This year has been a year of many firsts. My first Anything But Clothes party, writing my first murder mystery party, and winning first place for best group costume at this year's Erotic Ball. This also happened to be the year that I performed stand up for the very first time. 

I had toyed around with the idea of translating the absolute ridiculous antics of being a drag queen in some stand-up but never found the right opportunity to do it. When the Pioneer Underground approached me about doing some stand-up during their "Ladies Weekend of Comedy", it seemed like an ironically perfect time to debut my set. 

Here is a video of my set from the performance. I touched on the trials and tribulations of being a drag queen, of surviving a post-apocalyptic future and of one day being a parent. I was a little nervous to perform stand-up. I worried I would forget my entire set or stumble through it. I wondered what the audience would think of a drag queen performing stand-up; would they think it weird or not appreciate it?The audience was absolutely awesome! I think it showed that audiences at the end of the day want to be entertained. As long as you can do that, then it shouldn't matter your sexual orientation, race, gender, etc. I was thankful thought that my spanks and corset did not cut off my breathing thus causing me to pass out right there on stage. Enjoy the video!!!

A hard lesson to learn. One would assume that a drag queen that, for the most part, wears nothing but corsets, would have learned the limitations of such articles of clothing. Unfortunately I dared to test the gods and mow down on a Double Double with animal fries at In N Out. 

A few of us had just finished doing a photo shoot for a new building going up downtown. It was such an incredible experience:

"Oh what did you do this weekend Ginger?

"Oh not much. Just a few girlfriends and I dressed to the nines, worked with a professional photographer, and ended up with a photo that made my friends and I look like we were the Reno Sex and the City girls ... NBD"

Of course to prepare stuffing myself into my latest instrument of torture, I refused to eat or drink anything for hours leading up to the shoot. So, it was safe to say, that at the end of the photo shoot, I was ready to put up my heels and stuff my face.  We rush to In N Out, procure our guilty pleasures and then proceeded to drive around the corner to our usual hiding spot; a space we have called "The Fat Girl Spot"

Halfway through my Double Double, I noticed a pressure brewing in  my breastal region. I surveyed that the pressure was occurring at the intersection of my spanks and the corsets tightest part. I thought I could plow through the rest of my burger and animal fries and survive until I had returned to the safety and comfort of my home to release my fat rolls from their prison. However, I couldn't keep it in anymore and I had to unzip the corset and tear it from my body. It was at that point that a wave of relief and orgasmic pleasure rushed over me. It also happened to be the point when a couple and their two children decided to walk in front of our car. 

Oops. What? Haven't you seen a topless drag queen stuffing her face under the awning of a Chevron gas station? What? I'm just saying. 

Last night I checked another box on my gay bucket list by seeing the brash and fabulous miss Kathy Griffin. My roommate and I decided to get all the dressed up for the occasion hoping that with some glam costumes and some extra glitter in our hair we would garner the attention of Kathy. We show up to the Silver Legacy Casino and attempt to find the theater. Never try to find something in a casino; invariably you will get tired, want to give up, plop down at the penny slots, and have yourself a good time. Eventually we found the expo hall and entered ready for the gay-gay-Liberace-gay experience we were about to have. 

I wasn't quite sure what I expected to find when we entered the hall. I guess I assumed it would be reminiscent of a gay club; disco balls hanging from the ceiling, frolicking gays freaking out that they they are in the same building as Miss Griffin, and more sparkles and glitter than at a Ke$ha concert. What we discovered was a relatively subdued crowd comprised primarily of older straight couples who looked confused, as if they had never heard of Kathy Griffin before. 

All of a sudden the crowd begins to erupt - even though there is nothing happening on stage. Perhaps they believed that if they started cheering loudly that would motivate Kathy to come out. I am never sure why people do that. After a while, the ginger comedian took the stage. She started the show off with her usual opening wanting to know where all of her gays are at. It was at that moment that a smattering of gays stood up and started clapping and cheering. This dismal display of support had me wondering; where are all of the gays at? We were the only gays in our section which made my obvious drag queenness that more apparent. 

Kathy Griffin delivered an incredible two-hour set full of personal anecdotes of Paula Deen stopping by for dinner and stories of her drunken mother. Everything was going great until about halfway through the show when I realized that I probably should not have worn a corset to a comedy show where I was going to be sitting for two hours. Actually I probably should not have wolfed down a double quarter pounder with cheese from McDonalds a half hour before the show. Ah the things that we do and endure in the name of beauty - I must say I was the most fabulously dressed individual in the expo hall. Once again, I had to stare down a few individuals who were leering and give them the "WHAT are you staring at? Haven't you ever seen a drag queen out for the night to see the show before?" All in a day's work for a drag queen. 

I did have fantasies of meeting Kathy Griffin, having her absolutely fall in love with me, and asking me to join Team Griffin. Unfortunately that did not happen, but a girl can still dream. 

I love Halloween because as I drag queen I naturally always have a backup costume in my closet.

"I'm a drag queen .... I mean I'm a dead drag queen ... I mean I am a evil undead succubus drag queen"

However, the part that can sometimes be incredibly frustrating is the pressure put on you to find a ridiculous and outlandish costume. I am not one of those people that has their costume figured out months in advance and annoyingly tried to bring it up every second in polite conversation. I usually wait to the last minute and then attempt to hap-hazardly put something together.

I think people have expectations of drag queens on Halloween. Especially my co-workers. They kept wanting Ginger to appear at the office and make an appearance. Ummm excuse me, I wake up at 6:30am in the morning as it is to get ready for work. I am not waking up at 4 and attempting to apply liquid eyeliner to my eyes - it sounds like a disaster. Similarly, I am not about to show up to the office in fishnet tights and a corset and attempt to have a conversation with upper level management. Either they will be freaked out, run away, and fire me or they will be turned on, freak out, run away, and then fire me. Either situation does not thrill me. This scenario was lost on my co-workers who I think envisioned me dressing as some undead glamazon that would jump out of a cake and tumble into a Broadway number right there in the lobby of the office. Sorry ... I ain't going out like that.

Best part of Halloween though was being voted at the QUEEN of the Freaker's Ball. I promise to rule with a fair and just hand .... or at least attempt to. ;)