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Dear friends, I'm blessed to be a part of our community here - I think of you often. I wish you, your families, and your friends, all a wonderful holiday season. Let's all pray for peace on earth and good will to all. Love, Emma

...Smashwords... because I just did... I just went on there to check on my story downloads - and they have almost doubled since I last looked at the stats. I've never uploaded a pic on here before so I hope it works. Knowing me, I've probably got it wrong. But this is some of that positive reinforcement we could all use now and then. I took a leaf out of someone else's book on here because, well, why not! It made me feel good, seeing those download stats. We all need to know we're loved, don't we?

So, I changed my name with my banks without any problems. I've received two replacement cards with my new name on and I'm only a tiny little bit irritated that I'm still waiting for a card from one bank. But at least I have access to my money again. I've changed my name and payment details with online sites such as Amazon, ebay, Beatport, Juno, Smashwords, and other places where I spend money on a regular basis. But the only one that's causing me a major problem is PayPal. They won't accept me trying to change my bank details, even though the name on my bank account has changed. I've amended a credit card on there but they won't allow me to amend the debit card I have registered with them, even though the name has changed on that debit card. And they won't let me delete it. AND they won't let me change my name!!! Not without a Photo ID. So I need to get my new passport or driving licence before I can change my name on my PayPal account. But what makes me laugh about that is that when I opened that PayPal account TEN YEARS AGO they never asked for Photo ID. So they didn't know what I looked like then and they don't know what I look like now. Why is PayPal being so annoying when all the banks and credit card companies and everywhere else have been so great? I'm thinking now that the easiest solution is to close my ten year old PayPal account and open a new one in my new name, which is, after all, my real name. But then I will have to go back to ebay and Beatport and Juno and Smashwords and... change my payment details again. it's a good thing that I like merry-go-rounds

Yeah, I had the same problem and others before me tell of the same. The easiest way round this is to close your account and open a new one in your new name, I did this as others before me had to. I guess that Paypal doesn't believe in true equality, but they'll just say that it's to avoid fraud, absolutely agree with you about the photo ID issue. It appears that Paypal are Transphobic, I wish there was an alternative service provider to them, because voting with your feet is the best way to get people to change their errant ways. Isn't Paypal the same as e-bay, or at least part of the same conglomerate? I had similar with Sky who thought that they could tell me who I could and could not call myself, so I went to Virgin and haven't had any problems since. There is still a little way further to go before Trans people are truly accepted and treated with true equality, however we have made tremendous progress over the last 8-10 years or so.

Hi Veronica, He's younger by four years. But he's far more grown up than I am Cheers, Jay

To expand on my previous comment I have just thought of an analogy, imagine that you are trying to photograph someone who is posing, these sort of photographs rarely come out showing the true way that a person appears in everyday life, they just look unnatural, not quite right. Then think about photographs taken of people who are unaware of being photographed, they look very natural, and different from a posed shot.................so if you are thinking about "your performance" and how you look to to others, it's much the same as posing. I know that you will probably feel under more scrutiny in the "bogs" than in many other places, please ignore that feeling, and never ever give in to it. You just have to get on with what you're doing and ignore others, yes some may be unsure of your gender, but they won't ever be sure if you just get on with whatever you're doing, it can be likened to a poker game, are they going to call you if they aren't sure, and risk of making an absolute arse out themselves............? Christmas Hugs, (no, don't know if they're any different from normal hugs !) Eve

I agree the progress is amazing and very welcome. And I'm going to close that PayPal account.

Happy Holidays, Emma!