Mardi Gras Wrap Up

I'm writing this up from the Virgin Blue departure lounge at Sydney Airport. I had been meaning to post various interesting thoughts as they came along this past week. Unfortunately several things worked to stop this:

1. Telstra wireless? ha! After trying various config options I finally got it to work - sort of (ignore the blurb - it isn't automatic). The logon page managed to crash my computer, twice. And I mean crash the computer, not just the browser. Then they have the affront to SMS me with a 'thank you for using Telstra wireless. $1.80 will be charged to your mobile account'. 20c a minute. I don't think so!

2. The hotel room had an old fashioned phone plug and some sort of filter that stopped dial up from working through.

3. I hardly had the time to stop and write anyway.

So here goes what I can remember. Please excuse the stream of consciousness style.

Dramatis Personae

Chubby#1: better half and obsessed bear lover
Chubby#2: yours truly and not particularly a bear lover
N: old friend of #1 from Melbourne. Definitely not a bear lover
J, M, R, MII: from Perth. Bears and bear lovers. Except J who isn't really.

Locale

Sydney, especially Oxford Street, Darlinghurst and surrounds.

The Time

28 Feb - 5th March 2006
Sydney Mardi Gras festival closing week and Bear EssentialsX festival.

The Story

Tuesday

Flight on Virgin Blue fine. Swap seats with elderly couple to be behind M and J. Get stuck into reading transport economic papers. Aha! I finally get it. Yay. Do little happy dance in the seat. Flight Attendant smiles. Can't really explain why I'm happy - too embarassing.

Tuesday night

Oxford Hotel. Bears bears and more bears. Never mind, $2 schooners to midnight helps soften the blow. Bearmail is fun - everyone gets a sticker with a number on entry. If you see someone you like, put their number on a message and stick it in the mail box. Arrivals notified by number projected on the big screen. Number 243, I'd have sent you a message, but you were far to popular already.

Scary scary. Reading all the numbers and just seeing bus routes. 213 City to Carousel. 60 Morley. 109 Fremantle via Canning Highway. I need a new hobby.

Wednesday

Sleep in.

What's the plan? More bears? OK, I think I might do something intelligent. A visit to the state library to check interesting papers is in order. Anyone have a map? No? Let's ask the front desk. Receptionist has no idea, checks computer and rings number given. Library gives address: cnr Hunter and Macquarie. Gets out street map: still no idea. Service man fixing computer on desk "allow me". He knows the city pretty well and has no problem circling the clearly marked "State Library" on the tourist map.

Off I go to do boring academic stuff.

Wednesday night.

Dinner for J's birthday. I see a theme happening here. Red leather collar? Dog chain? Misc other leather ornaments. I had no idea

Chubby#1 and bear friends off to the bears' underwear party. Not for me thank you.

Time for the theatre now. Bugger - why does everything in Sydney start at 8 pm? This was supposed to be my night of culture. Oh well, time for a wander, I guess.
. . .

Did I really drink away $200 by myself between 9pm and 1.30 am? How many Pimms and lemonade (thanks for the recommendation, Justin) did I drink at the Beauchamp Hotel? Did Fifi at the Brighton get her divorce OK? What exactly did I do at the Stonewall? Answers on the back of a postcard please.

Thursday

one big blur, or is that bleiough?

Please do not smoke near me when I have a hangover.

N arrives for a visit. What did we do? Oh, that's right tried to find something down by Circular Quay or in the rocks for a coffee. Why is it so hard? No we don't want an expensive meal. Only cafe we find is closing (at 4pm). Italian pizza place will have us for a coffee. Oh well, might as well share a pizza as well. Drink weak-as-piss postmix ginger ale. Pizza OK.

Bears' Dinner. Did we really have to congregate in a squishy place for drinks and natter *again*?

I think I ate something.

Bugger, Monorail has finished by 9 pm. Walkies.

Friday am

Time to find the bank. Definitely no Bendigo Bank in the City. So how to get to Balmain? It's over there --> somewhere. Does reception have a street directory? Ha! again. She can look it up on the internet. Long complicated printout from Sydney Buses (sans map). Finally find bus 441 to Balmain Wharf. Crikey! $2.80 per person one way! Darling Street Balmain. Number 300-ish. Bit of a walk to 591 then.

Now we have money again, and I am not going to drink again, this holiday might start moving smoothly again.

Friday pm.

Feeling a little better. Movie after lunch. Brokeback Mountain (see separate review, if I can get around to writing it). Arrange dinner date first.

Why does my mobile phone turn off whenever the signal drops out? Surely that is not supposed to happen?

Chubby#1 and friends off to the bears pool party. Me, I'm off to meet an old work friend.

Thanks for the sushi, Bridie, nice to see you. Sam looks scrumptious, from the camera pics at least. Next time we must make sure we get together properly. Hope your party went well.

Anything happening now? Bugger! It's after 8 o'clock again. What's worth doing for an hour or two. Let's see if anything is open? Kinokuniya? Nope, closes at 7 pm. Borders' surely. Nope 7 pm also. Virgin Megastore. closed. What is it with this city?

Circular Quay. Oh! the inner harbour ferries are still running. I thought they went to bed early. 10.10 pm to North Sydney/Neutral Bay. $5 one way. Reasonable load. They do move at quite a clip, don't they? Kirribilli. Good heavens, a dozen or so people getting off. Who says nice people don't take public transport.

North Sydney (High Street). I think I'll get off here and take a train back. Only two others get off. Hmm. This is High Street? More like a little lane. Thank heavens, a main road. Should I walk back across the bridge? Not tonight, I think. What's this? Cars on a freeway on-ramp giving way to pedestrians crossing. Never would happen in Perth.

Closed offices, fast food, pedestrian mall. Underpass to station: closed. Where on earth? Maybe if I follow this woman (hi! whoever you are) I can find the station. Good-oh. What $2.80 *again*. I really should have bought the "expensive" all day ticket this morning at $15.

Hotel. Shower. Oxford Hotel. More bears. One vodka then onto softies.

Ooh cute but very drunk young man is cracking onto me. Pinches my cheek and gives me a big snog. Oh. He wants a beer and will I buy him one? Bugger, if only he were a little more sober and I were a little more single . Why couldn't there be bearmail this evening?

2.30 am. I'm tired. Home time please. OK, pop into Midnight Shift for a p. Full of ciggie smoke and young asian men. Not me really.

Hotel.

Sleep.

Saturday.

Up reasonably early. Back to Kinokuniya to buy books. Tea. Woolies for food.

Quick trip to Manly for the 3 of us. Fresh air on ferry is, well, refreshing.

Bears' picnic in the park. What a shambles! Just people milling about everywhere and some sandwiches maybe. Am I going to march tonight. Hmm, maybe not. Bears here are not "our crowd". I'm sorry but bum hanging out of leather chaps is not my scene. Legs are killing me anyway (so much standing around). Back to hotel for Ice Rub and rest.

Parade time. We're cutting it fine. Chubby#1 wants to meet mates in front of Midnight Shift so he can go dancing right afterwards. Oops wrong side of street. Maybe if we walk along a bit there'll be a gap in barriers? No. No. Taylor Square? No. South Dowling Street? Aargh. N and I stay, #1 goes back to Oxford Street to be right opp MNS for when barriers come down.

N gets street side barrier. I get to share kerb with friendly drag thing, drunk rugby boys from Penrith (1xgay 1xstraight I think) and an Irish family. Dad has sexy voice, but I am not going there.

Dykes on bikes

Red headlights

Orange headlights

Yellow

you get the story

god how many are there?

Purple

and we're away

Sparkle. Pretty things. Country boys? Very nice...

Getting too dark for camera.

Marching Police in Uniform. Cheers. Tears in eyes of at least one cop.

Fun but ooh so tiring on legs. God, 10 pm already? Time to fight back through crowds to hotel to rest.

Midnight. Hungry. Haymarket. Chinese. Big serves. Drunk girl at next table keeps calling chinese waiter with "sumimasen". Let's pay the bill and leave.

God how many 'tired and emotional' teenagers are there here on the streets at 2 am? Queues for buses everywhere. We're walking.

Hotel. SMS - #1 is still partying. N and I crash.

Sunday am

9.00 alarm. Erk. Up. Bills, Taxi. Airport.

Summary

#1 wants to go to Hibernation in Melbourne in June. Oookay.

I just want to sleep for a week to recover. Next time: more time, only 1 or 2 activities a week not every day.

Next time, who can I march with? Thought: I wonder if there will be enough LPTC people in Syd. to make a float. Keep that in mind.

Chubby#2 signing off