Oh my effin god, is June almost over? Where did this month go? Life seems to be going a zillion miles and hour and just when I grab on to its coattails it speeds up and goes a mega zillion miles an hour. To be honest I'm not complaining at all. It has just been very busy.

Of course you may have noticed that I have not been writing. This is not because I have dropped off the face of the earth, left leather and M/s behind nor am I being rude. I just came to the conclusion that I needed to stop writing every day for a while until I can catch my breath. This also allowed me a few extra moments with slave barb on a daily basis and that's pretty important.

So on Saturday June 27^th I'm able to document my life by putting down some thoughts and filling you all in. I will break this into categories. I think it will be easier that way.

AWAY WE GO!

Weather – The weather sucked in June. It rained every day except two. Not only have we had rippin' wind and rain all month the temperatures have been in the upper fifties and low sixties. Not once in the month of June did we even need to consider turning on the AC. This is great for finances but it's sad spring and Summer weather. I can only hope that the weather catches up and comes hot and correct in July.

Work – Work has been fantastic. I'm loving every second of it. Yeah, there were a couple of days that were not good but still it's work and work can't always be fun. I'm actually pretty proud of myself. There were a few moments with a couple of people that were real downers. I didn't let myself get angry nor did I allow myself do be a sullen sulky dork nozzle I just pushed on through and waited for better days.

The better days did come, they came with some decent ideas, long hours and a 50,000 gallon flood. Not fun. Either way I feel needed, productive and I think I'm appreciated too. My own paranoia will never give a true reading on those things. I guess that's best, that will make me not lose focus. I'll keep finding new ways to work harder.

Leather M/s and Fun stuff like that – It's June and June is the busy season for the community. For sure! Lets go back to the start of the month. We started of the month with Foreplay and marching in the NJ Pride parade. That was a blast. Foreplay was a huge success and the march was a lot of fun. Thank goodness there was actually good weather. As I mentioned earlier there has really not been any good weather all month. Actually the weather has been pretty dismal but I think I covered that.

After the wonderful NJ pride weekend we geared up for SELF. SELF is not just an event for us it's also our vacation. We stayed at Sir Nick and kathleen's beautiful house in Atlanta. They only thing better than those guys staying here over the Memorial day weekend is visiting them for four days straight. Those two are just so glued to our hearts it's almost scary. To bad slave paul couldn't make the trip, I think he would of enjoyed their company too.

SELF on it's own was good though it falls short in comparison to getting to spend more time with Nick and kathleen. Of course a trip to Atlanta is nothing without a trip to the Claremont Lounge strip club. I will admit I was a bit tired and quite by the time we got there but that's ok. I still had fun.

Another real good thing about the trip was catching up with Brick and lara. They only live in Philly but our paths are not crossing as much as I would like so it was good to spend a lot of time with them. Master Taino was also at the event. I always love spending time with him too.

The classes we taught at SELF went very well. The rituals class was the best of the two and it even came with adventure. The hotel had a blackout and we had to do the presentation in the dark. No emergency lights either. That was fun and challenging but most important it was fun. What a great community, many a person had flash lights on them and were so willing to hand them off to us so we could carry on.

Myself and slave barb did have hopes to play but that really didn't come together. The group dynamic can be a little confusing at times. That's ok.

I miss Nick and kathleen but we will be spending Labor Day weekend with them at the M/s conference so that is bangin news to say the least.

Other events for pride month included Leather Pride Night and Folsom East. Of course the weather was terrible for LPN and I think due to the economy the turnout was less than half. Myself and barb love selling raffle tickets but sales were slow. Normally we have people lined up to by from us. I really like to walk the line when selling. I love it and so do others. But this year was tougher. The good thing is I think my reputation still stands. Although sales were slow me and barb were still the highest grossing ticket sellers. I love that. If only the weather was better.

There was one special thing about this years LPN. Nayland was there and we got to catch up with him. It was great to see him. He's going to be at Tes Fest too and maybe we can all get together and play. Damn, I hope so.

The day after LPN is Folsom. The weather was not that great. There were showers on and off but at least the rains held out for the majority of the day. I always enjoy Folsom. This year we got to catch up with Jake and I also had some great conversations with Master Taino. Always a great plus.

Normally in June we cap off the pride festivities by marching in the NYC parade. We are not going to do that this year. Life has been so busy that we will get more benefit staying home and recharging our batteries. On top of that I'm not too pleased with the new organizers of the parade. They have a lot to be ashamed of and I think they are missing the boat of what the parade is all about.

Now the hot thing is that over the July 4^th weekend is Tes Fest. This event is shaping up to look pretty hot. We have some classes to teach and there's seems to be a lot fun to be had. The event is close to home. No dog sitters to be concerned with or anything. Hopefully the event will be a smashing good time.

On the slave paul front I'm pretty proud of him. He moved to Virginia and got a really great job that he seems to be excelling in. I look forward to when he gets his own place. I think that will be good for him and I can only imagine that he will feel pretty proud of himself. He's also starting to get involved with the thriving leather community down there. I know that will be very healthy for him. Keep pushing on paul you are doing it good.

As for slave barb, she rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She's the ultimate.

Music – Typical of recent history in music, it's not flexing any muscle and is as lame as ever. Old bands are doing a great job of showing young bands how to rock. I have been listening to a lot of Rollins and Manowr along with trashy stuff like the MC5 and the The Heartbreakers and the N Dolls. I even dragged out some Handsome Dick Manitoba! Oh yeah!

Books – I'm reading another book by Legs McNeil. This one is the Oral History of Punk, Please Kill Me. I'm only sixty something pages into the book but I love it. I wanted barb to read a paragraph the other day. She read the paragraph we discussed it and then she kept on reading. This book rocks.

The Dogs – Taybor and Lilu are fine. They stink and they need a bath. The unsuspecting dogs do not realize what's going to happen in the next half hour.

Movies – We saw the new Terminator movie that was real good and we also saw the new Star Trek movie. That was excellent. While we were in Atlanta we capped off our vacation by watching Grand Torino. That was a bangin' movie. Tonight we are going to watch Hell On Wheels. This is a movie about modern day Roller Derby. That has the potential to be real hot.

RIP – RIP to Ed McMahon, Farrah and Michael Jackson.

Gym- last but not least, the gym. The gym has been rockin. Lots of real strong workouts. I can't complain about that. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Well, that's June in a nutshell. Hopefully I can send out thoughts more often in July.

Work was great. Today I did something that I never did before. I ran and organized a bnlood drive.

The drive was a great success. I feel very proud of myself and I think I pleased some other people too.

Next stop Atlanta.

Work was good and the gym was very good too.

But I can't be bothered writing about that. I can't even be bothered to write about packing for SELF or how excited I am about to see Nick and Kathleen again. Instead I must talk about Republicans.

Never in my life have I seen such a bunch of has beens and people out of touch as I have seen these days as the GOP scrambles to gain some ground. Let's face it, they are out of touch and quite frankly they are pretty stupid. Never have I been so proud to be a Democrat American.

For example, only the Republican party would allow their two biggest spokesman to be people that are not even elected. Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh! I don't get it. Maybe the people that should speak for the party are people that were at least elected. Or is the party so short on their elected officials that they have nothing better to do than bring out old school has beens who have spent more time creating hate rather than anything positive. Newt actually had the nerve to say in a speech that Obama is terrible because he said that he's a proud American and proud citizen of the world. I guess Newt didn't bother to look up that his hero Ronald Regan in 1982 said in a speech that he (Reagan) was a citizen of the world.

Than there's Steele, the Rep. Of the GOP. Check out these golden snippet.

Appearing on MSNBC in April, RNC Chairman Michael Steele unveiled a strange metaphor to highlight his view of Republican Party regional inclusiveness. Steele asked Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan to pretend they were all wearing hats that said “GOP” and for the purposes of the demonstration, they all hailed from different parts of the country. Steele then explained:

STEELE: In the Midwest, you guys like to wear it a little bit to the right. In the South, you guys wear the brim straight ahead. Now the Northeast, I wear my hat backwards, you know, ’cause that’s how we roll in the Northeast.

At the College Republican annual conference this past weekend, Steele again deployed the same exercise to teach students about embracing Republicans, regardless of “how they wear their hat.” Steele asked four College Republicans to stand up and simulate wearing a hat “that very boldly says GOP.” After lecturing on how each imaginary hat would could be worn differently, Steele proclaimed, “The problem we had is that too many of our friends, neighbors, colleagues, family members, are taking the hat off because we have decided we don’t like the way they wear it.” While the bewildered students stood in front of the crowd obediently for nearly ten minutes, Steele eventually concluded:

STEELE: Let me ask you, what do they have in common? They’re all wearing the same hat. […] The difference is, Barack Obama has asked your generation to wear his hat, his hat — the hat of one man. I’m asking you to go out and ask your friends to wear our hat -– the hat of an idea.

Oh my god how stupid can it get. Please look up this speech. It's so funny yet sad.

Here'e some more Steele headlines.

Michael Steele: "Liberalism Will Kill You. It's A Drug We Don't Need To Be Hooked On"

Michael Steele: Gay Marriage Is Bad For Small Businesses

I can only hope that The GOP goes the way of the Whig Party. You know the Whigs, the party that Lincoln left behind so he could do some good!

Thank goodness that the GOP is not in charge. No more cowboy politics and a lot less hate!

Another busy day at work but I can honestly say it was another good day. I did get a lot done and I think this barrage of implementation is (for now) coming to end. After a good day at work I went to the gym. I did legs and abs today. My schedule will be a little different this week because I want to get as much muscle building workouts in prior to heading off on vacation. Yes, this Thursday I will be on a plane to Atlanta and attending SELF. I can't wait. Plus I get to see Nick and kathleen again.

Tonight will consist of packing and at ten we will watch the premier of Nurse Jackie.

With all the good going on there is a sad piece of news that I must mention. Yesterday afternoon our friend, dedicated Leatherman, dedicated slave,dedicated MAsT member and dedicated many other groups passed away. He lost his battle to Cancer but he fought a valiant fight.

I'll miss slave mike, he's a good man. My fondest memory of mike was the stories that he would tell. He was very important to myself and slave barb because his stories filled in the blanks. He told us the stories of “old NY”. The days when Hellfire, Paddles and The Lure were all running strong. His stories

and experiences filled in the blanks. In the must jovial of ways, with a gleam in his eyes he would tell the hot seedy and fun stories of what Hellfire was really like. How you could choose between The Lure, Hellfire or Paddles. There was something for everyone and slave mike took advantage of what was out there. He did all that while being a good friend to many and a very loyal slave to Dame Amanda.

I mentioned that slave mike fought a valiant fight. He did something that I really admire. When he learned he got sick and got himself situated into his new battle but he didn't just sit around with a why me attitude. He traveled and did what he wanted to do. That to me is hardcore.

He will be missed but I will speak for myself and slave barb, HE WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.

Up early again, a quick breakfast, grab the Master slave Flag and then head to Asbury again. This time we March in the NJ Pride parade. Once again we had a blast and again the weather was perfect. There was something very different about this particular march. There were people lining the streets from start to end. Normally in Asbury there are only people gathering at the start and finish. This year we waved to folks from start to end. The parade isn't that long but this year it went so fast it felt like we only walked a half a block. What a great time. There was also a lot more traffic heading into the event. NYC's pride festivities have been chopped down due to stupid politicians. It looks like NJ is the strong benefactor of NY's stupidity. If NY wants wants to chase the gay wealth to NJ and help put NJ on the map that's fine with me. I hope NY doesn't bitch when they complain about a lack of revenue in June.

After the parade we headed home. There are bags to be packed, Preparations to be had for SELF, laundry to be done and preparation for work too. I have a hell of a three day week ahead of me. I can also see that while I'm in Atlanta that I will be doing a fair amount of work on my vacation.

Tonight we will chill.

HAPPY PRIDE EVERYONE!

PS. I love Sunblock, No sun burn.

Time to kick off Pride Month. First I had to go to the bank, then I can kick off the month. Today is NJ's version of Folsom. We too have our own block party and each year it gets bigger and bigger. The weather started off gloomy but it wasn't raining. By around two the sun came out and the temps were in the mid seventies and sunny. I think everyone had a great time. The event was certainly a success.

I had my little extra part in the event too. I hosted the tattoo contest. That was a lot of fun and from what I understand, it went over well.

It was great to catch up with so many friends that we have not seen in a while. I'm looking forward to the warm and hot weather, more events, more activities and seeing more friends and hopefully making more friends too.

We stayed at Foreplay until 5:30. We came home and BBQ'd some London Broil and then went out for Icecream Good deal. Then we prepped the flags for Sunday's Pride March and chilled out for the rest of the night.

PS. I love Sunblock, No sun burn.

 Work was very busy. I'm still implementing a lot of programs and that makes for busy and challenging days. That's cool. After work I went to the gym and had a great shoulder, trap and forearm workout.

 This weekend is NJ Pride weekend I'm one last task away from the festivities. There's a small gathering that I said I would attend at my Aunts house. I figured I would be miserable but much to my delight there was someone there who I never met. He's just a regular dude marrying in to the mayhem. He was really into Football. I spent the entire time talking Football with him. He knew the game very well so the conversation was excellent.

 After that we went grocery shopping. Now I can get ready for NJ Pride weekend which of course kicks off pride month.

Another crazy day. I was able to do my normal nine hours but man was it busy. It was a challenging day but it was also a good day. I really enjoyed the day.

My tattoo is feeling much better, this allowed me to go to the gym. I had an incredibly powerful bi and tri workout. It really was the perfect workout. Perfect temp. in the gym, no too crowded, no waiting on machines or for bars and most important I was able to max out on everything!

Tonight we will watch a lot of news programs. It's a big news day. Obama did a monumental speech in Cairo and please see below for the rest of this historic day.

I know that Olberman and Maddow are going to be very interesting tonight,. I can't wait.

Check this out:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

___________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                     June 1, 2009

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2009
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country's response to the HIV pandemic.

Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration -- in both the White House and the Federal agencies -- openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.

The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.

These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA

I worked from 7:30AM – 8:30PM

It's been quite a day.

Would you believe I have vacation next week? Damn, I have a lot of work to do before I leave.

DEADLINES BEFORE VACATION TIME.

SELF here I come?

All day meetings, big problems, some sweeping reform and long hours. I love it and I feel strong.

No gym today. Pig hurts and the hours are wonderfully long.

I did get to BBQ some chicken and have a good night.