Margo Pinsonneault (PopTart)

Yup. This is also why how the Democrats treat trans folk should matter to everyone.

15x increase in ICE funding. Concentration camps in Florida. The Supreme Court stripping protected status from various groups and enabling deportation without due process. I'm not panicking. But I am weighing my options.

Drawer full of T-shirts

Drawer full of women's tops

A tale of two dresser drawers, Matt and Margo.

The first two albums, one from Charlie Houston and one by jasmine.4.t, have a downtempo indie folky vibe for the most part. And Kim Petras' album is, of course, pure slut pop.

Tonight on The Whole Thing, I'll be playing a couple of queer artists who both put out really strong first albums in January. And then some Kim Petras, because I love Kim Petras. MOAR TRANS SUPERSTARS! Streaming live 7pm-9pm US Central time at kflipcamp.org and shoutingfire.com.

Feet, one with purple nails and the other is green.

We got pedicures!

Margo with new green and blue hair.

Spring color!

The voice is still healing well. I can now use it sparingly at 50% volume. The pitch is definitely higher (sometimes), especially when it's something involuntary like a sneeze. Other times it gets raspy and deep again. But still, progress.

State Department visa policy could bar trans people from traveling to U.S. Violations could result in travel bans beyond just athletes

I have to wonder: if I travel overseas, how long will it be before I won't be able to get back into the US. And how long before I won't be able to leave the US in the first place...
www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...

It looks like it was reset so pronouns were not viewable. I turned them back on, but I then had to reselect my pronouns.

I have Gender in my paid Workspaces account, but not Pronouns. My profile at the Australia-based company I work for is the same.

We're at the airport gate waiting to go home. Everything has gone well. Now we wait and see.

I'm cleared to go home. So now I can just relax and enjoy the weekend. So of course the sun has disappeared and it'll rain until we leave on Monday. Ah well.

My vocal cords look like they've been through the wars, though. Because they have.

Second follow-up done. Still very little swelling and no sign of infection. I haven't needed any pain meds at all.

Sorry for the walls of text, it's frustrating not being able to talk! And I won't know how I'm going to sound for weeks. Aargh!

It's interesting being mute. I didn't think I talked very much these days, but given the number of times I've wanted to say stuff and couldn't in the last couple of days, I guess I'm still fairly chatty.

Snowing in Portland. There's a car doing donuts in the fresh snow in a parking lot.

Hah! Yup, guess so.

Hello! All good. Sore throat, of course, and really tired but no worse than that. It'll be 3-4 weeks before I can talk much.

Awake, dressed, just about to head out for our 5:30am arrival at the hospital. Oof. Feeling good about it. Whatever the results, I have no doubts.

We went to Powell's City of Books, just to browse. Walked out with $150 of hard-to-find used books. Dang, that place is as evil as Waterloo Records in Austin.

Appointment went fine. I'm looking at no voice for two weeks, then it gradually comes back over the next three months with higher resonance and pitch if all goes well. Complications include infection, and a small chance my pitch doesn't go up.

Having breakfast in a delightful little French Cafe with Modeen. Pre-op visit with the surgeon doing my vocal surgery later this morning.

First flight using new ID, no problems going through security. I miss having TSA pre-check, but there's no way I'm going to try to change my name with DHS given the state of things.

Windows 11 install was a little janky. Finally got it to work. As far as I can tell, it's Windows 10 with a slightly updated UI. And a bunch of extra junk I don't want. Surprised? Naah.

A note to my cis friends: I know you're struggling, but if you have the spoons for it please check in on any trans friends you may have. We're facing the same issues, and are also watching the foundation being laid for our eradication. That news is getting lost in the chaos.

Portland. We get in on 9-Feb.

On a lighter note, everything is on-track for my upcoming surgery in February. And since it's in the Pacific Northwest, it's unlikely to be canceled.

GONE: Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance, Black History Month, MLK Jr Day, Juneteenth, Disability Awareness... American Indian Heritage....

If you are not white, male, or straight, you don't matter to these people. THEY ARE ERASING OUR LIVES FROM THIS COUNTRY.