Mile Marker #30: Pride, Travel, and Losing Battles With Fences

I’m a bit injured this morning as I attempted to climb a fence over the weekend that I definitely couldn’t have climbed sober, so I’m wincing and smarting a bit, but it was all worth it.

I had an amazing time this weekend at New York Pride. I met some fantastic people that I’m bummed I met now, given I’m moving across two countries in exactly one month (dear lord, that’s terrifying).

On Thursday, we hit up a Pride-themed performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which was as fabulous and unhinged as one might expect.

On Friday, we marched in a Drag March from Tompkins Square Park to Stonewall, which was a delightful time but a smidge claustrophobic. Then we stayed out until 3 bar-hopping, as one does during Pride Month.

Saturday was a day for all-day queer movie marathons. Our selections included Pride, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Bottoms, and Fire Island. You know, the classics.

Sunday was another day of complete debauchery, an amazing way to say goodbye to New York and the East Coast. We started out by trying to attend the Manhattan Pride Parade, only for the skies to open up and completely drench all of us as we were running into a Mexican restaurant to pre-game. The parade got cancelled because of lightning, but it worked out great because we stayed at that bar for several hours doing shots with the waitstaff and painting glitter rainbows on each other’s faces. (Yes, really. Man, it was so much fun.)

After that it was back to a friend’s apartment, although our “shortcut” through another city park backfired quite dramatically when pretty much all seven of us battled a(n embarrassingly short) fence… and lost. Valiantly. I’ll spare the details, but suffice to say I had to split off from the rest of the group to go change into new shorts after literally shredding one entire leg off. Oops! (At least ripped denim is very “in” with the LGBTQIA+ community?)

Long story short, I ended up staying out until 4am, which is not the smartest thing to do when you’ve got work the next day. I dragged my sorry carcass through work, train travel, and an adventure to retrieve my car from White Marsh (long story), wrapped up my workday, and fell asleep before 9pm.

I got about 11 hours of sleep last night but I still feel like a dead man, so we’ll see how today goes. That was about 6 months of heathenry packed into a four-day stretch, so I’m definitely tapped out for a while.

But seriously, it was all completely worth it. The people I met were completely amazing (if you’re reading this, hi!) and also extremely supportive of my writing and my Alaska journey in general. I’m really glad I got to run around NYC one more time before I leave. Someday, I’ll live there, especially if these friends are still there! I decree it!

This update doesn’t have much to do with writing, but it’s a good story and I’m glad I had a good time. Leaving is feeling more bittersweet lately. Not in a “changing my mind” way (I would never, I’m far too excited), just in that I’m starting to realize what I’ll be missing while I’m gone.

Did I mention my niece will be FIVE YEARS OLD by the time I get back?! Starting kindergarten! That has to be illegal.

I’m trying to spend more time with family and friends before I leave. Some people will come visit, of course, and I’ll be home for Christmas, but realistically I don’t know how often I’ll be able to get back to the East Coast during my time in Fairbanks. I’ll try my best, but given it’s like an 18-hour, $1,400+ project to fly home, I’m not sure how often it’ll happen.

We’ll make it work. This is the adventure of a lifetime and while I’m going to miss everyone, I’m so grateful for the support and excitement I’m receiving from the people in my life. This just makes so much sense, and everyone has been saying so.

This is a project seven years in the making, and I’ve worked my ass off to get here. I can’t wait to get to Alaska and make the magic happen!

Til next time,
(A very bruised and tired and oh-so-happy) Mags