Rhino Ramblings

Latest Rhino Acquisition
(from grandson Kevin)

I am nearing a minor blog milestone with now 97 subscribers.  Thank you to all who have provided that direct indication that there may be some worth in the words I write.

This, then, is an appropriate time to acknowledge the things I do not write about (while navigating not writing about them).  Unlike a blog for a targeted audience, my blog is read by a varied, and dare I say the words of diverse and inclusive, group.  Among others are family and friends; co-workers and supervisors; professional acquaintances and LinkedIn connections; Episcopal priests and parishioners; fellow (is that really the right word here?) LGBTQIA+ members and our supporters with, of course, a  special call-out to the transgender community; primarily US based with some international readership including some that may be bots from unexpected global areas (China and Malaysia as examples); podcast and facebook friends (I am on bluesky, but have not really hooked into that community yet) and whatever other random type of person has stumbled onto my ramblings.

This is truly gratifying to me – I do not want to write to just one focused subject, idea, ideal, philosophy, issue, etc.  I try to touch on as many varied topics as spin around my mind.  And I also strive to be open and honest with my thoughts, concerns, failings and successes in regards to the blog subject of the moment.

Even while I write with openness, I also hold back from certain topics and opinions and certainties.  An obvious one was my decision when I started this blog to not discuss my transsexuality and therefore any LGBTQIA+ topics. In this case, I did eventually realize that I not only should but I must open myself up (see Preparing the Journey ) to provide a fuller understanding of who I am, to recognize and shout out to all those who have supported me and to become a voice of support to the LGBTQIA+ community.

One area I have to legally steer clear of is my job at NASA.  While I can allude to it, if I were to blog any specifics, I would have to subject all my blogs to legal review. It would become especially tricky if at some point there were financial considerations. I suspect I will never have the opportunity to cross that bridge.  I do not want to require or even make optional any payments or ad placements.  I was once asked by a news outlet if I wanted to submit a monthly professional blog.  I checked with legal and decided a carefully and legally correct curating of my writings was not worth my time and effort.  I am sure that if I kept clear of NASA-and program specific and wrote about either the general topics of Government IT acquisition, my readership would expand.  But my professional musings are not the reason behind this blog.  Perhaps in a future in which I am free of the legal bonds, I could jump into the professional blog fray.  For now, I leave that to others.  You are always welcome to track down a speaking or panel discussion I participate in (after a short hiatus I am back on the speaking tour).  You can watch for upcoming events at the SEWP website http://www.sewp.nasa.gov. There are several podcasts in which I expound on my life sometimes personally, sometimes professionally and often both – a web search of “Joanne Woytek podcast” will point the way to several of them.

Of course, I also have to be aware of not crossing the Hatch Act line of no partisan politics,  Even more so in a climate in which free speech is only supported in favor of one side of the argument (and I am not on that side). I can and hopefully do express my personal liberal beliefs – you know – things like caring for others, anti-violence, support for science, support for everyone regardless of all the differences each of us brings to life, pro-life when it comes to the living (e.g. anti- death penalty); pro-choice when it comes to the living deciding how they will live their lives and bodies; pro support of the poor and those in difficult life situations and anti support of billionaires looking to squeeze the last cent out of all those less fortunate in life, etc. 

And then there is religion.  A literal reading of About Me page should provide an accurate view of my identification.  I mentioned Episcopalians in the initial paragraphs.  Besides having a connectivity with the Catholic faith I grew up in, I find comfort in associating with a religion that states at every service (at least at my church – shout out to St. Philips) that everyone is welcome, regardless of where they are in their spiritual journey.  I believe that statement as truth and would expect a Muslim, a Jew, a Hindu, a <put any religion here> or even an atheist would be welcome there as part of their own journey,   I do get a little into my journey in regard to religion in the blog 3 Priests and a Trans

So I guess that covers most of the major topics for which there are limits to what I can or will write about.  I am likely to fully break out a spiritual journey discussion or two at some point.  There are also topics hanging around that I have to dig out of my personal baggage and will likely get to; I have been asked the sexuality question; there is still deeper areas of depression and the depths I have had to navigate; there is more I need to say particularly about the assault on trans rights (and by trans rights I simply mean the right to live and not be trampled on).  Perhaps there is a topic you would like to see me struggle with, I mean, write about.  Please feel free to use the link below to send in comments, thoughts and ideas.