The Air Marshal Is In San Diego!

After an uneventful three  hour flight to get to the Left Coast, the Air Marshal has landed after her first out of state trip of 2020 and this new decade.

I'm here chilling in San Diego getting ready for a Queer Black History Month event I'll be speaking at tomorrow.  It will be at the San Diego History Center from 11-4 PM PST, and so looking forward to seeing all my San Diego trans family in the house.

The San Diego History Center is located at 1049 El Prado St, and hope you will check out this event centering the voices of Black trans people.

This isn't my first time visiting San Diego.   The last time I was here was for the 2017 San Diego Comic Con, in which I not only got to do two panels, but call out along with Faith Cheltenham someone who was doing a blackface Guinan.

Hopefully this trip will be less drama filled.

I also discovered I have a 7 Eleven in easy walking distance of this hotel, so I'm about to go on a Slurpee run.

But looking forward to the event tomorrow and doing my TransGriot duty dropping knowledge about your Black trans history

Moni's Headed To San Diego

You Cali folks and other Left Coasters keep asking me when will I start showing up in your state.  Well, the Air Marshal is about to be in Southern California soon.   

Looking forward to making my first trip to San Diego since 2017 for this event.

I'll be joining Tracie Jada O'Brien, Libra Audacious Valentino,  Jelecia King,  Amber St James,  Samsara, Pamuela Halliwell, Savion Cooper and Kenya Trahan for this Black History Month event fousing on honoring and protetcing the lives of Black trans women.   

Deeply appreciate the opportunity to spend some quality time with my San Diego fam and my trans elder Mama Tracie. thanks to the Gender Phluid Collective.

Always love to talk to my trans elders about what it was like back in the day to transition, and honor peeps like her who paved the way for my generation of trans peeps

And yes, always down to talk to the new generation of trans and GNC peeps as well

It will be taking place next Saturday, February 22, at the San Diego History Center from 11 AM-4 PM PST.   I hope to see many of you peeps in the San Diego area either there at the event or while I'm in town. 

Moni's In The Middle Of Comic-Con!

Well people, as I feared, my Spirit flight left late from IAH, and the Air Marshal ended up touching down in San Diego 45 minutes before the gratis hotel shuttle stopped running.  

And that was before I got misgendered twice when I called the Hilton San Diego Airport Harbor Island front desk and they couldn't find my name in the reservation system.  

He better be glad I was too tired and frustrated after a day that started for me at 7 AM Houston time moving to a new place and belongings in my storage space to cuss his azz out.:

I'm finally in my hotel room and ready to go to sleep so I can be on my A game in the AM and get adjusted to Pacific time as quickly as possible.

This is also the first trip I've done to the Left Coast since I flew into San Francisco last September to attend the GLAAD Gala San Francisco.

This time I'm in southern California to be at Comic Con, soak up all the ambiance of this giant convention and participate in a Comic Con panel.  

I'm also determined not to think about Lone Star State politics for a few days.

That panel will happen at 5 PM PDT today and it's entitled Moonlight and Magic, Black LGBT Contributions to Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comics and Genre. moderated by Faith Cheltenham.

My fellow panelist are Viktor Kerney, Ajuan Mance, Sean Maker, William O Tyler, and Eliot Sutler.  While I've known Viktor for years going back to the 2012 Netroots Nation in Providence, everyone else I'll be meeting for the first time.

In a few hours I'll need to get up, head to the San Diego Convention Center and pop into that long line to pick up my badge.  

And nope, didn't do a costume.   This time.,

Leaving On A Jet Plane - To San Diego

Back when I was traveling to Tucson for their TDOR last year, my flight there went to San Diego and flew over Tucson along the way.   I got to spend two hours in the San Diego airport on a gorgeous fall day checking out the view of the airport area and saying that I'd love to come back and visit,

Well, guess I spoke that trip to San Diego into existence, and it couldn't have come at a better time for me.

After a trying few days that found me at Defcon 1 levels of stress bumping up against a July 15 deadline to move from my current place, find a storage spot, a new place to live with the date for the Texas Special Oppression Session also approaching along with my 9:18 PM departure from my old IAH airport stomping grounds, let's just say that I needed a trip out of Houston even if it is booked on (yuck) Spirit Airlines.

I'm not happy about that because you have to pay for everything on Spirit including carry on bags, drinks and snacks, the seats don't recline, and you don't have WiFi.

The only redeeming features of this upcoming flight on Spirit is that they have new Airbus planes, I got TSA Pre on the San Diego bound leg and both legs are nonstop to and from IAH's Terminal A.

And I get to go to Comic Con!  

The other cool thing I get to do is that I finally get to meet another of my trans elders in Tracie Jada O'Brien, and on top of that I get to San Diego in time for her birthday on the 22nd.

So happy early birthday Mama Tracie!   Looking forward to finally meeting and spending a little quality time with you .

I'm also looking forward to not thinking about Texas politics for a few days either and enjoying my first trip to San Diego.

Moni's Going To Comic-Con International 2017!

I was just talking to Cecilia Chung last week about how I haven't gotten the opportunity to do events on the West Coast as much as I do the East Coast, in Washington DC and the Midwest.

Every now and then I get those phone calls that brings unexpected blessings and opportunities in my life and I received one of those yesterday.

Comic-Con has been one of those bucket list things that I've wanted to someday do, but didn't expect to happen for awhile.   That changed at approximately 3 PM yesterday .

I've been asked to participate on a panel discussion that is happening during the event, and as we get closer to Comic-Con's dates and the details get hashed out, I'll  be able to talk more about the panel and what its about.

This qualifies a s BFD.   Comic-Con is not only the oldest continuously run comics and popular arts show in the US, it draws over 130,000 attendees to a sold out San Diego Convention Center along with Hollywood celebrities, movie and television directors and writers.

The best part about this upcoming trip to San Diego is that it is not only the first time I get a chance to explore the city (was in the San Diego airport for two hours a few months ago enroute to Tucson), I get to see Comic-Con in all its glory.  

I'm also hopeful I'll get to spend some quality time with one of my trans elders in Tracie Jada O'Brien while I'm in her southern Cali neck of the woods.

The July 20-23 dates of this event also gives me a mental health break before I have to deal with the Texas GOP conservafools and their Special Oppression Session in Austin

I'll find out when the panel happens when they post the full schedule of events , and I'll let you TransGriot readers who are attending the evnt know where to find me.