A little bit of daylight shopping and a Zoom with the Girls

 

This is another picture of the woman whose body I should have inhabited.  I love the confidence she projects in this image, something I never had growing up having to present as a male.  When I showed this picture to MSJ, her reaction was of a person who didn't like all of the headaches a woman faces in our culture.  And that is an attitude I picked up years ago from my former cruise partner, someone who I think wishes she had been born into a male body.

 

Why do I mention this?

 

Tonight would be a zoom meeting with my friends from Texas.  Although they know that I'm TG, they see me as female for most things.  And yet, in the back of their minds, who knows how they really feel?

 

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When I finally got moving today, it was too late to do much of anything.  So, I decided to make a run to Yorktown to have 2 slices of pizza, then go shopping at Uncle Guiseppe's.  This would give me a chance to go outside, and be able to stay near my house for tonight's Zoom meeting.

 

Around 7:45 pm, I opened up the zoom meeting, and by 8, all 4 of us were on line. One of our Texas friends became very open about what was going on at her job, giving us a much better idea of the role she plays in her company.  The other friend discussed her upcoming trip to Louisiana, noting that New Orleans is always a great place to visit.  And that's when I mentioned that I might be driving out to Tuscon with my brother, with the assumption that he gets his new job out there.. I noted that I'd take Amtrak to New Orleans, then stay there for a few days before returning to NYC.  That's when the gals suggested meeting in the Big Easy.  I reluctantly had to squash this, as I'd be traveling as Mario, and that I couldn't afford to travel as Marian through the "Bible Belt" due to the laws against us TG's. (Later on, RQS mentioned that it was a positive indicator that they want to see us in person again.)  

 

All too soon, the Zoom meeting ended, and I was done for the night.  Even though RQS and I chatted later on, the night was over, and I went to sleep a bit earlier than usual. 

 

A pleasant surprise from distant friends.

 

The 2023 Chicago Girls' Trip.  This is where RQS and I got the chance to meet our Texas friends in person.  We all agreed that we didn't spend enough time together on this trip.

But first....

It's been a year since we were all together, and we've hinted to our friends that we should get together again soon.  For the most part, it's gone over like a lead balloon, but that's OK.  We'd still be friends, and chalk up their reluctance to factors beyond our control.

Tonight's conversation took a different path than usual.  Usually, RQS gets on quickly.  But tonight, I had to try calling her - with no response.  I was concerned that something might have happened to her.  She does live in NYC after all.  But no, all was OK.  She took a nap, and didn't wake up when her Alexa's alarm went off.  She has gotten in the habit of telling her device to let her sleep for 15 minutes or so, and does this while semi-conscious. So, around 8:30 pm, she came into the chat, and she told the story about her doorway being replaced.

After RQS joined us, I showed off some pictures from our Bermuda cruise, and then the chat shifted towards other trips.  (I won't go into detail here, as it is not my story to tell.)  And then I was asked: "Why don't I come to Texas, when I'd go to New Orleans."  I mentioned that New Orleans was a LGBT friendly island in a deep red state, while Texas doesn't protect my rights.  However, I noted that Texas didn't make me going to the loo a criminal act as it would be in Florida.  So I might end up spending a day or two in Dallas one of these years.  But first, people like Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott must be voted out of office.  Who knows, there may be a New Orleans trip in the cards for us in 2025.

And then we all had to go.  But we made plans to have another Zoom call between Election Day and Thanksgiving.  Hopefully, we'll have good news to celebrate that week....