Well Friday night I went out to meet up with me friends at Embers. I got there about 7:30 and they were packed as they were having a memorial for Elle Early. She was a 23 year old transsexual from Portland Oregon who was really active in the gender community here in Portland. I have never met her but know some people who do know her and met a couple of her friends. She took her life this past week leaving a big hole in our community. It is always sad when someone (especially so young with her whole life ahead of her) takes their life. It is sad that the gender community seems to have a higher than average rate of suicide. I wish I had known about the memorial so I could have been there from the start.

The memorial was really nice and her mother was there and said some really nice thing as did her friends. From the amount of people there she seemed to have a lot of friends and a good support network. It really makes you stop and think. Elle Early will be missed and I regret that I never had the chance to meet her. I have so many great friends in the gender community and I think this will make me pay closer attention to all my friends as I care about them all. I hope that they all know that I and all the other members in our group are there for each other and always available to talk if something is bothering them. Elle you will be missed.

The rest of the night was fun and it really made me appreciate the time I spent with my friends. They are all so great. We had a good group of girls there, Cass, Peggy, Teresa, Siobhan, Dan, Kelly, Jan, Lynn and Michelle. Some played pool and some watched the show. There really was a small crowd that stayed for the show but it was still fun and being out with friends is what matters. We all had a good time and stayed till the show was over at 1:30 am.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

First, I am appalled with Hate Crimes of any kind. In 2005, homicide victimization rates for blacks were 6 times higher than the rates for whites. The homeless population is one of the most victimized target populations for hate crimes in America; with 75% of all perpetrators are under the age of 25!

This post is from Allyson Robinson, HRC’s associate director of diversity. “Today marks the 11th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.  What started in 1999 as a vigil held by friends for one woman – Rita Hester, a transgender woman whose murder remains unsolved to this day – has become an international observance with events taking place in over a dozen countries.  The Transgender Day of Remembrance has helped make visible the thousands of transgender people and their loved ones that hate has tried so violently to erase.  In the last 12 months alone, over 90 transgender people have lost their lives to prejudice and hate.” – NOTE – This was the text pulled directly from the HRC site on November 20, 2009…

Todays text on the HRC page - November 21, 2009

“Personal message from Allyson Robinson, HRC’s Associate Director of Diversity

We in the transgender community hold Day of Remembrance events each November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 remains unsolved, and the hundreds who have lost their lives since then. According to the Day of Remembrance’s organizers, this year 13 Americans lost their lives because of someone’s hatred for their gender identity.”

Thank you HRC for the change to more creditable text today.

A 2009 visible list of those murdered in the world for transgender reasons.

The following was based on the previous number that I had with HRC’s estimate of 90 people. The estimate of 90 people coupled with the 1 in 12 are murdered is what caused me to write this article.

<<<>>>

There is just cause to mourn our losses and draw attention to our cause. We do not want more, we just want fairness and what everyone else gains simply by being their birth gender.

So what does it really mean? What does 90 people in 1 year mean to us as a population in comparison to the entire population. Well, I am a technical writer and I like accurate information, so I will offer as many real statics as possible, and label the suspect numbers.

To the transgender community – and my friends, it is still significant to note that we are twice as likely to get murdered as the general population.

The Current Numbers:

The number of Transsexual individuals in our population varies by who generates the numbers - but it is estimated to be some 0.25% - 1% of the population. I tend to go with the former, .25%. I have not seem any personal indicators that the numbers are any higher than 1 in 400, even in a ‘hotspot’ area like Seattle (where I am). A ratio of 1 in 100 (1%) would make transsexual individuals twice as common the entire Native American population OR about 1/4 as many people of Asian decent in the United States – I will stand by the comment that 1% seems very optimistic. The current US population is 307,973,000 as of 2009.

Of those 308 million people, at .25%, some three-quarters of a million would be transsexual across the United States.

The 2007 U.S. homicide rate was 5.9 per 100,000 people, up only .4 (8%) in 7 years. The total U.S. population in 2007 was 302.2 million. That calculates out to about 17,830 homicides for the year, or 49 per day.

Predictions for 2009 are about the same ratio, making it about 50/51 people per day who will be murdered.

About 1 in every 200 murders are transsexual individuals. Making transsexual individuals about twice as likely to get murdered over the general population with a population ratio of 1 in 400.

The HRC and others following them have tried to sku the statistics – but the writer of the article skued things in a way that explains few elements of their research and how they mixed them although their notation shows the source. If this all seems confusing, read on…

HRC Published Statistics:

Still maintained by HRC - HRC’s article on Transgender and Hate Crimes

“Hate violence.  Transgender people are often targeted for hate violence based on their non-conformity with gender norms and/or their perceived sexual orientation. Hate crimes against transgender people tend to be particularly violent. For example, one expert estimates that transgender individuals living in America today have a one in 12 chance of being murdered. [1] In contrast, the average person has about a one in 18,000 chance of being murdered. [2]

In 2002, community activists commemorated the lives of 27 murdered transgender people in that year. [3]“

1. Kay Brown, instructor for “20th Century Transgender History and Experience” at the Harvey Milk Institute in San Francisco, Washington Blade, Dec. 10, 1999.

Kay Brown’s statistic was referring to 1 in 12 transsexuals were likely to be murdered in their life – and that stat was pulled from a mistaken belief in what the population was of the transgender community. 1 in 12 compared as though it were a 1 year number would mean that the entire population of TG’s would be 144 persons. There is question about lifespan and the years as transgendered. Honestly, there is just not enough real data to back this up.

2. Based on the FBI’s “Uniform Crimes Reports, Crime in the United States 2000,” showing the murder rate of 5.5 people per 100,000.

Likely Accurate – and that also includes the transgender population as well as those murdered who were transgender – you must pull the numbers out to see them. This again appears to be over a lifetime – without an explanation of what figures were used to calculate that number of 1 in 18,000. The 5.5 per 100,000 is accurate. Which should mean that 5.5 per 100,000 Transfolks are also murdered – with my conservative estimate of 3/4 million, that should indicate only 41.25 would be killed in a year.

3. Daily Lobo, University of New Mexico, Nov. 21, 2002.

Likely Accurate – Though taking the 27 murdered in 2002 and comparing them to those murdered in 2008/09 (90) is the most alarming statistic, almost triple the national average of transgender murders.

TWICE AS LIKELY – Three times as many:

What we need is accurate, honest, trusted information to forward our cause. The real numbers are still scary.

HRC, please stop publishing information that can be used against the Transgender community. The reality of the statistics is bad enough. A transgendered individual is twice as likely – that’s 100% more likely – to be murdered than their non-transgender counterpart in the same population.

And there has been a triple increase in the number of transgender people murdered in just 6 years.

And what happens if we just change the one, really unknown variable? What happens if we say that .5% of the population is transgender instead of the conservative .25%? Then we are murdered at the same rate as the body of the population.

One of the best collections of honest transgender information is here

POST NOTE: The correction to 13 people murdered this year from 90 would indicate that if the murder rate remained the same for the transsexual population as it is for the entire population – then there are some .25 million transsexuals in the US. The stunning truth is that those 13 were killed because of HATE CRIME.

Sarah

Well I made my Wednesday night out again, first time in a couple weeks. I have missed my time at Starbucks. I went to the Starbucks I usually go to. I got there a little before 7 and went in. they have been closed the last few time I went there so it was nice that they were open. There were about 5 other people inside. I ordered my drink and set up my computer. I was all set for a relaxing time when the man who had just waited on me came over and informed me and the other people they were closing as they are still remodeling and so they are closing at 7. Now I understand that but I thought could you not have told me that when I ordered my drink. I was a little upset but I was not going to let it upset my plans.

I drove up the street to the other Starbucks I have gone to before (luck there are so many of them around) and went in. this one is a little busier. There are 14 other people here with me, mostly woman but a few men to. For the most part they have not really paid any attention to me. It is so nice to just be out in the general public as Susan and be able to just relax and be who I am. I spent some time taking care of some work e-mails I have needed to do. And now I am just updating my blog and then going to spend time surfing the net.

It is only for a couple hours but it is some much more fun than sitting at home. It is so strange that just by being Susan makes such a difference in an everyday activity.

Isn’t that just the greatest question? I wonder what all my tgirl friends, indeed anyone that reads this ~ just what would you like for Christmas?  Answers on a postcard.

I guess what we all want is to wake up on Christmas day and to be who we are without worry or ridicule.

For most amongst us, I know that is not possible.  After all, Christmas should not about self.  It is not the time to be self…….ish

Ok, so I know I could say, I would just die for that beautiful black cocktail dress, for that gorgeous necklace, for those killer red heels……….hold on a moment I will send you all my list…but then when you stop and think about it, what do you really prize above all else?  What would you really like in your Christmas stocking, what would be top of your list of goodies.

I’ll give you my top  3

1. Respect

Plain and simple Respect

Being accepted and respected for who I am, what I am, my ethics, my morals and what I try to achieve

2. Respect

A most important word.

I don’t mind what others think of me, so long as they respect me.

3. Respect

I know respect is earned, but it is easily lost.

I am strong not weak

When you are a man that adores femininity, that loves women so much that you wish to emulate them…..

You don’t want to be called weak, you don’t want to be viewed as the worst of your born sex.

Exactly the opposite you want to be thought of as strong, strong enough to stand out from the crowd, strong enough to be who you are, to be how you feel.

Strong enough to stand up and shout, “I am what I am and I am proud of it”

If  you choose not to announce it to the world, if you choose to keep quiet on Christmas Day, or on any day throughout the year, that too is strength, and it deserves respect because it is saying…

• I love you
• I love my family
• I respect their right to not have something like my crossdressing issue thrust before them.

I want that recognised as strength.

I am a strong person

I am a strong man that like to dress as a woman.

I am a strong man that is not ashamed to say that I love my feminine side or my female alter ego.

I am a crossdresser, a transvestite a tgirl

I am happy with that

I am me and I am proud of me

I would admit it to anyone but choose not to.

Respect……yes I like that word, above all else ~ that is what I want most in my Christmas box of goodies.

“People rarely make the effort to offer congratulations and praise if something is done right. If you make a great show, ten people will say you did well. But if you make one slip up, ten million people will try to burn your house down.”

We see some proper rubbish on television these days. Not a single Saturday night goes past without millions of Brits gawking into the endless annoying mannerisms of Simon Cowell. And now, with the newest round of “I’m a Z list Celebrity, and I’m only doing this because they couldn’t get anyone better,” starting tonight, it seems the days of decent programming are drawing to an end. Or are they? For it seems as if a light has been turned on at the end of the TV tunnel. A single flickering candle of honest television. A beacon for petrol and diesel heads alike. Yes ladies and gents, the wait is over. Top Gear is back!

Now let’s not beat around the proverbial bush. Top Gear is now BBC 2’s most watched programme. It is a global phenomenon. It’s shown in more than 100 countries across the globe, and the face of Jeremy Clarkson is now more recognisable to your average schoolchild than the face of that cretin in number 10. But why is it such a success? Who could honestly have foreseen that watching three middle aged men falling over and setting various bits of machinery on fire would make for good viewing? Who could have known that viewing supercars with ridiculous credentials sliding around corners way too fast could turn into a good programme? It’s all well and good. But one question remains on the lips of TG fans around the globe. Is this the Top Gear that was meant to be? Is this more a mockery of modern Britain than a motoring show? In short, is it a car programme anymore?

Well, to answer this question you have to understand just how large the audience of Top Gear is. This is no longer the same tweed-covered pokey motoring show of the 80’s. Oh no, nowadays, children, housewives, men with marigolds, vicars, even chartered accountants tune in religiously every Sunday evening. So naturally, with its fan base growing, the show’s producers had to shift their focus from cars, to comedy. They had to keep their ratings, and the main criticism of Top Gear now is that at points it seems a little staged, a little planned, like everything goes wrong a little too perfectly… But really I think the reason why they’re doing it is because they are trying to please everyone. You will never manage to satisfy every single customer, but damn they’re going to try anyway.

Take last night as an example. In just 60 minutes of programming you had factual car reviews, consumer advice, practical testing, comedy, drama, and some of the best camera work I’ve ever seen. So the three or four people who are left are naturally going to be the ones left complaining. The other point to make is that people rarely make the effort to offer congratulations and praise if something is done right. If you make a great show, ten people will say you did well. But if you make one slip up, ten million people will try to burn your house down.

People are only too quick to come charging onto internet forums with their criticisms of television. Imagine how heartbreaking that must be for whoever makes the programme. Do they come down to your workplace and tell you how to do your job? No, so what gives you the right to tell them how to do theirs? Well, mostly because 9 times out of 10, they actively encourage it. They are always keen for consumer feedback, because that is the foundation upon which they can improve. For me last nights season opener was fantastic, simply because Top Gear, having listened to the people who watch it, reverted back to doing what it does best, being a car show again. Oh sure there was laughter, there were tears, there was even uncontrollable hysterics when Jeremy broke a toilet, but beyond that the focus was on the cars. So how would I sum up how I feel now that Top Gear is once again gracing our screens? Simple, I only need 4 words. The boys are back!

Feel free to get in touch with your opinion on all things to do with Britain’s favourite motoring show. I’ll usually answer, except if it’s at 9pm on a Sunday evening. In which case I’m slumped in front of the telly.

No último dia 15 de novembro, na cidade de Santa Rita do Sapucaí, foi realizado o Desfile Cívico Militar, organizado pela Secretaria Municipal de Educação, em comemoração ao dia da Pátria ( 07 de setembro ).

Banner do Grupo.

O Desfile se deu nesta data devido, na época do 07 de setembro, estarmos em risco de epidemia da nova gripe Infruenza H1n1.

Fanfarra

Desfilaram na Av Dr Delfim Moreira, das 08:30 às 11:00 hs, toda rede municipal de ensino, escolas estaduais, Creches, TG 04 040, Batalhão de Engenharia e Combate de Itajubá, uma escola da cidade de Pouso Alegre e o Grupo de Escoteiros Papa Léguas.

Fanfarra 1.

O Desfile do G.E. 148º Papa Léguas foi o penúltimo do dia. A Fanfarra foi comandada pela Guia Bruna Ferreira e apoiada pelo Chefe Oliveira. Participaram do desfile todos os escotistas e dirigentes do G.E, ex integrantes e maioria dos membros juvenis, totalizando 45 participantes.

Final do desfile, turma da fanfarra.

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2009

OK, kids, it’s time to get serious, because the violence against the TG community is very serious indeed.

Well where have I been? Why have I not been writing about the CBS shows? I will be brief, I am in sabbatical mode, had an issue with the unfairness of how the CBS mods handle things and just simply did not feel like endorsing the CBS shows. In reality we the bloggers give these reality shows and their companies a great amount of exposure and endorsement through our articles.

In simple terms, I don’t have to write about their shows if I don’t want to or feel like it. Having said that the CBS mods seem to have found themselves and are now once more demonstrating fairness for their consumers/viewers. They must remember ” We all watch their shows and without us the fans they will not have a show or their ratings.

This article is written and owned by: Arnelle Durocher and dedicated to TG ( from the CBS BB fan forum).

Read my new category and article on the CBS BB OT Liars Corner, featuring Cruella and Cyclops. Just click on the link!

A good example of the mods craziness, is that they deleted a thread that was the same petition on child abuse, that I have on here. The thread had been there for months. I would love to know the mods reasoning for deleting a thread that had been there for months other then what it was malice!!!!  By those few people that have caused undue trouble and grave harm to other BB fans on that forum. The tracking of information on members, including work places, and wanting to call people’s employers says it all. Lie after lie. It simply does not make sense nor do those warped people make sense. It is just after all a MB! Not real life or anything. LMAO! Yea sure it is! 

Why am I dedicating this article to TG from the BB forum? Because, every-time I thank him on that BB CBS forum for something he said a long time ago ( the truth) that thread just happens to be trampled on  by ROEB and poof it is deleted by the mods. So once more and this will stay here forever, because this is my site, ” Thank-you TG” ,  you know what I am thanking you about. Kudos! Savor the moment TG, you know this will come far and in between. ( Wink) Now forward and onward, to arms.

Survivor SamoaSurvivor has experienced a truly boring season this year. Up until two weeks ago, the show was a snooze fest. One could fall asleep watching it. It was a real yawner and a write off up until recently. There was nothing to write about, up until now. I simply refuse to write about a boring show that has no get up and go, no excitement, nothing to chomp on or even discuss.
At first I did not like Russell, I thought the CBS hype around him sucked and that they were hoodwinking us by even suggesting that he was the new evil. The burning of socks and all the rest of Russell’s antics was child’s play and in my opinion was spoon feeding the Survivor fans a load of crap. Fortunately for CBS, Russell has saved the day and their season. He has stepped up the ante, he is playing for keeps and for the possible win.

In retrospect Russell has literally brought the game to all the survivors. He has found two immunity idols without a single clue. The first time he found the immunity idol, one could summarize that it was luck. This week one would have to deduce it is intelligence. Think of it, while the rest of the survivor yo yo’s sit  around on their  fanny’s hemming and hawing about where the idol may be, Russell is out searching for it, using his brain and finding them.

At this weeks tribal council, it was hysterically funny when he produced yet another immunity idol and said with all the defiance in the world ” I ain’t finished playing yet”! You got that right, if Russell continues to find his immunity idols, not only will he not be finished playing yet, he will continue to play all the witless survivors that we the fans LARF at week in and week out.

Survivor is not just about winning immunity challenges it is about wit and intelligence and Russell is very good at outwitting his nemesis and those like Laura whom is seeking to get him out of the game.

The other survivors/nitwits

Shamboo is a waste of viewing time. She is only good for a vote right now. She can’t win any challenges, she loses important equipment and food and just is a chronic complainer.

Jaison may be smart as a lawyer and in his professional life, but seriously he sucks in challenges, I have been waiting for him to step up his game. It doesn’t look like it is going to happen.

The last two of the former foa foa tribe are just sitting around letting Russell play the game  for them along with Jaison doing the same thing, sitting around.

I don’t even want to get into the rest of former Galu tribe, I think they are nothing but a bunch of snots. I specifically don’t like Laura.

In ending it was priceless to watch the faces of the former Galu tribe when they came into realization that they were duped, that one of them were going home to jury. It was just unfortunate that Laura won immunity this week, she would have been gone baby. In reality when the tribes merged nothing changed, even though they birthed the merge with a new tribe name of ” Aiga”. The survivors are still playing as if they had not merged. 

Next weeks Survivor Samoa shows the former Galu tribe literally chasing, practically stalking and running after Russell. They want to to try and get the immunity idol out of his hands. What is interesting is that the Galu tribe whom all think they are so intelligent actually need Russell to try and find the immunity idol and they have one clue.

I personally hope that Russell finds the next immunity idol, despite the nattering of some fans whom don’t like Russell. Whom think that it would be more fair not to put the immunity idol back into play. I call that a Durty concept! I not only hope that Russell finds the next hidden immunity idol, I hope that someone from the former Foa Foa tribe wins the immunity challenge, to really knock the wind out of Galu’s plans.

It would be interesting to see whom would change allegiances. We know Shambo is one, but I have a feeling that Dave, John or Brett may be willing to step up their game and break with their former tribe members. The question is whom will be the first one out of those three.  I am loving Russell right now and his game play. As one fan on the CBS survivor board said on his thread. ” Russ continues to impress”. Yes I am impressed and no I don’t think that the fix is in for Russell to find the hidden immunity idols. Russ has simply looked them all straight in the eye and dead in the face and said not only is he not finished playing yet, this is how the game is going to be played. He signed it, sealed it and delivered it to them without further ado. I am loving it!

Kelly received the Russell Blindside this week and Erik last week and now both jurors are at the ponderosa, lamenting about thier downfall. The shoulda, woulda, coulda’s.

Until next week Survivor fans. That is if the show stays exciting.

TG told the truth way back when and deserved the nod and vindication because he was made out to be a liar by liars!  He is owed and due this vindication. Thanks again for trying to tell me the truth, I appreciate the fact that you did try to tell me the truth, TG !

My new upcoming exciting add on category called the CBS BB OT Liars corner. It will be a place that the truth can be revealed without censorship. Aha! Anyone that has an article to add on this subject, feel free to submit it. This category will feature the Manson twins Cruella and Cyclops only!

Read my new category and article on the CBS BB OT Liars Corner, featuring Cruella and Cyclops. Just click on the link!

Wonderful new single moms article writer at Lubbock Single Moms Examiner- Click on this link to read the interesting well versed articles.

]]> http://susanmiller64.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/friday-night-at-embers-with-friends/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:01:40 +0000 susanmiller64 http://susanmiller64.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/friday-night-at-embers-with-friends/

Well this Friday out was a blast. I got to Embers at 7:30 and Cassandra, Peggy, Teresa and Lisa were already there. We started by playing pool. We were pretty much the only ones at Embers at this point. When Bev and Maya showed up de decided to get some tables down by the show as we were expecting a lot of t-girls and we wanted to get tables so we could all sit together so we took 3 of the four big tables next to each other. I so enjoy the time before the show as it is quiet and we could talk. Brianne showed up and I got to talk to her, it is the first time I have met her in person and she is really nice.

Monday was Maya’s birthday so we celebrated it and had Maya get up on stage during the show. It was so funny, Embers lets you put money on the birthday girls and guys and then they do a lap dance. It was awesome but I would never be able to go up on stage. Maya was such a good sport about it and we all took pictures including her wife.

Siobhan showed up in boy mode. I did not even recognize her till she spoke. It was nice to meet her this way. I still have not worked up the courage to tell anyone or let them meet my male side. It was so much fun we must have had 20 t-girls there and we even had 5 wives that came out last night. It is so great that there are wives that accept and even support their t-girl husbands.

Candy was also there with her wife. This was the second time I met Candy and the first time I have met her wife. They are both really nice. Cady told her wife awhile back and they have been working on things. It is so nice that her wife is learning about Candy and willing to accept her. I got a chance to talk to Candy for quite awhile and we seem so much alike in our reasons for who we are. I also got a chance to talk to her wife and she is really nice and trying hard to understand about Candy and why she likes to be Candy. It was nice to get to know her and I tried to explain at least why I dress and need to be Susan. I ended up staying out till almost 2:30 talking with Candy, and her wife and Teresa and Dan. I look forward to getting to know Candy and her wife more. I had not planned on staying out so late but it was so much fun. This is such a great group of girls that I call my friends.

Friday Nights are my favorite nights as I get to spend time with such great friends. We all have such a good time and I look forward to Friday all week.

Hello again

I feel invigorated.   You get back into it a little by ‘forcing yourself’ to write a new blog and it starts a chain reaction.  Many thanks to my few regular readers, some new one’s and especially those that have left comments.

• You write a blog, first for two months, your visitor stats jump (a little, but it is nice to see some reaction!)
• Someone drops by and leaves a comment.  (Usually positive which is nice)
• You then visit their blog ~ interesting, especially when it is someone starting afresh
• They have comments, so you visit ‘their friends’
• Old friends find their blogs through me and I return to them and see what I have been missing these last couple of months
• In all of these you locate their recommendations, the blogs they like to read, which you follow…
• ….until you are sufficicently inspired to start again!!

It’s quite a loop.  You don’t want to spend your whole life on the pc, but it beats a lot of other things.

Hugs Tina x

Telling good stories
Tourist guide Just Ng enhances his tours by doing his own research on Singapore’s places of interest and sharing personal stories with tourists

By Janice Goh

CATS Recruit in The Straits Times – September 27, 2009

His father worked as a boatman and his grandfather used to toil away in a tin-smelting plant on the island, where tin ore shipped from the neighbouring region in the 1800s was smelted.

With a childhood steeped in Singapore history, it was probably no surprise that Mr Ng found his calling in tour guiding and telling stories about his first home.

Now a freelance tourist guide, he recalls a recent incident about Pulau Brani, which houses mainly a container terminal today: “After touring Sentosa one day, my tour group and I were on the causeway across to VivoCity, when I drew their attention to the nearby Pulau Brani and told them that the island was my birthplace.

“Suddenly one of the tourists blurted out, ‘So which container was your home?’”

On-the-job lessons

Looking back, Mr Ng quips: “Besides the comedy, I learnt to never assume that tourists are too tired to hear what you are saying!”

His tourists are typically leisure travellers, incentive group participants or student groups, and they can comprise from one to 45 persons.

Despite being the guide, the appeal of some of these tours is not lost on him.

He says: “I like the National Museum, which highlights the past, present and future of Singapore.

“Also, after leading guided tours to the Semakau Landfill — where about 2,000 tonnes of incinerated waste are transported to every day from mainland Singapore — I now have a habit of collecting my junk mail for recycling.”

Seasonal trends

Having been in his job for about three years, Mr Ng is clear about the highs and lows.

Mr Ng, who is licensed by the Singapore Tourism Board to guide in English, explains: “My work allows me to be at Sentosa, the zoo or the bird park during office hours. Plus, I am not surrounded by the four walls of an office.

“However, the drawback is that since I work on a freelance basis, my income is derived from the number of assignments that I do. If there is no assignment, there is no income.

“With the current economy downturn and the H1N1 pandemic, fewer tourists are coming to Singapore. Ultimately, tourism is seasonal with high and low periods.”

He says that during the high seasons, there are guides who work non-stop.

“But now, I do welcome a break from a break!” says Mr Ng, whose income has dropped by about one-third since the economy took a beating.

Finding his own stories

When he is not leading a tour, Mr Ng refreshes his knowledge of places of interest. He trawls the Internet for information, visits libraries and revisits the tourist attractions.

For example, two months ago, he and a group of fellow guide friends went on a field trip to Pulau Ubin to familiarise themselves with the rustic surroundings.

He has become so used to the irregular working hours that he does not see himself going back to a 9-to-5 routine.

Previously in the IT-related field, Mr Ng quit the video-editing system industry after 10 years and became a tourist guide at the suggestion of a dear friend.

Till today, he is grateful to his friend for the encouragement.

To those who want to become tourist guides, Mr Ng says: “You must be friendly, customer-oriented, jovial, love meeting people and, most of all, practise punctuality. As in whichever trade you are in, you must have the passion for it.

“Getting your tourist guide licence does not guarantee you any assignments. You will need to knock on doors and form your network.

“You must also try to spice up the facts and figures from formal sources by weaving in personal stories from friends, strangers or your own experience.”
Source:  http://jobs.st701.com/articles/Telling-good-stories.html

Nella notte blu
nebbia gelata, il cielo rifulge
della luce lunare
le cime dei pini
si tingono di un blu neve, scolorano
nel cielo, nel gelo, nelle stelle.
Calpestio di stivali.
Impronte di coniglio, impronte di cervo,
cosa possiamo saperne.
Gary Snyder

Guardando uno dei Tg di Stato (non preciso quale, è lo stesso) mi sono imbattuto in un servizio patetico nel quale si parlava di modificare artificialmente il clima come hanno fatto di recente in Cina, prima durante le Olimpiadi di Pechino per evitare le precipitazioni e poi nelle province settentrionali per aumentarle, causa siccità. Ora, qualora non sappiate granchè della vicenda, vi premetto che nella capitale cinese opera addirittura un organo governativo chiamato Ufficio di Modificazione Climatica: questa vera e propria God Commission dell’ambiente può disporre a piacimento sul suolo nazionale cannoni e far alzare in volo aerei, con lo scopo di sganciare all’interno degli ammassi nuvolosi grandi quantità di ioduro d’argento, ghiaccio secco e azoto liquido. I risultati sono contrastanti: in un giorno nella provincia di Anhui sono caduti 40mm di pioggia; allo stesso tempo si è causato un irrigidimento improvviso della temperature, tanto che sopra Pechino ha nevicato per giorni. Io non so voi cosa ne pensiate, però mi prendo almeno la libertà di dire che mi fa schifo l’ipocrisia di chi parla di ridurre le emissioni puntando sulle energie rinnovabili e poi finanzia questi progetti che sono spropositi a livello materiale e ambientale (dove vanno a finire queste sostanze? In Russia si utilizza la polvere di cemento!), continuando peraltro ad aprire miniere di carbone con una frequenza di una alla settimana.

La cosa che però mi fa ancora più schifo è che il fantomatico servizio di cui parlavo si chiudeva (viene il bello) con delle interviste non a scienzati ed esperti, ma ad albergatori! Albergatori, capite, ALBERGATORI! E tutti lì a dire “Ma sì, facciamo nevicare il primo giorno della stagione sciistica e dopo sempre sole“, “Ma che bello favorisce il turismo” e cose simili. Ora, io non so chi sia il pirla che ha girato quell’abominio giornalistico, ma mi basta e avanza averlo visto con i miei occhi per pensare a come si stia arrivando, dalla disinformazione politica, alla non-informazione generale. Avanti così.

D.Piselli

Kind of an odd day… and I have been reflecting on this for some time now, here it is coming all together. I have avoided personal writing, for my own reasons – I have also satisfied my urges for personal writing by keeping them as drafts, here. This is article is a bit more personal.

Today is Remembrance Day. Have you forgotten what that is – or are you reflecting on it as an American, wondering what it really means?

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Armistice Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918 (major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice). The day was specifically dedicated by King George V, on 7 November 1919, to the observance of members of the armed forces who were killed during war.

Oddly enough, I found myself playing Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2, today. I reflected on what it means for people to lose others. We have losses nearly every day, a Policeman was killed in Seattle, some die in a plane crash, another with swine flu – many in vehicle accidents; the highest killer of all people under 25.

I had buried all my grandparents by 18 (carried the caskets of 3 of them). My father and biological mother (I cast her ashes in the Cromarty Firth in Scotland on a sunny November day) are both dead. All that is left for me of immediate older family is my mother who no longer remembers who I am or anything of my childhood – she was the last to know the child who was David (I think that is the first time I have ever mentioned that name!). I left my country, left behind friends and family more than 20 years ago now. Ad to that the experience I have had as a Wilderness E.M.T. and I think I know something about loss.

I lived with my father for nearly a year, back in Canada, as he wound down and died of cancer. I held his hand, with me crying when he died – and took out my stethoscope to hear his last rasping breaths and weak heartbeat cease.

Losses. “Becoming” (if that is what this is – but it is how others see it) transgender, incurs losses.

I came out first, publically, in March of 2007. I thought that I would start to come out publically after I had resumed the hormone treatments in Feb 2007 and had started body hair removal in Dec 2006. Physical changes and personal encouragement brought me ‘out’.

Before I tell you any stories – here is the data I offer… Of all the people (family, friends, coworkers), who knew / know you, that you tell when ‘coming out’, here are the results I observed:

50% will disappear, fading over a little time (or not) and they will drop right off the radar

Of the remaining 50%:

75% will react based on beliefs, judgment and experiences that you never knew they had, and the relationship will be changed significantly from what it was. Sometimes this is for the better.

25% will remain and they will accept you pretty much as you are.

What that means is that about 1 in 8 will still see you as they nearly always saw you. Then 3 in 8 will treat you differently and may hold some concept of who you are – they may also hold judgment and bias that will manifest itself in weird ways. Those other remaining 4 in 8 – they will drop you right away, or disappear quickly, being unable to come to terms with their loss of you as a person in their life.

Now the stories – first the positive, then some losses.

G: He was – and still is – my best friend. He knew that I had been on hormones back in my late 20’s. We had traveled together, camped, skinny dipped together. I told him about the hormones and breasts 6 years ago – and he had seen them when swimming with me. When he was first told about me transitioning, he reacted like I was kidding – like I was trying to say I was going to start cross dressing. It has taken over 2 years for him to refer to me as Sarah to others, he still calls me David to my face (and that is ok). He still struggles a bit with me as female – mostly because he thought that I would become another person. I think he thought that I would become a woman who knew nothing of what I had in my head and who never saw what my eyes have seen. He now seems to understand that we can still talk and play with Land Rovers. He is in the 1 in 8.

C: Thank God, I am working with / for and incredible women who is my direct supervisor with the company I work for and a person I am glad to call friend. She never batted an eye (although she does stare at my chest sometimes). She is the only person I interact on a daily basis with that I can make gender comments to. Like when we were in Safeway and I said “If I give to breast cancer I also have to give to prostate cancer – I can get both!”. She is always about the performance of the individual, not the gender – and she is quick to point out that the ‘innies’ get a harder shake of it. I remember when I told her (I then sent her this blog)… she said, so are you like a cross dresser on the weekend? Standing there, wearing a womans jacket, I took it off and said “I am wearing all women’s clothing, and have been – have you not noticed the make-up and everything else”? I have 7 ear piercings, long hair and breasts… yet, she met me as David and still sees me as ‘him’. C has never ‘betrayed’ me, never slighted me with a careless comment. The relationship is what I wanted – unchanged. I do not want to be Sarah to her.

N: He is in the 3 of 8 category. N is a great friend, who became a better friend after I told him. It did change one thing – he still, no matter how much I explain it to him, wants to see me “in drag”. What that means, is that he wants me to look like some kind of performance drag queen! Sorry N. He is nice though (and he is gay) and has treated me great as a woman when we go out – he is the one guy I like going out to dinner with. His Thanksgiving dinners are as the family that I do not have.

The other 50% – who dropped off

J: G told J before I could talk to him. Now he has been a great friend, what else can you call a person who will help you drywall and insulate in your garage, live on your boat (and help pay for it), help you through a divorce?… the list goes on. I never got another email from him. I have seen him on three occasions in the past 2+ years at social Land Rover events and he treats me like I have an infection, that is contagious, in a cloud 20′ around me. WTF? 

J is the most glaring example of the 50% that fall off, but he is joined by

L: Who I at one time considered a soul mate and more, was the daughter of lesbians and feigned understanding and support until the truth caught her up – the lie that she held. L suffered from the Peter Syndrome – in private, she was all about support, but in public and with people she knew (in any way), I found that she did not even mention our relationship, living with me or who I was. In the end, even with her here, I found that she would introduce me as a friend, David, while loving Sarah. L denied knowing me publically.

A: She is really in the 25%, but there was a wake of losses that my closest confidant, friend, lover and so much more affected because she was more than willing to share ‘who I was’. She told old coworkers and other acquaintances. She also told her conservative family before she had even worked out what was really happening – let alone how to talk about it. Not once was I there to share my truth. The mother of A was also able to fake support and understanding, for a short time, until I found out that she had portrayed me as a freak to all she knew (and she is the matriarch of the extended family) and her daughter as someone trying to ‘rescue me’. This is where I really learned the term “frienemy”. Honestly, those that have gone – the losses – the real loss is theirs. I gained knowing who are true friends to my being.

The relationships with women in intimacy have been most challenging. Beyond being TG, there has been other complications (like other relationships), but the “TG thing” always has a large bearing. I no longer know what is truth – honesty. There always seemed to be some kind of deception when all that I offered was the bearing of an innermost past that I buried for 30 years behind facial hair and outdoor leadership skills teaching. Being TG and transitioning is hard in intimacy, few relationships of this kind survive the transition phase.

Honestly, the most damage to relationships has been caused by others telling my “TG story” to friends that we both know together. Once you share “the secret” (because that is what it is to everyone you talk to), they will want to tell others; I promise you that.

So, the best way to share your coming out is organize yourself, figure out who, when, where and what you want to say – and in what order. After that, it will change your life, just like your transition will.

I have no regrets after more than 3 years of coming out. I look forward to the continuing journey.

Well, sorry I’ve abandoned the blog for a few days– last Thursday night after I came home I snuggled into my bed, pulled the laptop on to the covers and felt an excruciating pain in my jaw.  My right submandibular salivary gland was huge and painful and pressing both on my jaw and on the innards of my jaw.  The left side wasn’t as bad, but still not feeling amazing.  I finally managed to fall asleep, and in the morning I awoke again with quite a bit of pain- I then called the Endocrinologist, who promptly called me back and discussed it with me.  She asked me whether it was warm (it was), hard (it was), red (it wasn’t, in fact, it was blue), etc.  She then said, well, take lots of ibuprofen and if you get a fever of over 100 degrees you need to be seen.

Today, almost 6 days after the onset, I am still in pain– although not as excruciating as it originally was.  The ibuprofen has reduced the swelling a bit but has hardly touched the pain.

I went to my PCP’s today– he wanted to take a peek at the swelling situation and possibly take my PICC out!  He told me I’d have to ride the swelling out, as uncomfortable as it may be, but that I should be pleased that it isn’t infected.  He also took the PICC out!  (I’ll post pictures after I clean it up tomorrow.)

Both the PCP and endocrinologist are saying that I must be followed up in 6 months in Germany by an endocrine oncologist to do a thyroid ultrasound and a suppressed thyroglobulin (Tg) levels.

I received an awesome care package from J. consisting of both Gangrene and Giardia!!! Picture to follow!

And some of yesterday’s news, I was pushing a stroller down a hill and one of the blue tips of my PICC popped off and into a gross bucket of rain water with leaves and dead bugs in it.  I reached in, apprehensively, and removed the jumper– I then pocketed it and continued on the walk.  After about a half an hour of walking around worrying about it, I thought to tie it off– which I did.  When I returned home I called homecare and a nurse came and put another extension set on it– she also flushed loads of bubbles with it!  That was my last traumatic PICC event for a while!

Yikes!

My new microbial friends, Gangrene and Giardia!!!