Stories from 2023
📅 🏷featuredFound some stories in my notes that I wrote down but was too embarrased to put on my blog… until now.
Aug 19, 2023 - Trouble Parking? Join the Club
After doing my makeup for the 2nd time ever, I felt like it would be a waste to just remove it right after, so I decided to go out to a club I had been to before. (Some might say it was the only club I had been to before…)
makeup 2nd attempt
Parking in the city was a problem. It was a crowded Saturday night, and I spent probably an hour driving around looking, going into a garage, realizing it wasn’t open to the public, leaving and continuing the search, being confused by the parking signs and parking on the street anyway, seeing a parking lot on the walk there, walking back to the car, trying to drive to the lot but losing track of it, finally finding the lot, parking there, turns out the machine’s broken so i can’t pay, call the number on the box, they tell me to try again, it doesn’t work (big surprise), someone else comes over trying to pay as well, doesn’t work either, we call the number again, they say someone will come out to fix it in 30-45min, we wait in our cars, I video call some friends, a cop pulls into the lot which makes me a bit nervous, 45min passes, no technician, we try the machine again, no luck, the other person goes and asks the cop, who says “if it were me, I’d just park and leave without paying” so we do that.
I get to the club and they make me empty my water bottle outside, sad. It’s crowded but I find a spot to hang out and dance. I actually got several compliments on my makeup and outfit from people passing by. The music is loud so it’s hard to talk to folks but I met some nice ladies and at one point we were all 3 dancing on a raised fireplace brick border thingy.
Since it’s so crowded, at times people are squeezed up bumper to bumper. At one point this drunk dude pushes me forward to get some personal space. I think nothing of it, people are always squeezing past and using hand signals to ask for space. He could have tapped on my shoulder instead, but it’s whatever. The problem is that a few minutes later he pushes again, then later he yells something at me, couldn’t hear but to the effect of “get out of my space” or something. Like dude, the club is crowded, and if you have a problem with me just move somewhere else. At this point I turn sideways just to keep this bozo in my sight. He keeps saying he doesn’t want my ass in his face, which is ironic since I’m turned 90 degrees from him. Maybe a bit of gay panic or something on his part. Either way I move a few feet across the room, and a few minutes later I see this middle-aged lesbian couple giving him what I can only assume is a stern talking to. Props to them for being aware and helping out!
I danced for a bit more and headed out. As soon as I left my ears were ringing a bit and I realized how loud the music was. Next time I’m bringing ear plugs, don’t want permanent hearing loss. I got back to the lot and my car was still there, no tickets or anything.
All in all it went well, I’m glad nothing too bad happened and I had a fun 2nd time at the club and 2nd time in makeup.
Some pictures:
it me
me again
the ladies i danced with on the brick thingy
laser lights!
me
me but mirrored
me hoping my car hasn’t been towed
Sept 9, 2023 - Faire Enough
About a month ago, I was invited by some friends to attend a Rennaisance Faire, which I had never been to before. Everyone was doing some level of costume for the event. I had been wanting to try makeup for a while, so I decided this was the excuse I needed to start practicing makeup, get some skirts from the thrift store, and put together a look and an outfit for the event.
Over the next few weeks I bought some makeup from CVS, tried it out, went back for some better stuff that I realized I needed after the first try, tried again, etc. (The previous story was attempt #2 of 3 times practicing before the renn faire). I also went to a few thrift stores to get anything that looked vaguely medieval or fantasy related (some might say I went a bit overboard and bought too many things, but others might… umm.. yeah I got too much stuff). I remember the first one I went to, I was trying to figure out what size skirt to get, so I held up a belt to my waist to measure it, then measured that against the skirts. After I found a few I set the belt down, and this old guy came over and asked about the belt, and I told him he could have it (I already have a few that look basically the exact same as it). It just gets me thinking about the strange small ways our experiences are connected. Side note: when I was checking out they told me the store was a nonprofit to raise money for various medical needs, so now I get to feel good about my blatant overzealous consumerism.
The day of the event, I woke up around 8am, it took 2 hours to get ready, and when I went outside my car was gone. I called the number on the sign of the parking lot, and it turns out it was towed because I had accidentally parked in a reserved spot the night before, not noticing that it was reserved. (UPDATE: A few months later they repainted the “reserved” text on the pavement, so I feel vindicated that it was too faint to see.) I texted my friend who I was supposed to pick up from the metro, and he suggested that I use public transit to get to the lot where they towed it, and he would take the metro to a different stop closer to the lot while he was waiting. So there I was, with my full makeup and Renn Faire costume, walking to the bus stop. Thankfully I had a pink flowery hat to block out the sun, and plenty of water bottles. Magic Earth (which I use instead of Google Maps) has good support for public transit and told me which route to take and the bus arrival times, so I got to there within 45min.
When I got to the lot, the lady at the desk asked for my license, payment, etc. Then she said “I love your outfit by the way” and I told her I was going to a Renn Faire, and she said she wished she could go. When I told my friend later, he said I should have been like “Well then, can I have a discount on the towing cost?” which I don’t think would have been appropriate but is a funny thought at least. That dang fee was expensive for such a silly mistake of not noticing a reserved spot. But we all tell ourselves these things until you are the person who comes home to see their reserved spot taken and wonders how someone messes up something so simple, like “bruh, it says reserved, why did you park there, I need to unload these groceries” or whatever.
Anyway, I got my car back and was relieved that the key fob worked (I had coincidentally changed the battery the night before). I drove to the metro, picked up my friend, and met up with everyone at the faire. Since my friend had decided to go last minute, he didn’t have a costume, but thankfully they had rentals, and I lent him my masquerade mask. We went around the various shops, one of which had a sign that said “We Gladly Honor The Lady Visa & Master of the Card”, watched various shows, threw knives and throwing stars, and of course got turkey legs.
I got some compliments on my outfit, including one person who came up and asked, “Do you feel bonita? Cuz you look bonita.” We talked and she had apparently used 2 layers of primer and extra setting spray for her makeup to better resist the sweat and rain (I sadly did not know about this trick and I was sweating it off throughout the day). At one point someone thought my friend and I were dating, which was funny.
After watching the jousting, I thought I noticed across the arena a familliar face. I sprinted around the fence, my friend in tow close behind, and sure enough, it was an old friend, who I hadn’t talked to in years except briefly at an event a few months prior. At that event he was wearing a full feminine outfit and I had expressed my desire to try androgynous fashion, and he had encouraged me to go for it. Now I got to say hi to him and his girlfriend and thank him for his encouragement which had helped me go for it and put together this costume and makeup for the faire.
We noticed on the schedule that one of the taverns would have several bands playing in succession, and we were ready to sit down, so we headed there and got drinks. It was a lively show with a violin cover of the tetris theme, songs and dances involving the crowd, and irish folk tunes with a healthy dose of comedy and audience participation (no overclapping on Finnegans Wake!) thrown in.
After that we were ready to head out, but while I was waiting for my friend to return his rented costume, I heard the faint singing of “And so I wake in the morning and I step outside…” so I wandered over and had a good time singing and dancing along to an acoustic cover of that famous meme song, a perfect way to end the event.
And that’s the story of how an evil witch turned my car into a towed.
Some pictures:
the renn faire fit
the full outfit
we gladly honor the lady visa & master of the card
mystery masquerade mask maven
before and after a day of sweat
the squad
Sept 19, 2023 - Sick Gaming Setup
Some background: for the past month I have been using a folding table as a desk. It sucks because it’s flimsy and slightly sloped, so I didn’t bother setting anything up permanently on it (speakers, monitor, etc.) so when I did streaming I had to open chat on my phone, and didn’t have a good spot for OBS, etc. Also I couldn’t just go out and buy a desk from the thrift store because my car is too small to fit it (I guess I could buy an ikea one and build it, idk).
Some other background: for the past week I have had covid, so I have been staying inside and mostly sleeping and chugging water. This particular day I was wearing this black cotton dress just cuz it’s comfy.
At a certain point I decided to fry the boiled potatoes I had in the firdge, but turns out they were moldy. So I threw them in the trash, but it was getting full so I needed to take it out. I put on a mask and some crocs. When I brought the trash bag to the dumpster I noticed a desk sitting there on its side. I look it over, and when I open the drawer there’s an empty gallon jug with some questionable medicine vials in it, which I throw in the dumpster.
Since I’m sick I am questioning whether I could carry this thing or not. I have been absolutely decimated the last few days and even walking out to the dumpster I am slightly winded. But the problem is when I get sick like this I get extremely bored, so silly me in that moment is like “screw it, I want this desk and I’m gonna carry it.” The desk is on its side, so I crouch under, place my back up against the drawer side which is on the top, and lift with my knees, my legs fitting between the 2 desk legs on the other side. Then I can shuffle in small baby steps to move it.
I get about 1/3 of the way there and set it down to take a break. Two people call out at the same time, one from down the street and another from a balcony, “do you need any help?” See the thing is I do need help, but I don’t want them to get sick by getting too close or entering my house or anything. So I tell them thanks but I’m sick so I don’t want help. I don’t know if they heard me say I was sick, maybe they just thought I was too proud to accept help. I then procede to awkwardly move the desk another 1/3 of the distance before I need another break, so it’s about 2/3 the way between the dumpster and my apartment.
At this point I am starting to feel BAD. I’m wishing I had stopped for longer at the first 1/3, maybe even take a 15min nap or something. I walk back to my apartment and sit down. I get a feeling that has only happened years ago when I have ran for too long and I’m short of breath but also breathing too heavily and it just feels terrible. The problem is if I sit down, I feel worse, but if I walk a bit to cool down like you are supposed to after running, it doesn’t work because I’m sick and walking is basically running which makes it worse. On top of this, I’m feeling the pressure to go get the desk at least sometime soon and not just leave it in the middle of the sidewalk, but I recognize that is secondary. Eventually I lie down, but I still feel bad, and a minute or 2 later I go to the toilet and throw up. The day before I had mildly felt like throwing up but held it in. This time I threw up, but it was just water since I hadn’t had the appetite to eat anything. Immediately I started to feel better, and I sat back down.
A few minutes later, I went and got the desk, taking more breaks this time. On the way I passed a group of kids, and I can’t help but wonder what they and the other 2 people thought of this strange dude in a dress carrying a desk. As soon as I got it inside my door I left it there for the next few days, just like screw this thing, I’ll deal with it later.
Today, now that I’m finally feeling much better, I took down the folding table and set up the desk. I also finally set up my usb-c dock, monitor, speakers, mycroft speaker, etc, who cares.
the setup
UPDATE FROM 2024: that desk used to be my main setup, but now it is my minimal work from home setup and I have moved most of the stuff to my electronics workbench. Also the big screen fell and broke :[ so I have a smaller one I will try to attach to the workbench wall.
