it seems i’ve caught a cold, and have spent the last several days in bed. yuk.

i attended the handgun basics training workshop hosted by the local chapter of the pink pistols today. the class was small, with just four of us students, and a wonderful instructor who reveiwed gun culture, weapon selection, safety, grip, aim, stance, and gun maintenance and cleaning. she really knew her stuff, and i took lots of notes and asked lots of questions.

we all brought our weapons, so we had the chance to view and handle a variety of different firearms. our instructor even brought her ak-47

and a wild looking .22 caliber target pistol that looked a lot like hans solo’s blaster

there’s a shoot next month on a day i happen to have taken off as a vacation day. i’m looking forward to some target practice, and i feel a lot more confident after this excellent refresher. there may be more of these types of classes, which i also look forward to attending.

edited to add:

here i am learning the weaver stance. i’m using a 357 revolver for practice, the weapon most recommended for beginners for its simplicity, reliability, safety, and ease of maintenance. click on the picture to get to our local pink pistols website - there’s a link to many more pictures of the event.

i am in complete denial.

Are You a Feminist?

i just downloaded the music video imagine, by john lennon from itunes. apparently, all or some of his work may be available on a limited time basis only. while i prefered the music he did with the beatles, his solo work was also quite influential and popular.

it’s hard to imagine that he’s been gone for 27 years. even though he was not my favorite beatle, i wept when i heard the news that he’d been shot, and again when he passed. he, along with the other fab 3, was a huge part of my childhood and adolescence. and his work continues to influence and inspire generations of song writers and activists.

these days when i hear that song, i sing to myself “imagine there’s no gender”…

i was going to wait until i finished it, but i just can’t. this book is amazing. julia serano is insightful, intellegent, and cuts right to the root of the issues. i was amazed even after the introduction and the trans woman manifesto, which are even before part one, chapter one. she rocks. this is required reading for *everyone*. and it’s even available on amazon. buy it and read it. now.

this is how they’d like you to think i am.

this is how i am.

i work in a call center. when you call your service company, remember, i’ll be answering the phone. and remember, i’ve just spoken to some asshole, who made my life a living hell for the past 5 minutes. and before that, another person called who made my life a living hell for the previous 5 minutes. and before that, i spoke to someone who got hung up on, because they made one of my coworker’s life a living hell, who went on to completely screw up your account. and now, i’m left holding the bag.

be kind.

it’s somehow comforting to know that should i ever decide to start practicing judaism again, there’s a special blessing just for me. of course, i’d have to be among members of the reformed sect of judaism, people who were not really considered jewish in the eyes of the community in which i was raised. though, the same wouldn’t consider me human anyway, so there’s no loss there.

edited to add:
i wonder too, if after the blessing, am i then “transgendered”? i remember after my bar mitzvah, i was “bar mitzvahed”…

the local chapter of the pink pistols here in phoenix is offering a basic training class in handgun use and safety. if you’re in the area and have a desire to learn, clear some time off on 8/25/07. the best part is that the church in which the class will be held is right next door to la roca, a local lgbt hangout.

so i downloaded beautiful daughters from itunes, a logo documentary from the real momentum series of documentaries covering all thing lgbt. i enjoyed it. it was an opportunity for me to see videos of many of our role models - calpernia addams, andrea james, lynn conway, and many more; people with whom i’ve interacted online, but never have had the opportunity to meet. this documentary provided a little more insight into who they are. heh, it made me want to go audition for the vagina monologues. too bad it’s over already.

for the woman who has everything, designer vibrators, complete with engraved illustrations (ouch), at a mere $275 a pop. for those who are into collections, the set of 6 designs is only $1650. i love the art.