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Other than a rough day on Friday, September 2008 was arguably one of the best months of my life.  I didn't realize the impact of worrying about my transition, but now that I'm not feeling as nervous anymore I find that I just feel completely free.  I think that my outlook on life in general has been more or less right where I want it, especially now that almost everyone I know has seen Michelle by now.  I feel like it's a waste to just keep posting "oh hey, I'm really happy!" all the time, so this post is going to be about some observations/antecdotes from the last month.

In September:
(1)  I moved to a new apartment in a new neighborhood, with a roommate I get along with and much reduced rent.
(2)  I transitioned at work and was met with nothing but support from pretty much everyone.
(3)  We hired a new desktop support technician at work, which should greatly lower my work stress.
(4)  With a haircut and expanded wardrobe, I haven't been concerned with passing as female at all.  It feels more like a given at this point.
(5)  My legal name change finally went through!
(6)  I have money again.  Huge sigh of relief, there.
(7)  New seasons on television of House, Survivor, the Office, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and the Amazing Race.
(8)  I have been following politics.  Not so much because I care about changing the country (because I accept that I can't change very much), but because I think it's really fascinating from a sociology point of view.
(9)  Red Sox in the postseason!  They're 2-1 in the seventh as I write this.
(10)  Phish is playing a reunion show in March!  Even though I saw them once back in 1995, it wasn't until 2004 - weeks after they broke up - that I discovered how amazing their live shows are through the power of the internet.  They've been my favorite band for years, so I'm going to put a lot of effort in getting tickets and organzing a trip to VA next year.

Nice month!  In other news...

I'm still really appreciative that I can now shop for clothes without fear of how I'm perceived.  I still really enjoy the process of shopping, and I love seeing how I look when I try on different clothes.  However, shopping is slowly moving from the "luxury" column to the "necessity" one.  I used to look really forward to making the male > female switch when I got home form work and then going shopping and looking for clothes - lately, I've just been really tired after work and in the mood to relax.

Shopping is a lot harder now, too.  What I wear is under a lot more scrutiny as a female, which can be stressful since I have historically been oversensitive to criticism.  I'm also fighting the fact that I'm still discovering exactly what sizes/shapes/colors look best on me - shoes and pants in particular have been a nightmare to fit correctly.  I do feel like I'm slowly figuring it all out and developing a 'look' for myself, so I suppose all I can do is stay positive and be thankful that I've gotten this far.  I want to pierce my ears, but I'm admittedly nervous about it.  If someone wants to volunteer to drag me in and make sure I don't chicken out (as I've done a few times now), they're more than welcome to!

The amount of name/pronoun slip-ups at work has gone way down.  On Friday, I think I noticed something around 15-20 (which, as was probably evident from my last post, affected me a lot more than I wish it would) - I don't think I've heard more than 5 in a day this week.  Honestly, I put a lot of stock in other peoples' opinions of me - admittedly, at times, to a fault - and it's been a huge mental and emotional boost to have people seeing me as female.  Also, this paragraph is dedicated to Christina Servideo, who has been great not only with adjusting how she addresses me, but making sure that others don't slip up either :)

One last thing: a lot of my friends have been going through tough times recently.  In a lot of cases, I do my best to listen as best I can and give advice where I see fit, but it's frustrating not being able to help people.  All I can do is say that I'm always willing to lend an ear or a hand if people want, and that if you're my friend I wish you the best!