Sunday, June 24, 2007

Impressionable Roommates

I missed out on all the festivities today, holed up at home catching up with work matters. So I missed the Guy Pride Parade and all the attendant hoopla. And it was a really nice day in San Francisco, so I'm extra bummed. I am happy to report that I caught the Dyke March yesterday evening. As I chomped on naan bread and prawn curry at an Indian restaurant on Valencia, I watched the spectacle go by. I had a couple of thoughts. The marchers were treated like rock stars on the streets, and the crowds that gather to watch cheer the marchers. Unfortunately, the march is too short for me. I think the route goes from Dolores and 18th to Valencia, then Valencia to Market St., then Market St. to Castro St. One year I just want it to keep going, beyond San Francisco onto the streets of small towns across the country.

The march kicks off with dykes on bikes, essentially a bunch of women on motorcycles that rumble through the streets. It's very loud and exciting. Most of the women had someone on the backs of their bikes, but not all of them. And these women are the ones I'm concerned with. How can you not find someone to ride on the back of your motorcycle on the biggest night of dyke biker-y? I'm sure there were valid reasons, but I couldn't help but feel a little sad for the loners.

Anyhoo, so today I've been sitting in my room, typing away at my computer, thinking about all the fun happening on the outside. On our way back from the march yesterday, I stopped by a produce shop to purchase twenty limes, three bunches of fresh mint and some rum. After the craziness of last night, there are about 17 limes and 2 1/2 bunches of mint left, which means that a certain group of people did not "party" as hard as they should have. This is where "impressionable" comes in to play. My roommate is a beverage freak, a wine and cocktail geek. All you have to do is wonder aloud, "What, besides a mojito, does one make with mint?" to set yourself up for a fantastic cocktail that you don't have to make yourself. I live with the McGuyver of alcohol. So if you're wondering what else, besides a mojito, you can make with mint and lime, you'll be happy to learn the answer is: Something incredibly tasty.

I just enjoyed a concoction featuring lime juice, muddled cucumber & mint, agave nectar and gin. As far as I know, it's a brand new drink. I don't know. All I know is that I secretly challenged my roommate to make me a delicious, labor-intensive beverage, and it happened.

And that makes it easier to sit at my laptop and pound away on the keyboard.

4 comments:

zb said...

I don't understand why those lesbians were thundering down the streets on their bikes during Guy Pride. It was Guy's Weekend so he should have been riding down the street for everything to see. Lesbians can be so territorial.

Laura Swisher said...

Amen, Zachary. It was really rude of them to hijack Guy's weekend.

Butternut said...

Cool Laura. I'm growing a bunch of mint in my yard for just such a purpose! I really need a lime tree now. I will try to make that thing and report back on my progress.


*hick*

flavasauce said...

Thank you Laura for giving me the credit I deserve. I now feel validated as a human being and justified in my compulsive beverage obsession. I vow to continue to make the world a better place one bever-age at a time. Slainte, skol and lachaim and cheers!