Diversity In The Workplace

I work for a global conglomeration of a corporation. We have employees all over the world and also happen to have quite a few South-Asian employees at the office where I work.

Well, today I walked into our break area/kitchen in order to nuke my lunch and found a whole table full of people enjoying their lunch and what appeared to be good conversation. Unfortunately I could not partake of the conversation because it was one of the many that I do not speak. (On a side note, I really like to learn other languages and have picked up a smattering of German, Spanish, Korean, French and Italian in my few years of existence...)

As I waited on my yummy chicken noodle soup to heat up, I wound up standing next to the table, and listening to their conversation (there wasn't much else I could do). Aside from one gentleman moving aside so I could get around them as I walked to the microwave, they really did nothing to acknowledge my presence. This of course made me uncomfortable, so I did what I always do when faced with an awkward situation... I started running mouth. ;)

I started with asking if they all spoke the same dialect of Hindi (*assumption#1 - they were from India; *assumption#2 - they were speaking some form of Hindi ... yeah, I know what they say about assumptions...). They of course looked at me like I'd grown a third head, but one of them was nice enough to reply that no, they were speaking "Tamil" (which, by the way, you say hello with "vannakam" which means namaste or 'respectful greetings').

I followed up by asking where that was from, and was told that it is from "the south". Then I asked if they were all from there, and they said yes. Then I asked if they all knew each other before working here, and they said yes. Which of course my reply was "rock on!" (I was feeling pretty silly and out of ideas at this point)

Thankfully, I was rescued by the 'ding' of the microwave before I could bury my foot any deeper in my mouth. They went back to their conversation and I turned, grabbed my lunch and left the kitchen with a smile in their general direction.

So this whole exchange (or lack thereof) made me wonder, "is it rude to sit around and speak another language, knowing that someone in your presence doesn't speak or understand it?" I believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong with speaking another language around other people who don't know what you are saying. I do it all the time (for that matter, I sometimes wonder if people who speak English understand half of what I say anyway ;) ). So I guess the real 'rudeness' if there was any, was their lack of acknowledgment of another coworker in the room.

No one likes to be excluded. hmmmm I'm sure there's some interesting corollaries here... but I need to get back to work. ;)

ttfn,
Maddy

Changing Your Identity

OK! So I'm finally to the place in my life/transition where I (get?) to finally legally change my name. (The question mark here comes from one of my recent life questions, "If I lived in in a perfect world where what's between your legs didn't determine your gender, would I need to 'transition' at all?") I've done the hard part at the courthouse and social security office, but now I need to do the rounds of all of the utilities, banks, work, etc and share the good news. :)

There is one nagging question though... Should I even bother to get my gender marker changed? I mean really. Although I never wanted to be trans, and I sure as hell wouldn't wish it on anyone else, I'm proud to be so. I have a set of life experiences that are unique to me and me alone (well, me and the rest of the TG world ;) ). Non-TG people definitely can't say that they've truly walked a mile in a man's shoes and another in a woman's (figuratively speaking of course).

There more to it than that though. If I got my gender marker changed, that would be one more block in the way of going stealth. You see, unlike some of my TG brothers and sisters I don't want to be stealth. In fact, I fear it! To me it would mean giving up that part of my life that I've lived up till now, and all the experience, friends, and family that comes with it. Now don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely THRILLED to have spent the last year of my life as a woman! Even though things haven't been easy, I would do it over again in a heartbeat!!!

I just don't believe that you can deny part of who you are and remain a healthy person. It's like going from one closet to another and I refuse to do that. Because of that, I'm almost of a mind to not get the marker on my DL or Birth Certificate, etc changed. It's one little way of keeping me honest. :) Maybe I'm over-thinking things (like I always do), but it's important to me to be out as trans! I mean really ... how else are we going to change the world??? ;)

Maddy

Good Friends

You know how they say, "You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their friends?" Well, I really believe that to be true. This weekend I saw a perfect example of this. I spent the weekend at the lake celebrating my friend, Celeste's b-day! :) Well, she is totally awesome in SO many ways! The people who she usually hangs out with really demonstrate this!

First of all, they're diverse as all-get-out! She surrounds herself with people of many cultures, races, and religions. You'll never know just what kind of person you'll meet when you hang out with her, but you can bet they'll be pretty cool! :)

Second, they are all very progressive people! In her circle, there seems to be a consensus towards living a green, non-violent, and socially open lifestyle. Many of them are vegans and vegetarians and actually have good reasons for being so! Many of them are also queer, or at least accepting, which I find SO refreshing! ...being that I'm about the queerest person I know, being both BGL & T (personal joke, laugh if you get it. LOL)... ;)

Lastly, they're just nice people! I would feel just as comfortable introducing them to my mother as I do having my daughter around them. I've personally never felt more comfortable than I do when I'm around her and her friends, and to me that makes her a pretty great person! :)

Happy Birthday Celeste! :)
Maddy

Hello World

Hello World... LOL What a concept. For all of you non-geeks out there, this is almost always the first program you write in ANY programming language! Isn't it funny that for one of the most introverted, anti-social, and downright geeky of professions (or hobbies) the very first thing you do is write a program that reaches out to the whole world?

Since I'm a geek, oh a transgender geek to be vaguely specific, so I thought it fitting. :) I've previously done all of my blogging on myspace, but I want to be able to blog without dealing with a billion creepy "friend requests". Nothing personal to the nice people who've sent me requests and such. It's just that when you're as open about being trans and bi as I am, people tend to think you're up for just about anything and LOVE to proposition you. Just because I'm queer, doesn't mean I'm ready for a drunken orgy with you and 3 of your best friends. Oh and, "Hey, you're pretty" is NOT a good pickup line... just in case you're wondering.

HAHAHA Really though, life is great! I just want to have a place where I can post important things that happen to me or just happen to find their way across the transom of my hyperactive mind. ;)