November 10, 2010 - Jennifer McCreath joins CPath; and consults with and for Eastern Health

Well, a recruitment phone call tonight from the president of Canadian Association for Transgender Health with a request for participation was too good to turn down.

CPath was conceptualized in 2007 and became a formal legal entity in 2008. Founders met at a conference of the World Professional Association for Trangender Health, formerly the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association - the creators and gatekeepers of the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care, the most commonly used and accepted health care protocol for trans patients.

CPath's mission is as follows: The Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (CPATH) is a professional organization devoted to the health care of individuals with gender variant identities.

As an interdisciplinary, professional organization, the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (CPATH) will further the understanding and health care of individuals with gender variant identities by professionals in medicine, psychology, law, social work, counselling, psychotherapy, family studies, sociology, anthropology, sexology, speech and voice therapy, and other related fields.

While i haven't always agreed with everything CPath has done or stands for, I was excited to join as an official member and will look forward to specifically taking part in some internal committee work that will focus on business development. The focus will be on corporate and membership governance structure and policy development.

As a member, I will now become engaged with a variety of health care professionals who have an interest in trans health. This will be my opportunity to promote stakeholder engagement - specifically, engagement with trans patients with regards to the way they go about making recommendations and position statements.

CPath needs to be considered the #1 body of knowledge in the country, with regards to providing advice and guidance on trans health matters. Sadly, the CPath brand name is not recognized here in the health care system of Newfoundland.

My other exciting news is that i have been engaged by Eastern Health as a consultant and advisor with regards to trans matters. Although i am not a medical professional, i have lived the transition experience here in Newfoundland, and i am more than capable of advising anyone of the global best practices with regards to transition, trans protocol; as well as speaking about my personal experiences and lessons learned from them.

Ultimately, to be perceived by both of these organizations as a valuable resource, is extremely exciting. I look forward to helping them both achieve their goals, and in the process, will hope to make life better and easier for transpeople all around the world.

November 11, 2010 - runny nose

well, it wasn't just my legs running today. i am dealing with a little case of the sniffles. oh well, a nice sleep in was probably good for me. i got outside for a light 7k run this afternoon. the cooler weather always seems to make the air seem fresher. i also had a nice 15k run yesterday night. the energy levels seem to be managing well thru this minor sickness. my weight is now down to 212 pounds.. just 5 more pounds to lose in order to hit my target requirement for january's surgery. generally having a much better week than last week, which was quite stressful due to a rather challenging change-management work environment.

the bad news of the week is that i managed to finish runner up in two more job interviews. i believe this now takes me over 30 analyst job interview since i changed my name to Jennifer, without success, so the frustration continues.

Jenn

November 4 2010 - quick update

yes i am still alive folks! i feel badly that i don't seem to be able to make as much time for this website as i would like to. But it's good that i have been so busy. it's been a rather depressing week but i am looking forward to the weekend ahead, where i hope to get in some quality runs and quality time visiting my favourite ducks at the pond.

my nov 1 weight in was an amazing 212 pounds - 10 pounds lighter than i was on sept 26 when i ran my 25th marathon. it is exciting to see the progress. unfortunatly, i have been hampered, yet again, by chronic left foot pain this week, due to the constant standing on my feet at work, so i have not run since sunday, and that seems to have caused a pound or two to sneak back on..

oh well, i'm hoping that i can survive tomorrow at work and then rest up for most of saturday, and have a strong quality run either that evening or on sunday morning, or both.

other disappointing news is yet another 2nd place scoring at a job interview. i believe that takes me over 30 failed job interviews since i changed my name to Jennifer. I am not going to sit back any longer now though. after obtaining feedback from the interview panel, i was not satisfied with their assessment and scoring of some of the questions they asked me, so i will fully intend to partake in whatever complaint or appeal process may be out there.

in other news, i was recently interviewed by an independant journalist for an article that will hit the stands later this month in Wayves.ca magazine - a publication that focuses on the LGBT community in the 4 eastern canadian provinces. based out of halifax, they always seem extra excited to find articles of worth in Newfoundland. The article will be written by infamous colleague Christian Corbet, from Corner Brook Pride Inc. i found it strange that he, of all people, would want to do a story about my newly created organization, and i even expressed concern that i did not want this article to lead to conflict within the community. But given his stake in the company i co-manage, it would seem reasonable to expect that he would say nothing negative or controversial about me, my organization, my stakeholders (both supportive and not).

Meanwhile, i have been very busy behind the scenes with my team as we seem to have a foundational structure in place. now comes the fun part as we will launch the company in a public way in an attempt to solicit buy-in, support, and involvement from stakeholders and other community members. lots of work to do, but i've recently brought on board, another a strong community leader, and the engagement process will continue as the networking contacts are being drafted. a website is also under development and should be live soon, complete with everything we'll need, including a logo, a web discussion forum, the corporate fine print, and a list of FAQ. the hours of hard work are starting to pay off!

other news, i have been engaged as a volunteer private consultant by Eastern Health. They have asked for my help to esstially advise a transperson, as to how they should go about creating a transition project for themselves. so that too, has added to my busy schedule.

i'm also in the early stages of organizing a transgender day of remembrance ceremony in this city for nov 20, and will be engaging, and hopefully collaborating with, the Aids Committee of NL, and via Frontrunners.

so lots on the go, and exciting times ahead!

Jenn

October 30, 2010 - Buffalo Springfield - A Reunion For The Ages!

Last weekend in Mountain View, California, the remaining 3 surviving original members of Rock N Roll Hall of Fame members, the Buffalo Springfield, reunited for a live concert for the first time in, get this, 42 years!

Singer/songwriter/guitarists Richie Furay, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young hit the stage for a pair of gigs as part of the 25th annual Bridge School benefit concerts, an initiative to raise money for a charitable cause that has been organized and steered by Neil Young.

Members of the Buffalo Springfield initially met in New York city, circa 1964, as they were all young aspiring folk singers. As it happened, the music scene quickly switched to southern California and a wave of eastern musicians started trecking out west. Richie and Stephen had essentially given up on their work with the Au Go-Go Singers in New York and had made the treck out to Los Angeles. One day, they were stuck in traffic, when Neil Young happened to drive by the other side of the street in his infamous herse! Neil recognized the two guys and pulled over for a chat. Well, the conversation that took place in that car ride lead to the creation of a Rock/Folk band that would go on to change music history!

The Springfield took their name from a construction company that was doing road work across the street where one of the band members lived at the time. They would go on to create 3 studio albums as well as countless unreleased demos (that would later be released). Their greatest hit was a protest song entitled For What It's Worth, which is best known for the lyrics: "Stop, hey, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down!"

Unfortunately, egos got the better of them all and this lead to the demise of the group, just 25 months later. Recently-recruited bass player Jim Messina and Richie broke away to create Poco with Rusty Young and George Grantham, while Neil and Stephen created an alliance with former Byrd David Crosby. A 'trade' between record label contract allowed Richie to literally be swapped for Graham Nash, and this allowed for the formation of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, who would go onto rock stardom with 6 top ten rock albums.

Poco, although not initially successful in terms of charting hits, became the pioneers of the newly-formed country-rock genre, leading to the creation of many other groups that would go onto super stardom, including the Eagles. Messina would eventually leave Poco to form a very successful due with Kenny Loggins, while Richie eventually departed Poco to work with another former Byrd, Chris Hillman, and Eagles songwriting partner John David Souther. All of these artists also released as series of solo albums.

Despite all being in their mid 60s, the band was in fine form, playing through an hour-long set of tunes from their three albums. Richie's voice was as strong as ever. a recently slimmed-down Stills looked and sounded great with his raspy voice. Neil wore one of his vintage 60s jackets and was content to focus on guitar for most of the night, allowing Richie and Stephen to handle the vocals for most. The night concluded with an all-star jam that also included opening acts Eddie Vedder, Elvis Costello, and Kris Kristoffersen, on a rendition of Neil's solo hit Rockin' in the Free World.

Although i was not personally in attendence, the magic of the Internet has allowed for the entire first concert to be made available for listening pleasure on youtube and other places.

Photo credits to Rolling Stone magazine!

for more information on these musicians, check out:

neilyoung.com

richiefuray.com

crosbystillsnash.com

Jennifer

October 24, 2010 - lovely fall colours!

well, i had a good sleep in this morning, which was much-needed. shortly after 12 noon, i went out for a light run to the pond and back, and it was so lovely, that i decided to head out later in the afternoon for a second set. i ran 17k in total, and felt great all the way thru. i am now down 7 pounds in October, which is amazing. cutting back on the bread products seems to be the key.
Here are some of the many pics i took on my second set.

October 23, 2010 - weekly update

Well, it's been a good week for me. 2 separate job interviews for privacy analyst positions - both with arms-length agencies of Government. It will be interesting to see if these lead to work offers. I believe i am now up to 40 job interviews since i became Jennifer, with the only job offer being the job i currently have, as a file clerk. Despite these continued rejections, i actually seem to gain confidence with each interview. It's quite disappointing though, to get rejected, and even more so upsetting given that i have no idea of knowing for sure whether i am legitimately losing competitions, or facing discrimination due to being transsexual.

meanwhile, i ran 5 out of the 7 days, even with calf muscle pain due to the Cape to Cabot. I am finally starting to get into a groove. The best news is that i am now down 6 pounds in October! The careful eating has clearly paid off. Anyway, i will be pressing hard over the next 6-8 weeks to do as much running as i can, before the snow starts here!

Jenn

October 17, 2010 Cape to Cabot Race

Well, it was a rather nice day for running last Sunday morning. I had a good sleep and felt good heading down to get the 6.45 am shuttle bus to Cape Spear. After struggling through the Provincial Marathon 3 weeks prior, and having picked my training up a notch, i came into this run with more confidence. I knew the hills would be tough, so i took things slow at the start. I was near the back of the pack, but running strong.

There was no pressure this year as all i wanted to do was finish in good health. It took me a while to get warmed up. The early hills really made me breath hard. I ended up running a very strong 11-15th k, which were mostly downhill. i ended up straining both of my calf muscles though, as i had not done very much downhill training, but to run those 4 k in 22 minutes gave me a strong boost of confidence. the run through downtown st. john's was fun, and the signal hill climb was mostly a walk, but filled with supporting fans. I crossed the finish line in a time of 2 hr 25 minutes, which was actually better than i had expected; with splits of 76 and 69 minutes. it would have been better had i not had to take 2 diarrhea breaks! I was pushing the body so hard that the stomach got a bit upset. Anyway, i am now one of only 32 people who have run and finished all 4 cape to cabot races. It will be my hopes to run a 5th next year, and put an end to the streak of consecutive slower times!