My Mr. Right List

I'm 23 years old. 23. Twenty Three. Meaning I am reaching middle age in gay years. LOL

I haven't been in a relationship. I haven't kissed somebody and felt butterflies. I've never held someone's hand and felt that warmth and energy tinge between our hands. I try not to, but I often begrudge my friends for the lurid stories of relationships, breakups, makeups and romantic getaways they have. I can't relate to their experiences. Of the sustained "relationships" I have had in my life, all ended badly or  on rocky terms. None lasted longer than 2 months.

In analyzing the why and how of my lackluster romantic life, I've talked to many close friends about the situation. They care and they've told me those platitides and polite answers that friends are supposed to say to spare your feelings " Your cute, your smart, your time will come, blah blah." The answers are appreciated and pique my confidence for a moment, but I know that I need more unbiased, biting critique into what I'm doing wrong. I am asking myself the questions about who I see myself as, and what qualities I want in my partner. I often have heard and seen the quote. That you can't wait for Mr. Right, you have to BE him first. So what qualities do I most want?

1. Intelligence

Lance Freeman, Associate Professor at Columbia's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, leading expert on gentrification

My Mr. Right will be smart, hopefully smarter than me. I don't mean to say that in a way that suggests I figure myself a genius. I don't. I have been humbled more than enough times to realize that. But I want somebody who challenges themselves and the people around them on an intellectual level. I want him hungry to know more about the world around him, think critically and have a unique and thoughtful opinion.

2. Handsome

Laz Alonzo, Actor (Jumping the Broom, Miracle at St. Anna)

Ok, I'll be real with you. Attraction is necessary. Having somebody who is somewhat easy on the eyes is important to me. I don't need a model or a Laz, but somebody with a striking face or a quality about him that makes him noticeable in a crowd is important. I want him to be somebody that I would be proud to walk into any room hand in hand, be it my parents living room, a gala function, or the neighborhood dive bar.

3. Quirky

Donald Glover, Comedian and Music Artist

He has to have some quirk. I like weirdness, it makes things interesting and sets you apart from the crowd. I don't need anybody who is the kind of weird that would have them on a show on TLC or anything, but enough that you have a different taste in music, or you have a slightly different style of dress. Maybe you enjoy watching Indian films, or are an experienced tap dancer, anything that is an unusual interest/quality that is an indelible part of what makes you you. A quirky man that owns his weirdness in a way that makes him fresh and unique.

4. Conscientious

Van Jones, Founder of Green-4-All and former White House Advisor

There are so many issues and concerns in the world, and I can't imagine myself with somebody that does not care about something beyond themselves and their family. I think a man that has great concern for his community over issues that extend far beyond his personal view is a very appealing quality, and proves he has heart.

5. Spiritual

Michael Beckwith, Pastor and New Age Spiritual Leader

Like India.Arie sings in "Ready to Love," I want a man who respects the spirit world. He doesn't need to be a Christian, but he should have values and core beliefs in a power greater than himself to guide him through his daily life. If he is a member of an established religion, I want him to be able to critically consider his faith, and be able to discuss it openly and freely with those that may not agree or find fault with it.

6. Passion

Lenny Kravitz, Musician and all around sexy MF

You gotta' have that extra something. In your eyes, or your smile. Your walk, or your words. Something in you should reveal an underlying energy and zest for life. I use passion here in a less obvious way (no I don't mean 'swag') This passion might reveal itself through your daily activities, your social life, your extra-curricular, or just in conversation at home. Some part of your life should have a burning light that shows the world just how alive and awake you are to it.

This list is far from perfect, but just a few things that I would notice and find appealing in a man, my Mr. Right. Some of them overlap, and some are less tangible than others. But I'll be able to recognize them when I meet him, that proverbial him. But, as I mentioned before, if I want these things, I have to BE these things.

Welcome to the Terrordome

That is one of my all-time favorite hip-hop songs. It's packed with energy, aggression and power and speaks to something deep within myself that rarely shows it's head in public. Gems like " dropping a bomb, brain game, intellectual Vietnam", "Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamp" and "It's weak to speak and blame somebody else when you destroy yourself" are like candy to my ears. The Terrordome to be conjures up a place of fear and isolation that exists in your own head. In this place you are in a mental prison, where resources are scarce and nothing is sacred or familiar. I often look out of my overpriced graduate housing window and imagine that I am in a terrordome. Often I don't even have the pluck to go downstairs and get something to eat, out of fear and laziness. I can think of no shelters, no safe places in Philly for me.

What is a safe space? For me it's a place where I can go and just be. Not feel like I am lurking there or that I can't stop for a minute to take a breath. In Atlanta, I had the townhouse, apartments of friends, my favorite restaurants, even parts of Morehouse were comfortable for me. Here, not so much. Is it my fault? Yeah, I must admit that. Again those coarse, ugly human frailties got me again. I have a lot to do. And blog, I know you know that. I always have a lot to do. What's different now is that I am the catalyst for where and how my life goes at this point. No college, no parents to answer to. I have to make decisions about what I value, how much work I want to put it, where I want to work, where I want to live --- and that is scary. It should be empowering, right? I mean, at this point I should be moving into a wider circle of friends, experience and knowledge to be able to rock through the rest of my twenties and solidify the person that I want to be.

I have a habit of perceiving the environment I am in as hostile. No matter how or what situation I find myself, I end up slightly hating the people around me, and believing the universe is conspiring against me, to thwart me so that I end up in some dire state. I'm so kind to myself, right? I do it because it's an easy way for me to rationalize why I feel I was slighted by fate. I could go on about the many things I see lacking in myself, the good things are not plain to me. But my perspective, my negative one, so colors how I experience the world, and I'm tired of wearing these glasses of blue (sorrow), black (despair), yellow (anxiety/irritation), and red (anger). I probably wear the black and yellow shades the most (Wiz!), and it gets tiring. Sometimes it's enough to make me want to break down and cry, which I did a few days ago.

I'm working through a transformation on how I see myself, the world, and my place within it. Although I am world's happier and more fulfilled than when I first started blogging, I have a long way to go. There are so many things I want to do and experience. I want to fall in love, I want people around me that rely on me and vice versa, great career, a nice home, travel abroad, etc … Things I want so badly for myself but I recognize won't come about if I don't get my act together. I can keep living in a fog to avoid these choices and decisions I have to make about my life. They are challenging, scary, but real. The longer I put them off means the longer I keep myself from growing into the person I am meant to be.

Ok, time to get back to work, but I will be musing more on this, as I prepare for my first appointment with a therapist here. Funny the appointment was made over a month ago, that's how "busy" they are here.

 

I went to the rumbar event tonight. It's hosted by one of Philadelphia's few black gay socialites. And he's a nice enough guy. Always friendly and sociable. A good mix of people attend and it turned into a friendly, lively atmosphere.

I just wanted to leave. I had dressed up in my new clothes, but still had the same attitude. By 11 I was ready to go. I do t know how to crack that code of meeting people and getting to know then. Frankly drumming up and continuing conversation gets old. People love to talk about themselves, I get that. But sometimes I get tired of asking questions and fishing for ways to keep the conversation going.

I just wish I had somebody around for me, that was interested in me and saw something special and interesting in me. I know you have to do that for yourself, but I find myself hating the fact that nobody else seems to care. I think about how I don't have a support system here, and how I'm failing at the basic stuff.

It's selfish and lazy, but i just wish I didn't have to jump these hurdles. My personality and disposition never lend me any kind of social grace or charisma. People just see right through me. It's an uphill battle with everything in my life and it doesn't get easier. I'm just so tired of it all. Sick and tired. Where's my rainbow? When do I get my place in the sun? When do I have people around me that I love that love me back?

Well, my mind is a jumble right now, a lot going on. But I feel like I am finally getting my shit together. I feel energy and good things coming and I don't want to misstep.

Hopefully I'll keep a promise to myself and write something everyday. Since I love to get lost in my own dream world maybe this will be a good way to stay grounded

Feel

I broke up with DREX. He asked me if I really wanted to be in a relationship with him. Was my uncertainty that obvious! *sigh* he deserves more than i can give at this point. I don't know if I'm capable of connecting with anybody ... So lost in my own head and disconnected from life. I hope soon I will find somebody and feel passion and emotion toward them. But I won't be able to do that until I like myself.

DREX I'm sorry I led you on the way I did, and I wish you well. With your energy and personality I'm sure you will find what you are looking for.

Meanwhile, I learn the hard lesson of not knowing myself or being confident in myself ... I'm scared for the future. I always push people away from me out of fear and misunderstanding. I do need to be in a relationship, but I think DREX was better emotionally equipped and self confidence enough to carry through with it. I am still wading through the same immaturity and fears. This is hard.

I hope, before it's too late. I find somebody whom I can love and feel emotional toward without fear ... Or of it will ever happen

Dour thoughts, but I'm just musing in my head why I keep messing up.

Renew

I'm in a relationship with somebody. A sweet guy that I'm going to call here DREX. DREX and I met at a random event on campus, and I have to admit, he is younger. MUCH younger. DREX is a freshman at a nearby school. He goes to the fratboy and house parties, he does hookah bars with friends, he's still learning about college and what he wants to do with his life. We kind of fell into this "thing" together, but I don't know where it's going or what it's expected. Problem number 1: Little Communication. DREX and I have a lot of sex. A LOT. It's mostly a sexual relationship, and this is strange but I'm ok with that right now (Yes, I know). I'm so busy with school and getting my career networking jumping off and based on past experience, or lack thereof, that my expectations of finding anybody nice were gone. I didn't expect to meet anybody really. I like him. And he likes me. He's not crazy, has a good head on his shoulders (engineering major and in ROTC) and he actually enjoys spending time with me.

The issue I'm grappling from yesterday is how to reconcile being a good guy. I have been messing up with school, there is something in me that seems to want me to fail. It's scary and depressing but I have yet to get the mind over matter to deal with it. I will spend hours listening to music to escape the sinking feeling that comes when I think about it, just to numb myself. I love this field, I had dreamed and prayed to get into a great graduate program. By the grace of God and good luck I did. But now, I'm continually shirking off work, fading into the background in class discussion, and find myself running away so that I do not have to deal with my own small failures. I have let in the same demons and negativity hinder my progress like they did at Morehouse. How did I come to such a pass? Oh, the warning signs were there. Shirk a project here, avoid a reading there, eventually it builds into an inertia of being unproductive, then panicking at the 11^th hour to finish. How do I get out of this mess? Renew.

DREX is awesome, and I wish we had met in another time in my life. I don't think I'm ready or able to give enough of myself and be the guy he deserves. I haven't cheated, but I'm not all the way there with him. It's painful for me to think about it, but damn I'm not a "good person" right now. Blog, I have done some awful things in the past, things that tested my own sense of morality. I have these goals of being one of the "good ones," The ones that have a nice personality, confident and sexy without being arrogant, not over their heads in drama, with a strong core of friends and either in a stable relationship or happy and single. I think that these are attainable, but I have to build the willpower to do so. Mind over matter.

I don't know what to tell DREX, but I at least want to communicate with him about what our status is and what we expect from each other. Do I feel a passion for DREX? no. But at this point, I'm afraid that I am so numb to the world and to myself, that I can't feel a passion for anything or anyone. In the past, I have felt strongly for people, but that seems to always coincide with somebody that DIDN'T want me. Here I have somebody that calls me "baby" and I'm ready to do a Kanye shrug. Something is seriously wrong with that.

I'm going to be blogging more, because I need a greater level of self-assessment to stay on track and help me break against the dark, empty places in myself. I can't keep doing the same BS thinking that things will change. I have to change. I have to renew.

 

My Drama-Filled Thanksgiving

Hi blog. I know it's been a while. I haven't done much self-reflecting lately, but recent events require it.

I left Philly to spend Thanksgiving with my mentor, JG. He lives near Lincoln Park in DC. I was excited to get out of Philadelphia for a while to experience my favorite city. I had worked in DC in the summer of 2009 and fell in love with the city – the neighborhoods, the architecture, the professional culture, and the monuments – bliss lol. Once I arrived, JG abruptly informed me that his "husband" would be joining us. Husband? Wait? HOLD UP? JG and I haven't been as close as we were in the past, so I had no idea about this "husband".

I rode the Mega Bus down to DC Tuesday night. JG picked me up, and we headed out to pick up his "husband" Kenny. Now JG is educated, Ivy League and HBCU graduate. He has worked in government for the past 8 years, and now makes a handsome salary working as a point person on important national level projects. Career wise he has done very well for himself. Now Kenny … JG met Kenny in Atlanta in 2008, they had had some hard times then, and I assumed that JG had let him go. I was shocked to find out that not only had JG continued to date Kenny, but Kenny also moved up to DC. They weren't living together, yet they had built a relationship together. Kenny is from Florida, and works at Best Buy (no shade against people that those words describe, that is literally EVERYTHING I know about Kenny). My first impression of him was that he had been through something. You know when you meet some people and they just appear shell-shocked? Well Kenny appeared far gone. Frankly, I was surprised and disappointed that JG was dating HIM. In a later discussion, he told me "back2life, I'm tired. I have spent my adult life working HARD to get to where I am. And nobody ever notices. I want somebody for myself." Well, who am I to judge?

So Wednesday went well, JG started cooking for tomorrow's dinner that night. Thanksgiving morning, apparently they had had an argument, and I could sense a lot of tension between JG and Kenny. JG had texted me to talk to Kenny, who then proceeded to try and leave. I talked to Kenny, not to reason with him, but just small talk to ease the tension, and it did. They finished the rest of the cooking for the day, and we ate with a pretty good vibe between all. After we were all sufficiently full, JG, still somewhat mad at Kenny, was going to drop him off at home, and come back. When he returned, he had this look of despair and trouble in his face.

Kenny and JG got into altercation in the car, with Kenny attempting to open the passenger door and go out into traffic. James wanted Kenny to get out, but not like that. He managed to keep him in the car until he rode up to his house. They continued to argue and Kenny then put his finger in JG's face and said he wasn't leaving the car. JG then opens the passenger door and grabs Kenny by the throat demanding that he leave the car, and Kenny obliged him. I heard this story through tears as JG struggled to tell me how their relationship had been his emotional hell over the past two years. For him, Kenny continually complained of his miserable new DC life and seemed unable to find any direction or "fresh start" here. JG was tired. He had yet to break into the socially stratified DC scene, particularly for black gay men. His loneliness and sense of low self-worth compelled him (in his words) to tolerate Kenny, neglecting work and other personal goals to attempt to attend to his needs. He didn't tell me the full story, but I understood that my initial misgivings about Kenny were not unfounded.

Later that night, I was downstairs at JG's house watching "The Beyonce Experience," and there was a ring at the door, then loud knocks. Kenny, in a rage, angrily demanded that JG "bring his faggot ass outside. Be a man ..." and loads more I dare not repeat. JG is on the phone talking to … somebody and I am now started to get scared. Then Kenny runs to the side of the house and is banging on the kitchen window. At this point, I'm freaked out, I put my shoes on, grab my coat. I'm texting SIXTYNINE at this time, and he's like "Get out of there," which I do consider, but I did not want to leave JG in such a pass (although, I admittedly would not be much help from a fighting stand point) Then Kenny strangely walks off down the street. At this point, I'm confused, nervous, and I agree with JG that he should call the police. Strangely enough, Kenny returns and starts banging on the door again, and the cops arrive in time to ward him off. The officer takes JG's information, and she gives him a big hug and says "you are worth more than this."

To keep it short: JG made a BAD choice. I understand that he has worked hard in his career to get to this point, but he finds himself lacking in the social life department (as I often find myself). Kenny, although unmatched to JG in aspiration and background, helped JG fulfill a void in his life – a boo. So many gay men are in search of the elusive boo. We want him to be the internet ideal, you know, like those likely straight models whose pictures we all swoon over online or those boys when know from work, school or just around that seem to have it all. Although JG is older than me, I don't think he has left this ideal behind yet. And I think he fell so far from what he wanted and deserved that he settled for someone that, education and background aside, was a socially and mentally deficient person. Kenny knew that JG was his superior in more ways than one, and JG did too. How you can date somebody for a year and not trust to bring them in your own house is beyond me, but JG DID.

I haven't fully analyzed what happened here, but I do know that JG provides a good example for me on what not to do. JG is an awesome guy in my opinion, and it was painful for me to see him go through this traumatic situation and break down and cry before the police and myself. I hope it doesn't come to that for me. I aspire to have fulfilling, honest relationships with people that are mentally stable and trustworthy. I just have yet to find many examples of well-adjusted older gay men … particularly BLACK gay men.