Nick’s Birthday Extravaganza Part II

As part two of Nick’s Birthday Extravaganza commenced, we found ourselves at the RADAR Reading Series at the SF Public Library. We had been in regular attendance to the series until this past February when the new semester of State began. Fortunately I had already heard a good number of my favorite writers perform, such as Laurie Weeks and Eileen Myles. The incomparable (albeit a cliché term) Michelle Tea emcees this bastion of the literary underworld. She’s infectious with upbeat demeanor—a mix of spunky punk ultra cool Mission chick and sisterly down home charm. She extorts the crowd with her freshly baked cookies, dolling them out only if someone asks a question of the writers. The line up of writers was Eddy Joe Cotton, Thea Hillman, Kirk Read and Chelsea Starr—the latter of whom I’m convinced moonlights as a Peachy Puff Girl. After getting our seats I noticed Thea Hillman putting her stuff down in front of Nick and myself. I said hello, however Thea didn’t remember who I was despite meeting me a few times before. I seem to have this non-effect on people; I’m quite forgettable—possibly because it makes me uncomfortable to gain any acceptance within a group of people because I fear loosing my outsider/edge status. I re-met Kirk Read who knows Nick. We had read at an event together a couple years previous but he had snubbed me there so I just chalked it up to cattiness. I do enjoy his stories, they’re pretty outrageous. My favorite story of the evening was by Chelsea Starr. It was a memoir piece from her childhood in Oregon. It hit very close to home. After the reading Nick and I went to Carl’s Junior, enjoyed our Western Bacon Cheeseburgers while watching all the crack whores and homeless wander about. Martuni’s was our last stop of the evening. We opened the back room and sat in a dark corner. Before too long Nick’s friends Geno and Devon showed up and we laughed the night away. It was a great way to close down his 2 day fiesta.