It has arrived! And so have my cojones ... I mean ovarios.

I'm holding my new book!!!

Amazing how I can type at the same time, huh?

It is now very real to me that For the May Queen is out in the world. And wow, it looks great! Vanilla Heart Publishing puts out a quality product. The fonts are like buttah, and the book feels great in my hand.

Annie and I were on campus late last night and when we walked in the door, this:

was on the table. Annie had snuck home during the day and bought me a congratulatory bouquet. I felt celebrated and very, very lucky.

Speaking of my sweetie, today I was at the grocery store filling up our water bottles.

A guy approached me and said: "Is it that water that keeps you so beautiful?"

I laughed and said, "Oh, must be."

Him: "I saw you from over there and wondered who that beautiful blonde was."

Me: "Well that's very nice of you. I'll take the compliment."

Him: "Does your husband drink this water too?" (That's right up there as one of the worst pick-up lines of all time.)

Me: "I don't have a husband." Dramatic pause. "I have a wife." (That's the first time I've used that word to a stranger to describe Annie. I usually say "partner" ... or that I'm a "lesbian." I realized there was a certain power to saying "wife." Perhaps it gave him less of a fetish image to feed from than "I'm a lesbian" might.)

Him: "Huh?"

Me: *smile*

Him: "You're kidding me, right?"

Me: "No. Really. We've been together 14 years and we just got legally married."

Him: "When?"

Me: "July."

Him: "Wow. Okay. Well, you just can't tell anymore who's gay."

Me: "So true."

Him: "Well. Ah. Hm. You can't even tell with guys anymore."

Me: "I know!"

Him: "Okay, well, good luck on your marrage."

Me: "Thanks!"

I think I'll be the groom

When I went onto the county government website to find out how to apply for a marriage license, I discovered the pervasiveness of bureaucratic heteronormativity.

One of us needs to be listed as the "groom" and the other as the "bride."

See for yourself, noting the part I highlighted at the end:




Same-Sex Marriage Licenses


The California Supreme Court ruled on May 15, 2008, invalidating the provisions of State law which require marriage to be only for heterosexual couples, as violating the California constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the laws. Although the Court issued a writ of mandate to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, it also remanded the case to the Court of Appeal to issue an order consistent with the decision. The decision becomes final in 30 days unless that period is extended by court order. We will be able to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples when the California Court of Appeal issues an order. The forms, Application for Standard (Public) Marriage License, and the Application for Confidential Marriage License are forms used locally by the County Clerk-Recorder and have been modified to reflect the Supreme Court’s Decision. The new forms will be available on this website early in the week of May 19, 2008. However, the forms, License and Certificate of Marriage, and the Confidential License and Certificate of Marriage are regulated by the California Department of Public Health – Office of Vital Records. California state law prohibits the County Clerk-Recorder from revising or modifying these forms. Parties to the marriage would need to decide which party would enter his/her information in the Groom's Data and the Bride's Data. The preprinted information on the marriage license forms should be unaltered.