The urge to enter the real world gets more and more powerful, out and about. (Long).

[yazooey]

Hey Everyone,

It has been just about forever since the last time I've submitted anything to this wonderful community. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season. I certainly did, except for the fact that I wasn't able to dress very much. Oh well, such is life, I suppose.

Well, to make up for the lack of dressing I've been scouting out a couple of TG friendly bars on the other side of town from my home. While running errands I'd drive by to see the "Lay of the Land" during the day time. A tad sketchy of a neighborhood but I gotta check these places out. So, the wife leaves town for the weekend and. . . voila! My chance to venture out of the house en femme, finally.

Now, mind you, I very rarely go out en femme, maybe like five times total in about 23 years of dressing. Lame, I know.

Well, since my last, "outing" I got about 3-4 inches cut off of my mop so teasing it out and styling femme was a stretch, but possible. Now, I don't own any wigs since I have had some hair to work with so I decided to go out and buy some hair extensions and clips and proceeded to cut and sew a set of clip-in extensions the day of my planned excursion. It took about 2 hours to create but once I got them in and my hair styled, all gurly like, it looked good, really good (my personal opinion, of course), all for around 30 bucks on sale from Sally's! So, makeup was next, I went with a lighter (for me) smokey eye, pink lipstick with a red lip gloss on top, brows shaped, etc.etc. As for my outfit: A black with white dot short sleeve top, grey wool below the knee skirt, black hose and black pumps. I was feeling good! I grab one of my wife's many purses, a little coral colored snake skin clutch, pack it with some extra gloss, powder, blush, license, credit card, cash, gum and cell phone....I'm outta here!

I grab a shoulder bag with some boy clothes and shoes, just in case, a sweater and I hop in my car. My stomach filled with butterflies as I drive from traffic light to traffic light all the way to my destination. I finally pull into the parking lot, don't recognize any cars, park, check makeup and hair, apply some powder and some more lip gloss (I love lip gloss! HA HA). I get out of my car and . . .click clack, click clack, walk up to the entrance of the bar and walk right in. There was Karaoke going on, not too crowded, a little smokey for my taste but I felt comfy immediately. A little nervous too. Fidgeting, looking around like a lost dog. So, what else should a girl do? Get a drink silly. I order the most girly drink I can stomach, I bourbon and diet coke (I hate sweet drinks). And this cocktail was certainly more bourbon than diet coke for sure. The bar tender was super sweet. He asked if this was my first time to the bar. Was it that obvious? I said, "Yes." He said, "Welcome, have fun, if you need anything, let me know." I thanked him, turned to watch who was on stage for a minute, then I walked over to a High top table to the side. I was just sitting there enjoying the show, my drink, and of course being out in the world dressed up as Natalie. I was unusually comfortable.

The MC got on the mic and said some, "Blah, blah, blah....Hey, let's do like we're in church and say hello to some one around us in the bar." Oh, s**t. I thought. I just sat there all demure and stuff and just sipped on my drink. Well, in all, three people came up to me and introduced themselves, I introduced myself. I got a couple of kisses on the cheeks, some hugs, it was nice. People at this bar were extremely friendly.

The moment passed, I went back to listening to the singing and my drink. I was getting antsy again, so I decided to walk to the bathroom and check my face. I went straight to the men's room, oops, habits are hard to break. I open the door and there is a gentleman at the urinal who looks up at me, not with a look of amusement. I panicked, do I walk in? Do I walk out? ..... I walk out with a smile and an apology. I'm such a ditz some times. So, I go the neighboring women's room, and look in the mirror and touch up my face, wash my hands and exit. As soon as I do so, a gentleman who introduced himself earlier steps up to me and asks if I met everyone sitting at the bar. There were about five guys sitting there. I introduce myself as Natalie to them all and was about to walk away when one of them starts to chat me up, I decide to take the seat next to him and chat for a few. It was nice to actually speak with someone while dressed. This was new to me. I liked it a lot. After about 30 minutes of small talk, I announce that I'm taking off, he, of course asks where I was headed, I said, "Home." He asks, "Alone?" I said, "Yeah, I'm boring." Smile and leave the bar. As I was about to grab the handle of the door I hear the entire bar say, "See ya, Natalie!" My heart melts, I was so happy. People were nice to me.

Well, it was around 1:30 or so so I decide to hit a gay bar a couple of blocks away. This place was much newer and cleaner, still smokey but hey, I guess it's just par for the course. I show my ID to the bouncer, again, not too crowded a pretty subdued crowd. I grab a seat at the bar. Funny, I thought, I don't think I've ever sat at a bar chair with a skirt and heels on. How do I show off these gams? LOL. Well, again, the bar tender was super sweet, introducing himself. I do the same. I get my drink and drink all girlie with the straw. I never use straws in boy mode. I was just relaxing, looking around when I notice a couple sitting at a table behind me. A SISTER! I got all butterflied up again. I sat there wondering if I should introduce myself or not. I thought, naw. I kept turning around pretending to watch the television behind the couple. She gets up and goes to the ladies' room. She returns, I go to the ladies' room as well. I check my face, touch up and reenter the bar. I grab a seat at a table closer to the couple. I watch the television for a couple of minutes, finishing up my drink and get up. I walk past their table and say, "I just wanted to say that you look wonderful!" She smiled and thanked me. This led to some small talk. I introduce myself to her date as well. He says, "I think I've seen you around." I say, "I don't know, this is the first time I've been out truly amongst people." He says, "Maybe in boy mode." Oh s**t. Oh well. The sister could not believe that this was my first time out. I assured her it was. A little more small talk and I say, "Good night." to the couple. They were super sweet. I say good night to the bouncer and head to my car and drive home.

All in all a very successful evening! I wish I had more to talk about with the people that I met but I was too distracted by the whole experience. It was a blast, nonetheless. Sorry this post was soooooo excruciatingly long but I just had to share.

[StaceyJane]

I'm glad you had a great time.
There is a whole world to explore as Natalie. Enjoy discovering it.

[yazooey]

Thanks Stacy, if only I can just get over the fact that people are not really looking at me or judging, whether they are or not, I'd do a lot better out there.