Gung Hay Fat Choy

Happy Chinese New Year!  Last year was a bit cocky for me, so this year, I'm definitely doing it doggie style.  Sorry, couldn't help myself.

And here's Pooh wishing you health, wealth, and a prosperous new year!

Let the Feast Begin

Dear Restaurant Week Guy,

I know what you're doing.

You're sitting in your little corner, getting kickbacks from restaurants, laughing at the expense of the poor, unrefined laypeople of New York City, who have decided to particpate in your little marketing ploy, to venture into the respectable restaurants around the city to enjoy a delectable 3-course prix fixe lunch or dinner ($24.07 and $35 respectively) and act a fool.

We're on to you.

Whew!  Who knew being cynical was so hard.

It's restaurant week ya'll.  So pretty yourselves up and impress someone by taking them out to a fancy restaurant.  Just make they order from the prix fixe menu.  I know I will.  (Pretty myself up, I mean.)

First Drunken Mishap of the Year

I alluded to something that happened when I got home after hanging out with Epi and TribecaT.  Inebriated, I went online to see who I could chat with.  Lucky for me, I found my boopy online.  Or was it lucky for him?

Did I mention that my boopy got me a web cam for Christmas?

I sat on my couch, started up the one-way video chat (he didn't have a web cam), and after a few pleasantries, I started to really.. um.. entertain him.  Things were going great until I started to lean back and close my eyes.  The alcohol coursing through my veins made me extremely tired and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep and woke up with a start.

It took me a few seconds to get my bearings and assess my situation.  My boopy was on the other end, asking if I was awake, and my phone beeped with his missed calls.  He told me I was gone for a good 20 minutes.  Still woozy, I pulled myself together enough to.. continue entertaining.

By the time I 'finished', my boopy had fallen asleep on the other end.  Him not having a web cam made it harder for me to realize that - I was in the heat of the moment.  I suppose it could have been worse;  At least my roommate didn't walk in on me passed out and naked on the couch.

And, in case you're wondering, I still blame Canada.

Blame Canada1

The first thing this canuck said to me last Saturday when I met him at Starlight was, "You're not a flaming queen at all!  With all those pictures of you posing on your blog, I thought you'd be a downright fairy, eh!²"  Excuse me!  That was a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one.  And do you have any idea what he's talking about?  Cause I don't.

Anyway, Epi (the canuck) and I hit it off right away; we talked, we joked, we drank, it was as if we'd known each other forever.  Then I had enough of the flappity mouth and dragged both Epi and TribecaT down the street to Boysroom for a little booty shaking.  "How's that for queeny?!"

We danced a bit³, saw Amanda Lepore and Blu Kennedy, the latter doing a little go-go boy strip tease, and drank some more.  I definitely had a lot of fun with Epi that night.  Someday I'll take him up on his offer to visit Canadia; maybe then I'll show him some 'real pole work'.  He's on the list too.  And him too.

¹ I'm blaming them for what happened when I got home that night.
² Paraphrased, and 'eh!' added for Canadian effect.
³ Yes, I 'worked the pole'.

Shoe Hunt - Office Fun

Have you ever 'taken a break' in your office bathroom stall and have someone sit in the stall next to yours and just let it rip?  I think it's pretty common.  But have you bent over to take a peek at their shoe (while not moving your legs as to avoid giving away that you're peeking) and then proceed to seek out the shoe that was in the bathroom?  Maybe it's just me?

Okay, it might be a little juvenile, but when I track down my target, it makes me giggle; and helps the day pass a little faster.  Ah.. anything to procrastinate.  So if you haven't, I recommend you try it, you know, for shits and giggles.  So far this year, my record is 1 for 2.

Happy New Year!

Everyone got their resolutions?  Great!  Now do what I do and toss them in the nearest garbage can (or recycling bin if it involves paper, plastic, or aluminum).  The whole concept of resolutions is just so.. irrelevant.

Maybe it's the fact that I also celebrate Chinese New Year (Lunar calendar), but I believe that deciding you're going to change your life shouldn't have to wait until this poor excuse for a holiday where thousands of people crowd around a two block radius watching a shiny ball drop.  Call me crazy, but I think that's crazy.  And just because I waited until Christmas to come out of the closet doesn't make me a hypocrite.  (Does it?)

Now that I got that out of my system, my first year out of the closet has been a whirlwind.  Won't you come join me down memory lane?  Read more [+/-]

Last Christmas, I pretty much blew my closet doors open and came charging out - with the help and support of friends.  Sorry if I ran over some of you.  Anyway, I found myself asking... myself, "What the hell do I do now?"

The answer came to me quickly as only working in a career center for three years could - go out there and learn about your new career from the pros!  So I set about trying to meet professional gay people, observe them, network, learn and mimic.  And because I'm a tech geek, I did this online.  After all, professionals have websites, right?  I found some great gay blogs (see my blogroll), then emailed, chatted, met (GB:NYC2 was amazing!), drank, hugged, kissed, and touched inappropriately.  Them gays sure are affectionate.  And I like it.

But I also had another answer; one I give to many inexperienced students wanting gain some work experience to put on their resume: volunteer!  No, I didn't become a whore.  I volunteered for 'gay events', the first being the AIDS Dance-a-thon run by GMHC - can't get much gayer than that.  It turned out to be a great experience and an excellent opportunity to find some philanthropic people (especially gay men).  Other 'gay events' I've volunteered for included the Gay Life Expo, NewFest, AIDS Walk, and the Pier Dance.

Okay, so the truth was that I was looking for hot men so that I can become a whore.  Somehow, meeting people through volunteering seems less sleazy than say.. downelink.com.  But honestly, just because you can equate 'volunteer' with 'good will', you can't say the same for 'volunteer' and 'good looks'.  Knowing this, I continued my 'online research' and met the first person I was sexually involved with.  (The random guy I made out with at that bar doesn't count.)

I had been out for two months and I was definitely horny and disappointed I didn't try everything in the 'Big Book of Gay Sex' yet.  But I moved forward slowly, and soon broke off the relationship because we didn't mesh well.  It was harder than I thought - I had the notion that he could be my soul mate, but I was too cautious (heeding friends' advice) to let myself believe it.  In the end, I'm glad I didn't give him my end.

During this time, I ventured out into the gay bar/club scene with my new set of gay friends.  Learning to flirt with men was hard, especially eye contact - especially when closeted behavior forces you to avoid it.  But I've been working on that skill; and used it to pick up potential boyfriend number two.  It didn't work out but we ended up friends - it's all about the networking.

And this networking led to potential boyfriend number three, which I won't go into, but turned out to be the biggest head case of all.  And isn't it so strange it's those you felt the most passion for?  I guess the more you burn, the quicker you burn out.

Around the same time as number three, I received my 15 minutes of fame.  Remember that?  My homosexuality was announced in the paper and in three local news channels!  As a friend said, "If they didn't know you were gay, well, they do now."  Check this: during my company Halloween party, where I dressed up as a 'No Stopping or Standing' sign, a coworker from Denmark remarked that he read my story in a Danish newspaper.  And this past November, I received the Spirit of Stonewall Award from Heritage of Pride for my actions.

It was a big year, chock full of gayness - not to mention my Brazilian wax, getting my first tattoo, and my three week vacation to Costa Rica.  Can I top it in 2006?  Actually, I'm not sure I want to.  I'm going to head into the new year with the same goals and mentality I had when I came out of the closet that fateful Christmas nearly a year ago:

Be nice, be honest, and live life like it's the only one you got.

I've done well with it so far.

Oops.  Almost forgot one other goal: to tickle my boyfriend, B, and to feed him lots of oysters.  Did I just say boyfriend?  Well, I guess it's a good sign I didn't shudder or break out in cold sweats.

Anyway, as your award for reading this, here's me and my new pair of jeans.  Have a wonderful 2006!