: Birthday fun :

It was an incredibly busy weekend, because for my birthday, I chose to go to the New York Rennaisance Festival. I've been to the Texas RenFest several times over the years, but I was never the type of person who really connected with the event. Quite frankly, I found it rather boring in the past because I was not the person I am now, and I didn't go with people who were any more interested in the RenFest than I was. But this year was a different story.

When we first got into the festival, I went immediately to the swordsmith because I am shopping for a replacement of a Japanese katana I lost in the fire. The large booth was set up by an outfit from Texas, of all places (http://www.angelsword.com/) which has a forge near Austin. They make all kinds of swords of exceptional quality, and they are not shy about demonstrating them. I met the master swordsmith, Daniel Watson, a extraordinary gentleman who demonstrated his technique in tameshigiri by slicing up a wet rolled-up tatami mat about five inches in diameter that is meant to represent the cutting difficulty of a person's upper leg. The katana he showed me sliced through that without difficulty (he holds a record for cutting through 14 mats rolled into a single large column the size of a large tree trunk (see video here) and then proceeded to demonstrated the sharper-than-a-razor edge by shaving a sliver from the surface of a sheet of paper without making a hole in the paper. Basically, the sword is sharp enough to separate the front and back of a single sheet of paper, if you had the skill to do it. The demonstration sparked an interest in sword technique that I've expressed in the past, but never really had an excuse to pursue. I didn't end up buying the sword (although part of me really wanted to) but who knows where this spark of inspiration will lead.

We saw the joust, which is always fun, then to a bellydancing demonstration and finally a glass blowing demonstration. We also saw some mock swordplay from Robin Hood's merry men (Friar Tuck got his ass handed to him in a bo-stick fight with one of the Nottingham soldiers) and we participated in an impromptu drum circle in the drum tent. There was also a number of jewelry tents, one with a parrot who could sing "America" from West Side Story. I found a pair of goddess earrings and had them change out the stones to match the red garnet pendant I wear on my neck. I also found a store specializing in antique writing instruments, one of my collections that was lost in the fire. I found a brass cherub seal that had been my favorite, and bought a couple sticks of sealing wax.

On Monday we went to the Bronx Zoo, home of the Wildlife Conservation Society and saw an awesome tiger display, plus a wonderful bird house and monkey house before stopping for lunch. In the afternoon, we visited the nocturnal animals exhibit and went on a safari via monorail through a large section of the zoo across the Bronx River. By closing time at 5 p.m., we were all exhausted, but happy that we'd come on Monday, when we were able to avoid most of the noisy crowds.

Something that I've been thinking about before this weekend, and that I've decided to do, is that to go along with my new name and gender, I am henceforth going to celebrate July 15 as I would my birthday. July 15, 2004 was the date I started HRT with the intent to continue indefinitely. The reason I'm doing this is to align this annual celebration of self with my whole sense of rebirth since transition and severing all ties to my old life. A new birthdate (while not something I can legally change like my name and gender) is a symbol of my new life, just as keeping the old one (while necessary at work and for legal purposes) simply reminds me of my past life. So starting in 2007 I will be having my meaningful birthday celebration on July 15, and I will let Sept. 25 pass as quietly as possible.