Rubbout 2024
Rubbout 31 was April 12-14 with a circus/clown theme ("Sirkus") this year. Like last year, it was the four of us all weekend: Wayne T., Pat, Eugene, and I. The Sandman on Davie was the host hotel as usual though they have seemed to have completed their renovations. The lobby is brighter and the rooms more modern - not that the rooms were bad before or anything. There were no professional photographers this year, so it fell on one individual (I forgot his name) and myself to fill in the gap. Here is how the weekend went.
Work was too busy and exhausting for me, taking my break and finally having lunch about twenty minutes after 10pm. I left at 11pm to drive up to and along Hastings to downtown. I couldn’t turn onto Thurlow as it looked like they were shooting a movie or show. I took Bute instead and went around it to get back onto Thurlow. I parked my car temporarily in the back of the hotel but had to walk all around to Davie to get to the front as the back door was locked. Wayne was waiting for me in the lobby and had to open the front door to get me in. I got my key card and registered my car at the front desk. He returned up to the room while I exited out the back to return to my car and parked at the bottom of the parkade. I grabbed my stuff and went up to room 707. I said hello to Eugene and Pat as I walked in. Eugene got into Vancouver about 3:30pm after his transfer in Seattle. Wayne picked up our packages earlier that afternoon at the Pumpjack Pub though Pat had to get his package the next day. I set my stuff down and around while I gave Wayne a $200 contribution for the room on behalf of Eugene and me. I was too tired from work to gear up and go to the Pumpjack to take some pictures, so I relaxed on the couch having a few snacks and drinks Wayne provided. About 1am, we went down to get some pizza slices for a late supper. As we were eating, we saw some latexmen come inside from Pumpjack across the street with one of them I recognized from last year. We returned to the room, and we all went to bed about 3am. Wayne and Pat slept on the fold-out sofa bed while Eugene and I shared the double bed in the separate bedroom. I slept okay but did a lot of turning around. Eugene snuggled with me a lot too.
In the morning, Eugene stroked and sucked me before we got up after 10:30am. I had a shower and then Eugene after me. We all walked down to The Basic at noon for brunch. We spent just over an hour there as both Wayne and Pat took a while to eat their food. I had a clubhouse sandwich with fries. It was good but the portion wasn’t much. Wayne paid for all of us, thankfully. We walked back to the Pumpjack as the Swap Meet had started at 1pm.
I did not find that much for myself and most of the best stuff was gone by the time we arrived. Pat got to pick up his Rubbout package. I met a cute bear from Chicago that contacted me through Recon and arrived on Thursday. He was kind-of dressed like a clown as per the weekend’s theme and I liked his red and yellow catsuit. Benny was volunteering at the exit of the swap meet and would be the only time we would see him all weekend.
At 3pm, I went across the street to the Junction for the Puppy Bowl while the Knights stayed behind. I got some pictures of the pups while Mitch Kenyon (former Rubbout organizer) was the host. By the end of the Bowl, I shot group photos of the pups thanks to Mitch getting them together on stage. I returned to Pumpjack briefly and we went back to the hotel room. Pat picked up a cool yellow and black splatter latex shirt while Eugene got a leather jacket. We all relaxed and napped for over the next hour. I then got into my transparent catsuit and (as of the previous weekend) freshly shined Wesco Highliners. My recent weight loss did help very slightly in getting into the tight suit compared to last year. At 7pm, Eugene and I went to the Pumpjack while Wayne continued to nap a little more.
I got some pictures of the rubber cube and sleep stack that volunteers were getting into. Both Wayne and Pat eventually arrived with Wayne in his traditional leather and Pat in the latex shirt he had just bought. After two hours, we left after 9pm to go to the private party at Elysium, which was above Denny’s on Thurlow & Davie. I do not think I have been up there in years, probably during the days of the Oasis. We had to show two pieces of ID to get in as our Rubbout weekend wristbands were not enough. It sucked, but not as bad as what happened to Wayne and me back at Knights Gathering 2017 in Portland, Oregon. At least the door lady at Elysium didn’t harass Eugene for his passport and force him to write out a form to get in!
Going upstairs into the club, we sat down and looked at the digital drink menu, shocked at some of the prices so we did not drink anything all night. I do not even know what the cost of a glass of pop was. I kept my photography strictly within the bar and dance section as some went to a back separate room to play a bit. Daddy Norm and boy Spence arrived later and felt Daddy was still a little cold toward me after what happened in November. Sigh. Wayne went to the back room a couple of times and only saw action go on during the longer second visit. Both Eugene and Pat stayed put and were a little bored. Before we left after 11pm, I saw the bear from Chicago again, this time wearing a black catsuit, and took the last picture of the night with him. The four of us went downstairs to Denny’s for a late supper. I had a sirloin steak with fries and broccoli, which was quite good. I paid for Eugene and I and we returned to the hotel after midnight. At the front desk, I requested extra towels to be sent up as I needed them for drying the latex I was going to wash. They arrived about half an hour later. After Eugene helped me out of my catsuit and boots, I worked on cleaning Pat’s latex shirt first and then my sweaty catsuit. After some air drying and wiping dry, they were done. I then did some packing up in the bedroom. Pat left at 1am to go sleep elsewhere nearby (why Wayne did not let him sleep again in the room I do not know…) while the rest of us went to bed about 2am. It was hard to sleep as I wasn’t that tired. Eugene wasn’t on his left side so I could not fuck him when I was hard, much to my disappointment.
Eugene got up first and then I eventually did after 9:30am Sunday. I had my shower and finished packing. I dropped my stuff and Eugene’s in the back of my car while I sorted some of my junk too in the back seat. Back upstairs, Pat arrived, and we soon went to brunch at 11am at the Junction. We had a decent breakfast, though they ran out of bacon before we got to the buffet table. Eugene did not get up to have anything to eat, preferring to wait until his 2-hour layover in Seattle to get something. I took pictures of everyone at their tables. I even got pictures of Daddy Norm and boy Spence at their large table. Daddy did not say much to me, but he was not cold toward me either. A hopeful sign? Anyways, during a speech by the Rubbout organizer, I got publicly acknowledged for my photography during the weekend! Wayne and Pat went back to the hotel to grab the few things left in the room and check out while waiting for Eugene and me in the lobby. He and I stayed behind as they were doing the raffle. I won a prize: I guess it is some silicone wire that goes around your balls(?) I later gave it to Wayne. At the end of it all, Eugene and I returned to the hotel lobby sometime after 1pm. We said goodbye to Wayne and thanked him for getting the hotel room and providing us with snacks and drinks. He was staying downtown a bit longer to visit his friend, Jack. I then drove Eugene and Pat out of the hotel and took the Burrard Street Bridge to get myself back onto Granville so I could go south to the airport. It was a beautiful day with some cherry blossoms still blooming on the side streets. We played some classic tunes from my phone on the way. I dropped Eugene off just after 2pm, thanking him for making the trip, and that I hoped to see him at Gathering this summer. I then took Pat home in Surrey, and then I got home just after 3pm. My older sister came up about an hour later to do my taxes while my folks were at the hospital as my mom was getting her daily IV treatment.
It was a bummer to miss one event at Rubbout this year, but it could not be helped given how tired I was Friday night. Doing photography for the weekend was fun and I am glad the organizers and attendees liked what I was doing for them. I enjoyed my time with Eugene here and hope he will make it to Knights Gathering this summer.