I'll have three consecutive evenings out as Grace this week, which will be my third, fourth and fifth times...so a big deal at this stage. Tonight was an art gallery opening for the girlfriend of a friend of mine. My first attempt to mingle with the general public and I think it went pretty well. Only my friend and her girlfriend, plus another woman who was there knew of me in dude mode so it was up to me to sell myself as Grace. And wow, I had to do a lot of talking in noisy environments! At the gallery I got cornered by a woman who chatted with me about graphic design for a good 15 minutes! Afterwards my friend, her girlfriend, three other women and myself went and had dinner. It was great, a solid three hours as me! If anyone suspected I was trans* they graciously never said or hinted. My friend knew me as Julie during my first attempt at transition - I was talking to her before we left the gallery and I was saying I felt I was doing ok even though I wasn't happy with my voice, she said she thought the change was so stunning she couldn't see me as anything other than a woman. She didn't have any problem remembering to call me Grace so that was really great (last time she was always misgendering me and forgetting to call me Julie). I felt self conscious about my voice especially when I had to speak up in a noisy restaurant but once I got used using it in conversation it wasn't too bad. Just need more confidence. Oh wait...two more nights to go!
That is awesome. You go girl.
The more you go out there and do girl mode the easier and more natural it gets Grace. Have fun! :)
After a while it just becomes part of the female package. Reading this makes me happy!
So happy right now! Go girl! The best is yet to come and I know you will love it. Stay strong and confident. :)
congratulations
Thanks ladies!
Quote from: Eva Marie on February 25, 2014, 06:58:00 AM
The more you go out there and do girl mode the easier and more natural it gets Grace.
This is what I was thinking too, so far three very positive experiences each one building on the previous in terms of "complexity". My only concern is that I might get complacent and then when I'm least expecting it I'll get hassled by some jerk/s. I did get a couple of odd looks last night while I was walking through the streets around the main railway junction...mind you, they were from weird looking creepy guys! Other than that, no problems and I must have passed a few hundred people from the start of the night to the end of it. So I'm feeling relaxed and confident about my general ability to pass in public, it's just when I open my mouth I feel less confident. :-\
Quote from: Ms Grace on February 25, 2014, 02:47:29 PM
I did get a couple of odd looks last night while I was walking through the streets around the main railway junction...mind you, they were from weird looking creepy guys!
I've learned over time that this is how some guys look at all women on the street...
Lol - yes I believe that is true! :laugh:
OK - second night of my big week!
So tonight I made sure I got ready earlier and actually managed to ready in half the time it took me yesterday... progress! I changed after work and headed off to catch a bus go to a major shopping centre (mall) for a quick bite to eat and to do a spot of shopping for clothes, accessories and the like. Then on to the main event... to see Cate McGregor and Chaz Bono speaking about their experiences - it was quiet an inspirational night. Met the lovely Aisla from the forum too, so we were able to chat and I got the chance to use my voice a fair bit... I do believe I'm starting to feel a bit more confident with how it sounds now. Anyway, it was a great night... I'm getting the hang of feeling relaxed and natural without much effort.
Did have to use the ladies at the end of the session (my first time using a women's rest room in a loooooong time), and because the talk was at a theatre with other shows running it was a pretty big area... first impression was that I felt perfectly at ease going in there, second impression was that it was weird but nice to use a rest room that didn't have a massive stinky urinal in it, and the third impression was that women talk to each other while they're on the can! :laugh:
Had an experience at the bus stop, this guy tried to chat me up (at least I think that's what he was trying to do). I was waiting for the bus and next thing I hear, "Hello" and see this shortish guy with glasses and a very "gollum" like face standing there looking at me. I hardly wanted to talk to him. So I just waved in a fairly dismissive way. "What are you up to?" he asked... and without a second thought I said "None of your business" and walked away. He had a rather shocked look on his face - don't know if it was because it was an answer he didn't normally get or because my voice hadn't quite broken in by that stage - anyway he didn't follow me. It didn't phase me but it was a bit of a reminder that some guys actually think bus stops are an acceptable place to chat up women.