Went to the local trans group meeting last night. There wasn't much of a turnout. I think there were 4 of us. One of them was there as a speaker to talk about their group called TARP or Trans Advocacy in Rural Places. They're based in Seattle, but travel around the state. I think he is the founder of it. It basically educates trans people living in rural communities in Washington state on their legal/civil rights, support, advocacy, professional training, support for documents (like letters for certain surgeries), etc. They sound like a good resource. The handout was pretty detailed on a lot of things.
They mention changing the gender marker to x with certain documents. X being used by some states (including Washington state) as a generalized marker for non-binary people. I'm glad some have something now. They don't in the state I was born in, Kentucky. So, I can't add it to my birth certificate, which is sad. There are some enby people that don't like it, because that's technically not their gender. It's an umbrella term. Someone has suggested a fill-in 'other' blank space. If it was specific, I'd probably have an A as my marker. It does seem odd that people who are binary can be specific about who they are, but enby people can't. It's considered too 'complex'. Still, I find having the x is better than having to choose between 2 things I'm definitely not. To simplify it, I can see why they'd want one letter for the 'others'. Maybe there should be a fill-in option if there has to be anything. Normally, the 5th Wednesday is a potluck and/or movie night. We didn't know how many people would be there, though.
Went to Shari's afterwards. It was just my parent and I this time. Normally, it's an after group social thing. That's ok. Not many people went this time. My dysphagia has gotten bad enough lately that I'm weary towards eating. So, I tried to have something soft and easy to eat. I think in the future I'm going to try to be better about eating a certain way, so it'd be easier to handle. I got their pancake combo with scrambled eggs and hash browns as sides. Had the pancakes without butter (I hate having a huge mound of unmelted butter on my pancakes) and with syrup on the side. It was pretty good. The hash browns gave me a little trouble, but weren't bad. I have to remember to cut things into smaller pieces, especially with things like pancakes. Got a slice of their special pie of the month: butterscotch. It's amazing! It has a chocolate crust, maple flavor layer over that, butterscotch pudding on top of that, whipped cream, and a sprinkling of shaved chocolate. Since it was a cream pie, I thought it'd be easier than the other pies. I think it was. The filling seems like the consistency that they suggest meals should be for people with severe dysphagia. It should be like a thick milkshake or pudding. I hope it doesn't get to the point where I'd have to eat like that for every meal. (Mine's definitely not severe.) They use the blender a lot, and there's a special thickening powder specifically for people with dysphagia that also is high in calories and nutrients. Many people lose weight and have a low appetite, so it's easier for them to get what they need nutritionally with what little they can manage if they mix that in their meals.
I got an im this morning that had a voicemail (not from the actual person, just something they shared) that was basically meant to be uplifting and empowering. The sentiment was great. The way it was worded was not. It was aimed at Christian women. Referring to people as sis, mentioning that Jesus is with you, and that G-d is within you (I think...). It was bizarre to me. I'm not a woman and I'm not Christian. There is no Jesus in Judaism, and our views of G-d are different. So much going on there. I know the person who sent it didn't do it in a malicious way, but it sure didn't change the way I felt about it. We later talked about it and she apologized and didn't mean to be offensive. For some reason 'offensive' is not really the word I'd use for it. Offensive would be using derogatory words, maliciousness, and essentially going out of your way about it. That wasn't it. I don't particularly like being misgendered. That's worse than the religious part. I think I've been desensitized to that sort of thing. However, the closest example (for the misgendering) I have is how would a man like that sort of message if it was sent to him? Would he feel ok with it referring to him as a woman? Using language like: "Hey sis!" It was just ignorance. It's cool if you understand and correct yourself in the future. How are people that mean well going to understand if no one tells them in the first place? I like to take that stance with a lot of things.
So much of my hair's coming out, I dread washing and styling it now. If I don't, it just collects and sheds more. I know that if it's going to come out, it will whether I wash it or not...It's still scary, though. Found some bald spots today. They're bigger than I expected. Luckily, I have longer hair covering them up right now. They're still not visible unless you lift that hair up. Not sure how long it'll be until it fully comes out at this rate.
Started Duolingo's Dutch course. It seems much easier than I expected so far. It seems like they use the gutteral 'ch' sound more than in German. I think it's similar to how often it's used in Hebrew. They write it as a 'g' instead. It's been a little difficult remembering that. Like good in Dutch is goed. It's pronounced like choot. (Again, ch being like the ending of Bach for those that don't know.) Quite a bit different. Apparently, oe is like oo in English, but oo in Dutch is like oh in English. That's another thing to keep straight. I was having trouble pronouncing hij, which is he in English, until I looked more into it. Ij is pronounced like ei or ay. So, hij sounds like hay. Ever since then I've gotten the pronunciation right for words with ij in them. I have to think a little differently with it. I like that they have speaking exercises. That's helped a lot.
Started watching the 2nd season of The Rain on Netflix. It's a Danish show. Basically, the rain has a virus in it that's lethal almost on contact. It's a bit more complicated, but it's the gist. There's a group of survivors trying to make it to Sweden, thinking it's better over there. The 'rain' has impacted most of Scandinavia. We don't know about Sweden yet. Some of it's pretty outlandish, but it's good.
Youtube:
Fairy Tail:
Boku no (My) Hero Academia:
Mix:
One Piece:
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