
Exactly Woman
By Cindy Jones
Now, all you girls who have hesitated going into GG shops because you were afraid of what might happen need to hear this story!! Sheri Gwen, Jessie, and I were going out again--yes, again!!--to the Queen Mary in LA. This time, the girls decided to rent a motel room so that we could stay as late as we wanted without having to worry about driving home. Being my usual enthusiastic self, I was the first girl there, and when I drove into the motel, I happened to see a nail studio (I liked the name--"Elegant") next door.
I had wanted to get my eyebrows waxed again before the evening, so I thought I would just go next door (in drab) and see if I could squeeze in an appointment before the other girls arrived.
Since it is still a newish experience for me, there is always this moment just before I walk into a GG (or mostly, GG, anyway) shop when I feel like I am walking on air, not quit knowing what I'm going to find on the other side of that door. But, confidence does wonders for a girl, and as Sheri Gwen has said, "Leap and the net will appear!"
So, I swing open the door, and walk into a GG who is getting a pedicure, and a diminuitive Vietnamese lady who tells me that she would be happy to wax my brows. She asks me to come back at 5, which I do. She not only does my brows, but I decide to get acrylics done too--she convinces me to go for French tips.
Too many girls think they will feel uncomfortable in this situation, but you walk in and magical things can happen in the most ordinary places. While it is true that I was the only one there--after all, how many GGs are having their nails done at dinner time on Saturday night-- that did make it easier, but Catherine, it turned out, is REALLY into it. She wants to know all about men who are really women, and when I tell her we are going to the QM, she starts making all kinds of phone calls to convince someone to take her so that she can go too!!
She has a million questions--girls have to talk about something while the acrylics are drying--and when she learns that we have a motel room next door, she locks the door to the studio and insists on coming with me so that she can meet everyone!! By now, I figure that Jessie and Sheri Gwen have given me up for lost, but after checking with the girls to see if it was OK to bring Catherine in, she is RIGHT in there, checking out Sheri and Jessie, asking them about what they have and don't have (!), and watching Cindy put on her dress and makeup--in a rush 'cause now I'm late. After staying for half an hour, she still has her doubts about me since I am partially dressed, but she is absolutely smitten with Sheri, and she repeats over and over again, in what has now become one of our mantras, "EXACTLY WOMAN!"
After many embraces (Sheri got the best hugs by far!!) , I promised her that next time the real me, Cindy, would stop by for my fills, and that, yes, she would get to go to the QM with us one night. So stuff happens, girls! If you step out and do what seems so impossible, yeah, you might get a cold shoulder (I bought some shoes the other day from a GG who was very nervous about the whole thing!!), but you also might run into a Catherine--who will not only give you a great brows and nails, but will allow you to open yourself to them as you really are and will give you the gift of making you feel special about being TG. Just open a door and see what you discover!!
Catherine's Shop is:
Elegant Nails and Skincare
11745 Ventura Blvd #1, Studio City, CA.
Phone (818) 762-4353
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