Pride 2012
Not that anyone is still paying attention, but....
Long time readers will know that Pride is not exactly my sorta day. For a variety of reasons, but mainly I just felt like it conveyed a sense of "gaystream" that presented an idyllic and comodified gay identity, where there wasn't really room for someone like me who listened to punk rock and had gotten over the whole Abecrombie & Fitch thing much quicker than anyone else. So, Pride has never been a big deal to me. Just an excuse to see my friends. I went out a bit for Saturday night's pink party, but because Andrew was having an informal gathering at his place. It was much better looking out over the crowd than being down in it. I was home by 12:30. Sunday, Chrissy and I had just said that we were going to meet up that day, for the Occupride Activities; yep, that's a thing that exists. So I woke up a bit early. We didn't get up quite early enough to do the parade with them, but there was a small meeting in the Tenderloin at the site of the Compton's Cafeteria riots of 1996. And actually, I didn't know my local queer history as well as I thought I did, because I had never heard of this pre-Stonewall bit of history.
Anyway, so here we are on the street, having a little forum. And, let me just say - so that I don't sound too fickle - I love the community spirit, I love the inclusiveness, I love the fact that people remember that the protest doesn't end when you put your sign down. But some of these people are...well, unrealistic. But, I enjoyed the experience of being in, as Chrissy would say, an all queer space. I mean, what can I say, I've got a genderqueer primary lover...that's enough for club membership, right? I kid, I kid.
We headed out from that forum, and walked our back towards the main Pride festivities, and the difference between the two spaces had really been almost a bit of sensory overload. Suffice to say that we were even less enthusiastic about being in the main festivities. But along the way we had a discussion (well, I kinda had a monologue) about Occupride, partisan politics, and the way the world works. We don't agree on everything, but we've never that far apart. Most of all, I just appreciate hearing his views because he comes from such a different place, and looks at things that I might not even think to look for.
So we headed back to my place around four in the afternoon. We learned "Lonely Boy" by the Black Keys and did an acoustic/electric version of it. I usually play bass while Chrissy plays guitar, so this was a fun little mixup, although I'm a bit rusty on guitar. We watched "Where the Wild Things Are" as well, which he had never seen. I for one really liked it; although I think that, being a Spike Jonze movie, it probably resonated better with my generation. I suspect that us so called "millenials" liked it in greater proportion than either younger, or older audiences.
Post movie, we did a little mission food crawl. Jasmine Tea House for dinner, including the really tasty jasmine shrimp (which is made with jasmine tea in the sauce). And then we ended up getting some really amazing berry pie at Mission Pie, to be paired with the infamous "Secret Breakfast" ice cream from Humphry Slocombe. You may have seen Humphry Slocombe on Food Network, Chris Cosentino cited their Prosciutto ice cream as one of his favorite things. Unfortunately, they didn't have it day. They did have Szechuan Strawberry, and sweet corn, but we had to go with the Secret Breakfast which is bourbon and cornflakes. With warm pie, it was so good.
So the moral of the story is, we dabbled in Pride, but had the best time between ourselves. I just had a really great day with my lover. And we interacted on and intellectual, artistic, and yes, a physical level. I mean, what more can you ask for? I feel really fortunate to be having this experience, while every connection with a lover is unique, because our relationship has been under an entirely different context, the experience has been all the more new and unique. And I've made not insignificant changes with his influence. I've been eating a lot less meat for example, doing vegetarian some days, or having vegetarian dinners. He definitely encouraged me to keep the facial hair (it grew out unintentionally, my shaver broke). He's definitely pulled out a bit more of my activist world view...I mean, I am from Berkeley after all. And he's been an important person to me for this period of my life. Ok, ok, I guess I'm swooning a little bit. But it's really been rewarding, and I have so much affection for Chrissy; sometimes I don't even have words to express it. I stared at that semi-colon for a few minutes, no joke!
I am definitely better for the experience.
Long time readers will know that Pride is not exactly my sorta day. For a variety of reasons, but mainly I just felt like it conveyed a sense of "gaystream" that presented an idyllic and comodified gay identity, where there wasn't really room for someone like me who listened to punk rock and had gotten over the whole Abecrombie & Fitch thing much quicker than anyone else. So, Pride has never been a big deal to me. Just an excuse to see my friends. I went out a bit for Saturday night's pink party, but because Andrew was having an informal gathering at his place. It was much better looking out over the crowd than being down in it. I was home by 12:30. Sunday, Chrissy and I had just said that we were going to meet up that day, for the Occupride Activities; yep, that's a thing that exists. So I woke up a bit early. We didn't get up quite early enough to do the parade with them, but there was a small meeting in the Tenderloin at the site of the Compton's Cafeteria riots of 1996. And actually, I didn't know my local queer history as well as I thought I did, because I had never heard of this pre-Stonewall bit of history.
Anyway, so here we are on the street, having a little forum. And, let me just say - so that I don't sound too fickle - I love the community spirit, I love the inclusiveness, I love the fact that people remember that the protest doesn't end when you put your sign down. But some of these people are...well, unrealistic. But, I enjoyed the experience of being in, as Chrissy would say, an all queer space. I mean, what can I say, I've got a genderqueer primary lover...that's enough for club membership, right? I kid, I kid.
We headed out from that forum, and walked our back towards the main Pride festivities, and the difference between the two spaces had really been almost a bit of sensory overload. Suffice to say that we were even less enthusiastic about being in the main festivities. But along the way we had a discussion (well, I kinda had a monologue) about Occupride, partisan politics, and the way the world works. We don't agree on everything, but we've never that far apart. Most of all, I just appreciate hearing his views because he comes from such a different place, and looks at things that I might not even think to look for.
So we headed back to my place around four in the afternoon. We learned "Lonely Boy" by the Black Keys and did an acoustic/electric version of it. I usually play bass while Chrissy plays guitar, so this was a fun little mixup, although I'm a bit rusty on guitar. We watched "Where the Wild Things Are" as well, which he had never seen. I for one really liked it; although I think that, being a Spike Jonze movie, it probably resonated better with my generation. I suspect that us so called "millenials" liked it in greater proportion than either younger, or older audiences.
Post movie, we did a little mission food crawl. Jasmine Tea House for dinner, including the really tasty jasmine shrimp (which is made with jasmine tea in the sauce). And then we ended up getting some really amazing berry pie at Mission Pie, to be paired with the infamous "Secret Breakfast" ice cream from Humphry Slocombe. You may have seen Humphry Slocombe on Food Network, Chris Cosentino cited their Prosciutto ice cream as one of his favorite things. Unfortunately, they didn't have it day. They did have Szechuan Strawberry, and sweet corn, but we had to go with the Secret Breakfast which is bourbon and cornflakes. With warm pie, it was so good.
So the moral of the story is, we dabbled in Pride, but had the best time between ourselves. I just had a really great day with my lover. And we interacted on and intellectual, artistic, and yes, a physical level. I mean, what more can you ask for? I feel really fortunate to be having this experience, while every connection with a lover is unique, because our relationship has been under an entirely different context, the experience has been all the more new and unique. And I've made not insignificant changes with his influence. I've been eating a lot less meat for example, doing vegetarian some days, or having vegetarian dinners. He definitely encouraged me to keep the facial hair (it grew out unintentionally, my shaver broke). He's definitely pulled out a bit more of my activist world view...I mean, I am from Berkeley after all. And he's been an important person to me for this period of my life. Ok, ok, I guess I'm swooning a little bit. But it's really been rewarding, and I have so much affection for Chrissy; sometimes I don't even have words to express it. I stared at that semi-colon for a few minutes, no joke!
I am definitely better for the experience.