Trying to be...
2003-09-03 - 2:45 p.m.
So, last night's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was all about me.
Not really but:
a) the trainer from NYSC. I know him. We went to grad school together. On our first day of school we were having intense "sensitivity and diversity training" workshops. One workshop included being paired with someone you didn't know, and having to stare at them for 5 full minutes without words. At the end of the exercise, we had to describe our partner, based only on what we gleened from his/her eyes.
I came home that night and talked to D about it, saying how overwhelmingly intense this experience was. It was so incredible intimate that it startled me. Five minutes feel like a lifetime when you are looking into a strangers eyes (and I"m not talking about a creepy stranger on the subway kind of thing - though that feels like a lifetime in a totally different way). Two would-be-social-workers, adept at "reading" people looking deep inside one another.
It moved me almost to tears. And not just because Darcy is so incredibly handsome (the show did not do him justice. His eyes are the most gorgeous shade of blue, and they sparkle. He gets dimples when he smiles, and his skin is flawless. Dare I even mention that his eyebrows are perfect?).
I never had any classes with Darcy for the entire two year program. And yet, whenever we saw each other, there was this bizarre kind of bond - this knowledge that we had really looked, and really seen, who the other person was/is. He's in private practice now (specializing in "gay" populations - coming out issues, relationships, etc). I had no idea he also worked at NYSC.
b)Suede - the club where they went dancing is right next door to my office. No, I mean *literally* right next door to where I work. I walk by it every day, and there are often fancy-schmancy things going on there (random aside: an segment of "To Live and Date in NY 2" was filmed there). I kept expecting to see one of my clients walking by.
What I really expected to see was Charlie from Civ. (formerly from Civ? I don't even know if they are still together). I'm not sure what his connection to Suede is, if he owns it, works there, or has just happened to be promoting a few parties there. But often when I walk by, I see him. We used to know each other pretty well -- we worked together, and I toured quite a bit w/his band. Then we both worked out at the same place, and we would take yoga classes together.
There is nothing more embarrassing than being a beginner yogi and being in a class with a guy you kind of know and who you think is totally hot. Me and my girlfriend would try to get there early so that we wouldn't be near him, or at least would be behind him. Because come on, there is no way I'm doing a Downward Dog with my ass sticking in Charlie's face! (even though technically, if he is also doing Downward Dog, he should be looking at the floor between his shoulders, and not at the ass of the person in front of him).
As I am reading this back I realize that the connection to both of these men is the gym. Apparently I have my physical health on the brain, and as such, all things relate back to the fact that I should be exercising more than I currently am (even though I have just returned from a "lunch meeting" with my boss, which literally translates into "I'll meet you at Curves so we can vent and exercise together").
oh, and for what its worth, I want Thom to be my new snarky best friend. He is so fucking hysterical, with incredibly good taste.
