Today, I was supposed to meetup with an "old" friend, and then attend a meeting with a new meetup group. Well, things didn't work out as expected. Just after I had gotten dressed to meet her for lunch, SJM texted me to postpone lunch, as her son was taken to the hospital. (I won't say more than this here.) But she had one hell of a day, and we'll catch up with each other in the morning. So, instead of meeting SJM, I picked up an egg sandwich at the deli where I used to stop every day before going to work at the imaging firm.
It's amazing how some people remember you after a couple of years. I was greeted warmly, with the "what happened to you?" question. I mentioned that I had retired, then told not to make myself scarce. (Of course not, they want my business and they like friendly faces.) With sandwich in hand, I decided to drive up to Poughkeepsie to browse the spring offerings at Lane Bryant. While on the road, I chatted with my friend Maria, and we caught up with what's happening in each other's lives. And before too long, I was at the mall.
It was nice being in Marian mode again. It's been more than a week since I last presented as female. Once inside the mall, I noticed my legs weren't used to walking any distance - something I have to work on before going to Norway later this year. There were some nice things at the store, but nothing that said "Buy Me!" And that's just as well. I've spent too much on clothing lately, buying another unitard from Universal Standard, a denim dress from Eshakti, and some shoes from Woman Within. (It's hard to pass up good bargains when these are things I want to have in my closet.) Now, I have to buy some things to wear over the unitards I have when not in exercise mode.
Once I got home from the mall, I relaxed for an hour before driving to Yonkers for another meetup. This time, it was at an informal pizza joint in a business park off of Executive Boulevard. I was the second to arrive, and we were all seated at the bar in order to get separate checks. And this is where another feminine experience comes in....
Last night, I mentioned to one of the people at the meetup that I had been shopping for a car. Well, he offered to help me buy a car - and volunteered to be my masculine "beard" when I go back to the dealership. (My feminine presentation must be reasonably convincing now. Little does he know that I present as male when dealing with car issues.) Once he saw me, he showed me the information he gathered from one dealership's web site, as well as talking about what he's learned from his experiences car shopping. Are all men like this? AARGH!!!! In his own way, he respected me last night for what I knew about cars, but was treating me like a lady who needed a man in her life to deal with these things. Am I like this when presenting as Mario? I hope not. Once I was ready to leave, he showed me his new car - with all the bells and whistles. Typical male behavior....
Luckily, I was able to make a graceful exit after a few minutes and left for home. It was nice to be able to strip off all of the garments that cisgender women hate so much!!!!
PS: My friend's son is OK, and is at home resting as I write this.
