well, the door to my old job has closed. No chance to go back. To add to my stress, I got an email from my brother that really set me back. Its hard to keep from being discouraged with all these setbacks.

Well, Monday, I go grovel for my old job back. Dont have a lot of hope, but need to try. Pray for me, if you are the praying type.

Well, I am trying to keep a positive attitude about my brief experience in the workforce as Dorothy. It was good for me to be me in a RL situation, something I can try and build on if I find another place accepting enough to let me be myself. I just don't know how realistic that actually is. I have so few skills, I feel like some grunt job is my best option, and those are not usually flexible. Ah, well.

I read this quote from the latest chapter of "You meant it for evil" and It just describes the choice of transition for me perfectly:

“What happened to you is a dream come true for someone with a mind like yours. Reality for most people like you is harder and sadly, with the intolerance of society, born to some degree from the way most of us are put together, ends up being a decision between two bad choices. Either hide who you are inside and pretend to fit in or make the change and live with the consequences."

Well, two days into the new job, and I am not sure about how long it will last. The pressure to sell is amazing, and I just dont have the way with jokes that some of the others do. Plus, I am dealing with having to do a quick-change before I go home - putting my Dorothy clothes in a bag and putting on male ones. The clothes are a symptom of the fact I am currently living 2 lives.

Well, I got a call back from the call center. I start training Monday morning. Going to go as pretty as I can. Here is hoping I can do the job well enough.

Well, it looks like my store may be sold. The US based chain "Target" has been exploring coming to Canada, and is in the process of buying several stores belonging to our chain, and it looks like ours is one of them. If it happens all the employees will be laid off, and have to either apply with they new company, or at other locations of our current one. I hope I am gone before that happens.

For a special bulletin. This is your all time favorite super-heroine, The Fantastic Fluke, coming to you live from an alternate dimension! I have "borrowed" Dorothy's blog to let you know I am working with her on the final chapter of my amazing origin! Look for it soon, and stay sexy, everybody!

Well, I just had a big dust-up with my mother. She is totally afraid that I won't be able to be accepted by the world at large as Dorothy, and I will not be able to meet my obligations. I know its mostly because of her own exhaustion and stress, but it still hurt.

Well, I had my interview, and I think it went well. I should find out by the end of next week if I got the job, but they seemed okay with me being me, and I think i showed my telephone skills. So we will have to wait and see.

Well, I just got back from dropping off a resume with a call center as Dorothy. Not only that, but I dropped in at my current work as Dorothy, and said hello to everyone. Thanks to having been talking about this for the last while, nobody seem shocked. One of my co-workers even called me Dorothy. Pretty good day, I think.

Well, I am trying very hard not to feel discouraged by the error I made in posting my Phoenix story. I really liked how the story turned out, and now it will probably vanish without much recognition. I am trying to focus on the fact that just writing something that long is a major accomplishment for me. I am starting to wonder if the meds I am on for depression are doing any good any more. I am finding it harder to keep positive, and much easier to feel hopeless. Monday, I will call the doctor and tell him. Meanwhile to try and cheer myself up, I am working on the last part of Fluke.

Well, i apparently had a large part of the middle that didnt post. dont know why. i fixed it, I hope.

I have been fighting a losing battle with negative self-image lately, and yesterday, I think I figured out why. I was working in the health and beauty department, restocking the hair color isle, when it hit me. Every box I put on the shelf had a picture of a beautiful woman, with flawless skin, amazing hair, and all the rest. Each picture was like water torture, eroding my ability to see myself as passable, much less pretty. I have to keep fighting this feeling. Despair is deadly.

I am trying to make sure I hold on to hope. I have been struggling with bouts of hopelessness, and I have to keep fighting, even when I don't want to. Ah, well.