My Adventures at the Southwest Leather Conference 2009 – Part 1

Howdy All,

  This past weekend, Jan 23rd – 25th I attended and volunteered for Southwest Leather Conference 2009. The central theme of the conference was “The Fire Within“. Here is a portion from the “Welcome” page within the conference handbook as written by the SWLC Executive Committee:  ”FIRE, it’s primal and elemental. It is a symbol of the sexual and spiritual passion within all of  U/us; Fire, a purification, a healing, a letting go … and so we ask, “how does that fire burn inside of you?” Do you find yourself here for the first time, ablaze with curiosity and want? Have you been here before, holding an ember waiting to ignite once again? May the weekend ignite an eternal flame inside each one of you that will continue to burn well beyond the weekend. Welcome back to the Leather Family Gathering of Heart and Spirit! Welcome to The Fire Within!”

  The event on Sunday that was the highlight of the conference, the “Dance of Souls”, really hit on this theme of “The Fire Within”. I will try to explain what it was like, but it is really something that must be experienced to truly understand it. It was Amazing!!! But first things first. 

  The conference actually start Friday morning, but I had a major “brain fart” and forgot! How could I forget something like this you ask?! All I can say is major brain fart!! I did catch the error early BUT I don’t have a car and where it was located at was a good 3 to 3 1/2 hours away via public transportation. To top it off I was volunteering. By volunteering it reduced the cost of the conference to something I could sort of afford. I had only remembered about the conference at the middle of the month! This is one of my grips for living so far away from the city. I am cut off from the information flow living way out here in Gilbert. Yes, your right, I need to get my ass online, find that info source and plug into it!! What do they say, “Hindsight is 20/20″. But anyway I signed up to do 8+ hours of volunteer work. Well I finally made it out the door at and to the bus stop by 1:30 pm, missing the bus as usual and not actually starting the trip until 2 pm. I had left several message saying I was still coming and on my way and the approximate time I would get there, about 6:30 pm. I ended up taking the wrong bus and having to roll a mile to the hotel, Bus 15 is not Bus 19. But I finally got there around 7:45 pm (the Opening Ceremonies had already begun) and I just about panicking that I got there too late to register and get my badge and information. I was lucky and I was directed to the correct person and got my badge. I went and watch the end of the show and helped clear the room so that they could get the equipment set up for the Dungeon (6000 square feet of bliss). The Play Party was going to happen on both Friday and Saturday nights from 9:45 pm to 2 am. Because I was late I had mentioned that they could put me on the late shift. I was at the curtain making sure that everyone had a badge, that no one had a cell phone/camera and if they did the consequences if they brought it out anywhere behind the curtain and that certain body parts/play toys were covered if they were leaving or going to the restroom. I figured I would serve here Friday and then I would be free to attend the Play Party on Saturday night, or so I thought. 

  What made me mad is I missed a few classes that afternoon that I really wanted to go to, namely either “Blood Rituals” or “Electronic Stapling”. OH MY, what was that face?! These are two classes that one would deem “EDGE PLAY”. All these new terms, I can see the confusion setting in. Let me see if I can find a site that can help with the terms I’ve used above. This link will take you to an essay entitled “SPIRITUALITY AND THE LEATHER LIFESTYLE” by Sloyd. Read it, please. It explains many ideas that this weekend was about, especially the idea around the “Dance of Souls”. If you have time look over his website, it is amazing! Here is another essay entitled “The Grey Handkerchief – Why be tied?” by Sloyd. It is about bondage and it is also an amazing read! 

  I have a little more to tell you about Friday but it is almost 4 am and I’m a bit tired. I will do my best to get Part 2 to the blog tomorrow. There is a party in the evening so I will try to do it early. Please keep checking and I will get the whole weekend on the blog. If I had a laptop I could have done it after each day. Hopefully I will get another one soon, long story as to what happened to the one I had.

  Have a great day and talk later.

Pondering

  Do you ever get the urge to just drop off the grid? Just pack up or better yet sell most of what you own and then just wander the world or even just the U.S.? I know a writer, Mark avid Gerson (http://www.markdavidgerson.com/index.html) on Twitter (https://twitter.com/markdavidgerson) who packed up and stored his stuff and is on a journey traveling the US. I had an urge like this once and put it off. Now I’m stuck in a wheelchair, drowning in bills with just SSDI ( need to get off ass and find a part time job) BUT on the other hand I just feel like dropping off the grid. I get this wanderlust ever now and then. It balances with the dream to have a cabin in the woods away from it all. It’s interesting how that changed from having to use a horse to get to the house. To having it “in the woods” but “close” to a larger population (read other gay friend). 

  I went to a festival in Phoenix called the Rainbows Festival (http://www.rainbowsfestival.com/). It was like another gay pride but without the parade and was free to get in. It was fun, but as I was looking the crowds (I love to people watch, ok fine, I was guy watching too) I realized that I didn’t know anyone there! Thousand+ people and here I was alone (yet once again – I so hate doing things alone). This is the problem with living out in Gilbert (Thanks dad) with no car. I so want to live closer and not for the bars. This weekend was the first time I had been in a bar for years. I learned long ago that I wasn’t going to find a partner in a bar. But for the gay bowling leagues, the HIV+ groups, for friends that I don’t have sex with (not knocking this), for community, etc.

  So now I will try harder to get my bills under control and to find a job so that I can crawl out this hole and perhaps do some wandering, exploring the county and meeting new people.

  I’ll tell you all about the rest of my Phoenix trip later today. I just got the urge to write this now, so I took the time to jot down my ramblings.