Bullet Round Update

Kinkfest: Yes, I went to Kinkfest. Russell and I only stayed for Friday and Saturday, but it worked out nicely for us overall. Here are some of the highlights.

• Quality drive time with Russell. We have some of our most productive idea sharing conversations on long drives like this.
  
• Our room was much better than the rooms we've had the last two years. (Turns out we were directly above Max and his family)
• Eating at Thai Noon. This is the most flavorful and friendly and nifty Thai restaurant I've ever been to. Russell and I were introduced to it during Kinkfest last year and it was definitely one of the big things we were looking forward to this year. Mango Sticky Rice!!!
• Being Max's. Conferences can be treacherous waters for poly families, there are A LOT of moving parts to keep track of in a very small and sometimes intensely loaded space. Fortunately everyone in our respective families plays nice and genuinely wants things to work out for everyone else. I am quite grateful to all parties involved for the time I was able to share with Max at this year's conference.
• Dangling above the ground from ropes for the first time since surgery. While the dangling portion of the scene was not the centerpiece of our scene in the dungeon, full suspension is a very notable recovery landmark. Max is a creative, talented man who had an intimate understanding of the risks and ways to minimize them. I'm not ready to let the rest of my friends with suspension bondage skills tie me up just yet.
• Good sex with Russell.
• Mo Williams' workshop on service. It seemed like this workshop was still in the development stages, but Mo is a fantastic story teller so that didn't really matter. It lacked detectable structure, but once I sat down to record the things worth remembering from the workshop I had a page full of notes and sound-bites.
• Sharing a snack picnic with a friend who also needed to avoid the hotel food. I was both happy to get chatting time with her and delighted that Russell and my preplanning paid off for one of our friends.
• Vendor fair purchase. Russell split the cost of one of these for me. Coming to a Grind near you sometime soon.
• One low-light: The drive home was in some spectacularly crummy weather. There was even snow for part of it.
  

SEAF (ok, mostly costuming stuff):

• I will be revealing the fact that the x-ray made it in to SEAF to my surgeon at the next appointment (about a week from now). I'm hoping to present smaller matted prints to him and his nurse as part of a thank you gift. I don't think they know about or read the blog, if they do I've just spoiled the surprise... oops
• I picked up an adhesive backless bra at Nordstroms on Thursday, insuring that the dress will fit better.
• Russell saw a test run of the dress and aproves.
• My budget for this event grew a little recently. Now I'm hoping to take the whole day before the Artists' Reception off to indulge in pampering and primping.

Physical/Medical Stuff:

• Lately I've been thinking "I could really go for a massage" but I'm not sure there are many massage therapists willing to work on someone with this much recently installed hardware. Most of the tightness is in my neck and shoulders though and that seems workable with a little information.
• The trip to Kinkfest also marked the longest drive since surgery, but that didn't cause any problems for me at all. (Hooray!)
• [edited to add] Oh, AND I made it to the gym the day after Kinkfest even though I had to work all day too. (last week's record wasn't so hot and I'm determined to get it moving back in the right direction)
  
• Overall, I feel pretty darn healthy and strong.
  

Oops, I poisoned Russell

Our tub was gross.

"Yeah right Red, you're a girl, what do you know about 'gross' bathrooms really?"

When I declare "Our tub was gross" I'm serious. There was a black ring around the white space where we stand to shower that blended off to a brown goo in all directions and up all four sides of the tub. I have wanted to soak in a warm fizzy tub for the last couple days, but could barely bring myself to stand in the shower long enough to wash my hair.

Let me put it to you this way: I am less than 6 months out from surgery, my back has been cranky the last couple days, and still getting down on my knees and leaning over the tub for an hour or so seemed like a completely reasonable measure to make my bathroom livable again.

So I traded out my PT exercise routine for a tub scrubbing this evening (complete with being mindful of keeping my core engaged and not twisting).

Just as I was finishing up, Russell appeared in the bathroom red-faced, runny nosed, and not entirely coherent. I was using a new eco-groovey, animal friendly, Seventh Generation Tub and Tile cleanser "Emerald Cypress & Fir" scent. Apparently, one of those earth-friendly botanicals has been identified by Russell's immune system as a terrorist and his body went in to serious allergic reaction mode.

The final score:

• The tub looks much better (not pristine by any stretch of the imagination, but better)
• I'm sore, but more like a good workout than bad choices
  
• Russell is recovering slowly thanks to modern anti-histamine technology
• I didn't get my soak tonight, but now the tub will be ready for me post-gym tomorrow.
  
• The cleaner, while effective and freshly scented, has been banned under the biological warfare treaty of the apartment.

Icing helped

(The cookie sundae also helped)
I'm now dealing with other obnoxious bodily functions (all of which fall into the category of TMI), but at least they distract from the what's left of yesterday's back soreness.

I'm heading to the gym in about an hour--more out of principle than any expectation of actually getting much of a work-out. I plan to be very gentle with myself. Lots of slow easy stretches, and I'm not going to fuss if my heart rate doesn't get up over 130 during my walk.

In Other News:
I have selected and purchased the gown for SEAF. It even meets the "White Tie" theme without looking silly on me. It's an ivory gown with ruched chiffon from the hips up (a very low back with chiffon straps that cross up high accented by a couple of removable rhinestone pieces) and a flowy stretch satin skirt that barely clears the floor when I'm wearing heels. Better yet, the $40 price tag means I have some budget left over for girly indulgences and a quality print and frame job.

Poly Anna Says:

Last night I seriously tweaked my back by (get this) rolling over in bed.
Poly Anna Says: Well at least it happened last night in bed instead of in the middle of a scene where more could have gone wrong and more people would have felt bad about the consequences. And hey, now you have a reminder that Yes, you are still in the healing process and not done yet.

My back is still killing me today. As in, all the way through the work day.
Poly Anna Says: Really, if your back was going to have a bad day, Sunday is really the best day of the week for that to happen. No one else is around to see you spacing out or demand your immediate attention.

I Say: Screw Poly Anna, I'm going out for a cookie sundae at Broadway Grill. Then I'm coming home and icing my back to within an inch of hypothermia.

A rare post from work

My back is killing me today.
bleck.

More later.

My favorite person of the moment:

Allow me to introduce you to Clayton. He has generously posted the thematic variations of each evening of SEAF for our costuming coordination and pleasure as conceived by Crushed Velvet. I don't know if I'll have the stamina for all three nights, but the idea of that much costuming fun might just do the trick. (small complain-y note: WHITE?! really? Talk about your wear-it-once costume. I'll give it a shot, but if I don't find something truly spectacular and white, I'm not afraid to buck the system here)

Clayton also recently posted a call for a SEAF stage manager. In much the same way that I failed to honestly consider my physical condition while offering to help Russell with his Flogging workshop by stunt bottoming, I couldn't resist asking more about this stage management position. I've been itching to get back into performance tech since before the surgery. I would love to get on board with a production like this some time, but I don't think this is the year to give that a shot. Waiting stinks. (In good news he also posted later that they found someone who is likely to be a very good match!)

In other news, for those following along with the healing/recovery time-line and experiences:
I'm not posting much about this lately because it has really become much less apparent in my life. I'm past 80%, but certainly not 100%. With the support of my family, I make it to the gym and work out 3-4 times per week (which is 3-4 more times per week than I did a year ago). I continue to notice little improvements in strength and flexibility, while trying to stay cognizant of using good body mechanics and not over-working my back. In other words, just because I can bend or reach something at an odd angle doesn't mean I should.

What am I going to wear?!

[NOTE: The trouble with electronic shopping and even more so with posting about it is that the things you really want to keep disappear. Several of the links don't work anymore because the dresses have been sold. Yay for the stores, sad for me.]


I had several other blog topics come up over the last couple days, but frankly electronic dress shopping is much more fun (right up until it drives one crazy).

So my question to you dear readers (all 15 of you) is "What shall I wear to SEAF?"
Here are my dream criteria:
Show off my back
Elegant/Classy styling
Complement at least some other feature of my body
Complement (or at least not hinder) my natural coloring
Looks good with and without Max's collar on my neck

And when I come back to earth I also add:
Less than $150
Wearable more than once

I have 8 tabs open in other windows with dresses of varying degrees of trashy, elegant, classy, and way too expensive. It is an erotic art show after all so a little trashy won't hurt, and honestly I'm more likely to wear some of the trashier ones to Grind at after a debut at SEAF.

I'm open to suggestions/links/feedback in the comments or by email if you feel so moved.

Here are my 8 current leading candidates after two nights of e-shopping:

• Let's start off with my Ginger Rogers fetish. This one doesn't go quite low enough in the back, but I love the color and overall style. Chances of wearing it again: pretty low. Price range: um, it's an investment?
  
• Next up we get a little slinkier but still quite formal. I'd be much more excited about this dress if it weren't for the necessary tie holding the shoulder straps together behind the neck. Chances of wearing it again: about the same as Ginger Rogers. Price range: who looks at price tags when they're browsing on line anyway?!
• Here's another by the same designer. The back is beautiful on this one, but I'm not sure my small bust can pull off that neckline. Chances of wearing it again: see above. Price range: cheaper than the other one by this designer.
• Alright I'll stop shopping at "Nordie's", but here's one last long gown. If I'm going to abandon Ginger Rogers, this is the way to go! Wow! I love the crossing and the cut on this one. I'd feel so grown-up in one of the dresses by this company. Truly, a sophisticated arteest. Chances of wearing it again: it's long, but I could pull it off at dressy house-parties I think. Price Range: It's E-Bay in the UK, I don't know where the price would actually end up.
• Well, if long is the problem, then here's the same back design as the one above in a much shorter skirt. The biggest danger here is buying a Red based on my monitor's interpretation of the color. It looks like a workable shade right now, but lord only knows what it will look like once it makes it's way across an ocean and a continent. Chances of wearing it again: pretty damn good. Price Range: see above.
• Another by the same company. It's a completely different feel to the style, but still classy and plenty exposed in the back. I really like it, but it's significantly more mature than I had originally planned on going. Chances of wearing it again: might be too warm for Grind. Price Range: see above.
• And now we have a backlash against mature clothing! Shorten the skirt a little and suddenly a dress very similar to the one just above becomes serious trashy fun. Chances of wearing it again: if not Grind, then maybe Bondage is the Point. Folks at the Wetspot know how to appreciate a good trashy outfit. Price Range: still unclear but likely cheaper than any of the other E-Bay choices.
• If we're going trashy, we simply must shop at the source of all the best trashy attempts at classy looks. That's right folks Victoria's Secret made the cut for a SEAF dress option. The pictures don't look too too trashy, but I'm guessing that's mostly a trick of the cameras. Also, there's that ugly string up at the neck again. Chances of wearing it again: if it looks good the first time it goes on, then I'm sure it would become a Grind staple. Price Range: it's so almost a reasonable price given my current income.
  

Yikes, it got late quickly!

Thanks Silver!

marriedtothesea.com

I'm still not being a grown-up about the SEAF thing yet. It didn't help that last night SOMEBODY managed to skillfully crank up the petrified excitement yet another notch with the following question:
"What will you wear to the artist's reception?"

(It's hard to be resentful of the increased anxiety when I'm so in awe of the masterful execution. Just because he didn't install that button doesn't mean he won't take great joy in pushing it now and then.)

They Like Me! They Really Like Me!

I found the following message in my in-box when I got home from the WWC meeting tonight:

Dear Red:
We are delighted to inform you that you have been selected to show in the 2009 Seattle Erotic Art Festival. Your work was one of 215 pieces chosen from 2,100 submissions we received from 530 artists in 38 states and 29 countries. Congratulations!

Squeeeee!!!!

I'm sure I'll have a more adult response to this later.

Robo-Red

I had an interesting experience at work today.

While walking down the very quiet hallway (I'm one of 3 people in the building on Sundays), I heard a muffled metallic popping sound.

I checked my pockets for loose objects.

I re-traced my steps to see if there was something loose in the floor.

It seemed to happen randomly, but only when I was stepping forward on my left foot. The obvious conclusion was something in my shoe must be making the noise. But I couldn't see anything stuck to the sole of my shoe, and it didn't happen every time I stepped on that foot.

**Hyperactive Worry-Wort Brain ENGAGE!!**

The noise was not entirely inconsistent with something a loose piece of hardware might make. I couldn't feel anything in my back, but there are still significant portions of my back that are numb. Oh, and now that I'm thinking about it I do feel a little more tender in my lower left quadrant...

Clearly I needed to text people about this right away!

Russell, being the clever level-headed boy that he is, suggested I try walking around with my shoes off. I was having a perfectly beautiful freak-out and he interrupts it with logical problem solving. Boys!

I took my shoes off for as long as I could stand it (I am so not one of those freedom-for-feet kind of people) and the sound didn't happen again until I put the shoes back on. While not conclusive evidence, it still seems much more likely that my shoe is responsible for the noise and not my back.

Kaylee called me back later this evening to confirm that I was not in fact turning into "Robo-Red" (hence the post title).
Clearly not.
*cough*
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