Halloween 2001 at Work

This Halloween marked my thirteen appearance as Romana at work.  This included St. Patrick's Day in 1998, but it did not include the year 2000 because of jury duty.  I have been under a dress code restriction since the middle of 1998, so Halloween is currently the only allowed day for transgender expression at work.

My first appearance in 1989 was bold as could be, but I looked ghastly.  I have steadily improved throughout the years, but I have really improved in the last four years.  I got many compliments about my makeup skills.

My coworkers have gotten used to me; I felt no hostility.  Some did not pay that much attention and assumed that I was just another woman on the floor.  It was the men's room where I had a lot of trouble, since using the women's room is out of the question at Boeing.  The men's room was constantly busy, and it was often difficult for me to convince the guys that I was in the correct restroom.

My work day came to an end, but I was not quite finished for the day at the company.  Since I am facing possible lay-off, I went to a neighboring building, where I spent a half hour doing networking for job openings.

I spent the evening at home passing out Halloween goodies.  Since I had calmly spent the entire day without my usual anxiety, I had raised few (if any) red flags.

Thursday, April 01, 2004