Maura's Illuminated Manuscript

I did indeed don the red latex dress, my biggest black beaded choker, and – after agonizing via text – my black & silver booties from Irregular Choice. I went to the Wildrose and got a table with surprisingly little difficulty.

But medical issues claimed my companions for the evening one after the other. Funny Lady lives not far from the 'Rose, and messaged me about New Year's Day plans. I invited her to join me. She invited me to join her! So there! I accepted her offer.

That's right: I spent the evening in a fabulous outfit watching movies, etc. with Funny Lady, her husband, and a friend of theirs whose name I can't remember. You know that thing where married couples get kind of snippy with each other about trivial stuff? FL & P do that.

I also found out, after knowing her for all these years, that Funny Lady is the eleventy-third cis girlfriend I have who had an abusive boyfriend as a young woman. She said it partly explains why she left Paris for Berlin and then New York. There ought to be classes taught to teens to a) teach boys not to be shitty, and b) teach girls how to avoid and stop shitty boys. You'd probably run into resistance from shitty parents.

FL generously got me a ride share home so I wouldn't have to bug out early for the last (free!) train, which was nice. Pity I didn't get much more than five hours' sleep.

Thence to the Monkey Loft at about 1300. I almost couldn't get in because the cell phone tower was flaky, and my ticket was on my phone; I think I'll go back to being paranoid and printing tickets. OK, I did get to hear a little of Reggie Watts in a big, crowded ground floor room. (I was part of the masked minority.) And I went up to the roof to hang with the hippies in the intermittent sunshine.

Seen at the monkey loft: one full fur suit, one puppy hood with a Dance Safe logo on the back, one black corset, one corset in psychedelic colors. It seems to me that the kinksters are beginning their takeover of the house & techno scenes. You know I'm here for that.

Unfortunately, I didn't get enough sleep to really enjoy something that loud & crowded for more than a couple of hours, so I got on the bus and made sure that C's annual mellow goth gathering up in Greenwood was still going. It was, and that turned out to be much more what I needed right then. Back in the before times, C used to host an annual barbecue which was The Stuff, Baby. I hope she does again. Minor tragedy: Diminutive* was leaving just as I was arriving, looking stunning in her pair of my 50th birthday boots, a.k.a. Fluevog Atria. I did, however, meet a friend of cupcake_goth's – again, the boots were the proof – with an antipodean accent and a truly impressive Victorian outfit. Yeah, she was there with a fella, dammit.

So my New Year's Eve & New Year's day weren't what I'd call complete successes, but I did salvage them a little. Potential plan for next year: stay home NYE, get fetishy at the Monkey Loft in the morning.

The new year looks to be a grind with respect to work, finances, and dating. There's no end in sight. I'd love to have my low expectations exceeded, but they're... low expectations.

I do, however, have a plan for the 7th: Com Truise was supposed to come to my neighborhood, but a hurricane kept him home. Saturday is when he'll try again. Mm, walkable bleepy goodness.



*Her first name is the diminutive form of my first name. I am tall and bulky. She is tiny in every dimension. This never fails to amuse me.

To go with the new boots, new coat, and new bag, here are my new glasses:



First new prescription in four years - two years ago my optometrist said I didn't need one - and my first new frames in eight years. They're me, no? I'm still getting used to the progressive lenses.

Oh: needing to pick up these glasses a few blocks from home was one reason I stayed home today. The other reason is that it's snowing like crazy out there. I've been enjoying loose-leaf tea and KEXP without headphones. (Yeah, I could bring the tea & paraphernalia to work, but it's a hassle.)

I've just invited the rest of my apartment building over for wine & cheese on the 18th. There are only ten units in my building, a mix of studios, 1-, and 2-bedroom apartments, so it's unlikely that I'll be overwhelmed.

I predict either glory, whereby everyone has a good time, or disaster, whereby either no one comes or at least one fight breaks out. I know the lady in 203 is not happy with the noise made by the exercise equipment used by the bicycle-mad couple in 204. I'm not crazy about it either - I'm in 104 - but they don't wake me up, so it's all good.

Why did I do it? Mainly because I'm tired of walking past these people from time to time without getting to at least know their names. Down with urban anomie! Another is that it'll be my birthday (observed), therefore there must be some kind of party.

---

One more thing: I went thrifting with the Siberian Siren. I can no longer complain about not having enough tops that aren't t-shirts. Only one dress fit me, though. And much of the fun for me, of course, is watching a little red-headed bombshell try on clothes and then getting to play critic. It's my job to keep her within budget. (Cue laughter.)

She also showed me Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century, which ate my mind for at least a couple of hours back at her place. Definitely worth it for the pictures.

At the suggestion of the lovely and charming martygreene, we got a pedi at Julep in downtown Seattle last night. I'd never done my toenails or had them done before. They're one of the spendier places we could have gone - we went there due to schedule constraints, and we couldn't get manis - but I must say the results are impressive. The shade I picked is closer to FM red than I intended (Sorry, Mom), but it still looks good on me.

Fun fact: I'm much better at listening through Indian or Chinese accents than Filipino accents.

She turned me on to foot decadence. I returned the favor by turning her on to the Night Kitchen.

Watched somebody black a pair of boots, if that's the right usage. More involved than I thought, and fascinating to watch. The results are, of course, magnificent.

Yes, saw Tall Girl, who was occupied. Small sigh.

---

Weekend plan: mostly dogsitting at the old place. Nibs & boy will be leaving for Portland in minutes. If anybody wants to come for a visit, tomorrow or Sunday would be a really good time.

Will I be burned at the stake if I say I'm not as crazy about steampunk as everyone else I know? I mean, yes, Friday night was grand and everyone looked lovely, but the steampunk look doesn't excite me as much as, say, Helena Bonham Carter playing Bellatrix Lestrange. (Why yes, I did see the latest Potter flick with m'boy yesterday. Why do you ask?)

Speaking of Friday night, I'm glad I didn't pay to hear the Analog folks and just hung out outside Re-bar. Not bad, but again, not my thing.

And speaking of why I didn't go out Saturday night, Space Virgins keep scheduling or telling me about fun social things at times that don't work for me. Arg! I don't miss the events as much as I don't want to blow them off.

Ribs: nearly there.
Toes: not as close.

Resolution for the next time I'm out at the Usual Haunts: quit talking so much about )'( before everyone gets bored with me.