I Surprise Myself Sometimes

I feel fortunate that I am still able to surprise myself.

The last few days have brought an unexpected couple of happenings.  Now that I've had a couple of days to let them seep in I'm good with both of them.  No regrets.

On one front, I bought a motorcycle.

I find it interesting how people seem to have strong opinions about motorcycles.  I respect all of them.  But the fact of the matter is that I have enjoyed riding on the back with a certain someone, I've got my learner's permit, I'll be taking a riding course soon, and the opportunity to get something presented itself.  Impetuous?  Perhaps.  But, as I say, I'm good with it.

I spent a couple of hours on Saturday practicing around the block on a certain someone's bike.  By the end I was fairly comfortable.  As long as I never need to shift out of first gear, I'm good.  It's the shifting thing that makes is complicated - at least for me - and we haven't crossed that bridge yet.

I told one of the neighbors that I needed training wheels and that's partially true.  It reminded me of times long past - when I first learned to ride a bike, when I got my driver's license.....all those many miles ago.

It's not my style to start with something small and grow into something.  I tend to become "connected" to my vehicles , and I look at them as a long-term relationship.  I know what I'd like to use this bike for, so I focused my search on bikes that could achieve that.  We spent a few hours at some of the local dealerships over the weekend.  I wrote to friends who have bought bikes and have learned from them.  And, in the end, I made my decision and made it happen.

I don't have it yet.  It's being shipped. Stay tuned....

On the other front - I attended a class all day yesterday to become a Realtor.  I always used the terms Real Estate Agent and Realtor interchangeably.  I didn't realize that there was a difference.  There is.

A Realtor is a member of the National Association of Realtors.  One of the key elements involved in being part of this organization is pledging to follow their Book of Ethics when it comes to dealing with buyers and sellers, and other realtors.  It is an added layer of requirements for Ethical behavior, and I'm all about that.  So, I took the class, made the pledge, and received my pin.  I am now a Realtor.

The reason this has relevance here is that NAR updates it from time to time to keep it "fresh".  Late last year they updated Article 10.  At the time it read as follows:

Article 10 of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) code of ethics states that Realtors® shall not deny equal professional services to any person for reasons of race, color, religtion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, or sexual orientation.  Realtors® shall  not be parties to any plan or agreement to discrimiate against a person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin or sexual orientation.

For some of us, that list has a glaring omission.  Well - they updated it late last year to add "gender identity" to the list of categories that it explicitly identifies as being "protected" from discrimination.  It further elaborates that it is also against the Code of Ethics to discriminate against Realtors with regards to employment based on those same categories.

During one of the breaks yesterday I went into the office of one of the leaders to talk about it.  I outed myself to her, and talked a little about my experience with corporations who have done this same thing.  I have 2 concerns.  The first is that organizations do this and that's great, but they don't take the next step and do the education about what that means in their day-to-day dealings with people.  As a result, my second concern is that some Realtors are discriminating against transpeople and there is no avenue for these transpeople to push back.

Long story short - they were very open to options and want to investigate training opportunities over the next few months.  Good stuff....

Anyway - it has been a busy few days.  I'm already looking forward to another weekend!