Furry Friday Farewell

Today is Friday and in keeping with this sacred day of the week, I present a furry example for your viewing pleasure. Topped with leather, as an extra treat!

The "farewell" part of today's post title is in reference to my absence the next couple of days. Today is my surgery and I probably won't be back online until Sunday or possibly Monday. All depends on how I feel and the availability of my laptop. I haven't scheduled any additional posts; this is it. I tried to find something extra special for you all. Hope I succeeded.

So while I'm gone go make some adventures and share 'em on the comments! BEHR HUGS!!

Behr Pick: DJemello

He's a DJ from Toulouse, France. Other than that I don't know much about him, including what his name is. Some people enter strange information into social networking sites. That has never stopped me, however, from admiring a man.

I could spend a long afternoon exploring every inch of him. Where would you start: chest? arm pit? regions not shown? Personally I'm thinking arm pit.

Thursday seems to have taken its sweet fucking time to get here. I hope its departure occurs more quickly than its arrival. BEHR HUGS

SF Visit - Day 3

My final day in SF this last week was Saturday and it was a really nice day for me. It started out with sleeping in - natch! I can't recall the time I woke up but I just lounged for a little while. Then it was off to Starbucks to get breakfast: oatmeal, apple fritter, and venti triple vanilla latte. No foam. I took it back to the hotel, snagged a paper from the front desk, and just relaxed with the TV on. I think I watched a part of Night at the Museum 2.

After a while I decided how I was going to spend my day. I got up, showered, packed, and checked out of the hotel. Of course they held my bag for me. I walked to the Embarcadero where there was a farmer's market type event going on. At the end of Market street there were booths of arts and crafts, mostly jewelry. Across the tracks was the fruits and vegetables. I wandered over and through the booths and then through the building to the other side and wandered through the booths there: vegetables, fruit, cheeses, breads. The smells were wonderful combined with the sea air. I wandered around the building where I made a new friend, Mr. Gull. I tease. But it was fun playing with my camera.

I wandered through a bookshop and picked up Mark Abramson's "Snowman," the fourth book in his series about Tim Snow, the Castro, and various mysteries. Shortly after exiting the bookshop I plopped on another bench and just sat there enjoying the music of my iPod (Baba O'Reilly! Roundabout! Rhiannon!) and watching the boats and birds out on the bay.

I received a text from M; he'd just woke up. About this time I was exiting the Embarcadero and was taking pictures of four SFFD firemen trying to open a car. Evidently the owner, some woman, locked her baby inside. (And they worry about gays and lesbians raising children!!) M and I texted a little and it was determined that I didn't have a whole of time comparatively speaking and seeing each other probably wouldn't work out. I walked to 4th/Mission and had lunch at Mel's (a different one than I had been at with M). I had a tuna melt with fries and coffee. They were really busy so I sat at the counter. When I'm dining alone I prefer the counter.

Afterwards I walked back to my hotel, retrieved my bag, then headed to the airport via BART and AirBART. I had already printed my boarding pass at the hotel so it was just a matter of going through security. Unusually, I sailed through the ID check. I was slowed down slightly though with the security part; they've installed a body scanner! So it was kind of interesting although I didn't see my image.

The flight home was rather uneventful, except for the child that occasionally screamed. Yes, it was lovely.

So although there was no heavy drinking, wild sexual antics, or stoned moments....it was, for me, a very enjoyable day and trip. I wish there was a way for me to keep my job and move up there. I would in a heartbeat. I'm a bit tired of LA and its suburbs. But that complaint is to be saved for another post another day.

It's HUMP DAY! And that means I have two days left in the work week. Starting to get a little nervous about the surgery but I'll save that for another post as well.

Enjoy your day! BEHR HUGS!!

SF Visit - Day 2

Continuing with my SF adventures last week, Friday was a good day.

It started with my sleeping in a little bit later than I usually do. When I finally woke up, I turned on the TV and just lounged in bed. I finally dragged myself out of bet to get ready for the day. I went off to Starbucks for breakfast: oatmeal and coffee. I then returned to the hotel.

I finally decided to head off to the work location. It's a short walk. I conducted five one-on-one trainings that morning. About noon, I went off in search of something to eat. I landed at a Quiznos not too far from my hotel. I got the sandwich and drink to go and returned to my hotel room. I watched TV and ate and basically dreaded going back to work. I called my contact to see how many others needed training; she didn't answer. So I walked back to the building. When I walked onto the floor from the elevator, my contact greeted me and informed me I was done! We chatted a bit and then I left.

On my way to the hotel I received a text from M telling me he had a quick errand in the East Bay but should be back in less than an hour. I texted him back and said I was free the rest of the day. Without going through a text-by-text recap, I'll just say that in a little over an hour there was a knock on my hotel door. If you've ever experienced this sound you know how wonderful it is.

For the next hour and a half, M and I cuddled. Now before anyone says or thinks anything derogatory, that is precisely all we did. Yes, we removed our shirts, mainly because M sweats because he is a true bear: furry all over. He truly is my physical type: buzzed head short, a full thick beard, a little paunch, and lots of body fur. And he's the nicest, sweetest guy. So we cuddled and talked. Definitely the best part of my trip.

Unfortunately he had to leave to go home, get his work clothes on, and get to work. It took a lot of strength to not keep him longer. But I know he has responsibilities and I don't want to be the one who makes him take a misstep and lose his job.

After M left, I watched TV and dozed. Ok, I fell asleep. When I woke up it was about 7pm! I got up, got dressed again, and took off for dinner. I walked over to California St. and caught the cable car to Polk Street (see the accompanying picture). If you have never visited SF or never ridden a cable car, you have to do it at least once for the experience. I enjoy the California St line because it goes up the hill and past Grace Cathedral. One of these days I'm going to jump off and step inside; I am told it's beautiful inside. Anyway, when I got off at Polk, I walked a couple blocks to Pine St up to Grubstake.

If you're not familiar with this place, it's a small restaurant that's Portuguese and American food. Part of the restaurant is made from an old cable car. It's actually very charming, kind of off the beaten path, popular with locals and tourists, and good down home type food. I had the Shepherd's Pie special and coffee. It tasted homemade, which is always a favorable quality with me. The proprietor is a wonderful man and his Latin coworker quite the cutie. As a point of reference, I'm told that back in the day when International Bear Rendezvous was held at the Van Ness/Pine Holiday Inn, Grubstake was a favorite hangout of the bears. M actually took me there on a previous trip. It's not fancy and some may think "Eww" in terms of decor and atmosphere but I like it there because I'm always treated like a local not a yokel.

After dinner I decided to walk Polk St. to the Civic Center BART and return to the hotel that way. The cable car ride is $5 for one trip; BART is $1.75 to get me back to where I want to go. The walk is probably roughly 1 1/2 miles maybe more. I returned to the hotel where I watched TV before finally turning in about midnight.

That probably wasn't as exciting as you were expecting but I got to spend time - good quality cuddle time! with M. I had a ride on the cable car, a nice evening walk, and some good "me" time in the hotel. It was wonderfully perfect for this behr. If I could, I would move to SF. I know I see it through "visitor's eyes" but I think it has to be one of the most diverse, colorful, exciting cities I've ever visited.

Tomorrow I'll wrap up my trip with Saturday's happenings. BEHR HUGS!!

SF Visit - Day 1

This past Thursday, I flew up to SF for work. I won't bore everyone with the uneventful flight or the travails of trying to get to the work location from the Oakland airport in 50 minutes....suffice it to say I was late. Other issues ensued but by the end of the day I felt like everything had pretty much been successful.

Although I was pretty tired, I went to the movies Thursday night. I have a friend who works at Landmark's Opera Plaza. This particular theater has three rooms: one is big, another is smaller but still seats a good number of people, and the third seats about 32 people and is more of a viewing room. The Opera Plaza is known for showing indie films, foreign films, and limited release films. It's a great little place.

The film I saw was "I Am Love," an Italian films starring Tilda Swinton, Edoardo Gabbriellini, Flavio Parenti, Alba Rohrwacher, and Pippo Delbono. (Yeah I know - you only recognize one name!) The film is in Italian with English subtitles. It was beautifully filmed and acted. To summarize briefly, it's a story about relationships, passion, and most importantly, love.

Swinton plays a Russian woman (Emma) married to Tancredi (Delbono); he's the son of a textile magnate who turns the family business over to Trancredi and Edoardo (Parenti). This is a surprise because no one expected the patriarch to do this. Edoardo brings his girlfriend, Eva, to a family dinner and it's clear they plan to marry. The wedding isn't shown but later in the movie it's evident that the couple have tied the knot.

Antonio (Gabbriellini) is a chef friend of Edoardo; the two young men decide to open a restaurant together. Betta (Rohrwacher) is the daughter who is away at school in London; at one point she comes out to her mother as a lesbian. Swinton keeps her daughter's secret from her husband and mother-in-law. At one point, Emma begins an affair with the younger Antonio after he cooks lunch for Swinton, her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. There is quite a bit of nudity, mostly of Swinton's breasts. It is evident from their passionate lovemaking that this is not just sex.

Through a series of clues, Edoardo figures out about his best friend's affair with his mother. During an argument between mother and son, he slips and hits his head on the stonework surrounding the reflective pool. He dies from his injury. Shortly after the funeral, Tancredi tries to comfort his wife; she tells him she is in love with Antonio; Tancredi replies that she does not exist. She runs out and returns to the house to change clothes, leave her jewelry, and leave. The closing scene is perhaps the most tension-filled and yet revealing scene in the entire movie...and it is played out with minimal dialogue. I won't give away the ending but it is spectacular acting. The cinematography is beautiful in its simplicity and the locales - Milan and Sanremo among others - are beautifully depicted. If you are able to see it, I recommend it highly.

After my friend closed up the theater we took a short walk to Mel's for a bite to eat. I have no idea how much time we spent there catching up and talking about our respective lives. Once we finished eating, we walked back to the theater so he could retrieve his bicycle. We then walked to BART where we parted company.

Perhaps now is a good time to tell you a little bit about my friend, M. We initially met on a bear social networking site and began chatting. We discovered we had a few things in common. On one of my trips last year we met in person for the first time. That night was one of the best nights I've ever had on a business trip! In fact I mentioned him in a previous post. We've kept in touch and whenever I'm in the city, we try to get together. I really enjoy hanging out with him.

So that was my Thursday night. I know it doesn't sound like much but it really was a great ending to a hectic and at times frustrating day. Tomorrow I'll tell you about the second day of my trip.

BEHR HUGS!!