We had been stressing over how the O Bar Pride party would go given we had a significant number of friends joining us and it's typically a very busy night for the bar. But things turned out better than expected or at least our little bubble of happiness up front wasn't too inconvenienced beyond challenges with certain nearby tables and the usual challenge of getting to the bathroom between sets.
There were a lot of familiar faces at the bar and a lot of absent ones as well. The overall experience was still positive as the show was great and we were all there to celebrate the brilliance of Philippine drag.
A lot of people make the mistake of assuming that Tobie and I go to O Bar every week - we're physically incapable of doing this at this point even if we wanted to. But I sort of get why friends may have that impression as we do make a point of trying to attend every single major event they have, which happens once or twice a month. They're practically days of obligation for us because we know how much effort the performers put into preparing for these events and we want to recognize and celebrate that. Plus, they are genuinely great shows and worth making the time for.
It's kind of amazing how O Bar has become such a central part of our shared queer lives - or just our lives in general. Tobie brought me to O Bar during one of our first hangout dates and we've continued going ever since. And thus we repeatedly refer to the performers and the staff as practically being family because we have grown to know them quite well over the years. We're still "just" customers if you look at things objectively, and that's fair. But at the same time, I know we're not given how much time we've invested and the genuine friendships we've established more with the people who make the O Bar magic happen versus those who watch the shows alongside us, I think.
Just a little O Bar love rambling to wrap up Pride month.
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