Atlanta Dominion: two orgasms, a 7 iron, and numerous of puppies

Yes, friends, it was one of “those” weekends.  ;)

Friday evening, my lovely Owner and I drove down to SC to the Poet’s house.  He had a home cooked meal and a tasty variety of micro-beers waiting for us.  We watched Pacific Rim (a visually neat, watchable popcorn film, but ultimately forgettable – and points off for clumsy exposition) and the BBC’s Top Gear.  I was very happy to be allowed to snuggle up w/ my Owner and the Poet in his bed for the evening.  Since the hernia surgery 3 weeks ago, I haven’t been able to sleep in my kennel (which sits next to Ma’am’s waterbed at home) b/c it’s been too painful to crouch down and get up (and often I have to climb over the two bio-dogs when getting in and out), so I’ve been sleeping (alone) on the spare bed in the guest room/art studio.

Saturday morning, my Owner got the weekend really started right by edging me in bed for like half an hour before she let me cum.  Orgasm #1.  Later Saturday morning found the three of us sheltering from a serious downpour while enjoying breakfast at Cracker-barrel.  Not long after the rain lifted enough, I hit the road for Atlanta, leaving Ma’am and the Poet to entertain themselves.  (They went out to the Warehouse that night and did a very cool-looking cling-wrap suspension – photos on Shdwkitten’s Fetlife.)

I arrived at Loki’s place early in the afternoon.  He greeted me at the door, I with my suitcase in hand, and I think the first thing he said to me was, “Is that over 20 lbs.?”  Then he took my bag away and carried it upstairs for me.  As you already know, I had surgery for a hernia just a few weeks ago.  They cut open my groin and stuffed a plastic mesh in there.  I’m feeling mostly alright now, but I’m still not allowed to lift over 20 lbs. for another month or two… and until I’m fully healed Ma’am won’t allow me to take a beating.  Sir was already informed of this, and so we just planned on doing some puppy play and bondage… maybe breath play… and my Dalmatian pack-mate, Hunter, kindly volunteered himself to take a beating for me.

A few days ago Hunter posted on Twitter that Sir hits like a girl.  That (1) assured that the Alpha was going to beat the crap out of him, and (2) offended my Owner (“What does he mean – hit like a girl!?”) so that she sent one of her evil paddles to Loki for him to hit Hunter with for her.  But not knowing when to quit our Dalmatian got a hold of Sir’s phone and posted on twitter from Sir’s account, “Apparently I do hit like a girl.”  That was probably not a good idea…

The doomed Dalmatian joined us at Sir’s place for dinner (a last mean) and a movie (Mel Brooks – Yay!).  Hunter went on back to his place for the night rather than sleep over.  The next morning I realized that this was probably b/c he didn’t want to be around when we went downstairs to pack.  Keep that in mind…

So “packing for Domionion” has continued to be one of my favorite games.  Sir keeps all his motorcycle gear down in the basement/dungeon, and while he was gathering his stuff for the party, I – just for fun – pulled on one of his sportbike jackets.  Then I pulled his black latex puppy hood on, which he proceeded to clean while I was wearing it (the fun way to clean your latex!).  Me + sportbike jacket + latex puppy hood = hard-on… so we soon ended up on the floor grinding and: Orgasm #2!

So I was doing great.  (I can’t tell you the last time I was allowed to cum twice in one weekend.)  However, things were not looking so rosy for pup Hunter.  While packing, Sir discovered that “the little shit” had taken his acrylic paddle and hidden it somewhere.  We searched about but couldn’t uncover it.  So, I suggested we make this a “teachable moment.”  When you hide the Alpha’s toys, he can always find something worse to hit you with.  I helpfully suggested the shovel…

But Sir wasn’t feeling it.  So, spotting his neglected bag of golf clubs in the corner, I suggested, maybe a 7 iron.  That was the ticket!

So, off to Atlanta Dominion! (After stopping for lunch at Chipotle… where we found the environment to be surprisingly cold, so we took our food to 1763 to eat before Dominion started.)  The party was a blast!  Sure, it was a bummer that I couldn’t get the snot beaten out of me…  But I had an awesome time pupping out and snuggling and scritching and cuddling…  And I really enjoyed rocking my PVC puppy suit w/ Sir’s latex hood.  I loved it!  I think I was drooling inside the hood half the day.  It felt so great, and I got lot’s of complements.

Usually I avoid mirrors when I’m in pup mode b/c seeing myself there (instead of the lanky, shaggy wolfhound I see in my head) messes w/ my mojo – but this was a whole different ballgame.  Every time I caught sight of myself in a mirror in the bodysuit and hood I got hard.  Now, is that not like the definition of narcissism?  What can I say?  I’d do me.

So, early on, Sir gave me a job.  He put a new puppy in a straightjacket w/ black-out hood, and told me to stay in body contact w/ the pup.  He said, “You’re job is to be a comfort puppy today.”  I happily took to this assignment!  My pack-mate Bishop joined me, and we spent a couple of hours petting and snuggling the puppy in the straightjacket while he made very contented growling sounds.  I left them temporarily so I could perch on top of the jungle gym cage and watch Hunter get his beating.  I don’t think he liked the 7 iron very much, and he certainly didn't seem to like Sir using Ma'am's paddle on his balls…

When asked if he'd learned his lesson, Hunter replied, "Yes, remind me never to piss off Shdwkitten."  (One doesn't know whether to laugh of cry.)

More snuggling w/ the pup in the straightjacket… and then Bishop set him free, and I quickly found another puppy to play with: Hercules’ beta pup.

(By the way, I LOVE the fact that at Dominion, when Master Dan is going over the rules before the party begins, that he has to specifically mention, “we have a lot of puppies here…”  LOL.  After being basically the only pup I knew of in the Carolinas for like seven years, I can’t tell you how fucking awesome it is to be at a dungeon party where you can’t throw a squeaky toy w/o hitting a human-pup.)

So, anyway, Hercules stuck his beta pup, Hunter (later replaced by Bishop), and I into the jungle gym cage together, and it was sexy fun time!  I couldn’t wrestle b/c of still recovering from the surgery, so if anyone started to get rough I just rolled over and belly up.  But I could snuggle and pet and hump – and there was a lot of that going on in that cage.  There is something sooooooo hot about two pups wearing pup-hoods “kissing” through the hoods.  Let’s just say that, had I permission, I could have had orgasm #3.

Bishop has already requested that we reconvene this scene when I’m fully healed… and Hercules put in a request for some crash mats at the next Dominion party for a mosh area; a good suggestion for an event that attracts so many puppies.

So, while I wasn’t able to get the snot beat out of me, I did have a really great time, felt awesome to be rocking the PVC/latex pup outfit, and really enjoyed my job as the designated comfort puppy.  Still… It’s just so weird to return from a visit w/ my Alpha and not have any bite marks on me…  But I’m hoping to get some of the pack to come up to CAPEX next month for the big February floor party – by which point I should be mostly healed.  Oh, Bishop….

The Golden Rule: Those w/ the Gold Rule

Aside from marriage equality and sexual freedom, I generally avoid bloging about politics.  But I feel the rare need to climb on to my soapbox and issue a warning and a wake-up call.  I live in NC, which recently underwent some dramatic political upheavals.  Folks in other states need to know our story b/c what happened here is coming your way next.

The leading man in this story is a guy named Art Pope.  Pope is the most influential political money man in NC and a close friend of the billionaire Koch brothers.  In recent years, Pope has spent over $46 million on steering NC to the extreme right and spent millions on misinformation about climate change. Pope, owner of chain super-discount stores like Roses and Maxway, is a smaller version of Sam Walton, essentially using the same Walmart strategy.  He uses his power and influence to deliberately depress the economy so the poor have to buy cheap goods at his stores (where workers are paid poverty wages) and then pours their money back into political actions designed to further depress the economy.

Several years ago Pope purged NC of moderate republicans by financing candidates running to their right.  Then, in 2010 Citizens United (which I think history will ultimately remember as one of the single most stand out moments in the decline and fall of America) opened the floodgates for corporations and the super-rich to pour unlimited amounts of "dark money" into elections.  In 2010, over 75% of the money spent on right-wing candidates and groups (like "Real Jobs NC" - a Pope front) came from Art Pope.

As a result, the far-right Republicans took control of both houses of the NC legislature for the first time since right after the Civil War.  And 2010 was a census year.  That meant the Republicans were able to re-draw the voting distrcits in ways that would be to their advantage.  Art Pope was literally in the room while the districts were gerrymandered.

As a result of he 2010 gerrymandering (and more Art Pope money), in 2012 the far-right Republicans took a veto-proof majority in both houses and the governor's mansion putting them in a position to pass basically any law they want.  During that election I was getting flyers in my mailbox multiple times a week supporting republican candidates and denouncing gay marriage (which already wasn't legal in NC anyway, but almost every piece of mail I received attacked gay marriage) - mostly paid for by Art Pope's "dark money," I'm sure.  And the Governor appointed Art Pope as Budget Director.  So what have they done w/ their new laws and budget?

They cut long-term unemployment assistance.
They blocked a Medicaid expansion, denying healthcare to 500,000 North Carolinians
They cut tax rates for the rich so that the wealthiest individuals paid 20% less taxes than they did in the year before and corporations paid 27% less.
75% of all tax cuts went to the wealthiest 5%.
They repealed the inheritance tax - a tax which only affected the super-rich; in 2011 it only affected 13 people in the state.  The whole point of the tax is to keep big money from piling up in family dynasties, but they axed it.
They cut earned income tax credits for the poor.
The cut pre-K programs and programs for at-risk kids, laid-off thousands of teachers and teacher-assistants, cut school supply budgets by as much as 60%, eliminated tenure and bonus pay for teachers who have master's degrees... all while using vouchers to funnel public money into for-profit schools where less money is spent on the kids so money can go into the pockets of Wall Street investors.
They cut $64 million from NC's higher education system.
They got rid of jobs for environmental regulators.
They cut drug re-hab programs.
They cut $8 million from the AIDS Drug Assistance Program which will amount to about 900 people w/ AIDS who will no longer be able to get their life-saving medication.
NC used to have public campaign financing for appellate judges (b/c obviously you don't want a judge hearing a case where one of the parties contributed to his campaign), but they eliminated that.  Now, big money buys judges too.
They closed 15 out of 16 abortion clinics statewide.
They have attacked voting rights by limiting early voting, eliminating same-day registration, and eliminating pre-registration for 16 and 17 year-olds.  Why?  B/c they know that most election day voters are older, whiter, and more conservative; while most early voters tend to be younger and more diverse.

This is Art Pope's legacy.  For those of you outside of NC, take this as a little sneak preview of what's coming your way.  Largely b/c of Citizens United, and b/c of America's version of the Golden Rule, one super wealthy individual can almost rule a state.

(Most of the info on here came from http://www.artpopeexposed.com/ and http://billmoyers.com/segment/preview-state-of-conflict-north-carolina/ )

2013 Year in Review (2)

40 questions about my year (Part Two, 21-40):

21. How did you spend Christmas?

Mostly alone.  LOL.  My Owner went to a dinner I wasn’t invited to, and I stayed home and watched James Bond movies.  But it’s not as bad as that – because a few days later we had our Treehouse Yule celebration which was awesome!  We had Ma’am’s parents, a couple of my packmates, Ma’am’s girlfriend and boyfriend, some other wonderful friends of ours, and my old buddy Randolph flew in from Japan for a visit.  Then, Sunday a bunch of us went to the Biltmore Estate (and neither Ma’am nor Sir killed anyone out of frustration).

22. Did you fall in love?

I fall more and more in love w/ my fantastic Owner every year!!!  *licks*

23. Have any one-night stands?

I had a few “stands” but they’ve all been more on-going than one night.

24. What was your favorite TV program?

My favorite TV I watched this year was the first two seasons of Teen Wolf.  I also mostly enjoyed the first season of Game of Thrones and Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.  On DVD, Ma’am and I have been re-watching my all-time favorite show: Northern Exposure.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

There’s a couple of assholes in Virginia Beach I wouldn’t mind backing over w/ my car once or twice.  Is that hate?

26. What was the best book you read?

I never pick one.  Lonesome Rangers by John Leonard, Arguably by Chris Hitchens, The Trial of Socrates by I.F. Stone, and In Defense of Sanity by GK Chesterton, to name a few.

27. What was your favorite new music of 2013?

Mumford & Sons, Lindsey Sterling, Imagine Dragons, Atoms for Peace…

28. Best podcast?

This is a new question I added this year to recognize the damnable march of soul-crushing technology.  I received an iPad this year and stared following several podcasts.  Favorites right now are The Partially Examined Life, Pop Culture Happy Hour, James Bonding, and No Safe Word.

29.  What did you want and get?

A working hot tub (thank you, Max!), a sexy new motorcycle sportbike jacket, and a sexy PVC body suit (which unfortunately, although I custom ordered the size, its still too short in the arms… but it fits better than my last one which I donated to Dominion’s Lost N Found Youth fundraiser).

30. What did you want and not get?

A rubber puppy hood and rubber pup suit.  It would have to be custom tailored given my Wolfhound stature (6’3”, 160 lbs., and long limbs).  One day…

31. What was your favorite film of this year?

Best A-list film:  It’s either The Hollow Crown series (Richard II, Henry IV 1 & 2, and Henry V) or Saving Mr. Banks (overtly sentimental, but very enjoyable) or Before Midnight (not my favorite of the trilogy, but still great dialogue and fantastic acting).  No, wait.  My favorite was the Joss Whedon Much Ado About Nothing.

Best B-movie:  Ender’s Game.

32. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

There’s a progression here…

2011:  “Thirty-six.  Went to Frolicon, and I got a great pup tail for my birthday!!!  Then I got beat by Loki.”

2012: Thirty-seven.  Went to Frolicon and got a great leather puppy hood, and then got accepted into Loki’s pack!!!

2013: Thirty-eight.  Went to Frolicon and was gifted a fantastic leather-pup vest from Sir and Ma’am!!!

33. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I will not say “immeasurably” more satisfying, but… the book project Max and I are working on is about 4 or 5 months behind schedule; that’s a bit dissatisfying.  Oh, and more sexy fun time w/ the Kitten would always be more satisfying!  *Makes puppy dog eyes at Shdwkitten*

34. How would you describe your personal fashion concept this year?

I found a website that has dozens of different Irish wolfhound t-shirts.  Slowly, I’ve been collecting them.  :)

35. What kept you sane?

 My Owner.  Every so often she would say something like: “I know I haven’t always made this an easy year for you, so thank you for being so awesome,” and that little bit of acknowledgement & encouragement means absolutely the world to me.  *wags*

36. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Oh, watching Miley Cyrus twerk really does it for me.  *maintains a straight face*

37. What political issue stirred you the most?

What Raleigh has done to public education in NC: massive budget cuts, more and more teacher lay-offs, pay-cuts, eliminating tenure and benefits, eliminating bonus pay for teachers w/ a Master’s degree, and shifting money into for-profit schools to line the pockets of Wall Street investors and big technology companies – generally at the expense of the poorest school districts.  *Growls*

38. Who did you miss?

Well I reconnected w/ my old friend Jay.  My ex-girlfriend and her husband came down for a weekend visit.  Randolph flew-in from Japan to spend Christmas w/ us.  We even briefly saw Cheryl… and Hunter moved back to Atlanta.  It was actually a very good year for re-connecting w/ folks.

39. Who was the best new person you got to know?

Got to better know a few great people this year: notably Gareth and new pack-mates Hunter, Gwynn, and Bishop.  All cool people I hope to spend more time w/ in 2014.

40. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013:

Well… I’m 38 and a half.  Assuming I make it to the expected 77 (the average in North Carolina – the top state is Hawaii at 81 and the bottom is Mississippi at 71, by the way) then exactly half my life is already gone.  I don’t feel bad about that – but ambivalent, I guess.  We just finished watching Before Midnight, and one of the themes of that film (which is about a couple in mid-life crises) is the transitory nature of everything.  The setting sun is a dominant image in that movie, and there’s one bit of dialogue I wish I could just quote at length here.  This older lady talking about her late husband observes the paradox that someone can be the center of the universe for another person, they can be so important, and yet in the march of time and history they are totally forgotten and irrelevant.  Meaning (if you find it) comes mostly from being important to other individuals.  Friends and family.  I’m 38 and have a list of things I haven’t (yet) done or places I haven’t seen, but…  Happiness isn’t found in having things or accomplishing things but mostly in being a part of things.  But another side of this impermanence is the idea that how we relate to people changes.  In an interview, Richard Linklater, the director of Before Midnight, says that this is still a romance movie, but love and romance at age 41 after living w/ someone for 9 years isn’t the same as what love and romance was at 32 or 23 (the ages of the characters in the previous two films in the trilogy).  But maybe the point is that at a certain stage of life (mid-life), love becomes about stability w/in impermanence, love becomes ‘I’m not going anywhere.’  There’s an odd paradox in that which I can’t fully tease out just now…  But it’s something worth thinking about…

2013 Year in Review (1)

I have used this format at the end of each year since 2004.  So, let the tradition continue.  I’m going to break it up in two posts.

40 questions about my year (Part One, 1-20):

1. What did you do this year that you'd never done before?

The most new experience was marching in the Atlanta Pride Parade.  There were a handful of other little things: Attended the Maryland RennFair; went to AnarchroCon, the Greenville Scottish Games, and the Domination parties in Asheville – witnessed a gay bashing in Asheville – saw Spank! the 50 Shades musical parody, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and Maya Angelou… and bought a Babylon 5 DVD from J. Michael Strazynski’s nephew.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I made two: (1) Finish and publish the family history book I’ve been researching/writing for three years.  Check.  (2) Sketch in my new leather, hand-made sketchbook at least once a week. No check.  I resolve to try that again next year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5. Did anyone close to you get married?

Yes.  Loki and his husband got married.  Legally.  Yea!  :)

6. What places did you visit?

Continued to spend a fair amount of time in Atlanta… and SC.  Went back to Dragon*Con for the first time in like 5 or 6 years.  We went to the Maryland RennFair and visited Mertyl Beach to fly a kite; did Frolicon, SELF, SITS…

7. What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year?

 Vast cosmic power

8. What day from this year will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

 The day I got my vest at Frolicon, marching in Atlanta Pride Parade, and the CAPEX Halloween (in November) party were memorable.

9. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

 This is kind of an odd answer, but I think it was just being there for people who needed me to be there and hanging in there with them.

10. What was your biggest failure?

It’s not exactly a “failure,” but: I had to throw away five, big boxes of my books.  My 16 year-old cat started pissing all along the bottom of the book cases in the library and before we realized it she had destroyed most of my history and psychology books and Star Wars novels.  Kind’a sucked.

11. Did you suffer illness or injury?

A hernia… which required surgery to put back together – my first ever surgery

12. What was the best thing you bought?

 I didn’t buy it, but work issued me an iPad mini which I’ve come to enjoy – mostly for listening to podcasts; that’s 95% of what I use it for.

13. Whose behavior merited a celebration?

My friend Max who, after taking a few years off, re-started his career this year, and so far it’s looking pretty good.  I’m glad to see him getting his mojo back.

14. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

(1)  A couple of pieces of human garbage up in Virginia Beach took in my pack mate, Pup Hunter, and after Hunter started suffering some depression they kicked him out, kept (i.e. stole) all his belongings, and even, out of sheer cruelty, phoned in an anonymous tip to the air port security that he was smuggling drugs, which got Hunter detained and strip-searched by the cops at the airport.  *Growls*  People like that have no business cluttering-up planet Earth, and should be removed to some place that has less atmosphere.  (2)  One of my friends acquired his own Alex Forrest.  A girl whom I believe to be literally obsessive and delusional stalking him around online, bombarding him w/ text messages, etc. (even though he never responds to her).  Then some of her friends sent threatening messages to my Owner…  It’s actually a bit scary.

15. Where did most of your money go?

Technically I bought a car this year, but Ma’am is paying for that, so: Kitten’s beautiful Renn outfit and new hot tub parts!

16. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Our pack doing a puppy play class at CAPEX.  That was fun.  :)

17. What song will always remind you of this year?

Hmmm… probably Viva la Vida by Coldplay.  No particular reason; I just got stuck on that for a while this year.

18. Compared to this time last year, you are:

in a lot more pain.  (Recovering from open – not laparoscopic – surgery.)

19. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Same answer as last year:  Gaming and attending Trish’s philosophy salon.  Always enjoy both, but never get an opportunity for either more than a couple of times a year.

20. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Waiting for Max to finish the shit he needs to do for the book we’re co-authoring

Hobbits and Hernias. (I'm not Dead Yet.)

Just about 2 weeks ago I found a lump on my groin.  I was relatively sure it was a hernia, but hoped it would be something simpler that would go away on its own.  No such luck.  It was a hernia, and a hernia of unusual size nonetheless.  My Owner scheduled me for an operation.  I have never had surgery before, never broke any bones, never even had my tonsils out.  I'm pretty sure I've never even spent the night in a hospital for anything.  So I was just a smidg nervous about this.

The night before my first ever surgery, Ma'am was craving Asian food, so we went out, and decided why not take in a movie.  We wanted to see Saving Mr. Banks, but found it not out yet... So we decided to pony up for the second Hobbit.  I have not seen the first Hobbit; the reviews were so bad I had no desire to sit through it.  Knowing the book, I figured this would be the best of the three because the middle third is the best portion of the very short novel, and it did get better reviews than the first one.  I left the theatre not hating it... But it sure wasn't good either.  It can best be described as fan fiction run amok.  It's been a while since I read the book, but I think around 75% of the movie is not from the book.  Peter Jackson was just adding shit - as much shit as he could think of.  None of it actually leads anywhere or contributes anything to the story.  It's just all these tangents and rabbit trails that lead nowhere but eventually loop back around to Tolkien's story.   It's more like a video game than a movie, going from random fight to random fight way beyond the point where you give a crap.  You could seriously cut that whole film down to like 30 minutes and not lose a single story beat or plot point or anything of significance.  It would make perfect sense and be far less annoying at 30 or 40 minutes.  It really is like 40 minutes of story and 2 hours of filler mixed in.

So here is my theory.  There must be a maximin number of fight/action scenes you can put in a film before the audience really stops to care.  Whatever that number is, Jackson exceeded it.

Here's a corollary of that theory.  There is a maximum number of times that a hero can ALMOST get stabbed/shot/smashed before being saved JUST in the barest knick of time before the audience stops giving a crap.  Jackson exceeded that number.

I left the theatre saying it wasn't bad but wasn't good.  But the more I reflect on it... No, that was just bad.  I wanted to like it, but can't.  It's a shit movie.  Save your money.  Watch the old 1977 animated movie.  It has it's flaws, but it's also only 77 minutes long.

Oh, and before I move on, I have to quote my favorite description of Sauron.  Linda Holmes described him as "a fire-breathing Georgia O'keefe painting."  LOL

But I didn't come here to talk about that.  I was talking about my hernia... Which was only slightly more painful than that movie.  I was nervous, as I was saying, about surgery.  Never had one before and never want to have another one.  My Owner was, of course, awesome.  She held everything together and took fantastic good care of me.  I love her so much, and just can't imagine life without her.

They briefly took me away from Kitten when they took me back to get the IV in.  They had me change into a gown and sox... Both of which were purple and had paw prints on them.  I thought the paw prints was a good sign.  Ma'am was allowed to briefly rejoin me, and when she saw my paw print sox and gown she smiled big.  Definitely a good omen.

The surgery seems to have gone very well.  When they revived me (I had never been under general anesthetic before) they were surprised and encouraged when I reported my pain level as only a 2 or 3 on a scale to 10.  I wasn't trying to act tough, I really didn't feel much pain - certainly nothing compared to what Ma'am or Sir routinely put me through.  In the car, Ma'am had my collar and my squeaky dragon toy waiting for me.  Wedding band back on my finger, collar back around my neck and squeaky toy in my teeth, Ma'am drove me home.

So now I have a plastic mesh permanently implanted in the muscle lining of my groin.  His name is Malcolm.  Malcolm in my middle.  So now when you see me you can ask how Malcolm is feeling today.  And my new safe word when any CBT gets too rough: "Don't upset Malcolm!"

My lovely Owner has been fantastic through all of this.  She's taking very good care of me... While simultaneously getting the Treehouse (our rustic and eccentric home) ready for a small avalanche of guests to descend upon us in a few days.

Today was the winter solstice.  It's the time of year to gather family about to eat, drink and be merry.  I can't wait to have my family here in a few days.  Parents and pack, best friends and new friends, poly boyfriends and poly girlfriends... And poly girlfriend's boyfriends.  LOL.  A dog, a wolf, three cats, a partridge in a pear tree, and my new buddy Malcolm the Mesh in my Midsection.

Twenty-one Things About Me

This was a meme going around FetLife that I'm cross-posting b/c I know not everyone is on Fet.

1.    I generally don’t cry at movies, but the one movie that usually makes me cry is the end of E.T.  The last movie that made me tear-up was Warhorse.  Fucking Steven Spielberg!
2.    I think I have a mild form of prosopagnosia (AKA face blindness); I often have great trouble recognizing faces, even of those I’ve known for years.  I know people more by voice and body, clothes, and context, but if you just show me a photo of someone’s face…
3.    I ride a motorcycle: a 2004 Yamaha FZ6.
4.    For about a year and a half I went to a Zen Center once a week for meditation and dharma talks.  I really liked it.
5.    I drink lots of milk.  In the summer I can go through a gallon in just 2 or 3 days.  I also eat lots of cookies.  One of my best friends says I'm on the Santa Clause diet.
6.     I like art-house films (like Richard Linklater's "Before..." trilogy) and classic movies (like The Big Sleep) and generally can’t stand most “popcorn” Hollywood contrived-blockbuster flicks (like Transformers).  But I'm not a film snob; I also love James Bond and Indiana Jones...  And I'm not a Star Wars prequel hater; I like the original trilogy more, but didn't hate the prequels.
7.    When I was a kid they thought I might be dyslexic or have some other undiagnosed reading disorder: my comprehension has always been very good but I read slow and my spelling was very, very bad (i.e. in high school I still occasionally misspelled my own name).  Now I thank the gods for spell check.
8.    I am slow to anger, and I’m no good at holding grudges.  I shrug things off easily.  Ma'am and I have been together for 9 years, and she's only seen me get really mad like two or three times.
9.    I read a lot, but mostly non-fic.  I usually only do 1 or 2 novels a year.
10.    My dad died when I was nine.  I never really got over it.
11.    When I was a kid, my favorite superhero was Spider-man.  As a teenager, my favorite was Wolverine.  In college, my favorite comic was The Sandman.  I haven’t bought many new comics since about 2000, but I have a huge collection I enjoy re-reading.
12.    I have three undergraduate majors; one is in philosophy and one is in fine art.  After I finished my Masters Degree in 2000, the plan was to work for about 5 years, then go back for a PhD and find a job in academia… instead I bought a treehouse and got married.  So far, I’m good w/ this.  :)
13.  I'm secretly part Thri-kreen.
14.    I love Shakespeare.  (But also just live theatre in general.)
15.    I’ve been a huge fan of the late mythologist Joseph Campbell since I was like 17.  I love how he can blend spirituality w/ art, psychology, and great storytelling.  I was one of the original members of the Joseph Campbell Foundation back when it first started in 1995 or so.  That was the first thing I really used the internet for: their online newsletter and listserv. 
16.    I grew up in Fairyland.  Literally.  Fairyland, GA.  My house was on Oberon Trail.  I am a creature of the Fey.
17.    I am an introvert.  I’m not at all shy; there is a difference.  I just find people taxing, and need lots of alone-time to recharge after socializing.
18.    I have been elected to the CAPEX board four times, but only served a 12-month term once.  Twice, I was elected to a 6 month term, and once I resigned after three months b/c the board was paralyzed by a few assholes who were making sure nobody was having any fun.  (I really had hoped to smooth things over and get things on-track, but after a couple of months I saw that this wasn’t going to happen.)
19.    My earliest memory is being 3 years old and lying on the roof of our car at a drive-in movie watching Star Wars.
20.    My brother and I are total opposites.  He is type-A, neurotic, extremely socially conscious (i.e. always nervous about what others think of him), homophobic, very right-wing, likes to thump his Bible (but I doubt he has any really deep spiritual beliefs, thoughts, or questions), loves computers and is obsessed w/ the latest social networking technology, obsesses on college football, loves Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, racist (he thinks it’s funny to swap “nigger” jokes w/ his redneck friends), and believes man-made climate change is all a left-wing conspiracy.  Total opposites.
21.    My chief value is friendship – and always has been.  I don’t want popularity, but I need a small circle of true, loyal friends.  My peak moments in my life have been w/ my friends.  I am excessively loyal to them.  I have a circle of friends going back to Jr. High School – we’ve hung together for 25 years – but my best friend is my Owner.

A Bloody Good CAPEX Weekend for the Treehouse Family

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