Right now it's 44 degrees outside with deep blue, sunny skies. It's beautiful. Yesterday the high was 44 rainy, gray, raw degrees. It was, well, yucky. I realize that the northeast is currently saying bye-bye to the remnants of the storm that froze the south but here in Charleston the forecast is nothing but bright. High will reach 60 today, gradually rising into the low and mid 70's by this time next week.
Today is Valentine's Day. I've already said my piece on this so-called "holiday". The best part of my day is waking up next to a certain someone - it really is that simple - whether it's today or any day. I won't delve into that much here because that's part of my life I choose to keep mostly private. One of the things that drives me crazy is people on FB who feel a need to profess how much they love and appreciate their "other" over and over. Why don't you just tell them in person?! Anyway - neither of us needs much in the way of "stuff" to celebrate this day, or any day.
Here's a photo I included in my blog entry for this day in 2007. It seems like forever ago.
Speaking of forever ago, my most memorable V-Day event was doing the Vagina Monologues with a group of other transwomen in LA in 2004. I'll never forget that. I still see that event as something special...I'd love to see that group get together and do it again now that it's 10 years later. Part of the important piece of trans-life is recognizing that there IS life after trans. I've mentioned before that I often wonder what happened to many of the people that have been featured in various documentaries I've seen over the years. Are they happy? Have they moved on in life? Are they even still alive? I realize that it can be difficult - I've been there.
And....Speaking of Facebook, I noticed a story on CNN indicating that they've updated their profile options with regards to gender. Now, instead of having to choose one of the two options there is a 3rd option - Custom - that opens the door to 50 other variations (story here). I realize that some may feel this isn't a big deal but I do. Getting FB to recognize that gender is more complicated than simply 2 flavors is another in these ongoing demonstrations of cultural relevance. I don't plan to change mine, but I'm glad to know that I could if I wanted to. For those of us who are as old as I am, the question ask yourself is whether or not you can imagine having this kind of recognition a dozen years or more ago.
And....finally, speaking of a dozen years ago I'll be speaking at the annual Out for Work conference in Washington DC this fall. I spoke at several of the early conferences so it's nice to see how the event has grown. Riley and his team have done a wonderful job. Anyway, this is their 10th anniversary event and I'm looking forward to this.
At the outset of my transition I was so socially awkward and uncomfortable I can't even begin to describe. Part of getting comfortable with myself was simply becoming comfortable with my discomfort. I think I did that pretty well...more out of necessity than anything.
One of the things that scared me was going to the car dealership. Needless to say, I'm not nervous about that anymore. In fact, my service guy at the local Toyota dealership has become a friend. He serviced my Camry when I had it and has been great providing guidance and maintenance on my Tundra. One of the reasons I bought the Tundra where I did was because of the great job he has done with me over the years. It's about building trusting relationships than simply dollars and cents.
I mention all of this because I brought the truck in for its service today. I haven't seen him in a while due to my time in Nebraska, and it was good to catch up with him. I needed a bulb changed - he did that for free. My backup camera hasn't been working so he called the people who installed it and told them to take care of me. They identified that the camera was bad so they installed a new one - for free. All things considered, I appreciate having people I not only trust, but that I like, taking care of me and my vehicle. Since my dependence on driving is no secret, it's just one less thing to worry about.
Onwards!
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