March 2017 Monthly Entry
Rubbout 26 is this weekend and I'll be going for the full weekend. I have both yesterday and tonight booked off. Daddy Eric has come from Austin and the host hotel was booked for the two of us. Sadly, he will be leaving Saturday as he has to attend a conference in another city but he will leave the hotel with me for the last night. I'll let you guys know how it all goes next month.
If I remember correctly since my last entry, there was one more fall of snow before spring arrived. It wasn't a big deal and it didn't take long to wash away. But there has been a lot of rain on and off lately. Few of the plants and trees have started blooming. The temperature has gotten higher during the day and during sunny periods, can be quite warm. But I'm glad winter is gone as it's the worst I recall we've gotten in over 15 years.
The spring break scrub the last 2 weeks was actually good. They changed it up this time: instead of Stride and Second Street daycares like I always been doing, they had me do Lochdale's and Stoney Creek's this time. It wasn't too bad, Lochdale is shorter and easier while Stoney Creek is longer and filthier to clean up at. But the two weeks of having that 3-hour free window has been wonderful! I managed to get a lot of things done: The first week I managed to go to VanCity and update my home address and change from RRSP beneficiary (from David to my younger sister), go to the Neil Squire Society and give the $155 donation from the Knights plus an old laptop (I made mention of my late-friend Peter Hanson who was a member of them but only person knew who he was!), had my Dr.'s appointment to do my annual HIV/Syphilis test, visited MasterG, saw a slavebear buddy of mine - twice (once at Brentwood Mall and the following week at his home in Vancouver), did a couple of visits to Wayne T., did a trip to Eastside Rerides and even a trip to an army surplus store in New West (next to Army & Navy on Columbia but you enter in the back of the building - pic above) to look for a Sam Browne belt but neither had it. At my day job, I spent time getting much needed naps past my shift time. Whenever I got Stoney Creek's daycare done early, I would spend the remainder of my shift (using my break time) in the library on the computer. But I'm glad I accomplished a lot during the spring break.
While all my new leather items have come in, not all my rubber ones have. It seems E7 Gear has overlooked my order and even with the faster shipping option (they paid for), Daddy Eric in Texas won't be home to pick my package scheduled this Thursday because he will leave for the airport in Austin early in the morning. So I can't go to Rubbout in my new gear! Total bullshit... Anyways, the leather gear was pretty good but some of it was too big on me. I had my breeches, uniform shirt, and pants (the ones I picked up in Wisconsin) altered at a alternator in Langley to tighten them up. She did a great job and they fit better! It was costly: about $225 with tip but I was satisfied with the results. The one snag was an extra snap button she put on the neck of my shirt - it was a cheap one that broke after I tried it on when I got home. I took it to the Original Leather Factory on Boundary Road and the guy there replaced the snap with a stronger one for $5 - though the guy I found was a bit of an ass. The only other snag was the Sam Browne belt. The first one I ordered from EBay was a little big width-wise and can't fit the belt loops of the breeches (or anything that I know for that matter!) so I got another one off Amazon that arrived just in the nick of time before my Seattle trip. It fits but it's such a bad pain in the ass to deal with! The shoulder strap I got off EBay was too long (my bad!) so I bought one in Seattle just in the nick of time too. But after around $2000, I'm mostly satisfied with my gear and I hope will last me years. The only rubber item I got was the wader hip boots. I love them! But I need to wait for my chaps, jock, and shirt to see how it'll all look...
On March 23, our longest member of the Dogwood Chapter for over 30 years, Damian Elliott, passed away. I will write a separate entry on him soon with pictures.
Last weekend I went to the Washington State Mr. & Ms. & Bootblack Contest in Seattle with Wayne T. joining me. On Saturday morning, we took the Bolt Bus at the Main Street train station, departing at 11am though for whatever reason, we were the last group to be called on. It was the first time for both of us to try it out after using Quick Shuttle for years. While the bus has working wifi, it is quite slow. You can power your devices too in certain rows that have plugs but due to so many uses and placing it in the front, it can be easy for it to not plug fully or be knocked off accidentally. The seats are kind of cramped and legroom is not that good either. But it was certainly fast because of less stops compared to Quick Shuttle. We went straight to the US border. There was a Greyhound bus already there and was already in the process of interviews. It took nearly half an hour for Wayne and I to get to an official. Interview wasn't too hard, and after our bags were scanned, I wanted to go to the washroom but the driver wanted us all on the bus as it was getting late. I had to piss in the bus' washroom after we re-boarded. After the border we did a quick stop at a bus stop in Bellingham before continuing south straight to Seattle. On the way, I re-installed two gay apps on my phone. The Recon X one I had problems with because the wifi wouldn't allow it (Recon X is not in the Google Play store, you have to use your phone's browser to download and install it) so I had to use my roaming plan to bypass the block. Besides some messaging, I dosed off and on that I didn't realize we were coming out of Everett. We arrived at our stop in time, 3pm. Thad & Charlie and Bryan & Arnie were all waiting for us. After greetings and hugs, they drove us separately to Regent Bakery & Cafe, which was a Chinese-food cafe near Doghouse Leathers (we needed to make a quick stop there anyways). I had a Szechuan chicken dish and it was good. We then walked over to Doghouse Leathers so I could buy a shoulder strap for my Sam Browne belt to complete my leather uniform. I did manage to find one and Wayne bought it for me (awwww!). I then found myself a new vest in my size and a few BDSM books. After we were done, Wayne went with Bryan & Arnie (though accidentally forgot to give me the shoulder strap) while I went back with Thad & Charlie. At their home, Charlie prepped the bed for me and I changed into all the leather I lugged over. It all fit pretty well except... my boots! My leather breeches were tightening the boots as I put the bottom of my leggings into it. It was constrictive and painful! Charlie had to help me get my left boot on while I struggled with my right one. Strange... when I wore my boots in Houston last October, it was easier - but I was also wearing my rubber uniform so it was thinner material. Both Thad & Charlie wore their Knights formals and muir caps. Thad carried the bag of flags to the car while Charlie drove us near the Cuff and parked in a lot for $10. Bryan & Arnie and Wayne were already there plus Drake. My shoulder strap was still in Bryan's car and Wayne walked all the way back and picked it up for me (Thank you Wayne!).
The turnout was very good, lots of hot leathermen! Wayne and I saw Rick Ruben, whom we haven't seen in years though we let each other know we were coming down. He was looking handsome and lost a lot of weight. I finally got to meet his Sir too. At the beginning of the contest, the Seattle Knights asked me (and I volunteered) if I wanted to be part of their colour guard. I accepted and got the Canadian flag. I will say, Seattle's protocol is different than ours: while we sing both Canadian and American anthems, they only do their own. It was very quick and Wayne used my camera to get some shots. We rolled up the flags and put them back into the bag. The contest took over a couple of hours and I could tell it was becoming torture for us. My boots were causing me pain and it was hard to relieve it. As time went on, I was getting a small headache. Wayne and I bought drinks and even offered one to a couple of newer Seattle Knight members (I forgot their names, one was a chunky cub and the other a woman). Outside of one contestant jumping ship at the beginning of the contest, everyone else got the 60 points minimum needed and were crowned their titles. When the bartenders started to open the bar again, Thad & Charlie wanted to leave immediately and while Thad gave me the key to their home if I wanted to stay, due to the pain from my boots, I decided to go with them and Drake. Wayne stayed with Bryan & Arnie that night. Back at Thad & Charlie’s, both Drake and Charlie pulled my boots off: the right was pretty easy while the left was a small struggle. God... I felt so much relief! Thad remembered our “Jet dog” stuffed pooch and handed it with me - plus a small scarf to put it in bondage LOL! After some drinks and some chips/dip they provided, Thad led Victor downstairs to bed as he was very intoxicated and then Thad went up to bed himself. Charlie spent just over the next hour talking. Charlie had his shirt off and I was cruising him big time... I wish he felt the same toward me. Still, it was nice to be alone with him for a friendly chat. When he was ready to go to bed, he leaned to me and gave me a quick kiss . I had to fight to keep my hands off him LOL! I then went downstairs as he put the lights out. I put away some of my leather and after a washroom break, went to bed. While my headache was going down, it was hard to sleep so I dozed on and off through the night in just under 8 hours.
My sleep wasn’t too bad and if anything, wanted more of it. But we got up at 9am as we assumed the victory brunch at the Cuff was going to start at 10am. I packed my stuff and we promptly returned to the Cuff. We found it was still closed and that the brunch started at 11:30am as a poster advertising the leather weekend was outside. Bryan & Arnie and Wayne came seconds after we arrived and noticed. So with that wrong info, we decided to eat at Lost Lake on 10th. We walked downhill on Pine in the light rain together which had some rainbow painted crosswalks (similar to ours on Davie & Bute). Lost Lake was packed but we got a booth immediately. I ordered a waffle with pecans and fruit, a poutine, and a banana & honey milkshake. I was going to pay for all the drinks but Bryan paid the entire meal and drinks. I now owe the Seattle Knights a round of drinks in the future. Wayne let me know that he was given 15 “K of M” cross patches for our vests from Bryan and that we would pay for them once we get the price from him. I was texting Daddy Carl who was doing more errands since yesterday, hoping we would meet before Wayne and I left the city. We returned to the Cuff and one of the Pine street entrances was open. There was over 60 men and women enjoying the brunch but since we already ate, we didn’t bother. We stood and watched from the upper section. There were a lot of speeches and time was getting short. Before leaving I said goodbye to Rick and congratulated the Mr. & Ms. Washington State Leather titleholders (sadly, couldn’t get to Bootblack). As Thad & Charlie were going to take us back to the bus stop and time was running short, we thanked and said goodbye to Bryan & Arnie and Drake. After putting our things into Charlie’s car, we reminded them that we had to quickly return to Doghouse Leathers to talk to the owners. Thad wasn’t too thrilled given we were almost out of time to get to our destination but he permitted it. We quickly went in and as expected, Daddy Carl was waiting for me. Before we could speak, we had the conversation with a clerk (as the owners were not in that day) and gave the information we were asked to pass on by MasterG. This included adding the names of VASM founders George Whiting and my Daddy, David Jacobs since they both passed away. Before leaving, Daddy Carl and I had a few minutes to be together before Thad got us to go. Sigh... we managed to make the bus on time about 10 minutes before boarding. We took our bags and thanked Thad & Charlie for their hospitality. It was still raining a little outside and again, we were the last group to be called on. At 1pm we departed. Wayne and I had to sit separately since all rows were taken. The guy I sat next to with the window seat was kind of big and I felt cramped that I needed to stick my foot in the aisle. I charged my phone and watched YouTube videos the entire bus ride. At the Bellingham stop, the guy I sat next to got off and Wayne joined me as I moved to the window seat. There was no bus in front of us at Customs so going through was a lot quicker. The interview went by well plus Wayne and I didn’t have to pay duty despite going past the exemption. After I got to wash my hands, we continued north. We got back to the Main Street bus station 20 minutes before the scheduled 5pm arrival. Wayne went straight home as he had to rest for work while I continued back to Langley for my father to pick me up.
I thought it was a fun little Seattle weekend romp. I wish I could have spent more time there and got more minutes with Daddy Carl. But seeing the Seattle Knights, Rick, and Carl was totally worth it.
My final thoughts on Star Trek: DS9 will be uploaded in April. I hope when things settle down, I can try working on Castlevania again.
Last Movie: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Theatrical 3D), Captain America: Civil War (Netflix)
Last Book: The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics - Mere Christianity
Last Game: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP)
Current Book: The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics - The Screwtape Letters
Current Games: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD (Xbox 360) & Dragon Ball Origins 2 (DS) & Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2)