Misfires & Misfits

I had a wonderful if not topsy turvy sort of weekend this past weekend. One characterised by plans cancelled at the last minute or gone awry, and new spontaneous plans made.

I had dinner with a friend on Friday night, and then cut that short (and sadly the shag that followed) to race into Oxford Street to try and catch the gay bloggers meet at The Columbian. If I had paused and thought about it logically I would have realised that not only would the venue be packed on the night before Mardi Gras, but that I would also be trying to find a bunch of people whose faces I didn't really know. A tiny blogger icon pic does not translate well into finding someone in a dark venue crammed with guys.

I was about an hour late getting there, by the time I had cabbed it from Newtown and queued to get in. I was looking for a Blogger sign like the guys had at the previous meet, but no such luck this time around. After an hour of wandering around looking, and hoping that if I didn't recognise them then maybe at least one of them might recognise me, I was sufficiently pissed off to head home. The night was salvaged though by running into 'Pong and having a couple of beers at The Bank Hotel.

Saturday's plans similarly went awry. It was a stinking hot day and I had been lying around all morning basking under the aircon. The plan was to catch up with Mikey (the lovely ex) in the afternoon, go around to Natalie's house to see her and Linda get ready for the Mardi Gras parade and take some pictures, then drinks and watching the parade with Mikey, and maybe dinner. Mikey was at work and got stuck there working on stuff that was needed urgently for Monday, so those plans ground to a halt at short notice.

I could have legged it in to Darlinghurst and watched the parade and tried to catch some of the photography buddies of mine. However, the siren call of the aircon was strong and the prospect of a hot full moon night of sweaty crowds vesus a night with the house to myself meant that peace and cool won the day. Mardi Gras is always fun, and I have been and watched the parade many times in the past, but the drunken crowds can be a battle.

Fortunately Morgan got a snap of Linda and Natalie as part of his offical Mardi Gras photographer duties. The girls looked fantastic.

Sunday morning the phone rang early and it was my friend Graeme inviting me to join him and a large group of friends for drinks at a rooftop bar in The Rocks, overlooking the harbour and the Sydney Opera House. It was stinking hot and very humid, but still a perfect way to spend an afternoon. Supping cold beers, meeting new people from all over (and as far away as Sweden), and catching up with friends and blogging buddies like the lovely Mr O'Brien.

The view from the rooftop bar.

This turned out to be one of the highlights of the weekend. I drank waaaay more than I should have in the heat, but had lots of laughs, met some nice people and a really great time.

I also had a couple of friends in town for Mardi Gras from Perth, so I hightailed it back to Newtown in the late afternoon to meet up with them and a couple of other friends. Much more beerage was consumed at The Bank Hotel beer garden and then The Newtown Hotel, and I crawled home in the early evening having had a fantastic day.

All that and home in time to catch "Ugly Betty" and the Kylie concert on tv. Score.