I really should not drink on a school night - not even a little bit.
Last night, Frontiers Magazine held a big bash in West Hollywood at the hotspot Eleven to celebrate it's LA's Most Eligible issue which featured the marvelous Marcellas Reynolds on the cover and 14 other LGBT men and women. I float in around 7 p.m. and somebody tells me the vodka drinks are free. I like free. I'm standing in line and a real nice guy who I've met at various functions asks what I'm drinking and I say vodka and cranberry. He hands the bartender some money and I think it's a tip so I take my drink and begin my mingle.
Hey! There's Marcellas! I go over and give him a big hug and we have a n ice gab. His friend, a beautiful woman, was late in picking the cover boy up so he was late to his own party. I tell him that it reminds me of the episode of "Rhoda" when Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) forgets to pick Rhoda (Valerie Harper) up for her own wedding!
Marcellas laughs but I'm not sure if it's a courtesy laugh or if he really gets this pop culture reference to this classic episode from the spinoff series of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show.". He IS younger than me. Anyway, Rhoda has to take the subway to her own wedding.
I'm sipping this vodka and cranberry on an empty stomach. Where, oh where are the appetizers? Guys with trays were scattered around so I found one who had little crab cakes on his tray. Very little. Had a few of those. Had a few shrimp another guy was offering.
I run into Chris Lissota, president of the LA chapter of the National Gay & Lesbian Journalists Assn. We had a meeting on Sunday. I was not there. He wonders if I got the e-mail about it. Gulp. I did. I forgot. Chris and I discuss my future on the board. I wonder if I have time to continue to serve after two years with two blogs to do etc. This really handsome (and muscular) realtor is in our vicinity so in an effort to change the subject, I start chatting him up. "Oh, what brings you here?" "What do you do?"
By this time, I've finished the drink and perhaps am a little silly. A really sweet guy who reads this blog comes up to introduce himself and, as a joke, I introduce handsome (and muscular) realtor as my boyfriend. Realtor plays along and tells the guy we've been together for 10 years. It's hysterical. We start making up this backstory and for the rest of the night, we'd bump into each other and keep adding to the story.
Me: "You take such good care of me. I can't believe you bought me that car."
Realtor: "And I'm gonna have it detailed for you too!"
I'm not sure if this is funny to anyone else but to us, it is a riot. My friend Mark Kellam arrives and I say, "Hey Mark! (I think I'm a bit loud by now). He wants to get a drink so I say, "The vodka drinks are free!" We got to the bar, we each order one. i say to Mark, "i shouldn't have another one but I love free drinks."
Bartender serves them up and says: "That'll be $18."
I think he's kidding. I ask him, "Are you kidding?"
He is not.
I say i don't want my drink then (mostly because I only have a $5 bill in my pocket). Mark is just horrified and hands the guy a $20: "I'll pay for his."
Now I'm wondering if that first drink was free...hmmm. Well anyway, Mark and I start gabbing and working the room and I see Michael Kearns whose film, "Nine Lives" had its big screening last night at the Egyptian in Hollywood. I told him I love the movie and had written about one of its stars, Steve Callahan. "I SAW that," Michael said. "I was gonna e-mail you about it."
We're gonna talk solon about an AIDS fundraiser he's organizing. Anyway, say bye to Kearns and tell Mark, "I REALLY need some food" but there is no more. I keep sipping my second drink and we start talking to a guy named Aaron Savvy. Wait, I think it was just me at this point. Mark had gone over to sit with some other friends. OK, so I start talking to Aaron. Why? Well, because he was one of the only guys at the party without a shirt on. He is working as a model tonight, handing out fliers for CityBoyz fashion menswear. He tells me he's a model and a trainer and is trying to get him own reality show off the ground. I'm not sure how that'll go but one thing is for sure, Aaron should be seen SOMEWHERE. He gave me a card and said to check out his MySpace page. And that led me to a few YouTube clips, one of which I post for you here:

Anyway, I got home safe and sound after hanging out for a few hours, having dinner and sobering up. Those not free drinks were awfully strong.