Revv

I’m going to say first off that this is kind of depressing. That said, after my initial knee-jerk reaction of “fuck you, Duolingo,” it occurs to me that is might be a better outcome than them pulling out of Russia altogether.

Providing Russian citizens easy access to language learning provides them access to non-Russian media and non-Russian discourse on queer issues.

In my own experience, learning a language as an adult has taken place in ~3 stages: 1. learn from instructional material exclusively, 2. consume foreign language material with native-language support/tools, 3. learn more of the language via context. If having an app available to folks in an oppressive country helps them get through stage 1 and into 2/3, it gives them a chance to escape the hateful discourse of the regime… In theory.

On the other hand, maybe it’s just capitalists being capitalists.

Hey! Sorry you’re feeling shitty. I just finished Cassette Beasts while I was down with COVID. It’s a fun, different take on the Pokemon formula with a cool aesthetic. Perhaps not the absolute coziest, but still cozy in my book.

I chose a name that means the same thing as my birth name, but in a different language (old English -> Norwegian). I asked my mom what my name would have been if I had been born a girl and took that first name as my middle name.

You should let someone with more expertise chime in on hair transplants, but I don’t believe they typically take hair from your face.

Also, fwiw, you may well get significant regrowth after starting hormones. 6 months in on Spiro & estradiol, the large bald/thin spot on the crown of my head is almost gone.

Congratulations! That’s a big step!

If you’re taking oral estradiol, a pill case. Super helpful for figuring out if you remembered your meds. I like the little circle ones with the push button. They’re cheap and come with a creating case that’s easy to throw in a purse.

If you’re anything like I was, you’ll have a roughly zero percent chance of forgetting… at first. Once it becomes just a part of your life though, the case helps.

Not directly related to HRT, but get started on that hair removal as soon as you can. I’m still working through my laser treatments and I really wish I’d started them sooner. (A note on that: if you do laser, you’ll be told not to shave or use makeup for a week after each treatment. For me, that was a nonstarter. Anecdotal, but this appears to be a liability thing more than anything else as I have consistently done both following treatments with no ill effects).

My first couple of months after starting my transition, my legs (and sometimes arms and other areas) were basically razor burn city. I tried literally every razor and shaving cream under the sun to avail. Finally, i switched to an electric razor. No more razor burn. The shave’s not as close, but i also don’t look like a renaissance-era smallpox victim, so worth it.

It probably takes me 5 minutes to do everything (face, legs, arms, chest/abdomen) if I do it every day. It takes maybe 15 if I let it go more than 3 days or so.