"Driving my Ol 55"

I discovered a couple nights ago how you just can't take the hippie out of the girl.
On the way to meet a friend I happened to glance in the rear view mirror and saw this girl with long straight blond hair looking back at me. I happened to be wearing my favorite worn out bell bottoms and a frilly black sheer top. I was even wearing my "peace sign" ring. I definitely did know the woman in the mirror!
She reminded me of an older version of women I admired during my "hippie" days
I turned my attention back to the road and as the summer sun was setting I flashed back on a relatively obscure 1974 "Eagle's" tune. It was from their  "On the Border" album. It was called the "Ol 55"  The song essentially was about a guy heading home in his old pickup truck on a busy highway. Here I was years later driving down a busy interstate in a small pickup truck. He was heading home at dawn and I was heading out at sunset. Differences to be sure but close enough for a mystical connection.
I never will have the chance and go back and be the blond haired girl riding beside a guy in an old pickup truck. Just for a magic moment my rear view mirror gave me a chance to think it was possible!

"Han's" Down, She's Got It!

From the "The Wall Street Journal" (really)..." The South Korean media almost never miss the story when a Korean, or someone of Korean descent in another country, wins an international competition."
According to "Evan Ramstad"  Han Min i didn’t get much attention for winning the 2010 Miss International Queen Crown in Pattaya, Thailand, last fall. The beauty contest is for transgender/transsexual contestants and went mostly ignored in South Korea's conservative press.

All of that is about to change with the first issue of "Yahae!"
The publication will publish a set of stories on sexual minorities in Korea and will feature Han Min i as a cover girl.
As of now we still can't claim an American transgendered cover girl star.
"Lea T" is from Brazil, "Andrej Pejic" is from Serbia initially and the latest rising star "Valentijn de Hingh" is Dutch.
It's time!

New Friends and New Ideas

I met a friend in person for the first time last night and she shared her thoughts on being on female hormones for a year.
Most of her thoughts I had heard before. It was really nice to hear them from a voice.  She felt the changes were more profound from a mental point of view. Sure her skin changed and she developed her own noticeable breasts.
We talked about the changes in perception she had gone through on an emotional level primarily.
The conversation moved on to actually having the opportunity to join the sorority, even on a temporary basis. Any small glimpse into the "other" gender will give you a definite idea if you want to continue to join the sorority.
"Jezebel's" Melissa Jeltson recently wrote an article describing how her best male friend became her best girl friend. 
Very important gender issues such as space and power are discussed in the article. Here is a sample.
"Juno's experience as a woman is so new. Over dinner and wine, we talk about what it means to identify as female. She tells me of the first time she experienced female jealously, felt the piercing glare from another girl, wracked with envy. She tells me about feeling a loss of personal space as a woman, of having to protect the area around her body in a way she never had to as a man."
So real! Men reach over and around me in a way that would never happen if I was a guy.
On the other hand the positives of being more in touch with your body are also discussed." She tells me about feeling the power of being a woman, how the world can be gentler to you, people smile at you more, treat you kinder. She says physically, she feels more relaxed and engaged with her body."
I am more in touch with my body already without the hormones. The different curves I have give me a completely different feel of the environment  Close spaces need to be negotiated different or a breast bump on an object or person is not out of the question! Sure guys may not mind it but it certainly is awkward.  Let's not forget the totally different dynamic of wearing a skirt. A skirt alone will make you very more aware of your body.
I agree the world is a kinder, gentler place as a girl...even a trans one such as I!