Who's to say that love needs to be soft and gentle?

Welcome to my journal! It's not all that interesting, but it is home. Some helpful things to guide you along:

Want to get on some filters? This is the list Commenting helps too.

Want to see which ones you're already on? Check this.

Use the anonymous confession booth if you have something you want to tell me but don't want anyone (including me!) to know it was you. Or just get something off your chest.

Anything I'm forgetting?

I know, since i've gotten involved in TBC, you've had to read (and listen if you see me in person) about it a lot. Please read this one, I'm asking for your help.

If you don't know the back story, last year was the first year most of us got involved. We did our best to be accessible and supportive, and overall did a really good job. The opportunities I had to talk to attendees and reading the feedback forms, we met out goal of creating a fun, educational, safe, inviting event for people all over the gender, orientation and relationship spectrums.

This year we took a lot of those lessons learned to improve things. One of those things being more accessible. We really mean it when we ask how we can make the conference easier to attend and enjoy. A lot of things don't seem like big deals - choosing a location that is accessible via mass transit or making up some large print conbooks. Some things are real challenges - We've applied for a grant for an ASL interpreter which is otherwise a significant expense. We also do our best to be affordable, and so while the cost seems high for the average attendee, we also work hard to ensure we're able to create full and partial scholarships for the folks who need them.

And that's what i'm writing about.

Most of the money for scholarships comes from the sponsors and donations. This year we've already been hard at work seeking sponsorships from groups all over the northeast and beyond. Individuals and organizations have stepped up and we're amazed by their generosity. Still, we're a bit behind where we want to be in order to meet the needs for scholarships.

This is my department, and I can tell you, the folks who have applied so far are all great candidates. They include a single parent of three going to school for social work, a disabled and formerly homeless person who has decided to begin transitioning late in life, and a group of six from the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program's Trans Support Group.

Last year i saw the impact we had on people who received scholarships. I don't say it to brag, i mean that. We do real, good work for folks.

I know times are tough. I HATE asking for money. Last year a number of you were able to help out and so I'm asking again.

* If you're on the fence about coming, register today. See what we're doing. See why this is important.
* If you're part of an organization, a store, write a blog, have an etsy shop, or just want to spread a happy message, buy an ad in the conbook. They start at $25, which is almost an entire person's scholarship right there.
* Donate the cost of a scholarship. For about $35 we can say yes to another person.
* Even $5 or $10 adds up. If 20 people donate $10 we've almost covered the BHCHP's group right there.

I know money is tight, I know times are tough, and I know this seems self serving. I assure you, TBC is more than a drag show and Lee Harrington. It's community, it's safety, it's not being alone for a lot of people who otherwise feel unwelcome, inbetweened and edged out because of who they are. The organizers all pay to attend, and a lot of us have shelled out money for the other costs that have arisen - tables at events, printing costs, shirts, etc. We don't make anything off of this. If we could cover all of the costs, we believe in it enough we'd probably try. But we can't, this is where we need your help.

Thank you for your support, whatever form it comes in.

Only one week left for standard registration for the 2010 Transcending Boundaries Conference! Only one week left! Standard registration for the 2010 Transcending Boundaries Conference is ending soon- save if you register by Oct 15th!

With three days of presentations, workshops, discussions and more, the 2010 conference is promising to be our best yet. Presentation Descriptions, Presenter Biographies, and draft Programming Schedule are now on our website! Check out the over 50 amazing presentations we have lined up for this year's conference at http://transcendingboundaries.org/conference-2010/programming, and see who is presenting them at http://transcendingboundaries.org/conference-2010/presenters. You can also view our rough schedule of ctivities and workshop blocks at http://transcendingboundaries.org/conference-2010/2010-program-schedule.

Ensure your spot for the conference and register early! Registration includes all three days of programming including classes, discussions and entertainment, a delicious lunch Saturday, and more. Rates are $79 for the weekend, or only $59 for students. You can register at http://www.transcendingboundaries.org/registration.

Rooms in our official hotel, the Hilton Garden Worcester, are still available for the low rate of $109 per night. The hotel block closes Nov. 3, so get your rooms before they are gone!

Register today! Spread the word! We hope to see you there!

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Transcending Boundaries, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit corporation which is hosting the Seventh Transcending Boundaries Conference at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA on November 19th through 21st. This conference provides lectures, workshops, panels and entertainment for the education, activism, research, and support for a large spectrum of communities celebrating their gender, sex and sexuality. For more information go to http://www.transcendingboundaries.org or contact us at info@transcendingboundaries.org.

The organizers of Transcending Boundaries need your help to get the word out about our 2010 conference. Please see the media kit that includes our logo, flyers and press releases for all the information you need to let the folks you know, know about this incredible event.

In addition, if you know any community support groups or businesses that would benefit from Transcending Boundaries please let them know about us too. We have a variety of ways for nonprofits and businesses to participate including vending and sponsorship. Everyone has an active role in our community conference and the more people involved, the richer the conference is for everyone. Please help us make this the best conference it can be.

Remember you can get a discount on attending the conference if your group can send 10 or more people, just contact registration@transcendingboundaries.org for detail. If you just want to register, you can do that online.

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Transcending Boundaries, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit corporation which is hosting the Seventh Transcending Boundaries Conference at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA on November 19th through 21st. This conference provides lectures, workshops, panels and entertainment for the education, activism, research, and support for the spectrum of communities celebrating their gender, sex and sexuality. For more information go to http://www.transcendingboundaries.org/ or contact us at info@transcendingboundaries.org.

On September 11th i'll wake my butt up early and head over to Forest Park in Springfield. Why? Because I'll be participating in the 2010 5K Run for the AIDS Foundation of Western Massachusetts.

I realize i'm getting into this late, and with less than two weeks, and a group of friends also participating, fundraising might be tough. I'm hoping to reach a goal of $50.

This is a great cause, and 100% of the money being raised goes to the projects the AIDS Foundation runs. Everything from helping folks with HIV/AIDS with medical bills and living expenses to free, confidential testing. It's really important work.

If you can help me, I would really appreciate it. You can donate at http://www.active.com/donate/AIDSwalkWM10/lpickar108. Thanks so much!!!

There are less than two weeks until the registration fee for the 2010 Transcending Boundaries Conference increases! Save $10 by registering by July 31st.

With three days of presentations, workshops, discussions and more, the 2010 conference is promising to be our best yet. We are thrilled to have author, artist and educator Lee Harrington confirmed as our keynote speaker. Lee will also be teaching two exciting workshops during the weekend. We've also confirmed Rainbow Times columnist and Miss Trans New England Lorelei Erisis, along with and stand-up comedienne Widow Centauri, to perform an entertaining and informative introduction to Transcending Boundaries. This will occur after you get a chance to socialize with other 2010 attendees at our Friday night meet and greet reception. We are also excited to once again be working with AIDS Project Worcester on a reception following the Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil. The weekend's programming is still being finalized, but we've already received many exciting proposals and will be announcing confirmed details after the call for proposals deadline in August.

Ensure your spot for the conference and register early! Registration includes all three days of programming including classes, discussions and entertainment, a delicious lunch Saturday, and more. You can register at http://www.transcendingboundaries.org/registration.

We hope to see you there!

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Transcending Boundaries, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit corporation which is hosting the Seventh Transcending Boundaries Conference at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA on November 19th through 21st. This conference provides lectures, workshops, panels and entertainment for the education, activism, research, and support for the spectrum of communities celebrating their gender, sex and sexuality. For more information go to http://www.transcendingboundaries.org or contact us at info@transcendingboundaries.org

The Transcending Boundaries Conference (TBC) is for bisexual/pansexual, trans/genderqueer, intersex and polyamorous people and our allies. TBC is for and about those who do not fit into simple categories, and we couldn't be more excited about our 6th upcoming conference!

Friday, November 20th is the Transgender Day of Remembrance, memorializing all those who have been killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. AIDS Project Worcester will host a service at 6:30 pm at the All Saints Church, Irving Street, Worcester, MA. Also, Transcending Boundaries and AIDS Project Worcester will host a Day of Remembrance reception following the vigil at the Hilton Garden Inn, Worcester, MA, with refreshments, from 7 - 10 pm, along with an Open Mic from 9 - 11 pm.

Saturday , November 21st, at botht he Hilton and DCU Center, we will kick of the day with some great workshops by by Robyn Ochs, Anita Wagner, Gunner Scott and more. We'll stop to have a great Plenary Luncheon with this year's Keynote speaker Tristain Taormino. Then more great workshops in the afternoon! Saturday night will include Peterson Toscano's one person play Transfigurations, selected readings by Cecilia Tan, and Happy Hour Burlesque!

Sunday, November 22nd will be an interfaith service and more fun workshops at the Hilton.

There are a limited number of meals still available for the Plenary Luncheon, but they are going fast! Pre-registration is strongly reccomended. Pricing is $80, $60 for students and low income attendees. You can register at http://www.transcendingboundaries.org/registration/. Registrations will be accepted day-of by cash or check only.

Hope to see you there this weekend!

So if you've been reading along, you're already probably aware of Transcending Boundaries Conference, and how great it's going to be. Seriously, it's going to be a wonderful event, with great people, and I think a really positive experience for everyone attending.

One of the things we are really striving to do it make it so people who want to attend can, even if they can't afford it. We've tried hard to ensure fair ticket prices. We also want to do scholarships, but it isn't looking like we'll balance out to do too many with the existing numbers based on our expenses.

There is a Boston Health Clinic for the Homeless with six homeless transgender folks who would like to attend Transcending Boundaries. We don't know how many scholarships we can afford, but if we can raise $25 for each person, we can guarantee their attendance. If you think you can help or know someone who can, please, let us know or donate via PayPal to transcendingboundaries@gmail.com! Every little bit would be helpful. It would really, really great to help these people - they're so excited at the prospect of being somewhere they fit in. Feel free to spread the word and thank you!

Anything happen on your way to the polls? Were the lines as bad as they are saying?

i didn't have to wait at all in Berlin around 7AM, but driving to work i heard other towns had very long lines. WTIC 1080 confirmed that as long as you are in line before 8PM, you will be allowed to vote.

I had a really good weekend. I left Friday after work and running home to get my phone. The drive to Fall River wasn't bad, just long, in part thanks to traffic. I did hit a couple of geocaches though, that was good. I saw the signs for Battleship Cove and giggled, remembering the story of Lindsay and the Plexi-Glass. Even in Middle School, i hung out with weird people.

Anyway, Friday night was mostly chilling out. Amy & i watched some MST3K and anime and laughed lots. It was fun and low key. And her room is SO COOL! (and her bed is comfy!) Some of her art is up too, and it's amazing. Seriously. I'm no serious art person or anything, but i'm not totally ignorant on the topic either. She's good.

We stayed up late and fell asleep watching Princess Monanoke.

Saturday Amy showed me World of Warcraft (and tried to suck me in, no no no no!!!!) everybody there (S, T, J, Amy & I) all went to IHOP. YAY Pancakes! It was fun and again, i'm appreciating getting to know people, especially in comfortable circumstances. Amy and I had some hang out time in the afternoon with The Clone Wars movie and milkshakes. The movie was so-so, but again, we had fun. It's really cool getting to hang out with her and see that we have some big similarities. Going to the Space and elsewhere is plenty fun and all, but there is an additional thing there that makes it harder to read people and whatnot.

Saturday night A came over too, for 'polypallooza' as Amy put it (the number of house guests equaled the number of residents). S made a really yummy dinner and then 2/3 of us went into Boston for Sin-O-Matic. It was ok. An older crowd than Haven and louder music. It was quality people watching though. I think T referred to it as kink-lite, and it's pretty accurate. I think it would of been less weird if my head hadn't hated me, but these things happen. I know i passed out in like 2 minutes on the ride home.

Sunday we woke up late and had yummy breakfast and watched some movies. Amy and i got some more chilling time, watching Clone High, which is SO messed up and SO funny! I wasn't feeling brave enough to go tubing, which i felt a little bad about, but knew it was smarter to not push too many buttons at once.

Riding home sort of sucked though. There was a lot of traffic. I talked to K a lot and my Mom, Dad and aunt, Beth, who bought a boat off Craigslist on a whim. That was good. I got my dreaded chores done, and although I wasn't pleased with the result, Duncan said it was alright and he was good with it.

Anyway, it was good to hang out with people. I'd been nervous, people i know but don't know super well, on their turf, and just general social nerves stuffs. But it was good. It was really fun and quality time with the Amy was goodness. So yeah. Sock puppets even mostly stayed quiet (must'a been the duct tape). I'm a little low today, not sure if it's the coming home to quiet or just being tired.