My week in review, part 1

Busy, busy, busy. I won't bore you with all my errands. Instead I'll bore you with the political and leisure-type fun activities of my week. But come to think of it, some of the errands were more fun than some of the leisure. Anyhow:

MONDAY: A conference call of the NYS GENDA Coalition. Basically I told them I couldn't do a lot of the work on setting up in-district meetings with the state assembly co-sponsors, because I'll be on vacation in Spain.

TUESDAY: I went down to CDI, changed into some semi-lawyerly clothes, then went and helped someone with her name change papers. (If that seems strange, take my word for it that I'm not the only lawyer in the world that makes house calls. Besides, I don't have a real office.) Then we went for a little Mexican dinner and a nice conversation.

I returned to CDI and changed into some decidedly non-lawyerly clothes (shimmery black and gold skirt, gold tank top covered by a sheer black blouse, gold accented fishnets). Then it was off with my friend Madeline to Happy Valley, where there was sort of an after-party to the official launch of the Amanda Lepore doll. The doll is a fundraiser for DIFFA - The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. (If you don't know who Amanda Lepore is, let's just say that she's a TS who likes to run around wearing nothing but lingerie, and who's had much more than her share of plastic surgery. I really think her doll should come with interchangable parts.)

We got there pretty early, and were warmly welcomed by the woman handling the door. No cover charge. We checked our coats, and went into the main room. After getting a $10 gin and tonic we went upstairs. The velvet ropes to the VIP area were pushed to the side, so we just walked in and claimed a couple of seats. A tiny, high-heeled woman wearing short-shorts came by and said she'd be our cocktail waitress. There was a menu there for bottle service: $300 per bottle. After drinking a little of my drink, though, I realized a bottle might be a bargain--I didn't get much gin for my $10.

We sat and watched the people flow in. A few danced. The music was loud, but not extremely--you could have a conversation if you really wanted to. But it really wasn't worth the effort.

This was really my first encounter with "club kids"--the 20-something (at least according to their IDs) people who dress wildly and/or fashionably and party the nights away in places like Happy Valley. (There really weren't any when I went to Duvet last September--which was the only other time I had seen Amanda Lepore.) Except I noticed that not all the "kids" were that young. Lots of cleavage, some of both genders wore extensive make-up. A few of the costumes were quite inventive--obviously home-made by someone who knew how to sew. There were also a few guys in high drag--I think I recognized one from the Imperial Court. But the costumed ones (ourselves included) were maybe slightly outnumbered by, how shall I put it, the mundanes--though I didn't see any backward baseball cap-wearing frat boys one online reviewer complained about. And the mundanes were frequently on the older side of the scale--lots of 40+'s.

The anti-smoking laws were violated by a good number of people, especially up on the balcony where we were. The only thing the club did about it was to diligently sweep up the cigarette butts from the floor.

We sat and watched as the place filled up. Eventually Madeline's friend Sheila showed up. We had another weak drink--after Sheila went off to find the waitress.

Some time after midnight they auctioned off one of the dolls--apparently the last unsold one. It went for $1500--and they would have gotten more had they noticed a woman at the side trying to bid. Sheila left, as she had to get up to go to work the next morning. After a great deal of effort we flagged down the waitress for one last drink. A female mundane leaned over and told me that I was the hottest one in the place, and I would "certainly get something" that evening. Yeah, right. I thanked her for her compliment.

I finished my drink, and we decided to leave. On the way downstairs I lost my cellphone. After my unsuccesful search I gave up and we went to retrieve our coats. We had to pass through a very long line for the restroom--I'm glad I didn't have to go.

While waiting on the coatcheck line (much shorter than the restroom one, thank goodness) Amanda Lepore herself passed by--we almost bumped elbows. I discovered she is tiny! Even in her heels, significantly higher than mine, she was two or three inches shorter than I am, and I'm only 5'5". She's taller in photos. But she's even more weird-looking in real life.

WEDNESDAY: We hosted a Passover seder for 11 people at our apartment. I should say my wife and her friend hosted it. I'm not real big in the religion department. But I did supply logistical support--like running to the supermarket at 4:30 for parsley and raw horseradish. Since it was a school night, and a good proportion of the attendees were students or teachers, it didn't run real late.

The evening wasn't totally useless, though. I learned something new. I learned that even four sprigs of parsley dipped in saltwater do not do much for my hunger.