Hi everyone,
Sorry that I seem to have disappeared for the past few weeks. I've been in the process of moving from one country to another and I have been extremely busy, sorting out a lot forms, change of address, looking for a car and job and so many other things that I didn't realise I needed to do.
So my move back from Japan to UK is now more or less complete. Lots has happened and I'm not sure where to start.
First thing, I had a final session at the salon in Japan the day before I left. One of my male friends wanted to meet 'me' but I didn't want to make our last time together for several years all about me, so we decided to meet for the day as normal for 3 or 4 hours, then we went to the salon and I would get changed and he'd come back a short time later. I told him I would only take about 45mins. I ended up taking 1 and a half hours!
When I sent the message to come to the salon, he was very surprised at how I looked. His reaction was 100% positive, owing to the fact he has a couple of trans friends already. We then went outside and after a short walk came to an arcade and had some
purikura photos taken.
Purikura is basically a photo-booth that makes you look 'cute' and fabulous by enlarging eyes, removing skin imperfections and making lips glossy. You can then edit the photos however you like, adding stencils, messages, changing the background colour etc. It's an activity often done by girlfriends and occasionally a couple. In-fact in most arcades boys are forbidden unless accompanied by a girl. I enjoyed it very much.
After that we went to a cafe and had some coffee/tea and cake. I couldn't believe how good the cake was! It put a lot of afternoon tea cafes in England to shame! We had a nice relaxing time and just chatted. That's when he told me that, if he hadn't known, he would never have known I was male! This made me so happy! After that a wave of serenity came over me and I was perhaps the most relaxed I've ever been in a social setting in my entire life. We only manged to grab a few pics while we were out and even few of just me, but here is the best one, of me having my cake and eating it no less:
After that we headed back to the salon to say goodbye. I thanked my friend for coming to see me and we hugged for a long time. I went back into the salon and for the next couple of hours I tried on a several outfits. Since it was going to be my last time I tried on a lot of things that even a cis-woman wouldn't normally get to wear like costumes and certain kinds of lingerie. I'll refrain from posting those, but here are a couple of more 'decent' photos:
It was a long, fun day. The girls at the salon wanted me to come back after I have transitioned and I promised I would. It may take me several years but I would be back.
The next two days involved 2 long-haul flights and I was a walking zombie by the end of it. As my train started to approach my station, thoughts turned to my Dad who would be meeting me there along with my Mum. The last time we spoke was the first time since he was told about me. I was getting very apprehensive and stressed about what his reception was going to be like. When I got off he waved and smiled from the end of the platform. When I got closer he came up and hugged me and told me it was great to have me home. He was perfectly fine, as normal with me. We stopped off on the way home to grab some fish and chips and everything was fine.
Since then the topic has come up a couple of times. He doesn't like it at all, but he still wants to know how I'm doing in terms of progressing. At one point the topic of me going to another city a couple of months came up and he said that I'd be welcome to stay a lot longer if I wasn't doing that 'silly thing'. After what was a good 2 or 3 mins of silence he suddenly came out with 'I'm no saying you can't ever come and visit again, y'know'. I replied with 'I know' and then heard him sniff. I looked over and he was tearing up. I put my hand on his arm and told him it was going to be alright. It's actually my Dad who has shown the most emotion out of everyone I've told. He is struggling. But not in the way I anticipated. I was expecting a lot of anger. But what I've seen is a lot of sadness. I'm not sure how to support him that way, though my Mum assures me he will be OK in time.
As far as coming along with my transition goes, I'm only a week or two away from starting hormones. I've been seeing Dr Webberley through GenderGP and he and his team have been amazing. I've also in the process of being refferred to a Gender Identity Clinic so I can get on their lengthy waiting lists. For the immediate future, I'll looking at getting a car and finding a job and a little later down the line, a house/flat to rent. A friend would be interested in sharing a house together in the same city so hopefully something comes along there.
Once I start hormones I intent to start a thread as a kind of diary. I'm going to try and be a bit scientific about the changes I experience so I'll be measuring and weighing myself every couple of weeks and logging the changes as well as commenting on any other changes that I can't really measure.
So yea, that was my update post!
