Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"

Ker Plunk!!! Another edition of Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition" is hitting your front porch! "Momma Nature" is still teasing us around here in Ohio with a day of spring followed by two days of winter, so a hot "cup-o-joe" is my beverage of choice this morning. Sure, it's great to see you, but where the hell is the coffee???  Lets get started!

Page 1.-  The Week That Was or Wasn't: I'm not sure it surprised me totally but, on the other hand, it didn't make it any easier when the state of Indiana joined a number of states stepping backward and using religion to discriminate. Under the "Right of Religious Freedom Act" (as I understand it) an owner of a business can decide who to serve or not in their business. So, very simply, this opens the door for we LGBT peeps having to use the backdoor at many businesses-if the door isn't locked. So Liz and I could be kicked out of a religious freak's business in Indiana if he or she thinks I am trans? Really? We don't like your kind in here. If there is a bright side, a rather sizable social media and public protest is coming along. The Twitter hashtag is #BoycottIndiana and the mayor of Cincinnati,(which partially neighbors Indiana) has volunteered to "take" all of Indiana's business. At press time, Indiana is going to propose another law which defines the first sometime this week. (Shelle and others in Indiana-Good luck!!!)

Page 2.- Building the Future? Yesterday was a busy day. Liz went with me back up to Springfield (a hour and a half trip one way) to ship and sell a couple of my sister in laws vintage items. As some of you know, I make a couple of extra "sheckles"selling on line vintage items. Yesterday was some sort of a milestone of sorts. I have been slowly changing my gender markers on the sites but never have had the opportunity to sell and meet someone with the piece not in male drag. (Most of my items are shipped.) As it turned out, similar to the whole day yesterday, the buyer didn't even give me a second look. Which, basically is how the whole day went - except a young boy who had been brought into a woman's room by Mom at a store where we were shopping.  As both of us looked at each other as we waited for his Mom to pee, I wondered what he thought. Remembering the days of "if you can pass young kids and teens, you can pass anyone" I halfway worried about him screaming "Mom there is a man in here!" He didn't and I wondered if he thought if I wondered what he was doing in there. Later I thought if the experience would would make him more diverse in his thinking as he got older.

Page 3.- All that Jazz and "Mo"! All of a sudden we transgender women and trans men are finding a home on "Reality TV." Before the trans community itself begins to slice and dice all the activity, Jazz Jennings (left) and Laverne Cox are leading the charge once again to the chagrin of those in our community who think they have "too much passing privilege". However, a couple of the other shows show a representation of the rest of us who may not be so passable.
The April 3 issue of Entertainment Magazine has examples in an article of page 16 called "Trans Stories Find a Home on Reality TV." Before you come down too hard on Jazz for looking too good-find her recent interview with Meredith Vieria, She said among many other things, she could be arrested for using the woman's room in her home state of Florida and without her parents assistance with transitioning, she most likely wouldn't be alive at all.


Page 4.- The Back Page: As always, thanks soooooo much for stopping by Cyrsti's Condo! No one appreciates you all more than me!!!

Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl of the Day"

"Blond on Black" Mtf model, designer and gorgeous Phillipe Blond!

The Trans Girl and The Hair

Here in Cyrst's Condo, I have written a ton about the biggest HRT effects that went the furthest towards passing privilege. Easily hair and skin are my top choices. In my post yesterday I wrote about the learning process of having wearing your own hair. Mandy was nice enough to comment in about her need to go every three weeks or so to the salon for a "color update."

About that time, I began to think of other "hair raising" tales. One of which, I can't exactly remember where it came from but it was a woman explaining how a wedding photographer wouldn't understand stressing over blow drying her hair with a round brush-versus using a flat iron. The reason I know is on my salon visits (before I knew better) my stylist tried to use both to beat my wavy hair into submission. Which I found I didn't like.

So, instead, (and on my current budget), I am learning to wash my hair, use the right color conditioner, figure out how long to leave it on-then- rinse it all off and apply the proper amount of mousse  before my hair dries. Then, don't play with it till it dries. I think I'm to a point that my 'bad hair days' are fewer, plus I am falling in love with wearing soft bangs.

So far it seems the hair is winning over the trans girl. But, she is gainin!

Girl Scout?

This morning as we were taking Liz's 90 year old Dad back to the eye surgeon, the conversation turned to her youth and then to her time as a Girl Scout-then on to other topics like why he didn't wear his National Rifle Association hat. Not exactly a card carrying liberal, but a fair guy none the less.

Recently, we have been wondering what he really thinks about me and/or my relationship with his daughter. Keep in mind, before you think I may be falling back on a sudden amazing amount of passing privilege, he is 90. But, his cataract operations are providing amazing results and now he can see me. On top of all of that Liz is not so sure of his reaction of her being with another woman-transgender or not. Or if he has a clue about me.

This morning we got an answer when he turned around in the car and asked "Cyrsti, were you in the Girl Scouts?" It was a good thing I didn't have a mouth full of coffee!  One thing is for sure, back in the day, there would have been no way I would have been allowed to even come close!

Stop the Whining Dammit!

If this wasn't my blog, I might call myself a drama queen. It is though, so I won't. However these days I find myself mired in bitchin n whining. It could be for the most part around here, we are still being teased by Momma Spring.

For instance, let's start with my hair. When I started HRT, I couldn't wait until my hair became long enough to style and I could put away wigs forever. All was good until I found the dark side of the sun. Otherwise known as the back of my head. All this time, I never gave much thought to the back of my head. Out of sight out of mind. As I progressesd I used to joke my own hair was the first I wore that I couldn't just turn around and style on a wig head. After all, I didn't want to re-enact a scene from The Exorcist horror movie. And, speaking of the movie, sometimes I think when my estrogen kicks in, my attitude may head a little to the bitchy side.

So now, as I made a quick trip to the grocery today, a brief moment of clarity hit me somewhere between baking and produce-this is what I signed up for. I wouldn't trade it for the world and waited sooooo long for it but is it really time to color my hair again?

Short Term?

I'm fond of telling friends who ask about doing something in three or four months, sure, I will be there if I am still alive! They think I am just playing around but the way I have led my life in general over the years, my life was like that anyhow. Example?  A job for me was just a minor stop heading to the next one, I needed to find out what was around the next corner. Of course these days as I try to overthink everything in my life, I have come up with a couple reasons I live my life in the 'short term'.

First, I blame my unwillingness to settle down on my gender dysphoria (because nothing I did felt completely right.) Plus, what I call my "war" years 1965-1975 were terrifically unsettling. I was either in high school worrying about getting drafted, in college running from it or in the military itself. In fact, in the last three years before discharge, I bounced back and forth between three continents.  So, I don't know, but perhaps I can blame all of that uncertainty added to my transgender self for my 'free spirited self' today.

And, speaking of free spirited, I'm trying now to come up with the 'bestest' idea ever for my third Trans Ohio workshop class this year. I am thinking now of the 'blank paper' class. Give a quick bio, pass out a piece of paper and tell everyone to write down why they are there and what do they want to know. Then threaten them-I am more than capable of talking for a hour.

I keep forgetting two things: the first of which is I do intimidate some just because I might be ahead of them in my transition and after this amount of time, I do forget the small things. One thing is for sure, I will have plenty of time between now and the end of May to change my mind. Damn, that's a long time away!

Third Times a Charm

You regulars around Cyrsti's Condo know I have been a workshop presenter at the annual TransOhio Trans and Ally Symposium.  This is my third year and I am calling my workshop: "Invisible no more-Transitioning as a Senior Citizen." The picture to the left was taken with "Brutus Buckeye" (mascot) at The Ohio State Student Union-where the symposium was held last year.

Each year I walk away from the conference thinking what did I learn, what did anyone learn from my success-or errors, how could I have done my workshop more effectively and damn!- that went too quick. So, this year, I am doing a brief bio on myself and opening the floor to questions.

Also, I am trying to open my workshop this year further to spouses and ally's. Since Liz is my co-presenter, she is always more than happy to talk to a fellow generic about the inherent problems of maintaining a relationship within a transgender person.  Even though the conference literally has something going on every hour-there are breaks where she/we can sit down with other couples. We were able to do that last year with a couple or two and saw a couple others who were possibilities. Something else I'm trying this year is to post a sign in my workshop that Liz and I are approachable and have had all of our shots!

If you would like information (and are relatively close to Columbus, Ohio) I can direct you to the right spots for more. And, if you are Connie-you could dream about being in the student union of a university who actually WON the football National Championship!

Leelah Remembered!

Another huge positive Saturday night happened before Liz and I even got out of the car and walked into the restaurant to meet the rest of the party.  We were sitting there when a generic walked by my car and mentioned my bumper sticker. She asked us where could she get one because it was a needless tragedy.

The one above has wintered on my back window pretty well and I was impressed when a civilian stopped to comment and show support on her own.  Sadly, I couldn't tell her-but-I am asking round now. So if any of you want one, let me know.

Out With The Girls

Saturday night was a "girl's night out" with a couple of Liz's former work friends. Outside of missing one of the girls who couldn't come-I got to hear about all the not so "good times" of where they all used to work. Plus, there were two male type "spouses" there. (Mindy I missed you but understand!!!!)

I have written here in Cyrsti's Condo about the different dynamics around the table when a group of women gets together. Saturday, I found it interesting how a more "passive aggressive" approach was used by all of them to describe a former boss-except for Liz who still works for her and was the least likely to sugar coat her job.
The two guys (spouses) were pretty much the same as I run into.  Standoffish at first, until they found out I have had all my shots and don't bite.