Straight Crossdressers on HuffPost Live

SCD on HuffPost Live Today & Upcoming posts

A couple of posts are in the works. 'Pebbs & Paula go to Glamour Boutique', 'Raven 17' & 'Straight Crossdressers on Huff Post Live!'. Today, Monday November 11th, at 4:40pm HuffPost Live is doing a piece on Straight Crossdressers and they reached out to me. They were hoping I could help with the segment. I posted about it on the Facebook page and the Facebook Group. A few were interested but lacked what was needed to interview, a webcam. There is at least one other girl from the facebook group who is hoping to participate. It'll be Great if she actually can! Its a shame they didn't contact me a week or so ago so that I could have tried to get more people involved but I did what I could I do. I'll be there and the segment will probably be rewatchable after it airs. I'll be back with those up coming posts as soon as I can!
Laterz!
Pirate Pebbs

Loss

I've been feeling odd lately. I miss my beautiful friend a month ago. Dealing with this ugly/beautiful world took its toll on her beautiful soul. Its often quite hard to deal with the situations we're born into/life brings us. Usually we push forward as hard as we can to endure with the hope of life getting better. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it stays the same...for a really long time. If you're able to endure through the bad, the good tends to come. It sometimes happens well after you felt it should have.

Often time we'll feel like all is lost. Sometimes the voices in our heads refuse to leave us alone. There are times we feel alone, like no one understands us, no one cares, no one will care. There is always Someone who cares. You may not know that someone well, they may be an 'extra' in the story of your life whereas you may play a larger roll in theirs.

Many people have varying feelings on 'God'. Some believe, some don't. Some pray to saints or relatives who no longer walk on this earth. Some believe in nothing. One thing that tends to help people is prayer or a prayer like meditation. Getting your thoughts out of your head & out into the universe often helps. I've noticed when I was able to really let what i'd kept bound in my head out, it helped me.

I feel like my life might be getting better. My job situation seems to be improving. I have been (barely) surviving over the past few years on a part time job while raising a daughter on my own. Fortunately my mom has been helping out as well. Now I host Karaoke one day a week regularly & do some freelance office work 2 days a week while still maintaining the part time job. I've interviewed for a full time job that seems like it may come through.

Micro Update

I've been having trouble posting on my blog from my laptop. My cellphone (which I am posting from currently) has been having issues as well. But it looks like now that I've done a factory reset that the cell is working now. It also looks like I'll have to post updates from my cell in order to. Post until I can figure out the problem with blogger & my laptop. I do have a couple of posts to post that...I'll probably do tomorrow cause I'm sleepy now. Hopefully this posts properly and hopefully I can copy paste full posts so I don't have to type/re-type everything using my cell.
Laterz!

Contest on the Facebook Page!!! 500 Likes!

In honor of out 500 Facebook followers we have a contest to win an Autographed poster by most of the cast of Rupaul's Drag Race All-Stars!

To enter go to our facebook page: 

Facebook.com/StraightCrossdressers

'Like' the page and comment under the top message about having 500 likes.

All names will be entered into a random drawing that will happen on Sunday, August 25th 2013. Entries will be taken until 11:59pm EST. Winner will be announced on Monday August 26th. The winner will be contacted via private message to get a mailing address to send the prize to.

The poster is from when the All Stars visited Philadelphia at Club Voyeur. Below is a picture of my personal copy of the poster. It was easier to photograph. The poster being offered is rolled up in a tube to be sent to the winner.

What is Normal?

So, I would like to let you all know that I appreciate all who view my blog & send me email letting me know how much you appreciate my efforts. I think every one of you are special unique individuals! whether you be the curious first time reader or the reader of everything I write (sorry i don't update often enough) I think you are all the best.

One thing that I find odd. There seems to be...elitist crossdressers out there. CDs who think they're better than other CDs for some reason. For example the Very passing adult type of crossdressers putting down the lolita (aka young style) crossdressers. I know adult GGs who like to dress in lolita style, no one talks bad about them...ok maybe some (non anime fans) do but for anime fans its a non issue. Or the Make-up CDs vs the No Make-up CDs. Does it matter that some wanna Put on make-up and really girl themselves up and they are still as straight a man as a non dressing man or another man who dresses in women's clothing and doesn't wear make-up?

I understand that what is our own 'normal' may be abnormal to someone else but, can't we acknowledge each others differences without putting each other down? I know its hard. Most of us grow up thinking what happened in our family growing up is what happened in other families. They watched the same tv shows & listened to the same, or similar music. Then we, lets say, go to college. Meet people our own age from different parts of the country or world and talk about our family lives and realize that our 'normal' is not everyone's normal. You may find out that your 'normal' was a bit rougher than other people's normal. Maybe your friends would have loved to have had your normal while you hated your 'normal'. We meet every day with people whose life choices we wouldn't have made yet do we constantly put them down for it? For example. You make friends with someone at work. You normally only see them during working hours and never have lunch at the same time. One day you have lunch together and find out your new friend is Vegan and you are a proud Omnivore who is nearly a total carnivore! Do you put your friend down just because they don't eat meat (or vice versa)? Will you constantly tell them they are wrong because their choice of food is different from your own? You both still eat vegetables (you both still wear clothing meant for the opposite gender). You both enjoy each others company outside the lunchroom. Why is it so difficult to deal with them not eating the same exact foods (clothing style) as you? It shouldn't make a difference. It doesn't make you a bad person because you eat meat. It doesn't make you a bad person because you don't eat meat.

So, yeah. The crossdressing community is quite varied. A Rainbow of shades of grey. Lets try not to put each other down. Don't put down the Adult Babies. Don't put down the Lolitas/ the ones who like to wear young kids styles of clothing. Don't put down those who wear make-up. Don't put down those who wear no make-up. Don't put down the dudes in dresses who sport a full beard. Don't put down the ones who just like to wear womens underwear under their clothes. How bout just embracing people's differences whether you would dress as they would or not.

Thats all I have to say for now.

I love you all,

Pirate Pebbs!

P.S. I now host a night of Karaoke in Philadelphia.
Click the link to find out more. I'd love to see you there
www.ThunderKaraoke.com

Another Sorry post :/

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple weeks. I've been busy busy busy. Every year at the end of the school year I have a party for my Daughter & her friends & family. This year was the 4th incarnation of the party. A lot of my time went into cleaning the house and gathering supplies. Besides that I've been working, Mom-ing & doing my karaoke thing (thunderkaraoke.com) I now host my own night of Karaoke on Monday nights still under the Dr Thunder Karaoke name, which i'm totally cool with. I don't need to make a big name for myself & I didn't start into karaoke to make a big name for myself. I just wanna help people in a way that I can. Hopefully I will be self sustaining soon. Hoping to get a new job so I can pay bills...which are kinda piling up. I thought about doing a Paypal donation button here to help me...i don't know if I'm gonna do it though. I know I help others when I can...i don't know how many random others will help me. I know a few will/have helped me. I totally appreciate the help I get. I think I need help to get things out of my head and written down...and now i'm rambling. Ok. I have another interview lined up to post but i feel i need to talk to the interviewee a bit before I post. Hopefully I can do that on Wednesday. I'm working all day today (including hosting karaoke till 2am) then I have work again tomorrow and co-hosting karaoke tomorrow night (if i don't fall asleep before I get there).

I love you All & I'm sorry (yet again) for neglecting my duties to post.


Yours Truly,

Pirate Pebbs!

Interview with a Straight Crossdresser # 2 ~Gia

I recently reached out to everyone who 'like' the Straight Crossdressers & Friends Facebook page to see if anyone there was willing to be interviewed for the blog. A few people volunteered to. This is the first of the finished interviews. 

This interview is with Gia, a beautiful 32 year old crossdresser from NY.

*PP: I'm glad you agreed to be interviewed for my blog, its been awhile since I've done one. I wanna try to make it a regular feature.
(*PP= Pirate Pebbs aka yours truly)

Gia: aww, you're welcome. I'm glad there are blogs like this and appreciate you doing this.

PP: Thank you!

PP: Do you find it odd that a Genetic girl, like myself, is so passionate about wanting to straighten people out?

Gia: Interesting word selection. "straighten"

PP: lol, I'm punny sometimes.

Gia: I don't think it's odd, but I do think it is rare.  It is difficult enough finding genetic women who are attracted to people like myself who perhaps are more "open" about expressing their feminine side.  To find someone who outwardly supports it to the point of building your own blog and reader base is something else altogether. So rare indeed.

PP: I never really thought of it that way...

I see myself as more of a person who doesn't like to see people put down for how they feel

I want people to be Happy and if people have to hide part of themselves because others will think they are odd or something so they keep everything pent up inside...they'll never really be happy.* (*This doesn't apply to people who become happy by abusing others or indulging in highly illegal activities People who have abusive impulses should seek help by a trained professional to help them overcome their abusive thoughts & impulses.)

Gia: Hehe. That's a good philosophy. All I can say is keep it up and perhaps you might encourage others with similar ideals.

PP: I'll do my best.

Gia: I've made sacrifices for being able to express who I am. Some are fairly significant. I think Dan Savage said something along the lines of, "the most powerful thing anyone within the LGBTQ community can do for change is to come out."

PP: Indeed! Now I'll [finally] get on to the questions. 

First, What name shall I call you? Gia or is there more to the name that you'd like noted?

Gia: It's just Gia. The name is somewhat influenced by the movie and the model. And there is a closeness to my actual name, which I'll leave to everyone's imagination.

PP: Ah, I know of that Gia, cool!

About when did you become interested in or start crossdressing?

Gia: When I was just a little cross dresser. I used to sneak into my sister's closet when no one was home and play dress up in front of the mirror. Course I was a bit limited at that point, but the fascination grew.

PP: Is she older than you?

Gia: Yes, she's older. Which was good news for me since the clothes was a better fit. I wonder if I would have tried on her clothes if she was a little sister. That feels different for some reason.

PP: Have you ever been 'caught' [as a kid]? If so, by who?

Gia: Haha. Once, I think I unconsciously sabotaged myself. 

I was getting more daring and I was again rummaging through my sister's closet. This time it was in our weekend home, and there was this flowery dress that I used to love to wear. Well, it turned out that they were getting rid of it. I snuck the dress into my own closet and left it there.

Of course my mom found it, and gave me this completely embarrassing guilt trip about how boys shouldn't be wearing dresses.

That was the first and last time I was ever caught by my family. To this day, they don't have a clue.

PP: That was my next question, if your family knows you did, but I know that answer now.

Gia: Well, there was a minor incident when I still had a trace of eyeliner and my sister saw it, but I made up some story about being dragged out to a goth night by some girl friends. [so to answer the question] No, and I think I'm going to leave it that way. I'm sure my dad wouldn't really care. Well not really. But my mom, lovely woman, is a bit more old fashioned and would never get it.

PP: Have you /do you ever gone out crossdressed in public?

Gia: Yes, all of the time!

PP: When did you start going out [cross] dressed?

Gia: It took some getting used to. But I started to get dressed up on my own and going out after I finished college and moved out to my own apartment.

PP: Do you get someone to do your makeup? Did anyone teach you how to apply makeup?   Did you learn trial & error style?

Gia: Of course back [then], I relied on more help to get ready and didn't really know how to work it without looking like a cheap hooker with bad make-up. But I eventually developed my own style and with some coaching from my lovely make-up artist friends, I developed the basics for painting. I've had a long list of teachers.  Thank god for Craigslist and Myspace.

PP: Are you 'Passing' /is it your goal to be passing?

Gia: It's important to me that... I don't look like a guy in a bad wig.

Yes, passing is my goal, but I'm realistic. I'm a tall guy. Big shoulders, and there is only so much you can do. So, I do what I can to get as close as I can. But I have no expectation that people aren't going to know I'm a boy in a dress. At least after a 2nd or 3rd look.

PP: From the photos I've seen you look great! Passing or not!

Gia: Aww, why thank you.

I'm a cross dresser, but I like to refer to myself sometimes as a female illusionist. It's about creating a perception / image of being a woman. But I don't necessarily feel like a woman, or want to be one. It's also a bit like creating an alter ego where I can act a certain way that I wouldn't otherwise.

PP: Indeed!

Do you Tuck &[/or] Shave when you crossdress?

Gia: Tucking is a general term. I wear briefs and 2 pairs of tights, and usually that's enough. I don't usually pick out outfits where it would be too tight in the wrong spots.

As for shaving, I do to varying degrees. Of course I shave my face. I usually shave my chest too, but the legs I usually hold off on unless there is a really good reason.

And I leave my arms and hands alone. Those are just too tough to explain. It's all about the long gloves. 

PP: I hear ya!

What makes you want to crossdress? How does it make you feel?

Gia: Haha. Good question. I think it's changed/evolved over the years.

I didn't know what to make of it at first. Yes, like a lot of cross dressers, it's a bit of a turn on, and I think that's primarily how it started. It was exciting to see how sexy I can get. I'd look at myself in the mirror and get turned on by what I saw, and I wanted to do more. It was the primary driver to buying new clothes and shoes and make up.

PP: Does [being] Gia make you feel more empowered? Less shy? Anything like that?

Gia: Well, yes. And that goes to the other reasons for my dressing. 

It evolved to the point where it wasn't about turning myself on. I've reached the point where I realized that it was more of a release. A chance to escape from the same old and be someone else for awhile. While at the same point be able to more freely express my inner feminine side - which is much easier to get to when you're in a dress.

Needless to say, there were some ups and downs along the way.

PP: [Unfortunately], life is full of those.

Gia: I've heard other stories about people essentially taking these deep introspective looks at themselves and basically trying to numb the need or desire to cross dress.

Twice in my evolution, I've tossed out full wardrobes in street corner trash cans, far away from my apartment. Out of disgust.

"This is not who I am. I'm a boy, I like girls, I'm confused, stop doing this to yourself."

But it always comes back. And it's really about accepting it to whatever level that you're comfortable. Whether that's wearing the occasional panty in bed, or in my case, full ensemble head-to-toe going out to bars and dancing. Or the occasional photo shoot.

PP: Ideally what percentage of your time would you prefer to be 'dressed'? like half the time, every once in awhile, every weekend etc?

Gia: It depends. Usually I'd go out 3-4 times per month in drag. It depends if there is a reason, and I don't typically dress up to just hang out in my apartment alone. That's boring. If I'm going to spend 2 - 2 1/2 hours getting ready - I want to be seen darn it!

PP: I hear ya!

Have you ever been caught by a girlfriend? If not, have you admitted to crossdressing to a girlfriend? What was the result?

Gia: No, never caught. And with my last significant relationship I was pretty upfront about it right away. It wasn't easy. But important. And we got through it, at least at the beginning.

I wish I could say that it was a positive in our relationship, but it wasn't. And although I don't think it was the only reason for why we eventually broke up, it was a big factor.

PP: I still think being honest up front is the best way to start a relationship

thats what I generally tell to all my CD friends & on my blog.

Gia: Exactly. So now, I've been very focused on trying to date girls who know about Gia right up front so there are no surprises down the line. Gia even has her own [dating website] profile.

PP: Is there an inspiration for your look?

Gia: I can't point to anything specific. But I like to be edgy. Bit more rock and roll versus country. Nothing against country. But my roots are in punk and maybe a little glam. It's funny to put names to it, but it's like a weird combo of David Bowie, Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie and Sid Vicious.

PP: Cool!

Do you have a story or idea to share that you haven't previously shared here?

Gia: I want to express that if it wasn't for Gia, I would not have met some of the most interesting and special people in my life. She's opened up new experiences that I would never have had before, and frankly, makes life more interesting to live.

It's not easy being a straight cross dresser. But usually it's worth it.

PP: I feel like i've met a lot of cool interesting people through my blogging etc as well. I'm glad I was encouraged to start it.

Thank you for letting me interview you for my blog today. Would you like for me to put a link to your online profile or email, in case some lovely ladies are interested in getting to get to know you better? 

Gia: Yep, anyone should feel free to reach me at callmegia@mail.com. But I can't guarantee I'll be able to reply to everyone.

That was  Interview with a Straight Crossdresser #2. If you have any questions or comments feel free to comment below or you could email me or Gia. You can reach me at StraightCrossdressers@gmail.com , PiratePebbs@gmail.com or at the Facebook page Facebook.com/straightcrossdressers. I hope you all enjoyed learning a bit more about some of the wonderful people who inhabit our world who I happen to hold dear.

Raven 14

This time I was able to bring one of my GG friends along for Saturday. Its nice to have more genetic girls in attendance who support t-girls. But Raven weekend starts on Fridays. On Friday Paula & I drove up to the hotel that the meet & greet was at. After changing rooms once we got Paula's makeup on & got her all dolled up. This time i got the make-up on her pretty well. I implemented something i had heard cosmetologists talk about as far as shading. It all worked well. We went to the meet & greet and saw some of our old friends and met some new ones. We had a really good time and retired just a few steps from the meet & greet to the hotel room, way better than driving for an hour + to go home. Next day had continental breakfast then I was off to pick up my GG friend, Felixia, from philly. Picked her up then headed to the franklin mills mall. I still had Nothing to wear to the main event. Saturday is the red carpet, dinner & dancing. Stopped in JCPenny (I work in the portrait studio of a JCP so I has discount whoot!) Found the perfect dress & accessories and even a dress for my kid (awesome!)! We headed back to New Hope. Paula started on her makeup before we got there (as planned) so I only had to finish the work. Paula was sooooooooooooo excited to wear the dress I made for her. We all got ourselves together (a bit later than we should have cause we had plenty of time, oops) we got there still with red carpet time. Paula showed off her awesome dress. Looked beautiful! Like the prom princess of Raven 14. She got shoes just for the red carpet....then off they came cause they were super uncomfortable, but like they say, beauty is pain.
After the red carpet was dinner. Food was awesome, as usual at Raven. Marty was there again this time, but not our waiter (yes I have total waiter favouritism). Still had a bit of a chat with him. Awesome person, you should totally chat w/him if you meet him. Next off to the dance floor. I...had to consume a few amaretto sours before I could dance (I have a bit of dancing shyness). Had a few drinks, danced and made some new friends. Saw more GG/CD couples this time than before, which I thought was awesome! Also met a girl named Samantha (who a couple weeks later we, Paula, Jerome and myself took out to the mall to shop for girl clothes), who was very sweet. Also spent a good half hour or so chatting with Mercury. Kinda made tentative plans to hang out...never panned out. Maybe next time. Sunday morning we met with Jackie at the breakfast spot at the eagle diner. This time with Paula in guy mode. (We saw a few of the other girls in guy mode as well) We had a nice conversation & a nice breakfast there. Next we headed off home after a fun weekend. All in all I always have fun at the Raven weekends. The Next Raven is June 1st. I already am bringing 1 other Genetic Girl who is interested in dating crossdressers. Hopefully she'll find the girl of her dreams there. I'm hoping to bring a few other girls. We'll see.

I Love you ALL!
~Pirate Pebbs

Sorry!

Sorry I haven't been posting recently. I've been way stressed about life etc. I have a few straight crossdressers who want to be interviewed for my blog. Sent out a few emails with standard-ish questions. Plan on doing an interview tomorrow. Hopefully that will go well. I need to do a ....midyear resolution to post every week. When I had my resolution last year it went well...ish. well, hopefully I'll do better. Anywho, here's what's been going on w/me. Been stressed about money (like half or more of america) trying to get bills paid etc. Um....OK so I've been dating crossdressers for over a year but I've been seeing one in particular for almost a year. Its gone quite well. Been seeing that one exclusively for a few months. Its going very well. I never realized how much I could mean to one person...really...it feels really good to have someone care for you so much. Well, I'll be interviewing that crossdresser some time soon. Let's see...what else... um...I don't know. Maybe I should do a 'buy me booze' PayPal button...you know for booze money cause...well this update is brought to you by jack & ginger ale! 

I love you all!

~Pirate Pebbs

Sorry I’ve been away…Sometimes Life Happens

So yeah, sometimes life happens and I don’t get around to posting. Sometimes I’m sick, sometimes I’m stressed, sometimes I’m running around doing everything yet nothing, sometimes I’m spending time with my daughter, sometimes gardening, sometimes typing run on sentences…sometimes I’m just lazy and doing nothing cause I can. So here’s a lil update on me. 

I just got a new car!!! …ok New to me. It’s a 2009 Elantra. You may recall that I was in a car accident about 8 months back. I’d been in rental cars and borrowing cars for work. Insurance company…sucked majorly. I had to get a lawyer to get my insurance company to do their job….yeah….not fun. American Independent, worst insurance company ever! Ok, back to the present-ish.  

I also have a new camera because my old camera pretty much died. As you will see when I post the very few pics I took at the last Raven party (which I still need to blog about). The camera started dying at the end of a Raven party…so, yeah. So, now I pretty much have what I need to do more freelance photography, so that’s good at least. 

Let’s see…My garden is doing well, strawberries starting to flower, Kale is still alive, I think this is year 3 for them! I have much chocolate mint…and other things that no one cares about but me. My job has been veryyyyyyyyyyy part time for a long time so I’m also actively looking for other employment or a 2^nd job. Hopefully I can just do freelance to make ends meet. 

Shopping has been happening. Just the other day Paula, Jerome & I took a girl going through transition shopping for girl clothes out in a mall for the first time. That was fun.

I’ve been wanting to do a video blog post for a while. Every time I’m ready to do it something comes up to prevent me from actually filming. Random stuff…I’ll get it done eventually. I’ve been working on a logo design as well. 

I also co-host &/or photograph at Dr. Thunder Karaoke in Philadelphia. Lots of my nights are full of singing. One of my CD friends in Wisconsin decided to give me an awesome gift, a brand new Corset from Corset story!!! That should be coming in within the next few days. He wants me to do corset waist training with him. Will Do! I’ve been friends with him since about January last year. I really do appreciate it J. I wish there were something I could do for him but…I guess I’m doing what I can right now by blogging and talking to all my CD friends letting them know that it’s OK to crossdress. There are totally accepting females who are somewhere out there waiting for them. 

Back when I decided I wanted to start dating crossdressers I had no idea where to look. Most women who are into crossdressers don’t usually go out actively seeking them. Because I did I found sooooooooo many beautiful men out there. Lots of them have great personalities. Most are totally non-creepy. Most are respectful. Most I’d totally hang out with offline if they were local. Most were not local. One local CD though, I have had the pleasure of getting to know for the past year. I’ve been seeing him (mostly non-exclusively) for the past year. It’s been quite a nice experience. Way better than I’d expected. I had planned on doing another separate blog about the crossdressers I’d seen & dated but…well…I don’t even keep up with this blog so, who am I kidding? I won’t keep up with that. Maybe I’ll add some tidbits here & there about those few individuals. Won’t use names but if they’re reading, they’d know I was talking about them. Wow! This post is going everywhere. Well. I haven’t posted in a while and have had a lot on my mind. I think I’ll end it here-ish.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

~Pirate Pebbs~

Email me your & questions, comments. Let me know what topics you want me to discuss. Your participation will help feed my fingers

StraightCrossdressers@gmail.com

Facebook.com/StraightCrossdressers

International Women's Day 2013

Today I think of all the women making a difference in this world. First I thought of was the head of the Gulabi Gang of India, Sampat Pal. She is making a huge difference for women and families in India. She is a strong women who has helped other women find their strength. One of my friends is reading about the autobiography of Fawzia Koofi, the exceptional woman who is running to be the next president of Afghanistan. I read earlier today a little about Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,  the 24th and current President of Liberia.

I'm also thinking of my Trans-Women friends who are helping their other trans-women friends find their voices. I know so many lovely ladies who I have met through the meet-up group I belong to who are so inspirational. Lisa Empanada, who I've borrowed an entry from before and posted here. Also Jenn Bryant who organizes parties, like the Raven Events. Also I'm a big fan of Reena, Val, Allie...there are so many women who should be saluted. (just because they were born with a few extra pieces of equipment doesn't mean they are not exceptional women).

There are also the women that make a difference in people's every day lives. The moms, the sisters, the Teachers, the bus drivers the healthcare workers...maybe even the bloggers.

um...i think that's all i have to say about that. Happy Women's Day!

Happy Valentines Day 2013

So, it'll probably be after V-day when you all see this, sorry. I've been sick. I just wanted to give a warm shout out to everyone out there. I also wanted to quote RuPaul and myself with this next pic and what I copy & paste below it from the Facebook page associated with this page:

RuPaul has been saying those words forever and they are true. Some people get into relationships not loving themselves and hoping the other person validates their existence. You can't go in that way; it will ultimately fail. Everyone gets depressed, sad and lonely, its no reason to hate yourself. Realize that you are worth it. You are worth your love and additionally you will be worth someone elses. It all starts with you. If you crossdress, realize its not shameful. you can crossdress and love yourself. If you can let your light shine no matter what you're wearing, people will see that. Show your happy glow on the outside and people will notice...maybe (hopefully) the right people. The people who won't judge you for wearing what makes you feel happy. So love yourselves, then love others, you will get some love back. May not be today, may not be next week but it'll happen. If no one else, Pirate Pebbs Loves You!!!

I was shown some Love today. I had a special valentine this year (first time in many years, believe it or not), you all know her as Paula. Paula (guy mode version, but i shall continue using girl name and pronouns for continuity's sake) got me a vase of flowers (including in the mix my fav flower the Stargazer Lilly) Brunch in bed (cause i've been sick and haven't left the house all week) from a favie restaurant Riverwinds (I highly recommend the place, found it from restaurant.com so if you're looking to gain loyalty as a restaurateur it works. They no longer use restaurant.com but we still go and I wish I were getting paid or free food for recommending them) and the ultimate gift for a girl like me...a new(-ish) X-Box 360!!! (i say new-ish cause its the refurbished older style 360 but exactly what i wanted cause i have a hard drive with all my saved games and i didn't wanna lose my saves and start all over again with games & extras i had) So all of that stuff made for a pretty happy v-day for me :) I...made Paula some jewelry and gave her a framed pic of us. Pics below, they're cell phone pix...i'm sick didn't feel like getting my swanky camera :p

I didn't take a pic of the framed pic, but it was in a black frame and I wrote 'Happy Valentines Day 2013' on it. Was nice. I am confident that a day will come where all my pretty GM (who like to dress en fem) ISO GG's will find who they are looking for. :)

Pirate Pebbs Loves you ALL!!!

Raven 13 part 3 - finale...finally

Raven 13 part 1
Raven 13 part 2
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Thanks to that full bottle of wine I didn't need any other liquid courage all night. We danced a bit. Met a couple of other GG/TV couples I hadn't seen there previously. Also saw a couple I had met there before. Had a brief chat with Maureen, whom I met at a previous Raven event, also had a chat with a couple where their family all know about his crossdressing for the past 6 years!!! I think that’s pretty awesome!  There were a good deal of people attending for the first time and having such a great time. I didn't have my friend there this time to take pictures so I have less than I’d like to have had. Ah well. Got to be 2am, everyone either went home or to their rooms to either sleep or party more.

The next morning we went to meet up for breakfast at the nearby Eagle Diner. There were a few people from the Raven event, at least 2 rather large tables and several smaller tables had faces I recognized from the night before. Some of the gurls were in girl mode and a few were in guy mode. Paula and I sat at one of the rather large tables surrounded by people we knew either by face or name. I sat next to an older woman I had met a few times before named Jackie. I thought Jackie was a GG supporter of T-Girls, like myself. But as I was chatting with her she mentioned herself being ‘dad’. I was floored!!! I HAD No Idea! I didn't (or at least tried) not to express my shock, in a good way. She is totally passing!!! She is also very sweet & a wiz in the kitchen. I LOVE to hear other people’s stories and she had many. Stories were told of the ex-wife (who didn't cook very well), kids and even grandkids. The grandkids know her as Aunt Jackie, which I think is cute. When they get much older and start asking questions I guess they’ll get the answers then, but for now Aunt Jackie will do. Also at our table was the Dancing Queen Linda, a few men… men…er… Men who don’t dress…I guess. Also at our table was our wonderful event host Jen!!! But…not dressed as Jen. She was in guy mode. Ok, so Paula and I were wondering what Jen looked like in guy mode. Neither of us could imagine. Actually, for a while I thought she’d already went under the knife and was full time girl but I was told that she went to work male. So my mind was kinda blown seeing her w/o boobs, wig & make-up I guess. She was still Jen. Same voice, same attitude, same zeal for life. She just looked a bit different. I saw a few others out of their girl clothes at breakfast. It was a nice time. We talked about maybe having a flag football game at another Raven weekend. That would totally be a fun thing to do, maybe a Friday afternoon in the spring or summer. We all had out meal and had a good time eating and laughing together. Then it was time to go.

The thing I like is that there are girls who go to the Raven who are at every stage of…T-Girl-ness. You have the girls Dressing and going out for the first time, girls who just like to dress up and go out who have no interest in transitioning, girls who would like to transition but because of their significant other are not. There are girls who have transitioned who are still with their spouse who are working on seeing if this life will work out for them. There are girls fully transitioned and looking for a significant other of their own, be their preference male or female…or another t-girl. I love that, though not everyone necessarily knows where everyone else is on the spectrum of things, everyone respects one another enough that no one is ever put down for being one way or another or having a gender preference etc. …Though I did hear that one girl’s spouse was disrespected by being inappropriately touched by a couple of the gurls… that totally was not cool. From what I hear this was an isolated event, I’d never been harassed in that way but I, being a natural born GG don’t go around grabbing other girls bums. It’s not cool to do to someone you hardly know.

That being said, the weekend was fun. I met new people and hope to talk to them more in the future. Next time I think I’ll see if I can gather email addys and get a conversation going that way. Maybe have a few more interviews under my belt and on to my page. It seems my 1 ‘interview with a straight crossdresser’ is the most popular post on my blog. I plan on doing a year in review for 2012 blog posting soon.

Laterz!

Raven 13 part 2

Raven 13 part 1
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I got very little sleep that night. Got up early to greet my sis when she arrived at my house. Hang out with her for a bit then we went to an early lunch (brunch) at RiverWinds in NJ. Awesome food, service & atmosphere there. I always enjoy meals there. Try the calamari, they make the absolute best!!! 

After Brunch with the sis, Paula and I stopped by a JCPennys and got a few things we needed…I think stockings were the major needed item. We also looked at the clearance jewelry. can’t remember if we got anything else. Back into the car to drive up to New Hope.

We got there…maybe around 2 or 3pm and started to get Paula ready first (as usual). I did similar makeup as the previous day but used lighter grey on the eyelids. Because of the way Paula’s dress was cut and the corset being cut the way it was, Paula’s faux boobs couldn't fit in the dress without showing through. I decided we’d try to create cleavage using make-up. I didn't have the right kind of make-up so I improvised. It didn't come out as good as expected but, looking at the pictures, it did have a bit of the desired effect. On went the corset and then the hair. Paula really like everything about the hair on the previous day so I duplicated it in a more secure way than the day before (I couldn't fine more than 2 bobby-pins on Friday). I got the hair pinned up securely with many pins. While Paula finished getting herself ready, I worked on me. I had to iron my Lehenga Choli cause…well…I didn't have it properly hanging so it was very wrinkled. I decided on wearing false eyelashes that had rhinestones on it. I said, out loud, “If these don’t stick the first time I’m not wearing them”. They must have wanted to be worn cause they went on quite easily. I used this gold make-up…stick thing (that I got from the dollar store a few months ago) on my eyes and lips. It’s the type where you can use it wet or dry. I usually use it wet. It’s more opaque when used wet, it’s more of a shimmer when dry. I didn't do much with my make-up. I bobby pinned my tikka into my hair. Pinned my hair up a bit got dressed and we got out and to the Red Carpet before it was over!!! Red carpet is from 4:30pm until 7:30pm. I think we got there around 6:45pm. We met our friend Jen and she was quite surprised to see that we actually made it out to the red carpet. We had our pictures taken on the red carpet with our friends. I…forgot to get a red carpet shot alone. Ah well. There are pictures of me sharing the spotlight with others.

I met a lovely lady there…whose name I have forgotten (Maybe Jennifer…why am I so bad w/ names???) She was tall and passing! She wondered why I was there. I told her cause I like crossdressers. She seemed quite pleased with my answer. She said she had previously believed herself to be a straight crossdresser but was recently also interested in males. She was quite interesting. She told me about how she used to wear wigs and how once the wig is on she is ‘Jennifer’. Then she decided to grow her hair out. Once there is no wig/you’re always in the wig where does ‘guy type’ stop and ‘girl type’ begin? It’s kind of perplexing. I’d love to talk to her more about her views on herself etc. I told her about my blog and wrote down my blog address…maybe I should have gotten her email? Ah well, hopefully I’ll see her again at another event and we can chat more. I ran into some other friends there. Allie came in wearing this awesome black dress with red shoes; she looked as fashionable as ever. I met another GG there who is dating a crossdresser. Her Gurl couldn’t make it that night but she still came with another friend. She made her complete outfit. The dress, which looked awesome & awesome on her, her hair accessories, the works and for the life of me…I can’t remember her name either *sigh*. I also met Lisa’s lovely lovely spouse. She was very sweet. I got to chat with her a little bit; hopefully I can chat with her more some other time. Lisa was so much happier at this Raven than the last one I saw her at. I think maybe having the love of her life there was the reason. Sometimes it’s lonely not having the one you love nearby. I can’t say for sure why she didn’t seem very happy at the last one, I didn't feel it was my place to ask, I was just glad to see her so happy at this one. After a few more pictures it was time to head over to the Raven for dinner.

We had our dinner reservations set for 7:45pm I believe. We arrived there about 7:25pm and asked if we could be seated early and we were able to. The Host there was looking awesome as usual. This evening he was wearing all white with diamond-esque embellishments on his tall white hat (kinda like the nutcracker styled only with white faux fur) and was wearing a big diamond-esque rhinestone necklace. It turns out he was a creator of costumes (awesome!). I like being crafty as well. Maybe at some point I’ll make something from scratch to wear to a Raven event. We were seated and I decided on having wine…a whole bottle of wine. When I thought about it, it was cheaper than getting several separate glasses of wine and I usually don’t change wines glass to glass. Whereas Paula…is not a drinker so…More wine for me, Whoot! After we ordered we mingled a bit with some of the girls there. Went to a few tables, made some new acquaintances, talked to a few people we had met earlier that night and the night before. At the table behind ours was a girl who was attending their first Raven event. She had a makeover by a make-up artist who often comes to make over girls who request the service. She does great work. Nikki looked great. She seemed to be enjoying herself very much. As I looked around the room I spotted a couple I had seen before who I’d only seen for dinner, usually they were leaving just after I got there (we were always running late) I wanted to talk to them… they were wearing the cutest dresses J I mentioned in my previous post about this encounter (here) finished up dinner and headed to the dance floor.
(cont. Raven 13 part 3)

Raven 13 Part 1

Ok, so I've been reallllly wordy with this post so I figured i'd break it up into bitesized chunks...you know...if you take really big bites. Also, I would have had this up days ago, but for some reason Blogspot wasn't working on Chrome (my usual browser), then I tried on FireFox and it seemed like it'd work...but no, it didn't. I'm currently using (dare I say) Internet Explorer *shudder*
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I went to the Raven 13 party on the weekend of Jan 12-14 and had fun as usual. It’s a free event and all T-girls & admirers are invited. This time I made all of the events!!! A first for me, yay!

Here is how the schedule of events usually goes: Friday is the Meet & Greet. Starts about 7:45pm and goes till 2am. Most don’t stay till 2. It’s at a bar& grill, near the Raven. Then around midnight, whoever is up for it goes over to the Raven for some dancing. On Saturday some of the girls meet up in New Hope for Shopping early in the day then get ready for the Red carpet shoot, across the street from the Raven. That starts at 4:30pm and goes till about 7:30pm. Starting at 7pm at the Raven is Dinner. Dinner is optional (not free where as the rest of the events are free) goes till about 9pm. Then the much awaited Dance Party starts at 9 at the Raven on their dance floor. That goes till 2am. The next morning about 10-20 of the attendees go to breakfast at the nearby Eagle Diner as a nice end to a nice weekend. Here is how the weekend got going for me.

On Friday I spent a couple hours honing my make-up artistry skills on Paula’s face. I am getting quite good, if I do say so myself. I applied most of the make-up. (click here for details of what I did on Paula's face)**Then I had Paula apply the Mascara. A bit of blush, some red lipstick & Paula’s face is ready. Next into the brand New Corset Paula got from Corset Story, pulled in nice and tight so Paula had a very nice Hourglass figure. Then on with the rest of Paula’s shirts…I think Paula was triple layered that day. Corset, Shirt, Sweater/jacket-y…thing with a belt around that. Next on with the wig. A while ago, I think for the Raven 12 party, Paula got a curly ponytail to attach to the wig. It looked really cute to the side as it was. This time we did something different with the ponytail. We made the wig & ponytail look kinda like a bumped up hair style. I put the ponytail just a little behind the bangs. Pulled some hair around it and pinned it into place. A while ago Paula was talking about wanting the hair up and we figured that’s be a bit time consuming and couldn’t do it in time for this raven event. Well, once Paula saw how her hair looked like that, she was sooooo happy!! It was exactly how she’d imagined it!!!. Awesome again! I put a lil black tiara in her hair around the bump and Paula looked like a princess!

We were running a bit late for the Friday Meet & Greet (as usual) So I did about 5 minutes worth of make-up on myself, pretty much just liner, mascara, concealer. Put on my dress, found a pair of shoes& out of the house we went. I didn’t even do my lips till be were outside the meet & greet. We got there after 8pm...maybe 8:30-ish. Went in saw a few friends we had met previous times. Jen (the party planner that made it all happen) Chelle & Reena was there. Plus many others we’d met previously (not all whose names I remember…yeah…I’m horrible with names, sorry girls) I ordered a drink, Amaretto Sour, one of my fav’s. …They…did not make it correctly…at all…it was horrible. I took 2 sips and had to take it back and had them make me something else. I don’t know what she made, but it was good. J I ordered food cause I didn't have time to feed myself before leaving my house. I can’t even remember what I ate, but it was good J. Meanwhile Paula went around meeting some new people. I also went around after a few minutes…it took me forever to decide what to eat. I met some girls who were at the Raven for the first time, (this was my 3^rd time) They all seemed really excited. I met another lady who sells Avon as well. She’s been doing it for a year where as I have only been for a few months. I remember one person I met is named Destiny…cause I have a lil cousin with that name so it was easy to remember that one. There is a girl there that is always dancing. She is a dancing diva!!! Every time I see her dancing I swear she must have been a cheerleader in a former life. I believe her name is Linda. I talked to her about it; she says she feels like she’s performing when she dances. She certainly looks like she’s performing; she gets my stamp of approval. J I took a few pictures and was in a few as well. We headed over to the Raven for a little bit but left early. In a few hours my sister would be touching down at the Philly airport from California. So off we went back to my house so I could await my sister’s arrival. Unfortunately, Paula started feeling ill. I think we stopped for some Dayquil on the way back which Paula started consuming.

photobucket.com/raven13party

(cont. Part 2 & Part 3)