Cozmos

So I've been meaning to write an updated blog.. but it has somehow managed to slip my mind the last few weeks. I wanted to share with you my experience at Cozmos. At first when I drove by the shopping center it seemed dead.. but a crowd of loud flamboyant men assured me it the place was open. So I parked my car, (disregarding the parking meter) and put some makeup on and walked to Cozmos. I approached the door and a  young Asian looking guy asked for my I.D. He smiled and said "Thanks Beautiful. Have fun inside. Drinks are free, remember to tip your bartender." I was happy to hear that. I walked in and there was an empty room. At least it seemed empty. Ever heard of the saying "there was an elephant in the room"? Well, that's what it felt like. There were maybe 25 people or 30 I suppose. The young male dancers wore tightie whiteys and were seen across the club mingling with the guests or dancing on the stage. When I first saw the group of girls sitting on the couch in front of the dance floor I thought, "oh great. These lesbians are going to think I'm gay and are going to hit on me." I didn't make a glance at no one. I walked straight up to the bar and asked the only person I considered a friend at this point (the bartender) for a glass of pinot grigio. Secretly, I wanted a beer but I thought the beer would give me a butch look and that I'd get hit on, so I went with wine instead. As soon as I sat down and took a sip of wine a guy approached me. "Are you seriously going to sit at the bar by yourself?" he asked. "Yeah, what's wrong with that?" I said. "Well, nothing. Why are you here by yourself?" "I'm a freelance reporter and I want to learn about the gay community." I said. He introduced himself as Kev. He was one of the bartenders there. He invited me over to sit with his cousin and his cousin's gf. We hung out and talked for a bit. I must admit, my surroundings was very disturbing. It was hard not to notice the 65 year-old-guy making out with his hand down the crotch of a young teenage guy. I was truly shocked at the few men who were there and claimed to be 'straight'. The bartender himself told me he was straight and I saw the owner of Cosmos (who I also met and is also gay) Vito, with his hand on Kev's ass. I was honestly grossed out by everyone there. They all seemed to not care who they were talking to or who was touching them.

My 79st 2 min scare

I had to be at work today at 4 a.m. Where I work isn't necessarily the best neighborhood. I have to go through NW 79th st right off 95 and go east towards the beach a.k.a. North Bay Village. There are always these bums that hang out at the light right off the exit and beg for money. Considering the time I was headed to work (3 a.m.) I made sure my doors were locked. I always try  to avoid the bums that wait so patiently for a stopping car at the light. It just scares me to have someone (who looks like a crackhead) walk up to my car (Being I am the only person at the light) and beg. I usually take the red lights in bad neighborhoods because I don't feel safe stopped alone in the darkness. Anyways, today was different. I actually waited for the green light. The same bum who is always there was there. He looked over at me ( I could see him through the corner of my eye) and when he saw I made no eye contact, he turned around and continued his business. (looked like he was eating something.) I usually avoid making eye contact with bums to avoid them approaching me. So when I saw he turned around, I stared at him. I was thinking about random things that related to him (why he's there, how much it sucks..etc). I had questions that I have always wanted to ask a bum. He noticed me looking at him and seemed kind of hesitant to wheel his way over to me. We exchanged stares. I couldn't help but feel bad for the guy when I saw the he was actually eating something and perhaps just this one time this bum was really hungry and wanted money for food. (which made me feel really guilty about throwing away a publix sub prior to leaving my house this morning.)
So I started scrambling through my purse and he must've have seen what my intentions were because he came over to me. I pulled my window ALL the way down, smiled and gave him what ever change I had in my wallet. All of it. He smiled and said "Oh ma'm thank you so much. God bless you. Thank you for taking the time to help me. Thank you. I have aids and I'm dieing. Thank you for helping me. God is watching you and has seen the good you've done today." I replied with a smile "no problem, thank you." Then we sat there in awkward silence for about 12 seconds, then he said, "My name is Michael. What's yours?" and I replied with "Jackie. Nice to meet you Michael. My brother's name is Michael." The light then turned green and he saluted me and said thank you for the last time.
 I have to admit. It felt really nice. That was the first time I had ever given him money. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I wish I could have chatted with him longer but I had to work. Besides that, like I said, the area isn't a good neighborhood. I was happy to have helped him and somewhat confront my fear. Now I don't have to take the red lights anymore..

An Experiment I did..

I was in Orlando over the weekend and I was wearing a shaw (looks like a hijab) and I decided I would place it over my head to cover my hair the way muslims do. I wanted to see how people would look at me. To see if they would treat me any different. I went to cracker barrel with a group of 10 friends wearing my shaw. They sat me and my group in different tables.  I could feel everyones eyes on me. A few people pointed. Usually when you sit at a restaurant you get bread and drinks first. They didn't bring it till 20 mins later. When they brought bread, they didn't bring us plates. When we asked for it the waitress shrugged her shoulders and said "oh i'm sorry.  i don't know what to tell ya" and walked away. The party that came with us who sat in another table ate and got there check before we even got our food. Considering both tables set our orders at the same time. We got our food an hour and a half later. WE ended up complaining to the manager and got our food on the house. The place didn't seem busy so I don't believe it was because of that. I don't even know if it was because of what I was wearing. Point is, I felt uncomfortable and unwanted. 

I did this as an experiment just to see how others around me would react and treat me. 

An episode full of stereotypes

ok, so this is a show on HBO that I watch.. I find it to be a funny show.. I never realized how much stereotypes there are on shows today..


http://www.hbo.com/eastbound-and-down?cmpid=ABC294#/eastbound-and-down/episodes/2/10-chapter-10/video/recap-10.html/eNrjcmbOYM5nLtQsy0xJzXfMS8ypLMlMds7PK0mtKFHPz0mBCQUkpqf6JeamcjIyskknlpbkF+QkVtqWFJWmsjGyMQIAWCcXOA==

SCRIPPS DAY

I walked out of class today thinking "Wow Reisner really nailed Steve with that Orthodox Jew question" I felt self satisfaction because it was a question that I had never really thought about before and had Mr. Wasserman saying "uhhh, well" a lot. When thinking about diversity and the workforce, I forgot that religion is also diverse( as if it weren't obvious). I never thought about religion as being a factor in a work environment. Steve kept mentioning  how the news rooms have to be diversified. When he was saying that I wasn't thinking about religion being one of the factors UNTIL Reisner raised the question. How do work places work around religion? I really wanted to know the answer to Mr. Reisners question. IF both candidates are equally qualified for the position and the only difference between the two candidates is personal beliefs then how does he choose which candidate he will pick and why? Can there be diverse religion in the field of journalism? What I mean is, If Christmas is recognized by all as a holiday and most places close on these days, does the same apply to an Orthodox Jew who celebrates hanukkah? Would your employer recognize that as a Holiday and give you the day off? I'm intrigued to ask a Human Resource hiring manager. It just really makes you think of how christian religion dominates.