Evenings Out

Most of my life I have been considered a homebody. It's just easier to stay in and watch a movie than to get dressed up, pick a place to go, call friends, etc. Then when you're single there's the added stress of possibly talking to someone new. I'm just not cut out for it. Add on the fact that lesbians travel in packs when they go out and you've got an awful lot of incentive to just stay home, especially since I just moved to NYC all by myself. 

However, I am a brave soul and trying to turn over a new leaf, so I've been forcing myself to at least take a look at the bars and see where I feel comfortable. If all I get out of these experiences are a few new friends or an evening out of the house then I'll call it a success. 

So far I've checked out four different places with varied success. First I went to girlNation, a ladies night at Nation near Grand Central Station. To put it in a word: "Lame." It was very typical with clumps of overdressed, barely 21 year old lesbians standing around talking over a pretty shitty selection of music. There was no bar seating, so people watching just made me feel creepy, and then there were these TVs above the bar playing a psychedelic stripper-esque loop of women's silhouettes dancing. It was lame.

Then I checked out Cubbyhole, an honest to God lesbian watering hole in Greenwich Village where people have actual conversations and the drinks are cheap and tasty. I was impressed and felt very comfortable. I see a lot of $2 sloe gin fizzes in my future....

Last night I decided to check out an Irish bar called Failte (pronounced "falcha", I think) near my classes in Murray Hill. Reviews of the place had painted a picture of a chilled out neighborhood bar with a great beer selection, pool tables, etc. I thought it might be a good place to stop in after classes or in the early hours of a night out. I got there around 9pm and it was absolutely packed with recently graduated young adults. After about 10 minutes it became clear that I had unwittingly stumbled into a frat party of sorts, and the beer selection was terrible: Bud, Guiness, Harp, and Blue Moon on tap with about 10 other varieties available in bottles (but who wants a bottle in a bar? I can have that at home). The good news is that it was so packed that I'd finished my drink before the bartender made her way back and she seemed to forget I hadn't paid so I just left.

After the disappointment at Failte I made my way back to the west side to wander around Greenwich Village (which is much safer feeling at night than one would think) to see what else there was. I found a bar called Lips, which I can only describe as a drag queen's wet dream. The decorations are girlier than any girl would go for and the staff are all drag queens completely decked out. The drinks were very, very strong and there was lots of entertainment. Plus the bartender, Frankie Cocktail, was very sweet to me and welcomed me to New York City with tips of other places to check out.  My roommate's boyfriend later told me their food is surprisingly good and I should check them out for a late night meal sometime. I was also told that straight people love Lips, which I think is funny but kind of makes sense, but on the weekends it absolutely fills with lesbians. 

So I guess finding two good places out of four isn't too shabby, especially in the first two weeks of being in town. I'd like to find some non-gay places that are fun too because I don't like the idea of being one of those gay people who only associates with other gay people. That's just silly. If a place is fun and easy going then I'll probably enjoy it. 

This being our first Friday of classes I don't have anything scheduled for today. I'm thinking I'll eventually do my laundry (fun, fun) and then try to get into a yoga class a in the early evening. I also have a fair amount of homework to do before Monday....