Month: May 2017

Stephanie’s first Saturday in town

I have been looking forward to this day with some degree of nervous excitement! A visit to Noni B as they have a sale on (again!) then coffee with Alison and Alisha then my appointment with the optician remembering that I made the appointment as Robin and am filling it as Stephanie, not easy for people to contend with and I have to say they were outstanding with me, every one I had interaction with was perfect, very helpful and kind, one of the girls even said she thought what I am doing is amazing and everyone should follow their dreams.

We then went back up to Bunbury, me to return the gym ball I bought the day before as it doesn’t hold the air in and Denise to return some shoes which do not fit as they should, both were really positive experiences, no hassle and lovely people.

Dinner this evening was at the next but one neighbors, always a very enjoyable affair, lots and lots of laughs, good wholesome food and as a bonus we booked woodlands retreat for new year, it’s the first time in years I am so looking forward to it, new year usually doesn’t do much for me , last year we were in Esperance which was good and to have this year organised so early has to be a good sign.

Momentous day!

So today is the day we travel to Perth to lodge my gender reassignment application, the first step in being recognised as the true person I am. I have to say I was a little nervous, we were later than I had planned setting off and the traffic was worse than I expected but we arrived at the office, it was quite a challenge finding the door but we managed and took the lift to the sixth floor as directed. We only had a short time to wait and a lovely helpful young lady came out and took us into an office where she went through the paperwork we had brought and seemed happy with it. The plan was to then take a copy of the application to the attorney general as you have to lodge it with him as well but the kind lady said she would do that for me and I duly signed the stat dec and off it went. To say it felt like a huge step was an understatement, it all adds to the feeling of how real it is now and also to my excitement that I am soon going to be the person I want to be both physically and officially.

We stopped in Bunbury on the way home to do some shopping and it feels so good to be able to go into shops and interact with people as Stephanie, it just feels normal now.

Sore bottom, osteopath and the most enjoyable dinner

So while at the friends for dinner (names will not be named!) one of them mentioned they were going on a bike ride in the morning, I mentioned that if they would like some company to let me know and I would join them. I repeated this in a message this morning but heard nothing back until about 10 past 9 when I received a photo of said persons bike lent up against the Siesta park reserve sign and the caption “catch me up” now I thought, it won’t take me long to get there so agreed, got my bike out, put on my helmet and set off. I have to say it was further than I thought, it probably took me 20 minutes and when I got there there was no sign of her, I peddled on but was unsure where the cycle track went so messaged her again asking for directions but heard nothing back so carried on, and on, and on until I reached Dunsborough. Still no sign and by this time, probably 17 or 18 kms later my bottom is pretty sore, it was after all only the second time I had sat on a bike in 20 years! I decided to head back which seemed much further than I had traveled but anyway made it but very sore. Won’t be volunteering to do that again anytime soon, maybe need a new seat!

The afternoon job was a visit to Bunbury to see the osteo, I thought maybe a shouldn’t mention my 30+ km bike ride previous as I wasn’t sure she would approve! All was good though, the osteo was her usual lovely self and her receptionist gorgeous also.

We were having friends round for dinner, well to be more exact, my friends, Denise met Gary very briefly in 2013 but has never met Ali, we had the best evening, lots and lots of laughter, great stories and they will be great friends of us both now.

Doctors appointment, the Bank and cycling

So it’s the first of May today, the month of my surgery has arrived but there are seemingly endless jobs to do before we go and first on the list is a visit to my GP to deal with the endless list of requirements from Philadelphia, blood tests, ECG, urine analysis, swabs, a physical examination and lots of forms to fill in. For the second time, I visited the GP ‘s fully Steph’d, one of my favourite dresses, shoes to match and felt good.

My GP was her usual lovely self, didn’t complain about the long list of requests just commented about it being very American, we soon got through her part of the list, had the physical examination and the forms signed, next was the ECG, I’ve never had one before but it was pain free and the lady doing it was friendly. I paid my dues and left for home.

the next job on the list was the bank, I had made the appointment last week, dressed fairly ambiguous but was a little surprised when the girl who took my name so the person I wanted to see could call me asked me if it was Robin with an I or a Y but I thought she was just being accurate and I thanked her and left. Laura then called me and made the appointment for today, now I have known Laura for 10 years or so but haven’t seen her for probably a year but was looking forward to telling her my story. When I arrived her previous client was just leaving, another good friend of mine, so she called me straight in, we exchanged pleasantries and I told her I had a story to tell her, she listened carefully and at the end said she was so happy for me and honoured that I had wanted to tell her, we got mostly through the business part of the appointment, she gave me a big hug and I left feeling very happy that it had gone well and had the knowledge that when I need help with the name change stuff she will be there to help me.

The other job for the day was to do the shopping and visit the cycle shop to get a helmet for Denise so we can use our cycles, this we did and after fitting a new bell we decided to give them a run. Now I haven’t ridden a bicycle in earnest for 20 years so was a little rusty to say the least but as they say “it’s like riding a bike, you never forget” and it all went well, we visited some friends, ended up being asked back for dinner and that was the end of the the day.