"I am very sensitive to people's energy, so I meet new people and get exhausted"

As is typical, I have forsaken the blog for a while. I recently read an article saying that blogging was considered "uncool" by the younger generation. To this I say: shut up little kids. Bitches.

Anyway, now that that is out of the way, it is time to proceed to the subject of my blog: Drag Queens.

You might as yourself, "What is he talking about Drag Queens for?" and you will have to read the remainder of the blog to find out. My last semester really flew by without much of a hitch. I got some grades, most of which were good and satisfying for me. I made the Dean's List and Honor Roll (because I'm pretty sweet). And I, generally, have been riding pretty high.

Until...

A few weeks ago, my dad called me to tell me about my grandpa getting his heart valve replaced. The replacement went very well, and my grandpa remains in pretty good health, all things considered, and he now the proud owner of a brand new heart valve. In this same call, my father let me know that he was having some medical problems of his own.

He drove himself to the hospital, (because my mom had to play tennis that morning...classic) thinking that he had appendicitis, complaining of side pain. When he arrived they did a physical exam then took and x-ray and found a lump growing in his chest. After a CT scan, a Dr. friend of ours gave him a tentative diagnosis of lung cancer. A needle biopsy confirmed the presence of cancer in his chest, and also on his liver (explaining the side pain). My father, being the intelligent man that he is, got a second opinion. My father and mother went to University of Michigan for said second opinion, and the lung cancer specialist there informed my father, without seeing the scans, that it is more likely that he had thymus cancer, a particularly rare form of cancer that is very rarely researched and has never been cured. Long story short: my father has Thymoma. It has already metastasized to his liver and he starts chemotherapy this coming week. Now for pros and cons.

Pros:
- My father is in very good shape for his age
- He will be able to take more chemo than most cancer patients
- He has a great Oncologist in Saginaw to administer his chemo
- He is under the care of the foremost expert on this type of obscure cancer
- He has beaten cancer twice before (Melanoma and Thyroid Cancer)
- He can fight this for a long time
- After each remission (of which I hope he has many) he will have 6 months to 2 years of remission before having to go under more chemotherapy

Cons:
- His cancer is potentially terminal (largely uncured)
- It is already Stage IV (the final stage)
- It might kill him one day

Neither:
- Life is officially different forever

From here on out, my dad will be a cancer patient. It is still very surreal to admit that fact. My emotions, understandably, have been all over the place for the past week or so but I have finally gotten my mind around this whole thing. Prayer prayer and more prayer is going to be my approach to this whole thing, and thus far, I've been able to hold it together well enough to keep on keeping on. What I am most thankful for is that, aside from my family business going south really quickly, the rest of my life is heading in a grand forward motion. I'm studying, I'm getting decent grades, I'm getting involved, and I'm setting realistic career goals for myself.

This whole experience has already begun to push me. I have a professor whose mother died while she was in law school and she became incredibly motivated to work hard and succeed, because she knew that with her mother sick and dying, there was always someplace (home) that she should be other than law school, so if she was going to be away from home, she had best make it worth her while. I am adopting this motivation technique, however, I am applying it to my whole life. I'm not just going to study more, I am going to live more. I'm putting myself out there. I'm working out. I'm eating healthier. I am becoming a better me.

Already I have become a better version of myself. A version that I like. A lot.

Now, at this point, after the bad news and emo self-reflection, I'm sure you are wondering how the hell is this post about Drag Queens?? Well, you see, in three weeks, my father's hair will be falling out. This, of course, will require some sort of hair replacement. My endeavor, this week, is to find my father the most fantastic Drag Queen wig that the world has ever seen. I am open to suggestions, but as it stands now, I am eagerly shopping online for drag wigs. It will be an epic gift and I will be sure to post pictures once they have become available.

I admit that my segue from illness to shemales is flimsy at best, but would you really have wanted to read the post if I had said the subject was "terminal cancer"? Yeah, me either. Hell, I didn't really want to write it.

Testing, testing, 1…2…

Today I got a new laptop from Dell. My previous laptop lasted beyond 6 years, having only had to be seriously overhauled 1 time. I consider this to be a great victory on my part. I am now exploring the wide world of a Windows-integrated blogging system. Windows Live Writer and I are going to give this blog a try this evening.

It has been a while since my last blog post so I shall do a recap for those who care.

Firstly, and probably most importantly, I have acquired my Halloween costume. I originally intended to do a Geisha costume this year, drawing upon my extensive knowledge of makeup and drag, however, the means of acquiring an outfit to go with the amount of ‘face’ I was going to be giving became too daunting of a task to really tackle. I then considered various other drag-related costume ideas, however, all of them required a partner in crime (of which I have none, as my only accepted partner in drag-crime is Dean, who remains unacceptably far away from me) or some other unattainable feat, like new heels, or extravagant wigs. Simultaneous to my sad realization that I would not get to dress as a woman this year, I realized that there were certain sundry items that I longed for from American Apparel. (SIDE NOTE: One of my favorite recording artists put it best via twitter: “Here’s a vagina. Buy a shirt. American Apparel.” Bess Rogers, WIN.) As it turns out, these items combine without much effort into a killer costume harkening to old school Globe Trotters channeling a little 70’s-track-coach awesomeness. As such, I killed two birds with one stone by purchasing short shorts, a mesh tank top, tube socks, and matching sweat bands from American Apparel yesterday. My weekend of Halloween partying will be fantastic because of the fantastic company with whom I will spending it AND my awesome costume.

A second development that has occurred, or rather, is occurring is the exeunt of my dear friend Sharon from Michigan to pursue her dreams in New York. I know that she peruses this blog, so I will avoid showering her with too much deserved praise, because she already knows that I believe in her talent, drive, and ability to be great. She will succeed in NYC and I am positive of it. Instead, I will give a short background of our relationship. Sharon and I both attended Hillsdale College. Strangely, we went through our respective careers there being entirely unaware of the grandiose awesomeness of the other party. How this occurred, I do not know. In all reality, the world might never know. Regardless, we did not become friends until after both graduating from school and ending up in the Metro Detroit. It was twitter that finally brought us together, and through a series of concert experiences (including, but not limited to, Lady Gaga), we became close quickly. What I find very blessed about our relationship is that despite the limited exposure to one another, I know that I have made a life-long friend. Whether we both end up in NYC or not, I know that I will always be able to text her or G-chat her up about how awesome we both are, and find an understanding person and compatriot. For this I will always be thankful, and if you read this Sharon, know that I love you and you will be missed. A lot.

I got a new laptop. I know that I already  mentioned this point, however, I return to it to include this insight. I now have a webcam and a Skype account. If you care to talk to me face to face, you can. Get excited.
Oh, and midterms happened. They went well. Furthermore, I took my first final exam. It also went well. My concerns for the rest of my finals have been abated and I feel suddenly confident about the whole experience. Apparently, I can do law school. As if anybody doubted me…

First presentation

So I presented for the first time yesterday. It did not go well.

To start with, my brief for the case, which I was inevitably called on to present, was crap. Like crappy crap. I might as well have not even had a brief with which to present. I had chosen that case to not include a fact pattern in my brief and to half-ass my issue. As a general theme, my brief was insufficient. FAIL.

To make matters worse, my brain chose yesterday to suddenly find my professor attractive. So being a man, and unable to help myself, I was perving mentally about said professor when I was immediately called on. I have confirmation that I was beet-red when I rose to present. Considering the possible outcomes that could have resulted from my fantasy romp, I consider only having to worry about my blush to be a victory. WIN.

I am hopeful that my next presentation will go far better. And if it doesn't? Well obviously I will just fake an inability to speak for the rest of my law school career. What other choice do I have?