Thursday, March 20, 2014

BB

At the beginning, just before I started transition, my ex-wife did everything she could to try to dissuade me from the path that was becoming clear and imminent to both of us.  She told me that I should enjoy what I had as a guy - that the day-in-and-day-out life that women face gets tiresome and I'd hate it after a while.  She was wrong.

She told me putting make-up on every morning is drudgery.  No....it's not.  At least, for me it's not.  It's a hard-earned right that I still enjoy.  In fact, I enjoy putting it on far more than cleaning it off.  My son used to watch me as I got ready for work while we lived in Austin.....10 plus years ago.  He asked me why I did all that.  I told him it was easy....simply, because I could.

It's interesting to see how a person's make-up "style" changes over the years.  I suppose I've got a "style" now that this has been my life for 15 years.  Early on I discovered that I didn't like or want thick foundations.  Yuck.  For years and years I'd use a tinted moisturizer under a powder...it was light enough and provided enough coverage to do what I needed it to do without feeling like a mask.

Over the years my skin has developed more spots, blotches, and colors than it used to have.  Tinted moisturizers aren't enough to even it all out anymore.  Thankfully, Beauty Balms (BB) have stepped into the middle-ground and provide enough coverage to even it all out  (more about BB Creams here).  I still start with my trusty Oil of Olay as the first ingredient.  Then - I BB.



And bras.  She said I'd get sick and tired of them.  Not so much.  In fact, I don't even think about it.  I remember back to the days before I imagined ever having anything to fill one with and stuffing a bra with whatever I could find.  I love my "girls" and wouldn't complain for a minute about taking care of them.  In case anyone faces making a decision between silicone or saline, I can't recommend silicone highly enough.  I've had both.  One never felt like it was part of me.  The other, well, now I don't even notice they're there.

For a long time I'vs said that I have one more "procedure" left in me.  I'd like to tighten up some of the skin that's left after all that bone was removed during FFS.  But the reality is that I'll probably never do anything about it.  Life has moved on.  More importantly, I've moved on too.  If I get some extra $$$ I'd far rather put it towards retirement, or towards a boat, or on good camera gear, or on a trip to Europe....my bucket list is still as long as it ever was.

I had lunch today with the President of the PRIDE Employee Resource Group for one of the local large companies (I'd rather not give the name...just know it's a BIG company).  They've made Trans issues a main focus this year and we discussed some opportunities they're working on.  I can't help but think how different things are in our world than even a few years ago when trans anything was actively NOT discussed in the workplace.  This person was at the VP level so it's got a high level of executive support.  Anyway, it was a wonderful discussion.

Pride month is a great anchor for people to provide visibility/education on LGBT issues.  When I worked for Dell one of the big events of our PRIDE calendar years was bringing in a big-name speaker.  We brought in Ellen DeGeneres's mom Betty...she was great.  If anyone has influence on these kinds of things - there are a number of excellent experienced, visible speakers that could probably be persuaded to come and talk about the "T".  Just sayin'....

March Madness is ramping up.  Fingers are crossed that 'Cuse makes it deep into the tourney.  I guess we'll see.  :)





Friday, March 14, 2014

Brittle

In my last post I talked a little about Steady State.  In my world, it's an IT term used to describe the transition from development to day-to-day operations.

That's not the case when it comes to the ebb and flow of emotion upon which my life is perched.  Such is the price for being on this crazy hormone-fueled rocket ship that I've strapped myself to.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  But, it can get pretty crazy.

I'm an emotional person.  I still try to control them as best I can sometimes.  In a world where the Yin/Yang of emotional mind vs. rational mind requires me to focus on the latter far more than the former it can sometimes be quite the struggle.

The best analogy that I can give with regards to my emotions is the weather.  Sometimes all is sunny.  Eventually clouds move in for no other reason than it just gets cloudy.  Sometimes the clouds dissipate after a couple of days and all is sunny again.  But sometimes they turn dark and stormy.  That's the ebb and flow of my emotional state.

I sometimes reach a stage where I refer to my emotional state as "brittle".  It's a pre-storm condition where all the elements for the clouds to erupt into a storm are there.  Sometimes something will happen to push it in that direction.  Sometimes it just happens on its own. But it's one of those pre-eruption, bubbling-wit-emotion, something-could-set-it-off states that happens from time to time.

I'm "brittle" right now.  I attribute it to a variety of things - work, moving, finances, relationships, obligations, uncertainty....lots of balls in the air so it's not hard to see why things would be a little stressed.  Anyway - this too shall pass.

A saving grace is knowing that the weekend is around the corner.  I'm taking classes on the weekends so I don't expect to have too much free time on my hands.  But the fact that it's the weekend helps.


Thursday, March 13, 2014

Steady State

Order is coming to the managed chaos that all too often exists throughout my world.  You'd think that I'd be totally moved in and unpacked after a few weeks in my new place.  Well, you'd be wrong.  I go home to Charleston on weekends.  I'm taking a course on weekends, as well.  Evenings lately have been spent attending team dinners at work, studying for a class I'm taking, or even - perish the thought - relaxing.

One thing I've been doing little by little is learning what's around here.  Much to my delight I found a Chuy's yesterday.  Chuy's is my favorite Texican food restaurant from back when I lived in Austin.  I didn't realize that they had expanded this far east.  Needless to say, I'll stop in there sometime soon.  It's in a cluster of restaurants that include Maggiano's (already been there), CowFish (been there, too), Cheesecake Factory, and a number of other yummy offerings.

I've had teams here from around the country for the past two weeks.  The upside is that it's nice to meet people who I've only heard before - most of our teams are scattered around the world so half of a typical day is spent on teleconferences.  This has provided the opportunity to put a face to the voice.  More than that, though, we've had a chance to go out and socialize a bit.  It's nice to get to know people outside of the workplace setting.

I find I'm a very private person in these kinds of situations.  I really don't go out of my way to be too social, and I certainly don't share all that much.  Some would say that this is contrary to the "Be Out and Proud" mantra but the fact of the matter is that there are elements in my life that I like to keep private, and I choose to share mostly with those who have attained some deeper level of intimacy or trust with me.   I don't feel as though I'm "hiding" anything.  I don't think we've had political or religious discussions, either.  Talk typically ranges to work, careers, spouses, family, weather, sports, hobbies, pets, where we've lived....not all that deep.  Still, it's good to get past the exterior we all have at work.

I posted a recent selfie on Facebook recently.  I'm not sure when I shared a recent photo of myself here - hopefully, it was a while ago.  I'm of the opinion that if you routinely post more than 1 photo of yourself a month on FB there's something deeper going on but that's just me.


I sometimes look back at my old blog entries....like, back when I first started it in 2004 (link to Archive here).  I enjoy looking back on these kinds of things, and I especially enjoy the pictures.  They show an evolution, of sorts, so I don't want to lose that continuity.

Someone noted that I look pensive in the photo.  I agree.  I don't particularly like it, but I don't really dislike it either.  It's just one of the many expressions I have.

I've said in the past that one of the decisions I made when I first created my website and later, when I started the blog, was that I wanted the photos I post to be "real".  That is, I wanted to stay away from posed, edited images and ensure that if/when people who visited the blog and I ever met they'd realize that I look like myself (I think and talk like I write, too, but that's another story).  I still feel that way.

At the beginning of my transition I couldn't conceive of what "Steady State" would be like.  That's a term in my IT life used to describe a system that is no longer in development, but is now fully operational and doing what it's supposed to do and has transitioned into more of a maintenance mode.  That's what happens after gender transitions, too.  We enter our own version of "Steady State".

Steady State for me involves the day-to-day drudgery that passes for life these days.  Getting up, going to work, dealing with the weather, going to the gym...just, well, living.  We find our own "look" or "style" and we kind of get into a groove.  The neat thing looking back over the photos in these blog entries is seeing how that groove has changed over time.  I've certainly aged over these past 10 years, but I like to think I've matured and settled into myself as well.  I'd love to freeze things in time, but as someone far wiser than I said long ago, "Time waits for no one".

I remember worrying at the outside what life would be like 10, 15, 20 years down the road.  Once the energy and focus on mid-life changes dissipates, the newness of this new face and new body wear off, and the realities of living, aging, relationshipping, staying healthy, staying employed, and staying sane become part of the day-to-day lives we lead I couldn't even imagine what it'd be like.  Well, now I'm living that reality.  And I'm as relieved as glad to say that it's good.

The thing I'm most frustrated with right now is the need to spend more time in the gym.  With everything else going on that has become quite the challenge.  It's integral to both my physical and mental state, and once things calm down over the next couple of days I'll be there regularly.

Speaking of fitness.....

In a national news story on my radar, a California woman who transitioned several years ago has sued Cross-Fit (story here) for refusing to allow her to compete as a woman.  It has made international news (another link here).  I'm no lawyer, but she's going to get rich on this.  They're saying that it has nothing to do with discrimination, but actually it has everything to do with it.  This is ground that has been covered before...for example, in 2010 long-drive golfing champion Lana Lawless sued the LPGA for a similar "born as female" rule (story here).  She won.  The argument over physical advantage loses time after time, both in competition and in courtrooms.  At the end of the day - she's right.

Onwards!



Thursday, March 6, 2014

Huggers

Shortly after I woke up this morning, in between my first cup of coffee and hopping into the shower, my apartment went dark.  I mean, absolutely, totally dark.  It was still an hour and a half before sunrise and the weather can't take the blame for this one.  Maybe someone forgot to pay the electricity bill for the complex - dunno.

The good news is that my still somewhat chaotic apartment is more settled than not so my very generous supply of candles is already out and about.  More importantly, I know where I put the lighter that only gets used on these kinds of occasions.

My various candles fill the air with gentle aromas, so that even though the outage only last 15 or 20 minutes the scents remain.  It's actually very pleasant.

When the power went out I had two immediate thoughts.  (1) Thank God I already made the coffee and (2) Uh oh, what about my blow dryer.  At that hour of the morning my thinking is pretty simple.

On to other topics...

Enough already with the Jared Leno bashing.  Jeez.  Aren't there other more pressing things to complain about? I realize that most of this is misplaced anger that there aren't more parts for trans actors and actresses.  I get that.  But that's not Mr. Leto's fault.  I also realize that some may not like the character he portrays, and that's not his fault either.  He's an actor.  He acts.  Act = Pretend.  I myself pretended for the better part of 40 years.

At work I've arranged for members of my team to come to Charlotte from all over North America for a couple of days of meetings.  They are scattered around the US, Chile, Brazil, and Canada.  The resource from Brazil won't be there - Carnivale started yesterday.  I don't think it was a difficult decision - Carnivale craziness or 2 days of work meetings in chilly Charlotte?  Simple choice.

One of the guys arrived from Chile yesterday.  It was nice to finally meet him.  I expected that we'd shake hands as is pretty traditional in a workplace.  But no - apparently in Chile they're huggers.  Fine by me.  There's just not enough hugging at work these days.

After work tonight I'll drive to Charleston.  Already looking forward to being home.  :)



Monday, March 3, 2014

Groovin'

Several weeks ago I remember saying that I wish I could go to sleep and not wake up until this entire move was done.  The logistics of packing, driving across country, starting a new job, finding and getting settled in a new place, and moving into it was too overwhelming to think about.  But as always seems to happen, all the pieces have slowly fallen into place.

As I type this this I have emptied two of my 3 storage units.  All the stuff from Omaha is in my new apartment - which is a mess, by the way, but improving.  Last weekend I rented another UHaul trailer, I finished moving all my "stuff" from my storage unit here to my house, I drove it to Charleston and loaded it to the gills, I drove it all back, I unloaded it.  It was quite the arduous process but even though things are still very much in flux I can feel it all coming together.

I'm trying to slow down my pace of life now that things have fallen into place - I woke up with a scratchy throat a couple of days last week so I felt on the verge of a cold.  But thankfully it hasn't fully realized itself and I'm fighting back with Airborne and good sleep.  That's key.

Until this past week I haden't been to a fitness center yet this year which I think is part of it.  When I don't get to go there for extended periods I start to feel like a blob.  I started back up with it last week and expect it to continue.  With summer a few months down the road I need to get back into that groove.  It's key to my overall mojo.

I spent a little time last night watching the Oscars.  I don't really care what the Academy says when it comes to what's good and what's not.  My own idea of the ingredients of a good movie and theirs is obviously different.  Regardless, it's interesting to watch Hollywood congratulate itself.  This last year people bought over 6 billion movie tickets which shows that the movie-going experience is as alive and well as ever.

One of the things that made this year interesting was the nomination of Jared Ledo as Best Supporting Actor.  He played a trans character in the Dallas Buyers Club, drawing ire from a vocal portion of the trans community who are upset that the role wasn't played by a trans actor/actress.

I am not one of these people.  In fact, I could care less who plays the role as long as the role is well played.  That'd be like criticizing Felicity Huffman in TransAmerica (1) because she's not trans (2) because there are realistic or unflattering elements to the story, or (3) just because.  Or criticizing Robin Williams in The Birdcage because he isn't gay.  Or the entire cast of "To Wong Foo".  People seem to forget that this is Hollywood, a place of illusion, where acting is all about portraying someone you're not.

A recent story in Time magazine sums up my own feelings:

Some of the criticism of Leto is, indeed, unfair. He was heckled at a Santa Barbara film festival by transgender activists frustrated that the role didn’t go to a transgender actress. That’s a real problem — of course transgender performers are underrepresented or nearly nonexistent in Hollywood with the almost singular exception of Laverne Cox of “Orange Is The New Black” — but it isn’t Leto’s fault. 

Read the story here.

The whole argument that trans characters must be played by trans actors and actresses in order to be valid is absurd to me.  Why on earth would we want to type-cast ourselves like that?

Some are criticizing him because he didn't do more to understand the trans "condition".  Would I have wanted him to do more?  Of course.  Am I frustrated because he doesn't seem to be able to even say the word "transgender"?  Maybe a little.  But at the end of the day, he did his job.  He acted.  He played a part, a role, and was widely acclaimed for it.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not sticking up for the character he portrays, or whether or not he's adequately fulfilling the "socially responsible obligations" that come with a role like this.  I'm saying that I'm not on the bandwagon that believes that only trans-people should play trans roles, or that all trans-roles need to be sympathetic roles.

If all of this brings attention to the fact that the trans community has a number of capable actors and actresses who deserve much more work and visibility than they're getting then I suppose that's good.   We face employment challenges in Hollywood just as we do in other areas of getting and keeping a job.  However, one of these days a trans actor or actress will actually win an Oscar for their performance - it's inevitable - and I don't think there will be any argument that THAT will be something to celebrate.

It probably says something about me that I find all the attention on who's wearing what to the Oscars a bit silly.  BUT - every years there are a couple of people who embody elegance and style in my world.  If I could give my own "Style" award this year I'd give it, hand's down, to Jennifer Lawrence.


She was stunning.  And, it wasn't an act.