I Need All the "Culture" I can Get!

One of the fascinating positives I have learned about my partner (Liz) is how many interests she has which off set mine.  First of all, she can do all the things I can't like sing, draw and craft items.  She works with jewelry, necklaces and knitting pieces too.  I can't carry a tune, can't draw stick figures and would injure myself knitting.

Although, I have enough interests to go around, on occasion I feel a little bad or even behind when she asks to go places which feature any kind of art.  I have always fancied myself as a person who could appreciate art but then get lost in the ideas. Plus I am totally in awe of anyone who has artistic ability.  An example was a weekend or so ago when we had a chance to go to a mini art viewing in a craft brewery. Talk about ideal! Of course I said yes. One of the artists was a tall blond who locked eyes with me for a moment. Of course I wondered if she read me as trans and I was wondering how she got that tall.  The meeting of the eyes was brief and she went about her business and I went about finding the beer...priorities.

Look, I do appreciate the work an artist puts into their pieces but I'm always trying to prove to Liz  I'm not such an uncultured hillbilly girl from Southern Ohio after all and recently I had a prime chance.

Pamela Ann Reed (right)  is a transgender artist from Columbus, Ohio who is on the cusp of getting her work into a few major shows.  I have corresponded with Pamela in the past on Facebook primarily since we live so close to each other.

Pamela's Art Sample

The last time we "chatted" I asked her why she didn't plan on showing her art at the annual "Trans Ohio" meeting which I presented at last year.  She said she did and of course I felt like an idiot!

Always being the one to attempt to turn a negative into a positive. (I'm used to screwing up and shoving my foot into my mouth.)  I thought immediately of how fascinated Liz would be with her work.  For once I could bring class and culture to the relationship! Yay! I asked Pamela about meeting Liz and she graciously said sure and why wait until the end of May when Trans Ohio happens.

So, as soon as we get out from under this nasty Polar Vortex winter cycle, it turns out Liz and I have a vortex of fun we can do.  Other than visiting Pam, we need to try to get down towards Lexington, Kentucky and have coffee with transgender author Bobbie and her wife.

I'll make a believer out of Liz yet!  Jimmy Buffet tickets just went on sale for his legendary summer concert in Cincinnati and rumor has it I may be more of a parrot head than a regular orchestra concert goer....maybe all of this will help me be a balanced person!

Quotes To Live By

I found several of these on Pinterest which were not specifically tied in with the transgender lifesytle, but then again were.  Here's is one of the more radical ones in Cyrsti's Condo:

The Times-They are a 'Changing'

I saw this picture and article from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune about yet another young transgender woman running for a high school Homecoming Princess spot.

Two things got my attention, the first of which was, here's another transgender person willing to step out of the shadows and live her life the way she wants to and the look of Dad in the picture.

I could speculate on what he was thinking other than violence but I thought how wonderful it was he was there in a tux supporting his daughter. This actually took place last fall and now the transgender high school student is seeking approval to play on the girl's softball team.

Speaking of wonderful, I did go Facebook this afternoon and proudly changed my gender marker to "Trans Woman!"  I am hoping enough transgender Facebook users do it to the extent the numbers count up and our culture is recognized for it!

Potty in Peace

As I was catching up Cyrsti's Condo, I read one of Stana's posts in Femulate about a site called Refuge Restrooms.  

Like her, I am going to pass along the link to all of you. Depending of course of where you are in your transition and how your presentation is coming along, the simple act of going to the potty can be problematic. I have told you my restroom stories of being called a perve, cops called twice and possibly being tarred and feathered by two women in a state in the deep south when I was on a bus tour with my partner. It's only been recently that restroom problems seem to be in my past and every once in a while, I run my "do's and don'ts" of using the "women's room".

In the meantime, you can visit the "Refuge" site here and maybe add your own to the list.

Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl" of the Day

Our feature transgender woman today is Karla Karrillo from Mexico.

She's Baaaack!

Sorry I missed a posting day here in Cyrsti's Condo yesterday.  I was actually "in transit" again between my house and my partners house which is a couple hours away.  I have written many times how I go there to seek refuge from the cold (and any other number of reasons I will let you use your imagination for.)

Finally we have climbed from a -20 degree wind chill earlier this week, to a balmy summer like 39 yesterday.  Also, when I leave my circa 1850's house, I essentially shut it down. I'm glad warmer temps are finally on their way, 50's next week, because these shut downs are killing the house- and me.

When I came back yesterday, I even had to put a special heater on my old computer to coax it back to life. Kind of like me in the morning!

The worse part about this is, I'm not particularly happy to be back in the old homestead and I am working hard to get it cleaned out of all my years of memories and on the sales market later this year.  The weather this winter, set my schedule back.

I don't what I did in my previous lives to deserve the transitory tone I have in this one, but it must have been severe. From my 8+ years of bouncing who knows where in my college and Army years, to my transgender spirit, I was certainly destined to be where I am-between houses too!

Well, at the least, I thank Momma Karma for keeping it interesting!

Gender "Marks the Spot"

Here in Cyrsti's Condo, I have discussing my current plans to begin to take the next big step in my Mtf transition and change my gender markers.  With gender markers, you don't realize how many there are. I knew when I wrote the post, (as I said) I know a couple transgender friends who have changed their markers,including Shelle.  Recently she was kind enough to take her time and comment:

Certainly changing my markers has been the most difficult and arduous of all my tasks as I transition,It is a huge undertaking that tests your very resolve as a transgender, even armed with legal court documents some of it is just a miserable slog through a system that has known me as M for a lifetime and many of them are just plain resistant to change things and it takes sometimes a month or more to just change simple things like your electric,and gas account,and all the other accounts related to your previous existence you are left in some cases for a time thinking you suddenly don't exist at all,it two times for my bank to get my checks right so I could begin paying my bills again the whole thing gets done but not without a huge amount of perseverance.

By far dealing with the rules in my state are the worst for me,as they require a minimum of genital mutilation to acknowledge me as F,I'm sure they don't give much thought to it but they are asking me to give up likely on a permanent basis my ability to ever have sexual satisfaction as I have known it all my life,that's asking a very lot of a person just to give me the dignity of being who I truly am,I have thought very long and hard about going through with this major step in life,but having my markers changed is as important to me as the HRT was, so I will move forward reluctantly feeling somewhat stripped of my right to human dignity, I personally feel this is cruel and unusual punishment of my diagnosed condition,and I pray it will be changed for those behind me, not all of us has the monies or inclination to have the surgery. so for while longer I have to live somewhere between M&F branded as it were as T.

I'm in the same situation as Shelle because of for whatever reason, I don't see SRS in my future.  Our differences lie in which state we live in. For example, here in Ohio, changing your legal name isn't very difficult in most counties and changing a driver's license isn't either. However, I don't believe you can get a birth certificate changed here, with or without SRS.

The "big dog" Social Security changed it's policy sometime ago to: allow transgender people to change the gender designation on their Social Security records by submitting either an amended passport or birth certificate reflecting the applicant's lived gender, or certification from a physician confirming that the individual has undergone appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition.

If you are a cynic like me, you are looking for the "catch 22" in the process. I wondered,if in the end, an amended birth certificate (not possible) would stop me from getting an amended passport? But that's not true either according to this release: A transgender person can obtain a passport reflecting his or her current gender by submitting a certification from a physician confirming that he or she has had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition.

From all of this you can see how intense this process can be. Fortunately we transgender women and men have had some very powerful and competent advocates opening doors for us.  An excellent example is what transgender veteran activist Autumn Sandeen has done to ease gender marker changes within the VA.  Shelle is a trans vet too and I'm sure she agrees!

Thanks again Shelle,  for commenting for us and you can always check out her blog here.

Womanless Pageant Hits and "Misses"

I don't find many new womanless pageant pictures floating around the web anymore. I think it's primarily due to the fact that these days, if someone snaps a picture of you in a dress-it can turn up anywhere. (Including Cyrsti's Condo).
Every once in a while I do see one or two which I think are interesting because of the other people shown.  Could be a girlfriend, Mom or fellow student.
Here are a couple: In the first, his girlfriend is wondering if she is ever going to get her pink dress back and how often she will see him in that damned tiara in the mall? I'm the princess dammit!

In the second picture below, Mom is thinking Wow! he does look like me at this age. Plus, this picture gives a whole new meaning to the expression, "Wait till your father gets home!"

Cyrsti's Condo "Quote of the Day"

"If you are going the wrong way, you better do it quickly!"

Cyrsti Hart