It was the day of another social meeting of ETVC, a local Transgender group that I recently joined. The meetings are held in various restaurants in San Francisco, and the location for that one was not listed on the web site as yet.
I used the occasion for another trip to Carla's, which is in San Jose at the south end of San Francisco Bay. It is about 50 miles from where I live. There he has a fully-equipped salon which caters to the transgendered community, providing hair, nail, and waxing services. She also sells and styles wigs. Additionally, there is a boutique, with clothing, shoes, jewelry, and accessories, and other hard-to-find items such as breast forms. Fortunately, it is located near a transportation center with train service to both the East Bay and San Francisco.
I began my preparation the evening before, cutting short my usual evening activities. I stopped at a chain drugstore and bought a pair of white pantyhose and some pink lipstick I also stocked up on cash from the ATM machine there. Later that evening I spent some time in a chat room, which has become an addiction for me. Then I started the process of gathering things together for the following day. I decided that pink and white would be the colors of the day, and found two dresses: one new one and another one that I had worn before, just in case. I found my white shoes and some other matching accessories. I then shaved my legs and other body hair. I finally got to bed at about midnight.
I woke up in the morning at about 5:00 a.m., three hours earlier than I needed to, and couldn't get back to sleep. I spent some time in another chat room, then began my final preparations. I washed, shaved my face, and assembled everything for the day. I got into my usual "drab" clothes for the trip. This time I brought a "point and shoot" camera that I normally carry with me rather than my more elaborate SLR camera. Naturally, I couldn't find some things at the last minute, but I would be able to buy anything else that I needed later. Shopping en femme would be part of the fun!
The skies were overcast, as is typical here this time of year. The weather forecast called for a possibility of drizzle and showers later on, so I brought my umbrella and overcoat along. I had plenty of time to catch the train to San Jose, so I was able to stop at a donut shop for coffee and a muffin and do some last-minute shopping before catching the bus to the train station. The train was a little late, but there would be ample time for me to get to the salon for my appointment.
I also brought my laptop computer along with me, and used the time on the train to begin typing this diary entry. As those of you with web sites know, keeping them current is a lot of work! The reminder feature of the schedule program kept reminding me of the upcoming events of the day. I also listened to an "Oldies" CD on the way down using headphones plugged into the laptop. The skies were grey and bright all of the way down, but rain wasn't threatening.
I arrived a little ahead of my 11:30 a.m. appointment, and was greeted by Carla, who was taking a break outside in the patio in front of the shop. When we were inside, she asked me if I had brought clothes to change into. I said yes, so she asked me to put them on in the dressing room. I had brought two dresses, both pink, one new and one that I had worn before. I tried on the new dress first, but Carla didn't think that it fit well, so I changed into the other instead. I was lacking a belt, which this dress needed, so she found a white one from her store for me. I also put on a short necklace with pink beads, and some clip-on pink and white earrings to match my outfit.
First she spritzed me with some perfume. Then she then shampooed my hair. During my last visit she had mentioned that my eyebrows needed shaping, and I asked her to wax them then. She directed me the table that she uses for leg waxing and had me lie down on it. She then proceeded to apply the hot wax in small sections, first under and then at the sides of my brows. Each time she pressed a cloth on them, and quickly jerked away the wax and the hair underneath. The sensation was the same as removing an adhesive bandage.
Next she did my makeup, using shades to complement my dress. Then she styled my hair using first a round brush dryer to form bangs in front, then a regular blow dryer, and finally a medium-barrel curling iron. Using a styling tool she teased my hair into a short bouffant style, with the hair swept back from my ears.
Then she gave me a manicure, and used a shade of pink polish which also complemented my dress. While my nails were drying, I wandered through the small boutique, careful not to touch anything. I noticed the breast forms in the display case, and later asked her to show some to me. I would dearly love to have a pair of the silicone forms which are designed for women who have had mastectomies, but they are out of my price range now, so I settled for a pair of extra-large ones made from solid foam plastic.
At my request, Carla was kind enough to take several pictures of me in the front waiting area, which are shown below.
After I had paid for my services and purchases, I used the restroom there to avoid any possible problems later. I packed up my belongings, said good bye to Carla and the others in the salon, and returned to the Train Station in time for the 3:00 p.m. train to San Francisco. I already had a train ticket which I hadn't used from the previous trip, so I didn't have to enter the station to buy one. Since this is not a commute hour, there were plenty of seats, and I sat in a forward-facing seat with plenty of room for my computer bag, the bag containing my other clothes, and my white purse.
After I gave the ticket to the conductor I retrieved my laptop computer in order to resume this diary entry. When I started it, it automatically started playing the CD in it through its speakers, and I quickly turned down the volume and turned off the playback. The 90-minute train trip was uneventful. At the train station, I took a street car line which goes from there to Market St., and then another surface street car up Market St. to the new San Francisco Library in the Civic Center. Although this was now the commute hour, I was able to get a seat since I had boarded near the start of the street car line.
At the library, I looked for a computer connected to the Internet so that I could upload this portion of the diary to this Web Site. As usual, all of the computers that I saw were in use, so I signed up for one beginning at 6:00 p.m., about a half hour later. I found a reading table nearby, which has power outlets, got out my laptop, plugged it in, and resumed typing this diary entry. At that time I logged onto the computer, and found out that the system, although it has a floppy disk drive, is configured so that it is inaccessible to users, so I was unable to upload a preliminary version of this. Instead, I used my time to receive and send E-mail.
The next dilemma is where the meeting was to be held. All that was listed on the ETVC web site was a contact telephone number, which was connected to an answering machine. Calls to the other telephone numbers of the organization just resulted in recorded announcements of previous meetings, and a jumble voice mail. I decided take a ride to the end of the BART line, and was rewarded by sights of clearing skies and the sun starting to set. Then I went to the restaurant where the previous mid-month meetings had been held, and was rewarded by seeing several familiar faces there.
Several of us had dinner together at the restaurant, and we mingled in the bar area for quite with some other members afterwards. I finally left at 11:20 p.m., and after waiting caught a bus to connect with the final BART train of the night. Since the final trains depart the ends of the respective lines at midnight, I felt a little like Cinderella hurrying to get home from the ball on time.
In less than four months of belonging to ETVC, I have gradually gotten to know several of the people there. The relatively small turnout gave me the opportunity to learn more about them, and them about me. Practically all of the members that I met are online, and several have web sites as well. I have a feeling that I may be "drafted" to do some work for the organization.
This page last updated: August 20, 1999
