Wednesday night dinner at Siam Lotus in Beaverton

It is the first Wednesday in July and our group is having dinner at Siam Lotus in Beaverton, this is a new location for us which is always fun. Jennifer was doing tonight’s dinner and had originally planed on Thai Bloom in Beaverton but it turns out they were closed tonight for an extended holiday celebration for the 4^th of July which was yesterday so she had to make a quick change, Thanks Jennifer for the effort. I got home my normal time just before 5 and started getting ready. Now I always look forward to these dinners but tonight I was going to wear my white dress. I bought this dress a couple years back at the end of summer and couldn’t remember if I had ever worn it as you are only supposed to wear white between Memorial Day and Labor Day which is a shame. I actually looked back in my blog and found I had worn it one other time when Julie, Trixie, Cassandra and I went to dinner at Mothers Bistro a little over a year ago. It is a really cute dress though. I was all ready a little after 5:30 and on my way to pick Julie up.

I got to Julies right at 6pm and she was all ready and looking beautiful as always. She had on a really cute black and white dress which was perfect for a nice summer day, yes it is a hot day today, in the upper 90’s. We did have a little time to sit and talk, which is one of the things I really look forward to. For me these dinners really are about getting together with my friends and socializing, for all I care we could go to McDonald as the place is always secondary. The fact I can go out as my female self with friends like any other person is so wonderful. It was about 6:20 when we left and enjoyed a nice drive and great conversation on the way. we got there just before 7pm, parked and went in.

Several of the ladies were already there, Christie, Jennifer, Barb and Chloe, Chloe is our newest member as she just found and joined our group and this is her first outing with our group. It was really nice to meet her and get to know her. She came out as Transgender last October and told her wife and daughter who are supportive and is already living full time. By 7pm all of us were here, tonight we had 8 of us, Jennifer, Christie, Barb, Chloe, Julie, Trish, Claire and me. It was great to see Claire again as she has been out of the country for several months and is actually only back for a month. She was at the opposite end of the table so I didn’t get to talk with her as much as I would have liked to. It was also great to see Christie out again. She doesn’t get out to often as she lives a little south of Portland although she did drive up and join me at Starbucks back in early January, and also at the Escape back in February so it is always a pleasure to see her. she sat almost across from me so got a good chance to talk with her.

Our waiter came and took our orders and I ordered their Chicken and Broccoli in peanut sauce. Now as I said these dinners are really about the people. I am kind of a plain food type girl and not big on spicy food so yes Thai food is not my first choice as some of the places we go I would not pick if it was just me going out but I can always find something I like on the menu. In a way this group really has broadened my life, I joke all the time that if you told my friends who only know my male self that you saw me in a bar dressed as a girl they would be more shocked I was in a bar then how I was dressed and the same thing probably goes for Thai, Indian or Mexican food places and for that matter probably even Starbucks as I don’t like coffee. As Susan I do go a lot of places I wouldn’t normally go as my male self. Now as I said the dinners are about the social part of it and even if we went someplace that had nothing I would eat I would still go, I would just have a big lunch and then just have a coke to drink at dinner while I enjoyed the company of my friends.

Our food came and by the way the chicken & broccoli in peanut sauce was incredible and I would highly recommend it if you ever go here. We had a great dinner and great conversation and yes I did eat all of my dinner but probably should have taken some home as it was a lot of food especially after I added the rice. Chloe seemed really nice and she will be a great fit to our group. Now sometime when I say things like that people wonder I mean and it is simple, we have a very diverse group, and by that I mean all areas of the gender community but also in what they are looking for in a group. Some are just looking for community and use the group to listen or make contacts, some are from out of the area and don’t get to Portland very often, others like the zoom calls and then there are those who go out. We have over 230 members and about 50 go out sometimes or come to Portland, and out of those there are about 20 who go out regularly. Again I am not saying one is better then the other as we all have our own lives and needs and our group hopefully can meet everyone’s needs.

It was a little after 9pm when we paid our bills and called it a night. Julie and I drove back to her place and talked the whole way and I really do like this. For years even when I first started going out I didn’t let anyone get close to me or know to much about me. Now I view some of these ladies not only as my best friends but more like family. We talked a little about Cassandra, her and her wife moved to Las Vegas a little over a year ago and I do miss her, I text her some but I really do need to call her and talk with her as she also played a big part in who I am as she founded this group. It was just after 9:30 when I dropped Julie off at home and made the quiet drive home from there. It is always sad to see the evening come to an end but I will see them again soon. I really do have some incredible friends.

Now I am looking forward to the weekend and some more Susan time.

Thanks for reading my blog and sharing this part of my life with me.