I will do my best to keep this short but no promises ...
It was quite a week. Perhaps the full moon helped. It started with me going to the local Sally's beauty supply and when asked if I needed help I just told the lady I needed a foundation to match my complection. Without skipping a beat she showed me how to test them out and selected what she thought I should use. That was great and it worked very well. So well that I decided to go to the mailbox in the morning instead of late at night. Being outside felt very nice and I was less anxious in the morning.
The next day, Wednesday, I decided to scope out a few places that I thought I would like to go before visiting there dressed up. (that is very usefull advice I got from here).
Thursday after work I got ready and it was still daylight. So for a test run I made my mailbox trip in broad daylight. It was GREAT! It helps to not freak out when someone sees you. ).
For the first time I had walked around without searching to see who might be looking at me. Now I was sure I wanted to go out on the town but decided to wait a bit just to be sure I was ready.
The place I decided to go is called Woody's in Tucson. It has a nice open air patio area and the monsoon rains made it nice and cool. Stayed there a while had two drinks. The bartender is the first stranger I have ever spoken to while dressed up. I didn't change my voice, just the tone.(you know the way we change the tone of our voices when we talk to little kids) That felt natural and after clearing that hurdle I became even more comfortable.
Then it was time for the big test ... Denny's. I had been there the night before and to make a long story short, it was full of people and the waitress and waiter were very nice. They were the same from the night before. I had a nice desert while a read a book. I'm not sure if they recognized me or not but in the end, the most awkward part of the evening was that I went out alone. Still it was the best part of my week.
Believe it or not, that's the short version.
I enjoyed myself very much and I am so gratefull to the advice and support I have recieved from all of you.
I will certainly go out dressed up again but I will wait a few days just to be sure I have not lost my mind.
~Amanda