PRIDE…

… and gluttony, envy, lust, greed, and a wee bit of anger.

It’s good when you can squeeze 6 of the 7 into one weekend, no?  However, I’m all prouded out today and barely functional.

+++++FRIDAY+++++

Immediately after work I hit a BBQ hosted by some friends of mine.  There were jello shots, Hebrew National kosher hotdogs wrapped in bacon (yum!) and a lovely cheese dick (a cheeseball made of smoked gouda formed into the shape of a penis).  It was all very festive.

Mostly it was a nice, lower-key way to start a Pride weekend.  There were a few slightly tragic individuals in attendance, but much fun was had anyway.  Oh, and I cut the fuck out of my hand trying to bust open a pinata full off condoms and lube.

Toward the end of the party I changed into my harness in order to go out to the Eagle.  Here’s the one and only (hopefully) picture of me wearing it:

The look, however, DID go over fairly well at the Eagle, where one couldn’t swing a dead possum without hitting someone in a harness.  There were LOTS of hot menz at the Eagle that night and my head was spinning off my shoulders as I tried to scope them all out.

I also got a bit of an ego boost out of it, as I got hit on and felt up … a LOT.  And I became closer friends with a very nice couple from Wisconsin.

(gluttony, lust, envy, pride— check.)

+++++SATURDAY+++++

I woke up gently on Saturday morning around 8 am, as music gently drifted through my window.  As it turns out a very nice sounding Brass Quintet was playing at the Farmer’s Market.  Kyle and I hit the market, then did breakie at the Black Dog cafe (a nice little cafe in our gayborhood). 

Then we did some a lot of shopping as Kyle needed things to top off his new apartment.  And while out and about we saw this:

I cried three times in the movie.  Yeah, it’s that good.  Another stunning achievement from Pixar.  I highly recommend seeing it if you haven’t already.

After the movie, Kyle and I headed to another BBQ– but this one was at his friend Brian’s house.  Naturally there was lots more alcohol (vodka slushies AND jello shots!) and good food.  And I think I had the bag of Fritos permanently attached like a feedbag!

Goddamn Fritos.

We ended up not staying late, as two nights of partying was starting to catch up with each of us.  Besides, we had Sunday’s festivities to prepare for!

(gluttony, pride, greed— check.)

+++++SUNDAY+++++

Sunday was a slower morning- although I was up at 7:30.  Kyle did Black Dog again (his new favorite hangout) and then we took off for the Park.

Loring Park is where all the Pride booths are, and where the parade dumps out.  Neither of us was big on the Parade part, but we figured we should walk the park.  Here’s a picture I snapped during just to prove we were there:

Overall the park is fairly commercial, and kinda just… well… blah.  Although we did see this one display which managed to make me shiver:

Seriously- shit like this creeps me the fuck OUT!  When confronted with this type of crap, I feel a strong urge to find an aluminum baseball bat and go to town.

Same thing goes for “carnival glass” display cases at antique stores.

Anyway.

After the park, we hit the sculpture garden by the Walker– just because I’d never done it.  Maybe y’all will recognize this:

I can’t believe I had been in Minnesota for 10 months and had yet to see one of my favorite Claes Oldenburg sculptures– the Cherry Spoon Bridge.  And I had no idea it was a fountain too!

Then it was food time- so Kyle took me to the Chatterbox Pub for rootbeer and burgers.  Mmmmm, burgers…. gaaaaahhhhhhgggghhhh.

Then it was disco nap time before hitting the Eagle for the final night festivities. 

The Eagle on Sunday was… well, it was the Eagle.  We each saw tons of people that we knew/dated/slept with/hated/etc.  We got drunk on the beerbust beer.  We sang showtunes (well, I sang the showtunes) and chatted with people.

We even saw the band “Boogie Wonderland” perform live:

They cover ALL the disco hits- and they are really quite good at it.  Kitchy, yet VERY good musicians.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end… and this Pride was no exception.  I just wish it had waited until Monday.

Toward the end of our time at the Eagle, Kyle got a visit from one of his exes.  They ended up going off to have a private conversation, which I knew probably would not end well.

It didn’t.

But there was little I could do but stand by and watch it unfurl.  I felt quite helpless.  Thank goodness by this time Scott (Kyle’s traditional Pride Husband) had come back from his softball tourney in Madison and was there for support too.

Kyle and I drove home and then managed to stumble to our respective apartments around 11 pm last night.

(gluttony, envy, lust, anger— check.)

+++++MONDAY+++++

Which brings me to the end of my PRIDE summary.  The bloom of Pride is fading and I find myself one tired, worn out, rode hard and put up wet, slothful boy today.

Slothful??

Well, I guess I DID manage to hit all 7 after all.