in my head it's twice in one day

because i haven't gone to sleep yet. and given that kristi and i have to meet the KBA team to march in the Pride Parade at 11:30am, and it's currently 5:44am, and i'm raring to go, i'm guessing that i may not sleep until the last bit of pride has prided.

i started off the afternoon at Washington Square Park, hanging out under the great arch and handing out flyers for Pier Pressure, the Lovergirl party my friend Kate throws every Pride. as always, the moment when the dykes came marching in was amazing. it's a spunky sort of event- no parade parade permit, so it's a protest march, though it does have a celebratory feel. and all those splendid girls jumping and dancing in the fountain, and the drum circles drumming, and the rainbow flags and rainbow hair- there are so many gorgeous memories and moments in that afternoon, but i did not take a single photo. i was busy, flyering and chatting, and i just never took the camera out of my bag. but i did run into my dear friend Erin and her charming girlfriend Eileen and that was just marvelous.

next kristi and i worked at Pier Pressure. i handle the guest lists and kristi does the mailing list. it's an awesome party held at a brewing company restaurant right on the hudson river, and the moon was huge and full tonight, and the most amazing thing happened. it was not wholly unexpected but the way it played out was refreshing and inspiring and, at the start, kind of embarassing. i was going over th elist when someone said "Are you Dawn?" and I looked up and said "Yes" and someone was stading in front of me holding out her hand for me to shake and saying "Hi, I'm Daniela" and i said "Yes, you are" because it was Daniela Sea who is totally one of my heroes and is also incredibly, shockingly, strikingly beautiful. and i almost died. (For my Mom, and any non-dykes who read this, Daniela Sea is a lot of things, but she is best known as the actress who played the groundbreaking role of Max in the lesbian tv show The L Word. Max was a trans-man, and his story was such an incredibly important part of that show because it was the first trans character in a tv show who was actually part of the main cast, and had their own journey and story and wasn't just a tranny hooker on Law & Order or something.)

now, I knew that Daniela Sea was going to be there, she was the Celebrity Host of the party. but usually when we have celebrity hosts their bodyguards or chauffeurs alert us to their arrival and they get snuck in and it's all very hush-hush and they certainly don't walk up to the Guest List Girl and introduce themselves like normal people. she didnt show up with an entourage, just a friend with a nice smile who reminded me of Seamus, my friend from college.

throughout the night i ended up getting to hang out with daniela a bit, and be with her as she moved through the crowd and hung out. over and over again throughout the night i was surprised by her. she was friendly and mingled with the crowd. she got excited over the full moon and the river. she had a great time. she was incredibly patient and took a bazillion photos with people. she was charming onstage, easygoing everywhere else, and the only thing she asked for all night was a hit off a cigarette. she was humble and grateful and utterly normal. and that was really cool to see. she is a genuinely nice person who has none of the trappings or attitude i've come to associate with the celebrities i've had interactions with (living in NY and nannying for high-profile folks, i've run into perhaps more than my share) and that just makes me happy. this person has clearly not been spoiled by success and so i have hope for humanity.

and yes, i did get a photo with her- actually two, because it was the end of the night- we were actually standing outside the cab she was about to get in to go home- and we were both making horrible faces in the first one. yeah- that's the kind of person Daniela Sea is: she cared enough that i got a good photo that she made me turn the camera around and show her the shot to make sure we got a good one- and when she saw the cracked-out-looking shot we got, she laughed and was like "at least it looks like we're partying and having fun!" and then we took another one, which she also checked. she thought her eyes looked crazy but overall it was a pretty good picture so we kept it (and when your eyes are like that i imagine that they stand out in most pictures).

maybe i should try to sleep. it's 6:35am. i wonder where my rainbow flags are.

ps: did you know that she speaks Polish, plays 3 instruments and lived as a man in India for 6 months? seriously. my hero.