The clock started ticking on Friday at about noon...when they got painted like this, which ended hearing the dreaded "S" word for the entire weekend. From then on, I heard either "Ma'am" or they just omitted any greeting whatsoever.
At the hotel, painted toes sticking out from under my tiered tan skirt...
A quick grab shot, at the Tom Paxton concert...
The second record was that this blog has been read over 20,000 times. Thanks to all for looking, and I hope you come back often - or better yet, sign up to follow it!
Upon returning home from DC Sunday, I prepped some old alloy wheels (from a prior automobile) for sale - anybody with auto experience knows that means degreasing both sides of each wheel, and lots of splashed, ugly dirty water. I was obviously outside working, but nobody walked by to chat with me, thus my nails remained a "secret."
After ruining my old pair of shorts and sneakers with the black, greasy water splashed from the wheels, I waxed the wheels in the garage, to help them look better. Again, nobody went by, so when I finished, I loaded them in the car and gave up for the day...
Monday, I took the wheels to a friend on the other side of the bay, who will sell them for me, and ran some errands. Since some of the errands were at places we are known, I didn't wear a skirt...instead it was a pair of capris, with a polo top, sandals, necklace and bracelet, earrings and so on. None of the people we knew said a word about my girly appearance, even with 20 bright red nails in plain view (I was wearing sandals.) But, the important thing was: nobody said "Sir," either!
I went to the bank (a different branch, where I was not known) to see how they would handle cashing a check. No "S" word, only "Ma'am" and "she." This was even after having to produce my driver's license (which clearly shows "M".) Nice...
So apparently, if I want to blend in better (maybe "pass" is too strong a description) I really should paint my nails... That's something I may work on for my trip to the west coast in January. Conceivably I could wear fingernail color (no sandals at that time of year) after my conference (once I'm in skirts), for somewhere around 7 days! Woo-Hoo! But we'll see how the planning goes.
On the way home a radio traffic report mentioned something about the beginnings of a backup on "the bridge." On a Monday. Hmmm. So it was all back roads for me, and I missed most of it...only got caught up in about a 20 minute wait right at the toll booth. Which, needless to say, gave me time for the following grab shots:
I went to the bank (a different branch, where I was not known) to see how they would handle cashing a check. No "S" word, only "Ma'am" and "she." This was even after having to produce my driver's license (which clearly shows "M".) Nice...
So apparently, if I want to blend in better (maybe "pass" is too strong a description) I really should paint my nails... That's something I may work on for my trip to the west coast in January. Conceivably I could wear fingernail color (no sandals at that time of year) after my conference (once I'm in skirts), for somewhere around 7 days! Woo-Hoo! But we'll see how the planning goes.
On the way home a radio traffic report mentioned something about the beginnings of a backup on "the bridge." On a Monday. Hmmm. So it was all back roads for me, and I missed most of it...only got caught up in about a 20 minute wait right at the toll booth. Which, needless to say, gave me time for the following grab shots:
An hour before the polish had to come off...I took this while stuck in traffiv.
Almost to the toll booth...about 30 car lengths to go...
How I would love to wear nails that pretty every day!
My regular tech was surprised to see my red color, since I had it done elsewhere. But I think she used to wonder why she calls me "Miss Mandy." Now she knows. And not surprisingly, she wants a picture...I'll take her some! (It's also implied clearance to show up in a skirt...)
The little girl who always chats with me at the salon, did so once again. Now she's decided that "you're half girl and half boy!" I don't have a better explanation - so once again, "out of the mouths of babes..." I didn't dispute her analysis! And I'll miss seeing her when school starts again.
Till next time,
Mandy
The little girl who always chats with me at the salon, did so once again. Now she's decided that "you're half girl and half boy!" I don't have a better explanation - so once again, "out of the mouths of babes..." I didn't dispute her analysis! And I'll miss seeing her when school starts again.
Till next time,
Mandy
All records are made to be broken but 76 hours or having those lovely nails to look at must have been wonderful and affirming. Your nails are fabulous. I also liked the girl to girl moment that you had with your regular nail person and her acceptance and almost eagerness to be your friend as you stretch the gender envelope.
ReplyDeleteWhile many of your clothing choices are feminine or androgenous there are a few items that really cannot be confused with a male presentation and that would include pantyhose, a skirt and a feminine color on your mani/pedi.
It is funny how we keep a mental record of our gender stretching efforts and events. Last week I was out of town three nights. I drove to my business destination wearing a denim skirt, tank top, bra with breast inserts, pantyhose and heels. At my first P-stop I changed my heels for flats and went to the men's room which was empty. At my second P-stop I again changed to flats and went to the men's room but was not the only one in the rest area. I do not know if I had any odd looks but I felt good with the event.
When I got to my hotel I put shorts on over my skirt but my pantyhose were still there for anyone who cared to look. I also had on nice makeup. Checkin went well afterwhich I freshened my makeup and went out for a bite to eat and a few adult beverages.
The next evening I met a friend who is androgeneous. I wore hose, heels, a different skirt and top along with my wig, makeup and heels. I recall that the clip on earrings that I wore that night did really start to hurt and I had to take them off to give my lobes a rest.
My third night I went to an evening Catholic Mass service that was wonderful. I felt accepted and in a good place wearing a brown and white print dress with a white crop jacket along with makeup, hose, wig, etc. Oddly enough the only discord I felt was in wearing a wig since as a kid I knew that men did not wear hats in church and that only women had their heads covered.
After Mass I went to a coffee house. From there I went to a pizza parlor for a few slices. After that I went to a bar for even more food with a few beers. It was a great trip and I enjoyed my time out while dressed and now cannot wait for my next opportunity to get out and about while dressed. It is addicting and intoxicating.
Pat
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi Pat,
DeleteMy fingers got WAY ahead of my brain, so I deleted the entire post above, and am re-typing it...sorry...my bad!
Isn't it fun to kick the door off the closet for a while? Sounds like you had a really affirming time on your work trip! I truly hated to have to go back to androgynous, and it was even worse yet, to have the nail color removed! That red was fabulous!
As per her request, I have a couple of pics to give to my tech at the nail salon. And I want to do it this week, so I can go in wearing a skirt. I called to check if she was there before stopping, and she wasn't. So I didn't go in...I want to hand her the envelope personally and see her reaction, both to my attire, AND the pics.
Tomorrow won't work for me, so there is still Friday and Saturday. Lets hope one of them click.
I decided to visit the wig shop today (lets just say I didn't buy anything - more about that in a post later) and pulled on a skirt and my earrings beforehand. But my lobes still hurt from the clip ons - I could only deal with them for an hour. Gotta give them more time to recover, I guess!
Wonder how I'll deal with earrings if my trip to the west coast works out? (Possibly 7 days en femme!) I hate needles, but I'd consider getting them pierced if it would fly at home. Last time I ran that flag up the flagpole, it was full of holes when it came back down. So I hope my lobes toughen up a bit...
We can cross that bridge later...
Mandy
As a kid I was a Boy Scout and thier motto "Be Prepared" has stuck with me to a limited extent. When I first started sneaking out I would throw on slacks and put them back on for the trip home. I then evolved to taking a pair of mans pants and a guy shirt in a bag in the car with guy shoes. I no longer do that.
ReplyDeleteWhen I do go out I sometimes take 2 or even 3 pair of womans shoes. I like to take high heel stilettos. I also take a more comfortable pair of heels or wedges and sometimes I will add a pair of womans flats. If one pair of shoes hurt my feet I switch to another pair.
I sometimes do the same with earings. Some clip ons hurt within an hour and some do not hurt at all or have a longer pre hurt time. Not all clip ons press the same part of the lobe so sometimes I just take a pair off and give the lobes a bit of a breather but other times I replace one pair with another and I am good to go for a longer stretch.
Pat
I still "have to change clothes" when I do short errands, for obvious reasons. But when I'm out and about, like last weekend, I certainly didn't. Admittedly I had a pair of sandals and a pair of flats for everyday, with my heels and Mary Janes for the photos (didn't use the heels - they were too low!)
DeleteI really should try another pair of clip-on earrings...maybe they will be the ones that let me spend a longer day in earrings, without pain. Thanks for the suggestion!
Mandy
Valid question. My dad wasn't at Okinawa...but if he had been, I'd have been asking myself the same thing! Guess we'll never know for sure!
ReplyDeleteMandy