Well, I attended my first Transgender Conference this past week called the First Event held annually just outside Boston. It is the first and oldest conference for Transgenders in the United States.  Arrived Tuesday night even though it started Wednesday and ran through Sunday..  I didn't check out until this morning, Monday.  I'll start my blogs, of which there will be many more about it, from the end, because today could not have been made possible without my experience during the past week. I've been planning  this for several months and without any doubt it has met my expectations and far exceeded them.

Woke up this morning about 7am well rested for the first time since arriving, .My bags were mostly packed except for what I planned to wear today, my make-up,, and some other incidentals.  The male "façade" I have been putting on most of my life  had not seen the light of day since Friday, Jan  25. Got dressed and ready to head home, AS JESS, by 10am, checked out , and went to breakfast at  the conference center, which has been a ritual since I arrived.  When I was done, got in my car, and saw it was gonna be 65 degrees and sunny today.  Now I came here in another snowstorm, and the temperatures dipped below zero all week. So, instead of heading west to go home, I decided to head east to the coast of New Hampshire.  First I stopped at Starbucks to say so long to my new friends and I'll see them next year. Then I went to Sephora, which was about fifteen minutes from the hotel.  I had missed the workshop they had at the convention because I had to run back to NY Friday afternoon for my first therapist appointment. I went to Sephora here already once before to purchase a foundation primer by " Smashbox ",  I had learned of at another workshop. This time I was hoping to get a full make-over.  She explained I needed an appointment for a full make-over which was free with the purchase of $50 of cosmetics.  She could do just foundation, or eyes, or lips without an appointment. I explained that make-up was very new to me, didn't have much of a clue what I was doing, duh, and if she could do the foundation that would be really, really great!!   So she did and it came out really good.  They have this monitor gadget which matches the skin tone to the make-up shade. Also product for eliminating beard shadow, which is great.  I've already gotten pretty good with my own make-up but this was well worth it.  Bought about $175 worth of cosmetics but if she showed me the eyes, too, I would have bought more. Still bought a shadow palette and a mild scent perfume, too.  Oh, and another woman came up to me and told me how she really loved my boots! 😍 That's been happening to me all week long.😊

After that, onto the Coast!  Now, I love the New Hampshire Coast. Have vacationed there every year for over 30 years; proposed to my wife on a "very special rock" at the ocean when I was 32 years old, and funny but always day dreamed what it would be like for Jess every year we went.  Perfect drive, listening to Syrius classical music in the car, Beethoven, Haydn,, Brahms  on the way.  Pulled up to the seawall, got out and looked out over the ocean for about half an hour.  I asked a woman walking by to take a picture of me from my cell phone and she was happy to, with the ocean backdrop. She said if I didn't like how it came out, she'd be happy to take more!  Afterward walked down to that rock and sat for a while more watching mothers and kids looking for treasures under the rocks. Then drove up to Portsmouth and around 5pm back down to my favorite restaurant, The Old Salt, at Lamie's for a Seafood Dinner.  I was treated like royalty!!  Well 6:30 pm time to head back, now about a 4 hour drive, all the way listening to Classic Zeppelin, Yes, The Who, Leonard Skynard, Jeff Beck, etc, to keep me awake (blasting).

The one and only downside to the last ten days?  I don't want to go back to the "male façade" anymore, it's actually depressing me now and I don't think I've ever been "depressed" before in my life.  Gonna have to do something about that; I don't like it.  Much, much more...….

Jessica💇‍♀️