A personal announcement, emphatic thank-you, and cheers to Fedora.

Hypatian wrote:

Just a pretty basic corset

Anyone from the Joy of Programming thread could have seen this coming. Your passion for strong, static types and strict execution. All the warning signs were there.

(If we can invoke Fibonacci when discussing eyebrow-shaping, we can also make programming languages jokes. )

As long as you stay away from pipe-stem corsets...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/helen_s...

Extreme corset form with a long stem compressing the rib cage. To develop such a tube form of the waist and be able to wear such a corset claims for years of training being laced continously day and night. But the result is a remarkable. And don´t forget that being constantly laced up in such a pipe stem corset your back muscles will be weakened and you will need the support of the well-boned and strictly laced corset for the rest of your life.

WTF?

Yep. That used to happen to women, up until the turn of the century or so when corsetting went out of fashion. Ever wonder why all that fainting went on? Wear one of those outfits once and you'll figure it out quick, fast and in a hurry.

I was in an opera once, and the director was a stickler, and he knew someone who had a bunch of real antique 1860's ballgowns, and he insisted we all wear them with the authentic underwear. It was gorgeous, but trying to sing in that thing (and wearing all that in the middle of summer, under all that stage lighting) was no picnic. That, and many of them had beaded hems and every time you walked across the stage it sounded like you were running a rolling pin over gravel.

Yay! Had a great night tonight.

Went to the Transpitt meeting in the outfit I showed earlier, with my new brown wig, foundation, a little eye-bright, and eyebrow pencil--decided not to do eye makeup after I got to the meeting early, just because I thought I was looking pretty darned good without, and I still want more practice on that. Saw an old friend of mine there who I'd been expecting to run into in these circles, and chatted with her a bit to catch up, which was nice. Really enjoyed just being me all evening. Got a few nice compliments. Didn't go to the bar with people afterwards because there's a big drag show tonight and it's sure to be a mess. Got a ride home from another friend afterwards instead of taking the bus, so that I wouldn't have to bundle up and feel stressed on the way home. (On the bus downtown I wore a sweatshirt and my coat over my outfit, and my guy shoes.) Walked up to my apartment figuring "If any of my neighbors sees me and recognizes me (or not), I don't give a damn." :>

And now I'm just hanging out for a few minutes before taking off the wig and makeup and changing back into guy clothes to grab a very late dinner.

A good evening all around. It's nice to be me.

Hypatian wrote:

It's nice to be me. :)

Simply awesome.

Sounds like an awesome night

Hypatian wrote:

A good evening all around. It's nice to be me. :)

That's the important part, right there.

Great stuff! You are a really brave woman!

Trying out an electric epilator today, to see if it would be a good alternative to shaving. So far, seems promising. I did one arm and one leg pretty thoroughly, and the other arm kind of so-so, and some of my chest. Shaving has just been a nightmare, and I hate the stubble. Hopefully at some point hormones will help thin things out, but in the meantime, ugh.

Skin on my arm (shaved Saturday night) got pretty bumpy and irritated, but is recovering nicely. If it stays nice for more than a couple of days, that's a net win, because stubble from shaving is back practically overnight for me. :X Leg (shaved last wednesday) got a little bumpy, but less irritated than the arm did. Abdomen (shaved a week or two ago) didn't really get bumpy at all, but had a lot of hair so it was pretty hurty. Seems smoother than with shaving by a good bit, at least in most places. I understand waxing is better, but I've never done it. I was able to easily epilate places that I can't normally shave easily--usually a combination of hard to reach and kind of loose skin. Unlike electric shears, the epilator also doesn't leaves nasty welts from pinching places with scar tissue (stretch marks, scars from having my gall bladder out.) Overall, it seems like the worst possible outcome from being too aggressive is OH GOD OW OW OW when it suddenly yanks a bunch of hairs at once. No danger of cuts or gouges.

Time will tell if I have more or less problems with in-grown hairs than shaving. I actually suspect less, because I shave against the grain too often to get a closer shave, and I think that pushes some hairs down under the skin instead of cutting them. If it's about the same, it seems like a net win due to hopefully having to do it less often and getting nicer results. If it's better, it's absolutely a win.

General pain level ranged from SWEET JESUS in a couple of sensitive areas to OW OW OW in less sensitive areas, fading to numbness. The more sensitive areas didn't seem to numb out, but that might have been partially because I couldn't keep working on them for too long at one time. Going over an area clean or mostly clean of hair was pretty painless, with the occasional tug as another hair got snagged. I imagine that regular maintenance would be much easier than the first time, with less hairs to pick up at once. (Disclaimer: As I revealed above, I have an atypical relationship with pain.)

Once I got in the groove with some music playing and working over stuff, it was kind of relaxing. (But damn, these things are loud.)

This was with a pretty cheap epilator I picked up at Target. (Remington EP-6025.) Depending on future results, I think I may invest in a nicer one. (I've heard good reviews of something from Emjoy, I think, for the heavier sort of hair problems trans women who aren't on hormones yet deal with.)

Jury's still out until I see about ingrowns, but so far I like it.

Epilators aren't bad, but sometimes you have to wait til the hair is long enough to get it to work and you may be tempted to shave before then. Also, if you're using a cordless one, make sure it's charged fully, the slower it rotates the more it will hurt and the less effective it is. A cold washcloth press afterwards will help close up where the hairs were pulled out of to keep bacteria from getting in and causing irritation.

Yeah—it definitely was much easier on the areas with a bit longer hair. It doesn't need a ton to work with, but the more there is the less you have to go over an area before one of the little tweezer things grabs on.

Thanks very much for the tips!

Hypatian wrote:

I understand waxing is better, but I've never done it.

Neither have I, but I had a trans friend years ago who had regular full-body waxing done. She said that after the first time, it wasn't really painful, as long as she frequently and regularly maintained it. (She worked in a salon, which made all-over waxing very affordable/accessible - I'm not sure how practical an option it is for your average person.)

On the other hand, my college roommate came home one afternoon with a home waxing kit. She disappeared into the bathroom, and for the next fifteen minutes, such bloodcurdling shrieks came from the bathroom that I'm surprised the neighbors didn't come to see who was being murdered. When she emerged, I asked if it had been worth it. Her reply: "Oh, that was just the test strip."

She never wound up using the full kit.

"Home waxing kit" sounds like something the government developed when waterboarding was made illegal.

Waxing is worth every penny, and best left to the professionals because of the scenario Elysia just painted.

I don't mind waxing my legs at home now that I'm used to it, but when it comes to sensitive spots or awkward areas like elbows, I leave the job to someone else.

With respect to everyone, we're kind-of off-course from the original intent of the thread. I don't want to be a buzzkill, but perhaps this kind of discussion could go somewhere else?

Yeah, sorry about that, NSMike. I'd been kind of thinking that for a while myself, but I was torn between the awkwardness of staying here and the awkwardness of moving the discussion to a new place. Thanks for kicking our asses.

And thanks again for the use of the thread in coming out. *hug* Hopefully the next time someone has something they need to share, they'll feel that this is a good place for it.

If no campus GSA has ever held an OMGWTFGLBTQBBQ, then they really should. They can have that idea for free too, I just want to see the poster.

Maybe a Goodjer could throw one for IGWJD: the OMGWTFIGWJDGLBTQBBBQ (the extra B stands for BYOBB).

Gravey wrote:

If no campus GSA has ever held an OMGWTFGLBTQBBQ, then they really should. They can have that idea for free too, I just want to see the poster.

Maybe a Goodjer could throw one for IGWJD: the OMGWTFIGWJDGLBTQBBBQ (the extra B stands for BYOBB).

What's that extra B for?

Bonus_Eruptus wrote:
Gravey wrote:

If no campus GSA has ever held an OMGWTFGLBTQBBQ, then they really should. They can have that idea for free too, I just want to see the poster.

Maybe a Goodjer could throw one for IGWJD: the OMGWTFIGWJDGLBTQBBBQ (the extra B stands for BYOBB).

What's that extra B for?

It's a typo.

Hypatian wrote:

Actually, the kind of amazing thing to me about my weight loss so far is that I feel like I've dropped a ton, and that kind of makes me think "Oh crap, I'm getting closer to the point where my shape isn't going to change much any more." But then I look down and I still have lots of obvious undesirable flab--so I'm looking too far ahead, I'm not even close yet. I guess I'd let myself go further than I thought. On the down side, I think the current place fat is disappearing from is my rear, which is definitely not my first choice.

I think you might need to adjust your thinking on this. Shape and weight are not as closely coupled as you might think, mainly becuase it's a 3-way relationship - shape is influenced by weight and body-composition.

F'rinstance, and as Amoebic noted, the shape of your butt is a function of your glutes and the fat over the top of them. Lose the fat, and you think you've lost your butt. But work on your glutes, and hello bubble-butt!

Or paraphrased - Squat 'em for your Bottom!

NSMike wrote:

With respect to everyone, we're kind-of off-course from the original intent of the thread. I don't want to be a buzzkill, but perhaps this kind of discussion could go somewhere else?

Sorry, Mike.

By the way, how are you feeling lately? I know you were pretty blue a few weeks back. Are things looking up a bit at all?

Elysia wrote:
NSMike wrote:

With respect to everyone, we're kind-of off-course from the original intent of the thread. I don't want to be a buzzkill, but perhaps this kind of discussion could go somewhere else?

Sorry, Mike.

By the way, how are you feeling lately? I know you were pretty blue a few weeks back. Are things looking up a bit at all?

No. Thanks for asking, though.

Sorry, rereading that a day later, it looks a little snarky. That was not my intent. I just didn't want to emotion-vomit in a public venue, so I was trying to be succinct and polite. Looks like I did the opposite.

It didn't read as snarky at all to me.

Stengah wrote:

It didn't read as snarky at all to me.

I didn't think so either. Succinct and polite is exactly right.

NSMike wrote:

Sorry, rereading that a day later, it looks a little snarky. That was not my intent. I just didn't want to emotion-vomit in a public venue, so I was trying to be succinct and polite. Looks like I did the opposite.

All I know is that here in about a week's time a hairy Irish/Italian guy is going to give you a hug.

SallyNasty wrote:
NSMike wrote:

Sorry, rereading that a day later, it looks a little snarky. That was not my intent. I just didn't want to emotion-vomit in a public venue, so I was trying to be succinct and polite. Looks like I did the opposite.

All I know is that here in about a week's time a hairy Irish/Italian guy is going to give you a hug.

Speaking of which, is Hypatian able to be shamed into coming to pencon?

She's just in Pittsburgh.

Not this year. My life's a little too complicated and messy for me to feel up to traveling right now. I'll definitely plan to attend in the future.