Vacation I
I had the worst time in San Francisco. It sucked so hard. I'm very angry that I spent so much money and got in return nothing but heartache.
I'm lying. I had the BEST TIME EVER!
I am happy to report that I am no longer terrified of flying. Now, I hate it for other reasons, such as cramped quarters and bad movies and food.
At the Philadelphia airport, we spent a long time waiting in line to get strip searched (they don't fuck around in Philly). We only had time for two ales before we got on the plane, not three or four ales, which would have been enough ale to make me numb. I had to face my aviophobia with no crutch. It was okay, though. The plane took off, and I didn't wring my hands, nor did I cry. I didn't even whimper. I did grimace and I held Schwulerin's hand a little tightly for a few seconds, but I was mostly okay. The flight was long and boring and we hit very little turbulence. Landing was uneventful. I'm not scared anymore! (I sound like the guy on the Sloman Shield commercial.)
We checked into our lovely hotel room. Our beds were made of soft, white sheets and velvety blankets covered with a heavy, embroidered bedspread. The window was five feet tall and hung with drapes embroidered with the same pattern as the bedspread. Our ceilings soared ten feet from the floor. The lamps were bound with leather. The toilet was in a raised alcove featuring a marble step:
Classy.
We met up with teresa and Nash from Open Diary and had dinner in our hotel restaurant. Teresa was so pretty and sweet and smiley. Nash was Nash, and dinner was delicious. Teresa gave me a little book of her poems, and I gave her a t-shirt and a hat which said, "Jersey Girl", which unfortunately got left behind in the restaurant (and I forgot to retrieve it, sorry teresa!). After dinner, Nash took us to some dive-y bar on 17th and Capp in the Mission where they played SLICK RICK and had PUBLIC ENEMY on the jukebox! Yeah! Everyone in the place was on drugs. Well, some of the people were on drugs. We were the oldest people there, I think. We had a beer, and then teresa had to leave. Schwulerin and I helped her hail a taxi, then we went back to the bar, had one more beer, then went back to the hotel.
We slept like rocks.
The next day, we met Nash and teresa at the Asian Art Museum, which was about fifteen feet away from our hotel. The museum faces City Hall.
Isn't that a pretty city hall?
We wandered the museum together, the four of us. It's always a nice feeling to be around things that are thousands of years old. I can't really imagine a thousand years since I'll probably live less than a hundred years, but I like the idea of it. Being around an object that has outlasted its creator and several hundred generations of its creator's descendants and will continue to outlast, hopefully, a few hundred more generations, makes me feel comfortably small and insignificant. I'm reminded how fleeting my existence is and that deflates my ego. The deflation allows me to get absorbed in what I'm viewing. Which is cool.
Teresa was a great museum partner. She told me a story about a statue she'd seen that resonated with her. She pointed out interesting sculptures. We laughed over some of the stranger exhibits. Teresa is very gentle and thoughful, and a pleasure to meet. I hope I can see her again sometime. Thanks for a great afternoon.
Here is a picture of teresa sitting in her special chair:
She has a lovely golden complexion.
Here is a picture of Nash, helping direct tourists through the museum:
He needs a haircut.
Here are Schwulerin and I:
Here is a picture of Nash hitting on a security guard:
Here are some apes painted 500 years ago:
After the museum, Nash, Schwulerin and I went to Oktoberfest. We ate weisswurst with sauerkraut and mustard on thick bread and drank a lot of beer at Oktoberfest. It was held in some giant warehouse on Fort Mason. We stayed outside mostly, so we could drink beer and look at the bay.
From Fort Mason, we could see Alcatraz, also a blimp! Woo HOO!
After we got sick of drinking beer and looking at men in leiderhosen, we walked to a restaurant called Cozmo's, where we had an excellent dinner. I had tuna tartare and lamb chops over mashed potatoes, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. It was so delicious.
Tuna tartare! Hurrare!
It was a great first night and day in San Francisco.
COMING UP...THE CASTRO AND THE BRIDGE - OOOOOH.
I'm lying. I had the BEST TIME EVER!
I am happy to report that I am no longer terrified of flying. Now, I hate it for other reasons, such as cramped quarters and bad movies and food.
At the Philadelphia airport, we spent a long time waiting in line to get strip searched (they don't fuck around in Philly). We only had time for two ales before we got on the plane, not three or four ales, which would have been enough ale to make me numb. I had to face my aviophobia with no crutch. It was okay, though. The plane took off, and I didn't wring my hands, nor did I cry. I didn't even whimper. I did grimace and I held Schwulerin's hand a little tightly for a few seconds, but I was mostly okay. The flight was long and boring and we hit very little turbulence. Landing was uneventful. I'm not scared anymore! (I sound like the guy on the Sloman Shield commercial.)
We checked into our lovely hotel room. Our beds were made of soft, white sheets and velvety blankets covered with a heavy, embroidered bedspread. The window was five feet tall and hung with drapes embroidered with the same pattern as the bedspread. Our ceilings soared ten feet from the floor. The lamps were bound with leather. The toilet was in a raised alcove featuring a marble step:
Classy.
We met up with teresa and Nash from Open Diary and had dinner in our hotel restaurant. Teresa was so pretty and sweet and smiley. Nash was Nash, and dinner was delicious. Teresa gave me a little book of her poems, and I gave her a t-shirt and a hat which said, "Jersey Girl", which unfortunately got left behind in the restaurant (and I forgot to retrieve it, sorry teresa!). After dinner, Nash took us to some dive-y bar on 17th and Capp in the Mission where they played SLICK RICK and had PUBLIC ENEMY on the jukebox! Yeah! Everyone in the place was on drugs. Well, some of the people were on drugs. We were the oldest people there, I think. We had a beer, and then teresa had to leave. Schwulerin and I helped her hail a taxi, then we went back to the bar, had one more beer, then went back to the hotel.
We slept like rocks.
The next day, we met Nash and teresa at the Asian Art Museum, which was about fifteen feet away from our hotel. The museum faces City Hall.
Isn't that a pretty city hall?
We wandered the museum together, the four of us. It's always a nice feeling to be around things that are thousands of years old. I can't really imagine a thousand years since I'll probably live less than a hundred years, but I like the idea of it. Being around an object that has outlasted its creator and several hundred generations of its creator's descendants and will continue to outlast, hopefully, a few hundred more generations, makes me feel comfortably small and insignificant. I'm reminded how fleeting my existence is and that deflates my ego. The deflation allows me to get absorbed in what I'm viewing. Which is cool.
Teresa was a great museum partner. She told me a story about a statue she'd seen that resonated with her. She pointed out interesting sculptures. We laughed over some of the stranger exhibits. Teresa is very gentle and thoughful, and a pleasure to meet. I hope I can see her again sometime. Thanks for a great afternoon.
Here is a picture of teresa sitting in her special chair:
She has a lovely golden complexion.
Here is a picture of Nash, helping direct tourists through the museum:
He needs a haircut.
Here are Schwulerin and I:
Here is a picture of Nash hitting on a security guard:
Here are some apes painted 500 years ago:
After the museum, Nash, Schwulerin and I went to Oktoberfest. We ate weisswurst with sauerkraut and mustard on thick bread and drank a lot of beer at Oktoberfest. It was held in some giant warehouse on Fort Mason. We stayed outside mostly, so we could drink beer and look at the bay.
From Fort Mason, we could see Alcatraz, also a blimp! Woo HOO!
After we got sick of drinking beer and looking at men in leiderhosen, we walked to a restaurant called Cozmo's, where we had an excellent dinner. I had tuna tartare and lamb chops over mashed potatoes, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. It was so delicious.
Tuna tartare! Hurrare!
It was a great first night and day in San Francisco.
COMING UP...THE CASTRO AND THE BRIDGE - OOOOOH.