Entries Tagged 'Graydancer' ↓

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We have been so busy working that I didn’t know that it was Friday and I didn’t know it was Friday of Labor Day Weekend.  I was on the phone with a magazine discussing placing an ad on behalf of one of my clients and I told him that I would follow up with him tomorrow.  He questioned, “Tomorrow, as in Saturday? On Labor Day Weekend?”

Ok, so apparently I’m in a time warp.  I’ve lost touch with the day, the date, and even sometimes the time.  My friends have hurt feelings that I don’t have the time for them that I used to.  I haven’t been able to shoot with Nikki or even just hang out with her for longer than a half an hour for over a month!  M is traveling in Asia right now, but if he came home tomorrow and asked me out to dinner at my favorite restaurant in Charlotte (Blue) I would have to turn him down!  If Mr. F suddently texted me and begged me to come out and play, I’d have to turn him down!  No, I’m a busy girl. I have a Husband and two girls and three cats (and a boat and a mansion).  They have to come first.

I have very little personal time these days.  If I’m not working, I’m spending time with Marky and the girls.  There are the occasional jags of 10 minutes alone here and 10 minutes alone there, when Marky takes Little to pick up Big from school, but personal time is a joke.  I hate it when people ask me what my hobbies, interests, or pasttimes are.  I don’t have any anymore. I have to block time in my schedule to help Big with her homework and to play with Little.

So the other day I went to the doctor’s office, don’t panic!, I was just there for new prescriptions, and I had a whole new experience!  For the first time, ever, I enjoyed it.  I sat in the waiting room listening to Coldplay on my pseudopod, I read part of a book that I’m reading to review on my blog, and I just sat and did nothing for like 15 minutes while I waited.  What?  My turn already?  No, please, let the old lady here who is coughing her head off go first.  Take the screaming kid in.  I’ll stay here with Chris and smut.  But instead, I put it all in my handbag and made the trek to the scales.

I explain to the nurse, as I strip off every possible piece of clothing that still leaves me socially acceptable, that I’m just here to follow up, yadda yadda.  She looks in my chart and notices that I’ve lost 130 lbs.  Always the same question, “So how did you do it?”  Always the same answer, “Eat fewer calories and burn more”.  So she asks me if I’m at my goal weight, commenting that I look great (which, felt really nice, so thank you, random nurse!)  I explained that I still have 20 lbs. to go, that I want to weigh 120 lbs.  She comments, “From where?!”  (Thanks again, random nurse!)

So she walks me down the hallway to the little exam room, the whole time explaining how she’s tried so many times to lose weight, but she just can’t stick with it.  Sometimes I feel like people have to justify it to me that they haven’t lost weight and I have.  It’s an odd feeling.  I think some people feel like I’m judging them on an “I did it, so why can’t you?” sort of thing, but really - to each their own path.

She sits me on the exam table (oh, it’s starting to sound like an erotic tale now).  She goes through my file and asks some standard stuff and says, “The Doctor Will Be In Shortly…” on her way out the door.

Finally, alone again with Chris and my smut.  I’m hanging out, completely isolated, headphones, and a book for the first time in ?? and what does the damned doctor do?  She comes in promptly five minutes later!  We joked that it was my only personal time in like 6 months and I told her that if she had other patients that I would gladly wait.   I actually really like my doctor.  She remembers me.  It makes me feel like I’m not just a chart.  She remembers our first visit, when I cried through the whole thing.  She remembers that I used to work for a local school and she knows that I no longer work there and instead run my own PR firm.  She knows about all of my fucked up injuries from my helicopter crash.  I, in turn, remember that she also likes to run and that her father was a Spanish teacher.  She once told me that in her day to day practice, Spanish classes in college have proven to be more useful than her Chemistry classes.  Interesting insight.  She set me up with new scripts and sent me out the door.  I was home in an hour.  Truly amazing!

Okay, aside from my weird story about going to the doctor there are some cool things going on. I got some sex toys in the mail and I received a surprise package from Lochai with a very generous gift - a very nice signed copy of Beach Bound.  I am so unbelievably touched.  Thank You, again, Lochai!  I wish you nothing but good things in San Francisco at Hogtied.com.   Funny thing about Lochai and Hogtied.com - all of my friends in the business (and I think even Graydancer has said) if he wasn’t such a great guy and so perfect for the position, they would all be so jealous. Instead, they are truly happy and think the right guy got the job.

I also got a package in the mail from Audacia Ray.  If you haven’t seen her site, go there now.  I will wait.  Go ahead.  It’s WakingVixen.com.  Don’t worry - I have Chris while you are gone.  I’d like to say that everything in the box was for me, but it’s not.  Some of it is!  But there are also some copies of her book, “Naked On The Internet,” and DVD, “The Bi Apple,” and T-shirts to use for promotions.  I sent one of her books to Sarah Sloane, who is an amazing educator and writer.  I can’t wait for her to read, watch, and react!  I’ll cross post her review when she does it.

In more mundane news, I went to the DMV today because according to the stickers on my tags, my tags expire at the end of this month.  However, I am unable to renew online because I am not within my three month renewal window.  So I look at the registration card and according to that my registration is good through January, 09.  Well, no wonder!  However, this doesn’t solve the problem that in North Carolina unlawful search and seizure means nothing.  Law enfocement spends a good portion of their budget on drunk stops on Saturday night, while in the meantime Charlotte has a higher crime rate than New York City.  That’s kind of stupid to me.  At any rate, in a standard drunk stop you hand one officer your license and the other officer checks your inspection sticker and tags.  If you’re square, you’re on your way, with a smile and a wave.  They are very polite.  However, the next time I go through a drunk stop, we’re going to have an issue.  My tags say this and my registration card says that.  So I proactively go to the DMV to look into it.  I’ve got all my paperwork lined up and I’ve got my book and my pod - having learned from my experience at the doctor’s office that it could really just be considered personal time standing in line at the DMV.  I look up their address just to be certain on the internet and head out the door.  The DMV is gone.  The building is gone.  There is no sign.  There is no nothing.  Just piles of concrete.  WTF?!  Baffled, I went home.  I still haven’t been able to find out where the new DMV is.  Oh, and I should have prefaced this whole conversation with - this came to my attention in the first place when I got the tax bill for someone with my name who owns a Lexus.  I own a Hyundai.  So how can you convince the DMV and tax office that you don’t own something that they say you do own?  It was a project!

There is much to do and little time, so my writing here gets more and more sporadic.  Think of it as a good sign.  RSS Subscribe so you don’t have to wonder if I’ve written anything amusing lately.  With luck and hard work, we will be busier and busier as our business grows.

I am overwhelmed with emotion and at a loss for words at the outpouring of support that people in our community have shown our family by donating prizes for the raffle, buying tickets, cross posting to spread the word, and the kind words that have gotten us through a very difficult time. We are proud to say that our personal need has been met and good (us, the sinners) triumphs over evil (them, the morally superior). To feed off of Graydancer’s post, we have proven that “a community proving that a community of pervs cares more about her education than an administration full of assholes.”

This means that instead of being my personal mission to fight for my daughter, I am on a bigger mission for the greater cause. I recognize that I am not the only person going through this battle. In fact, it’s a series of small battles that are all a part of a greater war on personal freedom, often with children in the crossfire.

This shouldn’t happen, but if you’re living an alternative lifestyle, it very well could happen to you. The only way to combat it is to put on the armor, link up arm-in-arm, and take them on as a commUNITY. That is exactly what I’ve seen in the last few days and I think we can do more!

The raffle continues, as it is scheduled to end on Sunday (8/17/08) at 10pm, but from this point forward, all proceeds will be going to the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom as a contribution from the community that has stood together and won this battle. This is our way of supporting the war that has been waged in the land of the free against personal and sexual freedom. At the end of the year, the refunded monies will also be donated on behalf of this community.

The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.

My deepest gratitude to those who have supported and continue to support this cause. I have never felt such a sense of community in my entire life. So here is the current prize list for the new official National Coalition for Sexual Freedom raffle. Check back, as we seem to be adding prizes daily.

From Lochai there are three 5×7 museum signed prints from his recent exhibit at the World Erotic Art Museum, two of them are not only museum signed prints, but are also very limited editions.

Alley Bound and Curves are a limited edition of 10 museum signed prints. If you win, you will receive either 6/10 or 7/10. Beach Bound is Lochai’s iconic World’s Most Erotic Photograph winning piece, and is a signed museum print. (Sold normally at $75/print)

Ellie Lumpesse has donated three books:

The Straight Girl’s Guide to Sleeping With Chicks by Jen Sincero
Aqua Erotica by Mary Anne Mohanraj
The Ultimate Guide to Fellatio by Violet Blue

Ellie is also offering:

a 30-minute private phone session (that can include her amazingly sexy man) if you win.

Sam donated:

custom, hand made jewelry (a necklace and earring set) to a runner up. “It’s not a kinky prize, but pretty,” she said. Pretty indeed! Take a look: http://quem98.livejournal.com/306470.html

Thursday and D donated:

a signed 8×10 print of any one of their photographs
a copy of the book, The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Erotic Women.

And Thursday has also offered:

one of her sexy (orgasmic) voicemails to a lucky winner. Let me tell you, that is one hot prize.

The writer of Between My Sheets offered:

A brand new, still in the package, never been used Silver Bullet Vibe.

And just now I heard from my Naughty Secretary who offered:

Her services as a graphic designer. There are two separate prizes - each being two hours of graphic design time (normally charged at $120/hr). In addition to participating in this raffle, she is doing her own auction to raise money. She is sponsoring a silent auction of one of her paintings on her web page.

Edward, from Exjinn.net, the company that hosts all of our blogs and provides us without outstanding support and service, has offered:

A 50 gig hosting plan from Exjinn.net with 1-year of service.

Essin’ Em:

just donated a copy of the book, Wetter, with her story signed personally for you. As if that weren’t generous enough, she has also offered an 8×10 print!

Sabrina Fox - does the name ring a bell?

Sabrina Fox, as in the redhead hot as fuck bondage and fetish model, Sabrina Fox, was chatting with me today and mentioned that she has a few pairs of latex panties that she recently wore for a photoshoot that would offer as prizes. Latex panties worn by Sabrina Fox, anyone? Oh wait until I tell W about this when she is older.

Jeff Mach commented: (THANK YOU, JEFF!) [This is one of those prizes that I would like to know if you would like to be entered to win. If you're not in the area and can't use the tickets, then they would do you no good, but if you are in that area, then it's a great prize!]

I am running a New Year’s Eve fetish event in New Jersey at the end of this year (on NYE itself). I’ll offer a ticket (that is, admission for two people, including gourmet meal and champagne)

and

I run the Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire, now entering its fourth year, every February - again, in Jersey. We’re going to three days this year, and tickets for all three days would usually be at $40; I can donate two pairs of those, as well.

I feel like George from “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Graydancer, who posted a very insightful post about the society that we live in, just twittered me (it sounds dirtier than it is) and said:

I didn’t realize you were adding prizes. Throw in an audiobook version of my novel, “Nawashi“.

Rose Fox offered a very generous and naughty prize — a very good combination for this crowd!:

I used to review DVDs for AVN, and I’m still on Vivid’s mailing list, so now I have a closet full of unopened Vivid porn DVDs. I’ve been trying to figure out how to donate them someplace and would be delighted to offer them for your cause.

There are too many to catalog, so perhaps 10 “grab bags” of ten DVD’s? I’d do my best to include a varied selection so that the winner is fairly likely to get at least a few titles that suit their tastes.

(Just a note on this: because of the laws regarding the selling of pornography, the winners would need to submit a copy of their ID to Rose in order for her to be able to send them to you.)

Beautiful Rebecca has offered:

an original piece of sensual art from the artist. It was scheduled for a gallery show next year but we would much rather have it go to your cause as it hit home. It is 3×4 metal with an object representing a uterus called, “Oikos Cella”.

Alternatively, for those who win, but don’t feel that this art is right for their home, she is an interior designer and has offered to do a consultation for a room re-do. The details are kind of extensive, so I’ll discuss it with the winner personally.

Ms. Nikki Nefarious and AlteredAperture.com) has donated prints and a rope kit:

Collette for TABU Magazine 8 x 12
Jamie in Latex 8 x 12
Girl’s Best Friend 8 x 12
Scream 8 x 10
GarGirl Bound 8 x 10
The Enforcer 8 x 10
Sarah Sealed 8 x 10
Red Hood 8 x 10

and then A Starter Rope Package (4-pack of multi-colored ropes in different lengths and hemp rope cuffs)

Lily, who calls herself Lily (the rope ho) in her comment has donated

3 x 30ft hand-dyed, processed 6mm hemp kit

Radical Vixen, who most of you know as the editor of the weekly sex blog digest, Sugasm, is a very active political advocate. She has offered two books for the raffle:

She’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission
Sex and Bacon: Why I Love Things That Are Very, Very Bad For Me

Thank you, so much! I cannot tell you how moved I am by the random kindness of the community. Lochai’s the one who started the commUNITY concept, but I get it better than ever now.

I’m officially re-launching the “Catalina’s Emergency Tuition Fund Raffle” as the “The Battle Is Won, But the War is Not Over” raffle with all remaining proceeds from this point forward going to NCSF.

Here is the link to buy your virtual ticket.

Tickets are $10.00 each, you can buy as many as you’d like (if you’d like to donate $50.00, for example, I’ll enter your name 5 times). You are not obligated to buy a virtual ticket. You can also just donate to a very worthy cause at any amount.

I really will write down names and put them in a hat, and my daughter can pick the winners. At this point, she is well-aware of what is going on. We’ll choose the winners on August 17th at 10 pm. You will be notified by 10:30 pm by email. Heck, we’ll even try to find someone to film it and show it to you all :)

Buy A Raffle Ticket To Win A Limited, Edition, Museum Signed Print From Lochai

I’ve never discussed this on my blog before, but recent developments have prompted me to discuss the reason why I’m no longer a teacher. Being Catalina isn’t always a good thing. I separated early this year with my school as a peaceful way to avoid a public scandal that would ultimately affect my teenage daughter, who attended said school.

Part of my agreement I cannot legally discuss - specifically the reasons and terms of my separation - but use your imaginations. I can say that I agreed to leave quietly and peacefully under the condition that my (straight-a’s, honors courses, award-winning, athlete, without a discipline record) child be allowed to attend her last year of middle school just as if I had resigned at the end of the year. Let me spell this out for you. Faculty receive a substantial tuition discount. I pay 10% of the tuition. This roughly amounts to $1,100. After leaving, all faculty are offered one more year for their children at the faculty tuition discount as a way to avoid disrupting their children’s lives too much.

A few days ago the head of my former school called me to tell me that had rescinded his offer and that she was no longer welcome to attend. In the same phone conversation, he changed his mind and decided to honor our agreement. Well, kind of. I came in with the tuition and they refused to accept my payment.

Later I received an email that stated that on top of the faculty tuition, I am also expected to pay student fees, which are not covered under the faculty discount. Okay, so throw in another $900. I can come up with that, even if it means the car payment doesn’t get paid.

The straw that broke this camel’s back? The additional $1,000 expense account that is being demanded by the 18th of August to cover her lunch account (which was roughly $750 last year) and field trip expenses (which are roughly $250). I requested that she not be allowed to charge a lunch in the cafeteria and that she will bring her lunch, which is an option available to (other) parents, to have this fee waived. The field trip charges, I can’t really object to, that seems fair, so mental tab up to $2,200.

I’ve just been informed that the school is unwilling to waive the expense account fee for her lunch account and demands the entire amount be paid. If it is unused it will be refunded to me at the end of the year. Nice of them to at least offer that. This brings up my new grand total to $3,200 in 8 days.

I went from having her tuition paid to being a mile away.

I have never been as upset as I am right now. For a “Christian” educator to use a child as a pawn in a moral battle against me, and what I represent, is unethical - it’s beyond unethical - it’s reprehensible.

So I’ve played all of my cards, my hands are tied. He wins right now. Because I have been judged a whore, my child loses.

I refuse to allow that to happen. For the first time ever, I am asking my readers to help me. I’ve asked my readers to support the arts (artists, photographers, and other bloggers) but never asked for financial support on my blogs for myself or my family. Today that changes because my child is involved. Today I ask for your support for my daughter’s education and future.

Similar to the project I did for Lochai, I am asking for donations towards my daughter’s education fund. I spoke to Lochai this afternoon, and he has offered to donate three 5×7 museum signed prints from his recent exhibit at the World Erotic Art Museum, two of them are not only museum signed prints, but are also very limited editions.

Alley Bound and Curves are a limited edition of 10 museum signed prints. If you win, you will receive either 6/10 or 7/10. Beach Bound is Lochai’s iconic World’s Most Erotic Photograph winning piece, and is a signed museum print. (Sold normally at $75/print)

On top of Lochai’s unbelievably generous offer, several people have contacted me since posting this and asked to donate items to be raffled off as well. Now, from Ellie Lumpesse we have three books:

The Straight Girl’s Guide to Sleeping With Chicks by Jen Sincero
Aqua Erotica by Mary Anne Mohanraj
The Ultimate Guide to Fellatio by Violet Blue

Ellie is also offering a 30-minute private phone session (that can include her amazingly sexy man) if you win.

And one of Janice’s friends left a comment in my blog that she would donate custom, hand made jewelry (a necklace and earring set) to a runner up.

“It’s not a kinky prize, but pretty,” she said. Pretty indeed! Take a look: http://quem98.livejournal.com/306470.html

Thursday and D have also offered a signed 8×10 print of any one of their photographs and a copy of the book, The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Erotic Women. And Thursday has also offered one of her sexy (orgasmic) voicemails to a lucky winner. Let me tell you, that is one hot prize.

Then I got an email from a total stranger, the writer of Between My Sheets, who offered:

A brand new, still in the package, never been used Silver Bullet Vibe.

And just now I heard from my Naughty Secretary who offered:

Her services as a graphic designer and artist. She is looking into which painting(s) she is going to donate, but she has committed to two separate prizes - each being two hours of graphic design time (normally charged at $120/hr).

Edward, from Exjinn.net, the company that hosts all of our blogs and provides us without outstanding support and service, has offered:

A 50 gig hosting plan from Exjinn.net with 1-year of service.

Thank you, so much! I cannot tell you how moved I am by the random kindness of the community. Lochai’s the one who started the commUNITY concept, but I get it better than ever now.

Essin’ Em, the pansexual feminist sexpert on her way up, just donated a copy of the book, Wetter, with her story signed personally for you. As if that weren’t generous enough, she has also offered an 8×10 print!

Sabrina Fox - does the name ring a bell?

Sabrina Fox, as in the redhead hot as fuck bondage and fetish model, Sabrina Fox, was chatting with me today and mentioned that she has a few pairs of latex panties that she recently wore for a photoshoot that would offer as prizes. Latex panties worn by Sabrina Fox, anyone? Oh wait until I tell W about this when she is older.

Jeff Mach commented: (THANK YOU, JEFF!)

Prize donations, a few: - I am running a New Year’s Eve fetish event in New Jersey at the end of this year (on NYE itself). Tickets are probably going to be something along the lines of $250 per couple - we were actually finalizing that this week. I’ll offer a ticket (that is, admission for two people, including gourmet meal and champagne) for the raffle, if you’d like.

and

I run the Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire, now entering its fourth year, every February - again, in Jersey. We’re going to three days this year, and tickets for all three days would usually be at $40; I can donate two pairs of those, as well, if it will assist you.

I feel like George from “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Graydancer, who posted a very insightful post about the society that we live in, just twittered me (it sounds dirtier than it is) and said:

I didn’t realize you were adding prizes. Throw in an audiobook version of my novel, “Nawashi“.

Thanks, Graydancer! I appreciate it! I didn’t know I was going to add prizes either, until people started offering. The outpouring of support in the various ways people have shown it is very moving. Some people can afford to show their support by purchasing a ticket, some people are supporting us by crossposting, some are offering prizes, some are doing all of the above and then some. I even consider it supportive just to see comments from people who happened upon it and have shown emotional support.

In the comments this morning, from a total stranger, Rose Fox, was this offer, which is generous and naughty — a very good combination for this crowd!:

I’m here via the person who donated the jewelry. I used to review DVDs for AVN, and I’m still on Vivid’s mailing list, so now I have a closet full of unopened Vivid porn DVDs. I’ve been trying to figure out how to donate them someplace and would be delighted to offer them for your cause.

There are too many to catalog, so perhaps 10 “grab bags” of ten DVD’s? I’d do my best to include a varied selection so that the winner is fairly likely to get at least a few titles that suit their tastes.

Thank you, Rose — I don’t know anybody, personally, who would turn down a handful of DVD’s. And you’re really giving away 10 prizes, not just one, so thank you x 10! You’re right, there’s got to be something in there that turns that key in the lock. (Just a note on this: because of the laws regarding the selling of pornography, the winners would need to submit a copy of their ID to Rose in order for her to be able to send them to you.)

Also in the comments this morning was a message from Beautiful Rebecca offering a piece of original sensual art:

I have an original piece of sensual art from the artist I live with I would like to donate. It was scheduled for a gallery show next year but we would much rather have it go to your cause as it hit home.

The List Keeps Growing! 
Please read this post on CatalinaLoves.com
to see the most recent list.  Good stuff!  I’m overwhelmed by the contributions people are making to make this raffle a big success.

I’m officially launching the “Catalina’s Emergency Tuition Fund Raffle”, here is the link to buy your virtual ticket. Tickets are $10.00 each, you can buy as many as you’d like (if you’d like to donate $50.00, for example, I’ll enter your name 5 times). I really will write down names and put them in a hat, and my daughter can pick the winners (of course I’ll come up with some vanilla reason why she’s doing it). We’ll choose the winners on August 17th at 10 pm. You will be notified by 10:15 pm.

Viva la Vida by Coldplay

All the best things I could find for you in one week, and some things I have forgotten to include for a while now.  I’m a little late this weekend, because I spent a little too much time socializing.  However, in my own defense, against myself, I would say that I have worked 18 hour days 7 days a week for …  what seems like an eternity.  Okay, enough self-rationalization.  I’m late, but no rabbit had to die.  Here is this week’s Good Things List - hopefully it’s a better version than Martha’s.

A Good Blog To Read!

Fanny Lucette is a Ph.D. psychology professor, with M.A. degrees in related fields. She has been a counselor and educator for many years. She recently wrote a guest post for me on Catalina Loves (thank you thank you thank you!!) and she will be joining the new community blog that will launch soon at bestsexbloggers.com.  Her blog is not a sex blog per se, but as she describes it on her page, “All of us have questions about relationships, sexual thoughts or behaviors. My life experiences and professional credentials will help you sort through it all.”  So take a look and hit your RSS feeds because you’ll want to keep up with Ms. Lucette once you’ve started reading.

A Good (Strap On) Dildo

Strap on play.  Three little words, but they can invoke an entire mental scene, can’t they?  Strap-on sex.  Imagine the scene.  Is it a lesbian scene?  Do you see it as a Domme/sub scene?  Is it a loving couple experimenting with assplay together?  It really can be any and it can be all.  The fact is, I have used strapons with women, as a professional dominatrix, and also as a loving wife (even a submissive loving wife, at that).  I choose the Corsette Harness as my new favorite strap on harness because it’s soft, velvety, black, feminine, and (important for practical purposes) it adjusts easily so it’s easy to slip in and out of gracefully.

A Good Podcast

Graydancer’s “The Ropecast” is the new home of the premiere rope bondage podcast.  This podcast talks about kinky sex, consensual adult bondage, and discusses dominance, submission, sado-masochism, and the iniquieties of the square knot in a frank, open, and entertaining way.  (I didn’t write that, by the way, but it is all true and well-written, so why re-invent the wheel?  I copied and pasted from The Ropecast site).

A Good Book

It’s going to become very obvious to you soon, so I’ll just ‘fess up now - I am definitely kissing Graydancer’s ass this week.  Why?  Because I’ve admired him for so long and I practically begged him to be a part of bestsexbloggers.com.  I told him that I would, in fact, kiss his ass, if he would join.  He joined, so here is Graydancer’s book, Nawashi - A Novel of Erotic Magic.  Take a lookee and buy a coppee.

A Good Educational Opportunity

Did you know that you can take free courses online from MIT (yes, that’s the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT).  Well, kind of.  Read carefully, but essentially they make their course materials available online and though you don’t get credit for it, you can learn for the sake of learning.  Now here’s the cool thing, to me, anyway.  I thought that MIT only offered courses in science and math.  I was wrong.  Here is the course description of the course I’m currently taking:

Este semestre la materia combina obras ya canonizadas de finales del siglo XIX y del XX con algunas obras de reciente aparición. De los géneros literarios, vemos poesía, el cuento corto, la novela y la autobiografía. También vemos una película de tema ficticio y dos documentales. El estudiante que se interese por hacerlo puede usar los materiales en la Reserva y en la red para familiarizarse con la historia literaria y cinematográfica de este período. Nuestro enfoque principal, sin embargo, será leer bien y de modo analítico, textos literarios de diferentes momentos históricos y culturas nacionales (e internacionales). Aunque discutiremos analíticamente las tres películas, su interés principal para nosotros será, en un caso, conocer el argumento ideológico de una novela muy famosa e influyente que, por falta de tiempo, no vamos a poder leer en sus totalidad, y en los dos otros casos, para contextualizar una autobiografía y tener un punto de comparación para estudiar cómo se puede reconstruir la memoria simultáneamente individual y colectiva. Otros temas, que se estudiarán en varias obras, serán el bilingüismo (español/inglés) en ciertos escritores hispanoamericanos contemporáneos, y el auge de la novela best seller en la América Hispana.

So, in case you can’t tell, that’s an advanced Spanish literature course.  Who knew I could brush up on my primary field of study with free online courses from MIT?!  I just found out recently, but I’m on it!  The Catalina Downer Disclaimer:  You might have to buy books and don’t forget that books are not free.  Ever.  So, though the courses are free, you can’t necessarily say that you can take any class you want for free.  Sorry.  But this is about as close as you can get!

A Good Corset (and lingerie)

Mio Destino is located in Europe, but delivers worldwide and has a domestic office.  Their corsets are undeniably quality.  You’re not buying an ebay corset, this is the one you’ve been saving up for.  They aren’t so horribly expensive that you can’t afford it unless you’re married to a very wealthy international finance attorney, however, they’re not cheap either.  The selection is unbelievable - corsets by designer, shape, by fabric, corsets to wear out, bridal corsets, underbust corsets, and corset skirts.  They are the way to go if you’re in the market for that special one.

A (PERFECT) Album

Viva la Vida by Coldplay is amazing.  Brian Eno produced it, so when I first heard it, I rejected it stating simply, “I’m not interested in listening to another U2 album.” What a bitch!  Now, I come back with my official opinion - “This is the best Coldplay album yet.” You must listen to it through headphones.  That’s my only caveat.  It sounds good over speakers, and it sounds great in the car, but there is something special about listening to it in the headphones, like being able to hear Chris quietly count off.  Also, I own the official album and then I also have the special Marky D. Sade found this two weeks before it was released version.  The difference is that I have two extra tracks - Lost (acoustic) and Lovers in Japan (acoustic).  The trick is that you have to listen to the album, looped, without the two extra tracks.  Let song 10 fade into song 1.  I won’t give it away here, but just do it.  It’s neato.  I think my favorite song right now is Strawberry Swing.  It’s a great way to start the day - Chris Martin telling you it’s such a perfect day.

I am one of those rare lucky people who have to work 7 days a week.  Not because I work for the man, but because I work for myself.  Since I work pretty much every day, and pretty much all day every day, it’s a good thing that my definition of work includes chatting with Sabrina Fox, Priapus, and Lochai and writing interviews for Claire Adams, Sgt. Major, and Bobby Knight (ProPhotoTours.com).

Today is Lochai’s opening night at the WEAM.  It’s pretty exciting, and I wish I could be there to see it for myself.  I still can’t believe I am a genuine part of making that happen.  The best I can hope for is that he will call me when he gets home, even if it’s late, and tell me all about it.  I lucked out and got to talk with both Lochai and his amazing bride, Janice.  She’s so amazing, I can’t help but adore her every bit as much as I do him.

I spent the majority of my day working on the Week in Kink and The Good Things List.  Both were late, but I noticed that the world did not fall apart.  I’ll take note of that the next time I have terrible anxiety about not getting them done on time.  I openly kissed Graydancer’s ass in The Good Things List, because it was a deal we made on Twitter to get him on board with the bestsexbloggers.com project.  This wasn’t exactly our deal, just that I was willing to kiss his ass to make it happen, and this is the only way I know how from a distance.

I didn’t work all that much this weekend, actually - it was one of the first weekends I truly set out to socialize.  Not all of my plans worked out.  Friday I had a new workout - sprints with abs and triceps.  The Dude has decided that it’s time for me to step it up and … I can’t really disagree.  I’ve been running, but now it’s time for toning.  I came home from an intense workout and managed to go out for wine and sushi with M on Friday night and somehow three glasses of wine fucked me up.  Must have been because I was so tired.  I don’t know.    We normally eat out every Friday night, but he’s training for the NY Marathon and I’m still trying to lose weight, so sushi and liquid calories seemed more appropriate.  He had a bad week and so W baked a cake or him — I know, seems counter intuitive to give a marathon runner in training a cake, but he had to run 14 miles this weekend and the carb/sugar load helped him make it through and it cheered him up, so it served it’s purpose doubly.

Saturday I was all set to go out with The Dude for an evening of inebriation, his not mine.  He flaked out on me.  It worked out in my favor.  I fell asleep at something like 6 pm and didn’t wake up until about 11 pm, when I sat up long enough to say goodnight to Marky and went back to sleep until 9 am today.  Apparently I needed a good night’s sleep.

Now here we are again, the middle of the night - time for me to wrap it up and go to bed.  I’m frustrated as hell because I can’t get images on the static pages on bestsexbloggers.com and it better not be a template issue.  If it is, I’m lucky that JC will come to my rescue and fix it.

No graceful way out of this blog post - I’m just tired and it’s time to end.  Goodnight, people…  Oh and FetLife rocks.  It is 3:46 am.  Buenas noches.