Our Mail Box Runneth Over!

I suppose the title to this Cyrsti's Condo post isn't the most appropriate but if you consider who this first comment is from, it doesn't really matter.  It comes from the "Fabulous Connie Dee" and concerns the Rest Room "Quote of the Day":

I have not had occasion to use the mens room for well over a year. I've always thought that it would be far riskier to do so, and, besides, I don't see myself as belonging in there at all. I've never been yelled at for using the ladies room, however. The mens room, though - well, I JUST WON'T STAND FOR IT!

I hesitate to get into any battle of the "wits" (half, dumb, dim) with Connie because I always lose. But I will say Connie is the one who urged me to start this blog back in the day and you noticed she didn't say she had used a women's room either in the last year.  Such is life in Seattle?

In Connie's next comment about one of my Mom's quotes, you will understand more of why I feel the way I do about her!  My Mom always said "life was like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you got to the end-the faster it goes."  Here is what Connie said:

"Cyrsti, I imagine that you have more paper on that roll, now that you are using much less of it to stuff those c cups. :)"

Thankfully Connie, that is true!!!!

I will have more of your comments tomorrow in our Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"!  Thanks to all of you-even Connie!

Cyrsti's Condo "What If"

Ha-ha!  The joke is going to be on the guys tonight when they come over to play cards-and I walk out with their beers!

Cyrsti's Condo "Fashion Break"

What girl doesn't love her shoes, genetic, cross dresser or transgender?

I thought you may be interested in a store who recently reached out to me with a follow on my Twitter account:
It's called  Le Dame Footwear and here is what they are all about: (from their site)

We are committed to bringing our customers fashionable, feminine-styled footwear in a large shoe size. Our high-quality, affordable footwear is designed to specifically to meet the needs of customers who wear a women’s size 10 ½ to 17 (wide) or a men’s size 9 to 15 (medium) in the latest styles. With reinforced heels for added stability and cushioned insoles for added comfort, Le Dame Footwear is crafted to accommodate the length and width of the larger foot. Our unique designs allow our customers to purchase a true large size that is both fashionable and sturdy, eliminating the need to choose between style and fit and giving you a product that you’re proud to wear. Le Dame Footwear is headquartered near Madison Wisconsin.

Plus they have a few stores around the U.S. and the world.  Check out their on line site here.

Cyrsti's Condo "What If?"

Surprise guys! You said our evenings were getting to be a drag!

The Yin and the Yang?

Two stories on the web this morning caught my eye offering up the differing directions the transgender community is going-both with positive results.

The first comes from Barnard College:

Barnard today announced that celebrated writer and activist Jennifer Finney Boylan (left) will join the College’s English faculty as the inaugural Anna Quindlen Writer-in-Residence. In this newly created position honoring one of Barnard’s most esteemed and dedicated alumnae, Boylan will teach two creative writing courses each year, while also engaging with Barnard students and faculty in various capacities that will support and enhance the College’s legacy of cultivating talented young writers. 

 “Jenny’s writing addresses some of the most pressing issues of our time, and working with her will be an extraordinary opportunity for our students and faculty,” said Barnard President Debora Spar. “Welcoming her to Barnard, while simultaneously honoring Anna Quindlen’s invaluable contributions to the craft of writing, marks a truly exciting moment for the College.”

The other is from New Zealand as Transgender modelling hopeful Amy Brosnahan will compete in the national final of the Battle of the Babes in Auckland. The 18-year-old made it into the final after competing in a heat last month. Organisers at one stage told her she couldn’t take part because she was transgender, but quickly changed their minds after some thought. They said they hadn’t known how to handle the situation, but Brosnahan says ultimately everyone was welcoming at her heat. If she wins, the next stop will be competitions in Hong Kong.

Being Played for Idiots

Thanks to Bobbie for passing this along.  Once again the Pentagon is playing all of us for a bunch of idiots. From Slate.com:

The ban on transgender service, which survived the 2011 repeal of DADT, is not mandated by statute. So it’s harder for the Pentagon to blame anyone other than itself for wasting talent and making a mockery of its professed commitment to diversity and the dignity of its force. That commitment was trotted out most recently in a Pentagon ceremony this week in which a revised Department of Defense Human Goals Charter integrated gays and lesbians into its language on diversity and inclusion. 

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel went out of his way to tout the progress. “I’m proud that the language of the charter has been updated to reflect the contributions of gay and lesbian military personnel who now serve openly and proudly across America’s armed forces,” he said at the signing. “We will continue striving to make military service a model of equal opportunity for all regardless of race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, or national origin.” And here I must pause to say that I, too, am proud of this progress and very glad that the military and the nation have done the right thing at long last. 

But Hagel made a point of holding up the military as a “model of equal opportunity for all,” which makes the continued ban on transgender service, the rationale for which is quickly crumbling, increasingly untenable.

Really? Let's not forget, Chuck, all the recent sexual abuse problems the military has had and more than a couple high ranking generals forced out of their command (and into high paid civilian jobs) for extra marital affairs. I know Hagel is no youngster, but even he must wonder about the lapses in his reasonable thought processes. Or how he sleeps at night after out and out lies.

Cyrsti's Condo "What If?"

Well Jim, it's going to cost you for me to NOT  tell your golfing  buddies you wore this last week downtown to the drag show...

How the Other Half Lives

Don't hold me to the percentage of transgender sex workers around the world. Probably way short of 50% but I did encounter a trans sister of sorts almost a week ago a couple blocks from my house.

I live a couple blocks away from a less than upscale neighborhood corner known for it's bar (home to a fatal shooting last summer) drug deals and of course prostitutes.  Just a little insight into why I'm cleaning out and moving.  I've been here for the greatest part of the years between 1978 and now and the area has come and gone with it's inhabitants- now this time-I'm going.

Going I was, when this person walked across the cross walk ahead of me in the street, wearing a red "hoodie" jeans and matching red lipstick.  Obviously a cross dressed or transgender hooker of color. Nothing was coming and as I slowly rolled through the stop sign our eyes met for a moment.  My first impression was to feel total disgust until I thought of one particular young trans woman I met last summer at the Trans Ohio Symposium who grew up on the streets of Detroit and LA when her parents kicked her out. Again I felt disgust-on how she had been treated.

It's likely I won't see her again and even more likely to learn anything of her life.  Just seeing her for that brief second though gave me a brief glance into how the other half lives- and how helpless I felt.

The "Transvestite Diet"

I happened across this website and forthcoming book this morning when this lady began to follow me on Twitter.

Her name is Kathryn Camfield and her book is called The Transvestite Diet.   Here is a quick look and you can go here for more.