April 2017 Monthly Entry
April was a mix of sun and rain. Most cherry blossom trees have bloomed but now we are at a point that most are done and leaves are coming out. I didn't get much in the way of pics I'm afraid. For Victoria Day weekend, I will be visiting Calgary and taking Daddy Scott to a Final Fantasy concert. Ben let me know that he will not be in the city that weekend this time. Bummer... :-(
My day job keeps getting worse it seems. The fire department informed my manager that they want all our cleaning supplies vacated from every electrical closet and maintenance room in our buildings! The reason? Insurance reasons and an update to the building code. My co-worker and I had our stuff in those electrical closets since these buildings opened and now we have the inconvenience of putting them farther away from the lobby? While I can get around this in one of my buildings, the other building is a major problem... I'll talk to Strata and see what they can do but needless to say, I was pissed and my manager gave the usual "that's not my problem" attitude. This is a fine example of when companies should fire architects and building planners for not thinking of basic things like a custodian closet and even a damn trades washroom in a damn building (faceplam)! Things took a dark turn recently between my manager and I also... but I'll talk about that in this month's future entry.
Here's my experience of Rubbout this year from Mar.30 to Apr.2:
On Thursday as my day job shift was ending, I was debating if I should have lunch first or head to YVR first. I had a couple of hours before Daddy Eric was to touch down. I decided to go to YVR so I could park and have something to eat there. Might as well be early. Daddy Eric messaged me as he was taking off from his transfer Las Vegas. I drove to YVR for the first time and I passed the parkade so I circled and returned to it. I parked near departures and spent some time walking to where US arrivals was on the bottom floor. There was a Tim Horton's near it so I had a nice lunch while waiting. The flight from Vegas was delayed by 12 minutes due to someone getting on late. But after some waiting, Daddy Eric emerged and I gave him a hug. I took one of his bags and we walked back to my car, surprisingly I remembered how to get back there! I punched in the address on my GPS for the Sandman Suites on Davie and left the parkade. After paying for parking, it didn't take long to put up with rush hour traffic while still near the airport. It was nice to hold Daddy's hand though. After YVR and going north on Granville, it was a nice scenic drive to downtown. On Davie, I found the corner of Bute has been closed off going west that my GPS didn't know. I continued until I could turn west and go into the back alleys. I parked my car at the back of Hamburger Mary's and we walked to the hotel and got our hotel room cards. Daddy Eric couldn't put the entire charge and $200 deposit on his credit card so I did it. He didn't know about the deposit and ( like he did in Houston) told management that they should let people know on their website about it. Fair enough. We returned north but had Hamburger Mary's for dinner. I've never been in it since they reopened after a long renovation and... it's boring. I missed the 50's diner look and they instead went into today's look. Daddy Eric was cruising the cubbish waiter and had a turkey dinner while I had a chicken sandwich. I paid for the meal. We returned to my car and went next door into the back hotel parkade. After parking we took our bags out and went up to our room: 1604. We set up our stuff but noticed the refrigerator was leaking a bit. We had a staff member look at it and we think it may be ice build up so we left a towel to soak up the water and see if it would continue leaking. We didn't have time to go to Bill Houghton's surprise birthday celebration at the Pumpjack Pub as Daddy Eric was tired and went to bed. After around a couple of hours on my laptop, I joined him.
In the morning, Daddy Eric made sure I was up and after I pawed him with his undies on, the temptation to suck his cock was there and since he seemed receptive to the idea, I pulled it out and he helped pull down his undies. After over 10 minutes of sweaty service and playing with his nips, he fed me his protein WOOF! Free breakfast! I showered and went to my day job, arriving about the same time I usually get there. Daddy and I texted each other throughout my shift. He had coffee and breakfast at Starbucks and did some shopping. After my shift, I returned downtown to the hotel. We decided to go pick up our packages, plus Wayne T.'s, at the Pumpjack Pub across the street. We went over and got our bags which included the Rubbout wristband. There was a pup there that got Daddy Eric's attention and I introduced Daddy Eric to Daddy Norm, the president of Vancouver Men in Leather. Daddy Norm was originally from Texas so I thought it be interesting to hook them up together. After running into Clark Nikolai (Daddy Eric would tell me right after that they messaged each other but Clark just went blank for some reason...) we went back to our room. We spent about a few hours on our laptops with me finishing and uploading my March blog entry. During that time, Daddy Eric wanted to check out the Spaghetti Factory and I suggested we go to the one in Gastown as it is the nearest. I checked Translink's website on how to get there as I haven't been to that location in 17 years and it was during my graduating year of high school for Law 12 class. It was mostly cloudy at the time but I let Wayne T. know what I was doing and he was staying at Paul's until I called when we were coming back. At the Spaghetti Factory, it was about an over 20 minute wait as it was packed. We were seated in the old tram car. We were given plenty of bread while waiting for our orders. I don't remember what Daddy ordered but I had some chicken pasta dish. It was okay but I couldn't finish it as it got kind of sickening to me. For everything, the bill wasn't that bad so I paid for it with tip. It was night by the time we left and I forgot how nice Gastown is with the lights out. We transited back to the hotel and I had Wayne wait in the lobby for us.
After Wayne and Daddy Eric were re-introduced as they haven't seen each other since Gathering 2005 in Portland, Oregon we went up to our room so Wayne and I could change for the Rubbout dance back at the Pumpjack Pub. Daddy Eric was not up to going and would go to bed early. I wore the rubber suit with wader boots that I bought last year at the swap meet plus my rubber mask that I bought from Priape 5 years ago. The upper body portion of the suit was kind of tight that my arms couldn't raise up all the way. But it still looked nice and we walked across to the Pumpjack and I had my camera in tow. The back area with the pool table was packed with pups and rubbermen. Poor Daddy Eric was missing out! I said hi to some guys and took pictures. My bear buddy from Prince Rupert, Doug happened to be in town and he came to the Pumpjack as I texted to let him know I was there. He was introduced to Wayne for the first time and both of us were servicing his nipples, much to his delight! Both Wayne and I had a nice time that night and left after about a couple of hours. When we returned to the room, Daddy Eric was already in bed so Wayne helped me get out of my suit. We then said goodbye and he returned to Paul's to spend the night. I didn't spend much time on my laptop but I had a shower and joined Daddy in bed. My day job has screwed me again for a Saturday morning shift and I would find out the snowball effect is my missing the swap meet this year (middle finger toward my manager!).
I got up after Daddy Eric was already up. It was his last day in the city as he had a conference back in Vegas to attend. My drive to Burnaby was pretty good and I got to start my shift at MacPherson Walk a little earlier. During my shift, Daddy Eric was at the swap meet and he texted me some pics of interesting items. Fellow Knight Norman was working the swap meet and so was Wayne too. Back at work, I was lucky as my manager's father had to stop by and pick up my keys. I haven't seen him for quite a long while and he's never visited this condo before. By his coming around half an hour before the end of my shift, it meant leaving early to return to Vancouver. Once I got back, Daddy Eric was already packed but he had two gifts waiting for me: a pair of undies similar to his style and a pair of heavy rubber gloves that he found at the swap meet - because I mentioned the previous night that I needed a pair to go with my rubber suit! Awwww... he's so sweet! (Wayne would get me a pair of biker chaps too!) So we went back down to my car with his bags and I drove him to YVR airport. I was missing him already as I proceeded south. After I parked and went inside with him, he did his pre-boarding for his transfer flight to SFO and we went to Wendy's for dinner, my treat. We got into talking about politics and it seems we are somewhat on the same wavelength which I guess was reassuring. We then returned to the bag drop off and security screening entrance and said our goodbyes. I prepaid my parking fee, left YVR, and returned back to the hotel. Lots of driving that day, whew! I returned to my room and waited for Wayne to call me as he was finishing up dinner at a Japanese restaurant with friends. While waiting, Doug came up for a visit after he had been out to UBC and we spent some time chatting and waiting for Wayne. The sunset from my balcony was nice and took a few pics as we were talking. After Wayne arrived, both of us serviced Doug's nipples again and I got him to cum when I went down on him. WOOF!
After Doug left Wayne and I dressed for the play party that we were volunteering to do the coat check for. I was going to wear my rubber uniform this time and as we were getting my pants on, the lower left part of my knee ripped on me! It's a significant hole and while it can barely be seen as I'm standing and walking, it can be seen when I'm sitting. I was distraught as this was only the third event I wore it at! My boots, the same ones that caused me pain last weekend, fit perfectly fine with the rubber suit. As I suspected, my leather breeches are too thick for the boots so I now know to buy newer, wider boots for it. As for Wayne, he wore his hot neoprene singlet suit (with jock to cover his junk) that he picked up last year in Palm Springs. We walked to Celebrities to a separate entrance after we saw Andy Cook, one of the main ringleaders this year for Rubbout and one of our Lord of the Knights. We had everything we needed from him so we were grateful. There was no charge for the use of the coat check but tips were encouraged. As we were setting up, Wayne accidentally fell and hurt his knee and hip. It slowed him down a bit for the night but he still did a great job regardless. Things got very busy very quickly but we came up with a system to get things done in numerical order. The major problem was trying to keep the tags on bags since most guys used them. Wayne was best at this so I left it to him. We had few periods to catch our breath and when Wayne was experiencing pain from his fall earlier, I let him sit while I handled a few guys. We got a couple of free cokes to dehydrate us throughout the shift plus a third volunteer to help a bit. As it slowed down later that night, I walked around the play space first. Wasn't getting cruised though there was some nice sights and action going around. I returned after a few minutes and Wayne went out soon after. Then came the struggle at the end to give everyone back their jackets and bags. Took over an hour but everything worked out in the end and we were complimented on our work. Having a third person made things faster. The tip money collected was our own and we made (from what I remember) $101.60 for the Knights. Sometime before the end, I noticed Daddy Norm was fucking his boy/husband in a sling and came in him. Needless to say, I was kind of jealous but kept it to myself. Once the last person got his bag and we put everything together for Andy, we returned his things and we ourselves returned to the hotel. It was after 2am but I washed my rubber and hung it up for air drying. Wayne and I chatted about Damian and listened to some good oldies music. After my shower I joined him in bed. As for Daddy Eric, he let me know he made it to Vegas to begin his week there and the following weekend for Smokeout.
After the usual snuggle n' fuck, Wayne and I finished packing and put our bags in my car. We went to the lobby for check out but let the front desk know we had a brunch to go to and we would be back around 1pm to return our keys. We transited to the Empire Landmark Hotel on Robson where the final brunch was. I haven't been there for for over 5 years from my memory (2011 Mr. & Ms. Gay Vancouver Pageant). The brunch was okay: fruit, sausage, hash browns, bacon, coffee, and juice. In terms of turnout... there was considerably less this year than last. There were a few speeches, including one by Preston So - the new Mr. International Rubber titleholder from New York. I brought my pictures from last year's Rubbout and handed them out to people, especially the ones of Bill Houghton, and the rest I gave to one of the Rubbout organizers (I forgot his name). Wayne and I got our pictures taken of Preston separately. We returned to the Sandman Suites and dropped our cards in the parkade lobby bin before I drove us away. Before taking Wayne home, I suggested we do a quick stop at Eastside Rerides and he agreed. There wasn't much for me outside of looking at some leather trench coats but Wayne did find a pair of nice small leather boots which he purchased. I then drove him home and left my laptop with him for Damian's sister to borrow for the post-funeral reception later in the week. I then went home myself. I had an okay time this year at Rubbout and I wa thankful Daddy Eric made it up. I wish he could have attended everything but it wasn't meant to be. Perhaps things will be better next year.
April 8th was the first year anniversary of David's passing. I returned to his burial site at Surrey Centre Cemetery where the Schara Tzedeck Jewish Cemetery section was. Since there is no plot, it took about 5 minutes to find where David was buried. I'm grateful the section is still new so there aren't many burials. There were these small plastic signs with the name, date of death, and section number of the deceased. Obviously, for people who cannot afford a plot given they are so expensive. I wish I had the money to buy David a plot, I feel bad that he has nothing given the life he lived. It was cloudy and a little rainy that mid-afternoon and I had one of his copies of the Tanakh with me. I stood at his burial and read Psalm 23 while I started to cry. I then did some talking - talking about how rough the year has been without him and missing our way of life together, including Kevin MacKenzie. I wanted to get a picture of his burial but my phone died on me (explained below... grrrr...). I decided to read Genesis 45 - his Torah portion from his bar mitzvah. It was starting to rain again but before I left, I noticed some of the flower pots mourners have left were knocked over due to the heavy wind we had the previous night. So I walked around the section and put them all back up. After a "Shalom" to David and the rest of the deceased, I stopped at McDonald's take out for a smoothie and went home. I'll visit the burial again someday soon and get a picture. Sigh... I miss you Avi...
I had to get a replacement for my Blackberry PRIV. The built-in battery was running out so quickly that I couldn't even use memory/graphic-heavy apps (like Google Maps, and even the camera) as the phone would restart itself over and over until the battery was at the tail end of empty. I had to carry around a Samsung charger during my shifts and it was getting irritating to leave my phone and charge it at times. I strongly believe that the replacement charger I got at SFO was not truly compatible with my phone so it damaged the life of the battery a lot. I called Bell and explained the situation. Since I paid into monthly insurance on my phone plan, for $150 they would send me another PRIV with charger. It arrived two days later. I transferred some of my data and re-installed most apps of the new phone. I took off the custom phone case and after a quick cleaning, I snapped it in the new one. I need a new screen protector though. Bell provided a box with return shipping label so I reseted the old phone to factory settings and peeled off the previous screen protector. The screen on the old phone was immaculate! Good show! Besides the brand new micro-SIM they included but I didn't need, I typed up a letter explaining about the battery and as I told customer service, I left my Blackberry charger back in California so I could not include it in the return. I was keeping the charger they sent me with the new phone. It's the same as my old one so it works perfectly. My old phone was mailed back to them a couple days later (if I kept it or was too late, I would get charged for it). I'm pretty satisfied and I can complete my contract cycle without penalty until next January. Not sure what my next phone will be but I'm satisfied with this one.
During Easter weekend I watched Disney's Hercules on Blu-Ray. I don't think I've seen this movie for over a decade with Kevin as I had the original DVD release. I remember using the DVD player on my PS2 and getting a screwed up screen. We found it was because I had it hooked up through the VCR so I guess the DVD had anti-piracy built in. I think this eventually prompted us getting a separate DVD player for our household and we could watch the movie clearly. Anyways, I generally like Hercules even though it was obvious Disney couldn't stop with the cliques that were seen as common since The Lion King (I gave Aladdin a pass on that). For those who know of the Greek/Roman versions of the stories of Hercules, Disney definitely had to cut corners and make it family friendly. But it also makes it distracting... making Hera the loving mother of Hercules makes no sense. Making her the villain (in league with Hades would've been interesting) would have been more original though my impression in the original stories is that she eventually relents after her many tortures on the poor Hercules. I mean in the end I get it, it's Disney so they change stories around to make them more universal and family friendly. But Greek and Roman mythology is a hard thing to tip-toe around given its stories of questionable sexual morals, violence, jealously, greed, and so forth. It does seem a little strange that Disney chose Hercules given the vast array of stories of humans and gods in Greek/Roman myth. One can even look at past great movies like Jason and the Argonauts for inspiration despite having to make changes from the original myth. But perhaps what sets Hercules apart is making it a pop-cultural comedy and I have to admit, some parts can be funny and oh so 90's references. Personally, I like that the movie has quite a few bearish characters. But most agree that the highlight of the movie is Hades, voiced by James Woods. Danny DeVito as "Phil" Philoctetes was good too and even the centaur Nessus, voiced by the talented Jim Cummings. Overall, while it is not on my highest list of Disney masterpieces, I do like the movie and consider it a favourite.
For Doug Walker's review, go here or below:
Click to viewI haven't been doing much since last entry but I plan to get my final thoughts entry on Star Trek: DS9 soon.
Last Movie: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Theatrical 3D), Disney's Hercules (Blu-Ray)
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)