I hope everyone who celebrates it is having a good Christmas. I’m in Atlanta with my divorced parents and my recently-acquired stepmother (who barely speaks English). It’s a comedy of errors, but that’s normal. I went out early for a really long walk and some good squats and exercise. The endorphins really help take the edge off of being with the family. And a glass of wine tonight will make it extra merry. Ho ho ho!

Not to be a downer, but I think most everyone would agree that this has been one hell of a year, with an emphasis on hell. There’s the obvious financial mess, which is affecting everyone (I know so many people who are unemployed or under-employed). And overall it’s been a tough year for me too. There’ve been plenty of high points but also lots of low ones, and my moods are often a stuggle. I grind through my days and do well but I’m hoping that 2009 will be somewhat better. Hey, Barack Obama is nearly in office – he’ll save us and no one will have to pay rent anymore ;-) (Really, not to be sarcastic, I do like the guy and hope the best for him and his administration.)

I was feeling sorry for myself the other day and a friend sent me a very nice email about taking things one day at a time. To paraphrase, there are two days we should never worry about: yesterday and tomorrow. Yesterday is gone and completely out of our hands, and tomorrow is a huge unknown that will inevitably come, good or bad, regardless of our worry. Which leaves only today to concern ourselves with. “Any man can fight the battle of just one day. It is only when you and I have the burdens in those awful eternities—Yesterday and Tomorrow—that we break down.”

I try to be grateful, too, for what I do have, though I always forget and end up bitching and complaining anyway. One thing I’m thankful for is that my parents are still alive. I’m heading to Atlanta Christmas Eve to see them for a few days. It’ll be good to see them, and they’ll probably drive me crazy too, but that’s all part of it. I’ll still have email while I’m gone (though I’m bad at replying) and of course the updates will continue.

Here’s to a new and hopefully better year for everyone in 2009 and I hope everyone reading this has family and friends to be with over the holidays.

I just saw this nice ad with some great high heels from L Studio – I have no idea who or what L Studio is (is that a Lexus logo at the end?), but the ad is very sexy.

I had a fun shoot a few days ago with some friends up in the mountains just north of L.A. We shot a set of self-bondage pictures, which I’m going to post for next week’s update (and with some cool video soon after). But in the meantime here are a few preview shots as I was getting ready to put myself into inescapable bondage – note my impressive double-jointed knees ;-) Being outside was pretty neat and I hope we can do more of this sort of thing. It’s definitely a completely different look and the risk of being discovered is a big thrill.