Well, that was a good evening. Last night was the gig at the arts centre. An evening of electro swing, fuelled by rum and a good boogie! I had been looking forward to this evening for about a month now. A good friend of mine, mentioned this evening last month and asked if I'd like to go. As I don't get out as often as I'd like, I said yes. So, tickets booked, the countdown began.

Firstly, I had to get the day off of work. A task easier said than done, given the boss I have. If I could have fluttered my eyelids at him, I would have. However, as I was in me 1.0 mode it wouldn't have been appropriate! I did eventually get the day off and I'm glad I did. Well, I did need to make myself as glam as possible. You never know what might happen at a gig on Valentines night..... (As it happens, even after my blog of a couple of weeks ago, nothing. Boo!!)

So, the big day arrived. Once I was up and dressed, I chose my outfit for the evening and got all the other bits and pieces together ready for later. To get myself in the mood, the first thing was a nice bath. A nice long soak with a lush(!) bath melt, to get my skin as soft as possible. I had defuzzed earlier, so my body was feeling nice and pampered. Then onto the face. A good clean and an extremely close shave. That was the best part of an hour (or so) taken, however, I had only just started.

Stage two. After the prepping, now to condition the skin. So, after a body lotion, hand cream, foot cream and a cleanse, tone and moisturise of the face, the next stage could begin - the makeup. This is the stage that takes the most time. This is the bit that really changes me 1.0 into me 2.0. This is the bit I really need to get right and not look like a). A bloke in a dress or b). A drag queen. I have learnt, hopefully my friends will tell me if not, to be subtle and not to trowel it on. I need to be subtle if I go out on a shopping day, or I will be 'read' by the general public. Also, this means that I take less time getting ready and can relax more!

Once the makeup has been applied, the next stage is the undergarments and the outergarments. I'm not telling you about the undergarments - I want to keep some mystique about me, not that there's much left - however, you can see the outergarments for yourself. Then comes the hair. This, plus the makeup, is the thing that brings it all together. Once the hair is in place, this is when I start to believe that I can pass as a girl. So, hair on, jewellry on, shoes on, perfume misted, creates this vision of femininity:

I was happy with the look. I think I scrubbed up well. Now, I had to face the general public. I chickened out abit, by driving to the next town to catch a bus. From, where I live, I would have had to catch two buses and I wasn't feeling that brave. So, coat on, handbag ready, to the car I went. It was dark, so that was no problem. Parking near the bus stop in the local town was no problem either. Getting out of the car.......also not a problem. My confidence after my trip on Tuesday was good, so I wasn't that nervous. A quick walk and a quick wait and on the bus I got. I texted my friend to let her know I was on my way.

The bus, for whatever reason, left early. So, as I neared my friends stop, the bus just sailed past as my friend was crossing the road. Oops!! All I could do was get off the bus at the next stop and walk back. We then had to wait another half an hour for the next bus. In the cold. Which I'm not used to in heels and tights. My friend was suffering more than me though, although her hip flask was doing a good job of keeping the cold at bay.

Once back on the bus, my excitement was growing. I was feeling girly, (hopefully) looking girly and wanted to be treated as girly. Off the bus we got and tottering in my heels we reached the venue. Called ladies as we walked in fuelled my confidence even more!! We were in. Straight to the bar. Rum and coke for me, a red wine for my friend. We sat down and waited for the start of the gig. We chatted about many things, covered a vast array of topics and before we knew it, the gig started. 

A room full of people in period costume, jiving and dancing along to some fabulous music, was a sight to behold. The DJ set was excellent, as were the singers. The support band were also excellent and had everybody on their feet. I danced so much, shook my booty and drank well, as did my friend. The atmosphere was electric. I really enjoyed myself and I felt totally at ease and natural. On the down side, most of the people were in couples, so no chance of fulfilling my dreams. 

Then, the night came to an end. Tiredness hit. Home we must go. After collecting our coats, we headed out. I did get a cheeky smile from a guy as we walked out. That made me feel good and helped me to believe that I can pass as female.

Unfortunately, the last bus had gone, so we had to take a taxi. After dropping my friend off, being in a taxi on my own as me 2.0 was a bit scary. As me 1.0, I never really thought about it, but as me 2.0, I felt very vulnerable, the most I've felt as me 2.0. I was glad to get home. I sure that there was nothing to worry about. It has made me think though.

Once in, it was time to say goodbye to me 2.0. I didn't want the evening to end, but end it must. So, I began the reverse transformation back to........ me 1.0. After stripping away the layers of me 2.0, this is the aftermath:

It's not easy being me 2.0 and it creates a lot of mess! I had a good evening though and I have another party to go to on Saturday, so this mess will be repeated this weekend as well. I'm going to need it after the week I think I'm going to have. It's me and my boss only most of this week. It's not going to be an easy week. My patience has worn very thin, but on the upside, I only have two weeks to go. Two.....long.....weeks........