Oh BB!

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know there's only one thing I'm talking about when I say BB.    No not Brazilian Butts or Big Black.   I'm referring to the stock symbol BB, better known as Blackberry.   Things have been changing for the better there.

With the bad news we've been dealing with regarding the default judgment, I've been getting wonderful news about my long-suffering Blackberry stock.    For years I've been saying how I was dreaming of a bright future with Blackberry.   It was always if Blackberry does something or when BB shoots to the moon before I decide to make an expensive purchase.

Things started differently after Blackberry released their Q4 2026 numbers, which were released on April 9, 2026.   Some of the highlights mentioned included:

• Total company revenue was $156 million, which was up 10% year over year.
• Their star product QNX's quarterly revenue made up $78.7 million of that $156 million and was up a whopping 20% year over year.
• QNX royalty backlog increased to $950 million.
• Adjusted basic earnings per share was $0.06 which was a beat.
• Operating cash flow was $45.6 million.

These are just some of the highlights.   Overall the quarter continued to improve from their previous quarter which improved from that previous quarter, and so on.

Their current CEO John Giamatteo was even quoted as saying "The turnaround is complete.  Blackberry is now a growth stock!"

That's a very strong statement to make.   Typically after the quarterly numbers are released, BB stock usually reverted back to low prices after making a slight temporary gain.   Prior to the Q4 numbers, the stock was borderline going down to $3 a share.   It pretty much was hovering between $3 and $4 for years.  A tease of $5 briefly came around the beginning of 2025 before it sunk back down.

But things started to act differently after April 9.   It started out with a tease of $4 before closing in the upper $3's.  The gains which normally would've been taken back started to be mostly retained.   The sentiment on the stock boards was that the price would likely head back lower which was business as usual.   But BB had other plans.  Starting from April 7 on, the BB closing price made an unprecedented rise, closing green ten days in a row   On the 7th, the price closed at $3.48.    On the 9th, after the Q4 2026 numbers were released, it closed up at $3.82.    It closed over $4 for the first time since December 23, 2025 at $4.11.   It then decisively closed at $5.50 on weed day, hitting above $5 for the first time since February 26, 2025.

The stock price would take a light breather for a day or two, sometimes closing red.   But then it would start rising again.   Excitement started growing on the boards again.   Even long-time cynics of the stock were starting to have fun again.   The stock price closed above $6 for the first time since February 18, 2025 on May 7th, almost a month after the Q4 report.    It closed above $7 today 05/22 after teasing a high of $8.03.    Needless to say it's exciting times over at Blackberry and my portfolio is up huge after accumulating BB stock since May 2020 and averaging around $4.77.

So what is causing the rise.   Speculation is that it is finally benefitting from the whole AI boom.  The company also renewed plans to continue their stock buyback program which would make remaining stock more valuable.   QNX is also becoming a critical part of the growing robotics movement.   The excitement on the future of that industry is also playing into the increase.   In fact the President of QNX John Wall will be one of the keynote speakers at the annual upcoming Robotics Summit & Expo being held in Boston, MA next weekend.   Also Wall along with CFO Tim Foote are doing a series of Investor Fireside Chats over the next few months.   This on top of the upcoming Annual Stockholder's meeting being held on June 25th.  Not to mention a few weeks after that they should have results for Q1 2027.    So the next month and a half promises to be exciting.

My dream is for BB to hit $20 again.   The last time it was over $20 was during its meme run in 2021 where it along with Gamestop and AMC rose to incredible highs due to influential Reddit investors.   BB unfortunately didn't get as high as Gamestop or AMC but it nonetheless bought excitement and later regret as the price crashed from the low 30's back to the teens and gradually into the single low digits.   

If things continue to go positive for Blackberry, it very well could see $20 again.  At that point I would likely cash in a lot of my chips, though I would definitely hold some of it for longer term in the hopes of seeing higher gains.   Yes the BB rise has bought a bit of good news in my life.   It'll be interesting to see where it goes.

Ready For The Kink

 

Nothing much major is happening.   I told Dom about his being served.   It ended up he had received other notices as well so it wasn't much of a surprise.    We went to his health portal billing section and saw that he had some bills that were listed as being sent to the debt collectors.   The total amount was less than half of what the debt collector said he owed and traced back to 2024.   A part of me was wondering if the debt collection is older debt maybe from 2023 and earlier.   Who knows?

We decided to pay (well I used my charge card) a portion of the debt.  I will pay another portion next month.   My card debt is depressing me again but I am remaining a cycle ahead for now so as long as I pay the statement balance at least I will avoid paying interest.

We're also deciding to chance not going to court.   As I alluded to before Dom is not working anymore and doesn't plan to.   So odds are they won't be able to garnish any wages since there are none.   Also Indiana is not a community property state so they can't sue me for it.   The worse they can do is freeze our joint account and his personal account.  But he barely has any money in that account and I only keep it afloat to avoid overdraft on the mortgage. Since our mortgage is tied to the same bank, I will go with the plan to open a separate savings account in my name only so I can continue to pay the mortgage easily.

On the bright side, my long suffering stock Blackberry has finally started making some strides.   The price started rising from $3.50 to well over $5 starting on April 9th.   I sold 10% of my retirement shares at $5.68.   The price has cooled back for a bit and is hovering in the $5.20 - $5.40 range but I'm hoping it'll reach another leg up by the time Q1 2027 closes which should be by end of May.   I'm holding my non-retirement shares for a higher price, ideally $10 or higher.  I've been in BB stock since May 2020 so it's gonna be six years.   So may that'll help me pay off some more of the debt.

As if I need more debt but I purchased theatre tickets for us to see the show Kinky Boots during their Saturday matinee show on June 20th.   Dom's birthday is on the 23rd.   So the show is sort of his birthday present.   We recently watched the movie again and it looks like it'll be a fun show.   So that'll be our first summer activity.    I still want to get him a popcorn maker that he'll hopefully use instead of cooking it in my steel pot.   

We were also talking about going to Dollywood this summer but I feel like that may have to wait since we're also wanting to remodeling our bedroom and get a new bed this year.    The bed will be between one to two thousand and the remodel may cost just as much.    The bedroom has ceiling panels that are falling off so it definitely needs the remodel.   I've started removing some of the panels but Dom and I need to clear out the million or so dolls that are stationed all over the room.

I'm grateful our cars are hanging on even though Tasha was hinting on wanting my car last Christmas.    But I really don't want or need another car note and I don't have enough saved for a down payment just yet.   Of course Blackberry may surprise me in 2026 which would help me greatly.    We shall see.

Fudge Covered Chicken

 Dom and I recently completed a road trip that started in Mackinac Island, continued into Frankenmuth, and concluded in Detroit.   Dom did mention in the past that he's always wanted to visit Mackinac Island and Frankenmuth.   So we decided to do just that.

I went back and forth particularly over which hotel to stay at in Mackinaw City.    It's cheaper staying off the island than on the island.    Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel for example has rooms that at minimum set you back over $1200 a night.   Maybe if Blackberry stock ever gets its act together I'll splurge on staying there.   But I'm not there yet.

So I wound up booking a room at Clarion Hotel Beachfront in Mackinaw City.   The draw to the hotel was the indoor hot tub that some of the rooms offered.   Also the hotel is off the beach which boasted a ocean side view.

The pictures made the place look appealing but the reviews did not.   Of course I didn't see all the reviews until after I booked it.   I chatted with my sister Trina who reminded me of how the hot tub jets would get grimy and lots of sludge came out of it.   She suggested I get some kind of hot tub cleaner to clean the tub prior to using it.  I tried to get a refund but it was non-refundable so I was stuck.

I took 07/18, 07/19, and 07/21 off from work to accommodate the trip.   Dom and I left Thursday mid-morning and made our way to Mackinaw City which was almost 6 hours away.   On Interstate I-196 we hit bridge construction after bridge construction.   At each point, lane travel was reduced from two lanes to one.   Of course a bunch of idiots decided to cut near the merge point.   I hate people.

Our route took us to a couple of rural back roads.   Dom was disappointed he didn't see any cows along the way though there were plenty of horses.   We finally arrived at the hotel and I quickly checked in.  Parking near our hotel building was very tight.   I managed to find one spot relatively near the building we were staying at.

We thankfully were staying on the 1st floor and I was glad there was a ramp since Dom has mobility issues now.   The room was very dated (the decor was from the 70's) and it had a very musty smell.   But we did have the ocean view.   We opened the screen door and directly by us was the beach.   We kept the door open a little bit to try and get the musty smell out.   It never really went away.

The hot tub was right next to the bed.   Originally Dom and I talked about just soaking our feet in the tub but it did not look particularly inviting.    Thankfully it was drained at least.   Also I didn't see any bugs which was a relief.

We had a lackluster dinner at a combo O'Reilly Irish Pub/Dixie Saloon.   The food was expensive and lacking in quantity and taste.   There was a family at the bar with babies and kids crying.   This is at the bar where they serve alcoholic drinks.   Needless to say if we ever make it back to Mackinaw City, we won't be going there again.

Afterwards I dropped Dom back to the hotel room while I ventured off to Mackinaw City's local casino.  It's a small casino called Odawa Casino.   There may have been 500 games in all.    It was less than a mile from the hotel so that was nice.   I didn't win any jackpots but I did like that they had some older Aristocrat games that I can't find anymore.    It was a good distraction at least.

Friday morning we just ate some snacks that we packed for our trip and then made our way to Shepler's Ferry which would take us to the island.    We just missed the current shuttle that was taking folks from the parking lot to the ship.   But it was only fifteen minutes more till the next shuttle arrived.

The ship itself had two levels, one on top and the other below.   We opted for the lower level and had our own row right at the front of the ship.   It was a quick 20 minute ride to the island.

We slowly made our way around the island, checking out random shops along the way.  I spied at least 4 different fudge shops.   Mackinac Island is famous for their fudge so I knew I would have to get some and get extra for my sisters.

Dom was holding his own.  It was a bit of a walk around the island but we eventually made our way to the Grand Hotel.   It's a $12 fee per person to go into the hotel itself but they reduce the cost of the buffet by that amount.   The hotel is amazing.   There's really no words.   The buffet was excellent as well.   It was $65 per person.   Interestingly enough they're currently having a sale if you book your stay for 2026 early.   Rooms were going for $440 a night which is a huge discount from the $1200 a night.   You would have to stay in May or June when the weather may not be as nice.    Maybe it's something I'll consider for 2027.

Dom really did love the island.   He even kept saying he wouldn't mind moving there.   

We timed it pretty good for the lunch buffet since it opened at noon and we got there at 11:45 AM.   There was a lady by the door that was part of some other group that was hosting an event there.   She kept talking like she was in charge.   Another group of ladies came in as well.   Dom earlier happened to take a picture of the ladies.    We all greeted each other once more.

So they took off, unbeknownst to us, that we had to register for the brunch.    The other lady that was by the door made a mention that we may have to register.    Dom stayed at a bench while I walked by the registration which there was a small line now.   The three ladies were ahead in the line and I couldn't help but give them the side eye.     One of them b's could've said something to us.   But it was okay.    Dom and I got a great seat by the windows and we were there early enough to enjoy the buffet.

Afterwards we walked around the outside of the hotel and then we had to make our way back to where the ship docks were.   Before going there I stopped at a couple shops to get some fudge and soap.    At one of the gift shops I spied some lilac soap that smelled nice.   Apparently lilacs is a thing in Mackinac Island.   

I purchased a couple soaps and a holder for ourselves.   As I was waiting at the register, I spied this hot beefy guy that was in the shop with his girlfriend/wife.    He stretched briefly and raised his massive arms.   While doing so I couldn't help but notice his sexy belly.   It briefly reminded me of a random memory I had when I was 12 or 13 and I went to Mackinac Island with my grandma and our church congregation.    I remember I was playing frisbee with a couple folks.   I remember having the frisbee thrown at me and it flying over my head and landing further away.    Hemingway when I ran to get it, this sexy beefy shirtless bear picked it up and he nicely handed it to me.    It was then that I cemented my attraction to bearish guys.   Obviously I was 12 or 13 at the time so nothing was going to happen there.   But the thought made me feel things inside...LOL.   

So yeah back to present time, I was admiring the beefy guy nearby.   The cashier came out eventually and I paid for my items.    As I  was leaving, he and I exchanged glances.   If only...LOL.    But it was a nice moment.  I shared the experience with Dom who got a good chuckle out of it.

I wound up stopping at two different fudge places to get fudge for my sisters and their respective spouses.    It was then time to make our way back to the ship.    We were back in Mackinaw City and then on the road to our next stop Frankenmuth.

If we do go back again, I would probably stay at St. Ignace, which is another city off the island.  I've read that the hotels are nicer there.   I believe they even have a casino as well...LOL.

So the next hotel we stayed at was the worst of the three.   It was a Baymont in Bridgeport/Frankenmuth.    We noticed how ghetto the clientele and some of the hotel staff were.   Thankfully at least we had a room with a higher toilet seat which made it easier for Dom to get in and out of.    Next door to the hotel was a Cracker Barrel.    Dom was definitely feeling the walk from earlier and wasn't up to venturing out.   It was probably for the best since I wasn't really hungry.   Cracker Barrel was okay.

Dom was still tired the next morning when we made our way to Frankenmuth.    I really wanted us to try the chicken and suggested a place to get a light pastry to tide us over till lunch.   Dom vetoed the idea though and wanted a bigger breakfast.     We wound up going to a pizzeria that also serves breakfast called T'Dubs.   I ordered an omelet with hash browns and was disappointed that the omelet was burnt in some places and the hash browns were not memorable.    Dom was tired and just wanted to stop whereever so I went along with it.

We did see the clock show at Frankenmuth Cheese Haus and he found some blackberry jam to purchase while I bought a Dubai Chocolate bar.    It was my first time buying a Dubai Chocolate bar which is all the rage on Tik Tok.   It was $17.99 bar called V-gift Pistachio.   I did enjoy the crunch and taste of the chocolate.   But it's something I would probably buy sporadically.  

Afterwards we drove a mile to the Bronner's Christmas world.   The shop sold everything Christmas.   It was a sensory overload.   It was good to experience it once I guess.    Dom wasn't overly impressed.  

Dom did ask me if I wanted to go back and get some of the famous German chicken to go that we could have at the hotel.   I thought about it but I wasn't feeling having my car smell like chicken for several days and then eating cold chicken later.     The moment had passed. 

We drove another hour and some change to our final hotel, the Hampton Inn in Madison Heights, MI.   This one wound up being the best one of the three, with the only annoying thing being our room door bouncing back and making noises every time someone slammed the stairway door which was next to our room.    I wound up putting my bag next to the door which helped reduce the noise.

Dom was not wanting to go anywhere, opting to remain in the room.   I picked up dinner at the sports bar called Twin Peaks.   Apparently the attire of the women working there is similar to Hooter's where their boobs and butts stuck out in skimpy uniforms.   I ordered some wings and a burger for Dom which we both enjoyed.

I later went to the nearby Meijer's to get some more water, plain donuts, small salads, and a Cherry Garcia ice-cream to enjoy in the room.

Sunday morning we checked out and then I drove to Trina's place and then Tasha's.   It was good for Dom to see them since it was about three or four years since he's been.    Tasha's in-laws were in town due to Abe's Grandmother passing away at 107.   I got to interact with them and deal with some crazy but that's family for you.   

We headed back home Sunday evening.   I put about 1000 miles on my car between the various stops.   It was a pretty good trip and I'm glad Dom finally crossed two more cities off his bucket list.   

Wisdom Recovery

I don't have much of an update today.

I made it through the oral surgery and I officially have my remaining wisdom teeth removed.   Dom took me on the 5th and thankfully everything went well without a hitch.    One of the positives is that I no longer have the bad taste in my mouth with the cavities.   I took off this week from work to recover from the procedure and am currently on my last day.

I thankfully haven't had a lot of pain.  I'm just trying to take it easy and I've been watching many Youtube videos on how to survive wisdom tooth extraction surgery and have been trying to follow the rules as far as steps to a quick recovery.

So that means I've been eating lots of soft foods like soup, applesauce, cottage cheese, and ice cream.   I just introduced some slightly more solid foods like peanut butter and jelly to my diet.    My plan is to ease my way back into solid foods by next week.

The time off gave me some time to write to Mitch as well.   I received a letter in the mail from him yesterday expressing concern since I hadn't written him since last August.   I didn't realize it was that much time but I do remember that he called me on my birthday.    Then my intentions were that I would write him but then life was life-ing.   So time went by.   

I'm glad that I was able to write him.   I just need to mail off the letter which I plan to do sometime this weekend.

I also had a chance to play with my stocks, hoping to get rich.   That didn't happen but I did sell one of my stocks for a 30% gain and put a portion of that towards more Blackberry stock.   LOL I swear I hope that one pays off someday.   They did recently announce that they are looking to buyback shares which will hopefully help the price go up some.

I also will work from home on Monday as well before easing my way back to my schedule which involves me walking to and from the train station.   I want to make sure my body is ready for me to resume physical activity again.

So much fun.   At least I should be ready for my concert in two more weeks.   

Zero To Shitty

 

As a support engineer, some days at work can be so crazy.    There are times when you get crazy issue after crazy issue.   The customers have little decorum at times, demanding someone reach out to them right away or else.   To top it off I still have to assist others on their own nightmares.   There are days that I'm so busy I barely get time for lunch.   

The worst is when a day that is seemingly quiet turns into what I recently coined "zero to shitty".   It's enough to make me want to scream.   When I'm in the office it's terrible because I can't even scream.  I may have an outburst but I have to keep it in check.  It sucks too since my immediate team is in Indianapolis while I'm in Chicago.

One of the shitty issues I received last Friday was from a customer who was checking on a "promised" fix to a bug that they found.   They referenced the previous case where the claim was made.   The only thing, there was no documentation proving that an investigation was made or another acknowledging the issue and scheduling a fix.   The customer had an angry tone and said they did not want to get called to ask about the issue.

I reached out to the previous engineer and his excuse was that he was a newbie at the time.   I involved my manager who reached out to that engineer's manager.    The engineer gave me a webex video of the call which helped me narrow down the issue.   I was able to repro the issue on a demo org and document the steps.  It would be a matter of me "swarming" the issue with a different channel to verify on it and create an investigation where our Research and Development team could confirm on the issue.

I then forgot that the specific issue gets handled by a different team.  I put in a "swarm" request to the dedicated channel.   The leader of the channel declared that the channel was only for those who handled that specific skill set and to transfer the case to their team.   They basically gave me an out.  Woo hoo!

So I transferred the case.   Of course I checked on the case to see who ended up with it.  Later on I saw the new owner reached out to the previous case owner and basically made them take the case.   I probably should've done the same but I hate when engineers try to pass the buck just because you may have worked on an issue a year ago.   I've had it happen to me.  I honestly may not have remembered the issue.   But in this case since the mistake made by that engineer was so blatant, maybe it was justified.   It'll definitely be a case I'll keep watching periodically to see where it goes.

In the end a lot of the issues eventually get resolved but the journey to get there is a shitty ride.   Is Blackberry stock at $20 yet?   LOL

Almost A Wrap

 My trip to Detroit thankfully was uneventful.   I was Abe's Secret Santa.   He made it easy for me by requesting several baseball caps.   He's a cap person.    Trina wound up being my Secret Santa and she got me a three month subscription to Universal Yums.   They send out a monthly box with treats from a different country.   Dom discovered the company a few years back and we enjoyed a box or two from various countries.   The box actually arrived at my home on the 24th (guess it was good that I stayed home a day) and I decided to take it with me.   She also ordered Mariah Carey's 2020 autobiography that I had on my wish list.  I started reading a bit about Mariah's early life.   She's had it rough but she managed to use adversity to eventually make a name for herself.

Tasha brought over dinner for our Christmas meal that as always was delicious.   We spent the evening watching trashy, badly acted Tubi movies.   

Eugene and I hung out for a bit grabbing lunch at Sweetgreen restaurant, an organic outfit that serves environmentally sustainable meals.   After lunch we went shopping at Nordstrom's (well I did...LOL).  I picked up a new jacket for me and some shirts for Dom.

I decided to drive back home on Saturday after stopping by the cemetery to see Mama and Papa.   Trina, Tasha, and I shipped in to get a bed of flowers for their tombstone and also a wreath for our "Grandma" and hubby as well as "Grandma's Dad" who we knew as "Uncle".  I tried to look for "Uncle" where I thought he would be but had no luck finding him.

My Sunday was spent doing laundry in the morning and then a quick trip to Meijer's in the afternoon and a side trip to Chipolte's for our dinner.

I managed to irritate my nose this morning using the CPAP machine.   I wound up going to the office even though I wished I could've stayed home.  I found myself blowing my nose and sneezing all day.  Fun times.

My New Year's Eve is going to be a quiet one.  Dom and I will keep a low profile enjoying some steak and shrimp (well I will enjoy that).   The plan is to ring in the New Year watching one of the countdowns and praying the crazy folks don't shoot bullets at our house.

It's so hard to believe 2024 is coming to an end.   I will say that I am glad that I continued to blog about various events that have happened throughout the year.   With this post I'll have made 50 entries which is 10 more than I made in 2023.   The big highlight for me workwise was getting my promotion, which was my first promotion at a job since 2006.   Work has been nutty as usual but I'm pushing my way through it best way I know how.    I was happy that Dom and I managed to take a couple trips this year, one related to my work and the other related to his hobby.   It is nice that we were able to travel together and try to enjoy life.

For 2025 I do hope I continue to work towards paying off our mortgage.   At the same time I need to start thinking about getting another car.   I hate the thought of a car note (it's been nice not having one for a couple years) but I know Dom has a hard time getting into my Passat.   I'm thinking about the mini-SUV's like the Subaru Forester or the Mazda CX-5.    There's a few other crossover SUV's that I'm looking at as well.    I'm going to have to try to juggle that with getting the mortgage paid off.   I hate to replace one bill with another but I know it's about time to think about it.   I've been blessed that my Passat has been hanging in there since March 2014.    Cars are so expensive these days as well.   We shall see.

Perhaps my stock Blackberry may help me in achieving one or both of the financial goals.   They've had some good news in recent weeks that seems to have helped the stock recover some.    Their product QNX may finally be ready to start making the stock profitable again in 2025.    They plan on featuring QNX heavily at the upcoming Las Vegas held Consumer Electronic Show on January 7, 2025.   I'm very hopeful that things will be looking up there.

Here's to a happy, healthy 2025 for us even with the uncertainty of America's future.   

Layoff Blues

Waking up on January 5th one of my first thoughts was on my Dad.   He would've celebrated his 93rd birthday on that day.  As I was waking I could hear Dom leaving the house and making his way to work.   I eventually got out of bed and headed straight to the kitchen to get some water warmed up for tea.  The day before I learned that my job had laid off 10% of their work staff.   I remember seeing the intro words of an email from my CEO as I was getting my day started.   I didn't pay much mind to it and didn't open it, opting instead to get a jump on some of the work that I needed to get done.   Twenty minutes later I see a message from a team member pop up in my Slack messenger.   I recognized the message as the same email I ignored.   This time I read it and that's when I learned about the layoff.   There was initial confusion on who all got affected.   I later learned that those affected received another email telling them of their status and that their Slack messenger was immediately deactivated.   Senior management scheduled a late evening meeting to discuss the events of the day.    It was more of a streaming event where questions weren't allowed and nothing new was learned besides what was sent in the email.  A town hall with the CEO and other senior team members was planned for the next day.

So I was logging in that day and of course the topic of the day was on the events that took place on the 4th.  I began to learn the names of some of the folks affected.   Thankfully none of my immediate team were impacted.   The town hall took place in the early afternoon.   There was a separate Slack board where employees could vent and vent they did.   Upper management danced around the questions that were being asked like who was affected, would there be more let go, what happens next.   I was simultaneously doing work (customers still needed help) while listening in on the conference and at the same time seeing a lot of venting and also getting a few vents in with a few of my immediate team.  Two hours later my head was hurting and once the conference was over, I decided to step away from my work laptop.

I, of course, am no stranger to layoffs, having experiencing my own layoff from my previous job (before Amazon and a temp consulting role...*LOL*).    That company started doing layoffs in 2007 and I managed to hang on for ten more years.   It took me forever (40 months) to find this role and I'm not even a year into it (my anniversary is on the 31st) and here I am reeling from fresh layoff news.   

Having gone through a layoff, I know that no job is secure.   Even one with a company that folks deemed is in a growing industry.   I got that reminder once more on the 4th.  That's why I've been trying so hard to save as much as I can and invest.   My ongoing goal is to become financially independent.   The fact that I saved, found temporary work at Amazon (even with the paltry salary), and thankfully got a good severance helped me weather my last layoff only needing to dip into my 401-K a month before I started my new job.

Those who were impacted by my new company's layoff will be getting 20 weeks worth of salary.   It appears to be regardless of length of time employed.   I myself got 40 weeks of salary, having earned 2 weeks of salary for every year of employment.   

I dream of being able to have enough money to not be dependent on a job and to try and enjoy life a bit more.  I still have faith in my Blackberry stock helping me get there.   It's just taking a little bit longer to realize that goal.   I received a little windfall from my Dad which has helped put a dent on my main credit card.   I felt a bit guilty taking my Dad's money (even with him being gone) but I know he would want us to use the money in a way that would benefit us.   This latest layoff is just a reminder that I need to remain steadfast to my goal.

 

The Heat, The Heat

 Toni Braxton - The Heat

Intro
Yeah
La-da-da-da-da, la, la
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Verse 1
Where's the sand, I'm set
My body? Thumping, going pitty pat
Getting tan and wet
And when I feel the beat, I lose control of it
Oh baby, I'm feeling you, I must admit
Looking tight and fit
And I imagine you and I in...

Chorus
Summer bodies shaking to the...
Music's going through ya
Can you feel the heat, the heat?
The heat is moving through your body
Temperature is rising
Can you feel the heat, the heat?

Verse 2
Sleeping in till noon
Been naughty, put bubbles in the swimming pool
Skinny dip for two
And as you feel the rhythm taking hold of you
Ooh Papi, I love it when you ooh-eeh-ooh
And I'm hooked, it's true
I imagine you and I'm in...

Repeat Chorus

This song used to be the bomb when Toni Braxton's album titled by the same name came out in 2000.   The song was supposed to depict the hot chemistry between two people that causes things to get hot.   But as I reviewed the lyrics, I couldn't help but laugh at the one line "Been naughty, put bubbles in the swimming pool".    Did the bubbles derive from some farting that was taking place in the pool?  That's definitely not sexy.   I guess as long as you're not pooping in the pool, all is good.   Maybe that's why the chlorine is needed.

Hemingway the song popped in my head due to the unseasonably hot and humid weather that's descended on Chicagoland this past week.    It's days like these that make me long for the central air I used to have in my first home.    When it reaches 100+ degrees outside, the house feels every bit of it.   I completely hate it.

Dom insisted on visiting his Mom this past weekend and wanted me to go.   I really wasn't keen on going but he kept pushing it.    At least he decided to drive this time which was almost a plus.   But his Mom's place was as miserable as ours and I couldn't get 100% comfortable, especially when I saw ants crawling freely in the home. 

While there Ava told me about a product for ants that can be placed outside to eliminate them around the home.   Something called Spectracide Ant Shield Outdoor Killing Stakes.   I honestly was not sure why she was mentioning those to me.   Maybe she's heard Dom talking to his Mom about my aversion to bugs.

I definitely do want to look into it since our area is plagued by ants and they have come inside the house as well.   I see that Terra has their own liquid bait stakes that they sell for outside.   I actually have bought the indoor ones before and they work so well that you stop seeing ants within 48 hours.   So I may purchase that one as well and start planting them along with some granules around the perimeter of the house.   Anything to keep those buggers at bay.

But anyway the heat has been so unbearable.  I feel stinky and sticky all the time.   Going into the office has been the worst as I wind up being sweaty by the time I arrive.    At least I can wash my face up a bit once I'm in the office.   Only bad thing I notice, the water reeks of the Chicago River smell.   But it makes sense since the water is coming from the Chicago River and our office is near there.

I've been noticing I've been pooping a lot more as well since it's gotten extra hot.   Dom told me that is normal when the temperature gets hot.    But I hope it stops.

Summer is definitely in full effect.   Unlike Toni's song, there's nothing sexy about this heat.   It's going to remain in effect for at least another week.   We did get a bit of relief Tuesday but the temps start rising again.

Speaking of the heat, my stock Blackberry has been heating up in the positive again.   They had an excellent Q1 2026 and their main product QNX is proving to be a short-term and long-term money winner.   Total revenue from QNX was 57.5 million which was up 8% year over year.  The price has been rising again from the ashes again as a result.   I try not to get too excited though because it seems BB just can't keep their price momentum going long.    But the company has also been buying back stock (so far they've purchased 10 million shares) which helps increase shareholder value.   I'm very hopeful that I'm in the right horse and it'll pay off in dividends by the time I near retirement.

This post is officially a milestone post.   It's my 200th post since I've started my second blog.   It's not an overly impressive number considering I started this blog in October 2011, so almost 14 years ago.  I did have a six year hiatus where I didn't blog.    However I've made a lot of positive strides since starting up again in 2021 to try and post more about my life.   It's been nice keeping track once more on my highs and lows.     Here's to another 200 posts ahead.  With the pace I'm going, I hope to get there in another 3 - 4 years (God willing).    I'm grateful to continue to have a place to share my thoughts.   Till next time.

Future State

 Omg.  I was listening to this video on Youtube and commodities expert Simon Hunt made some dire predictions for 2024 and beyond.    The main summary from the video below is the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, U.K. and United States) will experience a global economic catastrophe that will put the world in a potential depression for the next 7 years.

According to Investorpedia, a depression is a sustained and severe downturn in economic activity.   It is extreme recession that lasts more than three years.   The scary thing is that due to world wide conflicts in Taiwan, Ukraine, North Korea, and Russian, the threat of World War III may become reality before the early 2030's.

I've been really focusing on trying to pay off all of my current debt.   For the most part I've been doing great in that regards.   My only major debt is the mortgage and I've continued to pay off my cards every month w/o carrying over a balance month-to-month.    But I feel stressed from work especially with my new role of handling top severity cases.   These are the ones where the customer needs to be hand-held even more and the pressure is on to get the customer satisfied.  The stress from that alone is really getting to me and it's only my second day in the new role.

But if what the experts in that video says may pass in 2024 happens, I'm going to need to do all I can to prepare for the worst.   It truly is a scary time to be alive.   I am grateful to have been born when I was.  It may have been for the best that I didn't have any children.   I can't imagine being a young adult now trying to navigate through expensive rent and unattainable home ownership.  When I started living on my own, I was able to find a 1-bedroom in the Maryland-DC area for a little over $500 a month to rent.   A 1-bedroom today is almost three times as much.   And that is still the case even in a less than desirable neighborhood.   

When it was time for me to get a home, I was thankful to find something in the $130K range.   My same home today is Zestimated at around $260K.

The job market now is truly scary as well.  Luckily we were just coming off a recession when I graduated college back in 1994 and was able to secure my first job within two months.   I got to experience that job struggle several years back after I was laid off and my contract job ended.   I was very blessed I was able to navigate that to my current job that I'll soon be celebrating two years having.   My job is stressful but it helps to pay the bills and was part of how I was able to pay off my credit card debt.

But the fear of being laid off again always is in the air which is part of what's driving me to aggressively eliminate all my debt.   I can't help but wonder if things do become dire with the world, what will happen if I do lose my job again and it's not so easy to find another one and Blackberry stock still does not go where I hope it will.

I am also grateful that I found Dom.   Despite our differences in some philosophies, he has shown that he does truly love and care for me.   I feel the same way about him.   

While I can't control where the world economy is going, I can control my piece of it at least.   That is the plan of course.

Gimme 3 NOW!

 The place where I currently work has been continuing to crack the whip on returning employees back to the office.   A few months back upper management has been making noise about wanting folks to return to the office 3 days a week.   We were told we wouldn't have to worry about that until Oct 1st.   But apparently they want us to start coming back to the office 3 days a week effective now.

I was having my weekly one-on-one with my manager while in the office (well me in Chicago and she in Indianapolis...LOL).   She mentioned that her boss's boss pulled up a report on her team and it said that the average office rate for her team was 1.3 days.   As a result she was told that we have to effective immediately go into the office 3 days a week.   

I have been going in twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and now I have to add a third day to the mix.   My plan is to go in Wednesday this week and then I think I'll replace Wednesday with Monday go forward.   Though I may alternate between Monday and Wednesday depending on life circumstances.  I figure Mondays are crappy anyway so might as well be in the office.

But man does this blow.  I'm trying not to complain because well better this than Amazon.   At least too most of the time I can take the train and walk to the office.   The walking does give me some much needed exercise.

One of the things they say coming in the office is supposed to do is provide more team collaboration.   But in my case, almost all my immediate team is in Indianapolis so not sure what kind of collaborating I'm suppose to do since my only mode of communication with my team is via instant messaging.   If I say that though I don't want them then saying I should commute to Indianapolis.   They don't pay when I commute there now and they don't pay if I have to stay at a hotel.   I'm sure they won't pay either if it's mandated I go to Indianapolis instead.  There are a few other folks in the same circumstance living in offices near Atlanta and Boston respectively.   There are also some grandfathered folks that were hired in as fully remote employees that are not impacted.   Lucky bastards...LOL.

I have a feeling that they will push for everyone to come back 5 days a week.   There are another group of employees that are considered full office employees that are expected to come in 4-5 days a week starting Oct 1st.   Unless some of them are in an unlucky team where their average was 2.6 times a week so they have to start coming in 4-5 days immediately.

To top it off my manager had to throw in concerns from her boss that the company may be looking to do another round of layoffs.   That's so crazy to me since they've been hiring recently though most of it has been in Mexico City, Mexico where I imagine the salaries are a lot cheaper.   So supposedly going three days a week is supposed to potentially keep us off the layoff chopping block.   Except I know it doesn't work that way.    You could kill yourself to produce and they may still lay you off because you're costing the company too much to keep you.   Man, Blackberry, I need your stock to hit $15 now.  If only it worked that way...LOL.

It's so strange that except for Amazon (where I had to go to the warehouse since items aren't picking or packing remotely), I used to go in the office 5 days a week ages ago.   But thinking of going 3 days now is a major pain.   I definitely had to do the 5 days during my brief consulting role that I had for a few months in 2018.   As humans we are adaptable and I'm sure I'll get through this as painful as it is thinking about it now.    Besides as I said before, it beats the alternative.

If I Won The Lottery

 

I know I'm not alone in this.   I always fantasized what my life would be like if I ever won the lottery with a substantial amount of money.   If I won at least 20 million dollars (after taxes of course), would I quit my job?   Would I tell my family?   Sell my house and move somewhere warm?   Take the lump sum or spread out the winnings over 20 years?   How would my life change?

I've heard the horror stories about people who've won big jackpots but managed to lose it all either because of unscrupulous people (including family), bad money management (which is at the heart of it), and just not knowing what to do.   Some people even lost their lives because of those same reasons.

I definitely feel like I would not tell my sisters if I won.   I wouldn't be able to hide it from Dom but I would implore him not to tell his family either.   I would definitely opt to not make my name public.  That would mean hiring a lawyer and I believe setting up a trust and having that trust be named.   I can just imagine every Tom, Dick, and Larry coming out of the woodworks begging for a piece of the pie.

I wouldn't want my neighbors to know either which means keeping the same car or just buying a newer car that's a few years old.   I probably wouldn't quit my job right away either.   Maybe stick it out for another six months to a year and then make up a different excuse for leaving.   Thankfully age may help out here.   Ideally I would love to early retire at 55 if possible.   I'll be 52 in October so that'll only be 3 more years after that.   So I could definitely rock that excuse.   

As an aside I'm still keeping the faith that Blackberry will allow me to have that dream happen.  I also invested in a "blockchain" play that I'm hoping will blossom.   Supposedly "blockchain" is the next big thing after Artificial Intelligence.   Just hope I'm on the right trains.   Of course the bulk of my investments are in safer vehicles.   

But back to my hypothetical question.   I would probably keep the same house and if I hadn't already definitely pay off the mortgage.   That's a big thing with me and I am blessed that our mortgage is very cheap compared to the average mortgage which according to Trading Economics website is around $407,000 (as of Jan 5th).   In 2022 the Average Monthly Mortgage payment was $2,317.   Ours is definitely below average for both.   Dom had hinted that he'd love to move to London though realistically I don't know if that would be possible unless we won the lottery.   Plus that dream would have to be funded by me...*LOL*.   But if we could swing it, it actually would give us access to visit other European countries more easily.

If I won the lottery I would look into anonymously giving money to my family and include myself so suspicion would be taken off me.   I'd do the same with my current Church and of course Dom's family.  Once I quit my job I'd love to do more volunteering and again anonymous donations to different charities.    Again I do not want them knowing it came from me.   I'd like to be one of those people that when I finally leave this Earth, people would be shocked to find out I was a multi-millionaire.    Basically being "The Millionaire Next Door" blending in with the rest of the neighborhood and not standing out in any way.

Dom and I would definitely go on more trips.   We've both been blessed to have traveled to many places (together and separate) but there's so many places I have not been too that I would love to see.   There's Germany, Italy, France (which is a shame since our family has French ties), Australia, South Africa, just to name a few.   I'll admit I would worry a little bit about the house being gone but I would definitely have more cameras installed throughout to keep watch on things.

I would probably get some newer clothes and gadgets.  Eat out more and if the servers are particularly good, leaving $100 or $200 tips.   Of course I would pay off all Dom's debts as well.    Basically it would be nice to enjoy life more instead of always stressing about money.   I will say that I'm not stressing about it as much as I used to but I know that we're all just one disaster away from losing everything and having to struggle.

Basically I'd do almost everything the caller in the video I shared has done.   Some almost think the caller was a plant and he very well could be but it was so cool how they seemed to have everything planned.    He and his wife didn't even tell their two teenage kids (don't have that problem) which I definitely think is wise since they're not old enough to realize the ramifications plus as he said cleverly -- he doesn't want them to become "waiters", waiting for them to die...*LOL*.    He wants the kids to figure out what they want to do in life and work to achieve those goals.   Then once they have their jobs and lives started, sharing the news with them.    It just makes so much sense.   Now he did tell one sibling which I'm not sure I would've done.    But otherwise he seemed to do everything right.   Maybe he was a plant for the show...LOL.

But anyway it's nice to dream a little dream sometimes.   Who knows, maybe it'll come true?   Will I share it on the blog?   You'll have to wait and see.   LOL.

#$%#%#@#$&@!

 

I've been watching a YouTube couple with a channel called WealthNation for about a month now.  A lot of the tips they share about saving and investing is not really new.   But I enjoy their back and forth banter in their videos and they seem to really enjoy themselves.   The husband is actually a hottie too.  At least I assume they're married.   It's great when a couple is able to agree on things financially (like obviously WealthNation do) which is sadly not always the case.   Usually one half of the couple is a saver while the other half is a spender.   I think everyone that's read my blog(s) know which half of the equation I fall under in my current coupling.

They do say finances are one of the most important things that couples need to agree on.   It's more important than sex.   In our case the sex obviously went out the window.   So finances is really all we got to work with...*LOL*.  Things were getting a little better as Dom wasn't spending as much on his hobby and at one point, I managed to get the joint savings account to have close to $1000.   But then he started spending again and his multiple doll pre-orders starting withdrawing money from the joint account all at once and our bank (for the joint accounts anyway) started taking money from our savings to cover the overages.   In a matter of months the savings account has dwindled to under $100 and our stupid bank did the most offensive thing to cover Dom's overages.   It took the money that was paid for June's mortgage to cover the overages as well as tack on three separate $35 overdrawn fees.   To add a little more insult to injury, they then tacked a $10 late fee for the mortgage that was paid on time.    Centier is the name of the fucking bank and yes Dom ultimately has accountability in why things got the way it did.   But fuck Centier!

Now we did try to resolve things two years back by having Dom have his own separate account where he could do his hobby and transfer a portion of his paycheck to his personal account so that whatever was left in the joint could be primarily for bills which is what it should've been in the first place.   But then Centier decided to require multi-factor authentication to log into the account which fucked Dom over because he had no clue how to log into the account.   So instead of transferring some money from the joint, he started doing all his hobby stuff on the joint which led to the situation I'm ranting about today.

And of course I'm the one that's left to bail him out.  I guess I made that choice when we got together but sometimes I feel so frustrated.  He just doesn't seem to care.   And then he still talks about spending money on things even in the midst of this happening and it's enough to make me scream.   That's why I'm not feeling great about him doing early retirement potentially.   He claims that he would cut his spending but I don't believe him.   

His hobby has gotten in the way of him paying for other things, like his medical bills and car maintenance.   I'm still pissed about my own medical bills that I had to pay because I didn't have health insurance prior to getting my job (which is another rant for another time...*LOL*).

He has the nerve to get on my case whenever I decide to go to the casino.  I know 99% of the time I wind up "donating" money for them to keep the lights on.   But at least I'm not spending almost my whole paycheck at the casino which is doing for his hobby.

One positive financial thing happened at least this month.   I knocked out one of my two credit card debts.   So now I can focus on knocking the other one down.   It'll be a little harder since I'm using that card to pay my medical debt as well as making various purchases but I'm hoping putting more money into it (basically taking the money I spent to knock down credit card #1 in addition to what I currently pay on my other card) will knock my debt out or at least put a huge dent in it by this time next year at the earliest.

I really wanted to replace a few of the windows this year.   But the thought of getting more debt has delayed that.  Plus it would pretty much fall on me to get it paid for.   I will do it eventually (along with a few other house repairs) but I think I'll table it until next year when hopefully by then I put a nice dent on card #2.   Maybe Blackberry may finally pay off by then too and help me out...*LOL*.  (A brother can dream, right?)

My planned trip to San Diego in October sadly won't help the debt cause either.   But I haven't been on a plane since September 2018.   It'll be nice to take a trip again even with this crazy COVID mess we have to deal with.   So maybe September or October 2023 on the remaining credit card debt being paid off...*LOL*.

I received more sad news last Saturday when Trina texted Tasha and I to let us know that our Dad fell down in the hallway and was being taken to the hospital.    It took almost two days for him to get a room.   Trina and thankfully Tasha have been taking turns visiting him in the hospital.   I was planning to go to Detroit that weekend but wound up not going.

Dad wound up breaking two ribs in the fall.  Unfortunately his dementia has gotten worse and may have played a role in the fall.   Trina was in her bedroom when it happened so she didn't see the cause.    He's going to unfortunately have to go to what they coin a "rehab center" which in reality is a nursing home to heal up.   There's no telling how long he will have to stay there or if he'll even come home.   It may get to the point that Trina and Donovan won't be equipped to take care of him.   It's just sad all around.

I hate to know that Dad is slowly slipping away from us.  I guess it's the cycle of life and one day it'll happen to all of us.   He's lucky that he has three kids that he can fall on.   Who will have my back when my time come?

One of the things my Dad lamented about from time to time over the last decade or so is not believing that's he at the age now where he's considered an old man.   I mean when I think about it, he was 42 when I was born.   That means that when my Dad was my current age, I was only 7 years old.    It's just crazy how life goes by so quickly.

That's why I guess it is good that Dom has his hobby that he enjoys.  I just wish he thought a little more about the future as well (however bleak it may be).  Dom's already said that he wants to die first.   Life of course has no guarantees that it'll work out that way.   So perhaps that's why he's not really that concerned about saving.   At least that's how I'm trying to rationalize in my head.   That's the way the cookie crumbles.

All The E's Menses

 Eugene and I used to talk a lot about the various men that were or attempted to enter our lives.    He termed them as "menses".   We definitely had our share of craziness over the years.   We used to talk a lot more frequently but not so much since I've been with Dom.   Plus with everything going on with me jobwise I haven't really felt like talking much since every other conversation related to my situation.  I do miss our daily calls.    We have been hanging out once a year at least during New Year's Eve with another long-term friend of his who happens to be straight.   We'll see if we hang out again this New Year's Eve.

So in terms of men, Dom of course is my main man.    But since I still have that itch to scratch, I've tried to find other men for that area.   To absolutely nobody's shock I have not found that one guy that works out perfectly.

There's Tony, a mid-50's married guy about 5'11, 275 lbs. that I met for the first time one snowy Saturday evening in February 2018 when Dom was in Palm Springs.    Tony's wife, a registered nurse, was working that evening so he invited me over.   He lives out in Valpo in a nice mid-price subdivision.  There was a bit of snow on the ground and Tony was paranoid that his wife would find out so he made sure to tell me to not make too many tracks in the driveway and walk on the far edge.

So when Tony and I kissed it was very passionate.   We tongued each other down in the main hallway as our hands rubbed all over each other's bodies.    His little chihuahua was yapping in the nearby kitchen and Tony directed me to head upstairs to his bedroom where we made out some more and we sucked each other's dick.   We also tossed each other's salads before he eventually sucked me off and I jacked him off.   I'm not much of a swallower.

It was a very hot session but it would be almost two years later before we would meet again.   Prior to that he had deleted his A4A account and later recreated it again which was how we chatted.   He mentioned that one of his hookups told his wife about their encounter which of course got her upset and he deleted his account.    We met sporadically a couple more times in 2019 and maybe once or twice in COVID 2020.    But it's since petered out.    At least it was fun while it lasted.

I met Mallard one summer day in 2017 in the back lot of a restaurant.    Mallard and I initially met on Manhunt but his preferred mode of chatting was on Skype.   He best describes himself as an old, crabby, fat man.    When I met him there was a definite attraction.   I didn't find him to be as fat as he made himself out to be.   Yes he had a belly but he also seemed pretty athletic.

 Our encounter consisted of walking down a deserted street and basically stealing touches.   He'd discreetly put his hand underneath my shirt to rub my stomach.  I'd put my hand and rub his stomach and back.   We'd cop quick feels of our growing manhoods here and there.    Our walk eventually led us to a forest preserve.   When I thought it was relatively private, I tried to steal a quick kiss but Mallard wasn't feeling it.    We eventually walked back to our cars where Mallard gave me a present of several pairs of Fruit of the Loom underwear.    Oddly enough he's not the first man to give me underwear.   That distinction would go to my friend/past hookup Midas who gave me designer underwear and a speedo.

So that would be the only time we met.  Oddly enough we chat periodically on Skype where I keep falling into the cat and mouse game of trying to get him to meet up again.    But he keeps playing the "I'm old, cranky, and fat" card.    Apparently he admitted to have a lot of self esteem issues (he said that guys keep insulting him and calling him fat when he posts shirtless photos on his A4A account) and not having a lot of experiences with guys.   He's too afraid to invite anyone over as well.  I admit the game is getting old and I find myself wondering why I continue to waste my time chatting.    Was it really him I met that one time?   It was so long ago I really can't remember.   *LOL*.

Then there's Subby.   I don't remember when we met but it had to be sometime in the summer of 2018.   I didn't think we were much of a match since he's into being humiliated and tortured by a dominant guy.   Also he did not like kissing and mostly bottomed.    Nonetheless we did meet and he pretty much sucked me.   I noticed that it took me a lot longer to get hard.    Eventually he convinced me to fuck him.    He wanted me to do it without a condom but I insisted on putting on one.    And it was a good thing I did since he had a little bit of shit come out.    Needless to say that turned me off.    I quickly pulled out and threw the condom out.    He then went back to sucking me and I eventually came and thankfully he left.   I had to spray the living room afterwards since his odor still lingered.

Subby kept contacting me periodically afterwards to see if we could meet again.  I told him that I didn't think we were a match.    He reiterated how much he enjoyed himself but I told him no.    A little over two years later though I decided to give him another shot.   I was in the middle of a long man drought and was desperate when he reached out yet again.    We agreed that he would only suck me off.     So he came over one late evening after Dom went to bed.   It took me a long time to get hard.    It was a little over an hour before I finally came and then he threw up on my carpet narrowly missing my feet and socks.    Needless to say that was disgusting and it reminded me why I didn't want to see him again in the first place.   

He still tries to reach out to me.   But I know there won't be a third time no matter how desperate I am.

Maxwell was a younger black gentleman that caught my eye on A4A.   He was 29 (gulp 20 years younger than me) and a successful restaurant manager that was relocating to Northwest Indiana from Chicago.   He seemed quite mature for his age (then again I was mature in my 20's as well).   He said he was looking for someone to settle down with.   I told him about Dom and let him know that Dom was my ride or die.

We first met sometime in the summer of 2020 late evening.  I had just started taking my cybersecurity bootcamp classes.   We talked for a bit (he also had to take a call from an assistant at the restaurant) and then we started making out before eventually jacking off.

We met a couple more times and even went out to grab brunch at a local diner.   We learned a lot about each other.    It was cool learning that he also enjoyed dabbling in the stock market.    We even exchanged some stock tips.   (As an aside if anyone is still reading my blog, I implore you to check out BB.   Blackberry used to be a big player on cell phones but has since switched gears and has become a major cybersecurity firm.   They have a stake in providing security to autonomous vehicles via their proprietary software QNX.    I am convinced that they are going to be trading over $100 by 2023.)   

But back to Maxwell.   He's a pretty cool guy though I was realizing I liked him more as a friend than anything else.    His job was stressing him out big time.   He told me how he started out working as a waiter and over the next seven years worked his way to becoming a manager.    He was on the fast track to becoming overall manager of several restaurant chains.   But to save his sanity he decided to cut ties with his employer earlier this year.    We sporadically keep in touch and I hope we can develop more of a friendship.   Lord knows I don't have a lot of gay friends.

There's Daniel.   He's a bald mid 40s salesman in decent shape living near the Illinois/Indiana border in Lansing.    We chatted on the infamous A4A site.    We talked about our wants and needs.   I remember telling him about loving to kiss but how COVID was putting a damper on that.   We reassured each other that everything would be fine.    He had a "roommate" that was living with him so would have to meet at my place.

We decided to meet during the day at an unusual location.     He suggested meeting up in my garage.   It would be the first time since Rock (so that's going way back) that I made love in a garage.    And it would be a first in my garage.     So he drove up to my driveway.   Of course my neighbor from across the street happened to be outside his garage.    The neighbor was busy doing his own thing though.  Daniel came into the garage and I closed the main door.    

Things got hot and steamy as Daniel and I made out.   He was a very good kisser and we really were getting at it.    I opened my car's rear door and we made our way inside while still making out.   He eventually went for my dick and sucked me off.    Then to my surprise I returned the favor.   I admit that I am not a fan of swallowing but for some reason it felt right.   Thankfully he wasn't a big cummer so I didn't feel nauseous.    

We had a great time and met at least a half dozen more times (mostly in my basement).   We pretty much do the same thing which is fine.    But he claims to be so busy all the time so we haven't met in a while.    Such is the life for E.    *LOL*.

I've chatted with a few other guys here and there.   One is a blast from my past that never really took off.  Jamie's a short (about 5'6) stocky daddy bear that I went out with twice in the early 2010's.   He even picked me up to get my new used car (that I still drive today) in March 2014.     We lost touch after that and recently reconnected after I saw his profile on bear411.    I was interested in him but he didn't think I was.    We text here and there but haven't met up yet.    He was talking about possibly meeting up for dinner at a Middle Eastern spot the weekend after Thanksgiving.    We'll see if that happens.

Another guy that I recently chatted with was one I met on yet another social networking site called biggercity.     Ross complimented me on a photo I had where I had a yogurt moustache with a smile.   He had a great torso shot that caught my eye as well.    We've been emailing back and forth and wants to meet me.    Of course he lives outside of Indianapolis which is about two and a half hours from me.

I found out that Ross is a lifetime entertainer having owned several theatres and restaurants.  His heart belongs to New York and he sees himself moving back in the next year or so.   He had bit roles in the mid-80s in a couple of movies that starred big hitters of the time like Cheryl Ladd (of Charlie's Angels fame), Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer.    He owned those businesses with his long term partner (both business and personal) Ray.

He invited Dom and I (I still have to tell Dom about it) to a Christmas show he's starring in as Elvis in mid-December.    He's offered up his place to stay at which we would have our own guest room with private bath.   Of course if we meet I would be taking all the risk in seeing him.  If for whatever reason there isn't a connection, it would be a wasted trip aside from the show.    We're not planning on hooking up during that time though.

So those are the main guys that I've interacted with over the last six years.   Of course I met a few one offs and major assholes as usual.    There's this other guy Harry I recently met that is nice but I'm not 100% attracted to him.    He's not the greatest kisser either.   But he is a top which is so rare for me to find so for now I'll keep him.    But ideally I would like to find one or two guys I can meet regularly to scratch that itch while I still have it.    I know my sexual years will decline eventually so have to enjoy it while I can.