Tuesday night at XES for a friend’s birthday turned out to be sort of a Fire Island reunion. As one frequent guest of our house remarked, “It’s so weird to see you all in clothes.”



The Sexican and I were chatting about, of course, sex, when a housemate who shall remain nameless announced that he had recently slept with a 19-year-old. I shrugged, having made the same admission once or twice in the past. But Sexican, a little tipsy, acted horrified.



“Oh my gawd!! Nineteen???”


A sheepish nod.


“Wait. Did you BOTTOM with a nineteen-year-old?!”


Another sheepish nod, followed by a dash to the bar for more alcohol.


“I can’t believe it!” exclaimed Sexican.


“What?” I asked. “He’s a bottom.”


“I never bottom for someone younger than me!” Sexican cried. “That’s the Rule!”


“It IS?”


I had never heard such a thing, though perhaps I’d been following it inadvertently all these years. I usually tend to top, at least during one-night-stands, which I’ve had a lot of. And I’ve always tended to sleep with younger guys, which I’ve had a lot of. But was there a correlation? It seemed ridiculous that something as silly as age could determine what sexual position someone prefers on any given night, in any given encounter. But, it certainly seemed to resonate with some people...


As I thought about it, I recalled something that In Bocca Di Lucas had written once on his blog, Top To Bottom. Some quick research found me the post, Now Step I Forth to Whip Hypocrisy. He wrote about a partner of his that wanted him to bottom, apparently a request he gets fairly often, the reason being his looks. The point of his post seemed summed up when he, at height 5’4”, wrote: “I have just as much of a right as any other guy to like it better on top...just like all these 6'4" bottoms I've been meeting have a right to take it up the ass.” However, just one line before that, he himself admitted: “I am fully aware of the fact that I look like a bottom. I'm short, slim, boyish, and I have a killer ass.”


(Sounds good to me!)


So some people, I reasoned, determine position preference based on body type, which is purely physical. Others clearly rely on age, which encompasses both the physical and the emotional. And I soon realized that other people associate it with the totally emotional quality of personality.


I was walking in Chelsea with Travelocigay, after we had finished dinner at Tia Pol, an amazing tapas restaurant on Tenth Avenue. He wanted us to meet up with some friends, and pulled out his cell phone to call one of them. I listened to his end of the conversation:


“Hi... Where are you? ... Walking on Tenth... Tia Pol... Where are you? ... Ohhhh... Where is that? ... Ohhhh... Yeah, we should meet up... Ummmm... How long will you be? ... Um...”


Finally I could no longer take the indecisive babble.


“Where are they!?” I demanded.


“Nisos,” he replied.


“When are they done?” I questioned, already mapping Chelsea in my head.


“They’re on dessert,” he said.


“Ok, were going to G. It’s a block away, tell them to walk over whenever they’re done.”


Travelocigay relayed my message and hung up. Then he turned to me and said, “I love that you’re a top!”


Who can say whether being a top or a bottom is determined by age, or height, or attitude. Maybe it’s a combination. Maybe it’s a spur-of-the-moment decision. Or maybe it doesn’t matter, and once they’re at that point, boys just wanna have fun.


I recently got an invitation to a Bar-B-Q at Chef BoysForPay’s house in Brooklyn on a Friday night. Brooklyn? On a Friday night? Chef BoysForPay’s cooking is undeniably amazing, but my impulse wasn’t to accept immediately. I thought, what if something better comes along? It’s a Friday night in New York City, what if I agree to spend the night in the outer boroughs, and miss something fabulous? My Borough Hesitation suddenly reminded me of last October.

Halloween 2008, I had my sexy Tarzan costume all ready to go. Halloween falling on a Friday, there were LOTS of options – everyone was headed somewhere. The week leading up to the holiday, as the gay boys began puttting their less-is-more costumes together, emails arrived in my inbox. Some from friends, suggesting plans. Many from the different clubs and bars, announcing their parties. Finally I got an email from TightLips. He, XJosh, and EverybodyLovesAden were going to meet at their place in Astoria, and proceed into Manhattan for a few stops around town.

I immediately rejected the idea of going to Astoria just to come back to Manhattan, and decided to meet up with them later. For the earlier part of the night, I decided to join an acquaintance, whom I Rarely See, but who had also emailed his intention to hit 2 Manhattan parties and invited others to join him.

At 9pm I texted RarelySee. He replied that he had decided to take a nap and skip the first party.

I tried not to be annoyed (the event planner in me hates disorganization and last-minute changes) and I reasoned that 9 was too early to go out anyway. I sat around my apartment for an hour, then another half hour, waiting for him to text. Finally at 10:40 I texted him again: “What’s up?”

He replied: “Getting more mixers, I’ll be right back.”

So he was already at the second party? Did he think I was there? Was he Drunk? Confused?

I typed: “Where are you?”

Reply: “Fixxed Joe subway messege”

He was clearly drunk and confused, and I was annoyed and decided I was done with him. I texted TightLips, who said they were at a bar on 14thStreet. I thought, Fine, I’ll go meet them. I threw my costume in a bag (even though it was Halloween, I didn’t want to walk around alone in just a leopard print skirt) and walked out the door.

I quickly discovered that at 10:45 on Halloween Friday there are no available cabs anywhere in Hells Kitchen. I walked 20 blocks looking for one, and texted Tightlips again. He then replied that they’d be leaving that bar in about 45 miutes, heading to Chelsea.

I was more annoyed. My choices were to take a subway to the east village, where I would arrive just in time for my friends to leave, or wait for them in Chelsea, where I had walked to. Normally I wouldn’t have minded sitting alone in a bar for one drink – but it was Halloween. And at 11pm, every bar was packed with people, most of them drunk, all of them in costumes. I could not just sit, alone, un-costumed, looking like a total loser. Disgusted with all my options, I walked home.

As I spent Halloween night alone in my apartment, I realized that you can’t spend your life waiting for a better offer. Chances are, not only will you not be missing anything, but you might end up with nothing at all.

Last month when my friend Mattitude emailed that he was leaving New York City, I was disappointed and also a little dumbfounded - who leaves New York? Of course I planned to attend his going-away party, but when the invite appeared on Facebook, I hesitated for a split-second. A Friday night? At a straight bar in the village?

ATTENDING, I clicked, not only because he is a good friend, but because I was finally done with worrying something better would come along.

Sure enough, it was a great time. We had excellent cocktails in a cute little lounge called The Dove Parlour on Thompson Street, then wandered the village for a bit in search of sustenance.

We stopped at NY Coffee & Hot Dogs, where the following exchange took place:

Me: Small latte please.

Server-Girl: Skim milk, right?

Me: Did she just call me Fat?!?!

Then we ended the night at Pieces – always tragic, but in a fun-with-enough-booze kinda way.

While we were at the Dove, XJosh, Marabou, TightLips and I discussed costumes for Halloween. We came up with some great ideas, including what may be my Naked-est Costume Ever. But most importantly, I’ll be spending this Halloween with my friends, not home alone waiting for a better offer.



The weekend of October 10/11 2009, I attended the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. It was a fun, moving, crazy, amazing, drunken, special weekend, and I had no idea how I would ever write about it. Until I realized that I’d been writing about it the whole time – via my endless Twitter and Facebook updates.

Sat at 10:40am
David is on the Bolt Bus headed to DC for the National Equality March. Weekend of updates to follow!

Sat at 12:15pm
David is somewhere in south jersey. Made friends with a cute lesbian couple. No children on the bus thank god - nice and quiet.

Sat at 1:42pm
David’s gay bus to DC is at a rest stop outside Charleston, DE. I wonder if this update will get flagged for "gay" & "rest stop".

Sat at 3:04pm
David has arrived in DC and is heading for the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City. Ya gotta have connections, people.

Sat at 6:09pm
David is relaxing at the Ritz before a night out in DC, and kinda laughing at all the boys taking those 6am buses tomorrow.

Sat at 9:04pm
David is having cocktails and dinner with the gang at SETTE in Dupont Circle. March tomorrow!

Sat at 11:37pm
David is standing in line to get into Town, apparently the hottest party in DC since the Democrats.

Sun at 1:20am
David is DISGUSTED that DC clubs still have black lights. Is it 1993??

Sun at 9:28am
David is hungover and annoyed at B**** for throwing open the hotel curtains, but glad it's not 6am. Suns out in DC!

Sun at 10:22am
David cut himself shaving. On March day! I'm sure by the end of the day I'll have given blood, sweat and tears for Equality.

Sun at 11:15am
David is at the holding area for the march. Amazing energy! And lots of cute boys.

Sun at 12:04pm
David just realized we are at the very front of the march. And we're off!

Sun at 12:17pm
David: March is off to a slow start - it's more of a Stroll For Equality so far.

Sun at 12:20pm
David: Actual rainbow in the sky above the march! Crowd goes crazy!!

Sun at 1:40pm
David is closing in on the Capitol. Not sure what it is about this stretch, but there's cute boys EVERYWHERE.

Sun at 2:00pm
David is at the rally. Lady GaGa just passed by getting escorted to the stage.

Sun at 3:46pm
David: Lady GaGa on stage at the Equality Rally! Crowd goes crazy.

Sun at 8:47pm
David: Phone died, no surprise. I was seen on cspan! Proud of all those NYers who made the day trip but glad I hoteled. Goin out!

Sun at 10:34pm
David is heading out in Dupont Circle. Where is everyone? What's the DC hot spot tonight?

Sun at 11:46pm
David is sitting with the boys in the "VIP" section at Cobalt. We look like we're judging American Idol.

Monday at 10:19am
David is on Cspan at the Equality March. Clearly seen in the video on YouTube.

Tuesday at 12:09pm
David is wondering what to have for lunch. Wow, updates are so much less interesting when I'm not in the middle of a March for Gay Equality.