tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20459740150631519192024-03-05T01:10:20.739-05:00Radical Seeks EnlightenmentA personal blog dedicated to insights, musings, and inquiries derived from my life as an queer bodhisattva-minded person whose into radical social change.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-15546096067037169052010-05-03T17:31:00.003-04:002010-05-03T17:40:23.557-04:00Submission Deadline Extended to May 17thWere you interested in submitting an entry to the anthology on transmasculine sexuality but didn’t get a chance? One more shot…<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Call for Submissions: Transmasculine Sexuality</span><br /><br />Attn: Queers, gender fucks, gender deviants and lovers thereof. This is a submission call for an anthology of transmasculine desire. If you are a trans or gender variant, masculine-identified person (whether AMAB and AFAB) or if you want to talk about a relationship with someone who is, then your contributions are welcome.<br /><br />Lets talk about how we negotiate sex. How does gender identity come into play? How do you manage consent and body disphoria? When have you been surprised by your own attraction and how have you dealt with it? What role has community played in how your sexuality has developed? How have your desires and boundaries changed as your identities have evolved? What do you think needs to be said?<br /><br />Submit any printable original work (including essays, short stories, comics, prose, photography, etc.) addressing the theme NO LATER THAN May 17th, 2010. Any comments, questions, suggestions, or submission can be sent to inthemarginszine@gmail.com . Please remember to include a name you want to be published under (or specify that you’d prefer for it to remain anonymous) and two sentences to introduce (you or) your submission.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-29789921999368262822010-03-22T17:13:00.001-04:002010-03-22T17:15:30.791-04:00Submission Call: Transmasculine Sexuality<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse;">Attn: Queers, gender fucks, gender deviants and lovers thereof. This is a submission call for an anthology of transmasculine desire. If you identify as somewhere along the transmasculine spectrum (Aggressive, FTM, Boi, Tranny fag, etc.) or you find yourself attracted to those who are, then your contributions are welcome.<br /><br />Lets talk about how we negotiate sex. How does gender identity come into play? How do you manage consent and body disphoria? When have you been surprised by your own attraction and how have you dealt with it? What role has community played in how your sexuality has developed? How have your desires and boundaries changed as your identities have evolved? What do you think needs to be said?<br /><br />Submit any printable original work (including essays, short stories, comics, poetry, prose, photography, etc.) addressing the theme by April 24th, 2010. Any comments, questions, suggestions, or submission can be sent to <a href="mailto:techietranny@gmail.com" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(87, 151, 176);">techietranny@gmail.com</a> Please remember to include a name you want to be published under (or specify that you’d prefer for it to remain anonymous) and two sentences to introduce (you or) your submission.</span>Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-84964264120510840872010-02-15T14:55:00.000-05:002010-02-15T14:56:13.654-05:00Body trustLast week I referred to going on T as the most anticlimactic life-changing event I’ll ever experience. Moments of impatience accentuate my reverence—that one can change so completely, that this body can become almost anything I am willing to make it, that the very constraints of possibility can be pushed to their limits. A half wall of mirrors entices me to examine these curves for traces of overnight body alchemy<br /><br />T has changed the way I relate to my body. What has long been a no man’s land riddled with insecurity and mild contempt has been renewed by curiosity. My body has become the site of progress, of new potential, of possibility. It is as if, after being estranged for so long, I am considering reconciliation.<span style=""> </span>I withhold judgment, studying it, trying to see it anew. I let it reveal itself to me. It is as if I am learning to trust—both myself with my body and my body with myself.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-18698617632148573662010-02-13T01:50:00.000-05:002010-02-13T01:51:03.294-05:00The LetterIt’s been months since I resumed therapy. In past years talk about relationships dominate the 50 minutes of gaping awkwardness. I had shared a sustained suspicion of therapy as practice, but I wasn’t about to insult what she did. I returned from my summer internship with an agenda. Our eyes lock during session. “Why do you come?,” she prods me<br /><br />“because I have to.”<br /><br />Silence.<br /><br />“Because mid-century, a well-meaning and well-respected physician decided that you get to decide that I want what I want.”<br /><br />“You don’t see the advantage? You know… not everyone thinks through things as much as you do.”<br /><br />“I talk to trans people everyday. It’s not something people take lightly. Every time you tell someone, they ask you if you’re fucking sure. They practically beg you not be.”<br /><br />She was sympathetic. A sympathetic professional whose career is built on the assumption that people can’t solve their own problems. I built my life on the conviction that I was the only one who could change anything that mattered in my own life. We spent months grappling for common ground. I demanded a letter, and eventually refused to return. I graduated and moved half way across the country. A week later I got my letter in the mail.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-70257211785978011172009-12-25T13:39:00.005-05:002009-12-25T13:59:45.454-05:00Urbanity<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiEh8tZMF4MEx3Gcyu-gST8pDUQXa8l92CueSnW19j8yExIiPSwcZ3xgNLDFmh_eaRIYOkPgqLBagus9yx7_39kMxSf9IU2SQLLPfz3PDNDcFsnO0c8SfIBpv4DQm5C678YhTBFClvf0/s1600-h/CityTrain2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiEh8tZMF4MEx3Gcyu-gST8pDUQXa8l92CueSnW19j8yExIiPSwcZ3xgNLDFmh_eaRIYOkPgqLBagus9yx7_39kMxSf9IU2SQLLPfz3PDNDcFsnO0c8SfIBpv4DQm5C678YhTBFClvf0/s400/CityTrain2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419249704296182498" border="0" /></a><br />Spent my time on the train contemplating urban life. What drives people to and away from cities... How different my perception of mobility is than other people I know... How transient queer and youth cultures have developed over decades. Then, I designed some desktop backgrounds from copyleft and self-made imagery.<br />Enjoy.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3stiqxINAZtDmK8OWgQo8LhMFsOXJxI9hvnoY1h9edKQKdE3NeuznsMnTzdGWfZQLw_Nk5a3iSEjrqaDVxFBCJS79LnX7OO48CCqMSw2iVpRTRNDCLy8lvzz74VyJ_Hf2K3YwtAljwI/s1600-h/LookoutBG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3stiqxINAZtDmK8OWgQo8LhMFsOXJxI9hvnoY1h9edKQKdE3NeuznsMnTzdGWfZQLw_Nk5a3iSEjrqaDVxFBCJS79LnX7OO48CCqMSw2iVpRTRNDCLy8lvzz74VyJ_Hf2K3YwtAljwI/s400/LookoutBG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419249972472218866" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YZVLjwIjguT8qTwp98DS6_NU5knC55r0KFEI7A6VehJ-Ll6TlDX96k1yymlj6Fz7-aM_RHE93hiIbVJeT38YHNX9rZobuLVAXI1OSOzcSmPUC9H_ByiNhpr_WFXP_XL2ky5lZhyphenhyphencKpQ/s1600-h/CityTrain4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YZVLjwIjguT8qTwp98DS6_NU5knC55r0KFEI7A6VehJ-Ll6TlDX96k1yymlj6Fz7-aM_RHE93hiIbVJeT38YHNX9rZobuLVAXI1OSOzcSmPUC9H_ByiNhpr_WFXP_XL2ky5lZhyphenhyphencKpQ/s400/CityTrain4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419249823741558242" border="0" /></a>Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-7146986930204707452009-12-16T05:59:00.003-05:002009-12-16T06:23:56.155-05:00Unexpected complimentsAs a graduating senior, I have find myself being called upon to reflect upon the last several years of my life. One such occasion was Monday, when I had to defend my undergrad thesis. "Defend" hardly seems like an accurate adjective as it was much more of a conversation dedicated to fostering my ideas and acknowledging my accomplishments.<br /><br />My examiner arrived early and we built a rapport pretty immediately. She was engaged from the beginning. I felt as though I was speaking too much, but I pushed on, reassuring myself that I felt like I was taking the spotlight because it was indeed the appropriate time to do so. After a full lunch, we headed into the academic building to squat a room for the occasion.<br /><br />Much to my surprise, many of the questions they asked directly or indirectly we about myself. Partially because my work is very important to who I am and what I am about, partially because I criticized myself in my work for not talking more about where I was coming from through out the process. For whatever reason, I ended up expounding on how my understandings had been shaped over the last few years and how the shifts in my own sense of what is important changed the kind of work I wanted to focus on. I nailed most of the questions.<br /><br />I left as they deliberated my grade. When I came back in, they had written it on the board. It was anti-climactic. After having thought about all the ways my education has given me the space and support to deconstruct and recreate myself, the letter felt like a hollow representation of that process. What came next was the most striking phase of the process, as my outside examiner and the two faculty I worked intensively with stepped forward to compliment me. One by one, they told me how inspirational it was to work with me, how genuine my dedication was, how interesting and thoughtful my perspective. But then they moved on to say things I never could have imagined being said about me four years ago. About my perseverance, about my willingness to take risk. And it hits me that while I was busy talking and writing and shooting and editing, I missed myself becoming who I am.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-59718855164231259852009-12-09T20:11:00.002-05:002009-12-09T20:15:56.708-05:00Messy Chef: Baking extravaganzaI had my first real day of freedom today as the snow froze away all my obligations and I was left with an oven, a slightly colder than I could be comfortable in living room, and a graphic novel about prison life in Japan.<br /><br />Like any good geek, I decided I'd make my house warmed by baking confectioneries and f document myself in the process. Please enjoy the fruit of that labour:<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SXzGGGNFvVU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SXzGGGNFvVU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-65269938074871960842009-11-11T13:09:00.002-05:002009-11-11T13:13:25.033-05:00Why I’m No Longer Outraged by Sexism (repost)<h3 class="entrytitle" id="post-474"> <a href="http://subversivesub.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/why-im-no-longer-outraged-by-sexism/" rel="bookmark"><br /> </a> </h3> <div class="entrymeta"> Posted October 21, 2009<br />by <a href="http://http//subversivesub.wordpress.com/">Subversive Submissive</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://subversivesub.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/why-im-no-longer-outraged-by-sexism/#comments" title="Comment on Why I’m No Longer Outraged by Sexism"><strong></strong></a> </div> <div class="snap_preview"><p>I’ve been trying and failing to write something on this for weeks, now. I guess I’m just tired of pointing my finger and yelling “sexism!” every time I see it. There’s just so much of it around me, every day, that I can’t bring myself to get pissed off any more. I keep thinking of that self-righteous bumper sticker, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention!” But I’ve been “paying attention” to this shit since I was, oh, ten years old, and I find it harder and harder to become outraged by it — not because I’ve come to accept things as they are but because once you realize how institutionalized sexism is and how deeply fucked up our entire civilization is, nothing really shocks you anymore. </p> <p>To get to the point, the issue at hand is <a href="http://thisweekinkink.com/home/2009/8/21/twiks-2-john-teaches-tonja-some-manners.html">an episode of “This Week in Kink”</a>, a podcast put on by the folks that run <a href="http://fetlife.com/">FetLife</a>. On this episode, which aired over two months ago, one of the guests invited on the show said the following:</p> <blockquote><p>I firmly and strongly believe that it is a woman’s role to be submissive to a man. . . . I think that women in the past couple of hundred years have gotten entirely too high on their own power and eventually need to be slapped in the fucking head and put in their place.</p></blockquote> <p>A couple of years ago, I would have <em>crusaded</em> against this man and against the people who run the podcast. (How <em>dare</em> they allow such a thing to be broadcast.) I’d have demanded an apology and a retraction. Today, my reaction is a sigh and a shake of the head. <em>What an asshole.</em> I browse the comments on their page and leave one of my own. And I’m done. Next.</p> <p>I did a bit of link-hopping and read Maymay’s take on the issue, in a post called <a href="http://maybemaimed.com/2009/10/02/dont-you-fret-sexism-is-alive-and-well-in-bdsm">“Don’t You Fret, Sexism Is Alive and Well in BDSM.”</a> His post addressed a lot of stuff<a href="http://subversivesub.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/sexism-in-bdsm/"> I’ve also written about</a> — basically, making the point that while anti-BDSM feminists are wrong in their assessment of “BDSM = patriarchy,” we should acknowledge that there is a lot of sexism in BDSM as a culture and in how a lot of people practice it. </p> <p>He linked to a blogger named <a href="http://deardelilah.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/this-week-in-wtf-fevered-egos/">Delilah, who writes</a> that what troubles her the most about this is not that it was said — there will always be bigoted, ignorant jerks in the world — but that “in the BDSM world, where we’re meant to be playing with power, subverting some traditional norms and amplifying others to erotic effect, there are people who still truly believe this kind of outright nonsense. Even worse, that someone with such opinions is such a strong voice in the community.”</p> <p>To me, what this says is not that there is a troubling streak of misogyny or at least sexism in the BDSM scene, but that (as I’ve written before) the values of the BDSM scene are fairly mainstream. Rob may be more outspoken and brash about his sexism, and it comes coated with d/s-specific language, but I strongly sense that the root of what he’s saying here is actually what the majority of men <em>and</em> women think — that there are biological differences between men and women, that these differences create “natural” inequalities between the sexes in some ways, and that the feminist demand for equality goes against woman’s natural role in the world. </p> <p>Of course, none of this means that I’m throwing up my hands and saying, “Well, if the rest of the world thinks I should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, I guess I’ll start taking off my shoes.” I’m still angry. I still argue. But I’m not <em>outraged</em>; I don’t feel like I should expect the world to <em>not</em> be sexist, and that this individual person has just violated that unspoken agreement. I go out into the world expecting that most people I meet will have, on some level, an understanding of gender and gender roles that I do not share and that I feel is harmful to me in some way. I expect exactly the same thing when I encounter people in the BDSM scene. (The unfortunate difference, of course, is that within the world of BDSM, “this is my kink” can be used to justify stereotypes and prejudice, and thus people like Rob can speak a little louder than they would, perhaps, on the street.)</p> <p>Perhaps I’m just having a very cynical day. But perhaps not. </p> </div>Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-24181744634321365032009-10-29T19:56:00.002-04:002009-10-29T19:59:48.080-04:00Consent, Consent, ConsentI've been thinking and having a whole lot of conversations about consent. I might write more, but for the moment, I will begin by posting the article that kicked it all off for me...<br /><br />Schrödinger’s Rapist: or a guy’s guide to approaching strange women without being maced<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />Phaedra Starling is the pen name of a romance novelist and licensed private investigator living in small New York City apartment with two large dogs. She practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu and makes world-class apricot muffins.</span><br /><br />Gentlemen. Thank you for reading.<br /><br />Let me start out by assuring you that I understand you are a good sort of person. You are kind to children and animals. You respect the elderly. You donate to charity. You tell jokes without laughing at your own punchlines. You respect women. You like women. In fact, you would really like to have a mutually respectful and loving sexual relationship with a woman. Unfortunately, you don’t yet know that woman—she isn’t working with you, nor have you been introduced through mutual friends or drawn to the same activities. So you must look further afield to encounter her.<br /><br />So far, so good. Miss LonelyHearts, your humble instructor, approves. Human connection, love, romance: there is nothing wrong with these yearnings.<br /><br />Now, you want to become acquainted with a woman you see in public. The first thing you need to understand is that women are dealing with a set of challenges and concerns that are strange to you, a man. To begin with, we would rather not be killed or otherwise violently assaulted.<br /><br />“But wait! I don’t want that, either!”<br /><br />Well, no. But do you think about it all the time? Is preventing violent assault or murder part of your daily routine, rather than merely something you do when you venture into war zones? Because, for women, it is. When I go on a date, I always leave the man’s full name and contact information written next to my computer monitor. This is so the cops can find my body if I go missing. My best friend will call or e-mail me the next morning, and I must answer that call or e-mail before noon-ish, or she begins to worry. If she doesn’t hear from me by three or so, she’ll call the police. My activities after dark are curtailed. Unless I am in a densely-occupied, well-lit space, I won’t go out alone. Even then, I prefer to have a friend or two, or my dogs, with me. Do you follow rules like these?<br /><br />So when you, a stranger, approach me, I have to ask myself: Will this man rape me?<br /><br />Do you think I’m overreacting? One in every six American women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. I bet you don’t think you know any rapists, but consider the sheer number of rapes that must occur. These rapes are not all committed by Phillip Garrido, Brian David Mitchell, or other members of the Brotherhood of Scary Hair and Homemade Religion. While you may assume that none of the men you know are rapists, I can assure you that at least one is. Consider: if every rapist commits an average of ten rapes (a horrifying number, isn’t it?) then the concentration of rapists in the population is still a little over one in sixty. That means four in my graduating class in high school. One among my coworkers. One in the subway car at rush hour. Eleven who work out at my gym. How do I know that you, the nice guy who wants nothing more than companionship and True Love, are not this rapist?<br /><br />I don’t.<br /><br />When you approach me in public, you are Schrödinger’s Rapist. You may or may not be a man who would commit rape. I won’t know for sure unless you start sexually assaulting me. I can’t see inside your head, and I don’t know your intentions. If you expect me to trust you—to accept you at face value as a nice sort of guy—you are not only failing to respect my reasonable caution, you are being cavalier about my personal safety.<br /><br />Fortunately, you’re a good guy. We’ve already established that. Now that you’re aware that there’s a problem, you are going to go out of your way to fix it, and to make the women with whom you interact feel as safe as possible.<br /><br />To begin with, you must accept that I set my own risk tolerance. When you approach me, I will begin to evaluate the possibility you will do me harm. That possibility is never 0%. For some women, particularly women who have been victims of violent assaults, any level of risk is unacceptable. Those women do not want to be approached, no matter how nice you are or how much you’d like to date them. Okay? That’s their right. Don’t get pissy about it. Women are under no obligation to hear the sales pitch before deciding they are not in the market to buy.<br /><br />The second important point: you must be aware of what signals you are sending by your appearance and the environment. We are going to be paying close attention to your appearance and behavior and matching those signs to our idea of a threat.<br /><br />This means that some men should never approach strange women in public. Specifically, if you have truly unusual standards of personal cleanliness, if you are the prophet of your own religion, or if you have tattoos of gang symbols or Technicolor cockroaches all over your face and neck, you are just never going to get a good response approaching a woman cold. That doesn’t mean you’re doomed to a life of solitude, but I suggest you start with internet dating, where you can put your unusual traits out there and find a woman who will appreciate them.<br /><br />Are you wearing a tee-shirt making a rape joke? NOT A GOOD CHOICE—not in general, and definitely not when approaching a strange woman.<br /><br />Pay attention to the environment. Look around. Are you in a dark alley? Then probably you ought not approach a woman and try to strike up a conversation. The same applies if you are alone with a woman in most public places. If the public place is a closed area (a subway car, an elevator, a bus), even a crowded one, you may not realize that the woman’s ability to flee in case of threat is limited. Ask yourself, “If I were dangerous, would this woman be safe in this space with me?” If the answer is no, then it isn’t appropriate to approach her.<br /><br />On the other hand, if you are both at church accompanied by your mothers, who are lifelong best friends, the woman is as close as it comes to safe. That is to say, still not 100% safe. But the odds are pretty good.<br /><br />The third point: Women are communicating all the time. Learn to understand and respect women’s communication to you.<br /><br />You want to say Hi to the cute girl on the subway. How will she react? Fortunately, I can tell you with some certainty, because she’s already sending messages to you. Looking out the window, reading a book, working on a computer, arms folded across chest, body away from you = do not disturb. So, y’know, don’t disturb her. Really. Even to say that you like her hair, shoes, or book. A compliment is not always a reason for women to smile and say thank you. You are a threat, remember? You are Schrödinger’s Rapist. Don’t assume that whatever you have to say will win her over with charm or flattery. Believe what she’s signaling, and back off.<br /><br />If you speak, and she responds in a monosyllabic way without looking at you, she’s saying, “I don’t want to be rude, but please leave me alone.” You don’t know why. It could be “Please leave me alone because I am trying to memorize Beowulf.” It could be “Please leave me alone because you are a scary, scary man with breath like a water buffalo.” It could be “Please leave me alone because I am planning my assassination of a major geopolitical figure and I will have to kill you if you are able to recognize me and blow my cover.”<br /><br />On the other hand, if she is turned towards you, making eye contact, and she responds in a friendly and talkative manner when you speak to her, you are getting a green light. You can continue the conversation until you start getting signals to back off.<br /><br />The fourth point: If you fail to respect what women say, you label yourself a problem.<br /><br />There’s a man with whom I went out on a single date—afternoon coffee, for one hour by the clock—on July 25th. In the two days after the date, he sent me about fifteen e-mails, scolding me for non-responsiveness. I e-mailed him back, saying, “Look, this is a disproportionate response to a single date. You are making me uncomfortable. Do not contact me again.” It is now October 7th. Does he still e-mail?<br /><br />Yeah. He does. About every two weeks.<br /><br />This man scores higher on the threat level scale than Man with the Cockroach Tattoos. (Who, after all, is guilty of nothing more than terrifying bad taste.) You see, Mr. E-mail has made it clear that he ignores what I say when he wants something from me. Now, I don’t know if he is an actual rapist, and I sincerely hope he’s not. But he is certainly Schrödinger’s Rapist, and this particular Schrödinger’s Rapist has a probability ratio greater than one in sixty. Because a man who ignores a woman’s NO in a non-sexual setting is more likely to ignore NO in a sexual setting, as well.<br /><br />So if you speak to a woman who is otherwise occupied, you’re sending a subtle message. It is that your desire to interact trumps her right to be left alone. If you pursue a conversation when she’s tried to cut it off, you send a message. It is that your desire to speak trumps her right to be left alone. And each of those messages indicates that you believe your desires are a legitimate reason to override her rights.<br /><br />For women, who are watching you very closely to determine how much of a threat you are, this is an important piece of data.<br /><br />The fifth and last point: Don’t rape. Nor should you commit these similar but less severe offenses: don’t assault. Don’t grope. Don’t constrain. Don’t brandish. Don’t expose yourself. Don’t threaten with physical violence. Don’t threaten with sexual violence.<br /><br />Shouldn’t this go without saying? Of course it should. Sadly, that’s not the world I live in. You may be beginning to realize that it’s not the world you live in, either.<br /><br />Miss LonelyHearts wishes you happiness and success in your search for romantic companionship.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-42269419996056004712009-10-04T17:37:00.002-04:002009-10-04T17:47:07.601-04:00Man Trapped in a Woman's BodyWhy I am not a man trapped in a woman's body:<br /><br />1)I am not a man<br />2)My body is not a woman's body. It is a genderqueer body. It is lanky and sinuous and androgynous. It flails about and crashes into things. It often moves like puppy--awkwardly, with little balance but with excitement.<br />3)I am not trapped within it. <br />4)I am in the prolonged process of making it my own<br />5)I have the imagination and creativity to recognize my own contradictions without being afraid of them<br />6)I have lovers and friends who recognize these truthsTechie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-21150739185521291162009-09-28T19:23:00.007-04:002009-09-28T20:26:10.276-04:00Belated Yom Kippur...Lately I feel as though I've been reaching out a lot, trying to make connections but not getting far along the way. I've extended a couple invitations a week to my house. I've posted a craigs list ad or two and even signed up for an OK Cupid account. I sat entranced by the endless barrage of questions... How often do I keep promises? How often would I expect my ideal mate to? How important is it to me? I find myself once again stead-fast in what I demand from myself but floundering when it comes to defining what I might expect from (an)other(S).<br /><br />A little less than a year after my first romantic relationship ended, I find myself calling my ex about 3 times a month. Sometimes she answers. Sometimes, I have intense dreams where we are part of one another's life at some pivotal moment (her having a baby or me coming out to my family), but most of the time I'm just glad to hear her voice and know that we still care abut each other. Most of the time I'm glad that I can love her without having to be anxious that it means I should want/need/ask anything from her.<br /><br />Lately she hasn't been as good about answering when I call. I question whether or not I should continue to call her. Clearly, she is more important to me than I am to her. We talked about how this would happen before we even got together, and it has. <br /><br />I contemplate whether or not I am pushing forward where I am not wanted, and I wonder if I am just being insecure. The moment feels so ironic when I think back to how aggressively she pursued me when a romantic relationship was the last thing on my mind. And then it hits me. It wasn't just her. <br /><br />It was also all the other people in my life with whom I've had serious relationships. It's my best friend when I came to college and the girl that I got close to after arriving in Chicago. All people I grew to love, after the told me they loved me first. I realize that most of my relationships have been imbalanced, but I never noticed because I was always the safe one.<br /><br />I am grateful to those who have taught me to love in whatever reckless or ill-fated ways they have done so. And I'm sorry for never having said that before. Gmar Chatimah Tova.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-10196921578496136052009-09-13T23:01:00.003-04:002009-09-13T23:15:51.060-04:00update on meI've been having the most intense dreams lately. They featured people who have wronged me, people I aspire to be, people who confuse me. We are never in notable settings doing notable things, but each scene has so much tension, so much history (real and imagined). I feel these scenes the way I've rarely felt real life. They move me to tears more often than not. Last Sunday I woke up so happy, I couldn't describe or understand it. The word limitless pulsated like a metronome across the inside of my scalp, and I was practically convinced that we were gods.<br /><br />I day dream for hours. It's becoming something I have to build into my schedule. My imagination running laps around the bed springs. They get tighter, more dense and then push outward. Small explosions bleeding into my mind. I'm more emotional, than I can really comprehend these days. <br /><br />I'm attracted to more people than ever before in my life. Sometimes a couple a week. And in my last semester at college I have my first crush on someone I don't know well. My fifth in the past three and a half years. My second in the past 4 months. That's practically girl crazy (for me).<br /><br />So I dunno what any of that means or how long it will continue. It blows my mind just a little. But it's also a relief. Maybe there are things about myself that I am only beginning to explore.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-20524954878669601482009-09-01T16:54:00.004-04:002009-09-01T17:17:30.470-04:00Testing Our SkinThis week I moved back to VT for my final semester of college, and I've been spending a lot of time thinking about testosterone. I began making phone calls to therapists and insurance companies and naturopaths. One to my ex girlfriend who I wanted to be the first to know about my shift in plans. <br /><br />It feels so strange that something I qualitatively denied only months ago feels more familiar by the day, like coming home. I've been meditating on what body modification, BDSM and Transexualism have in common. I've been thinking of all the ways we inscribe meaning onto our flesh, of all the events in my life that have marked me against my will. What drives some people to veil those markings and others to display them brazenly? <br /><br />I think of a scrawny genderqueer lifting up their shirt to reveal the phrase "Faggots Kill Fascists" etched across their pelvis. They told us if they ever go to jail, they want us to raise money to get the tattoo covered up. We joke, what about if we can only raise half? Our our nods build rythms like shudders when he responds, "Let's be honest, the word "Fascist" is what matters here. The others are inscribed over and over in ways I can never erase." <br /><br />I pause briefly to contemplate what happens in the space where needs converge... the need to make what is felt real, the need to make what is imagined imminent, the need to make what is marked visible. Then, I find a piece of paper as I unpack with a phrase scrawled across it--<span style="font-style:italic;">Where our imagination cannot stretch, we must test our skin</span>--and I wonder if I ever left this place.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-91830410695424178572009-09-01T16:44:00.007-04:002009-09-01T17:20:29.408-04:00Hammers, Roofs, and Radios (The Podcast)Location: <span style="font-style:italic;">Marlboro VT, 05344</span><br /><embed src= "http://www.odeo.com/flash/audio_player_standard_gray.swf" quality="high" width="300" height="52" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars= "valid_sample_rate=true&external_url=http://akbar.marlboro.edu/~perez/BridgesPodcast.mp3" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /><br />This is a podcast created by a student-led group during a five-day orientation trip. Andre Perez led four college freshman on a voyage to learn about housing justice that took them from Brattleboro, VT to Northampton, MA to Boston, MA. Along the way the group learned interviewing skills, recording skills, story boarding, and editing. Not only did the group interview experts in the field of affordable housing but they also spent their time doing service learning projects that actually benefited the neighborhoods and individuals featured in this podcast.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-30379851895159554742009-08-22T20:55:00.004-04:002009-08-22T21:14:53.687-04:00Sober and OVer It (Rant)Party culture. I feel like I can't get away from it. <br /><br />When you live on top of mountain, there ain't much you can do for fun but get wasted. At least that's what quite a few people from my college woiuld say. I know that all colleges have a hig level of alcohol-induced stupidity and in fact Marlboro culture is probably better than universityies in the sense that we don't ahve insane binge dirnking. But stuffed away in the backwoods alcoholism is nonetheless an insidious ever present problem. Our school allows students to designate money to activitie and a large portion of the budget annually goes to serving alcohol. When our licor liscence was revoked a week before what usually is one of the biggest parties of the year, the party attendence went from 300 to 30. <br /><br />So I looked onward in search of a community. I spent the summer in a radical collective that didn't do much in terms of organizing, but was a strong hold of the Chicago radical scene socially. By this, I mean it was a good place to meet people who believed a lot of similar things to me, there were zines around all the time, we threw concerts to benefit political prisoners, and every activist and their brother spent a couple nights on our beat up couches. This summer I learned in a big way how radical culture can be party culture. Sex party, beer party, whiskey party. Even though the house passed a policy discouraging drug use in the house, the party was on. Five days a week the stay-up-till-3-o'clock-drinking ethos imbued the first floor traveling upstairs (where I lived) to the roof for smoke breaks. <br /><br />What I learned was I am really done. I am done with people yelling outside my door for no reason. With waking up to recycling bins full of beer cans. With floors sticky from god knows what. <br /><br />I've been back for a "training" which has been a thinly veiled excuse for people leading orientation trips to drink every day, get high, and bar-b-que. <br /><br />I'm over it, and I don't even know how to get away.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-77605590007122459502009-08-22T18:03:00.002-04:002009-08-22T18:05:29.352-04:00Distance and InterestI feel like so many of the things I have dealt with in my life have made my feel more distanced and disconnected from the people around me. <br /><br />When my mother was crazy, it made me feel crazy. Apart. Estranged from notions of friendship and family that were illusory to me yet somehow implied in the existence of my peers. I needed to be away from her, and so I went to Peru. I gave myself what I needed. I was independent. Competent. Strong. But for all the good it did me in my life, it was another experience that only makes the distance seem somewhat spectacular. Sometimes I feel as if I’ve learned how to be an interesting person at the expense of being a relatable person. It’s another in an ever expanding collection… my very own cabinet of curiosities where my life is what is on display. <br /><br /><br />Now I want to transition. When I first started thinking of transitioning, I had people in my life who valued me for my gender ambiguity, people who loved and coveted my genderquuerdom, people who I related to more because of my boyish desires. Now so much has changed in my life in terms of relationships. I feel like to transition would be to transition out of community, to taking another step away from support with no foreseeable corollary on the other side. <br /><br />It’s no wonder that so much of what I focus my energies on is trying to find community in struggle. I worry that dealing with rather than striving for is the only future I’m prepared for. As if I have reached a point in my life where the only kind of connection that seems authentic is the relationship between people learning how to deal with shit together. As if the only love I believe in is love among comrades.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-43447922954599936262009-08-19T21:20:00.001-04:002009-08-19T21:21:45.587-04:00appologies and promisesAs some have noted, its been forever since I have blogged. Mostly it's because the nature of doing video work is that I get stuck inside for 7 hours a day when it's gorgeous outside. When I"m off, I've been trying to find green space in the city, and soak in the rays before heading back to to VT.<br /><br />At the moment, I am getting ready to be sequestered, but in the meantime, I will be writing and I'll post some of it. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Things I promise to reflect on soon: where I'm at with trust & play, and My changing thoughts on sexism.</span>Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-82992322492952779232009-07-22T10:16:00.002-04:002009-07-22T18:08:48.862-04:00Trans Oral History updateI have finally uploaded the second interview clip from bet power, entitled Legacy. It's better than the first, so I urge you to check it out.<br /><br />Also, I am going on the Gay Liberation Network's Chicago Public access TV show on Friday. I composed a clip from the project to show on air, and that can be viewed on youtube if you look on the channel TransOralHistory. There is also a link on the <a href="http://www.transoralhistory.com/ShortDocs">webpage</a> under short docs.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JiNd5epPFuY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JiNd5epPFuY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-34156136843861869052009-07-17T14:15:00.004-04:002009-07-17T15:13:04.563-04:00DIY AnimationDIY Animation<br /><br />My first session was awesome. It was hands on animation. We begun by watching some pieces for inspiration. Here are some of those sweet examples:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uuGaqLT-gO4&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uuGaqLT-gO4&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pjlmRs8FcJg&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pjlmRs8FcJg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />We split into group to work on our own separate pieces. My group took some chalk outside and a still digital camera. We created a storyboard and drew out several different frames...comic style. Then we took images of each frame, uploaded them to the animation program, and pushed play. 25 minutes. 5 first time animators. 1 free program. 30 seconds.<br /><br />I'll upload it before the end of the weekend. I promise.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-20276219864311191042009-07-17T10:24:00.002-04:002009-07-17T10:43:45.766-04:00Been a WhileI have kind of dropped the ball on updating all of my blogs. <br /><br />My internship at the queer youth center did not work out. But I have begun workign with a community art program that rocks my socks. I am co-teaching an intensive video production program with inner city youth until I leave Chicago. It is long and intense and the youth needs alot of direction and guidance and they are amazing and I love it! <br /><br />I am wirting up notes as I go along so I will be posting some of those field notes.<br /> <br />At the moment I am stupid happy to be at the Allied Media Conference. It brings together everything I want most in my life right now: media education, youth empowerment, and community organizing. With workshops on trans representation in independent media, Palestinian divestment strategies, and "magical education in magical settings"I don't think there's is anywhere in the world I would rather be.<br /><br />Create. Connect. transform.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-38480191068541812722009-06-22T16:01:00.003-04:002009-06-22T16:05:01.767-04:00Boi's Night In<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6OKeQaAd_K7r4SLSYglcHvw8po4xTAEvN3kwAKpsh2RnRO0fZroj992_YHxRdXZ_rSbqH0GjrnKK-sy_DjrbxtFAig6OynqYNT10avrxuFZo_qRDeapIY5KKCYiSCNai6XIzdnnBIRfg/s1600-h/BNIFlyer.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6OKeQaAd_K7r4SLSYglcHvw8po4xTAEvN3kwAKpsh2RnRO0fZroj992_YHxRdXZ_rSbqH0GjrnKK-sy_DjrbxtFAig6OynqYNT10avrxuFZo_qRDeapIY5KKCYiSCNai6XIzdnnBIRfg/s400/BNIFlyer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350245362792536482" /></a><br />I have been overall pretty pleased and excited with everything happening in Chicago. However, with the warm weather, I am definitely feeling a little tranny-boy withdrawl. Where's a boy supposed to find lazer tag partners? So I have decide to host the first BOi's Night In at the Cunt Collective. Spread the word if you know any transmasculine folk in Chi-town...Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-60883884478396448602009-06-21T14:04:00.007-04:002009-06-22T16:08:16.999-04:00Tshirt brainstorming<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOgdvxd_Qa-WqGYahFoPNwkoJWqcrTRmF91I9xMgt1H5PVNr_Sr2APzHOp3biIHogkrT7QhUIoe6UciwGVTfI9HDef6g2UiLVeu7XXaLJMst5zSTUQoG-ViZY_YnKnsD2Fdp-8WrQhDs/s1600-h/pridewords.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOgdvxd_Qa-WqGYahFoPNwkoJWqcrTRmF91I9xMgt1H5PVNr_Sr2APzHOp3biIHogkrT7QhUIoe6UciwGVTfI9HDef6g2UiLVeu7XXaLJMst5zSTUQoG-ViZY_YnKnsD2Fdp-8WrQhDs/s400/pridewords.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350245902435354946" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP17gQ650LhqJ6OPmnZXV24lR2pB8jD2wRIEbpfPTKMAOXvNuGAp30CJr2Y-ZvW_7pFdNmK0yjeL_NqH4omkEoY3SuZ1-dbktBUahRTA-31koWiy00MnoJYZ-4zmzhpsl3VqhB4Hhx08c/s1600-h/bdsmflag.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP17gQ650LhqJ6OPmnZXV24lR2pB8jD2wRIEbpfPTKMAOXvNuGAp30CJr2Y-ZvW_7pFdNmK0yjeL_NqH4omkEoY3SuZ1-dbktBUahRTA-31koWiy00MnoJYZ-4zmzhpsl3VqhB4Hhx08c/s400/bdsmflag.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350245716735380514" /></a><br />I'm working on a few tshirts. One will be a kink shirt, one will be a trans masculine pride shirt, and one will be an anarchist shirt. They all will be using words in order to draw out different identifiable symbols. <br /><br />So I am in the process of brainstorming transmasculine gender identities. SO far I have: aggresive, stud, butch, boi, trannie boy, trannie fag, transman, genderqueer, genderfuck, Tomboy, gender variant, androdyke... you got more?<br /><br />(Just a reminder that all images I create and post on this blog are property of me)Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-16061784614302450312009-06-09T15:35:00.001-04:002009-06-09T15:35:43.217-04:00Chicago youth center: A new chapterI have begun interning at a queer youth center in Chicago that will go unnamed, and I am presuming that most of my posts will be looking at the issues the center and the youth who access the center are dealing with.<br /><br />I am working with mostly African American gay men and trans women. They are largely homeless and experiencing all sorts of violence that comes with that. I've fallen in love with them already. It's so intense, but I'm in a great place personally, so I feel fortified to deal with it all.<br /><br />Some of the center's attitudes towards youth are problematic. It is supposed to be dedicated to anti-oppression, but of course it fails this charge sometimes. While there are some radical elements in the center, it is overall pretty progressive in nature. You can look forward to me posting in length about those grievances as they come up.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-67467504569269543342009-05-24T08:43:00.002-04:002009-05-24T08:45:54.870-04:00Hammers, Roofs, and Radios: A Subversive Transmission<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFxFJs8TI5i7DzAxiQv7EpQjDq12kTNgFX8VmArey6mwcCH2emU1FlOgefkhZCVHs7FThjOrzAijnYaaiGc1N_6UQuh-AgsQuZF0t6AMDl3j3o-lX-Q4o4CrkfxaKmIQp9IZo4uj5ljc/s1600-h/Bridges.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFxFJs8TI5i7DzAxiQv7EpQjDq12kTNgFX8VmArey6mwcCH2emU1FlOgefkhZCVHs7FThjOrzAijnYaaiGc1N_6UQuh-AgsQuZF0t6AMDl3j3o-lX-Q4o4CrkfxaKmIQp9IZo4uj5ljc/s400/Bridges.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339370549322721442" /></a><br /><br /><br />Construction dyke and techie tranny seek 7-9 curious adventurers passionate about housing justice, manual labor, and quirky documentaries. Participants can expect to build with and interview a local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. As we gather material to make a podcast about our experience, we will be talking about affordable housing issues and embarking on a day trip to Boston for a gentrification tour. Must be ready for:<br /><br />-life-altering shenanigans<br />-mind-expanding discussions <br />-mind-altering connections<br />and heavy doses of caffeine.<br />*positive results guaranteed and no experience necessaryTechie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045974015063151919.post-31705074460070335002009-05-24T08:42:00.001-04:002009-05-24T08:45:41.674-04:00Leadership CampI packed up my swimming trunks and granola bars and headed out for a post-graduation leadership camp. The occasion was me having designed a 5 day trip for my school’s unique and apparently award-winning orientation program (see next entry for details on my specific trip). I was a little stressed about giving up three days out of my already tight schedule, but I was dedicated to making the trip a success, and I figured getting to know some of the other leaders could prove useful. <br /><br />We arrived at a low-key place named “Neringa” without having any idea what was to befall us. The campground was actually a Lithuanian nunnery the school had rented out. We stayed in a gorgeous lodge with exposed wood everywhere. The spacious kitchen was lined around the parameter with cabinets laminated white labels no one could read. There were 22 of us in all.<br /><br />We played a variety of games led by a too-cheery-to-believe woman with obvious new-agey inclinations. I’ll spare you the details of most. Suffice it to say we spent time rubbing strangers, improvising blindfolded, and no one ever won anything. I wonder what kind of person I would have grown up to be if this all were more familiar than awkward.<br /><br />My main objective in being there was to get to know my co-leader. I had designed the trip on my own, but needed someone else to help make it a reality. There was A, a woman short in stature but bulky in physique. Her face was full of metal, her tongue split, her dreads ¾ inch in diameter. She exuded toughness and had most recently worked as a bouncer to boot. She was interested in the trip for the construction aspect but her father was a sustainable architect in Boston. Our energies and resources complimented each other. I was impressed by how good of a match we were, and found a lot of comfort in her unfamiliar laughter.<br /><br />Half way through the trip, she sat down on an unfinished floor and got impaled in the ass. Now, I never saw said splinter, but I hear it was an inch and a half long. I was impressed by how she owned it in the middle of the meeting, I mean really, that might be the most embarrassing moment of her life. Several unsuccessful attempts with and without tweezers resulted in a trip to the hospital. After a one-on-one session with a scalpel, she spent the next two days hocked up on vicodin, which was understandable but rendered her pretty much useless. I did all the work with maybe a little resentment but it’s hard to be grumpy in a beautiful place, in one of my last moments of familiarity before I thrust myself into the unknown. <br /><br />At the end of the training, I left with a desire to spend more time getting to know A, regret that I hadn’t skipped out on a few activity times to explore the land, and a quiet anxiety about whether or not I was the right kind of person to lead one of these trips.Techie Trannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com0