Category Archives: Albany

Red spotlights lit the sky-high columns of The State Room, while candles glowed intimately among the cozy vermilion-accented tables. A bar in the corner served wine and cocktails, while sharply decked-out servers whirled hot appetizers ranging from Beef Wellington to bacon-wrapped scallops around the space. A virgin bar for the non-boozers among us (of which I counted myself last night) was located in another corner, offering several scintillating concoctions, including the ‘Mommie Dearest’ (served with a wielding of a wire hanger – for real!) It was The Gay Soirée, and I was sitting and watching it all unfold with my friend JoAnn who drove in from Cape Cod to be part of the spectacle.

As the guests arrived, in one fabulous outfit after another, the room filled with a collection of Albany’s finest in their most fashionable get-ups. After seeing such a wonderful and diverse group of people enjoying themselves on the dance floor, JoAnn remarked that the night gave her hope. It was such a simple statement, but so powerful, and an indication that the evening was accomplishing much more than a presentation of pretty people.

As Honorary Chair of this party, I didn’t do much other than lend my name and some FaceBook and website promotion to the event, so I want to thank all the people who did most of the work that resulted in such a fabulous party. First and foremost is everyone at the Capital Pride Center – especially Executive Director Curran Streett and Deputy Director Michael Weidrich, as well as the burgeoning staff of that great organization. As the oldest continually-operating Pride Center in the country, they have a legacy that they continue to nurture and embolden, and this event was further proof that they are at the top of their game.

Next, thanks to the amazing musical performers of the evening. Sonny and Perley opened the night with their cabaret act of romantic standards, sultry torch songs, and velvety smooth vocal performances that warmed the winter night. It was followed by the bass-pumping mastery of DJ Robb Penders, who set the dance floor on fire with an evolving mix of music that ran from classic tracks (‘Lady Marmalade’) to the most recent crowd-pleasing hits (‘Get Lucky’). He and his dancing dynamo of a husband Jason (who showed off moves I never dreamed existed) kept the evening on a high-octane shuffle.

Finally, my most important bit of thanks goes to everyone who came out and made the evening what it was. I can’t list everyone, but it’s you who made this matter. I loved seeing friends from FaceBook and real life collide and meet – and it was wonderful meeting and talking to some of my favorite people – Jeze Bel, Gloria, Peter, Ken, Lauren, Gene & Jeff, Rosy, Curran and Corbin, David, Scott, Pilar, Jim, Rick, Janet, Jim, Michael, Eric, Joe, Steven, Vinny, and Ulysses.

Let’s do it all again next year.

Hopefully I’ll be seeing you (and you and you) at The Gay Soirée this evening. I’ll be in something lacy and frilly as befits the gender-bending atmosphere, and if we’re lucky we’ll heat things up so the cold air won’t make a dip in our nip. From its 1930’s cabaret setting to its high-fashon gender-bending ambience, this looks to be a spectacular evening of entertainment, enchantment, and divine decadence. Please join me for all the fabulous fun at the hottest event of the winter season!

WHAT: The Gay Soirée

WHEN: Tonight, Saturday, February 8, 2014 – 7 PM (with VIP Reception at 6 PM)

WHERE: 142 State Street, Albany, NY

DRESS CODE: Funky-formal, but all are welcome and anything goes.

VIP Tickets are available for an additional cost and include a VIP Wine Reception from 6 to 7 PM. 

All ticket proceeds go directly to the Capital Pride Center.

The hottest event of the winter social scene is just one week from tonight ~ The Gay Soirée. Just in time to stave off the chill and heat up a Saturday evening, it will be a gathering of the most fabulous, most fashionable, most fun, and most gender-bending folks that this city has seen in some time. Everyone is welcome (the ‘Gay’ in the title is a throw-back to its original ‘happy’ definition – as in the ‘Gay Twenties’) and that always makes for the most exciting kind of party.

Funky-formal is the suggested dress code, but anything with a bit of fancy flair will fly. (Personally, I’m injecting a bit of black lace into my ensemble. The Honorary Chair has to do something special, and this time it’s lace. You’ll have to attend to see where it’s incorporated, but you know I like to be cheeky.)

So don your daring bootylicious best, dust off your tux or your fanciest dress, and prepare for an evening of exquisite enchantment to chase the winter blues away. Also, be sure to order your tickets early, as door tickets will come at a higher cost.

The Gay Soirée

Saturday, February 8, 2014 ~ 7 PM

142 State Street, Albany, NY

Advance tickets are available here.

VIP Tickets are available for an additional cost and include a VIP Wine Reception from 6 to 7 PM. 

 

All ticket proceeds go directly to the Capital Pride Center.

A few months ago, you may recall this tiny fiasco at Starbucks, when I was unceremoniously booted from the premises on the one day I had not purchased a Starbucks product. (Not a stand-alone store, I reiterate, but a kiosk in the public lobby of a building not owned by Starbucks). My post must have been seen by someone at Starbucks, because I received a few free drink coupons and several profuse apologies for the way I was treated soon thereafter. I was also contacted by the Regional Manager who asked for details on the visit, which I gladly provided.

A genuine apology goes a long way with me, and I’d forgiven Starbucks for the foible, but I stayed away from their stores all summer because the friendly nature the company has always gone out of its way to cultivate had been dispelled – most likely by an isolated downtown Albany employee, but dispelled nonetheless. I held onto the drink certificates until this week, when I ventured into the same Starbucks.

On my first trip back, there were two new baristas working. I ordered an expensive salted caramel mocha (hey, I’m not going to waste a coupon on a plain coffee) and sat down right near where I had been asked to leave a few months earlier. I finished my drink and left, unbothered.

The next day I returned, and the employee who had been next to me when I was told to leave took my order. She called me by name (I hadn’t thought she’d known my name) and apologized for what had happened last time. I thanked her for that, and said it was fine. (Usually when I say something is fine, it is decidedly anything but fine, but this time I meant it.)

Forgiveness doesn’t come easy for me, but over the last few years I’ve gotten better at it. This trivial matter may be further proof of that. (And proof of the power of the written word. Don’t ever be silent if you’re treated unfairly. Yes, a sizable social media presence can help, but even without that you can write to company executives, regional managers, and everyone all the way up to the CEO. That’s the beauty of living in this country. Make the most of it.)

As for Starbucks, it’s always been an admirable company and has consistently done good things with its money and power. The fact that several people reached out to me to discuss what happened and worked to rectify it are indicative that the company does in fact care. Because of that, I feel good about patronizing their business again. (A gift card and the return of holiday drink offerings helps too.)

I was sitting at Stagecoach Coffee eating a macaroon and wearing purple pants but feeling decidedly less than fabulous, when she walked into the place, looked me up and down and said simply: “You’re fantastic. You’re just fantastic.”

I crinkled my brow in amused wonderment, and asked why.

“The pants. The shoes. The whole outfit.”

I didn’t have the power to muster anything beyond a smile and a heartfelt, ‘Thank you.’ But I’d like to say a little more to her here:

You couldn’t know how such a simple statement would move me so much, but I wanted to express that you were a bright spot in my otherwise-drab day. You couldn’t have known that when I walked into work that morning, I passed two people smoking outside the building, and as I strode by in my purple pants and orange coat I heard one of them whisper, under her breath, “Oh boy.” It wasn’t a good “Oh boy”, it was an “Oh God, what on earth is that?” kind of comment. I almost – almost – stopped to address the two of them, but I didn’t. At this point in my life I’m not unaccustomed to whispering, but some days I’m not up for it. Some days I’m too tired to stage a come-back.

And then you walked in and said what you said. Unprompted, out-of-the-blue, and to a complete stranger. You almost made me cry – it had been that bad of a day – and you turned it around for that moment. It was probably just another flippant compliment that you didn’t even think much about, but it meant the world to me. Not that you were impressed by my clothing, but that you so openly gave that little gift, as I imagine you give to others without a second thought.

Thank you for doing that.

• Provided over 22,000 meals combined with nutritional health education.

• Facilitated support and access to care for 421 people and an additional 1,000 family members with over 6,700 visits to our drop-in living room setting open 5 days a week.

• Helped 172 pets and 104 pet owners with in-home care, 12,800 pounds of pet food, and veterinarian assistance from PAWS.

• Gave over 1,800 household items from the Treasure Chest to members in need.

• Provided prevention education sessions to over 1,203 people and distributed 17,000 condoms.

• Began helping people return to work and school while ensuring they are stably housed through the launch of our new Foundations for Living Program.

The Starbucks on Pearl Street in Downtown Albany is where I often hang out on lunch. I’ll order a silly Frappucino Grande, open up a book, and keep my eye on the big clock at the bank across the street. I go there on average about three times a week, for probably forty weeks during the year. (Which, at $4.75 a frap, three times a week, for forty weeks, comes out to about $570 a year. And since I’ve been going there for eight years now, that totals about $4560. I just shuddered.) The point is, I’m a regular, and they know me. (There aren’t a lot of guys in pink pants, orange coats, and bow-ties in Albany.)

The one day I go there and sit down without ordering anything, a bottle of non-Starbucks-sold water in one hand, and a book in the other, I get called out by one of the workers and told I couldn’t stay there if I didn’t have bank business (there is an adjoining bank) or a Starbucks purchase. At first, I didn’t believe it. This guy knows me, he’s served me countless times in the past eight years, and this is one of the only times I didn’t have a Starbucks drink in my hand.

In the seat next to me was a Starbucks worker who was on break, eating a Subway sandwich, and not drinking or eating anything from Starbucks. She’s usually friendly, complimenting me on my hair or tie, so I turn to her and ask her where her Starbucks items are. She said she worked there. Okay, I get it. It’s fine for employees to take up seats and eat food from other establishments, but not regular customers who up until today gave their loyal patronage.

Did he have a right to ask me to leave if I wasn’t buying anything? Absolutely.

Was it a cool move to treat a regular customer that way? Absolutely not. The cool thing would have been to let it go, ignore me for twenty more minutes, and go on with our friendly banter the next day I was in line ordering an over-priced coffee drink. This was the first time I witnessed anything like that, as there are often people sitting there eating Chinese takeout with nary an item from Starbucks. In fact, as one friend put it, “the freaking homeless sit in there all day long and you are a regular paying customer.”

And so it goes in Downtown Albany.

UPDATE: I returned there the next day to see how many non-Starbucks people were sitting there not eating or drinking Starbucks’ products. I got two semi-clear pics out of about five who were there reading, texting, or idly sitting around without any coffee whatsoever. Hmmm… Even more amusing is the pledge on their FaceBook page: “Starbucks has an unusually human approach to business. We always figured that putting people before products just made good common sense.”
It usually does.

The park in which this statue sits is just across the street from where I work, yet even though I pass it any number of times a day, and have for the past eight years, I’ve never had my photo taken with it. Until now. The man depicted is former Albany Mayor Thomas Whalen III. I’m assuming that’s his pooch. (It would be strange for it to be some stray dog that just haphazardly wandered into the pose – not that it isn’t strange on its own to have a dog immortalized in such a manner. This isn’t Disneyworld, or Michael Jackson’s Neverland compound.) At any rate, someone pointed out that he could pass for a bronzed Bill O’Reilly. I don’t think I’d so willingly sidle up to Mr. O’Reilly though. And speaking of bronzed, I wonder if Jerry Jennings will ever get a statue like this…?

PS – This was my ensemble for Saturday’s performance of the Albany Symphony Orchestra. I won’t even touch on what the other patrons were wearing, as I’ve slagged off Albany enough this week. Sometimes, though, criticism is amply justified. We’ll leave it at that.