Sharin' Sharon

I met Sharon Rose way back in March.  Actually, I re-met her ~ we were at a clothing swap together a while back but neither remembered the other.  I guess the distraction of clothes was too much.

As I mentioned, Sharon went to Keystone.  She was kind enough to write up her experiences and I have been trying to find a few days in a row to post them.

I give up.  There's always something.  So today will be the first of three Sharon Rose guest posts.  The second will probably be Monday, and the third will appear on Tuesday.  I'll link back to the other parts for ease of catching up.

Sharon, I'm sorry.  I haven't been keeping up with e-mail and I haven't posted this ~ but I have not forgotten.

I enjoyed Sharon's notes and I am posting without editing.  Thank you, Sharon, for taking the time to do this!  And, as I mentioned, I am so jealous!

Hi, I'm Sharon Rose.  Meg has graciously invited me to guest blog about my experiences at the 2012 Keystone Conference.

First, a little about myself.  I live in Northern Virginia.  I am married and have two young children.  I am what you would call a crossdresser.  I prefer to refer to myself as transgender.  I'll explain more about that later. My wife is aware that I sometimes present as female.  I told her about this while we were still dating, and she has been supportive of this aspect of my life.  She has attended support group meetings with me, and she accepts that I need to go out occasionally "en femme".  For that, I consider myself very lucky.  Our children don't know about this, and my wife usually takes them out of the house for a couple of hours when I need to dress up at home before going out.

This was my fourth year attending the Keystone Conference in Harrisburg, which is organized by Transcentral PA, the Transgender Education Association of Central Pennsylvania.

I left my home very early Thursday morning.  I awoke at 5 a.m. and quickly showered, dressed, and put on my makeup before packing my last few items and hitting the road.  I managed to leave before my children woke up.  Sometimes they wake up early, but luckily they didn't this time.

Admit it.  She looks FANTASTIC.

Once on the road, an incredible feeling of peace came over me.  I would be spending three full days as a woman.  I intended to make the most of my time.  I had high hopes for the conference.  I was looking forward to renewing acquaintances, to attending some new seminars, and to just having fun and going at a comfortable, stress-free pace. I was smartly dressed in a beige sweater and a long brown/black skirt and brown boots.  I have included a photo. 

I arrived in time for a seminar titled:  Voice Power Workshop for Women, which was given by Lynn Skinner, a professional voice coach.  As you know, speaking with a female voice is important when you are presenting as a female.  I like getting "ma'amed"  when I am dressed as a woman, and I try my best to speak in a female voice.

Lynn taught us some breathing techniques, how to project your voice without forcing it, and how to speak in a female pitch.  She also explained how resonance, posture, and articulation are all important when speaking in a female voice.  I realized this would be hard work, but resolved to practice some of the techniques she taught us and to do my best in the future.

I attended some other interesting seminars on Thursday, one on Transgender Persons Throughout History and one on Writing Transgender Fiction.

At the luncheon I learned that over 450 people had registered to attend some part of the conference, an increase of 100 or more over last year.  It was nice to see so many familiar faces from past years, as well as several of us from the DC Metro area. 

Thursday evening I went on an excursion to the Hollywood Casino and Penn National Track.  I had a wonderful dinner along with 10 other ladies at the Final Cut Steakhouse.  My dining companions wished me a happy birthday at dessert, and then I played the slots for a while.  Other patrons at the casino noticed us, but we were not hassled in any way.  Some of us struck up a conversation with some GG's in the women's bathroom.  The casino and restaurant staff were friendly, and I chatted with some of them briefly

Back at the hotel, several of us went to the lounge for socializing, drinking, and karaoke.  I sang "Waiting for a Girl Like You" by Foreigner.  I tried singing the whole song in my female voice, but midway through I could not hold it and had to revert to a male pitch.  That was awkward, but at least I gave it the old college try.

The first day was a nice warmup.  But even more interesting events were to come on Friday...

---