New Haircut and Passing at Aveda

I got a fresh haircut today, just in time for my first visit back to Chicago (tomorrow!) since I left in April. Also, I was called “he” at a haircut for the first time without needing to correct anyone or specifically tell someone that I prefer masculine pronouns. I’m still not quite sure what to make of it. 

Milk & Honey Cafe

I’ve gone to Milk & Honey Cafe several times — once with my roommate when we were looking for furniture, once with my cousin when she was visiting from Indiana, and once by myself, fairly recently before I left Chicago, because I was really craving a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese. Milk & Honey Cafe is located on Division, less than a mile away from where my apartment was in Chicago. The food was always excellent; if I’d had more money, I would have been there far more frequently. 

May Day: The Perfect Sunday

Topic #233: Describe the perfect Sunday.

May Day is the perfect Sunday. Traditions, Mawrtyrs, strawberries and cream, the May Hole, Step Sing, The Philadelphia Story, drinks on the Green: all set against the unparalleled backdrop of Bryn Mawr College — how could a Sunday be better? Ordinarily, I’m not especially attached to any particular day, but Bryn Mawr’s May Day is always on Sunday, and every May Day I have attended has been glorious.

My Newest Discovery: I Want To Write A Book

I have recently come to the conclusion that I want to write a book. I was flipping through a library book on the 7th of August, M. J. Ryan’s This Year I Will, and it suggested that I quickly write down every goal I have for the next twenty years. Wow. I do not generally think that far ahead — five years is pretty much the maximum for right now (I’m currently working with more of a one year/18-months plan). The one surprise was that I want to write a book.

Regardless What Happens With Hurricane Irene, Rikers Island Will Not Be Evacuated

The entire East Coast is preparing for Hurricane Irene. For New York City, according to NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, this means a shutdown of the MTA and the first mandatory evacuation in NYC’s history, which will affect roughly 250,000 people.  It does not, however, mean that anything will be done about those at Rikers Island. To quote Jean Casella and James Ridgeway’s “Locked Up and Left Behind: New York’s Prisoners and Hurricane Irene,” “Rikers Island, which lies in the waters between Queens and the Bronx, is not highlighted at all [on the city's evacuation map], meaning it is not to be evacuated under any circumstances.” Let me repeat that, just in case you somehow missed it. It is not be to evacuated under any circumstances. 

I Hate Clothes Shopping

Originally posted at EXPLORING TRANS – TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2010, 5:47 PM

I hate clothes shopping. Actually, that’s not really true. I enjoy finding new clothes. The problems come from not being able to find clothes that fit and being steered toward clothes that don’t fit with my sense of gender. In particular, I hate shopping for clothes at huge bargain stores. I guess it’s partly my fault because I should know better than to shop at such places–there’s never anything that fits. Still, I happened to be in the city today, and so I stopped by a store. Fail.

Have My First Four Months In Minnesota Gone According To Plan?

Almost exactly four months ago (four months ago yesterday), I wrote up tentative four-month, one-year, and two-year plans for my life. I just rediscovered them, was very surprised to remember that I’d made a four-month plan (and one that ended yesterday), and decided to see how my life currently measures up to those plans. 

Update About the Doctor’s Appointment (and Frustration With Trans Healthcare)

I posted yesterday about my frustration with the medical system relating to trans healthcare (sort of — it was a series of haiku). I went to my appointment with the doctor today and discovered that it’s not quite as bad as the people on the phone made it out to be. Apparently, I don’t actually need a letter from a therapist stating that I’m mentally competent to transition in order to have a doctor review my hormone levels and monitor my dosage (which is good because that’s just ridiculous).

Haiku Regarding Medical Appointments For Monitoring T

Med’cal gatekeepers
I don’t need regulation
So much frustration

Why require letter?
Been on T for near three months
I am “competent”

Transformative Ways of Addressing Poverty Eradication in Burkina Faso

While I was searching for organizations addressing the water crisis, I found an organization called The BARKA Foundation, which potentially seems to be transformative (and I don’t use that word lightly). It says that it is run entirely by volunteers and that since it began, no one involved has drawn a salary (which sort of makes me wonder how it can be sustainable but also is reassuring in that donations go directly to the cause, not to paying a CEO’s salary, like with some nonprofits). According to the website, “BARKA’s work can most easily be summarized in three words: PEACE, WATER & WISDOM”: