Life is full of surprises, especially when you live in the Vortex of Chaos. I never expected to be here, but I am loving it!

What can I say? This is my web site. It doesn't have all the flashy Web programming that I've done in some of my jobs, but then I prefer simplicity. When you're the Vortex of Chaos, simplicity is nigh impossible. The older I get, the more I try to make things simpler.

There's always more to do than time to do it, even now that the kids I raised as a single parent are adults and (mostly) grown up. The thing is, it's never too late to be a kid, to stretch your imagination, and just to play. It's why this site is mostly about Live Action Role Playing (LARPing), because that's what I spend a lot of my "copious" free time indulging in. Yes, that's me, at Intercon U, in March of 2023, playing Lady Evaine, the third 'princess' of the joyous weekend.

There's a lot of creative energy in who and what I am. This site tries to capture some of that.

And yes, I've been known as a "Vortex of Chaos" for a long time now. As a busy single parent, there were always things to do, places to be, crises to solve. Murphy's Law is always in action, too, so things can get a bit crazy. No, strike that, things can get a lot crazy — but who wants a boring life? Some of that craziness is self-created; just check out the LARP links to see what I mean.

That's the thing — I'm always busy. My schedule is full of places to go, things to do, people to see — but my kids, human and furry, always come first. They have always been my number one priority, in all things. I have been truly fortunate to be their parent.

I'm a proud transgender woman. I started my transition on my 64th birthday. I've never been happier and more comfortable with myself. My life is filled with joy. I am now the woman I was always meant to be, happy, serene, grateful for the wonderful people in my life, especially my amazing family of choice. I am thankful for their acceptance and support. If this is a problem for you, that's your problem.

Don't get me wrong. My life before Jennifer was pretty remarkable. I can't and won't deny it, because that led to me here and now. I'm working my way through this site, updating it piece by piece, so don't be confused by the old images of me and my old name. I've been 100% Jennifer, out, proud, queer, and very happy since July 15th, 2022. I'm also legally Jennifer Melody Diewald now. 🎉🎊🥂💜

And, while I love the picture above and my joyous smile, that was 100 pounds ago. As you can see, I had to buy a new version of that dress, in brilliant red, several sizes smaller, in February, 2024, for another royal role at Intercon V. What a difference a happy life, a sensible diet, and a second year of HRT can bring! It's crazy to me that I could lose so much weight, in a healthy way, in less than a year. It's forced me to replace my entire wardrobe, in everything! Who knew my shoe size would shrink in the process?

I must call out my amazing stylist Erica Clement. She's been taking care of my hair forever, and she is ✨ magic ✨! That incredible purple, the pink and blue streaks, and the blue tips were the result of giving her carte blanche when I'm in her chair. She created that look for a role I was playing in a weekend-long LARP called On the Rocks. I loved it so much I keep coming back to it.

I look forward to each new day. I wake with a smile, in a very purple bedroom. I love my stylish wardrobe, and it's hard to pick which amazing dress I'm going to wear for the day, along with the coordinated accessories. Somehow, a sense of style and a love for clothes came with my transition!?! It's a joy to go out with confidence and a fashionable look. I'm definitely not subtle! People have been, almost entirely, wonderful and accepting. I get euphoric when I get compliments on how I look — it's powerfully affirming, surprisingly frequent, and never, ever something I imagined would happen. That's why there's always a smile when I finally climb into bed at night.

I really should go to bed... Tomorrow is another busy day!

I created this site using the Middleman app to generate a Ruby on Rails framework, which I filled in with HTML5 and CSS. If there are any viewing problems, I'd like to know about them.