Sucky Halloween
In re: to Adams comments regarding first person experiences of Halloween in the Castro I humbly offer my pissy rant:
I walked through the streets around 12:30- leaving 18th & Noe and walking up to Market via Noe, then we were rather aggressively funneled up Sanchez to Market, by the numerous cops- 10 each street block, roughly. Then, strangely enough, we found ourselves magically on the inside of the barricades again . We got hassled a ton of times from guys. My friend was basically surrounded by two drunk guys. She’s a black belt so I wasn’t that worried. Anyways, the atmosphere was awful. We got on MUNI and downtown, then cabbed home.
In fact, just to be a total whiner, the entire evening sucked! When I got in the cab to hear that people were hurt- it was no huge surprise. Compared to the earlier years where the party raged until street cleaners at 3am- and peaceably raged- I was really saddened. I used to live en route, and we would gather with newly made friends right on the doorstep (market and Sanchez), admiring costumes and discussing others. The parties I went to earlier in the night were also weighed down with this aura of paranoia. “You stole my champagne!” “You’re crashing!” etc. Lame. Not sure if it’s the split holiday, or the sad economic times.
There were cute moments on the 30-Stockton on the way there. Hansel and Gretel, with a real fake loaf of bread, and slutty nurse and slutty corset girl. There were large groups of non-costumed people of course, doing the same transfer to the underground MUNI that we were doing.
There was a really, really long line into the Castro at 10:00, when we showed up at 18th and Noe. The line was about a block long, and there was an equally long line getting out. I’m not sure why they were letting people in so close to the end time (or was that the end time?).
From party #1: as we are leaving, I had grabbed an empty champagne bottle as a prop for my costume- “spinach gone bad”- and a girl runs out on the street after us. “Um, is there champagne in that? Because I got my friends a bottle of champagne and that’s it, and I’d really like them to have it.”
From party #2: (reported from my friend) Pancho Villa comes up to my two friends and says; “Who do you guys know at the party?” (they tell him). “I’ve been asking around and nobody knows the person you know, who invited you here. You’re crashing.”
Yes, accused of theft and crashing within 1 hour. Halloween sucked! But at least some guy named Mons didn’t try to crash in my bed (Halloweens of yore).
If they open up the Evite, then they can’t complain if people show up who they don’t know. I am glad I didn’t go to such an unwelcoming party!
Yeah, it’s funny to be accused of crashing a party that’s not all that great. “Oh, you mean I can leave? I’ve got Lost Season 1 at home!”
Which one is Adam?
Re. #1: If that’s what the girl said, I can’t really fault her. I mean, I’m sure it felt like a buzz-kill, but if I’d brought champagne to a party and noticed someone leaving with it (presumably she didn’t know it was empty), I might have been less polite.
But yes, party jerks suck. You’re right about that.
I went to the Castro my first year in SF - the infamous year it all went to shit, apparently - sorry if it was me. I’m not one for crowds to begin with - but really, I could never understand the point of it all. Why there? Why a mob? Why go there to hang out with a mob not from there anyway? You can’t get into a bar. Usually, you never make it by a stage or any entertainment anyway. If I wanted to see people barf, I could look up old eps of Road Rules or Fear Factor.
Going out on a holiday is fun - but I have to figure fun can be found in other neighborhoods, no?
Yeah- she was angry that the champagne was gone. I couldn’t help her with that. As someone who has brought a special bottle of champagne to a party - new years- I usually keep a death grip on it all night.
Yeah, I’ve gotten the bum’s rush from showing up at a friends-of-friends-of-friends sort of shindig. I think the point is to just simply not go to parties when the connection is that tenuous…it’s almost never worthwhile. And there’s nothing more embarrassing than to have to justify one’s presence. Fuck that.
“Accused” of theft ? You admitted yourself that you took something that wasn’t yours! “Caught red handed” is more like it.
Yes, totally guilty of taking an empty champagne bottle that I had been carrying around in the party for the last half hour. When I gave it back to her on the street, she didn’t want it. Don’t know what to tell ya.
Chester- I had no idea my connection to the party wasn’t going to be there.