Hi all,
I have been away for the past few days on a road trip for work purposes and decided to travel pretty in my rental car. While it was not quite as daring as travelling by plane, I did everything en femme for this trip. Picked up the car en femme, drove down en femme (even stopped at a rest stop for a coffee and bathroom break - wasn't sure which bathroom to use so I went with the safe family option). Checked into the hotel en femme. After checking into the hotel, I felt so exhilarated that I decided to check out a local outlet mall, stop at Starbucks for a coffee and finish off with some take out. I was thinking about eating at a restaurant but alas, chickened out at the last moment as I would have felt quite awkward eating by myself (I would have felt the same in boy mode).
I did learn something when I checked in to my hotel room and unpacked. It is probably wise to make a bi-gendered packing list. While all my female toiletries made the trip some my boy stuff (underarm deodorant, shower gel) did not. Not to mention not a pair of boy boxers in sight (just lace and silk).
The next day I had to work (boy mode) in the morning. When I finished my morning lecture, I dressed en femme, drove to my hometown and had lunch with my younger sister. While she knows about Isha, this was the first time she has met her. Our lunch went great but I had to cut it short as I had to get back to work for the evening which meant I needed time to deconstruct Isha .
The following day, I came out to a very close work colleague of mine and although a bit shocked, she was very supportive and asked if she could meet Isha after we finished work on Thursday (today). So after work finished this morning, I dressed en femme, checked out of the hotel and met her at Starbucks where we spent a couple of hours talking. It was a very crowded Starbucks and while there were obvious looks I am beginning to get more comfortable with Isha and the stares. I am fast understanding (my friend pointed this out this today) that while they are indeed stares, they are not rude but more curiosity which makes sense as not everyone has seen a CDer up close.
What was very nice about the Starbucks visit was there were two young women sitting next to us who commented on my coat which lead to them sitting with us for about 30 minutes until they left. This was my first real girl conversation about stuff in general (movies, politics, clothes, pending winter). They obviously knew I was a guy but they treated me no different than if I was a girl involved in the conversation. It was very nice .
After I left my friend I drove back home and decided to stop and an get some groceries for dinner and some wine. This is not my normal time for making an appearance as I normally stick to early mornings. However, today I felt so good that I just wanted to get out there during a more normal time (4PM) with people going about their business after work. Oh I was read but again, the looks were curiosity more than anything and those I interacted with were great and very friendly.
All in all, it was a great experience living almost two entire days as Isha. Not a big solo event but nonetheless it is getting easier to be out and visible. I have included a picture of me from this morning out by the Starbucks . . . be kind it is not the most flattering picture but oh well it is me.
Hugs
Isha