Helpful hints for getting away

How to survive a kink event
The new year is coming quickly, and for me, that means that I’m looking forward to all my favorite events in 2009.
From Chicago to Washington DC to NYC to San Francisco and beyond, there are at least three or four kink / sex positive events every weekend to choose from. Running away from the “vanilla” world for a weekend to cavort and learn with a hotel full of kinky people is a delicious idea, but keep in mind that it’s not just a vacation - it’s an adventure in energy-, money-, and time-stretching that isn’t for the faint of heart! Here are some of my own observations and rules that I use for event attending for your perusal; if you have more, I’d love to know about them, too, so I can wring even more enjoyment out of my weekends away!

1. Acknowledge that you can’t do everything, and that you are under no obligation to make it to every class or special event you want to go to. Give yourself permission to skip something - or a few somethings.

2. Take time out for down time. Afternoon or post-dinner naps are amazingly restorative, even if you just lay there watching the hotel TV like a zombie for an hour. I personally recommend scheduling longer, and starting off with great sex prior to your nap, but your mileage may vary!

3. Eat appropriate food. Pop tarts and Cheez Doodles may not be the best options for breakfast and lunch, especially when you’re stressing your body out by staying away from home with 800 of your BFF’s and sleeping four hours a day while kissing everyone in the vicinity and trying to figure out whether that hot, sexy thang was just being nice or was really flirting with you and whether you should hit on them later at the party.

4. Go away for a bit. Whether it’s a movie on the TV in your hotel room, a walk through a nearby park, or soaking in a bath tub and reading a novel, some time where you’re awake and not immersed in kinky concepts can go a long way towards helping to not burn out.

5. Take a sanity kit of toiletries & accessories. Mine includes:

Earplugs to block external noises (like rowdy hotel hall wanderers, snoring roommates, and the construction across the street)
Health-supporting substances - zinc, multivitamins, vitamin c (bonus if it’s emergen-c packets), echinacea, arnica (for bruises), tylenol, tums, allergy meds, decongestants, sunblock (especially for events with large out-of-doors components).
Lube. Even if you rarely need it.
Extra condoms.
A spare cell phone charger.
Extra hotel-sized bar of soap
Extra hotel-sized bottle of lotion
Business cards with at least your name & email address. Give them out & skip the search for a pen in your pocket to write your info down on a scrap of paper which will accidentally end up in the trash, anyhow.
Teddy Bear (mine is named Stuart)

Read the rest here: http://sarahsloane.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/how-to-survive-a-kink-event/