Desmond's World

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November 28, 2006

CCOP

I just got back from training for CCOP (Castro Community On Patrol). It was supposed to be done at 9:30 but ran about 1/2 hour later. I volunteered to do my first patrol on Friday night.

For those who dont know about this group or what the purpose or goal is, its to keep our community, our streets, our neighbors, and our friends, safe or at least try and curb the flow of crime in our area.

There are 3 designated patrol areas in Castro and groups of 3 people will be walking around, watching, educating people, and distributing whistles to those areas. If you dont already have a whistle, we recommend buying one for a buck, keeping it with you at all times, and having it readily available not only for yourself, but also in case you see something that may need attention drawn to it.

The purpose of each individual in the group is unique. One one person will be responsible for calling in trouble. The second for taking notes not only about the incident, but also for the walk and what happened on the patrol. The third is responsible for blowing the whiste (short, quick, blows, and as frequently as possible) and also for using the flash light when necessary. All 3 will be responsible for getting a description, communicating, keeping an eye on each other, keeping an eye on the incident, and making sure everyone is safe. Only when we band together as a community, can we make a difference. I realize I really want to be one of those who makes a difference.

If you would like to volunteer, just send an email to CCOP

If you dont have the time to volunteer, its also good to help keep an eye out when you are on the street, take note of what is going on, what people are wearing if you see any trouble, and do something even if its just hiding and making a phone call. Every one of us can make a difference.

You can also help by donating, or having your company donate. They can donate money, buy more whistles to distribute to the community, and many other necessities that are still needed to keep this going. Just email the address above if you or anyone you know would like to help.

Thanks from me and thanks to all the people involved. I really appreciate the opportunity to help the Castro, my home.

Posted by Des at 10:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Wow

There apparently are people in the city who decorate heavy.

Posted by Des at 07:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 27, 2006

Muni Loves You

Jason and I are heading to beer bust yesterday. We approach Van Ness Station as the voice announces in his asian accent "Next stop Van Ness Station. As always, thank you for riding muni". If the people werent already taken back by the polite, loving announcement on MUNI no less, we were taken back by the comment that followed. "and remember MUNI loves you".

nuff said......

I finally finished Wicked tonight. Im going to read the script for the musical and compare. From what Im hearing, its completely different.

Heroes? Once again, cant wait till next week and after that I think I may die before the new year and new episodes. Is there a Heroes anonymous group I can go to? I think Im a junkie.

As for Saturday night and Sunday, I had a great time. My first play party at the 15 Association turned out to reveal a lot about myself. Its funny how S&M scenes always bring out a lot of emotion for me. This time it was all positive. I learned about what I want from a relationship and from many relationships. I learned there are many people out there I want to spend time with, cuddle with, be intimate with, play with, love, and be loved by, who are all ok with me loving others. I think I need that in my life more than anything and I feel fortunate to have so many great people around me.

Thanks to all who are a part of my life. I appreciate and love you.

Finally with the party, I also volunteered to be a Christmas tree. What is a human Christmas tree you may ask. Here is how it was described in the email. "What is a living Christmas Tree? It’s a bondage extravaganza where people like you are tied up to look like a Christamas Tree. For example, we have green saran wrap to tie you up into a green tree like shape. Depending on your interests, we can decorate you with low heat Christmas tree lights, or if you’re really daring, temporary piercings and tree ornaments.". I dont think Ill go as far as the piercings. Less is more right? Dont get me wrong, Im looking foward to the fun of it.

Ok off to bed.

Posted by Des at 10:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 25, 2006

Urine Luck

This was one of the items that amused me.

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You have new Picture Mail!

And we are done.... :-) I bought nothing

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You have new Picture Mail!

Socks??

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It begins

Its not so bad on a saturday. Shopping at Target the day after Black Friday. Jason and Ricko....how much fun is this?

Posted by Des at 09:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

It begins

Its not so bad on a saturday. Shopping at Target the day after Black Friday. Jason and Ricko....how much fun is this?

Posted by Des at 09:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

My Weekend In Review

So its Saturday and so far its been nice having Thursday and Friday off. I really needed a break from work.

Thursday as everyone knows was Thanksgiving. I had a great day. After several invites from people feeling sorry for me for not going anywhere, I was pretty happy and content with staying home and using the day off as just that. A day off.

After working all the time and spending most of my days *on the go*, I was really looking forward to relaxing while everyone I knew was busy running around. I met my friends Ben & Steve for brunch. They were in town from Dixon and were doing their annual trip to the car show.

I left them to go to their car show and went home to do my relaxing. I took a nap, took a hot bath, did some reading, and played online less than normal. Definitely felt relaxed after that.

Thursday night was PJ/Underwear night at Powerhouse so a couple of ABDL friends of mine, got together to get diapered and wear our sleepers. I got a lot of compliments on mine and a couple of looks of shock when they decided to try and unzip my sleeper only to find my diapers under there. I did some making out, and some other *cough* naughty things and finally came home.

Friday, I started out going to the gym. On the way, I stopped by headsets.com to visit some old friends and coworkers. It was great to see them and I did enjoy just a little the fact that I had the day off and they were at work.

So the gym wasnt as crowded as I had expected. Downstairs is Circuit City which seemed to be drawing lines outside from the effects of Black Friday. I still support Buy Nothing Day but thats a different story.

So with guests coming over in the evening, I made it a quick workout, went grocery shopping for snacks and some alcohol and headed home again. Soon everyone showed up and a fun night was had. We played cranium and watched some cartoon porn movie that Matt had brought with him.

Today, I was up early and went with Jason and Rick to Target. For being the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I was expecting a mad rush of people and what I found was a nearly empty Target, with cashiers standing with the look as if they were expecting a mad rush at any minute. It was nice for us since Jason and Rick were able to get in and out of the line quickly. Jason bought us lunch at Pizza Hut which was very nice.

I came home, took a quick nap, and went over to hang out with Jason for a bit. We watched Underworld Evolutions and it was nice to spend time with him. I seem to enjoy spending time with him when I get the chance. He's really a nice guy.

His roommate Josh came home who had been away for a month. I figured it was my que to leave even though I know Josh, I figured after being gone so long, its always nice to come home and be able to relax in your own place. I came home and did some more reading.

Tonight Im meeting up with Daddy Richard and Spunky to go to my first play party at the 15 Association. So its going to be my first play party ever and Im a bit nervous. What if Im the one left standing who doesnt get picked. Is this something I really want to do? What do I wear? What will be happening and what am I committing myself to? We shall see.

Tomorrow will be beer bust. It is Sunday after all.

Posted by Des at 07:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 23, 2006

Blogging on the go

Flickr has made it even easier and allows me to blog on the go by emailing my entry with the photo to my blog. God I love flickr. This was the decorating of the Christmas tree outside Diesel down in Castro.

Posted by Des at 08:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Conversations with Dad

So I'm talking to my dad this Thanksgiving Day and realized where I've gotten some of my interests.

Des: so how's things with you?
Dad: same ole same ole. Kim beats me daily.
Des: I didn't know you were into S&M?
Dad: Yeah, she beats me till I pee like a puppy.

Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Posted by Des at 11:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 20, 2006

Save The Cheerleader

So Heroes just ended. The suspense is driving me crazy. Its been a long time since Ive watched a TV show that leaves me wanting more as soon as it ends.

For those who watched it tonight, Id love to hear your opinions and for those who havent but will, its gonna be good.

Hiro never returned: My guess is he want back too far in the past before he had his power. Thats why he couldnt return.

Its apparent now what Peters power is as well as that one girl who seems to be hanging around everyone.

Is DL Dead? Did Jessica kill him? hmmmmm

The question remains, who is Syler? Did they, and could they erase his memory? Whats to become of him now?

Im anxious to see what happens next week.

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November 16, 2006

Edward Gorey

And I thought for sure Id be D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh!

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November 15, 2006

Great Unexpectations

So I asked Elizabeth today, “Am I what you were expecting when they hired me?”. There was a short pause followed by a chuckle.

“Well the only expectation that I had was that you were black”.

Apparently, there was a black man standing out in the hall the same day they announced the hired me. He appeared to be getting a tour so when they said they hired Desmond, she immediately thought it was me.

Although Im happy to be who I am, Im really sorry for disappointing Elizabeth.

Posted by Des at 06:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 13, 2006

I drink therefore I am

Friday evening I got a call from my friend Marc who was here last month on a layover with the airlines. He is back in town for the weekend. For those who don’t know Marc, he is originally from Rochester, NY, now lives in Phoenix, and we have known each other for about 10 years now. He’s a great friend whom I have a lot of history with as friends.

So anyway, I met up with him and his friend Rick who is also from Rochester but now lives here. They were at Moby Dicks and we hung out there pretty much all night. Jason met up with us finally and after they left around 1am, Jason and I continued on for a couple more drinks at Daddys and Midnight Sun.

Saturday was a stay at home day and I began rearranging my room, as well as cleaning my desk. It was long overdue and for some reason, once I got the energy to start, it just continued on for the rest of the day. I started a project of scanning all my printed photos so I can create a hard copy backup and put these away for good. I also re-watched all episodes of Heroes (well listened while I worked) and pretty much came up with several thoughts on the show.

I especially wondered about the 3rd episode as to whether Claires father is good or bad and determined he a) kidnapped and drugged the cop and had his memory erased, and b) tried to kidnap the congressman. Hmmmm…. Good or bad? I wonder.

Saturday night I met up with Stephen and we went out for a bit. We later met up with Marc and Rick again and went to see the drag show at Harvey’s. Marc reminded me of the many nights watching the shows in Rochester. They did seem much better but the drag here is very different from the shows back home. After a few other bars, they left and Stephen and I did too.

Sunday I had to push myself to go to the gym. Since I started the new job its been tough to find the time to go. I get done early on Tuesdays and Thursdays so those seem to be the only days I can go and if something new comes up (as it has seemed to), I end up going once during the week. I haven’t had the energy to go on the weekends since we switched from daylight savings time so Im trying to get back in the habit of going 3 times a week.

Sunday afternoon was the photo shoot. I wasn’t sure what to expect but as it turned out they wanted me and another guy in our jocks with temporary tattoos on our butts. The photo shoot lasted about ½ hour and then it was beer bust time. It was the second half of the SOMA Bare Chest Calendar Men auction and its always a good time. I left around 6 as I usually do and headed home for sleep.

Today was a bit rough but the day is almost done and I will go home to continue my scanning project as well as converting VHS to DVD. Hopefully the rest of my bar came so I can get that put together finally. We shall see what fate has in store.

Posted by Des at 07:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 10, 2006

The Impossible

As most people know, Im the type who lives paycheck to paycheck. My bills are paid but I spend what little I have left over.

Yesterday I woke up, checked my bank account (as I do religiously), only to discover that the bank processed a check written for $801.90 as $1229.00. This left my account overdrawn and me without funds.

This also left me without food or finances and when I called the WORST customer service ever (US Bank), and going through person after person trying to get this corrected, only to end up with the WORST manager Ive ever encountered (US Bank), who tells me it could be up to two business days (being Thursday, two business days could be Monday), before they research it and correct it. It was unacceptable.

Here is my letter of complaint. Needless to say after she said it was impossible to have it done any quicker (and verified with my local branch manager), I did have this resolved this morning, thanks to finally an intelligent Branch Operations Manager there. It was done within 24 hours.Dear US Bank,

Attached is a proof of an error that US Bank has made which has caused my
account to be overdrawn. I understand that mistakes do happen, however in
my situation, I am now without money to carry on my normal daily routine
which does include eating and survival.

When I contacted your call center, they did issue a request for an
adjustment however I was informed that this would take 2 business days.
This is unacceptable since this would require me to go without food for 4
days (being today is Thursday and 2 business days would put this at
Monday).

Along with my request to have this rectified today, I went through a
filter of very poor Customer Service representatives including a
supervisor named Trudy who I will say is the worst Customer Service
Supervisor I have ever spoken with.

I have been in Customer Service myself for over 10 years, and with my
experience, I have also known that although the Customer isn’t always
right, when a mistake is evident such as the situation below, there is
always exceptions to the procedures we follow to go above and beyond to
take care of them. With this, I realize my account hasn’t always been
exceptional, but I do feel in this situation, it is an obvious error on
your banks part and I would have expected more curtousy and accountability
for the banks error. I would have also expected a bit more sympathy about
the situation.

Instead what I received were condescending remarks, refusal to give me
information about filing a formal complaint with the FTC, as well as who
Trudy reports to in order to file a complaint about her demeanor on the
phone. Eventually I was able to get both the mailing address to US Bank
for complaints as well as the email address to send it. I have still yet
to complain about her to the person who she reports to which she stated
was her “local branch”. I asked several times who she reports to and
several times I received an answer of “no one”. After continuing my
asking, she did mention she reports to “my local branch”.

Further more, she stated there is “no one at this call center” who is
above her and continued to compare me with John Doe down the street since
they get many calls a day about these kinds of errors.

Along with several other questions I asked, such as the operations
managers name and the address to the FTC (which I had to research to find
out which government agency banks report to) for complaints, I received
the response “I don’t have that information”.

She continued to imply that it was my fault that this happened and would
not offer any assistance in rectifying the problem. She was however
willing to wait on the phone with me for an hour and a half for my branch
to open so we could conference them in on the call. To me that’s a waste
of US Banks time and money as well as my own.

What I would like is simple. I would like the address to file a complaint
with the FTC and/or any other organization that regulates how a United
States bank operates, as well as this matter taken care of today as it is
obvious that this is an error and does not require much research. I would
also like to have a formal complaint made on Trudy (who is not required
for security reasons to give me her last name).

Im not happy about the situation as I have no fund now to live on for
possibly 4 days and 1 day would be difficult without food.

Sincerely,

So after spending the day fighting to get this resolved, it all worked out in the end but after this, I can not, and will not recommend US Bank to anyone nor will I continue my account with them. I did send a letter to the CEO as well to complain.

On a better note, Stephen was around who definitely brightened my day. That evening I was in a mood just to be home by myself, feeling exhausted from the fight, and he convinced me to let him buy me dinner. I met him down at Castro and he bought me a rose which definitely put a smile on my face. We went to Asqew and had dinner and then came back to my place here. Relaxing, talking, sharing youtube videos, it definitely took my mind off things. He spent the night again which its been nice when he does. Its nice holding someone and being held which is something Ive missed for a long time. Its still a bit scary.

Posted by Des at 06:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 06, 2006

Accents?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Midland
The South
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Posted by Des at 07:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 04, 2006

I hate iTunes, I hate Apple, and I hate being a slave to them

So I dont really hate Apple or iTunes, however I do have to complain a bit about the way they are making it ridiculously tough for people to actually purchase movies and tv shows and watch it on an actual TV. I started watching Heros and its one of very few shows I watch. I missed the first two episodes, so I wanted to download it. When I went to the itunes store to purchase it, I saw that I could also purchase the whole season and it would automatically download as the episodes became available. What I didnt know was that you wouldnt be able to make it portable so you can watch it on an actual tv just like you can a DVD that you would buy.

So my question is, why would anyone purchase this, knowing that you can only watch it on a laptop and pay the same price as you would if you waited and actually purchased the season on DVD where you can take it over to a friends house and have a marathon. The only way for you to even watch it on your own tv is to buy iTV when it comes out. Yes Apple, thank you for figuring out ways to make me spend more money on more of your products, just to give me the freedom I should already have. And you wonder why people pirate software, movies, and music? Its because you've made it rediculously tough to make it portable.

So in conclusion, in your efforts for DRM (digital rights management for those who dont know), you have also made the desire stronger to just go to a file sharing program and just download what you want.

Cheers

PS: If anyone knows how to convert what Ive already bought to a DVD format, please let me know.

Posted by Des at 10:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 03, 2006

Why does everything snowball? The morning starts more chaotic than normal. Usually I go online, its quiet, and maybe get one or two instant messages. Easy enough to keep up with.

This morning there were 5 as soon as I popped online. I was trying to get info and software downloaded to my laptop which wouldn't connect to the router.

On to my day and on to lunch, I trekked down to the library to pick up a book that was supposed to be reserved. I spent 15 minutes running around at the direction of several nice people, only to be told come back tomorrow. How funny that the book I reserved was Wicked.

So finally about 25 minutes to go, I hop the train, deparately holding back the force within my bladder, anxious to grab food, and make it back to the office.

The train was moving extra slow, everyone was in my way, and the line at the pizza shop extra long.

Needless to say, I made it back in time, only for the day to drag on.....

Thank God Its Friday

On a lighter note, I found two pictures on flickr of me and my costume from Halloween night.

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November 01, 2006

This is why I avoided Halloween in Castro for 2 years

7 shot and 1 stabbed in Castro

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Halloween

So I made my own costume this year. As many have known I'm an Invader Zim fan and I love GIR. So I decided to be him for Halloween.

I realized really early that people either recognized him or not. Some thought I was a frog or Gumbi but when it came right down to it, the people knew GIR were screaming GIR from across the street.

We went down to Castro for my first Halloween in Castro experience. I always went out for the "gay" halloween the Saturday before but always stayed home on Halloween night for safety reasons. There has always been trouble from straight, ghetto people, who invade the area. Last night I heard a guy say "Its all about the pussy" while standing in front of a gay bar, in the heart of the gay district.

So I met up with Ace, we walked around for a bit and then headed south of Market. We met Matt at The Hole in the Wall and went to the Eagle. Finally we around 10:30 we ended up at the Powerhouse.

It was fun and I had a few drinks and finally I decided to enter the costume contest. Out of about 25 contestants, lots of drag, and several really great costumes, I somehow managed to come in first.

It really took me by surprise because of how few people recognized my costume yet there were people who apparently were really big fans. As they were still calling contestants back on stage, people were chanting GIR, GIR, Gir.

So I won $100 (and I got a blow job on stage while it was all going on). Who knew GIR was so popular.

Posted by Des at 07:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack