Sometimes some things go in "fits and starts", and then sometimes you go from nowhere to Hollywood in what seems like a flash! This day was like that for me.
A couple years ago I had a makeover in another city, then went to a bar to hear a band for a couple hours with a couple girls. It was interesting, and fun, but short. Other than dress while driving on a few road trips, alone, I had not been "out" at all before, or since.
Last week I was down in LA and went to Hamburger Mary's for TGirl Tuesdays and Karaoke with a girl from this forum, Carmen. It was a lot of fun, and I plan to go again when I am back down.
On Thursday I decided to see the drag show (as opposed to drag races) at the Velvet Lounge in Santa Ana, as I had never been to one. It would have been a lot more fun if I had been with friends, so next time I go it will be with friends.
But Saturday was my day! It started with a make-over at Macy's, and the MAC artist who did me up, and taught me a lot about what works best for my complexion and color, and how to apply it, was awesome! Then I drove, en femme, to meet up with a couple girls I had met here in the forum, but had never met in person, Eryn and Persephone. We met at an upscale mall, The Beverly Center, walked around a bit, and in time decided it was time to go do the other things they had planned for the day. Persephone had a large car that held both of them, plus their spouses and I, very comfortably.
Now until recently I had never had a dress, and only wore skirts and blouses when I was driving. But I had recently bought a couple dresses, and was going to wear one for the first time in public. With the fresh makeup, and fully done up, I realized I could pass easily, and was ready to go. As we walked around the mall I realized that nobody was looking at me more than they were looking at anyone else. I blended right in - I passed, as did Eryn, Persephone and their spouses, of course. Eryn and Persephone explained it to me later in the evening. They said "Men always look at you. Its not because they 'read you', but because they look at all women. That's what men do. They look you up and down, and when they realize they are not going to make it with you they look at the next woman. Watch them and you will see this. And the women look at you, too, but for a different reason. The women look because they are comparing themselves to you, checking out what you are wearing, and so on, depending on who they are." Sometimes both the men and the women are just scurrying along, headed somewhere, doing their own thing, and they do not really 'see' anything or anyone. Other times they are paying more attention. That helped me feel more relaxed, even less conspicuous, and as we walked around I realized that nobody in the whole mall was paying particular attention to anyone, and certainly not to me. It was interesting to see the reflection of people in the large display windows, and then realize that I was one of them!
First they took me on a sightseeing tour of the city, and pointed out where parts of various movies were filmed. About dusk we arrived up at the Griffith Observatory. We toured the whole facility, along with hundreds of others, including individuals, family groups, tourist groups and droves of young and old couples. Nobody paid any attention to any of us, even when standing in line to use the loo, or in the elevator changing floors. The view of LA from the outer walk is stunning at night! We then went to West Hollywood, and they pointed out where more movies or TV shows were filmed.
Then we went to The French Quarter restaurant for dinner. Excellent food, excellent service, and nobody noticed I was "fresh out", so to speak.
On Hollywood Boulevard we walked the Walk of Stars, and I took pictures of many of my favorites, including Henry Mancini, Barry White, The Original 5th Dimension, John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Michael J Fox, and others, as well as some of the handprints, footprints and quotes in the Hollywood forecourt of the Grauman Chinese Theatre. Now, there were some pretty interesting looking people down there, both in and out of costumes, and with many hundreds of people milling around at any one time, and people coming and going all the time, and everybody was there to 'people watch', nobody noticed me, Eryn or Persephone, or their wives for that matter.
After some more walking around, and hearing more stories about the city and various industries and people, we went to Greenblatt's Deli, next to The Laugh Factory, for dessert. Persephone had been making some calls, and since her son lived near, he and his SO walked over and we all sat and talked for another hour, maybe closer to two. It was delightful, and everyone was so nice.
By the time they had me back to the mall's 24-hour car park it was after 1 AM, and there was only one other car on the floor I had parked on - but the automation worked right and I drove my car out. Fourteen hours after my day had started at the MAC counter at Macy's I was back at my hotel, having just spent One Awesome Day.
Many thanks to both Eryn and Persephone, and their fun loving and friendly wives, for going way far out of their way to show this girl a good time in LA. I feel like I have some true girlfriends now, and look forward to many more outings together.
Originally Posted by Nancy Sue
