First off, I will say straight-out: I am NOT a member of FetLife, I am not into a lot of "crazy" shit.
But I have an open mind, and when something entertaining is happening in my backyard...
I spent yesterday at the NELA Providence Fetish Fair (http://nelaonline.org/cmsms/index.php?page=fff).
I always find it funny that it have the same acronym as the New England Librarian Association...
I haven't been for a couple years. Pretty similar to what I saw before- only the Westin is now the Omni.
Some of the same presenters. Same overpowering smell of leather in hotel rooms.
While I enjoy the people watching, the demos, the fashion, and playing with all sorts of stuff, I feel like it's worth it if I come around with something new to add to my toolkit.

I forget I have this account. Long time since I last did anything with it.
It's weird, I can use this site as a retrospective of the last 6 years of my life (in a way).
Lots of things have changed.
I have a house now. I ended up getting a second dog. Forced to be concerned with plumbing, remodeling, dehumidifiers, refinishing hardwood floors, etc.
I decided that I really like Providence. It took awhile to make a decision between Prov and Boston, but I feel like going back to Boston is like looking in on a shop window of a former life. It's strange and it feels less like I'm actually living my life in the here and now.

Last night was one of those that went from excellent to horribly awkward to downright horrible.
My friends organized a pub crawl and I invited yet more friends.
Things started off fun, but the rain of Hurricane Irene scared a lot of people off until later.
It was our goal to hit up every sketchy bar in Brighton, from the Last Drop to Hogan's Run to the Silouette.
Portions of this were fantastic, but unnecessary drama (yours truly is part of the blame) ruined things.
I keep thinking I've made a huge mistake by coming back here. I think I should have said "fuck New England," and decided to head to the Pacific Northwest, or Austin, or SOMEWHERE else. After New York, things are tough and frustrating here. New York was an insane pace, and it would wear me out, but to some extent, I felt like there was always so much potential...potential for new people, new experiences, being on the edge of everything, but also being able to savor the existing glory.
That being said: Where should I go next?

I am tired. I either feel as though my life is stalled out or is in overdrive. I don't seem to find...balance.
There is the stasis of the 9-5 work schedule (which really means 8:15 to 6:00), followed by coming home to the dog, being too tired to hit the gym, bike, create, socialize, etc. Then there is the go-non-stop mode- buy a house, have a second apartment in a different city, have a platonic boyfriend, a hook-up over the weekend, dancing until 3am, getting up again to take the car in for repairs at 7, lunch with old friends, drunken arguments over past drama, trying to get home with no car, bike to the next thing....
Sometimes I think buying this house is the 'right' thing to do- settle down, have a solid investment, etc. Other times I think I need to get rid of all the extraneous in my life and just be able to pick up and go, get the fuck out, and move on.

Good evening,
I see...it's been awhile.
I have been busy with work and figuring out where I will live next. Note to self: if you see a kind a cool yet sketchy loft....just run the fuck away.
All of my friends have moved out of this building because it's just fucked. I've decided that I'm sick of moving for awhile and that I'm just going to buy something.
That being said...the question is...do I stay in Providence? Do I move back to Boston? Condo? House? should I buy a multi-family and be a landlord?
Otherwise, traveling for work. Recently had a crazy sweaty humid week of New Orleans followed by Mid-Florida. If anyone has ever seen Easy Rider, you will understand how bizarre I felt driving through the middle-of-nowhere Florida citrus country.

So...
I have the day off for MLK.
However, instead of say...visiting my friends in NYC....I am....in Pawtucket....
I had this grand idea in my head that I would be REALLY productive this weekend.
However, somehow the fact that it's 14 degrees out makes me substantially less inclined to leave the house.

Other things I did accomplish (or...did not accomplish....) this weekend: Friday, I bailed on all forms of partying, which kind of made sense as I just finished a round of antibiotics for yet another ear infection (I thought those things were over after the age of say, 4?) and slept an excessive amount after work. Which led to my waking up around midnight very confused and realizing that I officially had NOTHING to do...as I live in RI...and not NY....
Saturday, headed to Boston to get my car worked on (I will take advantage of all included maintenance, I'll be damned...)
and went to the "Chocolate Bar" at the Langham Hotel (http://boston.langhamhotels.com/restaurants/chocolate_bar.htm). It's delicious, but I would be much happier to pay half as much and get maybe 5 of the zillion things that were available.
After the gorging, just outside the hotel, I came across this:

OK- granted- not a great pic- but it was a pair of fairly decent looking mens' dress pants....inexplicably draped over a parking meter....
Now...tell me...what would possess someone to remove their pants, neatly fold them in half, and drape them over a parking meter....covered in snow...in January...in downtown Boston???
For some reason, I would find this far less out-of-the ordinary in NYC...as there are things like the pant-less subway ride...
Thoughts?

So...here it is...Halloween weekend....and I am in my new home in Rhode Island.
Yes...I moved from Manhattan....to....Rhode Island.
Long story, but great job offer presented myself and I felt like it was time to move on. I LOVE NYC, but when you already work 50-60 hours a week, it's sort of a worthless place to be. You pay a huge amount of money to live in a fantastic city you are often to exhausted and stressed out to enjoy.
In other news...my building caught fire earlier this month. It was....interesting....
New Report on Pawtucket Mill Fire
Trying to get life back to normal.
I love living in funky converted mill buildings turned loft apartments...but I am not a fan of arson...
So, about a Halloween....
Headed to a party tonight that a friend invited to me.
I am still on NY time. I arrived at the party around 10:30. In NYC, this is early bordering on ridiculously early...It was definitely over by 12:30. Whoops.
Since I didn't have a lot of time after work today, I decided to go with something easy...Like Joan from Mad Men


Lots of love...provide me some entertainment for Mass and RI...

Good Evening Ladies and Gents,
I am recuperating from a long week of travel through the Midwest and a very long day trying to get home through a major snow storm. I am just happy to be able to spend the evening with my dog and watch MadMen.
I had watched it before when it was on, before the rest of the world got addicted to it. Now I'm rehashing it and thinking how much I like the idea of rocking the early '60's.
Since I last posted, I have joined the ranks of the iphone users, booked a trip to Costa Rica, and adopted and awesome dog.
Said puppy takes up a phenomenal amount of my time now, but he's AWESOME.
I've named him Jacoby.
We have been going on about 3-4 walks per day, adding about 2-4 miles of walking into my daily schedule, and that many more trips up the 5th floor walk-up.
I love that everyone who had been dating/ trying to date me has been like "if you get a puppy, I'll help you take care of it...I'll take it for walks and take care of it when you have to travel for work." However, those people seem to have strangely sidestepped such roles now that I actually have the dog.
Otherwise, I've been hitting up a regular string of shows. Unfortunately had to miss Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears as I got stuck in the Minneapolis airport. Also was supposed to go to a Wild Game tasting night at Henry's End, but unfortunately, canceled due to snow.
My objectives for this snow weekend: clean my apartment, play with my dog in Central Park, complete carpentry projects, and possibly hit up a punk show in Brooklyn.