Disappearing Act

September was a few months back, and since the step-aside, I've been quiet, reflective, thoughtful, thankful, and sometimes struggling with what happens next.

It really felt as if that last month of the title year was flying by and a part of me wanted to just finish the ride, disembark, and quietly leave the amusement park for a relaxing hot tub...for a few months.
And then it was over. Done. There are now new shiny people, and they are wonderful and excited, and there's a lot of happiness for them and congratulations for you and life returns to normal.
But does it?
What is normal now?
Normal shifts because normal is what you become accustomed to doing. Normal is different for everybody, because it's part of your daily routine. So scouring social media for information becomes normal. Responding to emails from pups and trainers and interested parties becomes normal. Planning your next trip, airline bookings, transportation arrangements on both ends of a trip, booking hotels or arranging hosts, unpacking suitcases, doing laundry packing suitcases and planning wardrobes, thank you notes, long range and short term plans, planning time to spend with your partner, job searching, event planning, dodging drama, getting educated, writing classes, coordinating with mosh organizers to donate snacks because some of the most common snacks will kill your puppy (honey allergy), and I'm sure a dozen more things I've forgotten - all that became normal.
And that stopped. So now it's time to recapture the old normal, and that's not so easy.

Please note: I am not complaining or whining. I (sorta) knew what I was signing up for when we ran. I do my best to be open and honest here, and there's challenges along with the fun.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime journey and I will always treasure the wonderful experiences we had and the amazing friends we made. One year is great. I cannot imagine how people can manage a regional title year first and then an international circuit title year. But I took on a new load of responsibility and that became my life for a year. It becomes the new normal. And while I sometimes yearned for the old normal to return, when it did, it was not as much fun.

I spent many many weekends away from my partner. We don't live together, so we had to find time during the week - date nights, so to speak. Our former routine was Friday afternoon through Sunday night - we were together. We went to movies, out to bars, dinners together and with friends, and that was the old normal. We spent a good chunk of the last year learning to not be together on weekends, and the ones we did have, I just wanted to be lumpy and together and quiet while he wanted to go out and socialize. Now we have those weekends back, and I feel a struggle to fill the time. The new normal was to be gone and busy with events planned by others, and now that's done. The new normal was we learned to be apart on weekends (and weekdays) and now we have to un-learn that.

In the last year, I learned how to approach almost anyone and strike up a conversation, and hold that conversation for at least a few minutes. I learned how to engage people better, to open up my own life and learn about theirs. Even the ones I find really hot. That was hard! My historical behavior around people I find attractive tended to be sidelong glances, awkward approaches, and stunning opening lines like "I like beans.......<doh!>" I've gotten better. I found that I like meeting new people and seeing new places and sharing my experiences with whoever will listen to me jabber or read a blog.

That is not happening much these days, and it hit me really hard this last weekend as many of my friends made their way to Washington, DC for the Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend and I stayed home. Did I want to go? Oh yes. Could I afford to go? Not right now. So I went about my back-to-normal life and (not-so-very) quietly pouted about missing my friends.

So what's next? That's the big question. I'm still figuring that out, four months down the line. I've kept busy, and I'll backfill this blog, but it weird to redefine normal once again.
But while I ponder, plan, and dream, you are all in my thoughts.
And until our paths cross for the first time or the twentieth, I leave you with this..

ILSb/ICBB Weekend

The International Leather Sir/boy contest and the International Community BootBlack contest weekend was held in Dallas, Texas, on August 30-31. Yep, they're crazy. And a few hundred crazy people packed their formal leathers and joined them in the air conditioning inside and the 109 degree heat outside. I love all these crazy people - they're my family.

We flew in on Friday and (eventually) made it to the hotel. Yep, I screwed up on setting up a ride, but it was an honest and well-intentioned screw up. Luckey and I shared a room with our friends Tank and Lizzie, the current Mr and Ms Atlanta Eagle titleholders. Luckey, Tank, and I arrived about the same time at the hotel and got everything squared away at the front desk, got our keys, and headed up. Lizzie arrived the night before and had the whole night in the room to herself. I suspect it was her favorite night, lol. Then Daddy and two puppies arrived. The kitty had carefully unpacked and stacked her luggage before we arrived. Then the puppies rolled in and ESPLODED in the room. I was lucky to get a drawer and a place to stash my suitcase. So yes, we determined that puppies ESPLODE all over a hotel room. Two puppies do not double the esplosion - it goes up exponentially. Ask anybody who rooms with one. And as word got out which room we were in, puppies began arriving to bark out a HELLO. Unfortunately, we were right next to a conference/class room, and all the barking disturbed the Sirs & boys Roundtable discussion - Sorry about that, Sir John!

The contest started on Friday night with a blessing from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence that was tailored to the occasion - very well done. Then it got down to business. The producers introduced a new format to keep things lively - they mixed hotwear, fantasy, and speeches into a constant stream instead of grouping them together. It was new and fun, and kept the pace moving. Afterwards, most people headed for the shuttle to the Dallas Eagle, but I knew it was going to be a long weekend, so it was early bedtime for me.

Saturday was MOSH day, sponsored by the DFW Pups & Trainers. After a good breakfast, I set out to visit the Vendor Market and get ready for the mosh. What a fun time! We had quiet pups and rowdy pups, gentle pups and rumble pups, leather pups and rubber pups, male and female bodied pups, and WE HAD FUN! Well done, DFW Pups & Trainers! You secured a safe area for the pups to play and set it up well. We did have a few runaway pups scurrying through the vendor mart and under tables, but fortunately nothing was broken or upended. We had a great deal of visibility as well, and a couple of friendly kitties stopped by to say Meow. Afterwards, I helped Rylee and Loki with the tear down and mat transport out to their vehicle - they were tired pups! It was great to get the time to visit with these fine young men who are heading up the DFW Pups & Trainers organization. After dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, it was time to get dressed up again for the second half of the contest. It was 109 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and unfortunately, the air conditioning was too overburdened to keep up on Saturday night in the ballroom. It was one hot night. The producers kept the same routine going and we heard speeches from the bootblacks and also from the hotwear/fantasy routines from the night before. Those who gave speeches the night before were in hotwear and fantasy routines tonight. Once again, it kept the audience on their toes. We were also blessed to hear Sir Jack, Boy Bamm-Bamm, and Ruin deliver their step-aside speeches. Made me cry... And, it ran long, as contests are wont to do. I met many of the contestants through the weekend, and I can honestly say I did not envy the judges their work. A strong field of men and women stood up and represented their communities well. In the end, Sir George took home the title of International LeatherSir 2013, Gattor went forward as the International Leatherboy 2013, and Paul proudly carried the International Community Bootblack 2013 title back to Seattle! Congratulations to everyone who represented their communities, and best wishes to the new titleholders! Off to the shuttle and the Eagle to celebrate! When that was done, I introduced Dominic, the Eastern Canada Leatherboy to a true delicacy - tamales - purchased from the nice lady outside the bar. These were exquisitely tasty, light, flavorful without being too spicy, and damn good at 1:30 am. I think they'd be good at 9am, noon, and 4pm as well. I tried to explain how to make them to Dom, but he just looked at me blankly. "Eastern Canada!" he says. "Just eat!" was my reply. He did, and we were happy.  Bedtime came late that night after long conversations. Sleepytime!

Sunday - oh, Sunday. How early you arrive. How bright your sunshine and how miserably hot you are. 109 again. There was an entire day of activities at the Dallas Eagle once again, and shuttles to get you there. I haven't sweated so much since I lived in Oklahoma. Bleagh. But the people were great and the drinks were strong - so we had a fun time. Dinner came at a place called Hunky's in the gayborhood, and we stopped to pay homage at JRs in our leather afterwards. A long night of fun lay ahead, but I could not bring myself to get dressed again. The heat and humidity cooked me - I do not do well in heat. My leather title vest was heavy and wet with sweat. eeew. So I stayed in, napped, and visited with Lizzie. She's an amazing woman, and I learned so much from her this weekend. I promise there will be at least one post that comes along later to address some of our discussion. Thank you, Lizzie, for sharing your life and your weekend with us!

Monday was an easy, lazy day. Tank and Lizzie left for the airport about 11, and Luckey arranged for our transport (so I couldn't screw it up). We spend the day with Lawna Jocqui and had a really fun time. Lunch at Hunky's again (yum!) and a trip to a HUGE underwear store in the gayborhood, followed by dessert at the Black Eyed Pea with some of his family. Good times! Then it was airport time, so he dropped us off at DFW. Thank you Lawna!

Waiting on the plane, my thoughts turned to IPTC 2013 and our return to Dallas in one short month. Luckey and I will sit on the judging panel and we will get to speak  our last time as the current International Puppy and Trainer before we pass the titles along to our successors. This has been an amazing year, and we're so thankful to everyone we've met along the way.

Great Job to all the good people who poured their time and their money and their sanity into moving this event to Dallas and making it a great time for everyone! I know it was hard work, and it paid off. Congratulations ILSb/ICBB team!

Seattle Visit

Luckey and I have been wanting to visit the great northwest all year. We see all the pups and handlers in Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle are working together and building a strong region. So we talked to Ruin Awaits for contact information and timing advise and approached SEA-PAH about visiting for a weekend. They were very gracious and we discussed the classes we could offer. The schedule was set for August 22-26 and tickets booked. Let the fun begin!

Luckey and I have never visited the region, so they offered to show us around the city. We arrived on Thursday and Josh picked us up from the airport and away we went! It was a beautiful sunny day in Seattle, and we made the most of it. He took us to a local bar for lunch, and the food was fantastic! Then we headed downtown to see the Space Needle and the parks and museums around it. Fun fun fun! Then he drove us up to a vantage point to see some skylines and harbor views - it's such a beautiful city. And the streets - wow. I thought San Francisco had some steep streets!

On Friday, Matthew took us to the Market and out touring again. I was blown away again by the beauty of the city. The people watching was great and the food (yes, eating again) very tasty. We found some phenomenal hot sauce in the Market based on the Scorpion Pepper - hotter than a Ghost Chili - it's the next generation of POW! I was impressed by the flavor plus the heat. One tiny taste made my tastebuds sing with joy and the heat lingered at the back of my mouth for 20 minutes. We bought some. Matthew invited friends over for dinner so we did some shopping for that, walked past the Original Starbucks, toured the Underground City, and ran all over the place. Dinner that night was great fun with new friends, and the food was amazing. These guys know how to put together a night of good food and Cards Against Humanity! Thanks to Baus Yukon, Pup Gadget, Pup Squeak, and Pup Amp for a great night of fun and to Matthew and Josh for hosting the evening!

Saturday arrived and we set out early to The Cuff, where we were presenting Trainer/Handler 101 and Obedience Training 101 classes. It was a pleasure to meet Daddy Jeff as we got things set up and ready for the class. He's a great guy! Before we started, we visited Doghouse Leathers just around the corner. My jaw dropped. It's got EVERYTHING! All the brands, all the names, all the sizes, all the styles, and it's all high quality merchandise. I Love This Place! While we were there, the fine folks from Raven's Hollow stopped in to visit and drop off a couple of gifts - chain maille collars for Puppies In The Mountains door prizes and the International Puppy and Trainer Contest auction basket. They drove up from Tacoma to deliver them. Thank you guys - they are beautiful! After a bit of shopping, it was time to head over to The Cuff. It's got a great space for teaching right on the dance floor, so we all got down to business. The day was well-attended and everyone was friendly and contributed to the classes. One pup even drove down from VAN-PAH to join us. Afterwards, it was time to catch a short nap/rest, and get dressed to go out for the night. We went out in our leathers and visited a great Tapas bar for dinner, and then off to The Cuff and CC Attle's. ooo, you gotta watch that Killer Kool Aid - it's potent stuff. The night was fun and social and we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

Sunday rolled around and we were back at The Cuff for Puppy 101 and a Mosh Pit! The class was fun, as always, and the mosh was a lively one. Those pups are lively! Then we stopped by Ruin Awaits' party, because her step-aside was the following weekend in Dallas. We met some nice folks there and were grateful to be included in such an intimate gathering. Dinner was next (of course) and the options were pizza or burritos. Matthew decided to exercise his vocabulary and change out the conjunction. Why not pizza AND burritos? I love these guys. After dinner settled, we had some rope time with Matthew, Pup Squeak, and Josh. Look out, guys - that puppy has got a knack for rope!

The last two days were both sunny and cloudy, but Monday rolled in with rain - the stereotypical Seattle weather. It was really beautiful. We were set to fly out that night, and we had offers of early coffee, lunch, and social time - and we had to decline them. We were pooped! Those guys ran us ragged with fun. Even with the plentiful oxygen there at sea level, we just needed to sleep and relax and pack our bags and be lumpy. The day passed with a beautiful easy pace, and we were rested and ready for the trip home. Fortunately, the flight home was easy - no problems at all. Then, once again, it was time to unpack the bags, do laundry, repack, and head to Dallas the next weekend for International Leather Sir/boy and International Community Bootblack weekend!

Many thanks to the good people of Seattle for their hospitality, friendship, and kindness. We are always amazed and blessed to find such wonderful people in the puppy community. Their hearts are big and full of fun and laughter, and we are better men for knowing them. Thank you all!

Dore Alley Adventures

Hmmm, it's the end of July and the amazing Up Your Alley event was approaching and we hadn't planned to attend. But as it got closer and everyone was announcing their travel plans, I got an urge to run away to San Francisco for the one day event. Well, ok, the street fair is a one day event, but the weekend of dance parties and social events has grown to keep people busy from Friday until Sunday night. Our friend Jake offered us buddy passes for an event when we first started the title year, and it looked like a good opportunity to take him up on the offer. So Thursday afternoon, we booked for Sunday morning and evening. Yes - a one day trip. Fly out at 6am and home at 7pm. Yes, we're crazy, but it's going to be fun!  And fun it was! We had an adventure!

So, as I progress through this year, I continue to make mistakes in travel. I'm still alive, but these little things make me appreciate how well my boy handles all the details when we travel together.
Little things like - weather. It's summer. It's 90+ degrees in Denver all the time now. Why check the weather unless you're leaving the northern hemisphere. wrong. Mark Twain was alleged to make a comment about the summer weather in San Francisco, but nobody has been able to prove it.

We're traveling on buddy passes, so, we assume, full leather fetish attire would be inappropriate. So would the usual summer fare of shirtless and very little else. We opted for a classy compromise - kilts. Black Utilikilts - Mocker version, to be exact. Add nice heavy boots and a button down shirt, and we were set to travel in style. The title vests, phone chargers, and a few other essentials went into one backpack - our only luggage.

Luckey got off work at midnight, home by 1, and then to bed, only to be roused by my 3:30 alarm so we could get ready and off to the airport to catch a 6am flight. He was not the most cheerful puppy. We learned something new at the airport - the body scanners don't like kilts. Something about all that extra fabric makes them flag us as needing more attention. So we got patted down/felt up by the gate staff. The guy did not look thrilled with life at that moment. But we got to our gate, and there was room on the plane for standby tickets, so off we went to San Francisco!

Once there, we rode the BART to Civic Center station and had a lovely conversation about kilts and Burning Man with a stranger on the train. Then when we arrived, we emerged to WINTER. No jackets, no pants. It was in the low 60s, with wind and humidity. BRRRRR! First stop - Starbucks for hot drinks! Nothing started until 11, so we had time to kill, if we didn't freeze to death first. We wound up at Wicked Grounds and fell in love with the place. We chatted with the staff and looked at the art and took refuge from the cold in their warm little kinky cafe'.

When 11 rolled around, we headed for the fair and began seeing friends from around the US. There were far too many to mention, and it was great to hug and share their space and energy and be with them. The San Francisco K9 Unit had a booth set up with play mats and space to visit. It was so much fun to meet them and hang out, and we made their booth our home base for the day. We ventured out to meet the bootblacks and Luckey got his boots done by Nick Elliott- there were so many good friends there it felt like home. We met new friends as well, like Matthew and Pup Sky from Seattle. We'll be staying with Matthew when we make a visit to Seattle in a few weeks. As the day passed, we ventured out to get some lunch and explore the booths, find other friends, see the fair, but we kept coming back to the puppies and meeting new people.

All good things must end, so around 4:30, we headed back to the BART to make our way home. Once again, we were felt up by security personnel and got to our gate. Hmm, the standby list is HUGE. What's up with that? Oh, an earlier flight was postponed, and people are scrambling to get to Denver. What does that mean? We wait. And we waited some more. We knew that it was a gamble, and we chose standby flights...and this was my first time to do that. So we kept waiting until 11pm when the last flight went out. There was only one seat available when they got to us, and we didn't want to separate.

We grabbed a hotel room for the night and crashed hard. Luckey was a really good sport for running on 2.5 hours of sleep in two days. But when the alarm went off at 3:30 am so we could get to the airport by 4:30, he was less cheerful. Through the morning, we moved from gate to gate to gate, setting up camp near the desk and in sight of the video boards. Luckey napped and I watched people.

We had some amusing experiences while there. I discussed our kilts with two older Chinese women who were studying Scottish dancing. Their English was limited, and their husbands spoke even less. No, we are not Scottish. We are from Denver, Colorado. No, we don't dance. We like kilts because they are comfortable. No, they are not wool. They are very lightweight cotton (insert mental image of four Chinese adults examining the fabric of my kilt without exposing my bits). The husbands were amused and fielded a few questions through their wives. Nobody asked about underpants. I visited with flight crews and desk agents. I fielded more kilt questions. We sampled more food from the variety available in Terminal 3 of SFO. Six flights left without us. The seventh flight was our lucky one - we got the last two seats and headed home.

So our adventure concluded. We spent much more time in the SFO airport than we did at the street fair, and that's ok. The two day trip actually felt like an extended four day weekend, but getting home to our own beds was great. Time to wash the kilts and prepare for our next adventure!

OKC Kink Weekend

Now we're off to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to participate in the Kink Weekend OKC July 19-21! Yes, Oklahoma in July. The only worse thing is Texas in August, right? And yes - in leather. But we were totally excited to go see what our friend Nate Benner was up to as Mr. Oklahoma Leather. This was a kink education weekend at the (In)Famous Habana Inn in Oklahoma City. There were classes during the day on Saturday and a contest for Mr. Heartland Leather on Saturday night. Pup Loki joined Luckey and I for this trip - he flew with us to CLAW earlier in the year, and he wanted to go to the Kink Weekend. He was a great traveling companion and an easy pup to room with.

Friday night started off with a party, and what a fun time! These boys know how to throw a good one. This was extra special for me, because my sister lives in OKC, and she was able to join us at the bar for the opening night party and fetish ball. Hi Sis! She got to hang with us and watch people shoot each other with blowgun darts, hang weights from their scrotum, swallow swords, and snap mousetraps on all ten fingers at once. Good times. Then she declined to staple a $5 donation to the nice man's cheek or forehead, opting instead for his abdomen. I would have gone for the tongue or something lower, but I don't think he would have been so keen on ME abusing him, lol. We had a good visit and she's looking pretty darn amazing these days!

On Saturday Loki and I got up fairly early and caught breakfast at Braum's (amazing food) which was a short walk from the hotel. We knew this because we went there for dinner as soon as we arrived on Friday. Once fortified, Loki and I wandered over to the Vendor Mart (held in a church!) and then grabbed lunch for Luckey. He was up earlier than us because he was serving as a judge in the contest and interviews were EARLY! Like 9am! Post lunch, it was time for Puppy Boot Camp! Pup Hercules, Midwest Puppy, presented a class on wrestling moves. It was really nice to hear him teach and demonstrate his knowledge (don't scrap with him!) in an intimate setting. Then I presented Trainer 101 and had great class participation. At one point, the handlers were on the floor with the puppies getting a view they may not have experienced before. Then Sir Justin presented his Puppy 101 class, and we closed things out with a MOSH! Good times all around. It was good to hear Sir Justin present his class - I always learn from attending other classes. After a quick rest and some time in the pool, it was time to get some food and get dressed for the contest. Three brave men stood up and bared their hearts to the judges and their bodies to the crowd as the day progressed. Strong contenders all, the show was a pleasure to watch. Emcee's Lawna Jocqui and Alexandra StJames Gray, though they only met that day, were a powerhouse duo and kept the show entertaining and the audience engaged all night - great work ladies! In the end, as always, there can be only one Titleholder. I firmly believe that all three men are winners, because they stood up and presented themselves to their communities. The title of Mr. Heartland Leather was ultimately awarded to Michael, aka Pup Ryker, and I believe he will do well.

Ummm, did I mention the Hospitality Suite? Oooooh, the fun those four walls saw all weekend. The local community gave it 110% all weekend to support Nate and the event. They deserve a big round of applause for showing us all how to have a good time. I enjoyed a fantastic visit with Karri Plowman from Twin Cities Leather on Saturday night. What a great guy! If anybody gets up to Minneapolis, go to their shop and buy something!

Breakfast on Sunday was a bit sluggish - I'm not sure how many people actually slept since the contest. It was still loads of fun, but it was...calmer. As soon as we finished, Nate headed over to set up for a Shot Party fundraiser. Hmmmm, that was nothing but trouble too - but only the good kind.  As the afternoon passed, it was time to head back to Denver. Many thanks to Shae and Bradley for airport rides!

Thank you to everyone who planned, worked, attended, barked, howled, served, and participated in any way to this great event. This is one you should put on your calendar for next year!

We all got home safely and rested up from a long hot weekend in OKC - Next stop...hmmm. What is our next destination?

Thunder In The Mountains

Our amazing local weekend - Thunder in the Mountains! - was July 12-14. This was the first big event that Chris and I attended, and it was the first event that Chris and Luckey and I attended together. It marks a special place in our hearts. Packing for Thunder is an adventure. We like to stay at the host hotel for the weekend and save a 45+ minute drive each way for the three days of the event, so we just load up the car with all the things we think we'll need. No weight restrictions means LOTS of toys. Do they all get used? No. Are they available if we want them? You bet! Somehow, during Registration, Luckey wound up wearing a PINK Leather Tiara, bedazzled and bejeweled, custom made just for him by Shazzy. I need pics!
Friday night starts with a meet and greet, introduction of the presenters and staff, and a quick review of the rules. Thunder is amazingly low on rules for an event this size. Practically anything goes in the dungeon (with a few notable exceptions) and the classes are always an amazing lineup. After a quick dinner, we joined the meet & greet time, and then socialized for a while afterwards.

This year, Friday night in the dungeon hosted HOWL AT THE MOON! - a two hour puppy mosh pit sponsored/staffed by the Puppies In The Mountains organizers and friends. Ten pm rolled around and we were given free reign of the mats set up in one end of the dungeon space. Last year was our first year, and it was very well attended. This year there were fewer puppies, but they moshed long and hard. One of our local pups, Pup Loki, was there when it started and played until we shut down at midnight. I started calling him The Iron Puppy for his endurance. We had some first timers join us on the mat - one willingly and the other was encouraged/dragged in by the first and Loki. Overall, there was much fun and puppy frolic. When it was done, we collected our toys, water bottles, and gummi snacks and loaded them back to our hotel room. Luckey took the time to have a light and fluffy rope scene with Ruin Awaits. (Next day, she started calling him Cujo. I wonder why?)
I wasn't tired yet, so I wandered back to the dungeon to watch things unfold as scenes continues into the late hours. As it turns out, I spent almost two hours talking with one of our local guys that I really had never visited with before. We commented on one of the hot and sexy young men wearing a pony tail, and that conversation became an exploration of our histories and opinions on many topics until we realized it was getting late (bedtime). We both attended many of the same classes through the weekend, and continued visiting each time. Thanks, Doctor Bob! It was a great to finally get to spend time getting to know each other better.

Saturday's classes started about 9am and continued on until 5ish. We enjoyed a range of lighthearted presentations to very serious and focused scenes presented. You have to choose carefully at Thunder - there are so many classes that we often end up splitting up to attend more. Saturday night's playtime started at nine pm, so we grabbed dinner with the International Titleholders Dinner Club and got dressed for the evening. Yes, I said Dinner Club - not Breakfast Club. Too many schedule conflicts in the mornings.
Saturday night was the 7th Annual Game Night at Thunder, sponsored by the Denver boys of Leather. It's a fun time in the Hospitality Suite with lots of friends, cheesy poofs, and games. There were two separate games of Cards Against Humanity going on, and maybe a little Trouble too. The newly formed Denver girls of Leather announced their presence that night as well, and were welcomed into the community with open arms.
Saturday night I enjoyed delivering an impact scene to Chris and a caning scene to Pup Tugger  - thumpy and stingy - all in one night! Added some bastinado into the caning scene for fun. <Evil laugh> Boy Bamm Bamm watched the caning scene, and joined in to deliver some good whacks of his own before we were done.

Sunday morning came all too early. Breakfast, load the car, classes, and a visit to the vendor mart. There's some great shopping at this event. A casual conversation outside the Truly Sin-Cyr corset booth turned into a line of men all waiting to try on a corset for the first time. Pup David (aka Wiggles or Bacon) went first, and it provided the support he needed for his sore back...and it looked HOT. Corset discussions continued, and the line formed. Luckey, Mark, Tugger, me, Loki, BammBamm - we all got laced in and spent a few minutes in them. It was interesting. I didn't hate it - but I don't know when I would wear it. Yes, they provide amazing back support. And some breath control too. Plus posture reminders - you shall not slouch.

We finished out the day and went to the Eagle to decompress and relax. Nick Elliott showed up and he spent a good long while talking with my boy. Later we fed Nick and returned him to the hotel. Time to go home, unpack the car, put away the toys, and go to bed.

To Rich and Brian - GREAT JOB! Thank you for all your hard work through the year. Thank you for letting the Denver boys of Leather host Game Night, and Thank you for supporting HOWL AT THE MOON! Aroooo!
To all the presenters - Thank you! We learn so much every year and come away inspired.
To all the vendors - Thank you for tempting us with your wares. My credit card fears this event.
To all the volunteers - Thank you for contributing and donating your time to make this event great.
To all our friends and family - Thank you for making this an amazing weekend for us all.
Much love to you all!

2013 AIDS Walk Colorado Donations

I'm taking a break in posting the travel updates to let you know my upcoming plans. This next Saturday morning, August 10, I'm going to be decked out in my Corcoran Boots and Title Vest (and probably a little more clothes) to participate in the 26th Annual AIDS Walk Colorado event. I'll be walking with the Denver boys of Leather on their team.

Yes, it's a fundraising event. If anybody has some spare dollars that they'd like to share with a good cause - please do. And if anybody has a LOT of dollars they want to contribute towards a good cause - please do. Colorado has a great in-state support system and network for people affected by HIV. This fundraising will impact many, many lives.

I've set a reasonable goal, and would appreciate any support that you can give. There are only five days left until the event, so if you read this and feel inclined, don't hesitate. Share what you can.  Even if you cannot afford to donate, please send your love and your best wishes to support all the individuals walking or running or working to promote and run the event.

My fundraising page is RIGHT HERE.

Thank you, everyone, for your support.