Houston Pride Saturday June 29, 2003

Well, it's not San Francisco...it's not even Portland, but it was pretty fun. There was a pretty impressive Teach for America showing on the bus going from UH to the parade. There was even a guy in a dress and heels. That was cool to see here in Houston. The parade wasn't very long or big, but it was spirited. It was also a lot more diverse than the other prides I've been to. I don't think I have ever seen so many Latino queers in all of my life put together. It made me very very happy.

We drank warm beer out of giant cans on the street and tried our hardest to get beads that were being thrown around. After the parade we tried to find a place to go out, but apparently after the pride parade in Houston people go back to hiding in their houses. There was seriously nothing to do. So we caught a cab. And the guy in the cab was yelling things like, "I know that faggot did not just blow his horn at me. Faggot!" And this was a cab we caught on the very same street that the parade was on. It was more upsetting than it should have been, I think. I got really sad about it. I had a lot of fun all night long, but as the night ended, I just couldn't stop thinking that my friends were having fun in the Castro. My friend Stacy called me from San Francisco pride and they were drinking and having a blast and I just kind of wanted to jump out of the homophobic cab and fly back home.

But all in all, I did have a lot of fun. And truely, I am meeting some great people here. I am really enjoying my new friends. I know that at least two of them are "keepers". Dana is from Wisconsin and she is the sweetest pea and my roomate here in Houston. She is great to live with and she helps me stay pretty positive, while allowing my bitter negativity, too. A rare quality. And Terri reminds me of the friends in my life that I love the best. Not to mention the fact that she cracks me up, loves The Bachelor, and is a pretty snappy dresser. She is one of those "Shut up! Me, too!" friends, where we keep coming up with creepy similarities. I can't wait for all of you to meet them.