Tawdry Talk

Last night, we completed all of the calls on the Plus-level calling list. We still have four weeks of class left, which means that it’s all going to be review, learning the calls from unusual positions, and more challenging, faster calling. I am amazed at how fantastically well this class has progressed in learning the calls. Harlan is generally a great teacher, even if he does get distracted a bit sometimes in his explanations of things. But the students in the class have been very strong dancers and I feel great joy in having been able to learn with them.

Had a lovely massage with a client Sunday morning, then while chatting with Albadger, he mentioned that he needed some help delivering a recliner to -h (henare). I, in my largesse, volunteered Big John in SF (bigjohnsf), knowing that I was already going to using his van to go grocery shopping, asked John if I could instead go help deliver the chair, promising him that they’d fuel the van for him. He agreed, and off we went.

If you’ve never been to the Badgerpad, then you don’t know that he lives up in the hills of San Leandro, and he has an amazing view of the bay. He had been able to maneuver the heavy chair out to the deck in the back yard, but his yard is very steep, and needed some help to get it up around the house and to the street level, which is easily a 30-foot change in elevation from the deck level to the street. I reconnoitered the path and decided that it was too narrow to traverse with the two of us carrying the chair, so I heaved the chair up onto my shoulders (with some help from Albadger), and trudged that climb. That chair weighs around 125 pounds.

Once we got the chair loaded into the van, we fueled it up, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed across the San Mateo bridge, up 101 to Henry’s place. I unloaded the chair, and left it up to them to get it up his stairs, and I took off, mission accomplished.

While we were eating, my phone rang, and it was my “cousin,” Jason. He’d promised he’d call me, but as I was eating with Al, I told him I’d call him back in ten minutes, which I did, but I got an “unavailable” message, so I kept trying to call him over the course of the drive to Henry’s. No luck, but there’s always today.

Western Star Dancers held their 24th Anniversary Dance last night at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, with Eric Henerlau calling.

During the most crowded portion of the evening, there were six squares on the floor (48 dancers), with people milling about into the kitchen, sitting on the sidelines. Between tips, he played music suitable for two-stepping, western swing, and even lead a “Wild, Wild West” circle dance. His calling was enjoyable yet unremarkable, and the only thing that really stood out was this rapid-fire tip he called at the mainstream class level. I think that perhaps he’s too used to calling for older crowds of straight dancers, although he did have some nice uptempo music.

Western Star always sets a lovely table, and there were all sorts of nummy goodies in the kitchen. I even brought a small dish of the brocolli slaw home - I’d never put grape tomatoes into it before, and now I’m going to have to try that out in my own version.

LJers in attendance included Big John in SF (bigjohnsf), Josh(ua) (enhydrasf), and markosf. There might have been others, too, but I’ve never been terribly good at listing the who’s who.

After the dance, we came home and after briefly checking messages, crashed out. I didn’t get to dance with a few particular men, but fortunately, there are always other dances! A good time was had, and congratulations Western Star for 24 years!

I took only a few pictures because I was busy dancing, but the ones I captured are behind the cut.


(more…)

Here’s my inaugural episode of Tawdry Talk! Enjoy.

In this episode:

• Calder Exhibit
• Friends Page
• Chilli Cha Cha
• Bit Rationale’s The Burlesque

The AP, courtesy of MSNBC has a lovely article about Buck Owens, an influential country music singer and songwriter, who died Saturday of unreleased causes. Growing up in Sacramento, country music had an important role in shaping some of my musical sensibility, and Buck Owens, inventor of the Bakersfield Sound, with its more raw edge than what was coming out of over-stylized Nashville studios, resonated with me.

Buck Owens, dead at 76.

Bill (bitterlawngnome) asks (paraphrase):

What was the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?

I could suppose that it could be being told by my mother that I was an unwanted pregnancy, or all the taunts that I endured as a child by my peers for being a girly-boy know-it-all. But truly, I can’t even recall the words any longer, and I forgave them all for them a long time ago, and myself for carrying them around in my head for so long. I just don’t have the energy to waste on that kind of thinking anymore. If a life is lasts for 80 years, that’s 29200 days, give or take. Each day is precious, and once it’s gone, you don’t get it back. How many days do I and did I waste by beating myself up? I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. I still have to live my life with as much love and passion as I can.

Remember, March, or what’s left of it, is question month. Ask me anything, and I’ll answer it.

So, I published my appoinment calendar for remote access, and I’m sitting down here at BearBears on some stray wireless network, enjoying the fresh laptop battery and new internal WiFi card I bought off ebay recently. I bought an internal card because the laptop already had internal antennae installed in it, and I found a brand new OEM a/b/g card for $14.99. So for an investment of right around $100, I have a very serviceable laptop that I can use out and about, and still be able to make client appointments. This situation wouldn’t be possible without the friends and acquaintances I have made on LiveJournal. Thanks especially go to Fuzzyjay for offering the computers in the first place.

I looked up to see a red-headed man in cycling pants and a team tanqueray shirt, bent over in a hamstring stretch. Grabbing his beverage, he slurps upon his green tea frozen confection as he strides across the street to his yellow SUV, disappearing from view. Several patrons read the BAR, their papers rustling as they turn the pages. The blandly inoffensive music wafts its way to our ears, and a bald-headed employee offers samples of their pastry wares. People are smiling, and the sycamore trees are in full leaf. Some of the regulars sit outside, grousing about this or that. Others stare blankly into their coffee, lost in thought.

A pit bull tied up to the parking sign stares intently at the door, her master getting a caffeine fix and a biscuit for the pooch. Sniff, sniff, sniff goes her nose. Fuzzygruff and Doubleoh_Steven just arrived, and parked themselves outside at a table, joining another group of regulars. Nizario’s Pizza beckons enticingly to me, reminding me that all I’ve had to eat today is a package of cinnamon graham crackers, a cup of coffee, and an iced green tea. I can almost taste the pepper in their sauce.

Munch, munch, munch, the pit bull gets her treats, and off they trot together, tail a-waggin’. Some young toughs come in to replace them, each ordering at the counter. The room is filling up with beautiful people, and laughter and hugs fill the space. Off comes a pair of dark sunglasses, revealing a startlingly blue pair of eyes. Oh, they’ve turned my way, and a dazzling smile flashes out from behind his bushy brown mustache.

I ask myself how I feel about the end of things with Mike. I don’t really understand what happened, and he won’t tell me. He tells me that the Wellbutrin he started taking right after the second visit has been helping, but he had some strange mood swings, and just woke up one morning not wanting to be involved anymore. Well, he is all the way across the country, and while I worry about him, and want what makes him happy, I have my own struggles to focus upon to invest any more energy on that. It was fun while it lasted.

RampageBear just arrived, and sat down with Gary and Steve and the gang. Some aging queen with chunked hair just stared at me through the windows, not-so-subtly licking his lips. I look back down at these words and he wanders off. The beverage delivery guy across the street wheels his handtruck back and forth into the Midnight Sun, and the butchest scissor sister I’ve seen in a long time just swaggered by, boi in tow.

The sun if inviting me to go sit outside, so I think I’ll go do just that.

Now this is a fun meme! Thanks Missy Sedai for infecting it my way…

I have 2006 items in my iTunes library. Pick a random number between 1 and 2006 and I’ll post a link to that file in my library. Then, you do the same with your music library. Fun!

The miniPCI WiFi card for my laptop showed up today. Yipee! I got it installed and tested out on the network here at UGH. Now all I need is for the new battery to arrive, which UPS says will be here on Thursday, and I’ll be all set to hang out at BearBears in the Castro and cruise for cock set up client appointments. I published my massage calendar remotely on my server, so I don’t have to synchronize anything, just use the file wherever I am.

I went and got a “rice plate” with Big John in SF (bigjohnsf) at Wing Lee Bakery, then ate in our regular spot at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park.

The Plus class at Foggy City is going well; there are only three calls left to learn, and then comes four weeks of learning the calls from different positions, and more challenging combinations of calls. Harlan is apparently notorious for this. I am looking forward to the challenge.

After class, I had dinner with four other members of the club and we discuss some of the problems that have been happening with the club lately. Mostly, we are in a space that is too expensive for us. I think that with a little extra effort on everyone’s part, we can get past this difficult period. To that end, I volunteered to do a little searching for a better space for the club. It should be fun!

Starring Big John in SF (bigjohnsf) and Albadger!