#THANK U FOR USING YOUR INFLUENCE SIDNEY

[pucksalotguys]

GENO IS STAYING

[flauntpage]

Your Monday Morning Roundup

The Sixers are good, but not that good, yet.

Coming off a win over the Spurs, in San Antonio, just a few days ago the team battled the streaking Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday evening on ESPN. They led for a good portion of the contest, except for when it mattered. In the end, the Thunder were too much and extended their win streak to eight games with a 122-112 win.

Philly shot better than OKC from the field, beyond the arc, and was just out-rebounded by one. However, they committed 18 turnovers to the Thunder’s 11.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 27 points and battled foul trouble as he had three fouls just midway through the second quarter. However, he did unleash this emphatic dunk:

pic.twitter.com/MTEN1C4FB0

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 28, 2018

Ben Simmons had 22 points and Dario Saric chipped in 16 in the losing effort.

Some more Embiid highlights to start off your day:

https://amd-ssl.cdn.turner.com/nba/big/ads/2017/10/30/PHI-1604_Jefferson_Spot_1_576x324.mp4

The team visits the Bucks tonight at 8pm.

Now to what else went down this weekend.

But first, a word from our sponsors:

Legal. Check out Krasno, Krasno and Onwudinjo when you need a workers’ compensation or social security attorney.

Dogs. Yet again. Shop now.

Fresh. The best meal delivery service, without question. Sign up for Hello Fresh now and get $40 off your first two boxes.

Amazon. If you shop Amazon, support your favorite website and use our link.

Propane. Enter our contest to win $500 worth of tailgating equipment from AmeriGas!

  The Roundup:

Going back to the Sixers and the team’s win over the Spurs, the first in Texas in over a decade, Kevin Kinkead has his four observations:

Now to the Sixers, who were phenomenal last night – suffocating defense, solid shooting, and mostly mistake-free basketball. They built up a big lead, held that lead, and closed out the game like a group of seasoned veterans. Brett Brown’s team shot 48.1% overall and 42.9% from deep while holding San Antonio to 40% from the field and a 3-24 three point mark (12.5%). Philly is now 9-3 since Christmas and occupying 6th place in a very average Eastern Conference.

—

It’s officially Super Bowl Week! BWanksCB says, it’s time to get serious now.

It may be time to get down to business, but that business is apparently getting a lot of free stuff:

Apparently at the Super Bowl u get lots of free stuff. This is the take from day one There’s actually more but it couldn’t fit on the bed pic.twitter.com/TxyXS1Gl90

— Stefen Wisniewski (@stefenwiz61) January 29, 2018

The team is in Minny:

The cheering has begun! The @Eagles buses are pulling up to Atlantic Aviation and fans are PUMPED! @FOX29philly pic.twitter.com/xrkcp7RPUn

— jennifer joyce (@JenniJoyceTV) January 28, 2018

And the fans here in Philly are ready:

Philly wrestling fans are already chanting “Fuck Tom Brady.” pic.twitter.com/Rttuqe8Dkw

— Dan McQuade (@dhm) January 28, 2018

Steve Martin leads the Phila orchestra in #Flyeaglesfly #Eaglesnation #academyball pic.twitter.com/iqK0lT1nVC

— PhillyChitChat (@HughE_Dillon) January 28, 2018

—

Tom Brady’s hand should be ready as well as he had the stitches removed earlier this week.

—

Last week was mostly Vikings fans trying to get over the beatdown in the NFC Championship Game. One North Dakota radio host ripped Philly. Kevin Kinkead talked to him.

—

Although the Eagles are on the road for the first time in awhile, they’ll have one familiar item in Minnesota:

Chickie’s & Pete’s Crab Fries will be in section 118 EndZone Main Concourse of the stadium, according to NBC10’s Vai Sikahema. Eagles fans will definitely be there in full force. And despite some saying they’d stay away from Philly foods, we have a feeling Patriots fans won’t be able to resist the power of the crab fry either.

—

Doug Pederson is getting a lot of praise in the media now for getting the Birds to the Super Bowl through the adversity, but it was Howie Roseman who put together this deep team. Albert Breer of MMQB gave Roseman a shoutout:

When Eagles vice president of football operations Howie Roseman signed Sam Bradford to a two-year, $36 million deal in March 2016, inked Chase Daniel to a three-year, $21 million deal days later, then traded up twice to get Carson Wentz the next month, plenty of folks on the outside looked at the reinstated Eagles personnel boss like a drunk guy with a machine gun. Two years later? He looks more like an assassin.

Wentz’s impact is obvious, and Roseman’s moves influenced the Bears to copycat him with a similarly heavy commitment to the position a year later (bringing in Mike Glennon, Mark Sanchez and then Mitch Trubisky). But what really puts all this on another level is the trade Roseman pulled off a week before the 2016 season kicked off, getting first- and fourth-round picks from the Vikings for Bradford, after Teddy Bridgewater suffered his freak knee injury and Wentz proved himself ready to play. Roseman went into the 2017 draft with a need at corner, but recognized the depth at the position, and got pieces in the second and third rounds (Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas), after using the Vikings’ pick on difference-making pass rusher Derek Barnett.

Meanwhile, the Bradford trade also cleared cap space that allowed the team to pursue Alshon Jeffrey in free agency, the kind of move that likely would have been put off for a year had it not been for that financial flexibility. And the cherry on top? Carrying two quarterbacks on the roster gave the Eagles a better look at Daniel, who was deemed to not be a great fit, which led to the pursuit of Nick Foles.

Put all this together, and it’s easy to see where Roseman’s handling of the position during March and April of 2016 could set up the franchise for a long time to come, and not just because it made Wentz an Eagle.

—

Thanks to tax laws, Jimmy Garoppolo will make more from the Patriots’ Super Bowl appearance than Tom Brady:

Enter Garoppolo, who was on the Patriots roster for eight games before being traded out of conference to the San Francisco 49ers. The CBA entitles Garoppolo to the same pay as Brady and Bademosi for the AFC championship game ($51,000) and the Super Bowl ($112,000 if the Patriots win; $56,000 if the Patriots lose).

Garoppolo, however, should take home more pay than Brady after income taxes. Garoppolo, unlike Brady, will not be travelling to Minnesota and will not be subject to Minnesota’s state income tax of 9.85%. Among states that have an NFL team, Minnesota has the second-highest income tax in the country after California (13.3%). Garoppolo, obviously, is no longer traveling with the Patriots; if he attends the Super Bowl it will only be as a fan and not for work.

—

The Phillies invited Francisco Rodriguez to spring training.

—

Tiger Woods started his PGA Tour comeback this weekend and one fan pissed him off:

some idiot just yelled in Tiger's backswing. Totally ridiculous. Uncalled for. pic.twitter.com/HA7fbWD393

— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) January 28, 2018

A tournament volunteer suggested fans should beat up the guy who yelled.

—

Michigan State is in a lot of shit.

—

The AFC beat the NFC in the Pro Bowl.

—

Ronda Rousey signed with the WWE and appeared at the Royal Rumble last night.

—

In non-sports news…

A man was stabbed to death near Temple University.

Four died in a shooting at a carwash in western PA.

It’s getting too hot in herre: Nelly files suit against a fan who alleges he raped her and sexually assaulted two others on another occasion.

Your Monday Morning Roundup published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[nicolesfaq]

Frequently Asked Questions

1. I was referred to this FAQ, why couldn’t you or a family member just talk to me? 

Great question! This FAQ, like many others, is the list of questions I’m getting repeatedly from many friend and family members. While I would love to talk to each and every one of you in great depth about what’s going on, it’s both exhausting to repeat the same information over and over again, and I would prefer to work on my medical school applications. These applications have a deadline, unlike our understanding of each other throughout the rest of our lives. 

I’m encouraging folks, however, to approach me directly or read this because I don’t want to be misrepresented by someone who is having a misunderstanding, and I don’t want to put that labor on someone else, either. Thank you for your understanding and patience!

2. What is going on with you? I heard you were applying to medical school? How is that going?

I am currently living and working in Eugene, Oregon, at a cool social service nonprofit called White Bird Clinic. My job duties include nonviolent crisis deescalation, reception, public health reporting, scribing, and data management, among others. I’m in the process of applying to medical school, which is over a year-long process. I have completed and submitted the primary application, a centralized application service (AMCAS: https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/faq/amcas-faq/), and am in the process of completing each college’s secondary supplemental applications. It is difficult and anxiety inducing, and please try to not ask me about it because it induces anxiety. 

I will hopefully be invited to interview from now until February, and will not hear back about acceptance decisions until March through May of 2018. Please refrain from asking me who I’ve heard back from; I will inform everyone as I find out. 

I am currently applying to: Drexel, Lewis Katz, Loyola, Tulane, Baylor, U of A Tucson, Icahn at Mt Sinai, Sidney Kimmel, VCU, NYU, St. Louis, George Washington, and Columbia. I am not applying to Harvard, Yale, UCSF, UCLA, or U Chicago because I was advised by the former head of admissions at Stanford that they are not good fits for my primary care career goals and I would prefer to focus my time and energy writing stellar apps for other institutions. Please do not encourage me to “just go for it” unless you are the current head of admissions at those medical schools. 

Additionally, I am receiving health care to be able to enter medical school as my best self as I begin one of the most tiresome and stressful processes I could possibly sign up for. I have been diagnosed with ADHD, and am receiving ongoing psychiatric prescribing and talk therapy to manage it. I have come out as trans, specifically nonbinary, and am seeking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to medically move my phenotype, or physical biology, more to an androgynous, or middle, physical presentation. 

3. What is “trans”? 

Trans means that I don’t identify with the gender that I was assigned at birth. I was assigned by the OBGYN as being female, and raised as a girl. However, this gender identity is not how I feel currently as an adult, and not how I felt as a child, either. I did not have the words to express it as a child and simply thought that it was discomfort that everyone experienced. 

The HRC has a simple FAQ: https://www.hrc.org/resources/transgender-faq

TE has a more in-depth one: http://www.transequality.org/issues/resources/frequently-asked-questions-about-transgender-people

4. What is “nonbinary” or “genderqueer”?

“Nonbinary” or “genderqueer” means that I do not identify as either a man or a woman, or that I fall outside of the socially defined male/female binary. I tend to be more genderfluid - sometimes I present as more feminine, and sometimes I present as more masculine. TE has a good overview of this: http://www.transequality.org/issues/resources/understanding-non-binary-people-how-to-be-respectful-and-supportive

5. Why are you focusing on this right now, and not medical school? 

Self-care is focusing on medical school. I cannot be at my highest performing for my work, interviews, applications, or enrolled in school while pretending to be something I’m not, and having the constant pressure of not feeling that I’m living in my own skin. "Being in the closet” has been found to be physically exhausting and psychologically damaging (http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/articles/closet-psychological-issues-being-and-coming-out). This process is not a distraction or a fantasy, it is taking steps to take care of myself to improve my health, happiness, confidence, and quality of life. 

6. Why aren’t you just normal gay? 

Think of this as gay deluxe. Sexuality and gender are separate, but there is no heterosexuality for people who fall outside of the male/female binary as there is no “opposite” gender to couple with. I tend to be less attracted to women than men for a variety of reasons, notably that I’ve been conditioned to be more comfortable being romantic with men. I tend to be most attracted to other people who are trans or nonbinary, but they’re also harder to find, and in a small town like Eugene, everyone has already dated each other.

7. But you’ve dated men in your past, doesn’t that make you straight?

For one thing, dating men doesn’t inherently make any gay or straight. Sexuality is a spectrum, and people can be gay, bisexual, pansexual, etc., and dating one gender or another at any one point doesn’t change someone’s sexuality. 

For example, you’ve probably dated people you’re not currently with and that doesn’t mean you were inherently wrong about your choices or that it influences your current decisions or relationships right now. Dating is often about exploring and finding yourself and seeing who’s a good fit for you - and that’s what I did and am doing as a young adult. 

8. You’re too young to make this decision for yourself. What if you regret it later?

I’m old enough to buy a gun, cigarettes, alcohol, a car, apply for a loan, get a tattoo, and buy weed in the great state of Oregon - I’m also old enough to make medical decisions for myself. 

The regret rate for gender-related physical care is extremely low - a study puts surgical care, a much more intensive and risky procedure than HRT, at a regret rate of 1-2%. This is compared with plastic surgery regret rate of around 65% for people in the UK. 

Scientifically, HRT regret is virtually nonexistent (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24755998). Personally, it’s a decision I’m extremely satisfied with right now. If I regret this later on down the road - so what? It’s my choice, I initiated informed consent regarding the effects of my choice, and if I regret it later, it’s something that I’m going to have to deal with when it happens. Have you ever regretted a major life choice? A marriage? A birth? A job? Attending school? How did you deal with it when you realized? 

9. I hear you are struggling with depression symptoms. What if you just think you’re trans because something else is going on, like depression? 

This is a common misconception. Transgenderism is associated with depression, but studies strongly suggest that this is due to shame, harassment, intimidation, and negative social influence directed at trans people. The Williams Institute out of UCLA compiled a huge study detailing the possible factors that contribute to suicidality amongst trans people, and found that two of the groups least likely to attempt suicide were people who never revealed that they were transgender, and people who had strong family support after coming out. (https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/AFSP-Williams-Suicide-Report-Final.pdf) 

I had not meant to come out at this point, but the mailing of a prior authorization letter to my household from my insurance company outed me to my family. I do wish that that had not happened - not to keep it a secret, but to be able to maintain control over how I present and slowly introduce the idea of transgenderism, nonbinary gender, and other gender theory concepts to my family to reduce the level of shock that we’re now currently experiencing. 

In truth, before being outed by my insurance company, my mental health had been the best in years - I felt confident, happy, and accomplished. I had reduced my talk therapy sessions from every week to every other week, and was gaining hours and responsibilities at work. The new stress of navigating complicated family dynamics has been difficult, and I hope that everyone keeps processing this new information so we can continue to move on, grow together, and experience happiness, health, and success in our lives. 

10. I’ve noticed that Reed College and Eugene is very liberal, and I don’t see any transgender people around me. Are you sure you haven’t been tricked into thinking it’s a real thing? 

New data published by the Williams Institute estimates the adult (18+) population in the US to be 0.6% of the population, an estimate that has doubled since their last study. This is about half the prevalence of red heads in the US; there’s approximately 1.8 million trans people, about 50% larger than the population of Austin. This doubling hasn’t meant that there are more trans folks now - it means that there’s increased awareness and acceptance of trans identities, and more people have words for feelings that they’ve felt their whole life, or feel comfortable to be out and public about their identity. 

There are trans people in every culture, in every place, and there have been trans people throughout all of history. We don’t currently learn about that because much of trans history has been destroyed. For example, one of the largest trans libraries and research institutions in the world was burned down by Hitler (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_f%C3%BCr_Sexualwissenschaft). Some Native American traditions include the idea of people who are “two spirit” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Spirit), and some South Asian cultures include the idea of Hijra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_(South_Asia)). Trans history dates back to ancient Greece (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_history). 

11. Is HRT permanent? 

Yes and no. If I cease HRT, most changes will go back an estrogen phenotype. I will completely regain my fertility in 3-6 months, just like being on birth control. I am taking an extremely low dose, a dose at the lowest end of the spectrum recommended by the WPATH international standards of care (http://www.wpath.org/site_page.cfm?pk_association_webpage_menu=1351&pk_association_webpage=4655). The only permanent change is mild vocal cord scarring, not very noticeable at my dose. 

12. My male friend is taking the same dose as you, how can you say yours is low? 

Does your male friend still have his testicles, and has he already undergone puberty? If yes, then his body is already naturally producing testosterone, and he needs to be on a low maintenance dose that adds to the amount his body is already producing to maintain his desired masculine phenotype. A higher dose for him would put his testosterone levels at a dangerously high level, increasing the risk for cardiovascular diseases. 

13. Are you planning on undergoing surgery? 

Not at the moment, as surgery is expensive, scary, and time-consuming. I may want to in the future, but for now, I am happy with my physiology. 

14. Are you planning on having children?

Right now, yes! I want to graduate from medical school and find a loving partner to raise children with. I may decide to have children biologically, adopt, or my partner may decide to have children biologically - who knows! I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. I currently love the idea of pregnancy, child birth, and breastfeeding, another factor to not seek surgical transitioning care at this point. 

16. “Pronouns”? Huh? Are you going to change your name? 

I use “they/them” pronouns, as in, “they went to the store,” “that is their jacket,” and “have you called them recently?” While the singular “they” has been in use since the 14th century and not criticized until the 19th century (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they), I understand that changing one’s language is a difficult and awkward process, and I’m not currently requesting that my family do it unless they want to. It would make me feel better, but it seems like too much to ask at this point. 

I have no idea if I’m going to change my name! Some of my friends call me Nick because I changed my name to Nick Coal following death threats from nazis of Reed College students, but I didn’t intend or request this. My work name is Olive because my coworker is named Nicole already. Basically, I’m bad at coming up with names, and I do like Nyx, Nike, Nikolai, Alex, Xan, and Xander, (middle name is Alexandra), but none of them seem to be “the one” so far. 

15. I read this article and it says something different than what you’ve said here. 

There’s actually a lot of information available on the internet, and it’s up to you to decide who to believe. Things to consider are: was this article written by a trans person? Is this article up to date? What are the credentials of the individual writing this article? Do I believe a stranger or someone I know? 

17. How can I support you during this time? 

Thank you so much! This website has a general overview on general trans allyship: http://www.refinery29.com/transgender-how-to-be-an-ally-faqs

Personally, any encouragement is always appreciated, and recognizing that I am currently feeling overwhelmed with managing the volume of family conflict that’s been placed on me. I like coffee, cookies, snacks, flowers, and money, you can always text me for my address. 

Supporting family members who are having a more difficult time with my transition than I am is the most important thing to do right now. I also encourage individuals struggling with this process to seek professional help in processing difficult emotions: https://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/prof_results.php?sid=1506214943.6657_13937&city=Austin&state=TX&spec=172&spec=200 

Taking care of yourself is most important, and doing that is crucial to maintaining healthy relationships with others.

18. I want to ask you more questions. How can I do that? 

Do you want to ask me questions about my sexuality, sexual preferences, genitals, genital makeup, or breast tissue? If so, please contemplate your question, and respect my personhood by refraining from asking me questions that you would not ask your other friends or family members who are not trans. 

If you have other questions, please feel free to text me at five one two, eight-hundred and fifty three, 0909, or ask in the ask box, linked at the top of this page. 

Love y’all!