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Yeah, well... ​I guess it's great news in part. ​​​So congrats on the gender marker part. ID is such a royal pain. I suppose you could go back and ask if you can get it with a middle initial, but you probably don't want to invite scrutiny.

Well hey, Mikey, congratulations on your “M”! It’s well earned and I love your story too. Since I just got my WA license a few months ago, now I think I should’ve entered an F. I’ll bet having them enter your middle name instead of the initial is a real annoyance. Sorry about that. But now you’ve got your M and no one can take that away from you!

That was the most entertaining drivers license application story ever 😛 Possibly also the only one I've ever heard, but still!!! Well told! Bummer about the full name part though 😞 I hated my middle name growing up too, ironically it's now my first name.

Hi Michelle, I'm glad you liked the list and will definitely look at your suggestions. My wife and I also read all three of the Girl with Dragon series and loved them! So sorry that the author is gone, now. I want to add "The Martian" to the list. It was a very good movie and an amazing book, especially for a first novel. That said, so is "The Kite Runner"! You must read them both if you haven't already. I've read Michael Connelly's books and enjoyed them but these days I'm less satisfied with "genre fiction" or maybe I'm getting more into "chick lit" go figure. I have enjoyed John Grisham's books but here again they're getting long in the tooth. I loved James Michener's books, especially "The Source" which is a classic as far as I'm concerned. No, I haven't gone to the movies for maybe a year. No one to go with and kinda busy... See you! Emma

Wow! Emma, you really delivered. I have read some on your list, but I am appreciative of your suggestions. Some I need to re-read: Man's Search for Meaning. Did you ever get into The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the two books that followed? My wife and I both plowed through them. I'm afraid I find Ayn Rand a little too preachy for me. I know where she's coming from, but I'm not a fan of her philosophy. I read Grapes of Wrath in an American fiction course I took. A monumental work to be sure. If you haven't already, you should read Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God which I thought was a gem--also in the American fiction class. If your are into articles at all, I recommend the Flipboard app for your phone or tablet. You can select almost any topic under the sun, and it will bring you the current articles on that topic. Among other things, I have chosen news, politics, physics, LGBTQ issues, space, mindfullness,...I read a lot of really neat stuff this way. I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers too just for fun. Michael Connelly is good as is David Baldacci. A litle more off-beat is James Lee Burke with his flawed detective in Louisiana. I think I've read just about everything he has written. I started reading one of Eco's books, but never really got off the ground. I am halfway through War and Peace . I suppose I will finish it eventually. Anyway, great sharing. I want to see Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. Have you seen it yet? Talk again soon.

Hi Michelle, Always happy to talk about books! Around my neighborhood are these little weather-proof glass-door kiosks where residents can leave books they're done with and pick up others that interest them. Yesterday I picked up "The September Society" by Charles Finch and I'm one chapter into it. It has many great blurbs on the front and back covers so I'm hopeful it will be a fun read. Some possible books that come to mind are: "House of Sand and Fog" It was turned into a movie that was excellent; the book is even better of course. "The Name of the Rose" Also a movie that wasn't so good but I've read it at least twice, I loved it so much. Unfortunately I've tried all of Umberto Eco's other books and was always disappointed. Some weeks ago I found a Seattle bookstore that's acclaimed for its mystery books. I went there to find "another" Name of the Rose. The owner told me that there is no other book as good as that one! "Girl With a Pearl Earring" Another movie! Excellent, excellent historical novel. "The Grapes of Wrath" and any other book by John Steinbeck. "Stranger in a Strange Land" is a very interesting sci-fi book and is where the word "grok" came from. "I Will Fear No Evil" - also by Heinlein has a trans character! "The Book Thief" was excellent. "The Eye of the Needle"... wow! "Flight of Passage" is a very fun autobiographical account of two NY boys who were the youngest to fly a plane from NY to California. Very fun read. "Rocket Boys" (aka "October Sky") is a wonderful autobiography about a high school boy who earns his way out of a dreary coal mining existence into a professional career. "Soul of a New Machine" and any other book by Tracy Kidder. Gosh, I'd better stop now. If you don't find what you're looking for here, please send genres or titles of books you've enjoyed that I can use to offer other ideas. Edit 1: Okay, here's some more: "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown. Really helped me, as all of her books have. "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. You don't have to be an artist (but we all are) to enjoy her taking you by the hand. Doing your Morning Pages can be very cathartic. "The Road" Cormac McCarthy: very spooky and surreal view of the future. "Wild" and "Tiny Beautiful Things" by Cheryl Strayed. I'm a huge fan of her, including her podcasts. She is so wise and inspirational! Edit 2: Still more! "Lonesome Dove" What an amazing adventure. "Atlas Shrugged" "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" "Man's Search for Meaning" Viktor Frankl: a must-read "The Hunt for Red October" "Red Storm Rising"

Thanks, Emma, We are on the same page.​ Please let me know what you are currently reading. I've gotten to be a news junkie, but I need some good literature as well.

Chat has never really appealed to me, I must say. I like these “conversations” more. In the chat rooms I feel compelled to rapidly respond. Here, though, I can be a bit more thoughtful and long winded! So yes, let’s dive into deeper subjects! As for AFLAC, hey, you won your first deal! Good for you. The next will have challenges, sure, but you’re learning and making real progress, loading your funnel, and moving them toward closure. You go, girl! Emma

Thanks, Emma. It seems that the people who buy our products are especially nice themselves and care about their employees.I will be happy to have them as clients. It looks like Thursday is the big day as we are lined up to open four accounts. So far, so good.

Me too, MichelleLea, happy birthday. So, you were born in ‘42? What a time to grow up. I suppose you don’t have any memories of WW2 people coming home and resettling. But then there was the Korean War, and Vietnam, of course. That’s a lot of wars, too many. I was born in ‘56 and I well remember Vietnam, with Walter Cronkite reporting each night. I just missed being drafted which was quite fortunate of course. So much has changed mostly for the better since then, especially as regards being transgender. I surreptitiously read everything I happened across, mostly about Christine Jorgensen. But also about transvestites, which always sounded like some kind of nasty thing, like a parasite. Ah well, better late than never. I’m glad you found us, and enjoy yourself in the chat room. It does feel so great to just be yourself, doesn’t it. Good luck this week. Yours is an especially tough sales job. Not only cold calling and all that but also selling a solution to a need that most would prefer to ignore or procrastinate. So much of the job is about selling yourself, bonding and connecting with people so they trust and want to do business with you. It takes a special talent and kind of person and I feel you’re going to do very well. Emma

Happy belated birthday​ MichelleLea! ​​

I find your attitude so refreshing and remarkable. You’re a great example to all of us. I’ll bet your managers love you! And, like Lori, I continue to learn, always. I’m 61 and taught myself how to create and publish iOS apps a couple of years ago. Too bad I missed the Gold Rush!

I consider myself a life-long learner. I often find myself in classes with much younger people. I enjoy learning new things and being around a variety of people, and all ages.

Thanks for all your comments. I love getting your feedback.

Hi Chrissy, Thanks as usual for your comments and suggestions. You're right about moods fluctuating. I go from being so not-in-the-mood to being so-in-the-mood. All depends. I suppose we learn to take it in stride.

Michelle, I think it's to be expected that your interest in the chat room - and in other areas - will fluctuate depending on where you are in your own journey, or even how you feel that day. Earlier this week I went to a bar (gay bar) that I hadn't been to since July. I went because a drag queen who I love so much was back, with a show again. She was the one who used to let me guest perform pretty much whenever I wanted which helped SO much in my "transition." I loved seeing her again, but at the same time felt like being there wasn't right for me anymore. As a member of the trans support group I facilitate said yesterday, even good change is an adjustment and can be difficult. I may have gone away from responding to your point ☺ Xoxo Chrissy

I agree completely with Lori. I am thinking the same way as well. It’s perfectly okay to lounge about as you wish and to “go no further” with anything let alone transition. Whatever works for you is all that matters. You do have an excellent attitude and work ethic. As you said keep trying new approaches and have fun with it. Be upbeat, friendly and professional, and the customers will come.

It sounds like you've figured out where you fit in the transgender continuum. It is a difficult thing to come to terms with for many trans people. It was for me. Wishing you the best of luck with ​the business, and with life in general.

"I do enjoy good company, but it's hard to fine people with interests similar to mine, or maybe interesting people period." I well understand. I like a line in the Holstee Manifesto, which hangs on my wall: "If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love." I'm a very fortunate beneficiary of this thinking. I never met a romantic partner when I was looking. It was always when I least expected it. And recently I've actually made a couple of wonderful new friends - a complete surprise. I'm so grateful. Go out and so stuff, whatever you like to do. And be open, fun, and sweet. Honey attracts bees!

Hey there, nice post and photo! The photo is upside down of course so I had to carefully turn my iPad so I could view the image without it spinning back around! I had this same problem the other day when I wrote about my new license plate. Eventually I learned that one has to flip the image upside down and save it that way. Use that file for your post and... voila! The photo is presented correctly. Good luck with the storm, Emma

I was going to say, I know I work much harder now than I did in my 20s :-) Because I actually care about what I'm doing

Emma, darling, I think we both could outwork 20-somethings. LOL

"De-AFLAC" sounds like a great idea. I was also considering what I should do tomorrow. I'm retired and have so much to do in my fixer-upper house, I could definitely work all day tomorrow. We all need to decompress and that's what I plan to do. Maybe spend the day in my nightgown and pink fluffy robe, reading a little, napping, and just downshifting. Monday comes soon enough! I do think it's important to keep track of little things you can do and/or look forward to during the week or anytime. For example I plan to stop by a nearby Vietnamese restaurant on the way home late Monday afternoon to buy a take-out order of their vegetarian appetizer rolls. For $3.85 they are a delicious, nutritious and cheap meal that I'll enjoy that evening for dinner. "It's the little things." Emma

Almost 75? I would have guessed you to be in your 50s, maybe early 60s. You have the drive of a 20-something!

So much training is hard to absorb in such a short time. I hope you have plenty of time and experiences in between so the training has relevance for you.