“This is the start of something good don’t you agree?”

I hope by now, we’ve all heard of the TSA airport screening debacle. No, not the ridiculous existence of the entire government agency, the other one, you know the screeners molesting women. I’ve decided that, in order to avoid the strip searches, I’m not going to wear a bra when I go home for Christmas. In fact, I might be downright indecent and make sure that whatever I got on doesn’t even have a support shelf bra in it. This could get interesting. I’m also going to drink a glass of wine before my family takes me to the airport. That way, when the alarm goes off, which I feel is inevitable, I’ll be able to handle the situation quite well. My mom said I could ask for a woman to do the pat down. Heh. After 4 months in the FN office, do you think that’s gonna happen? Oh honey. “If I have to be searched…I want HIM.” Here’s to getting felt up by a good-looking TSA agent.

My thesis was accepted for presentation at APLS this March. Could I be any prouder?

Manhattan’s birthday is August 21, 2004. One day after I arrived. Things seem to cluster around my anniversary.

Tonight was a night of victory. I took myself out to dinner. As I sat there, I realized that I had wanted to do this for a long time. Whenever people would bring up dining alone, I’d say “Oh! I love doing that but I just can’t take that blow to my ego right now. Miami sucks enough.” Today, I knew that I am comfortable enough with myself in this strange land to dine alone. What a feeling; after having held onto my sanity by a threadbare ribbon for the last 4 months, I had changed and stepped fully into my skin as a survivor from way back. Sometimes you forget your own ability, your own heart, and your own will. It’s my new chapter. Not inherently better than the first one, but different and filled with new opportunities. Just me. And I smiled.