When many of us reflect on the Holocaust, the beauty of the…
a room with a view and a velvet painting
June 19, 2013
I locked myself out again. What the everloving fuck?
June 19, 2013
Lifeblogging everything today since I don’t want to take a quiz
It has been a strange day today.
As I was about to escape the floor at work and clock out, this picture-perfect grandma lady caught my attention with an urgent (read as: Candy Crush Saga-related) [computer account] ID issue. It took me about 25 minutes to get her where she needed to be, but she was really sweet and polite and patient as I bumbled. (She also kept whispering her passwords to me, even though I kept telling her to type them in for herself. I also now have the name and birthdate of her saintly late husband committed to memory.) In the end, though, I got her where she wanted to be, and, when we were done, she patted me on the shoulder and told me I was the kind of man that gave her faith in my generation, and that she wanted her grandkids to be like me, which, well, hell, felt pretty amazing, especially as she was the best grandma lady ever. (If cookies come for me tomorrow when I am not there, I am going to be upset. I have this weird thing with elderly female customers sending me things, and, man, I want cookies.) Also, she smelled like sandalwood, so everything was just so chill, even when it took us ten minutes to get her a password the system would accept…
Missed my bus (because of my grandma friend), but the next one was early, and it was sunny, and I ran into my super taking all the grandkids on a walk (one of them is apparently my little bud, and he tried to disengage from the group and follow me back to the apartment, haha).
Got home, put an enchilada in the microwave, took the laundry downstairs and got it started… and discovered my keys were not in my pocket, and, yeah, the super just took the grandkids to the park…
Did some laundry, was passive-aggresively SUPERNICE to my neighbor who took up all but one of the washers with her shit, and then showed up 30 minutes after her loads were done.
Got the spare key from my super, fist bumped my little buddy and tried to teach his shy cousin to high five (too shy), ate lunch, read some homework, felt like the balance of my day was returning to good, then spilled enchilada sauce all over my shorts. Took the recycling out and then…. a cicada jumped on my shirt and I carried it all the way into my apartment until I felt IT CRAWLING ON MY NECK. whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
…Got it in a plastic bag and took it outside, now listening in on a call about Social Security changing its requirements for gender changes on documents humdedum?
(Also, I put in to take my court date day off, and am a little sad because my company has a special section for taking off for Jury/Witness duty, but that doesn’t appear to include having to go to court to get my name changed, and I wanted to be special. Alas.)
Girlfriend’s surgery tomorrow. It’s gonna be okay. (See how I just snuck that in there? Hums. But, really, it is going to be fine.)
/Rambling on a Wednesday.
June 19, 2013
Sooo, does anyone use any testosterone therapy methods besides injection? If so, what’s your opinion on it?
I have been using testosterone gel (Testim) for 14 months. While I am hesitant to compare my transitional experience to those of people who use injectable testosterone (there are so many variables in how one’s transition progresses outside of the administration method of testosterone that I don’t want to try to draw comparisons), I have definitely seen results. If you (or anyone, really) would like some more information about the gel and its effects, either from the boring personal side or from the boring medical pamphlet side, let me know. (Reblog or message, whatever makes you comfortable. I’m here and trying to avoid finishing my Policy homework…)
1 note
June 19, 2013
Hi, I run a blog called your-twinkle-in-the-darkness. We help with all sorts of issues ranging anywhere from self harm, ED’s, sexuality and gender issues. It would really really mean the world to us if you could follow/post this for your followers, so we can help even more people. Thanks in advance, - Dylan
June 19, 2013
Raise your hand if you went down to the basement to do laundry and forgot your key!
June 18, 2013
I wish there were necklaces given to us at birth that were half of a unique shape and your soulmate wore the other half and they got warmer the closer together you were and colder the further away you were so you could go on this journey when you’re ready to find your other half so that you could be spared all the pain and heartbreak of being played with by those who don’t take dating as seriously as you do
so who’s going to write that damn book
What about the sequel where two people’s pieces don’t fit at all, but they still fall madly in love, incurring the scorn of all those around them?
(Of course I gotta take it there, haha…)
June 18, 2013
Anyone else found that..
Their skin’s become thicker/harder on T? I feel like it’s more painful to do my jab because it takes more to put through the needle? I dunno maybe I was just more forceful at first.
as a nurse, i have done thousands of injections and IV starts- guys definitely have tougher skin. The same person, independently of hormones, will have tougher skin if it’s tan, especially very tanned. the faster you stick yourself, the easier the injection goes. good luck :)
My skin has definitely become less soft since I started T (though also less dry, and my spots of psoriasis have gotten better, so there is that.)
Here’s a quick and dirty (but informative) article I found about what testosterone does to skin (it is written from the POV of “male” vs. “female” skin, so be aware of that), in case you are curious:
June 18, 2013
Donna Ostrowsky (1986-2013) reading “The Queer Experiment” at Barnard College on October 18, 2012.
“The Queer Experiment” is Donna Ostrowsky’s short story from The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard. It is in epistolary form, from the point of view of a woman who has been institutionalized after a mysterious disaster. H.P. Lovecraft fans will recognize the general style, and it’s a comedic-horror story about early 20th century lesbians. It’s also, in my reading, a very “trans” story. I hope you enjoy it.
You can also see Donna participate in the panel related to that reading: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj4SFWZqqZQ
We’re spreading this story far and wide today because last week we lost our dear friend Donna.
Early Monday morning on June 10th, Donna Ostrowsky made the decision to take her own life. Donna was a filmmaker, a stand-up comedian, and an author. She was 27 years old.
Donna was originally from the Boston area and moved to New York City to attend NYU’s Department of Dramatic Writing in 2004. She performed regularly at comedy events around New York City. In 2011, Donna produced a celebrated short film called Bodega Cats with the Internet Celebrities. Just two weeks ago, she was celebrated as one of 28 authors in The Collection: Short Fiction of the Transgender Vanguard when the book won the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction.
Donna is survived by: her beloved partner and best friend Johanna Schaufeld; her mother Celeste, father Jonathan, and her older sister, Tess; hundreds of friends and family members who adored her; audiences and fans who laughed, giggled, and chortled through her performances.
Perhaps what Donna will be best remembered for her sense of humor. She had the unique ability to make everyone in the audience delighted and uncomfortable all at the same time. Perhaps my favorite memory of her sense of humor is from last fall at Barnard College. “Staking Our Claim: Trans Women’s Literature in the 21st Century” was a panel that was one of those moments where everyone in the room was a little on edge—excited, but also nervous. It was the first time that a women’s college in the US had put together a program about trans women’s literature, and Donna was one of the authors who came to read and participate in the panel.
When she stood up to speak, Donna said, “Thank you for having me, and for letting me use your bathroom,” and then she continued to compliment the Barnard community on their artfully designed tampon packaging. Not enough to be in this contested space, at this women’s college, Donna had to remind everyone what it meant—that today, there were trans women everywhere, including in the bathroom, where they are buying your tampons. All at once, Donna was bold, and intelligent, and kind, and hysterical.
We’re so proud that we had the opportunity to publish her and work with her over the last year. Her story was the last one to be added to The Collection, and it only happened because we saw her read it just before we closed the files for the printer. After she read, we begged her for two weeks to let us publish it, and she finally relented and sent over the document. Consequently, I saw Donna most often at book events—she came with us to the College of Staten Island to speak to Matt Brim’s queer short story class about The Collection, and she was part of the release events in October. The last time we saw her was at a reading for this year’s Lambda Literary Finalists at Bluestockings Bookstore, where, as usual, she stole the show. When I saw her, I greeted her as I always did, by saying, “Donna, when is your book going to be done?” She confessed she had started working on a novel, but she was worried her idea wasn’t good enough. She told me, “Tom, give me something to write about,” and I told her, honestly, “Donna, anything you write will be brilliant. Just write.” It breaks my heart that we won’t get to have more of her work in the world.
Memorials for Donna will be held in both New York City and in Boston, where her family still resides. The New York City memorial will be on Sunday, June 23rd at 4pm at the LGBT Center at 208 west 13th Street. If Donna or her work touched your life, please join us to celebrate her life, love, and laughter.
RSVP on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/186506201510744/
Plans are underway to remember her with a grant given in her name to other trans women artists and authors. We’ll have more info about that as we work out the details.
i only knew donna through being friends on the internet and through her writing, but was so sad to hear about her passing.
June 18, 2013
Everything about this post is perfect. Because growing up is for losers.
(Source: chattercrow)
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North American scum.
