Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Even though he officially retired some years ago, Grandpa is still a force to be reckoned with at the library. If he needs the community room on New Year's Eve then naturally he gets the community room on New Year's Eve even if the place is shuttered tight. He says he knows just where all the bodies are buried and there's no budget for re-interring them so they just have to let him do what he wants.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
I have a decision to make, and I've been putting it off. Mary Ann and I have been tossing around our options and her family has been able to offer some pretty good advice, but the decision is mine in the end. No, that's not completely true. Mary Ann and I have to make the decision together as it affects the both of us.
The past is the past was one of the worst platitudes ever uttered by a fool trying to sound like a sage. Even if this overused cliche was not worn out, the advice in it was useless. People would use this saying to try to push an issue under the rug. Not treating the past with respect was just ignoring your life to move on. In fact, following those so-called words of wisdom had a high probability of damaging someone. An insightful person would know the best way to follow the path of Confucius was to study the past if they wanted to divine the future.
Monday, December 16
Oddly, I got the answer to finding Mary Ann's gift in the psychology exam this morning. There were questions about family relations and - of course! - dysfunction. Which made me realize I should call her brother Dale and ask him if he has any bright ideas. I had to slap myself and put my mind back on the exam after getting another bright idea.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Turkey day. No, not the day we eat the turkey but the day we get the turkey. Seems like a lot of fuss to get a turkey when the supermarket had piles of them in the freezer, but Eve swears it's worth the effort for a fresh organic turkey.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Dress shopping with Eve and Mary Ann. I'm getting a real kick out of being a bridesmaid, something I never aspired to in my wildest dreams. Some of the girls I know on campus are addicted to something called Say Yes To The Dress and can go on for hours about finding the perfect wedding gown. Hey - I love wearing dresses and enjoy shopping on my rather limited budget, but really! I just can't get into gushing about this neckline or that train or who knows what else.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Last day at camp, sort of bittersweet. We got up much later than yesterday and not a few of the girls were moaning about the amount of wine that they drank the night before. The phrase 'wine is a mocker' - in my father's voice, naturally - ran through my head but I wisely kept it between my ears.
For two years, Elliot's wicked stepmother and horrible stepbrothers have been forcing him into to clean the house, dressing him in his mother's old clothes and working him to the bone without rest....
Now, on the night of the Princess's Ball, the 20 year old orphan dreams of escaping to the palace and ingratiating himself with a well-to-do woman.
When a bumbling fairy godmother bursts through the window, he thinks his dreams have been answered! Of course, they're actually just beginning.
This is the *completed* story - not a preview, like last time.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Well, actually I'm writing very early Sunday morning in the communal kitchen so I don't disturb any of my fellow campers. And why am I up early on a Sunday morning? Simple: My fellow campers may be beacons of femininity by day, but they snore like longshoreman during the night. Not that I've personally been able to listen to a longshoreman snore, mind you, but there must be some truth to the old saw or nobody would have started sawing with it.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Much food for thought in Psychology today. Only the second class and my head is spinning. The prof dug right in with personality types. The old Greeks decided there were four: choleric, melancholic, sanguine, and phlegmatic. Meyers-Briggs thinks there are sixteen. Other people throw other numbers into the pot. Kind of like a lottery but nobody is a clear winner.
Friday, September 6, 2013
A light day, only one mid-morning class. That's the ideal Friday for a college student, no afternoon classes to cut to get an early start on the weekend.
“ Oh, please Chris, it will only be for one morning and it will help you get back to fitness.” pleaded Sue, one of my colleagues in the running club and who also worked with me at the telecoms company call centre, over a coffee break from work.
I was soon dressed in tight black calf-length leggings, a bright pink hip-length tee-shirt with a pink frilly ballet skirt around my waist, and pink fluffy bunny ears. Feeling a proper idiot I went back out to see Sue.”
I'd been called queer practically ever since I started school, but I didn't really find out what it meant until seventh grade. This was back when gay still meant happy to most people, and queer was an insult.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 (continued)
All of my musing on the past is how I started my day. Because of my late enrollment, the only English Literature class with any openings occurred at eight o'clock on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Since Monday was Labor Day, school started on Wednesday. Thus I began my day wandering around campus lost and confused. Over the summer I had gotten used to the library's more civilized hours, opening at ten. I had to get up before the sun in order to shower, dress and ride the bus.
No, she isn’t a bully. Being a bully would mean that she cared in one way or another about another person. She’s completely egocentric and she does what she thinks is necessary to get what she wants. If I happen to be collateral damage, if I’m hurt or humiliated, too bad. That’s why I was appalled to learn that I was going to spend the summer at the beach in Florida.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Labor day. Time for the big parade.
We were up early to get ready for the parade. The living room was full of boxes and hangers containing the costumes when my fellow workers arrived promptly at 8:00 AM to get dressed. Jenny and Beth from the library were part of the group, as well as Audrey.
Jim wakes up naked in a motel room. There are two letters on the table. One is from his wife and the other is from his three friends. There are several boxes in the room filled with his secret wardrobe.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Mom called again today. This time her voice was not as strained, for that matter neither was mine. We just chatted, nothing special. She got a great laugh out of Grandpa proposing to Eve and even took my wearing Sylvia's engagement ring better than I expected.
Part One of Seven -- The complete novel has been posted.
Jim’s three co-workers are upset with him for having them dress in French-maid costumes for a company event. They meet with him, and demand that he go through a rehab process to become more sensitive to their feelings.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Had another session with Audrey today. No tears and heavy stuff this time, but more "What do I do from here?" Somehow when I talk to Audrey I have to get things straight in my mind so I can tell her about them. She knows the right question to ask when I run dry and she's helping me.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
The three weeks are up! Well, close enough. This morning I took my starter earrings out of my ears (that turned out to need a pair of pliers, the things seemed to be welded together) and wore a new pair. I had gotten a special pair for the occasion, with a rainbow of small stones dangling from fine silver chains. Outrageous Earrings, Mary Ann calls them. I suppose they are, but I really like them. It's fantastic to feel the little jewels on my neck and I just love seeing them in the mirror. On me!
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Is it genetic? Why can't women leave the phone ringing when there is something else going on? It's not like we don't have an answering machine that we can check later. I have no trouble letting the thing ring if I am doing something important.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Today was the day. Mary Ann's parents came to meet Angel the Girl. You wouldn't believe how nervous I was. It was worse than seeing them just after we started going steady.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
My new glasses are in. They look just as cool as I hoped they would, very feminine. I did get one of those hanger things and I get a kick of having my glasses bounce off my breasts when I take them off.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Grandpa would be proud of the literary allusion, but I need to write this down and out of my system. Today was cold, wet and rainy; a perfectly lousy day which was all the worse for the beautiful day outdoors yesterday. Grandpa and Eve went off to the Liar's Club so it was just me and Mary Ann.
Julie and Trudy continue to work as the Odd Squad with their unofficial team of helpers, with no help from the main detective team under Inspector Wainwright.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
I'm getting better at cooking. Today I did a traditional Sunday dinner, naturally with Mary Ann's help, but I planned the menu, went shopping for the ingredients and found the recipes. We had roast ham with those pineapple slices and cherries pinned all over it - it looks pretty cool that way and isn't any real trouble to do. I think it looked just as good as the picture in the cookbook once I put it on the table.
In this chapter, our hero runs into some trouble while trying to help his friends, does some gender revelation, loses his temper, then finds himself in *very* deep trouble.
.
Wednesday, July 10
Who was that idiot that ended the last entry talking about how much fun this summer is going to be? He must have been insane. Well, maybe not insane, but he sure wasn't looking very far ahead. Today has been quite a revelation.
Monday, July 8
I could hear the water singing in the pipes as Mary Ann took her shower. I had just gotten out of the shower myself. My body was dry but my crew cut was still a little bit damp. I stood in my bathrobe, eyes still glazed with sleep, a bra dangling from my hand.
Wednesday, July 3
Nothing much to write about lately. Since last Friday night I know that Grandpa and Eve are comfortable with me dressed up so I haven't been watching the clock and changing before they get home. It feels like family, even more so than my own family. I love Mom and Dad, and even my little sister, and they love me, but there is a wonderful feeling of acceptance here. I don't have to watch myself to avoid a lecture on God's will if I do something Dad doesn't approve of.
Madison used to have this great friend Charlie, they did everything together. Then Madison moved away. Now returning home, Madison seeks him out. The only drawback, Charlie didn't know Madison was a boy. Madison didn't know Charlie had a secret too.
An older story of mine. My attempt at romance. A young software engineer, meets up with an old friend from high school she’s a computer tech and at last the nerd finds a girl who he can talk to.
Saturday, June 22
If I thought yesterday was weird, today about doubles the weirdness. We finished breakfast (sinfully late - 10AM!) and were relaxing over coffee. Grandpa went out to tell some lies with his cronies or something - he wasn't all that clear where he was going - and we were relaxing over coffee when Eve finally asked me about the crossdressing. As I fell asleep last night my mind cleared and I knew I wanted to take the next step.
`Wednesday, June 19
I consorted with the Devil this afternoon. That's the way Dad puts it when he talks about Planned Parenthood. If Satan was present I didn't get to meet him and damn me if I could find any little devils in the building. The more I get to see of the world the more I wonder just how much of what I have been taught is true. It all sounds so real when Dad talks about it, but every time I come across what he would call 'sin' or 'temptation' I get a little less sure of just what is going on.
Sunday, June 16
What a day! Mary Ann is showering and I have a few minutes by myself to write. I feel like Alice after she fell through the looking glass, things are getting curiouser and curiouser indeed!
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
I couldn't stand it. I have been dreaming about Mary Ann's bra every night since Sunday. I just couldn't get the fantasy of wearing her bra out of my mind no matter how I tried. Tonight I dug through the hamper and found one of Mom's bras. It isn't anywhere near as sexy as Mary Ann's, in fact it's just plain plain! I made damn sure no one was around and took it back to my room and tried it on. Well, I tried to try it on - How do girls snap these things behind their backs? I sure couldn't do it!
When Theodor Geisel wrote the Cat in the Hat he was already a well-established children’s author. Several of his books had been made into animated cartoons.
His publisher asked him to do what he could to reduce the literacy problem in the United States by writing a book that could be used as a reading primer. He was given a list of 225 words (There’s dispute on the actual number.) and told to make a story out of those words.
I didn’t learn to read by reading The Cat in the Hat. It didn’t come out until 1957 when I was nine and probably on to The Bobbsey Twins. I do remember reading The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins in the first grade, and being enthralled.
I can’t even estimate the number of hours I’ve spent with my children and grandchildren on my lap reading his wonderful “Dr. Seuss” books. In his honor, I made a list of the words used in The Cat in the Hat and devised a TG poem using only those words.
The sun would not shine.
I was too sad to play.
So we sat in the house
On that sad, sad, bad day.
Checks can be made out & sent to:
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