FLDS Update

Well, I'll return to my original idea about the FLDS debacle. That is, the premise that you cannot remove the children from all of those homes because we think that their religion makes no sense or is a cult. We must prove imminent harm to each, single child before placing that child in temporary state custody.

Well today the Texas Supreme Court has upheld a recent ruling by an appellate court basically stating the same thing. As a result, at least some of the kids will be returned to their respective homes. The ruling will likely be applied to many of the other kids as well.

Now don't get me wrong. I hope that the Texas CPS continues their investigations and oversight to ensure the welfare of these children. More than likely, some of these kids should be removed from their parents home. This will be particularly true for post-pubescent, female children, particularly those for which there is specific evidence of abuse. The state far over-reached on this one and needed to be reigned in.

Nudism Update - Self Acceptance

So after about 4 or 5 months of "experimenting" with going nude as much as possible, I find it as exhilarating now as I first did in the beginning. The biggest difference I've noticed is that I've become even much more comfortable with being nude around others. Now I have very little issues with shedding my clothes around others whether they be clothed or not. My biggest remaining hangup is that I have little desire to disrobe in situations where others would be offended by the act.

As I expected, nudism has definitely helped me become more accepting of my imperfections. I used to feel so self-conscious even in a bathing suit, thinking about the bulges in one area or sagging skin in another or marks or scars. Nudism has taught me to say "what the fuck!" To throw it all to the wind and say to myself that it I am OK. To be able to take the whole of my physical being and embrace it. My only regret in my nudism experience so far is that I didn't start it much earlier in life.

Weekend at Rehoboth

For the memorial day weekend, the BF and I decided to make our customary escape to Rehoboth Beach. As usual, we stayed at the Whore Inn. I love this place because it's ever so slightly seedy and yet the owners, guests and atmosphere are absolutely great. It's a small place that has maybe 12 rooms with 2 hot tubs. It's clothing optional in the hot tub and patio areas which means that there's always something to do after the bars all close (they close very early here) and you're feeling frisky. It's a little far from the beach, but it's perfect for stumbling home at night after a final drink at the Double L. Also, they typically have a happy hour with free drinks on Fridays and Saturdays which is very social and perfect after a long day in the sun.

The weather was perfect, although the water was too cold to get in. The BF got a good tan, but believe it or not I tanned more than he did even though I put on sunscreen. I definitely have distinct tan lines even though I really wasn't trying to get any darker. LOL.

We got back to the room early on Sunday since we were leaving a day early. Since the very cute and scantily clothed house boy was still cleaning our room, I convinced the BF to join me in the hot tub. When we got there, only Terry was on the patio reading a book. I stripped and got in the tub nude and immediately got an erection. Damn that thing is always getting hard at the wrong time. Anyway, I decided that this would be perfect opportunity to get pics of my first cockring that I recently bought in San Francisco so I asked the BF to take some. In the middle of the whole thing, one-by-one, several others came in and gave us suggestions for poses and camera angles. I got excited seeing that they were enjoying it. Eventually, the BF joined me in the tub and Rick and Terry took over the photo snapping. With the perfect lighting and glistening water, I knew the pictures would be winners. When we got home we discovered that all of the pictures were inexplicably lost. Oh well, at least we have our memories and it gives us a reason to go back.

I Was A Bad Boy

Last Saturday I went to the bi-monthly, nude cocktail party at the Green Lantern. The event is mostly social, but a certain amount of innocent playing is tolerated. I think I pushed the limits a little bit, which was a little unlike me.

It all happened right toward the end. Most of the guys had already started to go upstairs to change into their clothes. There were only about 20 or so guys still in the main bar area, with a group of guys playing together. Nothing terribly involved, just a little touching and groping. The problem was that there was this really hot guy that appears to be of middle-eastern or perhaps Indian heritage. He was obviously feeling very horny and became a little extra intense in his self-play. He didn't notice that I was watching, but I really got turned on. A guy that I first met in Barcelona was standing beside me giving me ample attention. He partially blocked me from the rest of the bar, which emboldened me to go a little further than I normally would have. Next the guy, noting my excited state, helped by using one hand to massage my anus and cupped the other under my balls. As I came, I cupped my hand in front of me so as to prevent my cum from squirting all over the bar. Judging by the force with which it hit my hand, I'd say it would've travelled several feet. The guy next to me told me with a huge grin, that he was really glad that he came to the event that day.

Bare to Breakers - Mission Accomplished

WARNING!!! The following link contains nude pictures.
Well I did it! The BF and I went to San Francisco for their annual Bay-to-Breakers race and I (BF was clothed) walked the complete 7.5 mile course completely, stark naked. I wanted to do it because it seems like one of the ultimate exhibitionistic actions that I could legally do.

Well, when the time came I disrobed and had a smile the whole time. Originally I wanted to walk with other nude walkers, but somehow got separated about 1/4 of the way through. Obviously a lot of people took note, many took pictures. I actually didn't even hear any negative comments. Several people stopped me along the way and asked me to take photos with them. I remember an older black lady that must have been about 70 stopping me for a photo and leaving so elated I thought she was going to have a heart attack. Here's an interesting tidbit. I walked for the first 30 minutes or so before realizing that I was leaking the whole time. Needless to say that I walked the rest of the race with a paper towel and kept a vigilant look.

Anyway, I did it. You can find all of my pictures here. You can find my other posts leading up to this race here. Unfortunately, per flickr's requirements, you must be both (a) a member of flickr, which is free and (b) enable restricted content in order to view the pictures.

Is It Just Me?

I tend to be pretty confident about who I am as a person. Some people seem to like me, but I am reasonable enough to realize that there are many others that do not. Although I like being a likable guy, it doesn't bother me that some people do not like me. In fact, I believe that this is an unavoidable part of life.

However, recently I've had a number of people that appeared to ostentatiously dislike or ignore me. then later, the same people would show interest in me. I don't get it.

Example: A few weeks ago the BF and I went over a friend's house and met a group of guys. One of them seemed to really click in a social way with the BF. A few times throughout the day I tried to engage him in conversation, but it was obvious that he had no interest in speaking with me. He wasn't rude, just not interested. We saw him for the second time a couple of weeks later. He greeted the BF with a big, endearing hug and greeted me with the absolute minimal acknowledgment allowed by custom. So I was very surprised when later during "play-time" he silently approached me and started fondling me. I was so confused that I didn't know what to think.

I have other, similar recent examples, but I think you get the idea. I'm wondering if perhaps I am transmitting something that makes me seem unapproachable or is this just natural behavior on their part.

Black and Nude

This weekend I went a friend's house that was hosting a nude get-together for a gay, nudist for men of color. Actually, the hosts are a couple that the BF and I met a couple of months ago and have visited a few times. They forwarded my name and email to the group, and so now I am a member.

About 15 people or so showed up. In addition to the black guys, there was one (or two) Latinos, one white and one Asian. The hosts served appetizers and other food, and drinks. We, played Wii bowling, mostly ignored a movie and of course soaked in the famed hot tub. It was a little chilly outside, but that only made the allure of the hot tub even greater. The gathering was mostly clean (i.e. non-sexual) with a little touching and caressing which was cool since of course I am very tactile. I think that I enjoyed the hot tub most.

I have to say that I enjoyed my night. The same groups is planning an outing to nude Sandy Hook beach in a few weeks. This happens to be the same week as my birthday. As of now I am planning to attend.

Bare to Breakers - Bring It On!

Ok, I've made the great leap. I have my plane tickets and hotel reservations to San Francisco for the Bare-to-Breakers. I would say "call me crazy", but why state the obvious? Wish me luck... or therapy! Assuming nothing gets in the way, I'll post about my experience and hopefully will have many, many pictures.

Bare to Breakers

Bay to Breakers is a 7.5 mile, foot race held in San Francisco each year. There is also a group called the Bare to Breakers that performs the race completely nude. Well yesterday I found some cheap tickets for this weekend and am considering doing it, but am still conflicted if I really want to travel all the way across the country on a moments notice for this.

I must say though, that this would be an ultimate nude experience. That is, (a) definitely qualifies as public nudity, (b) an extended period of time, (c) tour through a much of a major city, (d) completely nude, and (e) most people are actually clothed.

Obama!

The last 2 to 3 weeks have been somewhat trying given the spate of news about bitterness, Rev. Wright as well as the loss in Pennsylvania. These have not been good times for Obama and his supporters. Making it even worst, the final outcome was already a given.

Finally, we Obama supporters have had some good news. Tuesday's results were even much better then I had anticipated. Anyway, I thought this pic was both funny and illustrative, so I wanted to share it.

FLDS Revised

I guess I should admit that I was wrong in my prior post. Although I still believe the tenant behind the post that each case should be reviewed individually, the medical reviews of the children have changed my mind.

Namely the fact that 50% of the underage girls have shown signs of either being or having been pregnant. I know in some states, girls are allowed to marry under the age of 13 with their parent's consent, but this wouldn't even apply in this case since most of the marriages are religious (not legally recognized) so that they can get around the polygamy issue. Therefore, the only conclusion is that these girls have been the victims of statutory rape and should therefore be removed from parental custody. Furthermore, a whopping number like 50% shows a definite pattern of and direct link to the group (religion aside) that does warrant the removal of the other 50% of the girls as well. I still don't see just cause why the boys should be removed at this time though.

World Naked Bike Ride Update

No word yet on whether we will be able to make the ride completely nude, but the WNBR's Washington DC website seems to indicate that that is their intent. At this point, I am leaning pretty heavily toward participating. I've previously considered participating in an alternate city such as Chicago or even Toronto, but I think I'll just stay in my hometown. Which brings up another point... For me, it would be easier to go nude in another city than to think of riding up and down Pennsylvania and Constitution avenues with stops at the Capital and White House. But at least I won't have to fly anywhere. To see all of my posts on WNBR click here.

I think I've found the perfect backup wear for the occasion. On the DC WNBR's website someone recommended a Banana Peel. I've just ordered one in a dark brown (pictured at right), which hopefully will pretty closely match my skin color and become nearly invisible when worn. Currently I think I'll dress in just the peel, sneakers and sun glasses with the idea of removing the peel if at all possible. When my new peel arrives, I'll try to post of picture of what I'd look like on my bicycle in my planned outfit.

There's power in numbers, so if your interested in accompanying me, join the DC Yahoo Group.

Tennis Today

Yesterday I played tennis... again. I've been playing pretty regularly for the past year or so now and have really improved over the past few months. Anyway, at the park that I regularly play there are about 50 players that I know that play there regularly (several times per week), about 5 of which I would call the A-level players.

Many people at the park have considered me a part of this group for a long time, but frankly I know that I am not. I know that the A-level players would have my lunch. Well yesterday I split sets with one of the A players 3-6 and 6-3. This is the second time in as many weeks that I've taken sets from A-level players. Perhaps now I am really just starting to break into this group.

Super Nekkid Saturday Redux

First a warning... although I try to be honest in this blog, I don't usually give sexual details. I know, that's a little boring isn't it? Anyway, we'll see how far I'll go with this post, but you've been warned!

Yesterday was basically Super Nekkid Saturday Redux. First we went to the bi-monthly naked cocktail party. I brought my first new recruit, which was someone that know from the Green Lantern underwear party. Since the weather was perfect, I expected a small turnout. Indeed there were less people in attendance than normal, but still a very sizable crowd of about 100. I had a blast talking with people I knew and meeting others. One interesting conclusion that I've come to about nudity... People will sometimes look at an unattractive person and say that they'd hate to see him naked. Well, the longer I am involved with nudism, the more I think that people generally look better naked than clothed. Most interestingly, this seems applies to apply especially to the less attractive.

Anyway, for the second part of the day, we were supposed to attend a Cinco de Mayo party at the same location as was the previous Everybody Gets Lucky party. You have to drive to get there and somehow I winded up taking 2 others plus the BF with another friend following us in his own car. As a reminder, this is the large private residence that has a basement setup that would put most commercial bars and clubs to shame. They have a complete and large bar, pool table, air hockey table, slot machine, arcade games, karaoke lounge, snack bar, vending machines, heated pool, hot tub, commercial-grade barbecue pit and a backroom complete with slings and glory holes.

We arrived toward the end of the social period. When I first entered and said hi to some friends, I noticed a very muscled and good looking black guy standing close by. As the evening progressed, I talked with many others, had a couple of hot dogs and lounged around the pool. After finally convincing someone to take a dip in the pool with me, we played in the pool for a while and later retreated to the even warmer hot tub. Of course as the evening progressed, so did the sexual energy, so the hot tub soon became both ridiculously crowded and "busy", though had no complaints.

Well, I met many people and played with several others. But as the evening wore on, I had to say hi to the black guy that I saw when I first entered. He was so glad that I did and said that he really wanted to talk to me but was a little apprehensive to do so. There's a strange thing about gay, black guys in mostly white settings that always make us slightly afraid to approach each for fear of being rejected by someone with a big attitude.

Well we started to talk, flirt and touch. I'll try to describe him. He was big in almost every sense of the word. He was taller than I, perhaps about 6' or 6'1". He had huge muscles. He had nice juicy lips and was an excellent kisser. Oh yeah... did I mention the size of his cock? I often get treated like my dick has superhuman proportions, but believe me, he had me beat. Now, I love men of all races, but am not particularly big on muscle men and rarely consider cock size very important. Nonetheless, he pushed all the right buttons for me. I remember that he said, "you know they're going to kick us out don't you? They didn't invite us (meaning the two black guys with the big dicks) to just pair up with each other."

Well, before the night was done, we went outside to the staircase behind the barbecue pit where it was surprisingly empty. He fucked me on the stairs using just a rubber and spit for lube. That was definitely the largest dick that I've ever taken and it felt perfect. We fucked for quite a while with several breaks in between. He fucked me 'til I came and then we spent several minutes cuddling in each other's arms. Very nice. I can still feel him inside me this morning as I write this.

Other memories... I remember spending a lot of time with a tall, slim and very sexy Asian guy that I know and kinda consider jokingly as my second boyfriend. He sucked me very well for a long time along with another guy. I remember meeting another Asian guy that I had seen several times before (but never nude). This guy is certainly not handsome in the traditional sense or even pretty as Asians often can be. However, he exuded sexiness about as much as anyone possibly could. He has ridiculously big lips (hmm) and an impossibly big and perfect bubble butt. I really enjoyed playing with him. Before the evening was done, I fucked my BF in the sling as well as lying down on the weight bench with him on top.

All in all, I have to say that it was a good night.

Friday Night at Omega

Well last night the BF and I went out to Omega for drinks. We didn't do too much, but stood around and talked to the people there. There was this french-sounding guy that didn't say much, but caught me walking near the staircase to the downstairs area and pulled me into a nearby alcove. He hugged me and tried to kiss me, but I told him that I had a boyfriend. He kept trying to pull me back into the alcove saying, 'just give me 20 seconds.' He followed me around for the rest of the night.

I also saw someone I previously met elsewhere. He's short, probably around 5'6" tall, black with a nice, slim body and a cute face. The last time I saw him was at the underwear night at the Green Lantern. I remember he was standing with his tall Latino friend and another black guy they had just met. He turned to me and privately asked me to assure him that he wasn't the least attractive of the three. He looked so desperate for acceptance that it was kind of sad. I told him that he wasn't the least attractive, which was true since they each had their pluses and minuses, but were essentially about even.

Well anyway... yesterday, I probably talked to him for a half hour or more. I can't believe how many times he talked about beautiful bodies, faces, etc. Every 5 minutes, he wanted to know if something about him was "good enough". He kept complimenting me on my various features. He also kept talking about others and whether they were physically good enough. Sometimes he would say the most terrible things about himself such as, "who would ever want to date a loser like me." I also remember that he made a very strange comment to me. He said, that his friends think that he isn't attracted to black guys. His point was that his attraction to me is proof otherwise. Then came the strangeness... he said, "I feel that other black guys are competition, so if I date a black guy, he should at least be more attractive than I am." I'm not even going to go into what this says to me, but it is further evidence of a world-view that inherently furthers his self-hate.

To be honest, besides his obsession of physical attractiveness, conversation was actually interesting and enjoyable. However it's hard for me to believe that people actually exist that are that superficial and insecure. I don't mean to say that I don't like him or that I am better than him, because I believe that he is hurting himself far more than anyone else. It must be hard to be happy when you whole world-view is completely wrapped up in your epidermis, skeletal structure and the size of your cock. I have a saying that we're all victims of our culture that I'd love to post about at some point. But this nice, sweet, good-looking guy is more than a victim of our culture, he is a casualty.

Bubu

This is a picture of my 11 year old Maltese named Bubu.

Black, Gay and Nude!

A friend I met through an online, nudist website referred me to a gay, nudist group for people of color that he was a member of. Apparently, this group has members that span the north-eastern coast from New York to Washington, DC and perhaps beyond. Their primary activities seem to be movie nights at member's houses and periodic trips to Gunnison Beach in Sandy Hook, NJ.

I haven't yet had the chance to participate in any activities with them, but am looking forward to it. It's funny, but growing up in an all-black neighborhood, I was always told that only white people did "that" foolish stuff, where "that" could refer anything slightly out of the norm or considered different. Certainly both being gay and a nudist would both have qualified in my neighborhood. Of course this is totally ridiculous, but I still feel a certain bond with black guys who are not afraid to break stereotypes and just be themselves no matter how different that may be. That's one of the reasons that I'm really looking forward to meeting the guys in the group and spending time getting to know them. BTW, the group is for people of color. This also includes Latinos, so my BF will be joining me at their events.

Another point of interest that inspired this post is that this group is yet another example of the (not so) secret sub-culture that lies beneath the typical, commercial gay venues. Since I could find any mention of the group using web searches, I must assume that they wish to remain private and therefore have purposely omitted the group's name.

5/2 UPDATE: The group has just scheduled it's next nude movie night for next week. It happens to be at the friend's house that first told me about the group. He has a nice outdoor hot tub that seats 5 comfortably, but I'm sure it's even better when a few more squeeze in.

Proof Reading Sucks

I hate to proof read. I've come to realize that my mind works differently when I write than when I read. When I write, the thoughts originate within my head, so I think verbally or as I would speak. When I read, thoughts originate from the written text.

As a consequence, sometimes when re-reading older blog entries, I notice atrocious and embarrassing errors. This encourages me to proof read for a short period of time, but invariably I soon get lazy again. Somehow, once I get the thought down on the proverbial paper, checking for grammar seems superfluous.

I write this because just yesterday I read I how aspired to be "excepting" of others. ARGH!!! Of course the irony is that if you read that comment literally it would mean just the opposite of what I had intended to say. Oh well, I guess I'll have to proof read for the next week.

[Note: I did proof read this post and corrected 7 errors. It scares me to think what's in my previous posts.]

Update 5/10: I just happened to browse by this post and found yet another error. DAMN!

My Pics

WARNING!!! The following link contains nude pictures.

You can find some pictures of me at flickr. Warning, since I am new to nudism, although most are nude, not all of them are. I've also added so pictures of my trip to Barcelona and Rome as well as pics of my gay cruises here and here. Unfortunately, per flickr's requirements, you must be both (a) a member of flickr, which is free and (b) enable restricted content in order to view the pictures.

Barcelona

I still reminisce about my trip to Barcelona last year. I am hoping that if every thing works out, that I will be able to return this year as well. I really don't want to go for anything less than a month, so figuring out the logistics of such a trip is obviously difficult. My dream is to go for a 3 month period. Complicating factors include: my job, the need to earn income and my BF and his job. That said, if I can figure out a way to make it happen, I will.

I found the following pic on flickr. It shows a street named la Gran Via del las Corts Catalanes near la Placa Catalunya near the entrance to las Ramblas. This is near the center of the tourist district, which is a must see, but frankly not amongst my favorite places in Barcelona. My personal pictures are posted on flickr here as well.

Gas Tax Holiday

Although I love to follow politics, there are certainly things about it that I hate. I talked about the absolute lunacy of McCain's idea to institute a tax holiday from federal gas taxes in a previous post. Although I am a big Obama supporter, I pretty much described all politicians as making decisions for political reasons that damage our nation.

Well I am pleased to report that Obama has come out ardently against the tax holiday. Hurray for politicians that are not afraid to speak the truth and act reasonably even if it is unpopular. Of course, the same view is shared by George Bush, but as my mother used to say, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Shyness

Disclaimer: I realize that the pic is just gratuitous nudity, but I am a nudist damn it!

This post is part of my Life Thoughts series that attempts to document and share my views on life and the principles that guide me through it.

I have always been a very shy person. Usually people that have met me within the past few years have a hard time believing this. They remark about how I have no problem wearing attention-drawing clothes, nearly indecent underwear at underwear parties, go nude and how quickly I'll talk with new people. All this gives people a false sense of my self-confidence in these situations. Nonetheless, the truth is, I've always been shy. I've typically done whatever was necessary to not stand out too much and spent much of my life trying to appear non-sexual. My best guess is that these were coping mechanisms related to growing up gay, but who knows.

I love to play tennis. I normally play at a park where you can easily pick up a game with someone as long as you are willing to ask someone if they'd like to play/hit with you. I recall a few times when I was hitting against the wall beside someone else that was doing the same. I wanted to hit with him, after all, that's why I went to the park, but because of my shyness, someone else would come, and they'd hit with him instead. I hate this because my being "chicken shit" caused me to miss out on something that I would have enjoyed. Whenever this happened, I would promise myself to never not do something simply out of irrational fear.

When you think about it, we'll never reminisce about the things that we DIDN'T do. We'll never speak of things we didn't do to our family or friends. Life is really about what we do. In fact, I've written a whole post explaining my belief about how relationships and things we do are the very things that most enrich us on our journey through life.

Therefore, I've reconditioned myself to not allow irrational fear to prevent me from doing what I really want or should do. As time has passed, it has become less conscious and more automatic. That's not to say that don't still have to fight a little fear sometimes, but at least I do a much, much better job than I did just a few years ago and feel that my life is more rich as a result.

Pool Party

Today I went to an SDS-sponsored nude, pool party hosted by a couple. Although Saturday had been over 80 degrees and sunny, Sunday turned out to be a bit colder and overcast. Luckily the pool and two hot tubs where heated. About 15 guys attended, conversation was very good and it was overall a very enjoyable outing.

Since I moved from the Northern Virginia suburbs a couple of years ago, and got into nudism last November, I've met a lot of new people that I otherwise would not have met. Since I moved into city proper, I've had several people invite me to events that I never attended. Now it's funny because everything seems to be coalescing to reveal a sizable and healthy alternative in the area to the traditional gay bars and clubs.

I guess it should be surprising. Why wouldn't like-minded people find each other? And wouldn't such groups of people be spread through word-of-mouth and invitations with the more public groups having a web presence? Perhaps I'm only surprised to get a beginning glance at how big is the iceberg beneath the water line.

Race and Sexual Attraction

My BF and I went to Omega last night. I met an extremely good-looking white guy there who was visiting from Ft. Lauderdale. I quickly revealed that I had a BF. What made this conversation so interesting was the racial nature of the conversation. Note that I don't mean racial/bad, but rather am making a statement that we talked a lot about race in ways that are not very common for me.

As I said, he is white with blond hair and blue eyes and very cute. Honestly, if I was single, I definitely would've been interested and told him so. He quickly revealed that he loves black men. He also enjoyed Hispanics and Asians, or according to him race other than white. He used his finger to demonstrate the effect of the thought of sex with white men had on his dick. He confessed that he sometimes fantasizes what it would be like to black and having sex with a black guy.

Now, I'm not at all put off by such comments. Mostly because I think what sexually attracts us typically comes from weird and eccentric sources that would shock us all. Is it any more acceptable for someone to develop an attraction for jock-types or book-worms or even dirty feet. Than why would race-based attraction be inherently bad? Sure it could be born out of racial prejudice, but is not necessarily so. Therefore, I don't use attraction as a measure of one's prejudism since if they are prejudice, they'll likely show it in other ways rather than through attraction which is way too confusing as it is.

Anyway, back to the topic... He told me that he grew up in Indiana in an all white Chicago suburb. I was sure that like most people, he'd have no idea where his attraction to non-white originated, but he had some guesses and I was more than eager to hear them. What can I say, I'm a curious person. His first stated supposition was that his first relationship with a white guy ended very badly. Although possible, I found this improbable.

Later he offered another explanation. He went on to say how some white guys tend to feel a sense of superiority, privilege and birthright above others due to their race. He said that living in a culture that suggests that minorities are lesser prevents this from happening to minorities.

As shocking a statement as some may find this, I actually understood it completely. Not because I think it right, because I don't. Even if this is true of some whites, it would be prejudicial to assume it is likely to be true of any particular white person. Neither did I understand it because I share these feelings. However, I have sensed this same sentiment in others, although typically it is a cause for members of one minority race to only want to date within their own race since it gives that person a feeling of equal footing. I'm not saying that this is the motivation why all or even a majority of minorities only date within their race (see comments above about the inherent complexities of attraction).

What really shocked me about this comment is that (a) it is rarely expressed so directly and (b) I would never had expected it to be voiced by a white person who grew up in a predominately white community. Of course I am neither white nor grew up in a predominately white community myself, so perhaps I am not an expert in this area. However, I found it both insightful in some ways. However, in other ways it surprised me that someone growing up in a racially homogeneous community would have had occasion to contemplate this.

BTW: During a break in the conversation another guy that had overheard the conversation remarked, "you know that he's full of shit don't you?" He then implied that he just wanted to have sex and that this was just his way of making a connection. Perhaps he's right, but if true, it seems like a really risky way of trying to get laid.

What the US Should Do About The Price of Oil

I like to follow politics and am currently routing for Obama. Nonetheless I frequently am disheartened that the political process is so... well... political. By this I am referring to the way that politicians often pander to the electorate by offering non-solutions and anti-solutions. Have you ever noticed that every time there is a perceived problem, politicians felt that must appear to be addressing/solving it.

Once such issue is about the price of gas and/or oil. McCain is now saying that he'll address the issue by suspending federal taxes on the purchase of gasoline. Not only does this not help, but actually makes the real problem worst. A major part of the reason why the price oil has increased is due to rising demand by the 3rd world coupled with diminished supply and production capacity. Certainly the war in Iraq is a contributing factor, but that's for another post.
Anyway, our decreased dependence on oil is a long-term project that will only be expedited by the economics of the situation. The current high price of oil has begun to make alternative fuel prices competitive. Taking measures to lower the cost of gas would encourage its continued use and put alternative fuel companies out of business.

The transition from an oil-based society to one based on conservation and alternative fuels will certainly not be an easy one. But it is much preferred to sticking our collective heads in the sand as the crisis becomes larger until one day there simply isn't enough available to meet even our basic needs.

Nudism Update

So, this newbie nudist has now been periodically experimenting with being clothes-free for almost 3 months and thought I'd post how my experiences so far have evolved my perspective.

I'll start by listing some of things that I've done so far. So far I've been fortunate enough to enjoy several cocktail parties with over 100 naked, gay men. I've been to movie nights and matinees. I attended more intimate naked dinners and enjoyed time naked in a hot tub. I've been to tea parties and of course one of the best parties I've ever been to. I've joined gay nudists groups and have chatted online with nudists from around the world including England, Germany, Spain, Canada and of course all over the United States.

As I've said before, I have learned that nudists need not necessarily stand for anything. The biggest requirement is to just enjoy being naked. I have come to realize that it is typically an over-simplification to simply state that someone likes nudity because of X (fill in the blank). As in most things in life, our reasons are typically many and varied.

Being gay and nudist may slant my perspective and experiences, but I have no real way of knowing this for sure (I tried to be a straight nudist for a day just to compare, but it somehow didn't work out). I do know this, as a friend once stated, gay nudism is frequently associated with sex or sensuality. That's not to say, that everyone is having sex all of the time, but rather that there is frequently an underlying amount of sexual tension involved. I guess this can be said whenever people gather to some extent or another though. That said, I have participated in many events where there was no overt sex, groping or anything similar and found these to be fun and non-sexually satisfying. For example: imagining playing a board game with friends, then imagining playing the same board game nude. I, and in all likelihood most nudists, would say that the later situation only enhances the fun.

Sadly, although the Washington area is rich in social groups and opportunities to go nude, I have not been nude nearly as much as I would've liked. Partly this is because, living with my mother-in-law tends to limit me to nudity outside of the home. There are still many things that I'd love to do, some of which will become more possible as the weather continues to warm. I still really enjoy nudism, so perhaps this isn't just a phase. We'll see.

Lastly, I must comment on the friends and people that I have met. I've never met so many warm, accepting and nice people so quickly. Even if I hated being nude, the relaxing of the social barriers alone might have been justification enough for me to participate. I've met great people that share openly and give of themselves. That's not to say that I've found utopia and haven't met a few people that showed a little attitude because on rare occasions I have, but this has never really bothered anyway.

Lastly, I'll ask a philosophical question since it is in nature to do so. Are people more social when they're naked or are people that enjoy nudity more likely to be social? What do you think?

FLDS

Ok, this post will be a little different than most of the posts here, but it is something that I've thought about just a little. Doesn't that make me an expert?


About the Texas Child Protective Services removing all of the FLDS's children and placing them in foster care... I don't like the FLDS and am generally agnostic. I understand (at least intellectually) how traumatising the group's practices are on their youngest members. Nonetheless, the basis for these removal of these children could be said about any religious or even non-religious group of people. We are a nation of laws and this one doesn't pass the smell test. Even if there is a girl within their compound that was beaten, it does not mean that all of the children are being beaten.

I guess that I must confess that I don't believe that government bureaucracies can solve all problems. And one in which that the governments across this land have shown themselves to be exceptionally inept has been CPS organizations. For this reason, I do not believe that governments should be making close judgement calls to remove children from the care of their parents. Rather, I believe that the government should only intervene when there is an extremely care and urgent need to do so.

Tennis Catostrophy

Today was my last tennis match with CTA, the gay tennis association of the Washington, DC area. This has been my first year playing with CTA and I chose to participate in one of their singles, winter leagues. Until today, I have done quite well by winning most of my matches and tieing the rest.

Today was a completely different story. I had the misfortune to draw the leagues best player. I'm not sure if this is true, but I heard that he hasn't lost this year. Well, needless to say, it didn't go very well as I was handed my first loss quite handily. So now I am home licking my wounds. Actually, this is overstating it since losing only bothers me as long as I play and is quickly forgotten once the game ends.

My biggest disappointment is that I actually didn't even play very well. I resorted back to a bad tendency that I sometimes have to roll over the ball too much instead of hitting through it. As a result, although I was consistent, I provided my top-rated appointment many wonderful short balls for him to take advantage of.

Tax Hell

So I'm pretty good with numbers considering I have a degree in mathematics and have done accounting for a small business that I once operated. Nonetheless, my taxes have become so complicated over the past few years, that I've been promising myself that I'd find a tax accountant.

Well this year (as in years previous), I decided that I do it on my own for just one more year. First I did my BF's, which was relatively easy, then proceeded to do my own using TurboTax. A few of the sections were a little confusing, but I labored through it. In the end, my doubt caused me to pay an extra $50 to have it "reviewed" by an accountant. The review came back a few days later that drew attention to 3 areas. Of course these were the 3 areas in which I was expecting. The biggest thing that came from the review was that I needed more help. So after paying $50 for the review and $100 to TurboTax, I made an appointment with H&R block.

The H&R Block website allowed me to see profiles of all of their tax preparers. I selected what sounded like a Vietnamese man with a long history and who specifically specialized in some of the areas that I needed help with. The earliest available appointment was for April 15th, the due date for filing taxes.

When my appointment came around, the preparer was late and didn't see me until 10:20, 20 minutes after my scheduled start time. This made me nervous, because I knew that this would take a while. When she (BTW: it wasn't a man) realized the complexity of my return, she pleaded to the receptionist to re-assign me to someone else because she had an 11:00 appointment that she absolutely had to take. The receptionist answered that there was no one else and that she had to help me. Eventually, the branch manager was called in and confirmed this.

We started our work together and as we worked, I had to correct several errors that she made. I was also a little worried because there was a language issue as well. After a half hour, her 11:00 appointment arrived. She asked me to wait for 1/2 hour while she finished up with her next appointment and I did.

At 11:50 (20 minutes later than she said), we resumed. We worked for an additional 10 minutes then her 12:00 appointment arrived. She asked me to wait again. I repeated asked her at what time we would complete my return and all she would say is that we would finish it that day. I wanted to know the exact time because I did not want to keep waiting there for the next 12 hours. She said we had about 1.5 hours of more work to complete. I estimated that this would take all day if we kept getting interrupted and only accomplished 10 or 15 minutes of work each hour. She assured me it wouldn't take all day, but couldn't give me a specific time. I asked her to assure me that we wouldn't be interrupted again, but all she did was to assure me that we would finish it.

I decided to wait 1 more time, but as I sat in the waiting room, I wondered why I continued to wait for someone that was wasting my time and performing a sub-optimally. In the end, I took a "request for an extension" form from the receptionist and walked out.

When I got home, I filed for my automatic extension and called my company's accountant, whom I trust very much. He said that of course he'd be happy to do the work. I'm not sure how much it'll cost yet, but I'm sure it'll be hundreds.

So, after 2 weeks of work, countless time, and $150 so far, I still don't have my taxes done. At least one positive thing came out of all this, I guarantee you I won't attempt to do my own taxes next year. Oh year, I'll never, ever again go to H&R Block. At least I am comforted knowing that at the end of this process will be a nice refund.

Being Black and a Nudist

A friend of mine recently asked me about the unique issues and experiences of being both black and a nudist. Well honestly I don't feel qualified to answer this because although I've been black my whole life, I have only recently been introduced to nudism. Nonetheless, I think it might be interesting to chronicle my thoughts on this topic so that I can see how the change (or not) over time.

At this point, the real answer to this question is, I really don't know. I'll start here. As I've stated before, I do love to be naked and I love to be watched. Most of the nudist gatherings that I've attended so far have had few people of color in attendance. This includes Asians, Latinos, blacks and others. For example, at the naked cocktail party there are typically less than 5 blacks (including myself) out of a total of about 120 attendees. Considering the demographics of the Washington, DC area, blacks are significantly under represented at these events. That said, no one has ever made me feel uncomfortable because of my color.

One thing I will say is that when I am at such gatherings, I do get a good amount of attention. Is this because of the mysterious sexual power of a black male dis-robed? I have no idea but I certainly don't feel like I have any special powers. I think for the attention I get has a lot more to do with the size of my dick than anything. People look and snigger, but like I said... I love to be watched. I was discussing this with my BF (he's Latino) and he assures me that he thinks that black men certainly do hold a certain sexual status in our society. I find that hard to believe, but what the hell do I know.

Blogger Advice Needed

Ironically, this is something I have a little problem with. Usually, I get a little uncomfortable talking about myself too much, and yet I have this blog. Honestly, at times I find myself either moderating my posts or nixing some ideas altogether in the interest of not seeming self-indulgent. It's a battle with the primary goal of this blog as a place to put my unvarnished ideas and experiences versus modesty and self-restraint. To make matters worse, in order to allow this blog to be searchable via Goggle and other search engines, I had to remove the adult content warning, thereby causing me to moderate my postings even further.

Not sure what to do about all of this. If anyone who is reading this also maintains a blog or something similar, and has had to deal with similar issues, I'd love to hear how you dealt with this.

I Love to Cruise

I'm talking about cruise ships of the seas of course. My BF and I went on our first cruise with Atlantis Events in January 2006. Pics here. For many years, he tried to convince me to go, but I was always apprehensive about the whole thing. At the time, he was thinking of straight cruises and I had an unrelenting fear of being stuck in a mall for a whole week with all of these straight people with nowhere to retreat. Not my idea of a fun time.

When I finally did some more research on gay cruises, I just replaced my 'mall' fears with new ones. Now I was afraid of being surrounded by perfect body adonises making me feel way too inadequate and uncomfortable. (side note). Finally I decided that even no-one acknowledged our existence, I would have fun because I was with my BF and we always have fun together.

So we flew to Miami and boarded the ship. Of course it was much more expensive than straight cruises, but it would prove to be well worth the cost. The ship had about 3,200 beautiful gay boys, who proved to me much more friendly than I expected. A funny thing happens on these cruises... After the first couple of days, everyone seems to relax just a little bit. People tend to shed their attitudes as well as the other social barriers that we create to isolate ourselves. The result is that it becomes a very accepting, supportive and most of all, fun experience. Up until recently, I thought this feeling of acceptance and camaraderie was unique to the cruising experience, but have also been lucky enough to discover it in nude gatherings.

Well, needless to say, the BF and I had a blast. We met a lot of people from a surprising variety of walks of life. We danced at night until sunrise. We watched shows that were entertaining and funny. We sang in sing-alongs. We basked in the sun of perfect weather and visited beautiful beaches. We swam with dolphins and petted sting rays. We watched whales and went 4-wheeling in the back woods of Mexico. As much fun as the shore excursions were, we had the most fun just being trapped in the mall. Go figure.

Since our first cruise, we've been on 2 others. One on the same cruise with Atlantis Events the following year and the other with RSVP Vacations. RSVP was great too, but we definitely liked the Atlantis Events cruises better.

We can't wait for the next cruise and are trying to decide whether to take the one next January or wait for the Solstice cruise in March '09. We love the January cruise, but unfortunately, it'll be on the same ship with the exact same destinations we've been to before. The normally vary the destinations every other year, but since we missed this year, we didn't get to experience their newest destinations. If you are on the fence and considering taking such a cruise, I'd highly recommend it. For anyone wishing to find some pictures, I linked to some here. They are not mine, but seem to be a collection that people took from a couple of different Atlantis cruises.

Nude Note: Since a central theme of this blog is nudism, I will say that on all of the cruises I've taken, there was a small deck set-aside for nude tanning. As my second, very brief, experience with public nudity, I dis-robed for a brief period. Also, we anchored at St. Maarten and had a chance to visit the nude Orient Beach. The beach was beautiful, calm and utopic. I wore a mesh thong with holds about 1 inch square. It didn't hide anything, so why I didn't take it off is a mystery even to me. I guess these were steps I took on my way to my own corporal self-acceptance.

BTW: If you go on the Atlantis Events website looking for the specific cruises that I mentioned, you will not see them yet. They are definitely scheduled, but not yet for sale.

Super Nekkid Saturday

It's Sunday now and I am taking it easy as I recline on my couch and write this. I've had a good and fun weekend and am using today as a day of rest.

On Friday, the BF and I went out to Omega to have a few drinks. I said hi to some friends and met a few new people. Mostly I remember meeting a guy with a thick Austrian accent and another guy that was a stamp collector/trader. Toward the end of the night, we met a very nice and cute black guy and had good conversation. We shared a cab on the way home.

Saturday afternoon we went to a nude cocktail party sponsored by ReNudePride. I've only been to a few of these since I am still new to nudism, but have really come to appreciate these get-togethers. This Saturday seemed like an especially good crowd, although maybe it was just me. Their must have been over 120 bare-assed guys there. As usually, the party always gets progressively more interesting as the time wears on, but I'm not telling.

After the party, we were invited to go to a friends apartment for a small, nude get-together. By small, I'm referring to about 30 guys! Anyway, this was basically an after party for some of the people from the earlier cocktail party. Met quite a few nice people there as well. After a while, "situations occurred." I had to say that. A friend once invited me over his house and warned me that "situations may occur." What a euphemism! I love it! Anyway... it was very fun and we went home exhausted.

Any normal person would've said that's enough and gone to bed after we arrived at home at 10:30PM, but we decided to go to the Green Lantern for underwear night. Even though we typically go to the same place on Saturdays, it is my favorite night out. Probably this is because I know many of the people there and, of course, get to hang out my underwear. Of course I typically wear something quite indiscreet.

All-in-all, my Saturday was exhausting, but very fun with lots of opportunities to get nude.

Politics: The Wind Is Changing

OK, I've talked about almost everything else, so now I must share another passion of mind, which is politics. For most of my life, I've considered myself an independent. I know most gays are supposedly democrats, but perhaps my fundamentalist upbringing balanced this out. I was an independent because (1) neither party ever represents all of my views and (2) it seems that when governments are too controlled by one party, bad things occur.

Things have changed. I am no longer independent but am now a registered democrat. I must say this, BUSH MADE ME A DEMOCRAT. Yes, my party affiliation occurred primarily as a response to the Bush years and the deep damage that he has caused to this country both internally and abroad. Oh well, I encourage myself by remembering that we have only 8 more months to go before we can begin the process of healing.

Moving on, when evaluating the crop of democratic presidential contenders, I took my time. There were things I liked about Clinton, Obama, Richardson and even Joe Biden. I never could quite see John Edwards as president, but maybe that's just me. As time wore on, it became obvious to me that not only was Obama a serious contender, but that he was the best choice irrespective of color. I can't say how happy that makes me as a black man. It is both a testament to how far we've come as a people and a nation as well as helping to continue to move us forward to the day when we will truly be an society where we believe that all men are created equal. We may never get there due to the natural human tendencies toward tribalism, but it is a worthy pursuit that helps make this country great.

Anyway, what makes me happiest, is that I am NOT supporting Obama because he is black. I recall in 1988 when I supported Jesse Jackson. Truth be told, my vote was just to make a statement. I would never have voted for him if I thought he actually had a chance because I thought he'd make a terrible president. But Barak is different. I am voting for him because he can become president and because I believe that he is the best choice to move us beyond the counter-productive partisan bickering that has exploded beyond its normal levels in the past 10 years. I like Barak because of the message that his nomination and election would send to the rest of the world. I like Barak because of what his election would say about who we are as a country.

If Obama doesn't win, I'll be disappointed. But at least I am 100% sure that all of the remaining candidates (including McCain) would be a far better president than George Bush.

My Favorite Jeans (Update #3)

I am still waiting for my new jeans, but thought I'd post some pics of what I ordered.

Having Fun

Remember when we were kids and having fun was came so easily? What is it that moves us today? What is it that we really enjoy?

Fun. Unfortunately, I think we often get so wrapped up in the day-to-day necessities of mundane life that we forget that which came so naturally when we were young. Then we finally get a few days off of work and sometimes have absolutely no idea what to do with ourselves. Have you ever noticed how quickly some go down hill after retirement? Equally intriguing is how many times I've witnessed a person's passion help keep them young and vibrant. In a way, this really gets back to my earlier post regarding the importance of doing something. The problem is that we so often defer the very activities that most bring us joy thinking that we'll do them later. By the time later finally comes, we've completely forgotten what is we wanted to do.

That's why I think it is important for us to commit ourselves to remembering and pursuing those activities that bring us joy, fun and happiness and to engage in activities that move and enrich us every day.

When Everything Is New Again

Yes, it is that time again. The time when everything around us feels new and fresh. The time when even rainy days feel good because we can't help but feel that each subsequent day will be better than the last because summer approaches.

I've always loved this time of year. I can't but help recall the warm spring days of my youth when I would stand in the outfield during little league baseball practice. For me, I think that spring will be forever associated with these memories. But somehow I don't think I've ever quite enjoyed the seasonal transition quite as much as I have this year. Perhaps it is because I have cut my work schedule back a bit and have more time to appreciate it. Whatever the reason, I find myself noticing each tree that starts budding and each flower that blossoms, and every single one brings a smile to my face.

I've always loved the warm weather. I love being able to go outside in just shorts and a tank top. I love that others have shed the vestiges of winter and have exposed their naked skin to the elements. I love that we are no longer confined separately to our homes under the night sky. I love that we have sunlight until 10 PM and that we can go for walks or play sports 'most any day of the week.

Quite simply, I love summer.

Rock On

Ok, although my mind works much like a computer (except for my memory), and although I make my living by programming computers, I've never been that much into video games. I've always find them vaguely interesting and marveled that their graphics, but games have never been able to hold my interest for very long.

Recently, I was over my brothers house visiting his family (wife + 2 children) and my mom and dad, who were visiting from New York. My nephew is game fanatic and has every console and game known to man. My brother, who is 10 years my senior, told me that I had to try this game Rock Band. I had seen it played on South Park and new it was the new craze, but never really was exposed to it.

My brother played guitar and I played bass. Man was it fun. I love music (I play at guitar and piano), and found the game to give very satisfactory when the right notes were hit. It seems like something that I could really enjoy. I decided that I had to get my BF over so that I could convince him how much we need this game.

A week later, my BF and I had arranged a time that we could go back to my brother's house. When we got there, we all played. At one point, my nephew was singing, my brother on drums, I was playing guitar and my BF on the base. We were absolutely terrible, but again it was fun beyond words. My BF had fun, but vetoed putting down $500 for a new PS/3 and another $200 for the game.

Well, it has been 3 weeks since then, and I just learned some great news. There has been news that the company that created Rock Band are adapting it for the Wii (which I already own) and is planning to start selling it in June. I can't wait!

Creating My Life

This post is part of my Life Thoughts series that attempts to document and share my views on life and the principles that guide me through it.

First a disclaimer: The title of this post is not original. Rather, I borrowed it from a fellow blogger, named creatingmylife, who has a blog by the same name. When I first saw the title on his blog, it immediately connected it to thoughts that I hold dear.

I believe one of the most fundamental choices that we all make in life is whether or not we will live our lives as victims. Many of us do not even realize that we've made such a decision, but in fact we make it everyday. Yes, life gives us constraints, however, we have far more power to mold our destiny that many of us (perhaps including myself) realize. Creating my life entails deep self-evaluation and asking myself, "who do I want to be?". Then I can start to make that vision a reality.

To gain such control over one's life, necessitates being an optimist in that you must believe in the possible. Unfortunately, many people confuse optimism with naivete, but allow me to demonstrate the difference. Let's say that I wanted to help an in trouble teen that has a history of drug addiction. Optimism helps me believe that it is possible for him to overcome his dependency. However, it would be naive or stupid for me to loan him my wallet full of cash after he'd been clean for a day. Many people become become pessimists because they feel that it protects them from life's disappointments and being taken advantage of. However, if you can distinguish the difference between optimism and naivete, then you can protected yourself from stupid mistakes while nourishing that inner child that looks to the future with bright anticipation.
So what kind of life do I want to create?

I want to be a person that others respects. I want be kind and caring to others regardless of race, age, beauty, religion, body type, and social class. I want to be the kind of person that acknowledges a bum on the street and treat them as my equal. I want to be a person that is true to my word. I want to be a person that is accepting of the diversity of others (note: the one thing I cannot tolerate others is disrespect of others). I want to be patient. I want to be positive about life without being naive.

I want to travel. I want to be constantly expanding myself through continued learning and the pursuit of language. I want to better my understanding of the world around me and it's peoples.

My Life as a Christian Fundamentalist

When I was about 12 years old, my oldest brother joined an independent, fundamentalist, bible church in Manhattan. My brother is 10 years older than me, so I looked up to him a lot. Subsequently, I started attending the church with him. By my high school years, my brother and I were both fixtures at the church. He was a deacon and in charge of sound production and I was highly active in the youth group. I even went to the church's high school for my senior year. By my senior year I highly regarded as a good christian and even won the school's Most Spiritual award.

When it came time to pick a college, I really didn't know what to do. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University offered 50% scholarships to anyone from my church that wished to attend and it seemed like the answer that I was seeking. I visited the school with a group of other teenagers and frankly, loved it.

The school really inundated its students with religious meetings in addition to the typical class load. There following were all required:

- Sunday morning service,

- Sunday evening service,

- Monday night prayer group (small groups held in the dorms),

- Wednesday night service,

- Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning chapel services,

- Bible classes during your freshman and sophomore years, and

- A required christian service class usually requiring 2 or 3 hours weekly.

I quickly became a prayer leader. Eventually, I became a resident assistant (RA), which was good because it came with a $12,000 scholarship that covered tuition, room and board and up to $200 worth of textbooks. What a godsend that was. Obviously the competition for these positions is huge so they put us through a very rigorous process before selecting just a few. More is expected of RAs at Liberty U than of typical universities since the RAs are also supposed to be the dormitory's mommy and daddy, first line spiritual counsellor, and the primary enforcers of the schools many, many rules that would have shocked most students of other schools.

I definitely struggled with my sexuality while in school, even as I counselled others. Luckily, my mind compartmentalized my gayness such that I could survive in this homophobic environment without being completely traumatized. Somehow even as I would occasionally go through cycles of buying gay porn then destroying it, there was a part of me that had no idea that I was gay.

Interestingly enough what drove me from the church had nothing to do with my sexuality, but my eventual inability to accept the judeo-christian version of God. My argument is as such, if God exists, then he must be as far above us as we are above an ant. Therefore, our understanding of the nature of God, his desires, his motives, and his goals must be as incomprehensible to us as an ant trying to understanding that humans must go to work to buy braces for their kids and pay the mortgage. Hell, my dog can't even understand why I have to leave every morning. I don't say this to try to convince anyone, which I know would be futile, but to describe how I came to believe what I believe.

Anyway, I am not saying that god doesn't exist, because I have no way of knowing. I only state that I cannot buy the image of god that has been taught to me. It just seems way to convenient. It seems exactly like what god would be if humans invented him. I now consider myself agnostic.

(Not So) Nudist Get Together

Yesterday, the BF and I received an invitation to get together with another gay couple living in the southern Maryland suburbs of DC for drinks. We've never met them before, but I had traded messages with one of them through a nudist website. The idea was that we would get together, hang out nude, get know each other and take possibly a dip in their hot tub.

They were a nice couple that have been together for many years and we enjoyed their company and getting to know them, but I must bring out the irony of the situation. We were four self-proclaimed nudists in a private setting and yet never removed our clothes. I guess I could have just dropped my pants, but somehow my upbringing doesn't allow me to do such things without invitation.

Anyway, it was fun. We had wine, beer, cookies and discussed a wide-range of social topics. They were cool guys and I hope we get the opportunity to get to know them better.

People Who Need People

I think I may have said this before, but I've come to the conclusion that the most rewarding things in life tend to be our relationships with others and activities we do. I say this because our society subtly emphasizes that happiness comes from material things. I've written about this a little earlier here.

I've been fortunate over the past few months to have met a lot of new people. Some I would call friends whereas others were people I met once and will likely never see again. Nonetheless, I can't help but often feel enriched by even the briefest encounter, particularly if we shared a moment of sincerity.

In some ways I think humans are nearly as communal as ants in that most of us too crave touch and that feeling of closeness and connectedness. Unfortunately the downside of our enhanced self-consciousness makes us build up walls around us to separate and protect us.

In many social situations, people stand around and for the most part, talk to people that they already know. I am convinced that often, even the most unapproachable looking people, would gladly like to connect with others, but resort to the familiar because of the walls we've built. Of course this doesn't apply to everyone, but I believe it is more true than not. There have been a few places where I have noticed the walls that separate us come down. One has been at nude social events which is partly why I enjoy these so much. The other has been on the all-gay cruises that I've been on with the BF.

Lest you think that I think I am above such things, let me say that I too am not immune from building protective walls. For example, I am a touchy person. No I won't cry if you say something mean, but rather I am referring to liking to be touched and to touch others. However, I typically don't touch people I don't know well at all. I mean, not even the smallest, socially-acceptable touches. This is a wall I've built. Most people would probably enjoy the touch except that they too would become self-conscious and therefore feel awkward. Of course the irony is that in the end we both miss out on something that would be enjoyable because of both our respective hangups.

Anyway, the point is that I love people. I love their differences and their stories. I find that each person is unique and interesting and I take a little something away from everyone I meet. I find that everyone has something that bring to enrich the world if only we take time to dig past stereotypes and preconceived ideas to understand them. The only people that I tend not to like are those that I see mistreat or take advantage of others, even when they've treated me well. And I believe strongly that it is these interactions and relationships that enrich us and contribute to our happiness. I think we'd all be a little more happy if we'd just let ourselves be a little more.... human.

World Naked Bike Ride Pictures

Thought I'd post an update to my pursuit of the participating in the World Naked Bike Ride. I still hope to attend and ride completely nude, however, I'm still not sure the DC ride in June will allow for nudity. I'm hoping that the meeting that the DC group has with the DC metro police and the park police will produce a definitive answer or at least an inkling of one. I'm hoping that I'll get a heads up before the date so that I can perhaps participate in another city such as Chicago, Miami or perhaps in Canada as a second choice. I'm a little conflicted though because I'd feel like I would be bailing on the DC group if I went to another city.

Here is a link to pictures from WNBR from around the world.

Nude Yoga

OK, I often get remarks that I try to do too much. Both my mom and mother-in-law worry sometimes that I am too physically active. No, I am not talking about sex. My current physical activities: I play tennis 3 or 4 times a week for about 2.5 hours at a time, I workout 3 days a week and I try (often unsuccessfully) to get a little cardio in between.

Well, a few weeks ago I heard about nude yoga. Of course I had to try, so I sent an email to DC's Men's Naked Yoga to register for the class and bought a yoga mat. Yoga always looked hard to me, so my biggest fear was not the nudity part of it, but rather the yoga. I think I know my body and there are somethings that come very easy for me, however, there are other positions that others find natural to which my body rebels.

So the Wednesday came for my first session. I couldn't convince the BF to come, so I had to go it alone. I took a taxi to yoga studio and arrived a good 30 minutes early so that I could stake my claim to space in the back of the class. There was cute middle-eastern looking boy out front of the studio who asked me if I too was there for nude yoga. He didn't seem shy at all. He didn't know about the door code required to get in. I buzzed the intercom and we both went upstairs together.

There were probably about 20 to 30 guys there, all naked of course. The atmosphere was very tranquil and relaxing. I guess that's how yoga studios are supposed to be. Gentle music filled the room. I dropped trough, laid out my mat and placed my things into one of the little cubby holes. The people there were very friendly. I met quite a few people there, too many to remember their names. I love that instead of shaking hands, everyone greeted each other with a hug. I can't help but think that the world would be a better place if we all hugged more.

So, how was the yoga? It was simultaneously strenuous and relaxing. We went through a series of positions and flows as led by the instructor (BTW: he was hot and had a gorgeous body). Some positions seem to emphasize stretching whereas others focused on strength. Yoga tends to work out and stretch a wider variety of muscles than I believe a typical gym workout would. Other exercises seem to focus on increasing blood flow.

The next day I was so sore. I wasn't sure if this was from the 4 hour tennis session, my leg workout or the yoga. Probably, it was all of them combined. That was OK though, since I like the feeling of moderate soreness. I reminds me that I have muscles and that I used them.

In the past, I would often get a tightness in the bottom of my back after standing for 20 minutes or more or walking for an hour or more. The only way to relieve this tightness is to sit down, bend over, or find some other way to stretch my lower back. I don't fully understand this since I can play rigorous tennis for 4 hours or more, but there it is. One yoga stand we did was the shoulder stand (see picture). This stance stretched my lower back more than anything I've ever done. Coming out of the stance, the instructor led us through several minutes to allow the back to gently recover from the stretching. I have to say that for the first time in the past couple of years, I have not felt my usual back tightening since.

Anyway, I think I'll continue with naked yoga, because, of course, everything is more fun when done naked. I've since been back again and have gotten the BF to promise to accompany me next week.

Maybe I'm an Exhibitionist

This post is part of my Why I Like to Be Nude series. In my brief couple of months discovering my penchant for nudity, I've read countless of accounts by others of the benefits of social nudity. The Why I Like to Be Nude series is my attempt to discover and document my own reasons.

I think I may be an exhibitionist. You may be thinking... duh, but for me this is truly a revelation. Like I've said previously, I've spent much of my life as a very reserved person. Most people that have met me recently scoff when I say that, but it is wholeheartedly true, and I'm not trying to be modest.

I now find myself somewhat of an attention whore. Yes, I like to be noticed. Is that bad? I'm not sure. Of course I'd rather the attention to be positive, but I am not so moved by the comments of others that I fear what others are thinking or saying too much. These two combined facts have brought me a sense of freedom that allows me to be who I am, or even better yet, who I want to be.

Now, one might wonder if the rush of exhibitionism would lead to indiscreet public nudity. First, I'm not sure that displaying the human body in its natural form should even be labeled as indiscreet. Secondly, although I would love the idea of being nude in public places, even when others may be fully clothed, I have no desire to be arrested so I have no desire to streak.

Being naked only heightens the rush of exhibitionism. At the same time, it attracts attention, and allows me to be who I am (physically at least).

Support the DC World Naked Bike Ride

I don't want to advertise anything on this blog, but I wanted to encourage the 2 people that read this (I know you're out there!) to support the DC World Naked Bike Ride. Each shirt purchased nets $5 to be used on publicity for the event. Shirts may be purchased here. Once at the site, click on Services, then on the displayed shirt.

My Nude Week

Chronicling my nude activities last week... Let see, I was supposed to go nude yoga on Wednesday, but decided to take a friend up on an invitation instead. I added yoga to my exercise routine to my already active schedule of tennis 3-4 times a week and working out in the gym 3 times a week.

Anyway, the friend who invited me and the BF over for nude drinks had invited several others well. All told, there were 5 of us. I was drinking Margaritas. The people were interesting and conversation unforced before the ambiance turned more sensual. Let's just say it was fun.

On Saturday we went to the Green Lantern for their underwear night. I wore black mesh underwear, but given the lighting at the GL, nothing was too noticeable. I had a good time. Talked to a lot of people that I knew and met a few others. I had the forward proposition I've ever heard that night. I said "hi", he said "I'm looking for a top." Talk about dispensing with pleasantries! Anyway, as always, I went home with my BF.

This week the BF and I went to a naked movie night get-together. We all watched Chuck and Larry which was alright. At least I hadn't seen it before. In general, the group was a bit older, but it still was cool to just hang out nude together. My BF said he wouldn't return again, but I probably would if the opportunity arises.

Around the house, I didn't go nude too much since my mother-in-law is with us, however, I did go nude as much as possible.

My BF Birthday

Today was my BF's birthday. Originally, I planned to embarrass him by having flowers delivered to his office. In the end I decided not to only because our 15th anniversary is next week and I thought that would be a better cause for embarrassment. Anyway, we celebrated with cake, balloons and a quite dinner at home.

Tennis Today

Today I had my weekly tennis match with the CTA singles tennis league. CTA is a gay tennis organization that hosts leagues, tournaments, ladders, socials and everything else connected to tennis. I am new to the group and have only played 5 matches so far, but have done fairly well so far.

Today I played OK. I was fairly consistent, but had trouble hitting through the ball. I split sets to come away with a tie. I won the first set 6-4 and lost the second 4-2 since we ran out of time.

My Favorite Jeans (Update #2)

creating-my-life asked to see what the jeans looked like from the back so I've uploaded a picture here. Fairly basic with the only distinguishing features being the wavy line patterns on the pockets (same as front) and the wrinkled look around the knees.