u/LeahLangosta

This was a fun one :)

What are some tips you wish you knew when you were starting out? Here are mine:

-A lot of perceived gender is stored in the eyebrows

-Moisturize!!!

-The internet is not a real place. Negativity is amplified there.

-Cultivate genuine connections, more isn't better

-More makeup doesn't mean better makeup

-Shots aren't a big deal

-You will cry way more than you think, and that's ok

-Whatever ideas or plans you had about your transition will go out the window

-Being tolerated is not the same as being accepted or belonging

-Accept that you will need to unlearn and let go of a lot things with humility

-Nobody cares that you're buying makeup or underwear

-Don't let being trans keep you from your hobbies and passions. Being your real self will make those things even more fun and rewarding

-Trans joy is beautiful

Strung with La Bella White Copper Nylons

Product list:

IT Cosmetics concealer stick

Fenty beauty contour stick

IT Cosmetics CC+ cream in fair and fair light (usually do just this but I wanted a lighter look so i used the fair in the center of my face)

Sephora matte purple liquid lipstick

Revlon glimmer lip gloss (blue)

Nyx eyeliner pen black- i usually don't do the extra bits but wanted to have fun

Colorpop blue palette (and used a little black from a random palette too)

Live long and prosper/slayyy

Initial impressions - way better than a $329 jazz bass deserves to be. Cavities are shielded, connected, and grounded. Fret work is great. Electronics sound decent. The color is superb!

Doop'n doopity doooo-ooooo

For the last two years we had been dealing with what were initially diagnosed as allergies. He had sneezing fits and blood tinged mucus (not heavy blood). We had multiple vet visits trying to get to the bottom of this. The vet said the next step was a CT Scan and Rhinoscopy ($$$$) at the better equipped regional ER, and I scheduled it for earlier this summer.

The initial prognosis wasn't good. They found a small tumor in his nose growing in the tissue behind the roof of his mouth. They said it was likely nasal cancer (the aggressive kind) which generally doesn't have a good outcome. An untreated dog would be dead in months. After the initial shock (lots of sobbing), I was a bit confused... He wasn't acting sick in any way and we've been dealing with this for nearly 2 years!

Welp, I get another call from the vet a few days later... They asked me "he's from Central America right?". I confirmed that I found him on the beach in El Salvador. The vet explained the new prognosis of TVT (look it up, it's INTERESTING). They said it's extremely rare up here in New England but common in Central America. The vet had only seen a couple of cases that were all on genitals (TVT is usually sexually transmitted) and had never seen a case up the nose.

The best part of the new diagnosis was that he would only need 4 mild chemo treatments, and given his young age and general health they expect him to make a full recovery with no impact to his quality or length of life. We just finished up round 4 and got to ring the bell! He has no side effects from the chemo, his sneezing and nose are completely better. The vet cleared him and all we have to do now is a follow up CT scan in two weeks.

I was so emotional after ringing the bell and started crying. I've lost two beloved cats to cancer and being able to ring that bell and know that my boy will be ok was overwhelming. Treatment was incredibly expensive ($15k-ish all in all) but it was absolutely worth it. Tigre is the best and I love him so much, and I hope we have a long time together.

Pic on the left from April 2019, right is August 2026. 5 months post FFS

Just installed the new guts into my dingwall. The rotary is an extremely cool concept and is executed well. Pickguard is from Alperious. Clips soon

August 2022 is when the first pic on the left was taken. That was also when I lost my first cat to cancer. It was devastating for me. Later that year my relationship with my ex would end and I would be at my lowest. August 2023 is when I started HRT and traveled to central America for a bit of a mental "reset". I ended up finding my dog on the beach and took him home later that year after an extended vet stay. He is now happy, health, and at home with his feline brother and sister. I am so thankful to have him in my life (second pic is him with his little brother).

Now in August 2026 I am living the life of my dreams. I am seen, I am loved, and I am my truest self. The joy I get from existing cannot be expressed in words, and I find myself being able to truly express myself in my music.

You have to be broken in order to put yourself back together. Look down at the pieces and remember who you need to be.

Gear Used During This Jam:

Ibanez MDM1300: https://www.ibanez.com/na/products/detail/mdm1300\\\_1p\\\_01.html

Chase Bliss Brothers AM: https://www.chasebliss.com/brothers-am

Chase Bliss Lost & Found: https://www.chasebliss.com/lost-and-found-2026

Chase Bliss Mood II: https://www.chasebliss.com/mood-mkii

Yamaha Reface CS Synth: https://usa.yamaha.com/products/music\\\_production/synthesizers/reface/reface\\\_cs.html

Neon Egg Planetarium: https://neonegg.com/what-is-the-planetarium/

Boss RC505 MKII: http://boss.info/us/products/rc-505mk2/

Akai MPC Sample: https://www.akaipro.com/mpc-sample/

DIY Jazz Bass - LEH Expanse Jazz Pickups, La Bella 760FS flats

Behold the Langosta '74 DeLuxe

The body is a random nitro finished body I purchased on Reverb a year and a half ago and left on my entryway table out of the box until last week. The pick guard is from Decoboom.

The neck is a Mighty Mite neck which is surprisingly really nice. I made my own waterslide decal for it. I have the action really low and dialed in. This plays like buttah!

All the hardware is Gotoh. The pickups are LEH expanse and they're paired to the Trickfish J Core 2 band, though I may put a passive plate on this bass with some retro knobs.

The icing on this chocolate cake is the set of La Bella 760FS flat wounds.

Clips coming soon :)

The second of my "Three Sisters" builds, three P basses with three unique vibes. This Stingray inspired P features the Boscoe Music MMSR77 Stingray 2 band preamp, Stewmac large pole piece pickup, series/parallel switch and a capacitor switch (On-Off-On) wired in parallel with selectable .0022uf and .022uf capacitors. The body is Allparts Primo and the neck Mighty Mite. Hardware is all Gotoh. This thing is really cool and flexible!

This is the G&L bass that never was. I have combined the G&L SB-1 split coil MFD pickup with the G&L L2000 preamp. The pickup was snagged on Mighty Mite, and I bought the preamp+harness from the G&L store a year or two ago. I replaced the pickup selector and series/parallel switch for a DPDT switch for series/parallel.

The body is Allparts Primo and required no modifications to fit both the battery and preamp. The neck is a warmoth J neck that I bought off a friend. Flamed roasted maple with a beautiful rosewood board and pearl blocks. Hipshot ultralites for tuners and Gotoh for the bridge. The neck needs a fret level and crown, I'll release a video once that is done.

Tonally, this thing is intense. Series and all the way open is FAT, and adding the preamp is like adding flour to a roux. It just gets thicker. Series and parallel are both unique voices, and the bass + treble cut and the preamp treble boost allow for tons of tone shaping.