Ralf Sleeps Through Mardi Gras Prep (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: March 1, 1999

Wisdom Before the Mardi Gras

Before I begin my Saturday’s tale just two sentences of wisdom. This world is for the free to be free. I am one who is sick for freedom and for that, I have no cure. Now for the latter verbal wisdom that begs to speak. We sometimes have to lust the ones we love, to find love’s initial lust once again.

Ralf Dogs the Plan

Venturing now into the domain of Saturday and the second last day of February let me now begin. The night before when Ralf was dropping me off home he noted that he would give me a call for Saturday as we were going to travel to the Mardi Gras together. Starting with just Ralf and myself to go I wanted a couple more people to come but obviously Ralf had something else on his mind, dogging all his dogging friends.

Supposedly Ace was also traveling down to the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in the City and Ralf was going to see if we could both get a lift down but that also fell through. Nevertheless, I was woken up at midday and in that instance Ralf advised me that he was headed to Macarthur Square with Keith. Not bothering to ask if I could tag along as I was still sleepy I hoped that he wouldn’t dog the situation for the night that we had been planning for a week and asked for him to call back later in the day.

Lyssa and the Phone Bill Dream

Waking up around 2:00 p.m. by a call from Lyssa (This is what I think happened but I know we talked in the day) we just chatted about our expected nights. Lyssa was heading with her work friends to Hurstville where they were to visit the Meridian nightclub and then head off to a hotel room.

There was another dream that I had about Lyssa and being more realistic this time I shared it with Lyssa and am about to here. The setting was out the front of Lyssa’s house and checking her mail with her mum and myself out the front a mailman arrived. Handing Lyssa a bunch of envelopes from his bag I noticed the big red ‘Unpaid’ and ‘Due’ stamps on them and knew something was wrong financially for Lyssa.

Opening up one or two of the letters the three of us were shocked to find that they were for her phone bill and reading separate bills from $300 to $3000 I started worrying for Lyssa. Taking a look at the company name I realized it wasn’t Telstra and then it clicked in my head why Lyssa wasn’t getting billed, or at least she thought. These bills were from a different company that handled her long distance phone calls, that’s why it never showed up on her normal Telstra bills. Holding Penelope’s mum partly to blame in my mind I knew Lyssa would have to pay them even though they all arrived in a bunch and fairly late.

Both Lyssa and I talked for around half an hour and then Lyssa had to get ready for her night out. Lyssa argued that her fake tan didn’t apply properly and it was all blotchy on her skin. For that reason Lyssa didn’t feel that eager to go the night before but when Lyssa and I were chatting she noted that her fake tan had cleaned up.

Once off the phone the time was 3:00 p.m. and giving Ralf a call to see if he was finished at Macarthur Square it appeared that he wasn’t. Going crazy over girls walking past him he told me that I should have been up there because if he was going crazy, I would have been hysterical with lust. Awaiting his answer on when we would meet for the night’s planning he told me that he would get home and then give me a call about that.

Friday night Ralf was saying that we should get up early and head to the City bright and early for the Mardi Gras but Saturday he was singing to a different tune. “Don’t worry” he uttered, “We’ve got plenty of time to prepare for the parade”.

Keith Versus Ralf

Jeering time took a toll on me as I waited for Ralf to call and half an hour later he did. Talking over the plans for the night Ralf told me that Keith, Shawn, Tatton or anyone else in that little group can’t head out with us because Keith was celebrating Tamsen’s proper birthday night and he was inviting everyone out.

Ralf was told about the get together go out party weeks before any planning for the Mardi Gras but he done the switch on Keith in the dying moments of his request. Keith was pissed off later in the night that Ralf was heading out to the Mardi Gras but I didn’t care, I was all for it. Keith didn’t give me a call to invite me and remembering how he dogged me on New Years Eve and he dogged Ralf on his birthday, I was kind of happy that Ralf dogged him back for once.

Keith was pissed off and decided to give Ralf a call when we were both getting prepared at his house. I had the honor of listening to Keith squabble about how Tamsen’s birthday was so important and how Ralf was selfish and then Ralf calling him back to have a go back at him. Anyway, Ralf told me to get ready and I told him to come pick me up in an hour, by 5:30 p.m.

Waiting on Sleepy Ralf

Preparing myself for the night ahead I got some money off my parents to cover train and camera film charge. Wearing my black cargo pants and button up black shirt from Gas Station (My newest shit) I placed mum’s smaller camera in one of the larger pockets at the knee and my wallet in the other.

The time reached 5:30 p.m. as I waited patiently but as time started creeping past and I was tired of listening to my music I gave Ralf a call. Taking a little while to get to the phone I knew he had been sleeping when he jumped on the phone all groggy. Sounding like he didn’t even know where he was I gathered he wasn’t too enthusiastic about the night if he was getting to sleep and not getting ready.

Aggravated that Ralf got to sleep and that we would have to wait at least another hour I asked him to come straight over to my house and pick me up before he tried getting ready. Agreeing with my request he hung up the phone and for the next twenty minutes I waited and waited until he finally showed up.

Starting to get pissed off with his moseying ways we headed to his house where he finally started to get dressed. Both of us were wearing the same shit that we had on for Friday night. Taking almost an hour to get ready while I waited in the television room he received that call from Keith and he also talked to Ace who asked Ralf to call him when he was in the City. The time was 6:30 p.m. when Ralf finally finished and pressed for time he asked his dad for a lift to the station which he gladly gave.

The Lift to the Station

The trip to the station was short but the part I will remember is how Ralf’s dad kept referring to all gays as poofs. “Are you going to the City to see all the poofs are you” he uttered and every sentence used the word poofs in a amusingly jovial sort of way.

Being dropped off at the station I wondered if we would have to cram on the train as there would be millions of people riding the trains to get to the City for the night. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that when Ralf picked me up from my house we headed to Campbelltown where he bought some after-shave and I bought some cheap film for the camera. Anyway, grabbing myself a full fare ticket as I had no other choice we waited a couple of minutes on an ordinarily populated platform and then jumped on, ready for the City.

Riding the train to the City was no real excitement as Ralf chose the seats near the doors and considering there were some hot girls upstairs I saw this as a stupid move. Ralf’s excuse was that the girls upstairs weren’t that attractive but I beg to differ.

Girls being ugly and not his type is his best excuse for not approaching women or wanting to sit next to them. Ralf is as morbid when it comes to meeting women as the rest of us and I think his little excuses of being better than all that he chooses not to sit next to is pathetic.

You know, I’m not a bitching kind of man in life’s little endeavors and what you might think is bitching in this Diary is just my selective truth but truth at that. I don’t bitch as freely in speech as all others tend to do and if you are bitching at my apparent bitching right now, you’re the bigot, not I.

Town Hall the Scenic Way

Arriving in the City we realized that we couldn’t jump off at Museum because the parade was running through there so we had to make our way to Town Hall, Ralf’s stupid choice. Myself, I would have picked St. James as it would have been closer but then again Mr. Scenic Route had to bother justifying his stupidity in judgment.

Let me just note by the way something about what you think would otherwise be me bitching in this Diary. I do not bitch, but comprehend error in people’s judgment unto others and diversify it with meaning within my mind’s Diary. In short, my snout does not sniff out errors and I am not the pig for what I say to my mind and to my own thoughts.

Late to the Parade

Afoot we did stride towards the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. Heading to the starting point which was the corners of Elizabeth and Liverpool Streets we realized that we were a bit late as the parade had already started. The crowds behind the guard railings were pretty large as it was about twenty men thick all the way around on our side of the street.

Walking to the back of the crowd (I think we were on Liverpool Street) we couldn’t see anything but the tallest floats and those waving from the top of them. This started to piss me off after a little while and with a little hesitation from Ralf we made our way closer and closer to the middle. Firstly we pushed our way through a gap in the crowd to the side of the street where you could see through a window shop. That’s where Ralf and I stood for a couple of minutes as he almost lost me being his lost self. If there is one common truth about Ralf it’s that he has no clue, period.