A Time to Strike

It seems like a strange thing to look forward to, but when the news came down that we as a union might strike, I got very excited about what I could do with the time off. Some of the events that happened I could never have dreamed of, but I am so happy that they did happen that I felt the need to write my story.

A little background on me. I live in the Albany, NY area. I am a 30 something year old male named Bob, who for the most parts is known to be one of the "strong" types at work. What my coworkers don't know about me is that when I am away from work, I am anything but the strong type. When not at work, I spend most of my time dressing and acting like the woman I sometimes wish I was. I dress fully from head to toe, work on my make up skills, practice my feminine mannerisms, and generally try to emulate all things that women do naturally. It is because of this why I looked forward to the strike and being able to spend some extended time as my alter ego, Bobbi Anne.

For many months now the company I work for refused to bargain in good faith with the union I am in, so after careful planning and consideration, we decided to go on strike. This was not a decision that was taken lightly, but it was something that we had to do, and I fully supported it for many reasons, some of them purely selfish as you will see.

We walked out of the job in early March, while it was still cold outside, but the walking the picket line kept us warm, as well as the public support by bringing coffee and hot chocolate to the lines. It was also the ideal time for me as I just had gotten my taxes back and was able to pay my bills for the next few months and still have quite a bit of money left to go along with the nice amount I had in my savings.

The first few days of the strike were very gung ho, with all of the members showing up to show our solidarity and to get things organized. By the end of our first week, we had gotten our picket schedules, and I could not have been happier with mine. I had to picket 3 days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 5-9am) at one of the satellite offices the company has, with only 3 other women. We all got along very well, and all were very quirky in our own ways (probably why they stuck us all together).

That second week, the girls and I all went to our picket post, walked the line, shouted at the scabs that the company hired to work our jobs while we were out on strike, and caused general (but fully within the law) mayhem at the site. When our strike duty ended on that Thursday, we all said our goodbyes for the weekend and went our separate ways.

Once I pulled my van out of the parking area, I made a beeline for my house, over the top excited for the long weekend and for what I could do. The first thing I was looking forward to was a long, hot bubble bath and a head to toe shave. I like to keep my body as smooth as can be.

On the way home, I stopped off at the local Target for a few things I would need, basically the essentials like razors, Nair, pantyhose, panties, and a few new Covergirl and Revlon products, especially my favorite lipstick, Gentlemen Prefer Pink. I even picked up a few food items for my house and a bottle of white wine.

I left Target and headed towards home, when on a whim I decided to stop at one of the local thrift stores that deals exclusively with women's clothing. I went in and browsed around for a while, when one of the very bubbly sales girls comes around and asks if I needed some help. Usually I just say no and that I am just looking, but today I got up the courage to say yes. She introduced herself as Jill, and she asked what she could help with, and I told her I was looking for a pair of heels in a size 9. She took me over to wear they keep the shoes in size 9, and I couldn't believe the assortment. I picked out 3 pairs and asked if she had somewhere that I could try them on.

The girl seemed to have a puzzled look at first, and then her bubbly personality came right back and she took me over to a bench in the corner. I tried on each pair, deciding to get 2 of the 3 (the other one was too narrow for my feet). I brought the shoes up to her at the register where she was talking with the other girls, and I asked her if she could give me some help finding outfits to go with each pair. She jumped at the chance, and as she was coming around the corner, she asked what size I was. I told her that honestly didn't know, that most of my clothing was hit and miss with sizes since I purchased most of it at thrift stores like Salvation Army and Good Will and just tried them on because there was no attendants at the dressing rooms. She said I looked like a size 16, and that they had plenty of clothes that would go with the shoes I picked out.

Jill then asked me what I was looking for, and I told her probably a couple of pairs of skinny jeans, a few tops, a couple of skirts, and a new dress to go with the patent pumps. She said that she could help me with all of, that, and when I was ready, they had a private dressing room that I could try everything on and look in the mirrors there outside of the dressing room without anyone else seeing me. We found a few pairs of the skinny jeans in a few different colors, and I picked out the faded denim, purple, and pink ones. From there we went to the skirts, where I found the cutest black leather mini, 2 knee length leather skirts (1 in purple and 1 in pink), and a few cotton skirts with lining in black, navy, pink, and purple.

Tops were next, and I had it explained to me that some were blouses for dressier occasions, some were just casual tops, and some were in between and could be used for both. We picked out a couple of blouses to go with the leather skirts, a few to go with the jeans, but then we picked out about 10 different cute tops to go with everything.

As we were heading towards the dresses, I saw a rack with boots on it, and looked them over as Jill put all of the stuff we found already in the dressing room she told me about. I found a couple of pairs of boots that I really liked, and both of them just screamed sexy. I took both off of the rack and told Jill that I wasn't going to even try them on, I wanted them, so she put them up front with the other shoes I was getting. We went over to the dresses and we weren't able to find anything that I really liked until the last dress on the rack, where there was a very pretty black and white print dress that was both casual and dressy at the same time, depending on how accessorized it was.

I took the dress to the dressing room where Jill showed me, and then it dawned on me that I was wearing all drab male undergarments and wanted to see what these items would look like for real. I said something to Jill to that effect, and she said she would be right back. She came back with a 3 pack of thongs that she thought would fit me, as she said they were in one of the consignments that were brought in today, but the woman didn't want them back and the store couldn't sell them. I looked at the size, a size 7, and thought they would fit. I was thanking Jill when she handed me a second package of the panties, and 3 packages of pantyhose also and told me that they were mine at no charge. I was so happy, I just hugged her and thanked her so much. She said if I needed anything else, don't hesitate to ask.

I went into the dressing room, which was quite large and quickly got undressed. I pulled the pink thong from the package, put it on, then again realized I was missing something very important to get a true feeling on what some of the clothes looked like. I had no bra on or my breast forms. I decided that I would just have to do with what I had until I got home, and pulled on one of the pairs of pantyhose up my always shaven legs. I proceeded to get on with trying on the clothes, and by the end of it, I only put 1 of the tops back and the miniskirt. I got myself redressed, leaving the pantyhose and the thong on, dropping my male underwear into the trash can. I picked up all of the clothes I was going to purchase and brought them out to Jill at the counter. She asked how everything went, and I told her that I left a top and the miniskirt in the dressing room, but everything else was perfect and I was taking it all. She rang me up, to include both pair of boots and both pairs of shoes, and the bill came to just shy of $350. I asked her if that was right as I gave her my debit card, since I figured I had spent so much more, and Jill just chuckled and said that I was in a consignment shop, and things are much less expensive. She bagged everything up in a total of 6 bags, having me sign my charge slip, and wished me the best of luck with a wink and a smile.

I made my way out to the van, loving the feeling of the pantyhose and thong under my jeans as I walked. I got everything into the back, got in and headed for home once again, and once again I got sidetracked and stopped in to a wig shop along the way to see what they had. I found a pretty red haired wig with a few blonde highlights in it, that I had to have and purchased it, along with a very pretty brunette one with bangs. I knew both would be worn for a good amount of time over the weekend, so I purchased a half dozen wig caps with sure grip on them to keep the wig in place.

This time when I got into my van, I told myself that there would be no more stops, but that ended up just being a false statement to myself. I pulled over at one of the other little strip malls that are in the area, parking in the rear, and I went into the back of my van to change for the next stop in my adventure. I wasn't worried about anyone seeing in the back of the van, as the couple of windows are very tinted and also have curtains on them. The van is all tricked out in my favorite color, purple. It is a throwback from the 70's I know, but I love it!

I always keep a stash of Bobbi Anne clothes in the van, so I went into the drawers of a small dresser that I have in there and started pulling out what I needed. The first drawer I went in to was my lingerie drawer, pulling out a pair of purple boy cut nylon panties and a matching bra with my breast forms. I lay them on the bed, and go into the bags and pull out the denim skinny jeans, and a nice purple top that I had just bought.

I proceeded then to get myself undressed, taking everything off before adorning the clothes I pulled out. I left off the pantyhose as it wouldn't do me any good where I was going. Once I was dressed, I sat at the small vanity that I had in the van. I opened the drawer where I kept all my make up, and slowly but surely started to transform my face into an acceptable appearance. Once I was satisfied with my make up, I then grabbed one of the wig caps I had purchased, affixing it over my bald head, and then put on my new red haired wig. I slipped into a pair of low heeled open toe wedges and take one last check of myself in the mirror.

I get back into the drivers seat, and pull the van up to the front of one of the shops there in the strip mall. I pull a few items that I need into my purse, my ID, credit cards, cash, lipstick, etc. I take one last look in the rear view mirror and proceed to get out of the van. I make my way over to the shop I wanted to go to, and go in. The smell of the shop is unmistakable, and I am in a bit of heaven. I had been in this shop before, every other time to just get a pedicure, but this time I was getting the works done. I was going to get a mani/pedi and get my eyebrows threaded some.

As I walked in, an older woman was at the counter and asked me what I would like to have done. I told her in my practiced feminine voice, and she took me immediately towards the back to start on the foot soak and pedicure without even a second glance. She had me sit in one of the pedicure chairs, take my shoes off, and put them in the basin. She put in some lilac scented oil and started to fill it with warm water, and it was amazing. Once it hit a certain level, she put on the massage jets and my feet were in heaven. After a short while, a younger woman came over and turned off the jets, took my feet out of the basin as it drained, and proceeded to pat dry, lotion, and massage my feet before giving me a pair of flip flops to wear as I followed her to the nail station.

We get to the nail station and I sit down, and the young lady asks me what I would like. I told her that I would like to get a French manicure/pedicure with a flower pattern on it. She shows me some photos of flowers that are in a little book on the desk, and I pick out the purple orchid. She proceeds to do my toenails first, putting a pretty orchid on each of the big toes. As my toes were drying, she started on my hands. First she massaged my hands while applying lotion to them, then started to put on the nails. She asked me how long I wanted them, and said probably about a quarter of an inch past my fingertips or so, and she proceed from there. Once she was done with them, she had me put both my feet and my fingers into the dryers to make sure the polish and top coat dry evenly. After about ten minutes or so, she lets me know that I am done, and that I can put my shoes back on. I slip my feet back into my wedges, loving how my toes look in the open toes of the shoes.

She takes me over to the station where they do the threading and ask me to take a seat, and the girl who does the threading will be there in just a minute or two. The girl who comes over is quite young but she does a great job.

I thank the girls who did my nails and eyebrows and head up to the front counter in order to pay. I hand the older woman my credit card and she looks down at the name on it. I sheepishly tell her that it is the correct card, and she then asks me for my license to match them up. I give her my license, and she compares the names, tried to match my male photo with my feminine face. When she said she couldn't accept my card as she didn't think it was me, I quietly spoke to her in my masculine voice. A look of amazement came over her face, and she quickly accepted the card and apologized for the hassle. I told her it was no problem at all, and smiled at her as I got the receipt and headed back out to the van. I was on cloud nine at the moment.

When I got back in the van, I made a beeline for my house, this time vowing that I wouldn't make any more stops. That is until my stomach growled a little and I realized that I was hungry. I stopped at a local sub and salad shop, getting myself a salad to go. When the young man at the counter told me it was ready and called me 'Miss', my cloud nine feeling went out of the stratosphere.

I finally made it home and parked the van in my garage, taking all my purchases inside and bringing them into the rooms where they belong. I went back out to the kitchen to get my salad, taking it in to my computer room to watch a couple of YouTube videos on make up application. I watched one on how to apply eye shadow for a night out, and one on proper blush techniques (a gurl can always work on improving her make up skills).

Once I was done with the salad and tossed out the container, I went in to the bedroom to hang up my new purchases and put the shoes and boots away in the closet. As I was in there, I decided to pick out my outfit for the night. I planned on going out to one of the local gay clubs that was having a drag show as I do on many Thursday nights. I picked out 3 dresses that I was thinking about wearing, hanging them on a hook just outside of my closet. The first one was a simple blue and white tube dress, then a blue mesh overlay dress, and finally a black dress with the necklace already attached. I tried each one of them on, doing a pirouette in front of the mirror with each one. I finally decided that I was going to wear the blue and white tube dress with a pair of blue heels. Once that was decided, I put the other two dresses back and pulled out the heels. I then went to the dresser to take out the lingerie and stockings that I would wear underneath the dress.

I picked out a light pink bra and panty set, along with my good set of C cup breast forms and the setting bra I wear with them until the adhesive is set good. I then grabbed out a pair of black pantyhose that had some shimmer to them. I set them all on the dresser, and then pulled out a red satin nightgown to nap in before I go out.

I go into the bathroom that is attached to my bedroom, take off my wig and set it on one of my wig stands, undress and put the clothes in the hamper, and proceed to wipe my face free of the make up that I had on. I then make my way out to my dresser to pick up the forms, bra, and nightgown and take them to my vanity. I set the nightgown aside for the moment and spread the bra on the vanity table and put the breast forms in the cups. I take the adhesive and lather the forms with it. Once I think I have enough of the adhesive on them, I pick the forms up in the bra and adhere them to my chest, fastening the bra in order to keep the forms in place. I make sure to wipe any extra adhesive from the edges as I make sure the edges of the forms are totally attached. When I am satisfied they are all secure and the extra adhesive is all cleaned up, I put on my nightgown and snuggle into bed for a late afternoon nap. I set my alarm for 7pm in order to get ready to go out, and I fall into a blissful slumber.

When the alarm goes off, I wake slowly, attempting at first to wipe the sleepers out of my eyes, when I almost gouge my eye out forgetting about my visit to the nail salon earlier in the day. After I realize what I just did, I start to chuckle at myself and swing my legs out of bed. I head into the bathroom to sit down to take care of business, and I look at myself in the mirror. The red nightgown, the pretty nails, the shaved legs, the boobs... I love the way I look. Once I was done using the toilet, I wiped myself like any good girl would do, and started to run myself a bath. I poured some rose scented oils into the tub, took off my nightgown and bra, and slid into the tub. The warm water felt so good on my smooth body, the oils making my soft skin feel that much softer. I luxuriated in the tub for about 20 minutes or so, then as the water started to cool, I pulled the drain plug and got out. I stood on the bath mat patting myself dry when I heard a voice calling from downstairs.

My gurlfriend Meghan decided to stop over to see if I was going out, and I yelled out to her that I was up in the bedroom getting ready. I quickly pulled on my panties, making sure I was tucked well and reached for my bra when I heard start up the stairs. I could tell she was dressed for a night out, as when she walked up the stairs I could hear her heels clicking against the hardwood of the stairs. I got the bra on and clipped, and was just pulling the shoulder straps up when she walked into the bedroom. When she got up to my bedroom, she strode in looking heavenly. She was wearing a very sexy green dress, nude shimmering stockings, and matching green shoes. Meghan looked so hot! My mouth dropped to the floor, making her blush. She strode right over to me and gave me a big, wet kiss with lots of tongue, making sure to give my boobs a big squeeze. She knows how to get me weak in the knees for sure.

We broke our kiss, and I took her by the hand and showed her my dress and shoes that I planned on wearing, and she said she loved it. I then showed her that I had my nails done, and she started to kiss me again telling me how sexy I was and that she couldn't keep her hands off of me. When I broke our embrace, she started helping me to get dressed, but she said she didn't like my pantyhose choice, and went to my dresser and pulled out a pair of shimmering nude hose like hers for me to wear. She said they would have every guy in the club looking at my legs.

I got the hose and dress on, and sat down at my vanity. Meghan said she was going to do my make up, and I was all for it as I know she is a master at it. She started with some foundation, followed by blush, eye liner, eye shadow, and mascara. She saved the lipstick for me, knowing that I love to put it on myself. She blended my make up super well, and once I turned towards the mirror to see her handy work, for the second time in an hour my jaw dropped. Meghan did such a fantastic job with my make up, before I even put on any lipstick or my wig, I stood up and gave her a sloppy, wet kiss of my own. Just seeing my face all made up by her, and seeing how beautiful she is, got me all excited. Seeing my pleasurable discomfort, Meghan says that we still have a little more than an hour before we have to leave for the club. All I could do at hearing that was coo.