Day 20~ Last Day of SF Pride (Sun, 29th)
woke up in pain… my right leg/knee was sore as HELL and I was out of Ibuprophen, so I downed Excedrine migraine for lack of anything else. I pulled out the arnica (I am SO glad I brought that stuff) and rubbed it into every muscle that was sore on my leg. I remembered that in the Civic Center square Ali and I had boogied our butts off to music where a bunch of folks were dancing and some black kids were saying "Go white gurl, go white gurl!" Between that and the walking and marching… my poor leg didn't really have the time to recover from hurting from the whole fallen arches thing… what is that quote?
"When I die I want to be thoroughly used up…" Oh yes, George Bernard Shaw. He also has another one that helps me to endure that my body cannot always do as my mind and spirit wishes:
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy." ~GBS
Am I not doing this very thing?
So I did what I knew I could and I had promised my body the night before that I would give it at least one good meal. I had walked past a IHOP on the corner next to the Sheraton. Ali joined me there for breakfast and we stumbled upon more differences in language, oatmeal is called Porridge in England. Also there is a difference between fruit salad and melons with grapes. To her fruit salad has much more variety like strawberries, kiwi and bananas… I ate half the breakfast and asked for a to-go box for the rest. They had these awesome carrot cake pancakes I fell in love with. So one pancake, bacon, and leftover hash browns were stored away and I hugged Ali and thanked her for her showing kindness to me and giving me a place to sleep. She said that she knew what it was like to be let down and was happy to help. I gave her one of my cards and hopefully I have a new British pen pal.
Turned out that the bus I needed was at the opposite corner. I called Sunny to see if there was any word about what had happened to Jodi. Turns out that she did have some seizures earlier in the week, but BUT… that she decided to go to a different Pride than San Fran for the weekend and not return my phone calls apparently… well… no question of shmuckdom then… she is a shmuck. Debbie and Sunny feel I am too nice. Perhaps I am. But I also know each of us struggles against our own personal demons. Jodi is no different. I intimidate her. I know this, she has told me. So I can reason that she found it too emotionally difficult to gather her courage and tell me she wasn't coming. All of that aside, it was still a lousy thing to do to someone who you claim is a friend.
The woman at the Library in Atlanta called me back. Her name is Julia. She found a woman who is willing to put me up for the night since I am low on funds. I will be spending the night on July 3rd. So the night I arrive in Atlanta, July 2nd, I still need to find a place to sleep. Of course should Jodi not show in Atlanta I might also be out 3 days with no place again, but I am trying to find a place with couchsurfing.com I trust the universe, the Divine, my Beloved, will help me out as She/he has this weekend.
On the bus back to Market I thought about how exciting all of this trip has been. I got off at the street and headed to the noises of the parade, the Dykes on Bikes were passing down the streets which were so packed there was no way I could see anything. I found a light post where I could barely scramble upon for brief moments to see a bit here and there. My poor feet were just not able to do it and I eventually gave up, and walked back to the Civic Center. I sat down and ate my leftovers, because I had burned up a good deal of calories going up and down on that light poll. I did get a few shots, but I missed seeing Cindy Lauper. I knew she was supposed to be on the main stage in the Civic Center, so I made my way over there. I got right up to the fence at the front of the stage. Charro was supposed to be there and she no showed and along with Cindy Lauper. Margaret Cho DID show up. The crowd gave her a thunderous applause, more so than locals, and others who had done so much for the event. It really made me think about the power of famous figures. Public figures, and how even in THIS city, the most well known of all GAY cities, that she could elicit such a strong response. Then again, strong applause is not an indicator of strong action. It gave me a lot to think about. I also saw that one of my myspace friends was going to be on the main stage!!! I didn't know she was famous! Lol Her name is Melange Lavonne, she is a lesbian who does Christian Rap.
The most amazing performance were the cheer squads!!! WOW. I mean I really enjoyed Bring It On 1 & 2, but to see it for real was completely amazing. The San Fran Cheer squad was the best of all of them. I took some pictures but the timing of the camera shutter wasn't great. I'm realizing that I really need a new camera.
I needed to do 2 things, 1)get off my feet (I was at the main stage for 2 and a half to 3 hours) and 2) call Debbie back. I tried to go to the library (turns out it was closed for the festival.) So I stood next to the wall and called her. As I was on the phone Mike and Kathleen practically walked straight toward me. The Godincidents are amazing on this trip.
So I got to meet Kathleen's mom and her partner. Mostly I sat with her mom as everyone else went off to explore, go get food etc. She is also pagan and has seen a lot in her life. Kathleen had told her about my situation with Jodi and she handed me a $20 and told me to get something for myself. There was this one booth that had taken sarongs and made these cool shirts out of them, so I got one for myself. It was the only thing I really wanted. The Universe is so generous and amazingly good to me. It really reminded me of my grandmother, Nan. She would do the same thing and called it Mad Money.
Mike returned with a stick of teriyaki chicken for me and other stuff for everyone else also. After eating and resting we all got up and went wandering, shopping, etc.. At some point we each went in our own directions and agreed to meet up at the elder space in the center. I found a street that had booths today, that were not there yesterday. There was also a BDSM street. There were booths and even a demonstration area where this guy was getting whipped by a mistress. Another area was sectioned off and I didn't feel like waiting in line for it. So I made my way back to the heart of the civic center, enjoying wearing my new shirt.
I had worn my rainbow beaded tie I got from Las Vegas. I got tons of compliments for it. Several people asked me where I bought it. I saw this one cute Asian chick who had the only tie like mine and she also got it in Las Vegas. I got a picture of her and I together. Stich was on my back taking in the sights and he got compliments and comments everywhere also. It was so much fun!
So after Meeting back up we headed for the BART. Kathleen's mom has to use a cane to walk and the station was packed. We left the 2 of them there to make their way back to the hotel. Kathleen, Mike and I took the train 2 stations back to find one that wasn't like sardines where we would be able to get a seat. Needless to say it took a lot of time and there were 20 minutes between trains. So I was late getting the BART to Fremont, so Mike drove me to Gwenny's house. I swear I was so tired I fell asleep in the elevator in Mike's building.
I did a little when I got back, but I went to sleep before 9pm… exhausted, but as George Bernard Shaw would say "the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap."
"When I die I want to be thoroughly used up…" Oh yes, George Bernard Shaw. He also has another one that helps me to endure that my body cannot always do as my mind and spirit wishes:
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy." ~GBS
Am I not doing this very thing?
So I did what I knew I could and I had promised my body the night before that I would give it at least one good meal. I had walked past a IHOP on the corner next to the Sheraton. Ali joined me there for breakfast and we stumbled upon more differences in language, oatmeal is called Porridge in England. Also there is a difference between fruit salad and melons with grapes. To her fruit salad has much more variety like strawberries, kiwi and bananas… I ate half the breakfast and asked for a to-go box for the rest. They had these awesome carrot cake pancakes I fell in love with. So one pancake, bacon, and leftover hash browns were stored away and I hugged Ali and thanked her for her showing kindness to me and giving me a place to sleep. She said that she knew what it was like to be let down and was happy to help. I gave her one of my cards and hopefully I have a new British pen pal.
Turned out that the bus I needed was at the opposite corner. I called Sunny to see if there was any word about what had happened to Jodi. Turns out that she did have some seizures earlier in the week, but BUT… that she decided to go to a different Pride than San Fran for the weekend and not return my phone calls apparently… well… no question of shmuckdom then… she is a shmuck. Debbie and Sunny feel I am too nice. Perhaps I am. But I also know each of us struggles against our own personal demons. Jodi is no different. I intimidate her. I know this, she has told me. So I can reason that she found it too emotionally difficult to gather her courage and tell me she wasn't coming. All of that aside, it was still a lousy thing to do to someone who you claim is a friend.
The woman at the Library in Atlanta called me back. Her name is Julia. She found a woman who is willing to put me up for the night since I am low on funds. I will be spending the night on July 3rd. So the night I arrive in Atlanta, July 2nd, I still need to find a place to sleep. Of course should Jodi not show in Atlanta I might also be out 3 days with no place again, but I am trying to find a place with couchsurfing.com I trust the universe, the Divine, my Beloved, will help me out as She/he has this weekend.
On the bus back to Market I thought about how exciting all of this trip has been. I got off at the street and headed to the noises of the parade, the Dykes on Bikes were passing down the streets which were so packed there was no way I could see anything. I found a light post where I could barely scramble upon for brief moments to see a bit here and there. My poor feet were just not able to do it and I eventually gave up, and walked back to the Civic Center. I sat down and ate my leftovers, because I had burned up a good deal of calories going up and down on that light poll. I did get a few shots, but I missed seeing Cindy Lauper. I knew she was supposed to be on the main stage in the Civic Center, so I made my way over there. I got right up to the fence at the front of the stage. Charro was supposed to be there and she no showed and along with Cindy Lauper. Margaret Cho DID show up. The crowd gave her a thunderous applause, more so than locals, and others who had done so much for the event. It really made me think about the power of famous figures. Public figures, and how even in THIS city, the most well known of all GAY cities, that she could elicit such a strong response. Then again, strong applause is not an indicator of strong action. It gave me a lot to think about. I also saw that one of my myspace friends was going to be on the main stage!!! I didn't know she was famous! Lol Her name is Melange Lavonne, she is a lesbian who does Christian Rap.
The most amazing performance were the cheer squads!!! WOW. I mean I really enjoyed Bring It On 1 & 2, but to see it for real was completely amazing. The San Fran Cheer squad was the best of all of them. I took some pictures but the timing of the camera shutter wasn't great. I'm realizing that I really need a new camera.
I needed to do 2 things, 1)get off my feet (I was at the main stage for 2 and a half to 3 hours) and 2) call Debbie back. I tried to go to the library (turns out it was closed for the festival.) So I stood next to the wall and called her. As I was on the phone Mike and Kathleen practically walked straight toward me. The Godincidents are amazing on this trip.
So I got to meet Kathleen's mom and her partner. Mostly I sat with her mom as everyone else went off to explore, go get food etc. She is also pagan and has seen a lot in her life. Kathleen had told her about my situation with Jodi and she handed me a $20 and told me to get something for myself. There was this one booth that had taken sarongs and made these cool shirts out of them, so I got one for myself. It was the only thing I really wanted. The Universe is so generous and amazingly good to me. It really reminded me of my grandmother, Nan. She would do the same thing and called it Mad Money.
Mike returned with a stick of teriyaki chicken for me and other stuff for everyone else also. After eating and resting we all got up and went wandering, shopping, etc.. At some point we each went in our own directions and agreed to meet up at the elder space in the center. I found a street that had booths today, that were not there yesterday. There was also a BDSM street. There were booths and even a demonstration area where this guy was getting whipped by a mistress. Another area was sectioned off and I didn't feel like waiting in line for it. So I made my way back to the heart of the civic center, enjoying wearing my new shirt.
I had worn my rainbow beaded tie I got from Las Vegas. I got tons of compliments for it. Several people asked me where I bought it. I saw this one cute Asian chick who had the only tie like mine and she also got it in Las Vegas. I got a picture of her and I together. Stich was on my back taking in the sights and he got compliments and comments everywhere also. It was so much fun!
So after Meeting back up we headed for the BART. Kathleen's mom has to use a cane to walk and the station was packed. We left the 2 of them there to make their way back to the hotel. Kathleen, Mike and I took the train 2 stations back to find one that wasn't like sardines where we would be able to get a seat. Needless to say it took a lot of time and there were 20 minutes between trains. So I was late getting the BART to Fremont, so Mike drove me to Gwenny's house. I swear I was so tired I fell asleep in the elevator in Mike's building.
I did a little when I got back, but I went to sleep before 9pm… exhausted, but as George Bernard Shaw would say "the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap."