I'll start with the most recent news and move backwards. So...today I spent most of the day recovering from surgery. Though, I did go out and shop with my mom and dad. I managed to get some presents for people while out. I'm pretty happy with what I found too. I hope Chris and my little sister like them. I also went clothes shopping with mom. We got some new, cute things for me since I've been in great need of clothing. It was fun and I even ran into a high school friend. That was cool.

Yesterday I spent mostly resting. Well, that is...after I got home from the Hospital. My dad and I left home at about 4:00 am so we would get to the hospital in time. I had to be there by 6:00. During the drive, we talked a lot. I figured I'd just fall asleep, but that didn't happen. It was a great Father - Daughter bonding moment. I liked it. When we got there, it went really smoothly. That was a surprise.

I checked in, and almost immediately I got called in for prep. They did the few tests they had to, and got the IV ready. At 7:30 I was put under and the surgery began. A few hours later I woke up. While I was still dizzy and groggy, they had me get dressed and walk out to meet with my surgeon so he could tell me how it went. He said "The surgery went well...no, scratch that. It went, very well. He then went to ask me some other questions, but I was so dizzy from the anesthesia that I couldn't really hear him. When he finished talking to me, I was pretty much sent on my way. My dad and I hopped in the car and headed home. This time I slept the whole way home.

I had the area on ice the whole day. The hospital had given me a nice reusable ice pack that worked very well. I had to crab walk when the ice was there and I had to get anything though. It looked like I was wearing a diaper. The pain was pretty minimal, and has been diminishing with time. I'm bleeding a little bit, but not compared to last time at all. Right now, the whole area is swollen and there are some bruises. My surgeon also said I can't have sex for six weeks. Darn, and you know...I had been planning it with my significant other that doesn't exist for a while. Looks like I'll just have to cancel. ;) But anyway, the whole thing went off without a hitch. I couldn't have asked for it to have gone better.

Jumping backwards here, Tuesday was GenderPAC day. I spent at least a month and a half planning this event with the commission of student senate I'm a part of. I've had this crazy idea of making my college a part of the Gender Youth network of GenderPAC. This required a training session on campus. That means we had to get money to fly someone from the organization here. I ended up having to present a bill to senate to get the money. It was a unanimous vote in favor. I was so proud.

So, when the training session happened, I figured there would be a bunch of people from senate there since they had talked it up at the general assembly. I was wrong. There were at most 15 people there. Now, there are good and bad sides to that. Bad...because there are 10,000 people on campus and we only got 15 of them to come. Good...because it was very condusive to discussion. It still went off well and the people who came were impressed and excited to see where this all was going. I, again, was proud. I hope the new coalition works out well.

Continued on extended section...

Moving back to last weekend, I came home to my parents house and brought my best college friend, Chris, with me. We had a good time. He got to meet one of my other best friends from college, Seth. Saturday Chris got to meet my family and even an uncle I rarely ever see. That was cool. After that, Chris and I had to go to his hometown to get fitted for a tux. He's standing up in a friend's wedding. While in that town, we met with some of his friends.

While we were visiting the bar he bartends for when he's home, they were preparing for a big drag show. One queen walked in bitching about how hard it is to be a woman. He then said something to the effect of "Women have no idea how hard it is. It takes a man to know how it is to be a real woman." He then turned to me and said "No offense" of which I responded with "None Taken" and smirked. The other queens in the room already knew and they were just laughing. It was a great moment.

Sunday I drove my sister to her school, and Chris and I went back to our school. When we got back, I had to go to several meetings at the TV station, then go chalk the campus mall. I ran into Chris later only to find out that I missed seeing the Northern Lights. That kinda bothered me. I never get to see them. I walked home, never looked up. After I got home, I went inside and started getting unpacked. I took the garbage out and just happened to see a cloud out of the corner of my eye. I looked up to discover it was a moving cloud. The northern lights were still going on. They were very active too. I'd never seen them dance like that. There were blues and greens. It was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. I stood outside for a half hour just in awe at the sky. What a way to end a weekend.

On a completely unrelated note, I've been somewhat promoted at work. I now am in charge of the helpdesk website. I get an underling too. This should be fun. I get to learn new stuff along the way. On top of that, I've been put on the Mac team. I don't know a lot about Macintosh, but I'm more than happy to learn. This will all refect well on my raise at the end of the semester. I will likely and hopefully be making over $7 an hour, which is pretty good for a campus job.

This coming week will be pretty damn busy again. I have a take home exam to turn in, a speech to write, a two hour program to shoot and have edited by Thursday, be prepared to give another program on Thursday afternoon, and then again next weekend at a conference. After that, I will finally have a break for Thanksgiving weekend. That will be nice.

Ok, I think it's time for me to either A: go get some ice cream, or B: go to bed. I haven't decided yet. I have, however, decided that this post is entirely too long. So, to make a long story short...the end.

Luv,

Jess

I know...It's cheesy, but what can I say? I think it sounds like some sort of superhero powerup. Anyway, Sorry I haven't written lately. It's been a couple really full weeks. I will have time this weekend though. As for right now...I have about four hours before I have to get up. Labiaplasty is tomorrow morning. Wish me luck. I'll tell you all about it soon. G'night.

Luv,

Jess

I am so mad right now. I haven't been this angry in a long time. The hour long program "Livin on the Edge" is airing as I write this. It had the potential to be really great. But...no, it's not. Due to our piece of shit editor, all of the work that three of my staff members did was thrown out the window. There were biography sections on each of the three main presidential candidates. They consisted of an audio biography with images on screen. Yeah...so none of the images were outputted to the final tape. So, we're watching the show, and the bios came up, and I dropped my jaw. Fifteen minutes of blank screen with audio. I couldn't believe that happened. That's the most embarassing and humiliating thing that could have happened. I don't get it...there's no reason for it to have done that. It's never done that before, but of course for this project it did. Anyway, I should go and make sure that nothing worse happens...like say...the tape getting eaten midway through. That would really suck. See ya later.

Luv,

Pissy Jess

My favorite holiday....it was difficult this year. I have been talking about how I was going to be Wonder Woman for Halloween this year since sometime last year. I was excited about it and couldn't wait. Well, I wasn't expecting to be so busy during the month of October that I would have no time to sew. I didn't get to start my costume, aside from going out to get supplies, until last Thursday night. I sewed for several hours and got pretty far. I was proud of what I accomplished. However, I got the daunting feeling that I wasn't going to finish it in time.

I was right. Due to my production manager job at the TV studio, I couldn't touch the costume on Friday at all. So, Saturday was my last ditch effort. I worked on the costume for 7 hours solid. I got very far. I finished the bodysuit with one exception. I hadn't sewn the built in bra in yet. I had yet to make the belt, the tiara, the bracelets, the golden W that goes across the chest, and hadn't cut out any of the 20 some stars that had to go on the lower part. Needless to say, by 2:00 am on Sunday morning, I had a long way to go. I pretty much just gave up and went to bed.

Sunday I had to be at the TV studio most of the day to work on "Livin on the Edge", the hour long show that airs tonight. It was all the production department's job. So after my department edited their segments, I had to put the whole thing together so it had some cohesiveness. On top of that, one of my people didn't do their job. So I had to frantically put one segment together. It was a mad rush all day to get the project done. I finally finished it at 2:00 am last night.

Now, we have mandatory all staff meetings every Sunday night. And since this one was on Halloween, we decided to do a meeting in costumes and with candy. I of course couldn't wear my half finished costume, so I had to throw something else quickly together. Some black clothing, a couple red bandanas, a belt with a chain on it, some black boots, black eyeliner, my fencing sabre, and a cape I made five years ago all put together made me one sexy pirate. The belt worked perfectly because there was a metal loop the sabre could go through. It made the "Shhhhhhhink" sound when it was pulled out or put in. I liked it. I got a lot of compliments on the outfit too.

So it wasn't a total waste by any means, but it wasn't what I had hoped for. I didn't really get to enjoy the day at all. It was just a constant rush to get things done. I hope next year isn't as busy...though likely it will be.

Speaking of busy, I register for classes already tomorrow. How crazy is that? It doesn't feel like it should be time to do that yet. I guess considering it's November already, it shouldn't be surprising.It just came so fast. I'm not prepared at all. That's my goal for tonight after the show airs. I have some of the classes I need selected. I just don't have all of them. It shouldn't take me long to settle on a plan though. Then I can set my work hours too. I think I'll get whatever I want. I'm one of the first people to register since I'm a super-senior.

Anyway, that was my exciting...or lack thereof...weekend. I hope yours was better. I have to go now and eat something. I havent' had a meal all day, and it's dinner time. Bye. :)

Luv,

Jess

If you're looking for a quick emotional boost, try getting 30 some Thank You notes from the class you gave a lecture to a week ago. I was informed via e-mail from the professor that I had a package to pick up from her today. When I had a few minutes free, I went and picked it up. I sat down in my gender studies class and started reading through them. I was getting teary eyed at one point because of what people were writing. Many of them were happy that I opened their eyes and shared my story with them. I felt so proud. It just makes all the hard work I've been struggling through this semester totally worth it. Out of all the 30 some, there was only one moderately negative one. I know I can't reach everyone, but at least I try. The whole thing was wonderful though. What a great way to put a smile on someone's face.

Luv,

Jess