Y’all are entirely too nice to me!

That’s right!

I completed another Hang Out. Well I did on 1/10.

I’ve been a bit under the weather so I’m a couple of days behind on this.

Regardless, I keep getting gifts from the Sojourn, even after the fact.

The lovely and talented Shannon Dedman, one helluva a Prop Tart and groovy friend, got tickets for Play Dead at the Geffen.

We met up in the afternoon and took the 2 out to UCLA, had some noodles and watched a pretty fun show. I don’t want to say much about it, but I was amused and pretty happy to hear the director’s voice! (lays finger aside nose)

After a long chat on the surprisingly quick jaunt home we cut our short as Ms. Dedman was recovering from the ick that’s been going around.

My most recent ick I blame on a “vegan cookie.” So did this guy.

So thanks for another Hang Out, but please remember folks you *can* put me to work if I owe you.

And the number of Hang Outs I owe is *far* greater than those claimed, BTW . . .

Hope to see some of you soon!

Best,

M

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Days since the end of the Sojourn: 132

10/26

Hey y'all!

I completed another Hang Out with my good friend Bubbles while I was in Vegas this weekend, specifically on 10.26. We ate wings at the Hooters Casino Saloon and visited the Erotic Heritage Museum.  It was great fun.

I haven't totally processed everything but you can find out about this Hang Out and a million other little pieces by the weekend if you visit:

www.mlh38.blogspot.com

I hope you will.

Best,

M

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Days since the end of the Sojourn: 60

DSA Hang Out Complete! : D [NSFW]

Hey y'all!

See? I told you Hang Outs would continue to happen. And this one was great fun!

Sam asked me to got the 42nd Birthday Party for the Pleasure Chest, the so-called Gloryhole 2013. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was packed!

And after I tell ya a bit more I'm sure you'll understand why.

The events featured included: an extra-tall stripper pole, several spanking exhibits (including a "Spank and Shine" station), complimentary adult beverages like the "the Bootie," Disco Light hoopers, my friend Amy Amnesia swallowing a sword, a food truck, stilt walkers, a DJ Ice Cream truck, demos, demos, demos, Lapdance Roulette, freaks of all varieties and inside a giant white furry box riddled with - you guessed it! Gloryholes.

Sorry some of these are so blurry . . . hard not to get jostled here . . .

Last night was also the launch of SexIsBack.com, a neat sex-positive story aggregation project. Worth a look!

My companion needed a pit stop right as we entered the event and the White Furry box labelled "Fun Factory" (a vibrator/dildo manufacturer it turns out) caught my eye.

It was exciting and mysterious and inside was created to look like a sleazy bathroom. The people who built it obviously had a great time with graffiti anywhere from "Does this look infected?" to a large pair of eyeglasses around two holes and my favorite vantage below.

As I worked my way into the mass of people to see what was happening, I was lucky enough to find April Flores prancing around. When I realized the hole was big enough for my arm to go through I was rewarded with the weight of one of her pendulous bosoms in my palm.

Then I wandered the store seeing a little bit of every aspect of the community in evidence, but not too much of anything. I reunited with my compadre and we decided to check out the outside thinking we'd return to the Fun Factory later as they had different performers every hour.

We lost each other for a bit, but there was plenty to see and then we spotted each other across the bar as we both had figured separately but at the same time, "we're already sort've in line, let's get drinks."

Reunited we wandered to the dance area and watched a few shows and then the music had to be turned down at 10p. Luckily a little dancing got done first.

Over the course of the evening, we both ran into a couple of other folks we know from around the block and as the night was winding down we made our way back inside to find the one and only Nina Hartley taming and teasing a young spank-obsessed couple who were amazingly vociferous about their enjoyment.

I was this close to Ms. Hartley. Kind of awesome.

Also I made you this to give you an idea of what was going down . . . 'cause I thought you might enjoy it. Pervie!

After quite some time watching Nina and friends I got overheated (there were a ton of people in that place!) and we wandered back toward the car.  Sam suggested burgers.

I was excited as I'd never had the chance to eat at Astro Burger and being a self-professed "lightweight" she needed to sober up a bit. ; )

Astro Burger was good. I liked it a lot. AND though they have a greasy diner thing going on - decor, menu, vibe - the grease itself was super-clean and all the ingredients were fresh and delicious, especially the avocados. Yum!  Not terribly priced either. Big selection. Clean store. I'd recommend it.

In addition to all the fun the ancillary benefit was that we got to catch up after having both had long involved summers - though I do need to hear more about hers! You got all my stories, eh?

All in all it was a helluva Thursday night, a good solid Hang Out and then fun to boot.

This summer and all of you keep feeding my soul.

Thanks Sam!

Who's next?

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Days since the end of the Sojourn:  27

NorCal Hang Outs

Hey y'all!

I got a couple of $9 Megabus tickets and headed North for the weekend to handle some bidness. Megabus is a bit of all right. Outlets and questionable wifi, but if you've got the time to spare and a cheap ticket, it's not a bad way to go. *And* you can pack liquids in your toiletries.

Yeah!

I had the opportunity to see Nettie, Eddie and the gang, met a potential new LA amigo, threw out my first Vine from fruitvale station and then got a mega full Hang Out with some donors who wish to remain Anonymous, but who are truly wonderful. Trust me on this one kids.

We chilled, ate, drank, drunked, played and worked hard. It was important to me on so many levels. Thanks!

Sonoma Sky 9.13

I figger I still owe Nettie the 6 hours of duets she's requested, but other than that it was nice to give some positive paybacks after this very eventful, insightful, incomparable summer.

: )

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Days since the end of the Sojourn:  11

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 Bonus: 

Hydrant Wears a Cone 

at a Jaunty Angle; 

Fisherman's Wharf - 9.13

THANK YOU ALL! [Sojourn's End]

Wow!

I'm not really sure where to begin. Please bear with me and forgive what I anticipate will be a somewhat scattered and rambling document.

Oh and if you contacted me over the last little bit and I haven't responded and you are in want/need of a reply, please hit me up again. I took my radio silence pretty seriously and am loath to go back and "see what I missed" as it were.

*shrugs*

In order to help you navigate this mess, I'm gonna follow these bullet points insofar as it is convenient.

Enjoy!

*pew*pew*pew*

---

• The Blog
• Hang Outs
• Stats
• Kindnesses
• Calm
• The Next Step

---

I've taken a couple of days to veg out and re-connect to my (overly hot, un-air conditioned) life here in Los Angeles. Weird. I've been to a couple of movies in search of AC and haven't accomplished as much as I might have hoped in my re-insertion.

Heh.

Still I have high hopes for today. It's ten degrees cooler for one. Score!

***

THE BLOG

This, as you might have surmised, is the last of this regular series of blog posts. If you'd like to keep up with the intermittent follow-ups that will occur (no doubt for years) sign up for the email notifications. I promise to continue to post anything relevant on Twitter with the #ssssmlh2013 hashtag, but I won't post in the event page after today.

Thank your lucky stars.

The business I have to which I must attend today is to report that in a completely unexpected move Johnny V decided to pitch in to "the cause" in hopes that it will help in my "rehabilitation" back into this town. I am certain that it will.  Thank you sir!

This was, I would guess, the ultimate donation of the SSSS and brings the total up to 115.3%! Incredible.

Of course that number only includes people who specifically donated hard currency toward this endeavor. If I count all the in-kind, places to stay, good will, groceries (looking at you Dad), rides (i.e. gas $), drinks, meals, and most importantly, time you all contributed, I'd be hard-pressed to produce a specific figure, but I'd guess it would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 400%. At least!

Because you are all that generous and that kind.

Thanks. I'm a lucky bastard!

What would I blog about in the future you may well ask. Simple. Hang Outs.

***

HANG OUTS

As you have no doubt heard me say many times over, Hang Outs which are owed are valid until redeemed. And yes, I have a spreadsheet. Except for those of you who specifically asked me to donate time to other parties (mainly my folks - which got used believe you me!) - you have time on the books and I will fulfill it in any way that I can.

And then I'll talk about it. 'Cause you deserve the recognition. : D

Just let me know when t's going on (whatever "it" is) and we'll get to it!

***

STATS

You may recall the Half Time Report on July 1st, but in the spirit of wrapping up, I, of course, have to "run the final numbers" for some sense of closure, no?

So here goes . . .

As I write this I have had:

• This is my 179th post in this forum
• 9413 page views (1097 in the last month)
• 90 Benefactors have backed the Summer Shakespeare Sojourn Subsidy
• $4036.33 of the required $3500 was received
• Ultimately every single day was sponsored - Amazing!
• Travel Days were sponsored from LAX -> DAY, DAY -> CHI and MDW -> LAX
• Benefactors were mostly from LA (46) and California in general, including LA (54)
• There were 13 Benefactors from Chicago and 13 from Ohio with 23 people contributing from outside of those centralized markets
• Most of my computer viewers use Windows (47%)
• Most of my mobile viewers now use Androids (11%)
• The most used browser to see the blog is again Firefox (30%), Chrome was 2nd holding steady (26%)
• 80.5 hours (3.35 days) of 194 hours (8.083 days) owed to Benefactors have been completed (41.49%) - not bad, but miles to go . . .
• The first blog post (2/25/13) is still the most popular with 981 views and 2 comments

Stats with no change

• People from 10 different countries have viewed the blog, overwhelmingly from the US
• The furthest benefactor donated from Dubai 
• The most popular donation method remained PayPal with over 50% of backers choosing this method 

***

KINDNESSES

You've all given me a *lot* to think about.

I suppose there's only so many ways and times I can say thank you, but let me put out a few statements I heard from people this summer that stuck with me. I'm sure there are more, so if you didn't make this list, don't think I didn't hear you. This soup is still churning and all that information is steeping in a beautiful burbling pile of yummy.

So Good.

(Please forgive any paraphrasing.)

Some memorable conversations in no particular order:

SH: "Do you hate acting?!? You're a good actor but you don't act."

MZ: "It warmed my heart to know you were performing this summer. You're a huge talent."

EW: "What's always frustrated me about you is that you're so good at so many things but you don't focus."

BJM: "You're fignerprints are all over my life."

TWH: "Many successful people have made their fortune retooling failures. I think you'll be successful."

And *so* *many* more!

Phew . . .

***

CALM

I think the biggest reward from this summer has been a sense of calm. I have a couple of more hurdles to jump (or blast through) before I'm completely on my own time, but that will all be quickly resolved - one way or another. That feels good.

The epiphanies I've had through time to reflect, conversations, advice, challenges and general staring off into space have been simple, profound and very helpful.

I will hold this awarded time close to my heart.

***

THE NEXT STEP(s)

I have many plans in mind. Some of you know some of them. Some of you will be part of them. Some of you will fall out of my life. Some of you will fall out of my life again. Some of you will become more important. Some of you will become important again. But regardless of future outcomes, all of you have influenced my entrance into what I'm calling the "Fourth Act."

And I'm good with that. It could be so much worse. You all could've left at intermission and given up or just flaked out in the first place. But you didn't. The fact that your'e still reading this proves that to me.

And like a broken record, I thank you for it!

---

Do not underestimate your contribution to this journey, whether it was financial, material, spiritual or simply speculative, you have had a positive impact on my life in a period where I was in desperate need. I try not to spew my emotions all over the internet, but let me be as effusive as I can when I express my gratitude.

My deepest thanks to you all.

Wherever you are, know that it is my heart's wish to see you soon.

Best,

M

PS    The next blog to follow if you've been enjoying this one is here. And if you can find a way, please do
         join me in Vegas this October. Let's be hella-silly! : D

         And don't forget the dates have moved to 10/23 - 29 - ish . . .

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***BONUS***

Here's a few of the Polaroids I snapped this summer . . .

Harding Boys circ 7.13 

Zaradich BirthGAY Crew circ 8.13 

The Haskin Family circ 8.13 

I also found my favorite bookmark which I thought I had lost on the Metra back from Naperville!

As you can imagine, that pleased me greatly!

I'm sure I will find more things i.e. the adventure continues . . . and I've got my pith helmet!

Ha ha!

Radio Silence!

Loyal Readers, Friends and Fans:

I have one request.

Don't knock on my door before the 1st of September.

I am home friends, but I am not home to anyone for the next two days.

(This includes: texts, emails, phone calls, &tc . . .)

I do hope you understand.

Thanks for a great summer.

Regardless, let me give you a brief re-cap of yesterday and then I'll be back in the mix soon.

I feel like my life is one transparency over another but everything has been shifted from 1/2 an inch to 2 feet in an awkward direction. Got to get my bearings.

So.

I got up in the morning and rented a Zipcar so I could get a pizza puff from the Jewels.

No really, I was showing the G's the mechanics of the thing and helping them to run a few last minute errands before Sarah headed to the burbs. Below you can almost see where she left a bum print in the frozen food aisle.

She also did her impression of MegaMan for us. Well the Brown Bagger anyway! Ha Ha!

Tony was a true gent and helped me hump my bags to the top of the Irving Park station one last time and I had a pretty uneventful trip from the Blue to the Orange.

I even got a skyline pic through the dirty train window. Not bad for a last second decision, eh?

After the train, I gave the end of my 7 Day pass to a young fella in the tunnel that takes forever to the airport itself. I got through ticketing fairly quickly and then hit security. *That* is a true CF at Midway. Of course I forgot it was a holiday weekend and I seldom fly the same time as regular citizens so those were contributing factors.

I got a wing seat and besides the 3rd-to-last-sat asshole sitting in the middle seat elbowing me all the way to LAX, it was a quick flight.

I liked this image as I de-boarded and headed for the luggage. I missed the Flyaway by about a minute and found an outdoor plug to siphon some power before catching the next one a half an hour later.

I waited a bit at Union Station for the next train but then caught the 217 (!) at Hollywood and Western and made a pit stop at Quick Stop for a couple of tall boys before trudging across the Beaches at Hollywood and Normandie, encountering the idiot neighbors that live below me as my homecoming crew (ick).

One of the most surprising things to me was the monster tree on the corner with the tripping sidewalk trap is gone and it looks like any other old regular corner now. : )

Oh and our elevator smells like piss now. Hooray!

But it was nice to get home, kick off the shoes, wander around, open mail and quaff a bevie whilst sitting in my chair and looking at the Observatory. I missed that.

There's much to do, but the Sojourn is done. And I couldn't have done it without you.

Look for my synthesis in the coming days, but not today. And not tomorrow.

It's HOT! *phew*

This is what I actually meant to post last night (stupid mobile youtube!) . . .

See you all SOON!

Best,

M

Later On

Hard to believe I've been gone for 109 days. Harder to believe I'm going back to Cali today.

Yesterday was nice and easy.

After breakfast I got the chance to check out Pete's Barber Shop. I got a trim and some Beard Oil. Here's some of the swag Pete has adorning the place.

I probably should've taken more pix but I was too interested in beer and convo with my old pal.

I decided to head back the G's and decide what to do next. I ended up scrapping plans to go to Q and see Ben as many people had ducked out for various reasons and got an unexpected nap in for my trouble. That was nice.

I did go meet Pete and Amber on the patio of the Orbit Room and Steve, happening to be in town for a show, stopped by and hung out, as did Ben. I felt better about ditching dinner and ultimately lunch today because of it.

And it was exactly the kind of low-key "see ya wouldn't wanna be ya" that I had hoped for before leaving.

Thanks folks!

I'm gonna run a few more errands with the G's before the little one heads out to the burbs for Sheetal's wedding prep and then I'm gonna hit Flight # 461 Southwest 5:15pm  MDWY to LAX and I'll be back in the arms of heat by 7:30p tonight.

Crazy.

Best,

M

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Funding:                114.6%

Days in Chicago:    15

Days Away:           109

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Today travel is underwritten by Loyana Maria Garcia Vodicka