The Gay Pride Weekend Report
After an unplanned week-and-a-half hiatus from writing in my journal, I'm finally back!
Gay Pride Week this year was doubtlessly the most enjoyable I've had, although this had as much to do with incidental events as it did with the Gay Pride festivites. After three days straight of being with my friends, I feel more liked and comfortable around them than I ever have, although to-day I am enjoying a return to my weekday routine of emotional solitude. Even if my friends aren't sure of it because of my relatively staid demeanour, the fact is that inwardly I revel in being in their company, my delight sometimes being expressed merely by my persistent physical presence near them. Invariably often, though, I crave time alone. Just to think to myself and indulge my square and neurotic obsessions. And once I've had my fill of that for a while, I again seek the privileged pleasure of being with and listening to my friends. Or failing that, writing to them instead.
Much of last week was actually quite sedate for me; it wasn't until Friday, when I met Dralen's boyfriend Caleb, that I did anything outside my quiet, daily rhythm. Early that afternoon I took Caleb aboard the Carlton streetcar and we rode to the end of the line at High Park. I'd planned to show him around the wooded ravines and gardens there whilst we enjoyed the cooler temperatures close to the lake, and then guide him through neighbouring north Parkdale to explore the Polish restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores that line the neighbourhood's main street. He seemed to enjoy most of our trip, especially sitting together, enjoying the view of Grenadier Pond and the wind that was blowing in from Lake Ontario, but the sun and heat were more intense than we'd anticipated, so we skipped Parkdale to relax at Dralen's apartment instead. Later we walked to Dralen's workplace to meet him at the end of his shift, stopping on the way to do some people-watching on Church Street as the madding throng of Gay Pride revellers surged by. Once Dralen was done, we eventually escaped the crowds and noise of Church to ride the subway east, with Dralen and Caleb parting with me at the Main St. station to attend a house party. I continued home and went to bed, very footsore but content.
The next evening I went with pastries in tow to the weekly get-together at Tony, Steve, and Trent's apartment. There was the usual sparkling, geeky conversation and some decent take-out Chinese food to be had there, and toward the end of the night we were treated to three episodes of the Father of the Pride TV series, including the unaired final episode. The highlight of the night, however, was at torrle's apartment nearby, from whose 23rd floor balcony we were able to clearly see and photograph the planetary conjunction of Venus, Mercury, and Saturn that's occurring this month. Thanks to Torrle, it was the first time that I saw a celestial event like that and knew what I was seeing. Till then, the only heavenly bodies that I'd seen and recognised -- besides the sun and moon, of course -- were Orion, the Big and Little Dippers, and one sighting of Mars during the big blackout of 2003. And I'd seen none of these magnified, whereas with Torrle's digital camera's display I was able to make out a few features of Venus's atmosphere. It was a low-key but intimate event, as was the long, rambling conversation that rexxwolfe, Torrle, Khaki Wolf and I had in R. V. Burgess Park after Tony and Steve went to bed. It was my ideal speed for an enjoyable evening, in other words, and I'm glad that I chose to be there instead of in the midst of the garish, throbbing party that was surely mobbing Church Street that night.
Rexx gave me a lift to Danforth and Eglinton, where I caught the all-night bus and rode north to my house, getting through the door around four o'clock in the morning. But I could sleep only till 9:30 because I'd resolved to be downtown by noon in order to meet some other Toronto furries, who would be assembling to watch the Gay Pride Parade march down Yonge Street that afternoon. I arrived at the corner of Yonge and College just a few minutes after twelve o'clock to find wolfgrowl alone, waiting for anyone else to show up. We both were relieved to see that at least one other person had bothered to come, although for the next forty-five minutes we anxiously waited for other furries to appear. Eventually a fairly large, if disorganised, group arrived along with Potoroo, and we settled into a spot outside the southernmost Yonge Street entrance to the College Park mall. By the time we'd picked where to watch the parade, however, all the prime space by the kerb had been taken, so we had to stand a number of feet back from the street and try to look over others' heads to see the action. Nonetheless, thanks to my slightly above-average height, I was able to see almost everything that went by.
The parade seemed slow to start, and there were a few large gaps between the groups marching in it, but overall I was impressed with what I saw. This was the first time in at least several years that I had watched the parade from start to finish, and I saw a few groups within it that I was happy to see representing themselves: the Toronto City Council, the NDP (of course), P-FLAG, and a goodly number of United Church and Anglican congregations, to name a few. There was even a small contingent of Conservative Party members from their Toronto Centre and St. Paul's riding associations, although the reception they got from the crowd was rather, ahem, subdued. (I myself booed them.) Naturally there were also many floats with many male and some female dancers and musical performers, some nubile, others not so much, some nearly naked, others more modestly attired. They were entertaining to watch and to listen to, sure, although I probably didn't derive as much pleasure from watching them go by as did some of the other furries there.
After what felt like more than two hours, the parade finally wrapped up and we waded through the dispersing crowd to Church Street, so that Yennix, Potoroo's boyfriend, could find Potoroo, who was busy doing volunteer work for the Pride Parade committee, and ask him (or so I gathered) what his plans were for after the end of his volunteer stint. This took considerable time and effort before we located him manning a donations booth at the intersection of Church and Maitland. From there, Yennix, crono_liganthah, purplezart and I walked the block of Maitland between Church and Yonge to a small pan-Asian restaurant called 'Bowl', or somesuch, for dinner. I should've remembered the name, because there I had a very nice, very filling, and most importantly, very cheap bowl of Pho Chin (rice noodles and well-done beef in a seasoned beef broth, with optional spicy sauces). Afterward, we wandered for a long time, first following Yennix and then Potoroo, going between bars and beer gardens, until at 10:30 PM I accidentally became separated from the group when I stayed in one place too long to say good-bye to several furries who were leaving early. For an hour I tried in vain to find the others, but that was virtually impossible among the thousands and thousands of people who were still partying in Church Street. So, at 11:30 I called it a day and got on a streetcar to go home to my comfy bed, where I crashed and burned for a proper eight hours.
My week's been very quiet since then, without much news save the arrival of my income tax refund for 2003, most of which is going toward buying my new pair of glasses. The next big thing that I'm looking forward to doing is celebrating Canada Day this Friday, which seems even more of a big deal this year because my recently my family permenantly attached a flagpole with the Maple Leaf Flag to the front of our porch. ;) I anticipate there will be some fireworks displays by the lakeshore during the evening; would anyone like to come along with me and watch? Or perhaps go to a public celebration during the day?
Gay Pride Week this year was doubtlessly the most enjoyable I've had, although this had as much to do with incidental events as it did with the Gay Pride festivites. After three days straight of being with my friends, I feel more liked and comfortable around them than I ever have, although to-day I am enjoying a return to my weekday routine of emotional solitude. Even if my friends aren't sure of it because of my relatively staid demeanour, the fact is that inwardly I revel in being in their company, my delight sometimes being expressed merely by my persistent physical presence near them. Invariably often, though, I crave time alone. Just to think to myself and indulge my square and neurotic obsessions. And once I've had my fill of that for a while, I again seek the privileged pleasure of being with and listening to my friends. Or failing that, writing to them instead.
Much of last week was actually quite sedate for me; it wasn't until Friday, when I met Dralen's boyfriend Caleb, that I did anything outside my quiet, daily rhythm. Early that afternoon I took Caleb aboard the Carlton streetcar and we rode to the end of the line at High Park. I'd planned to show him around the wooded ravines and gardens there whilst we enjoyed the cooler temperatures close to the lake, and then guide him through neighbouring north Parkdale to explore the Polish restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores that line the neighbourhood's main street. He seemed to enjoy most of our trip, especially sitting together, enjoying the view of Grenadier Pond and the wind that was blowing in from Lake Ontario, but the sun and heat were more intense than we'd anticipated, so we skipped Parkdale to relax at Dralen's apartment instead. Later we walked to Dralen's workplace to meet him at the end of his shift, stopping on the way to do some people-watching on Church Street as the madding throng of Gay Pride revellers surged by. Once Dralen was done, we eventually escaped the crowds and noise of Church to ride the subway east, with Dralen and Caleb parting with me at the Main St. station to attend a house party. I continued home and went to bed, very footsore but content.
The next evening I went with pastries in tow to the weekly get-together at Tony, Steve, and Trent's apartment. There was the usual sparkling, geeky conversation and some decent take-out Chinese food to be had there, and toward the end of the night we were treated to three episodes of the Father of the Pride TV series, including the unaired final episode. The highlight of the night, however, was at torrle's apartment nearby, from whose 23rd floor balcony we were able to clearly see and photograph the planetary conjunction of Venus, Mercury, and Saturn that's occurring this month. Thanks to Torrle, it was the first time that I saw a celestial event like that and knew what I was seeing. Till then, the only heavenly bodies that I'd seen and recognised -- besides the sun and moon, of course -- were Orion, the Big and Little Dippers, and one sighting of Mars during the big blackout of 2003. And I'd seen none of these magnified, whereas with Torrle's digital camera's display I was able to make out a few features of Venus's atmosphere. It was a low-key but intimate event, as was the long, rambling conversation that rexxwolfe, Torrle, Khaki Wolf and I had in R. V. Burgess Park after Tony and Steve went to bed. It was my ideal speed for an enjoyable evening, in other words, and I'm glad that I chose to be there instead of in the midst of the garish, throbbing party that was surely mobbing Church Street that night.
Rexx gave me a lift to Danforth and Eglinton, where I caught the all-night bus and rode north to my house, getting through the door around four o'clock in the morning. But I could sleep only till 9:30 because I'd resolved to be downtown by noon in order to meet some other Toronto furries, who would be assembling to watch the Gay Pride Parade march down Yonge Street that afternoon. I arrived at the corner of Yonge and College just a few minutes after twelve o'clock to find wolfgrowl alone, waiting for anyone else to show up. We both were relieved to see that at least one other person had bothered to come, although for the next forty-five minutes we anxiously waited for other furries to appear. Eventually a fairly large, if disorganised, group arrived along with Potoroo, and we settled into a spot outside the southernmost Yonge Street entrance to the College Park mall. By the time we'd picked where to watch the parade, however, all the prime space by the kerb had been taken, so we had to stand a number of feet back from the street and try to look over others' heads to see the action. Nonetheless, thanks to my slightly above-average height, I was able to see almost everything that went by.
The parade seemed slow to start, and there were a few large gaps between the groups marching in it, but overall I was impressed with what I saw. This was the first time in at least several years that I had watched the parade from start to finish, and I saw a few groups within it that I was happy to see representing themselves: the Toronto City Council, the NDP (of course), P-FLAG, and a goodly number of United Church and Anglican congregations, to name a few. There was even a small contingent of Conservative Party members from their Toronto Centre and St. Paul's riding associations, although the reception they got from the crowd was rather, ahem, subdued. (I myself booed them.) Naturally there were also many floats with many male and some female dancers and musical performers, some nubile, others not so much, some nearly naked, others more modestly attired. They were entertaining to watch and to listen to, sure, although I probably didn't derive as much pleasure from watching them go by as did some of the other furries there.
After what felt like more than two hours, the parade finally wrapped up and we waded through the dispersing crowd to Church Street, so that Yennix, Potoroo's boyfriend, could find Potoroo, who was busy doing volunteer work for the Pride Parade committee, and ask him (or so I gathered) what his plans were for after the end of his volunteer stint. This took considerable time and effort before we located him manning a donations booth at the intersection of Church and Maitland. From there, Yennix, crono_liganthah, purplezart and I walked the block of Maitland between Church and Yonge to a small pan-Asian restaurant called 'Bowl', or somesuch, for dinner. I should've remembered the name, because there I had a very nice, very filling, and most importantly, very cheap bowl of Pho Chin (rice noodles and well-done beef in a seasoned beef broth, with optional spicy sauces). Afterward, we wandered for a long time, first following Yennix and then Potoroo, going between bars and beer gardens, until at 10:30 PM I accidentally became separated from the group when I stayed in one place too long to say good-bye to several furries who were leaving early. For an hour I tried in vain to find the others, but that was virtually impossible among the thousands and thousands of people who were still partying in Church Street. So, at 11:30 I called it a day and got on a streetcar to go home to my comfy bed, where I crashed and burned for a proper eight hours.
My week's been very quiet since then, without much news save the arrival of my income tax refund for 2003, most of which is going toward buying my new pair of glasses. The next big thing that I'm looking forward to doing is celebrating Canada Day this Friday, which seems even more of a big deal this year because my recently my family permenantly attached a flagpole with the Maple Leaf Flag to the front of our porch. ;) I anticipate there will be some fireworks displays by the lakeshore during the evening; would anyone like to come along with me and watch? Or perhaps go to a public celebration during the day?