Heroes and Friends

During Fantasia Fair, there were so many things to do that I did not have much time to write, so I posted a few words and a "photo of the day" (after all, a picture is worth a thousand words).

I will write more about what happened in Provincetown in this and in the next few posts. I took over 350 photos during Fantasia Fair, so I have a lot to show you, too!

Sunday Redux

Previously, I wrote a short post about Sunday at Fantasia Fair.

At the Welcoming Reception at Saki Restaurant, I encountered Miqqi Gilbert at the bar. Miqqi is the Executive Director of the Fair and one of my trans heroes. She is a professor in York University in Toronto, Canada, and she is out about her transness to one and all. Some days she shows up for her classes en femme and other days, en homme. 

I asked Miqqi to pose for a photo with me. She happily obliged, the bartender manned my camera, and the result accompanies this post.

As I sampled the various Japanese foods served by the waitstaff, my ham radio trans sister Melissa Cross showed up and as it turned out, we hung out together through most of the Fair. She was great company and often served as my photographer whenever I felt the need to pose for yet another photo. (I also did her bidding and gladly took her photo whenever she asked.)

Melissa also convinced me to try sushi. I have tried it in the past and I found that I could take it or leave it. But the sushi at Saki seemed to be more to my liking (or I was very hungry) and I sampled a variety of the sushi that the restaurant offered.

Reviewing my photos from Sunday night, I was surprised how short my skirt looked; a "scandalous hemline" as I wrote last week. But this was Provincetown where almost anything goes and my hemline got even shorter as the week progressed.

Catching Up

I tossed and turned Friday night/Saturday morning and probably got only two hours sleep.

I gave up trying at 6 AM and got up to drive back home.

On the road at 8:30 AM, I arrived home at 12:35 PM. The trip home was uneventful. A light rain the first half of the trip and sunny skies the second half.

After unpacking, I was so tired that I did little the rest of the day.

I watched the Hitchcock-Hedrin film (The Girl) on HBO and regret it. (Hitch is my favorite film director and now I think less of him.)

After watching the film, I went to bed and slept until 8 AM.

Well rested, I will begin describing my Fantasia Fair adventure in my next post.

Fantasia Fair Day 6

Photo by Jill

Every day at Fantasia Fair has been a full day. For example, I left my B&B at 9 AM Friday and did not return until 1:15 AM except to change outfits. As a result, I had no time to write here and barely enough time to post a photo from the day.

I will be on my way home later today. After I get home, I will fill you in with a lot more words and even more photos.

It is now 1:55 AM and I think I will call it a night!

Fantasia Fair Day 5

Photo by Jamie Dailey

Fantasia Fair Day 4

It is late. I am exhausted and going to bed, but here is a photo from earlier this evening.

Photo by Melissa

Fantasia Fair Day 3 or Who's That Girl?

Photo by Melissa

It was cooler today, but sunny and I was happy that the rain ended around daybreak.

I put myself together in record time (45 minutes from nude boy to fully clothed and made-up woman).

Breakfast was coffee, yogurt, and pastry.

After breakfast, I attended a cosmetic workshop performed by Scarlett Thompson. She performed the makeover on my long time friend Sirena, who looked fantastic after the 90-minute session.

An excellent lunch followed at Bayside Betsy's. Good food and good conversation with a table full of five girls and one boy.

After lunch, I had an appointment for a makeover by Hera Navassardian at 1:30 PM. After a very leisurely two-hour makeover session that included chocolates and champagne and a new wig, I looked very different than when I entered the salon.

I was very excited about the new look and hurried back to my B&B to get dressed up to attend the Pioneer Awards Dinner at 6:30 PM (see photo above).

Attending the dinner, I was surprised when nearly everyone I encountered did not recognize me. Old friends and new hesitated when I greeted them because they were not sure who's that girl.

Christopher Morley on Facebook

Famous film femulator Christopher Morley sent me the following Facebook message:

"For all your 'femulate' fans, I now have a Facebook page with many photos and videos for their enjoyment."

Fantasia Fair Day 2 Part 2

I dressed to kill for the Monday evening installment of Fantasia Fair: a delicious BBQ dinner and a very amusing performance by transman comedian Ian Harvey.

Emily took the photo at my B&B before I departed for the evening festivities.

Fantasia Fair Day 2

Melissa took this photo of me resting on the veranda of my B&B after a busy morning at Fantasia Fair.

After attending the orientation brunch (good food and good company), I climbed the 252-foot Pilgrim Monument. The climb was easy, but maintaining my coiffure was very difficult because the wind at the top of the tower was strong and constant.

The view from the top was spectacular, but it was not the clearest of days, so I could not see Boston or Russia!

Fantasia Fair Day 1

The four-hour trip to Provincetown was uneventful and I arrived at The Chicago House at 2 PM. After unloading the contents of my car into my room, I walked to the Fantasia Fair registration site to get my tickets, badge, and goodies bag. I returned to my room to dress in the correct gender.

After dressing in my favorite vintage suit with its scandalous hemline (see above), I walked two blocks to Saki, a Japanese restaurant, which was the venue for the Sunday evening welcoming reception. I met up with a lot of old friends and made some new friends, while dining on sushi and other Japanese delicacies.

The crowd thinned out about 9 PM and I decided to call it quits (I was very tired), so I returned to The Chicago House and here I am typing the last words of this blog post before I go to bed.

Masculine Women, Feminine Men

I finished packing yesterday and loaded the luggage in the Subaru for departure to Provincetown and Fantasia Fair at about 10 AM today. The next blog post you read here will come to you form P-Town.

In the meantime, I leave you with a great video from YouTube: "Masculine Women, Feminine Men."

Who Do You Believe?

For days, I have been checking the Accuweather and National Weather Service websites for the upcoming week’s weather forecasts for Provincetown. One of them must be forecasting the weather for a different planet Earth because their forecasts conflict.

I will assume the worst and pack outerwear for wet and/or cold weather.

That is what I am doing today: packing for my trip to Fantasia Fair and tying up loose ends around the house before I leave Sunday morning.

And thank you all for your well wishes for my trip!

Bringing Bling

With my packing list in hand, I will begin packing for Fantasia Fair this evening.

Most of the packing is easy --- just pack exactly what I have on my list.

Jewelry is more difficult. Let me explain why.

My packing list indicates that I should pack a silver necklace, earrings, and bracelet to go with a particular outfit, but does not specify which silver necklace, earrings, and bracelet. I usually don't remember what jewelry worked with an outfit I wore before and if it is a new outfit, I am not sure what jewelry will work with it.

To complicate matters, I have a lot of jewelry.

As an Avon representative, I can buy with a discount and over the years, I have amassed a lot of Avon jewelry. Also, I bought a lot of Napier jewelry at a big discount when the Napier factory closed here.

Funny story. When they were having their close-out sale, I was visiting the Napier factory store a couple of times a week during lunch hour. The sales staff got to know me and helped me match earrings with bracelets with necklaces, etc.

After one shopping spree, a sales woman commented that my wife was a lucky girl because I was buying so much jewelry for her. Although I did buy some items for my wife, most of it was for me!

So tonight, I will wade through all my jewelry and pick out items to pack.

And here's a tip: I store my jewelry in clear plastic boxes intended for storing fishing lures. They are inexpensive (Walmart sells them in a variety of sizes) and they permit you to instantly see their contents. And if you fill one up, just buy another. (I own 12.)

By the way, I use a huge fishing tackle box to store and transport my makeup. (My parents' hobby was fishing, so I attribute my storage skills to their avocation.)

Let's Meet Up

I may have mentioned that I will be attending Fantasia Fair next week.

My plan is to arrive in Provincetown mid-afternoon Sunday and exit P-Town early Saturday morning. In between, I will attend all the main events and various workshops that interest me.

If you are also attending Fantasia Fair, I hope we will meet up.

You probably know what I look like, but unless we met before, I don't know what you look like, so don't be shy --- please say "Hello" --- I would love to meet you!

See you soon!

More Short Notes on a Busy Week

TJ informed me that photos (like the ones above and below) from the 2012 Southern Comfort Conference (SCC) are now available for viewing here on flickr. The set includes 1301 photos and 13 videos!

Meanwhile, in the When It Rains, It Pours Department, I just received an invitation to attend a "Masquerade Ball" in Hartford on October 19. The only problem is that I will be at Fantasia Fair in Provincetown the night of the ball!

Short Notes on a Busy Week

This will be a busy week as I get ready for next week at Fantasia Fair in Provincetown. In addition to preparations for the trip, I have four work-related projects that I must complete by Thursday, so I will be a very busy girl until then.

Besides planning to have a good time in Provincetown, I also have set another goal. I plan to use a female voice for the entire week. Instead of just trying to get by with my natural soft-spoken voice, I will adjust it a bit to sound more like the woman I am.

As a result of my decision not to go to Atlanta last month, I missed the board meeting of my ham radio group. Since I am secretary of the group, someone volunteered to record the minutes of that board meeting in my absence. That volunteer published the minutes a few days ago and referred to me as "Ms. My-Surname." That was the first time anyone ever referred to me by my surname prefixed with a feminine title and it felt wonderful!

Best Brows for You

Grocery shopping on Saturday, I inevitably conclude the experience eyeing the periodicals displayed for sale on the check-out line.

As I unloaded my shopping cart, I noticed the October issue of Vogue with the lovely Keira Knightley staring back at me with her most amazing eyebrows!

We are hardly separated at birth, but I liked her brows so much that I shaped mine to match hers.

Last week, Daily Makeover tackled the subject of the best eyebrows for your face shape, so see for yourself if your eyebrows should match Ms. Knightley's or some other glamorous film star.

Changes

A New Yorker parody

One Thing Leads to Another

A New Yorker parody

Next Year's Makeover

 

At Fantasia Fair in 2010, I attended a workshop titled "Essence of Style: Image Consulting" by Hera Navassardian.

Hera Navassardian has been in the fashion and beauty industry for more than thirty years. Her career began in New York City as a model for Bob Mackie and other designers like him. She has since worked in many similar industries, including consulting and demonstrating the finer techniques of skincare, make-up and fashion at high-end establishments including Bergdorf Goodman, SAKS Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales and CHANEL. Hera's love and passion for beauty and fashion has led her to open her own boutique and transformation studio, Klymaxx Unlimited in downtown Provincetown. Klymaxx offers a wide variety of services including make-up. (from The Fantasia Fair Participant's Guide)

The workshop took place in Hera's studio where she had all her tools at her disposal. There I witnessed her perform an amazing transformation on one of the girls attending the workshop.

I wished it was me.

Since my half-week at Fantasia Fair in 2010 had only one day to go, I did not bother scheduling a makeover later in the week. But wait 'til next year.

Two next years later, I made a appointment with Hera for a makeover for Fantasia Fair Tuesday afternoon preceding that evening's banquet.

When I spoke with Hera on the phone to make the appointment, she said she remembered me. I do recall asking a lot of questions and putting in my two-cents' worth during the workshop, so maybe she did remember me or maybe she was just being nice.

Either way, I look forward to going under Hera's makeup brushes.

It should be fun!