Yes, I've made a friend! How about that. Everyone was right... my bright, shining personality of puppies and rainbows really shone through to attract the attention of a brand new beginning of a social life here in the Windy City.
This morning, he and I went downtown to go shopping. What I found funny was this was the first time I had been near the iconic buildings of downtown Chicago since I moved here. I went to them all when I was here back in April.
2nd and 3rd tallest buildings in the citty, as seen from the tallest.
While downtown, my goal was to find something totally awesome to wear to a job interview that I got from the guy I'm staying with. His best friend owns a sushi restaurant, so he told me to go in at 4:30 today for an interview. I got the clothes I need, put them on, and realized... this outfit need a tie. Luckily, I had bought a tie earlier while downtown. Not for this outfit, but it would have to do as somehow my ties didn't make it from Seattle to Chicago, which I was just this morning realizing.
It all clashed. Black jacket, gray vest, white shirt, with a spray pattern of navy blue on the collar. And the tie was pink. It was for cancer! And it was $10, about $50 cheaper than any other tie at Macy's.
But I made it work. Unfortunately, I did not have such an interview outfit when I had to go to my interview the day after I flew in, which was at a gay restaurant here in town where men in drag dance around in some sort of burlesque show or something. Haven't seen it myself, but I went in for a short, 3 minute interview where it felt like they weren't expecting me, was asked, "Do you know what kind of establishment this is?" as if they thought I was straight. ME! So my hopes aren't high for that place, but they told me I would definitely be getting a call, which I hope I do and I hope it's a yes because that place sounds fucking awesome.
So on my way I went to this sushi restaurant. I met with the owner, Mike, and this other girl who works there, both of whom asked me about my age which I don't think is legal, and discussed with me when to set up my first shift.
That was easy. What'd I get all dressed up mismatched for?
That was good news. A stable job. Not sure about the bartending job I was promised when I showed up to Chicago. That guy is still out of town. But in case that doesn't work out, for now I at least am going to be serving sushi. And hopefully making drinks at a drag bar too. I'll keep you posted.
After the good news, I decided I was going to treat myself to a ginger ale! I deserved it. I got a job by showing up. So off I went to Walgreens to seek out a ginger ale. I saw one at a Caribou Coffee yesterday that was unfiltered, so the liquid looked clear yet there was a cloudy mess on the bottom of the bottle. I was very curious, but I had just ordered a tall skinny vanilla latté so it would have to wait.
When I walked into Walgreens, a hispanic man in a red shirt asked me if I had time for an HIV screening. Funny you should ask. My new friend invited me to go with him and his roommate to go HIV screening with them. I declined. Felt that was kind of a private thing. Private, yet necessary. I haven't been screen since before my 2 year relationship which ended back in December, so it was high time I go and do something about that. Usually my first reaction when propositioned to take part in anything that was not in my initial plans is a "no" if they're lucky enough to get any sort of response, but this was something I really should do. So I did it.
The first thing that crossed my mind is whether or not Walgreens knew these men were in their store pricking people with needles and taking their blood, and if this was legit. When I was taken back by the pharmacy and into a room that was part of the permanent building, those doubts went away and I was open to all sorts of questions about how big of a gay slut I have been in the past.
The man assessing me chimed in that he was also a Puerto Rican (by the way, readers, I'm part Puerto Rican) and was definitely hitting on me. I'm usually very aloof to this kind of behavior deviated towards me, so this guy must have been at it hard. Hispanics usually are. We're a very sexual people. I mean, he told me this was going to be a finger blood draw and then he told me to pull down my pants and followed it by a bunch of sexual innuendos. Along I went with it... I mean, I didn't actually pull down my pants, but I laughed and let it go on, and then he told me I was very serious. He told me to pull down my pants and was about to stab me with a needle. How was I supposed to be acting?
So he used his little tool to prick me (hehe), and I didn't feel it at all. It was pretty awesome. I had the face that was awaiting the pains of childbirth but it came to be unwarranted, and then turned into the face of someone who is experiencing the relief of just having given birth... or something to that effect.
He swirled my blood into a little vial, dropped it into some sort of tiny bowl, dropped vial #2 into a tiny bowl, and dropped vial #3 into a tiny bowl. The bottom of the bowl ended up showing 1 very clear dot. Congratulations, I'm not pregnant! Nor do I have HIV. The test wouldn't determine if I was pregnant or not, but I'm pretty sure that's the case, but it said I more than likely did not contract HIV three or more months ago.
After he found out I was clean, that's when we got into the heavy petting and he showed me that magic that two Puerto Rican men can have together. Just kidding. That didn't happen. But he did ask me if I wanted to volunteer for the Chicago Foundation of AIDS something-or-another.
Initial reaction: No. Still thirsty for ginger ale. This is not the course on which I was heading.
But I said yes, I would. I mean, the way I answered it probably make me sound like kind of a douche. "Sure, I just moved here so it's not like I have anything else going on."
So he should be contacting me to possibly volunteer for this Market Days I've been hearing so much about and for gay pride. Volunteering will be a great way to meet people and become part of something great. Oh, and I guess part of it will be preventing the spread of HIV or whatever.
There we go! A day of shopping and really good news. It's sunny outside right now so I am going to head on out on my very first run here in Chicago. Oh the places I'll go.
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