Singing with Pat McCurdy at Lounge Ax in Chicago.
There’s a long weird story behind this photo that has nothing to do with Pat; it involves a date with Michael that occurred right before I headed off to Lounge Ax, a date that somehow included an unexpected menstruation issue which I was totally unprepared for – I was mortified, Michael was totally chill – a claw-footed bathtub was involved as well as ice cream, and hysterical laughter about a drowned dwarf seen on a preview for Baywatch, a dwarf sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Not that anyone drowning is funny, but the image out of context struck us both as hysterical, and we were CRYING. And I was menstruating and CRYING. Like … that was our date.
Then I went to a Pat show. With paper towels shoved in my underpants. Listen, just keeping it real. Nothing was open. And God forbid I miss a Pat show.
And it just so happened that another Pat fan took a bunch of pictures that night. No one had cell phones. These are the only pictures I have of me performing with him. And I usually was wearing much wilder riot grrrl outfits. A couple weeks later he got the pictures developed and gave me copies. So grateful!
Love your “date outfit”, Sheila. You look really nice. So feminine!
Seems like rather a benign photo, right, but every time I look at it all I can think of is a dwarf slowly floating to the bottom of the ocean. And Michael and I laughing so hard we were crying. And getting my period in the middle of s-e-x and freaking OUT about it, while Michael was like, “It is so not a big deal.”
Sorry, but it’s the truth.
Actually, I’m not sorry at all.
