Lannie's San Jose Club Adventures
Last update
13 August 2001
My evening started out with a blind date. Of course prudence dictates that we never meet a fellow without (1) seeing his pic, (2) getting his real name, and (3) grilling him mercilessly via e-mail and phone for personnal details. And (4) of course we NEVER EVER agree to meet a married guy (only married guys that lie about it), because that never works out. But Lannie had an open evening, so I violated all the rules and made an instant date with a sales guy who was in town from LA. The deal was to meet downtown at the bar in Original Joe's at 7pm. First San Jose tip: I found Joe's to be very friendly. I got a lot of interesting stares when I first walked in, but the bar tender was very nice and called me "Honey", and I had no hassles at all.
So the guy (we'll call him "James", so protect the somewhat innocent) starts out with 2 strikes against. One, he didn't pick up on my bid to get a meal out of it. ("Let's just meet for drinks first and see where it goes.") Two, he was 15 minutes late so I had to buy my own first Gibson. But low and behold..he swings, he connects, it's going toward the fence, it's over, Home Run!!!! (Sorry, there was a ball game playing at the bar.) Turns out James is a major cutey, 6 foot tall, blond surfer type, late thirties. Very sweet, and open, and articulate. And he says his business is actually doing well, even in this down economy! Anyway, he REALLY dug me, and I dug him, and a couple of Gibsons later (did I mention that Lannie likes a drink?) I am in his car headed for the De Anza Hotel.. Then, "Ring Ring," the fucking cell phone! And don't you know it's the wifey, and suddenly my sweetie is all, "Oh I'm sorry, but I can't do this, please forgive me.." And Lannie is out on the street. See rule #4 above, NO MARRIED GUYS!
It was still early, so I went to Camera 1 to see Hedwig and the Angry Itch. SJ Tip #2, Camera 1 was completely TG friendly. I think I freaked out some poor guy though. I spotted a fellow sitting all alone before the movie started, so I went and sat next to him and chatted him up a bit. I figured after all, he's here to see Hedwig, so he'll probably be thrilled to meet a Hedwig! But he was all one-syllable answers and afraid to look at me, poor bastard. I gave him a break, and when the movie started, I told him I needed to move to the middle for a better view, and left him to his own devices.
Sorry to report, but Hedwig was a total bore. Maybe I was just too drunk from the Gibsons, but it seemed to have no plot or narrative to it. (But it wouldn't be the first time I misjudged a great movie due to Brother Booze--has anybody else see Hedwig?) After about an hour I left to use the bathroom, and never went back.
Next I headed down the street looking for dance clubs, because Lannie loves to dance! The Usual seemed to be the hottest, so in I went. Ladies, SJ Tip #3, I had a wonderful time at The Usual. The music was loud techno with a heavy beat, and the dance floor was busy but not over crowded. It's a medium size club, smaller than the DNA in SF, maybe abut twice the size of Trannyshack, but MUCH cleaner and nicer. They have air conditioning, which is a biggie for me because I "glow" like a bitch in hot clubs, like TS. The crowd was mostly pretty young and I guess hetero, although I saw some GG's dancing that may have been les or not, who knows? Who cares? In any case, mostly white yuppy-ish types--not that I have anything against your more urban types, but they do intimidate me a bit. Anyway, I had a fine time and no hassles, very friendly.
Then I thought I would wander down San Pedro Square way and look for the Agenda or whatever else trouble I could get in to. Turned out to be a pretty long walk and my high-heels were starting to cause soreness, so I never made it that far. (Oh Goddess, I forgot the fashion report! I was in a very short straight black skirt, high-cut Hawaiin punch colored tank top, and black strappy sandels with 3" semi-chunky heels. I had my long red hair in pony tail carried over my left shoulder--is it called something else when you wear it to the side??--but some time at The Usual I took off the crunchy and let it flow, with just a clip in the back to keep most of it from flying in my face.) But somewhere along the line I found another small dance club, so in I went. I can't tell you its name and I could probably never find it again, but I had more fun dancing and again no hassles. Tip #4, my conclusion is that downtown SJ is just plain TG friendly! Let's go, girls!
So Lannie decided she had enough fun for one evening, and headed back home to Lannie Acres. But then a very weird thing happened. As I took the connector from 280 to N. 880, what's this? There's a car flipped over clean upside-down, and a big old truck, completely blocking the ramp. Shit, what do I do? Apparently it had just happened, because there were no cops or ambulances, and I was the only other car there. It looked like everything was under control so I didn't feel like I needed to try to help (or maybe I'm just a selfish bitch) so what I did was, I slammed it into reverse and went back up the ramp, and continued on 280. I got off at the next exit, Saratoga, and what do I behold but Tinker's Damn! (Saratoga and Steven's Creek.) I had heard TD was a gay bar, possibly with some TG action, and I had been meaning to check it out, so it seemed like the Goddess had willed this for me. In I went. Final SJ Tip for you all, TD is a great place! I was afraid it would be a sleazy dive, but it is very clean and ritzy inside, probably recently remodeled. There were a handful of gay guys and a couple of trannies inside. Everybody was really nice to me, and for the first time all night (not counting James and the poor smuck in the movie theater) I actually talked with some people. Final bonus, they have a nice little dance floor, so Lannie got to dance some more. Oh, and the bartender told me that have a drag show Sunday AND Monday night. So I guess I know where I'll be, Sunday AND Monday night!
So there you have it, ladies. TG-friendly San Jose, South Bay TG bar, what a night of discovery! This will save some rubber on my tires, because I plan to start enjoying the local night life rather than hauling it on up to SF. I hope I see some of you gals around town soon!
Luv,
Lannie
| Sometimes Lannie dances like this.. |
| And sometimes Lannie dances like this! |
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