An update on me...

[Devlyn]

Class of 1980, my 40th reunion is coming up in a few years. A friend of mine attended their 50th reunion. He said the talk was all about "Have you had your first heart attack yet?" and of course, the departed.   

He also said they make you wear your yearbook picture on your name tag........and I said "Well, that puts the kibosh on me attending a class reunion. That would make it too easy for everyone to call me Mike all night, and I'd end up leaving."

Just my thoughts.

Hugs, Devlyn

[Michelle_P]

He also said they make you wear your yearbook picture on your name tag........and I said "Well, that puts the kibosh on me attending a class reunion. That would make it too easy for everyone to call me Mike all night, and I'd end up leaving."

Yup.  In my case it would wind up being me, with a bunch of old pharts, providing them with someone to misgender and insult.  Not Worth It.  From the photos they looked pretty much unhappy and ready to die (seriously; not a smile among them, mobility problems everywhere.  I've never seen such a bunch of out of shape 60 year olds.).

Not my sort of crowd.  Not a single hot older lesbian in the place...   

[Jessica Lynne]

Class of 1980,
Hugs, Devlyn

Class of 1980? Damned children. 

[Jessica Lynne]

  I've never seen such a bunch of out of shape 60 year olds 

Old misogynist riddle.....  Why do Men die before their wives? .................................................................................
Wait for it!!........................................................................Because they want to! 
                                                                                                               

[Laurie]

Class of 1980? Damned children.  [emoji14]

You got that right Jessica

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[Devlyn]

Class of 1980? Damned children.  [emoji14]

You got that right Jessica

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Hey, I get all the AARP mail!   

[V M]

Class of 1980, my 40th reunion is coming up in a few years. A friend of mine attended their 50th reunion. He said the talk was all about "Have you had your first heart attack yet?" and of course, the departed.   

He also said they make you wear your yearbook picture on your name tag........and I said "Well, that puts the kibosh on me attending a class reunion. That would make it too easy for everyone to call me Mike all night, and I'd end up leaving."

Just my thoughts.

Hugs, Devlyn

I graduated in 1980 also, but other than passing my classes for the sake of graduating I was totally uninvolved

Couldn't phantom the idea of wearing a high school picture on a name badge either, think I even ditched on picture day

I like your new avatar pic. Michelle, looks really good

[Dena]

Class of 70 here. Recently they held the 45th reunion and I considered going. The problem was my class was relatively large and I only knew a few people in the entire class. When I saw who was attending and more important, who wasn't, I decided I wouldn't know anybody there so I didn't attend. Yesterday I took a glance at the reunion pictures and I saw a woman being hugged by a much larger woman. Maybe I would have had somebody to talk to after all.

[Michelle_P]

I had my 8 week GCS post-op checkup today.  Everything is healing nicely.  There's a bit of asymmetric swelling, not unexpected at this point.  That also has the clitoral hood skewed, which in turn leaves some sensitive tissue a bit... exposed.  If needed that can be fixed as an outpatient revision.  We'll see in three months, when I get rechecked.

There are still some signs of that pesky yeast infection.  I'll be hitting it with miconazole for a few more days.  If needed, I can get that anti fungal tablet, but the topical treatment is preferred and has fewer side effects.

I'm feeling pretty good, and easily hit 11,400 steps (4.8 miles) today, wandering around San Francisco. 

I'm dilating with the large green tool now, no problems besides discomfort with that big chunk of plastic pressed into me for 15 minutes.  Still getting the 5th dot at the introitus.  Oof...

GCS has been a pretty good experience for me, and of course I love the overall result.

[p]

So glad that you are doing well despite some setbacks--certainly not short on exercise! Hope everything continues to go well for you, Michelle.

[Megan.]

This all sounds great, keep on trucking hun,  you're doing fab. X

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[Laurie]

Good morning Michelle,

  And so far it is a good morning for myself too. Thanks for the 8 week update. It sounds as though you are getting right back into the groove again. I hope you don't expect this old lady to keep up with you on those treks when I do make it out my bedroom door and head south. It will take me some time to work up to those distances and in this chilly weather that's only going to get colder that isn't likely.
  Glad to hear you are doing well.

Hugs,
  Laurie

[LizK]

Great to hear everything is healing and you are feeling well. Hopefully things will continue on there positive course.

[Michelle_P]

I had my weekly electrolysis session this morning, two hours and the entire neck and jawline were cleared.  My upper lip has only fuzz and tiny black hairs three weeks after cleaning, and no shaving.  The End Is Near...  Well, a year or two of occasional sessions away, anyhow...   

I spent much of the day with a friend going through a bit of a spiritual crisis.  I seem to be the go-to person in my little circle for this sort of thing.  I do try to listen, and that seems to be a help to my friends.  Still, it makes me sad to hear how rejection and loneliness hits so many different people, even when rejection is unintentional.

I had a nice relaxed dinner with my two best friends.  Good folks.  We were together Sunday night for a (slightly early) winter solstice rite with a number of others.  The rite was pretty straightforward.  We cast the circle, mourned the passing of autumn and the old sun, and celebrated the coming of the new sun.  Rituals included both the summoning, and casting off burdens and asking for our hopes and goals for the new year, some songs, and finally releasing the circle.

I was never meant to remain in this confinement of darkness.  I was created to dwell in Infinite Light.

Response: Spring will come again, this I know.  And I, I will be ready for my emergence and unfolding, that I might soar ever higher into my own Becoming, into the Light of my own Transcendence.

Reawakened.
Renewed.
Reborn.

Seems appropriate, yesyes?

[LizK]

I had my weekly electrolysis session this morning, two hours and the entire neck and jawline were cleared.  My upper lip has only fuzz and tiny black hairs three weeks after cleaning, and no shaving.  The End Is Near...  Well, a year or two of occasional sessions away, anyhow...   

.......

I had my top lip and into my nose done for the first time just with cream along with my lower lip...she also did a general tidy up after 3 weeks of no shaving....when I had a look at how much she had accomplished in an hour UI think I felt the same way you do...the end is near for no more weekly sessions and like you the relationship will still be steady for awhile yet but we are on the home stretch....it feels good to say that.

[Michelle_P]

I had my top lip and into my nose done for the first time just with cream along with my lower lip...she also did a general tidy up after 3 weeks of no shaving....when I had a look at how much she had accomplished in an hour UI think I felt the same way you do...the end is near for no more weekly sessions and like you the relationship will still be steady for awhile yet but we are on the home stretch....it feels good to say that.

It's awesome to make it all the way to the other side.  I remember when I started!  I thought this would take forever!

Like the guy who saw the demons circling said, "It's just one damn thing after another."  I'll probably just have to get dressed, get out of the house, and do some shopping.  Purely for therapeutic reasons.  Especially the shoes and wigs...

The electrolysis went very well.  This was an intro session, so we talked hair growth, what needed to be done, and so on, followed by an easy hour in the chair working on my chin.  Realistically, it's a spa session for me, with Jodie taking care of me while I relax.  She seems to have a good clientele of MtF folks.  She's using thermolysis on me, which works pretty well for me.  Very little discomfort, redness or swelling, and only three tiny red dots visible the next day.

The next session will be for two hours, and we'll see about getting a regular 4 hour block if I tolerate that well.

I guess i did. I was doing four hour days til in ran out of hair in each session!  Yay!

[Michelle_P]

Well, after playing therapist for friends this week, tonight was my turn in the barrel, going to group therapy.  Oh, dear, but I wish I hadn't gone.  This was one of those special sessions in which everyone leaves both triggered and reminded of all the oh-so-many reasons why we should feel miserable during the holiday season.

Yuck.

Add in pointless monologueing, and you have the Session from Heck.

So, there was nothing to do for it but bake my whole wheat M&M cookies when I got home.  Oh, sweet cookies, you'll never turn on me, will you?

Meanwhile, everything is ready to go on the condo purchase front, so I wired the down payment, and will sign the documents on Thursday.  Friday I take possession of my new two bedroom two bath condo unit.  Yay!

[Michelle_P]

I had what might be my most unusual 24 hours ever...

Yesterday I had done a bit of shopping to complete my Christmas dinner menu:

Garden salad
Kale
Roasted yams
Sesame asparagus
Whole turkey
Cranberry Orange sauce
Cranberry Walnut bread
Apple crisp with vanilla bean ice cream
Tea, coffee, hot cider

I then headed out of town to an evening monthly group session with my gender therapist and three other transwomen.  This, unlike the Tuesday session through my HMO, was a very positive, affirming experience.   I feel very fortunate to have stumbled upon this therapist, and stuck with her even after she 'retired' from the HMO to private practice.  The session was in a college town about 60 miles from my home, out near Sacramento.

This morning I had an appointment in Sacramento with a doctor recently hired by my HMO.   
Rather than drive 60 miles in the dark, then 75 miles at dawn to return to the Sacramento region, I chose to just stay overnight in Sacramento.  So, evening in a hotel, mediocre dinner, and them relaxed, yakking two hours on the phone with my best friend.

This morning's appointment was with the new doctor.   She's in the 'plastic surgery' department, and is an experienced maxillofacial surgeon. She spent about an hour with me, going over my face in some detail, collecting background info on me, asking about what I thought my problem spots were, offering suggestions, and both taking photos and reviewing my CAT scan data.  Once we agreed on a set of changes, she worked up a list of bone and soft tissue revisions, thoroughly and professionally.

I was very impressed.  Even better, since she was just starting at Kaiser, there was not a backlog yet.  I spoke with the surgery scheduler and her assistant regarding schedule, and it looks like the surgery could take place soon after the six month hold period since my gender confirmation surgery (GCS).  That is, the surgery would be covered by my current insurance.  That is a huge positive, rather than waiting til early/mid 2019 and possibly not having insurance coverage (I'll be on the HMO's Medicare Advantage program starting in November 2018, and the Federal government sets the rules on what is covered.)

I left the appointment feeling pretty good, and talked to my best friend about it as I drove back home.  Good, positive feeling about all of this.

I got home, dropped off my bag, grabbed some paperwork, and headed off to my condo purchase closing to sign a few thousand documents.  When the paperwork is recorded by the county clerk in the morning, the condo is mine.  Mine.  Mine, mine, mine, mine, MINE!

After that, I stopped at a hardware place to buy a bunch of cheap boxes and packing tape, then to a Trader Joe's to get bread and a few last dinner goodies, and a lovely seasonal bouquet of flowers.

I got home, and have been feeling damn near giddy, combined with (ahem!) other reawakening feelings.  Sadie ain't the only one...  I sublimated by making more cookies; oatmeal chocolate chip, oatmeal pecan raisin, whole wheat M&M...  I'll be baking several hundred cookies in a church kitchen on Christmas Eve.  Hot fresh cookies and cider for everyone!

My son flies in tomorrow mid-day to stay with me over the weekend.  I get the keys to the new place in the afternoon.   Oh, what will we do over the weekend??? 

So, yeah, in 24 hours I planned and shopped for a dinner party, had a great therapy session, did my first hotel stay since GCS, got evaluated and received an estimated date for facial feminization surgery (FFS), closed on a condo, and started the packing process.

I bet I sleep well tonight.

[Laurie]

  It all sounds so good Michelle. Let me know when my room will be ready won't you?

Hugs,
   Laurie

[Michelle_P]

  It all sounds so good Michelle. Let me know when my room will be ready won't you?

Hugs,
   Laurie

I certainly will. I'll be recarpeting first, then I have to add those eye bolts you suggested. Soon!


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