nate_sf

On 5/28/2022 at 9:01 PM, rvwnsd said:

TunnelBear works equally well on Mac and Windows devices. Here's a link.

I just tried out TunnelBear and it worked perfectly on my MacBook.

I set up a free account since my main objective at this time was to change my rates in Rentmen, which were stale from when the account was set up in 2015. Switching my VPN location to Europe, I was able to edit my rates and also see the rates and reviews of other escorts.

Thank @rvwnsd for the suggestion!

Wouldn’t miss it! Really glad to hear it will be happening. 

I'd never stayed at Canyon Club, but had lots of fun there. Agree it was a very friendly place and not pretentious.

I've stayed at a bunch of other places, and all are fancier and with that can bring some attitude. It's a mixed bag... the fancier places have much nicer facilities, but it comes with a price. As has been mentioned Inndulge has some of the fun qualities of Canyon Club, but is quite a bit more expensive. Years ago I also stayed at El Mirasol and also liked it.

On 8/23/2022 at 7:28 AM, Bluefin said:

San Francisco! 

Best thing to do in SF is go to the clinic at SF General. They do not take appointments, but in my experience it's very well organized and efficient. I was in and out of there in less than an hour on a weekday mid-morning. My spouse as well as a work colleague reported the same.

Kaiser on Geary also has a walk-in clinic. I'm told you don't need to be a Kaiser member to go, so that could be another option.

https://sf.gov/information/monkeypox-vaccine

For whatever reason, it seems hard to get a vaccination appointment in SF, but the walk-ins are readily available.

I hadn't heard of lantenflies until this post. So I googled and found the NYT article that the photo above comes from:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/nyregion/lanternfly-bugs.html

My favorite part of the story is the woman who encountered two lanterflies on a playground slide:

Karen Charles, 31, has gone out of her way to avoid harming them. Ms. Charles, a YouTube content creator from Parlin, in Central New Jersey, was playing with her two-year-old daughter atop a playground slide when she found her way down the ladder blocked by two lanternflies. “It was go down this slide or kill these bugs, and I don’t want to stomp on them,” she said.

Stopping her was a mix of fear and pity, she said. “They’re creepy, I hate them, but feel a little bad for them — and for me,” said Ms. Charles. She ended up squeezing down the slide alongside her daughter.

Of course I scoop up spiders that I find in the shower so they don't drown, but I'm not sure what I'd do if I came face-to-face with a lanternfly!

Welcome to the forums @Gregntn!  I hope you’re able to get some good suggestions here. 

3 hours ago, ncc1701d said:

thanks for all the different viewpoints (at least the ones related to my original post!). Just what i was looking for to help me think this through

Thanks for the post. It’s certainly generated a lot of interesting discussion! Glad it was helpful. 

My experience is mixed. I go to three different branches of the same gym chain; two are in SF, the third is in the suburbs. Smart phones are ubiquitous, but I would not go as far to say that people are avoiding talking or eye contact. I have my workout programs on my cell phone so have my nose in my phone as much as the rest of them, plus I use it as a chance to catch up on texts and emails between sets.

Each of the branches has its own vibe. There is one branch that is particularly gay, and guys talk to each other all the time. There are a lot of regulars, and they seem to know each other and it's quite sociable. But there are also guys who keep to themselves. In particular, if someone is wearing ear buds, that seems to indicate they want to be left alone.

There is cruising at all three, with the cruising at the suburban gym a bit more discreet but it happens. This includes both the gym floor as well as the steam room. The steam room in the suburban gym can be social, with guys talking about all kinds of things... fortunately I rarely get drawn into conversations about sports. It can also be cruisy when the stars align, and then there is less talking and more visual cues. At the gay branch, I don't recall anybody having a regular conversation in the steam room ever.

I don't go out of my way to talk to people at the gym, but whenever I've said something to someone they've been receptive and friendly. There are a few guys I see regularly enough so we nod to each other but don't necessarily talk.

I notice a fair amount of guys checking each other out at all of the locations. They don't make a big thing of it, but aren't trying too hard to hide it either.

17 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

I believe you may have misread the post you were quoting. The friend who got the shot was offered it because he complained of symptoms of another STD (burning on urination), not symptoms of monkeypox. It seems that as of this time, the immunization is being prioritized to those who engage in high-risk activity, particularly gay men with STD's. 

Got it. Yes, I misread. 

39 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

I don't feel comfortable lying about symptoms, so I'll wait my turn, I guess.

At least here in SF, my understanding is that if someone is showing symptoms, they are possibly eligible for treatment but are no longer eligible for vaccination.

The thinking is that if someone is already symptomatic, it's too late. They'll need to endure the infection, but will conclude with a degree of immunity. Therefore, vaccines are being offered to those who do not have symptoms, whereas those who have symptoms may be eligible for medication to help with the infection.

When I went to SF General for my shot, there were a number of screening questions, including whether or not symptoms are present. I didn't check any of the symptoms boxes so not sure what would have happened if I had. There were the other usual boxes to check about MSM, exposure to known or suspected infected individuals, sex work, etc.

This may be a shift in policy from earlier. I'd messaged another escort through Rentmen who indicated he'd received his vaccination in July, so I asked him where and how. He said he had gone to the local clinic last month for his regular 3-month STD checkup, and they asked if he wanted the monkeypox vaccine since he was already there. He was not symptomatic, but may have disclosed that he is a sex worker. 

1 hour ago, BSR said:

I just searched the US LV website.  I didn't find socks like the ones in your post, just 2 sets of 6 pairs of socks for *coughsputtergasp* $1,990(!).  To add insult to injury, the patterns are FUGLY.  Even if you're a billionaire, anyone who spends 2 grand on ugly socks needs to get their head examined.

 

I like the flower socks, but not at that price!

Just got my first vaccine at SF General. The line was not too long, and the whole operation was very well run. I arrived at 11 am and was out of there in about 40 minutes total. I'd expected it to be a shit-show, but I gotta hand it to them they've got the process down.

Hey, the little link thing is back! I'm not sure what happened, but it has returned.

I've tried Zooming out but no luck 😐

At least the emojis are still here!

1 hour ago, Kevin Slater said:

I see it in Firefox on my MacBook (Pro).  It's the thing that looks like a chain. 

Yeah, I used to have the chain icon but this is all I see now:

I'm sure I'm missing something, but I can't find the option for highlighting text and inserting a hyperlink. I thought it used to be among the options at the top of the post window. Did it move, or is there another way to insert a hyperlink?

I'm using Firefox on a MacBook if that makes any difference.

Thanks!

I agree with the others, do not pursue the firm for your legal needs. Cancel the appointment... it doesn't matter if it's 9 am tomorrow, just call at 8 and say you need to cancel because you have become aware of a conflict. You do not need to elaborate, and can decline to explain if asked. But then you are no longer wasting your time or their time. Most likely they're busy and will be grateful that they will be able to use the time productively for something else.

I had a potential job interview a few weeks ago. All through the day leading up to the interview I began having second thoughts, and ultimately came to the conclusion that I didn't want the job. So I canceled the interview two hours before it was scheduled. Short notice, yes, but better than wasting everyone's time.

As for whether to let on to your provider that you know about his day job, I'd keep it to yourself if I were you. This hobby involves discretion, which can involve not disclosing everything we may know, whether we are providers or clients. Allow him to take the lead on disclosing anything personal about himself.

When I set up my Rentmen profile back in 2015, I seem to recall there were fields for entering rates. Since that time those fields have disappeared, at least from the settings in my profile logging in within the U.S.

My guess is those rates from all those years ago may still be in there somewhere, and might get picked up in a filtered search even though they are not visible in the profile. It might also explain why a search is picking up lower rate ranges for providers, given they may have been entered by the provider years ago and there is not a way for the provider to change them.

7 hours ago, azdr0710 said:

Longtime forum member robberbaron has always had an eclectic and clever way of evaluating providers ( and in writing posts).

It kinda reminds me of when Linda Richman would introduce a topic to talk among yourselves...

... and indeed he has managed to get folks here to discuss!

Those male/male bottlenose dolphins... having "frequent and acrobatic sex, an average of 2.38 times an hour." Oh my!

The cliquishness and materialism that @Coolwave35 and @MscleLovr mention are real for sure. The A-Gays are very well represented there. On many occasions we'd be out and one of my companions would point to someone and mention that they had an impressive job and/or was very wealthy, and that could be intimidating. And all the more so if they were sexy as well. House-sharing by its nature would lead to cliquishness, but it would also probably occur regardless.

I was lucky that my house was a fairly down-to-earth collection of bears, and guys were generally friendly. One memorable time there was a small hurricane, and all of us just huddled in the house and watched it pass through. I exchanged a lot of Facebook friend requests, and if I lived on the East Coast I'd probably pursue some of those friendships. But also I did not let on that I did escort work... I got the feeling that it would be taboo.

I'd definitely be interested in checking out Cherry Grove. The more time I spent at The Pines, the more I felt like Cherry Grove might be more my style. But I haven't been there so that's just a guess.

On the provider's side a Basic listing is $29.95. Gold is $79.95 if monthly recurring, or $99.95 for a one-time one month listing that does not renew. So if the gift membership is for one month, it's comparable to what the provider would pay if not recurring.

I've tried the Basic listing, but in a crowded market like SF it relegates you to the last of many, many pages of listings. Almost nobody will see you. So you pretty much have to get the Gold membership just to have a fighting chance. 

For those who like the current layout, it sounds like the rentmen.eu site may remain the same. Here's an excerpt from a message they sent to my RM inbox:

In 90 days, the rent.men version will be replaced with the beta version currently available on app.rent.men. At the same time, the version of rentmen.eu will remain unchanged.

Of course never say never, but at least this is what they're saying right now.

About a decade ago I visited the Pines a few times. I haven't been back in recent years, but I got the feeling that things seemed to stay pretty much the same year after year. If anything, that seemed to be the appeal. The friend who invited me would go over all the various traditions (including the tea dance) and I got the impression that those were part of the appeal.

It's an unusual place since there are no hotels to speak of, so everyone is in some sort of house share and it seems like everyone is one or two degrees of separation from everyone else. I was in a house with five other guys, and we had most of our meals together with guys taking turns cooking. Our house had a pool, so there was always the decision whether to go to the beach or hang out at the pool.

One time I went for July 4th and wore a dress, per tradition. One of the other housemates also wore a dress, but then went back to change because he wasn't getting any action.

I have great memories and would love to go back sometime. I wrote a blog post of my experience (way back in 2013... where does the time go!). Check it out if you'd like:

https://natebeck.us/blog/camraderie/

From time to time I'll get a request through rentmen to do a 1-on-1 cam show through Skype, Facetime etc. Does anyone here offer that service? If so, any pointers? Pay ranges? Or signs of scams to look out for?