Time for an update? Sure, why not?
Sunday I was invited to a dinner for
@SassyCassie 's Mom and Aunt, who are twins. She can tell the whole story if she choses, but the most outstanding parts of the day involved the fact that I wasn't misgendered by anyone, and how emotional I got over how well all of her family members treated Cassie. At one point I heard her mother tell her she was wonderful. I just about lost it then.
When Cassie went to the ladies room, I took her mom and aunt aside and made sure they knew how happy she was for their acceptance. I just about broke down when her mom, who is quite religious, told me that she was doing what Jesus would do, and giving all her love. That is so different than the judgmental treatment I've been warned to be alert for at my neighbor's upcoming Bunco party.
Our waitress, Stephanie(!) called both me and Cassie "madam" when we picked up the checks. It was a wonderful dinner and a wonderful day.
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Monday I went to my doctor's office for a followup appointment for my latest lab tests, which included, for the first time, all three "E's:" Estrone, Total Serum Estrogen, and Estradiol. Some of the numbers were puzzling:
Estradiol: 274 pg/mL
Estrone: 1582 pg/mL
Total Serum Estrogen: 2582.1 pg/mL
Testosterone: 7 ng/dL
Free Testosterone: 0.8 pg/mL
I know the Estradiol is great, as is the Testosterone. The other numbers are a mystery to me. If anyone can shed any light on what they mean, I'd appreciate it.
We also talked about progesterone. We had touched on it at the last appointment and decided we'd both research it and report back. The biggest thing for me is some of the side effects listed are hair loss on the head, and hair growth on the face. Both of which I'm painfully working to fix. Doctor told me that those are the main complaints he sees with ciswomen he prescribes it to. So... never mind.
In any case, everyone from the intake nurse to the front counter people used the correct name and pronouns. I'm actually starting to feel comfortable there. It's a huge change from the first time I went there presenting as myself, when I was terrified.
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Tuesday was HNT day. I decided to prep to see how bad genital clearing is with the blend method as opposed to the thermolysis used last time I tried - when I cried on the electrocutioner's shoulder. But when I got there she asked when was the last time I'd shaved down there, and it's been a while, with just trimming the length. She reminded me that she would have no idea which hairs were in anagen phase, and working on any other hairs would be a waste. So we set it up for next week and I got the whole two hours on my face. As usual, toward the end, the BLT was getting pretty weak. Considering I goop up and cover it with plastic before the 1:20 drive, by the end of the session it's been on there for 3:20. Of course it's wearing off.
After cleaning up in the car and shaving off whatever Courtney didn't get with the hot needle, I went back to Tarpon Springs and got another delicious gyro at the sponge docks. The waiter was awesome, always used ma'am, and we did some bantering, mostly about the size of the gyro the kitchen had prepared, which he said was the biggest he'd ever seen. Half of it went home with me for lunch the next day. When I was done and went to the ladies room, there was a sign saying it was closed for cleaning. The lady working inside saw me and told me to just wait a few minutes and she'd be done. No problem - I was obviously waiting for the right room.
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That evening was the trivia contest I'm part of. We didn't win, mostly because I blew the final answer we had all our points riding on: What process is described by metaphase, prophase, anaphase, and telephase? Those terms sounded familiar, so I insisted it was hair growth. BZZZT! It's mitosis. Argh.
When I went to the ladies room, as I reached for the door a lady opened it from inside. There was the usual joking and excuse me's, and she held the door, did a little bow, waved grandiosely, and said, "Welcome!" Squeee!
One of the members of our team, S, has been completely awesome with my transition. We stood outside and talked for about a half hour as I told her how things were going and what my plans were for GCS and FFS. She was completely puzzled about why I thought I needed FFS. I tried to explain, but she's aging gracefully and thinks I should accept myself as I am. We'll have to agree to disagree.
One thing she said, though, shocked me. She plays badminton with my wife, and she commented that they played with a woman who I look almost exactly like. I felt sorry for the poor lady until S said, "And she's so pretty!" OMG. They promised to sneak a picture of her. I can't wait to see who they think I look like. I still see the old me in the mirror quite often, and it will be instructive to get an idea who other people are seeing.
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ARRRRR!! Today were a special day! It were International Speak Like a Pirate Day. I hopes all ye saucy wenches and scurvy dawgs celebrated appropriately!
Beyond that, it was the day the windshield company sent another guy out to fix the windshield on the RocketSkate. (The rest of the story is in an earlier post.) He was supposed to be here between 12pm and 5pm, so I got in the shower at 11, knowing I'd have all the time in the world to make myself presentable. Well, when I got out, I found a message on my phone that said he'd be early, and I had about 10 minutes to get ready. I set a new record getting dressed and my face on. Holy makeup, Batgirl, I worked up a sweat trying to not look sweaty. But I was ready when he showed up, and I got ma'amed, so I guess I did okay.
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I saw an announcement that Marci Bowers is coming to Orlando for an evening presentation. I jumped right in and got tickets for me and Cassie. I hope I get a chance to learn about the Davidov peritoneal pull-through method. I hear she's been studying it.
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But the big news of the day is something I never ever thought I'd run into in a million years.
I used to work for a guy I'll call D who owned the company that made the plane that I had become the acknowledged expert with. After a while he decided he could run the business better without my help (he couldn't), so he kicked me to the curb. After he let the company languish for a few years he sold out to another person here in Florida, who wasn't interested in paying for my knowledge, so I drifted away from it. I hadn't talked to D in probably five years.
Today, the phone rang, and caller ID said it was D. WTH? Why would he call? Does he know what I've been doing for the last year? Do I have to out myself yet again? Understand that this guy is a dyed-in-the-wool Alabama redneck, a republican, and very likely a rabid Trump supporter. Argh! I did not want to have to deal with that today. I let it go to voice mail.
But when I listened I was blown away. He started out with, "Hey Stephan (pronounced "steffen"), it's D." He'd obviously not gotten my new name correct, but he was trying. He went on to talk businessy stuff, but then he said something incredible. Here it is, word for word:
Quote
And let me take this opportunity to... commend you on your move. That took a lot of guts... and I probably have more respect for you now than I ever have."
This from someone in the Deep South with the accent to match. I just sat there stunned.
He had called in the past, and I had ignored them, as I was still quite unhappy at the way he'd treated me when he told me we wouldn't be working together any more. But I couldn't ignore this. I warmed up my voice. No self-consciousness now, and no half-measures. I wanted him to know that I was now a woman named Stephanie, with no doubts.
I called him. The first thing he said was, "You'll have to excuse me while I get used to your voice. It's so different from what I'm used to. Is that something that happens naturally?" I explained all the work that goes into it, and I'm pleased to say that I was able to maintain the voice through the entire conversation. I was pretty proud of myself after we hung up after a 20 minute conversation. It was a good talk, about half of which was about my transition, and the rest about possible business arrangements. I'm not holding my breath. He did promise to stop by when he got to Florida, apparently soon. I sent him one of my favorite selfies so he had some idea who he'd be meeting.
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The day wrapped up with a video visit with my BFF, dinner, and lots of typing here. I have nothing profound to wrap up with. Just another day, with some amazing twists...
Oh, and,
ARRRRRRR!!Stephanie