It had been quite a while since I’ve seen Sissy MacBeth, so it was a nice treat seeing her again at the last Club Fantasy party on June 3rd in L.A. We didn’t have time to do any new bondage pics unfortunately but it was great catching up on things. They don’t allow cameras in the party so a friend took this snapshot out on the patio out front.

Well, I’m sitting here in the Phoenix airport waiting on a connecting flight that’s running about three hours late, watching CNN on the TV monitors. It was a nice time in L.A. and I saw a lot of friends and shot some nice new pictures with Nina, Bettie Cho and Vivian Chen. Also had a nice time in Big Bear and Palm Springs and got to do some nice extended bedtime bondage last night, so I’m feeling pretty foggy this evening. I’ll try to write more later in the week and see if I have some good snapshots to post. Off to check out the quality airport food choices here…

Earlier while in guy mode at the friend’s houe where I’m staying in L.A., I talked briefly with the neighbor, an older guy who came by, and he said, “Oh, you kind of look like that lady friend who sometimes stops by – she’s tall too…” I just smiled and said something vaguely in agreement, but I don’t think he even heard me. I love when stuff like that happens! Later, I was thinking, well, maybe he’s just messing with me and obviously knows that that “lady friend” really is me dressed as a woman. But from his manner, I suspect that he just saw a resemblance but didn’t really know that, yes, that was me.

Like most people, the reality of crossdressing is probably so unfamiliar that he probably just didn’t make the connection. And that always amazes me, because like most crossdressers I always think that I don’t really look that much different in girl mode than in guy mode, though in reality most of us do look very different indeed. I have a friend who has a fairly high-profile job and every now and then he’ll have anxiety about having femme pictures on his various online profiles and he’ll be tempted to delete them. But really he looks so completely different in male mode. With the wig and makeup and clothes, it’s just so unlikely that anyone would ever recognize him. And yet so many of us, myself included, think that others will see through us just like that, without any doubt or hesitation. I do wonder, though, how long it will take for that neighbor to put two and two together, as he’s probably going to see that “lady friend” again a few more times this next week or so ;-)

Well, I had another sleep-deprived night last night and an uneventful early-morning flight and am back in L.A. for a little visit. The friend whom I stay with rents a condo in Big Bear Lake every spring so we’ll be going up there tomorrow for the holiday weekend with some friends. Then the following week I’ve got several shoots planned with some local girls. And on the third is the Club Fantasy party. It’s gonna go fast!

I’ve been growing out my eyebrows for the last six weeks or so, so lately they’ve been looking like two hairy caterpillars, and when I’ve gone out dressed I’ve just been waxing them up with some chapstick to try to keep all the stragglers in check. This morning though I had a bunch of errands to run and finally got them waxed at a place downtown called appropriately, “Brows.” I was upfront when I called them and just let them know I was a crossdresser who does a lot of photography and the owner was very cool and did a nice job cleaning them up – always so nice to have something like that done and feel more put together.

Then I did a little shopping while out, first hitting Ross (no luck), a local thrift store (bought one top and a ladies suit coat that might work) and finally finishing at Burlington Coat Factory, which I like a lot. I found another top there that I’m hoping will fit and the biggest find was a bunch of new earrings, which were all marked down on clearance. I normally find shopping in the spring to be the worst time of year, as the spring fashions usually don’t do much for me; I much prefer fall and winter. But all in all I found a few possibilities. Also stopped by Home Depot to get some tape for a shoot that I hope to do this weekend – we shall see.

Club Fantasy June 3rd – I’ll be visiting in L.A. again later next week and am going to stay for the Friday, June 3rd, Club Fantasy party. I always love being there and seeing so many friends. If you’re in the area stop by and check it out. It’s a very laid back and relaxed time and there’s usually some good bondage going on :-) Hope to see you there!

As I mentioned in the last post, a friend suggested I post a selection of shots that Paul (Chainguy) and I did over the years. Hopefully this won’t seem like it’s all about me but rather in memory of a good friend who’s passed on. Like I mentioned earlier, Paul was a great guy, with a very clever sense of humor, a fine appreciation for the absurdities of life, a love of Shakespeare’s soliloquies and of good movie quotes (he was always quoting that Jack Nicholson speech from “A Few Good Men”).

I fondly remember spending hours with him geeking out over bondage and photography (we spent ridiculous amounts of time comparing the histograms on various shots – why? I’m still not quite sure.) In addition to the shots from the various galleries below, I still have about 10 upcoming Chainguy galleries on my computer that haven’t even been edited yet. And of course he also shot several other galleries with my friends Delilah, Bettie Cho, Nina and Vicky, some of whose shots appear below on recent blog posts. The 50-some shots here are posted in the approximate order that they were taken, starting back in 2006 when we first shot on the back porch at that beach house that we’d occasionally get access to. Some of my favorite times were those series of galleries that we did in the mountains north of L.A., which sadly enough were all burned out a couple years ago. And the last four shots below, which are all fairly recent, haven’t yet made it onto the site but should be showing up in the months ahead.

We did a lot of rope bondage, but true to his nickname he really LOVED the handcuffs and shackles. I remember him at many parties in L.A. putting himself out and selflessly volunteering to cuff numerous ladies, crossdressers and guys. He was that kind of person – always thinking of the needs of others ;-) Speaking of parties, I was afraid that the last Club Fantasy party on April 1st would really be depressing without Paul being there. And although I missed him and many others commented on how he was always a regular there, it was still a really nice time and we had a big turnout, close to 40 people, which is huge for us, and it was a great group of people. Paul would have loved it and would almost certainly have had several girls all chained up for much of the evening. We will miss you, my friend…

I’ve been having a really nice time in L.A. and the weather’s been the usual perfect. The memorial for Paul (Chainguy) was really nicely done and had a big turnout. I’m so thankful I was able to be there. A friend suggested that I should post a selection of Sandra pictures taken by Paul over the years. So next week when I get back to Colorado I’ll go through all the old shots and post a few here.

Yesterday I had the chance to take the L.A. subway (it’s really nice) down to Hollywood and visit Out of the Closet, my favorite thrift store. As always, I found a few items that I can bring back. What I really love about that place, aside from the usual good selection, is that it’s so gay that I never feel the least bit of shopping anxiety when I’m there. A nice change from the butterflies I often get at the mall.

I’m planning on a couple shoots while I’m here the next few days, then looking forward to Club Fantasy on Friday. And finally back to Denver late on Sunday.

I’ve been having a nice time in L.A. and saw a lot of friends last night at the Femme Fatale Party at the Threshold Clubhouse. The Club Fantasy TG Party will be held in the same location next Friday, on April 1st. My friend Barbara is bringing several items to give away on the exchange table, so I packed several wigs to give away, still in excellent shape, that just didn’t quite work with my face. Hope to see you there on April Fool’s Day!

I just learned that the memorial service for Paul Logan (aka Chainguy) will be held on Sunday, March 27th, from 1 PM to 3 PM at the Threshold clubhouse in North Hollywood, California. I’m going to go out there a couple days before so that I can also go to the Femme Fatale party at Threshold on Friday, March 25th and hang out with friends who knew Paul. And then I decided I may as well stay that week and go to the Club Fantasy party on April 1st. That’s always my favorite party but it’ll probably be tough this time, since Paul was a regular there every month. He was the kind of friend where everything felt better once he showed up. It was always, “Oh cool, Paul’s here, now I can relax.” There will be a lot of people there who knew him, though, so I suspect we’ll probably all hang out in the back room and have a good time.

If you’re on Fetlife, here’s more information on the Memorial Service for Paul.

And the Threshold website here.

Well, it’s taken me a while here but I finally have some preview pictures from the last California trip, which was a lot of fun. Here are some nice shots with Kaitlynn Nguyen (some more of them will be going up Friday on the site). Also my cute friend Vicky whom I’ve known for several years from the Club Fantasy parties, where we’ve spent many fun evenings hanging out, and a few more of yours truly in distress.

That strappado in particular was tough! Oh, and that steel hogtie out on the patio was equally so. It’s bittersweet for me looking at many of these pictures since more than half of them were shot by Paul (Chainguy) who just suddenly passed away. There will be no replacing such a good friend, of course, but I know he’d want his pictures to be seen and enjoyed. I’m still waiting on word on his memorial service, which will likely be later this month. I’ll post more here when I hear the final date and also in the Yahoo Group for those who knew Paul and want to attend. I’m sure it will be packed.