Decidedly Obscure Human Complaints.

I sweat a lot when I go to the gym these days. A lot. While at the gym earlier today I played a highly addictive Tetris'esque game on my iTouch and peddled away on a stationary cycle. This game, by the way, is so good. It's the irresistable allue of Tetris combined with vampires, pumpkins, and mummies. Which makes it the best game ever for me when it comes to aerobic motivation. Horror? Check. Tetris-like addictive elements? Check. Sold. While exercising earlier today I sweat so profusely that droplets were dripping off the tip of my nose. One landed smack dab on to my iTouch. The sweat pooled in my eye sockets and blurred my much-needed-for-game vision. Prior to hormone therapy and living in an extremely arid environment, I've never sweat like this before. Not after sword fighting or marching band or hiking up Mount Olympus. Not after a long bicycle ride or unicycling. Nothing could make me sweat like I sweat now. In fact, I was so sweat-free that I neve...

On Saturday my friend, Chloe Noble, and her Homeless Youth Pride Walk companion, Jill Hardman, traveled through Salt Lake City on their way to San Francisco to raise awareness about LGBQT homeless youth. From KSTU:   and from the Salt Lake Tribune: 2 women go the extra (thousand) miles Salt Lake pair trekking across the nation to raise awareness homeless LGBT youths. It could be an abandoned building or a boarded-up subway terminal, a church courtyard or a covered porch. All that matters to Chloe Noble is that it's a safe, dry place to sleep at night. Noble and her best friend, Jill Hardman, are walking across the nation, living on the street, to raise awareness of an alarmingly large segment of the homeless population: lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths. Read More > It was a really neat event, particularly in regards to a certain social dynamic that occurred. When I first got there, there were no apparent homeless youth there. But there were a handf...

These past couple days have been emotionally taxing. Especially because today is injection day and my hormone levels have been extremely low. I may need to ask my doctor about what to do about this. I inject every 2 weeks. I'm fine for about 11 days - but, by days 12 and 13, I'm not doing so good. I'm foggy, lethargic, sensitive, moody. I wish there was a way to administer a small dose on a daily basis, rather than a huge dump on one day that tapers off until I inject again. Transdermal testosterone is applied to the skin daily, but I'm not sure it's a viable option for me. I'll ask my doctor about it. For now, through the online grapevine I've read that changes via transdermal testosterone are slower. Which is fine for me, if it means that I don't end up feeling so awful every 2 weeks. According to Hudson's FTM Guide : Transdermal testosterone is usually applied to the skin daily in small doses in an effort to keep a steady level of testoste...

This past week I've been really trying to get some freelance web design projects going. I do have a few projects underway presently, and I'm really excited. I rode my scooter to meet some friends up at a nearby college campus. Parking on campus without a permit is a strict no-no. I learned that lesson after bicycling up there a while ago and locking my bicycle up to a pole. I was only away for about 5 minutes and returned to discover a note taped to my bicycle frame. Someone, presumably a ticket cop, had scrawled: "This is a warning notice. If this bicycle is found in violation of [campus] rules again ... will be removed ... use a bicycle rack...". I was astounded. If a bicycle locked to a pole got their attention so swiftly, there's no way I'll gamble on parking the scooter up there. Wanting to get as close to campus as possible without actually being on campus, I decided to park along the side of one of the nearby frat houses in a little shady nook. As...

Boop... boop.... boop.... look what just popped up on my radar: NBC's The Listener: Taking on Trans Youth I've been watching a show on NBC that I haven't heard too much buzz about. The Listener is about a paramedic who can read people's thoughts and uses it to help others. Think "Heroes" without the giant cast and a little more believable (if mind-reading can be believable). It also doesn't hurt that the lead is easy on the eyes, but that's neither here nor there. I was catching up on some episodes on the TiVo and was pleasantly shocked at last week's show called "Lisa Says." This particular episode deals with the heavy issues facing trans youth: homelessness, not accepting parents, and lack of medical help. In fact it revolves around a young female to male trans youth, something else that has been rather unheard of on prime-time TV. Read More > Neat! Since this just barely booped, I haven't watched it yet - but I'm exc...

This is so, so good. Remember ladies, if you think that you can't get into sports, then find a player that you're attracted to and find out more about him!

My M1700 binder came from T-Kingdom today! I ordered it last Thursday , so it came pretty quick. Review time, cha cha cha! I pranced upstairs after signing for it and put it on right away. It's binding efficiently! Definitely moreso than the M1980 and the M801 - the two binders I currently own . The M1700 binder came right in the knick of time. I can't find the zip-up M801 for the life of me and, when I said the M1980 was "obliterated", I wasn't selling its condition short. It could only get worse if I hacked it up into little bits with scissors, lit it on fire, or, the ultimate of ultimate fates, left it near the litter box. In Comparison to M1980 After experiencing the bliss of putting on the M1700 , I now realize that the M1980 is actually really uncomfortable. Maybe it's just my height (5'11''), but from day one it just hasn't fit quite right. When I first received it, the lower half was elastic and tight and, as I'd...

My mood was hitting some pretty wonky levels for a little bit there. Prior to starting hormone therapy, I'd heard warnings and tales of erratic mood associated with testosterone. The most I'd experienced was an increase in sensitivity a couple of days prior to my injection day . Then early May came rolling around. Next thing I knew, I started having dramatic mood shifts. I'd feel fine, then kaBam! plummet into a sordid world of low-ville. Unprecedented lows filled with self-destructive thoughts that were easily triggered. These mood plummets were hitting hard and frequent throughout May, then surfaced in little increments throughout the first couple weeks of June. Since then my mood has been stable and manageable, but it was concerning for a bit there. I'd had low moods before starting hormone therapy, but not as frequent or - more importantly - as low and extreme. I started to diligently research other hormone treatment methods, like potentially switching to using...

I just watched this documentary last night and absolutely have to share it. It's so good. It might even be an illegal documentary. One that was really brave of the director, Brett Gaylor, to create. The focal point is on an artist I love called Girl Talk , who has been sued up the wazoo for copyright infringement. As Maclean’s Magazine puts it, RIP! is a "frontal assault on how corporate culture is using copyright law to muzzle freedom of expression.” Watch it. Trust me. Best part? YOU can download it here and pay whatever you want ! Stamp of approval. It really is worth the watch. Make other people watch it, too. Lure them in with treats and beverages.

I just ordered the Model 1700 Breast Binder from T-Kingdom . I can't really afford it, but I NEED a new binder. Apparently car-free lifestyle is brutal on poor binders. I have two currently - the Model 801 and the Model 1980 , which I got back in January . Since then and especially with the desert I'm living in warming up (i.e. unable to layer), I've learned that I generally need to use both binders; unless I'm wearing a pretty loose-fitting shirt. When I use both binders, I put the M1980 on first then the M801 over it. Binding with both royally sucks when bicycling. Sweat. Heat. Can't breathe. Itch. The second I get home I rip them off, wipe my sweat off, toss them in the wash, and throw on a t-shirt. The poor M1980 is obliterated at this point. After tucking it into my shorts a million times, a few tears formed at the base. In no time at all these tears turned into the entire left back side ripping, bit by bit. It still works, but it's all scuffed up ...

That orange background is just wrong. My apologies for the pained orange'ness of it all. Never again! In other news: White House not appealing transgender ruling WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is not fighting a nearly $500,000 judgment for a Library of Congress hiree who lost the job while undergoing a gender change from a man to a woman. Read more > Lame.

My clothes just get bigger and bigger. Since December, I've gone from being 5'11'' and 175 lbs to 203 lbs. Prior to hormone therapy I fit into small to medium shirts, depending on the brand. Now, on average, I'm always wearing large. I feel a bit like I'm traveling around in a bubble. Or maybe a tube. My shirts used to be so snug and dashing. Now I intentionally aim for a little excess breathing room knowing full well that my body shape is changing at a rapid rate. And I really don't like shopping. I'd much rather travel around in a cotton bubble versus having to invest in well-fitted shirts every few months. And clothing is definitely not a priority with my unemployment. But after wearing the same red button-up plaid shirt three days in a row now, I decided that I had no choice but to get a few additional shirts. So off I went, onwards to a second hand store downtown with my friend, Andrew. After said venture, I ended up with two - yes TWO! - addi...