RICHMOND LIFE

So Richmond life continues. Fortunately, I am meeting more people. I joined a volleyball team. Yes I found it on craig's list. The team needed more players and so I looked into it. I assumed since they were in the B league that we would be competitive, but due to unforeseen circumstances two new girls joined the team who are not very good. They both said, "I played in High School." Ok? Maybe in gym class and that was 10 years ago. But we are coming along.
On with the update, I met my friend Carne Asada Mike on the team. And he has introduced me to various people and parties around town. Last Friday it was an event called Take Over. It is a fourth Friday event where a group of 120, or more, of gays and lesbians go to a selected bar and restaurant and descend upon it. It was a lot of fun even though it took 20 minutes to get a drink. I met various people that night that either I had met before, talked to online or just met that evening. There was P-Nut - the extremely fun and outgoing guy, Terry - the very nice, warm, and funny partner of P-Nut, John - the nice professional guy, Shawn - older hot manly man, Jesse - the younger very hot underware model, Carne Asada - the friend from volleyball, Donald - the gay neighbor, and more. I saw Hale, a tall 6'-7" guy, who I have also talked to from time to time online, but I did not say hello, because I did not know how to introduce myself with out sounding like a stalker of some sort. At one point I was at the bar and this red headed "woman" stood next to me. She looked pretty, but when she went to make small talk, she had the voice of a man. It shocked me, but then again I was at a GLBT event, so anything could happen. It was a very fun night. We left the restaurant, Popkins, and went to a house party.
Some of the same people. The owner of the house has a lot of silver. He is young but his decor is kind of old world... common in Richmond I am finding out. So people, including Jesse, were drinking out of silver goblets.
From the house party we went to a new club.... Infuzion. It was a little strange. It is in the warehouse district otherwise known as Scott's Addition or WeBo-West of Boulevard. I think the building was at one time a warehouse and they had adjoining offices. The offices part are kind of "house like" with a very loungey, members only feel. The dance part is a warehouse with a "future" ice bar. I guess they are making it in Canada and it will be in a refrigerated room. You will have to pay $15 and you get a parka, a vodka drink, a private bartender and 15 minutes to stand in the cold. Sounds interesting, but I hear the owner ran out of money so it may not happen. :(
So we left there and then P-Nut and I went to a private club, Fieldens, where you have to be a member, which he is. The transgender lady, who said hello to me at the first bar and ended up being one of the most famous transgenders of Richmond, took my money and let me in. She said in a manly voice, "$10, thanks have a good time." So we went inside. The place was dark and not very many people were there. It was a kind of surreal, maybe it was the alcohol talking, or maybe it was the unkept seedy atmosphere. Downstairs we ordered a drink, a guy from earlier who blew smoke in my face while I tried to eat, got further deep into my "shit list" when he bought P-Nut's drink and not mine. We went up-upstairs. There were four people in a long, from what I remember, Asian inspired bar. Two worn-out creepy eyed gays were talking at a table and a woman was crying as the bartender tried to console her. Again.... surreal. So we went downstairs to see the amateur stripping, which was really guys dancing in their underwear... no stripping involved. I took out a dollar to share for the right guy, I left the bar that night with the dollar in my pocket. The participants left a little to be desired. I almost felt sorry for the guys up there. Not sure if it was the guy with "a spare tire and bitch tits", the "straight skinny guy" that was hairy all over and could not stop pelvic thrusting as his friends egged him on, the aspiring stripper who tried too hard, or the militant older guy with huge man panties and combat boots who marched around the stage, but I was not inspired. There was a crazy older guy doing poppers on the side of the stage, who later I found out made the aspiring stripper all upset because he called him fat. He was very upset and dramatic, which made me laugh a little. Downstairs the evening turned even more exciting when a collagen lip injected bimbo, who was friends with the "straight" stripper, spilled beer all over me. At that point, I hated to say it, but it was time to leave. I got home at 4:00 and crashed into bed, hoping not to have nightmares of bimbo lips and combat boots.
The rest of the weekend went quite smoothly. The next night I went with Hale, the 6'-7" guy, who I talked to the next day, where I told him I did not say hello and he invited me out to his birthday party... at infuzion again. I went and had a great time, talked to hot Shawn for awhile, and bought him a beer. He is a nice southern gentleman. I hope to hang out again sometime. A more tame night, but I foresee Hale and I becoming friends.
Sunday I went running in Maymont park, which has a Japanese garden I would like to go back and see in the summer, went to the Stony Point Mall with Jesse, went to dinner at a new restaurant, D-Lux, and went to see Cloverfield, also with Jesse. The night ended in a hug, but a promise to hang out again soon. ;) All in all, a very fun and adventurous weekend.
This weekend was just as fun, with a new haircut, a benefit party for ROSMY, Richmond Organization for Sexual Minority Youth, with Hale, club Z2 with P-Nut, and then a ride home from Jesse. Saturday, it was a run with Hale to Belle Isle, a nap at home, then dinner with Hale at my favorite restaurant in Richmond so far, the White Dog, a party at P-Nut's, and then Club Z2.
Currently I am doing one thing I really enjoy, which is laying in bed, listening to music and drinking coffee on a Sunday morning. Today, I hope to go to the Richmond Museum of Fine Arts, go for a run, and maybe do some shopping. Who knows what the rest of the day entails.