Step by step
Well, I'm still healing - the left side is almost totally healed up now. The right side still has a patch about 4"x2" to grow back skin... but even it is showing progress - new skin visibly filling in around the edges.
I talked to the appointment schedulers at the VA about what happened to my therapy session - they have moved it to Feb. 14th - St. Valentine's Day! - to speak to the dr. about being transgender. Somehow, that seems weird... BUT! I'm still going and getting things taken care of.
I just got paid for a job I did a while back - a whopping $850.00 I was not expecting to ever see. That'll help a lot, as my financial situation has gotten worse over time. Should help keep my rent paid and my power on, at least.
I cooked some venison - saurbratten style - for Thanksgiving dinner this year, and enjoyed it immensely. One of my cats literally knocked me over to get a slice of pumpkin pie off my plate. Who knew he liked pumpkin?
I still have not found a way to get financing for a home yet; but I'm going to keep on trying until something comes up. I've thought about it, and if I can, I'll buy an acre of land with a well and septic system and build an American Indian style home - a "pit dwelling" - think Hobbit hole without windows. It'll be a lot more energy efficient, and less costly to build; plus, it'll blend in with the scenery - looking like a grass-covered hill. And, I can build it myself. Less costly to maintain, as well.
And,... I finally told my older sister I am transgender. That makes my Mom, one brother, his wife, and my sister who know and accept it. Which leaves only two brothers and their wives left to tell. I'm only worried about one brother and his wife - she's not an open-minded person at all, in many ways, she's downright impossible to talk to on lots of subjects because her mind is so very narrow and closed - even when she's been proven incorrect on things, she still clings to her limited concepts. The brother she married is no prize in his own right, and will likely run the subject into the ground, going off the deep end and reading all the wrong things into it if I tell him anything. Happily, I don't feel a need to tell those two anything, and Mom agrees. They'll catch on eventually - or not, as the case may be.
I'm still not entirely happy with how I look - I still have A cup boobies, which I want to get rid of - and I'm still overweight; but I can loose the weight and reduce the boobies some that way. After I see the therapist and get my transgender papers, I can then get rid of the boobies entirely. But it's a lot easier passing as male now than it ever was with those huge 3D boobies. Even my Mom has said I'm looking more masculine now. I got my hair cut - a gift from a friend - and I am not suffering the usual seasonal blues this year. I have a suit on layaway at a local mens suit shop, and am looking forward to getting that out soon. I got a STP(stand to pee) prosthetic, and some men's underwear to wear it with - I'm on the road a lot, and looking male makes using the public restrooms awkward ... do I go in the lady's, or the men's? .... So I now am getting used to it.
I don't think I'm going to make the entire transition yet - not until the surgical techniques improve for building male genitals, anyway. But I will make the transition up to that point - even to changing my name and gender legally.
I have found a local store that sells handcrafted items made by veterans - and being a veteran, I'm now selling my pottery, ceramics, and even my knitting(hobby) there. Since the doctor won't allow me to make pottery or ceramics yet - all the lifting involved, and using my arms so much - I've revived what little I ever learned about knitting and am selling what I can make that way in an effort to make some more money. Meanwhile, the pottery and ceramic items I had already finished making are up for sale there too. As long as I make back the monthly fee and my materials costs, anything more is a bonus.
Making progress on getting moved out of the workshop building behind my mother's house. I hate loosing the workshop - it's where I made my pottery and ceramics, so my business is on hold - but the brother who moved back in with Mom needs a workshop space himself, and Mom asked me to vacate it for him. Means I have even more pressure to get someplace else to live now.
As always, there are good days and bad days. That's life.
I talked to the appointment schedulers at the VA about what happened to my therapy session - they have moved it to Feb. 14th - St. Valentine's Day! - to speak to the dr. about being transgender. Somehow, that seems weird... BUT! I'm still going and getting things taken care of.
I just got paid for a job I did a while back - a whopping $850.00 I was not expecting to ever see. That'll help a lot, as my financial situation has gotten worse over time. Should help keep my rent paid and my power on, at least.
I cooked some venison - saurbratten style - for Thanksgiving dinner this year, and enjoyed it immensely. One of my cats literally knocked me over to get a slice of pumpkin pie off my plate. Who knew he liked pumpkin?
I still have not found a way to get financing for a home yet; but I'm going to keep on trying until something comes up. I've thought about it, and if I can, I'll buy an acre of land with a well and septic system and build an American Indian style home - a "pit dwelling" - think Hobbit hole without windows. It'll be a lot more energy efficient, and less costly to build; plus, it'll blend in with the scenery - looking like a grass-covered hill. And, I can build it myself. Less costly to maintain, as well.
And,... I finally told my older sister I am transgender. That makes my Mom, one brother, his wife, and my sister who know and accept it. Which leaves only two brothers and their wives left to tell. I'm only worried about one brother and his wife - she's not an open-minded person at all, in many ways, she's downright impossible to talk to on lots of subjects because her mind is so very narrow and closed - even when she's been proven incorrect on things, she still clings to her limited concepts. The brother she married is no prize in his own right, and will likely run the subject into the ground, going off the deep end and reading all the wrong things into it if I tell him anything. Happily, I don't feel a need to tell those two anything, and Mom agrees. They'll catch on eventually - or not, as the case may be.
I'm still not entirely happy with how I look - I still have A cup boobies, which I want to get rid of - and I'm still overweight; but I can loose the weight and reduce the boobies some that way. After I see the therapist and get my transgender papers, I can then get rid of the boobies entirely. But it's a lot easier passing as male now than it ever was with those huge 3D boobies. Even my Mom has said I'm looking more masculine now. I got my hair cut - a gift from a friend - and I am not suffering the usual seasonal blues this year. I have a suit on layaway at a local mens suit shop, and am looking forward to getting that out soon. I got a STP(stand to pee) prosthetic, and some men's underwear to wear it with - I'm on the road a lot, and looking male makes using the public restrooms awkward ... do I go in the lady's, or the men's? .... So I now am getting used to it.
I don't think I'm going to make the entire transition yet - not until the surgical techniques improve for building male genitals, anyway. But I will make the transition up to that point - even to changing my name and gender legally.
I have found a local store that sells handcrafted items made by veterans - and being a veteran, I'm now selling my pottery, ceramics, and even my knitting(hobby) there. Since the doctor won't allow me to make pottery or ceramics yet - all the lifting involved, and using my arms so much - I've revived what little I ever learned about knitting and am selling what I can make that way in an effort to make some more money. Meanwhile, the pottery and ceramic items I had already finished making are up for sale there too. As long as I make back the monthly fee and my materials costs, anything more is a bonus.
Making progress on getting moved out of the workshop building behind my mother's house. I hate loosing the workshop - it's where I made my pottery and ceramics, so my business is on hold - but the brother who moved back in with Mom needs a workshop space himself, and Mom asked me to vacate it for him. Means I have even more pressure to get someplace else to live now.
As always, there are good days and bad days. That's life.
Replies
true, that\'s life. hugs.