On the list of really bad ideas? Allowing Di Drew to plan a pub crawl in San Francisco is in the top ten if not vying for number one. Especially, allowing this travesty on a Sunday, when of course I had to work bright and early on Monday. The theory? Finish early enough to recover before getting up early Monday morning. The solution? Start early Sunday morning. One needn't be psychic to figure out the end result of this folly.
Yes people, we were wise enough to use public transportation.
We started by eating brunch at StarBelly's. Those of you unfamiliar, this used to be Josie's Juice Joint, a restaurant/comedy club which used to feature Margaret Cho regularly. The famed juice joint has been through many incarnations since but has ended up as a nice little wine and beer restaurant with nothing too challenging to the Aussie palate.
After swearing they couldn't make it in the first place, two of our favorite friends showed up, Oscar and Dominic. Then, of course swearing they could only stay a short while - mmmmm hmmm! The pressure of the deadliest animal on the planet, the Australian Sheila, kept these two with us for the duration - to the point of calling their housemate to get the car...wise move!
Now, fully nourished with the healing power of Mary, off to Twin Peaks...AKA the Glass Coffin. Yes, it is a disparaging comment because the bar is almost entirely glass windows and houses the elderly gay population of SF. But better people watching, one can't find while sitting drinking gin and tonic at the corner of Market and Castro. One needed score cards for the beauties passing before us on the streets. We met a sweet couple in the bar who noticed my Fuquay-Varina hat and actually knew where Fuquay was.
From the Coffin, to the local neighborhood bar, The Mix. Our crowd grew slightly, as Peter showed up to join the fray. Di, of course, spent her time chatting up the one straight guy in the bar...and I think we can guess the ethnicity of her new friend...hmmmm? Let's face it, girlfriend has a type.
Next on to Moby Dick's for some late afternoon pinball action and maybe one more cocktail. We met a couple of new best friends, Patrick and David? or was it John and Kyle? Well, somebody and someone...
From there, one last stop in SOMA, at the Lone Star. From there things are a bit hazy...photographs were foregone, as the photographer had hit the wall, and was busy meeting new people and getting "recommendations" for our Hawaii trip...After ditching about three drinks bought for me from our Aussie pusher, we left the Lone Star in a cab bound for the East Bay. The cab driver, Doug, was certainly a good sport and certainly no stranger to transporting drunks across the bridge. I wasn't sure if he was going to take one of our party up on his offer to provide a service in lieu of payment but we ended up paying the fare regardless.
Dinner was at a burrito place at Rockridge...and a cab ride home by a humorless driver this time.
I'm sure the photographer thought this was focused at the time.
And home and to bed by 8:30. Did we make it to work the next day? Of course. No the worse for wear either. Gotta love that German constitution.
Unfortunately, the flu was waiting in the wings. By Wednesday, a fever and sore throat kept me home from work. I'm still suffering this flu but finally feel like survival is a distinct possibility. I'm not a good sick person, choosing rather to not allow an illness impact my "can do" nature, all illnesses insist on hanging on forever, and me never learning my lesson!
Our wonderfully wicked and superbly sensitive Aussie love has left for the land of Oz. Mere hours and we are truly missing her. She is very much one of our family, the closest of our adopted loved ones. Somehow life is simply not as fluid without the trinity we have developed. Many are not aware of the difficulties our littlest and most fragile sister has suffered as of late. I worry for her with a passion many think of which I am not capable. Our pasty white Samoan came to be reminded that she is unconditionally loved and to get grounded...I ask of you to send her your blessings and love as she undergoes some tough decisions and some tough physical challenges in the next few months. She is truly a woman whose love encompasses a world full of life, and deserves our blessings.
