342 miles

It has been a very full day. I just returned to my hotel room at 10:30 PM and have to get up at 5 AM. So I am going to bed immediately and don't have time to write except to say that it all went very well today; there was not one negative occurrence. Yay!

398 miles

I am in a very nice Quality Inn in Southwestern Pennsylvania after traveling 398 miles on the first part of my two part journey.

It was slower going the first few hours because of the rain. Conditions improved further west and I was able to make up for lost time except when I ran into the never-ending construction on Pennsylvania's I-80. As a result, I was on the road for over 6-1/2 hour trip, which averages out to a measly 61 MPH.

Now I am going to rest for awhile.

on the road soon

After posting this, I will finish packing the car and get on the road for the first leg of my journey (Connecticut to Western Pennsylvania, approximately 400 miles).

It is raining here now and the forecast looks like rain for both legs of my roadtrip.

I plan to post again this evening after I settle in at a hotel.

a busy girl

I depart for my conference mid-morning tomorrow, stay overnight at approximately the half-way point Wednesday night, then drive the rest of the way on Thursday.

Thursday evening, I will be attending my board of directors meeting, where my fellow board members will be meeting Stana for the first time.

Friday and Saturday, I will be en femme staffing our booth at the conference, visiting the flea market and other booths at the conference, and attending forums of interest.

Friday evening, I will be attending our banquet, which is a business casual affair, and Saturday evening, I will be attending the big banquet of the weekend, which is a dressy affair.

Sunday, I return home.

With that schedule, I will be so busy that my postings here will be hit and miss, but I will try to post something every day. And you can expect a detailed posting (or postings) after the weekend is over.

packing

Whenever I mix a trip with boy and girl modes, I make a list of what to pack before I actually begin to pack because I learned the hard way that I might forget something without a list.

For my trip to the conference this week, the boy mode portion of the list is much shorter than the girl mode portion because I will be in girl mode most of the time. Yet, the list is still daunting because there is so much more to pack for girl mode.

My schedule includes two days traveling, two days attending the conference, and two nights attending banquets, which adds up to six outfits. I will wear the same outfit during my trip to the conference and my trip home, so that eliminates one outfit. But one of the banquets is a dressy affair, which means an extra set of accessories (dressy accessories to go with a dressy dress).

Not that I'm complaining; I'm just commenting!

Happy Mother's Day

Yesterday morning, I stopped by my hair salon (where I get my boy mode haircuts) to pick up an order for my sister.

The receptionist is the mother of the owner. After I paid for the order, I said to her, "Have a happy Mother's Day."

She replied, "You have a happy Mother's Day, too."

Just as the words left her mouth, she realized she erred in wishing a happy Mother's Day to a male and she blushed.

I quickly replied that I happily accepted her holiday greetings.

I like to think that my feminine persona shows through even in boy mode and was the cause of the receptionist's error. I dunno if that was true or not, but it was a nice start to the Mother's Day weekend.

Then, overnight I received the following e-mail from Michelle, which just sweetened the holiday weekend.

"Now that I have had time to look over your blog and read some of your writings, thank you for the blog. I don't know where you found the courage to start the blog and share your journey, but I am very glad that you did. You are an inspirations to all of us men that love feminine clothing.

"I don't know if I will ever be able to go out in public en femme like you, but I now know there are other men that appreciate being free to dress like they please.

"You look so much like a real women when you are en femme. When I first looked at your blog I thought you were a women that was running a site to help men that dress en femme. In all the pictures I have seen of you, you are dressed like a beautiful lady... hair, makeup and dress... anyone would think you are a real lady.

"Thank you for having the courage to be Stana and inspire the rest of us. Someday, we will be able to dress as we like openly and freely."

Thank you, Michelle, for the very kind words and thank you, Mom, for inspiring me to be the woman I have become.

women will wear the breaks

I discovered this vintage postcard on eBay this past week. It is another anti-suffrage propaganda postcard, which predicted that males will wear the skirts after females get the vote.

call me "Stana"

It's official (well, as "official" as it's going to get). My name is Stana.

Almost six weeks ago, I wrote here about possibly changing my name.

Your comments were positive and encouraging, but before I made a hasty decision that I might regret later, I decided to think about it.

Well, I'm finished thinking about it and I am very happy with my new name.

The timing is also perfect in light of my attendance en femme at my convention next week.

As I wrote six weeks ago, I am out to people who know me only by my male name and I intend to come out to more people who know me only by my male name. Why not make it easier for them by using a female name so similar to my male name? "Stan" and "Stana" are so interchangeable that one does not have to worry about slipping up when speaking my name? No one, certainly not I, will call them out if they say "Stan" when they intended to say "Stana" and vice versa. "Stan" can even be considered short for "Stana."

And I like the name. It rhymes with "Anna," the object of my first puppy love. It is unique (I always like to be unique). And it is a good fit, that is, it simply suits me.

Also, I have a new e-mail account to go with my new name: stana-stana at sbcglobal.net

So, call me "Stana."

ts model in Givenchy ad

“Riccardo Tisci loves a bit of androgony and male-female mix as much as the next Givenchy fan, but he’ll be blurring the lines between gender a little further next season by using a transsexual model in Givenchy’s AW10 ad campaign.

“But Lea T – a Brazilian with a bonestructure to die for, formerly known as Leo – isn’t any old transsexual, she’s a long-time friend and personal assistant of the designer and, coincidently, a former fit model for his own line.”

Read all about it here and here.

the office, circa 2025

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Tuesday out en femme, continued

Yesterday I was out the door en femme in time for the doors to open at Westfarms Mall.

I entered through the JCPenney entrance and when I discovered their 40% off dress sale, I never got beyond the JCPenney dress department.

I tried on about ten dresses. There were two to-die-for that were just too small and not available in a larger size. Others fit fine, but did not thrill me even with a 40% discount.

Next, I found some cute two-piece, jacket and skirt outfits. I tried one on and it looked very nice and fit perfectly despite being the same size as the two-to-die-for dresses that did not fit!

Schlepping through the dress racks and to and from the dressing room, my sweater dress let me know that it was too warm to wear a sweater dress. The jacket and skirt outfit was perfect for the hot and humid weather, so I purchased it for $41 (compared to the $70 list price), exited the mall, and drove to Diana's hacienda.

Before we left to go to Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) for outreach, I changed from the sweater dress to the jacket and skirt and immediately felt more comfortable. (I am wearing that outfit in the previous post's photo.)

We arrived at SCSU about 15 minutes before the first class, met up with Professor Schildroth and the other outreachers (six in all), then entered the classroom for the big show. Thirty students, the vast majority female, listened to each of our short biographies, then we divided the class for questions and answers.

In all my years of outreaching, it was the worst question and answer session I have experienced. The questions were good, but there was a lack of them. It was like pulling teeth trying to get questions out of the students. There are always lulls in question and answer sessions, but never such extended lulls as there were yesterday.

The second class we outreached in the late afternoon was not much better.

Viewing the student comments after the sessions, it was clear that a lot of the students were "uncomfortable" with us (one even used the word "scared.") They claimed that their discomfort made it difficult to ask quaestions.

Reading student comments at past outreaches, there are always a few that claim to be uncomfortbale, but yesterday, there seemed to be an epidemic of discomfort.

There were a few students, who made an effort to ask questions, but overall, the question and answer sessions were disappointing.

I did receive a couple of compliments that saved the day. Professor Shildroth took note of my weight loss and one female student complimented me on my proficiency in walking in heels. After her comment, a couple of other female students chimed in to agree with her assessment.

After class, four of us drove to USS Chowder Pot in Hartford for dinner. It was a new dining experience for me and when I visit a seafood restaurant for the first time, I often order the fried seafood platter. In this case, the platter included clams, shrimp, scallops, haddock, and french fries; it was the tastiest seafood platter I have eaten in a long time. Actually, I only ate half and took the rest home for a future meal.

The meal was excellent and our waitress only made it sweeter by constantly addressing us as "ladies."

After dinner, I drove Diana home, then drove myself home. It was a full and in many ways, a fulfilling day, but I could not wait to kick off my heels!

Tuesday out en femme

I don’t have time to write about my day out en femme yesterday, so a photo from my day out will have to suffice for now.

teaching an old bitch new tricks

In the past, I used an electric razor to shave my underarms. Afterwords, it usually took two or three days for my armpits to recover before I could use a deodorant that did not burn my pits.

Yesterday, I used Veet to depilate my legs, arms, and breasts in order to be as hairless as possible for my outing en femme tomorrow.

I checked my armpits and they needed attention, too. Instead of using an electric razor, I applied shaving cream on my armpit hair and used a Gillette Fusion razor to remove the hair. Afterwords, my armpits were hairless and I was able to use a deodorant without any ill effects.

Tomorrow, I do outreach at two Human Sexuality classes at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.

The weather is supposed to be in the mid-70s, so I plan to wear a Victoria's Secret dress I bought on sale during the winter, but have not worn yet.

If it was much warmer, I would have to wear something lighter, so I am glad the weather is cooperating and I will be able to wear the outfit I put together to go with the dress.

an uplifting experience

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man of the house, circa 2025

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Friday night dead tired

We buried a dear relative today. I am exhausted and not up to writing much here tonight.

I want to thank all of you who passed along word about Will Forte's en femme appearance on 30 Rock last night. I did catch it and you see it too, online here.

Didn't his wedding gown give you a clue?

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your mother dresses you femmy

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dress successes

Mister Mailman delivered my dress order from Avenue.

After I discovered that the two dresses I ordered from Chadwicks last week were too small, I worried that the dresses from Avenue would be too small, too, because (1) I ordered the same sizes from both Chadwicks and Avenue and (2) the same company (Boston Apparel Group) owns Chadwicks and Avenue, as well as Jessica London, Metrostyle, Roaman's, Woman Within (what a perfect name for a transwomen shopping venue!) and more.

I am happy to report that both dresses fit fine and they look very nice.

outreach

Every May and December for the past four years, I have done "outreach" at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) in New Haven.

What's "outreach?"

According to Wikipedia, outreach "is an effort by individuals in an organization or group to connect its ideas or practices to the efforts of other organizations, groups, specific audiences or the general public. Unlike marketing, outreach does not inherently revolve around a product or strategies to increase market share. Typically non-profits, civic groups, and churches engage in outreach.

"Outreach often takes on an educational component (i.e., the dissemination of ideas), but it is increasingly common for organizations to conceive of their outreach strategy as a two-way street in which outreach is framed as engagement rather than solely dissemination or education."

Personally, I do outreach to educate the civilian population about being trans and next week, I will be doing outreach at two Human Sexuality classes at SCSU along with other trans representatives from Stonewall Speakers.

We begin each class with each of us telling our trans life stories, then the students ask us questions for the remainder of the class.

Typically, there are four to six of us: two or three male-to-females, one or two female-to-males, and often the spouse of one of the male-to-females. As a result, the students hear variety the trans experiences.

Hopefully, the students go away with a better understanding of what it means to be trans and realize that we are not freaks, but are just like other people they may encounter on a daily basis.