"Leather and Meatballs"

As of now, I have thrown a total of 5 separate events,

"Leather Men and Dogs"
"Leather Men and Dogs 2"
"Grand Kink and Fetish Ball"
"Puppy Love"

and on April 22nd I threw "Leather and Meatballs".

The event itself wasn't what I had expected it to be.  I had planned everything out in advance, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I spoke with the manager and the catering director of Paradise Piano Bar and he helped me organize and make sure I had everything I needed so I didn't forget or overlook any details.

I advertised like a madman, I threw my ad out everywhere, Blade Magazine, Leatherati, Fetlife, Facebook, I tweeted it on Twitter, and posted the event information as many places as possible.  I printed tickets and sold them online via Paypal, and offline with cash transactions.  It was possibly the most work I had ever put into an event yet, with so many small details and new ventures explored.  I had never sold tickets before, let alone made my own, nor have I used Paypal before then either.

Then the Thursday night before my event, I was with the Mello Moto Motorcycle group when one of our members told me that I may not see a big audience as I had hoped for.  When I asked why, he told me that my event was the same night as a big anniversary party for the Eagle bar in Los Angeles.  That explained it all.  In my preparations I had overlooked the calender of other events, and competing against one of the strongest leather bars in LA celebrating an anniversary is rookie-level foolishness.  It explained the lagging ticket sales, and the low response to my event posts.  Now in no way was I angry, offended, or upset, I understood the elements in play and I was still going to have a good time regardless.

When it came time for the event, I had everything set, the prizes donated by The Crypt in Long Beach and Skobar Photography were in place, and all I had to do was was calm the fuck down and greet my guests.  The first person to walk in was none other than my amazing puppy, Cockpit!  Seeing him first knocked me down three anxiety levels out of five.  This puppy has helped me out so many times, taken me to so many places, and I cannot get enough of him!  I love him!  Next my good friend Pug, who hosts the Southern California Leather Gathering which is a huge picnic in the park and all kinds of people attend and have an amazing time!  I'll be going this year so you'll get a full blog post of that as well!  Following Pug was a dashingly handsome older man in a tight leather uniform shirt that accented his bold chest, leather pants tucked neatly into his tall engineer boots.  This was Dave, who was the sir of his boy Alex and Alex's girlfriend. My final guest was Richard, the manager of The Crypt.

Once everyone was seated, I started the evening, thanking them for coming and going around the table having everyone introduce themselves.  The night went very smoothly, and instead of a grand, huge event, I was privileged with a pleasant, intimate dinner with new and close friends.  Our server, Chris, was very attentive, and the food was absolutely delicious.  We enjoyed a 3-course meal of Classic Caesar Salad, followed by traditional Spaghetti and Meatballs, and finished with a warm Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream.  After dessert I held the raffle, and the night came to its pleasant conclusion.

Sometimes you don't get what you want, but you receive what you need, and I needed a nice intimate dinner with close friends.

Thank you to my sponsors, Paradise Piano Bar, Skobar Photography, and The Crypt in Long Beach.

Thank you to my friends who support me, who attended and made the night so enjoyable.

Thank you, dear reader, for returning again and again, giving me feedback, and listening to my life thus far.

Play Safe.