5:21 p.m. - Oct 1, 2001
Seattle & Tonsilitis
I have Tonsilitis. Tonsil-freakin-itis, I don't believe it. I was THE child (of five) that was NEVER sick.
I am almost 33 years old and I have Tonsilitis.
Lovely.
What can I do? Take 1000 mg of anti-biotics for 10 days, that's what.
On another note - I just got back from Seattle. I left Friday, after work, on an 840PM flight. My friend Mark lives here, in H-town, but owns a home in Woodinville, WA with his partner. They have a bit of land...and LOTS of dogs. Show Dogs. They breed and show English Pointers, and Whippets. Mark's partner is in Australia right now, at a Dog Show.
We both needed a diversion and he's been buggin me to join him in Seattle. So -why not?
By the time we got to his place Friday night, it was a bit after midnight. The sky was clear and crisp and there were lots of stars out. I've never met a Whippet before - and I'm not really a dog person. I'm more of a cat person. But ya know what? I like that breed. They are, ironically enough, very cat-like in their personalities. They're not much for barking or wagging, but they do like to curl up in your lap and love, love, love you up. They look like a miniture Greyhound, which I never thought was pretty. But, the Whippet is pretty in a quiet way - with sad, knowing eyes. When Mark let the Whippets into the house, they all surrounded me. There I was, sitting on the sofa, and suddenly I had FIVE Whippets in my lap. I loved it! Wow. I could own a Whippet. They've very fast runners, too.
Anyhoo - I woke up @ 815AM on Saturday morning. Mark brought me a Latte from the little Coffee Shack down the road which is owned by two lesbians. Good coffee. Real, real good coffee. My friend, Ben called. I've known Ben for years. We met when we both worked in reservations, for Continental. He likes to move around alot - sort of a modern day Nomad. We met in Houston (in '92 / '93 ?)...he then moved to Colorado for awhile - then back to Houston...and then over to Phoenix (and worked for America West) and now he lives in Seattle (and works for Alaska Airlines). He has finally come out of the closet. He couldn't fool me. I had him pegged YEARS ago, even when he hadn't admitted it to himself.
Anyhoo - I sent him an e-mail late on Friday, right before I left work, letting him know that I was going to be in the area. I hadn't given him any notice and I wasn't even sure if he was going to be in town (he travels alot). Well - he had just gotten back from the South of France, with his boyfriend. He's having problems with his boyfriend. We met down at the waterfront and had seafood and a bottle of wine together. Ben and Mark are very different. I felt a little weird. Ben kept talking about the past and wanting to relive our old experineces. Mark was left, sitting there, feeling a bit awkward and left out. He didn't say this to me, I could just simply tell. We walked down to the pier and watched the sailboats for awhile. It was fantastic weather!!! The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky. It was warm, too, which was a surprise. Ben went to work and Mark & I toured the city. He took me to the Queen Anne district which was really, really groovy in a "cant-afford-that" way. Lots of steep, winding, cobblestone roads. I tried to imagine those roads in the winter, with all of the snow - looked dangerous. We also walked around Capitol Hill (sorta similar to Montrose, around the Curve area). I bought a black t-shirt with the inscription "Bad Kitty" (in red glitter). Mark thought that was funny. He got a hair cut. It was short, but looked good. He always looks good.
We went back to the house (a 45 minute drive each way without traffic) to change clothes, check vmail, and feed the dogs. We were supposed to meet up with Ben and his friend, Craig (from his Gay Bowling League) at 6:30PM. We were WAY late and showed up at a bit after 7PM. Actually worked out fine, because Ben was also late. He drove up 10 minutes after we did. It was cold at night, with a breeze. I was already not feeling so good. My throat was on fire. But, I wanted to see my friends and hang out and not be a party-pooper. We met at the Space Needle, THE Seattle Icon. Now, that's a work of art. We met up with two more friends / co-workers, Dan & his partner, Bruce. Yes, all of my friends are gay men.
(I am a gay man, trapped in a woman's body) - if you know me, you know this.
To continue...
We all went to a groovy restaurant called the King Fish. To my surprise, it wasn't exactly JUST seafood. No sirree. It was SOUL FOOD. And, damn spicy, too!!!! Nearly removed a layer of skin from the roof of my mouth and the top part of my head, too. Whoah! I loved it! After dinner, we went to the Crocodile Lounge, to see Ivy play. They were supposed to have an opening band, beginning at 9PM. Ok, I am a live-music whore, of sorts. I used to spend ALOT of time seeing live shows - at the Axiom, the Abyss, Emo's (yadda yadda) back in the day. I know enough to know when a band says they will have an opening band at 9PM, this really means 11PM. At the earliest, right. So, when we were still eating dinner at 9PM, I didn't feel any pressure to drop my food and get there as fast as I could.
Ben, on the other hand, and his friend, Craig, bolted up out of their chairs (after ordering soup & salad - at a SOUL FOOD restaurant) and said they were going. They dropped $20 on the table, said their goodbyes, and ran out the door. I was embarassed. Again, it was just a clash of different cultures. Dan, Bruce, Mark were all very polished - in their shiny shoes, well-tailored pants and perfect hair...compared to Ben and Craig, in their old & faded jeans with t-shirts and flannel. Mid-west meet New York City.
We all leisurely finished our meals and met up with Ben and Craig around 11PM, maybe a bit earlier. Ben comes running up, explaining frantically that the opening band hadn't started yet because they hadn't eaten dinner or some such nonsense. Well, I can relate. My throat was really scratchy at this point and the cold, night air wasn't helping. So, I laid off of the alcohol and sucked down a cranberry juice instead. Ben sat on the ground in the bar, at my feet. This made Mark very uncomfortable. I was having Dominatrix fantasies, as I petted Ben's head.
The opening band started. They were trying really hard to be alternative, trying to sound like Elvis Costello. But, it just came across (in my opinion) as silly. By the third song, I was over them. They sucked.
The bass had a strange effect on the fluid which was building up in my head. At first, I thought my head was going to explode. Then I felt a slight release of pressure, almost as if fluid were leaking out of my ears. Maybe it was. This kinda freaked me out. Mark was already ready to go. I tapped Ben and told him that we were leaving. He looked shocked. We had paid $14 per person to hear three songs of a sucky band, so I can understand his shock.
We got back to the house sometime after midnight. I was in considerable pain. All I could think of was - how in the hell am I going to FLY home, with all of this fluid in my head? Pain, pain, pain. I went directly to bed and Mark brought me hot tea. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow -and slept like the dead until 8:45AM the next morning.
On Sunday, we went back into the city, to see Dan & Bruce's place. They live in the heart of the city in what looks more like a hotel than an apartment building. It was an adorable little place though. Great view of the waterfront and the Space Needle. We headed out to the airport for our 3PM flight back. At the Presidents Club, we learned that our flight had gotten full, seemingly overnight. I didn't want to get bumped. I just wanted to be in my own bed.
We got lucky - we made the flight!!! And it was a FULL flight, too. Watched a sucky movie and tried to sleep. Upon takeoff and landing, my head felt like it was going to explode, the pressure was so bad. I dropped off Mark and arrived home at around 11PM.
...and, much to my horror, creepy cousin was still in my apartment.
FUCK!
I wanted to simultaneously beat her in the head and fall to my knees in tears. I was so tired and so sick and my head hurt so bad - and she makes so much freakin noise. I SO did NOT need the drama!
When I walked in, she asked me how I was doing. I told her I was sick.
And do you know what she said? She said, "Stay away from me." (with a chuckle in her voice)
The fucking nerve!
