I went for a long bike ride yesterday and both my legs and butt are not happy with me right now. 46 miles. I'm not used to riding that far and it was tough but now that it's over I'm happy to have done it. Yesterday was another warm, humid day here in the Low Country - we've had lots of those so far this summer. The heat doesn't bother me, and neither does the humidity. The only thing I'd complain about with regards to the humid air is that my hair goes crazy in it. All I can say is, "Thank God for pony tails."
I was in the gym over the weekend, as well, and am in fairly good overall shape right now. I'm very much at peace with my body and that, I think, is one of the fundamental goals of this journey. Actually, I'm confident that people's relationships with their bodies in general is a love/hate affair but for transpeople it has a uniquely powerful dynamic due to the dyssonance involved. In any event - I can get into my size 4 slacks, I'm fairly solid and toned, my aerobic health is good.
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| Self portrait at the gym |
Last night I watched a show on National Geographic called Witness: Katrina. It was amazing. I was in Phoenix when Katrina happened but I still remember the day and the days that followed. It felt like it was all a world away, but all this footage really hit home about the tragedy of it all. It was heartbreaking and terrifying. There was a scene someone taped from their attic and entire house was full of water. Furniture was floating, and the dog was clinging onto a table but kept losing its grip. The woman taping it was frantic that the dog was drowning and there was nothing she could do. Ugh - it was absolutely gut-wrenching. I can't even imagine living through something like that.
I was at the Dog Park with Maggie recently and the group of adults there were talking about the fact that Charleston hasn't been hit by a major hurricane since Hugo in 1989 when it took a direct hit. I wouldn't mind never experiencing a Hurricane first hand but each of these storms that forms in the Atlantic has the potential of getting here. I'm just saying....
Texas Governor Rick Perry announced his candidacy in the Presidential race here on Saturday. I don't remember many people mentioning him 6 months ago but now his announcement changes the dynamics of the race. It will be interesting to see how things unfold.
One thing I've recently discovered and wondered why it took so long is Skype. Specifically, Skype video calls. I've got a particular friend in Arizona that I'd like to "see" more and now thru the magic of Skype I can (and do!). I've got FaceTime and iChat on my iPhone and my Apple laptop but there are a number of constraints that make it very inconvenient. I was at the beach yesterday and Skyped my friend so we video-chatted while I was cooling off under the pier and she was eating breakfast. Way way cool. I don't consider myself technologically challenged but I'm new to this, and having lots of fun with it.
Lastly, there has been significant international coverage (I saw a story on it on CNN) of the recent marriage between a gay man and a transsexual woman in Cuba (details here). The man is apparently an activist and proclaimed that this marriage is "a step forward for the gay community." I dunno, but this seems like a step backwards for everyone to me. If these two people are somehow proclaiming the marriage between a man and a trans-woman to be a "gay" marriage then all it does is perpetuates age-old stereotypes that we know are no longer valid. Don't get me wrong - if they're in love and getting married because they're actually wanting to spend their lives together then more power to 'em. But if they're doing this as some statement of rights for gays and/or transsexuals then they're way off base. From everything I've seen the event seems more like an orchestrated media event than a wedding.
Anyway - nothing earth shattering here but that's the speed of life at the moment. I'm at a comfortable trot with some exciting things, some sad things, some hopeful things, some forward planning, and lots of simple day-to-day life things going on. I suppose it's all part of the cornucopia of life. As with living here - I'm just enjoying it while I can....
2 comments:
" people's relationships with their bodies in general is a love/hate affair but for transpeople it has a uniquely powerful dynamic due to the dyssonance involved."
I lost so much muscle strength with changing that I had got used to being relativly feeble. I have been changing garden features to make life more convenient for the future and had not realised how strength had started to return.
We had a garden party to celebrate a whole series of things at the same time, someone lent a marble sopped table on a cast iron pedestal. I carried the two parts into the garden and someone mentioned that assembly was "mans" work so I held out the iron part at arms length to a "man" who staggered under the weight.
Note to self, be strong but don't advertise!
Yesterday was our first day of summer, not kidding! Hope the hurricanes give you a wide berth.
As I have lived through 3 different hurricane hits, I can say, they are NOT fun. Of course none of them were as bad as katrina... (Agnes was the closest back in 72).
Hope all is well!
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