Well, things seem to be looking up. If you read my last blog, you'll recal there were some stumbles. But, well, that's the blog.

I couldn't write another blog for a few weeks... As there wasn't anything to report on. (HR & the Diversity Office were "working" on my benefits, with no word as to what the underlying issue was. ARGH Yes, I was uberly stressed out and making up all sorts of reasons.)

I did eventually figure out what the problem was (before they did)... I found a document, apparently written by the company that was supposed to be based on the SOC v6 (even though the v7 SOC had been out for several months before the doc was written)... In it, the author grouped ALL surgeries into the same set of rules - FFS, BA, GCS/GRS/SRS, etc... Requiring twelve (12) months 24x7 and two letters. This despite the company's transition guide saying that if FFS is required by the individual it should be done between the last day as a guy and the first day back on the job as who you really are. (Yes, conflicting documentation/procedures). They eventually (about four (4) weeks after the rejetion) decided to override the timeframe requirement, so back on schedule... It still took a week and a half for this to be communicated to the Insurance company and for the Insurance company to communicate with the Doc's office and get things straightened out. *sighs* But, I now have my FFS date! (July 12th).

But, while they couldn't make up their mind, the family had to decide on vacation... So, I actually start Full Time on June 30 (perhaps as early as June 28th, TBD)... Technically, I work Mon/Tue (July 9/10)... So, my clock COULD get reset (I hope not).

My original planned FFS date was July 10th, but that didn't work out (delays are not your friend). So, "Anne" will likely have her first day "on the job" July 30th.

Now, between now and then, I need to finish acquiring my professional wardrobe. (I've got pieces, but not all of it, and need to make sure what I have/get coordinate.) I'm in contact with one of the female managers - who offered to be a mentor (no prompting or anything). So, I have someone to check my ideas against (too bad she's in DC not up here in NY/NJ). Now, if I can just find a suit jacket that fits... Worst case, I can raid my wife's side of the closet... (We're close to the same size. Only her wardrobe is set up for Academia, not corporate America.) That would let me limit my purchases to just shoes (my feet are smaller than hers).

As I mentioned last time, my name new name is supposed to be "effective" as of June 15th... Once I get the sealed doc... I start scrambling - to get my name (& hopefully gender, but who knows) fixed with the Social Security Administration... See, I need a new SS Card to get my name fixed in the company's systems - they're way to tightly interlocked... So - between the 15th and the 30th I need to get that done - and hope the card comes back before the 30th so I can ship a copy off to the company. I'll probably get a new Drivers License then too - with my correct name!

Just thinking of the other places I need to change my name (yes, I have a LONG LIST - been working on it for about a year) I find a bit daunting...

On other fronts, I've started expanding the list of people that know and are aware of the schedule... A bunch more cousins are "in the know" (Some before I told them! Seems they got it through the Aunt that guessed.) and all are supportive - including the one who's wife's family includes someone quite high in the papal hiearchy (My cousin's wife is supportive, but some of her family can't politically). Families... Aren't they wonderful? :-)

Today at Lunch, I also came out to a colleague of nineteen (19) years. I had some trepidation, as he's an Orthodox Jew and some have issues, but he was wonderfully supportive - and even knew some of what I was doing, as the ex husband of a friend of his wife had gone through it a few years previously.

As to my thyroid... Seems when it heard about the radioactive iodine, it got SCARED! They did the test to determine how much iodine was needed, and my thyroid was working normally! My endo had me do a blood test - and it also came out normally. So, that's one more med I'm off! All in all, I think things are looking up... Four more weeks working as HIM.

Luckily my electrolysis is near the end (what's left is very light and only in one or two spots not sparse)... As I have to stop it now, and not resume until three months after my FFS. (Hmmm. Maybe I'll use my appointments to zap somewhere else...)

Thanks for reading... The good news was something I wanted to share... But, I figured it was incomplete without the other stuff.

Thanks for reading.
Annette

P.S. For those who might not recognize my acronyms:
FFS - Facial Feminization Surgery
BA - Breast Augmentation
SRS - Sexual Reassignment Surgery
GCS - Gender Confirmation Surgery
GRS - Gender Reassignment Surgery
SOC - Standards of Care
HR - Human Resources
DC - Washington, District of Columbia
NY - New York
NJ - New Jersey
SS - Social Security
TBD - To Be Determined