Saturday, December 22, 2007

December 22, 2007 - I wanna go home!

So my latest trip was to Detroit on Sunday 16 Dec where I planned to work with my customer on the following Monday morning, then get on a plane for Indianapolis that evening to work with a customer there. My trip to Detroit was supposed to be about 6 hours long, giving me all day Sunday to play. For that matter, I had seriously considered flying "dressed" for the first time since it was a short flight and I didn't have to see the customer until the following day. Luckily for me, my wife talked me out of flying dressed because the flight to Detroit turned into a nightmare of canceled flights, re-routing, and delays. The trip that was supposed to take around 6 hours took over 21 hours. Had I flown dressed, the cat would have been outta the bag after about 12 hours when the beard would have started showing!

So they boarded us onto the plane from Atlanta to Detroit, let us get all seated and belted in, and then told us the flight was canceled due to weather.
Then they set me up on a later flight - that was canceled.
They offered to fly me into Grand Rapids, around 100 miles North of Detroit, but I figured if the weather was so bad that a huge airport like Detroit had to close, then I darn sure didn't want to be driving 100 miles in it.Eventually they rerouted me through Memphis and then onto Detroit. The flight to Memphis was then delayed so that I had to run like hell for the connection and I just barely caught the connection.

I just caught the connection.
My suitcase caught the connection.
My tool box did not make the connection. #%$*#~!!!!

By the time I make the lost baggage claim, get the rental car, and drive 40 miles north on the ice and snow, it's about 1AM when I get to bed. At 5AM the airline calls to tell me my tool box has been delivered to the hotel!

The view from my hotel room in Troy MI


Monday I got the Detroit job done and moved on to Indianapolis for the next service call.

Shot from the gate at the Detroit Airport on the way to Indianapolis


No problems this flight but apparently I ate something I shouldn't have and got food poisoning. Tuesday I spent with bad stomach cramps and. . . well. . . no delicate way to say this . . the "runs" . . . and I had them BAD. I didn't feel too bad other than that, I just couldn't get more than a yard from the bathroom. This was a bit uncomfortable as my customer was a 40 minute drive from my hotel.


Taken on the drive from Indianapolis to Columbus Indiana



Tuesday night when I got back to the hotel from my customer I had to go to the bathroom VERY bad, so I grabbed my laptop, locked the car, and ran like hell for the room!I was supposed to go out with Gina that night, but I decided to throw in the towel and called her to explain that I just couldn't do it. I then crawled into bed where I would sleep for about an hour and half, run for the bathroom, then go back to sleep for two hours, etc.

The following morning when I got to my rental car to make the drive back down to my customer, I discovered that in my haste to get to my room the night before, I had left my GPS hanging on the windshield. Yup, you guessed it, some no good, low life, scum sucking, son of a dog busted out my drivers window and stole my brand new, less than a week old GPS unit.  

What a new GPS unit looks like when you leave it on the window over night at a hotel


I know that a $250 GPS isn't worth someone's life, but right then I would cheerfully murder the guy if I could get my hands on him. The rental car company brought me out a new car, I bought another GPS, and went back to work.


That night I met Jenny for dinner.
Going to dinner with Jenny Wed night

I'm not sure how much Jenny would be comfortable with my speaking about here so I wont tell you much about her other than the fact that she was a very nice person and it was a pleasant evening. Still didn't feel very good and so called it a night after dinner and went to bed.
Fortunately the next day I felt a LOT better and went got to hang out with Gina again.













Going to dinner and The Metro with Gina Thur night

We went to English Ivy's for dinner as usual, and then went to The Metro for drinks and karaoke The last time I went to karaoke there it was awesome. this time it was kind of sad in comparison. I also found myself choking on the smoke in the place - I don't remember it being so bad the last time. Now my clothes and hair reek of cigarette smoke! :-(

Friday I woke up at about 3AM to discover that what ever it is I had, food poisoning or something else, it had NOT left me after all. I spent the entire trip home running from bathroom to bathroom. Pretty sure this trip goes down in history as my very worst ever and I just couldn't wait for it to end! The good news is I lost about five pounds and now weigh 145!
Darn shame it will be temporary!

Saturday, December 8, 2007

December 08, 2007 - Lexington Kentucky

This weeks trip was to Lexington Kentucky. I searched the Internet for things to do here and about all I could find was horses, horses, and more horses. :-)
Well, I guess I'll just have to go shopping! I found the Fayette Mall and took a walk through it.

I found a few things I liked, but nothing I couldn't live with out. The good news is, as far as I could tell no one made me, so life was good.
After the comment I received at the Glamor Boutique, I decided to try hip pads. The off the shelf apparel with hip pads incorporated just didn't seem to look right on me. Either I looked like I had dinner plates on my hips, or tennis balls - no happy medium, so I made my own.



I think they DO help my appearance but they are a pain in the butt! Have to wear a girdle to hold them in place, and lord help you if you have to go potty, because getting them back in the right place takes a bit of effort! Do you think they help my look enough to be worth the hassle?
Did my window shopping and then decided to hit up "Mia's" for dinner. Mia's is a small "friendly" bar that also serves food, and I've got to tell you, it was a darn good meal! I ordered a long island Iced Tea and darn near fell off my stool when I took my first drink of it. They don't hold back the alcohol there!
It seems like there were several small groups, all doing their own thing, and I sat at the bar pretty well bored outta my mind. Spoke with the bartender a bit - it turns out we were both into the "Tin Man" series currently airing on Sci Fi. She turned the TV on to watch it, but had to use closed captioning which makes for a bit of frustration. I'd been there for a little over an hour when two ladies sat next to me and I struck up a conversation with the one closest to me - Sharon. Turns out that she is from Texas, only a couple of hours from where I live. We talked a long time. She and her wife (get a grip, this WAS a lesbian bar!) manage the club down the street "Club 141/Z1" I think it is. She was a very nice person and I really enjoyed talking to her! The club they manage was not open on Tuesday nights, so I think I'll have to try and look them up when / if I get back there.

Got a call from Beth - turns out that she can get out! 
Beth is gorgeous and has a little bitty figure I'd kill for. I asked her if she did marathons and ate only rabbit food - she assures me she isn't an exercise fiend and eats like a horse. I'm pretty sure I hate her. Just teasing - Beth is a VERY nice person and I wouldn't hesitate if you get the chance to meet her!  My only regret is that with her work schedule, and my having to catch a plane in the morning, it seemed that she had just got there when I had to leave. With any luck, we will have more time if I get back again.

Friday, November 30, 2007

November 30, 2007 - It DOES get better!

Well everyone, I spoke to my wife some more about this tonight. She is honestly not upset, and trust me, if she was upset she WOULD let me know!The funny thing is that she said much the same thing that many of you have said here "Screw 'em if they have a problem!"

As my only pain was thinking that I had hurt my wife (however indirectly) I'm OK now. If she's not hurt, then I'm not. I honestly couldn't care less what these people think or know as long as they don't hurt my wife because of it.

I thank you all for your genuine concern. If y'all are "That kind of people" then I'm OK with that and proud to be a part of it.

Hugs from Texas!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

November 29, 2007 - It Gets Even Better - NOT

As I recently posted, we found out Thanksgiving day that my Mother in law apparently knows about me and has been kind enough to share that with at least some of my wife's family. (Thanks Mom, love ya'! Really! Mean it!)
Well today it got even better. . .

My wife works at the same company I do so when I'm in town, we drive to work and back together. Today she let me know that one of the other ladies at our office was asked not to invite my wife and I to her "couples" baby shower. And I quote "I don't wont those kind of people around".

For this to make sense, you have to know that a woman who I now fondly think of as "Witch" used to work for my company, found out about me, and was completely repelled by it. Witch told the same woman who shared the "I don't wont those kind of people around" comment with us more than a year ago. It now appears that she told more people.

So way cool! My wife loves me for 20 years and gives me two wonderful children. I repay her by repelling her family and ruining any chance she has to make normal friends at work. . .

When we were speaking about it at dinner tonight, and it was all I could do to keep from crying, she told me "I know it makes you happy and I wont ask you to stop, but it hasn't been good for me."
Wow, I feel pretty much like the lowest thing on the planet right now.

Monday, November 26, 2007

November 26, 2007 - I had a dream

Many years I ago I had a very intense and realistic dream. It was a very simple dream, and I'd be surprised if anyone who is NOT transgender would understand why I found it to be so powerful and emotional.
I was a woman, in front of a mirror, brushing my hair. I was not a beauty queen in this dream, nor a princess, a "hotty", or a sex goddess. I was just a woman, brushing my hair. Told you it was simple.

For all of its apparent simplicity, it was one of those dreams that seems so real, feels so real, that it takes a moment upon waking to realize that it was . . . just . . . . a dream. When I did wake up enough to know it was just a dream, and that I most certainly was not a woman doing this most mundane thing, I felt tears running down my face.
This dream was the inspiration for this drawing.

Friday, November 23, 2007

November 23, 2007 - My mother-in-law has been telling tales

Thanksgiving night we went to San Antonio to spend the holiday with my wife's aunt and uncle. These are good folks that have retired from the army and settled down about three hours south of us here in Texas. As it always does at some point or other, the conversation eventually came around to my wife's mother. She went through a divorce about a decade ago and it really tore up her life so she moved in with us for a while. It ended somewhat badly and more or less my wife asked her to leave. So anyway, while we were talking about my mother in law, my wife's Aunt sort of let a comment slip out.
"I don't believe a thing she says about you," said my wife's aunt.
Hmm . . . I'm a bit over 40 and these days I don't rattle easily, so I smiled and calmly asked her what my mother in law had told her about me.
"I'm not gonna say. Besides your too much a man for that and I don't believe a word of it."
I tried a little bit more but for some time she refused to elaborate, but at least two more times she referred to this, so it was clear she was either very concerned about it or fishing.
I waited until we had a moment with the children out of the room and then I pushed her for more info and at last she came out with it.
"She said you were a cross dresser. I don't believe it. Besides, who cares what you and your wife do in your own bedroom?"
I glanced at my wife, looking for some indication of how she would feel if I were to launch into a discussion about it, and I found her very slightly shaking her head "no". After 20 years of marriage, this glance back and forth was an entire conversation. I had asked my wife if it was all right for me to talk to them about it and my wife had asked me not to.
She never actually asked if I was or not, and given my wife's discomfort, I neither confirmed or denied it. My own warped sense of pride, integrity, and honor would not allow me to lie about it. Had she point blank asked me, I would have told her the truth.
Her aunts words "I don't care what you two do in your room" sort of bugs me. Now they have this vision of me like the rocky horror picture show, some guy in 9 inch heels and fishnets prancing around a room. It gives me the creeps that this is probably what they think a cross dresser is, what I am. I want to talk to them, tell them what it really is, what it really means to me, but my wife has asked me not to speak to them about it or explain it. I hate it but I will honor her wishes. When you have a wife that accepts this of you, you have to respect her wishes sometimes and put her comfort level above your own.
If you have read my story from one of my first blogs, you know cross dressing is so much more for me than the something "you two do in the bedroom" and I just hate it that this is the picture they are left with.
On the way home we talked about it and I agreed I would not discuss it unless I was specifically asked.
We had not even been aware my mother in law knew of this. We knew she couldn't possibly keep a secret like this and so we did not share it with her, nor had I gone out the entire year she lived with us, so I know she has not seen me. My best guess is she was snooping through our room and closet when we were out to work and she is putting two and two together.
Knowing that she has been telling people this has allowed another little piece of the puzzle to fall into place. A week ago my sister in law brought her two children over and stayed the night with us. At least half a dozen times she referred to me as "she" or "her". I had wondered if she had figured it out then. Knowing that her mother shared this with my wife's Aunt and Uncle, I think it's certain she has shared it with my wife's sister, and probably her entire family. I don't know if this has yet occured to my wife. My sister in law and her husband live in another small town in Texas. While very good people in my opinion, they are NOT the type to accept this sort of thing well. These are the type of folks that say "go get a rope" if they were to see a cross dresser.
The only feeling I have about all of this is sorrow for my poor wife. I am not ashamed of what I am and it doesn't bother me much if someone knows, but my wife has lost a good friend when the womans husband found out about me, and now my wife's entire family almost certainly knows. Once again I have managed to hurt my wife, the lovely little girl that saved my life 20 years ago when she had the courage to say "I love you too". Once again, I've brought pain to the lovely woman that has given me two beautiful children, and two decades of love.
Most of the time I'm OK with it, but sometimes being TG really sucks . . .

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

October 30, 2007- Sally, Rita, and the Sisters of Boston

So now I’m in Boston! I got there Saturday night and went out with the Sisters of Boston .


Sally came and picked me up and we went to dinner at a small Italian place.
It was so funny – we must have been the first TGirls they have ever had, or at the very least it must be a rare event. You could see the hostess do a double take but she recovered well. About five minutes later, while Sally and I were going over the menu I saw the hostess peek around the corner and point us out to another girl. When I glanced up they were suddenly “busy “.
After dinner we moved on to pick up Dina (the lady in the middle in the pic at right)


I was told that Dina had gone shopping "dressed" for the first time the night before. Hard to believe – she looks so perfect. She is small and looked 100% "real" to me. If I looked like that I would never go back to boy mode. We went to the mall because she had to return something she had purchased the night before. As we passed a couple of guys in their early 20’s, one of them let out quite the theatrical laugh that was clearly intended to mock us. I was out and pretty, with two other pretty ladies and having a great time and I wasn’t about to let some punk bother me, so we just kept walking.

After we did a little shopping, we moved on to the Randolph Country Club to join the Halloween party, already in progress. As I walked into the club, Rita walked up and introduced herself to me. She and I are connected on yahoo 360 but I had failed to recognize her. She had her first make over that night and was so excited! At least half a dozen times that night, folks that I had never met walked up to say  “Aren’t you Kim”? I felt like some sort of star or something. Isn’t the internet an odd place – so many people come to know you by reading your blog.

Sally was one of those cute ensigns from Star Trek and was cute as heck. She carried a little Tricorder that we all played with and laughed about through out the night.





There had to be at least 40 TGirls there, short ones, tall ones, skinny ones, large ones, and some were drop dead gorgeous. Sigh . . . wish I had that problem! 

 
Speaking of cute and gorgeous, here was my favorite outfit from the night:



After the club closed, seven of us went to IHOP for breakfast. We got every kind of reaction you can imagine. Some folks were tickled to death, and some just kind of stared at as. I’d say the majority of the folks were in costumes. While we sat out in the waiting area waiting for a table, a drop dead gorgeous GG walked in wearing an identical Batgirl outfit to Ashley. As you can imagine, this launched an energetic round of comparing, laughing, and amusement.
It was a fun night and I was sorry when it came to an end.
Thanks for driving and letting me join you Sally!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

October 28, 2007 - Hanging With Holly

So like I mentioned before I was in Southern California all of last week. Boy did I pick a bad week to be there as the entire area was burning. For a while the airport I flew in and out of was closed due to the fires. One morning I went out to the rental car and found it covered with ash and particles. I don’t know about you, but this is a clear sign to me that I am far too close to the fires! The hotel was full of folks that had to leave their homes, some already knew their homes were gone, and some had no idea if they still had one or not. I feel so sorry for them all – can you imagine how bad that must feel? Worse yet, the fires were started on purpose but some low life. GRRRRR!


At last I got to meet one of my heroes from Crossdressers.com – Holly !
Holly is thought of as being sort of a mother to all of us there. She has a kind heart, common sense, and always offers encouragement and good advice. The first night I met Holly alone, and the next night I got to meet her wife.
So Holly and I talked for a long time and found out we had a lot in common. An interest in music, we have both been happily married for decades (she has a couple on me!), and we both served in the Army. Not only served in the Army, but had worked in related areas. It seems she had worked on a mission or two with the missile that started my career – the Pershing! Gotta wonder what the odds were.

The first night we went out to dinner at Mimi’s Café in San Bernardino. Good food, good service, andJ I like to sing but I’m NOT a performer. I stand there like a bump on a log and sing – not Holly. Holly likes to play the crowd! She was all over the stage, looking at every one and including them in the performance. I love that kind of confidence. She sang “It’s my party” and she did it well! I love the song but can’t sing that darn high!
they didn’t bat an eye. If your in the area, I do recommend it.


Then we went to VIP’s where we both sang karaoke!
The next night, I went to dinner at Mimi’s again with Holly AND her wife. (Yeah, I know that just doesn’t sound right!) Talk about a hoot, her wife is a such a cheerful and happy person, and they make a wonderful couple. You just can’t sit with them for any amount of time with out smiling and coming to adore both of em. They have been married for around 40 years and are just perfectly comfortable with each other. It is so neat to know there are couples out there like this – it gives us all hope.
This trip was only supposed to be for a couple of days, but things went poorly with the repair I was there working on and I had to keep extending my stay. It wound up that I flew home to Austin Friday night, and then had to head out for Boston Saturday morning for two weeks of training. (I’m in the airport as I type this)
Talk about a “love/hate” thing. I love the chance to get out and meet all of these folks, but I miss my wife and children. Sigh . . .

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

October 24, 2007 - Hanging out with Tiffany in California

So I'm home sick on Thursday when I get a call from my manager. It seems that a very good customer of ours that we have a service contract with, has had one of our instruments fail and they are shut down. That's the bad news. The good news is that it is in Southern California and not more than an hour from where I was born and raised and where much of my family still lives. It's not in my region, but my manager asked if I wanted the job - duh!

The first thing that I did after setting up the flights was to call Tiffany , e-mail Tiffany, and leave
messages on her Myspace telling her "I'm on the way to your neck of the woods - wanna meet?"
She and I have been chatting for about a year so I was really happy that we might get the chance to meet. Of course, with absolutely no advance warning, you can't expect everything to go your way. No answer, no answer, no answer - damn - maybe she's out of town or something. So I get to California and I'm neck deep trying to troubleshoot our failed instrument when I get a call from her. She has just had to jump through hoops, cancel plans, and piss her family off, but she is going to meet me and go out. Tiffany is every bit as nice a person as I had thought and it was wonderful to meet her. We went out to The Oxwood Inn in Van Nuys and there were a LOT of TGirls there.






The last time I came to Southern California I was SO disappointed. I mean here I was back in the area where I was born and raised, in California which is supposed to be something of a holy grail for TG's, and no one showed any interest in meeting with me or hanging out. Tiffany and the other girls met this time more than made up for that poor initial impression. I met lots of great people, had a good time, and then went out to breakfast with the whole group. Great bunch of folks.



Next morning I went to spend it with my family and discovered that the much of the area I was just in is currently on fire. Even as I type this the news is talking of nothing but this. The airport I flew into, and have reservations to fly out of, is currently closed due to the fire. I hope they get it under control soon!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

October 10, 2007 - 20 Years of Marriage

So - I'm I bit behind in my blogging. Sorry about that but sometimes living life has got to take
priority over writing about it!

Can't tell we are a little excited to be going to the beach can you?
My wife and I have now celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Neither of us can believe it has been 20 years! We look around us at our two children, or home, our lives and out history and are just kind of in awe that we are where we are today. This was the first time we ever took a vacation just for the sake of the vacation and didn't spend it driving like hell for hour upon hour going to visit family. So we used all the frequent flier miles I've been racking up, and the points I've been earning with the Holiday Inn hotel chain, and we flew to Florida where we spent the week on the ocean! It was Melbourne Florida for those of you that know the area, and it was just gorgeous! A little off season so the beaches were virtually empty, but it was still warm weather and warm water and just awesome.


The view from our hotel room



The first day that we spent there we spent it on the beach. Each time a wave would come in my daughter would just laugh and giggle her little heart out and then run for the beach. Hour after hour of my favorite four year olds giggles - a very nice day.

The next day we went to Disney world. We had not told my daughter before hand as we thought it would be a neat surprise and frankly we also didn't want her to drive us nuts about when we were going, etc - I'm sure the parents reading this know what I mean. My daughter LOVES the Disney movies and we thought she would have a ball there.


She is especially fond of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. She watches them back to back, over and over. As soon as it ends, she starts it again. We were therefore surprised and disappointed to find that she was more or less miserable there. She spent most of the day crying and complaining and just generally was not a happy little camper.




Meeting our hero! The only time I've ever seen my daughter speechless
The high moment was when she got to meet her hero - Cinderella!  
My daughter, the one with not a shy bone in her body, was speechless - she just would not talk to her all time hero. You would have to know my daughter to understand why this was so surprising. She typically does not have a shy bone in her body, is always very loud and out going, and loves to be the center of attention. For her to clam up and be quiet was nothing was nothing short of astounding! You can just see the hero worship in her posture here.




Well, we figured she was not very happy at Disney and she had a blast on the beach, so the next day we chose to skip Disney and stay on the beach. Once again the day was filled with laughter and giggles. She had so much fun that she cried when it was time to go to the airport and fly back home. My wife and I wanted to cry too, it was just a wonderful week.

Friday, October 5, 2007

October 05, 2007 - Vancouver Canada

So this week I spent in Vancouver Canada! It was kind of weird to start your day at 85 degrees Fahrenheit and end your day at 45! Ask me in a month or so and I'll be sick of it, but it felt GREAT to be cold for a change! I got there early and got ready to go shopping and got to the mall at about 640PM. The bad news is that the shopping mall closed at 7PM!
So I sat there tossing the idea around - find someplace for dinner dressed, or go back to the hotel and change? It's really hard to put my finger on exactly what my thought process was, but I ultimately decided to just go back to drab.

I kept remembering a sign that was over the door of our barracks in Ft Sill Oklahoma where I spent my first three years in the Army. While not verbatim, it was something along the lines of "When you pass beyond this door, remember that YOU represent the United States of America". Most of the guys laughed at that but it meant something to me. Suddenly I felt concerned that perhaps I was not representing my country well here, so I went back to the hotel and washed my makeup off and put my boy clothes back on. Two hours of time and effort wasted . . . sigh . . .

The following night, I met Hiro for dinner! For a number of reasons, Hiro and I met drab and had quite a nice dinner. He is a very easy person to talk to, very friendly, and it turns out that we have a number of things in common. All in all, a very pleasant dinner.

Vancouver Canada was hard to describe. So much like home but little things here and there that are different and leave you feeling like things are just a touch off. It seemed like people were not in as big a hurry there. In most US Cities, if you don't drive 20 MPH over the speed limit you're going to get rear ended. Here it seemed most every one was quite willing to drive the speed limit and I had to keep reminding myself to slow down. Soccer on the TV in the pub didn't surprise me - this I had expected.

Well, the trip home was NOT the picture perfect trip where everything goes smoothly. Fortunately for me, I have always been "anal retentive" and insist on getting to airports two hours before my flights, because I needed every minute here. To start off, when I selected the airport rental location as my destination, the GPS unit took me to some industrial area.
"Arriving at Avis on the left," it said - it was wrong!
Nothing remotely like a rental car location was anywhere in sight.
"All right, I can figure this out!" I thought to myself.
This time I used the menu to select the Airport itself and this time succeeded in finding the rental location, but now I'm down to about an hour and a half before my flight leaves. Turn the car in and get to the terminal and discover that this airport is freaking huge and I can't find the International terminal. Eventually I stopped and asked someone and discovered that I had a long walk to get there. At last I get to the international terminal and find every Airline except Alaskan Airlines. There's Continental, Delta, United, Etc, but no Alaskan. With only an hour left before my flight I go up to the Quantis Airlines counter.
"Excuse me, but I am apparently lost and clueless - would you please, please, please tell me how to find Alaskan Airlines?"
She smiled from ear to ear and said "Right here, we take care of their ticketing".
My itinerary had said nothing about Quantis, the Quantis counter had nothing indicating they took care of Alaskan Airlines - it was just pure luck that I had asked at their counter.
So I get my tickets and then the lady explains that US Customs and immigration are done here - before I board the flight. Now I have less than an hour to stand in the customs and immigration lines, get through security, and find my gate. AARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!
Oh, did I mention that in order to save a buck, my company booked me on a flight that went all the way from Vancouver to LA, and then East out to Austin? Talk about taking the scenic route! Needless to say, I did make it, but was pretty well exhausted by the time I got home.

Friday, September 7, 2007

September 25, 2007 - JB and Sandy Read my letter on the air!

So on the way to work in Austin Texas this morning my wife and I are listening to the JB and Sandy morning show on 94.7. Sooner or later the topic comes around to the fact that Oscar De La Hoya has apparently been outted as a crossdresser and now the poor guy has his pics posted all over the internet. The JB and Sandy radio show is usually pretty humorous and so I fully expected them to take full advantage of the opportunity to make fun of Oskar and crossdressers in general and was pleased when they didn't! 
Oddly enough, the one that seemed the most put out by it was Autumn, a young lady you might consider sort of a sidekick of the show. While I don't recall her exact words, the gist of her comments was that it was weird, and how could he do this being a husband and father of 4, and how could he be gay, etc.
To my surprise, JB and Sandy both spoke up saying things along the lines of "we all have our things we wouldn't want everyone to know", and "what's so bad about it, he isn't hurting anyone". I was so impressed that when I got to the office I did something I've never done before - I wrote them an email. I told them that I was impressed and relieved that they had responded in what I thought was a reasonably adult way. I went on to tell them that most of us (crossdressers) have the same hopes, dreams, morals, and standards as anyone else. I also told them that most crossdressers are not gay and DO get married and have children, we just like to look pretty! :-)

After writing the email I packed up my tools and laptop and headed to a local customer of mine where I was working this morning. Imagine my shock when I started the car to head out and heard them already reading my letter on the air! I was stunned! Once again I waited for the other shoe to drop, fully expecting them to start taking pot shots at me - and again they didn't! They read my letter in the spirit I sent it with, and said "cool"!

So, it's a long way from being a hero of the TG revolution, but I actually got put a little good press out to the entire city of Austin Texas - how cool is that?!

September 07, 2007 - Still In Richmond Va

Well, my second day in Richmond Virginia went well. I had three days to install three systems that we normally allocate 2 days each for and I got all three done on two days. Not only that, but I trouble shot a fourth system that was quite old and well out of warranty and was able to show my customer where the problem was with their tool and not my system - life was good! I was back to the hotel at a reasonable hour so I did the Kim thing.

This was cool as the Z2 club has Karoake on Thursday nights and the last time I went (almost a year ago) they had some outstanding talent. This night they had a few good singers, but nothing like the talent that I recall from my last visit. After a couple of Long Island Ice Teas, I got up and did a few of my favorites.
You should see the look on peoples faces when a cross-dresser gets up to sing. At first you see a lot of looks that seem to say "Oh no, that drag queen is going to try and sing like a woman - this is going to sound like Mickey Mouse!" but then when I just start to sing in my normal voice, all of a sudden the smiles come out. I had fun, and didn't make a fool outta myself, and that's what counts.

I had been wearing my favorite pink outfit so much I was wearing it out, so I had searched high and
low for another like it. This is VERY close to my favorite top and skirt, just a slightly different shade and tone - its not as dark a shade of pink:

Well, the next day (7 Sep) things went to hell. My director found out I was here, and it just so happened that one of our customers here needed the software in some of our generators changed. I'd never worked with this product, but what the hell, how hard can it be to plug my laptop in and upload new software?
Has the ring of famous last words doesn't it?

Well, the application my company sent me to be used to upload the software did not work, so I wasted my customer's entire morning and accomplished nothing. Not only that, but we wasted HIS customers morning as well. See how fast you go from Hero one day to Zero the next??


I was supposed to meet Michelle and hang out with her tonight, but I didn't get out of there until very late, was emotionally and physically exhausted, and so just ate dinner and came back to the hotel. No Kim tonight, just tired, depressed, and lonely old Matt. I miss my critters and I'm all outta hugs . . .

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

September 05, 2007 - Richmond Virginia

So I am in Richmond Virginia installing some of our equipment for a customer. Most of the time when I am going to be taking a trip, I'll post on several groups and forums that I belong to and ask if any one knows neat things to do where I'm going, or if any Tsisters would care to meet. Most of the time I get no reply until after I return and post a blog about it and then everyone comes out of the woodwork:
"I wish I'd known you were going to be here!"
"Too bad I missed you"
"Let me know the next time you're going to be here"
I don't know if these folks really missed my posts before I went or if they just couldn't screw up the courage to say something until after I was gone.












In any case, Michelle does not suffer from a lack of courage. One look at her and you know that you're dealing with someone that has lots of attitude and confidence. Come on, just take a look at that face and tell me she doesn't look cocky as hell! She replied almost immediately with an offer to meet for dinner and drinks and so we did! We had a couple of games of pool (she let me win), a good meal, and a few drinks! Michelle does not suffer from a lack of courage. One look at her and you know your dealing with someone that has lots of attitude and confidence. Come on, just take a look at that face and tell me she doesn't look cocky as hell!
 
I don't know how comfortable Michelle would be with my saying much about her past, so I'll just tell we had a lot in common and it was night well spent. Thanks Michelle!

So the following day I have to go to work (that IS why I travel you know!). At one point I had to remove the side panel of our rack to gain access to the interior. The panel is probably three foot wide by 5 foot tall and heavier than it looks. I realized just how heavy it was when the darn thing surprised me and slid out of place and dropped two or three inches . . . to land on . . . my toes!
So while my vision turns to a red haze of pain and I'm biting my tongue to keep from yelling, what do you suppose I am thinking?
Am I thinking of how stupid I am going to look if I have broken my toes and have to tell the customer I have just ruined their "XX days with out an accident" record?
Am I thinking about how silly I'm going to feel if I have to take my shoe off and show the pretty pink polish on my toe nails?
Nope. All I'm thinking about is how damn ugly my foot is going to look in sandals with black and blue toes! Fortunately no broken toes, and if it did bruise, it's under that pink polish I mentioned and can't be seen!

After work, I decided not to do the Kim thing because I don't want my poor face to be raw from shaving so close so many days in a row. Instead I decide to go shopping drab. As I'm getting out of the car, I see a tall girl standing at her car and another very pretty girl a few yards away walking toward her. I could swear the girl at the car has a beard shadow but figure I've just got dressing on the brain. At least that's what I thought until the two started speaking very loudly to be heard over the cars and across the distance. Surprise, surprise, they are BOTH transgender! I was so surprised all I did was smile and say hi as I walked past them. The pretty one turned on the glam and gave me a thousand watt smile while she said "Hi honey, how are YOU doing?". That's where the conversation ended though as they both got in the car and left.
Small world, huh?

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

September 04, 2007 - The barnacle snow man and other ramblings.

So my daughter is upstairs watching Scooby Doo while my wife and I are talking. Suddenly my daughter is at the top of the stairs yelling.
"Scary scary! There's a bad snowman trying to get Scooby and Shaggy!"
Your gonna have to trust me on this, you have never heard anything as cute as a 3 year old saying "Scooby and Shaggy". At first we had some trouble understanding what she was trying to tell us so we asked her to repeat herself once or twice. Getting exasperated that we just were not getting it, she tried to clarify things.
"The bad snowman! The abom...the admo...the barnacle snowman is trying to get Scooby and Shaggy!"
I guess she just couldn't say "abominable" so it became a barnacle snowman! We spent the rest of the weekend laughing about the barnacle snowman.

So I was in the Austin airport this morning when I saw something that struck my funny bone. A woman in three inch heels...and a cane. Now there is someone that takes fashion seriously! Having trouble walking and needs a cane, but still gonna wear her heels! Gotta love it!
The 3rd was my birthday, yet another year of wrinkles to add to the collection. Women think they have it bad trying to remain or feel attractive as they age. Try being a guy getting old and still trying to look like an attractive woman - sigh. I HATE my birthday . . .

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Watch the Stars Come Out

(August 28, 2007)

Warning - proud parent moment coming:
So after I got home from work and ate dinner, I headed outside to paint the house. We just had the siding replaced a month or so ago, but due to all of the rain in the Austin area, we haven't really been able to get out and get it painted. Almost $8,000 worth of work and lumber that's gonna start rotting if not protected! At some point while I'm out playing with the paint and the mosquito's my wife bathed our 4 year old and started the process of getting the little critter to bed. By the time I got into the house, cleaned up, and to her bed to kiss her good night, it's almost 100% dark outside.

The first thing I noticed as I walked into her room is that her curtains are pulled wide open.
The next thing I notice is that rather than at the head of the bed like most of us would have it, my daughter has moved her pillow to the side farthest away from the window, and she is laying sideways on the bed and starting up and out of the window.
"What ya doing with your pillow over there critter?" I asked her.
"I'm looking out the window," she said matter of factually, as if explaining something to an idiot.
"Not much to see up there is there?" I asked, knowing that her room is on the second floor and given the angle of the bed, all she can see is up and out.
"I'm watching for the stars Poppa. You wanna sit with me and watch the stars come out?"
Call me crazy, but that's got to be the one of the sweetest offers I have ever had! I sat behind her, next to her bed for a while, petting her hair and talking to her as we watched the stars come out to play. I suppose it's a good thing it was dark - it just wouldn't do to have her know how easy her Poppa tears up.
Have I mentioned that life is pretty good these days?

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Life is Good


In responding to someone's post on CD.com, I was reminded of this and thought it might make a decent blog entry.

About a year and half ago, my daughter was in the hospital for a week with RSV aggravated by asthma. At 2 years old this can be a fairly serious situation, and of course my wife and I stayed with her in the hospital for the entire time. Any of you that have children will understand the torment you feel as a a parent when you watch your little one suffer and know there is nothing you can do to make it better.

At the time I had grown a little disenchanted with my job and perhaps to some extent with my life in general. I grew convinced that I could get a better paying job somewhere else, where my talents would be recognized, and everyone would acknowledge that I was awesome, etc, etc. I was clearly suffering from "The grass is greener on the other side of the hill" syndrome. and this event was a great wake up call. Even though I was scheduled to work with one of our largest customers here in Austin, my manager gave me zero grief and assured me that there was no problem with my staying with my daughter as long as it took. He flew another engineer in to cover the job I was supposed to be doing and put them up for the entire week while I stayed with my daughter.

Several times a day I had to walk by the waiting room for the children's surgery - any time I went to get clothes, get something to eat, etc. Every time you would see couples in the hall sobbing as they held each other waiting to find out if the most precious part of their life was going to make it or not. Those that weren't crying had the "thousand yard" stare, lost in their own misery, hopes, and fears. I started to wonder what they were going through, what was their story. I came to realize that more than likely, some of them had children that were NOT going to be all right. Some of them had children that had serious problems that were not going to be resolved now, but would linger on for months or years, and may well result in death.

This was a pivotal moment in my life when I realized that my life was GOOD, and two years later this lesson remains very vivid with me.
MY daughter WOULD be going home soon and she WOULD be all right.
My son, my wife, and myself were all in good health.
I have a wife who loves me as much as I love her an that's a lot.
I have a good home.
I like my job and they DO like and respect me and they proved it when the cards were down.
I suppose my point is this. If you feel like your life sucks, and you think you have it bad, try to remember that right now there are hundreds or thousands of couples around the world clinging to each other and sobbing. If you aren't one of them, you need to step back and realize that YOUR life is pretty darn good right now.

Monday, August 20, 2007

I met Nicole Meadows and Moon Baby!



I got to meet Nicole Meadows and Moon Baby - nanny nanny booh booh! It turns out that by happy
coincidence they are going to be in the Dallas Area the same day that I am going to be there.

Now that I have your attention, I'm gonna bore the hell outta ya. (Don't worry, we'll get back to that story in a second)

Frazzled. That was my day pretty much from start to end - frazzled.
I'd have to back up a little to put it into context and give you any idea why I was so frazzled.
I've been on the road for work three Saturdays in the last 30 days or so, then last week my flights home from my service call on Friday were screwed up with multiple delays. The plane coming in that was to be used for our flight out was late by 40 minutes. When it landed they had to call maintenance because a bird had the audacity to commit suicide on the wind shield. Flight takes off about an hour and a half late and I'm thinking I just might make my connection after all. EEEHHHHH - WRONG! The pilot comes on the intercom to explain that due to a storm we will be circling Atlanta for 45 minutes. Oh goody. Missed my connection and the next one going to Austin didn't leave until 10PM. WRONG - it was of course delayed and didn't leave until after 11PM. By the time I got my bag and my car and made the drive home it was after 2AM.

TMI follows - you might want to skip this paragraph.

/BEGIN TMI.
I think I mentioned that I have this wonderful condition called Erythema nodosum. More or less, it results in very large bruises just miraculously appearing all over my legs for no reason, no known cause, and no cure. Ironically enough it is a primarily female problem so perhaps fate is getting a kick out of it. Like "hey, watch this! This one wants to be a girl! Let's chuck 'em a curve ball and see how he likes it!"
Anyway, it got to the point where it hurt to stand and it hurt to sit - purty well screwed, so despite getting in so late I got up early and went to the Scott and White clinic to see what they could do for the swelling and they gave me steroids. Yeh, just what a guy trying to look female wants - steroids. NOT. These things make me just jittery and nervous as hell. I mean we are talking a crack addict on over drive. Not the energy the crack addict has mind you, just the jitters and jumpiness.
\END TMI

So Monday morning I head north to Dallas. Due to my work load the week before, I've never even had the chance to call the customer I'm going to visit and so I call him on the way. It turns out the problem he is having is NOT what he described to my manager, and not what my manager described to me. So an hour into my trip I have discovered that I probably don't have the appropriate parts to fix it. I'm burnt out, jumpy as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, and I know I'm headed for almost certain failure. In the Army we had a term for this - it's SNAFU. Many people have seen this acronym but I bet a lot of you may not know what it stands for: "Situation Normal, All F#&$@d Up!"
I get to our office in Dallas where I have been asked to help them set up a test stand I created years ago to work with a new instrument. Of course the instrument is from a huge customer of ours, they need it ASAP, and it can't be tested until I set the stand up for it. I had thought this was going to be a simple matter of adding some info to a data file, a 10 minute job. Wrong. I had to actually edit the software, and we are talking about a very old compiler called QBasic and I had long since moved away from it and can hardly remember anything about it or the program I had written using it. I had expected it to take 10 minutes - It took all day.
So I get to the hotel at about 430PM and start to get ready to meet Nicole and MB for dinner. This was an unusual situation for me and I just couldn't be pleased with me or my appearance. Most of the time when I go to meet someone for the first time, it's someone I've chatted with once or twice, or maybe someone that a friend has recommended. While I wouldn't care to be thought poorly of by anyone, I'm not going to loose any sleep if most of these folks aren't impressed with me. Nicole and MB are different for me. I've chatted with them a lot on a forum, in yahoo 360, and Yahoo Messenger over the last few months. These are people that I have grown to like and respect over the internet and their opinion MATTERS to me. It doesn't help that given the popularity of their 360 pages, I feel like these two are almost famous. I'm going to dinner with THE Nicole and MB! So several hours later I give up on the makeup and decide this is as good as it gets.

Thinking we were to meet at 7:30PM, I called Nicole just before 7 to see if they were almost there. This is where I find out that apparently I was even more frazzled than I had thought because I was supposed to meet them at 6:30 to 7, NOT 7:30 to 8 as I had been thinking. On her first night out, I have left Nicole sitting in a restaurant with out the support of another T friend she had been counting on. Way to go Kimberly - your off to a great start with these folks.

So I get there late and as I walk in the door I see this very pretty young lady walking up to me with a smile - it's Moon Baby (MB)! She looks wonderful and is wearing a great dress that is just the right combination of cute and flirty. She is SO adorable! Kind and wonderful eyes that are so expressive - it would be easy to get lost looking in there. One look in her eyes and you just knew that Nicole had chosen (or been chosen) well.

So we say all the usual things for people that have just met and she walks me back to their table where I meet Nicole. Nicole is just as you would imagine from her 360 page - intelligent, well spoken, and beautiful. She ALSO has very deep and caring eyes - it's easy to see part of what these two may have seen n each other. As you may have noticed, I'm big on eyes. I'm a firm believer that you can "judge" (for lack of a better word) the character of a person by using very few words and taking a good long look in their eyes. They are good people - you know that immediately.
So I want to describe what they are like but they don't fit comfortably into most of the categories you would typically try and use! Well, let's give it a shot anyway! They are both skinny, and yes I hated them for it! :-) Nicole is a bit on the tall side, MB is . . . not. In less than 5 minutes with MB you felt like part of the family. She is smart, friendly, talkative, animated, and expressive. Almost immediately MB is sharing herself with you, no act, no facade, no mask - you are talking to the real person.
Nicole is every bit as friendly but maybe a bit more reserved. She gives the impression that she taking it all in and is just filled with pent up energy waiting to go BOOM!. Like a race horse just before the gate is opened, or a muscle car just before it roars to life as you turn the key that first click. She just radiates this pent up energy, this attitude of excitement, and it's infectious. I remember my first night out around people - I was scared to death. Not Nicole. She sat there smiling, appearing completely comfortable and pretty much giving the impression that she damn well belonged out in the world.
We had a great meal, talked a lot, and just enjoyed the evening! I hope we will get to meet again, perhaps when I am not so frazzled so that maybe I wont make a fool outta myself!
Wonderful people - I hope you get the chance to meet them.

Got back to the hotel . . . and discovered my card key doesn't work in the door. Didn't matter how many times I slid the darn think in and out of the lock, I kept getting the red led and the locked door. I got stubborn thinking if I just keep trying it's bound to take it sooner or later! Well, no, no it wasn't bound to work, and no it didn't. All I could think of as I headed down the steps to the front desk was "Yup, SNAFU, no question, SNAFU". Of course things are getting better - as far as disasters while dressed, this sure beats the hell outta getting your car towed or stuck on a curb.

What do ya know, the folks behind the counter treated me just like a "normal" human being when I walked up, put the key card on the desk and said "This wonderful little widget no worky". She asks me for my room number, then runs the card through the programmer. She looks at me and proves she is sharp and thoughtful! Rather then say "Mr Huddle?" she pauses and says instead "Last name Huddle?" I almost giggled as I said "uh huh" and wanted to hug her just for caring enough to make that little gesture.

Indianapolis




Actually, to put a comment in perspective I really need to start with the trip I made last week to Detroit. I’ve flown out of Austin “dressed” a lot lately but have been reluctant to try it from other airports.
While Texas is a very. . . umm . . . conservative State, the city and area of Austin are really very liberal and accepting of alternative lifestyles. They sort of take pride in their more unique citizens. So knowing that I can fly from Austin with out hassle is not necessarily the same as knowing that I can fly from any airport. Well, I thought I’d settle that question when I checked in for my Detroit flight in boy mode last week – I point blank asked the lady at the Delta Counter. When I handed her my ID, she looked at it.
“You would think I’d have that name memorized by now!” she said, and we both laughed. I figured it was probably familiar to her more for the fact that I fly “dressed” with them a lot, rather than the fact that I just fly a lot in general, so this sort of emboldened me.
“I’ve got a some what embarrassing question for you,” I started.
“What’s that Mr Huddle?”
“I fly out of here cross dressed a lot, and wondered if I can assume other airports will be as accommodating as y’all are about it?”
She got a real embarrassed look on her face, and I guess I made her nervous, because she really didn’t answer my question. She replied something along the lines of “It’s no problem, just show your ID going through security” There was a line of people behind me, and there are limits to my courage, so I didn’t repeat the question.


OK, now fast forward to this week when I’m now checking in “dressed” for my trip to Indianapolis. As luck would have it, it’s the same lady at the Delta counter and as I hand her my ID she gets this huge smile on her face.
“You look wonderful!” she tells me.
“Well thank you very much! I tried anyway,” I replied as I hefted my two huge bags on to the scale at the counter.
“Well you look cute,” she repeated as she checked me in.
“That’s what I’m aiming for, but it sure is getting harder the older I get.”
“Yeah, me too!” she said and we both laughed.
As I finished checking in, I started to wonder if I had the guts to fly “dressed” to Boston next week on Jet Blue – an airline I’ve never used. What the hell, I decided to go to their counter and just ask them if it would be a problem. The interesting thing is that on the way to their counter there was a film crew with two huge cameras, crews, and reporters, doing an interview. They had the entire walk way blocked so you had to walk between the two camera crews. I almost turned around but decided to hell with it and kept walking. If you were watching Channel 8 in Austin you probably saw the back of my head as I walked past! lol
The counter was empty so I walked right up.
“I’m flying with y’all next week and was wondering if y’all are all right with letting me fly cross dressed like this?” She gave me a great big and genuine smile.
“Absolutely not a problem!” she replied.
“Way cool, thanks!” I told her and walked away feeling rather pleased with myself!

(took this pic from the plane and thought it was cool enough to share)



Got to Indianapolis with absolutely no hassles and checked in to the hotel. Chatted up the cute young lady behind the counter for a bit, shopped two Goodwill stores (thrift / second hand store) but didn’t find anything, so I went to the Metro for Fish and chips and karaoke.
I’ve been sitting there for just a few minutes when a pretty young lady strikes up a conversation with me. When she found out I was by myself she invited me to come sit with her and her friends and I took her up on the offer. Turns out her name is Carla, and she is in Indy from Houston. That starts off a round of talk about us being practically neighbors. She sang “I’m a Redneck Woman” and did a great job. Can’t remember what I sang but I didn’t impress myself much. Called it quites a bit later than I should have and headed for the hotel.


Day Two






Tried a new top that I wasn't sure would look good on me. I knew the lime green top went with the skirt, just wasn't sure the color would go well with my complexion. I think it worked well?

Turns out the Indy area has a new Casino open in Shelbyville just South East of the city.
They treated me great there – no worries! The waitresses there are awesomely cute and wear these itty bitty little black skirts and tops. Wow . . .
I lost $20 and decided I really don’t like this new trend where I always loose money at Casino’s!
Headed to dinner at English Ivy’s - my favorite restaurant in the country. Enjoyed a good meal and then called an end to my evening. With my training the new guy, we had not got as much accomplished at our customer’s as I liked that day so we were going to have go in early in the morning to try and make up for lost time. No way I was gonna stay out late knowing I had to be up early. In the hotel elevator, there was a young woman in the shortest dress I’ve ever seen. I’m pretty sure that she would not have the option of even sitting in the thing if she didn’t want everyone to see what was under it. She saw me glance at her outfit and smiled.
“I would kill to have your figure so I could wear a dress like that,” I told her.
I swear I’m not making this up - she gave me a great big smile, put one hand behind her head lifting her hair in a sultry look, put her other hand on her hips and struck a sexy pose.
“You think I’m all that, huh?” she said, and then promptly bent over in a fit of laughter.
“Honey, you do just fine,” she said as she looked me up and down. “You’ve got it going on! Just look at those legs and hips!”
“Yeah,” I said, “but my hips are fake as hell and yours are the real thing!” There were a few more inane comments before we reached her floor and she stepped out.



Day Three


  
Got the job done, back to the hotel, and out the door as Kim by 7:30! I had planed to wear my purple skirt with a new purple top I had bought, but it turns out the top was to small, so I backed up and punted with one of my favorite outfits that I had also brought with me.
First thing I decided to do was to go get my $20 back from the Casino! They had a live band there in “The Center Bar” that was pretty good. Nothing to write home about, but pretty good, so I listened for a few. Made my way to the video poker machines and in less than 10 minutes I got four of a kind and won $20. Thought about playing some more but knew I’d be mad as hell if I wound up loosing again, so I took the money and ran!

I returned to Indy and went to this kind of dive called Illusions where I know they do Karaoke on Thursdays. I’ve hung out there before and had a great time, but this time it creeped me out. The first thing I noticed was that it looked like a homeless mens shelter. It was full of older guys that all had that half starved and gaunt look to them. The people singing karaoke were terrible, and when I tried a song, they played it in such a low key that I would have had to sing bass. L Even after I sucked so bad, this one guy kept coming up and gushing about how awesome it was, etc, etc. He was WAY drunk and pretty much wouldn’t leave me alone. It took me about 5 minutes to decide I couldn’t stand it, so I left and went to the Metro again where they were also doing Karaoke.
Once again Carla from Houston was there, and once again she invited me to join her and her friends. Carla is one of those VERY outgoing and cocky women that draw a swarm of people around her, so it was kind of neat to sit with them and chat some.

Sang a few songs, including “If you could read my mind” and frankly . . . I think I was in the zone and sounded great! If you were there and thought I sucked, don’t tell me – leave me my illusions OK?

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Fish for the Sharks

(19 Aug 2007)

So last night I'm putting my (almost) 4 year old daughter to bed. It's a whole routine where we take a bath, brush teeth and hair, and read a book - usually something real exciting like "Red Fish, Blue Fish", "Cat in the Hat", etc. Anyway, somewhere along the line we wound up talking about sharks. It's funny how you find out what sticks with the little ones, because she launched into this whole talk about how sharks are scary and eat people, but your safe if your in a (under water) cage . I didn't want her to have nightmares so I knew I had to say something to ease her mind, so I also took the chance to try and toss a little environmental education out there.
"Sweetheart, sharks don't really like to eat people," I said
"Then how come they bite people?" she asks with that innocent little voice.
"Well, they are VERY hungry!" I told her. "You see sharks eat fish and people eat eat fish too. The problem is people are so VERY good at catching and eating fish that we aren't leaving enough for the sharks, so they are very hungry!" Okay, okay, I really have no idea if our fishing is causing the sharks problems, but it seemed like such a good chance to toss out some ideas about not hogging the planets resources
She looks up at me with the most sincere eyes you have ever seen - you know, that look that only a little critter can pull off, and says "But I will give my fish to the sharks! Let's go give the sharks some fish tomorrow!"
So my tiny little 4 year old critter, who thinks sharks are big, bad, and scary, is willing to get in a cage under the water and give the sharks some fish because she thinks its sad that the sharks are so hungry. What a kind and brave little person she is. I'm thinking we must have done something right .

Friday, August 17, 2007

Little Rock and Easy Street

You know, every one warned me that Little Rock AR was not going to be a good place for a cross dresser to go out. We're talking the bible belt here where anything not found in your Sunday school classes is likely to be frowned on. To tell the truth, I had my own doubts, but I think they were unfounded.

Monday, my first day there, I went to a Barnes and Noble book store and purchased a couple of
books. Either no one "made" me or they were decent and polite - no worries there. The SA at the register was cute and adorable (wow I wish I were young again) and smiled at me as we did the debit card thing. Among other things she told me she thought my hair was cute! I am getting much more comfortable dealing with people and my smart a$$ tendencies had me biting my tongue before telling her that she too could own this hair for the low low price of . . . nah, I just smiled and told her thank you very much!

Went from there to the movies where I saw "Star Dust" - A real cute show! Wonderful scenes and costumes to die for! By the way, the movie has a few scenes about cross dressing! They were reasonably kind with their portrayal - I can't elaborate any more without giving away too much info and being a spoiler. It's not gonna make my top ten favorite movie list but it was worth the seeing.

I went from the movies to a place called Easy Street in Little Rock. It's a piano bar that I found on line.
On this night I was not terribly impressed to be honest. It was fairly nice way to spend the evening, but being all by myself it was not real exciting. I tried to order a Long Island Ice Tea (HEY! I never hid the fact that I'm a lush here!) and the bartender politely informed me that they serve wine and beer - suddenly a beer sounded like the ticket! I guess I never will pick up a taste for wine.

They had one gentleman on the piano and another on a small set of drums. They were OK, and drinking a beer and listening to them beat the hell outta sitting alone in my hotel room. There were a few people there, but they had their own little click going. I heard one of them joking with the others about fake nails when he did drag, so I made a wise crack or two as a feeble effort to join the conversation - no one took the bait so I pretty much kept to myself.

Tuesday and Wednesday sucked for me! The instrument installation I was here to perform had gone very poorly forcing me to work late both days thus killing any chance or desire for going out. Things went so poorly that I had to extend my stay until Friday to complete the install - this turned out to be a good thing as I would later find out! Things finally came together for my install on Thursday and I wound up getting off around 2PM - PLENTY of time to go out so I headed back to Easy Street!

Wow! If y'all weren't at "Easy Street" in Little Rock Arkansas Thursday night (and you weren't - I would have spotted you!) you missed a hell of a show! As you know from my posting my own songs in my blog, I am an amateur musician/song writer. While I don't place myself into the "good" category, I would like to think that I am good enough that I can at least spot good musicians. I've got to tell you, these guys were great!
Often with groups like this that get together once or twice a week, your dealing with a bunch of folks like me that have day jobs and then dabble with music at night - not these guys. Maybe that IS what they do, but if so, they are damn good at their night job! This sort of Jazz is not really my preferred style of music, but I was captivated the moment I walked in. They play together as a team - musicians will know what I mean. Often musicians all want to outdo each other, to wow the folks, and who cares if the music or song suffers a bit for it - not these guys. They played TOGETHER and when it came time for a solo (and there were a lot with this style of music) they backed of politely and let the soloist have the moment.

They had 6 players - a piano player, the drummer, the bass, and three horns. I've never actually been in the same room with people playing horns - every band I've ever been around was purely guitar and key boards. These guys were just awesome - each and everyone of them clearly an expert on their instrument - it was a joy to experience. There was a large crowd there and these folks were active and vocal, cheering them on, dancing, and just having a good time.

OK, so the band was good - doesn't mean you want to go there right? I was the only TGirl there and obviously stood out just a bit. Several patrons smiled, and one real cute little blond girl even smiled and waved hello to me, so we are talking nice folks. The owner himself came and sat with me twice - once to introduce himself, and once just to be a good host.

I was just way impressed with this place and with the people and band in it. Here I thought Little Rock was gonna suck, but after this, it is near the top of my list of places I will look forward to visiting. So, if you find yourself in Little Rock Arkansas for the night, especially a Thursday night, make sure you drop into Easy Street and enjoy the awesome music and the friendly atmosphere!

On my trip home, I went through the Detroit airport. They have a really awesome tunnel that takes you to one of the terminals. It provides both a music and light show, and I was so captivated that I made a short video using my cell phone:


Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Rabbit Food . . .

(14 Aug 2007)

 I'm trying to be good and have been eating a lot of rabbit food . . .errr. . . I mean salad lately. Of course my goal is all about the figure and NOTHING to do with being a decent being and not eating another creature.
So last night while I'm eating my Wendy's salad and feeling sorry for myself because it wasn't a great big plate of pasta, or maybe a thick steak, I had this moment of brilliance! Maybe I can take the salad outside and use it as bait . . . you know. . . to catch and eat the darn rabbits!
I 'm a terrible person . .

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Is This Yours?

(21 July 2007)

 So I am going through the security at the Peoria airport at 5AM trying to get back home when they pull my laptop out of the X-ray and tell me they need to go through it.
"No worries - help yourself," I say quite smug, knowing full well that I am a pro at this and that I don't have anything in there I shouldn't. The only problem is, I was wrong and I did have something in there that I shouldn't. So in front of everyone in the line he holds up my bottle of clear nail polish. I can't remember tossing it in my laptop bag, but I must have, because there it was!
He is holding it up between his thumb and pointing finger at about head height, with one eyebrow raised as a question. He pauses saying nothing as he holds the bottle and his eyebrow up for a moment.
"You want to take this back out?" he asks still holding it up for everyone behind me to see.
"Nah, chuck it," I replied.
"You can take it to your car if you like?" he said acting like the cat that got the canary.
"That's all right, go ahead and throw it away," I said smiling at him, all the while really wanting to throttle him because I LIKED that polish.
Hmm, your gonna have to work harder than that to rattle THIS drag queen!

Friday, July 20, 2007

Peoria IL


So I'm in Peoria again! It appears to be a "no man's land" for TG's (if you will forgive the play on words). I could not find anything to do looking on the internet, and no one in four Yahoo groups I'm part of appeared to have any suggestions either. Well, maybe I can't go out and do Karoake or anything, but there was no way in hell I was gonna pass up the chance to get pretty for a while. I tried a new outfit out - what do you think?

  
I like the above pic because it looks like I have a star in my hand! I kind of like that idea! :-)


I also tried something that might get me kicked out of the crossdressers club - I went without nylons <The crowd gasps!> Here's something most women probably learned young but I just figured out: when wearing nylons and heels, your feet tend to slide a bit in the shoe, and this ultimately winds up rubbing some spots on the tops of your toes against the straps. Over, and over, and over, until finally
you rub that spot on your toe raw and it hurts! So this time I went with out and found it a good deal more comfortable. Problem is my feet are WHITE and UGLY! I will probably go back to nylons and just deal with the ouchy toes.

I don't know why, but I just didn't feel confident today. I don't think I looked any better or any worse than other days where I have enjoyed myself, but I just didn't feel confident. I ultimately called it quits after about 3 hours. Considering it takes me 2 hours to get ready, this hardly seemed like a good return on my investment. Actually this leads me to my next comment - would you believe I'm getting bored with CDing? This one worries me a bit as a good part of why I love my job is because it gives me a lot of time to be Kim. I think the problem is that I need to find interesting things to do while out. I've walked through malls in just about every major city from Austin Texas East and they are all starting to look the same to me. Now when I did the Smithsonian thing, THAT was cool! Hmm . . . I think that's the answer - gotta find interesting things to do while dragging besides walking malls. Besides, I'm NOT wealthy so walking malls for a hobby is getting expensive because I have this nasty habit of actually buying stuff!
So I was sitting here writing this blog entry when this repetitive sound finally edges its way into my consciousness. As the hotel is right off a freeway, it took me a few minutes to realize that the sound of roaring engines I was hearing was NOT from cars! I poked my head out of the window and am greeted by a number of biplanes doing doughnuts! It looks like there must be some sort of air show going on, because as soon as they stopped and I went back inside, my room was rocked by the sound of a fighter jet going over head! I ran back down the stairs to take pics of it too!

So with out further ado, here are pics from the Airshow!