It's still a small, small, gay world

And sometimes cruel. But we'll get to the venting later.

About 5 months ago, I wrote about meeting people from SF in SD. (Cue the Disney...) It turns out this was NOTHING compared to LA Pride.


I'd already planned to stay in Burbank with a good friend of mine that I really wanted to see. As those plans were being made, one of my friends from SD moved to WeHo, so I met up with him Friday. I was an hour late because of traffic from a Morrissey concert, but like a sweetie, he waited.

When I got to the Abbey, I couldn't find my friend. I thought I heard someone yell "Doctor Joel". I spun around, but figured I needed my ears cleaned because none of the 4 people I know in LA call me that. So I found my friend JC, and while we were at the bar getting Mojitos I heard it again. "Doctor Joel!".

But this time it was followed by a stranger running up to me. It was Darin (1) from All Preparation and No H, who recognized me from pictures on the blogs of mutual friends. A little startling, but awesome, and I look forward to seeing him on my next trip to see Jimmi and his new digs.

After the Abbey, we went to Fiesta Cantina, where I ran into a guy I've gone out with a couple of times in SD (2). He seemed mad that we hadn't gone out in a while, then rather happy to see me.

Then we went to Mickey's and met some boys, one of whom was an MD. All seemed to be going well until they ditched us to go back to Long Beach.

Saturday was fairly uneventful -- I retrieved my car and went back to my friend's place in Burbank to sleep. We went out for dinner, then came back for a good night's sleep. The only real events were a waiter who ogled me and called me "sexy" and getting offerred a "bump" of coke. I left the waiter my digits on the check (I hadn't done that in a while, but hey, it's Pride). The coke offerer got a weird look and a "No thanks".

Sunday, I went out for the parade. I ran into two old friends from San Francisco who were in town from the AIDS vaccine bike ride. One was an old hook-up (still friendly)(3), and one was basically the boy I always liked but with whom I never got to square one(4). We did the usual -- Hi, hug, quick cheek kiss, good to see you, how ya been, gotta go.

After the parade we had a couple of drinks at a lesbian bar (they've gone boy hunting with me plenty of times). My friend was worried that her nipples were showing too much. I pointed out that my shirt was worse (and by that I mean better) because if a boy blew in my ear, everyone would see my nips. This led to a general chorus of "A boy, huh?" and a gorgeous lesbian (not one of the ladies in the picture, who are gorgeous, too) caressing my ear w/ her tongue and mouth in an attempt to get my nipples hard (and stamp my bi-card).


After that, we tried to go to the Abbey. Due to the line around the corner, we ended up back at the Cantina. First, I met a guy from Denver who is coming to SD soon. Then I saw a guy I was pretty sure I had seen at Mo's in SD. Turns out I did (5) -- he's from Long Beach, but comes down to visit. I also met his friend, who seemed to like me, and who had dinner with me as we soberred up well enough to drive.

So the tally: I knew 4 people in LA when I headed up there, and only saw 2 of them. I ran into 5 people that I knew from elsewhere. And I didn't even get to meet up with the guy I've been myspacing (he had a good reason, though) or the friend from SF I knew was down there (sorry, Tony). Small world.

Oh, and did I forget to mention Miss Potato Spud 1969?