Knowing that Thursday would be spent getting the apartment in order, installing air conditioners, and packing, on Tuesday, I was able to take advantage of the sunshine and do a little last-minute running around.

Perhaps most importantly, I needed to know that there would be coffee at home when we return from Montréal. Since I’ve been a little sloppy in my ordering lately, I decided that I would pick up some nice Lulo from Arlington 5.

Beans in hand backpack, it was time to get myself loaded down with – perhaps you’ve guessed – cat food. Since we will be away for 10 days, we needed to stock up well-enough that it was quite weighty! After that, it was a few groceries.

This time of year can be a little off-putting as a trans woman in Ottawa. We’re really entering into tourist/conference/high school sports season and there are many people around Centretown who might not otherwise spend much time in a downtown.

It seems to me that if they did, they’d be less inclined to stare so long as I pass by. For example, when I was coming out of the grocery store, this one woman with her husband and daughter locked on to my chest and would not stop staring! Shortly afterwards, another from a tour or conference group gave me a good once twice thrice over as I passed, each pass stopping on my chest and at lower latitudes.

None of this is new, of course, but through our quieter seasons I get used to walking through life with a little more anonymity, so beginning mid-June every year through to September, I’m am reminded how much I stand out to people who aren’t used to seeing me.

Of course, I don’t take any great pains to be subtle.

And on that note, I also popped over the the new and very exciting June Salon, to visit my hairdresser, Leah (who is the best), for a new colour mask for my hair. I certainly can’t allow my purple to fade!

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