Work's Christmas Party

• Posted by Deborah Taylor December 16, 2013 #Friends  #Work  #Party  #coming out  1,612 views
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  It may have been Friday the Thirteenth, but it was no horror show! I went to my Work's Christmas Party and (basically) outed myself to all and sundry. I knew I'd be okay, as I work with a great bunch of people who have no hangups about the rich tapestry of life.

  
  

  

  
  

  I'll come clean. I was a little nervous in the couple of days before the party. A handful of people knew what I was doing. These are the three at the office who know that Debbie is a bit more than a giggle. A few others knew I'd said I'd be in a dress, but probably didn't believe me.
  
  On the day, I packed ONLY my dress, I didn't want any last minute nerves to cause an outfit switch. My nerves were increased another notch when I was told that the person who would be picking me up from the hotel in which I was staying (I was the only one from our party in that hotel, weirdly), would no longer be able to pick me up, forcing a 15 minute walk. I knew that the drinks at the venue would be extortionately priced, so I'd bought a bottle of Jacob's Creek and put it in a present bag. This then doubled up as I decided I would wear flats for the walk, and put on my heels when I got to the bar where everyone was meeting. The walk was uneventful, although there were plenty of people and cars about. 
  
  At the bar, I switched to my heels on a table outside, and entered. I'd been expecting a few people to be in there, but there were over a hundred, and I had to walk past nearly every one of them to reach my work-mates. This is a sports bar, and it was a little intimidating. Never the less, I walked to my friends, to coos and oohs and aahs. I got told I was far too good looking...lol. I bought myself a drink as we waited for the stragglers.

  
  

  

  
  

  These two tall gentlemen are my bosses. Neither had any problem with what I was wearing, and both were quite complimentary. 
  
  After drinkies and stragglers arriving, we walked round to the venue.
  
  There was quite a lot of people from other companies than ours there. But I was attracting zero attention from them. Which surprised me. I checked my coat, and bought a drink at the bar for myself and Teresa (I needed a glass for my bottle of wine). It was decided by a couple of colleagues that my male name was a no-no, and everybody HAD to call me Debbie, or buy a shot. This was fine by me! We found our table, and the starter was already there. While we ate, there was incredible entertainment, dancers, jugglers, fire eaters, acrobats. The dancing was incredible really, and quite in keeping with the 20s theme. As we ate, we obviously talked and one or two pointed out that my make up was very good, asking me if I did it myself. I said I did, thanked them for their compliments, and told them it was just practice...
  
  One of our consultants was a bit late, and was struggling to find our table, so I waved to him, and he came over, thanked me rather formally, and found a spare seat (I mention this for in a bit...)
  
  After the meal, the dancers finished, and the six on stage came out into the audience to pick out audience members to kick start the dancing. A very ripped young man made a bee-line for....guess who? Yes. Me

  

  
  

  I danced for a good 40 minutes (I wasn't alone, the dance floor very quickly filled). My dancing in 4" heels indicated that this wasn't the first time I had done it. When I needed a breather and a drink, I went and sat down, and the consultant I mentioned earlier came over and sat next to me. He apologised because he had thought I was the wife of somebody, and hadn't realised who I was! He asked if I was actually trans, and I said I was. We then had a chat about a teenage son of one of his wife's friends who had recently come out as trans. That was very comfortable conversation. I've known this guy since 1995.

  
  

  

  
  

  Later in the evening, after more dancing and drinking, I was chatted up by a lesbian, who told me I was brave....uh? lol. And then a very attractive blonde from another group who liked dating cross-dressers and trans. I politely declined them both. The blonde told me that I was very convincing and it was only the fact she was good at spotting trans that she'd realised. This was probably a chat up line...lol. I was also chatted up by a creepy bloke who asked if I was a 'tranny' as his opening line. I'm afraid I may have used a profanity in letting him down. There were around 1,000 people at the venue, of which, my company had brought 60, so this was quite a lot of people I did not know (although looking on facebook later, I discovered 2 people were there that I DID know...and I must have walked past them several times).
  
  Towards the end of the evening, as the revellers started to thin out, I was stood with those of my company left. My boss asked how I could be so comfortable, and I told him straight, I'd been diagnosed as transgender the year before, so it was more me being me than being in disguise. Other people were told, and pictures of other times I'd been out in a dress were shown around. One woman from work, Claire, used her initiative, and found me on Facebook, after I'd shown her a picture of me with her football team's mascot in Wigan just ahead of the FA Cup final.
  
  At the end of the evening, I pulled my flats out of my secret santa parcel, and it made the girls I was with laugh. "Now we know you're experienced!" they said.
  
  I walked back to my hotel, rather than try and find a taxi, as it was only a 15 minute walk, and it was quite mild, despite being 2am.
  
  At my hotel, the bar was still open, and there were a couple of people drinking, a woman waiting for her son, and a man who couldn't sleep. I stayed there for a further hour, chatting with them. They and the bartender were nice.
  
  The following morning, I realised I'd slept very well as I couldn't remember getting undressed, I still had half my make up on, I had no idea what had happened to my earrings, and I couldn't find the hotel room key. After half an hours searching, it transpired I had not accidentally flushed it or left it in the door, it had fallen off the table behind the television. All the hall marks of a great night!
  
  Today (Monday) was the first day at work after it.
  
  There was not ONE negative comment. The big boss (who'd seen me, but not spoken to me at the do) wasn't in to get relevant permissions off about making Debbie a permanent fixture. But Mark (he of the 80s shirt above) said that future nights out wouldn't be a problem and that I could change my corporate website picture. Time in the office would require more authority, as I'm not transitioning. I had plenty of positive comments. 
  
  To say I'm still bouncing and over the moon now, days later, would be an understatement.
  
  Debbie