When Leo and I went out he would introduce me to all of his friends, ex lovers, and acquaintances. It wasn't long before I couldn't go to a gay bar in Minneapolis without someone recoginzing me. We'd spend Monday nights at The Townhouse drinking $2 beers, weekdays at either The Gay 90's for the drag show or The Saloon for karaoke. Weekends we spent at The Saloon dancing our butts off. We mixed it up a bit, but we pretty much had the every night of the week planned out.
Sure we spent a lot of money going out so much, but we also made friends with a lot of bartenders who knew how to treat us well. It was easy for me and Leo to go out and spend less than $100 (most of that being a tip). We also got into our fair share of conundrums. There was the night that we went dancing and Leo ripped his pants while popping, locking and dropping it, we change the name of the dance to "Pop, Lock and Rip It". There was the night that I ripped my pants to the same song, mine was a little worse though because I was going comando that night. (Thanks to Damian and Leo I made it downstairs and out of the club without anyone seeing anything. There's nothing like being surrounded, literally, by gay men.) There was also the night that Leo and I got free VIP tickets to the Chris Daughtry concert during the Republican National Convention where they had an open bar. I ended up peeing in a construction zone and we had to call Dry Drivers to come get my car. (WARNING YOUNGINS: Drinking is bad!)
It was a very typical night out when I met Blake. Leo introduced him to me over cocktails at The Saloon (I think). It sounds horrible but I don't really remember meeting him because it seemed like Leo introduced me to somone new every time we went out. One day Leo asked if I would like to join him and Blake for dinner at Applebee's. I can't turn down a Perfect Margarita so of couse I accepted. Blake was kind of quiet and reserved but silly, I could tell he was a total sweetheart. We had a couple drinks while Leo and Blake told me about their history. They were ex boyfriends, Blake was the first boy Leo ever loved and that they were just good friends now.
After that night I saw Blake almost every night that Leo and I went out. He had "accidentally" become one of my best friends.
Before we moved into our small apartment, Leo and I agreed it would only be temporary until we could both get back on our feet. We were both getting sick of living in such a small place and after a few months, decided it was time to move. Around the same time Blake was getting sick of living in a studio apartment so we started looking for a three bedroom in Uptown.
After a couple weeks of searching we found the cutest two bedroom (plus sun room) apartment a couple blocks away from Calhoun Square. It was in a old brown stone building and when I say old I mean it was probably built in the 1930s. It had its problems but it was charming and very homey.
We rented a Uhaul and moved my and Leo's things first, then we headed over to Blake's to help him move. It was amazing that we finished it all in one day especially since it was the middle of the winter.
We were a family.
This is the story of how a small town girl's world was shaken when she met a gay man. This isn't just going to be my story but a collection of thoughts, observations, silliness, and seriousness. I am dedicated to writing for one solid year about my life as a fag hag. I will write at least once a week. I'm hoping to also encourage "my gays" to write a little too...we'll see how cooperative they are. Welcome to my story, Chye
Showing posts with label Uptown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Uptown. Show all posts
Another treasure
I found another post from MySPace that I HAD to share because this one goes right along with my post "Close living quarters". Maybe I won't have to write anything new for a little bit I'll just repost from MySpace. Just kidding, I have three more stories in the works but here is one to tide you over until I finish the new ones. I hope you enjoy.
Posted on May 14, 2008
On days that I'm looking for something to do outdoors, its just a matter of walking down the street to take in the scenes....random hippies singing and playing guitar while walking, multiple homeless people (all with different signs that explain their misfortunes), an ongoing bohemian/punk rock fashion show, and of course the misplaced "visitors" of Uptown that seem to try so hard to fit in when there really isn't such a thing (yes, that will be me for at least the first month).
The nightlife, you ask?.... While, there can't be anything better than having a liquor store in your "backyard" (When I say backyard, I mean if you go pasted the garages and through the alley.), but on those warm summer nights I'll probably be hitting up the roof-top bar at Stella's or The Drink. On brisk evenings, I might not drink (what???), but sit in a quite coffee shop for some free internet surfing. The possibilities are endless in Uptown.
As previous explained, Uptown does have quite a lot to offer including TONS of apartments. The apartment search was a little too much to handle toward the end. Me and Leo tried Craigslist (no one ever calls you back) and Apartment Search (Joe, the guy that helped us search, was a moron!). We ended up looking at about 30 different places (not including the 50 some that we just called), but not one of them had everything that we wanted.... inexpensive, off-street parking, utilities paid (except electricity of course), clean, free of vampires.... I mean we weren't asking too much!
As previous explained, Uptown does have quite a lot to offer including TONS of apartments. The apartment search was a little too much to handle toward the end. Me and Leo tried Craigslist (no one ever calls you back) and Apartment Search (Joe, the guy that helped us search, was a moron!). We ended up looking at about 30 different places (not including the 50 some that we just called), but not one of them had everything that we wanted.... inexpensive, off-street parking, utilities paid (except electricity of course), clean, free of vampires.... I mean we weren't asking too much!
We finally found a place with exactly everything that we wanted. Except for the vampire situation, but the landlord assured us that they are "taking care of the problem". The apartment is a very quaint place that will be "a killer pad" when me and Leo are done decorating. We'll have a party as soon as we can.
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| I found a pic of our tiny apartment, this is taken from the living room. That area to the right is the kitchen. I told you it was small! |
Close living quarters
Leo and I made our small one bedroom apartment work. The bed room was just large enough for my queen sized bed to fit with less then a foot of space on each side of the bed and about 4 feet at the end. The closet was the length of the room, so at least we could fit all of our clothes in there together, of course Leo took up more room than I did.
The bathroom had a tiny sink, toilet, and smaller than average tub/shower. The shower wall had a window that wasn't painted with water proof paint so it was necessary for us to have a shower curtain to cover it which made it seem even smaller when I showered. It used to remind me of a scary movie when the victim finds themselves in a room full of hanging tarps (why do so many scary movies take place in places where people are hanging pastic?) and can't figure out where the bad guy is and all of a sudden he jumps out or grabs them and wraps them in the plastic...yeah, I know, creepy.
The rest of the apartment was a room about 10 feet by 15 feet. There was a stove, sink, and fridge in one corner and a row of street level windows on the opposite wall. We put my old couch against one wall and a small TV stand across from it. It was OK that the apartment was so small because we didn't really have anything to put in it.
Where did we each sleep you wonder? Leo and I resorted to sharing a bed. When Leo slept over at my townhouse he always slept in my bed, so it wasn't anything new to us. It wasn't long before we couldn't sleep alone anymore.
Our apartment was right behind a liquor store so it was easy to make it to the liquor store before it closed to grab some libations. We also lived just blocks away from Loring Park where the Minneapolis Pride festival is held there every year. We only had a few blocks to stumble home after a few cocktails and a sunburn.
Believe me, it wasn't always easy living in such close quarters with Leo. We faught constantly about having people over, it was impossible to invite a "love interest" over. We didn't have counter space, much cupboard space, and no dishwasher so we always argued about who's turn it was to do the dishes. I'm surprised we didn't kill each other. I miss our little apartment.
The bathroom had a tiny sink, toilet, and smaller than average tub/shower. The shower wall had a window that wasn't painted with water proof paint so it was necessary for us to have a shower curtain to cover it which made it seem even smaller when I showered. It used to remind me of a scary movie when the victim finds themselves in a room full of hanging tarps (why do so many scary movies take place in places where people are hanging pastic?) and can't figure out where the bad guy is and all of a sudden he jumps out or grabs them and wraps them in the plastic...yeah, I know, creepy.
The rest of the apartment was a room about 10 feet by 15 feet. There was a stove, sink, and fridge in one corner and a row of street level windows on the opposite wall. We put my old couch against one wall and a small TV stand across from it. It was OK that the apartment was so small because we didn't really have anything to put in it.
Where did we each sleep you wonder? Leo and I resorted to sharing a bed. When Leo slept over at my townhouse he always slept in my bed, so it wasn't anything new to us. It wasn't long before we couldn't sleep alone anymore.
Our apartment was right behind a liquor store so it was easy to make it to the liquor store before it closed to grab some libations. We also lived just blocks away from Loring Park where the Minneapolis Pride festival is held there every year. We only had a few blocks to stumble home after a few cocktails and a sunburn.
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| Minneapolis Pride, 2009 |
Believe me, it wasn't always easy living in such close quarters with Leo. We faught constantly about having people over, it was impossible to invite a "love interest" over. We didn't have counter space, much cupboard space, and no dishwasher so we always argued about who's turn it was to do the dishes. I'm surprised we didn't kill each other. I miss our little apartment.
California here we come
The first few months that Leo and I knew each other were a whirlwind. We lived rockstar lives, working evenings, partying all night, and sleeping until noon everyday. We were constantly surround by people and thrived on being the life of the party. We would skip out of work early to go shopping for new outifts to wear for the nights activities which usually included dancing at the Gay 90's or The Saloon. There were very few nights that we didn't invite people back to my place to have an after party. We spent so much time together that pretty soon Leo was basically living at my place.
This was a weird point in both mine and Leo's lives. We both dyed our hair black, we dressed punkesque/ghetto and somehow convinced ourselves that we were invincible when it came to running out of money. Shortly after Leo moved in he met Trey, a self proclaimed Native American shamen. Trey was a nomad of sorts and would end up staying at our place a lot. Pretty soon he was living there too. The three of us lived a pretty free life when all of a sudden reality set in and we realized we were broke.
In an effort to keep our rockstart lifestyle we decided it would be a good idea to move to San Diego. Leo had a few possessions from his one bedroom apartment, Trey a large box of odds and ends, and I had a townhouse full of "things". We decided to sell everything except for what could fit in my car. We posted an ad on Craigslist for a moving sale, set up shelving and tables in my large living room, priced everything, and turned my townhouse into a used goods store for a couple days.
SIDE NOTE: Have you ever been at a point in your life when you believe that all of your "things" are SO important and they make you who you are? I was that way until I sold everything. I will admit, I was (and still kind of am) a pack rat. Since selling a townhouse full of "things" I have found that I enjoy a more minimalistic lifestyle. There's something so freeing about letting it all go. OK, back to the story.
At the end of our two day sale the shelves were fairly empty, but we still had a lot to get rid of. That's when we invited out friends to come in and basically take whatever they wanted. I still had a bed and a couch to get rid of but we decided to keep them and rent a Uhaul to get to California so at least we had some furniture when we got there. We had a box full of cash, a full gas tank, and nothing holding us back. We had a going away party with all of our close friends and decided that the following week would be when we would take of the California. Or so we thought.
It happened is if one morning we woke up and became logical adults and California didn't seem like such a good idea. We were only a few days away from our schedule departure from Minnesota when we decided it was best if we stayed. Even though it was the best decision, we now had a lot of things to consider. Where were we going to live? We wanted to live close to downtown Minneapolis, could we afford it? What was I going to do with my dog? How were we going to move the furniture that was left from our sale?
It's a good thing that Leo and I work well under pressure. Within days we had found a VERY small one bedroom studio apartment in the uptown area of Minneapolis that we could afford, found a wonderful adoptive family for Edgar, and we rented a Uhaul to move the tattered bed and couch that was left over from the sale.
I would like to admit that this experience taught us that we couldn't continue to live the rockstar lifestyle but it didn't. We continued to spend outside of our means, but we lived life as if it were our last day every day and I wouldn't trade that for the world.
This was a weird point in both mine and Leo's lives. We both dyed our hair black, we dressed punkesque/ghetto and somehow convinced ourselves that we were invincible when it came to running out of money. Shortly after Leo moved in he met Trey, a self proclaimed Native American shamen. Trey was a nomad of sorts and would end up staying at our place a lot. Pretty soon he was living there too. The three of us lived a pretty free life when all of a sudden reality set in and we realized we were broke.
In an effort to keep our rockstart lifestyle we decided it would be a good idea to move to San Diego. Leo had a few possessions from his one bedroom apartment, Trey a large box of odds and ends, and I had a townhouse full of "things". We decided to sell everything except for what could fit in my car. We posted an ad on Craigslist for a moving sale, set up shelving and tables in my large living room, priced everything, and turned my townhouse into a used goods store for a couple days.
SIDE NOTE: Have you ever been at a point in your life when you believe that all of your "things" are SO important and they make you who you are? I was that way until I sold everything. I will admit, I was (and still kind of am) a pack rat. Since selling a townhouse full of "things" I have found that I enjoy a more minimalistic lifestyle. There's something so freeing about letting it all go. OK, back to the story.
At the end of our two day sale the shelves were fairly empty, but we still had a lot to get rid of. That's when we invited out friends to come in and basically take whatever they wanted. I still had a bed and a couch to get rid of but we decided to keep them and rent a Uhaul to get to California so at least we had some furniture when we got there. We had a box full of cash, a full gas tank, and nothing holding us back. We had a going away party with all of our close friends and decided that the following week would be when we would take of the California. Or so we thought.
It happened is if one morning we woke up and became logical adults and California didn't seem like such a good idea. We were only a few days away from our schedule departure from Minnesota when we decided it was best if we stayed. Even though it was the best decision, we now had a lot of things to consider. Where were we going to live? We wanted to live close to downtown Minneapolis, could we afford it? What was I going to do with my dog? How were we going to move the furniture that was left from our sale?
It's a good thing that Leo and I work well under pressure. Within days we had found a VERY small one bedroom studio apartment in the uptown area of Minneapolis that we could afford, found a wonderful adoptive family for Edgar, and we rented a Uhaul to move the tattered bed and couch that was left over from the sale.
I would like to admit that this experience taught us that we couldn't continue to live the rockstar lifestyle but it didn't. We continued to spend outside of our means, but we lived life as if it were our last day every day and I wouldn't trade that for the world.
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