Marla GG
06-28-2006, 12:12 AM
It seems like the whole world went TG mad this past weekend! It was so much fun reading about everyone's adventures at Sparkle and various Pride events. Here's what Angel and I got up to in San Francisco, with our forum friend Marlena Dahlstrom.....
Angel: I love San Francisco. It’s a very cool city. It’s where “free love” and “flower power” of the 1960’s was born, so being tolerant and accepting of alternative lifestyles seems almost the norm there -- well it certainly feels that way to me. There is a great vibe about the place, so the prospect of being en femme there is always a welcoming one.
Marla: I was really excited about our first Pride event! After talking to my friend Kathy GG about how much fun she and Amanda always have at Toronto Pride, I knew we had to go, so I booked a room at the Hilton for Saturday night.
Angel: We drove to San Francisco with me already “girled up” in my new wig, a sensible khaki skirt, and plain pink t-shirt. As it happened, the hotel was fully booked for that night and very busy. There were four lines, three people deep, at the large check-in area. I felt okay at first, but after standing in line for fifteen minutes with businessmen, tourists, families, and hotel employees all around me, I started to get a little bit nervous. I always repeat to myself that “no one can tell” and that everyone thinks I’m just “a woman with too much make up on.” Whether this is true or not I don’t care, it’s just a tool I use to build to my confidence. Anyway, we checked in without any problems. No one seemed the slightest bit interested in looking at me other than what folks do when they “people watch” whilst in line.
Marla: It’s true, no one seemed to be paying much attention to us at all. The desk clerk was very friendly and even the other people who shared our elevator up to the 22nd floor seemed not to notice. I am not saying they DIDN’T notice….just that they treated us with respect and didn’t stare or snicker. We were both dressed to blend in, which I’m sure helped.
Angel: Next we took a 6-block walk to the BART station. BART is the underground metro train system of San Francisco and so naturally on Saturday afternoon it was packed. I must admit that this was quite a challenge for me. I am usually totally fine with being en femme in public, but when people are in very close proximity to me for more than a few minutes, with nothing better to do than look at me, I am not as confident I should be. Obviously, it’s all in the attitude and everyone knows that you should hold your head high and be a confident, happy tranny when in public. Well…I wasn’t exactly that, but I wasn’t a crumbling wreck either.
Marla: Ok, so the BART ride was a little scary. I had this fantasy that on Pride weekend, the LGBT community would sort of take over the whole city and BART would be overrun with crossdressers and drag queens. Did I mention that I love drag queens? Unfortunately however, our fellow passengers looked much the same as they would on any other day. But again, everyone seemed to be minding their own business, and we got off the train a couple of stops later with no incident. We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around the Civic Center, looking at the various stalls and enjoying the entertainment on the main stage. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t see any other CDs or transpeople there, but I predicted Sunday would be different……. And was it ever!
Angel: Sunday was parade day, and the day we had arranged to meet up with Marlena. Marlena looked fabulous, and because she knows SF so well she was able to guide us to all the best Pride weekend had to offer.
Marla: I loved the parade, with all the wacky floats and marchers and the carnivalesque atmosphere. Angel and I were wearing cute TG-themed t-shirts that got a surprising amount of attention! I was also wearing an outrageous burgundy wig and wild drag queen eye makeup, so that may have had something to do with it too. Oh and speaking of drag queens…..did I mention that I love them? More about that later. Here we all are on Market Street watching the parade:
http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/8945/marlaangel9ec.jpg
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/6573/angelmarlena0sk.jpg
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/2146/marlenaangelinthecrowd2es.jpg
Angel: After watching the parade for a couple of hours we went to the Civic Center where everyone congregates and enjoys all the exhibitions, stalls, and live music and events that make Pride what it is. There were hundreds of thousands of people packed into less than a square mile. We ate lunch, drank Margaritas, listened to live music, people-watched, checked out the Transgender Pavilion where we met some of Marlena’s friends, and generally had a blast. Everyone was so friendly and the atmosphere was very welcoming. It was like one massive street party.
Marla: With drag queens! Woohoo! Did I mention that I….yeah I think I did. Anyway pictures speak louder than words:
http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/5528/peachesnmarla0eu.jpg
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/5474/ophelianmarla1bs.jpg
http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/6410/susienmarla1ok.jpg
http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/7692/marlasandwich4ag.jpg
We can’t wait for next year!!! So who wants to join us?
Angel: I love San Francisco. It’s a very cool city. It’s where “free love” and “flower power” of the 1960’s was born, so being tolerant and accepting of alternative lifestyles seems almost the norm there -- well it certainly feels that way to me. There is a great vibe about the place, so the prospect of being en femme there is always a welcoming one.
Marla: I was really excited about our first Pride event! After talking to my friend Kathy GG about how much fun she and Amanda always have at Toronto Pride, I knew we had to go, so I booked a room at the Hilton for Saturday night.
Angel: We drove to San Francisco with me already “girled up” in my new wig, a sensible khaki skirt, and plain pink t-shirt. As it happened, the hotel was fully booked for that night and very busy. There were four lines, three people deep, at the large check-in area. I felt okay at first, but after standing in line for fifteen minutes with businessmen, tourists, families, and hotel employees all around me, I started to get a little bit nervous. I always repeat to myself that “no one can tell” and that everyone thinks I’m just “a woman with too much make up on.” Whether this is true or not I don’t care, it’s just a tool I use to build to my confidence. Anyway, we checked in without any problems. No one seemed the slightest bit interested in looking at me other than what folks do when they “people watch” whilst in line.
Marla: It’s true, no one seemed to be paying much attention to us at all. The desk clerk was very friendly and even the other people who shared our elevator up to the 22nd floor seemed not to notice. I am not saying they DIDN’T notice….just that they treated us with respect and didn’t stare or snicker. We were both dressed to blend in, which I’m sure helped.
Angel: Next we took a 6-block walk to the BART station. BART is the underground metro train system of San Francisco and so naturally on Saturday afternoon it was packed. I must admit that this was quite a challenge for me. I am usually totally fine with being en femme in public, but when people are in very close proximity to me for more than a few minutes, with nothing better to do than look at me, I am not as confident I should be. Obviously, it’s all in the attitude and everyone knows that you should hold your head high and be a confident, happy tranny when in public. Well…I wasn’t exactly that, but I wasn’t a crumbling wreck either.
Marla: Ok, so the BART ride was a little scary. I had this fantasy that on Pride weekend, the LGBT community would sort of take over the whole city and BART would be overrun with crossdressers and drag queens. Did I mention that I love drag queens? Unfortunately however, our fellow passengers looked much the same as they would on any other day. But again, everyone seemed to be minding their own business, and we got off the train a couple of stops later with no incident. We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around the Civic Center, looking at the various stalls and enjoying the entertainment on the main stage. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t see any other CDs or transpeople there, but I predicted Sunday would be different……. And was it ever!
Angel: Sunday was parade day, and the day we had arranged to meet up with Marlena. Marlena looked fabulous, and because she knows SF so well she was able to guide us to all the best Pride weekend had to offer.
Marla: I loved the parade, with all the wacky floats and marchers and the carnivalesque atmosphere. Angel and I were wearing cute TG-themed t-shirts that got a surprising amount of attention! I was also wearing an outrageous burgundy wig and wild drag queen eye makeup, so that may have had something to do with it too. Oh and speaking of drag queens…..did I mention that I love them? More about that later. Here we all are on Market Street watching the parade:
http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/8945/marlaangel9ec.jpg
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/6573/angelmarlena0sk.jpg
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/2146/marlenaangelinthecrowd2es.jpg
Angel: After watching the parade for a couple of hours we went to the Civic Center where everyone congregates and enjoys all the exhibitions, stalls, and live music and events that make Pride what it is. There were hundreds of thousands of people packed into less than a square mile. We ate lunch, drank Margaritas, listened to live music, people-watched, checked out the Transgender Pavilion where we met some of Marlena’s friends, and generally had a blast. Everyone was so friendly and the atmosphere was very welcoming. It was like one massive street party.
Marla: With drag queens! Woohoo! Did I mention that I….yeah I think I did. Anyway pictures speak louder than words:
http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/5528/peachesnmarla0eu.jpg
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/5474/ophelianmarla1bs.jpg
http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/6410/susienmarla1ok.jpg
http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/7692/marlasandwich4ag.jpg
We can’t wait for next year!!! So who wants to join us?