How to tell when you're no longer a tranny

The concept of "tranny-time" has been around for quite a while.

tranny time (ˈtra-nē ˈtīm ) n. The time between when an event starts and when a trangender person shows up, usually due to applying makeup and preparing to go out. "Ashley is usually an hour late since she's always running on tranny time."

I met with a few of the gals from TGSF a few weeks ago, and, while our meeting didn't quite pan out since only three of us had shown up inside the first half hour, we decided to turn it into a dinner meeting. Supposedly, though, a few girls had shown up after we'd left.

Allison was one of the ones that was there when I was there, and she's always great for new material. As we're walking to the sushi shop, we discussed the concept of time. Many of my cisgender friends have never heard of "tranny time", of course, and most of them do not habitually run late for events. In fact, if you asked them, they'd probably say that I am the one usually running behind. Is "tranny time" a mark of our transition or transitional progress?

For me, though, it all depends. If it is a social event, I'll admit it, I usually try to show up fashionably late. I used to show up on time, but I got tired of waiting on everyone else to show up. So, now, I usually run late to social events.

Meetings, dates, interviews, dinners, ball games, practice, and game times are different...I usually try to show up on time, if not a little early.

Of course, there are always reasons for being late. Finding parking in the city is not the easiest thing to do, especially if there are other events going on. Traffic in and out of the city has and will continue to be bogged down with the new S curve on the bay bridge. And surprisingly, considering the current economic situation, there seems to be way more traffic on the roads nowadays.

I have a bit more free time now, so I'm getting pretty good at giving myself plenty of time beforehand. Since I wear minimal makeup (moisturizer, eye liner, and lip balm), my prep time is spent mostly on putting conditioner and gel in my hair.

"Tranny time" is meant as a fun poke at ourselves. Not every transgender person is late, but there are some who run a bit behind on a very consistent basis. When I was first starting out, I know I spent a long time on my wig and makeup...because I still had a lot of facial hair to cover up. Time escapes you in the initial stages, and until one can get the routine down, a lot of people run late to events.

I used to go to a support group that started around 7pm. That usually gave me 2 hours after work to run home, do my makeup, get dressed, and drive to the meeting. I tried to make it on time, but since many people were doing exactly what I was doing, the meeting hardly ever started on time. Since I did make many of those events on time, though, it gave me a chance to be very social before the meeting. Perhaps that's the positive side of "tranny time"...talking with all the other girls who ARE there.