today i had the best day ever. actually, i've been having a lot of those lately. even though i still wake up in the morning with a sense that, during the night, someone tied my heart to the back of a chevy and drove it down a bumpy dirt road. despite this, i'm feeling sneaky and creative, luring my good fortune towards me with a beacon from said bedraggled heart. and it helps that my eyes are ever aware of how much i have to be grateful for. one of those things is summer. i love summer. even though solstice is still a week away, i declare it officially begun.
every june, i am haunted by the deep desire to go to the fair. the county fair with it's hot sun and metal carnival seats that burn your butt, and sticky fingers and greasy corn on the cob and prize winning chickens and speed freak carnies and sunburn and dust and going home with a faint sense of vertigo. but living in SF, each year june comes and goes without the fulfillment of this desire. until today.
today started off as one of those days when the multiverse just says, "sorry, we know you had plans, but uh...there's been a change of schedule." my partner in crime for the day had an emergency, and left me with an unstructured saturday stretching out before me. not giving up so easily, i began looking for alternate plans and co-conspirators. i tried to get ahold of bombshellbetty and papawheelie. no cigar. i called Dov444. too busy. i tried starkgirl, monkeypants and lulu luscious. no dice. i left messages for the butterfly and the mystery cat. nope. ok. FINE. grumpily deciding to be my own best friend, i tossed leo in the back of trixie and headed off to bayview/hunters point for...
The County UN-Fair.
do you remeber that board game "the mousetrap"? where you had all kinds of gadgets and contraptions, one setting off the other with a rolling ball, kinda like dominos except with ladders and pulleys and swinging scoops? well, way out on the edge of san francisco, on the shores of the bay, sits a little piece of land with an old warehouse that's been converted into a living/art space. and one of the things the clever inhabitants have created, is a LIFE SIZE MOUSETRAP. complete with bowling balls and crazy contraptions and a giant safe that crashes down at the end. today they were having a benefit for their burning man camp, and along with the mousetrap, they had set up an entire carnival. except it was no ordinary carnival. it was just the kind of carnival you'd want...with enough silliness and sexiness and mystery to captivate you as an adult, and enough nostalgia to bring you back to childhood.
when i first got there, i was still feeling like a shy and friendless loser. i entered through the gates with the sign that said, "NO PARKING...we'll tow your car but not before we break your windows".but as i began to walk down the "midway" i heard a sultry voice call out my name. i looked at the drinking booth, and there was rose, from ultra gypsy, my old bellydance troupe from back in the day. she warmly gave me the lowdown, and a cold beer, and admonished me to put a dollar in for chicken shit bingo. two chickens in a cage rested on top of a bingo board, "if they shit on your number, you wiin a prize!" then she sent me up the hill to the RIDES.
there was a two person ferris wheel, an evil circular see-saw, and one of those spinning wheels with swings attached to the outside that fly out higher and higher the faster you go. but there was one catch...they were all pedal powered.. the swings had four bikes down below, and the ferris wheel had pedals right on the seats. i did the swings first, squeeling happily, then stood in line for the ferris wheel. while waiting, i made a new friend, devora, who was then my partner for the ride.
meandering down the midway, i ran intoannette, aka miss bannana peel, a friend from the local burlesque scene. she encourage me to go inside the warehouse/haunted barn. i met more new people, as i hoola hooped, played ping pong, and swung from the rafters on a huge wooden swing, with live bluegrass playing in the background.
in time for the show, i settled myself on the hill above the mousetrap. leo, not feeling quite as open as me, sought shade from the sun and refuge from the other dogs who wanted to play. as esmerelda, the one woman accordian band played, they set up the mousetrap, and altho it took a few tries, the whole thing finally worked with a satisfying crunch with the fall of the safe and a big cheer from the crowd. afterward, i stayed on the hill and chatted to the older couple on my right and another guy on my left...as it turns out, we all lived extensively in the lower haight at one time or another, and we exchanged stories and lore...i got to hear all kinds of good history of my neighborhood.
feeling bold now, i made a beeline for the constructor of the contraption, a man named mark, wearing red and white striped pants, suspenders, a black fedora and a charming face. we made our introductions, and then i flat out asked if he needed any help with upcoming gigs or at his burning man camp. he was interested that i do burlesque and said there was probably a good fit for me somewhere. hooray!
for the most part, the whole day was such a delight because i felt like i fit right in, which is unusual for me. but lately i've been finding these pockets of people that, amazingly, love the same things i do...white trash culture, old-timey music, vintage wild west decor, vaudeville aesthetic and rustic living. where have they been all my life?
ah yes...so i'm home now, with a sunny face, sticky fingers, and a case of vertigo that's probably more from drinking beer in the sun. tonight bliss is picking me up and we're going to FLIRT. burlesque, bellydance and yummy sexy people.
and i hope YOU, my dear SGers, are having a wonderful beginning to YOUR summer. much love to you all.
p.s. Tahliana was finally able to POST PICS OF US AT PROM.
every june, i am haunted by the deep desire to go to the fair. the county fair with it's hot sun and metal carnival seats that burn your butt, and sticky fingers and greasy corn on the cob and prize winning chickens and speed freak carnies and sunburn and dust and going home with a faint sense of vertigo. but living in SF, each year june comes and goes without the fulfillment of this desire. until today.
today started off as one of those days when the multiverse just says, "sorry, we know you had plans, but uh...there's been a change of schedule." my partner in crime for the day had an emergency, and left me with an unstructured saturday stretching out before me. not giving up so easily, i began looking for alternate plans and co-conspirators. i tried to get ahold of bombshellbetty and papawheelie. no cigar. i called Dov444. too busy. i tried starkgirl, monkeypants and lulu luscious. no dice. i left messages for the butterfly and the mystery cat. nope. ok. FINE. grumpily deciding to be my own best friend, i tossed leo in the back of trixie and headed off to bayview/hunters point for...
The County UN-Fair.
do you remeber that board game "the mousetrap"? where you had all kinds of gadgets and contraptions, one setting off the other with a rolling ball, kinda like dominos except with ladders and pulleys and swinging scoops? well, way out on the edge of san francisco, on the shores of the bay, sits a little piece of land with an old warehouse that's been converted into a living/art space. and one of the things the clever inhabitants have created, is a LIFE SIZE MOUSETRAP. complete with bowling balls and crazy contraptions and a giant safe that crashes down at the end. today they were having a benefit for their burning man camp, and along with the mousetrap, they had set up an entire carnival. except it was no ordinary carnival. it was just the kind of carnival you'd want...with enough silliness and sexiness and mystery to captivate you as an adult, and enough nostalgia to bring you back to childhood.
when i first got there, i was still feeling like a shy and friendless loser. i entered through the gates with the sign that said, "NO PARKING...we'll tow your car but not before we break your windows".but as i began to walk down the "midway" i heard a sultry voice call out my name. i looked at the drinking booth, and there was rose, from ultra gypsy, my old bellydance troupe from back in the day. she warmly gave me the lowdown, and a cold beer, and admonished me to put a dollar in for chicken shit bingo. two chickens in a cage rested on top of a bingo board, "if they shit on your number, you wiin a prize!" then she sent me up the hill to the RIDES.
there was a two person ferris wheel, an evil circular see-saw, and one of those spinning wheels with swings attached to the outside that fly out higher and higher the faster you go. but there was one catch...they were all pedal powered.. the swings had four bikes down below, and the ferris wheel had pedals right on the seats. i did the swings first, squeeling happily, then stood in line for the ferris wheel. while waiting, i made a new friend, devora, who was then my partner for the ride.
meandering down the midway, i ran intoannette, aka miss bannana peel, a friend from the local burlesque scene. she encourage me to go inside the warehouse/haunted barn. i met more new people, as i hoola hooped, played ping pong, and swung from the rafters on a huge wooden swing, with live bluegrass playing in the background.
in time for the show, i settled myself on the hill above the mousetrap. leo, not feeling quite as open as me, sought shade from the sun and refuge from the other dogs who wanted to play. as esmerelda, the one woman accordian band played, they set up the mousetrap, and altho it took a few tries, the whole thing finally worked with a satisfying crunch with the fall of the safe and a big cheer from the crowd. afterward, i stayed on the hill and chatted to the older couple on my right and another guy on my left...as it turns out, we all lived extensively in the lower haight at one time or another, and we exchanged stories and lore...i got to hear all kinds of good history of my neighborhood.
feeling bold now, i made a beeline for the constructor of the contraption, a man named mark, wearing red and white striped pants, suspenders, a black fedora and a charming face. we made our introductions, and then i flat out asked if he needed any help with upcoming gigs or at his burning man camp. he was interested that i do burlesque and said there was probably a good fit for me somewhere. hooray!
for the most part, the whole day was such a delight because i felt like i fit right in, which is unusual for me. but lately i've been finding these pockets of people that, amazingly, love the same things i do...white trash culture, old-timey music, vintage wild west decor, vaudeville aesthetic and rustic living. where have they been all my life?
ah yes...so i'm home now, with a sunny face, sticky fingers, and a case of vertigo that's probably more from drinking beer in the sun. tonight bliss is picking me up and we're going to FLIRT. burlesque, bellydance and yummy sexy people.
and i hope YOU, my dear SGers, are having a wonderful beginning to YOUR summer. much love to you all.
p.s. Tahliana was finally able to POST PICS OF US AT PROM.
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#ohhh email me! grr to whoever drugged you, thats just plain wrong. ah look forward to hearing how you are, im sitting here boiling in an internet cafe, its so hot today. too hot honestly. hehe..
speak soon hun, T xoxoxoxox