Becoming Time Chapter 1
So much has changed so fast. It has been one of those mixed good and bad summers. Should be home for a break after traveling for fieldwork now. Not a fan the hot times of the year that is why I choose to live up the redwood regions where it never gets hot just always cool either fog or rain/mist much of the time. Where I am now in the southeast it is even worse if I was still an organic being. These people that have taken in are good and are willing to help understand what I am now. For one, I am not an organic human anymore, being made something of clear glass, crystal or something else in humanoid shape.
Looking back, I should have died long ago. Whatever made me this way odds are saved me when I was young in wilds or in on the streets on own after no wanted me. Going back never had any family till an older couple, gramps and gram what they wanted to be called. They did not care whom or where I was from just took me in. Gramps and Gram just saw a child in need. These people I am with now remind of them helping people when in life. Difference is that have grown children whom I have not met yet, while gramps and gram never did. Everything is just confusing right now. Maybe if I reflect, taking up on the mages advice, on my life so far I can find answer to what happened to me and where to go from here.
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My old name does not matter anymore and belongs to the past. Born with a genetic condition where it would cause me minor development problems at first but major issues down the road of life. Where then it would easily kill me later on. It was not expected so my biological parents/life donors dumped me at birth because they did not want a freak for a child or a child with serve health problems. Never knew their names or seen any photos what they looked like. Even did not put the family name on official birth docs. Never found out what happened to them after leaving me at the hospital. So choose to abandon the name they gave me, as they do not deserve to give a name in the first place and completely leave me behind.
After both life donors dumped me on the hospital, it turned me over the state. Was stuck at the hospital for most of the first year of life due to genetic health problems. The doctors said later in childhood the reason I survived is a strong will to live. Mostly raised in the state foster system going from one group in various regions of the state to the next since no one wanted me in each age group. When old enough as a kid as foster child in my situation tried to change my name to my preferred one. The courts would not let me. So I was stuck with name I did not want. The foster age groups used my preferred name so it would welcoming for me when not in legal setting. After a few age groups in the next eleven years due to not adopted yet. When ever it was a new group it meant a doctor check up and the doctors never told me what was wrong with me. Could start see it every day in private when looking at the kids. People made fun of me since I was different from the norm, so no friends to stand by me once they got to know slightly more about me. Spent a lot time by myself so read a lot, since most books cannot hurt you.
Many couples that wanted to adopt, most looked over me to adopt some other kid. The few possible couples when told my backstory their response ranged from staying till the end being nice, but moving to some other kid. Other simply left the right then saying politely they did not want waste any more time. Those were the nice ones and wished me luck in finding a family. The worst was some leaving in the middle calling me the devils child out loud to my face. Knew the other children in many foster groups heard this helping lead to not to be friends with me. The various group's caretakers would try to explain to the people looking to adopt me my situation in private away from me before initial introductions. Leading to why the some people stopped looking at me end up looking over me to others before meeting me. Leaving me in empty room by my self when expecting something else. Could not take any more and started in the children way of asking never ending questions to the caretakers trying to understand what was wrong with me. Caretakers never answered back for their own reasons.
Eventually I was moved to another foster group for older kids. This time it was a more religious one, bad luck of the draw for me. Went for health check with the new foster group caretakers as is normal for me when transferring to a new group for check up on my condition and the so caretakers were on the same page. New caretakers were wondering why check up was taking so long while standing in the examination room with the child welfare dept. person. It was about normal time spent in examination room for me. Asked the doctor what was wrong with me. Since I was starting to go into teen years starting to see things were quite right with me, and feared things could get worse. Questioned if there is anything that could be done. The doctor asked what I knew of genetics and health. Answered back what I read in basic general books talking about the human body aimed at non-medical trained people. The doctor was shocked when I said that and continued to read other books due being left alone a lot from various subjects. Doctor got serious once they realized I knew some things with basic understanding, more than people my age should. New caretakers had stare of shock as I heard gasp of smart I was as looked at them quickly. Doctor said there is some cases of messed up chromosomes that could lead to health issues such as: cancer, development problems, and other issues. He said I was lucky to be alive maybe because I have a strong will to live. That is why I made through my first year. Doctor said my chromosomes for gender are messed up and it is going start hitting me hard now that was on doorstep of teenage years with the changes it brings. My chromosomes are XYY that affects development from in the early on in the womb of my forgotten bio female life donor that left long ago. Sometimes we can see it before birth and other times cannot till how things go post birth doctor said. There are a few types of XYY or intersex condition most are not lethal.
My case is highly lethal when the body is under going the most changes and not much can be done. In short my body is going be fighting itself very vigorously and there nothing that can be done due to damage done to other chromosomes by now in my case. Basically I was looking at high chance of death in the next few years. Now I would need more regular checkups. It is one those conditions makes parents reject children many times or grow intensely in love with to care for them. Bio life donors were the former. Many times children die early from this rare type of intersex condition of the few intersex conditions due to the damage to other parts of the body. Other times they live life with minor health problems but with society mistreatment due lack of understanding. It is too early to tell for me, as I am on fence between dying or lifelong problems with all that brings in this phase of life. Then I know why people looking to adopt did or said around. Being marked more death or life of social problems was too much for them. Some just wanted to me drop dead right then or do the job themselves but they could not with the agency being there. I then knew why none of the former caretakers could not answer my questions till now or why they let me stay up late reading, stay outside playing longer, took me on trips to open spaces, or going to art galleries/museums. How could you tell a child they are going to die when want them to enjoy life.
While this going on my new caretakers gave the look. Knew that look of mistreatment coming my way, as seen on some couples looking to adopt in past but tuned back once hearing about my condition followed by them calling me the devils child and should just die before. New caretakers stepped out when the doctor asked if I had any more in depth questions to him. Doctor noticed them steeping out and followed with eyes while talking to me. The doctor had bad feeling about them. Eventually told the doctor I was fearful to go with them and why. Unfortunately the doctor could do nothing to find another foster group. He told me be careful of the new caretakers, watch my health, and if possible keep a journal of changes that happens. I was stuck. That was a long silent drive but worrying about the future with these new people and crying to my self I was dying so soon. Not a word of comfort from the new caretakers.
New caretakers were a church based group and forced the foster children into their church without care for the foster children beliefs before hand or lack of. When we got back to new caretakers place, the nightmare began. They never tried or wanted to understand me. Did not use my preferred name, when even the doctors did. Thought I heard them call me freak and gave the other kids permission to do so as well. Did not want see to see what they did to foster kids of other religious backgrounds. Was not a religious person since I have never been to a church group at all in eleven years of life. They verbally insulted me and forced me to prey the condition away every day. They did not recognize science, doctors, public education, or most things that make up modern society. Hunted for sake hunting many instances without care to the environment since the believed everything in nature was them use according their beliefs. All these guns around with out safely stored away when not in use made me worried besides, ignoring gun laws around minors. Makes you think some one was paid off in the child welfare dept. with all these kids here and rules violated. In their eyes people were not equal due to skin color, disabilities, other ideas about life, or LGBTQ.
Basically these were people who should not have their own kids, let alone foster or adopt. Forced me to go to their church worship service to listen how poor got what they deserved because they poor people to begin with, LGBTQ people are works of the devil, etc. more stuff that should not be repeated in public unless you want offend lots of people. The stuff said many times in services would land someone in prison for hate crimes based on what I read in books before being forced into this foster group. Wondering how they say that in worship service when there are people that meet their definitions of non-people according to them that are in the service watching/listening and they are hurting them not uplifting them. Caretakers took away my few books I had. According them it was against their views of god and destroyed them. It was against their religion to read stuff about science, arts, questioning the world, and society.
They did not want me there, did not care for me, ignored my health checkups, worked me at times to the point of collapse like slave when my health problems started showing, and making sure I had no proper education to fit their religious views. They took the government money that was to help care for me, used on the other foster children that joined them in their beliefs or themselves. Other kids that did not join in with were punished. They did not even try to help find a family or other foster group to take me in when they did not want me. They tried to pretend I did not exist most of the time when not insulting me or trying work me to death, which my case could be quite literal. They just wanted foster care money since I was not person in their eyes. Many times forcing me to sleeping on the floor in the common room or outside locked out in the weather. This hate and treatment would be called torture in every sense of the word. They were willing to let me die and not report it to get the money because I was different.
One day I had it and left after a couple years of torture. Becoming a runway that fell through the cracks in the system just as my health problems were getting worse. Rather die on my own terms or place of my choosing, then their place. They must have not even cared to report the absence due to them not wanting to be caught wanting the foster money, either way I was on my own with no authorities chasing me. Managed to use what I learned from those books from the few good times and on foster group trips to woods from other groups before the hardliners. Felt sorry for the other foster kids left behind that did not join in with their actions or beliefs. Churches were off limits after the mental, emotional, physical torture I received from that last foster caretakers which in case they might send me back. Even if the new church group was better towards people like me and open minded.
On my own in traveling mostly on edges of towns and densely populated regions through open space to avoid being found as much as I could to not go back. Trying to live off the land as much as possible. Maybe build a small cabin or long term tent shelter at nice place and get my life back on track once major health issues went away if they got better. Right now wanted to travel and learn till expected early death came. Went far as I could each day as health would allow, since my condition was beyond the point of no return on the slow decline when I managed to see a doctor or two that would not report me once they understood the situation over my travels. Wanted to see as much as I could before I could not travel anymore. In more populated area with no open space a few times hated stealing only food and water to survive but sometimes in populated areas there are no choices. When in towns would aim to hit the local library for day to read and catch up on news. Traveling was great making new experiences but knew the day was coming when I could not anymore.
On a spring day in a forest area in NorCal, I guess health started taking the turn for the worse much faster. Could barely travel anymore no matter how willing the spirit was, the body was dying. Thinking I found great place to die in peace at a small out of the way redwood grove by a forgotten spring fed stream flowing into a pond by after the nice places I saw on my travels after the years in foster groups. Then waited for death to come. Few good memories of my life were all I really had. Letting them play over till the end came so the spirit can be free to explore.
One late spring day once the heavy seasonal rains started clearing but still overcast. Laying down in pain in a lean too against a redwood I felt it was time to let go as my body was shutting down. As I was start going away from my body something happened. Too fast to describe, if it could be describe at all in any sort of explanations. If there was some sort guessing it was like spiritual energy going into me and forcing my soul into my body with something else. It was like something merged with my soul and healing the body enough to live on. Maybe a guardian angel or something else helped me. The intense pain of the extremely fast total healing and the short length of the merging left me passed out but alive with no memory of it happening but a heavy windstorm happening. The force of the merge was strong enough to cause a very localized serve wind to knock down trees is all I remember. Burying me in small cavity, with no way out when I came to wondering how I survived.
Some one heard the trees coming down and thought there was illegal logging or soil giving away in wind due to the loud sound carrying through the silent forest. Heard them and called out for help figuring I could get way once checked out like I did while traveling before. For some reason I felt better than the past week and was able to move with a slight pain at first. The older people who rescued me were surprised to see anyone alive under the pile of massive downed redwood trees. Taken to the local hospital by an older couple that made I sure I was taken care off. The hospital did a detailed background check and found I had no family or place to belong to. That is when the older couple took me in as their adopted child without questions no matter my health problems. The older couple was visiting close family in the area. They wanted me to called them gramps and gram, short for grandpa and grandma even I was not related in any way or seen them before.
It was strange when that doctors noticed my health record and said I should be dead now based on recovering injuries were from more the downed trees and ordered blood work in case of infections or drugs, or something else. They noticed some strange things with the results but regular tests where clean for outside substances and ordered genetic testing. It still came back XYY but the rest the chromosome damages had healed one they checked my records. Something the shocked the doctors, since no medicine or known experimental genetic surgery could not do or jump start the natural healing that was observed. After gramps and grams hearing that did not turn me away but took me in with open arms. Forget about waiting to die or running away now, focused on living.
The older couple was childless. The gramps and gram made sure I had a room at their home, sent me to school, and had things I needed. It was challenge going back to school at 16 again with my past as a teenager with complete strangers being put down others in age group, teachers, and staff who did not understand my history. Forced to deal with verbal insults or strange looks especially in PE locker rooms over my genetic condition. My early personal studies before the church group nut jobs were high enough due too being alone allowing me more than enough time to study. Instead putting in where education stopped before I was able to be level I was supposed to be at my age. In other words without the hardliner church foster group I would have been college instead of high school now then. The time alone was a break from the foster system and the horrible caretakers did not blunt my education at all. Remember things ever more clearly now than before, plus I something's that I never read or studied before the trees falling down on me. It felt like something else was there, but could not figure it out.
After some time with Gramps and Gram there some activity dealing with church hardliner nut jobs. The foster caretakers that were religious nut jobs never reported me missing and were caught with the money set aside for me. What started it is when hospital called it in to the authorities when Gramps and Gram adopted me as by law. Authorities did their investigation to what is going and why I am far away from the foster group on top of the legal adoption paperwork. There was a long victim/ witness interview helped fill in the details once officials felt something went wrong went down and still going on. When contacted, the religious nut jobs foster group caretakers tried to have the adoption revoked and fight the legal system under religious discrimination. That was denied based on my testimony, lack medical care recorded, and no schooling given. It started an intense federal investigation into them. This on top of other charges of child abuse once the paper work went through with my statement to adoption and child welfare dept. Some the older foster kids now adults ended up their helpers was sent prison with them on many charges. The caretakers will never see the sun again and die in prison of old age. Their helpers will be in for a long time. For the younger foster kids they are getting treatment to recover from abuse. The church group the caretakers belonged to was raided by federal authorities for child endangerment and hate crimes with other possible charges I did not hear about. Authorities were sorting the extra charges out to decide the right sentence of reclaiming misused foster money/property, fines, or prison time for the church group members. That is last I heard about that besides check for back child care payments and the settlement from the case. Gramps and gram put the money into savings account for the future.
High school for a couple years may have been rough but now there were people who loved me as their child at home, so that made up for it. No matter what people at school did it was not even close to what life like as an unwanted foster child or runaway. Kept my grades high. If I was there all years I would been honor roll, but did not matter in at graduation. Health issues rose from time to time nothing like before a few times missed school for urgent care. Gramps and Gram enrolled me in aikido for self-defense, fitness, how deal my pains progressive way, and to work out any remaining mental/emotional issues left over childhood on top counseling. Earned a four-year full ride scholarship with my schoolwork and background. Ended up going to Sequoia University up in the redwoods in a small town.
College was going well. Had to adjust to being a full time student and living in the dorms. Time with gramps and gram came to end after a few years but it was time I will look back on fondly. Was in luck living in a coed dorm and no one cared about my genetic condition. Most everyone there is to study not party as the school is a heavy-duty education focus school with many hardcore sciences, natural resources, arts, and teaching school. Small town and the region where the university is, is very progressive. Went into geography with focus on cartography due to a strong interest in traveling and maps.
My roommate found out I was intersex. She suggested I go to the university LGBTQ center attend their support group. Went over and found people I could relate to. They were willing to help with someone to talk to, discuss health issues, etc. Health issues seemed to go away for the time being. Mentally things were getting better with group help recover from childhood trauma and helping other get over theirs. Learning how to get along better in public outside of classes, labs, or field trips with new friends. Started having a life outside books and studies. Took aikido classes at the university, not at the same level as the typical dojo classes before but it was good maintenance of skills due lack of time or excess funds for the dojo in town. Started to notice a thin faint pitch-black mark on my skin growing on my torso. University health clinic test showed was not something bad from they could tell but said to keep an eye on it.
Knew the day was coming for Gramps and Gram who kindly took me in was going down in their life and would pass on. Towards the end of first year of university my adopted parents died. Received the news when I just got back from a lab field trip with message from department office to come in to get a phone message for me since field trip location was out of cell range. Gramps soon followed after the Gram in their sleep peacefully. Had to finish my classwork, labs and finals the best I could without all the lectures early, good thing to read the texts through to the end, to see to their funeral and last things.
Their close family came and picked me up since I did not have a car. Taking care last things took a lot of the summer. Seeing their close family was an experience. Never really met them, with Gramps and Gram attention were more to their health and me last few years. First things they left lot of the home, money, photos, and art/collectables to me as way so start a new life. Had to sell the house once cleared out due now to far way to take off it, being on the other side of the state and their close family was closer to school than to house. With the money unused from foster days and settlement from case the church group nut jobs it is a lot. It should be enough to get good start after graduation and for some years if used right. Till I get my degree and finish university and on a stable foundation after university years, have to save the money. On my own with no home to go to when school not in session due to closed dorms
Gramps and Grams close family was the kicker, there were were snow leopards. Their close family told me the family and clan history. When they found me they were traveling from visiting with them when they came upon me in the redwood forest under the trees by the spring fed stream. The snow leopard clan believes in helping people that in medical need and or mentally disabled, need of spiritual help, social outcast, and trying work for making a better world. All these while hiding from the other were clans, other magical creatures, and magic users. Their ancestors were people made lame someway, born disable, genetic/long term health problems like cancer, or exiled from due to situations when they did nothing wrong, or came on very hard times leading to health problems.
Some aura healer tried to help these solve these problems around 10th century in Europe. Still trying to solve these problems for long time, he eventually joined in with another aura mage crafter to figure it out. After realizing being tricked by that mage crafter, he gave that him defective notes to process while he kept his original while he fled. Ended up traveling to Asia after long trip to find a safe way out of Europe to escape. Made his way to Nepal/India area for a long stopover camp with a group people which built up slowly that need his help from all over Europe, some died a good many died along the way due their illness, misunderstandings of strangers, and hardships of travel at that era. They traveled with him and settled in the Tibet/Nepal Himalayan Mountains where trying help these people's health problems they agreed to become were snow leopards in exchange to help people like them when nothing else worked to heal them and protect the aura healer notes from people who might come for them later in his life. Spent the last years of life working on that goal finding ways to keep his journal safe for future generations from others that wanted to do harm with it or his previous work and securing a home for his people. Thus the part of inspiration the snow leopard is on the Tibetan Flag. Worried the other were clans or magic users would come for notes they kept them safely hidden where only needed few knew where. Hopefully fix misuse of the defective notes in future after the aura healer passed on if the situation arose, never so far to present.
Were Snow Leopard Clan lived in Himalayan mountains with the blessing of the Dali Lama till the Chinese invasion post WWII. Lived in peace for centuries with the people of Tibet and Nepal. Were snow leopard clan helped the Dali Lama escape Tibet to where there old camp was in Himalayan foothills of Nepal/India where they shared with other refugees. Most of the clan was scattered across the Earth still carrying out the promise to the aura healer long ago and to their ancestors. Family meetings were when they could get to together and once in a while massive clan meetings Himalayan Mts. of Nepal. Gramps and Gram was carrying on the promise the clan made long ago to help those in need and took the next step in adopting me. By them adopting I was now part of the clan in a legal way.
They asked if how felt about them, Gramps, and Gram. Replied back did not care on bit there were not exactly 100 % human as they say it; they took me in when I needed help the most. Had been treated worse by the so called humans on outside, monsters where it mattered most.
The only closely related immediate family was just few hours south of Sequoia University outside Santa Rosa. They were the nearest family to Gramps and Gram being that the rest the other clans' people lived far away. Now when I am out the dorms during breaks I spent it a the family place just outside Santa Rosa in a century plus some decades 2nd growth redwood grove saved from further logging when they bought the land close to where gramps and gram found me just off their land. Agreed to take the things from the old house to store it till I could get self set up after university graduation. They said it what Gramps and Gram would have wanted for me to finish school first. Wife was distant cousin of Gram. The husband was a Were Jaguar from Jade, one the magic realms. Wife and her husband had a son living just outside Santa Rosa to the south. Son was a were snow leopard with jaguar fur color/pattern and the hearing. They accepted me as family. Gave me the clan pendent to wear on a thick string around my neck that the Gramps and Gram wanted to give me and a staff from the snow leopard clan. These small tokens with the memories, I treasure more than any money or other material things.
Even if Arcata was a small town and I walk or bike places I need to get to. I had to get a car for getting out of town since I was now on my own when breaks came. Car sat in the dorm parking lot most of the time during the semester. The town had under 20,00 people with highway right in the middle length wise. University on the base the hills with the slightly newer homes from the other side of the highway that worked there way up the lower ridge lines part way or the flat spots. Other side the highway was historic downtown based around the central plaza, historic district, and shops/restaurants. Much parts of downtown side of the highway are a neat grid pattern of narrow streets is full of lots of old historic wood buildings over looking the bay and fields/pastures. The redwood forest behind the university is a city park although it could pass for part of redwood state park or national parks that abound the region in the main mountain ranges or along the wild coastlines north and south if it was older forest. Park full of trails and few last old dirt service roads for getting outdoors away from civilization with out driving. There is a small valley just over the hills above town with a smaller town at the base of the main mountain range. The bay was right to south. Ocean is across the field/pastures and huge sand dunes to the west a few miles away with long mostly empty public beaches. River to north cut off the fields from the town on the marine terrance to the north. Marshy lowlands at the base of coastal mountains separated it from the major regional town to the south along the bay. All highways had to go through national park or forest lands to arrive at main population area around the bay and a wider river valley to the south. At least few hour drive just get out the region no matter which way you drove. Most towns were a century old with the region was in the middle of nowhere and hard to get at certain parts of the year when the roads went out.
Starting up my second year of bachelors degree, decided to go into photography minor to explore my arts side and geology minor interested in natural history after much of general education was out of the way. Had a good mind for natural science, which pars well with traveling. All the while the black mark on torso skin started to become thin line that steadily grew when I checked it. Due my study habits it was hard but still doable to get all studies and work done. Field trips were tuff to fit in, especially when they just popped up out the blue. Readjusting the weekly schedule got messy when needed. My brain with almost perfect recall was useful for map making, natural science, and photography till it came to more technical abstract things like physics, calculus, or computers for example. In summer and winter breaks I would go down to stay family members outside Santa Rosa. Still did aikido now with even more drive to respect Gramps and Gram who took me in when they did not have too. So four years became six with the extra workload some minor health problems here and there. Graduated and the were snow leopard family I stayed with from outside Santa Rosa area was there. Kept a small picture of Gramps and Gram on me during the ceremony so they were there with me in a way.
After the ceremony there was a small party for geography majors by the department. Took time say goodbye to my fellow students and professors. Then quick good bye visits at my two minor programs. It was family time in the afternoon sightseeing with family and a nice dinner. My cousin stayed late to help clean and box stuff up in the dorm room. This made it easier to move out the next day. My cousin is more like the brother I never had after the time spent together during breaks. Had to be out of the dorm the next day.
Found a house up in town on the edges of the redwood forest park way up on the hill sides above the university. It was last year of university starting to worry about where I am going to live after school. Saw the house on a hike through the forest going up a very small local access trail that I did not know it was local access trail at that point when I saw the house. Medium sized single story building with a garage to the side. For sale by the bank for cheap due to owner could not sell by the time to move away and in need of some work, but livable. It was just isolated from the close by homes the neighborhood street coming off the main road surrounded by the trees and a small rise with gravel driveway to it not visible from the street below. It looks like your driving in to the forest, not going to a house. One spot over hills side below and bay and ocean further out. Privacy guarantee yet still close to town just down the hill. Called the bank number to start the paperwork, had the inspections done, and got the house that week once paper work went through. Had the most needed projects taken care before graduation it was move in ready.
Family helped finished up last bit of moving out the dorm. Then help transporting things to the house that I bought with part of the money saved plus interest from the seven years left of the foster care, I owed nothing to the bank with lots to spare. Plus Gramps and Gram gave me as inheritance and money from the case settlement a good amount in my account left so off to a good start. Spent some more time with the family before settling in. Started fixing up the house minor repairs left over that I could do and personalizing it. Once that was done it was going down and back a few trips to the family land outside Santa Rosa to transfer my things to the house that could not stay in dorm from the boxes after the funeral. Once the new house was set up I finally had chance to relax.
One day noticed the black mark now a thin line on my torso front formed a matching shape on my back from the hips to mid chest in that looked like an infinity sign or outline of an hourglass/sand clock not sure. I felt ok, same intersex body. Did the self check as my doctors showed in past, and found nothing major. A small somewhat goldish area of raised hardened skin had the similar infinity like shape centered just below the center of the neck had appeared. Figured it just bruise when boxes hit me from bumping into a wall. Iced it when I lay down to relax while reading listing to the radio. So tired from the last of the school work and setting up the house I never noticed the skin mark changes. Due to getting a quick shower half a sleep all the time past few months.
I was lucky after graduation with job straight out of school and few weeks stay-cation setting up the new home. Hired by the USGS to help in field work due to my diverse university cartography focus with geology/photo minors. Was working on everything from geology to wildlife to environmental field studies, many times in remote areas. Other assignments were local fieldwork or labs or office work. Traveled a lot all over the county and world as field assignments would be needed. Helped in in some natural disasters from national to international. Sometimes working to save some species weather it was animal or plant from extinction. A lot work was helping in geology projects. I enjoyed this very much and full filling doing some good for the world. One time there was month and half assignment to the Himalayan Mountains, where I quietly met some others from the were snow leopard clan when I was not busy at work. Learned a lot more about the clan I was adopted into. Showed me some clan unique staff skills experienced customs, and told me stories. Career went on for great few years without much expect the occasional office politics from who was appointed by the current elected leaders. Was just a low level field person, so not much say on what goes on above. Local office/labs had a good deal of free range getting assignment done unlike most USGS offices due to sharing it with the: forest service; fish n wildlife; some of the state and national park people. Set up this due to how the region was, it just made common sense for the similar agencies from federal and state to work together in the redwoods region but still reporting to their respective agency heads outside the region.
Personally this was a big change from struggling to move without pain to be able to travel with little pain. Rewarding mentally and physically to travel. Kept the skin markings hidden via skin makeup. Made sure to wear a shirt or sweater that would go the base of the neck to cover goldish bruise that go away. Doctors would think the markings of some kind skin pigment deformity, but not harmfully in away. That was the best answer they had. Family saw the markings and they did not care over one of the summer visits. Once in while I would run into some who had issues my intersex condition. I was very glad for taking aikido classes for the self-control and able to defend myself when needed.
Progressed in my studies of were snow leopard staff skills, clan history, and culture. Basic knowledge of the magical part of world civilization to avoid magic users or other were clans as an adopted clan member. Not raise attention to the fact that the were snow leopard clan exist when travelling for work or pleasure. Visiting family a few weeks of the year during the months when I am home which about a third to half the time depending on the year. Holidays was spent with family in Santa Rosa outskirts or they came up to Arcata when I was not in the field close to holiday times. No holidays in the field when data collection, mapping, photo work, etc has to get done.
Life was going good for once. Mid-twenties and have a stable life now. Maybe after many horrible young years of life this was the other side. Kept were snow leopard clan and the rest magical part of civilization separate from professional life as really did not have much connection. Sometimes meet other were snow leopard clan people on travels around the world for work. Even had to work on some multi-national agencies projects together. Health issues seem to be gone expect for the skin markings which I was hiding and not growing any more. Not sure where they came from why it took years for them to form the way they did. Maybe there is a connection to my physical and mental health improvement. Mentally it felt more of a connection to nature then before and able understand what happened in rock, fossils, studying animals in the wild, or environment as a whole.