Season's Greetings

Well if you haven't got your gifts yet you're too late. 

Seasons greetings to you all and thanks for reading.

TERF'y Tweets

So J K Rowling made some TERF'y tweets, to the surprise of no-one. Well no one trans who had seen her Twitter account over the last few years anyway. It won't be surprising when another outs themselves as a self appointed defender of teh women next week. They all have freedom of speech to make such comments, as recent employment rulings have affirmed they don't have freedom from consequences, whether that be people calling out their bigotry or employers showing them the door.

Bubble Wrap

Happy winter solstice. I've had one of those nights where it was nearly impossible to switch off my mind and settle down, thankfully I haven't had a night like that for a while and thankfully it wasn't a school night. Elsewhere I had a few packages arrive which quite idelly led me to rediscover the therapeutic joys of popping bubble wrap. I feel it could become a quite expensive habit.

Bits and Pieces

"Britain's First Transgender Parents" ran the headline which was news to me and the many trans parents I've met over the years, but its in the newspapers, so it must be true. Anyway congrats to them and as I've written recently there have been trans parents since time began and there will be many more to come.

I spoke to someone recently who attended a job interview in an office that had a casual Friday policy which was on a Friday so he was formally dressed while the interviewers were in jeans and t-shirts. He thought this was deeply unprofessional, where as I thought you're stuck and them's the rule's. Although they really should schedule interviews on other days. I'd be interested what the brains trust reading this think.

One Week To Go

One more week to go and I'm getting sentimental listening to David Essex crooning A Winters Tale. I'm also someone who's a whizz on Excel, can manage the moribund database system and understand how Winthrop and Valentine made all that money at the end of Trading Places but I'm blown if I can understand this new holiday booking system.

By the way here's an explaination, nothing can explain the sadist who came up with the holiday booking system.

Monday Moments 3

If you think you're having a bad day. Scott Boswell's infamous over at Lords in the 2001 C&G Cup final, ironically it was his bowling display in the semi-final that got his team to the final but nerves and a sweaty palm got to him on the big day and his playing career was finished. In a Guardian interview a few years ago he said that moment took him ten years to get over.

How to Regift a Present

Chances are you've been given gifts that you don't want. Perhaps you're at that age where everyone decided to buy you a pair of slippers and now you've got a dozen pairs, maybe it's another bath set, a gag gift that leaves you gagging or its just plain horrible and now you're cupboard is full.

You could hire me as a sort of half arsed trans Marie Kondo or you could regift it yourself. Hopefully you've kept a note of who gave what to avoid embarrassingly giving that gift back and unlike all those slipper buyers you've put some thought into what they actually would like and hopefully they like slippers. Gag gifts are generally a terrible no no. Only regift if you are 100 percent sure they'd see the funny side. If your item had become worn or faded, the packaging bashed or torn, it's time to donate it away. After all you need that space for this year's slippers.

Nearly Forgotten

Today's the day I nearly forgot to write something and it's getting on. A well organised person would have some kind of "here's something we made earlier" to drop in at this point, but as you've gathered I'm not that person. Today's been that kind of depressing day, gloomy and wet which hardly lifts the spirits and finding out your shoes are no longer waterproof. I should have added about Christmas TV guides yesterday was figuring out what to watch and what I wanted to tape and hoping I could fit it on one E180 before I ran out of tape which invariably I did.

Christmas TV Guides

The Christmas TV guides are out, that large amount of paper that tells you whats on if you can't work that button on your TV that tells you for free. There isn't even the need to know the timing of programs now. But at least it does show that linear TV isn't dead yet.

Trans Parenthood and the McConnell Decision

Being the sort of person who reads court judgement's in their spare time I had a look at the McConnell decision and his so far unsuccessful fight to have his name not listed as the mother on his childs birth certificate. Something missed or ignored by the right wing press and commentators is that the judge clearly de-gendered the term mother meaning a man or a non binary person can be a mother. The case is going to appeal, it affects his dignity and potentially endangers himself and his child and there's a long way until the dust settles and the legal ramifications become clear.

Whatever happens trans and nb folks are still going to have children.

Blogmas: Monday Moments 2

Tequila!

Secret Santa

Secret Santa's for colleagues is that horrible chore as if you haven't got enough trouble buying gifts for people you actually like.

Hopefully they've put a small limit on the value of the gift you can buy if not there's plenty of print and online magazine supplements about suggesting £30 lipsticks and £50 garlic crushers for you to buy. At the £5-£10 limit you probably have to put in little more thought trying to hit that sweet spot between thoughtful and witty or you could just get a box of chocolates. There's also the blind secret Santa in which you don't know who you're buying for in which case I suggest going for broke and buying a chocolate willy.

Sleigh Lists

Its only the 5th and already I've had my limit of All I Want For Christmas Is You for this season. There should be a decree that sleigh lists should only be played from the 1st December and certainly not at 8 AM in a shop to distinctly un-festive feeling workers.

Bus

Somethings have changed a 10 minute wait for the next bus seemed like an eternity especially when you didn't have a smartphone to kill the time. The formal queue for the bus has disappeared replaced by an informal system where you see someone new turn up they look round trying to remember who was there before them before finding a spot and so on. When the bus does arrive there's a series of non-verbal gestures to say "after you" and heaven forfend someone who jumps in, a wave of silent passive aggression sweeps through.

Seasonal Drink

Its that time when coffee shops are offering their seasonal hot drinks. Salted caramel and gingerbread are popular flavors available across several shops. People who get sniffy about a sugary cola will think nothing about buying a large seasonal drink that's loaded with flavoured syrup and so much fatty cream that my arteries tighten up at the mere sight of it. As you can guess I'm someone who likes to taste the coffee although if its Starbucks that's a terrible thing to suffer, the same thing for teas. As for hot chocolate I may accept mint or Baileys*

* Actual Baileys (or own label equivalent) 

Blogmas: Monday Moments 1

How to leave a job with impeccable timing, not something I've ever done.