laugh until we think we’ll die
Yesterday we marched in the Pride parade in Cleveland with the leather group we're a part of. It was really, really hot and the parade goes from downtown near Tower City to Voinovich Park by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's about a mile. A mile is not that far at all. A mile is extremely far in a staggered parade (we line up on a four lane street and then each lane goes one at a time to make the whole parade) in 90F weather in downtown Cleveland with no shade. Thankfully, that was probably the worst part of the day. I did manage to acquire sunscreen (because i was like herp derp i'll wear a tank top because it won't be too long and it's only a mile and i didn't think to consider zero shade and the super hot weather), so I only got burnt the places I forgot to put sunscreen, like around my neck and the collar of my shirt. Way to go, me. I think there might be a little on the back of my arms, too, but it's not awful.
Tony carried the transgender flag for our group, naturally, and I helped carry the fuckall huge leather flag.
Despite the heat and the sun and the lack of shade, the parade was really nice and it was really great to see Angel Action blocking the usual handful of protesters that always show up.
At the park, we hung out for about an hour and I got custard because that's the kind of thing you should eat on a ninety-something degree day. After a round or two around the park, we met back up with folks and let them know we were out for the afternoon, heading to the zoo, and we'd see them at the bar that evening.
EDIT: OH MY GOD I LEFT A WHOLE BUNCH OF SHIT OUT
After Pride, we HEADED to the zoo, but first we stopped at the West Side Market, because it's on the way and, of course, we love the market. We were super said to find out that J&J Meats isn't making the chicken jerky EVER AGAIN. It was a sad moment. But we bought some of their regular jerky and the guy who helped me last time recognized me, so that was nice!
I also stopped at Cake Royale for, of course, macarons and freaking Bailey's irish cream cannoli. The had Nutella macarons and they were delicious.
After grabbing noms, we went over to Horizontal Books which, if you've never been, is amazing. They discount stuff according to how many items you purchase (50% off one, 60% off two, 70% off three). We ended up buying...
Dragon's Luck by Robert Asprin
Socks Appeal: 16 Fun & Funky Friends Sewn from Socks by Brenna Maloney
How to Save Your Tail*: *if you are a rat nabbed by cats who really like stories about magic spoons, wolves with snout-warts, big, hairy chimney trolls...and cookies, too. by Mary Hanson
Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves & Other Female Villains by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple
The Year of the Beasts by Cecil Castellucci and Nate Powell
Repossessed by A. M. Jenkins
...as well as a Winter Soldier trade, some glow in the dark scratch paper, and a Scythian metalworking kit.
THEN WE WENT TO THE ZOO
And we actually got to spend time walking around and doing stuff, cause we got there around 3PM, I think, maybe 2PM. But the zoo is open until 7PM in the summer, so we could check out all the exhibits and take our time. We haven't been to the zoo in, literally, years, so it was nice to do that. Other times, as well, we were always in a hurry to see things and then go somewhere else, but since we didn't have to be at the bar until 8PM or 9PM, it was nice to be able to take our time.
I took a lot of pics which I will stuff behind a cut...
After the zoo, we still had an hour to blow and were hungry, so we decided to hit up the asian markets and drive by Koko Bakery and see if maybe possibly they were open (the last time i knew, they closed at 7pm). Much to our delight, Koko's was still open and we bought a whole bunch of buns and tasty things (like castella cake with lemon in it!) and sat and got off our feet for a little while before stopping over at Park to Shop and then heading out to the bar.
The bar was mostly uneventful aside from the presence of Douchebag Who Isn't Allowed To Talk To Tony (which was the only negative) and Tony winning a t-shirt (which, of course, was a positive!). We hung around and helped sell raffle tickets and socialized before heading out early around midnight and making the long drive home to Kent.
It was a long, long day, but it wasn't nearly as grueling as I anticipated it to be, and that was nice.
ALSO BEFORE I FORGET AND AS A NOTE TO MYSELF TONY SUGGESTED DRAWING OUR NYC CHARACTERS A LA HUMANS OF NEW YORK AND I AM SO ON BOARD WITH DOING THAT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW /HEAVY BREATHING
[ crossposted from dreamwidth ➙ you can also view it there ]
Tony carried the transgender flag for our group, naturally, and I helped carry the fuckall huge leather flag.
Despite the heat and the sun and the lack of shade, the parade was really nice and it was really great to see Angel Action blocking the usual handful of protesters that always show up.
At the park, we hung out for about an hour and I got custard because that's the kind of thing you should eat on a ninety-something degree day. After a round or two around the park, we met back up with folks and let them know we were out for the afternoon, heading to the zoo, and we'd see them at the bar that evening.
EDIT: OH MY GOD I LEFT A WHOLE BUNCH OF SHIT OUT
After Pride, we HEADED to the zoo, but first we stopped at the West Side Market, because it's on the way and, of course, we love the market. We were super said to find out that J&J Meats isn't making the chicken jerky EVER AGAIN. It was a sad moment. But we bought some of their regular jerky and the guy who helped me last time recognized me, so that was nice!
I also stopped at Cake Royale for, of course, macarons and freaking Bailey's irish cream cannoli. The had Nutella macarons and they were delicious.
After grabbing noms, we went over to Horizontal Books which, if you've never been, is amazing. They discount stuff according to how many items you purchase (50% off one, 60% off two, 70% off three). We ended up buying...
Dragon's Luck by Robert Asprin
Socks Appeal: 16 Fun & Funky Friends Sewn from Socks by Brenna Maloney
How to Save Your Tail*: *if you are a rat nabbed by cats who really like stories about magic spoons, wolves with snout-warts, big, hairy chimney trolls...and cookies, too. by Mary Hanson
Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves & Other Female Villains by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple
The Year of the Beasts by Cecil Castellucci and Nate Powell
Repossessed by A. M. Jenkins
...as well as a Winter Soldier trade, some glow in the dark scratch paper, and a Scythian metalworking kit.
THEN WE WENT TO THE ZOO
And we actually got to spend time walking around and doing stuff, cause we got there around 3PM, I think, maybe 2PM. But the zoo is open until 7PM in the summer, so we could check out all the exhibits and take our time. We haven't been to the zoo in, literally, years, so it was nice to do that. Other times, as well, we were always in a hurry to see things and then go somewhere else, but since we didn't have to be at the bar until 8PM or 9PM, it was nice to be able to take our time.
I took a lot of pics which I will stuff behind a cut...
After the zoo, we still had an hour to blow and were hungry, so we decided to hit up the asian markets and drive by Koko Bakery and see if maybe possibly they were open (the last time i knew, they closed at 7pm). Much to our delight, Koko's was still open and we bought a whole bunch of buns and tasty things (like castella cake with lemon in it!) and sat and got off our feet for a little while before stopping over at Park to Shop and then heading out to the bar.
The bar was mostly uneventful aside from the presence of Douchebag Who Isn't Allowed To Talk To Tony (which was the only negative) and Tony winning a t-shirt (which, of course, was a positive!). We hung around and helped sell raffle tickets and socialized before heading out early around midnight and making the long drive home to Kent.
It was a long, long day, but it wasn't nearly as grueling as I anticipated it to be, and that was nice.
ALSO BEFORE I FORGET AND AS A NOTE TO MYSELF TONY SUGGESTED DRAWING OUR NYC CHARACTERS A LA HUMANS OF NEW YORK AND I AM SO ON BOARD WITH DOING THAT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW /HEAVY BREATHING
[ crossposted from dreamwidth ➙ you can also view it there ]