Another Wednesday and having dinner with my friends at Swagat Indian cuisine in NW Portland tonight. I got home a little earlier tonight about 4:35 so I had a little extra time to get ready. Now we are into the cooler fall weather so I was looking forward to wearing my red sweater dress which really is one of my favorite dresses, and of course this also means a red lipstick. I did take my time getting ready and it is funny as even without watching the clock I am pretty consistent and by that I mean I was ready at 5:35. It seems it doesn’t matter if I start a little after 4:30 or a little after 5 I seem to be ready between 5:30 and 5:40. Of course I did have to get a few pictures before leaving to pick Julie up. Traffic was light and I got to Julie’s right at 6pm and got a quick picture in the car.
Julie
was ready and looking cute as always and we did have a little time to sit and talk,
which is something I love to do. We talked a little about when Julie and Trixie
go down to Palm Springs for the winter, which is less then 3 weeks away and as I
will be at Diva Las Vegas the last week of the month I really only have tonight
and next week to ride with Julie. It really will be sad when she leaves of
course she will be back around Christmas and I am planning a trip
down there to visit her in the spring. It was about 6:20 when we left and we
talked the whole drive there. We got to Swagat about 6:40 and I did drive
through their small parking lot as the last several times I have lucked out and
got a spot but the parking gods were not with me tonight. I did find a spot
about a block away though so not too bad.
Julie and I walked in and I told the man I had reservations at 7pm and he said he had a table ready. We were taken back to the right which I have never been back in that part as we always get a table in the front part but it turns out the other part is actually a bigger part of the restaurant, I never realized how big this place was. Julie and I sat and we talked as we waited for the other girls to show up and it wasn’t long. By 7pm we were all there and tonight we had 6 of us, Poppy, Alex, Jennifer, Barb, me and of course Julie. Our waitress took our drink order and gave us time to look atthe menu although I already knew what I was going to have. Yes most places we go I know before had what I will have although here is a little different. I am not a spicy or hot food person and yes had it not been for the group I probably never would have come to Swagat or for that matter Thia Bloom but then the Wednesday night dinners really are about getting together with friends and not so much about what we eat. That being said coming here I have found food I like and what I love here is the Chicken Makhani which is chicken in a butter sauce and very mild and really good.
We all ordered and then sat and talked as we waited for our food. Now it was a smaller group tonight and that was okay as it did make it easier for us all to talk together. The big groups are nice as it still amazes me that we can on occasion get 10 to 16 of us out for a Wednesday night dinner where 15 years ago on a weekend we were happy if we got 6 to 8 girls out. We talk a little about Diva Las Vegas and of course nails, specifically what Jennifer and I are going to get for Diva. Jennifer is thinking of a French tip short coffin and over the last week I really have been thinking about removing my nails and having extension put on so I can get a longer coffin shape, I really think if you go longer on your nails a coffin shape looks better and of course mine will be red. I am thinking about 1/2 inch which may sound long but really is not as my nails are close to a 1/4 inch now which you can see in this picture. Yes I have these as my male self also.
Our
food came and as always it was really good and if you like Indian food, I would
highly recommend Swagat and even if you don’t come here and get the Chicken
Makhani I think you will be surprised. Joining this group and meeting these
ladies really has made my life better, I have gone places I never would have and
done some incredible things such as getting my nails done. 20 years ago I just
wanted to go to a nail salon and get acrylic nails 1 time to see what they were
like and now I go every 3 weeks and have had acrylic nails nonstop for almost 2
years now. The best part though is the people I have met, most of these ladies
are my best friends and a few are more like family and know more about me and
who I am then anyone including my real family. I have actually met a few people
while out as Susan outside our group who I also consider friends, I actually
have way more friends as Susan and closer friendships. We had a wonderful
dinner and great conversation.
Now
we did talk a little about the group and a couple things we noticed is we don’t
get many younger girls and I think that goes for most transgender groups,
mainly as it is more acceptable today especially amongst the young population
to be transgender and then can be themselves without having to hid it so they really
don’t need the social support. The other thing is our group is probably 60+ % part time and 40% or less
full time and I think the main reason is a lot of the girls who do go full time
tend to stop being active in the group and I don’t mean that in a negative or
mean way. let me explain, for me I get a few hours and Saturday and Sunda afternoon
and of course our Wednesday night dinners and I look forward to this time to express
this side of myself. Now it is not the thrilling and exhilarating experience it
was 15 years ago but it is still a chance to be the complete person I am. The friends
I have made are a key part of that as we have a common bond. For those who have
gone full time and are living completely as their female self they do this every
day, everyone in their lives are a key part of who they are and Wednesday night
dinner become simple just a dinner out. The other thing is possibility and yes
for most transgender people, even the ones who pass very well there are always
little things that stick out that given enough time people will pick up on and
probably at least wonder. When I am alone sitting at Starbucks working on my
computer I would say some people don’t realize as they are not really paying
attention to me. Now you get a group of 6 to 15 of us together in one place and
there is no way we will pass. We have actually been out in a big group and had
a few people come talk with us and tell a few of the girls how well they passed
and they never would have guessed if it wasn’t for the group and what makes
this interesting most of those were the wives of some of the girls, yes a few
wives got taken and transgender just because they were with the group. The sad thing
is over time I think groups like ours will go away as the group ages and I see
it also with Diva Las Vegas. The first year I went to Diva was 2010 and I was part
of the younger crowd and even now 14 years later I am still part of the younger
group. Now there are some younger girls but the majority are still older than
me.
It
really was a great night and it was about 9pm and we paid our bills and yes there was an automatic 18% tip on our bill which is
not uncommon but I liked the way they did it here. It was below the bill and
the tip line said additional tip so it was clearly marked and yes I gave an additional
tip as our waitress was awesome, she even too our group picture. We all walked back to our cars and it is
amazing how comfortable I am walking around as Susan.
Julie
and I talked as we drove back to her house. It will be sad when she goes south
and I will miss her and our time together. I dropped her off and as always it
is sad when the night comes to an end. It was just about 10pm when I got home
and washed away Susan. Now I am looking forward to the weekend and a little more
Susan time. be happy with who you are and find joy and things you love to do in
your life.
Thanks
for reading my
blog and sharing this part of my life with me.
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