In my usual forum wandering routine, I visit a site called DSLreports. It's basically a site focused not surprisingly on all things communications (even if they do indeed have plenty of off topic not communications sections for the members).

It's where I get my 'technology fix'.

I was thinking today, how vital Susan's has become to me.

If tomorrow, technology and it's massive level of importance to our lives was massively disrupted, and logically in the process we lost are ability to go online and that means Susan's place, what would we all do?

No I am not talking end of the world scenarios, because really, if say Yellowstone erupts, I am so not worrying about wearing a skirt while fighting for survival.

But I am talking about things like the internet, and all the forces out there seemingly trying to screw it up for joe nobody.
Ya got Hollywood and their insane ideas about how it is always all about them, and their lobbying so as to buy off politicals.
Then you have companies like in my case (I'm Canadian), Bell Canada and their obsession with abusing their position.
You could find it hard to go online just from someone making the expense simply not viable to you.

But there are so many people out there, that are really, just dicks I suppose is a fine enough descriptor. Messing with the infrastructure, hacking, and let's be honest, Anon is not your friend, they're just attention starved losers. And their are the more malicious, more sinister variations, governments and countries that have insane agendas and axes to grind.

Ok enough the explaining of the myriad ways it might happen.

I am wondering, how many people NOT only known online, do you have contact with?
Is transitioning, and all that is connected to that whole process, and the entire support process limited to online assets for you?

Right now, in my home town, I have nothing.
Heck I couldn't find you an example of a garden variety homosexual if I needed to, let alone someone of the TG community.
I'm a bit lacking in worldly I couldn't recognize a street walking working girl to save my life.
I know the town has a drug trade, but I've never seen it.

I have been able to get some help from the local hospital for dealing with mundane depression and other living with a coping problems. But it has been made clear they are not equipped to deal with complex matters of gender. I had an interview in November with a shrink, and he is only just getting back to me start of March. 3 months is not a long time, till you are waiting for an answer to something really important.

I'd have been right out of my friggin tree if I had not found Susan's. And I found you due to a friend leading me here, I was not able to find you via Google. And that friend is an internet friend.

If tomorrow, something bad happened, and the internet was ruined, and my computer being able to go online was essentially gone.
Well I suppose life would need to be really in the crapper for that to happen. Well that's what we tell ourselves at least.

But how many of us, actually have in person resources? Actual local options, connections, friends?

Susan's is incredibly valuable to me, and it is also rare. I know, I looked prior to getting here. My search was not going anywhere.

I could live without Facebook to a point. I could cope without shopping on Amazon. I would hate not being able to talk about models on a forum I go to for models, or anime on an anime forum.

But I have actually become dependent on Susan's.

None of this forum is expendable.

How many hear, have reached out and actually directly communicated with another? By personal phone, by mail (the paper kind), or even meeting?
I have talked on the phone with a very good friend (bit older than me) that is of the CD variety.
I have also talked directly to a friend that is TG like me (also the person that told me about Susan's).
I have yet to actually meet a person like me face to face sadly.

I have often wondered what it would be like to actually become pen pals with others that have similar interests (not all TG will want to hang out together of course). Pen pals, not email buddies though.

I am open to anyone that actually wants to get to know me better.
To know ME not just the Sailor Moon avatar using online account called Lesley Roberta, but the person on the other side of the monitor.

I am ok meeting YOU on the other side of a piece of paper
My reality though makes me incapable of travel so I won't be going down that road.

I have a lot of interests, I might be interesting to a lot of people.
My basic details (place here for convenience).
MTF
50
married with a son (18)
Canadian
I like models, books, history, science, anime, woodworking, wargames, most of my music tastes are a bit old.
I like the outdoors. Wish I could be out in it more. Wish there was more of it in walking distance.

I mention the above to allow you to know what I will inherently have to interest you, but I find almost anyone to be interesting myself.
You don't need to be MTF or FTM. You don't need to be any age demographic or Canadian. But, you would need to be ok with writing a letter and mailing it (that's the point of pen pals eh).
The point of this, is, I want to get to actually know people who can actually KNOW me, and be people that will at least know of what I live with, and why (to some extent at least).

I'd like my world to be more than just the internet as well.

And because the world is knee deep in paranoid, and everyone is always wondering 'why is this person doing this', my declaration to you, should you decide to be a pen pal, it stays between us. Don't start something here, if you can't. I offer you the same level of privacy I'd offer any of my local friends and family.

So much right on the button Lesley.

When Susans became inaccessable a while ago, due to some new software Susan (I think) was trying, I was eating my wrists. I kepts writing to those members I knew, but of those who replied, some took over 12 hours! Can you imagine waiting a whole 12 hours just to hear a friendly voice?

Well, yes, I think you can.

But I still live in absolute adoration of Cindy James.

Seriously though, Susans' is a great place and not really like anything else.

In 2011 we had a freak snow storm on Halloween and after the storm I was without power for 10 days. I actually looked forward to coming into the office so that I could charge all of my electronics. The first day and a half after the storm was like a total blackout. The only thing that worked was my mobile phone. For the next 8 or so days it was my entertainment and I used it as a wifi hot spot until the power came back on.

With no power being online isn't the thing I worried about. Not being able to gas my car, buy food or having hot water was the big thing. Living in a world tHat goes dark when the sun sets is very interesting. I found myself getting tired and going to bed early. I used my iPad as my entertainment system. Thankfully Netflix worked so I watched whatever was on at the time. Driving around to get gas was interesting as well. It was real frontier living for a while. Lucky for me that I have 2 woodstoves in the house so I was keeping warm at night.