"There is no coming to consciousness without pain"
Well, I just got here. That's not really true anymore, but all this still feels new and exploration-worthy to me.
I'm not really good with this whole 'talk about myself' affair, so if you'd want to know what, why and how I got into all of this, please read the story of my personal ascension.
I definitely seem to have developed a passion for body suspension. And because this community seems to be THE place to be to live that passion, I decided to join your little world here. I want to learn as much as I can about it.
No Forum - but I like getting messages. And don't be afraid of the tracking thingie; it doesn't bite.
Events I`d want to attend this year: 
My favourite pastime when I`m around here:
Diary
What makes me Happy:
2/21/2011 | 12 comments
Yesterday, after being at work in the UK for 10-12 hours straight all week until Saturday night and feeling in dire need of some outside time, I called up my brother, took a flight to Hamburg and we went to the island of Sylt in the North Sea. Spent a lovely day on the beach with my dog- walking 20kms all the way to the southern tip of the island. Came back thoroughly tired and exhausted. And with my leg killing me. This bloody knee of mine still gives me issues. It's been eight months and I want this to be finally over!
But the good thing is that I finally have managed to tire Jorda out! The moment we got back on the train she curled up on the floor and was out and asleep before we had even settled down. Ha! She even left the seals alone and didn't try to chase and hunt them. I so love this dog, it's incredible.
This is the things worth spending a week in the office for. Too bad it's back to the grind today. 49 days until my (our) vacation - I so cannot wait!
2/21/2011 | 12 comments
Yesterday, after being at work in the UK for 10-12 hours straight all week until Saturday night and feeling in dire need of some outside time, I called up my brother, took a flight to Hamburg and we went to the island of Sylt in the North Sea. Spent a lovely day on the beach with my dog- walking 20kms all the way to the southern tip of the island. Came back thoroughly tired and exhausted. And with my leg killing me. This bloody knee of mine still gives me issues. It's been eight months and I want this to be finally over!
But the good thing is that I finally have managed to tire Jorda out! The moment we got back on the train she curled up on the floor and was out and asleep before we had even settled down. Ha! She even left the seals alone and didn't try to chase and hunt them. I so love this dog, it's incredible.
This is the things worth spending a week in the office for. Too bad it's back to the grind today. 49 days until my (our) vacation - I so cannot wait!
The TILT bandwagon
2/3/2011 | 0 comments
Things I Loved Today:
2/3/2011 | 0 comments
Things I Loved Today:
-
registering for the Dallas suscon:
I can't wait to see all my hook-loving friends again, learn more about the facilitation of them and get to suspend after going a way too long time without such an experience. Everyone interested in the art of hanging humans from hooks in their skin should definitely attend this one.
See y'all there!
Coachella! Vacation!
1/27/2011 | 7 comments
No, this one will NOT have dog content for a change! :) Although I am still reveling in the joys of sharing life with her.
Vacation plans for this year are getting underway, and in a reversal of order from last year, the first event to attend is Coachella Arts & Music Festival. Then Dallas suscon one weekend later.
Just bought tickets for Coachella, in some kind of panic reaction to seeing that they'll sell out soon. Hell, they have only been available since the 21st, and regular ones already aren't available anymore. Had to spend almost as much at Ticketmaster as we paid a scalper last year - which is annoying and should have been unnecessary...grrrr. But, well, such is life. This year, we're going to RV it - I expect this to be a great weekend on may many levels.
So looking forward to spending three weeks with Jorda (of course she'll be accompanying me!), listen to some awesome music from some of my favorite bands (and some I have never heard of before) in a perfect environment, spend some wonderful time away from civilization in one of the most beautiful areas the US has to offer with LotN and Sabrina and, of course, see all of my friends from the hook-loving community in Dallas!
While going through the rather unpleasant procedure of buying Coachella tickets from Ticketmaster over the phone, This song came on the radio - and I think it fits. This overcommercialization of all things music is indeed killing the vibe:
1/27/2011 | 7 comments
No, this one will NOT have dog content for a change! :) Although I am still reveling in the joys of sharing life with her.
Vacation plans for this year are getting underway, and in a reversal of order from last year, the first event to attend is Coachella Arts & Music Festival. Then Dallas suscon one weekend later.
Just bought tickets for Coachella, in some kind of panic reaction to seeing that they'll sell out soon. Hell, they have only been available since the 21st, and regular ones already aren't available anymore. Had to spend almost as much at Ticketmaster as we paid a scalper last year - which is annoying and should have been unnecessary...grrrr. But, well, such is life. This year, we're going to RV it - I expect this to be a great weekend on may many levels.
Update:
Two hours later, the event was SOLD OUT. So, yeah, I guess I can
add "get lucky" to the TILT :)
So looking forward to spending three weeks with Jorda (of course she'll be accompanying me!), listen to some awesome music from some of my favorite bands (and some I have never heard of before) in a perfect environment, spend some wonderful time away from civilization in one of the most beautiful areas the US has to offer with LotN and Sabrina and, of course, see all of my friends from the hook-loving community in Dallas!
While going through the rather unpleasant procedure of buying Coachella tickets from Ticketmaster over the phone, This song came on the radio - and I think it fits. This overcommercialization of all things music is indeed killing the vibe:
Real life....
1/20/2011 | 5 comments
...seriously got in the way of me spending time on the internet with my IAM friends. I know I've been neglecting you for way too long and some of you have beendemanding
politely asking about what has been going on with me and my new furry
four-legged life companion. Well, I hope y'll are satisfied now :)
So I did fly down to Spain again the day before Christmas and brought Jorda home with me. Let me tell you, she made this Christmas the best ever. The trip itself was rather nightmarish, with flight cancellations, rebookings, late flights and idiot rental car people trying to get into the way of of spending Christmas with the family, but we managed to overcome all obstacles with ease. She had no issues with flying, too and handled it very well, despite the changes in itinerary (caused by airport closures due to weather) meant that instead of a 90-minute nonstop flight the trip would be three hours and include one stop, complete with change of planes. I bought a cage for her which I had shipped to the shelter in advance, so they could get her used to it before the big day.
So it was time to say 'goodbye' to Spain and the staff at the shelter, who were sad to see her go (click though any thumbnail for full size image):
Anyway, we got home without incident, and she immediately was loved by the whole family. She choose a place right next to the Christmas tree to lie down and observe everything and it immediately looked like she belonged there and had been with us forever:
That was the sight I woke up to the next morning: - definitely something I could get used to!
She's really quiet, rather reserved, benign and, how shall I put it - distinguished. She does not bark except when playing with other dogs. She does not jump on people. She does not beg at the table, and is content and happy lying smack in the center of the room where she can observe everything that's going on around her. When I take her to the office she quietly lies behind me under a desk. And she LOVES going places: riding in the car, train trips, even bus and tram rides are no problem at all. Last weekend, we went to visit my brother who lives in northern Germany - for the whole 600-mile, six-and-a-half hour trip she sat or lay on the back seat, and either enjoyed the scenery or dozed off. An ideal travel companion! Speaking of travel: I'll definitely take her along when I go on vacation to the US in April.
But don't let that fool you - her favorite thing is being on her feet, outside, and exploring the world - something she's been deprived of for way too long. You would not believe she's almost seven years old when you see her bolting around in nature. She's unbelievably fast (she can out run a Podenco!) and has the endurance to match. She's been getting at least three hours a day of outside time and it's never enough for her! I only managed to tire her out once, when we went on a 12km bike ride at the midpoint of which she played 'chase' with another dog for half an hour. she loves the snow, too:
Note the absence of a leash! She usually doesn't run off farther than she can see me (or whoever two-legged is accompanying her) and equally usually comes back when called. Note: usually. 'Usually' does not mean 'always'... but I'm *really* happy about her!
And she got to meet Alexa - the young female husky of my coworker. Oh boy, those two had fun together, and the day ended with two thoroughly tired-out dogs. I'm really happy to see that those two get along so well, and our plans to leave them at my place together as soon as my yard is fenced in will most probably work out. In general, Jorda gets along with the vast majority of dogs we encountered so far, although she is pretty dominant.
1/20/2011 | 5 comments
...seriously got in the way of me spending time on the internet with my IAM friends. I know I've been neglecting you for way too long and some of you have been
So I did fly down to Spain again the day before Christmas and brought Jorda home with me. Let me tell you, she made this Christmas the best ever. The trip itself was rather nightmarish, with flight cancellations, rebookings, late flights and idiot rental car people trying to get into the way of of spending Christmas with the family, but we managed to overcome all obstacles with ease. She had no issues with flying, too and handled it very well, despite the changes in itinerary (caused by airport closures due to weather) meant that instead of a 90-minute nonstop flight the trip would be three hours and include one stop, complete with change of planes. I bought a cage for her which I had shipped to the shelter in advance, so they could get her used to it before the big day.
So it was time to say 'goodbye' to Spain and the staff at the shelter, who were sad to see her go (click though any thumbnail for full size image):
Anyway, we got home without incident, and she immediately was loved by the whole family. She choose a place right next to the Christmas tree to lie down and observe everything and it immediately looked like she belonged there and had been with us forever:
That was the sight I woke up to the next morning: - definitely something I could get used to!
She's really quiet, rather reserved, benign and, how shall I put it - distinguished. She does not bark except when playing with other dogs. She does not jump on people. She does not beg at the table, and is content and happy lying smack in the center of the room where she can observe everything that's going on around her. When I take her to the office she quietly lies behind me under a desk. And she LOVES going places: riding in the car, train trips, even bus and tram rides are no problem at all. Last weekend, we went to visit my brother who lives in northern Germany - for the whole 600-mile, six-and-a-half hour trip she sat or lay on the back seat, and either enjoyed the scenery or dozed off. An ideal travel companion! Speaking of travel: I'll definitely take her along when I go on vacation to the US in April.
But don't let that fool you - her favorite thing is being on her feet, outside, and exploring the world - something she's been deprived of for way too long. You would not believe she's almost seven years old when you see her bolting around in nature. She's unbelievably fast (she can out run a Podenco!) and has the endurance to match. She's been getting at least three hours a day of outside time and it's never enough for her! I only managed to tire her out once, when we went on a 12km bike ride at the midpoint of which she played 'chase' with another dog for half an hour. she loves the snow, too:
Note the absence of a leash! She usually doesn't run off farther than she can see me (or whoever two-legged is accompanying her) and equally usually comes back when called. Note: usually. 'Usually' does not mean 'always'... but I'm *really* happy about her!
And she got to meet Alexa - the young female husky of my coworker. Oh boy, those two had fun together, and the day ended with two thoroughly tired-out dogs. I'm really happy to see that those two get along so well, and our plans to leave them at my place together as soon as my yard is fenced in will most probably work out. In general, Jorda gets along with the vast majority of dogs we encountered so far, although she is pretty dominant.
But it's not all roses and there's areas we need to
work on. One is her prey drive/hunting instinct. Anything small that
moves is regarded as "food" and hunted. She loves cats - for breakfast,
lunch and dinner. And she's an expert hunter. Sadly, one cat already
had to experience this first-hand, leading to a dead cat (she didn't
kill it outright, it got put to sleep by the vet). I don't ever want to
have have to ring at a neighbor's doorbell and ask if that badly
mangled animal in my arms is their cat again. EVER.... And when she
senses anything hunt-able in the forest, she's charging after that and
just runs off. With lightning speed, and there's nothing holding her
back - except the leash. But she's smart: She ignores birds, as she
obviously learned that these will just fly off before she can reach
them...
And then there's the "being alone" thing, which takes more time and patience than I expected. I cannot take her to the office every day for an indefinite amount of time. I was allowed to bring her for a limited time until she can stay at home alone. She makes a fuss when leaving her in front of stores now, and she^'s clearly unhappy when left alone at home. She's following me everywhere. But I'm confident we get that sorted out with time and patience.
Other than my dog, 2011 could have started better - for the first time in years I had to take almost a week off work because I was sick. Not fun. But I think this entry is long enough as it is and me starting to rant about health issues is better reserved for another day ;)
And then there's the "being alone" thing, which takes more time and patience than I expected. I cannot take her to the office every day for an indefinite amount of time. I was allowed to bring her for a limited time until she can stay at home alone. She makes a fuss when leaving her in front of stores now, and she^'s clearly unhappy when left alone at home. She's following me everywhere. But I'm confident we get that sorted out with time and patience.
Other than my dog, 2011 could have started better - for the first time in years I had to take almost a week off work because I was sick. Not fun. But I think this entry is long enough as it is and me starting to rant about health issues is better reserved for another day ;)
TILT?
12/17/2010 | 0 comments
I'm not a writing person. It takes me forever to compose a text that passes my standards of "it's OK to send". And this is especially true when the going gets personal. Although this has gotten better recently, (and I blame this place and some awesome friends I made in here for this development), it still feels kind of awkward to use writing for these conversations. It just is out of MY comfort zone.
I'd rather prefer talking, be that in person or not. It's just...better, and I feel more comfortable. And I really wish someone would do me a favor and accommodate this. But unfortunately, that seems to be asking too much. <sigh>
Ok, enough of that, I'll get back to how exited I am about that furry four-legged companion I'm going to share my life with in less than one week! (I'm going to fly down to Spain again and get her on the day before Christmas) I can't believe how much this has done to me already.
When I was driving home in my new (well, new-to-me) wagon that I bought as doggie transportation module, I had to listen to «Before Today» from Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti on repeat, as the CD player wouldn't play mp3s... But it was so fitting - check the image used as a backdrop in the video:
12/17/2010 | 0 comments
Everybody's doing these these days, so "why not"?
Anyway, here's what I love most on Thursdays: Reading those TILT
lists of quite a few of you.
And my morning ritual of coming on here and reading that one message
from one of you that's usually there every Thursday morning. Always a
pleasure to see your icon glowing red!
Talking is a hydrant in the
yard and writing is a
faucet upstairs in the house. Opening the first takes the pressure off
the second.
(Robert Frost)
And
that's from one of the best writers the English language has brought
forth. You know what - the man is right. I'm not a writing person. It takes me forever to compose a text that passes my standards of "it's OK to send". And this is especially true when the going gets personal. Although this has gotten better recently, (and I blame this place and some awesome friends I made in here for this development), it still feels kind of awkward to use writing for these conversations. It just is out of MY comfort zone.
I'd rather prefer talking, be that in person or not. It's just...better, and I feel more comfortable. And I really wish someone would do me a favor and accommodate this. But unfortunately, that seems to be asking too much. <sigh>
Ok, enough of that, I'll get back to how exited I am about that furry four-legged companion I'm going to share my life with in less than one week! (I'm going to fly down to Spain again and get her on the day before Christmas) I can't believe how much this has done to me already.
When I was driving home in my new (well, new-to-me) wagon that I bought as doggie transportation module, I had to listen to «Before Today» from Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti on repeat, as the CD player wouldn't play mp3s... But it was so fitting - check the image used as a backdrop in the video:
