My First Day in NYC

They say walking the Brooklyn Bridge is a right of passage for people in New York. The Brooklyn Bridge is lovely. It connects the up and coming Lower East Side with the hippest Brooklyn neighborhood – Williamsburg. On my very first day in New York I walked across the bridge – the wrong bridge. The Manhattan Bridge connects China Town and Red Hook, some not-so-nice areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was March 1st of 2009, and it happened to be the most severe snow storm of the year. And of course, my coat had lost all of its buttons.

I was relying on the gps on my phone to lead me to the subway, but by the time I realized the station was not in-fact on the bridge, I was too stubborn to turn around. So I walked across the Manhattan Bridge in khakis and Calvin Klein boots (forever ruined after this expedition). Some 30 minutes later I walked through China Town. Being a vegetarian with an allergy to fish, you can imagine how unpleasant this was.

I was headed home from my first day at a temp job. In short, it sucked. If it weren’t for some awesome co-workers it would have been unbearable. My boss, as I like to describe her, seemed one of those people who was either picked on relentlessly in high school, or was completely ignored. In either case it was evident she just never got over it. She was very soft spoken, but not in an endearing way; she was manipulative, hostile, and cold. Despite this, she was remarkably comedic. She was very pear shaped like Grimace, the purple blob from McDonalds. She waddled, and she shook and twitched when she was angry or frustrated. Best of all was her terrible wig; it was never on the right way, and always had large groups of stragglers from its intended shape. When I finished my position she didn’t even want to shake my hand.

Michael:

This first month in NYC I was “subleasing” an apartment from a guy I had slept with more than once (a rare occasion in NYC). He said he was going to visit his family out west. He ended up only being gone 1 week, and stayed with me for the other 3 weeks… basically I'd been seduced into paying this guy’s rent for a month. He wasn’t even hot, and didn’t even have a big dick! I’ve avoided him since the end of the month. Oddly enough he texted me a few days ago and tried to flirt. No thanks!

That was a lesson I had to learn… people in NYC are crazy, and are good at hiding it for a good enough while to throw you for a loop. I’m a bit more cautious of people now.

A timid gay boy’s loss of innocence in NYC

New York City… it’s lively, it’s chic, it’s sexy, and it’s dirty.   Beyond the heaps of trash lining most the sidewalk, beyond the soot on every sill, there’s an energy that can seduce you to do things you never thought you would.  It turned a monogamist into a slut, and a light drinker into an occasional T smoker.  This is not the gay version of Sex and the City.  I don’t have 100 pairs of shoes, I don’t have a great job (or a job at all), I don’t have 3 friends I spend every day with, I don’t have my own apartment, and I don’t have a date every night… but I do have lots and lots of sex. 

I lost count earlier this year…but I think I’m around 150 or so now.  I’m not particularly attractive, but attractive enough that the guys I don’t want to call me do, and the ones I do want to call me don’t.

Besides the men and financial struggle, I do have some good friends here, though all of them have jobs.  It’s through them I get to experience an occasional taste of the fabulousness NYC has to offer.  They’ve taken me to roof top parties, Broadway shoes, table service at the chicest of bars (while skipping the velvet rope line), fashion shows, and even D list events (which is all rather glamorous given my humble up bringing).

It’s been 18 months since I made New York City my home.  I’ve lived several places including Hawaii, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Massachusetts, but New York is the first place that feels like home – but the type of home that’s constantly threatening condemnation, eviction, repossession, and collapse.

This blog is to help me remember my adventures here in the city.  I have forgotten much.  Besides, an unemployed gay boy needs something to do besides troll around the internet hunting for sex. :-)