Thursday, December 29, 2011

Nuff Said

So, tomorrow at this time I expect to be on a plane heading north.  It seems almost crazy to me to leave a place that's forecasting bright sunshine and highs near or above 70 degrees for a place that's expecting snow and rain and cold but that's what's about to happen.

Weather Forecasts:

                           Rochester                                                              Charleston

I hate to dwell on the weather thing, but the fact that I talk about it as much as I do indicates that it's not a small detail to me.  If my family weren't there I'd avoid anything north of Baltimore until springtime unless there was a very strong compelling reason to do otherwise.

Nuff Said.

I started a list of significant "events" in the trans community in 2011 and I want to continue that:

6.  Updates to the Standards of Care by WPATH
7.  Historic statement of LGBT support as US Foreign Policy in front of the United Nations.
8.  Release of Injustice at Every Turn by NCTE and The Task Force.
9.  The NCAA releases new guidelines titled "NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes"
10. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) produced and released a set of employment guidelines for federal transgender workers (see here).   The federal government is the single largest employer in the country so when it sets the bar it sets significant precendents for others.

By all measures, 2011 was a year of significant progress.

I talked with a reporter yesterday about some of the things I said during the CNN Dialogues event in Atlanta last week.  One of the things he found fascinating were my statements about the fact that the LGBT Community is not necessarily one harmonious community where all are accepted and supported.  I think he'll be writing something about that soon, but we talked for over an hour on a wide range of topics and it was actually very pleasant.

One question he asked that I found fascinating:  He asked how much of my day is spent realizing that I'm a transsexual.  It's hard to explain to people that there was a point when that fact was constantly on my mind - suffocatingly so - and the goal of all of this has been to make that fade.  In my day-to-day world I go to work, I have an active social life, I go the the gym several times a week, I've started training with a local university wrestling team and at a Mixed Martial Arts studio.  I'm truly too busy to think about it much at all.  But that doesn't mean that I've forgotten it, either, and things that remind me of it are more of the things I never imagined I'd be doing than concern or want.  He found that fascinating, too.  Anyway, I hope the article comes out ok.

I've been getting quite a bit of what I consider to be "relationship spam" mail on FB lately.  Some of it is from people who I've friended who send me a one word note:  "Hi", or "Hey" or something similar.  I have no idea what they want as Hi seems to be a salutation more than it is content.  Anyway....

I get email from people who seem to think that FB is a dating site.  Here's one from today:
i seems to be new to this online thing and i love your smiles and profile picture.Wowowow , I'm sorry if my wowow scares u , But i feel like i'm looking at an angel right now which is you hehehehe , Lol . Ok , A question Could this be an Angel? Just a view on ur page i feel cool . some people have nice eyes, some have nice smiles, and some have faces but guess what?.. U have all of them, if angels were to be taxed , i would be the highest taxpayer just for u , Oh my Goodness i still can't take off my eyes from ur picture 
Are you kidding me?  Every once in a while someone will send me something that intrigues me but this kind of thing makes me laugh more than anything.  I'm sure these things go out to lots of people and all I can do is hope that nobody takes it too seriously.  Anyway.....Delete.

The most interesting thing in today's T-news is a story about acceptance in athletics that I very much feel. Read it here.  Nuff Said.

I bought a new purse yesterday.  I remember writing a similar entry last year about the personal nature of picking out a purse - it needs to "fit".  My purse and I are getting used to each other now and I'm thinking we'll be together for a while.  We'll see.  :)

I don't think that my view on relationships hasn't changed much in recent years.  Although I like to think of myself as a romantic at heart I don't believe that love can overcome anything, or love lasts forever, or even that there's any such thing as unconditional love.  I far more believe that people need to enjoy it while it lasts as it's far more likely to be a passing reality than a lifelong connection.  That's how I perceive most relationships in life so I guess "love" relationships are no different.

My main "love" song in this regard hasn't changed over the last few years and is probably a glimpse of my darker side (I do have one), but that doesn't mean it's not true:




I love this song.  I listen to it while I'm biking, or at the gym, or wherever and it just rocks me.

Nuff Said.....


4 comments:

Gwen said...

I empathize with your point on the purse. I never had a "relationship" with mine until I got my last one. Once I got it and outfitted it, it bacame "part of me."
That purse is now fraying and I so fear her eventual death. I don't foresee an appropriate replacement.
I guess that's a bad point of view to enter into, but it is what it is.

MCW said...

Donna, I was very sad to read of your belief that love and relationships are a passing reality and not a lifelong connection!

Perhaps your father's explorations of the limitations between science/math and Life can also be applied to relationships and Love, in that each of us places limitations on love by not realizing that we can, or by allowing ourselves to become trapped by fear, or circumstance. Just something to think about. Please be safe on your trip to Rochester and Happy New Year!

Donna said...

Hey Mae: It's not that I necessarily believe that love can't be those things, but I certainly don't believe that it necessarily is nor necessarily needs to be. Just because a relationship, or "love", doesn't or won't last forever doesn't invalidate it or diminish when considered for what it is rather than for what it's not. That's simply the realist in me talking...the romantic is on vacation until the beginning of next year. :)

MCW said...

LOL! Okay Donna, I am glad to see that all hope is not lost for your romantic future! This time of year does tend to be a stark reminder of needs we have not met and hope to attain in the next year. It is often a cold and lonely time. I hope you can find warmth with your family up in the North.