bigmacbear (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bigmacbear) wrote2022-09-24 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2022-09-24 11:59 pm
All-Day Rehearsal and after
Drove to Northgate Station around eight AM for the all-day rehearsal. On the train I spotted a dude who reminded me of Danny Ray, the furry nudist. This guy had clothes on though: a grayscale patterned sweater, black jeans, white sneaks, and a light blue ball cap.
The first half of rehearsal went well. At lunch I hung out with David from the 2nd Tenor section and formerly Captain Smartypants, and we had ramen at Ooink. He's doing well. He wanted to go walking so we parted company at Molly Moon's ice cream. On the way a big youngish black dude who was busking for poetry readings outside the Elliott Bay Bookstore admired my Toto T-shirt. I had a scoop each of salted caramel and honey lavender which has become my go-to order there. The dude behind the counter asked if I'd had the salted caramel before, and was relieved to find out I had. Apparently some folks are surprised at how salty the salted caramel is.
I took my ice cream into the park to eat, and sat by the end of the basketball court facing the playfield. On the court a bunch of dudes played basketball to the tune of a rap that repeated the phrase "all day n****r" over and over. On the ballfield an older daddy with a salt-and-pepper goatee and 'stache, wearing a sawed-off T-shirt, rolled-up sweatpants, and a ball cap on backwards, played soccer with a girl in hot pink of perhaps eight, who I guessed was his daughter or granddaughter. A boy of perhaps twelve ran around in the distance with a football, dressed like dad (or grandpa). The rest of rehearsal went well and I met a cute ginger bear new to the first tenor section, named Eric.
After rehearsal I caught the 60 bus to the cobbler shop about a mile up Broadway from the church to drop off my Timberland boots for a sole repair. The dude who waited on me was cute, with a dark trim beard and wearing a white T-shirt. The repairs cost about $40 ($46 with tip).
From the cobbler's I headed to C.C. Attle's for the post-rehearsal party organized by Paul. There were at least three different events going on at the same time: our gathering, the WSLO community social, and a SEA-PAH puppy mosh and photo shoot. I had a nice chat with Wolver who was there for the latter two events, and another with Brooks from the chorus. Later I met with Jason from WSLO and let him know I'd given TJ his business card, and had a nice chat with Brian from Cincinnati. Later the Sisters arrived and I spoke with Michael aka "Bear Bait" who I met with the XL Bears and who is also in the Sisters. Returning to the chorus group, I met a fellow named Fidel who went to high school with David (Schönebär). I sent a picture to David on Facebook Messenger. Keith who used to sing with us in the second tenor section was all over Fidel and a few of us tried to protect him. This prompted Mitch to tell me he thinks I'm a safe dude to hang out with, which I appreciated very much. I grabbed some mac and cheese bites and egg rolls for dinner. Shortly before I left, EK from the Quake came in, and I introduced him to Mitch and Fidel; he in turn introduced me to his friends Hydro and Gray.
I hopped the streetcar to Pine Street and caught the 11 bus to Diesel. When i arrived the place was not terribly crowded, but definitely busy. I didn't see anyone I knew right away, and I figured most of the regulars were out of town for Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. I pulled up a barstool at the back bar where I could see the bartenders. A hot bear Husky fan grabbed the barstool to watch the UW-Stanford game; UW was whomping Stanford 20-7. Soon afterward the back of the bar was full of big bears watching the game, and the bar as a whole was getting crowded, which can be fun. However, I decided to grab a cranberry and Red Bull and make my escape.
I caught the 2 downtown and the train to Northgate from University Street Station. The train was fairly full and I ended up sharing a seat with a cubby dude who worked for Horizon Airlines at Sea-Tac. Seats opened up at Capitol Hill. Then a ton of people boarded at UW as the football game we'd been watching had concluded (UW won 40-22). As usual, despite the crush load on the train, no one wanted to share the seat with me. I thought - but didn't say aloud, of course - "Hey, I don't bite, unless specifically requested." The destination sign froze at Brooklyn and did not announce the stop at Roosevelt, but it reset after that. I made it to Northgate around ten after eleven and headed directly home because I needed to pee like the proverbial racehorse.
The first half of rehearsal went well. At lunch I hung out with David from the 2nd Tenor section and formerly Captain Smartypants, and we had ramen at Ooink. He's doing well. He wanted to go walking so we parted company at Molly Moon's ice cream. On the way a big youngish black dude who was busking for poetry readings outside the Elliott Bay Bookstore admired my Toto T-shirt. I had a scoop each of salted caramel and honey lavender which has become my go-to order there. The dude behind the counter asked if I'd had the salted caramel before, and was relieved to find out I had. Apparently some folks are surprised at how salty the salted caramel is.
I took my ice cream into the park to eat, and sat by the end of the basketball court facing the playfield. On the court a bunch of dudes played basketball to the tune of a rap that repeated the phrase "all day n****r" over and over. On the ballfield an older daddy with a salt-and-pepper goatee and 'stache, wearing a sawed-off T-shirt, rolled-up sweatpants, and a ball cap on backwards, played soccer with a girl in hot pink of perhaps eight, who I guessed was his daughter or granddaughter. A boy of perhaps twelve ran around in the distance with a football, dressed like dad (or grandpa). The rest of rehearsal went well and I met a cute ginger bear new to the first tenor section, named Eric.
After rehearsal I caught the 60 bus to the cobbler shop about a mile up Broadway from the church to drop off my Timberland boots for a sole repair. The dude who waited on me was cute, with a dark trim beard and wearing a white T-shirt. The repairs cost about $40 ($46 with tip).
From the cobbler's I headed to C.C. Attle's for the post-rehearsal party organized by Paul. There were at least three different events going on at the same time: our gathering, the WSLO community social, and a SEA-PAH puppy mosh and photo shoot. I had a nice chat with Wolver who was there for the latter two events, and another with Brooks from the chorus. Later I met with Jason from WSLO and let him know I'd given TJ his business card, and had a nice chat with Brian from Cincinnati. Later the Sisters arrived and I spoke with Michael aka "Bear Bait" who I met with the XL Bears and who is also in the Sisters. Returning to the chorus group, I met a fellow named Fidel who went to high school with David (Schönebär). I sent a picture to David on Facebook Messenger. Keith who used to sing with us in the second tenor section was all over Fidel and a few of us tried to protect him. This prompted Mitch to tell me he thinks I'm a safe dude to hang out with, which I appreciated very much. I grabbed some mac and cheese bites and egg rolls for dinner. Shortly before I left, EK from the Quake came in, and I introduced him to Mitch and Fidel; he in turn introduced me to his friends Hydro and Gray.
I hopped the streetcar to Pine Street and caught the 11 bus to Diesel. When i arrived the place was not terribly crowded, but definitely busy. I didn't see anyone I knew right away, and I figured most of the regulars were out of town for Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. I pulled up a barstool at the back bar where I could see the bartenders. A hot bear Husky fan grabbed the barstool to watch the UW-Stanford game; UW was whomping Stanford 20-7. Soon afterward the back of the bar was full of big bears watching the game, and the bar as a whole was getting crowded, which can be fun. However, I decided to grab a cranberry and Red Bull and make my escape.
I caught the 2 downtown and the train to Northgate from University Street Station. The train was fairly full and I ended up sharing a seat with a cubby dude who worked for Horizon Airlines at Sea-Tac. Seats opened up at Capitol Hill. Then a ton of people boarded at UW as the football game we'd been watching had concluded (UW won 40-22). As usual, despite the crush load on the train, no one wanted to share the seat with me. I thought - but didn't say aloud, of course - "Hey, I don't bite, unless specifically requested." The destination sign froze at Brooklyn and did not announce the stop at Roosevelt, but it reset after that. I made it to Northgate around ten after eleven and headed directly home because I needed to pee like the proverbial racehorse.