Welcome!

Recently I received an email from "Andy Peterson." Andy runs a site called Fashionable Hats and Accessories.

"Hi,,

I was recently visiting http://cyrstiscondo-cyrsti.blogspot.com/2014/10/sipping-high-ball-in-columbus.html and was very impressed by your website. 

I was wondering if could link back to http://www.fashionablehats.com on your site somewhere as a resource. If there is something you would like me to do in return, just name it."

If you are searching for a sharp hat...please check out the links provided! If you are lucky, you could sip a highball with Andy! And, if Andy is in Columbus, Ohio...I am within sipping distance :)

Enjoy!

Chelsea Manning

LGBT transgender woman Chelsea Manning has recently posed for Vogue Magazine:



It seems her transition is coming along well!

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire?

The transgender woman I have written about here in Cyrsti's Condo who said she went through genital reassignment surgery via Medicare and I met up by accident yesterday at the Dayton VA hospital... by accident.

I asked her if she was there to see the therapist we both have and she said no, she was there to see her endocrinologist. She is a talker and went on to tell me she was requesting more estrogen because her breast development was lagging behind.

Warning bells went off again with her because past a certain point, extra estrogen just can hurt you, more than help feminization.  Plus she said her request was twice what I take, but I let it go.

The conversation went on for awhile, until she said her testicles were holding up the estrogen effect too. Unfortunately I wanted to get going so badly, I didn't follow up on her thought until later. Because I was zeroed in on going to the attorney.

Unless I am missing something huge about GRS, the testicles are removed, so she shouldn't have any...anymore.

At any rate, as suspected, her GRS maybe/probably is just a ruse. Sad.

Much to do About Nothing?

Well, I went to the attorney's today and found all my high anxiety was very much a waste of time...except figuring out how I was going to pay for it.

The office (as I figured) had only women and each one it seemed went out of her way to talk to me.

The only thing I forgot was my name change paper work and as the attorney said, it was only needed to prove legally who I was now. Plus she did say I was her first transgender client.

So, once I get my daughter to sign off on some papers too, we should be on the road to ridding myself  of a huge part of my past.

As always, worrying about the unknown is tougher than hitching up my big girl panties and doing something about it!

Count Down to Halloween?

As soon as fall weather begins to sneak into our climate here in Southwestern Ohio, I'm sure the thoughts of  crossdressers and or transgender women still in their closets turns to Halloween.

Back in the day, I had my share of Halloween's when I basically came out to my friends and acquaintances at the least as a cross dresser. Over the years, I have been able to share sort of a "best of" series of posts on my experiences.

Because of my job in the restaurant business, I was unable to "dress up" for Halloween but I normally found other outlets. One memorable one was when a couple friends, my wife and I went to a restored Victorian style theater in Columbus, Ohio. They were showing the original silent version of the "Phantom of the Opera" complete with an accompaniment by the restored theater organ. The costumes were amazing!

I wore a mini dress with heels, shaved legs and blonde wig. The idea was wonderful until I had to negotiate a long walk in those heels!

Also, shaved legs represented sort of a demarcation point between being a casual cross dresser and someone who is much more serious. I actually wore the same outfit to my own bar's Halloween party and earned the nickname "legs". I wish I could actually find the picture of me which surfaced quickly, but it unfortunately is long gone, it seems.

Two of my female friends went as far as saying I made a better looking woman than a man, which would turn out to have far reaching implications, good and bad. From that point forward I started to "invent" reasons to cross dress in front of certain friends and secretly fantasized about having a "girls night out" with some of them.

As it turned out, I would have to wait some 35 years for my first night out with cis women.

So Halloween to me will always be a cherished time which continues to this day. Last year, my flowing witches costume attracted an "admirer" at our "Witches Ball" and I hope this year will be as fun too.

Advice? Halloween is a slippery slope. If you want to gently take the risk to out yourself, do it.

But if you do, take the chance to enjoy the experience!

Busy Week

This week is shaping up to be a busy one. I have a full moon get together tonight plus two appointments Wednesday which means getting together a wardrobe in my noggin for the week. I see the people tonight a lot plus it is still substantially cooler so I can wear one of my three quarter length sleeve peasant tops...a relatively new outfit.

Yesterday I was helped by Liz going through her extensive closet and finding me some Capri's she didn't/couldn't wear anymore because of her continued weight loss. I am fairly well set up in the top/blouse department.

Saturday night, we went to a meeting of our Ohio Valley Witches Ball committee in an upscale Mexican restaurant.  Actually, the meeting was set up to approve merging our group with two peeps involved in the old event for years before it ended. My transgender status was well received by them and pretty much ignored by everyone else in the venue...as expected.

Again, we were in a very liberal part of Cincinnati, so having a night out without LGBT pushback is normal and fun to be free as my real self.

I will let you know how it all goes this week.

Fear...ala Connie

In response to my "Fear and Loathing" post here in Cyrsti's Condo, Connie wrote:

"At first, I thought you were referring to masculine properties you might still have. But, who would see an attorney for verification of those things? A physician would be a better choice. Anyway, I have some real estate I'd like to have a surgeon unload for me, and it's not really in probate - I have lost the will. :-)

In my experience, anyone I deal with who stands to profit monetarily is not to be feared. If they don't like who I am to the point of also disliking my money, then that's their problem.

I might be able to use an oxygen tank here in Seattle. With temps in the mid-nineties and smoggy air from Canadian wild fires, it's difficult to get a good breath of air. Both the sun and the moon glow orange, and there's so much smoke in the air that the stars are not visible at night. It's like a scene out of a Sci-Fi movie (which makes me fit right in!)."

I like the monetary part of your comment, and people are more apt to see green, or at the least a welcome relief from their day to day work if and when they encounter a transgender person up close and personal. Plus, since the last thing the receptionist mentioned in a so, so pleasant manner was the not so small matter of a consultation fee. Not mentioned on their web site. Keep in mind though I am dealing in a smallish town, so competition among attorney's is likely not that intense.

At any rate, if I can get the two properties probated at a reasonable cost, which increases my chances of unloading them and getting along with my life. Which is huge of course.

As far as an oxygen tank goes, I hope you get some relief soon from the smoke! I am fairly sure though you may be able to find a small one and spray paint it pink? :) Or blue which may match your new friend's hair? She is probably a huge LGBT supporter anyway. 

Fear and Loathing???

A couple days ago, I began a process I have actually been putting off for years...probating a couple properties I have held on to from my past.

I chose an attorney pretty much at random, preferring only one of female persuasion. For some reason I felt I would have a lesser chance of running into transgender bias with another woman.

Before I went into the office, I was scared to death. Not so much because of presenting trans, but of the whole process. The end result ideally could result in selling both properties and totally getting rid of the part of my life I have been dreading.

I was so scared, it brought back memories of my first journey out to a restaurant as a woman I have written about several times. It was so bad, I thought I was going to need an oxygen tank in case I fainted. After I made it though, I never thought my life would ever come to this.

Which leads me to this point. Many people ask me about the highs and lows of a transgender transition. My answer is simple, consider what would be the toughest hill to climb as a trans woman, then try to do it. My personal example was buying a part in an auto parts store.

When I look back at my life though, nothing would have prepared me for what I have been through now. Scared? Yes! Determined? Certainly! I would not trade where I am now for anything.

Not even an oxygen tank!

Freedom

Just when I received all the unwanted attention I could take from LGBT hostile rednecks, I landed back in my decidedly more liberal home ground and I garnered no attention at all, or, too much of a positive nature.

Going back to the drawing board, so to speak, it was hot last weekend and I decided to pull my hair back and go without my glasses. Seemingly all of my adjustments worked to perfection as I encountered no problems. Whether or not the changes had that much effect or not is open to debate as (like I wrote), I was operating in friendly territory.

At any rate, the weekend did wonders for my confidence too and as we all know, presenting successfully takes a lot of confidence. Humans are sharks and if they don't detect blood in the water, many times they won't even notice you.

I did have one grocery bagger kid who wanted to talk and talk, which I did, plus the restaurants we went to (per norm) saw me as being green, for my money.

Whatever the case, even at this point in my transgender woman life, a little confidence goes a long way, especially with the next stages of my life looming quickly.