Columbia Rides Again!

In what has turned into an annual event for me, I made it once again to the Las Vegas Halloween Fetish and Fantasy Ball this year I've been going since the 2006 event, and have had a fabulous time every year.
I nearly did not go. Financial constraints (like the rest of us), not being able to get a new costume, as well as a case of the funks brought on by my boyfriends family (long story), all had me questioning the wisdom of going. Thankfully, Mari (she's the gorgeous Pixie on the left), and my friend Eden who was also coming from San Diego helped convince me to go. Columbia (from Rocky Horror Picture Show) was pressed back into service as my costume again this year .
It was a great decision! In my typical fashion, a planned 10AM departure time ended up stretching to almost 4PM But this still left plenty of time to visit and go out for dinner with Mari, and get ready for the Ball which started at 10PM.
This year's event was held at the Las Vegas Sport Center, one of their long-time locations. They have really outgrown this location, and they have tried other venues in recent years. But with last year's venue having been a minor disaster they wisely went back to what works this year. The 2006 event was the most successfully I've seen, but that was held at the now demolished Stardust hotel/casino.
Still, it was a great time!! Mari's friend Jenna (the babealicious angel on the right) joined us all the way from Maine! We spent the first part of the event getting drinks (long lines) and watching the shows going on, as well as the circus of people around us. See the website for the event, http://www.halloweenball.com/ for more info about the acts that showed up this year, as well as pics from prior years events (I'm in the 2007 pics ). Within a few weeks, they should post pictures of this year's event.
After tiring of walking around in sexy but less than comfortable heels, we all found a tiered podium where we could sit and watch the parade go by. It turned into a great spot, with the three of us drawing a constant crowd taking pictures with us! I'm certain the event photographers caught us all at least once, so we'll no doubt be in the 2008 pics on their web page.
We eventually ended up back on the main event floor, being just in time to catch some of the wickedest acts there, including Rubber Doll and FAQ, Chain Goddess, Perish and Mycol Fire. The Time Warp Players did a fair rendition of 'The Time Warp', but they were conspicuously missing Riff-Raff, Columbia, and Magenta! I would have liked to do my best to represent Columbia, but I got a little , BACAAWK!
We finally ended up closing the show after 4AM, and went to a Denny's for some breakfast. Only in Las Vegas could we all have shown up at Denny's in full regalia, and nobody batted an eye!! I was actually a little chagrined at this, my inner ham was tempted to burst into a 'Time Warp' routine right there to make up for my earlier timidness! I'm sure Mari and Jenna will thank me for my restraint later .
So there you have it! If any of you would like to attend next year's event, start making plans NOW! Watch the web page for announcement of the location and get reservations if it's held at a hotel/casino. This is way more convenient than driving in costume to the event. Tickets typically go on sale immediately after they announce their location, and will be much cheaper than their at-the-door or last minute prices. Get your costume idea and go for it! With a little creativity, you can make your own as I did (expensive, but it looks fabulous!), or apply some polish and pizazz to a packaged costume. I'm sure to go again, all things willing; I'd enjoy meeting you there!
I don't know if this link will work, but the event photographers are posting pics at their web site, we are in there:
http://www.partypics.com/ver2/EventImages.aspx?Page=9

PUNCHLINE!!

What do you get if you stuff a chicken in your bra?
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Chick-a-D's!!!!!! BA'CAAAWK!

(letter to a friend) Heartsmile!

Hi L That's what I call it when something makes me smile inside, it was like that seeing your message in my inbox here :)
I know all too well the place you find yourself. What begins as a pleasant diversion becomes a burning question of identity. As time goes by, we stack the scales with reasons why on one side, and why not to pursue our selves on the other, looking for something to tip the scales and tell us which way to go. It reminds me, oddly enough, about an old Popeye cartoon. While chasing his nemesis Bluto, Popeye comes upon a very small bedouin tent; when he looks inside the tent it is bizarrely huge and spacious, but when he looks outside again, it's still just a small tent. All the concrete reasons we set up to try to make sense of it all mean nothing, because it still just is.
I know the precise moment when I knew that I had to pursue the person I'm unfolding into. All those concrete reasons I'd set up to deny myself had finally been stripped away. Still, I struggled for nearly 3 months directly with the question of whether to transition or not. I often wonder what it was that finally tipped the scales for me, I'm still not certain. But I woke up with a bolt one morning around 3:00 AM, finally seeing with clarity of vision what it was I should do. The only thing I've come to surmise is that I finally knew what I wanted, with no excuses or justifications one way or the other about what others wanted.
It sounds so selfish on the outside, because it is all about one's self. I think I realized the person I thought I would be taking away from my loved ones would cease to exist anyway if I didn't let myself be.
Two years later, there are still things I lost from transition that give me great sadness, but I have no regrets. It just is what it is.....
M

I've probably iterated all this before, but what the hey. No, it's not to Lori, lol!

Demi!

I've always thought I resembled Demi most, this is the first pic to have her chosen tho. Kate Beckinsale? Woot-woot!

Huh?

OK, in case you haven't caught wind of this, there is apparently a cult of transgendered chickens running about! That's right, roosters dressed as hens, and some of them have even had surgeries to remove their combs! Goodness knows where this might go, but for those who don't believe, take a look at this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YwnAdT9I_o
We absolutely must ensure these new sisters are welcomed to the community with open......wings?
Hmmmm, wings........
BA'CAAWK!

The big purple dragon

I love fantasy artwork, and sometime ago when I was putting together a MySpace page, I came across this one. It's come to be the embodiment of GID for me, a face to the monster we all fight and deal with. Email me if you like and I'll attempt to send the full jpeg.
With my having entered transition some 2 years ago, and things generally going well enough, my dragon has become a bit sleepy. An occasional snort here and there was all I've heard for a while.
After attending IFGE in April, along with the tremendous struggles, trials and successes I've been witnessing from my friends, and finally my own recent relationship issues; the slumbering dragon seems to be waking. I'm seeing how terribly relentless it is, how beautiful it can be, yet how sharp it's talons!
Where'd I put Hrunting?