Bear competition!

Last night at Urge we held the 3rd annual Mr Urge Bear NZ competition, and I'd have to say it was the most successul ever. We had 7 fantastic contestants, 4 great judges, over the top comperes and a huge crowd who sweatily packed themselves into the bar and watched the contest. Paul and Loren did a great double act presenting the show, with Loren being 'Jenny Tailya' doing a hilarious rendition of the dating game to get the lads loosened up.

The winner was Heath, a handsome strapping lad with a huge... err... stage presence and a clear understanding of what being a bear means. He carried himself well, charmed the judges and put on a show for the crowd, and thoroughly deserved the first place (even if it was close!). There was some one debate about how he "wasn't really a bear" because he's not particularly fat or overly hairy, but after the ex-president of Brisbears had given everyone a history lesson about where bears came from (rejection from mainstream gay society) and why this meant that the primary characteristic of beardom was inclusiveness and a fun-loving attiude, not a list of physical attributes, I think everyone went home satisfied.

The bar was a bombsite. All the fridges are empty, the bar staff were frazzled (but did a great job, I heard many compliments) and the posters once again all peeled from the walls in soggy crumpled heaps. Yay. I get to put it back together. Woo. But still, totally worth it.

At the end of the night we had raised over $1400 for the NZAF, which isnt bad for a tiny little fag bar. We launched a new bear group, the NZ Bears, to take over from the mostly-defunct Auckland Bears group and start some social interaction that isn't just about beer. We had contestants and judges and hosts and a crowd that were thrilled to be making a contribution to their community. Well done everyone! I'm incredibly proud to be working with Alan and Paul to make these kinds of events happen- there will be more in the future!

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Ok, now I'm grumpy. Was woken up at 10am (this is after getting home at 6:30) by a call from the video store, to say they had my wallet and could I go pick it up.

what

I had my wallet in the car on the way home, I know this because I used it to pay for 6am McDonalds. So it must have fallen out of my pocket on the footpath outside my gate. It was then picked up by someone, the cash extracted, and dropped in the next street over. A nice lady who was walking her dogs found it and drove it to the video store (my video card was in it).

All the cards are there, so I'm not too concerned. Yet. Though losing $80 is a bit rough. Grr.