Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl of the Day"

Kristian Ruscitti lives in Portland OR and does modeling work around the world. She is a transgender Italian/American model/make up artist and has been in the fashion/beauty industry for nearly 20 years, beginning at the age of 19 as a designer fashion runway and print model in Milan, Italy.

Not Fun

It was bound to happen, as we all know, life is not all kicks and giggles.

The weekend began innocently enough. I packed up my dog and we made the two hour trip to Cincinnati to spend and extended weekend with Liz.  Of course Thursday, I was running slightly ahead of yet another super storm spreading across the country.  All I had to deal with was rain.  Friday we had a mix of every winter moisture Mother Nature could come with...UGLY.

Saturday, we relaxed and worked around the house until it was game time and we headed out to her nearby neighborhood tavern to watch my Buckeyes LOSE.  It has always been an idea I could never wrap my mind around...but last night, they simply got out played.  However, we were enjoying each other until  drunk guy #1 shows up at our end of the bar and begins to stare...at me.  Of course I knew he wasn't placing me at the top of the most desirable women he had ever seen list.  Then, it got worse. Drunk guy #2 appeared and drunk guy #3.

I suppose these guys were 30 somethings going on  junior high.  They were whispering to each other  and pretty much making obscene jerks of themselves and of course making both of us very uncomfortable.  I even think for the first time I can remember I was called "she male" for the first time.  Of course, by this time we had it with their juvenile trashy behavior, collected our things and left.

Wow, reality struck home and today I am forced to lick my wounds, reassess reality and get back into this transgender game.

Reality is, I'm not at the point {and may never be} that I present to the world as a genetic woman.  But that is OK, I have faced that reality forever. I have found though, I can navigate the world as a transgender woman if I work at it.  I'm not so sure anything I could have done would have tossed the idiots off their game. On the other hand, I do think I went too casual with dress and makeup.  Then again, the law of percentages simply caught up with me since the two couples before the idiots were perfectly delightful.

Lesson?  Do what I always have.  Hitch up my big girl panties and move on.  I hope the juveniles have major hangovers this morning though. I don't!

Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl of the Day"

Yasmin Lee was born on June 3, 1983. She is an American transsexual film actress and model. She is of Thai, Cambodian, Chinese, and Brazilian heritage. Her family moved from Thailand to the Philippines before finally settling down in Orange County, California.

Most recently you may remember from her role in the 2011 hit comedy The Hangover Part II.

Freezer Pop

For once it seems the Farmer's Almanac is correct, we here in Ohio at least, are headed for the worst winter since T Rex ruled here. Of course the almanac has been rumored to have called for winters such as this since T Rex was an egg somewhere...Dammit!  Yes, now I can feel better about my limited colorful vocabulary since Ohioans were voted to use the most cuss words in the country! Hey, number one is number one &#@%#.

Anyhow,back to winter. Used to enjoy it. Used to want to vacation on the balmy winter beaches of  Lake Superior...no more.  Relax, I'm not going to cut loose with an 'Ohio Proud' string of cuss words.  Instead, I'm going to blame three little letters - H.R.T.

I'm fond of reminding cross dressers and transgender women alike, when your daughter or spouse tells you to go put more clothes on a cold day, she may be being more helpful than you think. Women are cold critters and when you go messing with your gender hormones, out goes the old furnace and in comes the walk in freezer. She may just mean you better put some more clothes on

Since I'm really tired of being told "welcome to our world" by genetic women, I simply think, "this is what I signed up for but why is it so dammed cold?"
Other than the obvious ways to fend off the winter chills, I have discovered another way to feel warmer. Just whine about it. No one listens anyhow and it makes me feel better!

Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl of the Day"

Miriam Rivera was born in circa on 1981. She is a Mexican transsexual woman who appeared on the reality television shows There's Something About Miriam and Big Brother Australia 2004.

Cyrsti's Condo "Fashion Tip"

I'm sure many of us remember the old fashion days of leather pants and skirts etc.

As with everything else in fashion, they are back and the question now as then, can we, should we wear them?

Here's a look from Fabulous after 40 's fashion expert Deborah Boland  who answered my questions.

It’s been many years since I’ve worn leather pants, but a few weeks ago I was out shopping and spotted a pair of luxurious, leather leggings that got me really excited. My first thought was, ”Could I, should I, wear leather leggings now I’m over 50?” In less than 10 minutes I was in and out of the dressing room, handing over my credit card, and feeling pretty triumphant about my new purchase.

Similar to her, I wear a lot of black leggings and skinny jeans but I have reservations about buying a pair of (faux) leather leggings for fear of looking "over the top". But, "here's the 'skinny' on a few tips for how to wear black leather leggings from Deborah. Very simply, it all depends on what you wear your leggings with. The problem is, for all of us who are struggle to become comfortable with all this "girl" stuff, nothing is simple.  Read on for help:

 DO wear your leggings with:

Tops that flow and are not too tight so the silhouette is wider,
Looser on top and narrow, skinny on the bottom tops that end below your hip bones ( minimum) and even better that cover your bum,
Longer cozy loose slightly oversized sweaters narrow cut ( but not tight) blouses and shirts tunic dresses or tops
Blazers layered with a long top or sweater underneath sporty and classic pieces

DO NOT wear with:

Tops that are too short, tops that are too tight, tops that are flimsy and see through.
Very sexy tops with deep V-necks and cutouts.
Tall, high-heeled leather boots anything with biker gang looking buckles, studs and chains.

There are more DO NOTS, and as I read them, I suddenly wondered did Deborah write them for us?

NEVER wear the leggings (or anything else for that matter with:)

Too much glitz and shiny cheap fabrics.
Too much jewelry or too many accessories.
Piles of make-up.
Big hair.
Stilettos

There is more, follow the link above!

Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl of the Day"

Phillipe Blond is an American fashion designer. He and David Blond are the design duo behind over-the-top fashion label The Blonds.

All Ready?

Proving once again, time flies when you are having fun, or sleeping, I received my presenter application for the 2014 Trans Ohio Conference.

Last year my presentation was based on "Gender Transitioning Later in Life."  Assuming I didn't embarrass myself too badly last year,  I will be accepted to give it another go this year.  The only problem I had was time, of course I'm so much of a "ham", I could have spoken a few more minutes. Before everyone just got up and left!

Seriously, this year I'm thinking of adding more of a "gender fluid" piece to the presentation and removing the transgender veteran part.  It seemed there was little to no reaction to the trans vet section which was fine of course.  Lately though, I have been wondering if we "old peeps" are missing a valuable lesson which seems to be filtering through the younger parts of our community.

Recently here in Cyrsti's Condo, I passed along a post from a west coast college.  In it, the comment was made that fewer individuals were resorting to surgery to present their gender needs. I'm wondering if people in my age category who were presented with black and white gender choices all their lives, may be missing out on the gender fluid idea totally?  First, we were isolated and in the dark about what was going on with our gender identifications. Then, we went into the era of SRS being the answer to your gender problems and without the knife you were a pretender.  It's not such a radical thought if gender is between your ears, do all of us need SRS?

All of you know, I am biased and I don't really believe a store bought vagina makes me any more or less of a feminine person but I do respect those that do. Just not the ones who don't respect me.  One way or another, the subject certainly could result in a few lively discussions over adult beverages after the seminars.

Ohio Proud

I'm from Ohio and know many who are happy to say they are from Ohio and not here now. It's a totally frustrating place which features the best (and worst) of rust belt urban settings all the way to a strong agricultural base.

This is the state which for some reason banned casino gambling for so many years while Indiana and Michigan made money from Ohioians crossing the border to gamble.  Ohio also is the state which stubbornly refuses to grant sweeping protections to all the TGLB community but at the same time it's capital city of Columbus is one of the top gay areas of the country.

You can compare Ohio to the warm and cold fronts which cause big storms when they collide. From the most liberal at places such as Antioch College to people speaking in tongues at the church down the street. It's all here.

Recently Columbus' 10TV ran a story of an Ohio mother who stood up and said "enough is enough" stop the bullying of her young transgender daughter:

You can comment on the video 10TV's Facebook page too.