Against the Wind

I cooked fried shrimp for dinner last night.  It was a first.  From cleaning the shrimp to de-veining the little suckers to dipping them into the breading to frying 'em in the deep fryer.  I absolutely love fried shrimp and admit that I bought this deep fryer specifically to be able to do this.  And, despite being an addmittedly green rookie at it, I'm happy with the results.  I'm not rapturing about the outcome and I learned a lot, but the good news is that I'll do it again.  I'll also admit that I was a little dismayed by how much cleaning was involved afterwards.  But then again, that's all part of the process.

The downer of the evening was finding out that my internet service wasn't working.  It's not like I'm a novice at this stuff and I did all the necessary home trouble-shooting but for some reason it was working before I went to work and when I got home it wasn't.  I called Comcast and eventually spoke with an agent who talked with me like I'm a child and basically told me (a) the problem was with my equipment and (b) they'd have to send someone out to investigate further.  So he scheduled someone for tomorrow.  In the meantime, I got a call from Comcast saying that they've discovered a "problem" in my area and that they're going to work on it today.  Oh, and they cancelled my service call.

My football team won on Sunday!  Jeez Louise.  I've gotten so used to starting off the season just accepting the fact that we're going to stink again this year that rushing out of the gate like that was a shocker.  As a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan (I didn't ask for it, I assure you....it's just the way I am) I've learned to (a) manage expectations (b) accept that sucking happens and (b) learn the meaning of frustration.  Anyway - I've followed them since the mid 1960's thru thick and thin.   As with my current europhoria here in Charleston I need to enjoy the good times while I can.

They announced yesterday that Bob Seger's music will be available on iTunes.  For those of us who grew up with his songs as anthems of our youth that's good news.  They're offering a 6-song EP of his music FREE (link here) but it was allegedly only available for one day.   I downloaded it and have listened to it several times already.  One of my personal Segar favorites (not on the EP, though) is "Sunspot Baby".  And although many of us have heard songs like "Against the Wind", "Night Moves", and "Turn the Page" a thousand times they seem to never get old.  At least for me they don't.

In my ongoing effort to find and appreciate good live music I'll be attending a concert here in Charleston by Mat Kearney on Friday.

I don't know that most people know his name. But they know some of his music. Here's a popular one...



I really like his new song:



Anyway, I'm looking forward to it.
This next weekend will be my last "down" weekend for a while.  On the weekend of the 24th I'll be in Denver for the Gala celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the LGBT Center there.  I'm told it's already sold out.  I've been asked to present the awards that night which is a tremendous honor.  I have also been asked to speak about activism and it's role.  Needless to say, I have some thoughts on the subject and will be happy to share some of them.

BTW: I noticed an interesting article: "Transsexual Model Lea T. in Blue Man’s Swimsuit Campaign Shot by Terry Richardson". The photos there are just beautiful.  It's another shot in this ongoing broader cultural war for inclusion that's currently playing itself out in some very public and controversial ways.  I, for one, am thrilled by this stuff. 

The more progress we make the angrier people who want us to disappear get.  I have to admit some level of satisfaction at this cause-and-effect scenario, as when they get the most rabid is when we're the most visible.  I continue to be intrigued at the uproar over Chaz Bono's appearance on Dancing With the Stars (one example here).  A couple of weeks ago Fox shink Keith Ablow wrote an absolutely ignorant Op/Ed piece urging parents to avoid allowing their kids to watch for fear that they'll get confused.  Here's one of the responses to his idiotic rant.

Someone I very much respect, Julia Serano, recently wrote a couple of extended blog entries where she waded into the shark-infested TS/TG/IS LMNOP waters that seems to want to reach flood-stage at some point.  Her first post was dated Sept. 8 and is a particularly well thought-out and presented piece titled A "Transsexual vs. Transgender" Intervention.  Needless to say, that generated quite a bit of response and Julia did a similarly interesting job of sharing some of  the feedback it generated a couple of days later in her follow-up, not surprisingly (and aptly) titled Postscript for my "TS-vs-TG-Intervention" Piece.  I, for one, applaud Julia for her insights and think they are well worth sharing here.

I don't usually talk much about clothes or "style" here on my blog.  Maybe it's because style is something that has always seemed to elude me, or at least has always felt that way.  I've come to a sense of peace that I've found my own unique sense of style by trial and error, without having mentors or others who could help.  The reason I mention this is that I'm wearing my highest heels today.  They're not so high that my head is in the clouds, but they're high for me.  I recently bought them - partly because they looked nice despite being Size 10's, partly because they were on sale, and partly because they felt comfortable (well, as comfortable as 3" heels can be) as I paced back and forth at the store.

Of course, the real test comes when you have to wear them for hours on end. So today I wore them and have a back-up pair at the ready in case these start rubbing or chafing too much (I have a couple of band-aids ready, too). So far so good. I just hope I don't twist an ankle, or break my neck going down the stairs....

As a Yin to that Yang, I'm also buying a new pair of wrestling shoes.  My first tournament is 6 weeks away and I've found a pair that has a unique sense of "style" to them, too.  They're blue and white.  I expect to be on the mat regularly again starting tomorrow as my training continues....  In unrelated news that nobody but me cares about the World Championships are happening in Istanbul this week.  The woman who beat me at the World Team Trials last  year is representing the US in my weight class.  I'll be following the results online and wish the entire team the best of luck.

Sometimes people ask me what I do for a living.  I do IT contract work.  That is, I work projects of varying durations that require "temporary" supplemental staffing with a specific skill-set.  At the moment I'm managing a web Upgrade project for a Fortune 200 company here (and, I might add, I'm enjoying it!).  The temporary nature of the assignments typically provide a greater sense of flexibility which I find helpful given all the other various demands on my time and energies.  Anyway - I've been here since April and the project is scheduled to go thru the end of the year.  After that?  Don't know yet.  Another reality of this kind of lifestyle is getting comfortable with the temporary nature of not necessarily being able to plan too far in advance. 

As I've articulated before - the key is to enjoy today for today because tomorrow it will be yesterday.  And that's what I'm doing.  :)