Monday, October 29

halloween party

there is very little that i can say about the halloween party that cannot be inferred from here: http://picasaweb.google.com/joshuamslade/Halloween

or i can say the following...

gene decided he wanted to be a mummy. apparently he had this childhood dream of one day dressing up as a scary mummy. i think it probably has something to do with a lack of love and the intense desire to be wrapped up tightly. or maybe it is a bondage thing. who knows except for gene and probably he doesn't have any idea, but a mummy was the plan. the plan took work. there was a lot of shopping. luckily we are crafty folk so we could make the costume. he was fairly well behaved during the costume construction. whenever he became too bossy or rude i would just make sure that the hot glue was pressed a bit too hard into the long underwear the strips were applied to resulting in a moment of pain. it took him four times to learn the lesson and hold his lips shut. ah, compliance. perhaps i should get into s&m...or not. in the end he looked great in his costume and totally unrecognizable.

higher ground was fantastic. there were tons of people in costume for a change rather than a handful of costumes and a ton of fags in their blue jeans and button downs. and there were great costumes all around. todd's weatherman costume was great. even jeff's "this is my costume so get over it" t-shirt was well executed with devil horns hiding his reciding hairline. my favorite though was not my gay nazi costume (weren't all the nazis gay and wasn't that the whole point - repressed sexuality run amuk?). my favorite were the sisters lehey - i am renaming them in the tradition of pirating everywhere. don, serena and mark were fantastic fake sisters lemay. they did not win the contest judged by the real sisters lemay, but probably only because they proved that the look could be done with style and some beauty. oh the bitterness.

there were also a group of zombies. perhaps a gaggle? or a herd? or a school? how about a yard? get it...a graveyard? yup, i am funny. the zombies were done wonderfully well by some local make up folks who deal with prostetics and realistic trama make up professionally. i was more scared by the one member of the crew who i know and still am not 100% sure he is not a jeffrey dahmer candidate. again, repressed sexualilty is an ugly monster that takes people to bad places often resulting in the unfortunate demise of themselves or those around them.

then there was the hot vampire. in fact i am still not entirely sure that she wasn't a real vampire just out for a night on the town. and of course there was some penis flashing. not mine this time. nope, i remain 100% pure and proper. well...i guess i might have gropped one boy next to the bar, but technically i know him and there was no exposed skin.

so the party goes on. gene gets hammered. scott and kyle get hammered. i am totally sober, of course. then i think...wow, i fell...oh no...wait...i am sitting...i am in the car...i cannot get these boots off my feet...where is my bed...ah...sleep...WTF? did i break open my head? i see bright light and there is a strange wet pulsing sensation on my cheek...oh...crap...it is morning...sputnik is licking my face...now his balls...now my face...gross...

ah yes the gay's halloween. a gay tradition everywhere. one night when we can get dressed up and be someone else. someone who is not dealing with our lives, our drama, our sins, our dreams, our realities or our mortgages. someone who gets live in that moment for one night of chaos and comedy. someone who does not care what is happening around the world or to the world but simply cares about the next song on the dance floor. someone who laughs at the person puking their guts out outside of the entrance and doesn't think - wow that person is completely embarassing themselves (no that wasn't me thank god). someone new and fun.

Friday, October 19

halloween - a time honored tradition among queers and theatre geeks

sure there is christmas - the holiday that among american christians represents the traditional values of spendthrift and capitalism galore - but the biggest holiday for queers and theatre folk across the world is halloween, when we get the chance to don makeup and wild clothing without fear of second glance and hate crimes. so it makes sense that this is the one holiday i spend months with the naggingly aching thought in my brain of "what am i going to wear?"..

yes, the glorious celebration of all hallows eve a time when ghosts and college girls dressed as tramps reek chaos throughout burlington. the day when candy gives way to alcohol and dirty bumping and grinding. a night of dim lit dance floors and green glow sticks spinning through masses of horny adults. really a hallmark card cannot capture the spirit unless of course it comes in scratch and sniff.

so what am i going to wear? i thought about being a cowboy. that seems good. i could wear a hat, jeans and some cowboy like shirts (perhaps a wife beater underneath a snap button plaid shirt). maybe i could even find a bullwhip in time. or perhaps i should be an astronaut.

Friday, October 5

29 and a lot of miles

today is my 29th (for real this time) birthday. yup, 29 years and still going. technically i am 30 as far as wear and tear go, but since we don't start out as 1 i still get an extra year to revel in my 20's. not a bad deal really.

so what happened this past year? do i actually feel older?

for the first time i have to say yes. this past year was all about growth and change. i saw a number of my friends get married, another friend had another baby, some friends solified their parenting roles and others maintained their lives without much change. watching all of this happen around me i made choices that not everyone understands.

i decided to leave a job that could have prompted a number of public service jobs for one that requires me to work hard and learn fast in order to work my way up the food chain. this is a decision that was based on a number of unpredictables and that i still struggle with during the times of my job that i feel completely useless in a sea of bureaucracy and policy.

i decided to adopt. probably the biggest decision yet but spurred on by my desire to be a parent, to help shape a life and to leave a legacy. of course my adopting is completely continguent upon someone realizing that i can be a parent even though i am single and in my 20's. this is a variable. okay, this is an obstacle, but one that i hope doesn't stop me from living a dream.

i learned this year the immense value of family. more than ever before actually. i learned this year that family is beyond blood or legal ties and delves deeply into the friendships that i create with those around me. my family this year grew into friendships that i value as much as i value my relationship with my traditional family.

i learned about friends this year. i learned to let go of friendships that were one sided and hurtful. i learned to embrace the friends that i have by sharing my thoughts, emotions and ambitions. i learned to be friends with gene regardless of what past fault i placed on him. i learned that my friends are the people i can talk to about anything and who i will listen to regardless of the time they call.

and this year i learned to accept myself. warts, boils, faults, depression, artistic creation, nerdiness, craziness and all. (okay, i do not have warts and boils, but i do have wrinkles and male pattern baldness.)

so, the past year was huge.

want to see photos from the night? go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/joshuamslade/29thBirthday