Happy Friday, everyone.... For your reading pleasure, the new column and calendar.
And, a Stranger staffer's view on using spanking as a cure for Seasonal Affect Disorder. (It's the last segment.) I had a lot of fun warming up Mr. Kiley's cute little butt, especially after he told me he was the office prude. Not any more, Brendan!

I love my life.

Furniture Lust, Continued…

I haven’t got time to do any real-time shopping for a new furniture yet, so I’m still poking around online to satisfy my desires. Couches are the big thing right now, as my current one is old and it’s really starting to sink.

I think black leather is the way to go. Yes, I know it seems sort of obvious – dominatrix, black leather, yeah yeah yeah… But really, leather is easy to keep clean, and if you get decent quality it stays looking nice a long while. And black goes with everything.

So this one looks nice. It’s basic, but it’s got nice clean lines.

(These little side tables are cute, too. The tops lift off for storage inside.)

Then I saw this one. I liked this shape more, but in chartreuse? Oh, I so don’t think so.

On a whole other site: I like this shape, too. A lot of the stuff on this site seems cool. But it’s suspiciously cheap, and I’m reluctant to buy something this big from a mail-order company, especially since I don’t know anyone who’s dealt with them, and I’ve never seen any of their products in real life.

Now, I was resisting looking for a couch at Ikea because – well, because it’s Ikea. Don’t get me wrong, I think Ikea is great - for some things. God knows my office walls are lined with those inexpensive particle-board bookcases. And they have cute funky accessories. But I wouldn’t tend to shop there for stuff like couches and beds and so forth.

However, I have to admit, this is a cool looking couch. Perhaps I'll have to make a run past the Swedish Disneyland to take a little look-see at it...

A client asked me the other day, “How often do people come to see you?” I think he was feeling a little self-conscious about the fact that he came in twice in a month. But that’s not really unusual, especially at the beginning. If you’ve been fantasizing about something for years and you finally get an outlet, you’re probably going to binge a little, it’s natural.

So it’s common for me to see someone once, and then have them call a week later and schedule again for few days out. Unless they’re in from out of town and only have a small window, booking more than once in a two-week period is a bit unusual. It does happen sometimes, though, and I certainly don’t mind.

After the initial rush, if there is one, has died down, it seems to break down into a couple of different groupings. First, there are the once-a-month guys. Obviously, I get to know these boys very well, since many of them have been seeing me for years.

Then there’s a group that seems to call about every three months. Again, I’ve been seeing lots of these guys for years, and I know a lot of them well, too. A number of them came to see me oftener when they could, but job or lifestyle changes have reduced their opportunities. They’re still very good regular visitors.

After that, I have a bunch of guys I know who call me about twice a year. It’s sort of interesting playing with these guys, because I get some of the effect of a known quantity, which I like, but since I don’t see them very often, there’s still a lot of unexplored territory, too. With six months in between visits, they often need to jog my memory a little about just which “Sam” or “Mike” I’m talking to when they call. Sometimes it’s harder than others, but usually, they’ll come up with some bit of trivia – “I’m the guy who works for the IRS,” or “Last time I saw you I brought you a catnip toy for your cat” – that makes me say, “Oh, right - THAT Mike! Hey, how you doing, honey? Long time no see.” But even with long gaps, after a certain number of visits, I’ll recognize their voices when they call.

Every now and then I’ll see someone once and then they vanish. Which is fine – but it’s unusual. And you can’t ever assume you'll never see a client again. Just today someone called and said. “So I saw you once three years ago...Can I make another appointment?” Three years? He must be on the extra-long kink cycle…

Well, I had a good time at Wicked Women, although I was really only around for one day. But my workshop seemed to go well. I was amused to see any number of women attending who I know perfectly well have no intention of ever becoming pro dommes. Apparently they just wanted to hear me rant. Hey, that’s fine, I’m always happy to entertain my friends.

And I had a good time schmoozing and socializing with a lot of women I haven’t seen in a while. I didn’t go to any of the other workshops, though. I’m bad about that, especially at local events. There were a couple of classes on techniques I do want a refresher on – branding and saline inflation – but I know all I have to do is call up one of my advanced pervert pals, and I can go over to their house for a private demo. It spoils me.

I had a perfectly delightful time at the dungeon party with Jae. I suspended her, beat her, attached vicious spring clamps to her nipples and labia, and electrified her girly parts at such length and intensity that it’s a good thing she doesn’t plan on having children. Then after the scene was (sort of) over, I left the long metal electrode buried in her pink parts and made her walk around the party with me as I socialized. I took great delight in pushing the remote control button and zapping her every little while. Jae has a marvelously expressive face, and her reaction to the electricity charmed me. I think at one point she claimed I was cauterizing her cervix. I told her that was nonsense, I didn’t smell any burning flesh. And then the next day, what does she do but volunteer to help with the Branding class? See how she is?

But seriously, she’s great fun, and just to prove what a sport she is, this week she’s going to help me do a decorative faux finish to the reception room of my new dungeon. (It’ll hopefully look something like this, although a slightly different color. More like this, although this is a Venetian Plaster finish, whatever the heck that is. We're just doing a glaze.)

Normally, you understand, I do not paint and such myself. It’s not something I’m naturally good at. As far as I’m concerned, home improvement is something one does with a checkbook. However, Jae is quite talented at such things and she's done a lot of decorating. She swears glazing is easy, so I’m going to give it a try. But just in case this project turned out to be a case of Jae's Revenge On The Mistress, I went by the Bellevue Home Show yesterday (Thanks for the tickets, Liss!) and picked up a card for a professional faux finisher. Always good to have expert backup when you have no idea what the hell you're doing.