Adventures, or at least adventure, in crossdressing

I have a skirt. It is simple, long, and black. It fits me pretty decently, too, thanks to the miracles of a) choosing the correct size (I rounded up when measurements showed me between options) and b) elasticized waists. It is insanely comfortable and wonderful for my sense of self right now.

In practical terms, crossdressing is not something I'm going to invest heavily in for a while. Losing weight comes first, and cycling through no-longer-fitting clothes is a luxury I won't be able to afford much of. But I am budgeting for a few pieces to practice with in private, and simply for my own morale. (Does it actually affect my voice work or gait practice much? Realistically, in direct tangible terms, no. In terms of my sense of appropriateness and well-being, yes, a lot.)

I presume that all the more experienced trans readers are giving me some combination of "well, duh" and "yes, exactly" looks. :) In any event, it is as fine a first step as I could ask for. I have always loved long skirts, and am very glad to have one of my own.

Never send a dog to do a psychologist's work

Today I did one of those scary: I've gotten in touch with local counseling services. It turns out that one of the first friends I came out to knows someone who works at Seattle Counseling Service. She got his contact info and described my situation, and he sounded keen to help. So I called him today...only to find him out of the office. Left a message, but haven't heard back, so I'll try again in the morning.

I've been dragging my heels on getting started with medical and other help because of the sheer dead weight that is my case history. But it dawned on me, as my friend quoted her friend's responses, that while there will be hurdles to overcome in any case, these folks start off with big advantages when it comes to understanding where I am and what might help. I'm feeling my usual trepidations, but also a lot of optimism right now.

Foray into counseling, part 2

To my surprise, the guy at Seattle Counseling Service I'd been pointed at by our mutual friend called me back at 8:30. We had a fantastic talk. He had a lot of basic info to give me, and listened thoughtfully to the precis of my background, and fielded questions, and anticipated a lot of my concerns (including the nasty one of how to pay for it—turns out that SSI and Medicaid cover most of what they do), and explained about upcoming steps. I've filled out their basic application form, and should hear back about scheduling an intake interview in the next few days, with the interview itself in a couple of weeks, most likely.

I got the strong sense that while the specifics of my case may be new and unfamiliar, they're experienced in dealing with the new and unfamiliar. He sounded genuinely interested in helping me as an individual see what will work for me and how to get there, rather than trying to mandate an outcome or stick me with anything that might not be at all good for me. As my long-time friends know, I have a lot of experience in dealing with bad advice and useless authority, and a well-developed...feebdar? :) Anyway, I have all sorts of mental whiskers developed in response to past failures, and none of them went twitching.

Wow. The prospect of progress. Can't be beat.