It was Saturday afternoon and Paige was calling me, that could only mean one thing… she wanted to go to DIVAS. I didn’t have plans so we decided to meet up around 10:30pm and head downtown… I had lost 20 pounds and Paige spent the whole train ride talking about it. “Oh my God, what am I gonna do when you’re all skinny?”, “You’re going to be small and leave me at DIVAS all alone!”, “All the guys are going to be all over you tonight!” When we arrived, the place was packed and Paige and I had to push through a sea of soft bodies just to get to the dance floor. Through the crowd I noticed a guy…
Author: CeCe Olisa
Dating on a Diet: Is he worth the calories?
Autumn in New York makes me want to be in love…. So, when I checked my online dating account and saw that I had a message from a guy named Steve, it was perfect timing. I could tell Steve was creative from his online profile which said he was into things like punk rock, doo wop and that he collected vinyl records. He had one photo, which was an angular close-up of his face, showing his big brown puppy dog eyes through black framed glasses. After a few emails back and forth, Steve and I began talking on the phone. He was from London originally and I loved listening to his accent. We chatted easily, and soon he asked me…
The Craziest Diet I’ve Ever Tried (part two)
I stepped onto the digital scale and watched the digits roll around a bit until they settled on a number, I winced a little and looked away. I had taken off my cowboy style belt because it was heavy and would have added to my weight, but now that small amount I had shaved off seemed pointless. The nurse gave me a big smile and scribbled the number down. “This is the beginning!” she said. And she was right, it was. I had signed up and paid for this medically supervised Weight Management Program (WMP) and there was no where to go but up… or down rather, in weight. After being weighed and a conversation with the doctor who ran…
Big Girl Needs a JOB!
There was still snow on the ground when I looked at my most recent paycheck and decided that I needed a new job. I put my resume up on a career website and within days my phone rang: “Hi, Celeste this is Gina, from ABC Staffing, Inc., I saw your resume online it and looks great! You have a lot of good experience and with your university education, I think you are a perfect fit for a few positions we’re looking to fill. I would love to meet you, when can you come in and interview?” I had just read an article on how in today’s economy, agencies are a good way to find work. I told Gina that I…
The Craziest Diet I’ve Ever Tried (Part One)
It was a rainy Spring day as I sat in Dr. L’s office. Dr. L was an endocrinologist at the largest Upper East Side medical facility in New York. After she went over my results, she glanced down at my feet. “Cute boots,” she said. “Thanks,” I murmured. They were bright orange rubber rain boots with cute little white flowers. A drag queen had given them to me the year before. Usually I would jump right into the random “only in New York” story behind the shoes, but I couldn’t. I was too busy trying to maintain composure despite the lump in my throat. This was a new doctor, but these weren’t new results…. She had run so many tests,…
A Plus Size Princess & Online Dating
In the craziness that is New York City Nightlife, is it possible to meet “Mr. Right”? The general consensus of my single girlfriends, plus size or not, is No. But I would magnify that decision dramatically when it comes The Scene. While many of the plus size divas who attend these events seem to be open to love, the men who flock to the parties seem to view a plus size woman as a sexual fantasy, not a potential relationship. So, what’s a girl who is looking for The One to do? I was brought up to expect certain things from a male who was interested in me. I am looking for courtship, chivalry and of course ultimately… love. After…
A Dating Hazzard: The Dating Drive-by
I was in a bit of a funk, but it was Friday night and Paige was in the mood to do something, so she came over. As we looked up things to do, she came up with an idea to call a driver (yes, as in taxi) that she had met, well… in a taxi. They had been talking for a few weeks. Somehow on her drive home she decided she should show him a picture of ME, and from that point on, he had been calling trying to get her introduce us and according to her he also wanted to hook her up with “one of his boys”. I didn’t care about meeting Driver, but Paige wanted to meet…
*Cricket… Cricket*
I’m going to keep this short. After over a month of follow up calls and promises to make plans, he has fallen off the face of the earth. Don’t judge but… I thought he was The One. *sigh* Unless there is some Universal redemption to this tragic tale of could’ve been love… he is not. I will spare you the “coulda shoulda wouldas” (ranging from kissing him to being 30 pounds lighter) that have been swirling in my head. I don’t know what happened, but what I do know is that I need to keep it movin‘.
I’m in the Fat Girl Closet
The other day, I witnessed someone ask an effeminate acquaintance of mine if he had a “boyfriend”. While this man triggers my gaydar each time I see him, I know that he lives his life as if he is straight. The look on his face was a mix of emotions. It was as if for a moment, he was startled into the reality he constantly works to ignore. The odd thing was that I understood. I understood because, I am in the Fat Girl Closet. It is a rare occasion that I acknowledge the fact that I am larger than most of the people I know. I don’t talk about my weight, instead, I ignore it. I’ve convinced myself that…
First Date: William
William’s work schedule made it hard to pin down an evening to get together, but after five weeks of clever phone conversations and cute text messages, we finally set a date for a Friday night. We decided to grab a drink at a jazz club near my apartment. I kept it simple; black pointy kitten-heeled shoes, a new pair of jeans and a simple black top that showed just enough (but not too much) of “the twins”. He did everything right; politely kissing my cheek, opening doors, pulling out chairs. He was on top of it. It was so refreshing! Our waiter was a flamboyant gay man who gave me knowing glances as he took our order and brought our…
