There are few things more wonderful than having both of my partners try to keep me in their respective beds to snuggle with them.

I have been bubbling about this all day. I am a very lucky cat to have such wonderful people as partners. <3

A Journey Here, A Journey There

So, it's evidently been a few weeks since I've posted here. Life continues to be interesting for me as always. I went to Portland for my sister-from-another-mister's handfasting to her wife. Lots of crazy-awesome happened... But you can read about that below! =D

Portland!
(Written on July 12, 2012 on LiveJournal)

So, I went to Portland this past weekend for sabrinageek's handfasting to her wife Mana. I did a lot more in the 2 days that I was out there than I planned to do, but I'm glad I did. I'm definitely re-energized despite the early mornings and late nights of the trip, though I attribute the energy to being around good friends and in a location that makes me happy (or at least content).

Friday



I started off my journey by waking up around 0300. I showered and dressed, kissed playfulkitten89 goodbye, and was out the door by 0330. I headed out to Midway, got there a little after 0500 and caught the shuttle to the airport. I checked into my flight and got through security in roughly 15 minutes. It probably helped that I had dressed for security and didn't have to go through a lot to go through it. My flight was at 0835, so I had roughly 3 hours to wait, so I got breakfast at Red Mango, a frozen yogurt stand. Big freakin' parfait with granola and fresh fruit. As far as airport food goes, that was a steal.

While I waited for my flight, I bought internet (bad idea, as every other place I used internet was either free or cheaper than what I paid), so I was able to catch up on things before I headed out.

On my flight, I sat in the window seat since I wanted to take pictures of the mountains when we got to them. Our flight had Wifi, so I was tethered there, too. Mostly, I watched our flight's progress and checked the weather. When we flew over Idaho and Washington/Oregon, I took pictures of the mountains below us. I took pictures of the Rockies, and pictures of the Washington Trio: Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Rainier.

Once we were on the ground, our luggage was already at baggage claim, so I grabbed my bags, wished the young man sitting next to me a good trip (he was good company on the flight), and grabbed my rental car. My rental was a Toyota Corolla. Let me just say that I was thrilled with the car. Not only was it roomy enough for both posicat and myself to be comfortable, but it also had Bluetooth tethering, so I got to listen to my music on my travels.

Once I had my car, I headed up to the Centralia Distribution Center for my tour. I thought to pack my badge with me, so I had it out and ready for display when I hit Trailer Control. When I arrived, Don, the LP Manager met me and introduced me to his on-duty team. I toured the facility with a gentleman named Tom, who I made conversation with about the differences in our buildings as we walked. Their building is built differently than ours, but also similarly. My favorite part of the excursion, admittedly, was meeting up with Don after the tour and spending a good 1.5-2 hours talking with him. When I've previously seen him, we knew we grokked one another, but sitting and just talking with him confirmed it on many levels. I even got a job offer, though, talking with Kitten, I have to decline. =/ But still, I want to keep in touch with him because we do get along so well and I think we can be mutually beneficial to one another in our development.

After shuffling Don off for his meeting with the GM, I headed out to pick up Posi approx. 30 minutes away in Lacey, where he was staying with Amanda. Picked up Posi, grabbed food, then hurtled down the highway to Aloha, where 'Brina and Mana live. Made it to Brina and Mana's, relaxed for a bit there, then headed across town to the Wonder Ballroom where Abney Park was performing.

When we got to the venue, Mana had her camera with her and got told by the door security that she wouldn't be allowed in with her camera. Our group was a bit torqued off by this, to say the least. 'Brina went in and found Captain Robert (AP lead singer), and he vouched for our group to take pictures. Woot!

Wasn't terribly thrilled with Vagabond Opera, who was the opening act, but Abney Park had ridiculous amounts of energy. Seriously. I have no idea how Robert can bounce around on stage for 1+ hours and NOT look completely exhausted. I'm also fairly sure that if I hadn't gotten off a plane 12 hours earlier and driven ~4 hours round trip, I would have enjoyed the show much more than I did. Regardless, I got to see Abney Park perform, and it was indeed as good as I'd imagined. Post-concert, we wandered back to Brina and Mana's, and went our separate ways for the evening.

Got to the hotel and the night clerk gave me crap for having 2 people in my room (when I reserved the room originally, it was just supposed to be me in there). Suffice to say that nothing came of it. Sleep happened.

Saturday



Posi and I stumbled out of bed, showered, and got clothes on before wandering to Brina and Mana's. Once there, we piled into Brina's van, stopped by Fred Meyer for breakfast-type foods, then went over to Portland State University (PSU) to catch the trolley/train. On our trip, we strolled through campus, made our way downtown to the public square, visited the Open Air Market on the riverside, and went to Powell's Books. While at Powell's (and a bit after), I text-chatted with Eria about a book series she had recommended to me a few years back. The conversation was mostly civil, though she's still snippy with me to some degree (I still don't get this, as I've been nothing but polite to her *shrug*). Kinda stung, but I shrugged it off. Adventures in a new place and all. On the way back to the house, we took the scenic route up a mountain and through a forest preserve. Do want to go stomp around there more at some point.

Did food at Sweet Tomatoes (om nom!), then wandered back to the house to get ready for the handfasting.

Lots of things happened last minute that resulted in things being hectic, so Posi and I ended up officiating the ceremony. This was the first time that I've been directly involved in any sort of substantial ritual, and I consider it a deep honor not only to have been asked to participate, but also to bind the couple with their chosen handfasting ribbon.

Following the ceremony, there was a random visit to the beach. Driving through the mountains on the way to Seaside was fantastic, though I also dozed off and on during the ride. Got to the beach and I stayed up on the concrete and took pictures while the rest of our group went down to the ocean and played in the water. I note at this point that I overthink things, was wearing sandals, and know that jellyfish live in the coastal waters, meaning that I don't even touch the sand. I also had a small breakdown upon realizing that it's been 10 years since I've been on the Pacific Ocean. The West Coast is more my home than the Midwest, so it was very much a feeling of nostalgia and shell-shock for me. I felt very alone in my thoughts while sitting on the pier and wished that Kitten was there with me to help me feel less alone and also so that I could share that bit of me with her.

After folks finished playing in the water, we found a local pizza place to have dinner. Had Teriyaki Chicken and Garlic Chicken pizza, then wandered back to Portland. For our final stop on our Magnificent Journey, we went to Voodoo Doughnuts, known for their Maple Bacon doughnuts, among other specialties.

Sunday



At Oh-Gods-30 in the morning, Posi and I woke up and got ready for our respective flights. I returned the car to Hertz, then we both went through security and had breakfast at a German restaurant in the airport.

So, remember me mentioning Voodoo? That damned pink box led to hilarity off and on throughout the day as I traveled from Portland to Kansas City to Chicago. Suffice to say that I was glad to get back to River and stow the box securely in my back seat. I was genuinely concerned multiple times that folks would tackle me for the box. x_x

Once in the car, I hurtled down the interstate back to DeKalb. I went to the monthly munch and was met by Kitten, though I was exhausted and ended up leaving shortly after she arrived. Once Kitten and I both got home, there was lots of snuggling and snoring.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Overall, I had a really good time on my trip. I do wish I had had the extra couple days to hang out more with Brina, Mana, and the new friends I met, as well as had more time to explore Portland (and even get up to Renton to meet Kace and Flaer). However, I know I'll be back there again sometime in the future, so I know I'll get my chance.

Coming back, I realized that I had healed a lot more during the trip, even with stumbling a bit during the conversation with Eria. I feel more like Tiger, full of quiet confidence and grace. I'm hoping this trend continues.

For now, though, I need to sleep so I can haul in on the bike tomorrow.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Transition and General Health

Today, I started dialogue with my Primary Care Physician about transitioning and taking testosterone. I provided her the Informed Consent Standards of Care (which were linked to me by Jay, another local transguy I've known for several years). What she has told me is that she's going to talk to the hospital lead about it to see if I can have that aspect of my care provided by her office, as well as find out how to proceed.

I was very happy to hear that her office does prescribe T in the form of  gel, so I may be able to get around injecting. This is important to me because, despite being diabetic, I hate needles. It's doubly important to me that she is the one I work with because of aforementioned diabetes. And high blood pressure.