How Do You 'Do?

Hello all! Hope everyone survived the week and is enjoying their weekend! :c) 

I haven't written much lately, so I want to get back to it as time permits. So I'll write a bit about the past week, including the not-so-good (a migraine) and the good (my latest trip to the salon). Happily, the good easily trumps the not-so-good! 

So, follow along after the jump, won't you? :D

I was dealing with a nasty (and persistent) headache the middle part of  the week, alas. It was the result of a particularly challenging round of electrolysis on Tuesday evening that centered exclusively around the corners of my mouth and just under my news. 

I have been told my several doctors that I have a very high pain threshold. Well, that may be true, but I was certainly feeling pain on Tuesday evening! 

My electrologist, M, was determined to clear out some of the most stubborn follicles (ouch!), many of which were ingrown (ouch ouch!). At one point I half-joked with her that she was going to lift me off the table, such was the resistance of the hair and the effort she was expending to remove it.

It is remarkable how beat up one can feel at the end of a hour in which all you do is lay on a table, but I was drained when I left her office. The headache set in on the trip home, and neither applying ice nor painkillers did much to alleviate the throbbing behind my eyes. 

It was worth it though; we made a lot of progress. The laser sessions I endured several weeks ago have paid serious dividends; much of the darker hair on my face is simply... gone. I think one or two more good sessions will take care of much of the remaining stragglers. All I have to do is scrape together the funds to pay for it. One step at a time, one step at a time.

There was another factor in my lingering headache, but it was personal, and I would rather not dwell on it here. Suffice it to say there are some battles that are ongoing, much as one wishes they were a thing of the past. All you can do is endure as best you can, I suppose; the bad days are far outnumbered by the good ones now. :c)

And speaking of good days... I had my hair done yesterday. :D 

I happily admit it; it is wonderful fun to go to the salon now and let my stylist, J, run wild. lol I swear, she is more excited than yours truly about getting to mess about!

Since I'm growing my hair out, I only come in every two month intervals to get the color touched up. I know that my appearance has changed in the past few months - several people have commented on it - but their reactions confirm just how much it has changed.

J commented on it as soon as she came to the waiting area to greet me, telling me "You look so girly!" :#)

When we sat down to discuss what we wanted to do in terms of color, she stopped and said, "Wow!"

She called over L, a particular favorite of mine (although they are all wonderful to me). 

BTW, L  just moved up from assistant to full-time stylist in her own right. (Congratulations again, sweetie!!!) 

"Feel her hair, L!" she said, and L complied. Her eyes widened.

"Oh my God, your hair has gotten so much thicker! And long! It's really grown since your last visit."

I know that one possible effect of HRT is thicker hair, so I suppose this is the tradeoff for the ferocious follicles we wrestle with each week when I visit M!

They asked me if I was getting it cut that day - and laughed at my horrified reaction. :D (J trimmed it, of course, to take care of the usual split ends.) 

When they asked how long I was thinking of letting it grow, I immediately replied, "As long as possible!", which made them laugh again. After clarifying that I meant "as long as it's manageable and looks OK," they assured me that wouldn't be a problem. So we are letting it go! 

I got a sense of just how much longer it was once J started blowing my hair dry after the coloring was done. She had to clip it up so she could dry it in sections; I was amazed at just how much hair there was - and how heavy it felt! That was the most enjoyable part of the visit, I have to say. And hopefully it will get more enjoyable with each visit as the months go by!

I don't really write a lot about this part of transitioning; my posts tend to be Russian novel-ish dirges of despair and gloom. lol 

But after such a challenging three years to get here, I realized it's OK to also write about the wonderfully fun parts of finally getting to be the person I longed to be my entire life. I love being a girl so much! :D 

And I cannot wait to experience more and more of the kinds of things - both large and small - that I had convinced myself I would never experience. Things finally make sense. And that is something worth every bit of the hardship and pain that is part of this journey.

On that note, I'll wrap up this mega-self-indulgent post with - what else? - picture of me! me! me! 

Thank you for taking the time to be part of my journey, and for letting me share it with you. It's a great deal of fun!

***

I took these on Friday, the day after my appointment. I was even grumpier-looking than usual, thanks to that nagging headache I mentioned. ;c)

J did a wonderful job with the post-coloring style, I think:

Here I am living the high life and celebrating my end-of-week, post-workout Friday evening with my favorite mind-altering libation - toffee nut iced coffee.

 As the song says, "Hey hon/Take a walk on the mild side." lol

I took this one completely by mistake. I didn't realize I'd left the Photobooth app open, and was idly tapping the screen as I listened to Al Green sing "Let's Stay Together." (Lord, can that man sing!)

I like how it turned out; I call it "Contemplative Cass."

BTW, the shot at the top of the post was taken post-shower earlier this evening, after I returned from a long, chilly walk. As you can see, it doesn't take long for my hair to start misbehaving again! Since this is how I usually look, I thought it only fair to start the post with that one! ;c)

More to come - and soon, if I can get my lazy butt writing again!!!

***

Speaking of Reverend Green:

Oh my. It suddenly became warm in here, didn't it? :#)

Kidding aside, he is the master of restraint, isn't he? He conveys so much nuance and emotion without ever needing to resort to the histrionics that pass for great singing these days. Would that they would learn a lesson from the master.

Here's another favorite of mine, Marc Cohn. If you listen closely, he mentions the good reverend:

I cannot believe I have never posted a song from either of these gentlemen before! That will have to change moving forward; both are still producing wonderful music to this very day...