Monday February 29, 2016 - The Transgender Cheerleader

I just love these stories. I always want the next generation to have it easier. That is one of the main reasons I taught in College. If I can help make it a bit easier for the ones behind me, I did part of my job in this reality.

I would include this blog as my way of trying to make it easier for others.

Watch the short video below.

Sunday February 28, 2016 - Playing dressup

Yesterday, I did get a change to play around with one of my dresses and try to build a wardrobe around it. It was an older dress and not one of my recent dresses for my Ohio trip.

Did not have time to play with my makeup. So pardon not atleast putting on lipstick.

I worked with a pretty brown, white a teal dress that has thick shoulder straps.

I tried this dress with and without the sweater and with a variety of shoes. I liked the jewelry I choose. The red and purple bangles around my wrist was an attempt to bring out the red specks in the sweater.

I recently bought this sweater for this dress. I wanted to give this dress another look.

Unlike boy clothes, I do not like wearing the same outfit twice. So I need to buy items that change the look of outfits.

Here is my outfit with a low height wedge and sweater

Here is the same outfit but without the sweater. My shoulders are more prominent without the sweater.

 Here is the outfit without the sweater and I am wearing flats.

 Here is the outfit without the sweater and the higher wedge heel. These are the shoes I wore in Orlando that "killed" my feet after wearing them over eight hours.

I have decided to keep these wedges. But I will wear them only for a short time.

 This outfit has the higher wedges but with the sweater. This sweater reduces the look of my shoulders.

This is me in the same outfit as above but from a sitting position.
















I like this flowery dress. The hemline is a good length. However, the straps make hiding my bra straps difficult. The sweater improves the outfit and was definitely a wise purchase.

Friday February 12, 2016 - Something interesting happen at the gym last night.

I had a very good workout Thursday night. But before my workout and while I was in the locker room, I had a very good discussion with some of my friends.

My friend who moved to this gym from LA Fitness during the same time I did, was finishing up his workout as I arrived. We talked for about 10 to 15 minutes about the Presidential race and gas prices. I had just paid $1.49 per gallon for gas. He is younger than I am and does not remember $0.35 per gallon gas. I remember in high school during the oil embargo, I declared that if gas reached $1.00, I was going to quit driving. LOL

Then my other friend walking in the locker room. This is the Dallas Cowboy fan who calls me the marathon man because of my long workouts. As a matter of fact, today, I completed 3 hours on the elliptical machine plus 15 minutes of warm up on the stairmaster.

He joined our conversation about gas prices and then we talked about how is father read this book on how to turn $10,000 into $1,000,000. His dad died in 2010 a millionaire. So we talked about that and his grandmother who ran away from home at 16 to join the circus.

The three of us ended up talking for about 20 minutes. During that time I was dressed in my feminine workout attire. (See above and below) No one said anything or looked funny at me. The discussion was so good, I forgot what I was wearing and no one cared. We  were just having that man type discussion.

Toward the end of out talk, it hit me that I can do this, I can transition and I bet very few people would care. Now am not fooling myself by thinking I can still walk into a men's locker room. So it will impact my workout routine. But basically, if I behave as though how I am presenting in normal, more people will will accept me.

Thursday February 11, 2016 - Presenting yourself as a woman

I found this interesting list of 27 actions a Transwoman should avoid in public. It seems from this list, that there is so much to remember that it takes the fun out of it. That is not true. Most of these items you instinctively stop doing, once you connect with your femininity and express it.

I find some of these items troublesome for me. So I took the list and added comments to the items that are a problem for me.

1. Slouching
   I try to remember to walk straight with my head up. I noticed from a self taken video, that I sometime slouch while walking in heels. So I am constantly trying not to slouch.
2. Biting your nails
   I stopped biting my nails a few years ago.
3. Compulsively checking your phone
4. Rummaging through your purse
   This is a problem I have. I can not remember where I put my keys and other items inside my pocketbook.
5. Crossing your arms 
6. Fidgeting 
7. Shaking your leg or tapping your fingers
8. Not smiling
   I constantly remember to smile while out. I think happy thoughts and remember how I am finally doing something I have been dreaming about for decades. Enjoy the moment.
9. Scanning the room when you talk to people
   Learned to stop doing that years ago.
10. Talking too much with your hands
11. Exaggerated nodding
12. Examining your teeth or complexion in public
13. Applying makeup in public (other than a quick swipe of lipstick)
14. Resting your chin on your hands and elbows
    I had a problem with this earlier. But I soon realized that resting my hands on my chin placed foundation on my hands. I now keep my hands away from face.
15. Sitting with your legs apart
16. Clanging your silverware
17. Avoiding eye contact
    I use to do this. I now know that avoiding eye contact is a sign of nervousness. I now make eye contact and smile.
18. Eye contact that is too intense
19. Weak handshake
20. Clenching your fists
21. Standing too close to people
22. Chewing loudly
23. Talking while you eat
24. Eating or drinking too fast
    I am really trying to learn this. I have been eating too fast for years.
25. Bending towards your food instead of bringing the food to your mouth
    This is another area where I need to improve. Men hover over their food while women bring the food to their mouth. This goes with learning to eat slower.
26. Leaning forward too much
27. Leaning back too much

Tuesday February 9, 2016 - SRS

Is the ultimate goal of every transwomen sex realignment surgery (SRS)? At this point, for me it is not my ultimate goal. My ultimate goal is to be happy and content while being able to present my true self to the world. I know now that I am more female than male. But at almost 60 (I hope to have another 20+ years), I could enjoy my life within SRS.

I want to end this part of my life's journey by being perceived as a woman, volunteering and joining LGBT and female social organizations. I can reach this point without SRS. However, once I get there, will I want to go further and complete SRS? I do not know and only time will tell.

I found this very good video in my Facebook feed. It's an animated video of how SRS is performed.

Male-To-Female Sex Reassignment Surgery
【 Male-To-Female Sex Reassignment Surgery 】“Male-to-female reassignment surgery is often more successful than its female-to-male counterpart, due to the fact that it is more difficult to create a functioning penis from limited clitoral tissue. MF reassignment involves reshaping the male genitals in the form of a vagina. Sometimes referred to as a vaginoplasty, the surgery entails removal of the testicles and inversion of the penis.”(Source: http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/male-female-sex-reassignment-surgery-watch-reconstruction-and-witness-procedure-363816; video source: The European Society of Urology)
Posted by Student Surgical Association of Hong Kong - SSAHK on Friday, January 15, 2016