I'm back to my blog after my visitor has gone, and I notice the bots have been at work. It's hard to judge what real people are reading here when there are thousands of hits a month from some weird entity. Oh well, the wonder of modern communications and all that.
My recent visitor was very pleasant company and came primarily to help me sort and file hundreds of documents. You wouldn't believe the amount of paperwork that moving from one country to another generates! At lest some nice spring weather enabled us to spread everything on my outdoor table. It's so much pleasanter to work in the sunshine than indoors. Even a boring task becomes agreeable!
Bird of paradise flower in the spring sunshine
My assistant has recently graduated in English and had a lot to say about gender-bent literature, such as a recent production of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew where the shrew is male not female. Additionally, she told me in some detail about her dissertation on women science fiction writers, such as Ursula Le Guin and Anne Leckie, and their imaginary worlds where gender works in a very different way to that among the humans of Planet Earth. Rather interesting. (You can read about some gender issues in sci-fi in my previous post here: Pizza, apes and aliens.)
On the theme of books, more and more little book exchanges are springing up all over the place. This one in a park in Ventimiglia, on the border between Italy and France. A great idea. Take one and leave one.
She asked no questions about my being trans and did not refer to the trans side of her sister. These days I operate on a 'need to know' basis and if gender discussions arise only when talking about books then so be it.
Inevitably, going out involves eating out and that affects my ability to control my weight loss so I have had a bit of an increase this week. But I am confident that I will be heading in the right direction again in the week to come. I can certainly see and feel the difference.
Sue x
Welcome back, dear Sue. It´s good to have an assistant with all these papers you have to look through. And if I understand it right, you were not dressed enfemme. Would she mind?. And this leave-on-take-away-one book-station I found in a village nearby. It´s a good idea.
ReplyDeleteHave a good time....and a great success in loosing weight.
Violetta
Thank you, Violetta. Yes, my assistant did a good job and saved me days of boredom and stress! I dress only in women's clothes now, but I do not present as female in public. I know she would have had no problem if I had been fully femme but I have various heath problems that make it difficult for me to put on makeup at the moment, and a lack of confidence after so many years away from public spaces. Sue x
DeleteWelcome back, glad you enjoyed the company of your visitor and treated yourself to some restaurant food :)
ReplyDeleteI have read 'The Left Hand of Darkness' - recommended by Joanna, but probably not 'The Player of Games' , I may have to look out for that, although I have not made any time for books in the last year sadly.
Izzy x
Thanks, Izzy. Finding book time is never easy. There's always something getting in the way! Sue x
DeleteI've not seen a Bird of Paradise flower before. Isn't that spectacular.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of book exchange too, though mostly I recycle books back through charity shops or the local church book sale.
Thanks, Susie. Nice to see you here.
DeleteThese flowers like it here as they normally live in South Africa but we have a similar climate. The only place I saw them in the UK was in a glasshouse in Kew Gardens.
I'm piling up a few books now to take to a book exchange near home.
Sue x