Getting "Weepy"

Damn hormones! Here I was actually needing my soft sweater jacket not for fashion-I was getting chilly. The next thing you know I will be jumping from the summer furnace I experienced into the winter freezer I really never have.  Over the years, I have loved cold weather. Be careful what you hope for? Kidding, I love I'm experiencing what I hoped for but never really understood. Specifically unexpected weepiness in this case.  I don't even really know if it's a word but it sure visited during a show we went to on the tour.
The show was country/gospel and mountain orientated which sort of fit where we were in the mountains of West Virginia (DUH!) Certain musical numbers for some reason sent me into an elevated emotional state and yes a few tears followed.
Fortunately it was dark in the place and I really didn't want to be the only person in the place crying-female or male or transgender. All was good...until:
At the end of the show, the performers wanted to thank all the veterans in the audience. Please hold your hand up if you are a veteran. My friend jabbed me in the side until I did raise my hand. OK, no big deal. I survived until..."all you veterans stand so we can thank you!" Well, I really didn't want to stand for not the reason you think but guess what-I did-to stop the abuse to my side.
Oh, one more thing I neglected to mention. Not only did the transgender girl end up sitting in the front row, I was in the middle of the front row. Where the hell was Jimmy Buffet when I needed him? But I digress.
I'm sort of funny about my Vietnam Vet status for a number of reasons which I won't bore you with. Mainly my deal is that as a group we were swept under the rug like the war itself and don't get me started on the mistreatment of Viet Vets affected by Agent Orange.
So being singled out and thanked for my service is as foreign to me as going in the first place and you thought standing as a transgender person would bother me.
I had to say, standing was easier than being drafted and I only had one very elderly lady thank me for my service in WWII. (Kidding-I hope!)

Cyrsti's Condo Packing 101

Similar to so many other "jender jumping" issues, packing for a trip is yet another!
The days of tossing jeans, t shirts, socks and undies into a suitcase are gone. Not only did I have to plan for all the female accessories I would need, I had to plan for four to five days worth.
Of course the makeup was the easy part and my new "natural" hair style helped me not agonize over a wig. The hard part was planning outfits.
I was fortunate in that the entire trip was female casual too so I could mix and match sweaters, tops and jeans.  I think I would have only needed an extra top or so to have done better. The whole trip was an ideal starter venture for me but not without quite a bit of angst.
Finally, I shook off my considerable indecision on clothing choices and just started packing....everything. This  was huge! The whole process reminded me of how full circle I have been able to come since the cross dresser meetings I attended years and years ago. As it turned out, the feelings were just the beginning of how weepy I would feel later in the trip.
I know you are dying to know what I forgot!  It turned out to be just a minor article-my jacket. Really? Yes I did but I was lucky.
My drive to meet my friend for the trip was nearly an hour and a half away and for one of the very few times in my life I was running ahead of schedule. On the way, I had time to stop and shop at a deep discount store for some sort of jacket.
Amazingly enough I found a very nice sweater jacket at a very nice price AND it was the only one they had AND it was my size. The last time that happened was when all the planets aligned with some sort of esclipse of the sun.
So, as with most other life experiences, Packing 101 wasn't as easy or as hard as I thought it would be!

Jumping the Great Divide

I didn't really publicize the fact I was taking off on a mini vacation down into a very rugged area of West Virginia last week for about four days.
A genetic girl friend and I made the trip as two women and no we were not "roughing" it. If the truth be known I'm a huge rail buff and there are several historic operating train lines around the Elkins-Cheat Mountain area of West Virginia.
As fun and relaxing as all of that was, the fact still remained that I was leaving all vestiges of my male past behind for an unprecedented four days.
Interestingly enough, I have a ton of thoughts to pass along. So many in fact, I'm experiencing an overload problem of how to do it in some sort of coherent fashion.
My goal  for the next week is to try to pick bits and pieces from the trip and pass them along-including some of my friend's insights.
In essence, I'm unpacking my luggage and my mind.