Two More Workouts Left

Just wanted to say, I only have two more ChaLean Extreme workouts left!

Androgynous

Here's a bit of a message I sent to a MTF/androgonyous friend:

I really enjoyed your [discussion on andogyny], and I am thinking that's a possibility for me. I've been thinking about being trans lately [....] and whether a medical transition would be right for me. Lately I've been more considering just wearing male clothing whenever I want and wearing female clothes whenever necessary or when I want.

I also don't want a medical transition to affect any plans for my future. When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a missionary doctor, I was just fascinated with the thought of going to other countries and helping poor people and doing good in the world, and in the past few years I've been toying with the thought of doing either something like the Peace Corps, working for the Foreign Service, or international development work. If I don't make a career out of that, I'd at least want to volunteer at places during vacation at work. I wouldn't want to be on T, get a hysto, etc. and then find out that I can't do any of these things if I'd had to go to a place where I couldn't get hormones or if it would be extremely dangerous if people found out I was trans.  I've always been fascinated with different cultures, and I do believe in doing seva (which is a Sikh concept which basically means you try to help people during your life, and eventually your life becomes one selfless act), so actually going to places beyond the mere tourist locations has been a goal of mine for a really long time.

Since I think this life is just one small bit of the bigger picture,  I don't want to get so caught up in something as arbitrary as gender and spend enormous amounts of time, money, and energy medically transitioning when I could be doing something more meaningful and satisfying (either at home or abroad). I could of course still do both, but I feel like unless I suddenly get a disease or get in an accident, I have plenty of time ahead of me to figure out what I want to do. I really don't feel the need to rush into things and I am more than willingly to adopt some sort of alternative to the male and female categories.

FTM Top Surgery

 

This is a video I found on youtube of Dr. Daniel Medalie doing top surgery. He's over in Cleveland.

 

Very interesting, but I had to close my eyes when he was cutting the holes for the areolar graft. All the rest I could watch (despite the insides looking like scary alien stuff), but that was just chilling.

Most Descriptive Answer Ever

I was browing the IKEA FAQ page and found this:

11. How does IKEA approach environmental issues?

We're working to create a better environment outdoors as well as indoors.

Yeah, like that answers anything, lol.

"No Friend, No Enemy"

I really enjoyed this article "No Friend, No Enemy" by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur over at SikhNet, found here. It really helps explain how we need to remember that the world doesn't revolve around us, and to focus on people's actions by asking questions about them, not about ourselves.

The mind has a tendency to look at everything from the vantage point of “me,” to interpret everything in a very personal way. But any relationship – positive or negative – needs a little perspective. Guru Arjan talks a lot about pride in the 12th Ashtapadiof Sukhmani Sahib. There is an aspect of pride in seeing someone as “my” friend or “my” enemy. When we look at people solely using our egos as the reference point, it can be difficult to keep a vaster view.

But the truth is that people in our lives – friends, family members, community members, enemies – act in a lot of ways that have nothing to do with the “me” at all. They are acting as they are, for their purposes, in accordance with their understanding. It’s not personal. When we train the mind to drop the filter of “me,” it gives the mind more breadth and dimension to deal with the complexity of human relationships.
 

I think this can also be important to remember for trans people coming out. I remember talking to an FTM at this FTM meeting I went to, and he said that most people he came out to didn't really care because they're just so focused on their own life, they don't really think about you that much. I haven't come out yet, but it seems like really close family members like parents would care a lot, because your lives are so connected, but the further out you go, the less likely it is that people really care all that much. It seems like some people get really worried about coming out, only to find out that quite a bit of people couldn't really care less. Sure, you might be the topic of gossip for a bit, but life moves on and people have other things to think about than you.

Only One Case Left

I can't believe I only have one case left to do in my Tribal Court project. :( I am going to have to find another project to do to get in all my volunteer hours so I can get the pro bono certificate.

Burned 714 Calories This Morning

I did TurboFire Fire 60 Class this morning, which is an intense hour-long cardio workout. I wore my heart rate monitor, and unless my monitor is totally messed up (which I doubt because the numbers seemed pretty accurate to me), I calculated that I burned approximately 714 calories. It might even be a bit higher than that, because my heart rate got really high (the mid to high 190s) while doing the FireDrills, but I didn't calculate those high numbers into my average to prevent it from becoming artifically inflated.

Luckily for me, school is cancelled today, and I actually got the message before leaving the house for once, due to some snow and sleet, so I am going to do Yoga X, which will be even more calories burned since that is a 90 minute yoga workout. I am going to have to eat about 1,000 more calories today from all this calorie burning.