Living Spaces

Hello reader. I write to you now after surviving my second day of duty as an RA. After finishing my duty at 8am and passing out for a few hours of much needed rest, I hit the news stands. Or google. Whatever.

I read this lovely story on Queerty about we gays getting separate living spaces. And for a moment I celebrated. And then I began thinking about the absolute horrible-ness of this idea.

Can you imagine it? The author of that article admits that it could possibly be a beacon for hate crimes. "We're here, we're queer, we're conveniently all in one place, come beat the crap out of us!" I kid. But is it so far fetched?

But let's disregard the possibility of external violence for a moment and concentrate on the internal. As a first year RA (and a male), I've never had to deal with the dreaded... the awful... the terrifying... ALL GIRLS FLOOR! *scream* You know the floor. There's hair EVERYWHERE. Cat fights every other night. It's not the sexy dream of frat boys everywhere, it's the nightmare that even Freddy Krueger wouldn't lay a hand (claw?) on.

Now think what this would be like, except replace the girls with bitchy queens. The possibilities are endless. I hate to be stereotypical, but lets face it: men are men. And men like sex. Instead of a gay dorm, now you essentially have a bathhouse on your hands. Not only a bathhouse, but the best decorated bathhouse in the country. And impeccably clean.

I'm exaggerating of course. And the article I referenced really referred to an all-inclusive LGBT dorm, not a gay-only one. Even so, I am still torn on the issue. Would we rather segregate ourselves, or go out and mingle? Personally I think mingling is the better option.

For some people, college is the first time that they're introduced to a real live gay person! And wouldn't it be better to continue to introduce the newbs to our community? I think so. Rather than depriving them of their cherry popping experience, I think we should continue to go out into the world doing our good work of getting them better fashion sense.

Oh, and recruit them too. GAY ARMY OF THE APOCALYPSE

On the defensive

Hello readers. I've noticed something. Sadly, I noticed it and composed my thoughts about it while intoxicated. I hope you'll understand if my thoughts are slightly less coherent than usual. We've all had those moments (some of us more than others). Let me have mine.

Anyways, I went out to a bar with my cousin the other day. $1 burgers and trivia? Count me in! I was slightly late, having to take care of some last minute RA business. Yeah, I'm one of THOSE people. Deal with it. Also, it's quiet hours. So shut the fuck up. I get to the bar and sit down at my team table. I forget what our team name was, but it contained the word "poop" and needed to be pronounced in a special way to make it sound funny. Indeed, it was hilarious. I was on the end of the table next to a table of 3 older women. Little did I know the fun I would be having.

For these three women were Britain natives vacationing in America (their team name was English Roses, slightly wilted THEIR WORDS). And what makes a better impression on foreigners than getting drunk and stupidly attempting to answer trivia questions? NOTHING. Luckily, they all loved my antics and we became the best of friends. Well, the best kind of friends you can have for a single night. Throughout the trivia game, we may or may not have cheated by helping each other. What kind of hat did Jacky Kennedy wear to this event?
"Oh dear, she was our idol! It was a pill-box hat, trust us!"
And we did. And we got points. Obviously our trust was well-placed.

I even had a serious political discussion with one of the three BEER IN HAND. Who of you can say that you've done that!? I'm willing to bet that not many of you have.

But throughout the night I found myself reticent to tell them of my gayness. "Why is that?" (I ask myself in my bathroom after getting home that night) "I'm perfectly comfortable telling complete strangers, but not three delightful British ladies?" Why would I be so defensive all night about who I am?

It is certainly a possibility that they would have hated me. But what would be the difference? We all acknowledged that we'd never see each other again. I think it mattered to me because I was having a good time and I didn't want it to end. But it is also possible that I completely misjudged them. For all I know, they could tell! My orientation isn't exactly difficult to guess.

So, to the English Roses I had the pleasure to meet Tuesday night at a bar in Chicago, it was a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry for pre-judging you. I'll make sure I don't do that to the next vacationing trio I meet.