Well, it can be done. I did it. I stayed away from the bar and club scene for an entire month. If you read my two August columns you may have noticed I didn’t provide any tales or updates about recent trips to any bars or clubs, or share my upcoming weekend plans with you.

You see, I was going through a bit of a slump, dealing with various personal issues, and just didn’t make it out.

After a week or two of not going out, one gets fairly comfortable at home. Sure, I kept in close contact with my friends and was no stranger to Hillcrest – I attended several events, jogged and biked through the hood, and even patrolled nights as part of my volunteer service to the fabulous Stonewall Citizens’ Patrol. Mostly, I just really enjoyed my time around the house. During the evening hours I would normally have spent out in a club, I watched movies, caught up with friends, had sex, worked on projects, cleaned the house, ate more than I should have, took evening walks and spied on the neighbors. (Living in North Park, surrounded by gay neighbors, I enjoyed watching the parade of hookups some of my sluttier neighbors brought in and out of their apartments and houses at all hours). At times, I felt like a reclusive old hermit, but I needed the break.

We all need a break sometime. Sure, partying is fun, but it gets tiring. Some weekends, I’d go out Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday afternoons. By the time I’d get home Sunday night I was more exhausted than when the weekend began, and I’d find myself needing a weekend to recover from the weekend. August provided the perfect time to step away from it all and see how the other half spends the late evenings and wee hours of the morning (usually in bed).

Returning to the “scene” on Labor Day weekend, I was greeted by a number of friends and acquaintances who thought I had dropped off the face of the earth.

I have taken extended periods of time off before, and one thing I always enjoy about the “return” is everything seems to be exciting again. The club scene can get dull after a while, but if you take a break and come back, it’s quite exciting.

I hit up Flicks on Saturday because my female personal trainer’s boyfriend entered in the Wet Underwear Contest. This special Labor Day edition of the contest had a higher than usual prize ($500 – usually it’s $100) so the contestant list swelled to 12 (usually there are three or four). My trainer’s boyfriend is a big, sexy guy (who was wearing a cowboy hat), but he was nervous competing against a bunch of toned twinks and other sexy guys. As a previous winner of the wet underwear contest (my turn to brag!) I gave him a few tips. Unfortunately, my tips didn’t work this time, and he didn’t even make it to the top four, but he certainly put on a good show and entertained the crowd.

I planned to attend Rich’s Voltage Active Duty party (I was all decked out in my cute camo outfit), but the show at Flicks went on until about 1:30 a.m. so I just headed over to the famous “meat market” outside of Rich’s to catch up with friends and find out where all the sexy people were headed for the after parties. It was a great night, and I was certainly happy to be back.

On my agenda for this weekend includes a stop at Top of the Park for the famous happy hour from 5-10 p.m. on Friday, followed by an early trip over to Universal Hillcrest to party it up with all my omnisexual friends. I’ll be out patrolling in the Stonewall Citizens’ Patrol vehicle Friday night (going into Saturday) from midnight to 3 a.m. so I’ll be watching out for your drunk ass stumbling down University Ave.

Saturday will include a trip to my favorite Saturday night spot, The Brass Rail, for Sabado en Fuego. This is San Diego’s longest running and hottest Latino night and I encourage everyone to check it out.

Sunday, I’ll probably take it easy but I encourage you to head over to Universal for the “Buy a Bartender Benefit” which will benefit the Stay Classy Foundation. Check out the Out & About calendar in this week’s Gay & Lesbian Times for more information.

Summer’s not officially over until Sept. 22! Enjoy the warm evenings – before we know it fall will be here!