10/29/96 - Absolutely 14th Street

[How I discovered the phenomenon known as the back room.]

10/29/96 - 435 14th St.

So much has happened since my trip from Santa Barbara with U-Haul and Michael. I can't begin to descrbe it all, but there ought to be SOME chronicle of my first two weeks as a non-homeless [homeful?] San Franciscan. So, a few highlights as they come to me.

- I got the place I'd found the week before I left for Santa Barbara. I live on the northern edge of the Mission District, the southwestern edge of South of Market, or the southeastern edge of Duboce/Upper Market, take your pick. My four flatmates are all unique men (one gay, three straight) who all "have their quirks." It's a "we'll see" situation.

- I broke in my room within a week of moving in, picking up a white boy at the Pendulum (?!) named Ben (?!) whose number I lost (#@*!%)

- Saw the restored "Vertigo" at the Castro Theater.

- Drove one of my flatmates, Aaron, to Sacramento, to meet his Mexi-trash sister and ex-con boyfriend, both of whom deal drugs andwho have the worst taste imaginable. She bought me lunch, though.

- Went to a "black bar" [a bar frequented almost exclusively by African Americans] with my white flatmate Robert. Strange, fun.

- Saw a group of short plays written by amateur playwrights which inspired me, more than anything else has lately, to write.

- Went to a couple of extremely sleazy bars South of Market. I really enjoyed the Hole In The Wall, but had a truly new experience at My Place: the famous back room. It was both more and less than what I had expected. Part of the difference was Jeff, a boy I met at H.I.T.W. We ventured to My Place and were shameless with the help of several strangers. (Jeff and I, having just met, felt like old friends compared to all these unknown hands and mouths.)

Jeff came back to my apt. and spent the night, and it was marvelous. He's from L.A.! But says he visits S.F. periodically. One may hope... [...but one would be disappointed. Never reestablished contact.]

Those are the highlights. Oh, I've been spending a lot of time with Sean, and with Rafe (but never at the same time), and I've been to Sonoma once, and Kate has visited once, and I worked the first day of a temp job today...

I'm still tragically broke, but all-in-all, life in the big city ain't bad at all.

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