My boy accompanied me on my recent Palm Springs trip but a bit of bad food got him a little sick, so he spent the evening in bed. Feeling a little cooped up in the hotel room, I decided to head out on my own for the evening. I went to this really hot party at a nightclub, which drew porn stars, local celebrities and other hotties, alongside the usual Palm Springs crowd decked out in their finest Hawaiian shirts and khaki shorts.

Let’s talk about going to the club alone. All of us have gone out alone at one time or another in our lives, and for some reason, it is such an anxiety-ridden experience.

As I approached the club, I drove past it twice just to get a feeling for the place. After parking, I walked by twice, pretending to be on a phone call. Finally getting up the nerve to walk in alone, I headed straight for the restroom. This gave me the chance to scope out the crowd. Once that was done, the next task was to go to the bar and get a drink. When I am alone, I actually hope the bartenders will take their time, which gives me an excuse to stand alone. All the while, it feels as if all eyes are on me, and every person who even gives me a passing glance, is judging me for being alone. Then I went through my phone book texting everyone and made a few more fake phone calls, hoping someone would be nice enough to come up and talk to me.

Eventually, one of the amazingly hot porn boys broke away from his clique of beauties and asked me if I was alone. Of course, I did not want to admit that I was by myself, so I said I was waiting for a friend. He invited me to come over and hang out with his friends, and I agreed. We all chatted for awhile. I had a good time and listened to them talk about who was prettiest. Then I said, ‘I have to go get my friend from outside,’ and I disappeared.

They were very nice guys, but it got me thinking about all of the other men who were in the club, clearly alone. Some of them were older, some of them were differently proportioned or had a different style. Why were they not invited to hang out with “the pretty people.” Why I was I invited, and why were they ignored? This led me to think about my many friends who have recently complained to me about not feeling worthy or good enough to go to certain nightspots because they do not look a certain way, feel their body is not toned enough or that they do not have a certain style. As we approach the Pride season the problem is intensified, as so many gay men are in “ultra-gym” mode, visiting the tanning salon and waxing their bodies to show off on the big weekend.

The point in all this is to remind you that we are all beautiful in our own way. When we go out to clubs and bars, we drool over the go-go boys, hot bartenders and others who have a certain look or appeal, but everyone has a match out there, and everyone is attractive to someone. This Pride season, be proud of who you are and flaunt it! Find your own sexiness and show it off! Be yourself, take care of yourself, have a good time, and don’t worry about what the others around you look like or what they may think about you. You are who you are and are a valued part of our community. I just figured it was time to put that reminder out there. You are all beautiful!

This weekend is packed with fun events around town. My top pick for the weekend is Revive, a new night coming to The Flame. For those of you old enough to remember the amazing Club Hedonism which ran every Thursday night at Rich’s for over decade (from about 1992-2002), “the hedonistic vibe” returns! I turned 21 in “Hedo’s” final year, so I was able to check out this amazing night before it ended. Few clubs in my lifetime have been able to top the experiences I had at Hedonism. Jon Bishop, co-creator of the original Club Hedonism night and Jef Phillips will DJ this event. Revive begins this weekend and every fourth Saturday of each month. While the original Club Hedonism can never be re-created, Revive will attempt to bring back some of the old flame. The Flame is located at 3780 Park Blvd. in Hillcrest. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/reviveattheflame.

That’s it for this week! My next column will come out just one week before Pride and I’ll share all the hotspots!