Finally, back in Minnesota!

Good day, Steemit! It feels great to dedicate my time to writing again. Currently, I’m at 35,000 feet flying over Colorado. Just leaving Vegas, finally returning to Minneapolis after a long two week weeks on the road. Viva Las Vegas and my preceding dates in LA have become most of my annual income. Year long, I take bookings and live off of the deposits. Sometimes I take more than I should. This year, it seemed almost impossible for me to accomplish, what ended up being, 33 shoots in 12 days. It’s a blessing to side-step a nine-to-five job in my 30’s [...especially considering the nature of my career]. It’s even better to spend most of the year with @kommienezuspadt and @guthrie. VLV, though, in April is when I finally have to pay the piper.

“Paying the piper” also means I make a shitload of money. The deposits are spread out over an entire year [...bookings typically begin right after Viva Las Vegas ends]. During the actual Rockabilly Weekend [...and the dates in LA], I make the second half of those shoots in under two weeks. Fortunately, this trip coincided with the tail end of the long market correction we’ve been feeling since February, which gave me the opportunity to buy more STEEM and other tokens I have faith in. As of this writing, that was a good decision as we’ve been green across the board for days.

Whenever I return from these trips, I tend to do elaborate “...this is what I did while I was gone” posts, and this is no exception. Highlights include being reunited with some of my favorite friends and models like Miss Victory Violet, Micheline Pitt and Rachel Sedory for a new La Femme En Noir shoot, Ellie Doll and of course, the Dark Pinup book release party hosted by my publisher, @wcpublishing that saw incredible burlesque performances by @masuimimax, @dressedtokillyou @@@roxidlite and Jessabell Thunder. That’s all coming, but for the next few lines, I wanted to mention the things I’m looking forward to, rather than the things that’ve already happened.

I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed. I’ve stayed in some beautiful hotels these last few weeks. For once, this trip didn’t have me couch surfing or sleeping on floors. I’m grateful for that, but there’s something indescribably satisfying about laying in your bed after a long trip. I’m so excited to see @vermillionfox and @guthrie. They both marched on after I left, dealing with 18” of snow [...thanks @bryanpollite, for digging them out of the blizzard]. Minnesota is in the 60°’s right now, I’m coming home with enough money that we can do whatever we’d like. Parks, movies, restaurants, zoos. Family time is far long overdue.

Dominara, the new expansion for Magic: The Gathering in Standard is releasing in three days. If you’re not in to MTG, you probably won’t understand the enthusiasm, but these games and the people I play with at @caffetto are a big part of my life. @vermillionfox has been updating me with her wins and losses and it’s really made me sad I couldn’t be there. Magic is the only thing I do for recreation in my life and two weeks without makes @kommienezuspadt a dull boy. Within days of being home, a new set will arrive [...and Dominara looks really good! I wasn’t impressed with Ixalan or Rivals of Ixalan]. I can’t wait to start playing again. Be warned @iamredbar @flaccidfervor and @tarotbyfergus.

A quick note before I wrap up this high altitude blog post. Thank so much, from the bottom of my heart, for those Steemians that’ve purchased a copy of “Dark Pinup”. This was a labor of love for me and @wcpublishing and I’ve felt a special relationship with the books relationship to Steemit. Steemit literally paid for much of the release party expenses [...which were significant]. I’ve also spent the last two years telling the stories behind most of the pictures in the book. Seeing posts like @bryan-imhoff’s, @reinhard-schmid’s and @eveuncovered’s gorgeous review of it’s pages, really touched me. The support for this book has been incredible. Thank you!

Thanks for reading, and bearing with the two weeks I’ve been unable to post while on the road. I’m back now, and looking forward to sharing all the new work and stories from Viva Las Vegas and LA. You can follow me here @kommienezuspadt!