my nephew Harry

had more people turn out for his Bris than most people have turn out for any major life event. as his daddy said, he has more friends than his parents do. not bad for an 8 day old.

but my dear sweet little boy, you have been born into a very tight knit Jewish family. suffocating at times, but never lacking in love. whatever may occur to you in your life, you will never, ever lack for love (or video record of your first couple of years thanks to dad's purchase of webcams for all of us). and you'll have to deal with a batty auntie in Denver who can't bear the fact that she lives nearly 2,000 miles away from you and is happy to have her webcam.

split personality

walking home from a friend's I have to accept that I am 2 separate people - the person I am in my life in Denver and the person I am when I come back to NYC to visit my family and the few old friends I still have. and that the real reason that I didn't move back here over 8 years ago is that I became a different enough person while in grad school that I didn't know how to be this new person in this old place.

multiple posts in my head, never typed out

In February I wrote, if in not exact words, that acupuncture can change the world (or that I'd like to use it to change the world, something to that effect). Well, that's the slogan around the fist on the tshirt I bought from my wonderful compadres from Working Class Acupuncture in Portland, OR. I met 5 people in the patient panel they had for us for whom it was a statement of truth. I have many clients for whom it is truth. And if all goes well tomorrow with signing a lease, I will be able to greatly add to the number of people in Denver for whom it is truth. I've had a half dozen calls from prospective clients in the week since I've returned from my first trip to Portland since I moved from there, all of whom need me in the community sliding scale model, not private practice. I even started one at a lower than private rate just cause I knew she needed to get in to see me now, not in 6 weeks.

Just a few minutes ago I was flipping channels as the 10pm news started and caught the second half of an interview with a political/Drinking Liberally friend, Pam Bennett, who is running for the city council in Aurora this fall. If she wins, she'll be one of a handful of openly transgendered elected officials in the U.S. Of the people they showed interviewed, 2 of 3 were ok with it, only 1 brought up 'the children' as being a reason for her not to deserve being elected. Yes, cause showing openness and tolerance would be bad for the children, looking to the quality of the person and not the shell would be bad for the children. I hope to be typing in news of her victory in 6 months.

My mind has been like a hamster on an exercise wheel since being in Portland, seeing the few firends I kept over these 8 1/2 years and falling back into the same familiar speech patterns in a matter of minutes over tea at the Tao of Tea or down in wine country or in Kimberly's little breakfast nook. Not unlike in Turkey, sleep could wait until my return. Again I was like a small child, pushing and pushing myself until I was so tired that sleeping was difficult and fitful, requiring more time than I was out there to recover the balance. Combined with the enthusiasm from the support of those who figured out and were willing to share how to break out the conventions and expectations of acupuncturists in the U.S., I am overwhelmed, anxious and ready to be done with conventions, ready to be fully functioning outside of the insurance racket, ready to not have to fix wealthy clients who take no responsibilty for the impact of their actions on their health. The next 5 weeks of transition are going to be long, even with the holiday of meeting my soon to be born niece or nephew.