Getting Down to Business

My game face is on, as you can see. More news soon.

Have You Heard the News?

Well, in this case... no. :D But watch this space for some shortly. I can state with authority that while there is, in the words of the King, Good Rockin' Tonight, there will be other news as well. :-p

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You can't ever go wrong picking an Elvis song, especially Sun-era Elvis:
While we're at it, here's my very favorite Elvis song: "Suspicious Minds." It was recorded early in the sessions for what become his classic From Elvis in Memphis album at American Sound Studio in Memphis, and was released as a single in early 1969:




Incredible song!


And I would be remiss if I didn't include Dwight Yoakam's stellar cover version:






He certainly channels more than a little of that Elvis swagger, does he not? :c)

She Lives (With Pictures To Prove It)!

Hello all! It's been a while! Just wanted to say hi and mention that you should watch this space for details of a super-duper, mega-important, historic, earth-shattering event. Think Nixon goes to China... The Beatles come to America... Fonzie moves in with the Cunninghams... we're talking B.I.G.

In the meantime, I have been woefully negligent in posting... well, anything. lol So here are a few semi-recent pictures, and several songs from the albums I've been wearing out lately. :D

First up is what I refer to as my ditzy secretary look:

I'm flashing a bit of 'tude because a friend was teasing me just off camera (about the brace, now that I think about it), and I snapped this shot as I was about to express my mock-indignation. :)

In case you're wondering, the wrist brace is for my tendinitis, which flares up several times a year. I've fractured/broken that wrist four times, so, as you can imagine, it gets a bit cranky from time to time. A little TLC, and it's usually good to go after a few days.

Anyway, more below the jump! Enjoy!!! :D

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Kiss Me, I'm Irish - And Extra-Proud of It Today! :D

This Irish-American lass's sapphic heart is very, very proud today. :')

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/ireland-becomes-first-country-to-approve-same-sex-marriage-by-popular-vote-1.2223646

Way to go, Ireland!!!

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A few Irish songs, in celebration of today's happy news. First up, Van the Man & the Chieftains, with the title song of their 1988 collaboration, "Irish Heartbeat":

Here's a beautiful version of the same song that Van recorded with the great Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits fame for his stellar new album, Duets: Reworking the Catalogue:

And here's my favorite song on the album, the haunting "Streets of Arklow," with Simply Red's Mick Hucknall:

You can find the equally mesmerizing original version on 1974's intensely personal - and very Celtic - Veedon Fleece, my favorite Van Morrison album:

And last but not least, Mundy's wonderful cover of Steve Earle's "Galway Girl," with assistance from Sharon Shannon:

The Video Onslaught Continues...

Yup... it's time for yet *another* video from yours truly. One again featuring shaky camerawork, questionable wardrobe choices, and ill-advised attempts at humor. Hmm... this sounds like a porn video, actually. Which, come to think of it, would do wonders for my view count... Anyway, that's an idea to set aside for another day. >=)

But for now, settle back and enjoy another installment of Cass's Coulda-Been-A-Blockbuster. :D

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So my friend R was nice enough to braid my hair for me again on Friday, as I had plans later that evening. After arriving home I chatted with (who else?) April (no prizes for guessing that! lol) until nearly 3:00 AM. I watched an episode of Treme, which I'm FINALLY getting around to at long last, and then, at long last, prepared to go to bed.

I undid the braid, bent forward, and shook it loose. When I flipped it back up and looked in the mirror, I saw this... and burst out laughing - because this was what I saw!

(BTW, that was my attempt at the "Boston-tough-chick" look. I needed to apply at least one more tube of pink lip gloss and add hoop earrings to really pull it off though...)

I laughed and laughed (did I mention it was after 4:00 AM?), and was telling a friend today that I could walk onto the set of L.A. Law or Dynasty circa 1986 and no one would have batted an eye. We are talking BIG hair here!

I much prefer it pulled back off my face, but these were too funny not to share. Hope you got a kick out of them!

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I've been listening to a lot of Bob Dylan, The Band, and The Byrds this week, what with the release of the latest Bootleg Series release of The Basement Tapes. These are the sessions Dylan held in the spring and summer of 1967 with what would soon become The Band, literally recorded in the basement of the home the band was renting near Woodstock New York. I thought I'd include a few songs from those sessions here.

First up, "Million Dollar Bash." The joy they were taking in simply playing for the joy of playing is infectious:

The Band's "I Shall Be Released," featuring Richard Manuel's haunted lead vocal:

And finally, The Byrds, doing a great live version of "This Wheel's On Fire," co-written by Dylan and Rick Danko:

The smokin' guitar solo was courtesy of the amazing Clarence White, one of the great guitarists of all time. He was killed by a drunk driver in 1973 while loading his gear following a show in 1973. He was 29 years old.

Here's one more, Nashville West," featuring White's mind-bending guitar technique.

Roger McGuinn - not exactly a slouch on guitar himself - would routinely introduce this song by saying, "Clarence is gonna pick one for you now. And I'm gonna try to keep up." You can see why here!

Radio, Radio

Hello everyone! I am happy to report that your humble blogstress is writing this on the very first evening of her vacation - yea!!!

My plan is to do some serious writing next week while I am off; we shall see how that goes. :c)

In the meantime, though, I thought I would do a catch-up post about my recent radio miss-adventure, since it was, you know, nearly two weeks ago at this point. It even resulted in some good news - and totally unexpected good news at that!

But before I do, and at the risk of ruining the suspense of whether I did, in fact, single-handedly bring down an entire radio station… I want to mention that I will be on the air again with Mike on the Mic, this time from 9:00-11:00 AM Eastern here in the States. You can listen online at www.wmfo.org; I will also post a link to the archived version (as a comment to this post) once it’s available.

With that bit of business out of the way, I invite you to follow along below the fold! :D

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A Must-Read (Two, Actually)

Fascinating, moving article from Salon.com, written by a male author:

I'm Attracted to Trans Women

Kudos to the author, Thomas Katt, for his courage - and in particular for acknowledging the far greater difficulties endured by trans women.

The article contains a link to another site, TransOriented, designed for men who are attracted to trans women.  I plan to take a look - when it isn't 12:55 AM on a work night, that is. lol

I do hope you take a moment to check these out; both are well worth your time, I assure you! :c)

Crazy Days... and a Big Decision

Well, I started this post about a half-dozen times since last Friday… but things kept happening that made me realize I had to start over. Again. lol 

I told M, my therapist, on Saturday that I feel as if I'm living "light-weeks" since starting to transition. She laughed… until I ran through the events of the week. Then she shook her head and expressed her amazement at how much I try to cram into one week!

Last week was particularly packed, so much so that I could write posts about pretty much everything that happened. A few were bad, most were good. And I made a pretty darn big decision. 

I'll do my best to write about at least SOME of these in the days to come. And hope that things stay calm enough to let me do so. :c)

So, without further ado:

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The bad news first: I didn't get the job. Not much to say about that, but it's very disappointing. 

Good news: I'm pretty sure I'm NOT going to the other office, the one that would make my transition exponentially more difficult. That may change… but I think I'm safe for the time being.

This means I can finally move out of my parents house - which M told me flat out on Saturday is absolutely essential. "That is a toxic environment for you," she said, adding that she did not use that term lightly.

I've scheduled visits to look at several apartments in the next few days. I want to be in my new home by mid-September at the latest. The sooner the better… for reasons you'll soon understand.

Bad news: I lost my claddagh ring, which has a great deal of sentimental value to me. M, however, had a different take on it, which I will share in another post.

Good news: I came out to four more friends last week: my friends R & B, who are married, and my friend T2 and her daughter M. I will absolutely write about this as well, as both conversations were quite powerful. (T2 and I both cried several times.) It's wonderful to share my news with the people I love… but it is draining too. All part of the process, I suppose.

Good news: the Newport Folk Festival was superb. Again, I will write more about it, but for now, I will say this:

GARY CLARK JR is AMAZING. Prepare to be awed:

He was ASTONISHING, as you can see. And hear. :c)

I'll post some of my pics in another post. They turned out well, I think, mostly because my new camera truly IS idiot-proof. lol Plus, it's hard to take a bad shot of Newport. It is truly beautiful.

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And my big decision - which I will *absolutely* write a separate post about:

I picked the date on which I am going to go full-time.

It's july 26th, 2013.

Why that day in particular? 

It's the first day of next year's Folk Festival. I decided while I was there two weekends ago that the next time I attended this festival that I would do it as myself. 

And I will. 

Newport has been a magical place in my life from the beginning… and I can't imagine a better place in which to truly start my  life, at long last.

M, my therapist, thinks it is more than reasonable. It will be 20 months into HRT, and two-and-a-half years since I decided to transition. 

I have so much to do - electrolysis/laser, working on my voice, getting comfortable going out as myself… but I know I can do it. And by giving myself a deadline, I WILL do it. As M told me, "When you make up your mind to do something, nothing will stop you, will it?"

No. Nothing. :c)

I'm scared (OK, terrified) and exhilarated in equal measure… which means I must be doing something right!

Time to call it a night - more to follow this week! 

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To wrap up this post, here are two more of the amazing acts from this year's festival. First up, the always-superb Wilco:

And next, New Multitudes, a one-off group consisting of Anders Parker (Varnaline), Will Johnson (Centro-Matic and South San Gabriel), Jay Farrar (Son Volt), and Jim James (My Morning Jacket). They came together to record an album of new music they collaborated on to accompany unrecorded Woody Guthrie lyrics. The results, as you can hear below, are enchanting:

This was even more breath-taking in person, if that is possible. Incidentally, I'm just out of camera range, next to the gentleman with the red hair at the bottom left of the screen. Such are the pitfalls of being short. :c)

Quick Update - And More Newport Artists!

Trying to catch my breath after a frantic, sleep-deprived week. Work has been hellish, per usual, especially trying to wrap up things before going on my mini-Newport Folk Fest-vacation for a few days.

I'll write more tomorrow, but the short version is that I have an interview tomorrow morning for a new job. Yea!!!

This happened REALLY fast. I did a phone screen two weeks ago, then didn't hear anything until this afternoon. There was some confusion (more in my next post), but essentially I did a second phone screen with no advance notice this afternoon. Always a good way to unwind after a harrowing day at the office. lol

It must have gone OK, because they asked if I could do an in-person interview - tomorrow morning. I sort of stammered that I was supposed to head to Newport, but they explained that the hiring manager was going on vacation for two weeks as of noon tomorrow, so this was the only time that worked. Needless to say, I said no problem.

This would be a really, really good opportunity. Much more stable than my current situation, which feels more and more like a nightmare with each passing day. So please send some positive vibes my way tomorrow morning; they will be much appreciated! And I will return them a thousand-fold as I wind my way to Newport as soon as the interview is over - promise!!!

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As promised, more of the Newport artists I most want to see:

My Morning Jacket, who are an AMAZING live band. Watch this tremendous performance of "One Big Holiday" on the old Conan O'Brien show and be awed:

Patty Griffin, an astonishingly good singer and songwriter (and current main squeeze of one Robert Plant - rumor is he may grace us with his presence!):

And Trampled By Turtles, a way-cool, turbo-charged bluegrass group from the great state of Minnesota:

They're all barely 36 hours away! Woo-hoo!!!

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Oh - and this is my 100th post!!!! I am a chatty Kathy since I started transitioning! lol

My New Beau! (And A Bit of News...)

You read that right... there's a new man in my life. And I am so excited!

They say these things happen when you least expect it.

Well, that's certainly true in our case.

But I knew as soon as I laid eyes on him that it was true love.

And I think the feeling is mutual, based on the amount of time we've spent cuddling so far since we began our relationship. :c)

What's that?

What does he look like, you ask?

Well, take a look!

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(That Wuz) The Week That Wuz

Whew. Perhaps it's just the hormones, but things certainly have seemed... intense the past few months. This past week was no exception. Mostly good, but, as the song goes, "Wherever there is comfort there is pain/Only one step away." And vice versa (as I prefer to think about it).

So… shall we dive right in, then?

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Second-er-er Hand News

Today's topic: which is slower - transitioning or waiting for HR to approve an open job req? Discuss.

Yup, still waiting to hear about the gig I interviewed for last week. At this rate I'll be applying for Social Security benefits as Kelly before they make up their minds! <lol>

On the plus side, I was called about another contract today, which is always good. The more irons in the fire the better.

Stay tuned!

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This also gives me an excuse to post this version of "The Waiting," sung by Seattle's finest, Eddie Vedder:

Pearl Jam and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; how can you go wrong?

And because one TP&TH tune is never enough, here's a great version of "A Woman in Love" from their appearance on the Tomorrow show with the late, great Tom Snyder in 1981:

Hard Promises (the album both songs are from) would definitely be one of my Desert Island Discs...

Second Hand News

Haven't posted in a week or so, so I thought I'd write something just to keep the ol' writing muscles limber. :c)

I can't remember if I mentioned this already, but I was laid off about a month ago when the project I was working on was canceled. This goes with the territory (I work in high tech), but it's still frustrating. 

It was doubly disappointing this time because not only was this one of the most hard-working groups of people I've worked with, they were also the nicest. They were under incredible pressure, and I can count on one hand the number of times people even raised their voices, let alone fought with one another. The company retained a small team to try to land another contract or two; I'd welcome a chance to work with these folks again.

That said, I'm also looking elsewhere. I may have a lead on something promising, and hopefully I'll learn if I have an interview in the next few days. 

This would be a good opportunity for a few reasons. It would be a good transitional position (pun intended) both professionally and personally. I've been stuck in a rut  for a variety of reasons, and this job would be a great way to get out  of it. I'd get some experience on my resume that would help me be my own boss sooner rather than later, which is my plan. Also, as my sister noted, "Good thinking. You don't want to get bored while you're changing your gender." :c)

On the personal front, it's a stable company, which would be a welcome switch. Constantly switching jobs after a company folds or a project is cancelled gets a bit tiresome after ten or so times, believe me. And it goes without saying that it would be awfully nice to have a steady income source while transitioning.

So, my fingers are crossed here. Hope it's a good week all around for everyone!

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Here's a great tune from Fleetwood Mac's cracked genius, Lindsey Buckingham. This is from the last show of the Rumors tour in 1978: