Halloween was good to Mama this year...

Two parties in less than a week...


Beth threw a rockin' Dia De Los Muertos party. Death and 40's of PBR abounded.

Dead bitches (l-r): Frida Kahlo (Beth), the Virgin of Guadalupe (Amanda), Mother Nature (Dalice), Anna Nicole (me), Eighties Hair Metal (Rachel), Edie Sedgwick (Melanie).


On to the White Trash Party-- our third in Philadelphia. From the way my living room stank the next morning, I'd say it was an unrivaled sucess.

I wonder if this fellar appreciates my press-on nails?

Getting me some Texas-style lovin'...

Have you ever seen such fabulous bitches?

Yes, that is a celebrity changing a grown woman's diaper. Hey, things like this happen at my White Trash Parties.

A line-up: Heather (Melanie) Nicole Ritchie (Alison) Paris Hilton (Lizz) and... Christy. Who I worried was dead for 3 days after the party. I still have your sweater, Christy.

Cut out of the same cloth, these two.

No one does Roxborough trash like Bridget. No one.

"My gay boyfriend cheated on me with my Siamese twin!"

A Texas wedding. Deb tried to make her hair look like a mullet.

Nobody 80's dances like Melanie. Nobody.

Even apprentices get trashy... can you guess which one later walked into the screen door?

A wonderful party season. I'm already thinking of ways to make next year's party bigger, badder and trashier...



**my thanks to Carrie and Arizona for some of these pictures**

My adventures in the Rich Port

First glimpse of the ocean: eternal blue, wind tossed palms.

Old San Juan: for the tourists. But do they ever look up?

Narrow streets, dark corridors. Painted bright to sweep things clean.

Something about the cross in relief against the turquoise tropical sky made a lump come into my throat.

I love afternoon haze on a city. Even the trees look sleepy....

Guardian

We had to stop for shaved ice.... I chose grape. The sugar and the ice gave me a fierce headache, but it was worth it.

The phallic nature of monuments never ceases to delight me.

Not a bad final resting place-- lulled into your final sleep by the endless crashing waves, kept tied to restless spirits by the slums that lie just beyond.

All along the watchtower

Windswept plane of el Morro.

Fortress of solitude.

The unbearable lightness of being.

I'm fascinated by signage-- both official and graffiti.

One way.

Sunset over cobblestones.

Dinner at the Parrot Club. (l-r: Maria, Mom, Melissa, me)

The view from our wedding hotel. I kept expecting the ocean to rise up and swallow those tall buildings. The arrogance of man, building so high and so close to that beast.

Wedding shower cakes.

Everything's funny when the blindfolded bride to be has a condom in her hand...

Maria has no idea what's to come...

Dancing with Jonathan later in the evening.

Maria gives Mom a dancing lesson. Mom yells at hecklers.

Cooling off those dancing feet.

Back in three weeks for the wedding...

Destination: Paradise

This is where I'm going. Tomorrow.


Let's see what those Puerto Ricans think of the whitest of white gringas invading their island. I've been warned to keep my legs covered, lest their brightness scare small children.


Jonathan's wedding is November 10th, but Maria's shower is this weekend. Mom had some extra frequent flier miles and Jonathan has a floor in his apartment for us to crash on so.....


Tomorrow. Pictures to follow, I'm sure.

Recovery

Sometimes the only thing you can do after a long night of drinking is drag the mattress into the living room, order Chinese food and settle in for a day of wallowing in your hangover.

Ave Dominum

Here it is... the music in my head. The music I hum in the shower, the music I sing under my breath when I'm walking. I tumble Latin words over my tongue, sounding like some crazy priestess whispering her benedictus.





These fall afternoons find me looking out the window of the train, watching the city fade behind me as I slide into the posh and sparkling suburbs. Over and over I listen to my own voice, often surprised at it's volume, it's height. When did I learn to sing like this? Why haven't I been using this voice more often?





Heidi encourages me to "do something" with my voice. I'm flabbergasted. And suddenly shy.


But I do know that the notes fall over my brain like drops of water. I open my mouth not to sing, but to release this breath, this vibration. I understand the music and the words, like they've always been a part of me.


Heidi talked today in our lesson about music and theater being a temporal art-- that is, an art form that takes place in time. As opposed to something like sculpture, which is an art form that takes place in space. I like the idea of holding time, of exploring it's elasticity and mobility. I like the idea of slowing time. I like the thought of this conduit, these notes held shimmering in the air, this transference of time and thought.

But mostly I just like to sing. I am a willing prisoner of this Ave.

Scattegories

It's really time for me to get back to work. This anticipation is killing me...

I Want the World to Know...

In honor of OutFest 2007, I thought I would re-print my blog from last year around this time.



In the year since I've told my parents that I was gay and happily dating Deb, wonderful things have happened. It's such a cliché, but I feel more free and open and happy. My confidence has really soared. The rest of my family now knows, thanks to mom (yay, mom!) and are very sweet and supportive as well. I certainly can't expect anyone to like my lifestyle, but they all are respectful and gracious, which is more than I ever hoped for. Isn't it great when family surprises you like that?



Here are my impressions from last year, fresh from my coming out experience.


10/24/06


It's true, folks, the day I thought would never arrive-- finally has. I was home visiting the folks during a work break (or as I like to call that, unemployment) and there I was, sitting at the table with my mom, making small talk and thinking "Now is the time, just do it, do it now, do it now..." when my mother just came out and asked me about my relationship with Deb. We ended up talking for four hours about most everything and it was really, really good. I mean, there were tears and I wouldn't say that she's completely thrilled with having a gay daughter, but she was very clear about always loving me. I can't believe how luck I am.

These two years I've been the happiest I can remember in a long time. It's so wonderful to be in a relationship with someone who respects me and loves me for who I am, and who at the same time challenges me to be a better version of myself. But there was always something missing-- I had to keep this from my mom, who I was very close to. My mom and I drifted a bit apart, and that was hard for me. It's such a relief to be honest with her.

Last night I had a great phone conversation with my dad, in which he too expressed his love for me no matter what. "You'll always be my special girl, you'll always be my Sara Lou"-- those words are bringing tears to my eyes as I type. He also said that while he didn't have much experience with these things, he knew that he was "definitely straight"-- har! My dad is definitely straight! Well, my mind is set at ease...

The rest of the family may be a bigger challenge, maybe not. But who knows-- I find that with this issue, I am constantly surprised. But honestly, the only people I care about "knowing" are my wonderful parents. Everyone else is just gravy. So a big thank you to all of you for your love and support-- I feel like a weight has been lifted!

Re-donk-ulous

I think I need a donkey now. And some lambs.

But seriously, the folks at cuteoverload.com have gone to far. Check it out for yourself here. And know this about me: if ever I'm stressed, if ever my whole day has gone wrong, if ever the world seems like a cruel, cruel place.... you can believe that a visit to that site makes everything a little bit more okay.


Try it for yourself, you'll see.

Deep cleansing breaths.

Here we go again.....

Visiting Hours

I recently made a trip home to get the old jalopy inspected and to spend some quality time with my folks, who are newly empty nest-ers.


On Sunday my dad and I drove out to beautiful Geneseo, NY to visit Joseph at school. He seems to have settled in seamlessly-- a real college man!


We took some time off from our campus tour to check out Letchworth State Park, often referred to as the "Grand Canyon of the East". The scenery was gorgeous, but goofing off with Joseph and Dad was even better. For a full photo album of our visit, including some awesome hot air balloon pictures, go here.

Joseph and I, acting our ages. When did he get to look like an adult, anyway? When did I?

My two favorite guys. Dad had a lot of fun on the trip as well-- I even caught him eating a packet of relish at dinner. So you know he was really cutting loose.

The rest of my time at home passed too quickly, but I really enjoyed making dinner for Mom and Dad, eating ice cream at Friendly's with Matt and Weas and getting all of my yearly appointments out of the way.

Only a few more weeks until I'm back at work, and I think I'm finally ready...