Teal Pumpkin Project

I was going to wait and post this for Halloween but figured I'd post it now for those who may want to participate.  For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's not too late for you to participate in the teal pumpkin project for kids with allergies.  Instead of or along with regular candy you offer non-food treats such as bouncy balls, bubbles, stickers, pencils, glow sticks, etc.  We're giving out candy and toys.  I was going to post a picture of my pumpkins and toy bucket but the pumpkin still needs another coat of paint so I think I'll add the photo later.

Our Pumpkins.  Mine's the castle one.  I may post another photo of them tonight lit up.

Some of the non-food treats I bought.  Includes: coloring books, Gatorade band, bubbles, jump rope, tops, hot wheels, necklaces, Disney wands, silly bandz and Halloween erasers, yo-yo's, putty eggs, boats, hacky-sacks, pencils and glow sticks.

If you're interested in participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project, more information can be found here:
http://www.foodallergy.org/teal-pumpkin-project#.Vi7QlPmrSM9

Guy Clothes

This was not the post I had planned to write but well I was doing laundry and the clothes were on my bed and then I figured I'd post about it and here we are.

Since I realized I'm trans* I've been slowly accumulating a collection of 'guy clothes.'  I don't have a whole lot, but I have a semi-functional wardrobe.  I started off owning a single pair of sneakers and now I have 2 weeks worth of undergarments, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 jumpers, 2 dress shirts, a hoodie, a pair of pajama pants, 8 t-shirts, a pair of pants, a winter jacket, boots and, a binder.  It's quite the collection I've got.  My next purchase will be a pair of jeans, I'd have got some already if they weren't so expensive.  I never really noticed until now (but I've never laid out my clothes like this before either) that I don't really have any bright coloured clothing.  I seem to favour dark and neutral coloured clothing,  The brightest thing I have is my green triforce shirt.  I'll have to invest in some more colouful clothes.

You can see my Baymax plushie at the top, he's so soft and cuddly.  Big Hero 6 is awesome, but not as awesome as Wreck-it Ralph.  I wish they had Wreck-it Ralph plushies.  You can also see that I like Harry Potter and Sweeney Todd.  Care to guess why?  It is of course: Alan Rickman!  He's more awesome than Big Hero 6 and Wreck-it Ralph combined.  Though I suppose Harry Potter is awesome even without Alan Rickman. 

General Update

All of these things happened between July 18th and September 1st.

Had a little bit of a rough patch about a month and a half ago.  My step dad and I sometimes don't get along well and we clashed a bit.  He was screaming that I needed to  move out and I was screaming that I wasn't going anywhere and that I'd rather die than be homeless.  And he was going on and on about how it's his house, and I'm driving him crazy and I ruined his marriage.  And I'm freaking out because I don't have anywhere else to go.   So I grabbed this knife and said if he wanted me out of his life that bad I'd stab myself in the throat and he'd never have to deal with me again.  And Mom's crying and telling me that I didn't ruin their marriage and I didn't have to go anywhere and trying to get the knife away from me and yelling at him to shut up.  I was totally freaking out.  I really probably should have gone into the hospital but after I calmed down I was mostly okay and didn't end up going.

This part is kind of gross so if you're squeamish you may want to skip to the next paragraph.  A few days after the above incident I went upstairs at 11;30 to find my mother sobbing in the kitchen.  The end of her finger was completely black and swollen so I ended up taking her to the emergency room.  The doctor numbed it up and then sliced the skin open right above her finger nail and all kinds caramel colored pus and blood shot out.  It was awesome.  Mom's really not into stuff like that and covered her face the entire time so she wouldn't have to see.  The doctor said if I liked stuff like that I should consider going into the medical field.  I took her to her GP the next day and they ran some blood work and it turns out she has MRSA.

My grandmother has diabetes and lately her blood sugar has been bottoming out.  The day after all of the above happened with mom I had to spend the night at grandma's because her sugar bottomed out and the paramedics wouldn't let her stay home unless someone came over.  Well I was the lucky person that gave up my evening to go over there.  Normally I would have been happy to do so but it was Thursday night and ten minutes before Impractical Jokers came on.  I watch one show on TV and somehow it always gets interrupted.  So she calls me and asks if I can come over I said I would but could she wait an hour so I could watch my show first and the paramedics said no.  I drove all the way over there missing my show and the pie I had made, and had to sleep in the uncomfortable bed and then she bitched about taking me out to breakfast the next morning.  Ungrateful much?  I ended up watching the episode on iTunes the next day while eating my special peanut butter pie but it was still an inconvenience.  When I told my therapist the above happening she both laughed and said it was inconsiderate of me to have asked if I could watch my show before going over.  

On a more positive note (or would it be negative?) it has yet to be seen how it plays out long term, but Voloyda and I have mutually decided on a platonic relationship.  We decided to separate two months ago with no hard feeling on either side and it has gone quite well.  We still hang out occasionally as friends and there have been no issues, apparently he's been seeing someone new.  I've also been going out with a new partner.  I met them (preferred pronoun they/them/their) online in a genderfluid group and found out they live in my city so we've been out several times.  I shall call them 'S' for simplicity.  We attended Pride together which was fun and I learned how to drive a stick shift after S got too buzzed to drive us back to my house.

I am quite happy to say that I am officially over David as my special interest.  I thought Impractical Jokers would replace him but it hasn't and now I've been special interest-less and it's so boring.  What the hell am I supposed to do all day without a special interest to occupy me?  I've been looking into things but so far nothing has stuck.  Hopefully I'll find something soon because life is rather boring with only my minor special interests to occupy me.

The Store 3

Today I again picked up Ryker from The Store, I picked him up at closing so I didn't end up going in but he tells me this was a conversation he had.  'Jack' used to work at the store when I did and then apparently left and just recently went back to work there.  When I picked Ryker up the other day, I saw him and made a comment to Ryker that 'why didn't you tell me Jack was still working here?' and he said he wasn't and had just started.  Well today they had something akin to this conversation:

J:  Today was an easy day... I used to work here and just came back.
R:  Yeah, my cousin told me that the other day.  You used to work with her, October.  October Evens.
J:  Oh I remember her, she was cool, I mean she sort of lost it at the end but up until that point she was fine.  Tell her I said 'hi.'

'Sort of lost it at the end.'  Just about sums it up, I've described it that way myself.  I thought it was pretty funny.  It's nice to know that (at least some people) think that I'm mostly fine and not just 'that crazy person.'  I wouldn't blame them if they did or anything, I know my behavior (towards the end) was far from average and at the time even I thought I was losing my mind.

The Store 2

I know I haven't updated in forever.  I do have sort of a mega post I'm working on about everything that's happened lately, I'v just been too lazy to type it all up and get it posted.  But anyway this happened today and I thought it was hilarious and figured I'd share it before I forget what happened.

I had to go to The Store today to pick up Ryker after his shift.  He was buying some stuff and we and a few employees were standing around.  I said to Ryker: "I should fill out an application.  You think they'd re-hire me?  They'd probably laugh me out the door."
One of the workers asked why and my reply was: "I used to work here for five years until I had a mental breakdown and tried to commit suicide.  Then I ended up stalking one of the managers.  Ryker tells me they've added no stalking to the employee handbook.  You should talk to Minerva, I'm sure she'd have some stories for you."  That woman gave me the most WTF expression I've ever seen in my life, it was absolutely hilarious.

My New Special Interest

I believe my obsession with David has finally passed.  (God that feels really fucking weird to say.) He sort of hovers around the edge of my subconscious but I don't really actively think of him.  Instead my mind has been focusing on  Impractical Jokers, keying in on Q in particular. So this is your heads up that I'll most likely be info-dumping about the show and Q.

I've watched the show since it first started but gotten really into it over the last couple months.  It's one of the things I can watch over and over.  I'm saving up to get the seasons on DVD, I have them on iTunes but I'd be nice to have them on disk so I could watch them on TV instead of just my computer.  Season Seven started last night and I had a whole Happy Flap moment.  I haven't had a Happy Flap regarding a TV show since LOST was on the air.

I'm happy to finally be over David.  Though I do wish my obsession would have transferred to something besides another person, at least Q is a little safer interest in that he lives in New York and I'll never meet him.  I imagine it'll go the same way as my obsession with Alan Rickman; though most likely not as severe.  I don't think anyone could ever top my love for Alan Rickman.

Info-dumping: The supplying of a very large amount of (most likely unwanted) information.
Happy Flap: The hand flapping motions autistic people make when happy or excited.

My Gender Identity

Last week I came out on Facebook as genderqueer by posting this adorable picture series I found.  It fits my situation amazing well.  I've always sort of switched between feeling female and male but I didn't realize there was a name for it until a while ago.  The only thing I'd really heard of was trans and I spent a while debating with myself over if I was trans.  And then I found out about genderfluid-ity and it made sense.  

I've known I'm genderfluid for about 3 months now and though I only totally came out last week I started dropping hints and making appearance changes since I realized.  I got my hair cut into a more masculine/androgynous style and got some guy clothes.  I came out to my immediate family 3 weeks ago and everyone else on Facebook last week.  Other than a raging argument with my dad about whether you need a penis to be a man it's gone over pretty well.   

Things are going better for me.  My mom always bitches at me about not knowing what I want or not taking the steps to get there.  But it's hard to know what you want if you don't even know who the fuck you are.  I've been doing better since I got my autism diagnosis and since acknowledging my gender identity I'm doing better still.  I definitely feel happier more comfortable with myself.  Let's hope I continue to improve.

The Store

My cousin Ryker got a job at The Store.  He got hired on about three weeks ago.  He says he really likes it.  I hope it goes well for him.  The Store really is an okay place to work as long as you're not mentally ill.

The other day I went to The Store for the first time since they threw me out two years ago.  It was surreal.  And I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack the entire time I was in there.  I didn't see anyone I knew.  Apparently the only person I know who's still there is Minerva.  Everyone else is gone.

Obsession with David

It feels weird to admit but I think my obsession with David is finally starting to fade.  I still think about him a lot but not every day like I was and when I do think about him it feels more detached.  I still want to know about him and stuff but it's not an all-encompassing drive like it was before.  Last year I had to arrange other activities for myself during his softball games so I wouldn't be tempted to go, yesterday he played softball and I didn't even think about it until this morning.  Before it seemed like I was acutely aware of when I knew where he was and now, it's not like that, I may know where he is but I feel no need to go there.  I know it will be a while before my fixation goes away completely, if it ever does, but for now I think I'm beginning to move on.  Let's hope my next obsession isn't nearly as destructive.  Here's to the future.

Family Reunion 2015

I had a lot of fun down at the family reunion on Saturday.  This year it was hosted by my cousin "Lynn" in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  She lives up in the mountains.  The roads are a nightmare up there.  I'm happy I didn't have to drive; I'd have been a nervous wreck.  Not a whole lot of people came, not really surprising as not everyone travels, but there were fewer than expected even for an 'away' reunion.  My grandmother rode down with us instead of my aunt as she usually does.  Never again.  I love her and everything but she's annoying as fuck.  The reunion was fun.  It was way, way up in the mountains at a park.  It's a nice place.  Private pavilion, bathroom, there's a stream to traipse around in.  We'd had it there before and everyone freaked out when a bear showed up.  There was no bear this time but we were told to be extra careful as they were apparently super active in the area.   I, as usual, didn't talk a whole lot.  Only to my aunt and her family and to my cousins Lynn and Bonnie.  I'm rarely comfortable around people, even when those people are my family.  

After the reunion Lynn, my mother and I went up to the Gatlinburg crafts community.  It's all kids of craft shops with handmade items.  I got some new candles for my collection.  After shopping we went back to Lynn's and met up with my grandmother, and Bonnie and her son and his girlfriend.  We hung out and played cards and went swimming.  Much more comfortable for me in that setting.  And when I had to be by myself I didn't have to worry about getting mauled by a bear like you did at the park.  Overall a fun weekend.