adventurerliberated

Wonderful validations & liberating clarifications

Last night, I went to the birthday celebration of one of the more outgoing & friendly people in the gay men’s chorus, joining folks at a queer club. Overall, I really had fun and the night felt affirming and liberating in several ways that are still making me glow now. Fortunately, my closest nonbinary transmascContinue reading “Wonderful validations & liberating clarifications”

A week of strengthening & broadening bonds

This week I’ve been able to see close friends every single day since getting home from Chicago on Monday. That in and as of itself has been lovely; but what has made it even lovelier has been a strengthening or broadening of the bonds with them. The Chicago trip, just as the Durango trip aContinue reading “A week of strengthening & broadening bonds”

Conversion therapies of all types must end once and for all

[Note: in addition to gays/lesbians, conversion therapy has also been forced on autistic children/youth in the form of “Applied Behavioral Analysis” therapy, a.k.a. ABA.] Re-blogging an excerpt from one of the LGBTQIA+ organizations here in Colorado: “This administration is continuing to use harmful rhetoric to stoke fear, chaos, and division within our communities. The recentContinue reading “Conversion therapies of all types must end once and for all”

Desperate urgency & holding the line

I’ve been trying to understand my unwillingness to keep up a friendship with the gender-expansive gay guy with whom I had hooked up unless he also takes concrete steps to initiate our meetings/plans. Why am I drawing such a hard line with him that I don’t necessarily draw with other friends? After all, isn’t friendshipContinue reading “Desperate urgency & holding the line”

The broken chain & the rings that remain

Monday, almost a week ago, was a “Big Day”. A day of “one big beginning and one final ending”, I wrote then. But it turned out to be a day of two beginnings. For almost half-a-dozen years I had been wearing a silver chain around my neck with two silver rings on it that areContinue reading “The broken chain & the rings that remain”

My painful longing to find a way into “Boystown”

I’m visiting Chicago for the weekend. And this afternoon I spent a few hours exploring the streets of Boystown, Chicago’s official (& the nation’s oldest officially-recognized) “gay quarter”. I probably should have gone on a different day — I hadn’t realized there was an event going on which led lots of people to visit thisContinue reading “My painful longing to find a way into “Boystown””

Conscience, or vocational, crisis

I’m at a quantum workshop & recruiting event at the University of Chicago theoretically “chaperoning” two students whom the program that I manage is supporting. But I’m doing a lousy job. Because I’m too upset. First, the restroom incident this morning started off my day very badly — for the thousandth time at events likeContinue reading “Conscience, or vocational, crisis”

Battle for pronouns & restroom equity at CQE (University of Chicago)

STEM events, even in “liberal” or “progressive” places like the University of Chicago, are still very lacking and behind when it comes to restrooms. When I got to the event this morning, of course name tags had no pronouns on them and the only way to get one’s pronouns on the tag was to writeContinue reading “Battle for pronouns & restroom equity at CQE (University of Chicago)”

United under the Rainbow

This is my first time flying with my new Colorado DL/REAL ID, going through TSA with an ‘M’ (instead of ‘X’ or, previously, ‘F’) on my ID. And it’s been wonderful for now. Not because of the ‘M’ — after all, I’ve been “sir’ed” and “man’ed” when traveling through airports for at least a coupleContinue reading “United under the Rainbow”