So, a couple of things happened last night….! 

 

I guess the first thing to tell you is I met a guy for dinner.  We met through the internet (thanks again, match.com) and had been chatting back and forth for a while.  My first impression of this guy was that he had it ‘together’ – he basically had a career in real estate a couple years ago and was now working in the health-care profession.  He’d also been all over the world and had just gotten back from Hawaii.  I thought he was pretty impressive. 

 

We hadn’t gotten past that polite awkwardness that comes with chatting with a potential date online yet, but he suggested we “grab a bite to eat” before Halloween.  Looking back on it now, I should’ve taken a rain check.  

 

We went to a sushi restaurant and continued our awkward conversations face to face.  I think the only time we really started connecting was when we were talking about sushi and favorite restaurants.  

 

We drank lots of water and ate quickly.  

 

Towards the end of the meal, I asked him what he was doing for Halloween and he said he was going to WeHo.  I’d never gone before so I asked him what happens there on Halloween and he was surprised that I didn’t already know. 

 

“I don’t go there very often.  It’s weird because I don’t have any gay friends to go with.”  I said. 

 

Then he asked me when I came out and I told him it was during my senior year of College.  

 

“Wow.  That’s pretty late, isn’t it?”  

“Is it?  When did you come out?”  

“When I was fifteen.”  

“I guess I’m just a late bloomer.”  

 

I guess this concept puzzled him cuz he asked if there were any LGBT clubs at my school and I said “yeah, but I didn’t really feel like I fit in with the people I met there.” 

“I’m one of those people” he said. 

 

I’d be pretty surprised if I ever hear from him again. 

 

Our conversation stuck with me, though, because it made me think about ridiculous my life seems to someone like him:  Why does a gay man surround himself mostly with straight people?  Given the choice, wouldn’t it be better for me to be with people who were more like me in that way?  Maybe I wouldn’t have so much trouble meeting guys if I did? 

 

It got me to thinking that maybe I need to get new friends. 

 

And I guess I can take my wallet being stolen at my friend’s Halloween party as a sign that I have the right idea. 

 

I took my wallet/keys out of my pocket and tucked them away in a book shelf to make room for my camera and phone.  When I went to go retrieve them at the end of the night, my wallet was gone.  I called my friend today to tell her to keep an eye out for it and she called me back to say that she didn’t see it.  She kept searching and told me later that she couldn’t find it. 

 

So now I have to cancel my credit card and go down to the DMV to replace my license. 

 

I also invited a few of my work-friends to this party and none of them showed up.  But I guess that’s a good thing…..! 

 

Anyway, that whole night is making me think I need to re-examine my life.  Maybe…I’m holding myself back with all these things that I’m doing. 

 

Hope this isn’t too long to read. 

I saw that sign on my neighbor’s window the other day and just happened to have my camera with me. 

 

My roommate saw it as well and was surprisingly angrier than I was at it being there.  He came up to me later that day and asked if I thought it’d be offensive if he pretended he was gay so he could ask our neighbors to take their sign down. 

 

I bust out laughing until I realized he was serious.  And then I sat him down and politely told him that this was one of the dumbest ideas he’s ever had, because: 

a) it’s a free country and it’s their apartment; they can post up whatever signs they want. 

b) Lying (especially for something like this) is always a bad idea. 

c) I doubt even knowing that an actual gay person (much less a fake one) who lives next door to them would make them take down their sign. 

 

I went out and got a “No on Prop 8” sign and taped it to our window instead. 

 

I also got a “No on Prop 4” sign too cuz, hey – they were free and I don’t support that proposition either. 

 

I AM a little worried about running into my neighbors now.  There’s this irrational fear in the back of my head that they might come up to me and ask me to take down my sign…..and that I’ll have to sit them down and remind them we live in America.