, it’s like slipping into a warm bath, and nearly as good as an orgasm. The whole world just disappears around me. The good side of me wants to eat salads and go running. And the devil side wants to eat cheeseburgers and chocolate shakes till I suffer a heart attack or stroke.

I just wanted to re-post some information on what sounds like an exciting series of workshops with Charly B, who’s a master at doing suspension bondage. The workshops will be held at Passive Arts Studios close to LAX. I probably will only be able to attend a couple of these Sundays but I’m sure it’ll be a good class. Charly’s a really nice guy and extremely talented. Highly recommended.

For more information, check out the SoCalSMEvents Yahoo Group and look for the post titled “Learn Rope Bondage from an Expert.”

ROPE BONDAGE WORKSHOPS BY CHARLY B

STARTS SUNDAY, MARCH 25TH FROM 3 TO 6 PM

PASSIVE ARTS STUDIOS
10914 SO. LA CIENEGA BLVD
Los Angeles, CA 90304
(310) 410-1144

MARCH 25: BASICS:
Characteristics of hemp and safety.

APRIL 8: BEDROOM BONDAGE:
Cuffs and full access tie downs

APRIL 15: PARTIAL SUSPENSION 1:
Couples play

APRIL 22: PARTIAL SUSPENSION 2:
Predicament bondage

APRIL 29: BASIC SUSPENSION:
Theory

MAY 6: ADVANCED SUSPENSION TECHNIQUES:

COST PER WEEK: $ 25.00 SINGLE $ 40.00 COUPLE

I had a really good time with the Rope Bondage Workshop earlier today. Some days I’ll find myself feeling awkward and clumsy, but today I was really in the zone and things seemed to flow very well. I did a presentation on decorative bondage, specifically the Japanese-style “tortoise shell harness” that makes those pretty diamond shapes, and also the rope corset and some artsy macrame things you can do with it. It was a nice change, not the style of bondage that I normally do, but it felt good, and people seemed engaged. I think there were about twelve or so people there, including quite a few new faces.

I was reading this article on exercise and mental health in Newsweek and wondering about my own situation. I’ve been on anti-depressants for years, and they’ve done wonders, but I still have days when I’m feeling way more down than I like to admit. I’m grateful to have the meds, but it’s also a hassle to be taking them for years and years. And although I’m pretty good at exercising – mainly running and simple pilates mat exercises – I know I could do better. So I’m in one of those, “Hmm, what could I do to improve things?” kinds of moods.

By the way, the Club Fantasy party last Friday was excellent. I got to play with a couple of lovely friends and ended up in a nice pole tie in the “garage” room. A few other regulars, and a friend whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, showed up too and provided a nice audience.

Next month’s party is going to be moved forward one week, due to a prior event at the Clubhouse, so mark your calendar for April 27th for the next one.

Just came across this interesting word…

Merinthophobia: The fear of being bound or tied up.

It’s been forever since I’ve seen Rebecca H. Heels, but finally this last weekend we were able to work out our schedules and I headed down to Orange County for a little visit. She always does me up in the most over the top kind of look, and she put me into some inescapable leather strap bondage while she teased me and clicked away with her camera. Here’s a couple of preview shots. I’ll put the full set up on Ts in Trouble late Thursday night for this week’s update.

This month’s Club Fantasy party is coming up quick: Friday, March 16th, from 8 till midnight in N. Hollywood, CA. We’re planning a little snack food “potluck” before, so if you can bring something to share that would be great (though of course no one’s going to be turned away.) So come on out for a night of socializing and, who knows, maybe get tied up. Proceeds benefit Threshold.

In a computer related Google search I came across an article with the title, “This is the hand we have been dealt,” and it really struck me as perfect. It sums up everything in life, the good and the bad. Sexuality, gender, race, socio-economic status, luck, talents (or lack of). This is it.

Wow, no blogging for a while. I’ve had some down moments lately, nothing major, just that occasional existential dread at three in the morning. I’ve probably been spending too much time at the computer fighting with HTML and not enough time out having fun. So, today’s big fun was…going to UCLA to get my teeth cleaned! Whoo hoo! I’ve been going there for several years now and letting the dental students clean my teeth because they’re quite a bit cheaper than going to a regular dentist. So I was laying there, dozing off while the nice dental student scraped away when I realized there was an incident in the booth across the hall. Some poor guy apparently had a seizure or stroke or something sitting in the chair and the place was suddenly crawling with paramedics and doctors. On the upside, if you’re going to have a medical incident I guess you couldn’t pick a better place than in a teaching hospital. So they worked on this guy for a while and he was completely out of it, incoherent and confused. I felt really sorry for him. They carted him off to the ICU and we went back to scraping.

Well, we were supposed to have the monthly bondage workshop yesterday but I wasn’t expecting much of a turnout due to the Academy Awards going on at the same time. Sure enough, only two regular attendees showed up, and they had been there already, hanging out after the D/s Discussion Group, which precedes the Bondage Workshop. We hung out for a while chatting, and I practiced a couple body harnesses on “R,” who usually makes the workshop, and then we decided to call it an evening and just do the workshop again next month.

It’s funny – I had been a little nervous actually going into it so it was kind of an anti-climax, but still it was fun just hanging out at the dungeon for a while even though not much was going on. I’ve been working a lot lately and been feeling a little socially isolated, so it was nice just to hang and be out of the house.

Then driving home I avoided Vine St., since I knew the traffic would really suck in Hollywood. It was a Mickey D’s night and I caught the end of the Oscars back at home.