They tried with all of the mid-cycle redistricting measures to try to gerrymander their way to victory.

It backfired. Republicans got flattened.

Even r/Conservative is finally smelling the Spirit of Hartshorn.

I'm not sure anyone will take you up on that bet, it's all but certain.

The thing about 'reading' someone is that most humans who don't know you look for visual cues to decide how to interact with you.

For people who do know you, for some it can take a lot of time for them to re-wire their brain to use the proper pronouns. It took several family members (all very supportive) about five years to finally get my pronouns (she/her) down, simply because my old name and pronouns were just so automatic to them having known me for literal decades before I came out (almost 10 years ago).

It's easy to get frustrated and down, though its important to remember that it's a normal part of transition. It's not just you who is transitioning, but also family and friends around you: the relationships you have with other people transition as well whether we realise it or not.

Small things help a lot: mode of dress (note: not just wearing dresses), jewellery, hair style, mannerisms, voice (not just pitch, but intonation - feminine voices have a 'musical' presentation), make up and grooming (even something simple as basic skin care/sunscreen), and so on.

Name can help, but remember that names don't really matter in situations where you're not giving it anyway, so you need to rely on other cues to be 'read'. Names are a deeply personal thing; you shouldn't change your name just because you feel like it might alter your misgendering rate.

If you do decide to change your name, I'd strongly encourage considering names that were common around the year you were born in your country (or your country of birth), as it can be another flag to help people 'read' you correctly.

The more small things you add together, the easier it is for someone to 'read' you correctly. All humans do it when they're interacting with someone for the first time or when they don't know the other person.

It's hard work, it took me several years to work out what worked for me. I'm almost always a t-shirt, jeans and boots type, though earrings (just a pair of simple sleeper loops I never take out), hair style, and getting the intonation part of my voice down certainly helped.

I almost never get misgendered these days, even though my voice is a bit deeper than most other women I know. Intonation does a lot of heavy lifting.

Don't lose hope, and don't give up. You'll find what works for you eventually.

He said that if this one came back high too, I'd have to get an MRI, which I'm really fucking scared of doing 😭

I've had to do this years ago. Your endocrinologist is checking to see if there are tumours growing on your pituitary gland, which are mostly benign but can still cause significant problems if they're left unchecked. If your endo recommends an MRI, don't skip it! Even benign pituitary tumours can cause serious hormonal problems if they're not addressed.

The MRI itself isn't too bad - it sounds like you're inside a floppy disk drive as it's reading and writing a disk (if you don't know what this is, YouTube! (now I feel really old...)).

MRIs do get quite loud - like standing near a large concert speaker and subwoofer, so earplugs are usually required, due to the very large currents flowing through the MRI coil (magnetic flux) to take pictures of your body part. The very first MRI image they took of my head made me jump a little bit because the magnetic flux was so loud it vibrated me a bit, but once you're used to the sensation it's pretty fascinating to experience. MRIs are absolutely not painful, just weird.

Perhaps the scariest part (if you're not fond of needles) is the dye contrast they can inject for some part of the imaging process to quote "light the pituitary gland up like a christmas tree on the scan". It's just a simple IV injection, and not that bad (for what it's worth, I hate needles).

MRIs can be claustrophobic, so if this is something you think you may have issues with see if your endo is able to prescribe a short acting anti-anxiety medication to help with the experience.

Overall my session took about 50 minutes, was boring as hell as I obviously couldn't read or do anything other than imitate a statue (moving causes blurry images) but it's not a terrifying experience. It can be unsettling if you've never had one before, but they're genuinely not scary machines.

Realistically, CTs are scarier because you're being shot with high energy x-rays to take an image, but they're also not painful. MRIs just exploit physics to take images with a huge magnetic coil. There are a few YouTube videos on the experience.

Don't worry about the whole metal and MRI thing - you'll be extensively screened before you're allowed anywhere near the MRI, because those things are extremely expensive to repair after an emergency quench (dumping the liquid helium from the machine to 'turn off' the magnet). MRI operators are very protective of their machines... 😂

It is in the news, though there's usually not a huge song-and-dance about it. It's mostly just mates helping mates (with the necessary international agreements in place).

Australia has regularly sent large air tankers and firefighters to the U.S. and Canada (though I'm unsure about aircraft into Canada), and most recently firefighting helicopters and firefighters to France.

We already do. Though the issue now is that northern and southern hemisphere fire seasons are increasingly overlapping, making sharing firefighting aircraft much more difficult.

Definitely noticing a few properties around here dropping their prices every two to three weeks...

Here you go! Much cheaper in the long run too.

https://kegland.com.au/collections/sodastream-parts

And depending on her sense of humour, she might find comfort in leaning into it...

"Oh this scar? Pfft, you should see the other guy!"

All the best to you both! ❤️

Depends on how far along the journey is...

The following is written for a support person, and the person going through the surgery so adapt as necessary.

Someone to listen; and if possible connect someone with lived experience of that surgery.

It's also worth highlighting that incredible pain does really weird things to the human brain and may cause unexpected behaviours. Absolutely keep on top of pain meds, even if pain isn't currently being experienced - surgical pain does return very quickly when pain killers wear off, and can have a lag time before analgesia kicks in again - meaning you're along for the ride on the pain train until the meds apply the brakes.

On that basis: don't ever discount professional psychological support. I have been downvoted for this before, though professional psychological support is just as essential as surgical care pre- and post-op. It is important to be able to vent to a person whose job is to have your best interests at the forefront, who is completely independent of others in your life, to offer guidance, support, and counselling.

I still strongly argue that psychological support should be mandatory because of how complex we, as a group of people, are. I get accused of gatekeeping because of this, though I know countless people (gender diverse and not) who have been able to properly help themselves because they kept seeing a counsellor/psychologist. Our minds are incredibly powerful organs - it makes sense to keep them regularly serviced too, just like your car's engine.

Nurses do get busy and sometimes things do get forgotten. It is very, very easy to become resentful though it's important to remember that none of it is personal - most nurses are incredible human beings. Just keep assertively, but kindly, advocating. 'Please' and 'Thank you' are incredibly powerful phrases. People are more likely to willing help people who are kind to them, it's just human nature.

Don't be embarrassed or precious. If something feels wrong, off, or painful - ask. It's better to address a little problem quickly, rather than let it spiral out into a huge problem that takes a long time, or more surgery, just because one was too embarrassed to ask.

There can be unexpected sources of pain - ironically not from the surgery itself: the catheter can cause uncomfortable pain once the bladder 'wakes up' after a few days. Apparently a catheterised bladder will enter a catatonic state for a while, so my surgeon said, and when the bladder does wake up it can lead to stabbing like pains for a while. This can be problematic whilst the catheter must remain in place as everything heals. A strong oral pain killer usually does the trick though.

One last thing on 'looks' and illusions/'Instagram' expectations: don't get hung up on them. Vulvas and vaginas come in many millions of shapes, sizes, and colours (even multiple colours).

What might look catastrophic or horrific now, won't be what it looks like after healing has completed - which might take up to several years. Healing doesn't just include stopping bleeding, and closing wounds. Healing also includes skin resurfacing and reshaping as swelling dissipates, which takes a long time to properly settle. Swelling for me took a good 18-24 months to properly dissipate.

Be patient. Don't get upset after six months because 'it doesn't look right'. No one 'looks right'.

You'd be surprised!

"The maximum age, as a general rule, is between 3 and 6 years away from the “Compulsory Retiring Age” for a specific role. It is encouraged that applicants conduct research pertaining to their role of interest."

So its role dependent for Australian Defence Forces, though is worth at least looking into.

Have you considered a lateral transfer?

Some countries, including Canada and Australia, will accept international applicants providing they meet certain criteria. Australia particularly offers pathways to citizenship too.

https://www.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/military-life-cycle/lateral-recruits