Musings from my everyday life...

By now going out as a woman for me is second nature. The nerves are gone and I am completely at ease in my own skin. It feels wonderful to be able to express myself in this way; a way that I never dreamed was going to be possible. For a gender outlaw like myself it represents having arrived at the epitome of balance and a level of congruence with my mental image of myself. How wonderful it feels to be here after the long struggle. Each time I feel I am at the summit things improve once again and I arrive at a new and more enlightened plateau of self discovery. After spending most of my life as the proverbial salmon fighting to get upstream I have finally stopped struggling and am learning to finally live in harmony with my disphoria. I could not buy that level of contentment with money or possesions.

Now that it is clear to me that I am not transexual I can relax and just be transgendered. I owe gratitude to AQV, Jack Molay, Marian. Sherry and others who have provided their input in …

Despite my occasional optimism, I am doubtful that I can successfully pair off with another person at this stage of my life; most especially due to the advanced state with my dual male/female existence, I sometimes feel it's no longer a realistic scenario to imagine that a woman exists that would find such a lifestyle palatable. I have also romanticised my previous life with my girlfriend and have forgotten how bad it could be at times. I don't regret meeting her or sending her flowers because at least it closes that chapter of my life in a more graceful way than the way things ended 5 months ago. Might there still be a chance for us? Possibly yes but there would need to be a meeting of the minds plus no cohabitation until my kids are older.

I am no longer willing to sacrifice joanna to fit into someone else's idea of what my gender presentation should be; even if the expectation of a traditional gender role is entirely normal for a biological woman. So if something must b…

To all who have followed, read and/or commented on this blog may you have a blessed Christmas and the very best for the coming year. May all of us find balance and peace in our lives and with that a state of contentment that carries us through the challenges of our lives.

It's important to be realistic about things. My GID is here to stay and how I manage the rest of my life without letting it define me entirely is going to be the key. As I have mentioned, going back to a state of shame and denial won't work any further but putting some control on my crossdressing is probably going to be beneficial as the behavior can be addictive. Dressing exclusively for it's own sake is not the answer. I need to find a middle ground where I am allowing the outlet to happen without obsessing and having it be a mandatory part of my day as it has mostly been of late.

To add fuel to the fire I get pangs of wanting to get my girlfriend back but that is likely rose coloured thinking that could lead to more incongruity in my life. She has a power over me borne out of a strong attraction but the mixture can sometimes be more Molotov cocktail than the perfect martini. My life could go back to being tumultuous once again.

No matter which way one looks at it, havi…

Saw life of Pi with my kids yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the film. Ang Lee has done a marvelous job at creating a magical and reverent work that celebrates spirituality and religion while at the same time telling a gripping story of respect between man and his fellow creatures. All three of US were riveted by the film and I highly recommend it.

On another note, my ex gf came back to me and apologized for telling me to leave her alone. I don't really know where we stand now but I will let the course of time take care of that. Whatever is meant to be will be.

and changing gears yet again, my sister who has always tried to talk me out of crossdressing has finally begun to read and understand about GID and autogynephelia. I pointed her to a few places including Jack molay's latest posting on crossdreamers where he talks about whether there is a cure for this enigmatic condition. It is finally starting to sink in with her that this is not something one chooses but lives with a…

I am going for therapy but not for gender confusion. Instead it will be to deal with my anger. One of the footnotes to my gender therapy four years ago was that I might have repressed anger issues possibly stemming from my childhood. Keeping things bottled up all those years certainly did'nt help and when my ex gf accused me of being a verbal abuser it was closer to confirming that there might be something there.

Upon meeting her again on sunday I promised to enter a treatment for verbal abuse as a prerequisite to any possible re opening of our relationship. Now with that possibility closed I still plan to follow up simply for my own benefit.

I have never thought of myself as an angry person but I need to investigate whether it merits investigation.

Well I should have known better. In trying to contact her again and meeting her I ended up wounding myself yet again. She was a sight for sore eyes this past sunday. Beautiful as ever and me with my rose colored glasses firmly in place thinking mostly of the good times. It made it easier to forget the bad times when her beauty was there once again in front of me after a 5 month absence from view. I should have known better. After a pleasant couple of hours over coffee on the Sunday the whole thing ended this afternoon with her email telling me to "LEAVE HER ALONE".

One day I wilk learn. Hopefully before I leave this earth.

I took the initiative to email my ex-girlfriend because I need either complete closure or to maybe open the door to a reconnect. That is if she'll have me back.

I have always been short tempered. During the time that I was questioning my gender plus dealing with raising my children and being in a relationship with a woman who never wanted and never had children, the challenges were many. My temper flared up on more than one occasion and although I was in love with her, in the end felt that her demands were coming into conflict with my parenting responsibilites as well as my desire to drive my feminine time onto a new plateau.

Now 5 months of alone time have affored me some perspective and I have been to the desert of my soul (so to speak). I am being cautious about things, but the way I feel today is better than I did when we broke up last June. I need to know whether reconciliation is possible and I don't want to permanently close off with her without knowing that there may…

I am currently on a business trip for work and last night was a terrible night. I became distraught and depressed as I ended up on Facebook and saw pictures of my ex looking happy and beautiful in some photos. I slept maybe 3 hours and cried myself to sleep.

My mind is not working well these days at all. I thought all was going in the right direction but it's apparently going to take more time to get my head screwed on straight.

I realize that for the first time in my life I have no objective and no direction for myself. The only goal I have left is to try and raise my children the best way I can at a distance.

I know this will pass but today I don't feel much better.

I've been feeling more relieved of late. There is an increasing sense of calm taking over which is welcome after the more turbulent months that have passed. I am also becoming more comfortable with my decision to forego therapy and just try and become increasingly comfortable with who I am; to just be happy with my transgender status. If this means living in between genders then so be it. Yes it hurts my chances for a relationship but we need to be true to who we are before we can be with someone else.

Maybe it's because we're approching the Christmas period I don't know. But I will enjoy this sensation while it lasts.

Target error - that concept has been in the back of my mind for a while now. The idea that I want to become the object of my desires makes perfect sense given my history. When I was very little I wanted to emulate my mother; wear her heels, earrings and lipstick. I wanted to BE my mother and when she would scold me and I second guessed her punishment she would sometimes say : "when you're a mother.....". I winced but was secretly titilated when she said it. I went to her closet when she was'nt there and practiced being a lady. The thought that I could become a woman, a mother was so exciting to me that when puberty struck that thrill was often times accompanied by sexual release. So in parallel with developping an interest in girls my own age, the specter of female emulation followed along like a shadow. I was not old enough to have sex with girls and ejaculate into them but I could emulate them and at the same time desire them.

There was no deliberate act of masturb…

Last night I went to my company's party. It was a well attended affair with probably close to 700 people making the trip to the Italian banquet hall where it was held. It was the first time I had attended one of these functions on my own and it felt a bit strange. I was glad I came however as the meal and the company at our table were both good reasons to have made the journey.

I found myself at various times looking at a few women, simultaneously wishing I were them and being drawn to them as potential love interest. Nothing new for a person like me but it was particularly strong last night without the focus that a date would have given me. As stated in my previous post, I need to get a point where I come to an acceptance that I will stay on my own and be totally at ease with that.

Last night made that task just a little bit harder.

Relationships are a complete mystery to me. Granted I have not had many but I feel that I am neither adept at finding the type of person that is suited to me nor good at knowing when things have soured and I am just hurting myself and should move on. I am always guilty of wanting relationships but now want desperately to rid myself of that desire. I would be swimming upstream against the current anyway so why bother making the effort. It has been written that if you work on yourself good things will come your way and you will attract what you deserve.

I have not been one to wait mind you. I want to control things and have a history of being judgemental. Also, to my advantage and simultaneously to my detriment, I have been given the mind of a thinker. That combination coupled with an unusual penchant for women's clothing makes me an unlikely catch for women. So I will stop trying even whilst the desire remains; a desire borne by our nature as social animals to want to love and be…

Its funny how things have changed. I used to buy women's clothes in male mode and then slowly migrated to buying them dressed as a woman as I gained confidence in my presentation. Now I am buying even my male clothing as a female and pretending to be my own wife while doing it.

Two nights ago, I bought a pair of shoes for my "husband" and had a great time doing it. I had not intended to go shoe shopping but the deal was just too good to pass up. So I took advantage of the situation and once again practiced my female communication skills. I will do that every so often just to validate my ability to pass and connect with another female. I have so far exceeded my expectations.

Last night I had my last IPL laser treatment on my lip area and chin. I will be virtually beardless and will require even less foundation than I currently use. I am very happy with the results from the previous treatment and looking forward to 3 weeks from now when the lasered hair finally drops away.

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I need to work on myself in another area - self forgiveness. I need to cut myself some slack and allow myself to make errors; errors which are less about mistakes than giving in to my natural character. I got so accustomed to refraining from being happy by holding myself back, that it has become a natural reflex to feel negative. My guilt over expressing my feminine side openly was so vehemently prohibited, that I could never allow more than a few days of yearly crossdressing to soothe my desires. Once satiated I needed to destroy all evidence in a frantic purge.

As much as those inhibitions are apparently gone, there remains some resident guilt. That is in fact the hardest thing to get rid of. But I persevere and will hope that 2013 removes another layer of old wallpaper in the room that is my mind.

Another issue is passing. Since I am used to generally passing well, I tend to get a little freaked out when I don't. I am getting better at this but still have a ways to go. I am als…

Well my son’s surgery went well on Friday and I am so pleased! He had a condition known as strabismus which is the medical term for crossed eyes (actually only one of them was misaligned). So now he will be away from school for a few days while he recuperates from a procedure which took only 45 minutes and was performed by a top notch surgeon. It was all covered by the Canadian health system which Canadians so love to complain about but is in fact quite good overall. This is something I can attest to personally given the treatment I received when I had my stroke.

I spent my Sunday off yesterday doing some Christmas shopping and I ended up, quite by happenstance, meeting a nice lady called Leila while I was having a coffee. She is an immigrant from Lebanon who’s been in Canada for 21 years. We had a nice discussion and she ended up giving me her card as she and her husband run a business from their home selling a special type of imported cooking oil. She told me we should meet again an…

I am at a point where, if there is to be no transition, what is left is to come to terms with my female nature. In my head I feel like a woman and if tomorrow you asked me to adapt to living as a female, I would do so in a heartbeat. Not many males on this planet would want that I reckon. In fact the vast majority would be devastated were it to happen to them.

The way I feel in my head is what counts for me at this point and the change of plumbing is not a prerequisite. So, as I have stated in a previous post, I guess I will remain a gender variant outlaw. I am already living as Joanna successfully so why rock the boat.

The other thing I have decided is to live completely honestly when it comes to the potential for one day meeting a soulmate. Should that ever happen, that person would need to accept the entire me. I would not throw Joanna away to try and fit someone's image of what a male should be. I am after all hardly conventional in that sense.

Last night I saw the film "…

Walt Heyer is a former male to female transexual and hosts a site called sexchangeregret.com. He responded to my previous post in support of my recent decision not to undergo gender therapy. Later I proceeded to his website and read of how his conversion to a spiritual life was pivotal for him in his decision to return to living as a male.

While I have no issue whatsoever with Walt's decision, I question whether the spiritual connection can be credited with curing his disphoria. As a lifelong spiritual person, I have always believed there is a God and practiced my faith. I also have instilled the same values in my children. However nowhere during that process has my disphoria disappeared. So while I don't feel I am transexual, there is somewhere within me a strong connection to the female. That connection has been there from my earliest memory and all attempts at eradication have proven to be futile. This includes many hours of prayer hoping that it just goes away.

What I have…