WORLD OF RAWR

So it's about that time! I'm taking a small trip with the family to Jersey and from there, I'll be visiting NY for a day or two to see relatives there. I'll have a bit of downtime while I'm around, so I hope I can see some of you while I'm out and about.

Here's to hoping!

Bonus: Merry Christmas.

So I headed to Fort Lauderdale during what had to be the rainiest weekend of the year; I was there for four days and it rained for all four of them.

The preface to this affair was being invited by one certain BrawlMart for a bit. I was hesitant, but Brawl is persistent and persuasive and I booked a trip to head down. That part went without much incident and I arrived early. He arrived a couple of hours later and from there we went to dinner to talk about the upcoming event.

From there, we checked into the hotel and that passed our Thursday.

THE FACTS

Friday was a quiet day of waiting for this person or that to arrive out of those who were slated to attend. I got to see Dean and Tom Friday evening who, along with Brawl and I, went to a movie to pass the evening until | JJ arrived.

I went to chill with JJ - who I had been looking forward to meeting for quiet some time - for the evening and chatted things up a bit. That passed Friday evening into Saturday where I milled about catching up on Pokemon until about 2PM. From there, I had my first match of the fest with Chuck. It was intense and entertaining and fun. You can read about that match in the recommends section.

From there, I got some dinner with JJ and then took a nap. I ended the evening with a trip to the hot tub and then more sleep. This passed into Sunday where things were on the quiet side for most of the day until that evening where, as a last hurrah, I got to wrestle with this guy who drove for hours to hang out with us for the day. I'll write my recommends on that later, but it was a notable first time that I got to teach someone something. It felt good to be on that end of things.

THE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS

If I had made this trip purely for wrestling, I think I would have been a bit put out considering. However, the people I did get to meet made it worth the trip in the end. I got to see things and learn about the city and got some perspective I wouldn't get just hanging about in my hometown.

That was interesting. I need to get out more.

The people I got to wrestle with were cool. I also got wrestling gear, so that was nice. I have been asked to post pictures, so be on the lookout.

On the other hand, because of weather, when there wasn't wrestling going on, there was nothing else to do.

But then there was this one guy who hit on me at random. There was a lot I learned about things that seem to be specific to gay people. That was eye-opening. I know some pretty cool places to stay for mostly reasonable prices in Fort Lauderdale should I visit there. Although truth be told, I'll be in Key West on my next trip (go ahead and book now).

I think the thing I was the most blah about was the amount of people that didn't show up and why. As an example, on a day of torrential downpour, I was informed that my potential match for the day got tickets to a football game and would be unable to make it. I chuckled and played pokemon on the way to a diner.

I couldn't begin to imagine the frustrations that an organizer of this sort of thing has to go through just to get people to appear, so my condolences, I guess.

The thing I was most happy about was, again, meeting everyone. Especially JJ. He's a sweetheart. Chuck was amazing and, thanks to him, I have a ton of visitors and people I'm talking to about future matches. He was great. Cub was cool. Brawl is eccentric and funny and kind and sharply sarcastic all at once. Great sense of humor.

Would I do this again? Likely, but I'd make more plans for side things to do in between, too.

With that, December is around the bend and with it comes a few trips I'm ready to plan. Between now and then, let's hope something fun happens. In fact, I do believe I see a message in my inbox...

o/

Hello there in TV land! A lot has happened since I last wrote. For one, I did finally get to wrestle with MuscChamp a couple of weeks back.

It was fantastic. He pretty handily beat me for one, but for another, we just had a lot of fun talking and rolling and back to convo for a while. I will enjoy meeting up with him again in the future for certain.

Aside that, I've run aground a small thing being organized by one Mr. Brawl Mart in a couple of days from now. Since then, there's been a fair bit of contact between myself and the wrestlers who may be either attending or in the area. The dialogs are interesting. Some people, I'm sure I want to wrestle. Some, I'm not sure. Still others are just in the air because I have a particular way of doing things and interacting with wrestlers.

One of them being I ask for a lot of information up front. Part of that - and the primary part - is just safety. There are other reasons, of course. I've mentioned all of that (and then some) here.

I don't think people are always used to that, so I'm a bit rough to deal with on that respect. Hell, I don't even meet people near me without doing that. I actually went to dinner with a couple of people either just before or just after wrestling. In the case of the "just after" crowd, we talked on the phone for a bit before meeting up. No exceptions so far.

Eh, I'm old fashioned I guess and that is OK with me.

Here's to hoping for fun times in FL. Maybe I'll snap something or two while I'm out.

o/

I've been jonesing for a roll like none other recently, but thought I'd put a note here about doing scary things.

Currently, I have.... I think it's like 16 past opponents or so and nothing brings opponents to you faster than having some. That said, much like you'd see in something like Kenichi, the more you do, the more you will want to do and the greater the challenges will be that find you.

For me, this seems to be coming at an accelerated rate in a lot of ways. I might be rolling with MuscChamp in a couple of weeks. He's a lot older than me, very well exercised, and has a ton of experience.

I had MississippiJock talk about possibly planning a match.

That's scary (In fact, I'd almost say terrifying, but my intense curiosity and eagerness for the experience prevents me from going that far). I don't think any of you have met me in person, but I'm not as big or muscular or [fill in the blank] as any of these people...

...but this is where I have to either step up and be the wrestler (or whatever else) I am going to become and rise to the challenge or be afraid forever.

Considering how little there actually is to be afraid from anyone you'd actually meet here, I'd say that fear is mostly illogical and robbing me (and maybe you) of what could be the beginning or furthering of something wonderful: more strength, more community awareness, bonding, friends, comrades... you know, the things we originally came here for.

So if you're not doing scary things, do them:

• Exchange the contact info.
• Get on a plane.
• Rent the hotel room.
• Plan the vacation (yes, just to meet and wrestle people).

Just.
Go.
Already.

And while you're at it, snap a photo.

Inspired by a chat a couple of nights ago, I'm going to give you the keys to the kingdom. Here's an answer to as many questions I can think of being asked so that you don't have to re-ask them and we can talk about fun things like my favorite places to shop.

• Are you aggressive? When I'm in that mood, yes. Normally, I'm chill as fuck.
• Do you like to wrestle seriously? Well, I seriously enjoy it if that's what you mean.
• Yeah, but do you like to win? Don't care. If I win, awesome. If not, awesome. I want to have fun, learn, test myself, and grow. You can do that whether you win or lose.
• What are you into? Most guys here like sub, so I've done more of that. Am I open to other things? Yup. Have I done them? Not really. Feel free to volunteer your time to amend that if you want.
• You into erotic or whatever? Eh. I can take or leave it. It's an interesting aside, but not a focus and people insisting on it being so is frustrating.
  • So can we fuck? No. That's on reserve.
  • That makes you sound like a prude. OK. Let's move along.
• So why do you wrestle? To have fun, make friends, learn, test myself, and get that exercise. Plus, it's a nice break from routine.
• Do you box? I don't really, but I wouldn't mind it.
• Do you like to fight hard? That's for enemies. If you want me to come at you like my life depends on it and I have to knock you out, then you'll need to speak to someone else.
• Are you competitive? That more about the tone of the match. I'll step up whatever tone is set and agreed to as long as we keep it safe and respectful.
• Are you good? Exactly how do you expect me to answer that? I don't know what the standards are around here, so if you want to know what I can do: fight me.
  • Are you strong? Fight me and find out.
  • Are you skilled? Fight me and decide for yourself.
  • Are you good at boxing/sub/pro/standup? Fight me and assess that.
• Can you host? Sure. As long as I have my own hotel room or you're in NC.
• Do you ever get out to [insert place]? I can go anywhere I want with enough time and planning. If you want to meet up, just talk to me about a plan and let's do the thing. Assuming I'm interested, things go pretty quick.
• Are you one of those people that are into [insert thing]? Refer to my profile for details.
• I like your profile pictures. Thanks!
• You have a nice body. Appreciated. I'm working on it, but cheeseburgers are so hard to give up.
• Do you cyber? No. Not my thing.
  • What about phone? No.

Hope you enjoyed. If you have extra questions that aren't covered here, let me know.

Here are some random things I think about this site in no particular order:

• Oh really? You'll fly here if I manage the lodging? I will totally take you up on that. Drop a message in my box.
• I really should make a mockup for the mobile version of this site; the interface is frustrating. Let me kill this boss monster first.
• I wonder if I should record something and post it. What, though?
• I really should have a dedicated wrestling trip.
• I wonder what these people are like at a club.
• You really need a hug. I'll volunteer. I'm serious.
• Wrestlers need an island to themselves.
• I'll need to be a model before I wrestle some of these people. I think it just comes with the territory. Motivation, I suppose.
• Does this make me look fat? Yup. Off to the private gallery with you.
• You are such a sweetheart in person in spite of your profile.
• You are exactly what your profile says.
• All of these styles and special rules for matches are so interesting. How can I learn them all?
• Is joining a BJJ class a rite of passage?
• Which yoga class should I join?
• I'd love a reason to wear these wrestling shoes...
• You are going down.
• You would likely manhandle me and I am 100% OK with it.
• Mmmmm, still on the fence about pro; where would I find boots my size?
• I really want abs and I really like cheeseburgers... Fuck...
• That age? Really? I need your genes and diet. Stat.

I did a bit of math today and found out that the average for the ages of people I've wrestled - most of which I've enjoyed - comes to about 37 years old. The oldest one I've wrested so far is 57 and that person is still one of my favorites to date.

This to say that, I think there is something to be said about age when it comes to people we prefer to wrestle. Before we get into all of that, let me go ahead and state the obvious:

• Wrestling is, in fact, a sexual outlet for some.
• The choices that we make in the people we wrestle can be/are partly subject to physical things we find attractive.
• People generally tend to wrestle people very close to their age on average (within 3-5 years on average).

However, I have to also say that we have to be careful about simply dismissing someone because of age. Weight I can understand because that is a legit safety concern; wrestling a person 60 lbs. heavier than me could cause issues. Wrestling someone 30 years older than me? Not the same thing.

I can understand where, depending on the person and how they pitch themselves, someone much older could come across as "creepy", but IMO, things that are unsettling or creepy for me don't have an age; if it is creepy from a 60-year old, it's creepy from a 30-year old, too.

So hell, if no one else is going to make bridges and relationships with these people full of experiences and stories to tell, I'll do it. Some of you already know because of my messages to you. Some of you I've met or yet to meet and I'm looking forward to it.

Long live wrestling and friendships, timeless as they are.

o/

I'm back in the muggy GA, but Santa Monica was magical for a work trip.

The beach was a 15 minute walk. One of the guys from Global made an account here and favorited me. Thanking him got a lecture and I chuckled about it while reading his profile.

You know those moments when you realize someone that normally is thousands of miles away is really close and you organize things at lightning speeds?

Yeah. That happened.

I had work and dinner, but with guys that like to be relaxed so I got back to my hotel just in time to relax before meeting this guy.

He was shorter than I thought but profike accurate in every aspect. We talked a bit and unwound, changed clothes, rolled a bit and laughed a lot. He got me in some good holds and he's pretty strong. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

We hated having to end things a couple of hours later but he's coming to GA so that's a plus.

I thought about how I packed for the trip. I've started including wrestling clothes just in case and I think that says a lot about how much I'm getting into all of this.

Until next roll. o/

Well, a random stroke of WTF came across my desk at work, so I'll be there Wednesday and Thursday night.

You're welcome.

At some point, I think we all end up having those moments that we would like to retract or redo. Specifically, we wrestle people and then, in retrospect, consider if we would have made that same choice.

Kind of like going to a restaurant, eating, then going "Hm. That was OK..." but not as good as you remembered.

In my case, the wrestling was cool but the aftermath left me in an odd space like "Is this what I wanted?" for a day or two. In my world, the erotic element is more happy (and enjoyed) afterthought... except in this case. In this case, it was a bit more like a checkpoint or signpost than a euphoric aside.

But you live and learn. I'm sure this lesson will come in handy sooner than later and that lesson is: "listen to yourself the first time. It is OK to change your mind."

That bit of musing aside, I hope you're having an enjoyable day.