Being Kandi’s Model

By Cristy Garcia (my friend)

As a lifelong crossdresser who has had the opportunity to express my feminine side since I have memory, I have been able to do most of the things I could as Cristy. However, as many of my friends now, due to my current situation in life and my laziness to go through all the preparations on a frequent basis; Cristy appears once a year, for a week-long performance at the Keystone Conference.

Last year I was not able to attend so my dressing window was extended to two years. Each year I try to take as many photos as possible, to be able to post in Flickr and Facebook, on a regular basis, until my next chance. To be honest, I can manage the one or two-year drought, because I know that when I come to Keystone or other event, I will make up for the lost time, as I meet with dear friends to share experiences, thoughts, expectations, laughs, food and drinks. Dressing alone just for photos is no longer satisfying and I prefer to wait as long as it takes to be out there.

Every year I have had dear sisters who had graciously taken the time to perform photographer duties, as they know how important it is for me to fully document my experience. They invest time that could be invested otherwise, and I deeply appreciate that. In previous years, Nora Simone and Kim McCallum have taken memorable photos, each of which is a treasure for me. Nora and Kim were not able to make it to KS25, but an amazing angel offered, without my asking, to be my personal paparazzo for as much as I needed. After she twisted my arm for a millisecond, I accepted Kandi Robbins’ offer. Yes, I was lucky to have our amazing hostess here at Kandi’s Land tag along and move me to places for my selfish purpose of being photographed!

For those of us who have had the chance to spend time with her, we already know how exciting and unpredictable her company is! Imagine her behind a camera lens! From her special posing instructions and her rapid movements to find the perfect angle for each photo, we both laughed and teased each other for hours, each day. Needless to say, that she was always complaining about almost everything, but she never complained about having to take my photos.

I’d like to publicly express my gratitude to this angel named Kandi and for all the effort she puts here and all she gives to us, without asking for anything in return. I am including a couple of my favorite photos that she took and would like to suggest Kandi that we do an article discussing some of the photos from each other’s perspective. It might not be something enriching to our TG experience but would be fun to share.

Editorial comment: The highlight of the weekend was taking Cristy to a jewelry store to get her heels repaired. Needless to say, that didn’t work out as we thought… Love you, my friend! Under no other circumstance would I be blessed to know you.

Yes, those are my specs!

I am proud to be in this photo!