Danya,
Mac (imported) wrote: Tue May 20, 2008 8:30 am
:)Your big day is finally here and you are probably already at work!:)
Please tell us how it went.
Hi Mac,
Things went very well. I woke up well rested and calm. The only anxiety I had was just a momentary twinge on pulling into the office parking garage.
At first, I was a little disappointed because everyone was treating me the same as always. That is, politely and in a professional way. Couldn't they see that I was very different now?
Of course, the whole purpose of the transition team and the way things were handled was to make things go exactly this smoothly.
I got to my desk and found a beautiful vase filled with roses. The men in my group had chipped in for this. This was a very sweet thing for them to do. I had work to do at that point and while I sent them a nice thank-you note, I didn't really react much emotionally. Now as I write about it I'm in tears. It was such a welcoming note of support from my group that meant a lot to me.
Early in the day the Senior VP of HR stopped by to see if everything was going well. It was going extremely well. Later in the day other members of management in my division checked in with me, too.
When upper management sent out the corporate email announcing my transition, I was surprised that hardly anyone in my division reacted. The type of work we do, though, tends to attract introverted, quiet people. It is also predominantly male. Today, a number of the men went out of their way to talk with me. It was really touching. One or two shared some of their own history. As an aside, Danya is much less introverted and quiet than the norm for my division.
Late in the morning, a young woman from one of the other divisions walked over and handed me a single rose. As I write this now, it seems more incredibly wonderful than when I was at work. She was also wearing a special adornment, a bell. It was then that I heard that a manager in another department, who is very GLBT friendly, sent an email to his friends asking them each to wear something special today to show their support of me. There were several people around me then who made it a point to show me what their special item was. This manager saw me later in the day and was very warm and enthusiastic in his support.
Others stopped me and offered their congratulations and support throughout the day. Yet others easily greeted me as Danya as I passed them.
In the early afternoon, someone from another department I work closely with called and asked when I was going to pay them a visit. So, off I went. Several of the people there didn't recognize me at first. They thought I was a new employee! It was only after a quick talk among themselves that they figured out my identity. I had some very good and affirming conversations with these people.
A woman in my own department, whom I had told at least a month ago about my upcoming transition, asked if I had seen her do a double-take earlier in the day when she had seen me. I hadn't. She mentioned how terrific I looked, as had a number of others throughout the day. What was especially nice in this case was that this younger woman said she could tell how happy I was and that I was glowing.
Yet another woman in my department, who absolutely never wears a dress, wore one today to show her support of me. She also had some very supportive words.
Things are off to a very good start. It was a great day that I will always remember.
Tomorrow, we're having a lunch for GLBT employees and one of the women is baking a cake to celebrate my transition. Really cool! Someone on the group's mailing list also suggested a pot luck in my honor. Not that there's any reason for them to honor me, but it just shows what great people I work with.
Tomorrow evening I'll go out for dinner and drinks with a number of women from work. Life is very good!
-Danya
) and I went out to dinner to celebrate. She's been having a tough time lately and just got home Friday from a day in the hospital. With multiple health issues, it can be hard to keep all her meds balanced. That was the reason for her hospitalization. They got things right with her meds. I was really relieved that she was back to normal and we had a really relaxing evening together.
Once he was shirtless I figured he'd put on another shirt. Instead, right in the middle of the parking lot, he took off his pants, too! There he stood with no shirt and in his boxer underwear. This was right outside a busy restaurant. I figured at that point it was time to leave so I turned on my headlights which shone right one him. He didn't seem to care and I drove off. He was probably changing for a date, or something. I've never seen anything like this before.
Of course, the whole purpose of the transition team and the way things were handled was to make things go exactly this smoothly.