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(Draft)
(23 May 17)
‘One Hairy Idea And A Few Others For Good Measure’
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Sahwdee Khaf, my friends.
Welcome to another chapter in a long saga of ‘As the Blog Turns’.
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There was a recent discussion in a support group about men, whether Cis or Trans, having electrolysis or laser to remove their facial hair. Is a man a ‘real man’ if he wants to remove his facial hair? Permanently through electrolysis? Reduced through laser?
Certainly, not all men take pleasure with that scruff. Otherwise, no men would be shaving their face.
Perhaps I am the wet blanket among the comments. I hope what I write will help.
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There was no such thing as laser back in the 1970s and yes, there was a stigma if a ‘man’ went to electrolysis. I recall how much I wanted to do it, but it was difficult back then when I was still presenting mostly as male (1970s, 1980s). I was oddly fortunate that I had little facial hair til 1978 – 1979, mere months before I began Estrogen hormones that might well have blocked that hair if I could have started sooner.
I was stuck in a serious dilemma how to eliminate ‘5 o’clock shadow at 8:00 am’ when I was otherwise eager to go full-time. Make-up would not cover that Shadow and, residing at Utah, there was no choice for electrolysis. I explored tweezing by late-1983 and early-1984.
First I plucked where the location seemed inconspicuous – sides and neck. It did not hurt me. I gradually progressed to other additional locations on my face – week by week, month by month. I was tweezing my entire face by mid-1984. I can tell you all truthfully that I felt no pains. Or maybe it was a twisted mind that perceived this destruction of my erroneous maleness as ‘pleasure’ rather than ‘pain’.
I developed a weekly routine that began Saturday morning when I did my full facial clearing – that took maybe 60 to 90 minutes, as long as two hours, depending upon how detailed I was that session. I did touch-ups a few days during the week – those took maybe 30 to 60 minutes or so while watching TV during the weekday evening. Tweezing was hardly an intrusion into my life, in some ways it took less time than the daily shaving ritual, and added free time to my work-day mornings.
You can see the difference from 1981 to 1985 at my ‘Male Fail’ page (https://slimandme.wordpress.com/2016/05/05/male-fail/)
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I began electro late-1985. Rosita, my Electrologist, told me that my plucking made no difference to her as long as she had enough hairs for her to zap during our one-hour sessions. She was able to go quickly at full setting because my tweezing built up a tolerance for any pain that might have been associated with electro.
I did electro one hour on Saturday afternoons – usually once per month – from 1985 to July 1983. I recently did a couple touch-ups at Senza Pelo to get rid of some ‘granny hairs’. No pain.
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As for body hair – as the saying goes: YMMV – ‘Your mileage may vary’.
I was a very hairy ‘boy’ – arms, legs, front, back. My doctor who prescribed my first estrogen (Diethylstilbestrol) to me also counselled me to prepare to be a ‘very hairy female’. Neither of us had any clue what would happen back in 1979.
My move to Utah (October 1980) meant the temporary end of hormones – there were no doctors who would work with me. Then I found Dr. Charles Robertson at Costa Mesa, California (February 1983). I was still hairy in mid-1984; my body hair was essentially gone from my back and front and diminishing on my legs and arms, but still noticeable at least to me, by the time I went full-time in mid-1985.
I learned that hydrogen peroxide drew out the dark black color and made my body hair less noticed. But I must have reeked of peroxide. Then I noticed by late 1989 that my body hair was really going away.
I did DES (6mg) from 1979 to 1980; I recently learned that DES has little effect on feminising one’s appearance – that its affects are more internal than external. I began Premarin (6.5mg) in 1983 and it helpt chemically and my appearance. Doctors did not prescribe the ‘cocktail’ during the old days – all we had was either DES or Premarin, no progesterone, no Finasteride, no Spironolactone.
If you want to lose body hair, certainly plucking / epilating is an alternative. Bear in mind the reality of hair growth. Tweezing is temporary – hair is absent only as long as it takes that hair follicle to re-grow until it either dies or is killed. You also need to be certain to remove the bulb to make that absence last longer than merely extracting the shaft with the growing bulb intact.
You can also try laser. Laser is temporary; it merely damages the hair follicle currently growing while leaving future cycles intact. The more laser you do, then the more your hair will diminish. It will certainly reduce heavy hair to become fine hair through the course of several procedures. Again, the ‘pain’ depends upon your tolerance for the sensation. You’ll more likely smell the burnt hair root than feel any pain from the actual ‘zap’.
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You can test your affinity to electrolysis. I tried this method, it worked for me as an idea, but it was far more tedious than going to the electrologist and paying the fee.
- Use a very fine needle that slips gently into your pore. The needle must not pierce your skin or pore!
- Get a very low-powered battery – such as a AAA – and two wires.
- Attach the wires to the battery – one to the positive, one to the negative.
- Now touch the two wires to the needle that is inside your pore.
That is electrolysis.
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Or perhaps ask your doctor to prescribe vaginal cream. It contains a low-dose level of estrogen that may have an effect on your hair and follicles.
I heard in the old days that vaginal cream was prescribed to people (male or female) to reduce worst cases of testosterone-induced cystic acne.
The price for me for two tubes per prescription re-fill is around $15 on MediCare.
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Here’s my well-wishes to you for whatever and however you proceed.
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Tick tock … time is getting near.
I was sitting on my back patio, eating papaya and grapes, and drafted a bon voyage message for my friend who is now on her way to Dr. Chettawut. She departed with late notes and last thoughts, words of encouragement, and philosophy.
- Consider your trip to Ye-son was a test run.
- Keep a diary – written and video.
- Take lots of pictures and video everyday.
- Befriend the people at the clinic and at your residence – you will share a special bond.
- Experience the Thai people, their culture, their food. See as many sights as you can.
- Leave no regrets other than regretting you could have done better and more.
- Enjoy every moment – you will not pass this way again.
- Post notes and pix to your sites to keep us in the news.
- Mind Dr. Chettawut and his doctor’s orders.
- Sri, Noi, and the Chettawut Clinic nurses are there for you and will answer your questions of intimacy.
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You will all do well.
- L: You are now mom to your new daughter. You have the opportunity of wisdom of age to teach your new daughter. You cried tears of joy one year ago; pardon my emotions, allow me to cry them this year.
- C: You now are your mom’s new daughter. You will not know what your life might have been; savour every moment of your future as it is meant to be. Now you understand when we say ‘take deep breaths’, ‘relax’, and talk of ‘duty’ companions #1 through #4 (tee-hee). Hey, you can join the ‘advanced’ group at your next
meeting.
- J: You are the good father every child should have.
Permit me to add that we Chettawut Clinic and Thai experience alumnae are with you.
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That made me think philosophically about my friend who travelled to PAI nearly three years ago.
- What was your mind-set?
- Where were your thoughts in the days before your departure?
- Thinking about your past and future?
- Focused on packing?
- Wondering who you will meet?
- Disappointed travelling alone with neither family nor friends for support?
- I wish that I could’ve been with you, my Thai experience friend. I am with you now.
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My friend and I each went alone to Bangkok – one year apart. We then found each other.
Maybe we can share our tears about this.
Yes, my friend, your days were quite complicated. You were certainly eager to make your way. How hard it had to be knowing that your home-coming meant stepping into that vast unknown left unsettled when you departed:
- your truck and car break-downs,
- your loss of employment and income,
- your lost opportunity for FFS.
Yow!
The worst of my worries was another break-in; there was little chance that those criminals could exact more damage than they already accomplished, mine was far less than your fate.
I appreciate your sense of humour that pads were your big concern.
I made lists, packed and un-packed for two months, made two full test runs to the airport, and still forgot some things.
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Of course, everyone has their own preferences; maybe some want to be left alone, while others want to be surrounded by family and friends (lucky you).
I was curiously blessed (or cursed?) to this experience three times, yet endured each occasion alone. That allows me the opportunity to comprehend when one makes their journey in solitude.
I was fortuneate at my journey to Chettawut Clinic spanning three calendar months, my revision recovery was brief, I occupied most of my days as patient companion to my Baan Siri neighbours.
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As you, I love flying and was eager to leave. I had not flown since my trip to New Jersey to be with my dying father (1989). I chose my dad’s birthday as my revision surgery date. Now I was wondering. Was that to be my fatefull omen? I now became scared to death to fly, my thoughts were filled with doom fearing that I would die in a plane crash during this excursion.
My first leg to LAX was filled with fear. I gripped the seat rests the moment we departed from the terminal and throughout most of the entire flight. I could not watch take-off; I was shaking and crying – an emotional wreck. I kept the window shade down those early minutes, then gradually peeked outside a little at a time. I eventually eased my nerves and built a small modicum of normalcy. I was enjoying the flight by the time we went into landing mode at LAX. I was ready for the next flights: first to Beijing, then to Bangkok.
Lucky you, you got a window seat. I was stuck at the inside section on my flight from LAX to Beijing. You experienced the wonder of sunrise, sunset, and crescent Moon. Both my outbound flights to Beijing and Bangkok and my return flights from Guangzhou to home were at night. Worse, the flight crew commanded us to keep our window shades closed at all times; I saw no beauty of sunrise or sunset, nor the Moon.
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I need to re-read your book.
I took time to digest your recent texts – empathising – comparing timelines – our similar lives.
- Tears of joy?
- Sadness?
- Fate?
- Co-incidence?
You endured much during five critical years, 1987 to 1991: deaths of people dear to you must be hard. Your nephew even harder carrying his loss of his father at his young age. A child holds this grief for a lifetime. Does your nephew fear for his own son?
I knew two school-mates who lost a parent at that age:
- Dennis (mom, cancer),
- Patrick (dad, heart attack).
I can’t imagine finding my dad or mom dead at age 12.
Suicide – hanging, shotgun, drugs, car crash – I can think of more than a handfull during my life. You and me, kiddo, we somehow evaded that, too, what befell upon others of our circle.
Losing our childhood home was another hurt we share. I felt bad when my dad sold our home to take me to Greece – a similar blow as yours, though, if I may say so, Greece was better than Mesa.
Worker protection laws are at the whims of the employer; that was what I learned and witnessed during my career life. You suffered work injuries, we both experienced getting fired on specious reasons.
You were blessed to be present for both parents at their deaths. My sister Kathy tried to hide our dad’s terminal condition and impending death. She succeeded denying our mom’s final days to me – I have no position, as she says, ‘you are NOT family’.
Yep, your last four years have been a frenzy. Your counsellor has been good for you. Let’s get your electro finished. Then we’ll work on your FFS and other plans.
Look out, Thailand! Here we come again!
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I was deep Stealth thinking that I could not tell anyone in 1982 and 1983; privacy forced me to go it alone both times. I explained my dilemma to family during the past few years; they don’t get it, yet they reject me nowadays. Besides, none would’ve been with me far away at Utah either time.
My dad snooped through my personal papers and made his own erroneous conclusions during his Christmas 1982 visit. He saw such things as my hospital-issue water pitcher. He asked me why I had these hospital sundries around my home; I mumbled and withheld the actual reason from him. Nor could I tell anyone in 1983 of my fait accompli. I visited Cousin Nancy at Colorado for Memorial Day weekend 1983, a few weeks after second surgery, but never found a way to present it into conversation. I could hardly blurt out during dinner, ‘Hey, guess what I did? I had sex change surgery.’ Not then anyway.
Why do you think that I seriously considered suicide in 1983? It seemed to be the only way to get family to take me seriously; they would have had to have gone to Utah to collect Sharon’s body, not Nickie’s. I came to my senses and realised that they would have let my corpse rot rather than see me dead or alive.
My departure to Thailand was depressing, but not un-expected, because of my lack of family. Cousin Bev promised that she would see me at the airport departure; I knew that she lied to me and that I could do nothing about it. Kathy promised to visit with me during my 6-hours lay-over at LAX. She texted to me at the last moment that she could not get to the airport because of heavy rain. She lied. Or she took me for an idiot. Our flight over San Diego and Los Angeles was totally clear – no rain. She blathered that same, lame lie on my return flight two months later; must’ve been quite a long two-months storm of Biblical proportions once endured by Noah.
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I un-wrapt my home-made silicone ‘appliances’ a few days ago.
Wow!
Ya wanna see?
They are far more flexible than those stiff plastic devices.
I shall cure them a little longer outside their casing before I try #4.
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Political news and quickies:
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Ya know how dictators flee their country and seek asylum with a friendly nation? Ya think Drumpf will stay at Saudi Arabia?
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Didja see? Melania slapt the Orange’s hand when he tried to grab her on the red carpet. Hey, Trumple, no frisky grabbing the First Lady’s p*ssy on the tarmac!
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Drumpf declares that Flynn is not ‘innocent’.
- Donald Trump (2016 campaign speeches – 28 Sep 16): ‘If you’re innocent, why take the 5th Amendment’?
BBC TV (22 May 17) reported that Flynn will ‘take the 5th Amendment’ and will refuse to comply with any subpoena – whether to testify under oath to Congress or to surrender evidence to them.
- ‘Flynn lied to federal investigators’,
- ‘Flynn contacted Russian officials’,
- ‘Flynn is refusing to hand over documents’,
- ‘It is proven that Russian Television paid Flynn’s bill’,
- Flynn ‘colluded with Russians’.
ABC network news (22 May 17):
- ‘Flynn lied to the Pentagon and investigators’ and that congress is set to issue ‘Contempt of Congress’ charges against Flynn.
That’s Flynn’s idea of law-and-order. I hear chanting, ‘Lock him up!’.
Russians paid $ millions to Flynn for ‘Russian meddling’ and ‘collusion’. Flynn must be in one high-gear working frenzy shredding and destroying incriminating evidence.
Can you imagine the Republi-con outcry if Clinton was President and her national security advisor ‘colluded with Russians’ and refused Congressional subpoenas!
Lock him up!
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CBN News (‘700 Club, 23 May 17):
- ‘Comey is expected to testify Trump was meddling in the FBI’s investigation over his Russia ties. Comey is set to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee after Labor Day.’
CBS News (23 May 17) is reporting that
- Trump ordered both CIA Coates and Security Advisor Rodgers to ‘deny the existence of evidence of Trump’s collusion with Russia’,
- Trump ‘asked Comey to halt the investigation between Flynn and his illegal contacts with Russian officials’.
- ‘Flynn was paid by state-run Russian media outlet Russian Television.’
Lock him up!
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Who ‘leaked’ to the Russians that Israel provided ‘intelligence’ to Drumpf?
- Drumpf, R (press conference, 22 May 17): ‘I never said Israel.’
No one said that you did, you dolt. Until you said it now. You exposed every intelligence operator working for both Israel and the USA.
The perpretator of the crime knows all the details.
Drumpf lacks ‘intelligence’!
Lock him up!
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Drumpf’s arms manufacturing corporate buddies will fatten their wallets through that new weapons deal with the Saudi royal family.
Drumpf’s contract claims to be $110 billion, but we know that those arms merchants will inflate their price to $trillions.
It certainly does pay to have friends – Drumpf – in high places.
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Monday was the anniversary of President Johnson’s ‘Great Society’.
Meanwhile, Drumpf announced that his ‘Great Society’ will:
- decimate MediCare and cut $800 billion from that budget,
- eliminate public assistance for elderly and Social Security recipients,
- reduce lifetime eligibility for public assistance.
CBS News (23 May 17) reporting on Drumpf’s budget demands – ‘Drumpf is proposing deep cuts in social safety net programs’:
- cut $4.1 trillion from ‘anti-poverty’ programs ‘to balance the budget’
- cut MedicAid by $800 billion
- cut SNAP Food Stamps by 30%
PBS Newshour (22 May 17):
- ‘Drumpf will significantly cut domestic programs. There will be major cuts to MedicAid – millions of people will be cut. Special Education will be cut from Public Schools. The outlook is bleak if local schools can’t raise taxes to replace Drumpf budget cuts.’
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Drumpf makes it clear that his foreign policy will not include women’s rights, LGBT rights, minority rights, worker rights, environmental damage considerations.
PBS Newshour (22 May 17):
- ‘Drumpf is siding with autocratic regimes. Drumpf is giving them a pass on Civil Rights issues.’
KPNX TV (22 May 17):
- ‘Drumpf’s budget will take a major toll against the lowest-income in the community’.
KPNX TV also reported that Arizona Governor Ducey signed a $ billion tax cut for Corporations as he signed another bill again shorting Public Schools and the universities.
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KAET TV ‘Horizon’ (22 May 17):
- Drumpf hired Clarence Carter – a fired, disgraced, former DES director, Republi-con loyalist to run (run down) a federal agency of HHS.
With that, Carter proved his experience destroying public agencies and then proclaiming that ‘guh’mint is the problem’. Way to go, ‘Peter Principle!
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KPNX TV (22 May 17):
- Arizona Governor Ducey signed a bill cutting Department of Corrections to fund the Corporate prisons owned by Arizona’s Republi-con party elite. Former Governor Brewer has been known as a big owner of ‘Corrections Corporation’.
KSAZ TV (22 May 17):
- Mesa approved privatising their city jail – making crime and imprisonment profitable for the city.
Way to go, Mormons!
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Religious freedom or religious intrusion?
- Texas law allows adoption agencies to deny the right to adopt children by LGBT, single, or non-Christian parents.
- Missouri Catholics filed a lawsuit opposing a Saint Louis city ordinance otherwise giving Civil Rights protections in hiring and residency to persons with a personal, private history of abortion, pregnancy, or contraceptive use.
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PBS Newshour (22 May 17):
- ‘Drumpf’s approval rating is now at 37%. Republi-cons are gonna stick with him. They blame the media.’
The Ringling Brothers circus closed, now we can be entertained by the Drumpf 3-rings circus.
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Joe Walsh, Republi-con talker, was screaming again (22 May 17). He was whining about graduates protesting commencement speakers – Pence at Notre Damn, for example.
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And the ‘Wiseguy’ ‘Pilgrims of Promise’ arc is back (Heroes and Icons TV, 11 am) this week.
- ‘He’s a salesman, went broke. Now he sells White power cassettes for the ‘Pilgrims of Promise’. He’s on the talk show circuit with his book, a badly-written polemic with far-right fundamentalist doctrine. Great for insomnia! His followers are low-rent cowboys; they believe his racists stuff.’
Sounds like Drumpf – salesman, bankruptcy, and his ‘Art of the Deal’ book – rather than the fictional Knox Pooley.
Yeehaw!
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‘Law and Order: Criminal Intent’:
- ‘Stupid employees are never as stupid as the stupid employer who hires them.’
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‘That’s the way it is … ‘
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I was slow getting out of the house today. the cool shower in Phoenix’ 105 degree heat felt good. I know how to conserve water – I used only five gallons for those soothing 15 minutes.
I finally made my way and what did I see but two packages at my mail box – from Kathy.
Alana, let’s have another ceremonial opening tamale and look inside.
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Brad:
Yes, I remember you fondly. We had quite a year, didn’t we. I always am thankfull for your father’s help teaching me darkroom skills. When Kathy brought that box of Mexican food, we all had a good meal that one night, eh. We had fun digging holes and tunnels.
Do you hear from Dave, Keith, or any others?
That is a dumb way for me to put it. Had you been in contact with any of the others all these years before starting the Dasahori page? What prompted you to do it now?
I shall visit your site and write more.
Thank you for posting the 1972 – 1973 Dasahori class picture; Angelina, Dave, and Keith are missing from this photograph. For years, all I saw was that black-and-white image published in the yearbook. Seeing your colour version of our class picture made my life.
Nearly all my photography was either destroyed (1989) or stolen (2014) – including nearly all but a handfull of snap shots of Greece that I scanned a few years ago by happenstance – quite fortuitous. I had a mere 71 images to my name in 2014. I posted many of my Greece pictures on early pages at this site. You can also see comparison views of Maggana – my photograph from when my dad and I resided there versus a recent ‘street view’ from Google.
I posted to the Pinewood alumn site several months ago; you are the first to correspond with me. Efharisto polli!!! My suspicions tell me that some who have visited here do not accept me whether or not they agree with me (personally or politically).
I shall check and release your other comments. You made my day!
‘Kapung khaf’ as we Thai experience say. Ahw, you already know that; you’ve been there, too.
One friend is on her way to Bangkok for the next month, another will travel in December.
I want to return, planned for this year’s Songkran, maybe next year. What a hoot if we go there the same time.
Do you know Baan Siri (Bangkok Rama)? That’s where I stayed during my three calendar months. My ‘Dr. Chettawut’ page has a few maps to show its Bangkok location. That’s my friend, my protector, the Baan Siri Dragon.
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Kapung khaf, Dear Reader.
Please return soon for another installment.
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My dear friend Lilly / Qian (from China) sent a fantastic e-mail to me today. Her life is improving; she is studying computers at Beijing. She is one more reason – the best reason – to return to Asia.
I drank my fill of cranberry juice and snacked on ‘Cheez Its’ and two bags of trail mix. Yummy! But there were no peanut butter cookies this time.
One survey asks us to identify our sex, gender, and orientation.
Today is ‘May Day’. We celebrate the workers of the world today, not the bosses, not the corporate.
Communication is a two-way street. All parties must share the give-and-take. At least that is how I have been led to it throughout my life. Tell me where I went wrong.
I did my last aphoresis a couple years ago – making it a double-dose donation. Aphoresis puts a metallic taste to your sense of smell and sense of taste. It also gets the body cool – a curious way to beat the Summer heat.
Trans Spectrum had our Prom this past Saturday night.
Slim and Me 