(no subject)
So, after the eigth or ninth person offered me alcohol at Pride, I decided to put sobriety on hold for the weekend... it turned out to be kinda weird in a good/bad way. Friday, I didn't really have anything to drink. A couple glasses of weak sangria and a whiskey-diet (also weak) several hours later. I did get stoned on Friday, but that hasn't been off limits so it isn't much of a thing. I wound up being really tired, staying in SF when I should have gone home, and begging a friend to let me stay with them rather than sleep in a car.
Saturday, I bought a 40 of Steel reserve and sipped whiskey after that was gone. I was pretty drunk by the time (whenever it was) that I made my way back to the East Bay. I'm pretty sure I had fun, although shoulder-to-shoulder crowds are really, really intense when you're drunk. I woke up Sunday feeling bad and, amazingly, regretted getting drunk. What more astonishing is that I had no interest whatsoever in doing it again that night. Seeing a hangover as a consequence of the night before and not just a good reason to get drunk again is real progress for me.
As for Pride itself, what can I say? When that many people get together, the reason gets really blurry to me. I only see a shit ton of people.
Yay: Finding friends against all odds and without much effort and hanging out with them, peeing in broad daylight in front of thousands of strangers (who may or may not be bothered by it), and Falafel.
Boo: entitled gays having homeless people kicked out of the park, those same entitled gays throwing cans at said homeless person and laughing. Also, middle-class white gays not understanding that fair housing, medical accesss, and prison reform are queer issues, and that same middle-class white gay saying "I think we basically agree" when their point is that marriage is the ultimate sign of equality and not hearing us saying that basic human rights are more important signs of equality.
Neutral: commericalized Pride. (I was drunk and not paying attention)
Saturday, I bought a 40 of Steel reserve and sipped whiskey after that was gone. I was pretty drunk by the time (whenever it was) that I made my way back to the East Bay. I'm pretty sure I had fun, although shoulder-to-shoulder crowds are really, really intense when you're drunk. I woke up Sunday feeling bad and, amazingly, regretted getting drunk. What more astonishing is that I had no interest whatsoever in doing it again that night. Seeing a hangover as a consequence of the night before and not just a good reason to get drunk again is real progress for me.
As for Pride itself, what can I say? When that many people get together, the reason gets really blurry to me. I only see a shit ton of people.
Yay: Finding friends against all odds and without much effort and hanging out with them, peeing in broad daylight in front of thousands of strangers (who may or may not be bothered by it), and Falafel.
Boo: entitled gays having homeless people kicked out of the park, those same entitled gays throwing cans at said homeless person and laughing. Also, middle-class white gays not understanding that fair housing, medical accesss, and prison reform are queer issues, and that same middle-class white gay saying "I think we basically agree" when their point is that marriage is the ultimate sign of equality and not hearing us saying that basic human rights are more important signs of equality.
Neutral: commericalized Pride. (I was drunk and not paying attention)