I admit I have my moments. I have my moments at work where I feel so stressed out that I want to walk out the door...I have many moments which last for days...weeks even, where I feel things will never improve and I will never see or feel the rewards I should feel from being so involved with the Community. I feel overwhellmed much of the time. Then, someone hears my call...or reads my need for attention...change and support. And when I least expect it, I receive it...and a simple walk to the coffee shop, honesty, compasion, and looks in my eyes makes me feel strong and capable again. What we are doing here is for the Community...and what an important job, and place to be doing this work (San Francisco IS the OZ for gay's..it's one of the reasons I moved here). Honesty, and charm (though she say's she's not..) are Gifts she has, and I'm glad she has them..for they pull others thru hard times as well...thanks MC, you have become my friend, and I treasure you.

At a time like this...embarking on Pride month in the city people flock to for Pride festivities, I am amazed at the energy of those involved. I have such a great opportunity to interact with people who posess such talent and commitment to this Community. It's not even about the Community at this point, it's that these people are Artists...and I get to meet them, watch them, help them hang their art work, help them make their events sucessful. I get to mengle energy with these amazing people...they touch me, and my mind flows.

I am grateful for my job..and here it is...I do enjoy my job (most of the time, when I'm not being pulled limb from limb in too many directions at once). But I do enjoy being on the front line. And I support them all, which at times can be challenging...

After an evening of assisting, watching art being applied to the walls of The Center, and the main rooms being prepared for the upcomming events, I am grateful.

Grateful that people like the one's I'm fortinate to interact with exist...grateful that The Center exists...
and others should be grateful as well...

May this be the best Pride month ever (until next year of course).

LGBT people, this is YOUR month!!!

I finished reading this book, and have to say I am in love with the author Randi. Not to mention the people she introduces to the reader. This book exposes the lifelong struggles some people go thru attempting to feel “normal” as the correct gender.

I was so excited by this book, and by the fact that Transgender people now have a supportive place in which to seek legal counseling, that I emailed the author.

She emailed me back.

“Dear Jennifer,

Thank you for your kind words and for letting me know about the Transgender Law Center. It is wonderful that this organization exists...what a valuable resource!

Best regards,
Randi Ettner”

Did I mention that I Love this woman?!

Today is my one year anniversary at work.

My girlfriend and I watched “Dancer in the Dark” over the weekend. I had heard about the film for sometime and generally knew the premise, but nothing can compare a person for this film. First, I was amazed at the cinematography…the bleak reality, and then colorful life musicals. Bjork is an amazing singer who utilizes her voice as it’s own unique and full instrument. She places accents on words which create new words thru her pronunciation. She is hypnotic.
Secondly, the storyline wonderfully sad with underlying love flowing from most of the characters. Bjork is a great actress who can captrue extreme pain to extreme pleasure with a gleem in her eye.
This film pulls you in, grabs hold of your heart and continues to squeeze it for the duration of the film, until the last two minutes; then it is pulled from your body and run over by a Mack truck.

What a beautiful woman Selma was.

After seeing this film, I am even more excited now that my girlfriend and I purchased tickets to see Bjork live!
(The ticket(s) you ordered for BJORK playing on Aug 8, 2003, have been printed! They will be shipped to you shortly via US Mail).

We will see Selma once more…

I watched “It was a wonderful Life” over the weekend, and it evoked many emotions, I was sad for their situations , but it also made me feel proud of the resilience of people, and in this case- women. Homeless women.

The description for this film is as follows “They're clean, educated, and articulate and rarely receive public assistance. But, following a divorce, job loss or a long illness, a growing number of middle-class women are forced to live out of their cars. Directed by Michèle Ohayon (Colors Straight Up) and narrated by Jodie Foster, It Was a Wonderful Life chronicles the hardships and triumphs of six "hidden homeless" women as they struggle to survive, one day at a time.”

These women all had previous careers, and due to circumstances, be the fact that their court ordered child support was not being received, the loss of savings and subsequent marriage due to an illness, a poor investment, or loosing a job, these women have contributed to society, and wanted to be in a position to do so once again. None of these women were or wanted to “milk the system” in order to survive, they were interested in finding jobs which could provide them with income in order to obtain housing. Another hardship on these women of course is the extreme loneliness they feel each day. They have no one to talk to, no one to care for or be cared by, not to mention that these women are constantly in fear that they will be attacked or robed. Their self-esteem is at an all time low, but they still trudge on.

I found this film to be educational as well, a few sickening facts from the film:

50% of divorced fathers don’t pay court ordered child support.

2/3rds of divorced fathers are paying more in car payments than in child support each month.

After a divorce, a woman and her children will suffer a 73% drop in their standard of living. The husbands will Rise 42%.
Another issue these women face is the cleanliness factor. One women mentioned that “people” these days do not even realize how well off they are, simply to have a roof over their heads. For not to have fear while you are trying to sleep, and having access to a restroom is a luxury people take for granted.

I know that I will try not to take it for granted any longer, and will get involved with organizations that offer assistance to the homeless. Especially women homeless. Need to take care of our sisters.