In with the new.

Befriending new gays is very nerve-wracking to me. It's sort of like a first date-- I stress over what I'm wearing, what I say, how I think they're perceiving me. Sometimes I wish that I had a sign on that says, "I'm cool, I promise. Give it a week and you will love me."

I'm in a community theater production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" as Mrs. Potiphar (because of course I would be cast as the Slutty McSlut of the Bible story), and am meeting new gays in the process. It's not a problem in community theater, but I always strive to find ways to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and knows that they can be however they want to around me -- after my years in the gay trenches, there is very little anymore that shocks me.

Making friends as an adult is difficult at times. It isn't like college, where you join a club or have a class and make friends. I'm always afraid that I'm going to come on to strong when meeting new people and somehow alienate them in the process.

In the end, I just rely on being the most fabulous I can be and make sure that they know that I will always have their back and will stop them from leaving the house in ugly shoes and be there for them when they're having a drunken emotional meltdown. As a professional Queer Dear, it's the least I can do.