Eccentric new guy here

Well, I'm new. Hmmm...what to say? I'm probably not the typical gay male, but then again, who is? In any event, I'm 45, I have a BA in English, I used to work as a Sommelier, and now as a library assistant. I came out at age 16, and was a rebellious, punk rock sort of youth, and that has pretty much stayed with me in one way, shape or form all my life.

I was never too comfortable with the gay 'scene' of bars and such...I wanted to see skate-punk and mohawks, but everyone seemed so preppy. I recall I almost cried when I left my small hometown, and finally got to go see actual gay support groups...I felt very out of place, not being into Madonna/Disco, and all that kind of thing

Well, part of me is very serious: I love art, literature, music, going to museums, nature, hiking. Part of me is very frivolous, and loves comics, cartoons and going to indie rock shows, and living a rather Bohemian lifestyle. I'm also a furry, and I don't mean as in hairy, but as in the fandom...sexually, I am not overly vanilla, and like to be creative, and have fun, pretend to be a puppy, things like that, things that seem to help me not be so serious and help get at my 'inner child', as corny as that phrase is.

I'm very liberal, and am happy I have supported the party that has made gay marriage possible in my state, even if the Democrats seem too conservative for me on a lot of other issues. I plan to marry my partner later this year; it's been 23 years now. I'm happy we can, but upset it will not be recognized outside of a few states...I feel like if we move, we're rather confined.

I write poetry and some fiction, and am planning to take classes to get a masters in Education, and make a career chnage, as this one doesn't pay much, and is all in all rather boring, after a point. This is where I want to talk about things, and will start a new thread: How can I be 'out', as a middle/highschool teacher? The situation seems to pose a lot of tough questions that I've never faced in the workplace, as I've always been out at work.

OK, that is probably way too long.

But I'd love to hear from people, especially anyone in the education field or considering it, or any other gay men out there who feel a bit outside of what might be 'mainstream' gay culture, though that is a loose term.

 

Thanks, everyone for all the warm welcomes! Stiff competition in the eccentricity race, eh? Hmmmmmm...we'll see about that =p

 

Thanks! I was really happy to see it pass here in Maryland.

As for my favorite books, that’s a hard one to limit to a few…but I’ll list some that come to mind:

On a more serious note:

L.F.Celine---Journey to the End of the Night
Carson McCullers---The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Voltaire---Candide
Anne Sexton---Collected Poems

~

On a lighter note:

Raymond Chandler---The Big Sleep, Farewell my Lovely, and all his Phillip Marlowe detective stuff
Gary Paulson---Hatchet (yes, I still read books for a much younger audience)
H.P. Lovecraft---most everything!

As for schools, I think you’re right about where you’re teaching, and the particular school. I’d be teaching middle/high-school English/Writing. Ideally, this would be at a liberal ‘school for the arts setting’, or maybe a Quaker school, or something along those lines.

@Wayne

Thanks for the encouraging examples. I like how you put things in perspective. Plus, it’s not as if I plan to parade about the class making a huge issue of being gay, though I do want to be honest about it, and if I can set an example, that’s good, too. Schools can be pretty gossipy places, especially among teachers…so being married, it would be hard to hide, given my partner has recently grown a rather large beard that looks like it came from the 1800s. I suppose I could stick him in a dress and heels at social functions, and he could talk about his job at the circus, but that seems dubious, at best.

Again, thanks to all for the warm welcomes. This seems like a very accepting, warmhearted forum…It’s refreshing to see.