Birthday Plans

I had the pleasure of spending my birthday in Santa Barbara. That's where I've been for the last week. It took over a month to plan and a week to execute. Before it I went silent as I treated myself to several outings to commemorate the birthday. Then, I got to travel which was super. The day came and went ceremoniously. Of course I got to experience the joy and conversation of strangers as I rang in the day. Most importantly, there was me, in a new place, in a happy place, selfishly enjoying time with me. 

Santa Barbara was great. Beautiful, foggy and cold but picturesque. Once the sun came out the day was set and things got into gear. Spent the morning having a nice brunch at Union Ale Brewing Company which was very hospitable except none of my drinks were comped on account of my birthday. I just thought that was a little heavy-handed. At least give me one drink on the house, I choose your restaurant out of all the restaurants on State Street to have the first meal on my birthday. Not to worry. The bartender at least recommended some great places to spend the evening. He mentioned Wildcat Lounge which was a short walking distance from their restaurant so I decided to check it out. I had a nice conversation with a girl who had come into town from Orange County to spend the day with her friend. She had spent last fall pursuing her dream of becoming a photographer but could no longer afford the tuition so had to move to LA to work in an Orange County beauty salon, dealing with snooty OC women. We ended the morning by toasting with Patron and soda water drink.

I ended the evening by partying at WildCat. The day seemed to be dragging as I had exhausted myself by getting up early, walking the length and breadth of State Street. I stopped by a couple of places and they all seemed to be lounges and bars where people sit around with people they know or arrived there with and discuss how to end the evening. All the other places I had googled that were supposed to be "It" bars didn't seem welcoming to a stranger. I didn't want to be the sixth toe sitting at a bar listening in on some people discussing and drinking, how impersonal and cold. So at 8 I walked over to the Wildcat Lounge.  There were 3 people at the bar plus the female bartender. Get this, Sunday nights is gay night when all the gay, drag queens come to party. Only me would choose to party in a club on their gay night. Why not, their single hunky guys night. I proceeded towards the door but they begged me to stay. Begged. I told them I needed somewhere I could have some fun, after all it was my birthday. That was all they needed to know. The tables immediately turned and they sat me down, bought me drinks and we toasted to me being bold and ballsy to travel halfway across the country to come celebrate my birthday in some bar in Santa Barbara. 

There I was on the evening of my birthday, screaming and shouting as I listened to some drag queens do a hyped up performance of Pink. I am sure there are pictures in some Santa Barbara weekly of me loosing my mind and screaming at the top of my lungs. Funny enough I didn't loose my voice. I partied until it was no longer my birthday it was safely the next day but I still kept on screaming. My guide for the evening told everyone it was my birthday and how I had come to SB to party on my own. That instantly earned me shots along with hearty congratulations. It was one of the best times I've had in a long time. I've been to clubs in Atlanta, partied with the best of them. This was by far the best time. Who knew gay people could kick it up a notch, clearly not I? I would always remember this year, the year that I spent my birthday partying with some drag queens, hooting and hollering at go-go dancers. You cannot make this stuff up!

After all the money spent, the intricate planning, plotting and intensive googling over a 4-6 week period, the late night trip to SB (my plane arrived at 10pm), after all that, it came and went with so much fanfare and the perfect icing to cap the day was brought on by an unplanned visit to a bar. So some things you plan for your safety you plan them, but some you leave up to chance, the God of all single people will look out for you and guarantee you a good time, even though you might be solo.