Top to Bottom / Bottoms Up
i had another one of my silly dates the other day with a new guy... a certain mr. D. it was, like the last few dates with that other guy, SM (who i haven't really heard much from since then), not really much to write home about... well, no i take that back. it was again one of those confusing first dates actually. in short, i think the guy is actually good looking, more intelligent than the last guy, and at the very least, much more articulate... and we talked ALOT... but, i dunno... i am troubled by the preception that he's not into me. and in converse, often when i feel people aren't into me, i lose interest in being interested in them. unrequited love is so 90's you know. part of the reason for my view of his lack of affection...so to speak... is that throughout the date i thought he was checking out other guys and also he even told me our waiter was cute... in an almost weird "friend" way. i mean, i'm probably blowing this out of proportion but isn't it a dating feaux pas to such? i dunno, the next few days we talked some online and the strange thing is, he still seems interested... in something. i dunno. i mean, throughout the date, there wasn't really any hmmm... charge in the air lets say. but then again, i did tell him early on that i intended to be fairly slow on the physical development so maybe he was giving deference to that and not really "flirting" in that way. or he may simply not know how to flirt haha. and ultimately, it was a first date so its hard to judge anything... i'm game for another rendevouz... and hell, he owes me dinner! haha.
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we went to watch a hilarious movie though... called Another Gay Movie, a film which i originally feared was not going to come to the bumfuck town of Houston... but alas... it did. and the gay community came en masse to witness it of course. only made the film better i must say. ok... very cute film, but one you can only watch once! very raunchy, very potty humor, but with a completely gay esoteric twist... such as the scene where the gay newbie, instead of sniffing the bottle of poppers, drinks it.... and the fact that a character was played by a gay porn superstar... who else but pon addict fags would know that? haha. anyways... lovely film... must go watch... if only for the amount of skin and full frontal nudity and soft core GAY porn! heehee.
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one of the questions brough up about this film though is the one im sure all gay men have had to ask... am i... top or bottom? does it matter? this is a question i think crosses my mind ever so often as well... and one at that times, i feel like i should answer but then at other times wonder what's the hurry... and to just go with the flow. i won't drag you through it now.... but hey... my breeder breathen... aren't you lucky not to have to think of a question like that?... well, unless you're of the really kinky variety... then you boys might as well be gay or at least "bisexual" bc those strap-ons your girlfriend wears... hmmm, not anywhere close to the real thing honey. this makes me think of one of my favorite tshirts... just a plain black muscle t that say... "only the best bottoms make it to the top".. heehee.
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or compliments of this films... "real men take it up the ass"
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anyways, that was just the opener for last weekend, a weekend which also included a very fun visit by a good friend from college and after in nyc, alice. she recently moved down to dallas from the big apple, i believe simply to get away from the hecticness of the city so she can have some peace and quiet to study for the MCAT... yet another one making the smart move to go on to business school! haha! we met up and just basically hung out... walked around the montrose street antique row, finally went to empire.... the coffee shop i've driven by i dunno how many hundreds of times... and hmm... somewhat of a disappointment. we then met up with her cousin and her boyfriend (who she's living with in Dallas...whoooo! sugar daddy!) and had a crawfish eating-thon. after that hung out a little longer and then parted ways. it was good to see alice and chat it up. i learned a thing or two about her boyfriend situation which i found amusing. alice has always seem to be the very naive about the whole relationships, sex, etc thing... and i dunno... our little conversation was just illuminating... to me. it was good to see her again definitely.
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and speaking of "alumni" functions, the very next day, i went to my first "Harvard Club Houston" function... an annual meeting and meet-and-greet. at first i have to admit i was a little squeemish, potentially meeting with "old old guys", with nothing much to talk about or simply waspy farts that i would obviously have nothing in common with. but worries were unbased as i went there and overall, i think i had a good time. part of it, was there were so many "kids" there... from alumni's children as in babies and such, to incoming freshmen, who thought it might be useful to do a little networking here in the home town. anyways, i met some cool people, and exchanged some business cards. i expressed interest in doing "college nights" and interviewing potential candidates, which i actually wouldn't mind doing, as an avenue to get to know people more. and what else are these alumni groups really for, but to network, find potential spouses at... haha. i did meet very briefly this adorable asian guy and gave him my business cards, somewhat veiled as business interest, but i flashed him a smile... haha. such a flirt. anyways, i had a good time actually, and mei came along to, she had an interesting time saying she wasn't alumni haha. after that we got some starbuck snacks, went home and watched some sex and the city... a new thing since mei has just gotten net flicks.
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we did something fun last week actually. we both took a really cool into "wine" class.. very light on the lecture and it was pretty much a recreational affair, i mean... no tests or anything. i loved the idea though... $40 and its a 3 hour nice dinner, and then presentation by one guy who discusses some interesting points of wines drawn from the collection of wines that everyone brings, one person a bottle... about 10-12 at the table. and of course, we all get to taste each other's selections.... all very fun. i did feel a little old though i have to admit as the clientele was mostly later age empty nester types... haha. oh well, all in good fun... and actually learned a thing or two... i think. haha.
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and speaking of good meals, last week, i also took mei out to a fabulous resturant that i was scoping out for my mom's upcoming borthday dinner. this time, i wanted to get a restaurant that there was a distinct chance she would like, and the only way i could think of to do that was to go and try the place out. the place was called skyline and its on teh tops floor of the hilton... i have to say... a pretty shnazzy affair... and a pretty price tag by the end of the evening. i blew a $100 to "scope out" a place... this restaurant better be the bomb when mom comes. it just annoys me when she said i shouldn't have spent the bill because the food wasn't all that great... like last summer... when i went to Strip House.... dropped liek $400 and then got complaints... haha! man, we should just go to like CeCe's pizza!
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the occurences of these past two weeks have been all jumbled up i apologize. i think it was two weekends ago, between my dates with SM, that i went out with Jake (he's i guess my first friend in houston) to the gay mecca of south beach. we went for a pretty short time relatively, again with his on and off friend shannon, and had a decent time i thought. i ran into that but ugly guy i went out on a date with a while back, said hello... but kepted my distance mostly. but yeah, south beach is just a typical bright lights, fog machines, pretty boys, and fag hags, kind of place... oh so fun. of course, what i like is after you're stamped you can leave, walk next door,a nd get liquored up at the bar called JR's, and then come back in and boogie.... not that SoBe doesn't also have a great bar... but its just a different scene. there is one thing at Sobe that i haven't gotten tired of and its when they set off the cold fog and literally... its ultimately like dancing in a cloud bc you can't even see your hands, its that thick.... and its nice and cold! anyways, i've been having a good time with jake these past few weeks. we don't hang out all that much now with work and he has school and work... but we keep in touch via IM. i won't say much now, but he's turning out to be a unqiue guy... interesting... and i'm not exactly sure i've got hime figured out. anyways... he's cool as a friend and truly a nice guy. i'm glad we met.
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i've recently JUST met this other guy, who i think is ridiculously adorable and i'd like to become friends with... and more. finally a guy i'm into... for real... and who seems to be kind of into me... i think. we'll see. don't hold your breath... but i wonder if this one will become anything.
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just a quick note about work. my china excursion got canceled because of contract difficulties but supposedly i am going sometime in september / october. oh well. in the mean-time i'm going not as far as asia... but to another place exotic yet ive been... dubai. no... i'm not lucky enough to go there... and prob wouldn't want to now... its prob ridiculously hot!. but i am working on a project there.... not so interesting for now because its mostly just CAD, but i dunno... it may have the potential to be a design project of sorts... or maybe something that can propel myself up the ranks. i shouldn't get too burned out by these numbing CAD projects but keep in mind that i need to constantly "wow" the folks.... someday i really should realistically think of when i want to reach goals like associate, getting my license, etc. haha... if only i can stop surfing online everynight! i still have yet to finish that paper work of the family business... nwo almost 3 months after i've been back... haha. so typical of alex..... strong at first... no carry through. hmm... it's like my raquetball swing. haha.
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till next time folks.... have a drink.... bottoms up!
The Head, Heart, Dick Trinity
.... or "Boyfriend 101", a book i bought a few years back and just had an itching to get off the book shelf again. basically its a gay man's guide to "dating, love, and romance". all that jazz. now of course you must are curious why the hell i am looking at a guide to "dating, love, and romance". well basically because, this week, i've decided to go on my first real... in the sense, that from the get go i didn't consider it "just hanging out"... or "for friends only"... kind of thing... my first real date... since i have been back into houston. to be honest though, i'm not even sure i want to date, but that was my itch this week... to go on a "date"... a full blown... i would like to take you to dinner, would you like to go out with me... kind of date. haha. so i indulged my itch and it felt pretty good... now... the outfall.
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well... it more or less started like any other week, monday night or whenever, chatting online, and i started talking to this guy that i've been conversing with on and off since i've been here actually... and that i have been constantly meaning to go out on a "just hanging out" date with. anyways, basically i was just like... well, do you wanna go out sometime this week? and he had already said yes to hanging out before, so i guess it wasn't that much of an accomplishment. anyways, we decided to do dinner... not the easy move of going to a movie, where you don't necessarily have to talk and actually show yourself as a real person.... but a dinner, two or so hours of saying who you are and acting psuedo interested in what the other person is... haha.
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if nothing else, my first date with this guy, i'm gonna term him SM for now (those are just his initials! nothing else!) bc i'm not exactly sure how much more he'll appear here, so not to waste the mental energy and typing energy on extra letters, was at least a chance to go to this restaurant in houston that i've been meaning to go to since last summer.... benjy's. it was in rice village, kind of the psuedo greenwich village... so to speak... of houston that is. hmmmm. anyways, i got there a little early and he got there a little late, but it was cool... i had a short conversation with roberto who i have been meaning to catch up with for a while... a phone call that continued after my date. anyways... despite having reservations, our table wasn't ready till like 20 minutes later but at least they had a lounge/bar where me and SM could do, for lack of a better word... a "pre-date".
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our "pre-date" sucked. i mean, my first visual impression of SM was that he was an allright looking guy, kind of haggard looking, as if he hadn't slept in a while, but "sweet looking". my impression of SM after 10 minutes of mainly me talking ( not bc i was being a blowhard, but bc his answers were pretty mono-syllabic), i was thinking... is this guy mute? or just terribly shy and nervous. if the latter, i guess thats "kinda" cute.... but still.... say "something". maybe i also push too hard for superficial conversation... but come on.. what else do you do on a first date? he later told me he was nervous bc he thought i was cute... which i guess is ok... ha. anyways.... we waited at the bar for 20 minutes for our table and finally we got it.
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i have to admit after 20 minutes he did thaw out a little... and over the course of the next hour meal, we actually did had some good... two-way... conversation. he even waxed eloquent for momemt or two when asked about his job. eventually in the end, i was thinking... hmmm... not bad... but i'm not blown away. put in another way... i decided to end the evening after dinner, no afterwards coffee or dessert.... but with a statement that we should "do this again". he seemed the not really know how to proceed after dinner either so the suggestion that we end it as it was, was taken amicably. actually right after wards, i couldn't tell if he liked me either.
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i was telling some of my new friends here in houston when we went out saturday night, about my new attitude towards "finding friends and/or dates"... and its similar to what i was telling robert. maybe it was just this week, trying to satiate my itch for dating... but i todl robert, that in some ways... the only way you really go out on a "date"... is if you mentally actually consider it a "date". there is a degree of mental acrobatics i think gay men have to go through when it comes to dating. i mean, since i've been in houston... and maybe even the last semester back at harvard, i was alwasy in this mentality of "let's just hang out and see what happens". i think i remember even writing a blog entry about having a "real" date. this week it dawned on me that i haven't had a "real date" in almost forever, prob since sam... or at least it felt that way. everything since then has exactly been the sort of totally non-commital proposal of "hanging out". but now... i'm dating... which again makes me wonder now... do i want to "date"?
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part of my dilemna is that i am also trying to find real friends here in houston.. and gay friends at that. and the issue with finding gay friends is that there is always this murky line of sex and friendship...especially amongst gay men. i really try NOT to sleep with people i consider friends. maybe at the begginning of our relationship there is this foggy zone... but i try to locate in it one category as soon as possible usually... friend, fuckbuddy, boyfriend prospectus. then again, someone comes up to mind that i have a wonderful time being friendly with, consistently have sexual tension with, have hooked up with once, but really don't expect to again (or wish to actually... although "want" is another issue). so what about that? i dunno. my decree of the moment, as i explained to my new friends (who yes... i have NOT slept with)... is that i am now going to consciously put "hooking up" on the back burner... across the board for any person i encounter who might actually become part of my life. thsi basically means, if i choose to meet a new guy "as a friend"... it shall be clear and completely non-sexual. if i meet a guy on a date... i'm intend to hold out for a lot longer than i usually do, in the fear that, if we don't click as potential boyfriend prospects, then at least we can be friends, because we wouldn't have that weird sex wrench thrown into the gears, so to speak. of course, anybody who i couldn't imagine really being my "real" life...well, they are game for hooking up.
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sounds a little harsh and calculating does it? well... my hope is that it will save me some headache later and not burn any bridges that i haven't crossed yet or have. and in a way... i think it does put the pressure off of having sex right away for the guy/ guys i'm dating. so far, i've met a handful of guys that are becoming real friends, half of them, i thought i might have more with, but realized that at this point in my life, they really are better at just being "friends". and as of now, i have gone out on one date with really what was... a sweet guy. maybe not completely opening up... but sweet. hope he can wait for the goodies. haha.
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so i won't say my first date with SM knocked my socks off... but it was nice... and he paid for dinner... a real gentleman i must say. we was a gentleman enough for me to think of him only two days later when actually a guy who i was suppose to go out didn't call... this was suppose to be a "movie" date... the other guy's suggestion i have to add... but i was gonna try to squeeze dinner in as well. so i asked SM if he wanted to catch the movie i was suppose to catch with some other guy (not in those words of course). and he said, yeah... so we went and watched the Illusionist.. which was a very cute romance kind of movie. and we talked a little bit more, and SM seemed to be able to open up... not that the 10 minutes of time before a movie started really requires that much talking... but still... i felt he was getting comfortable. the one thing i do like about movies and movies during dates... is that you can lightly brush yoru arms together as you jostle for the shared armrest. its the little bit of body heat that for me... is quite the turn on. i mean.... correct me if i am wrong, but when you're out with someone you "may" like... just a little bit of body contact might as well be a lightning bolt. after the movie was over, we walked to the car... and i was feeling it was late too so didn't suggest coffee or anything after... and again... i was thinking this is nice and i don't need anymore. what happened after surprised me in the sense of what he did, and also a little in the sense of what i did.
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maybe this is what he does on "second dates" (was this our second date?) but he stretched out his arms, to give me a good old bear hug.. and he's has a little bit of a belly... so it was kind of teddy bearish... haha. anyways, we hugged and... i dunno... in a split second i was kind of doing the european sort of side face kiss which i do horrible and always end up kissing an ear or neck... this time a neck. split second decision... land a nice sweet 2 second kiss on his lips... and then say "goodnight". he smiled. and that was our second date.... driving home i noticed the almost forgotten feeling of a slight burn on your lips after kissing stubble.... so indelibly sexy.
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another two days later we set up our third date... which originally was suppose to be a second, as HE asked me out again the day after our first date (aren't you suppose to wait 3 days?? haha). our third date involved dinner and shooting some pool. this date was probabaly the most confusing for me in helping me decide what my opinion of SM is. dinner started off well, there was energy and familiarity... but somehow as it went on... it got a little stale... again, he sort of clam-ed up and i didn't know what else to say. there were even some moments of looking around, which i actually unconsciously do because i am observing architecture and space, but i think other people read as complete dis-interest. good thing the meal was almost over and we decided to go shoot some pool. pool itself may have been a bad choice... as i was completely not in my element that evening... and despite SM saying he was a bad player... which i do believe... i managed to lose even worse... twice. we're talking about having half your balls on the table when the 8 ball is sunk. at least it didn't take too long. i dunno, i don't think losing made me get in a sullen mood... but his quiet-ness again made me feel as if nothing really was going on.
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he drove me back to my car and i was pretty resolved that this would probably be our last date. i dunno, there just wasn't all that much "chemistry" i guess... i was wondering where that feeling of split second decisions to kiss... went to. saying our goodbyes, i got out of the car saying.. i had a nice time, hope you have a good week (notice no statement of wanting to do this again). and then it all changed.
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he came out of the car as well... walked over and stretched out his arms for another hug goodbye... but this one postured clearly also for a kiss. and i dunno... that's when the fire ignited so to speak. for a split second, i didn't know to just hug or to kiss... but he kissed me this time.... and a soft, gentle one.... the kind ones... that really get you going. so not to get into graphic detail we ended up going back in his car and making out... real high school like making out, nothing more, nothing less... for like 10 minutes. and i really have to say... it was a lot of fun... and there was chemistry. i dunno if it was because i was starving for it, but there was something there.
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and the funniest tidbit happened afterwards. we finally stopped and said goodnight again (actually he said it which i respect even though i think i could have kept kissing) and i got out of his car, he drove away,a nd i was driving back home when i realized my phone wasn't with me. now the last time i distinctly remember having it was back at the restaurant, so i went inside and asked about my phone. eventually the hostess called my number and low and behold... haha... it wasn't in the restaurant... it somehow fell out of my pocket into SM's car. haha... this looks like some desperate attempt to get him back... haha... i hope he doesn't think so... but even if he does... wouldn't be so bad.
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SM drove back, gave me my phone... said i didn't have to go to all that trouble just to get him back to kiss me again... i smile. kissed him again. sweet. we part. a stronger sensation of burning lips that comfort me all the way back home and keep my mind occupied while trying to fall asleep.
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my book "boyfriend 101" speaks about a necessary trinity of fulfillment that the members in the dating game are trying to well...fullfill.... the trinity of head, heart, and dick. its pretty obvious what this trinity is of course... so i was thinking... after 3 dates... and the potnetial for more... how does this first foray into "dating".. stack up... how does SM fulfill my head, heart, and dick? i discussed this with my friend.... so far... SM seems like he could have the mental goods.... he's not ivy league... and i'm trying to not be an academic snob.... but he seems to have his head on right. he doesn't pique my intellectual interest much but he's intelligent enough to carry on a real conversation. heart? i feel "good" with him... i think... i feel... whatever. he's genuinely sweet i think... kind... open hearted i think once you are in his heart. he's definitely not a player. dick wise? well... i dunno about that fully.... but if kissing is an indication.... he's got some game.
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my friend tells me... i'd keep it going.... see where it goes. i think so too. the lacking i feel right now from him... could understandably be logical due to the really short amount of time we known each other... i shouldn't expect to fall head over heels or be romanced off my feet. i should be so over that romantic crap... haha. we all secretly yearn for it... you can tell from my enjoyment of "soft, kind" kisses.
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so we'll see.
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i was going to write about the rest of this week too as there was some cool stuff that happened other than my "dates" but maybe in another entry. i'm sure my few readers' eyes have long since glazed over.
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may all of you find the holy trinity. ;-)
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What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas / Gotta Keep It Going
obviously this post will be about my two nights of drunken debauchery in vegas. heehee, despite the fact that i have never been to a bachelor or bachelorette party, ala vegas or not, i feel this weekend has given me a little insight into the experience anyways... and if it hasn't, well, at least i witnessed first hand lots of the real thing (about the only thing real in vegas). i was thinking about names for this post, and i was thinking that since last weekend i termed "tre gay escapay" since it was just so gay... well, this weekend, unfortuantely to a degree... was very... heterosexual. oh well... still fun nonetheless..
so the short work week that led up to the vegas visceral voodoo? well, being just monday, tuesday, and wednesday, there really isn't much to report. work was pretty much incolved in preparing for the weekend, but since on my project most of the design work was already done.. honestly there wasn't all that much to do. there is one thing i have to report though and that i think... i think... i am making a good impression in the eyes of my immediate surpervisor and also my "sponsoring" principal. so kudos on that....expecting to make associate within a year so there ya go.
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i had a psuedo raquetball lesson as well and was able to work out and hit the pool. of late, i really taken to using the whirlpool due to the relaxing and strong hot jets... despite the fact id on't understand why you must get into the hot tub naked... guys...come on... put it away! haha. i mean... unless you're hot... haha... although i have to report that hot men do exist at the Y,a nd i've had the perverse provledge to shower with them and scope em out... haha. other than work and working out, can't say much about the short week... the night before my trip... i thought i would go to bed early but haha... no such luck, due to my online addiction. man, i gotta curtail this because its sort of begginning to drain at work... i mean, i think i get 6 or 7 so hours... but i'm begginning to think i need a solid 8!
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anyways! VEGAS! so.... after having tow ake up at like 4:30 AM to go meet my co worker.. sam... who you will hear ALOT more about! (and who in a funny way physically reminds me of my ex...also named sam weirdly enough)... well.. in turns out we still weren't there early enough for our 7:30 flight! why? well, it seems that there might have been a 9/11 like attempt on the airlines today so all liquids and gels were not allowed on carryons.... everything like hair gel, beverages, any sort of liquids... nope nope nope. obviously also with the increased security this made everything just silly and lines were crazy. well, eventually we were just told we weren't gonna make it and we got booked on a second flight... no biggie though, we eventually got to vegas and to the client's office. the next four five hours were a snoozer i have to say. business business business. it was interesting though how business orientated some of the clients were... saying basically... how much will this really cost... do i have to really afford this... and can't we not make it so nice? haha.... why hire someone like my firm if you can't believe... and pay... for a bit of more unconventional (but not necessarily more expensive) design?? anyways... it was a pretty boring meeting and i had to fight off a little bit of the snoozies. there were some classic lines though... and this will begin a weekend of classic lines from vegas.... lines that me and sam found hilarious.. mostly sam, since i'm begginning to think he's an ADHD pyscho... but fun!
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(speaking of residential development as oppose to retail) "just MAX it out!"
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(after clicking on his calculator) "it cost ninety nine million dollars!"
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yes...esoteric... but this is my blog! well... we wevntually wrapped up the meeting, said goodbye to our supervisor who was leaving back to houston and hitched a ride with the secretary...a funky.. somewhat troubling young girl, by the name of Savannah... who was also the cousin of one of the clients and the daughter of some local high roller (this is las vegas). anyways, she refered us to some clubs and bars that we just have to see but i dunno... my first impression of this girl was cracked out skank... to be blunt.... but she sounded like she knew where to go to have a fun time in this town. keep her in my back pocket.
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the first thing on the agenda though was sleep... and ricardo... the much more quieter other co-worker who also came with... apparently needed it ALOT more than i or sam did. so we snoozed about an hour and then me and sam were eager to explore. oh... wait, first i forgot to mention what luxurious hotel we were staying in... the MGM Grand... ala the Green Giant, Emerald City, what have you. in general it was nice... not as nice as Paris, or Ceasars Palace, Bellagio, the ultra themed hotels, but hey $50 a night in Las Vegas.... what do you expect? anyways, so sam and i explored the labythinian MGM first, and eventually settled on some cheap hot dog place... as opposed to "Joel Rubichon" with the pre fixe at $215... haha. what makes this funny is that i ended up spending about that much liquoring it up later this evening... but that's to come folks. anyways, this relatively quiet time with sam picking his brain.
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i found out he's a fellow tennessean boy, which i daresay was pretty cool. in a nut shell he seems to be a "above average" smarts guy, nothing stellar, but far from dumb... seems to be very open minded about things... and genuinely nice and considerate... with a definite fun streak and mischeavious demeanor... i think you can see it in the smile. but overall.... a good guy. he's one of those guys you actually would enjoy getting drunk with... and the author of my the phrase that titles my blog.... "Gotta Keep It Going!"
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anyways... we went to go check out hotel lobbies... the first big one really being the bellagio with its cool dale chihuly glass installation... which was cool. then the munchies and well.. the drinkies hit and that where it starts a grand litany of cocktails for the rest of the evening. but originally we were just hungry but the first place that we actually thought we could afford initially told us they didn't serve alcoholic drinks (which i soon realized in Las Vegas is impossible!)...so we went to this cute little piano bar next door.... and when i say next door... i mean simply on teh other side of the wall... in the same huge room as all the slot machines! haha. all good fun. anyways... after a fantastic martino... two.... and some good conversation about work and stuff... it was actually pretty fun chatting with sam i have to say.... then we realized that liquor, despite all its wonders...can't fend off real hunger that long. so went back to the previous restaurant, sat down, and see the first thing on the menu... mixed drinks. hmmm... no harm... we had a drink with dinner.
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then after that we continued out tour of hotels and went to teh sprawling complex of ceasars palace where eventually after seeing some cool clubs and bars decided to see if maybe we could hook up with the crazy secretray we met before who seemed all to eager to please... she had given sam her number but somehow he lost it but she had told us she was going to this club called rio and that she could get us in...so we thought what the heck. we got to rio... realized the dress code was super strict...or not allowing of my shorts (it was fucking hot though!) and so to console our losses...we hit back two beers at the nearest bar... maybe 100 feet away. haha... after getting a good buzz, i decided to try stealing an extra shot of liquor... and whilst the bartendar on the other side of the bar... i smoothly grabbed the nearest bar and poured myself a shot... unfortunately it was gin... which is just gross. oh well.. that was a fun experience. i was already sporting a nice buzz and at that time... 2 AM... i was thinking, this is good... i can't drink anymore even if i wanted to.... alas i found out there are no such things as real last calls in las vegas.... the alcohol is ever flowing!
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and this is the first time sam utters.... Gotta Keep It Going! Man, we are going to a strip club! haha... silly straight boys... i thought as i rolled my eyes. but i dunno... i was thinking... this could be interesting..... since i've never been to one... but i wasn't gonna chime in and say... fuck yeah. eventually after rio, we walked up the street to the palms (ala real world.. the everyone is a slut installement) and tried to go to the tower top bar called Ghostbar... but it was closed.... boo. so to console ourselves... guess what.... two more drinks at the bar 100 feet away. and then sam chimes in... gotta keep it going (if you haven't realized, this refers to keeping the "night' going... sam was intent on having an all out las vegas experience... it was his first time in town, what can you say)... let's go to a strip club... and he was serious.
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10 minute taxi ride away and an interesting diversion of plans from the "spearmint rhino" to "seamless"... thanks to the greasing of the cabbie...we arrive at well.. my first strip club. sam though was a veteran. now we were there for probably two hours.... and it was very interesting how it worked and now... as a gay man... i can completely understand why straight men find strip clubs so enticing. honestly its not the exposed titties or gyrating bodywork.. you know what it is. its the fact that the "workers" there make men think they are men. seriously... never in my life... and i hope never in my "real" life have i not had to wait any more than five minutes for a not half bad.. to definitely hot girl... to just come up to me and talk to me as if i were the center of her universe. of course... every time this happened, and she didn't get the message i wasn't interested, i just had to chat up the fact that i was playing on the other team and that her flirtation was really useless. haha. however, one did bear my curiosity for a while and chatted for a decent while and found my situation understandable and probably a nice break from the crap she has to go through all the time.
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sam... well... let's just say he found something to occupy his time for the two hours we were there. i won't say i had a bad time... it was.. interesting... like a discovery channel program. but i am glad that sam came up and said...
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"dude we gotta go, i got no money left."
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oh this is a little while after he had also said
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"ok, i'm gonna go try pick up a whore."
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at seamless i downed about four drinks, smoked too many cigarettes, and actualy for the first time of my life, but a girl that wasn't a friend... a drink (at her request though!).
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now it was pushing 6 AM and sam was finally satiated... hey... straight boys are easy aren't that? we got back to the MGM and found breakfast.... good stuff... and waxed nostalgic about the previous occurences that were actually pretty fun... and this led up the classic closing phrase for the 12 hour spree of debauchery we just went through....
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(350 pound balck man seeing me with a pile of finished chicken wing bones on my plate)... "Boy, you cleaned them bones!"
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and immediately after...sitting at his booth... "so, when do the buffet offically start?" (note...this was about 7 AM)
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ricardo was up! haha.... he sort of switche shifts we us and went out a bit while sam and i snoozed till 2 PM... god...what a hang over when i woke up! then starts the second day... which in sam's eyes...was gonna outshine the first... ha. we chilled a bit and then i went to a one stop shop for various souvenirs for guys back home... from fuzzy dice to "custom fit condoms" for whoever name you can find printed... haha. all three of us eventually met up at the bellagio again for the famous bellagio buffet... which although grand in scale... hmmm... wasn't all that great. oh well... at least we sat for two of the maximun three hours we could sit... haha.
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after the bellagio we walked up the strip to the wynn... which supposedly cost a billion dollars to build... well... it could have after seeing it inside... it really was very nice. ok... so after that we finally met savanah at a club in paris (the hotel mind you). it was actually a lot of fun i have to say... the girl is pyscho... picture a little pixie kind of girls... looks like she's cracked out... acts like she's OD'd on adderol... and to top it off... is on crutches from some weird shark accident... so she says. hmmm? we also met a group of fun aussies as well which we dragged tothe rio... redux. this time there was no crowd though but at least there was room to dance. and boy did i dance... i grinded with savanah like there was no tomorrow... but hey... she came out every five minutes... what can i do. sam was smart enough to avoid the whole thing and go play slots... which was very smart... seeing the ass actually won like $550 on them! with $20 too... haha... what a fuck!
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eventually the rio was only so much fun and two heavy drinks made it more fun. we finally went back to the grand... and in trying to decide what to do at 4AM (the idea of the spearmint rhino was immediately vetoed by me... ain't gonna do that again!) we eventually landed on the idea of a neat bar in the Grand... and damn... two kamikaze later.... i was toast! i think i drank so much so quick because i knew it was the only way to end the evening. and mind you, the pyscho bitch savannah was still with us and i think sam was getting annoyed as well. haha... why we had her come with us to our room to wake up ricardo (who had left us earlier)...i dunno why. but i have a funny video of us "sneaking" into the room and having savannah pounce on ricardo's bed and gyrate... haha (he's wife and kid are gonna love that!) all in good fun.. and hey... what happens in vegas, stays in vegas.
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of course... so did savannah... stay in our room that is. why i decided to have another glass if wine when i was obviously toasted already? i dunno... all i remember was hurling it back up a few times and just crawling to bed while savannah was barking...
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"come on guys... don't sleep on me!"
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whatever... even when she roused us a little at 8AM saying she needed to go... i was like..whatever.
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ahhh...and that was vegas. the following day was uneventful and boring as it involved mostly sleeping at the airport and sleeping on the plane home.
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and so was my weekend in vegas.... haha... sam's a riot. "Gotta Keep It Going!"
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Tre Gay Escapay
ok, that was a silly title. but it does have a smidge to do with what has happened this week... or more this weekend really. anyways, since i've already broached the topic of this weekend, why not start there? well, basically, this weekend has been a la tre gay... meaning, i got my dosage of gay-ness definitely this week. gayness and younger than thou-ness, whatever that means. ok... basically friday i hung out for the first time this guy that i have been chatting with on and off and that has actually invited me to go out with him... and his friends... a few times already. before, i actually did have things to do so i said next time and this friday... well, i figured... why not. so it was a little convoluted as my cell phone was on its last drop of power so by the time we talked, we were halfway through our conversation and then my phone died... so i then had to drive all the way home, charge the phone for a bit, and thenc ontinue our conversation. we eventually ended up meeting up and playing a few games of pool over some beers... good fun. not much to talk about but i dunno if that is due to pool or what. anyways, i said i'd also come meet his friends and let me use him as an excuse to jet early.... haha. that's where the real drama of the night i guess unfolded... as this guy's friends.... hmmm... typical younger than thou "kids" i guess. i mean, i guess i don't have that much to talk about as i may only be at most only 5 or so years younger than these guys... but still... i think i was the oldest one there. so anyways... them being drunk... it was just an eye opening experience throughout seeing these kids play. now the thing is... the guy i was hanging out before, his name is rudy... he's only 23 but well, he was a lot more... hmmm... collected... than his friends... but then again, they were drunk... so who knows. so anyways... since most of them were gay... and we ended up going to a gay club... rich's (the one i actually went too like i dunno...five years ago when maggie came to houston)... it was a tre gay escapay (escapade).
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follow suit the next evening... in some way outdid the first. haha. the day portion was actually pretty tame. for lunch i took a ton of people out to dim sum due to some tradition it seems of the young shelling out dough for everyone to chow down, once they have received their first paycheck... i dunno where this came from, but apparently it is law of the land now-a-days. anyways... at least it was good food. after that, mei (a friend of my mom's who is a realtor... aren't they all though?)... took me on a house hunting trip. it was actually diverting... most of the places she showed me were rat holes... but i did find one unit i found promising, that i had a good feeling about... but that i knew would have issues from a feng shui perspective. and the next day i was proven right when we went back to look at it... with mom... and she said... yeah it was nice... but the siting was... "crooked". whatever that means... oh well... it was too early to really consider buying anyways... still gotta get that car out of the way. which remind me... rudy's wheels.... a "scion"... the coupe shaped one... pretty sweet dude. hmmmm. anyways.... after the house tour, took a quick nap and then went out with mei (my cousin) to see this grody movie called descent... it was deliciously horrific... really cool! after that i had to rush home and rush to downtown because i was meeting jake and shannon (jake's friend) for a further night of tre gay escapay... a la JR's and South Beach... two houston gayborhood staples. two names i hope won't be used that much in my later blogs... haha... hopefully my gay life won't degrade too much into trolling the bars and clubs multiple times a week...heehee.
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and is it so much better now? ;-)
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anyways... i have to say "SoBe" was pretty fun overall. jake and shannon were entertaining because they in many way are so "typicall gay" and being at a place like south beach only brought it out more... i.e. catty bitch talk about who's a hot guy who isn't... who you would sleep with who you wouldn't. oh well, still gotta love them i guess. in some ways, its interesting how i can begin seeing that there are certain things i like in this and that person and certain things i like in that and this person.... everyone has their qualities and foilables i guess. anyways... it was still very fun and the thing about sobe is that it has this cool fog mister thing every so often on the dance floor that seriously makes it impossible to even see your freaking hands.... and it so coool... like temperature wise... and rocking cool... its like... dancing... on... in.. a cloud! rocking experience. and actually i thought the mix of different kinds of people was cool... and even the mix of men and women, straight and gay... it was pretty much a mixed bag of nuts.... pretty boys, bulky boys, circuit boys, "straight" boys, drag queens. anyways... maybe it was just the novelty seen through a pair of naive eyes.
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so we stayed till like 2:30 ish and jake and shannon wanted to leave before the sidewalk sale started haha. i was suppose to meet up with rudy and eventually he apparently did come... but we never met up.... i have a text message conversation though... haha. oh well. anyways... so that was my trey gay escapay. i could have continued it today by going on another psuedo date with a new guy but i decided to starighten it up and just hang out with my family today. all good... i got him planned for tomorrow after work anyways. haha. today my mom told me that i shouldn't spend so much time online and "wasting" my life. hmmm.. i guess its partly true but in a small way i wanted to excuse it by saying that i am working diligently on establishing a social life... although i dunno if she would share in the view of my jaunts to the gayborhood as being valid ways of establishing a "useful" social life. hmmm.
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but weekend aside... what happened over the week? this week at work has been again pretty cool.... no day that was like completely a drag liek last friday... although funny enough.. this friday... pretty much after 4 pm... when they brought out the beer (one of the great traditions of my company... friday internal happy hour) and some... stinky.... cheese (eewww)... well basically there wasn't much point in working after that. one of the big things to report this week was my impending trip to las vegas next...or now... this week. i'm really beginnning to like my job... what was suppose to be a pretty neat trip to las vegas for a client meeting... which was only a one day affair (just cool bec of the trip) has grown into a potentially very fun and maybe debaucherous three days in sin city! wooo. i have to admit i can't take credit as it is my co-worker sam (who funnily enough reminds me of sam... my ex bf) who having never been to las vegas... really pushed for the idea of staying a few days. after some web surfing and details later, we booked two nights at the MGM grand and we'll be in vegas from thursday through sat afternoon... a nice jaunt that will get the blood working but won't be too hard to recuperate from. ;-) i dunno, sam was acting as if definitely needed to come home before sunday...as sunday definitely would be a day of rest for him... oh my. dragging drunk straight boys around... hmmm. haha.
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my other impending trip to china maybe two weeks after that is also slowly in the works. more info to come!
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well...not much else about work.. although i do kind of feel i am getting "slightly' a little bit of respect from some of my supervisors. my main principal contact had a pretty much "individual" crit with me this week on my proposals for this mixed use project i'm working on.. and basically said that teh concepts i produced were promising... gave good feedback... and i dunno... in one meeting... seemed to really want to listen to what i was saying... i dunno... as if what i said... had value. it was cool. we'll see how it plays out.
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hmmm... anything else to report. well pretty much no except that i started my raquetball lessons... which i found out were free to begin with since i am a y member, compliments of my firm (i love this place!) it was hmmm... different, but cool as well. the other days i worked out, swam, even played a little raquetball pratice... all good. one day i had to stop by and do something with my phone but i think four days a week is good. two for cardio and raquetball practice, two for cardio and swimming. i think i'll start weights later on... just do cardio to get back in shape in general. i have also been having smoothies for dinner now consistently.. and other than the general weight control benefits, funny enough... i think it the yogurt cultures... but its making me more "regular"... haha. funny surprises... and my smoothies rock man. anyways...i caught myself in the gym mirror one day and i was thinking... dude... you're fat. depressing yes... i know... but hey... its good to be honest to yourself... now its about trying to stop eating all those free snacks at work! damn! :)
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ahhh... what else. hmmm... it was my good friend's robert's 27th birthday this friday... give it up to my favorite homo... yes robert, you are... my favorite homo... so far. ;-) everyone go check out his blog, like a phoenix, re-risen from its ashes. i have been continuing to listen to my chinese sayings tapes... and this afternoon i wowed my folks with the sino bullshit i was spewing from my mouth...heehee... so easy. ahh..one lunch at work i sat with the chinese girls at work and had a fun little chit chat gossipy thing. one of them made some comment about having a gay friend at cornell and was asking me if there was a lot of gays at cornell. i wasn't quite sure what she was getting at... but for a moment... i thought... this might be a good opportunity to just come out.. in a funny way of sorts... but i dunno... still working out on the whole being gay at work thing. this is texas... they can hang you for that... nah... but you know what i mean. .
feeling my way around still. can't wait for vegas... whoo yeah.
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