Leavetaking pain is nicely poignant, though, especially when I think about what I’ve been up to for the last couple of weeks. They haven’t felt busy, exactly, but we’ve definitely gotten our kicks. Summer is here, in its own Bay Area form. I’m soaking it up before the fog rolls in.
A few weeks ago a friend was in town from Chicago, and we met in Dolores Park for cocktails. I brought homemade margaritas, which were super tart from the fresh squeezed lime juice. We topped them with some cava and boom, perfect. We wound up back at my place to grill some sausages and eat ice cream. Perfect Friday.
The next day Mike and I made a quick day trip up to Sonoma for a birthday party. It was held at an activist-owned retreat center called Black Mountain, on a hill just outside of Guerneville, and I’m in love. There’s a big house with five bedrooms, a separate building with more bedrooms, a big kitchen/living room, a covered patio, a pool, a hot tub, a grape arbor, and a lawn with a stage and a zipline. All of my favorite things in one place.
After Black Mountain, Mike dropped me at a bachelorette in the Berkeley Hills. We stayed at a crazy house – thanks to AirBnb – and went out dancing. My favorite party about lesbian dance nights? You can just use the men’s room. And find a working payphone, apparently.
Back at the house late at night, the bachelorette (also, conveniently, a filmmaker) staged a facefirst fall into the pool a la Sean Penn’s character in Hurly Burly, which was filmed at the house.
The next weekend was a Wellesley ladies outing to a live performance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I thought it would be like The Rocky Horror Picture Show – singing, lots of draggy makeup – but I had no idea what I was getting into. There was pouring of whiskey into audience members’ mouths, table dancing, nudity, etc etc. Loved it.