Mustang Sally

One of my heroes has always been Sally Ride, the first American woman in space (the first woman in space was Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova). I’ve been thinking a lot about female role models lately, and Dr. Ride is near the top of the list. I often think about how cool it would be to be Sally Ride, not only for her accomplishments, but because she has an absolutely kick-ass theme song:

Some other women I admire:

Rosalind Franklin (robbed of the Nobel Prize–and perhaps immortality–because the Nobels aren’t awarded posthumously)
Artemisia Gentileschi
Mary Cassatt (Degas said “she draws like a man,” which is crap, by the way)
Flannery O’Connor (Interviewer: “Do you think the universities are stifling too many young writers?” O’Connor: “I don’t think they’re stiffling enough of them…”)

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While 360 is apparently behaving itself, I should note that I am well. I visited my therapist a couple of weeks ago and she is apparently seeing physical and behavioral changes in me that I’m blind towards. Which is fine, I guess, though it makes me feel a bit self-consious. A paranoid voice in the back of my head wonders if the act of telling me this isn’t designed to make me feel self-conscious. I had my first follow-up with my endocrinologist on Monday, which was a bit of an anti-climax, except for the fact that the hormones seem to be raising my blood pressure a little. He kept my anti-androgens at their current level (a bit of a relief, given the, ahem, pleasant effects of spironolactone) and raised my estradiol dosage by 1 mg a day. He seems to be proceeding cautiously, which is fine. I’m patient.

I had electro on Monday, too. Three hours of it, which was gruelling after being away from it for three months. I zapped my face with a laser at the beginning of February, which appears to have had a weakening effect on the hairs that haven’t shed. My electrologist noticed it right away, and she was able to clear about half-again the area she usually manages. “Wow, these are easy to kill today.” So even if the laser isn’t truly effective on me, it might have some use after all. Interesting…

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If you haven’t seen it, I’m doing a collective blog over on wordpress with Laura, Lori, and Renee, though there’s not much there yet. If you get the urge, feel free to click over and leave a comment. Of the other three, I’ve only ever met Laura in real life, but I talk to Renee on the phone every couple of days. It’s like we’re best friends forever. Heh. Lori, I only know online. I hope to meet Renee later this year. Unless Lori shows up at SCC, I doubt I’ll have the chance to meet her any time soon, which kinda sucks. Much as I love corrresponding, it doesn’t hold a candle to the presence (for want of a better word) of a flesh and blood person. I’m surprised at the number of people on my friends list who I’ve met. Gratified, actually. But for each person I’ve met, there are three or four who I WANT to meet. Fortunately, it’s not hard to do. You just need an outgoing personality and the willingness to take a leap of faith.

Salut.