My favorite bar closed down.

Hey, you guys still here? yeah I've been gone like 4 years so i hope you're still alive. I think twitter and those 140 characters steal all my thought before i can publish full posts. but here's one i couldn't go to sleep without putting down on paper(or screen- whatever).

 I never knew how necessary a "safe space" was until mine closed down. Sure I had moved away for a good 3 years before I even came back to visit, but the fact that it was still standing, still a bastion of inclusiveness in a world that's always so conveniently self segregated still amazed me. In South Florida it seems like nightlife turnover is the only constant. I only knew this bar for 5 yrs out of its decade long run and for 3 of those years, I didn't even live in state anymore. I was no regular. I only held on to a handful of names, and I doubt many there knew mine. Yet that place was an INTEGRAL part in not only my coming "out" as bi, but my sense of self confidence and overall path so far. It may be labeled on foursquare and in most ppls minds as 'just' a gay bar, but its been so much more. I have seen nearly every type of person enjoying themselves under that roof. Young kids JUST out of high school sharing space w older men and women who's history and experiences I cant even fathom. That just doesn't happen anywhere else. Like everyone else, my memories there run the gamut: I've enjoyed Wednesday happy hour w my straight guy friends and struck up conversations w strangers (leading to my SECOND '1st date'); met and talked with producers of new online content when the "web series" and "blog" phenomenons had only just started to take hold; Recharged and cooled off when my first pride parade in the Fl sun started to take its toll. I had nights I'll always treasure like the EPIC Halloween block party when my best friend SWEARS every girl that saw me(including my online crush) was into me, & nights I'd love to forget like that time I partied too hard (4loko is evil), got sick and Carol kindly walked me out to the patio (I'm still embarrassed but where else would an owner do that?!). At this weekend's closing parties, my fave bartender, Allie, recognized me and asked where I'd been. Five years after finding this place on Google, that meant the world. The environment that New Moon created and fostered was a place I always felt welcome, whether with a gang of friends or on my own. I knew id make new friends, if only for one night. I think that comfort helped build a confidence in me to joke w that stranger next to me at the bar or to dance w that hottie across the dance floor, and that confidence DEFINITELY served me when I started over in a brand new city. For all the history and notoriety of NYCs LGBT scene, I've yet to find a place w half the charm of New Moon. I truly wish nothing but good things for the owners, staff, and patrons of New Moon. Thanks for the good times! GOODNIGHT MOON!

i think i accidently came out to my mom

Well here's one for ya. Turned out better than i'd thought. My kid sister and I were driving home today listening to talk radio and there's this big syndicated show on black afternoon radio and the topic was teens and homosexuality. And they did have a doctor or somebody educated telling parents its important to talk openly w kids etc but there were still some ignorant people calling in. In our community, religion and spirituality play a big part in the way homosexualty is viewed and I saw them veering in that direction so I wanted to call in. My kid sis(14) calls cuz they say they wanna hear from teens and they ask her if being exposed to gay kids in school has some neg effects on her and I was proud of her for actually being a voice of reason against some ridiculous comments, even though I wanted to say some things myself.

we got home and tell my mom she was on the radio, but she keeps interrupting us and jumping to conclusions, so when she asked what we called in for my sis says, 'it was about gay teenagers' my moms like 'who's gay?' And my sister and I are just laughing. My sis say 'im not gay we were just calling in, I know gay people' an then my mom askes me, "wait you're gay? How could you come out on the'whatever' show and not tell me?' She starts saying how I never tell her anything

we are rolling by now, and I tell her "I didn't come out on the radio show and you already sound like you're mad" she still doesn't get it and just says " well I can't be mad about it" then we explain the whole thing again, and I tell her I'm not. It doesn't help that my kid sister can't stop laughing the whole time.

so after this my mom went to take a shower and I'm in front of the tv thinking this is probably the best opportunity ill ever have. When she just previously thought i'd come out, she seemed ok, so I may as well strike up the conversation. There was no stress of oh I've been keeping some big secret or trying to do it during the holidays, it would just be me walking into her room and mentioning it like it was no big deal

so a little while later I went and sat in her room while she watched fringe cuz I knew she would start asking me again why I'm not dating or never tell her anything etc and I'm 24 so I should have a boyfriend. She was like 'have a bf or a gf or whatever, I don't care'. So I asked if she really meant it cuz she's been insiuating it since I was 12 and she said she was fine if I was gay. I started laughing again just because of the previous episode and then I told her I'm not gay, I do like guys but I also like girls. She asked if I was confused and I said of course not I know who I like. And then she got into that whole mom thing and how I should be dating lol. And it was pretty rad actually. I don't know why I was scared that it wouldn't be. But I'm glad

if life is the journey and not the destination, then I'm about to buy a new car and hit the road

Time to sit down (again) and figure out who I am, what I want out of life, and who I want it with (at least for a while).

Sometimes you get so focused heading in one direction, you don't see anything else. Sure there are detours and pitstops that you want to avoid, but what about all the alternate routes and roadside attractions? There are so many things I'm questioning right now. Did I pick the right major? Will I ever find another real job? One I like? And that's just on a profesional level. Is it time to get down to the real goodness?

The personal life?

Dammit, man. (D-d-d-dammit,man!) I was one of those late bloomers, had the high school/jr high boyfriend, that barely counts since you only see each other in school. Didn't really date until college. Maybe 1 or 2 serious relationships, and a bunch of little potential guys but that's all. I'm the type who likes window shopping more than the actual purchase. I just don't feel like all the work that's involved in maintaining a serious relationship, at least right now. Too many other things to focus on in my life.

Since forever I've been your average tomboy (if average means cute and hot, lol) but just comfortable in my own skin and could always hold my own w the boys in school and in my family. This of course went over really well with my grandmothers, mom, aunt and the like.

I think the person who's asked me the most over the years if I liked girls, or had something to tell her, or some other backhanded comment ("why are you wearing that belt/sneakers/jersey/jeans/other item she hated? Its so butch") was probably my own mother. And not in a "hey, if you did want to tell me something like this, it would be totally ok" kinda way, (she may have said that like once) but more of a "are doing drugs?" kind of way.

Of course being nagged about anything will receive the standard teenage "jeez, no! what drugs are you doing? Leave me alone!" response, so this was no different... Oh except for the part that I TOTALLY DID NOT LIKE GIRLS. It wouldn't have been too big a deal and I knew at young age how to recognize if you were attracted to someone, and girls did not do it for me. Milli vanilli did it for me. Tevin campbell and the new kids on the block and jason weaver and yes, probably even Vanilla Ice did it for me. But females? Notsomuch. Or at all.

Of course, I had crushes on the boys I hung out with at school since, um... pre-school. That's the genius part of hanging out with the boys. You aren't the idiot across the classroom scared that he's looking at you, you are the best friend who knows that he's looking at you, because you're telling some awesome story. (I had not yet realized this could lead to permanent 'friend zone' status, but that's a heartbeaking lesson on its own) You could say I've been a pimp since pre-k (in fact I will say it, and on a custom t-shirt quite soon).

During one of those serious relationships, I ran into that beloved friend, 'college gossip'. I never really dealt with gossip before college so that's why I refer to it like that. That is one ugly beast. I mean I'm used to getting some hate because no matter what you do, there will be some haters out there. I went to a small school, and I have a lot of friends at various nearby schools. I don't want to say I've got a high profile or anything (i'll allow it though if you want to,lol) I'm just me, if people notice or remember me for that, then that's them.

So this guy I was seeing had a good number of female friends. Gay female friends. I'm not a jealous type, I think its kind of stupid to be, so who cares if his friends were girls, but at least if they're gay you don't have to worry about anyone tryna snatch him, right?

Well that's all fine and cool, til he starts askin me questions. Questions he's never cared to ask before.

"Why do you hang with so many girls?"
(uh, I am one. They're my friends. Hello?) "You like any of em?"
(yeah, duh, they're my friends.)
"No, I mean LIKE like any of em?"
(Uh, nooo. What they hell?)
"Oh, because somebody said- oh, I probably shouldn't say- you know what? Nevermind, I promised I wouldn't- "
(WTF!?)

Yeah so it seemed one of his "friends"(who I'd known from class a good 2 or 3 years already made up some bullshit story about me hitting on her (which um... Don't flatter yourself trick! Never.Effing.Happened!) Infront of her girlfriend. Who also backed up this bullshit 'claim'! The awesome part about it was that the same chick had been trying to tell me she thought I was "too Good for him" lol. Both relationships/friendships ended soon after.

I got a few other stories including one rather recent one I'll have to expand on later (one of my former haters, totally tried to pick me up on the low in the middle of a party)

Point is, despite my mothers insistance,
random rumors, and a few haters I have run across over the years, I have never once doubted whether I like guys. I'm sorry to disappoint some of yall, but I do. I can't front. I'm a fan of the peen, as well as what its attacted to.

The question I have pondered as of late, is whether or not I'm attracted to females. And that one has been a little harder to answer.

Enter Ashley Davies. Itd be a cop out to totally blame a tv character/show/or actor, but I definitely noticed myself noticing South of Nowhere.

To keep things in perspective: when you cannot miss a single episode of a show and will even go watch online, you like the show. When u stumble across a pic of your favorite character barely clothed, and you are definitely enjoying the pic? You like a girl.

Does it make one gay? Nah, I loves the D, couldn't front if I wanted to. Does it mean one is bi? Maybe, maybe not. There's the conundrum. My fork in the road.

Walking down the street, I don't check out girls. I hardly notice them. But on the few occasions that I have, I NOTICE.

Just having a randon conversation with a friend of a friend, some woman I'd just met (I thought she looked a bit like Aisha Tyler- whom I've always thought was cool) I found myself totally enamored. With this... Woman. That was kind of shocking. It wasn't someone on tv. Or a swimsuit model. It was totally clothed grown ass woman. In real life. And I thought she was hot!

It was like the opposite of Lil' Wayne's "no homo". It was "okay, maybe a lil homo". I actually had to focus on paying attention to holding a decent conversation with her and when she laughed at or reacted to the stuff I said, I got a buzz like "Did I do that? Do I have this ability to charm women?" It was Peter Parker discovering his Spideysenses, it was in fact, "so homo". And I was totally feeling it too, all I could think was how I might use this new gift for good. Or my good.

Now this has only happened like once or twice. This "so homo" moment, there have been no more than 2 realife "omigod, is she looking at me like that? And what if she is? And why do I care?"-type moments. Beyond that any affections I have for the female species lie with a few vloggers or other entertainers that I've become smitten with over a period of time. Basic hollywood crushes.

But its there. So now time to figure how real this is, if/and/or when to open up to my friends and family instead of like 2 people or the internet about this.

Let the meditation begin...