Saturday, June 30, 2007

P M S

Photo courtesy of unprofound

This is where I'm at with my PMS today. I just want to slap the shit out of someone. No one I like of course but someone really annoying who deserves it like Dick Cheney. Perhaps he's too old for such an action. Or maybe I'm being ageist. Yes that's it I'm being ageist. His age shouldn't matter when it comes to mindless violence! I say as of today anyone who comes across Dick Cheney has the right to slap the bloody shit out of him for me. Thank you!
~F

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Free The New Jersey Four Now! A Call for Action!

Reprinted with permission from Workers.org

Lesbians sentenced for self-defense

All-white jury convicts Black women

By Imani Henry New York
Published Jun 21, 2007 2:58 AM

On June 14, four African-American women—Venice Brown (19), Terrain Dandridge (20), Patreese Johnson (20) and Renata Hill (24)—received sentences ranging from three-and-a-half to 11 years in prison. None of them had previous criminal records. Two of them are parents of small children.

Their crime? Defending themselves from a physical attack by a man who held them down and choked them, ripped hair from their scalps, spat on them, and threatened to sexually assault them—all because they are lesbians.

The mere fact that any victim of a bigoted attack would be arrested, jailed and then convicted for self-defense is an outrage. But the length of prison time given further demonstrates the highly political nature of this case and just how racist, misogynistic, anti-gay, anti-youth and anti-worker the so-called U.S. justice system truly is.

The description of the events, reported below, is based on written statements by a community organization (FIERCE) that has made a call to action to defend the four women, verbal accounts from court observers and evidence from a surveillance camera.

The attack

On Aug. 16, 2006, seven young, African-American, lesbian-identified friends were walking in the West Village. The Village is a historic center for lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) communities, and is seen as a safe haven for working-class LGBT youth, especially youth of color.

As they passed the Independent Film Cinema, 29-year-old Dwayne Buckle, an African American vendor selling DVDs, sexually propositioned one of the women. They rebuffed his advances and kept walking.

“I’ll f— you straight, sweetheart!” Buckle shouted. A video camera from a nearby store shows the women walking away. He followed them, all the while hurling anti-lesbian slurs, grabbing his genitals and making explicitly obscene remarks. The women finally stopped and confronted him. A heated argument ensued. Buckle spat in the face of one of the women and threw his lit cigarette at them, escalating the verbal attack into a physical one.

Buckle is seen on the video grabbing and pulling out large patches of hair from one of the young women. When Buckle ended up on top of one of the women, choking her, Johnson pulled a small steak knife out of her purse. She aimed for his arm to stop him from killing her friend.

The video captures two men finally running over to help the women and beating Buckle. At some point he was stabbed in the abdomen. The women were already walking away across the street by the time the police arrived.

Buckle was hospitalized for five days after surgery for a lacerated liver and stomach. When asked at the hospital, he responded at least twice that men had attacked him.

There was no evidence that Johnson’s kitchen knife was the weapon that penetrated his abdomen, nor was there any blood visible on it. In fact, there was never any forensics testing done on her knife. On the night they were arrested, the police told the women that there would be a search by the New York Police Department for the two men—which to date has not happened.

After almost a year of trial, four of the seven were convicted in April. Johnson was sentenced to 11 years on June 14.

Even with Buckle’s admission and the video footage proving that he instigated this anti-gay attack, the women were relentlessly demonized in the press, had trumped-up felony charges levied against them, and were subsequently given long sentences in order to send a clear resounding message—that self-defense is a crime and no one should dare to fight back.

Political backdrop of the case

Why were these young women used as an example? At stake are the billions of dollars in tourism and real estate development involved in the continued gentrification of the West Village. This particular incident happened near the Washington Square area—home of New York University, one of most expensive private colleges in the country and one of the biggest employers and landlords in New York City. The New York Times reported that Justice Edward J. McLaughlin used his sentencing speech to comment on “how New York welcomes tourists.” (June 17)

The Village is also the home of the Stonewall Rebellion, the three-day street battle against the NYPD that, along with the Compton Cafeteria “Riots” in California, helped launch the modern-day LGBT liberation movement in 1969. The Manhattan LGBT Pride march, one of the biggest demonstrations of LGBT peoples in the world, ends near the Christopher Street Piers in the Village, which have been the historical “hangout” and home for working-class trans and LGBT youth in New York City for decades.

Because of growing gentrification in recent years, young people of color, homeless and transgender communities, LGBT and straight, have faced curfews and brutality by police sanctioned by the West Village community board and politicians. On Oct. 31, 2006, police officers from the NYPD’s 6th Precinct indiscriminately beat and arrested several people of color in sweeps on Christopher Street after the Halloween parade.

Since the 1980s there has been a steady increase in anti-LGBT violence in the area, with bashers going there with that purpose in mind.

For trans people and LGBT youth of color, who statistically experience higher amounts of bigoted violence, the impact of the gentrification has been severe. As their once-safe haven is encroached on by real estate developers, the new white and majority heterosexual residents of the West Village then call in the state to brutalize them.

For the last six years the political LGBT youth group FIERCE has been at the forefront of mobilizing young people “to counter the displacement and criminalization of LGBTSTQ [lesbian, gay, bi, two spirit, trans, and queer] youth of color and homeless youth at the Christopher Street Pier and in Manhattan’s West Village.” (www.fiercenyc.org) FIERCE has also been the lead organization supporting the Jersey Seven and their families.

The trial and the media

Deemed a so-called “hate crime” against a straight man, every possible racist, anti-woman, anti-LGBT and anti-youth tactic was used by the entire state apparatus and media. Everything from the fact that they lived outside of New York, in the working-class majority Black city of Newark, N.J., to their gender expressions and body structures were twisted and dehumanized in the public eye and to the jury.

According to court observers, McLaughlin stated throughout the trial that he had no sympathy for these women. The jury, although they were all women, were all white. All witnesses for the district attorney were white men, except for one Black male who had several felony charges.

Court observers report that the defense attorneys had to put enormous effort into simply convincing the jury that they were “average women” who had planned to just hang out together that night. Some jurists asked why they were in the Village if they were from New Jersey. The DA brought up whether they could afford to hang out there—raising the issue of who has the right to be there in the first place.

The Daily News reporting was relentless in its racist anti-lesbian misogyny, portraying Buckle as a “filmmaker” and “sound engineer” preyed upon by a “lesbian wolf pack” (April 19) and a “gang of angry lesbians.” (April 13)

Everyone has been socialized by cultural archetypes of what it means to be a “man” or “masculine” and “woman” or “feminine.” Gender identity/expression is the way each indivdual chooses or not to express gender in their everyday lives, including how they dress, walk, talk, etc. Transgender people and other gender non-conforming people face oppression based on their gender expression/identity.

The only pictures shown in the Daily News were of the more masculine-appearing women. One of the most despiciable headlines in the Daily News, “‘I’m a man!’ lesbian growled during fight,” (April 13) was targeted against Renata Hill, who was taunted by Buckle because of her masculinity.

Ironically, Johnson, who was singled out by the judge as the “ringleader,” is the more feminine of the four. According to the New York Times, in his sentencing remarks, “Justice McLaughlin scoffed at the assertion made by ... Johnson, that she carried a knife because she was just 4-foot-11 and 95 pounds, worked nights and lived in a dangerous neighborhood.” He quoted the nursery rhyme, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” (June 15)

All of the seven women knew and went to school with Sakia Gunn, a 19-year-old butch lesbian who was stabbed to death in Newark, N.J., in May 2003. Paralleling the present case, Gunn was out with three of her friends when a man made sexual advances to one of the women. When she replied that she was a lesbian and not interested, he attacked them. Gunn fought back and was stabbed to death.

“You can’t help but wonder that if Sakia Gunn had a weapon, would she be in jail right now?” Bran Fenner, a founding member and co-executive director of FIERCE, told Workers World. “If we don’t have the right to self-defense, how are we supposed to survive?”

National call to action

While racist killer cops continue to go without indictment and anti-immigrant paramilitary groups like the Minutemen are on the rise in the U.S., The Jersey Four sit behind bars for simply defending themselves against a bigot who attacked them in the Village.

Capitalism at its very core is a racist, sexist, anti-LGBT system, sanctioning state violence through cops, courts and its so-called laws. The case of the Jersey Four gives more legal precedence for bigoted violence to go unchallenged. The ruling class saw this case as a political one; FIERCE and other groups believe the entire progressive movement should as well.

Fenner said, “We are organizing in the hope that this wakes up all oppressed people and sparks a huge, broad campaign to demand freedom for the Jersey Four.”

FIERCE is asking for assistance for these young women, including pro-bono legal support, media contacts and writers, pen pals, financial support, and diverse organizational support. For details, visit http://www.fiercenyc.org/.

Waiting Game

It's my 1 day off this week today. Got a call from a realtor saying she'd be by between 10:30 & noon to show the house I'm currently residing in that is also currently on the market. While my roommate is in NY I'm here dealing with realtors who leave all the lights on before leaving & wondering if they'll let my cat outdoors to get hit by a car. Mercury is so farking in retrograde!!!!

The realtor who called for today never showed up. I woke up for nothing. My urge was to call her and say something like this even though it's very much not true:

"Ummm excuse me but you said you were coming by noon today & I have some casual sex scheduled for 12:30pm today so can hurry up & come here so I can." Wouldn't that be funny to say? I didn't do it but I certainly felt like doing it!

My partner & I are also waiting to hear back on a rental we're really interested in. We checked out one of the townhomes next door that the neighbors kindly let us walk around in & it's super great. The townhouse we want has hardwoods & a fireplace for a bit under $750 per month. Not only would I personally be paying less rent but I'd get to go back to the neighborhood I love (North Portland a.k.a da hood). So at this point everything is simply in God/dess's hands & I personally have no choice but to surrender & stay in reality moment by moment.

I'm off to chill. Peace!
~F

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

My 1st Necklace & Feeling Emotionally Shitty

I made my first necklace last night. With the help of a great teacher at Beads at Dusti Creek & some willingness to spend money & get into a new hobby the piece above was made. It's chocolate pearls & these kick-ass glass beads with a few seed beads. It was a lot of fun & I have to complete a couple more projects & then I'll have another private class & learn how to make earrings.

Knitting is fun. I know I'll knit again. But it is also monotonous & lacks a bit for me in quickness & creativity. Beading was a bit more fun because It's cool to put colors together & figure out patterns of beads. Plus I get to get into use my natural obsessiveness to make details in the string & use my hands & tools to finish the piece. I'm a hands on kinda girl. Hehe!

Yesterday I hit a wall emotionally. I felt like a computer that needed to simply shut down & re-boot later. Went to bed at 6pm & only woke for an hour to talk with my beloved & then went back to bed. Mercury is certainly retrograde in Cancer because I feel like all things home related are just wacky as all get out.

My partner & need to live together soon. It's actually more stressful living apart than together. Those are words I never thought I'd say! The trouble is that we're mutually a little broke due to going on vacation next month & her place needed no deposit so we need to save for deposit on a new place. We found an awesome place that we're filling out paper work on tonight. It's a 2 bedroom town home with over 950 sq. feet and hardwood floors. Plus it's totally affordable! But we may need to borrow $$$ to get the deposit paid off immediately.

My home life at where I'm currently residing isn't much better. My roomie & I seem to have differing opinions on a household issue & too boot we communicate differently about things. I love her & hate having any strife especially when she's out of town.

So I came home last night & felt utterly hopeless. Just broken down emotionally & unable to do anything or think about anything. Knowing that I'm PMSing helped. Knowing that there is a solution & that it will pass helped too. My mind & heart know all will be well. So I just went to bed, to overloaded to do much else after my beading class.

Today I ran into a very sweet & squishy friend who gave me an amazing hug. I can't believe how much better I felt within my own body after that. Thank goddess for recovery because if you hang out enough, little angels angels find you everywhere!

I did chip a tooth today though. Hrumph!
Peace!
~F

Monday, June 25, 2007

Our Beavers are the Best!

Online Dating
Thanks to Sara for putting this link on her blog! Find out your blog rating here!

Because I didn't follow the OSU Beavers during the year. But as a pervy dyke I can't resist being able to say that for us in Oregon, our Beavers are the best! And that Oregon's Beavers are the best in the US.

Oh my gosh I am right now sucking on the most sour thing I've ever had in my mouth. A extreme sour apple Warhead. Goodness it's better but that was terrible! Now it's finally sweet! Yum yum.

Okay so I've been kinda stressed lately. And the annoying thing is it's all good stuff, but apparently stress whether it's good or bad has the same effect on the body. At least this is what my mommy says! So I shant complain a lot but perhaps a little because I can. Went to a great 12 step meeting today & someone said something cool. Since we're not supposed to repeat what others say in meeetings I'll summerize.

God has three answers-


  1. Yes

  2. Yes but not now

  3. No but something better is coming

That really helped me as I found myself before the meeting trying to think my way into knowing what to do about my living situation. I know by now the "brainstorm" as we call it, doesn't work. So I prayed, listened to the song Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve and got my ass to a meeting. And voila... head is better. Now it feels a little more like this...

Photo courtesy of unprofound

Peace y'all!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Yay! Pics!

I just got my Cunt Coloring Book by Tee Corinne. So very excited to color in it & I think I'll try crayons & colored pencils & see what I like best. Woo hoo!

On Racialicious I saw this awesome cartoon dedicated to That One Black Kid by Keith Knight. Check it out here. It's so on point I made one for my locker at work, fridge & my beloved.

Peace!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Cuz I'm so in LOVE/Erase Racism Carnival/White Privilage

Geez my posting has fallen behind a bit. It's not my fault really cuz I'm so in love. Man I mean damn! Oh I really could go on & on & on & on but I don't want to make anyone barf. It's just so excellent to finally find the person who fits. It's not just because she's so great- which she is. It's feels as though she & I we're made for each other. Yes we have other things in our lives we're meant to do and yet we just are totally... uhh I just can't even articulate it here. It's just so beautiful & amazing & I'm so greateful to the powers that be for bringing us together. It seems as though I've waited my whole life & can now rest in the grace of our soulful romance.

Now onto the latest Erase Racism Carnival. This time it's at White anti-racist Parent. Some topics included are race in the media, race & immigration, Whitness & privilage and much more. Check it out.

And just for fun here are 50 ways in which white privilage effects white folks. Peggy McIntosh came up with this list and to read her more of her piece White Privilage: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack click here. Okay here we go...

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.
3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.
11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.
12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.
17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.
18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.
19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.
20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
23. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.
24. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the "person in charge", I will be facing a person of my race.
25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.
26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children's magazines featuring people of my race.
27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared.
28. I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race is more likely to jeopardize her/his chances for advancement than to jeopardize mine.
29. I can be pretty sure that if I argue for the promotion of a person of another race, or a program centering on race, this is not likely to cost me heavily within my present setting, even if my colleagues disagree with me.
30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn't a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have.
31. I can choose to ignore developments in minority writing and minority activist programs, or disparage them, or learn from them, but in any case, I can find ways to be more or less protected from negative consequences of any of these choices.
32. My culture gives me little fear about ignoring the perspectives and powers of people of other races.
33. I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.
34. I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.
35. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.
36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.
37. I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.
38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.
39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.
40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.
41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
42. I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my race.
43. If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem.
44. I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.
45. I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my race.
46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.
47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us.
48. I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people approve of our household.
49. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.
50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.

Friday, June 15, 2007

It's Pride Weekend in Bridge City

For some reason I'm so so about it. It's not because I'm a closet case (obviously) or have some internalized homophobia that keeps me from the Pride party. It's that our Portland Pride is sorta...well...lame. It's small & kind of boring. I guess I'm still used to the Prides past in my hometown of Minneapolis where the Pride celebrations were amazing. I know I shouldn't complain. And I'm not really because this year I'll be with my beloved & we'll take it moment by moment & dance or not dance, celebrate publicly or get our gay on in private, which we do anyhow.

Well I'm pretty feeking tired & will have more to say tomorrow maybe. Happy GLBTQ Pride Weekend Y'all!
~F

Monday, June 11, 2007

WTF is up with Whites Doing Blackface???

I don't get it. I really don't. I mean I really really really don't get it. What's extra special about this latest in mockery is that it's a Christian school that had adult staff participate in this utter nonsense. There are several places to check out the story about Riverdale Christian Academy reenacting slavery as their graduation party. Find out more here, here & here. The principal at Riverdale seems at this point to not find it a big deal and said that that acting out slavery is "not offensive." Well yes that's true I suppose that to other ignorant racists it's not offensive. Though if it were truly no big deal to Riverdale then why is their website currently unavailable?


I'd also like the school staff of supposed Christians to ask themselves: What would Jesus do?
If these people looked into their hearts I know the answer would not be this... Or a game of Catch the Runaway Slave. *sigh*

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Why Marriage Equality is Important to Me

I'm not going to sugarcoat this. I never wanted to get legally married. Not until now. Not until I found the love I had waited so very long for. And now I see the importance of marriage & why civil unions/domestic partnerships are not enough.

For many years I ran around saying "screw legal marriage, everyone should just do domestic partnerships." I believed it with all my heart & still very much feel it's a great way to go. It is not necessary to get legally married. Lawyers can draw up papers so that most things in a marriage can apply to a union. So why have I changed my mind for myself?

I suddenly understand what deep love means & how important it is to protect it to the fullest extent possible. Legal marriage makes this possible. To want your partner & family to have as many provisions as possible to keep the family sustained & healthy is an appropriate response to such strong feelings. Don't get me wrong, legal marriage in and of itself can't keep a family from harm, divorce or problems. But when love is right & life is tough, legal marriage can help. Take for instance, the two things our state (Oregon) with it's domestic partnership legislation doesn't cover: after death benefits & immigration.

  • As noted in the Willamette Week article written by Byron Beck legal domestic partnerships would still leave a surviving partner unable to receive the deceased partners social security benefits. You could be together for longer than a married couple but still not receive the dead partners social security after death. I cannot even begin to fathom that my partner would not be able to get my social security benefits for one reason only: because she's female. If we have children & grandchildren I would want them along with my beloved to be able to receive all the monies that I worked my ass off for. It would be the way I would want it & legal marriage provides for that. Not having access to that is not only unfair but unjust & discriminatory.

  • Immigration and love. Yes the two happen! If the bill Gov. Kulongoski signed goes through it still means that if a US citizen falls in love with someone from another country, even Canada, the partner wishing to immigrate here would not be able to. This means a mixed citizenship couple could be physically torn apart at any time because the non-citizen could be deported. Legal marriage protects against this & keeps the couple together.

Let's not forget that all the other benefits that legalized domestic partnership would afford a couple would not be carried on to any other state. Only legal marriage for all partners in all states would guarantee a couple all the benefits & provisions no matter where in the US they go.

The love I feel for my partner is so strong that I want her to be able to get all the help & comfort possible. Legal marriage provides help and shows to all that our commitment is so strong that we feel the privileges marriage affords are not to be taken lightly but are cherished & to be used to benefit the family to make us better so we can better for others. That the benefits of legalized marriage can be used to enhance our comfort so we can be better citizens of our country of the heart & the country we're supposedly equal to all, in. Is saving money by filing joint taxes, getting each others social security after death & being recognized as lifelong partners legally important? Hell yes! Relationships no matter how wonderful are work. The labor of love is important work that benefits the individual, couple & all around them A real & deep commitment to stay together no matter what is one of the most important things a person can do & it's extremely serious. If the law can provide a bit of ease for a couple with some tax breaks & post death financial support than so be it. Our country should support real love between two people and legal marriage makes that possible.

Same sex marriage does not interest me. Marriage equality does. To me this issue is not about the right for gays & lesbians to get married. It's about stopping discrimination based on gender or the sex of our partners. The size, shape & appearance of one's genitals is not the determining factor in commitment. It's that a union between two people who care deeply for another is worth the seriousness of lifelong togetherness. And I believe even most married straight couples would agree that they married their partners for love & not solely for what is in their pants.

Peace!
~F

Monday, June 04, 2007

How many books...

does someone need to plan a wedding? These just to start. Uff da indeed!
Peace!

Saturday, June 02, 2007

The Shoes

Last night I dreamt that I was wearing a pair of kinda cute, kinda not really shoes. I was at some strange Emily-the -Strange hipster place that also sold comfortable shoes in white. I walked around in the shoes but was NOT feeling them. This leads me to wonder this afternoon just what the hell am I going to wear on my feet for the ceremony. Even barefoot is not an option because I still have to wear my ankle brace.

I hate having a bad ankle but it's better than no ankle!
Peace!
~F

Friday, June 01, 2007

Super Huge oh so Wonderful Fantastic News!!!!!

I'm getting married!!!!!!

Oh-my-gosh I can't even begin to articulate how thrilled & in love & am. A friend from Minnesota recently asked for our story after I revealed the news & after explaining how we got together I summed us up by saying simply "she feels like home." And she does in the best way!

A couple weeks before she asked I was walking & realized there was no one else I could or would want to be with for the rest of my life. It wasn't a shock to understand such deep knowledge & feelings, just a wonderful realization that I felt everywhere.

Here's a quick example of just one of the things that makes her so damn perfect for me. Last night after we broke the news to my roommate we went outside to look at the full Moon. Suddenly we both got the idea to moon the people going by from the driveway. Yes that's right she pulled down her pants, I pulled up my house dress & we mooned the drivers passing by. At one point she even smacked her bare ass & yelled "kiss this!" Oh we are sooooo meant for each other!

For the most part the people closest to us have been informed except our grandparents. Our mom's had the same reaction which was "you can't have the wedding without me" which we wouldn't dream of because family is really important to us both. The even more wonderful thing besides us finding each other is that everyone & everything seems to be going along beautifully! No one has said "are you crazy iyou have not been together long enough" which I'm pleasently suprised by. I guess the folks who know us & have seen us just get it too. That we're right for each other. It's a beautiful thing!
My best friend back home is designing the dress. Her first sketch was beautiful & my partner even dreamt of it last night! Kewl. We're finding locations we can afford that are outdoors & beautiful and know a lot of the right folks to help with all kinds of stuff from music to photographers. It's so amazing! Here's the 1st design!
Even my engagement ring is perfect. It's hard to see in this pic but it's simple & elegant with just enought bling & practicality to make it exactly what I need. Plus it works well with whatever rings we design (we've already found our designers who happen to be a lesbian couple in Oregon- what luck!) and my current wedding ring to myself.


So we're at this point planning for next summer. I could marry her today but I am a girl after all & have been dreaming of my wedding since I was young so I need time to plan without getting into a frenzy. And since we have a road trip next month to Idaho we can get our engagement pic somewhere on the road. Anyway I'm sharing this news with my readers because I'm planning to write about our upcoming nuptuials & hopefully help anyone who is queer & somewhat broke with wedding prep. And also because I love this woman & I want to tell the world at last I've found the One.

Kisses y'all!
~F