#6 – Pool Hall Fugitive

Today at Interview With A Nobody we welcome Pool Hall Fugitive.  Another product of the East Coast educated elite, he enjoys his mind bending substances, travelling the world, and the fashion biz.

GinDrunk: Ok then! First question.

Pool Hall Fugitive: Shoot.

GinDrunk: Not to start off with the obvious and all, but you’re gay, right?

Pool Hall Fugitive: The obvious and all?! I’m slighted. Yes, I am A GAY.

GinDrunk: How has that worked out for you so far?

Pool Hall Fugitive: I live in the gay mecca (san fran) and all these homos are useless tools. what do you think?

GinDrunk: Oh, well, this isn’t about me…but yeah, San Fran is kinda superfluous…Have you always lived in the Gay Mecca?

Pool Hall Fugitive: yes. born and raised, and damn proud. None of this palo alto crap for me, thanks.

GinDrunk: Were you exposed to gay culture as a youngster?

Pool Hall Fugitive: Not really. it wasn’t until I came out-to myself and eventually others- that I started exploring the castro and the gay subculture

GinDrunk: The Castro?

Pool Hall Fugitive: Yes. It’s where the recent movie, Milk, was filmed… The Castro’s where the modern gay rights movement started on the West Coast (vs Stonewall on the East Coast). It’s changed a lot since its heyday, so I’ve heard from many older gays.

GinDrunk: What was your process of outing like? Did you, and others, make it easy?

Pool Hall Fugitive: The process of coming out varied greater depending on whom I came out to. One of the most liberating moments in my life was witnessing and coming out to myself at my very first Pink Saturday, a street party in the Castro the night preceding the Pride parade. Other experiences of coming out varied greatly. It went smoothly with Mom; initial incomprehension aside, she actually took it really well for a Chinese mother.

Pool Hall Fugitive: The process with my younger brother isn’t going so well. I’m still in the process of coming out to him. It’s my problem, not his. I have issues opening up and talking about it. He’s Presbyterian.

GinDrunk: Oh wow, that does sound like a tough situation. Has he ever said anything hurtful about gays in general?

Pool Hall Fugitive: No, not at all. In fact, I think he’s been really good about it………..despite the time he received a random text stating, “come fuck me now” while using my cell phone. BEYOND AWKWARD. This was before he “forced” me out of the closet almost a year ago.

GinDrunk: Well, that’s good – him being good about it, not the “crossed lines” business.

Pool Hall Fugitive: No, thank God.

GinDrunk: Have you ever encountered any straight up bigotry? Like, being called a “faggot” to your face?

Pool Hall Fugitive: I’m certain I have, but I can’t even remember. Bigoted idiots used to holler slurs like that all the time while driving pass the Castro…but I don’t think I’ve witnessed any of this recently.

GinDrunk: Hey, maybe the times are changing for the better.

Pool Hall Fugitive: Who knows. Hopefully.

GinDrunk: So, we’ve done a little snooping around, asking some of your friends for tidbits…

Pool Hall Fugitive: OMG.

GinDrunk: And it’s come to our attention that you’ve been in PRISON before. And not just any prison, a Uraguan prison. Tell us that story.

Pool Hall Fugitive: Hah! Well, I was never in prison per se, though I’m honored to hear these juicy rumors.

GinDrunk: Per se…jail then?

Pool Hall Fugitive: Hah, not even. More like the lobby of the nicest police station I’ve seen in Colonia, Uruguay.

GinDrunk: Well, okay, so you weren’t in shackles or whathave you…but there must have been a reason for you to be there! Unless you like exploring urban police stations as a hobby, which is pretty cool too.

Pool Hall Fugitive: Well, I like pushing my luck with the law, I guess? I was caught with the shittiest pot I’ve ever smoked. You know that crap that comes in bricks with seeds and all? Anyway, out of all my fellow classmates, the Uruguayan border patrol decided to inspect the Asian dude with the man bag. How fucked up is that? South America (specifically Uruguay/Argentina) will fuck you over every single time, Sanford-style.

GinDrunk: Damn. Not the most respectable thing to get pinched over!

Pool Hall Fugitive: Yeah, I’d be better off getting caught with an eight ball of coke up my ass…

GinDrunk: You must have been shitting yourself in that lobby – what was running through your mind?

Pool Hall Fugitive: I was actually pretty calm about it despite knowing I was in deep shit. My biggest concern was getting kicked out of my study abroad program. I was already “behind” a semester at Amherst and I really didn’t want to graduate even later. I ultimately played it cool knowing that whatever the outcome, it was meant to be. That didn’t alleviate the fear of my parents finding out though! The program didn’t end up kicking me out, and my brother actually intervened and destroyed the evidence by ripping up the letter that got sent home. Talk about lucking out big time!

GinDrunk: Would you say Uruguay is one of the strictest places you been?

Pool Hall Fugitive: In theory, yes; in practice, no. The Argentinean dude from the program that bailed me out said I lucked out. He’s had run-ins with the Uruguayan popo before, and claimed that they aren’t the least bit hesitant about smacking you around, especially Argentineans who often frequent Uruguay and treat it like their backyard. I guess I should really thank my lucky stars…

But in terms of stricter places: Does Communist China count?

GinDrunk: Ugh, yeah it does. Any run-in’s with the five there?

Pool Hall Fugitive: For the most part, no.

GinDrunk: Well, thank god for that.

Now, since you’ve brought up drugs, I gotta ask: What’s the WORST drug experience/trip you’ve had? The absolute worst one. Preferably one where you (inadvertently of course) stacked a number of mind-bending substances.

Pool Hall Fugitive: Experience you ask… I haven’t had any REALLY bad experiences apart from the time I ate space cookies while at the movie theater. Not feeling anything after one cookie, and compounded with hunger from not having dinner, I ended up eating one–no, wayyyyy–too many. But I’ve always had my shrooms–the one that gets most people–in responsible moderation.

GinDrunk: What are you shroom experiences like then? Iluminating? Boring?

Pool Hall Fugitive: Well, the objects were certainly illuminating…glossy. But no, never boring. I loved the shroom shakes I had in Thailand.

GinDrunk: Shroom shakes in Thailand…there’s gotta be a story there.

Pool Hall Fugitive: No, not really. The Full Moon Party’s just an awesome beach event that kicks off past midnight and then runs well into dawn. Every kind of drug can be found, every kind of music is played. It’s mostly catered to foreigners like Aussies, Europeans, and Americans. Even the dogs appear dead on the beach from sheer exhaustion the next day.

GinDrunk: And I think I just found my Life Destination.

Pool Hall Fugitive: Haha. It’s fun. Just don’t forget about smoking opium next to a waterfall in northern Thailand while you’re debaucher-ing it up on the islands in the south.

GinDrunk: Christ. Ok, so you’re a hardy party-er and a hustler at times…but a little bird told me that you also pursue a career in fashion. What has that been like?

Pool Hall Fugitive: Ah, I think I know who this little birdie is, and I intend on strangling her when I get my hands around her wittle neck. But anyway: fashion.

At this point, it’s a no-go. While I would like to have a glamorous job in fashion in NYC (perhaps even attend art school), I don’t intend on being a starving artist for the time being. I love textiles, and I think I’d be interested in designing men’s wear in the future. I mean, I have a Singer sitting around at home ready to be played with, but I just haven’t summoned the passion or motivation to create and build garments. The problem is, I guess you can’t really summon passion, can you?

GinDrunk: Wise words. Who’s your favorite designer of men’s fashion, someone that you would follow if you ever got back into that game?

Pool Hall Fugitive: Oh, I don’t even know. I don’t believe in following the footsteps of others. Sure, I’ll allow their stuff to inspire me, but ultimately, I want to create something original. Oh, and I gotta say, I love the fact that Michelle Obama is giving these younger, less well-known designers a chance in the spotlight.

GinDrunk: She does give some of us hope, UNLIKE SOME OTHER OBAMA’S. Any thoughts on all of this DOMA business?

Pool Hall Fugitive: It’s awful, even heinous when it comes to CALIFORNIA’s support of Prop H8. Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell might even be worse. How can you die for your country and not be able to simply and openly express your sexual orientation? Plain awful. Robert Maginnis, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who was part of the Pentagon group that helped crafted the ban, recently wrote for the NYTimes. I leave you with an amazing quote: “Cohesive units are built through the constant and close association of people over time, which produces a mixture of trust and confidence. Openly serving gays polarize and fragment that critical trust and confidence.” He brings up many other astounding facts, whose sources I’m dying to know. The bottom line is people are just afraid. Give The Movement some more time…and hope. It’s only a matter of time…

GinDrunk: It really is only a matter of time, yes. Well, thank you for your time and patience! Do you have a blog or anything we can use to keep up to date with your latest antics?

Pool Hall Fugitive: Unfortunately, I don’t. Despite having retired from Planworld, I’ve been dying to make a comeback… but a grand re-entrance remains to be conjured up. I’ll keep you posted, though, Katie Couric.