effy is tumbling

the random musings of Effy Elden this tumblr is not in active use, you can find me elsewhere here: effy.space

[evilwizard]

if you’re reading this on mobile just know that i have two of those tumblr verified check marks now

[supraobsessed]

Reblogged so I could see it on my computer :(( you lied to me

[evilwizard]

well. im not called truthfulwizard

[ineffyble]

so

i’m not planning on using tumblr a whole lot, but I figure I should follow Twitter peeps to avoid losing contact.

truth be told I forgot I even had this ancient blog, will need to update it at some point.

[ineffyble]

abyss

From the first time our lips touched, my fate was sealed Anchored to the depths, pulled down into the abyss

I followed you into the darkness, for you were my light and I needed to shine for you

But as we sank deeper, it appeared that no light could prevail against the void I could not shine for you, and your light was fading

Down, down, down, beyond hope, beyond reason, beyond all that we had left behind

down     down         down         without light         without end

I could taste the salt in that moment, it wrapped around my tongue like a snare

A sharp warning of the ocean, yet I willingly embraced it

Now the salty water washes over me, overwhelming and unceasing, almost all that remains

- transcribed from my tweets, October 2016

[ineffyble]

My MacBook misfortunes

Okay, figured I’d properly type up a summary the misfortunes, irritations, and overall bad luck/bad support I’ve received…

So, last week I went to try and buy a MacBook Pro - I’d finally saved enough, I’d been waiting for weeks. Shipping was going to be weeks, and my laptop is dying, and I didn’t want to have to wait. So I decided I’d make a sacrifice and get the stock 8GB of RAM, rather than a custom upgrade, so I could buy in store.

Unfortunately, stocks around the place were kind of tight. I went to one store, no luck, called around, not much, watched as the online tracker diminished. Looked at other retailers, not much luck, etc. On Monday, based on some forum threads, I went to JB Hi-Fi in the city.

They told me there was two 512GB 13″ Models in VIC, but they were silver. I figured that was okay (although I wanted Space Grey ideally). One was in Doncaster, the other in Prahran, so I opted for the Prahran store, and they put it on hold.

Went down to Prahran last night, paid, and picked it up. Took it home, started setting it up, happy, excited, in love with my new tech.

Then I noticed the X over the battery meter. I looked: “No Battery Available”. Turns out, it had a factory defect. The laptop thinks it has no battery, and might be right, as unplugging it from the power turns it off instantly.

Fuck. Well, this is why consumer law has a policy for Dead-on-Arrival purchases, right? I called JB Hi-Fi.

Spoke to a very sympathetic manager. He had a look, and told me:

There was none of my model in stock at any VIC stores

There was no stock of any Touch Bar models left in Prahran.

There’s 37 on backorder nation-wide, but none for his store.

He said he’d place an order, and try and get it rushed, and would call me today. He called today, said the order was placed, and he’d sent an email, but there was no ETA available. He will talk to the Apple Rep who will be in his store on Thursday about getting it sooner. 

I asked him if I should try an Apple Store, since they’re the manufacturer and also carry a legal responsibility, and probably have more stock/can get stock quicker. He said yes.

I had my roommate trek it out to Highpoint with my laptop this afternoon. Despite the fact that it was a dead on arrival purchase that was less than 24 hours old, she was turned away because she didn’t have a Genius Bar appointment.

I just got off the phone with Apple Support. After venting at the generic support rep, I was put through to a product specialist (e.g. someone who actually knows what he’s talking about, has a name and extension, and people skills).

He was also very sympathetic and tried to look for options to help me. Unfortunately, there was no clear options. Normal Apple Support operates through their repair program, where laptops are sent in for repair, and then sent back out or replaced. As a specialist, he could authorise having the laptop replaced, but I’d need to send it in - which in addition to the time for them to receive it and test it, would probably then have that 2-3 shipping delay. There was an expedited option, but that involves paying for the cost of the new laptop up front, and having it returned when they’ve received the dead one (not an option, still has a shipping delay).

I could take it to one of their authorised 3rd party service centres, but it would probably equate to the above, and it would have to be a repair.

Still, he thought there was possibly an avenue through the Apple Stores, and he was going to ring them. He called back a couple of minutes later, as it was past 5pm (he’s in QLD and on an earlier time), and they’re closed.

He’s going to call all the VIC Apple stores tomorrow to see if they can help me. But, they can only help if:

They have walk-in appointments available this week

They have stock of the model (seems unlikely from what I’ve read)

They’re allowed/able to authorise a replace instead of a repair (he wasn’t sure).

So, at this point:

I’m waiting on a callback tomorrow from Apple - which will either be:

Head to this store at this time and we will swap it for you (seemingly small chance)

No luck with stores, here’s the fastest we can do a replacement via mail - which I can’t even start the process of, because…

I’m waiting on a callback on Friday from JB Hi-Fi, to find out if there’s any news on when they will have a model for me to swap.

So yeah, I am so tired and fed up, and apparently extremely unlucky?

EDIT: Got the call back from Apple Care. No Apple stores have any stock until 4th Jan. The Apple online store won't have stock for weeks. No third party Apple retailers in Victoria have any stock. Aaaand there's a parts backlog for repairs. Guess JB are my only hope.

[ineffyble]

utter surrender

it starts with you on the bed in the room alone

there is no comfort no rest, nothing to save you from the torment of existence, of survival in this universe of horrors and pain

others join you, but they too, succumb to the blackness to the void at the bottom of your soul, yearning for release, for an end to this torment

they cannot help you, they cannot stay, for then they too will be consumed, devoured, reduced by your contagion, your disease, your utter surrender

they are pulled away, their moments of comfort slighted lost forgotten

and there you are you on the bed in the room alone

[ineffyble]

Process for getting on Hormone Replacement Therapy in Victoria

Okay, as a trans person who recently went through it all, I feel I should jot down my understanding of the system, as it was very confusing, and even talking to friends who had been on HRT didn’t produce clear info.

So, basically:

Northside Clinic are amazing, I highly recommend them for every medical need.

Northside GPs can prescribe HRT but you need to have gone through an assessment - this can be with a psychiatrist like Jaco Erasmus (who everyone recommends but has a giant wait list), or a clinical psychologist who does them.

Northside have two in-house clinical psychologists who do Gender Dysphoria Assessments needed to get on HRT, Ben Callegari and Clare Weightman. Neither of their wait lists are that long, comparatively, and my experience with Ben was pretty good.

You will need a referral to see them. You can get that from a Northside GP, but that means getting into Northside, who only accept new patients once a month. The other options is to see a regular GP and get a mental health care plan/referral - this is what I did. You send this off to the Northside Psych who will then book you in.

On average you will need 4-6 sessions to complete your asssessment. Presuming no problems, you then get the report you can use to get on HRT. Sessions are out of pocket and partially reimbursed by Medicare.

You'll see a GP to follow up on this, they do blood tests, check your health, and prescribe you if all is well. If you don’t want delays, see the GP during the time you’re having your assessment, so blood tests are done when assessment is.

If you’re going on feminising hormones, they will recommend you store your sperm first. Ask about this early on to avoid delays, they will write you a referral letter. I went to the Andrology clinic at Royal Children’s Hospital, who I recommend. Costs are annoying - you pay a freezing fee which includes first year (then yearly), plus for each storage appointment. You generally need two appointments to get a specific sample, and you will need to not ejaculate for at least 3 days beforehand to get a good quality sample.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me - hi _at_ effy.is

[ineffyble]

Two more Bobcat in a Box packages! 

This time, we have an iPhone case that says "i love you" and has a teddy bear, and a pack of hello kitties?

I'm not quite sure what these hello kitties are for. They're little 3D pieces of transparent plastic with paper at the back. I thought they might have a sticky back, but nope, that's just the actual image. They have no holes so they're not charms. A little baffled, if anyone can enlighten me go ahead.

[ineffyble]

My second Bobcat in a Box mystery item! 

The packaging indicates it is "Jewelry Accessories" worth $8 from China.

I've opened it up, and it really is a bracelet this time. Little silver butterflies and red beads. Not completely tacky or horrible, certainly an improvement over item 1.

[ineffyble]

So, I recently signed up for Bobcat In A Box, a service/script that orders you things off eBay that have free shipping and are ~$1, every day.

I have now received my first mystery item, and it appears to be...some sort of hair bracelet (it's synthetic, I think). 

I'm thinking I will try and review each thing, but there's not a lot to say about this. It's basically half of one of those hair-band things, and the other half is hair. I would never wear it, and I am not sure who would. Anyway...

EDIT: A friend has pointed out that it's probably meant to be a hair tie that isn't visible/doesn't have a visible band.