I hadn't eaten in nearly 10 hours by the time J finished working on my hair, which I realized when a headache began to set in as she was blow-drying it. Accordingly, I immediately went to Starbucks across the street for iced coffee and something light.
I wound staying until closing, chatting with my friends S and B, who were working the closing shift. Since it was getting late at this point, I decided to head back to the mall for dinner rather than make it at home.
The mall had closed about 30 minutes earlier. Typically the restaurant is very quiet by this time, even on a Friday, but last night both the bar and the dining room were packed. I even had to wait for a table to open, something I don't ever recall happening there.
And that was when the evening became a bit interesting - but with a nice ending. :)
As I mentioned in my previous post, I got my hair done last night. They only see me every two months, so it's always interesting to hear their reactions.
One thing I learned, or had reinforced, last night: hormones are mighty powerful. :D
Hello all! Very quick post to let everyone know I am alive and well (or as close as I get) - and busy. Very, very busy. (I was up until nearly 2:00 AM on Wednesday night working on a project with my sister.)
Unfortunately, my schedule will not let up for another month or so, after which things should calm down substantially (she said hopefully).
Quite honestly, I need a break. It has been an intense two-and-a-half years since deciding to start HRT, and I am bone tired. Even my vacations of the past two years haven't been relaxing. I was dealing with the fallout from my transition each time, and with depression on several of them.
Things are better, even on less-than-great days. As I told my sister earlier tonight, experiencing a bad day as a girl - as myself - is infinitely better than a good day trying to pretend to be someone I was not. It is no contest. That being said, some downtime is clearly in order, and I hope to have some within the next 8-10 weeks.
***
On a light note, I had to mention that I have noticed that the impending arrival of summer seems to have all sorts of things blossoming - including, apparently, my hair:
I find that amazing. It really does seem to be growing like weeds, as the stylists at my salon say each time I come in.
I'm thrilled, needless to say :D - and hope that it keeps growing like this! I cannot wait until I can put it up. I am very much looking forward to that.
I'm getting my hair done tomorrow, btw - just the color, not a cut. We were thinking of going lighter for the summer, but I lovelovelove this shade of red.
I have literally had total strangers come up to me on the street, unbidden, and tell me how striking this color is, and how it suits me. That would be flattering anywhere, but in Boston? It beggars disbelief. (Boston is consistently near the top of the list for rudest/unfriendliest US cities - and with good reason.)
As my manager L (who is from Texas) noted today after I told her, "Wait - people in New England are stopping to compliment you?!? You're sure they weren't tourists?" lol
Anyway, here's another pic, which also better shows off
my new glasses. And note the crazy hair; summertime is coming when it
starts to get out of control like this.
And on that note, may you all have a lovely, and hopefully summer-like - Friday! I am glad the weekend is almost here. :D
***
Sarah McLachlan, a long-time favorite of mine, just released her latest album, Shine On. It's being hailed as one of her best, and I am inclined to agree. Here she is performing the leadoff single, "In Your Shoes."
P.S. I love her hair! :D
One more song, from the album that put her on the map, 1991's Solace. This is "Into The Fire," performed on Late Night with David Letterman in early 1992:
This is one of those posts that arrived out of nowhere.
In this case, really out of nowhere.
A recent post noted that it was three years ago (plus a few additional weeks now) that my life truly began. That was the day that I finally acknowledged who I was, realized what I had to do, and started on the long road that brought me to where I am today.
I had mentioned what the day represented to my friends R and S late the previous week. Being the dear friends they are, they decided that Cassidy deserved to celebrate the occasion of her first birthday (so to speak) as herself.
Follow along below the jump for more on what they did, and how it helped me appreciate how far I have come, and understand what to do to continue that journey.
It's absolutely gorgeous here in New England today, with temperatures near 80 F (~26 C) and bright blue skies. That's not unheard of, but is still well above average for this time of year.
Yesterday was equally warm, but added a touch of summer-like humidity. After months and months of bone-dry, utterly arid air, I genuinely did not mind. (My hair, however, felt otherwise. lol) In fact, I went for a long walk (over three hours).
A bit too long, as it turned out; I was caught about ten minutes shy of home when a line of thunderstorms popped up suddenly and raced through the area. I ran the last half-mile or so, but was still absolutely drenched. Luckily, my new hat helped:
Well, OK, no it didn't, actually. :D But still - tres stylish, no? lol As a bonus, the back of the cap has a shamrock logo. You know, in case anyone can't tell I'm Irish-American...
BTW, after one more, potentially even warmer, day tomorrow, we are back to struggling to escape the low 50s for most of the week. Such is spring in New England!
***
Anyway, it's Mother's Day here in the States. I sent my mother flowers, although they *still* hadn't arrived as of a half-hour ago. (Grr....)
I also left a text message for my sister, who worked a double shift at the emergency room so other nurses could spend the morning with their families. (It goes without saying that she is asleep right now!)
Later my parents will go to my brother's house for a cookout; I'm not invited, needless to say. This is the established pattern; they celebrate the actual holidays with my brother and his family, and then I come by a day or two later for leftovers, literally and figuratively.
It is what it is. People make their choices and then live with them. All I can say is that I am 100% comfortable with mine.
In any case, I wanted to share a few of my favorite Mother's Day songs for moms everywhere. There is no more difficult job in the world... although being a Mariners fan is close. :D (Some baseball humor for my fellow seamheads out there!)
Apologies for the lack of activity hereabouts lately. Your humble blogstress has been quite busy. I have several posts in various stages of readiness, and will do my best to wrap them up and get 'em posted forthwith!
In the meantime, I thought I would share a few pics of my new glasses, which I picked up on Thursday, as well as a quick story about a nice moment afterwards.
Follow along for more below the jump - but here's a sneak peek for the immediate gratification crowd. ;c)
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