I've had a few chances to be out and about within the past few weeks.
My daughters, ex-wife and I went to the Vegas Pride parade on October 8. I wore my favorite sundress, youngest offspring wore her rainbow skirt. It was a fun event. I'd never been to a parade in Nevada, never been to a pride event and never been out with my ex-wife dressed as Heather. The parade was amazing. So many groups and companies participated in the parade. It made me want to ask if there was any plan for my employer to participate in a future event. After the parade, the four of us went to eat at a nearby IHOP. I had low expectations for the food but was pleasantly surprised. Six Dollars for a burger and fries on their 6 - 10pm value meal menu. And it was a good tasting burger! The only compensation I received for this endorsement was a burger that tasted good which we paid for. It was a nice evening.
The next day, 10/9 was the Las Vegas Pride event. Again, I'd never been to a pride festival. I had fun. Again I wore my favorite dress. It's nice to be recognized and not misgendered in a public setting. Yes, of course at a Pride event the likelihood of misgendering is low but it was confidence building. We spent probably five hours there. The only bummer was that the vegan food stall we'd chosen had run out of food. The three of us had split up, one kid at one stall and me and the other at a vegan place. the only thing left at the vegan place were cookies and they didn't have singles for change. The other kid was successful in getting food all three of us, fortunately.
One week later was the Las Vegas Age of Chivalry Renaissance Fair. I wore my standard "peasant" attire. I have a brown cotton skirt and a green/black embroidered blouse that my ex-wife gave me when the kids and I went to Pirate fest. Dang, I was glad we wore face masks at the Ren fair! There was so much dust. If I hadn't worn a mask, I'd be kicking dirt out of my respiratory system for many days. When I'd gone to the Ren fair a couple years ago, I was mis-gendered a couple times so I'd held low expectations... This year, nobody misgendered me. Not once. Zip. Nada. We had quite a few encounters with vendors and some seemed to acknowledge and embrace our unique traits. I had a great time. Based on the huge crowd, people were itching to get outside and attend events. The place was packed, food vendors had lines for days and the beer wagon lines were even longer. I don't think they expected to be as busy as they were. Again, we split into two lines to order food. The hungriest kid with me in the "deep fried stuff" line which was the shortest food line and youngest in the Pizza line. From the deep fried vendor, I had a fried "PBJ Uncrustable," hungriest got fried Nutella and fried cannoli. The three of us shared each of the fried goodies. Pizza was ordered and plated, we somehow found one side of a picnic table was available and had a fun little feast.
I've been pushing my look a little at a time. When I go out, I almost always wear my largest breast forms under a padded bra with a thin undershirt and then an open button shirt. If I'm wearing a baseball cap and mask, I am certainly passing. Yesterday, I went to our local supermarket. I wore an underwire bra with my biggest breastforms (DD's), men's tee shirt, women's shorts, dangling Halloween cat earrings, painted nails. As I was at the self checkout, the woman behind me was offered to use a different machine when she turned to the man offering her to go ahead and said about me, "she's almost done, thanks anyway." Oh my! I was on cloud nine. it was fabulous to be seen in my conservative little town for the person I really am.
On a similar but different topic, our office never received approval from the big bosses to dress up for Halloween. No crossdressing at work for me. Womp, womp. Halloween Cancelled?! I've participated every year since 2016. Each year a bit more over the top but always within dress code. People were truly disappointed that the costumes they'd bought or created would not be used. My direct boss texted me Wednesday night that we'd not be able to dress up. When I'd gotten to work Thursday, she told me that she half expected me to be dressed up regardless of the official directive. Dress code says specific guidelines but they're not affixed to a gender. I'd said that "who knows, I may just find a nice dress or skirt to wear as long as I'm within dress code." I didn't. The best part was that so many co-workers were disappointed because they love seeing how good I look on Halloween. Again, what a nice confidence builder. Who knows... maybe... just maybe... I'll just do it.
Once again I offer wishes of a fantastic Halloween to all. Get out there and live your authentic self.
Thanks for stopping in, come again.
Aloha,
Heather
The next day, 10/9 was the Las Vegas Pride event. Again, I'd never been to a pride festival. I had fun. Again I wore my favorite dress. It's nice to be recognized and not misgendered in a public setting. Yes, of course at a Pride event the likelihood of misgendering is low but it was confidence building. We spent probably five hours there. The only bummer was that the vegan food stall we'd chosen had run out of food. The three of us had split up, one kid at one stall and me and the other at a vegan place. the only thing left at the vegan place were cookies and they didn't have singles for change. The other kid was successful in getting food all three of us, fortunately.
One week later was the Las Vegas Age of Chivalry Renaissance Fair. I wore my standard "peasant" attire. I have a brown cotton skirt and a green/black embroidered blouse that my ex-wife gave me when the kids and I went to Pirate fest. Dang, I was glad we wore face masks at the Ren fair! There was so much dust. If I hadn't worn a mask, I'd be kicking dirt out of my respiratory system for many days. When I'd gone to the Ren fair a couple years ago, I was mis-gendered a couple times so I'd held low expectations... This year, nobody misgendered me. Not once. Zip. Nada. We had quite a few encounters with vendors and some seemed to acknowledge and embrace our unique traits. I had a great time. Based on the huge crowd, people were itching to get outside and attend events. The place was packed, food vendors had lines for days and the beer wagon lines were even longer. I don't think they expected to be as busy as they were. Again, we split into two lines to order food. The hungriest kid with me in the "deep fried stuff" line which was the shortest food line and youngest in the Pizza line. From the deep fried vendor, I had a fried "PBJ Uncrustable," hungriest got fried Nutella and fried cannoli. The three of us shared each of the fried goodies. Pizza was ordered and plated, we somehow found one side of a picnic table was available and had a fun little feast.
I've been pushing my look a little at a time. When I go out, I almost always wear my largest breast forms under a padded bra with a thin undershirt and then an open button shirt. If I'm wearing a baseball cap and mask, I am certainly passing. Yesterday, I went to our local supermarket. I wore an underwire bra with my biggest breastforms (DD's), men's tee shirt, women's shorts, dangling Halloween cat earrings, painted nails. As I was at the self checkout, the woman behind me was offered to use a different machine when she turned to the man offering her to go ahead and said about me, "she's almost done, thanks anyway." Oh my! I was on cloud nine. it was fabulous to be seen in my conservative little town for the person I really am.
On a similar but different topic, our office never received approval from the big bosses to dress up for Halloween. No crossdressing at work for me. Womp, womp. Halloween Cancelled?! I've participated every year since 2016. Each year a bit more over the top but always within dress code. People were truly disappointed that the costumes they'd bought or created would not be used. My direct boss texted me Wednesday night that we'd not be able to dress up. When I'd gotten to work Thursday, she told me that she half expected me to be dressed up regardless of the official directive. Dress code says specific guidelines but they're not affixed to a gender. I'd said that "who knows, I may just find a nice dress or skirt to wear as long as I'm within dress code." I didn't. The best part was that so many co-workers were disappointed because they love seeing how good I look on Halloween. Again, what a nice confidence builder. Who knows... maybe... just maybe... I'll just do it.
Once again I offer wishes of a fantastic Halloween to all. Get out there and live your authentic self.
Thanks for stopping in, come again.
Aloha,
Heather
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