Diary #433

Here’s another month whooshing by, and my brain still hasn’t quite recovered from summer yet.  But I managed to break out of my inertia a little, starting a couple of projects I’ve been putting off for a while (such as a new and much-longer-than-usual story which I hope to have ready for your reading pleasure before Halloween).  Grace and Chekhov have been finishing up a number of projects at Sunset (such as re-waterproofing roofs just in time for the rainy season), and on Saturday Grace sent me the materials estimate for the floor-leveling project, which doesn’t look nearly as bad as I had feared.  It would be kinda nice if we could finish at least one aspect of this relocation for dramatically less money than expected; the initial estimate from contractors for the repair was $20,000, but Grace’s estimate is only about $5000-$7000, largely because A) no extra labor cost, and B) no profit margin.  That would be especially great, because by a shitty coincidence the move itself cost me $20,000 more than expected.  And once the floor is fixed, she can get working on the bookshelves I’ve been wanting for the past 16 years.  Ah, well; patience, they say, is a virtue.  I wouldn’t go that far, but it’s certainly a survival skill.

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Diary #432

Back in July regular reader (and gift-sender) Robin Aguilar sent me this lovely bodysuit, which I promised to model when it got cooler (and y’all know I always keep my promises); I think it suits me, don’t y’all?  Together with a pair of brown jeggings and knee-high black leather boots, the effect was (judging by the reactions of people I met) pretty striking.  Then on Wednesday of last week, Nattie Roman generously sent me a table sander that Grace asked me to put on the wishlist; if you don’t understand why I’m adding so many tools for her over the past year, you probably want to read this coming Friday’s column.  Last week also saw the release of episode 67 of Thaddeus Russell’s Unregistered podcast, in which he talks to Matisse and me together; it is definitely not to be missed!  And speaking of media, it won’t be much longer before my documentary The War on Whores is ready for release; when that happens, I’ll be asking my fans across the country to help set up screening events, at which I’ll introduce the film and answer questions.  So keep your eyes peeled for that, and remember that if I’m in your city for some other reason you can see me at the same rate as if I were in Seattle, without any higher minimum time for travel.  Doesn’t that make you want to help me set up screenings?  That’s what marketing people call an “incentive”, but given my fondness for a certain animal motif, maybe “temptation” would be a better word.

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Diary #431

Last week was another busy one, though slightly slower than the past few; I’m definitely not complaining, because it gave me a little space to catch back up!  I think my brain is starting to catch back up from the summer; I’ve found myself sleeping more and later lately, which is definitely a good thing.  All of our repairs and improvements at Sunset are coming along fine, and I’ve added some more tools and things that Grace wants to my Amazon wishlist; she’s also been replacing a lot of the stuff lost in the move by finding good deals on Craigslist, which is where I also plan to get our hot tub when the time comes to start on my bathhouse project (probably in the spring).  And thanks to the commitment of a generous gentleman, I should have enough to get the floor fixed and build the bookshelves I want before then!  So all in all, I’ve been in a pretty good mood lately, so much so that I bought these sparkly unicorn cakes when I saw them at the local bakery store, because I am a grown-ass woman and I can eat Little Debbie Sparkly Unicorn Cakes if I want to.

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Back Issue: September 2015

We are living in the past of Fahrenheit 451, the early stages of a culture which values feelings above thought, the history of a world in which the solution to any troubling idea is to eradicate it.  –  “Moral Climate”

These back issue columns are becoming so short now!  After the occasion columns (for Mabon and Banned Books Week); the guest column (“A Client“); the harlotography (“Thargelia“); the fictional interlude (“Little Girl Found“); and the Q&A columns (“Social Disease“, “Once a Client“, “Off Limits“, and “The Spirit is Willing“), the only ones left to mention are “Whore Nation” (the growth of unified sex worker activism in the US), “Time Warp” (the weirdness of prohibitionist news stories), and “It Had To Happen” (my first missed column).  I’m starting to think of ways to expand this feature so as to make it more interesting; I’ll keep you posted.

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Diary #430

Once again, another week so busy I barely had time to think, and considering the way my thoughts tend to go that’s really a good thing.  Jae spent most of the week at Sunset (a lot of it fussing over Shiloh) and I spent a lot of it doing paying work, though on Wednesday I took a retired friend to dinner, and on Thursday I was a guest on Tina Dupuy’s Sirius XM show again, then later that evening Lorelei and I enjoyed our first Who night since January (though we really don’t want it to take that long again before the next one!)  On Friday Chekhov came into town and treated me to dinner, then on Saturday we had a housewarming (actually an incall warming) for Koi and Ivy; it’s always nice to get to socialize with a big group of whore friends, and Seattle has a community like no other in that respect.  Finally, on Monday, Matisse and I appeared together on Thaddeus Russell’s Unregistered podcast; I’ll let you know about it as soon as it’s released.  Anyhow, that’s all for now; it was a good week in almost every way, but too many like that and I’d get so far behind on my writing I’d never catch up!

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Diary #429

A couple of my readers have correctly observed that it’s been a while since I posted a nude selfie, so here’s one from August 30^th.  I apologize for the delay in getting out The Essential Maggie McNeill; I ran out of steam during the Dog Days (as so often happens), and I’m not quite back up to snuff yet (though I’m getting there).  I’ve also had a lot of paying work lately, and obviously that has to take priority.  On top of that, I’ve been spending more time with a generous gentleman who has decided to move from regular client to patron, and I had the rare treat of two visits from Ghost Rider in a single month!  He chastised me a bit because I haven’t flown lately, and I assured him I’d do so pretty soon; right now I’ll definitely be in Los Angeles in March and Chicago in May, and I’m thinking about New York in early November.  So if you’re in any of those places, or you’d like to book me for an overnight anywhere in the country (a shorter date than that might possibly do if you’re west of the Rockies), please do let me know!  Paul Johnson tells me my documentary, The War on Whores, is almost done; pretty soon I’ll be looking for help in booking screenings for it, so if you think you can help arrange such a screening I’ll soon be letting you know how you can do that.  I think that’s all I have to say for now, but hey, if I’m wrong it’ll just have to wait for next week.

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Diary #428

I really like sharing my nice things with those who appreciate them.  That includes the fresh eggs my chickens are churning out at a truly stupefying rate, which I’m sharing with my friends and neighbors; it also includes space on my Amazon wishlist, which sometimes contains things for Grace to use in working to fix up Sunset, like the miter saw table sent to me this week by the extremely generous  Square Peg!  I also received a new can opener and one of my favorite varieties of tea from Akalalalalamala.  Thank you both so much!  I’ve asked Jae to make a list of things I should get for Shiloh, because she is a pretty pony and therefore needs pretty pony stuff; if you’re of a mind to give me stuff like that, please keep an eye on my wishlist over the next week or two.  Also, have a listen to the most recent episode of Thaddeus Russell’s podcast, in which Thad interviews Joshua Childress, who resigned from the US Border Patrol after listening to the previous episode of the same podcast featuring yours truly.  At one point he tells Thad, “Maggie McNeill has more courage than I will ever have. She’s my hero.”  And that kind of testimonial, y’all, is exactly what gives me the strength to keep doing this.

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