1. A flock of geese.
2. A disorderly or noisy group of people.
My new brawny Malaysian friend and I were discussing our New Year's Eve plans and we discussed going to Urititi Beach, north of Auckland. Urititi is the premier gay party beach for the New Year's celebration in Northern New Zealand. Somehow along the way the plans were moved up to just after Christmas. I'm not sure why, nor do I really care. I have no schedule or obligations so after receiving a text saying he would be at my place in 15 min the morning of, I showered and rounded up my things for a spontaneous adventure.
Joining us would be two new friends. One was a caucasian male kiwi, 19, and just full of teenage angst. The other, a sweet 19 year old thai girl that moved to New Zealand with her mother when she was 11. I was surprised at the ages, seeing that my friend is 27 and myself close to that. Alas, they were the perfect co-pilots in our adventure to the "gay beach".
Holiday traffic is notoriously bad during Christmas week in New Zealand. Nearly everyone except the retail and the necessary service sectors have a good week off in celebration of Christmas. It's summer time here, and there's no better way to celebrate the birth of Christ and the New Year than at the beach. Our beach was 130 km, 1 hour 40 min from Auckland. It took us four hours to get there.
We started going stir crazy. We laughed, listened to music, and my malaysian kept wishing our fellow travelers "Merry Christmas!" as we crawled by. He even took to throwing chocolates into a car with kids in it. He's a riot extrovert that is a blast at any party.
We finally reached a small town called Wellsford, where we took a lunch break. I had a famous Jester Pies that are marketed as a "healthy alternative" to Mc Donald's or Fish and Chips. Really hilarious actually. It's a small meat pie, in my case moroccan lamb, with vegetables. Pies here are very popular. You see them at the gas stations. My pie was served with wedge fries and a sprite for NZD$9. You know what they say, when in rome....
After Wellsford traffic started moving along just fine. We made it to the beach. As we were rolling through the volcanic hills on the way the sun was warm in the car, but you could feel the cool breeze coming off the ocean. It was going to be chilly no doubt about that. Thoughts of avoiding the water started crossing my mind, but the extrovert of the group wouldn't allow that kind of attitude. With hesitation I changed into my suit and headed down to the Pacific for high tide.
The wind was cool and the water was chilly. Waves started crashing over me. I quickly adjusted to the temperature. There is something reminiscent of salty sea water. It brings back memories of every visit to the ocean. I lived land locked most of my life, and as in this case, visiting the sea was always a monumental event. I love the Ocean, the power and force of its energy, the senses being overwhelmed by the sight of the horizon, the ears by the movement and crashing of the waves. My first ocean experience was deeply spiritual, and I can't help but sink back into that feeling each and every time I find myself at the shore. I remember the force of the waves and the undercurrent, it just swept my feet out from underneath me and I was pulled out with the waves. For a brief moment I lost my self in the vastness that is the ocean consciousness. My ego disappeared and my soul was lost, as if a drop of water back into its source. It was a moment in heaven and a cosmic reunion.
After we had our fill of wave jumping and crashing my new Thai Girlfriend and I sun bathed on the beach. The odd thing about sand is that it finds its way into places sand should never be, and until you get that good deep shower it just sticks. It's nerve racking and gives you the sense of what an extreme OCD must deal with every day. We changed out and everyone made fun of me for moisturizing and refreshing my hair care product, but that's what makes me fabulous, exfoliate, moisturize, love yourself :) All that teasing didn't make them apprehensive to borrow some of my fabulous products.
Next we made way to our official landing pad, Urititi aka the gay beach. We made it to the gate and a chipper DOC (Department of Conservation) officer met us there. He gave us the run down.
"Now the campsite is split into two areas, over to the right, that's the gay area..." he paused as if to check if he needed to really go on, in a humorous way. "And to the left that's where the straights and families camp." Then he went on to explain the set up, basic guidelines, and helpful information like where the toilets were. After he was finished with us, the conversation went immediately into whether or not he was gay. It's confusing even in the land of kiwis for men to be overly zealous and nice about anything gay without being suspected for being one themselves.
The camping was $10 bucks a head. We paid our dues and then headed to the closest town to pick up the necessities; food and booze. We were the most poorly prepared campers I have ever seen. First off this was a spontaneous camping trip. I didn't even become aware of the plans until the morning of, not to mention that camping isn't really my forte. My fabulous gay idea of camping is a picknick or barbecue follow by sleeping on the couch or an air mattress at a friends house. Once I even ended up in the back of a conversion van. That's not to say I'm apposed to camping or don't have the masculinity, strength, or courage to do such a thing. It's just a rare event.
Pair all of that with the fact I was with two 19 year olds and a metro malaysian from Australia. Go ahead and be stereotypical, in this case it is accurate. Just don't go and project that onto the entire gay community. Their campsites will prove you very wrong. They are excellant campers. They transformed that camp ground into a luxurious party place. Laserlights, disco balls, tents, seating, full bars, champagne you name it. They had it. They were decked out and ready to be in their settlement for the next five days.
We on the other hand had a "four man" tent, and "two man tent" and a Mercedes a140 which is the German insult to the yugo. Our eager 19 year old kiwi went right into setting up the four man tent. The fact they call it a four man tent is a total joke. It will sleep four, technically. You all will know each other intimately by the end of the camp. If that is what you want that is all well and good, however, that wasn't our intention.
In lieu of setting up the two man tent we used its base as our picnic blanket. We had purchased a stuffed roasted chicken, havarti cheese, chips, crackers, spreads, buns, lettuce, cucumber, cashews, wine, beer, and only the critical sundries to execute our beach side picnic. We unfortunetly forgot any napkins or paper towels. That's the beauty of camping in the bush, it makes you painfully aware of the luxuries of everyday living when you fall short on follow through.
We had a wonderful dinner. Just gnashing and chatting. Our 19 year kiwi friend was in his coming out stage. He had began the process of coming out to friends and some family, but was slowly taking off the veil between his secrecy and the reality of his sexuality. I certainly do not envy him. It is such a daunting transition to go through, and the point he was in the process was the most difficult. The process of coming out really never comes to an end, it just becomes easier and less frequent with time.
I came out around the age of 15. I had moved to a new town. I decided before I passed through the doors of that school, that I wouldn't deny anything about my sexuality, and that I wouldn't try to behave in any certain way. My energy was already such a mess with the challenges I was facing with my family and the woes that come with transitioning into a new high school in a small town in Wisconsin. Everyone knew I was gay. They could tell by my mannerisms. I didn't deny it and I became a target for attack. This part of the coming out process wasn't much of struggle but the abuse that I suffered has had a lasting emotional and psychological impact.
The real challenge came long after high school. It was when I entered the professional financial industry working with clients. I was living in a conservative part of the country in a professional practice and I struggled with the concept of being openly gay and being successful in a sales role in a professional setting. I now know that I shouldn't have given a rip and just loved myself as I was and the clients I wanted would come, instead I just lived my fear and tip toed around my personal life.
When I finally left the professional sales arena and bought the restaurant that is when I finally felt the safety and confidence to just be myself. The relationships with the customers, in my mind, wasn't intimate enough to care. Again I never went about carry a rainbow flag or getting petitions signed for gay rights, but I just let none of that bother me.
Now when it comes up in conversation I usually just something funny and coy, like "Oh honey, I'm gay..."
Our friend wasn't in any real contact with his father and still hadn't told his Mom. He said that he knew that she knew, but just hadn't talked about it. It was just something they were both avoiding, the day when the truth comes out, the tears get shed, and all the projected regrets or rejection get spilled all over like red paint on white carpet. This was his first gay outing and I could sense his anxiousness, excitement, and confusion for what to do or expect.
One thing you can count on at any gay event is that if you are at all approachable or friendly you won't have any trouble making friends. We, the gay community, are in general very outgoing and social creatures. When we gather we have a lot of fun. I venture to guess more fun than most straight events. (I've been to both and I vote that this is a safe assumption) Even straight events are more fun when homos are involved. Our neighbors had an elaborate camp set up. They had a large ten person tent that was the anchor of their territory, and to each side of that were smaller but yet large tents. In the center of all this just set away from the road was the party canopy.
These friendly neighbors made their way by and invited us over to party. That's where we spent the evening. We had an absolute blast. The air filled with laughter and great conversation. As the night lead on it became louder and louder. We violated two of the camp rules. No excessive alcohol consumption and No excessive noise. Seems to be a pattern here. Our dear Thai Girlfriend went to bed to find that our tent was leaking from the rain. She said she didn't want to be bothered with walking the 30 yards over to get help from us so she just dealt with it till one of us came to bed. Luckially all those tents were set up for friends that weren't arriving for a couple of days so we had a huge tent all for ourselves. Another small but fabulous miracle!
That's what I love and celebrate about being my fabulous self. Because I'm in harmony with the Universe, and know that everything always works out for me. I relax into the enjoyment and feeling good about life and as a result it comes true.
Everything does always work out beautifully, solutions to my problems come many times before the I even become aware of the problem. That's not to say shitty things have never happened to me, but it is to say that the more I relax and appreciate the good things in life, the more miracles and solutions the universe brings. That's my definition of being fabulous, having it all provided by a friendly loving universe! (or whatever you want to call it)
And a little more about that....
The next morning I awoke and all I could think about was a wonderful hot breakfast. We packed up, said good bye to everyone and headed towards home. We stopped in a little town for breakfast and I walked in to be greeted with exactly what I wanted. Eggs Benedict Florentine :) Oh how I love my life. Homemade hollandais, poached eggs, New Zealand ham. Keep in mind this is a tiny little town that doesn't even have a gas station. There is was, the perfect breakfast and it was right there when I desired it.
I was feeling a little on the frisky side so I decided after breakfast to get a latte. I knew that I was in good company when I saw the perfectly steamed milk and cinnamon on my friends latte. I asked the sweet lady for a breve latte. She said she had no idea what I was talking about. Then I said "oh it's just steamed half and half instead of milk."
"I still don't have any idea what you are talking about" she said.
"Oh, pardon me, I'm American!" I said neurotically with a laugh.
"I won't hold that against you" she said as to return the joke.
"It's just half milk and half cream steamed"
"I can do that" she said with a big smile.
It was delicious, fabulous, and the perfect ending to my delightful trip to the gaggles on the gay beach.
My new brawny Malaysian friend and I were discussing our New Year's Eve plans and we discussed going to Urititi Beach, north of Auckland. Urititi is the premier gay party beach for the New Year's celebration in Northern New Zealand. Somehow along the way the plans were moved up to just after Christmas. I'm not sure why, nor do I really care. I have no schedule or obligations so after receiving a text saying he would be at my place in 15 min the morning of, I showered and rounded up my things for a spontaneous adventure.
Joining us would be two new friends. One was a caucasian male kiwi, 19, and just full of teenage angst. The other, a sweet 19 year old thai girl that moved to New Zealand with her mother when she was 11. I was surprised at the ages, seeing that my friend is 27 and myself close to that. Alas, they were the perfect co-pilots in our adventure to the "gay beach".
After Wellsford traffic started moving along just fine. We made it to the beach. As we were rolling through the volcanic hills on the way the sun was warm in the car, but you could feel the cool breeze coming off the ocean. It was going to be chilly no doubt about that. Thoughts of avoiding the water started crossing my mind, but the extrovert of the group wouldn't allow that kind of attitude. With hesitation I changed into my suit and headed down to the Pacific for high tide.
After we had our fill of wave jumping and crashing my new Thai Girlfriend and I sun bathed on the beach. The odd thing about sand is that it finds its way into places sand should never be, and until you get that good deep shower it just sticks. It's nerve racking and gives you the sense of what an extreme OCD must deal with every day. We changed out and everyone made fun of me for moisturizing and refreshing my hair care product, but that's what makes me fabulous, exfoliate, moisturize, love yourself :) All that teasing didn't make them apprehensive to borrow some of my fabulous products.
"Now the campsite is split into two areas, over to the right, that's the gay area..." he paused as if to check if he needed to really go on, in a humorous way. "And to the left that's where the straights and families camp." Then he went on to explain the set up, basic guidelines, and helpful information like where the toilets were. After he was finished with us, the conversation went immediately into whether or not he was gay. It's confusing even in the land of kiwis for men to be overly zealous and nice about anything gay without being suspected for being one themselves.
The camping was $10 bucks a head. We paid our dues and then headed to the closest town to pick up the necessities; food and booze. We were the most poorly prepared campers I have ever seen. First off this was a spontaneous camping trip. I didn't even become aware of the plans until the morning of, not to mention that camping isn't really my forte. My fabulous gay idea of camping is a picknick or barbecue follow by sleeping on the couch or an air mattress at a friends house. Once I even ended up in the back of a conversion van. That's not to say I'm apposed to camping or don't have the masculinity, strength, or courage to do such a thing. It's just a rare event.
Pair all of that with the fact I was with two 19 year olds and a metro malaysian from Australia. Go ahead and be stereotypical, in this case it is accurate. Just don't go and project that onto the entire gay community. Their campsites will prove you very wrong. They are excellant campers. They transformed that camp ground into a luxurious party place. Laserlights, disco balls, tents, seating, full bars, champagne you name it. They had it. They were decked out and ready to be in their settlement for the next five days.
We on the other hand had a "four man" tent, and "two man tent" and a Mercedes a140 which is the German insult to the yugo. Our eager 19 year old kiwi went right into setting up the four man tent. The fact they call it a four man tent is a total joke. It will sleep four, technically. You all will know each other intimately by the end of the camp. If that is what you want that is all well and good, however, that wasn't our intention.
I came out around the age of 15. I had moved to a new town. I decided before I passed through the doors of that school, that I wouldn't deny anything about my sexuality, and that I wouldn't try to behave in any certain way. My energy was already such a mess with the challenges I was facing with my family and the woes that come with transitioning into a new high school in a small town in Wisconsin. Everyone knew I was gay. They could tell by my mannerisms. I didn't deny it and I became a target for attack. This part of the coming out process wasn't much of struggle but the abuse that I suffered has had a lasting emotional and psychological impact.
The real challenge came long after high school. It was when I entered the professional financial industry working with clients. I was living in a conservative part of the country in a professional practice and I struggled with the concept of being openly gay and being successful in a sales role in a professional setting. I now know that I shouldn't have given a rip and just loved myself as I was and the clients I wanted would come, instead I just lived my fear and tip toed around my personal life.
When I finally left the professional sales arena and bought the restaurant that is when I finally felt the safety and confidence to just be myself. The relationships with the customers, in my mind, wasn't intimate enough to care. Again I never went about carry a rainbow flag or getting petitions signed for gay rights, but I just let none of that bother me.
Now when it comes up in conversation I usually just something funny and coy, like "Oh honey, I'm gay..."
Our friend wasn't in any real contact with his father and still hadn't told his Mom. He said that he knew that she knew, but just hadn't talked about it. It was just something they were both avoiding, the day when the truth comes out, the tears get shed, and all the projected regrets or rejection get spilled all over like red paint on white carpet. This was his first gay outing and I could sense his anxiousness, excitement, and confusion for what to do or expect.
These friendly neighbors made their way by and invited us over to party. That's where we spent the evening. We had an absolute blast. The air filled with laughter and great conversation. As the night lead on it became louder and louder. We violated two of the camp rules. No excessive alcohol consumption and No excessive noise. Seems to be a pattern here. Our dear Thai Girlfriend went to bed to find that our tent was leaking from the rain. She said she didn't want to be bothered with walking the 30 yards over to get help from us so she just dealt with it till one of us came to bed. Luckially all those tents were set up for friends that weren't arriving for a couple of days so we had a huge tent all for ourselves. Another small but fabulous miracle!
That's what I love and celebrate about being my fabulous self. Because I'm in harmony with the Universe, and know that everything always works out for me. I relax into the enjoyment and feeling good about life and as a result it comes true.
Everything does always work out beautifully, solutions to my problems come many times before the I even become aware of the problem. That's not to say shitty things have never happened to me, but it is to say that the more I relax and appreciate the good things in life, the more miracles and solutions the universe brings. That's my definition of being fabulous, having it all provided by a friendly loving universe! (or whatever you want to call it)
And a little more about that....
The next morning I awoke and all I could think about was a wonderful hot breakfast. We packed up, said good bye to everyone and headed towards home. We stopped in a little town for breakfast and I walked in to be greeted with exactly what I wanted. Eggs Benedict Florentine :) Oh how I love my life. Homemade hollandais, poached eggs, New Zealand ham. Keep in mind this is a tiny little town that doesn't even have a gas station. There is was, the perfect breakfast and it was right there when I desired it.
I was feeling a little on the frisky side so I decided after breakfast to get a latte. I knew that I was in good company when I saw the perfectly steamed milk and cinnamon on my friends latte. I asked the sweet lady for a breve latte. She said she had no idea what I was talking about. Then I said "oh it's just steamed half and half instead of milk."
"I still don't have any idea what you are talking about" she said.
"Oh, pardon me, I'm American!" I said neurotically with a laugh.
"I won't hold that against you" she said as to return the joke.
"It's just half milk and half cream steamed"
"I can do that" she said with a big smile.
It was delicious, fabulous, and the perfect ending to my delightful trip to the gaggles on the gay beach.
The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands. The blood flows with the fast circulation of childhood.
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