Too much hot air, too much rain, too many tornado warnings….just too much. I made it through all that just to be drenched in a puddle, which ended the evening early. Not fun.

I have a clock in my bathroom. Most people probably don't have a clock in their bathrooms. When I get out of the shower I like to see what time it is so that I'll know if I'm on schedule or need to speed up my routine. I'm anal that way. I like to be on time all the time or early even. I never look at the clock except when I get out of the shower. That's the only time I ever look at that clock.

This morning I went through my routine as usual. When I pushed the shower curtain back to look at the clock while drying off, I almost had a heart attack. The clock said 9:40! Didn't I look at the clock when I woke up? Most of the time I wake up before the alarm and just hit the off button. I don't actually look at the time. I just go into auto pilot and start moving around without thinking about the time until I get out of the shower. For a split second I thought I over slept and was really running late. Then my mind began to work and I realized it was still dark so it couldn't be 9:40. Then I looked at the second hand and it had stopped. Whew! It must be the battery. That's it. This whole scene only took seconds. The mind works quickly in these moments. I finished drying and looked out the bathroom door to the clock in my bedroom and saw that it was only 5:35 Am. I was on time. Nothing to worry about. No more panic.

After dressing, I changed the battery in the clock and it worked fine. That won't send me into a panic again.

B was supposed to come over tonight but called early this evening to say he had to work late. He apologized and said we'd get together soon. I asked about this weekend and then informed me he had plans all weekend. My friend David tells me it's too soon to read anything into this. People do get busy and do make plans for the weekend. So I won't read anything into this just yet.

I went to The Eagle last night with Ken and the guy he's currently dating, N. M met us there. I don't know how N got celebrity parking right in front of The Eagle but he did. The building on the outside is pretty much a shit hole. It's run down. You'd never know there's a bar inside. I had never been to The Eagle before. I'm not into the leather scene at all and I'm not attracted to bearish type men, older or younger. I've always been scared of the whole scene. I told Ken awhile ago that I'd never been there so he was determined to get me there to at least experience it once. He succeeded.

The Eagle is basically a leather bar that caters to those who enjoy the leather fetish. I think it also caters to the bearish type. When we walked into the bar I thought I was blind. Everything was painted black. It was dark and it took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust. Once that happened, I realized it's just another bar. There's a long bar that runs along one side and stools to sit on on the other. At the end are a few pool tables. We got a first round and then went to the upstairs bar. We donated our 5 bucks (Thanks Ken!) and helped ourselves to burgers. See, this leather social group holds a monthly fundraiser where they have cookout type food. N is part of this group so we were there enjoying the meal and donating to the group. We sat at the bar and ate our food and downed a few more rounds. Ken was getting quite drunk I must add. I was being a good boy since it was a school night. The more alcohol we drank the nastier the discussion became. We talked about bottoms, farting, and all things you would only talk about after several drinks. It was really fun.

After awhile Ken decided I needed to experience the back deck. We went out on the deck and it seemed like a normal deck to me. There were only a few guys hanging around. We drank and chatted some more. Then two guys kind of moved into a corner and started making out and putting their hands in places that shouldn't be seen in public. N told me that this used to go on (and a lot worse) a long time ago but things like this are discouraged nowadays. It wasn't all that shocking though. While out there I had two big bearish guys checking me out but I dogged their stares and did not meet their eyes. I didn't want to give them the idea that I might be interested. Earlier one of Ken's friends was also hitting on me. Sorry, but he wasn't my type either. Plus, I'm kinda interested in B now so I wasn't looking for anything.

It got to be after 10:00 and I had to go home so we piled back into N's car and he took us back to Ken's house. Ken and I got out and said our goodbyes and N took M home. Ken then walked me over to U street where I had parked. On the way through the alley behind his house we heard a chirping type noise. I looked around and saw a HUGE rat running away. Ken got a little skiddish when I pointed the rodent out to him. I don't think I've ever seen a rat that big. I got to my car and Ken walked back to his house. I was home by 11:00 and in bed by 11:15. I was able to get up at my regular time this morning and make it to work. I was tired all day but it was worth it. I can now say I've been to The Eagle and survived.