I love it when friends visit!

Yesterday I got to have dinner with Seymour and Ritchie, who are up here for the week from So Cal. Ty, Danny, Mark and I met up with them for dinner in the Castro at Thai House Express. It's sort of our 'Go To' restaurant for solid food for a good price. We then headed to The Mix for some drinks and lastly ended up at The Midnight Sun . Fun times all around... especially dishing about boys and watching funny clips at The Midnight Sun.

So here's an interesting friendship connection story...

I used to use Livejournal.com like a madman during my youth. It was a way for me to escape, make online friends and share my thoughts. Then one day I came across Seymour's Journal. He was a Med Student in the UCR/UCLA Med School Program. We both wen to UCR, but didn't know each other while we were both there. Seymour was technically the first person I uttered (errr... typed) the words 'I'm Gay' to. Well, Margaret Cho was the first person I said something that 'implied' I was gay, but Seymour got the full deal. Haha. We started to hang out in person and became really good friends.

Flash forward to Dec. 2006. I meet Seymour and Ritchie at the Abbey for some drinks to catch up. Ritchie had brought some of his friends... including his former roomie Ty. Now, I don't know any Ty's. Except I had recently seen that a 'Ty' had joined Google and I sent him a welcome message on Downelink. Turns out, it was the same Ty, except I didn't really connect the two.

So the chain goes like this ---> Seymour ---> Ritchie ---> Ty.

Over the past few years I've become really good friends with Ty. We share advice. I probably would have gone nuts without bouncing boy talk off of him. So yea... It's interesting how small the gay community is, especially between Northern and Southern California. I'm happy that good people know other good people. Yay!

Mark, Seymour, Ritchie, Me & Ty @ The Midnight Sun

A surprising drunk call

I was chilling with Howie at his cousins (Kathleen and My Le) place in San Francisco when I got a series of phone calls from my sister.

I didn't pick up originally because I'm not a fan of talking to people in front of others. After the fourth or fifth call, I decided to pick up.

The conversation went something like this:

[picks up phone - drunk sister starts talking]

Sister: Hiiiii. What the fuck? I've been calling you.

Me: I know. I didn't pick up earlier. You got me now. What's up? Are you Drunk?

Sister: Yes. Two Things. Number 1... Shoot me an email with what you want for your birthday.

Me: Okay. Will do.

Sister: Number 2... I'm with Chris. You know how I told you I would never go to a gay bar? So he's totally cool with gay guys. [Chris' voice faint in the background: 'Ya. They're cool.'] I decided I'm going to go with you. Mom told me you're coming home soon. We're going. He's [Chris] going to be my buffer just in case anything happens.

Me: Wow. Okay...

Sister: What's that place you told me is cool?

Me: The Abbey.

Sister: We can go there. Or this gay bar in Ventura County. Paddy's.

Me: Why would I go to Ventura County? Let's go to the Abbey.

Sister: Ok. I have Halloween at Six Flags on that Friday. Saturday we're going out.

Me: Okay. Sounds good. See you later.

That was sorta random. But I'm actually really happy my sister made the effort to (1) Call Me and (2) Offer to be taken out of her comfort zone.

I never really thought I'd see the day when I'd go out with my sister to a gay bar...

Now I'm nervous...

New South Bay Gay Night!

As everyone knows, the South Bay is kinda lacking in gay-ness. I mean besides the handful of gay bars in San Jose (Hunter's, Splash, etc.), Ikea in East Palo Alto, Santana Row on the Weekends, and the staff of the Cheesecake Factory in Palo Alto, it's very difficult to guarantee your gaydar being set off in the South Bay.

Don't fret! A new weekly, yes-- not monthly or semi-annual -- gay night is exploding on the scene. It's called Oops! and takes place on Thursdays at Fuel in San Jose. This week has a hip-hop theme. Last week was Madonna Night to celebrate her CD being released. I haven't been yet, but I hear it's fun!

More Info:
Cover: None
Hours: 7pm to Midnight
Specials: Happy Hour 7-8pm, 2-for-1 drinks
Day: Every Thursday at Fuel
Address: 385 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose, CA 95128 (Across from Santana Row) MAP

Come join the party!

Downelink site

N'Touch With My Bad Self

President's Day weekend was pretty interesting. I actually went out on a Sunday Night in San Francisco, a rarity for a South-bay-er like myself.

Alex called me on a whim around 8:45pm and asked me if I wanted to meet up with Bill and him at N'Touch, the oldest remaining Gay Asian bar in San Francisco. He was like, 'You literally have to go in your car and meet me now. I'm meeting up with Bill at 9:45pm.'

At that point, I hadn't eaten dinner. I was planning an El Pollo Loco run, but I had to opt for something quicker. Sadly, that was my local Taco Bell, which I haven't had in ages. I grabbed a burrito and a couple of tacos and made my way on up to the City.

N'Touch is pretty far from the freeway, on Polk Street in the Northern part of the City. I found parking pretty easily and made my way inside. I think it was only Alex, the Bartender, and a few others sitting at the bar. Of those who were there, a good portion of them are usually sketch, but that makes things interesting.

I got there on time and we waited for Bill to show up. As I was looking to see if there was 'potential' around, I noticed the back of the person's head sitting right next to me. I thought, 'Oh, he's probably cute.'

The cute-back-of-the-head guy turns around and it's my friend Joe! OMG! I was so embarrassed. Haha. Turns out he was meeting up with someone he met online at Manhunt. (ya, it's gross.)

So Alex, Bill and I ended up playing pool with Joe. We had a good time. Loads of dirty talk happened. Alex was also wearing these weird cut off gloves. That and losing at pool were the few things I could remember. Lol.

John Travolta for A Night

It was truly 'Saturday Night Fever' for me. This past Saturday I made my way to Detroit for a bit of clubbing action. As you might know, I go to dance, experience new music and meet new people. I don't go to drink or hookup. Cause I'm a good guy like that.

Anywho, I made my way over to Backstreet Nightclub. I couldn't find the club at first because It was located in a hidden part of a strip mall. I was like, 'Oh crap. What did I get myself into?'

I get there around 11 and there aren't too many people around. It wasn't until 12 until the party got jumping. It's probably the most unique club I've been to in the Midwest. It has an elevated 1970's lightup dance floor that No One gets on until like 11:45. Before that, It's a complete stare showdown a la 'The Abbey' in LA or 'Sidetrack' in Chicago.

You can kinda tell the place is a work in progress. There is exposed wood in some areas that is meant to be finished. Despite that, the place has a great dancefloor, fun music, and a cool lounge in the back meant to get away from it all. There are Cabanas with Curtains if you want that 'Private' moment as well.

Most of the night was spent observing and taking pictures. At one point I did dance with Ziggy, a younger (I believe latino?) guy in which I'm still wondering as of today if he is of legal age. Yowza. There was this cute late 20's/early 30's guy I've seen at Necto who kept looking at me, but still never went up to me. Maybe next time.

There was a drag show. It was quite scandalous, with a guy who I think got breast implants. I would share pictures, but I want to keep you sane. Instead, here are some tamer pictures.

Here is a YouTube video of the Dance Floor in Action at Backstreet. It's to the music of 'Show Stopper' by Danity Kane.




I ended the night with a quick stop stop at White Castle, just to say I've done it. I got a diet coke and a cheeseburger. I can offically say the Diet Coke tasted better than the burger. Lol.

Ann Arbor: Work , Live and Play

Where I Work

I currently work at Google's Ann Arbor, Michigan office. I've been here for about 3 weeks. I'm normally headquartered in Mountain View, CA, but I've taken on an assignment here to help with the growing office. I'll be here until the end of December. So if you're in town, swing by and say 'Hi'! I've already seen 5 or so people from Mountain View swing by. It seems to be a popular stop. ;)

I'm not missing too much that the headquarters offers (other than the AMAZING people). I do miss being at the *hub* of it all, but It's also great to be at a regional office. On occasion I think about eating lunch at 5ive or Pure Ingredients Cafe, but the catering there have here is top notch (and healthy!).

Ann Arbor has its own flavor. It's young, vibrant, and refreshing. The people are very friendly, down to earth, and approachable. If they haven't met you before, they'll introduce themselves right away. The receptionist, Kim, knows everyone by name. The weather has been okay so far, but talk to me in a few weeks when it gets cold. The leaves are just changing colors and It's very beautiful. The rumors are true. Most people are married or in a long term relationship. But that doesn't mean they don't like to play. They have so many clubs, events, and groups at the office. There is something to participate in virtually every night of the week, if you want.

I arrived with 2 other Mountain View expats, Brittany and John. Brittany specializes in Quality Control (as do I) and John is a master optimizer for client's advertising accounts. Both have a wealth of experience.

Me, Brittany & John

Where I Live

I live in the more suburban part of southern Ann Arbor. The great thing is that there are plenty of places to shop, eat, and relax. All of my favorites are nearby --- Whole Foods, Target, Panera Bread... just to name a few. I also live right next to the local mall, Briarwood. The mall isn't that great, but if you want the basics, it's cool. You have to venture off to Troy for more upscale stores at Somerset Collection. If you want something more upbeat, Downtown in only a short 8-10 minute drive. My office is located Downtown. So I can walk to loads of shops, bars, and restaurants. That's a nice change of pace.

I live with a fellow Googler, Kevin. He's from Google's Dublin office. He's originally from Cork, so don't call him a Dubliner. Haha. It's great to live someone from another country. You get to learn things from a different perspective, but at the same time, see how we're very similar. Our weekly thing is watching Depserate Housewives together on Sunday nights. I found another trashy TV lover! Yay! He's a very funny guy. He reminds me of my Mountain View Cubemate, Ziv.

Kevin & Will

Where I Play

It's been really nice living in the Midwest. Ann Arbor is a very liberal college town, so it's a nice place to live. I go out to bars, restaurants, parks and shops all the time. I even ventured out to a gay film festival put on by the Triangle Foundation & Reel Pride Michigan last week in Royal Oak, a swanky suburb north of Detroit. I went a few A2 gayglers and saw a movie called, 'The Bubble,' A modern take on Romeo and Juliet, but with two men in the Middle East.

Some of the Bars, Restaurants, Clubs, Attractions, etc. I've been to:

• Bar Louie (Ann Arbor Bar)
  
• Zanzibar (Ann Arbor Restaurant)
  
• Arbor Brewing Company (Ann Arbor Bar)
  
• Monterrey Cantina (Royal Oak Mexican Restaurant)
• Pronto! (Royal Oak Gay Bar/Restaurant)
• Necto - Friday Night 'Pride' (Ann Arbor Gay Club Night)
• Royal Oak Main Art Theatre (Royal Oak)
• University of Michigan, Football Stadium (Ann Arbor)
• Cosi (Ann Arbor Sandwiches)
• Borders #1 (Ann Arbor Bookstore)
• The Chop House (Ann Arbor Steak House)
• Leopold Bros. Brewery (Ann Arbor Bar)
• Aut Bar (Ann Arbor Gay Bar / Brunch Place)
• Kerrytown Shops (Ann Arbor Shopping)
• Menjos (Detroit Gay Club)
• Somerset Collection (Troy Shopping)
• La Dolce Vita (Ann Arbor Dessert/Wine/Cigar Place)
• Stucchi's (Ann Arbor Fro Yo / Ice Cream)
• Briarwood Mall (Ann Arbor Shopping)
• Whole Foods (Grocery Store Staple)
• Potbelly's (Ann Arbor Sandwiches)
• BD's Mongolian BBQ (Ann Arbor Restaurant)
  

I have a load of other places to check out. Woot!

Midwest Clubbing with 'My Team'

I've been living in the Midwest for a little less than 2 weeks now. It's been pretty nice. To some extent, I feel like I'm on vacation. I guess this is what happens when I'm in a new environment. I can roam, get lost, do new things, meet new people... all on my own pace.

There aren't too many guys at the Ann Arbor (A2) office that are out. I think that's the benefit of living in the Bay Area. So I'm gonna have to go experience whatever is gay in A2 either by myself or bring some of my girlies on occasion (some have already offered to go). I don't mind clubbing or bar hopping with the straighties every so often, but I do find it pretty boring.

I don't mind going out by myself. But it is weird going out and not running into anybody you know. Like I can go out in LA or SF and run into people every single time. Even if I don't run into people, I feel more comfortable introducing myself to people or I get introduced to others from my current set of friends. I guess it's just a matter of building those relationships and friendships up in the Midwest.

I also think I'm not very proactive when I'm by myself as far as introducing myself to people. When I'm with others, I have no problem. When I'm solo, it's not so easy. Maybe it's because I don't have a second opinion. It's a bit weird and something I need to work on.

So with that being said... I dived into the Ann Arbor gay scene last night. It was surprisingly fun. Where did I go? The only gay clubbing night in the city is held on 'Pride Friday's' at the city's hottest club, Necto. It's typically a straight club, but it goes gay on one night of the week. The layout of the club is pretty nice. It's like basically 3 stories. Top Level is High Energy dance music. The middle level is an outdoor area to hang out and chill. The bottom level, called the 'Red Room,' is more like a bar and the music varies. It can go from hip hop, to the latest tracks you haven't heard, to those tracks from the 80's and 90's you hate to admit you love.

Some things of note:

• Midwest gays really like to smoke, not that the west coast kind doesn't. But it's pretty gross going into clubs in which you can smoke. I also think it's because 18 to 21 year old kids like to rebel and think smoking is still cool.
  
• Ann Arbor guys are surprisingly attractive. It's partly because it's a college crowd, but I was impressed. Definitely not LA cute, but better than average.
• The club was sort of ethnically diverse. Mainly white and black folks. There were sprinkles of Asian and Latino guys. There was one slightly older Asian guy who I thought was hot, wearing a red hat, a shirt from Ruhel, and a blue American Apparel track jacket. It's too bad I never introduced myself to say Hi (just as an experiment in proactiveness). Before the night was over he made out with some fugly white dude and probably went home with him. There were also some cute black and white guys.
  
• It's nice living close to a club. 10 minute street drive home. SCORE.
• Straight girls in the Midwest love gay boys, just as much as everywhere else I've lived.
• Pride Fridays are known to be the best night at the club.
  

Necto on Yelp!
Public Photos of Necto on Flickr

Weekly Recap: 7/9 to 7/15

• Hit my 1 year anniversary at Google. Yay for more perks!
• Lunch on Monday with Tin and Megan to celebrate our 1 year. We went to my favorite Cafe- 5ive. Always solid, simple, and elegant food. We talked about boys boys boys. Yes!
• I visited one of only 12 7-Eleven turned Kwik-E-Mart's. This one happens to be by my work in Mountain View, CA. Very cool indeed. It even has Yelp reviews. Lol. More pictures on Flickr.
• On Tuesday night, I headed to dinner to celebrate the re-arrival of two of my favorite guys- Calvin and Roy. They both returned from being ambassadors in different Google offices abroad. Calvin went to India and Roy went to China. We had a great meal at this Mexican place right next to my apartment called Casa Lupe. It's a nice family run restaurant with solid food. We had a fun convo- mostly consisting of trash talking. But who doesn't love doing that on occasion? We were the last ones in the restaurant and they didn't kick us out. Haha. We then suffered a minimal amount of PLS (Parking Lot Syndrome.)
• This week I tried the equipment at the new gym on my part of the Google Campus. It's pretty big- although not as large as the main campus' gym. However, we have some cool tricked out gym equipment. It has super high tech vibramachines, quadmills and arc trainers. Love it! This will help add a little bit of flavor to my workout routines. Not to mention it's in the building next door- which makes a quick cardio workout a lunch totally do-able.
• Friday night I headed to SF with Mike. We went out to dinner at McCormick's and Kuleto's in Ghirardelli Square. Yes... a seafood restaurant. I ate Grilled Halibut, which I've grown fond of over the past year. We then ate a bit of dessert at Ghirardelli's next door. We tried this new Dark Chocolate Raspberry Sundae. I only had a few bites and let him do most of the eating. Haha. But it was super yummy. We then headed to the 'stro to dance at Badlands. I was happy to see Tommy back as the Bouncer. YEA! The music kinda blew, so we headed to Dragon in SoMA around Midnight. It was 'Flip The Dragon' night. That meant the music on the dancefloors flipped. Hip Hop was on the bottom floor and the dance music was on top. That just made the first floor super crazy. It was nice to see Ty and the gang, though.
• Saturday was super chill. I had a lazy afternoon and eventually added some spice to it. I met up with some Chris M. and James S. at this dive bar in Portola Valley called the Alpine Inn. We sat in outside in vast back patio area. The weather was great to just sit back and have a beer. The weather in the South Bay has been fab. Nothing like a Fat Tire with some straighties. After that, I headed to Palo Alto for some grub at the Counter, my favorite burger place.

• The rest of my weekend consisted of watching trashy TV and making a new music mixes. I totally have fallen in love with this new TV show on A&E called 'Confessions of a Matchmaker.' I also made time for some laundry and working out. Yay!

Sunday in SF: From Dolores Park to Parking Tickets

Sunday was my 3rd day in a row in San Francisco. I honestly can't believe i spent all three days in the city. That's unheard of for a suburbia boy such as myself.

Anyways, Sunday was very fun.

• Chilled with Norm and some of his buddies at Dolores Park. Such a beautiful view of the city skyline. I also find it interesting how the park is segmented socially. The gay guys in one area, the families in the other, etc.

• I managed to get a parking ticket while parking on Guerrero St. It was for parking over 18 inches from the curb. That's just a fancy way of saying I parked in the street. I just saw that everyone else was and I thought it was cool. Learned my $35 lesson. *Sigh*
• We then decided to Salsa dance to a live band at El Rio in the Mission District. It's a mixed crowd, so that was nice. I really liked the band, although I don't really know how to dance to Salsa. I interpreted it in my own fashion. :P

• After dancing, we grabbed some grub nearby at Papalote, a fine not-quite-hole-in-the-wall Mexican establishment. They have quite possibly the BEST salsa I've ever tasted. I'm being totally serious. Great food there.
• Norm, Patrick, John & I decided to head to Badlands to end the night by dancing to some trashy music videos. Quite honestly, I miss seeing Tommy as the bouncer. I heard he was let go. Such a cool guy. Norm knew the door guy, so that's cool. Oh, and Rudy, who I met a few weeks back at Dragon, came up to me and said hello. I didn't remember his name, but I remembered the face.

Hunters Nighclub / Video Bar - San Jose, CA

Friday night was the 'pre-party' for San Jose pride at the new gay bar in San Jose, Hunters. The only other gay club that really competes is Splash.

To tell you the truth, I don't go out socially in San Jose that much. If I did, it would probably be at the more posh (i.e. straight) Lounges and Clubs around the city. I don't mind shopping or having a nice meal in San Jose because it's a pretty nice city. However, I usually keep it low key in Mountain View, Sunnyvale or Palo Alto. If i'm really clubbing, It's in SF.

Who did I go with? Well, I met up with someone I knew in High School, Kyle. He doesn't look the same at all. He brought some of his friends along, like Rick, Mike, David, etc. Someone asked if he knew I was gay in High School. He was like 'Um... Ya! Hello!' We then started to say who we knew was gay at Alemany. Lol. Fun Times.

It was nice to hang out with a new set of people. It's refreshing to have people in the South Bay to hang out with. Kyle and I will probably grab dinner and watch a movie one of these days to catch up. I also (albeit at the last minute) went up to a guy I thought was cute. We gave 'the look' to each other quite often but never went up to each other. While outside, I asked him his name and he wanted my number. He's a nice guy and we chatted for a few minutes tonight on the phone.

About Hunters:

• Parking is okay in the area. You can park at the garage at 2nd and San Carlos with no problems.
• The club has only been open for two weeks but has got some local press.
• The line situation is okay before 10:30pm. However, I hear that around 11 it got really whack. 30-45 minute waits were typical, even, when it wasn't all that packed in side.
  
• The sound system isn't all the good. When I walked in, I was pretty shocked. I think eventually they were able to get the sound levels right.
• The LCD TV's are a nice touch, but often times the 'VJ' playing the Videos had some technical issues.
• There are two patio areas. A small one in front and a large one in back. I wonder if there will ever be a 'front patio scene' a la 'Rage' or 'Fiesta Cantina' in Los Angeles. Places in the Bay don't tend to have a front patio due to space issues and rent prices. I'm also sure Zoning is also involved.
• The main bar area is nice, although slightly small. There is also a nice front section with seats to just chill.
  
• The bar hasn't quite found a personality yet. I'm sure that will come over time. I wonder if they'll have theme nights in the future. (A Dragon-type night would be FANTASTIC!)
• There is small open area for dancing, although no-one really started to dance until midnight.
• They had trashy Go Go boys. Although, none were my type.
• The crowd is really all over the map. I would say the crowd reminds me of Badlands in SF, but with less white guys.
• Drinks are slightly more expensive than the gay bars in SF, but they use better alcohol.
• I'll be back for sure.

Pictures:

Hunters Nightclub - San Jose, CA

So Cal Post 4: The Highlander Reunion & Gay Karaoke (Mon. June 4th, 2007)

Monday night after working at Google, I headed over to lovely Riverside, CA for the annual banquet for the UC Riverside Highlander. After possibly the worst traffic I've experienced in some time, I finally made it to the Mission Inn in Downtown Riverside around 7:15pm. The Mission Inn is by far one of the coolest landmarks in Southern California.

I parked on the street and walked up to the hotel. In typical fashion, there was brand new Lamborghini parked outside. I made my way to the Spanish Art Gallery room only to find not one single person I know. I called James in a panic and found out that James, Brian, Milt & Steve were at the Bar. I met up with those guys. I haven't seen some of them in years... so It was pretty damn fantastic... just like old times.

We eventually made our way to the banquet in the Spanish Art Gallery. I saw more familiar faces like Joe, Danielle, Mrs. B., Zuhair, Chapman, etc. However, it made me miss all of my old co-workers who couldn't make it.

After drinking alcoholic drinks, long conversations, picture taking, grubbing, laughing, trash talking and the awards ceremony, the banquet had ended.

What is a post-college student to do? Fear not! Karaoke at a Gay Bar to the rescue! We headed on over to The Menagerie, one of a whopping 2 gays bars in Riverside. That's not bad, considering how conservative the city is in general.

We sang a mix between 80's songs and boy/girl band pop. James got into the Karaoke a lot. He kicked off the night by singing a drunken version of 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' by Bonnie Tyler. Make sure to check out the karaoke video on YouTube! We sang a group version of 'Come Sail Away' by Styx. Lastly, Chapman and I butchered a Spice Girls song.

We parted ways after Karaoke. I however, got a little reminiscent about Riverside. So I decided to drive random places around the city. Mainly spots around the University, Downtown and Riverside Plaza. I'm still amazed at how quickly things change for the better in Riverside.

Highlander Banquet & Reunion - June 4, 2007