CONGRATULATIONS!

                NCAA DIVISION II 
           BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS!
                                                         

                              WOMEN
                                                                                                           
      Congratulations to the Falcons of Bentley University (35-0)

                                                     

                                                                         MEN
Congratulations are also in order to the mules of Central Missouri. 

Men's Division II Basketball Championship To be Decided Tomorrow Night 3/29

                                                                                     VS.

The Division II men basketball champion will be crowned to morrow the University of Central Missouri Mules and the West Liberty University Hilltoppers play.

Genevieve's Gems

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.

~Car Sagan, Scientist (1934-1996)

Division II Women's National Championship Tonight!

                                                                                VS.

Tonight the division II women's basketball championship will be decided when the Lady Buffaloes of West Texas A & M University tangle with the unbeaten Bentley University.

Genevieve's Gems

All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.


~Orison Swett Marden, Author (1850-1924)

Congratulations to FDU-Florham and Wisconsin-Whitewater

I love March Madness! There's the big boys like Louisville, Arizona, and Michigan State. However, there's the little guys in Division 3 who play good basketball, also. My hearty congratulations to the women's basketball at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham who defeated the Whitman College Missionaries from Spokane, Washington, 80-72. It was first national championship for the Devils. 

On the men's side, a last second layup by Quardell Young gave the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks a 75-73 victory and the championship over  over the Ephs of Williams College from Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was the second national championship for the Warhawks, who won the national football championship in the fall.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DEVILS AND THE WARHAWKS!

Headed To Albany in April

I will be going to Albany on April 29th for Equality & Justice Day 2014. I'm really looking forward to this. This will be my first time going and what I'm will be paying attention to is how transgender topics are presented and how people of color are represented and presented. Will pay particular attention to the major players (on both sides) of this debate. 

I never really saw myself as an activist but it seems, like my transgender journey,that I have been nudged forward in the struggle. I'm still upset by the Gender Employment Non-Discrimination Act not passing the same night that marriage equality was passed with flying colors. I want to see what ca be done to move this bill forward.

Cattle Point Lighthouse

This lighthouse got its name when cattle and sheep were raised there after being off loaded. More cattle arrived when a stranded vessel was forced to unload its quarry. Located on San Juan Island in the Haro Straits of Washington state, Cattle Point Lighthouse is thity-four feet high. The current lighthouse was built in 1935 replacing the compass station. It is a part of the San Juan Islands National Monument 

Sources:
www.lighthousefriends.com

TGLBQI Meeting Over Brunch

Yesterday after service  Beyond Labels, the TGLBQI ministry, had another meeting over brunch. We are preparing for June's pride month. A masquerade ball is possible for the first Friday in June. Other business was discussed.

The transgender 101 presentation is still on for the second or third Sunday. A panel discussion is in the offing and other possibilities are being looked at. I brought up the idea of a Power Point presentation for pride or in November for Transgender Day Of Remembrance. I'm quite excited about this. Other ideas are coming up also. Our next meeting will be in April.

Genevieve's Gems

If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.

~John Wooden, Coach (1910-2010)

We Are Rising

I was reading this poem today and thought it to be pertinent to us as transgender people.


Still I Rise

You may write down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awfully hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with our eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wonderfully clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou

Dreams

I'm sure that many of you have dreams of being this or becoming that. It great to have dreams; it's even better when we are able to fulfill them. 

I'm a senior citizen (don't see myself that way, though) who still has dreams and goals to accomplish. I was always a fan of radio and now I have my own radio program on the internet. I am serious considering doing my master's degree in creative writing. I have other dreams that I will accomplish. It's important to have dreams and desires throughout life because we are ever changing whether or not we may feel it. 

I have fancied myself being a queen, a bride, princess, chanteuse, and a model. Not exactly realistic but dreams nevertheless. All of us should have something in mind that we could like to do. It may involving making changes in our lives; mindset, location, even the people we may hang out with. Living a full and abundant life is something we all should strive for.

Being Prepared

I went to the library today gathering poems for an upcoming radio program. I took note of all the time that goes into reading them, choosing the poems I'll use, and some history of the author. As I think about the concerns that transgender people have, it requires that same diligence.

I have never seen myself as an activist but I'm being drawn into it more out of necessity. There are a number of concerns that I have that I will be tackling. Doing my homework on the issues and aspects of being transgender is VERY important because when you have information (and lots of it), one can go on the offensive. Transgender people are making progress because we have decided to handle our own business. We've been thrown under the bus too many times. Lives have been affected in the process.   

Genevieve's Gems

Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.

                                                              
                                                                     ~Oprah Winfrey 

Trans Women's Group

Last night I went to a trans women group meeting at the SAGE center. There were ten or twelve women in attendance. I arrived about twenty minutes late but really didn't miss much. The topic discussed was dating after sixty. I enjoyed listening to the concerns of the participants regarding dating and meeting someone who's interested in them. This was the first meeting I attended. Last month's meeting was snowed out.

I met a woman named Kelly who volunteers with Empire Pride Agenda, an organization here in New York State which is working to get the Gender Employment Non-Discrimination Act passed. There will be lobby day in late April of which I will attend.  

Ar Men Lighthouse

Located on the west end of Brittany, Ar Men was built under some difficult conditions. It is located in an isolated part of Brittany. It was completed in 1881 and automated in 1990. I love the pic above with the waves crashing around this structure. To me, Ar Men has most certainly proved its mettle.

New Day Here

More and more I see many municipalities, school administrations, and law and legal institutions, and religious organizations grappling with TGLB rights. Some seem so surprised that such an issue would come up. There was a time when such topics as gay an lesbian rights and transgender protections was taboo. Well, that day has ended.

I was reading my emails and took note of many places you wouldn't think would be talking about TGLB concerns much less voting on them. Places like Kansas, Nebraska, Georgia, Wyoming and Mississippi. Countries in Africa, Latin and South America and Europe are now having to discuss and take action on the issue. I wonder what happens when the people making these decisions discover that their son or daughter is gay. What do they think when their child tells them that they believe are opposite of their birth gender. I often wonder if some folks who are staunch enemies of TGLB rights are struggling with same sex attractions. I truly do wonder about this, but I digress.

To me, this is an exciting time in history. Being a part of te change is very exciting and scary. I know what could happen but it's worth it. Being a part of something bigger than me is a challenge that I welcome and embrace.  

Genevieve's Gems

Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation.

~Chinese proverb

Striking A Balance

One topic I see discussed on the forums I subscribe to is trying to balance the masculine and feminine side of our personality. I can imagine that it can be a shock to we possess more masculine or feminine traits than we thought. Now the hard part comes when we try and strike a balance between the two. 

It took me over a year to feel comfortable with my new identity as a transgender person. It took more months for me to progress from a cross dresser to a  transgenderist to transgender. There were times of emotional shifts in my personality and thought process. It was quite a process because of dealing with emotions that I either never felt before or may not have known that I have. Whenever I came to a fork in the road, I had to choose either to remain where I was or proceed ahead. Now, several years later, I'm still making many changes in my life. 

Interacting with the public has helped me in being comfortable about myself. I am seen as a woman for the most part and I found this satisfying. To me, it's success because I'm being my authentic self. I enjoy the activities in life that I enjoyed before my transformation. It gets better every day and I am undertaking new projects and activities.

INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

I attended my second indoor track and  field meet yesterday along with my wife. Men and women from the City University systems in New York competed for the indoor track and field titles. City College and Hunter College, two perennial powers,won the men's and women's titles respectively. I took note that both teams are relatively young (freshman and sophomores). I still love track and field and at times felt like getting on the track and running. 

My congratulations to the City College (CCNY) Beavers and the Hunter Hawks. 

Below are a few photos from the meet.

P.S.- Notice that both City and Hunter have purple as their primary colors.

We Do Not Put Religious Freedom In Danger

The more that I'm out the more I have the desire to share more of myself to others. I have be able to give answer to why I'm the way I am. With the governor of Arizona  vetoing SB1266, it seems that battles have been drawn. In a sense I saw this coming down the pike a couple of years ago. No one has a right to tell anyone that they aren't human. No one has right to deny people of their rights to live a productive live. Using religion to discriminate is deadly wrong. 

Those who deny TGLB people service,medical care, or housing or employment because of 'religious beliefs' I would like to ask what are their beliefs? And to say that their freedom to express their will be denied is totally bogus and a lie. Religion was use to deny rights to African-Americans, Native Americans, women and immigrants.  Eventually many church have to mend the errors of their ways. 

I'll tell you who endangers religious freedom-it's those people who demand that everybody be like them, think like them, and do what they say. It's the reason why some have given up their faith or others won't touch it with a ten foot pole. It's time that we who are spiritual reclaim our faith and demonstrate God's love to ALL people.