For Mukethe

Mukethe says, "more pictures!" so I'm going to do my best. Alas, my ipod touch, which took great pictures, is officially lost and gone (probably forever), but I do still have a camera... the pictures just aren't as great.

Today I went to see Daniella and Haicam's clinic in San Marcos, just a bit south of Austin. New braid blog entries shortly. I had a lovely time there, including this funny anecdote that I feel compelled to share.

So, at some point, I'm standing in the office/waiting room area, and this older woman, a patient, starts talking to me. She's saying something like, "Is that little guy the devil?" I'm confused, at first I wonder if she's talking about the stick figure on my shirt. I realize that she's talking about my tattoo...

"Oh, no, that's just the Anxiety Monster. Don't worry, he's very friendly..." I say some other things, about how he's frolicking in a field of flowers, letting go of the anxiety, et cetera.

She asks me if it's there forever; I tell her that yes, it is.

Then she says, "What if you find a girl someday who doesn't like it?"

I briefly think, "Wow... this lady is really progressive. She's reading me as queer." I quickly realize that she's actually reading me as a guy, and has not been deterred from this impression, even though we've been talking for a bit. Since most people who "sir" me usually quickly change their mind and apologize, I'm never entirely sure what to do when I'm read as male for longer than an instant. Anyway, I'm kind of thrown, and not sure how to answer her question. I think I said something like, "I don't know... but I'm not too worried about it."

I'm not sure exactly when after this she became confused, but it wasn't too long before she was saying, "I'm sorry, are you a girl? I thought you were a boy. It's so hard to tell these days."

When kids ask me, "Are you a boy or a girl?" my response is usually "No." When it's older people, I'm more hesitant to give them a straight-up "No," but I tend to just feel uncomfortable and try to dodge the question, which is exactly what I did. Apparently as she was leaving, she asked Daniella if I was a boy or a girl.

Some people just really need to know.