Reentry

From here…

Where I’ve thought about returning to this but delayed it due to technical issues, timing, and most of all laziness and apathy. Not about the world in general, but myself.

So let’s bring the readers up to date.

I am still in Redlands. It’s a boring place for the most part for someone used to the city. But we can afford it (barely). And it’s quiet. But I do miss being able to meet up with friends and being involved in direct action. I miss being politically active. But when it costs $30 just to get to the city, let alone park, eat, etc… it’s not something I can afford often often. On top of that after driving 3+ hours each day to and from work, by the time the day off rolls around all I want to do is sleep and watch videos.

I’m working. Remote tech work. That I drive 72 miles in LA traffic to get to. That I could just as easily do from my home. Fortunately after being there 5 years they finally decided to try one day a week from home. And I get more done from home than I do in the office. So they are happy. I doubt the boss is going to go for more days from home as he has a fear of not being in control which leads him to micromanage to the point that often we can’t get our jobs done, but it is what it is. As for pay… mistakes I made when trying to survive 2011 have come back to bite me. Tax debt now takes $800+ out of my pay monthly -after- witholding is taken out. So I’m barely making enough to be housed and eat.

Family, chosen and relatives. I’m still with Myst. Yay. Still love her. She makes me laugh. We have differences on occasion, but we seem to get past them. And she’s wonderful to cuddle with. Her kid is decent. Our cats are legion, but lovable. We get by. She’s working, a bit closer  to home than me, but still a bit of a drive. She works mostly nights, so we don’t get to see each other as much as we’d like, and as she works weekends it makes trips difficult. My kids are great. My middle son is planning on marriage ‘soon’, but it looks like the date has been pushed out. The wife-to-be seems nice. Crazy but in a nice way. My eldest appears to be doing great, moving up the tech corporate ladder. He’s got an active social life and seems happy. My youngest is still working on figuring out life, but seems to have become more focused over the last few years. He has friends who seem to care for him and who he hangs out with. And is relatively happy. And I am happy for all three. I wish I saw them more, but the cost/distance/schedules makes it difficult. I am looking forward to seeing at least two of them sometime during the holidays. As to the ex-wife, she’s not really part of my life these days, and I think we are both better for it. She’s been going through her own issues lately, and I just wish her the best.

Transition. Things for the most part fell into place over the last few years. I’ve had all the surgeries I had been working towards and am very happy with the outcome. The ability to get these has a lot to do with living in California and having decent insurance. California a while back decided that being trans was a valid medical issue and decided it should be covered just as any other medical issue was. This has meant a lot to many many trans people in the state. It’s not a perfect system and you still often have to battle with insurance companies or file complaints with the state, but it is possible and gives trans people hope. Mentally after everything I kind of expected some sort of worry, but I’ve sailed through it all and am very happy. Just being able to feel that I am for the most part the same on the outside as I am on the inside has been great.

So that’s where I am right now. Is my journey finished? Not by a long shot. There are many things to learn, discover and do. So I’ll keep moving forward….

…..to there.