SF REUNION

It was rough getting up, but we did and we headed over to Suppenküche. It's a restaurant I'd been to long ago when I was dating someone who lived in Hayes Valley. As I walked through the restaurant, I was surprised by how monotone everyone was. I didn't see an ethnic face in the entire place, except when we got to our table where Dorathy was. There was also a black guy in the group, but I was pretty shocked.

Ethnicity really isn't my thing. That is, I'm not like super ethnic man or anything or think about it all the time. Hell, I'm admittedly middle-class and pretty white, but even here I was a little uncomfortable. Why should I be? Here's Dot who is Pinay and she's having a good time. But I guess it's different when you've obviously got a little immigrant in you, but more importantly, I think it's different when you're a woman. Asian females are pretty much accepted in white culture and I say that because you always see them in commercials with white guys.

Ethnic men are different. You don't often see them in the media and when you do, they're typically not doing what white people do. Of course, that's changing and it will continue to change, so that's why at the end of the day, I wasn't trippin'. I was more feeling tired from last night than anything else and a little shy since I didn't really know anyone (plus that's what happens when you smoke a few trees).

The group Dot knew were college types so of course, beer pong came up and as much as I want to be down, Dot said it best when she said they're just kids. The kids will do their thing, but it's nice to let the vets kick it down once in awhile so I may have to practice some beer pong to challenge Asha and the piece that Shirl's had who is her roommate. He went to Cal so I gotta be cool with the guy and not hate.

We picked-up a few things at the store then I started working on the kare kare for tonight's party at Vanessa's. I used a pressure cooker for the first time and I think it's great. It goes on top of the stove and you heat it like anything else, but it has a lock-in lid that keeps the pressure built-up inside. It's awesome. Normally, a three hour dish will cook in less than 30 minutes. That is super fast though I noticed that the meat did not really fall off the bone. It was still a little undercooked and I should have left it cooking on the stove normally until it got to that point I was looking for. Additionally, the only peanut Shirl had was a Pinoy brand that is actually very very sweet. Too sweet in my opinion, so I just put a little in. It wasn't the kare kare I normally make, but it was still good enough. I added some long beans and an eggplant and the dish was good to go.

Dot didn't want to roll, so Shirl and I picked-up Stephen from his place on our way to Vanessa's. It was in the Western Addition, a part of town people say is kind of hoodie. But looking around, it didn't look so bad. I was a little worried though when Derron, Vanessa's husband told us to hit the "roof" button on the elevator shaft. It was an old school elevator where it was one of those sliding cages to shut it.

We got out and there they were, the happy couple, waiting for us in front of their door. I shook hands with Derron first and noticed how tall and how silver his hair was and how piercing his eyes were in their light blue shade. Vanessa looked great, a little older, a few more grey hairs, but still the same shape I remembered. We hugged and then we were inside.

The place was like a yoga studio. It was incredibly peaceful with modern, minimalist furniture. There was no riff raff anywhere, unlike Vanessa's place in Upland when she lived down south. The rooms were small, but the place was very cool and the view was amazing. Someone had built the dwelling on the roof, so the view was a near 180 degrees of the city.

The party started with just the five of us hanging out and getting ready to eat. Then Vanessa told me that Leah was coming with her boyfriend Mike. The story goes that Vanessa decided to call Leah because she wanted closure from their falling out. She left a message, then called me next. She didn't know I was in town and when I answered, I said, "you'll never guess where I am." She actually knew! I thought she was in Oakland so I wasn't about to call her, but she had moved in with her man who lived in the city and that's where she was calling me from. Isn't it weird how things sometimes work? It's not that weird in this case, at least in my mind, because Leah and Vanessa both have very interesting and powerful energies.

With that said, more people came. Christina, a friend of Vanessa's and her two blondie friends Larissa and Joy. I was helping Vanessa in the kitchen when they came in so we didn't get much of a chance to introduce ourselves to each other. Later, after dinner, I was able to talk to Christina a little bit. She liked my shirt that Jansen had given me for Christmas and wanted to know where I'd gotten it. She said it was at one of her favorite stores on the Haight but that they didn't sell it anymore. I was in a good mood so I told her I'd give it to her as soon as I'd worn it out.

I needed a drink so I went to get mine which was in the main living room. I heard Joy, a petite girl with odd eyes that looked very round and kind of close together, ask Derron if it was ok to smoke. I said, "as long as you blow it out the window." But she answered, "I wasn't talking to YOU" pretty firmly. I wasn't sure how to take this. I didn't know if she was being belligerently drunk or if she was just a bitch. Maybe both?

I told some folks about this, but later ran into her. I had to see if it was one or the other or both. She told me I had to chill out and was surprised that I took her seriously. She was apparently a little bit of a jokester, but she was also getting pretty drunk and starting to slur and act stupid. I also think she was attracted to me because most people who hate actually like, just so you'll pay attention to them.

As I was talking to Leah on the couch, she sat between us and grabbed Leah's arm to hug her. I thought Leah knew her, but apparently, she didn't. Joy was just being dumb and insecure and trying to be friends with everyone. The funny thing about Leah is that this thing kind of happens to her a lot. She has no problem being mean to people, but it's not what she says, it's how she seems. I never see it, but I've heard people say that. Maybe it's because Leah is cool with me so I don't get the mean vibes, but Joy was trippin' and trying to be friends with her.

I wish I had been more assertive and taken control of the situation. But I just watched the train wreck. Before we knew it, Vanessa was already talking to Joy and letting her know she had to chill out. I had already warned Larissa that she needed to regulate because Joy was kind of getting stupid. But Larissa didn't really know how to do that I guess. Looking back on it all, I wish I had taken one for the team and just banged them both. I didn't bring enough sugar over there though, so I wasn't sure how I would have done it. Also, it was Vanessa's party and I didn't want to be that guy who took off early just to bang two coke whores.

The drama completely changed the vibe of the party. One minute it was feeling good, the next it was kind of dead. Joy and Larissa got kicked out and after that, the party was pretty much over. People started to leave so we decided to follow suit. But Vanessa jumped out of the wood works and convinced me, Shirley and Stephen to stay. I didn't want to make her feel bad since we hardly caught up, so we stayed. Poor Derron crashed and left us in the living room.

We talked about mommy issues, mind body connections, physical pain associated with exercise, proving things to oneself, golf, tennis, online poker (or lack thereof) and my new career as a background actor. Honestly, I hate talking to Vanessa about serious things because she really knows how to probe and I guess I don't really like going to those places. I don't think anyone does because it's confusing, a little disheartening, but I suppose in the end, it's what you have to do to conquer your fears.

As the night wore on, it was time to leave since we had to be ready for tomorrow's get-together. It was a fun, fun evening but I can only imagine how much more fun it could have been if things had worked out between everyone (and if I'd brought more yay).