Recently, I have been talking a lot about my hesitation to go to the Dulles Triangles happy hours, preferring instead to go to the dinners and events. When asked by other members why I haven't been to them, my usual response has been that the bar scene intimidates me. This is true, but there is more to it than that. This was discussed in the long-deleted original version of this blog, so if you read it before, you can skip ahead if you want. The news about my lunch with Kari and Josie will start when the text changes color.
I had known about this group since the year 2000. When I moved in with Cleo, I did an internet search about gay groups in Virginia, and this one came up. I bookmarked the site and it sat there for the next four years. By 2004, Julie had entered the picture, and I mentioned it to her, and in March of that year, she emailed them on my behalf, stating that I was very shy. The president of the organization, a gentleman named Bryan, even met me for coffee to discuss the group.
So the following Thursday, I went to the hotel where it was taking place. When someone noted that I was looking very bewildered, he told me to get a name badge. But whenever anyone came up to me to try to talk to me, I got so tongue-tied and nervous that I couldn't say anything, coming off as aloof and standoffish. Before long, I was standing around alone.
This didn't last very long, as the two other newcomers (who wound up talking to each other the rest of the evening) and I were then corralled by someone named Richie and taken on the "Virgin Parade"; basically, I was introduced to everyone. When that was over, I was alone again. As I drove home, I guessed that I had made such a rotten first impression that I didn't have any desire to go back until I was certain that I had been more or less forgotten. It really wasn't anyone's fault; I was extremely timid.
Three years later, I had a different haircut, different glasses, I had grown a mustache, and was about one hundred pounds thinner, so I decided to go back. I made the mistake of telling Bryan who I was, and demurred going through the "Virgin Parade" again. I wound up standing alone again like an idiot, until someone who had a name badge with no name written on it (literally, he had written "NO NAME" on his name badge) backed me up against the wall and spent the next twenty minutes telling me all about some mythology-based computer game that was giving him a hard-on that moment. He then said that it was nice to meet me, but he had to go. Five minutes later, he was lounging in a chair, smoking a cigarette, and gabbing with other people. He may not have had to leave, but I did. And when I saw him working at Walmart, I knew two things: first, his name was Jeff, and second, I would rather wait in a line of thirty people than go anywhere near his register.
The next day at work, I related this story to Sean, and he said he would go with me the next week. So the following Thursday, Sean and his friend Courtney (the self-proclaimed "Queen of the Hags") joined me. After they were taken through the "Virgin Parade", Sean was ready to bolt when he ran into some guy who had thought of Sean as a potential boyfriend but who Sean had considered a one-night stand and never called again.
Courtney, however, was having the time of her life, chatting very easily with guys and making friends. Naturally, this left me once again standing around looking pretty while watching everyone else talk to each other. That was pretty much it for me, and I never went back.
So basically, this is why I am very reluctant to go to the Thursday night happy hours, even if they are the cornerstone of this group; the walls of the Sheraton are perfectly capable of standing without my holding them up. Bryan is still the president of the group (and has yet to see me), and the reason that I am nervous about calling to go to the Bad Movie Night unless there is another Bryan with a "y" in the group, he is the one hosting it. Calling him to RSVP (since there was no email) scares me, and facing him again scares me even more.
As for the dinner and the brunch, I can just drop an email to let them know I am coming. But Bad Movie Night is this coming Friday; let's see if I can stop being such a fraidy cat and pick up the phone.
For those of you who are now joining us, we are now going to talk about my day today. I wound up working yesterday until 5:30, getting an extra hour of pay. Then I got my hair cut and eyebrows done; they were looking pretty bad. I wrapped my gift for Josie and then collapsed.
This morning, I got up and walked as usual, then went to Bethesda to meet Kari and Josie and the beauty salon where Kari was getting her hair cut today. While this was going on, Josie and I went for a walk. Josie is very quiet around me, but I know that she loves fountains. We stopped at three or four of them on our walk. I also saw an abandoned food court, and some statues. By the time Kari was done, I had also grabbed her gift from my car, and we went to Mamma Lucia's for lunch.
Josie loved her gifts. Playmobil makes such great stuff; I will be saddened when I can't get it for her anymore, since it looks like she is the last kid I will have. And although I was planning on buying lunch for all of us, Kari wound up treating me. That was nice of her. It is amazing how much less stressful time spent with Josie can be when Kyle La Douche is not around. I then came home and had a quiet afternoon. I had thought about going to a mall for a second walk, but with all the walking I did around Bethesda today, I wound up with about 19000 steps for the day.
So I am calling it a night. I work tomorrow, and then I am off again Monday. Then I work Tuesday, and am off again on Wednesday. What a wacky schedule. But we do what we have to do to make a buck.
So I bid you the best of evenings.
Amor y Besos, Eric
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