Went to the Gay Pride parade on Sunday. Never been before, plus a chance to dress up. Had fun, but turned out to be one of those days.
Slept through the alarm so I was running late. Discovered I couldn’t find the new nail polish I really like. Went to an old polish and discovered it was old and gunky. Plan C, put on the Kiss 1-Step nails.
Couldn’t make my mind what to wear. The guy in me said it’s going to be foggy again up in SF, so be sensible wear pants. The CD in me wanted to try out the cute new flirty summer skirt I’d gotten. Guess who won… Fortunately, it wasn’t that cold and the sun came out for a bit mid-day. But sure enough, I was one of the few people in a skirt.
Made a discrete exit and the parked in a nearby office park to do final changes. Unfortunately, in doing so I pulled off one the nails and couldn’t find it. So had to pry the rest of them off as well. Grrr….
Drove up to Daly City to take BART (the subway) in the rest of the way, since traffic would be terrible. Was really nervous since the station was pretty busy, but no one seemed to pay too much notice. Turns out most of them were heading to the parade too, so I probably wasn’t unexpected.
Got to the downtown station where I was supposed to meet some other crossdressers. There were tons of people, so got out my cell to call them—only to discover the battery was dead. (I must not have put it on the charger properly the night before.) Never did find them, so I found myself a place curbside to watch the parade. There are advantages to heels!
Parade went on far longer than I realized. It’s televised locally, but they only show the PG-rated first two hours—dykes on bikes are OK, but the leather daddies are a bit much apparently. After 3 hours I was
starving and finally bailed and walked over to get lunch the Civic Center Plaza, which had been blocked off for a street fair. Walked around for a bit and took in the sights—a booth with whipping demos! Toto I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore…—and hoped I’d run into the other girls, but no such luck. Although I did see some over-the-top drag queens who were busy having their photos taken with everyone in sight. Then there was the naked guy who was a “furry” without needing a costume. I think he left a slew of newly converted lesbians in his wake. Nearby there was a woman on a balcony who was flashing herself, blinding a few gay men in the process. A group of women told I was looking nice, but I’m not sure whether they were toying with me. But later on another women complimented me on my skirt, which was nice.
On the subway home, I sat across from a little old Hispanic lady, who gave me a big friendly smile. Bit of a surprise, since Hispanics locally usually aren’t that gay-friendly. (No I’m not, but they assume we are.)
When I got home I discovered that although I’d put sunblock on my face, in my rush I’d forgotten to put some on my bust and I was one crispy critter. Plus I’d gotten a strap line! The burn lines are odd enough in guy-mode, but try explaining that one… Hope the peeling begins soon. At least this time, with some strategically placed moleskin I didn’t get bad blisters again from my shoes.
