This past long weekend (in British Columbia) will go down in history, or at least my corner of it, as one of the most action packed and, ultimately, rewarding.
It started when I left work Friday afternoon to go home and get ready for the Trans and Genderqueer March. The march was a success and a few of us took the good vibes with us when going out for a bite to eat and drinks at a nearby pub.
Sunday, however, was the apex. Early to rise followed by walking in the Pride Parade through the West End in mid-30s temperatures. Again, a fantastic though scorching event. I walked with members of the Trans-Alliance Society, sometimes carrying the banner, sometimes the pink, blue and white transgender flag, but constantly putting feminizing voice to the test by a steady round of whooping and cheering.
When the parade ended, I left right away and walked over the Burrard Bridge, something I had not done for years, since I lived on the west side actually; I definitely felt my age afterwards. I headed out to UBC to do my radio program at CITR for three hours. Then, I headed home to get ready for a dance on the east side called Unicorn Born: Genderfest's East Van Queer Pride Dance Party. It was a late night dance party capping off a week of organized social events running parallel to the official pride events. Rum and cokes and fierce dancing followed as the DJs spun almost hallucinatory beats until two in the morning. By that point, I had left, in a zombie, crying for bedtime. I actually fell asleep in the shower, standing up.
Today, I got up early to fill in for a radio colleague from eleven until noon, doing an hour of vintage reggae tracks. After that, I was interviewed by the station's magazine, Discorder, on my show turning six next month, my favourite soul artists, my personal journey and my hopes for the show in the year's to come.
My hopes in radio, like elsewhere in my life, are to be role model: to live my life authentically and then, to pass the torch so that others may do the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment