Sharon and Cynthia ~ We're Having a Party!

It's another day and I still don't know what to write when I meet someone.

It's A Trick!

Cynthia is tall, slim, pretty.  Her current situation is sad but typical.  We were at her new apartment because she's currently separated from her wife and two young children.

(Honest, Cynthia is as much taller than me as I am taller than Sharon.  It's just the camera angle.  I don't know why, but I didn't take more pictures.  I should have.  Next time, I shall.)

Cynthia had spoken to some women about coming over for a little housewarming and then opened that invitation to a local meetup group.  Sharon knows Cynthia, and said she'd come with a couple of friends (I was one).

BUT the other woman we spoke to (who also knows Sharon ~ I think she knows everyone) couldn't make it.  I certainly understand.  It takes that perfect storm to get me out of the house dressed, and it happens too rarely.

When we arrived at Cynthia's we were late (but not terribly late).  Cynthia was dressed to party.  Sharon brought in a dress to change into.  I had a different dress in my car, and if there was a group I probably would have changed.

But the other women all begged out for one reason or another.  So the party was Cynthia, Sharon, me, music, and some wine.

I felt bad that the party wound up being a little gabfest, but it meant I got to know Cynthia and Sharon better.

I planned on staying an hour.  Again, it was just hard to leave.  Sharon is fun, and Cynthia is fascinating.

So far, I'm proud to say I never met a t-girl I didn't like.  We all have different stories, different pasts, different preferences, and a common bond that's stronger than blood.  Cynthia, Sharon, Vanessa, Dorothy, Erin, Joannie, and the other girls I've left out ~ I have enjoyed every minute of our time together!  And SOMEDAY I will meet Diane, up in New York!

And I think we have a project: Sharon wanted to meet at a mainstream place.  We're alike there.

Cynthia hasn't been out yet, except with t-groups.

She needs to get out!  No doubt.  I think she's ready for that big step, and I think she'd love it.  She's very outgoing and I think she'd be outstanding at helping civilians see that we're pretty much normal people.

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Sharon and Cynthia ~ Dinner

I never know what to write when I meet someone.  Someday, I'll meet someone and think, "why did I ever agree to meet her?  That was a mistake!"  But all of the girls I've met as Meg have been wonderful.  Sharon kept my streak alive.  And Cynthia didn't disappoint; I'll come to her soon.

I'll start by saying I am SO jealous of Sharon.  She's 5 foot 2 ~ she gets to shop in the 'petite' department.  She has a reasonable shoe size.  I think she said 8-1/2.  I admit, if my foot was smaller I'd have less money and less closet space because there are so many shoes I could not resist.  More than once, I've been in a store like The Shoe Dept and been thankful I didn't wear just one size smaller because I'd break the bank.

And she's pretty and passable and has a supportive wife.

AND she went up to Keystone last week: four days as Sharon.  Wow.  Just... Wow.  Maybe I can get her to write a little recap.

As we chatted over a Thai dinner, we discovered we had met once before, at Kim's private tg clothing swap.

We met around 7:30 and Cynthia's house party was to start at 7.  I wrote in advance to introduce myself and say we'd probably be there around 8:30.  We were way late and, Cynthia, I'm sorry we were so late but we were having a nice conversation and enjoying good food and, well, you know how girls can be.

We finally got the cheque, asked the waitress to take a couple of pictures (one is above), and headed to our respective parking lots and drove to Cynthia's.

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Sharon and Cynthia ~ Getting Ready

I thought I had everything planned so I could meet Sharon around 7:30 at a Thai restaurant about 20 minutes from my house, at the Reston Town Centre.  If the family left by 3:30 that would leave me until, say, 5pm to get ready.  I wanted to stop by the mall for a manicure and expected to get to the mall around 5:30.  I figured my nails would take an hour.  That would mean a bit of shopping time (I did want to at least buy the hostess a gift).  And there's a new shop in the mall called "Intimacy" or something like that.  I wanted to check it out dressed.  I didn't know when I'd get that opportunity again.

I had asked Sharon to call me when she left her house so we could meet without either of us waiting for too long.  Reston Town Centre, where we met, is very crowded on a Friday night.  There are a lot of popular restaurants and a movie theatre there and plenty of parking.  And it's all outdoors so it's popular when the weather's fine ~ and it was perfect that night.

I showered, shaved everywhere, and finished with my moisturiser.  I started pulling out all of my Meg stuff, starting with my drag bag.  That's a bag where I keep my Meg essentials.  It makes packing much easier, although I still end up missing one essential item and ripping the closet apart looking for it.  Every time, I think.

I came across a corset that a special friend had bought for me.  I hadn't had a chance to play with it yet, even though it was in the closet since January.  Since I had so much extra time, I pulled it out. 

It's purple, it has laces on the back and five heavy duty clasps on the front and two ribbons at the top to tie behind your neck.  It does not cover the bust.

I took a deep breath and tried to close it from the bottom up, as I was told to do. 

Not even close.

I loosened the laces and tried again.

Close, but no corset.

I loosened the laces and tried again.

It was really tight, but I could close it.  I know the right way is to close the clasps and then tighten the laces but that's a two-woman job.

I had never worn a corset before, and it definitely felt constricting and different.  And interesting.  I'll try it further when I can.  I did take a couple of pictures which you will NOT see in this blog!

By the time I was done, a half-hour had passed and I was starting to feel that maybe I didn't have as much time as I thought.

I finished putting on my undergarments and tried on two new dresses.  One I didn't like as much as I thought I would; one was nice but a bit heavy.  I wore the one you all thought was best for my last trip to Tucson (when I didn't get out at all).

I then went to the makeup and started the routine: face, eyes, cheeks, lips.  Dress, jewelry, hair, shoes.  I was ready to go, a bit later than I wanted to go.  It was close to 6, but I thought I could still make it without a problem and I could get my nails done as well.

I did skip the "before going out" pictures though.

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