I had heard some rumblings about recession this and deflation that, but it seemed like something distant from my life. The bars seemed just as crowded as ever and at work the dining room was packed every night. I just didn’t see it and seeing is believing. Then I was faced with the harsh reality that I would have to move back to Palm Springs. I tried to make the best of a bad situation and the full horror didn’t seep in until I was knee-deep in harsh and sticky reality: Palm Springs in the off season in the middle of an anemic economy. Maybe I should back up a little bit.

A few months ago I lost my renter and that left me paying for two residences – something far beyond my financial reach so far. Unable to find someone to rent my condo I realized I had to suck it up and return to the desert. It’s July here and it’s crazy hot, not the best place to be if you hate AC. Petey and I lay in front of the box fans patiently panting, waiting for the sun to go down so the poor dog can get out and get some running in; right now, after 10 mins in the sun he begins to over heat and runs for the nearest shady spot.

Some of you might be asking yourselves “Did you quit Channel1?” No, but porn does not pay everything. Petey still needs to go to dog camp and daddy needs his East Coast fixes. So much like the rest of you I need to work to keep this family in the life to which we are accustomed. Dance gigs and appearances are slim these days. I saw this coming though. About 6 months ago there was a huge influx of gigs, I theorized that this was the clubs’ last attempt at bringing in some bodies and once they saw that people just weren’t coming in no matter what they did or who they had, they stopped booking.

Palm Springs and I have a past, but I didn’t think we’d have a future. This is a place where I am, as BW so eloquently put, a prisoner of my property, I can’t find work here and to be honest, there is a surplus of really strange people here. I think it’s the heat, and yet I walk outside in the morning or will be driving somewhere and the light will catch one of the 4 mountain ranges and I will be speechless at the raw, unadulterated splendor of it all. “Fuck, that is so god damned pretty!” and I forget that I’m almost running on empty.

Tired of the same old steamed vegetables? So am I.

Today I’m heading up to Utah for a Valentine’s event and I just couldn’t leave without saying something, ANYthing on the blog since I’ve been so negligent lately. Sometimes you just fall out of the groove, you know? I was thinking about religion last night and how religious people kind of get a bad rap from all of the fanatics, but then I realized an entry about that would be a major endeavor so another Friday the 13th blog op was missed. And of course I have fuck all to say about love, which means a Valentine entry is out of the question. Don’t even get me started on this “holiday” or I’ll never make my plane. Let me just say in shorthand, “Why do we NEED a day to do things for those we love?”

Then it hit me! I have a fun little video we made just for kicks and I can use it to overshadow the fact that I don’t want to write a fucking thing! They will love it and I can ease my guilt for being such a rotten host! You see how that works?

The boys over at Unzipped Blog went nuts when I told them I was going to start a series of cooking videos. In honor of their enthusiasm I gave them the first webisode to premiere on their blog. Go have a look for yourself.

People in my life sometimes like to point out that things often go my way. Maybe things do happen for me more easily than for others, but it certainly didn’t feel that way in March. I was trying to find a living situation in West Hollywood and a renter for my place in Palm Springs without much success. When I found a renter I was still without a place to go to and then the renter fell through leaving me back at square one. It didn’t help that I didn’t have a job lined up, but where was the time to take care of that?

Then fate turned her frown upside down and I secured a really great renter and a potential roommate all about the same time. Through my network I discovered a friend of mine in WeHo was moving and needed a roommate. He and I had always gotten along very well and soon we found a cute place in a great location we could afford. Well, if I could get a decent job anyway.

My readers know me as an organic food eating, animal rights supporting, environmentally aware, music loving wine freak with an affinity for nudity and spreading positive energy in every direction possible. Well now there are two of us at home and we spend a whole lot of time here in relative peace providing The Abbey keeps the noise down. I’m very excited about this very new phase in my life and to share some of my enthusiasm I put together a little welcome video for your amusement.