This weekend we’ll be scrambling to get our camper ready for our first trip of the season. There isn’t a ton of things to do. We have to change some batteries, get all the bathroom and kitchen things back in it and make the bed. Then we’ll have to figure out what food we want to bring with us. We tend to eat out a lot so it’s mostly breakfast things.

More importantly, I’ll have to find my camper torture kit. I fill a duffel bag with paddles, Velcro and various assorted toys so we can play on the road. I’m sure Lion has mixed feelings about the torture kit. He likes to play until it’s actually time to play and then he isn’t so sure anymore.

In the past I’ve been very lax about camper play. This summer I’m going to try to do better. We both tend to slack off on trips. I’m also lumping punishment in that statement. I let Lion get away with a lot. I was even thinking of having him bring his Hawaiian shirt along in case he needs to be reminded of who’s in charge. If you remember, I got him the shirt to wear as punishment. It’s not something he would normally wear. Actually he’s never worn it but that’s mostly because it really makes him stand out and I figure it’s more suited to vacations.

If you’re out and about Memorial Day weekend and you see someone in a blue, flamingo print shirt, nod at him to let him know you know he’s gotten himself into some trouble. He may also have red buns but we won’t be showing those off.

A new level of control has been added to my life. Mrs. Lion has been my lion tamer. She controls most aspects of my life. Her paddle and other disciplinary tools are teaching me to be well behaved and obedient.

After my shoulder surgery last spring, I’ve been inactive and have had to severely restrict activity that includes my right shoulder. My physical therapists recommended that I start working to regain my strength and physical endurance. To do this, I hired a personal trainer. She is in charge of restoring my strength. She is in control of my physical training.

We had our first session yesterday. It was spent with her assessing my current fitness. It isn’t very good. She is positive that I will improve. I sure hope so. Fortunately, she doesn’t spank me if I don’t meet her expectations. I’m sure that idea never occurred to her.

Like my taming, training will be gradual. It will take a lot of time to make up for the losses caused by the surgery and recovery. I have to admit that I’m discouraged. I don’t know what I expected, but based on my woeful performance yesterday, fitness is a long way off.

Like taming, training will require me to acquire new habits. Just as I learned to never masturbate, I will have to learn to work out as second nature. If I hadn’t made all the behavioral changes for Mrs. Lion, I wouldn’t believe I could make fitness part of my life. I never imagined I would never masturbate again. I was sure that I would find a way to jerk off now and then. But I haven’t. I’m amazed.

If a behavior as primal as masturbation can be extinguished, then making an exercise program integral to my life should be easy. All it takes is firm control. Wearing a chastity device provided the control that taught me not to masturbate. Having a trainer who will make sure I follow my fitness routine should have a similar effect.

I’m willing to be tamed even if it is sometimes painful. I’m not sure that I feel the same way about training. Perhaps my tamer will assure that I do.

New England Patriots vs New Orleans Saints preseason game 1, August 9, 2012.

Today is the Super Bowl. We hate both teams. It’s not an uninteresting game like it would be if Kansas City were playing Miami, as an example. We don’t care about either of those teams. Today’s game is about choosing the lesser of two evils. And to us, they are both evil.

Lion and I like the same football team: the New York Giants. They’re in the same division as the Philadelphia Eagles. As required, we hate the other teams in our division. However, Lion hates the Eagles more than the other two teams. I hate the Cowboys more. We both agree that the New England Patriots are a cheating team that deserves to lose. But here’s where the “problem” lies. Lion hates the Eagles so much he’s considering rooting for the Patriots. I hate the Patriots so much I’m considering rooting for the Eagles. It leaves a bitter taste in both our mouths.

I was contemplating some sort of punishment system so Lion would get swats for every point the Patriots score if he does actually root for them. The issue with that is they could keep scoring and Lion’s butt could be bloody. And it’s not something he can control anyway. It’s not fair to punish him for something he has nothing to do with. It would be like punishing him for every time someone cut me off on the road. No, that’s not a good system. I will, however, be keeping an eye out for spilled food or his interrupting. That’s a given. Those are actual rules.

I think we’ll just watch the game and complain about both teams. We’ll enjoy the commercials and ignore the halftime show. We’ll eat our traditional nachos. And when the game is over, the most hated team will have won. No matter who it is.

[Lion — I think it might be fun to make the Superbowl a sort of spanking game. We never play sexy games. Getting swatted every time the time I don’t root for scores a point will provide some stake in a game that neither of us feels we have. If I root for the Patriots (shudder), a swat for each Eagle point could be fun, especially if they are administered at the time the points are scored.]

[Mrs. Lion — I’ve reconsidered the parameters. Lion will get swats whenever either team scores and whenever a flag is thrown.]

I’ve been thinking about a new rule for Lion. It may even break into two rules depending on how it works out. There are actually two issues. Both involve TV.

In general, Lion watches what Lion wants to watch. I let him. In the past I’ve gone to play games on my computer while he watches shows he likes to watch that I don’t like to watch. He doesn’t like when I leave him alone like that so I’ve been staying with him and just not really paying attention to the show.

The problem is that there are shows I like to watch that Lion doesn’t like to watch. So I don’t watch them. There are some things on our DVR that I wanted to watch so I recorded them, but I don’t get a chance to watch them. The few times I’ve watched something I like that he doesn’t, he leaves the room. I don’t mind. If he doesn’t like the show he shouldn’t sit through it. But it does seem like a double standard that he can leave and he doesn’t like when I leave.

I don’t want this to be a bigger deal than it is. It’s obviously not killing me that I can’t watch those few shows. It’s just an annoying thing. Having said that, Lion has announced that he doesn’t want to watch the Super Bowl because he hates both teams. Me too! But what if I want to watch? P.S. I’m watching whether he does or not. [Lion  – Actually, I do want to watch the Super Bowl. I just don’t like either team.]

That was the minor issue. The other issue is when he tells people on TV that they’re idiots. He knows they can’t hear him so that’s not the problem. It usually happens when he doesn’t like a show as much as I do. Or when he’s making fun of local newscasters. No, we aren’t in New York City anymore and the talent here is not as good. But also, the NYC newscasters screw up from time to time too.

We both make fun of commercials but when Lion makes comments in the middle of a show it’s distracting. And, more importantly, it’s just not good Lion behavior. A rude Lion should be punished. Right? Right.

So the two changes to Lion’s rules are thus: I should get to watch shows I want to watch with minimal push back from him. And he should be punished for rude remarks he makes at the TV. (He has a similar rule that is not often enforced. He should get punished for rude remarks he makes to fast food workers and anyone else he encounters in public.)

This should keep both of us busy for a while.