Hallowe'en Weekend Fun - Friday, October 29

Our weekend started out in just the right way -- 7 hours of sitting in traffic and driving in circles around the Bay Area looking for the right costume materials. The Haight these days, incidentally, has got to be one of the most over priced commercial areas on the west coast. There were no deals to be had except at the Discount Fabric store from which we purchased 1/2 a yard of totally excellent sequined pink taffeta for less than the cost of a cappucino down the street.

By five o'clock in the afternoon we had been to Berkeley twice and San Francisco. Now we had a scant 4 hours to get our costumes ready. Mine was actually pretty easy - I am dressing up as a Nerd this year - no snide comments please, I heard them all last night. Katja's costume, on the other hand, required all 4 hours to finish. She is a disco queen this year (quelle surprise) and is sporting this totally extravagant and realistic afro wig we got in this freaky wig and mask shop on Hollywood Boulevard earlier this summer. BUT, she had no adequate pants.... So we purchased some cheap, cute black jeans at Crossroad's on Haight and I proceeded to create bell-bottomed flares out of them using the sequined taffeta.... they turned out great and I only stabbed myself with a holding pin once.

Adrienne came up from Santa Cruz for the night and was sporting a super-provocative outfit, both the ladies looked amazing and I was definitely the luckiest Nerd around. We hit this party in North Beach around 10:30p and it proceeded to go off; lots of friends and good food and drink, great costumes and - of course - Karaoke! We're going into the Castro on Sunday to see the freaks, but I gotta say, there were plenty of freaks gettin' down at Kirra and Shelley's last night!

Around 12:30a we split with some friends we picked up in tow and went across town to the DNA Lounge to hear our favorite DJ's spin. For those in the know, you'll know that right now in San Francisco, pretty much the best house music anywhere is being produced on a weekly basis. Some in larger clubs like DNA, but mostly the scene is happening in smaller venues where more intimate experiences can be had. Miguel Migs, Mauricio Aviles, and David Harness were on hand last night, dropping beats fit to give a person goosebumps. A special live, on-stage appearance by Lisa Shaw had everyone in the house melting from the soulful heat of her vocals. It was epic.

4:00a found us venting steam off our bodies on the sidewalk and contemplating how much more we could dance. As fall evenings go in San Francisco, it was a beauty. Still in costume, we all decided on one more foray inside and then quit for home.

With all the turmoil going on in the world right now, I sometimes have trouble having so much fun. Sometimes it doesn't seem fair while I and others are pouring our hearts on to the dance floor only to have them filled up again by incredible music and synergistic vibes, that there are people living in societies elsewhere in the world who will never have the opportunity to feel that way. Music is a catalyst in so many ways. Personally, life would be virtually unbearable without the presence of music in it. Out of any given 24 hours, the only ones that don't include music are the ones when I'm asleep or in the bathroom - and I'm planning on getting a CD player that can hang in my shower so then it'll just be up to my dreams to provide the continuing soundtrack I can't seem to live without.