Writing to Write

Last night was my first time at an NLTO function since the March meeting. I had to work last night and tonight, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from coming. That's a long time to go without seeing one's brothers and sisters. We're always connected over the web, but it's nice to see people up close and personal too.



The last few meetings I've dressed casual - jeans and a top. When I came to the March meeting, I wore flip flops. That's cool, because the meetings are casual, but I like to dress up sometimes, and I haven't been out en femme in almost two months. So I wore a dress. Specifically, I wore a black, sleeveless cotton shirtdress. It's got little star-shaped buttons down the front. I wore black patent peep-toe slingbacks, because I was dressing up. They've got, 4.5" heels, but they're actually comfortable to walk in. I wouldn't want to run around in them for extended periods, but I haven't had a chance to wear them out, so I did.

Getting dressed was an adventure. I had originally planned to wear a different dress, but that didn't work out with the bra I had, so I had to make a change. I had time getting into the black dress. It's always been snug, because that's how it's cut, but when I bought it two years ago, I was wearing smaller breast forms. It took me some creative maneuvering to get the dress buttoned over my newer, larger forms. When all was said and done, I looked stacked.

I haven't worn makeup a lot lately, but I didn't have any trouble putting my face together until I was nearly finished. I was putting a second coat of mascara on my right eye when I twitched. My lashes on that side ended up in a clump over the center of my eye. I wiped all the makeup off that eye and started over. Around that time, the Kentucky Derby had started, and I wasted precious time looking at a horse race for the first time in years.


Once I was dressed and made up, I scrambled to get everything together. In addition to my usual purse-load, I had to pack a change of clothes for work, which I headed to directly from the meeting. I packed all of the essentials, but in my haste omitted a few accessories, like a pair of studs to replace the hoop earrings I was wearing out. My boss is pretty open-minded, but somehow I can't see her approving of me wearing those at work.

I am embarrassed to say that I don't remember any of the group business from the meeting. I can tell you how many were there (thirteen, including one new girl I hadn't met before, Shawna, plus the dog De is sitting). After the serious discussion was done, I chatted with Julian and Rebecca about movies. My geek streak was showing, but I don't care. I left out around 2145 so I could get on to work.

I was a little nervous about coming to the job en femme. It wasn't the first time I'd done it, but it's been a while, and I wasn't sure how the associate I was relieving would take me. I came in while he was assisting a guest, and he recognized me immediately, but didn't bat so much as an eyelash about my appearance. I immediately adjourned to the employee break room and set about returning my appearance to some semblance of masculinity. Practice does make perfect, as I was (reluctantly) back in my male guise in about fifteen minutes. *Sigh.*