Once again, Amy entered the office today...this time, as "Fairy Princess Amy." And I employed the lessons learned from last year...and learned a few more valuable things.
The preparations, as with last year, started the night before, when I washed my hair, epilated, and painted my nails. I also employed a new exfoliating body scrub and facial peel I'd gotten recently, which really helped! I had a large tote bag packed with a number of things, including, this year, my actual purse stuffed into the top of the bag.
I woke up early, allocating 2 hours for wardrobe, hair, and makeup. In about an hour and a half, though, I was ready, in my pink chiffon evening gown, my tiara atop my head. I draped my pink pashmina around my shoulders against the chill as I walked out to the car.
The drive to work was fairly uneventful, and I got a good parking space across from the entrance. I fetched my things and used the parking structure elevator to go down one floor, then entered the building. My first stop was the lobby floor ladies' room (which was empty), where I occupied the biggest stall, removed and folded my pashmina, and attached my wings. The wings are on a wire framework that I had to slide down the back of my dress, then reach underneath, find the elastic ties, and tie them around my waist, under my dress. I managed this in a lot less time than it had taken me in practice! A quick check of my hair, and I was ready to venture on!
I rode up in the elevator with a woman who worked on a lower floor, and she asked if our Halloween party was today. I explained that it was, because employees' children would be coming in and it would have been too hectic to do it tomorrow. She got off, and I rode up to our "new" floor.
This is a new space for the company, very open on both sides of the building. When I stepped in, then, pretty much anyone could see me; it was still early, though, so few people were around. I greeted people with "Good morning," and took my seat, unlocking my file cabinet and getting my computer out. I also flipped around the nameplate pinned in front of me, to the side that I had previously prepared to say, "Amy Tapie." My manager was not surprised to see me, because she already knows my secret; another manager, who I've worked for in the past, came in as I was speaking to her, and I think I blew the poor man's mind!
I actually did more work today than I'd managed last year on this day, but I still managed to get up and around to spread some goodwill here and there. Some of my coworkers who had dressed last year weren't doing so this year. Some of them remembered my name as "Amy," too. I certainly felt more comfortable than I had last year! (In fact, at lunch time, a couple of ladies suggested I should come with them on their trip to Vegas this weekend! Now that's acceptance! I could feel my estrogen levels rising.)
I took part in two meetings as Amy as well: our regular team status meeting in the morning, and a meeting of all developers in the early afternoon. In both the meetings, I participated as Amy, using Amy-voice throughout. I wasn't treated as anything other than another (female) developer, either by my peers or by my managers.
I was asked to pose for pictures a lot, which I gladly did, since I love posing for pictures.Here's one that was taken by my coworker Larry, and subsequently sent to our satellite office:
princess-amy-small.jpg
One of my female friends from the satellite office E-mailed me, telling me how great I looked.
Sadly, when it came time for the contest judging, I only took second place this year, losing to Melanie, who came in as a lady cowboy riding an ostrich. She later told me, though, that my example as Witch Amy last year had inspired her to compete this year. I was glad of that, and gave her a big hug. After all, I had already had my victory for this year.
I was called on to help out my teammate in the afternoon; he called over to me with "Amy, could you come help me with this?" I sat with him and tried to straighten out what he was looking at; we made good progress. Another of my teammates, our QA guy Chris who sits across from me, was very flattering to me all day...never anything crude or harassing, mind you, but gentlemanly. I told him that he knows how to make a lady happy!
I had no trouble with any of the children or their parents when they came in; I handed out coloring books and pencils, as well as waving my wand over them for a "fairy blessing." About the only thing that got remarked on was my height; understandable, since I'm around 6'2" and was wearing 2" heels on top of that, since the floor-length dress required them!
Just before 5:00, I borrowed the company's "Wellness Room" (actually a room used by nursing mothers for milk expression) to change. But, instead of going completely back to my male self, I slipped into a more "normal" dress and a pair of flats (aaahhhh!
This adventure was a smashing success, and I really started to feel like, if I ever actually did decide to transition to Amy full-time, I would have an easy time of it at my company. And now a few more people may suspect the truth about me; I dropped a few hints into conversation that pointed at the truth. Perhaps they'll be willing to take the next step, and learn that having a bigendered coworker isn't something to hate or fear.
- Amy
Originally Posted by Beverley Sims
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