Heya from NYC (City Exploits and Keepers Crossing)

So I got into the city back on Tuesday, after Del (the fabulous pagan chaplain, not my old laptop) dropped me off in NJ and I caught the train into Grand Central. Ayem Willing met me there and off we went to our hotel to stash bags and grab some food, wander the town a bit, all before heading off the EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL. Yes, you read that right. Friggin' brilliant. I was in seat 111, splash zone central, and got soaked in fake blood. Who can say no to song titles like "Whatthe Fuck was that?" and "All the Men in My Life Keep getting killed by Cardarian Demons". Classic. Ayem is Brilliance on a Stick I tell you. Afterwards we went to a hyper posh restraunt for dessert, soaked in blood, and they grudgingly seated us in an alcove in the back of the restraunt where no one would see us and brought us drop dead cheesecake and ice cream.Wednesday we went to Bodies: The Exhibit, which was breathtaking and creepy all at once. I learned stuff, and wish I'd had the wherewithall to do the whole audio tour twice- once with the adult audio track, and once with the kids track, as the kids audio rocked when I heard it a few times. We then went and grabbed me some new blue jeans and enjoyed Canal street a bit after spendingtime at ground zero, all before heading off for me to teach a private class at Rapture, which if folks are looking for a pro domme house in NYC, these ladies know their stuff. After class I met up with a potential client who I have been chatting with a lot online and had an amazing dinner and drinks at Hard Rock cafe, pouring into Buddhist philosophy, politics of spiritual awakening, and of course, discussions about sexuality. I adore this man, and was glad that mad wardrobe changes all worked, though egads, walking in the rain in my damn pointy heels 8 blocks sucked. But it was worth it when Ayem's food find, AJ Maxwell's, showed me the delight of Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brule. This place has amazing steaks, if in NYC, this is a must-eat if you have the budget.Thursday (today) Ayem left earling in the morning and I slept in, packed, finally caught up with email (no phone or email for the last week while at Cauldron Farm), then dropped my bags with the concierge and headed downtown on foot. I had 3 hours to kill, so I walked down Broadway and 6th Ave (alternating) from 50th down to Prince street, stopping for a bite to eat (which sucks as I have a wisdom tooth growing in sideways and i SUCKS and I'm trying to find a oral surgeon that I can fit into my travel schedule). I found the white cowboy hat (the white outfit seems complete, though I may it seem also need aviator glasses and white cowboy boots, but god damn it I don't wanna spend more money on this), a ring made out of silver and Paulo Santo wood from Argentina (street artist, seems related to white cowboy outfit), browsed lots of shops including the kick ass EVOLUTION that i so adore, talked with two sex shops in teh area about me maybe teaching for them, and then hopped a subway down to meet up with RogueBoi.I adore that man. I need to get over my hangups. Good thing I have plans in the works, gods Ineed to get over some of my current body/emotional hangups. At least I ahave nailed down a few of the WHYS involved, but now I need to sort out the WHAT NEXTS. sigh. We had yummy Dim Sum, conquered teh candy stores of China Town, then I headed off to teach Speed Bondage (need to actually add that class to the list on my educator page) atRapture.Now I am at the lovely Kate's place. I adore Kate, and being here makes me want to Scuba as she talks about going Canyon Climbing in wet suits. Yup. Wanna dive again.So yeah, I'm in NYC til tomorrow when I fly out of Long Island (bet ya didn't know Long Island had an airport) back to Portland in time to attend Saturday night and Sunday all day/night of the HP Lovecraft film festival!!!!Keeper's Crossing was... amazing? I have no terms for it right now, and in fact, psychic gag orders are in place on a lot of stuff it seems as I keep wanting to discuss it ths week, especially on the bondage hang I piloted dressed in white in the woods. I hung on hooks unconcius in the trees and blooded my bear pelt, I learned Psychic Field Triage skills, I had some major revelations in the splitting class and ended up spending much of Sunday night in deep mourning doing trance bardic work. I met some amazing people, gave away stuff, actually felt like I knew my shit, and had a reason to be. It was good to speak for Trash, to see the crown and its maker, to GET a few things, to see Poi used as a true fire dance offering, to comprehend the power of deep Galduring. Plans are in motion, plans are in stasis, and already karma is speeding up. More shamans per square foot...I didn't get to Keeper's until LATE Thursday night because I went with Jaklr to his rune circle after stopping in the middle of no where to watch Star Trek TNG and wander the fields. I dogot to delve nto Hagalaz and Nowtheez and yup, got em, and think that if/when I help Valkarie with her Ordeal, if she does give me runes, I have a startin point to understanding them on a deep level before ever using them. Thank you to the Two Ravens folks who hosted, and thanks again Jaklr for everything.Keepers could have gone on for weeks and we would not have run out of things to discuss. From Qi Gong to the Path of Percussion and Sound, from plans to live the Toine to actually getting to voice things I've NEVER said before outloud and not feeling absurd, it was, it is, amazing. All praise Artemis' holy goat stew. Thank you SO much Raven for kicking me lovingly in the ass, and Helasdottir for poking me with a rotted stick, to get me to come.Skills in hand. Ideas and plans brewing. Now... what next.