She Thinks I'm Joking

Prior to my wedding, I wanted to do my best to get all of the hair off my body.  I planned to wear tights and it's easy enough to shave my legs so I thought I would do them the night before.  My back and arms/shoulders are more difficult to clean up.  So I went back to my old salon lady.

I haven't seen her in a couple of years.  She has done my back and brows and maybe my arms before.  She knows about Meg ~ it's hard to get your brows done properly unless it's clear you want them girly, not just neatened.  She's seen photos as well.

She did my arms and back, as requested, and I had a not incredibly painful experience.  I also asked her to do my brows as long as I was there.  I reconsidered having her do my legs but didn't feel comfortable taking off my pants in the (closed room of the) salon, so I stuck with my do-it-myself plan.

For the dress I planned to wear, I didn't need to have my back done, but I like the feel of a hairless body.  Doesn't everyone?

After we were done, I was chatting with the receptionist/cashier while I paid.  I asked if they still used envelops for tips, and my waxy lady showed up and the cashier said "or you could just take care of her now."

The technician turned to the receptionist and said "he's getting married in a few days" and I said to her, "I have a dress picked out and everything."  The cashier smiled and, being funny, said "do you have a nice pair of heels too?"  I looked at my waxy lady and pointed at the cashier and said "she thinks I'm joking" and I turned and left.

As I left I heard her say "no, he's really going to wear a dress for his wedding" but not more of the conversation.

I did want to run down the mall so I could get my haircut as well ~ it was getting a bit long and I like my hair short under my wig.

After the haircut, I wandered around the mall, looking for a couple of things and found myself back near the nail salon.  The same woman was behind the register so I pulled a couple of Meg photos up on my phone and walked in and said "hi.  Remember me?"  She did and I said "I know you didn't believe me" and pulled up a photo for her.  My technician came over and wanted to see the pictures too, so I shared a couple and promised to return with pictures from the ceremony next time I was in the mall.

Up In Arms

Again a week ago, I did a serious upper-body wax and shave.  Arms and underarms were wiped clean, back was stripped using a Veet wax (which worked pretty well), brows were trimmed and waxed using a Sally Hansen facial wax, which also worked pretty well.

The Veet was something I had not seen before: wax between strips.  You held it between your hands to warm it, then separated it into two waxed strips, and applied it gently to your body.  They you yank it off, whilst screaming.

The Sally Hansen wax needed to be heated in the microwave and had no cloth strips.  You heated the wax until it was only slightly warmer than molten lava, then you applied it to the area you want to clear cut.  Finally, you wait a moment until the hair stops smoking and, again, yank the wax off, whilst screaming.

I still won't wax my chest.  That seems fairly painful and even though chest hair seems to grow an

inch an hour, it's not worth it.  My waxylady kept suggesting I let her do my chest and I told her my belief that it would be painful.  She nodded solemnly and said she'd seen tears on the faces of "tough guys with tattoos" while waxing their chests.  (I also asked her what she liked best of all of the things she did at the salon and she said "waxing."  I said "you just like to cause pain" and I was rewarded with that solemn nod again.)

I like the way my body feels and looks when hairless.  I wish it wasn't so much work, and I wish that it lasted longer.  But I had a reason for serious shaving/waxing.

I spent a few days in a beach area, and that meant Meg would be wearing beach attire for the first time.

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Not Waxing That. Nope. No Way. Not Gonna Do It.

A week ago, in preparation for an extended Meg time, I shaved my legs.  I shaved every hair I could see while wearing panties and then moved them aside and shaved a bit more.

I tried something some of you have done, but many have not: I wore a swimsuit.

Often, it's hard to find the right article of women's clothing to wear, usually because they want to

This is the one I bought.

show something I don't really have to show (cleavage), or don't really want to show (bra straps, tummy), or I have to shave too much to show (backless gowns).

Swimsuits are difficult because I have to find one that will both hide my forms and keep them in place.  There are suits with molded bras which hold their shape even if empty, but sometimes the cups collapse if you move in unexpected ways.  That's kind of embarrassing.

After trying to keep my forms covered in different styles unsuccessfully, I turned to mastectomy suits.  These are more expensive, which sucks for women who need them.  In reality, they are just suits with a higher front (not an uncommon style) and a little piece of fabric with a pocket for a form.  I guess they charge more because they can.

I ordered the suit shown here from SwimOutlet.com.  It arrived pretty quickly and looked better in person than on their website.

The suit I ordered has a small "skirt" front and fits quite well.  It's not the suit that would attract my eye if I was on the beach, but it would serve its purpose.  And nice as it is to be noticed, I don't really want to attract eyes.  Or so I say.

I put in my "overnight" forms, which are more firm than the ones I usually wear and I think it looked OK.... once I did that excessive shaving bit.  But I like the way my regular clothes feel over shaved legs, and now that feeling went all the way UP.  It was worth the extra time.

But there are limits to what I'm going to wax!

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Two Bits? I Wish!

For the record, I'm old enough to  know it, but not old enough to remember it.  My "shave [wax] and a haircut" cost almost 500 bits!  Extra bonus points to anyone who knows why twelve and a half cents is a "bit." :)

Yesterday, I skipped out on work early.  It's OK; I had to put in a ten hour day on Tuesday.

Before I go out as Meg I try to get my hair in order.  I got a haircut, I had the back of my neck waxed, and I had my eyebrows waxed.  My waxlady was very thorough.  She went somewhat further than just my neck, remembering that last time I said I might want to wear something sleeveless and if she could take care of what would be uncovered, I'd be grateful.  She went partway down my back, so maybe I can wear something with a lower back.  Usually I look for high backs.  I looked in a mirror when I got home.  With a camisole only my neck and upper back looks clear.  She didn't do the back of my shoulders, so I need to nair/shave that but it's worth a try.  I'll be sure to bring something sleeveless to Arizona.

I always have a nice chat with my waxlady.  She was surprised I didn't bring pictures of my latest outing, but I told her about the swap and Vanessa.  She assumed I was getting ready for Halloween; I told her I had no place to go, but I'd be away on business and meeting some girlfriends (I hope).  I told her that it takes me a couple of hours to "transform" but this is really the start of the process.

I asked her to do my brows "just a bit" more than last time.  I think they look good, but for fun I asked the haircutlady if she thought my brows were "trimmed too much."  She said they look a bit too curved.  I said "well, if I go out as a girl for Halloween, I'll be set."  She laughed.  I would tell her, but one of her coworkers is someone I know quite well.  I also know her kids and her husband.  My wife barely knows her but they have many mutual friends.  So that won't happen.

I have not shaved or otherwise de-haired my arms, hands, legs, feet, chest in a few weeks now.  I don't like the look but because Meg won't be out until the end of the week, I plan to take care of the pre-processing while I'm there.

I don't want to change my clock to Arizona time so it'll be early to bed and early to rise for me.  The office opens early and most people are done by 3 anyway.  I don't like getting an early dinner.  I feel old getting dinner at 4.  I just need to remind myself it's really 7 by my clock.  I plan to be in bed by 8 or 9 local, and up by 4 or so.  This means I'll do most of the things I usually do in the evening, in the early morning hours.  But I do plan to remove hair each evening.  I haven't decided how yet; I'll probably pick up a bottle or two of Nair in Arizona and stink up the room each evening.  Does anyone know a better hair removal chemical?  I'm open to suggestions.

And if i do a good, thorough job I may brave the world in a sleeveless or nearly so top so I can show off our handiwork.

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It's Me Day!

Monday, I left work a bit early.  I'll make up the time later in the week.  I had an appointment at 1:30.

My appointment was at the nail salon I've been going to for a bit.  It used to be right next to my office, but now that I moved it's about a 15 mile trip.

It's in a mall and I was early so I looked around at a few shops before going in.  My currently-favourite manicurist, C, was ready for me.  She started by asking what I had for her.  I pulled out pictures of my latest trips out (Richmond, Arizona, Dallas, Colorado ~ all out-of-my-room shots).

She once again thinned (just a bit!) and shaped my brows, and waxed the back of my neck.  She went above-and-beyond and cleaned up my shoulders and went down my back a bit "just in case" I wear something with a lower back.

She also gave me a manicure ~ no polish, just buffing.

I then went over to get my haircut and was surprised that the stylist was wearing a very stylish dress.  I've never seen her in anything but slacks before.  I really wanted to ask her where she bought it, but I did not.  I also would have been happy to show her my pictures, but I didn't do that either.

On the way home, I went past this giant thrift shop not far from my house.  I haven't been in there in a long time so I thought I'd take a little look.  I could have spent hours in there, but I focussed on dresses only.  I saw some nice dresses, but they were all small or medium.  When I found the larges, well, they weren't at all to my liking.

My original plan was to hit the bargain shops (Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Dress Barn and the like) later in the week.  I forgot that I have to leave early on Friday as well, to go to the 4-H fair and help my son.  I'm thinking that whatever I have is what I'll be wearing next week.  I still haven't picked anything out for the swap.

I'll figure something out, I'm sure.  Maybe one of the outfits I took to Arizona.

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Progress

I had breakfast at the little restaurant across the street.  Many of the clientele wore army fatigues.  I was there early, and Meg would be there later, if she decided to eat there.  Two of my classmates are staying at this hotel.  I'll try to find out what their weekend plans are without getting invited along.  I just want to avoid them.  I may have to give up Sunday and join one or more, to be sociable.  As I've said, I'm not sure if "sociable" or "Meg things" are further outside my comfort zone.

I skipped lunch to meet my new teams.  I was hoping to get out by 4 so I could grab some fast food (ugh) before my waxing appointment at 5.  I didn't.

I originally went to a different salon that sounded promising.  No appointments Tue or Thu, and they closed early on Wed.  Plus we planned to have dinner as a group Wed, so that wouldn't work anyway.  The friendly woman suggested Friday, but that wouldn't work.  I went to my second choice salon.

A young woman told me there were no appointments for that day, but she had some for Wed or Thursday at 5.  I asked if the waxer had experience with eyebrows and she said "ten years."  I opted for Thursday, at 5 with Liz.

People dropped out of the Wednesday dinner, so I dropped by the salon where an older (as in, older than me) woman said there was nothing available that evening so I stayed with what I had.

The older woman, I discovered when I arrived, was Liz.  She led me to the wax room and left while I removed my shirt and pants and wrapped a towel around my waist.

She was friendly and chatty.  She must have noticed my panties as she tucked the towel over the waistband to keep them wax free, but said nothing.  She said I had to sit up so she could do my shoulders and I told her I wanted to be able to wear a sleeveless top without hair showing.  She said "I understand."  I was tempted to ask if she really did, and explain if she didn't.  I didn't ~ it didn't seem necessary.  She could also see that my chest was shaved down to about my nipples ~ no comment on that either.

I know she couldn't go up to my hairline.  It's ragged in the back and the only way to make a smooth line would be with a razor.  So I tried to fix the back myself but I'm not that worried about it.  My wig will cover any sins.

When she was ready to do my brows she asked if I wanted to "follow the line" and I said I wanted a slight arch.  She said "like now.  They're arched.  I can follow the arch."  She did.  She asked if I wanted them trimmed and I said "whatever you think they need."  My wife will not like this.  I do ~ it will make the weekend easier.

Shaving my arms has not worked as well as hoped.  I gave myself some serious razor burn on the underside of my upper arms the other day.  It looks better today, but not great.  I'm still learning where the most sensitive skin is, and how to avoid it.  I know the inside of my elbows and backs of my knees are very sensitive.  I barely touch the skin with a razor there, to avoid burn.  I know my underarms are, but I didn't realise it extended down my arm so far!  Boy sleeves cover it; girl sleeves will not.

My evening was spent in my mules, and I tried to put all of my clothes, accessories, and makeup ready for tomorrow evening.  I noticed I brought way too much makeup.  I mean, for starters, do I need four mascaras?  Absolutely not!

The salon closes at 6, so I can't have my nails done there.  There's always the mall.

I keep going back and forth between skirt and dress for Friday evening.  I'm concerned that the nail lady will feel like I'm trying to flash her if she's giving me a pedicure and I have a short dress on.

I just realised I've never had a pedicure as Meg.  I think this will be my third.  I will deny ever having had one to the nail lady, of course.

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Four Options

I'd like to wear something sleeveless.  I have some sheath dresses that I've only worn in the house, and there are lots of light, pretty, sundresses in the stores.

This means I'm going to remove more hair than I have in the past.

The biggest problem is Places I Cannot See.  It's hard to see parts of the underside of your own arm, your back and the back of your neck.  I state the obvious.  Legs are easier.

I'm going to have to not only make sure my legs and arms are hairless, but I have to make sure my arms are COMPLETELY hairless, right up to and behind my shoulders, plus underarms.  My neck and upper back (at least) must be hairless.  My chest doesn't need to be shaved more than usual, although I might go further; I haven't decided yet.  I might just get carried away and keep on shaving.  I have some tapes for breast forms and I'm thinking about attaching them for the weekend.  I'm not sure how that works with sleeping, and I'm not sure how to remove them.  And I'm not sure if I'll do that at all, although it would be an interesting experience to not wear a bra, if I don't want to.

I see four options to hair removal.  I'm not sure how many I'll use, or for what areas yet.  I'm thinking about it, and I'm open to suggestions from my readers.

Remember, I have a few days to get ready and touch-up since I'll be in Arizona for three nights before my planned first trip out.

1. shaving.  My electric shaver works quite well, and I'll probably bring a hand razor as well.  That's probably the best combination for chest.

2. epilation.  I did try this again, on my arms.  It doesn't seem to get everything, it is incredibly itchy, it hurts but not unbearably.  I doubt I can use it on places I cannot see.  I'd like to try it again on my legs, to see how it does.  I can follow up with one of the other options if it doesn't work well.

3. waxing.  I have had my brows, back, and arms waxed at different times.  I'm considering some body waxing.  It's the most expensive option though, and I've had very thorough wax jobs and sloppy ones.  I'll be trying someone new.

4. dipilitation.  There's always Nair, but that's also tricky for areas I can't see or reach easily.  I've also had problems where areas redden and stay red for way too long (upper chest).

I do need to plan and decide NOW.  For three of the four, I need to leave some growth or they won't work and shaving is it by default.  Since I had to not shave in preparation for last weekend, I think my body hair is long enough for any of the options right now.  But if shaving is "it," I should be shaving already to make it easier.

I have not made a decision about my brows yet.  I haven't been cleaning them up, and that worries me a bit.  I don't want a stranger to work on them.  I've had one bad experience (where she worked hard to create boybrows and it looked awful) and the potential for going too far is always present.  Maybe if I explain what I want to do and get my brows waxed Tuesday evening I'll be good.

I'm considering:
legs: try epilator; nair or shave if it's not effective.
arms: if epilating legs work, try that.  If not, wax or nair, then shave to clean up
back and back of neck: wax.  Maybe I'll see if she'll do my shoulders as well
underarms: shave.  I think that's traditional. :)
chest: shave

Wow.  That's a lot of area to cover.  So to speak.

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Way Outside My Comfort Zone

I sent an e-mail yesterday.  I am committed.  I will be going way outside my comfort zone next week, in Arizona.  I don't know what day yet, but I'll do it.

This project has two requirements people, one documentation person, seven testers (I've met two), and nine developers.

They all kind of work for me.

I'm not a manager, I'm a dotted line under the manager ~ where you often see the administrative assistant, except I'm not.  I have the lofty title of "Chief Engineer."  Near as I can tell, my job is to push the engines to warp 9 when they're only made to go warp 8.5 and I have to tell the captain they're going to blow in a bad Scottish accent.

So I wrote these seventeen strangers and said "hi.  I want to meet you all when I'm in Arizona."

I'll meet with them as a group and individually.

Friday after work in Sierra Vista, I hope to get dressed, and get a manicure and pedicure.  Saturday and Sunday, I hope to shop and do touristy things, as Meg.   If I do, I'll be out and forced to do things I haven't had the nerve to do yet, such as eat out and use the ladies'.   I hope to get to Tucson and meet a couple of t-women there.   I have been too busy to write back, but I hope to make some time to meet them.

I'm more nervous about meeting my peeps.

Perhaps my comfort zone hasn't expanded... just moved.

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I Made Some Time

I did get my eyebrows waxed ahead of my trip to Dallas.

I left work around midday yesterday.  This has nothing to do with my impending departure from the company.  It does have to do with my impending departure for Dallas.

Prior to a trip, I have to understand the customer's system and the product I'll be configuring.  I have to make air, car, hotel reservations.  I need to arrange when and where to meet the customer.

At home, I generally have to do laundry and pack for the trip.

With my weekend being largely devoted to TSA, I realised I didn't really have time to launder and pack.  So after ensuring I've put in at least my normal 40, I left early.

Passing the mall, I decided to take a chance and see if one of the women who had done my brows previously were available.  V, who had done that and my manicures was not.  The woman who did it last time, when V was on holiday, was.  She was the one I went to afterwards and told about Meg.

She did an, um, enthusiastic, job.  At first glance, I thought she went too far, but my brows passed the big test: my wife.

One deciding factor was it was Thursday.  My wife works until 9 or later on Thursday, so any redness would be gone by then.  She always comments on my brows but not this time.  There was no clue.

I might try to keep my brows like this, and next time let her give them a bit more arch.  By the time I'm 90, I'll have a nice, feminine brow. :)

I packed a dress and a blouse and a couple of skirts for Meg.

I may be off the air for the next few days.  I'm going to wipe all of my browsing stuff off my computers before giving notice, although with a trip to Dallas imminent I think I'm safe from being booted out the door.

I'll be doing TSA after work and tomorrow and then catching up on some sleep that I won't get tonight.

I hope to write Sunday, but I have to get some things organised before my flight.  I get in late, with just enough time to unpack, get out my torture device and try to clean up my arms and/or legs, and shower.

With luck, next week will involve going out and posting photos.

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I Don't Think I Broke My Rule

Alas, Not Meg

But it feels a bit squishy.  And it's all because of a tiny hole.

Thursday, I had a pedicure and my eyebrows waxed.  My regular spalady was off, so I took whoever was free.  C turned out to be very nice.

I had planned to tell her the Meg story: I crossdress sometimes, I'll be going out in about ten days and I need some work done.

But I didn't know her, or know anything about her.  That worried me a bit.  I want to be sensitive to other peoples prejudices, no matter how unreasonable they are.  If someone says "ewww....  crossdressing" I won't talk about that with her.  In fact, I won't talk to her at all, the same if she said "ewww....  black people" or "ewww.... rednecks" or "eww...." anyone else.  I'm not without prejudices, but I beat them down in hopes of stomping them out.

C wanted to get started on the brows before doing the pedicure.  I needed to ensure that she knew I wanted slightly more feminine brows than most guys who get this done.

So I told C a bit of a story.

Keep in mind this was special circumstances.  I wanted her to be comfortable, and I wanted my brows right and I did NOT have much time.

A bit of a story.

I told her that V had cleaned and shaped my brows, because I was going to a Halloween event as a girl.  And now I was going to repeat at a Mardi Gras party.

She understood immediately what I wanted ~ something a bit fem, but something I could live with on not-party days.  She joked about how "your friends are going to be amazed at how far you went for this costume when they see what I did to your eyebrows!" while I couldn't see what she was doing.  I was nervous for a moment, but then I realised she was just teasing and was glad she felt comfortable enough that she could tease.

She asked if I wanted my toenails coloured ~ I said I was thinking about it, but wasn't sure.  She wanted to pick out a Mardi Gras colour ~ she suggested blue; when I said I was thinking red, she suggested purple as a more Mardi Gras colour.  We settled on a deep red.

She also suggested a "spa pedicure" which is the relaxing, feel-good pedicure ~ massage and lotions and one of those secrets that women don't want to share with us.  I considered how I was stressing myself out trying to keep the boys organised and my wife comfortable and went with it.  I also told her about my big toe with the ingrown nail and she said she'd take care of it.  She asked if it bothered me, and I said normally, no, but women's shoes are flatter and they'll press on the toe.  She looked at me sneakers and pointed out that I'd have trouble finding women's shoes in that size.  I said I wear a 9-1/2 W.  She said "in womens'..." and I said "11 W."  She looked surprised and I said "I've done my research."

This is why I hate stories: they smother the truth.  I had to parry questions, and that's why it didn't feel right.  She said "so you had a pedicure for Halloween and now you're having another."  I said "I had a manicure at Halloween."  She said "so this is your first pedicure."  Well, no.  I wrote about one previously.  But I said "I've never had one here before."  There were other things I had to sidestep.

She commented on how expensive this would be; I told her how little I actually spent last time, and I showed her a few pictures from the rally that I just happened to have dug up for her.  She really looked shocked, as if she didn't think it was me.  She then grabbed the pictures and showed them to another spalady who laughed in surprise when she was told who it was.

I did try to be as truthful as possible, within the initial fib.  She asked who did my makeup; I said I did, but my wife did my eyeliner.  Thankfully, she didn't ask how I did such a convincing job.

The pedicure took longer than expected, and I had four clients afterwards.  I had to be at the first by 4 in order to keep any semblance of schedule so I told her we'd have to skip the polish.

Oh... I talked freely about getting dressed last time, how I have a dress for this time, what I paid for things, makeup, etc, etc, all while I ignored the woman was sitting in the next chair.

That morning, I had picked out black socks with flowers on them.  I figured even if she didn't notice I was wearing a women's shirt (she didn't), she'd notice the socks.  Then I saw that one had a hole and I picked a different plainer pair.  I looked for similarly flowery ones but it's dark in the bedroom and that's all I found.

If I wore the flowered socks, there would have been no story.  It wouldn't have been believed.

And it turns out I am sure I could have been completely honest from the start and she would have been fine.  She might have even enjoyed my visit more.  I know I would have.

As I was leaving, C smiled and said "next time we'll go farther."  I said "farther?"  She said "nail polish.  Maybe I can paint pictures on your toenails."  Does she know?  I think so.  It doesn't matter.

I will drop by after I return with pictures and come clean.  I owe it to her, and to myself.  I'll even tell her why I didn't tell her right away, and beg forgiveness.  A promise to me and you all.

Now I have another problem.  I really like V, but I think I like C better than V.  The only solution is to only show up on V's days off.

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Heading for the Home Stretch

I wanted to finish my outfit selection sequence so I'll be recapping last week's events for the next few days.  To make sure I don't miss anything, I'll skip the weekend funnies.  Since I'll be travelling a week from Monday, I may skip next weekend as well.

Wednesday, I realised that between work, clients, wife, and kids, I was running out of time.  As I mentioned, I do have some extra time because my wife is basically living on one level ~ and it's not the one Meg lives on.

The boys had an after-school event that kept them out until around 730.  I got home around 6, and my wife had company so I disappeared upstairs.  On the way home I had stopped and picked up pads for the back of my new pumps, so they fit better and do not slide (I hope).  I didn't clomp around ~ not with company downstairs!  Besides, the instructions said to wait before wearing the shoes.

I started moving my stash around, and (don't be surprised) making lists.

By the time her friend left, I had three bags, corresponding to three lists.

Bring into the mall: wig, wig brush, makeup (I double-checked and realised I had no eye shadow.  That's been rectified), bra, slip, jewelry, makeup remover  and q-tips (in case), sunglasses, purse.  Not yet in the bag: shoes, outfit, forms, moisturiser.  Still unknown: what the bag will be.  Everything's in a plastic bag right now.  I may get a department store bag, or maybe a backpack.  I don't want to use a suitcase.  A computer case is too small and subject to being grabbed, if someone thinks it's a computer.

Bring to the hotel: nighties, other outfits, contact solution, contact case, glasses, some other makeup.  I haven't put any other jewelry in there ~ the items I bought are black, to go with the mostly black-and-white I'm wearing.  Maybe I'll grab something in silver in case I go with the greys.  This will all go in a suitcase with my regular clothes.

Wear: panties, hose, band-aids on my toes, contacts (which I rarely ware when I'm not Meg), and a cinch.  This will be mildly tricky ~ I will go to work in the morning and with my wife to the doctor before heading to Richmond.  I may put it on after I bring my wife home and before I leave ~ but that wouldn't be as much fun, would it?

I called my favourite nail place.  In the past, I've had V wax my brows (I like her work) and give me a manicure.  I wanted a pedicure and brow wax Thursday.

Sadly, V is on holiday until the end of the month.  I have strongly hinted to V that this is a hobby, not just a Halloween thing.  I don't know if she believes me.  I was considering nail colour with my pedicure.  I made an appointment with someone I don't know.  I don't like putting my eyebrows in unknown hands.  The women at the Haircuttery who did them, did not do a good job.  V, I think, did.  A bad brow job will put the whole outing in jeopardy.  And I wanted to shave my feet/legs before the pedicure!  Also, I strongly considered getting my nails coloured.  I'm not sure if I will, with a new person.  I also may or may not share "Christine" pictures with her.

But I'm running out of time.  I may or may not get my haircut after the wax; it depends on the time and if my haircut lady is in.  I like her and I'm not fussy about haircuts.  And she'll wax my neck too.

Here's the run-up to the trip:
Wednesday: start shaving some bits, and do some and retouch each night.  It's just easier that way
Thursday: waxing: brows, maybe neck and haircut.  I have a customer after that.
Friday: half-day at work; I have to take my wife to a doctor's appointment
Saturday: I'll be at the TSA all day.  Is anyone familiar with the TSA?  Not the one at the airports!
Sunday: home stuff
Monday: haircut, if I didn't have a chance Thursday.
Tuesday: at work, a guy from our British office is coming over to work with me.
Wednesday: at work, I'll be in training all day with the UK guy.
Thursday: concert at night.  The coolest thing: the performer is a client.
Friday: nothing special yet
Saturday: all-day 4H event.
Sunday: home stuff
Monday: work for a few hours, get my computer and gear packed, go home.  Take wife to doctor who will hopefully say she can drive and will be 100% in minutes so I can go from there to Richmond.

I know some of that has already happened, and I know what hapened now but I'm writing this last Wednesday evening.  My goal is to finish each day with a recap and catch up to real time in a few days.  So when you're reading this, I know how my eyebrows turned out, but when I'm writing this, I don't.  Yes, I'm confused too.

So... what should I wear?

Halloween Logistics, Part 5 of ?

My afternoon update.

There shouldn't be too many more parts. There are less than 48 hours to the rally!

Friday, I hope, will be final check day. I just found out that P and J will be hitting town around 1pm. That makes my free time shorter than I'd like. NO makeup dry run, just clothes. I want to wear each candidate pair of shoes as long as possible. I want to get everything together in one place. I want to load my purse, along with a sticky list of What I Don't Have Yet in there so I don't forget anything like SUNGLASSES! I almost forgot SUNGLASSES!

Yesterday, I had my nails done. I showed my manicurist, V, my "target look", that picture of Christine, and told her I'd like my nails done in a female fashion, even though I would "probably" cut them down Sunday, and I said I'd like my brows done just a bit arched ~ I do need to be male more than female, but a little bit would help.

Normally, I would have hesitated to do all that because in the next chair (and they're packed pretty close) was a woman maybe 30 years old. She obviously just came from the office. She was wearing a dark, shortish skirt set that I would have liked to wear, and was getting French nails.

But I didn't hesitate nor whisper. I didn't say "I do this sometimes" because she didn't ask.

The woman in the next chair said "can I see who you're trying to look like? I mean, if you don't mind." I turned the picture so she could see. She said "should I be surprised I don't know who that is?" So I told her. She did recognise the name. V thought it was Sarah Palin. I said "Palin's hard. O'Donnell is easy. I've memorised most of the stupid things she's said." From the lack of further conversation from the next chair, I think she didn't agree with me politically. She was still paying attention. A couple of comments to V got smiles or laughs from my neighbor.

I said it was for Halloween. I didn't say it was for the rally. I've either told people I know I'm going to the rally, or that I'm going to wear a costume to "a political event." I haven't made the connection for anyone. Why? I don't know. It seems safer (smarter?) to let people know after the fact. Sometimes I go with my gut.

I had my nails buffed instead of polished. If P was not coming, I might have gone with clear polish.

She asked if I wanted my arms waxed. I said no, I'd shave, but can she do my hands? She could.

I did shave my arms last night. V suggested that I only needed my hands waxed because of the suit sleeves; I said it has 3/4 sleeves so I could go just a few inches further, but that would look odd if I wore short sleeves the next day. My arms are hairless to t-shirt length. I'll see if that's enough on Friday.

V wants me to come by on Saturday. I may, but it'll be hard to explain. "No, I'm just doing this for Halloween. Well, rally's over. Let's go shopping!"

Hard to explain.

So now my nails are rounded, my brows are slightly arched, and I'm $75 (including a $15 tip) poorer.

I've pretty much spent my girl budget for 2010 AND 2011.

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Joking and Grooming

I am rarely serious with people. I have had discussions with my sons about joking with relative strangers (clerks, for instance). I explain that the first thing I do is try to assess their sense of humour. If they have one, I try to play to it. If they don't, I try to take advantage of it. :)

Wednesday, in preparation for my son's bar mitzvah, I had a haircut. Haircuts, alas, do not take long anymore due to the sparsity of source material. So I also got the back of my neck and eyebrows waxed, and a manicure (but, not a womanicure).

The last time I had my haircut, someone at the haircutplace did my brows. She did a terrible job. She believed that guybrows should go low ~ she took off the top of my brow, straightened them out and completely exposed my browbone. I did NOT like it. Meg did not like it . I briefly considered it a problem for travel, but bangs cover lots of eyebrow flaws.

Q: What's the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut?
A: Three days. A week, tops.

Not so with waxing. A bad waxing lasts a while.

Today the very nice lady who has been cutting my hair for the past couple of years was busy so I decided I'd get my nails done first.

As I mentioned earlier, I tell a little fib whenever I do something like this. I enjoy discussing girl things with women, so I feign ignorance. I say I've never had it done before. In this case, Meg has had her fingernails done. I have not.

So Vickie talked about what she will do. She said there'd be shaping, cutting back cuticles, and "a massage. A little one". I don't know why she phrased it like that. It sounded like she thought I'd object, as if it were "an amputation. A little one".

As she was cutting the cuticles she said, offhandedly, "polish is included, too." Again, I don't know why she took that long to mention it. I can only guess she's had bad reactions from other guys. Maybe she was gauging my interest, but from what was said afterwards, I don't think so. She then proceeded to discuss the merits of (clear) polish, and also the option of buffing, which would shine my nails without the hassle of the polish looking funky when my nails grew. She said polish chipped, and about seventy percent of guys went for buffing, maybe ten percent got polish and the rest did neither. I decided to go for the buffing, mostly because I didn't want to be late for my haircut. A little bit of me didn't want to have spend the night explaining polish, but a little bit of me also wanted to see if anyone would say anything. Maybe next time I'll have time for clear polish. Buffing did shine and smooth my nails, and they're still shiny and smooth.

But I did give her a hard time, discussing what colour I might get, and "maybe I'll get a dress afterwards that matches my nails". When I finally decided not to get coloured polish, I said "it's just too late to get a gown altered".

She took the kidding as kidding, which is OK. I can get away with more when I'm not being taken seriously.

I did volunteer that I had a pedicure once, and had my toenails polished. My (gg) mostly-email friend Amanda (hi Amanda!) once told me that she had her toenails polished and had a painting of flowers on her big toenails. I had a pedicure (in drab) and said I wanted to try nail polish. We found a nice colour on the second try ~ we both agreed the first colour looked awful and she took it off. While she was doing my nails, I told her that my friend always gets flowers on her toenails. She said "I can do that" and she did. I told Amanda, who did NOT believe me. I stupidly had not told her about Meg at that time. When I sent her a picture (the one here), she sent back a simple note which I still remember:

Not. Your. Toes.

I sent ANOTHER picture of me standing on a mirror so she could see my (male) face and (female) feet at the same time. Still, she never asked why, and I suppose she thought I was being even weirder than usual. Part of me wanted her to ask, part of me didn't. My tg audience understands.

Back to the nail place. I also volunteered that I had my back and back of my neck waxed on occasion. She observed that my arms were waxed, or shaved. She seemed hesitant as she mentioned that, as if she wasn't sure how I'd react. I was surprised she could tell, but just responded "I'm not fond of the body hair. Besides, it doesn't look right when I go out dressed as a girl."

We have now reached a dichotomy. She has two choices.

She can say "are you serious?" and then I have two choices. Or she can playfully slap at my wrist and say "oh, stop".

I'm a pretty good judge of how people will react to humour, and I'm pretty good at knowing what I can get away with. She playfully slapped at my wrist and say "oh, stop". I smiled.

I told her about my bad eyebrow waxing and she said that she does it, and can do it right so it looks good. I knew I was done with the dress-up jokes, at least for now, so I agreed to let her do my brows ("clean them up" she called it). She did a good job and I took her card and I'll go see her again. Maybe just for my brows. Or maybe for my nails too, as Meg.

I went for my haircut, and decided if the opportunity presented itself, I would tell her about my "hobby". This would not be a good idea: I knew someone who worked at the shop. I knew her husband and her sons, and her sons know my sons (although they haven't seen each other in a long time and were never really friends). I see her, her husband, and her boys once a year, at the state chess tournament. Of course, I also see her whenever I get my haircut. We say hi, how's the family, blah, blah.

So it would be a really bad idea to mention it to my haircutlady, because she might mention it to her coworker, and she knows the coworker knows me.

It would not be instant suicide because she (the coworker) never talks to my wife. Their paths just do not cross, although they may at the chess tournaments. In the past, they've rarely talked. I have seen my wife talk to her husband, briefly.

But they do have a lot of mutual friends. I have to assume the haircutlady would say something to the coworker who would say something to other mutual friends "you know .....? Her husband crossdresses."

But I thought I'd say something if the opportunity presented itself. Maybe just to see how long it would take for it to get back to me. You'd all know when you saw the post titled "From the Hospital Room". :)

Last time, she (the haircutlady, notmy wife) waxed the back of my neck and told me not to shave it because it waxes better if it has a chance to grow back. I had to shave it before Meg's two appearances in the last month. I told her (twice) that I HAD to shave the back of my neck, hoping she would say "you had to? Why?" and then I would explain why.

She didn't.

Her not asking was better than the suicide prevention hotline. I live to dress another day.