BSR

I'm back! For now!!

I always go commando to a strip club.   Makes the lap dance better.

Took the plunge and..... no.
That's just my experience. I texted him telling him I was hosting "for now". He asked for a deposit and I sent it. He then said he would be here in two hours. I reminded him that I asked "for now" and he really didn't care.
I reluctantly agreed to meeting in two hours. Once he got to my place, he was wearing a cloth that covered almost his entire face (note: he is NOT a catfish. He looks exactly like his photos and he pulled down his mask at some point so I saw clearly.)
When I asked him to take off the mask, he briefly did but then put it back on, claiming that it helps him "focus" because he is straight (his orientation says "Ask Me" on his RM profile).
He then asked me to give them head... but then he wanted to do that with a condom on. In my decades of life, I've never encountered a top asking to get head with a condom on. I told him I respect his boundaries entirely but that I'm just not into it. He tried to convince me that everyone does it and it's fine but I told him it just doesn't turn me on.
As we conversed, I thought he was a quietly narcissistic sort of personality: "I'm just a straight guy who gets worshipped." I reminded him his ad says nothing about 1) being straight 2) wearing a mask the entire time 3) wearing a condom during oral 4) exclusively being interested in "worship"
In the end, I told him to return me half of his fee and let's end it there.
Obviously I would never repeat and it was one of the most bizarre experiences I've had on RM lol but at least he wasn't a catfish or worse.
 
 
 
 

I love spicy food, but I don't want everything spicy, especially not classic comfort food like mac & cheese.  If a place is going to spice up dishes like meatloaf and chicken noodle soup, I would hope they also offer a non-spicy version for fuddy-duddies like me.

Pics belong to a personal trainer in Israel.

IG kind of pics... TGTBT

I disagree!
It's like announcing a pregnancy before you're even pregnant!😁

Daniel Perez is NOT the person that applied to Johnson's Chicago for a job. Daniel Perez was the leader of the petition drive.
The person that applied to dance at Johnson's was Nathan Summers aka Lux Filler, who decided to throw a public temper tantrum when Matt rejected him, and told him that Johnson's only hires "the best". 
Nathan Summers (@lux.filler) • Instagram photo
WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 151 likes, 7 comments - lux.filler on April 27, 2024: "Just a reminder!!! You are beautiful!!! Dont let anyone say anything they want to you… only you can let those... When Bozo was turned down by the CW network for "America's Next Top Model", Bozo moved on. No whining, no crying, no petitions...... just two years of therapy 🤡.
BTC

The Carter Jay he references in the Youtube video is this guy:  
DesnudoMassa - Pornstar Performer, Rentboy, Gay Massage in Midland, MI | RentMen
RENTMEN.EU Pornstar Performer & Rentboy in Midland, MI - DesnudoMassa: Carter Jay I've met him.   Wow...quite a mess.  One of my worst hires and I walked out.  
 

After one of my ~90yo grandmother's friends died, she took it really hard, was depressed for weeks.  Two of my aunts were a bit baffled because while they were friends, they weren't really all that close.  Then it dawned on them:  the friend was the last of grandma's age group.  Although she did have other friends, they were all at least a decade younger.  It must be hard to start talking about "remember when ..." only to realize that nobody does.

See the FBI and DHS Warning here.
SUMMARY
The FBI and DHS are issuing this Public Service Announcement to provide awareness to the public of foreign terrorist organizations (FTOS) or their supporters potential targeting of LGBTQIA+-related events and venues. Foreign terrorist organizations or supporters may seek to exploit increased gatherings associated with the upcoming June 2024 Pride Month.
I'm not going to avoid doing anything that I want to do.  But, I'm going to keep my eyes open.

Sandwich icon Katz’s Delicatessen and beloved Ukrainian East Village eatery Veselka have teamed up to create a new menu mashup: the “pastrogi,” a pastrami-stuffed pierogi.

The city’s oldest deli provides its signature deli meat, and Veselka works the pastrami into its classic Eastern European dumplings.
The one-of-a-kind “flavorful fusion” will only be available for one month at Veselka’s new Williamsburg location at 646 Lorimer St. starting on its opening day, Wednesday, June 5.
The “innovative” pastrogi — available either boiled or fried — emerged through trial and error, with the restaurants saying it took weeks to perfect. In the end, “we couldn’t be more thrilled to share it with both our customers and theirs,” Veselka owner Tom Birchard said, adding that the partnership was a way “to showcase our Ukrainian heritage while celebrating the diverse culinary landscape of NYC.”
An appetizer portion of four is $12, while an entree portion of eight costs $22.
Adding to the hype, the 1954-born Ukrainian spot and Katz’s — the latter oft-remembered as a filming location for the 1989 hit rom-com “When Harry Met Sally” filming location — are also offering a super-stuffed “New York Classics” combo package that can be shipped nationwide for the next three weeks.
For $160, it includes a pound of each of hand-carved pastrami and corned beef; a 12-pack of potato pierogies; a 16-slice half-loaf of deli rye; 2 quarts of sour pickles; 8 ounces each of deli mustard, ruben dressing and sauerkraut; a pound of Swiss cheese; and a dozen Veselka potato pierogies.

“We love having the capability to ship these exclusive and iconic tastes across the country, making it possible for everyone to experience and provide a bit of nostalgia to those who may have moved away from the city,” said Jake Dell, owner of Katz’s Deli.
Two years ago, Katz’s teamed up with Italian sandwich shop Alidoro and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for a subway-themed pastrami Ruben sandwich.
 

What does 'clean-cut' mean again?

I think Red Lobster's troubles have more to do with the changes in ownership in the past couple decades than one badly executed promotion.  It's a eye catching headline, sure, but if the business was fundamentally healthy it would be no more than a blip.
To be clear, Red Lobster was a mature brand with a lot of older locations, and a fairly downmarket reputation. It was no longer a growth business, it was the seafood place you went with your boomer (grand)parents after church.  There was a lot more competition from other newer chains, but still, it had a decent level of goodwill.  If it was structurally sound, I think it would be struggling to stay relevant but not going bankrupt.
Red Lobster was owned by Golden Gate Capital for several years last decade.  It's typical for PE firms to saddle their targets with a lot of debt as part of the acquisition.  It's also common for them to sell off the assets like real estate.  They'll take a location where the chain owned the property and sell the lot to a real estate investment firm and execute a long term lease.  They restaurant is still on the hook for any maintenance and upkeep on the property, so the new landlords provide very little service for the rent payments.  So the PE firm gets their aquisition paid off and they leave the business with high debts and more operating expenses than they had before the takeover.
If GCC left Red Lobster with drained assets and high debts, and you add the challenging post-pandemic restaurant environment on top of that, it's little wonder they're struggling to keep up.  It would certainly explain the turnover in their c-suite ever since Thai Union bought them, I can see these executives coming in, getting a real look at the balance sheets and noping out as soon as they could.
That would also explain the sudden move to close a large number of locations. They can stem the bleeding from underperforming locations, and hopefully recover enough value from the assets that get auctioned off to pay down the debts and get to a more stable financial position.  Unfortunately, a bankruptcy will probably still be necessary to force a restructuring of the remaining debt (and hopefully not a liquidation).
Sadly, the chain retaurant industry has been a big target for these firms, and it leaves empty buildings and lost jobs in the wake.  Name any chain that's died or struggled to survive in the past many years and it's a reasonable bet that there's been an leveraged aquisition in the process.  Consumers pay higher prices, employees lose jobs and or better wages, and cities are left with empty storefronts that become a hole in their tax base.  But somehow the blame gets shifted to the middle class because a soccer mom stopped for a latte.
 
 
 

Might you be guilty here of just a wee bit of hyperbole?  That said, I couldn't stop laughing.

Hideous.
It looks like his head is swimming in afterbirth.
 

Anyone with plans to travel to Porto Alegre Brazil in the next six months should rethink their plans.  Parts of the city are under water after historic rain and flooding during the last few weeks.  Hundreds dead or missing and over half a million displaced from their homes.  Flood waters may take a month to recede and  POA airport is under water and closed.  Some estimates are that the airport may not re-open until September.  
reuters.com
WWW.REUTERS.COM  
Airport terminal completely flooded:
 

How's this for some organizational pitching…
The Yankees won 4-0 tonight and all four of their minor-league teams won, three of them by shut out. 
Including the major league team, the organization gave up three runs in five games tonight. 
It means absolutely nothing, of course, but I thought it was kind of cool, nevertheless

Might you be guilty here of just a wee bit of hyperbole?  That said, I couldn't stop laughing.

Sounds like a script for a comedy at the Geffen.  The wheelchair character, the hot butler and so on.

Reminds me why I stay in Cali during the holidays instead of flying 1000 miles to be with family.

Might you be guilty here of just a wee bit of hyperbole?  That said, I couldn't stop laughing.

My mother was the oldest of six siblings, grew up in a household that also included three cousins who were like sisters to her, and outlived almost all of them. Those were some of the hardest losses for her to deal with.

Gentlemen, thank you for your thoughts and for sharing your own horror stories. A rather strange type of solidarity. Much appreciated, though.
Update:
Yep. definitely been to Santo Domingo and it's richer in options. All-inclusive resorts are not necessarily my type of vacation, so this was purely to please my husband. Oddly, I've been to La Romana, and I've hooked up with people there without any issues.
So I wasn't able to flip the Butler, but as I have always said, it doesn't hurt to ask. I asked him if he flips and he said no, but he had a few names of guys who will gladly help. Something in the back of my mind was telling me that there has to be some kind of covert activity. I'm sure there have been this type of requests in the past.
I was referred to a few local providers, two of which I chose, one Dominican, the other Haitian. They were perfect, affordable, safe and hot as hell. Had a great time last night. As everything in the DR, they were versatile in many ways, one of which was that they also sell merchandise, so I got mugs, t-shirts and other souvenirs from them.
Today I saw the Butler and he did notice my change in mood for the better. He was discreet but inquired about "how was my day".
I rarely come to places where this type of things are more underground than easily accessible. I still feel that it was risky to ask the Butler if he flips and for info, but I'm glad I did. This chain of resorts is gay friendly (yes it's also LBT... friendly, but I'm talking about me) and this is an adults-only resort, so I guess that I'm not the first to make this type of request.
I also decided to tell my in-laws that I need "me time", so I haven't seen them. I'm glad that I was able to please my in-laws, please my husband and now please myself. Now I feel like a real vacation.