Dose Three?
Dose three?
It is currently being reported that the federal government will shortly recommend that all two-shot vaccine recipients receive a third booster shot, approximately eight months after their second dose.
(Recommendations on boosting the single-shot vaccines are still being formulated.)
On the one hand: I'll do whatever it is I have to do to ensure the safety of my friends, family, and others; if that means getting a third dose of COVID vaccine, then so be it.
On the other hand: I've detailed previously how the first two doses each triggered a week of vicious flashbacks. (I still don't know why - I'm literally typing this right now with an arm sore from my second round of Gardasil; no major mental upsets.)
So... chances are sometime around the end of the year, the spouse, daughter and I will go round three on shots... And I will have to set aside time for another nervous breakdown.
(There's also a conversation to be had about the wisdom of Americans consuming three doses of vaccine each at a time when much of the world is struggling for adequate supply; although I am currently thinking of this as more an exercise in half of America taking the vaccine doses of the other half to protect themselves from the aforementioned other half that won't take their damn vaccine doses!)
More Posts from Pamprinninja and Others
To go in the opposite direction:
It’s theorized that the Red Templars are a Black Templars successor.
Their armor is (unsurprisingly), red; and their chapter insignia, fittingly enough, is a fleur-de-lis.
Those Black Templars of yours would look pretty darn sharp painted up in crimson; and standing next to their allies, the Order Of The Bloody Rose… 🙂
Been going through my pile of opportunities for something to be my next project.
I think it is time:
But the question is, do I build them by themselves or do I make these two as accompaning armies?
I absolutely love the sister/BT vibe and together they would look baller. But this is a lot of black armour to paint for someone who loathes painting black armour 😅
Tests
Every six months I have my hormone levels tested. I take a lab order from my endocrinology office, pop into a local clinic, have blood drawn, and see my endocrinologist a week later to review the results.
It was during today’s review that we discovered the lab had missed a test. It was okay - my provider was still able to make sense of the results.
However, I did give the clinic a call to find out what happened. I really, really like them - they are very pleasant to deal with, there’s no waiting, and their pricing is very reasonable.
However, this is the third time something like this has happened; so I gave them a call to figure out what the problem was and what I could do to avoid it in future.
Her: “Hi, this is [the laboratory]. How can I help you today?” Me: “Hi, this is Lauren. I think I might be missing a test result?” Her: “Well let’s see if we can find it for you, Ms. Lauren.”
I already like this person - calling me ‘miss’ instantly melts my heart!
Her: “Can I have your date of birth?” Me: “Sure, it’s- oh god, I just remembered I’m forty again.” Her: *Laughter* Her: “That’s okay! Welcome to the club.”
Seriously, this is one of the best personal interactions I’ve had all day!
Her: “So what test do you think you’re missing, Ms. Lauren?” Me: “Uh... testosterone.” Her: “Oh. Oh!” Me: “Yeah... Probably the last one you would have guessed!” Her: *More laughter*
It took some digging through their records, but this wonderful person helped me figure out that my lab order did indeed have a testosterone reading on it, and that this was overlooked. (Most likely because the lab order is a piece of paper that the blood draw technician is required to read and then re-enter into a terminal; there’s much lost between finger and screen!)
Going forward, I’ll be keeping a much closer eye on which tests were ordered and what was actually entered into the system - hopefully that way nothing else gets missed!
Art exchange
I made an incredible friend this year; and dear sweetheart that she is, she gifted me this equally incredible artwork:
(In a delightfully small detail, the initials of myself, my wife, and my daughter are hidden in the leaves!)
I absolutely had to return the favor; and feeling newly inspired, produced this work piece celebrating her three lovable cats and their very different personalities:
All things considered, it came out rather well! Lessons learned:
Typography requires planning (which is why the title is off-center).
Watercolors and rough canvas are poor bedfellows.
I need a more controllable outlining medium than black acrylic paint.
Unexpected HRT side-effect #8
Skittering!
Strictly speaking I started HRT on year ago; but my endocrinologist didn’t want to go full-throttle with dosages until he had established that doing so would, in fact, not cause me to die (which seems perfectly reasonable).
It really wasn’t until around... April-ish?... that my levels actually got to where they needed to be; and the moment it happened, it was like a switch in my body just flipped.
Then I started skittering around the apartment. I would bounce off the walls! Dance in the kitchen. There was shimmying. Oh so much shimmying!
I told my spouse: “Sorry, I don’t know why I do this. I guess it’s just a thing!”
I’ll never forget their response: “You don’t need to apologize. It means you’re happy.” Beat. “I’ve... I’ve waited so long for this. For you to be happy.”
Of course, this does rather make it sound as if the preceding years were spent in unspeakable misery, and this was not the case. It might be accurate however to say that I spent a lot of time giving my love to others and never reserving any for myself. Undoubtedly there are greater acts of loving oneself out there; but I figure committing to turn one’s gender upside down is up there!
Here’s to my newfound physical expression of joyousness!
Nouns
An interesting and unexpected part of transitioning is the process of adjusting the nouns I use in my inner monologue.
For instance, just this morning, an item fell out of the kitchen cupboard and I jokingly thought to myself, “Can’t a guy catch a break?!”...And then I corrected myself to “Can’t a girl catch a break?!”.
I think the reason this is taking so long (versus say, adapting to my new name and pronouns) is because there isn’t any one thing that needs changing - rather, I have a large library of gendered idioms, each and every one in need of updating.
On the bright side, I don’t get quite so upset about it nowadays; so I would call this a plus!
Dee Mac released her new album today. It’s amazing. She’s amazing! What are you waiting for? Go listen to it and shower some love!
Sleeping arrangements: addendum 2
I have been reliably informed that my previous illustration of the idiosyncrasies of flashback-driven sleeping positions did not sufficiently emphasize my spouse's ample biceps; I have therefore attempted to rectify this issue as follows:
To my followers
I know that a number of the people following me fall into one of two categories: those that are trans but remain closeted; and those that have an interest in (and please excuse me for any incorrect use of terminology) the femboy and / or sissy lifestyle.
To the people in the first group: I see you! You are valid. If you ever want to talk to someone about how to take those next steps, please don’t hesitate to send me a message.
To the people in the second group: if you’re just following me for your own personal, uh, ‘enjoyment’ - that’s okay! I take no offense. Live your life!
I will say that for a long time, I did something very similar: lurked in the shadows, and lived the trans experience vicariously through the lens of fetishism.
(In fact, the very moment I knew I was trans came when another trans person gave an example of a lie they had told themselves in their past life: “It’s just a fetish”; words I too had previously uttered.)
So if you think maybe you are more in the first group than you initially realized... feel free to reach out to me too. I don’t hold all the answers, but I might just have the questions you need to figure things out.
Immediacy is a big plus. (I understand all too well how easy it is to forget an idea if you don’t externalize it right away! And that’s to say nothing of the scourge that is Not Enough Time And Energy; which I know you know all too well. 🙂)
Regarding the fanfic asks: 📈, 🛠️, and 🤗!
📈 How many fics do you have?
Uh. UH. I... they're kind of spread over a few different areas, and are we counting only active fics?
Upwards of ten active WIPs. I don't want to chase down every WIP I have somewhere, or even the completed little one shots.
🛠What tools/programs/apps do you use to write?
I do ninety percent of my writing in gdocs. It's quick, easy, and I can do it on my phone because I'm a madlad.
In terms of 'tools', just stuff for names. I've been using a lot of wiktionary to research the meaning behind various kanji to help create names for Naruto/Bleach, and occasionally even get to use it for some wordplay. Otherwise, random name generators, behindthename, top 100 baby names - that kind of stuff.
🤗 What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?
This kind of goes for any writer or creative but: create for yourself first. Pleasing your audience is great! It feels great! But don't chase them.
Make something for yourself first, be happy with it, satisfied, and let that be enough. And then, if people like it, that's great! If they don't, well, who cares? You didn't make it for them.
25g
I’ve written before about how I administer my estradiol in form of a fortnightly intramuscular injection. The chief benefit is that it offers the greatest degree of bioavailability; but at the cost of... you know, routinely poking myself.
I actually use two different needles. There is a large, 18g needle for drawing the medication from the vial (because you want a large needle when pulling liquid into the syringe); and a 23g needle for injecting (because the smaller the needle, the less discomfort it causes going in).
Thankfully, the needles are color-coded; and over time, I learned to recognize them. When I’m having blood drawn, it’s with an 18g (which is why the “You’ll feel a sharp pinch” speech has some merit to it). One time the technician used a 23g needle (maybe my vein was inaccessible that day; maybe it was from personal preference) - I barely felt it going in!
(I think next time I’m getting blood work done, I’m going to ask them to use a 23g...)
I’m fascinated by vaccinations, because they give the same “You’ll feel a poke” talk but honestly, there’s hardly an sensation at all compared to my routine injections. I looked up the spec sheet and discovered they are using 25g needles; and the last time I saw my endocrinologist I requested they proscribe me some to test with.
Anyway, this is a very long-winded way of saying that I got to try out a 25g needle today and honestly, it was such an improvement - there was no pain popping it in! I do have to be a bit more careful now as depressing the syringe plunger required a lot more effort (I assume estradiol cypionate is a bit more viscous than whatever medium vaccines sit in); and that has to still be done in a very controlled way.
All the same though: great experience; would recommend!
