Once Again, Thank You LGBT Community!

As many of you TransGriot readers may or may not be aware of, been going through since mid-September an effort by a transphobic relative to push me out of my grandmother's house where I have been living since May 2010 as her caretaker. 

Seems like it started after this trip from hell for me, and he 's made it very clear that it was personal.   I've basically been fighting him tooth and nail to ensure he didn't run roughshod over my human rights as I tried to find a new place to live.

Thought I had a solid offer that fit the bill, but after some waffling by that person, it got rescinded, which set up the series of events that got ugly on Wednesday. 

The transphobic relative tried to bait me into hitting him so he could call HPD on me to force my arrest and removal from the house, but even Stevie Wonder could see that play coming.   He still called the po-po anyway and tried to claim he felt 'threatened'.   They shrugged their shoulders and kept it moving..  He was also pissed off by the fact his eviction notice wasn't valid because his transphobic azz used my old name on it.

But that incident drove home the point that I could no longer stay in that place, and I was tired of all the micro and macroaggressive transphobia I was getting.  I was also stressed about the prospect of being on the cusp of homelessness.  

I needed immediate help, and you have responded and then some to my call.   I'm staying for now with a friend who basically drove over to the house on Wednesday afternoon, scooped me up and has enveloped me in love and sisterhood ever since.    I'll be with the Chen family until November 1, and will start another new chapter of my life when I move into a new H-town apartment for the first time since I left for Louisville in September 2001.  

An indiegogo campaign was launched so that I would be able to set up utilities and get a household started after not having to have to do that for the last four years. Others have hit up my TransGriot Tip Jar as they waited for the indiegogo campaign to start.

I have been astounded and humbled by the outpouring of love and support when I really needed the TBLG community and our allies to step up for me.   My mom has been impressed by what she has observed and sends her thanks as well.

And as for the transphobic relative that instigated this mess, all I have to say is karma not only is a you know what, but she wears a dress and stiletto heels.

Once again, thank you!    Thank you to all the people in Houston, Texas, and the nation  who offered their homes as temporary shelters and others in various cities across the state and country who offered their homes as landing spots if I had been inclined to relocate to their locales.

Thanks for the calls, e-mails, messages of support and donations from the LGBT community and allies that will ensure I land on my feet and be in a better and stronger position to be an advocate for this community.

I've always said that your family expands, not contracts when you embark upon a gender transition.

Since Wednesday afternoon, you have emphatically proven that point to me, members of my blood family who support and love me, and the entire world.

And I will forever be grateful to you for it.

Happy Thanksgiving 2013, Eh!

Today is Thanksgiving on the other side of the long 5525 mile boarder (including Alaska) that we share with our northern neighbors.   My Canadian friends are sitting down at their dinner tables to get their grub on and give thanks for the many blessings they have received this year.

One of the blessings I receive from you is that out of the top ten nations that surf to my blog, you are number two in terms of the number of people who surf over here to read my posts just ahead of Great Britain.  I thank you Canadian TransGriot readers for taking the time out of your busy day to surf over to the blog. 

And yes, there is my cadre of wonderful cis and trans friends and blogging colleagues that span the country from British Columbia to Alberta to Newfoundland and Labrador. 

And most definitely have to give thanks for the enduring friendship and constantly evolving sisterhood I share with my Timmy's Icecapp drinking homegirl in Niagara Falls.

After the scary news we heard about her earlier this year, so happy that Renee's not only made a remarkable recovery from her health challenge, but is dispensing her thoughtful commentary and wisdom in the social justice blogosphere and at Womanist Musings once again.     

And as a bonus, I get to chat with her about the latest 'Scandal' episodes, Canadian, American and international politics, fashion, human rights, our lives and a wide range of topics on a regular basis.  

The Canadian Parliament is reconvening after Thanksgiving, so we will see what transpires with C-279, the Trans Rights Bill that because of the prorogation of Parliament, has to start over at First Stage in the Senate legislative process.  It reached Third Stage before the Conservative Senate majority stalled it long enough for them to go on summer break in June without taking that final vote.

Will C-279 finally pass and codify the human rights of my Canadian trans cousins?   We'll see if the Senate does the right thing or the right-wing thing..

But we can discuss that later.   I know you're beyond ready to start carving into your Thanksgiving turkeys, ham (or vegan fare) and get busy eagerly devouring that delicious meal with family and friends. 

Happy Thanksgiving!
   

Thank You For Your Kind Words

As many of you are aware of, my family is going through a difficult time with the passing of  my father last week 

The funeral is set for tomorrow March 30, 2013 and for those of you in the Houston area, it will be held at the Christian Rescue Mission Community Church 3229-A Hadley St, Houston TX 77004  

(713) 659-7750 is the church phone number. 

Visitation will be from 9-11 AM CDT on Saturday with the service starting immediately afterwards from 11-12 noon

Thanks to those of you who have lifted me and my family up in prayer, expressed your condolences and continue to send warm thoughts our way.   I also thank those of you who have e-mailed me, called, sent me Facebook messages public and private, and sent cards.   It meant a lot to me to hear from you during this time, and I deeply appreciate it.  .

Thanks Northampton!

Once again I wanted to thank all the wonderful people that showered so much love and attention on me as I spent a wonderful weekend as the Grand Marshal for the Northampton Pride March and being its keynote speaker.

Had a tough act to follow in Bet Power, but think I did okay.

Looking forward to the next time I'm blessed to hang out and spend some quality time with all you peeps in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts.

The tough times in your community won't last. You are tough, resilient people who will outlast the forces that are arrayed against you even if the challenges facing your community seem daunting at times.

Remember what Bet said in his speech. If y'all start with loving and respecting each other, you'll be okay.

Never forget who your real enemy is.

Y'all keep fighting the good fight for truth, justice and the civil rights of trans people there, in Massachusetts and the New England region and beyond.

Thanks For The Birthday Greetings Everyone!

Wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone one who showered me with love, cards, cash, a birthday meal, calls, e-mails, blog posts and Facebook birthday greetings.

It's been an emotional week, and having another birthday just added to it.

When I opened the birthday cards from the church and Maureen with the handwritten note inside about how I'd be missed, it set off another round of crying for me.

It really made my day a lot brighter to see the kind words, heartfelt comments, and birthday wishes from old friends and colleagues that in some cases didn't wait until 12:01 AM EST on May 4 to start sending good vibes my way.

As for what transpired today, in addition to picking up my repaired leather skirt, I did take part of the day to have a manicure and pedicure done at my nail shop and say 'happy trails' to everyone there.

Thanks again for taking the time out of your busy schedules and web surfing time to brighten up my birthday.

Thank You SUNY- Oneonta

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to SUNY-Oneonta, Dr. Bambi Lobdell and the many people that extended the kind invitation to have me speak on their picturesque campus on African descended trans issues.

I had a wonderful time talking to Dr. Lobdell, her students, faculty and various people in the Red Dragon family. It was a wonderful experience overall and I hope to have another opportunity to do so in the near future.

Feel free to stay in touch with me for any questions you have on the subject of trans issues as they relate to African Americans.

Thank You For A Good 2009

Thank you TransGriot readers for helping this humble blog grow and hit some milestone achievements this year.

*1 million hits

*My 2000th post

*2000 hits per day

*2008 Weblog Awards Finalist




Thanks to you loyal readers, those were achieved and more. I'm looking forward as the anniversary of TransGriot's founding looms at midnight to continued growth, continuing to create quality posts, reaching the 2500 and 3000 post milestones, getting to 1.5 million hits and keeping TransGriot an enjoyable and informative place for you to visit.

Back In SDF

What's SDF? The IATA airline code for Da Ville.

Back in town after spending a wonderful Sunday afternoon and evening hanging out on Long Island with Eileen, Kyle, Juli, Barbara, Arianna and the rest of the LITDOR gang. Got to sample a little bit of life on Long island before my speech later that evening.

There was someone videotaping it along with Barbara taking photos, so if I get them or a link to the video of the LITDOR event, I'll put them up in a later post.

Once again, I deeply thank the Eileen and the LITDOR organizing committee for extending the invitation for me to speak at your event and being gracious hosts.

Hope y'all enjoyed the speech as much as I enjoyed delivering it.

By the way, if you want the TransGriot to speak at your events, better get to me early. 2010 will be here before you know it.

My flights back here got in early, and Polar was at the airport to scoop up the TransGriot and take her to lunch.

I'm going to crash for a little while, and will talk to y'all about my excellent Long Island adventure later.

Thanks Tweeps!

Wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU to all the tweeps who had my back in my unexpected Internet wrestling match with the Food Humorless Blog.

The ironic thing was I didn't realize how much of a storm it created until I got that threatening e-mail from the webmaster of the blog.

All I did was simply call them out for disrespecting Sonia Williams, and it became a major Twitter event.

What happened was I slammed the site for putting up a disrespectful thread straight up calling Ms. Williams a transvestite. The comment threads were even worse repositories of transphobia and racism characterizations of the beauty of Black women.

I was given a heads up on it by one of my readers, left my comments in the comment thread on the blog, wrote the piece on TransGriot slamming it, then took a nap.

I check my e-mail a few hours later to see the nastygram from The Pophangover webmaster.

I'm on Twitter, but I didn't check it for several hours until most of the controversy had simmered down.

But, once again, thanks for demonstrating the power of online activism, even to the TransGriot.

It's nice to know that when I take on peeps who have stepped beyond the valley of civic decency, many of you are watching my electronic back.

Thanks 'Errbody'!

Thank you to Renee and 'errbody' across the blogosphere and the Net who sent e-mailed birthday wishes, hit my Facebook account, mailed birthday cards, called or left messages on the birthday post I put up. It was deeply appreciated and made a somewhat blah day a little better.

It sucked to have to spend 'my' day at work, but I won't be complaining when I get the check next week.

Neither am I complaining about the love you showered down on me or the fact that I was blessed to make another year.

I also received my birthday present from the Houston Rockets. Read it and weep LA Faker fans. Houston 100-LA 92