Meeting Bobbi Williams,
Author of the book "Me And Bobbi And The
Gyrls" -
Saturday, May 7, 2005
Billie
Jean, a Masquerade member from Saskatchewan, had planned to host her "2nd
Annual Girls Night Out" party in Winnipeg on May 7, 2005. However, due
to an unfortunate accident, she was unable to make it to Winnipeg where
she had planned to meet another friend of hers...Bobbi Williams who was
flying in from out of town!
After some phone calls back and forth and numbers passed on I got a call from Bobbi on Friday, May 6, 2005, who had arrived at the Place Louis Reil hotel only to find out that Billie Jean wasn't there! I wasn't able to make it out on Friday and passed on to Bobbi where she could find Club 200 and Gio's, both within walking distance of her hotel, and made arrangements to get together on Saturday.
On Saturday I was ready by 3:30 PM, wearing my new purple top and my black leather mini skirt :-) I met Bobbi in the lobby of her hotel and anxious to get out we headed to my van. Bobbie, who was wearing slacks and a red sweater, made a comment about the cold and my mini skirt<giggle>. Gee, I wear them at -30 C too!
It
is really strange how it feels so comfortable meeting a "stranger" for
the first time. It often feels so much like I have known the person
for years. And perhaps that is because we are on the same "Wavelength".
We enjoyed our girl-talk on the way to Lady
Godiva Boutique
so I could introduce Bobbie to Mary, Masquerade's "Den Mother".
After a short visit we headed back to Bobbi's hotel so she could change into a skirt, then went to the lounge in the Place Louis Reil hotel for cocktails. Since I was driving I had a soft drink and Bobbie had wine. It was so comfortable, us two girls sitting at the bar chatting away, enjoying being out and "Being who we are!" And of course we just had to get pictures :-) The staff were very court ious and the one guy who wandered into the lounge with his paper didn't seem to pay too much attention to us. Which just goes to show how accepting people are, going about their own business and letting us do the same.
We met Mary at her store about 6:30 PM and walked down Corydon Avenue to Kristina's On Corydon, a greek restaurant we've begun to frequent. Perhaps because the food is delicious, the service is great, and the atmosphere is comfortable :-) We didn't have reservations and were told it would be about a 20 minute wait. Did I mind waiting? Having the chance to sit at the bar in my mini skirt! Not at all. Just us girls out for an evening:-) Just as we got our drinks our table was ready!
Chantal had a prior commitment so we ordered for her and she joined our table a little later than she planned. But that was ok, it gave us time to talk with Bobbi and share our experiences. Bobbi also told us about her book, "Me And Bobbie And The Gyrls", which she just happened to have a few copies of! So I of course bought one for myself and another for Masquerade's library. It will certainly be a wonderful read, since I have now met the author!
Sabrina, Bobbi & Chantal
in front of Kristina's On Corydon
After dinner Mary took a picture of me, Bobbi and Chantal outside the restaurant and we walked the block back to Mary's store, for of course more pictures! Mary headed for home and Chantal and I headed back with Bobbi back to her hotel. Crossing the street in her 5 and a half inch heels Chantal just about had a guy crash into a car at the stop light when he cranked his head to check her out not once but twice and three times! Yes, high heels and a mini skirt do have an effect on the guys! The perfect end to a perfect outing!
Rather than head out to one of the night clubs, where it would be so noisy, we stayed at Bobbi's hotel suite and enjoyed a quiet evening where we could talk without yelling across the table. We didn't make it a very late evening since Bobbi had a travel day ahead of her Chantal and I left about 10:00 PM.
Chantal was in the mood to dance so we enjoyed more "Sidewalk time" and after leaving the Place Louis Reil hotel we started to walk towards club 200. A native female whom we had passed at the door of the Place Louis Reil yells out to us "Hey! The Tranny Bar is the other way!" Gee, she just doesn't know Winnipeg. There are more than one as she put it "Tranny bars". There is Club 200 and just about anywhere else you want to go!
Club 200 seemed pretty dead so we decided to head to the Forks Market and go for a stroll down to the waterfront. Where we of course got MORE pictures before making it an early night ourselves.
Thanks for reading my story,
Sabrina
E-mail me at sabrina_markes@masquerade.ca
Member of the Winnipeg support group - "Masquerade"