I'm Still Here!

Well I woke up this morning and found I did NOT win the 16 zillion dollar Power Ball Lottery. The odds of winning were something close to getting hit by lightning 175 times- in the same month!!! Ouch! That would hurt.
Sadder yet is no television reporter stopped me where I bought the ticket and asked me what I would do with the money. Hmmmm....something good and decent for humanity? Like a boob job and some facial feminizing surgery? Or how about research on controlling lightening hitting me?

Transgender Vietnamese Talent

Lam Chi Khanh was a fairly well-known male singer from the southwestern part of Vietnam.  Recently she decided that she was more comfortable being a woman. Also Khanh told  the public that the change was not a public relations stunt  but a reflection of her real identity.

Perhaps Vietnam's most popular transsexual entertainer is singer, song writer Cindy Thai Tai shown below.

Looking Back and Forward

Following the weekend's intense activity, I finally have had an opportunity to reflect on life as I know it now.
Recapping just a bit, Saturday's burial of my outward male and emergence of my female self was intense to say the least. Sunday I sort of curled into a ball, Monday I worked diligently on all the projects I do and last night I went out for a drink to the place where much of my public coming out process happened.
I'm going to stop and quote a loving and giving quote from my Mom now: " Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes". As "non frilly" as that quote may seem-it's true.

Last night, I thought back on all the times I went to this very busy upscale sports bar in various "experimental" outfits and wigs. I've told whomever will listen (and some who won't) I was very much a trial and error transition person. (mostly error) I was fairly certain this feminine direction I was heading was the correct one but I had to find out for sure. One of the those moments occurred where I was last night. Years ago I was sitting there and this incredibly warm sense of well being came over me.  No, it wasn't the beer and I didn't have to run out and buy a store bought vagina- I just knew I found my true self.

At any rate, the last five years have been one hell of a trip. I went back to the dusty archives to pass along an ancient post from Cyrsti's Condo, called Weekend Update.  I was interested to see how completely I was into the psychical aspect of the moment...shaving legs, clothes etc. I won't pretend to say I'm not into the psychical aspect of being a woman now but it ceases to be the all encompassing factor. I guess it's important to me to look as good as I can but it's not the defining factor of my femininity. Again, I have been so lucky to have learned from a close group of genetic female friends currently and in the past on what a woman is and isn't.

As I look forward to the time I have left on this world, I'm incredibly excited what is around the next corner for me on this journey.  I'm never so sure what dose of positive karma brought me to this point. I compare my life as a human and a transgender person to an old school pin ball machine. Don't we all play this game?   Five silver balls and we are done- game over-see ya!  As hard as we try, we try to aim the silver balls and hope for big points. Skill is one thing though but what about luck and destiny? If you know those answers-please can I talk to you!!!!!

So looking forward, I'm hoping to have at least one or two balls left to play...and have as much fun as karma will let me!

I've Been A Girl My Whole Life

This is a portion of a quote I'm passing along called :"Super Progressive Mom Conquers Intimate Apparel" by Laurastina.  The rest of the quote is "and nobody noticed" and came from her transgender daughter.
This is a good read! Go here!

Transgender Music

Ever heard of Angelica Ross? Quite by accident I came across a site called trans-genre which spot lights transgender artists. Here is a part of Angelica's story:

"Angelica’s journey began when she graduated high school at the age of 17, to avoid 1 more year of spiritual torture. Angelica traveled, from Racine to Rochester, NY where she was recruited by the U.S. Navy. They knew this black blonde-haired boy didn’t belong when she showed up to the physical with her toenails painted, but they enrolled her anyway. Angelica spent 6 months in the military stationed in Yokusko, Japan which ended abruptly after she was almost killed by a few of her shipmates who hung her out of a 3rd story window to force her to admit she was gay. That was the catapult that gave Angelica the drive to begin to live her life for herself. When she got back on American soil, she began the transformation process at the age of 19 while living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Angelica then began a long career of modeling & acting under the radar. Her agency had no clue for years, until she confided in a gay booking agent at the agency, who became a friend and ally, in getting Angelica work in music videos, runway, and print & commercial, which took away some of the stress by having someone on the “inside” who knew and was looking out for her. But, Angelica would turn down work, after assessing certain jobs would be too stressful for her if anyone were to find out."

Go here for more!

Horror Scope!

It's time for another Cyrsti's Condo Horror Scope for all of us Libra's:

" Being gracious isn’t always the best way to deflect bullies. If you get a vicious one on your back, they will keep going until you crack. Of course, you won’t do that, at least in front of anyone, but do know what you are up against and know you will have to be at least five moves ahead to get any peace of mind over the next few weeks. Yes, you’ll be busy, to say the least." 

Needless to say I didn't enjoy the "bully" part of this!
As always, the "Horror Scope" term is my own and you can get your own from theFrisky

Anti Stealth Trans Woman

Seemingly, I'm starting to find several transgender video's of note to pass along to you.
Laverne Cox is certainly no stranger to the public eye and in this video she explains the process of owning her transgender status:

Culture Chic

Of course I walked away from last night's trip with daughter and friends to the HIV Aid's Benefit Show with more than a couple new impressions.
First of all if you ever have a chance to see a drag group called the Rubi Girls in the Dayton, Ohio area- do it!!! The group has been doing the particular show in Dayton for the past 17 years or so and has raised over a million dollars for Aid's research...Wow!
As I have said, I was invited by my 30 something daughter and we were joined by six or seven of her rather upscale suburban girl friends.
Ironically, I felt slightly out of place and ill at ease not because of my "trans-ness" but because of being totally out of touch with women raising pre teen kids. I was introduced as just another of the friends my daughter knew. One though had met me before and was told my story.  So more than likely in a couple days all of them will know I'm really a parent. The only real result could be the impact of other kids finding out my grand kids have a transgender grand parent.
The most amazing part to the whole evening was the turnout from the elementary school where a couple of my grand kids go to school. They turned out to see a fourth grade teacher from the school who is also a "Rubi Girl". Call me crazy (some do) but when I was in the fourth grade, a teacher doing a drag act would have not been too popular.
Dare I say last night the concept was cool and even chic. I also should mention he mentioned the school and the visiting group two or three times during the show.
At one point he even stopped the show to introduce a sexual/gender diversity professor from the University of Dayton.
So all in all I walked away from the evening with the feeling things are changing for the better from the kids up. Perhaps those who noticed I was transgender also noticed I was much different than the drag queens. But in the meantime I was more than happy to watch a dyamite show, see a glimpse of the future and be chic in the meantime!

Beautiful Sounds

One of Mexico's well known opera singers made the journey this year to Thailand to participate in the "Miss International Queen Pageant" and returned as her true self.
Her name is Morgana and she was trying to win the transgender beauty pageant to complete her SRS in Thailand. But of course she lost out in the competition but won out on the surgery. It turns out she was being followed by a documentary crew who was sucessful in getting much of the surgery fees waived.
Here's the video of the story: