English
Nederlands
2004-06-28
FOOL'S OVERTURE
History recalls how great the fall can be
While everybody's sleeping, the boats put out to sea
Borne on the wings of time
It seemed the answers were so easy to find
"Too late," the prophets cry
The island's sinking, let's take to the sky
Called the man a fool, striped him of his pride
Everyone was laughing up until the day he died
And though the wound went deep
Still he's calling us out of our sleep
My friends, we're not alone
He waits in silence to lead us all home
So tell me that you find it hard to grow
Well I know, I know, I know
And you tell me that you've many seeds to sow
Well I know, I know, I know
Can you hear what I'm saying? Can you see the parts that I'm playing ?
"Holy Man, Rocker Man, Come on Queenie, Joker Man, Spider Man, Blue Eyed Meanie"
So you found your solution? What will be your last contribution?
"Live it up, rip it up, why so lazy? Give it out, dish it out, let's go crazy,
Yeah!"
Supertramp
(Rick Davies/Roger Hodgson)
While everybody's sleeping, the boats put out to sea
Borne on the wings of time
It seemed the answers were so easy to find
"Too late," the prophets cry
The island's sinking, let's take to the sky
Called the man a fool, striped him of his pride
Everyone was laughing up until the day he died
And though the wound went deep
Still he's calling us out of our sleep
My friends, we're not alone
He waits in silence to lead us all home
So tell me that you find it hard to grow
Well I know, I know, I know
And you tell me that you've many seeds to sow
Well I know, I know, I know
Can you hear what I'm saying? Can you see the parts that I'm playing ?
"Holy Man, Rocker Man, Come on Queenie, Joker Man, Spider Man, Blue Eyed Meanie"
So you found your solution? What will be your last contribution?
"Live it up, rip it up, why so lazy? Give it out, dish it out, let's go crazy,
Yeah!"
Supertramp
(Rick Davies/Roger Hodgson)
2004-06-27
Fiesta Del Sol & Confetti
"Fiesta del Sol & Confetti has grown into a unique combination of music and street theater. This has made it a festival offering both entertainment and culture to the visitors with ever surprising and varying musical and theatrical acts, attracting a large audience."
Well, an afternoon of theatre in the sunny city sounded like a lot of Fun! But theatre is not the main course in this festival and that was very noticeable. We started with the acrobatics act of Duo Savar on the market place. They did a very professional act. Usually I find acrobatics rather boring, but they added a playful element with their "game of attraction and repulsion"...
Then we sat down for a drink, but the market place was not a good place to relax today. It was difficult to have a conversation because of the noise of four different kinds of music at the same time. But we were able to enjoy 'walking theatre' like a 'police officer' with large fake moustache, which made him look very much like a character from a Dutch television series. He also had a blue flashing light on top of his cap and his bicycle was equipped with a siren. [Later I heard this policeman was LeoNARdus.]
And 'Sky Dreams' walked by too: "...big dancing sculptures in the air with choreographic elements, playing an artistic game with the wind..." Beautiful!
At three o'clock LeoNARdus was due in the Nieuwstraat, but we could not find the stage where he would perform. [Later I was told that it wasn't LeoNARdus we saw here, but one of the creations of "Gentle Mental"] It turned out he didn't need a stage! Suddenly we saw him coming. Dressed in... Er.... It was kind of an animal skin. He looked like a cave-dweller. He made contact with the audience by looking at them in a softening way. Or he walked along with them for a while. Then again he climbed a tree. Then he made contact with a young couple, chatted with them for a while, pushed the guy aside playfully, picked up his girlfriend and walked away with her. All in a very playful and friendly manner. Then again he walked on all fours and tried to make contact with a dog. He also came towards us and ate greedily from Julia's French fries with mayonnaise, chili sauce and onions. He also offered me a French fry and although I prefer mine with saté sauce I couldn't refuse this ;-)
Then it was time for the sambadromô: "In a procession of a dozen of samba groups the visitor soon feels himself in Rio de Janeiro. The heavy vibrations of the big drums, the surdo, can be felt throughout your body and the rhythm flogs you up until you cannot remain standing still." That was certainly true! I cannot stand still watching this, I was caught by the groove! Of course we saw dancing girls, barely dressed in Brazilian style and many samba bands. Among them for instance "She Boem" (She Boom) - you guessed it - a drum band manned with only women!
We took a white beer on a terrace near the station. In the mingling of people over there I noticed two ladies who were clearly over dressed for a relaxed afternoon in the city. No wonder! They turned out to be two of the actresses in the next performance we were going to see Tri:
"Three women in they own comfortable private environment. Three separate, independent worlds of their own. The audience can have the voyeuristic pleasure of watching these ladies who are totally unaware of this. Each of them is alone in her own private environment doing the things she does when nobody is looking.
Then suddenly this peaceful image is disturbed by a sudden switch a moment of awakening"
On the pavement in the Nieuwstraat each of them had a separate little decor. A carpet with a bed for the first one, a tiled piece of floor with a toilet for the second and a carpet, chair, table and a bird's cage for the third one. It is a pity it was so very noisy, this made it very difficult the hear and understand. I am afraid, most of the audience will not have understood a thing of the whole play. But it was nice to watch!
The same goes for Sam Shine: "These long-legged ladies have the world at their feet. At least they think they do. In all their beauty they dance and shine and flirt..."
More information can be found at: www.fiesta-del-sol.nl
2004-06-25
Tic Tac Toe
2004-06-23
A new beginning?
Today I had the first interview with my new, future employer. And I was not disappointed. Actually I wish these people had come as management consultants and taught our own bosses how to run a high-tech company in spite of the peeks and dips in the market. I have always been convinced that this is very possible. But it is almost as if our own management doesn't want it. If that is the case, this new employer might even be a better choice than my current one.
Of course I have immediately brought up my transsexuality as a subject. I don't think there is a better way to deal with this issue than openness and honesty. They were very interested and not at all disapproving. Soon they asked whether I knew Kelly personally... No, I never met her. Transsexuality is a rare phenomenon, but not so rare that we all know each other.
Kelly is the most famous Dutch transsexual woman. She has been so lucky to find out what was the matter with her at a very young age. Thanks to that she could start on hormone treatment very soon and she had her operation at the age of 18. The result is well-known: Kelly is a beautiful woman! In me you will always be able to spot the influence the testosterone has had on my body :-( But I see that in her as well...
We have made the arrangement that I will be in their administration as E.G. Snel (m) with the first name "Evelien". That way I will be able to start in a new environment and be Evelien from day one. And the tax office will receive neat data about me, matching my social security number. A good solution. But I'm looking forward to the day we can change the 'm' into an 'f'. On that day I will be handing out a traditional Dutch treat that is only served when a girl is born!
My knowledge and experience seem to match well with the activities of the company. I have a lot of experience in software configuration management and I love to work in the integration and test phase of projects. Well: They consider configuration management and testing two of their key competencies.
I see a future again. I no longer feel "Sold as a Slave"...
Of course I have immediately brought up my transsexuality as a subject. I don't think there is a better way to deal with this issue than openness and honesty. They were very interested and not at all disapproving. Soon they asked whether I knew Kelly personally... No, I never met her. Transsexuality is a rare phenomenon, but not so rare that we all know each other.
Kelly is the most famous Dutch transsexual woman. She has been so lucky to find out what was the matter with her at a very young age. Thanks to that she could start on hormone treatment very soon and she had her operation at the age of 18. The result is well-known: Kelly is a beautiful woman! In me you will always be able to spot the influence the testosterone has had on my body :-( But I see that in her as well...
We have made the arrangement that I will be in their administration as E.G. Snel (m) with the first name "Evelien". That way I will be able to start in a new environment and be Evelien from day one. And the tax office will receive neat data about me, matching my social security number. A good solution. But I'm looking forward to the day we can change the 'm' into an 'f'. On that day I will be handing out a traditional Dutch treat that is only served when a girl is born!
My knowledge and experience seem to match well with the activities of the company. I have a lot of experience in software configuration management and I love to work in the integration and test phase of projects. Well: They consider configuration management and testing two of their key competencies.
I see a future again. I no longer feel "Sold as a Slave"...
2004-06-21
Hurt
I was completely prepared for today: I would have my sixth appointment at the VU gender team. At first we had understood, that it would take a total of six appointments, before a decision would be made to give me the 'green light' for HRT (hormone treatment) and SRS (sex-change operation). But the last time, it sounded like the number of six was not so sure. Maybe I would be able to speed things up a little in today's appointment.
But things turned out differently. While I was putting the garbage outside this morning, the phone rang. Julia started to a wake and picked up the phone. There was a woman on the phone explicitly demanding to talk to Evert Snel. "Ze * is still asleep", said Julia: "Can I take a message? What is it about?" -- "No, you cannot", said the voice at the other end of the line shortly: "I'll only discuss it with him personally. Can he call me back?" The woman on the phone didn't say her name, until Julia explicitly asked for it. This is of course a very impolite way, to handle a phone conversation, so Julia said: "If you put it this way, nobody will call you back!"
In this story, I immediately recognized the gender team secretary's way of working. I had similar experiences and I heard the same from other transsexuals. She is trying to protect the privacy of their customers, but she doesn't do it in a subtle way.
I made some notes in my personal diary about my encounters with this lady, I would now like to share with you:
Yes, the gender team is trying to protect our privacy. But if you live completely as a woman, like I do, events like this only damage your privacy. I will soon start on a new job. Everybody will know me as Evelien from the very first day on the job. The last thing I need around there is a mysterious woman on the phone insisting she wants to talk to a man who is named suspiciously similar to me.
Anyway: It just hurts me to be addressed as a man.
Well, apparently, the gender team had something to tell me, so I rang them to check about my appointment. The doctor is ill, my appointment cannot take place today. It is a pity...
( * We do not have gender neutral personal pronouns in Dutch, but Julia managed to avoid using a pronoun in a way I cannot translate into English.)
But things turned out differently. While I was putting the garbage outside this morning, the phone rang. Julia started to a wake and picked up the phone. There was a woman on the phone explicitly demanding to talk to Evert Snel. "Ze * is still asleep", said Julia: "Can I take a message? What is it about?" -- "No, you cannot", said the voice at the other end of the line shortly: "I'll only discuss it with him personally. Can he call me back?" The woman on the phone didn't say her name, until Julia explicitly asked for it. This is of course a very impolite way, to handle a phone conversation, so Julia said: "If you put it this way, nobody will call you back!"
In this story, I immediately recognized the gender team secretary's way of working. I had similar experiences and I heard the same from other transsexuals. She is trying to protect the privacy of their customers, but she doesn't do it in a subtle way.
I made some notes in my personal diary about my encounters with this lady, I would now like to share with you:
January 20th., 2004: Gender team on the phone
A lady calls me at work, very explicitly asking for Mr. Evert Snel. Yes, that 'is' me. It turns out, she is from the gender team and wants to make sure, I still want to start their treatment. Yes, I do. But what un unusual way of asking for me. I had almost sent her about her business with un unfriendly remark. This is no way to speak to a transsexual!February 26th., 2004: Appointments gender team
Again the same lady called from the gender team. And again she very explicitly asks for Evert Snel. Fortunately she left the word 'mister' out this time. This time, I make a remark about that. Not unfriendly, not angry, just inquiring, because it is so noticeably unusual. "But that's you, isn't it?" I cannot officially deny this...Yes, the gender team is trying to protect our privacy. But if you live completely as a woman, like I do, events like this only damage your privacy. I will soon start on a new job. Everybody will know me as Evelien from the very first day on the job. The last thing I need around there is a mysterious woman on the phone insisting she wants to talk to a man who is named suspiciously similar to me.
Anyway: It just hurts me to be addressed as a man.
Well, apparently, the gender team had something to tell me, so I rang them to check about my appointment. The doctor is ill, my appointment cannot take place today. It is a pity...
( * We do not have gender neutral personal pronouns in Dutch, but Julia managed to avoid using a pronoun in a way I cannot translate into English.)
2004-06-19
RESERVOIR DOGS
The Eindhoven community theatre group Basta! played "Reservoir Dogs" tonight.
"The characters in Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino (a.o. Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill) meet on a location in Eindhoven. In the former gas laboratory of the Eindhoven University of Technology four men and three women meet before and after a hold-up of a diamond shop, that turns into a disaster. It all revolves around the question whether there is a police spy amongst them. And if there is one, who is it?
The all to well know dialogs about tipping in a restaurant, the correct name of an old TV-series, whether Pink is acceptable as a name and other smalltalk get a new hilarious quality in this theatre version of Tarantino first big movie."
A heavy play! Coarse language, violence, discrimination... And it was brought to us in a fantastic way. Basta! is an amateur group, but professionals could not have done this better! It is quite a complicated play. From the introduction one would expect two dialogs: One before and one after the hold-up. But that was not what we saw on stage. It is a continues switching back and forth between scenes that take place before and after and in several different locations. I don't know who made the Dutch translation, but that was very good too, with lots of contemporary Dutch language being used.
This old gas laboratory is a wonderful location for a play like this. This building has exactly the atmosphere where one would expect a criminal organization to meet. A large, undecorated hall with lots of tubes, switches and wiring, that once served a useful purpose to the people who worked there, but is now left behind in an unused building.
It was not busy this evening, because everybody in Eindhoven was watching TV, the Dutch team was playing a match in the European Soccer Championship. They can do what they like, but I have different interests. And Orange was not only important on the soccer field, but also in the theatre play. To understand that remark, you'll have to come to Holland and watch one of the three remaining performances. Or maybe you can just watch the original movie...
"The characters in Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino (a.o. Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill) meet on a location in Eindhoven. In the former gas laboratory of the Eindhoven University of Technology four men and three women meet before and after a hold-up of a diamond shop, that turns into a disaster. It all revolves around the question whether there is a police spy amongst them. And if there is one, who is it?
The all to well know dialogs about tipping in a restaurant, the correct name of an old TV-series, whether Pink is acceptable as a name and other smalltalk get a new hilarious quality in this theatre version of Tarantino first big movie."
A heavy play! Coarse language, violence, discrimination... And it was brought to us in a fantastic way. Basta! is an amateur group, but professionals could not have done this better! It is quite a complicated play. From the introduction one would expect two dialogs: One before and one after the hold-up. But that was not what we saw on stage. It is a continues switching back and forth between scenes that take place before and after and in several different locations. I don't know who made the Dutch translation, but that was very good too, with lots of contemporary Dutch language being used.
This old gas laboratory is a wonderful location for a play like this. This building has exactly the atmosphere where one would expect a criminal organization to meet. A large, undecorated hall with lots of tubes, switches and wiring, that once served a useful purpose to the people who worked there, but is now left behind in an unused building.
It was not busy this evening, because everybody in Eindhoven was watching TV, the Dutch team was playing a match in the European Soccer Championship. They can do what they like, but I have different interests. And Orange was not only important on the soccer field, but also in the theatre play. To understand that remark, you'll have to come to Holland and watch one of the three remaining performances. Or maybe you can just watch the original movie...
2004-06-14
Time for a Picture
2004-06-13
Sunday Evening Blues
This happens every week. I get the 'Sunday Evening Blues'. This week, I've got a particularly nasty case of it. It is the feeling your weekend has ended. And so much is still left undone! Things I wanted to work on remain unfinished.
Because tomorrow I will have to walk the tredmill again. Back to work! In the past few months this has become more and more difficult for me. Every day the reorganization that was expected to take place hovered over us like a dark thundercloud. The atmosphere grew more and more unpleasant. On Thursday the storm broke lose and I was immediately struck by lightning. So I don't need to fear the worst for tomorrow. That has already happened ;-)
Because tomorrow I will have to walk the tredmill again. Back to work! In the past few months this has become more and more difficult for me. Every day the reorganization that was expected to take place hovered over us like a dark thundercloud. The atmosphere grew more and more unpleasant. On Thursday the storm broke lose and I was immediately struck by lightning. So I don't need to fear the worst for tomorrow. That has already happened ;-)
2004-06-12
The Spirit
I feel bad. No wonder after what happened to me on Thursday of course. Just when I was getting my life back on track, they come and destroy everything! This would be a bad situation for anyone, but in my situation, being a transsexual-in-transition everything is much more complicated. I am afraid, I would not make a good first impression in a job interview. People are often startled a little, when they first see me. This wears off as they get to know me, but it is a proven fact that in job interviews the first 15 seconds often determine the outcome of the whole interview.
I looked for distraction at Jan Marijnissen's weblog (Jan Marijnissen is the leader of the Dutch Socialist Party) and found out, he has visited an annual gathering of young Christians and his impression was very positive. He has a nice (Dutch language) report on it, with nice pictures.
Yes, I may have different opinions on many important points, but I have also noticed that devoted Christians are often very sincere, patient and civilized. That is what the bible tells them to, of course. But I also often see Christians who overlook 'the spirit' of the bible and just keep on hammering on 'the letter', as written down by the translator.
It is good to hear this 'spirit' was very much alive at the gathering...
I looked for distraction at Jan Marijnissen's weblog (Jan Marijnissen is the leader of the Dutch Socialist Party) and found out, he has visited an annual gathering of young Christians and his impression was very positive. He has a nice (Dutch language) report on it, with nice pictures.
Yes, I may have different opinions on many important points, but I have also noticed that devoted Christians are often very sincere, patient and civilized. That is what the bible tells them to, of course. But I also often see Christians who overlook 'the spirit' of the bible and just keep on hammering on 'the letter', as written down by the translator.
It is good to hear this 'spirit' was very much alive at the gathering...
2004-06-10
Sold as a slave
Finally the time has come. My employer has found a way to ditch me (and 40 of my colleagues). It took them eight months to come up with this from the first announcement until today, but now we know. This ends the uncertainty all their employees have had to suffer over the past months. This is already the third time in my career an employer dumps me, I'm quite getting used to it ;-)
We are not fired. Neat arrangements have been made. We are sold as a group. Another company will hire all the 41 victims. It is better than being fired, they say.
But as always this reorganization is not a good idea. It helps nobody. Motivation amongst the employees has plummeted over the past months. Many have already left the company on their own initiative and more will follow. The valuable knowledge and experience, that has been built up here is flowing away. They well get a hard time staffing new projects, when the economy improves again. In short: A beautiful company is skillfully skinned alive!
I don't need to explain this is a bad thing for the people who have to leave, like me. In my case this means I am going back to a company that specializes in contract staffing. That is exactly the kind of business I used to work in. And I made the clear decision, that I didn't want to do that any more. I wanted to live near my work, on a fixed location and go to work on my bicycle. I selected the house I bought specifically because of its location near my work. All for nothing!
And than the company we are joining. On one of their websites it says, they employ people who like to be flexible and move about a lot. Wrong! They can start changing their website now. What good are we to them? We do not fit in the culture of such a company. We have a very different profile than is advertised on their website. I think they bought a pig in a poke!
So this is a game with losers only. But why is it played? Who benefits from this? The guy who made up this plan? Probably, yes... And... O yes! Of course! The shareholders! How could I forget them? They must be pleased now...
We are not fired. Neat arrangements have been made. We are sold as a group. Another company will hire all the 41 victims. It is better than being fired, they say.
But as always this reorganization is not a good idea. It helps nobody. Motivation amongst the employees has plummeted over the past months. Many have already left the company on their own initiative and more will follow. The valuable knowledge and experience, that has been built up here is flowing away. They well get a hard time staffing new projects, when the economy improves again. In short: A beautiful company is skillfully skinned alive!
I don't need to explain this is a bad thing for the people who have to leave, like me. In my case this means I am going back to a company that specializes in contract staffing. That is exactly the kind of business I used to work in. And I made the clear decision, that I didn't want to do that any more. I wanted to live near my work, on a fixed location and go to work on my bicycle. I selected the house I bought specifically because of its location near my work. All for nothing!
And than the company we are joining. On one of their websites it says, they employ people who like to be flexible and move about a lot. Wrong! They can start changing their website now. What good are we to them? We do not fit in the culture of such a company. We have a very different profile than is advertised on their website. I think they bought a pig in a poke!
So this is a game with losers only. But why is it played? Who benefits from this? The guy who made up this plan? Probably, yes... And... O yes! Of course! The shareholders! How could I forget them? They must be pleased now...
2004-06-09
Cleaning paint brushes
This is the last time I have done this! Today I did two paint jobs, so I had to clean two brushes. The first one cost me a yellow top, I was very fond of. It is now covered with red dots. And the second brush cost me a table, that has now little pink stains all over the top.
Of course the kitchen sink was dirty as well,, so I had to clean that. And the turpentine I used is chemical waste, so I will have to take that to the dustman separately.
Paint brushes are not expensive! Just don't buy the most expensive brushes, that is a waste. Use each brush for just one job and then throw it away! I think that is better for the environment, faster, easier and less risky.
If you intend to use the brush again with the same paint within a few days, it is very well possible to keep it useable by wrapping the hairs into a little piece of plastic foil...
Of course the kitchen sink was dirty as well,, so I had to clean that. And the turpentine I used is chemical waste, so I will have to take that to the dustman separately.
Paint brushes are not expensive! Just don't buy the most expensive brushes, that is a waste. Use each brush for just one job and then throw it away! I think that is better for the environment, faster, easier and less risky.
If you intend to use the brush again with the same paint within a few days, it is very well possible to keep it useable by wrapping the hairs into a little piece of plastic foil...
2004-06-08
Venus
Today Venus passed between the Earth and the Sun. Big event! ;-) I didn't see a thing. I tried looking through a CD and projecting an image with a shaving mirror, but it just didn't work.
'My astrologer', Angela, warned me about this weeks in advance. She wrote: "...an extremely important date in your Zodiac and in your future, well now this date is upon us. It is almost too late to act but [...] receive advice and cousel concerning this date, this Transit is a very unique event [...] will affect you very personally, particularly as far as your lovelife is concerned, and I know that it essential that you are aware exactly when and how you must act..."
Well, I did my best, with my shaving mirror ;-)...
But her warning was unnecessary, because I knew about this 34 years ago. In 1970, I borrowed a book about astronomy from our school library. 2004 was so far into the future, I couldn't imagine that. Who would I be in 2004? I envisioned a gentleman with a hat on his head. Would that be my future? I just couldn't imagine that.
And I was right! That was not my future. Here a am, sitting at my computer wearing a little black dress and not looking like a gentleman with a hat at all...
'My astrologer', Angela, warned me about this weeks in advance. She wrote: "...an extremely important date in your Zodiac and in your future, well now this date is upon us. It is almost too late to act but [...] receive advice and cousel concerning this date, this Transit is a very unique event [...] will affect you very personally, particularly as far as your lovelife is concerned, and I know that it essential that you are aware exactly when and how you must act..."
Well, I did my best, with my shaving mirror ;-)...
But her warning was unnecessary, because I knew about this 34 years ago. In 1970, I borrowed a book about astronomy from our school library. 2004 was so far into the future, I couldn't imagine that. Who would I be in 2004? I envisioned a gentleman with a hat on his head. Would that be my future? I just couldn't imagine that.
And I was right! That was not my future. Here a am, sitting at my computer wearing a little black dress and not looking like a gentleman with a hat at all...
2004-06-07
La Meilleure Façon de Marcher
Watched TV5 tonight. "La Meilleure Façon de Marcher looked promising in my TV-guide: "Fr '76. By Claude Miller. With ao Patrick Dewaere, Patrick Bouchitey and Christine Pascal. Coached by François Truffaut Claude Miller made his first long movie La Meilleure Façon de Marcher. And it immediately made him well-known. Dewaere plays the macho Marc, Bouchitey plays the introvert Phillipe. They both work as group leaders in a camp for teenage boys. One evening Marc sees Phillippe wearing female clothing. From that moment on Marc starts picking on Phillippe. La Meilleure Façon de Marcher is an unusual mix of humor, psychology, drama and mystery. Bouchitey and great talent Dewaere (who committed suicide in 1982) show their great acting skills and the camera work by Bruno Nuytten (Jean de Florette) won a César."
By the way, Patrick Bouchitey "is not like this in real life at all", said the announcer on TV5 reassuringly. This makes his acting even more impressive of course!
Good movie! If you are interested in 'GLBT-issues', you will want to see this...
By the way, Patrick Bouchitey "is not like this in real life at all", said the announcer on TV5 reassuringly. This makes his acting even more impressive of course!
Good movie! If you are interested in 'GLBT-issues', you will want to see this...
2004-06-06
Wikis
There are systems on the Internet, in which users can make contributions. An example are the comments in a weblog. If you enter a comment to this posting, it will become part of my website. Another example is Amazon, where you can add reviews of books and records.
But it can go much further than this! There are sites, that are completely filled with contributions from users. That is what they call a 'wiki'. I had never heard of it until I stumbled onto Wikipedia. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia, completely filled by contributions from users!
It is amazing that this kind of system works. Who wants to contribute? Why would anyone do that? Is there any quality control? What about vandalism? I don't know, but it works for sure. There is already a whole lot of good, useful information in there...
So I went on to look at some more wikis. They are not all as successful as the Wikipedia. At Wikibooks they are trying to create not one book, but a complete library. I went looking for Dutch books, but there are not many in there yet. The Dutch users will have to fill this gap. Anyone can take part. You can just surf there and start writing!
I like the idea, so I gave Wikibooks a small start for a tutorial on physics in Dutch. Maybe I will continue this effort one day, or maybe someone else will finish off the book. Only time will tell...
But it can go much further than this! There are sites, that are completely filled with contributions from users. That is what they call a 'wiki'. I had never heard of it until I stumbled onto Wikipedia. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia, completely filled by contributions from users!
It is amazing that this kind of system works. Who wants to contribute? Why would anyone do that? Is there any quality control? What about vandalism? I don't know, but it works for sure. There is already a whole lot of good, useful information in there...
So I went on to look at some more wikis. They are not all as successful as the Wikipedia. At Wikibooks they are trying to create not one book, but a complete library. I went looking for Dutch books, but there are not many in there yet. The Dutch users will have to fill this gap. Anyone can take part. You can just surf there and start writing!
I like the idea, so I gave Wikibooks a small start for a tutorial on physics in Dutch. Maybe I will continue this effort one day, or maybe someone else will finish off the book. Only time will tell...
2004-06-05
T&T
This was the first Saturday in June, so of course there was another T&T-evening. (See also April and May.) A bunch of transvestites and transsexuals together. These people all have something in common, but there are also great differences. Especially the transsexuals go through a whole development over the years.
Tonight somebody said: "I don't feel like listening to the umpteenth story from someone who has rounded the block in female clothing. When I hear something like that, I will certainly give her a positive reaction and praise her for her courage. But it doesn't help me, a transsexual, ahead. I would much more like to speak to people who are in the same phase of their transition as I am, or, better yet, ahead of me..."
I can recognize something is this point of view. Of course it is useful to help people who are at the beginning of their transition, but you would like to learn something yourself too on an evening like this. However, I think we must be very careful to keep standing together as 'Ts'. Sometimes one group doesn't want to co-operate with the other and that is an awful waste! Already we are a small minority in our society, but if we don't work together, we make things even worse!
I wanted to point her to the group sessions at Humanitas, where transsexuals get a good opportunity to exchange experiences, but fortunately she already knew about those...
Tonight somebody said: "I don't feel like listening to the umpteenth story from someone who has rounded the block in female clothing. When I hear something like that, I will certainly give her a positive reaction and praise her for her courage. But it doesn't help me, a transsexual, ahead. I would much more like to speak to people who are in the same phase of their transition as I am, or, better yet, ahead of me..."
I can recognize something is this point of view. Of course it is useful to help people who are at the beginning of their transition, but you would like to learn something yourself too on an evening like this. However, I think we must be very careful to keep standing together as 'Ts'. Sometimes one group doesn't want to co-operate with the other and that is an awful waste! Already we are a small minority in our society, but if we don't work together, we make things even worse!
I wanted to point her to the group sessions at Humanitas, where transsexuals get a good opportunity to exchange experiences, but fortunately she already knew about those...
2004-06-04
A new life
Yesterday we visited with a friend we first met on a T&T-evening. She is building up a whole new life, which will finally enable her to give her feminine feelings some room. Without putting her male side completely to zero, by the way.
If you look around her house you can see, that she has skills you would expect in a man but also those you more often see in women. She laid all the carpet in her house, painted the staircase, put wallpaper on all the walls... Most of her furniture she has made herself.
But she is also good at lace-work and embroidery and she does goldsmithry...
We had given her the leftover cement from our clothes-dryer and she used it to make a foot for her own clothes-dryer. But a very neat one! This one is not fixed in the ground, like ours. The foot is fixed in a block of concrete you can move about (if you are strong enough, that is...)
She has already met the neighbors and they already know, she will sometimes leave the house as a man and sometimes as a woman. The neighbors reacted very positively. So now she is venturing out as a woman more and more. She told us about the wonderful feeling of doing things for the first time as a woman and be accepted.
I recognize that very much. Every time you break another barrier, you get a kick. The first time on the bus, the first time in the supermarket, the first time to the dentist or a funeral [ yes, even that ;-) ]. I am so glad for her, she is doing great!
If you look around her house you can see, that she has skills you would expect in a man but also those you more often see in women. She laid all the carpet in her house, painted the staircase, put wallpaper on all the walls... Most of her furniture she has made herself.
But she is also good at lace-work and embroidery and she does goldsmithry...
We had given her the leftover cement from our clothes-dryer and she used it to make a foot for her own clothes-dryer. But a very neat one! This one is not fixed in the ground, like ours. The foot is fixed in a block of concrete you can move about (if you are strong enough, that is...)
She has already met the neighbors and they already know, she will sometimes leave the house as a man and sometimes as a woman. The neighbors reacted very positively. So now she is venturing out as a woman more and more. She told us about the wonderful feeling of doing things for the first time as a woman and be accepted.
I recognize that very much. Every time you break another barrier, you get a kick. The first time on the bus, the first time in the supermarket, the first time to the dentist or a funeral [ yes, even that ;-) ]. I am so glad for her, she is doing great!
2004-06-03
Postcard from France
Today we received a nice postcard from two friends, who are currently on vacation.
They wrote: "...we really enjoyed ourselves at E's birthday party. We are in France now. It is very nice and quiet over here. The fastest thing happening around here are the Roman snails, rushing by during our morning stroll over the dewed grass..."
They wrote: "...we really enjoyed ourselves at E's birthday party. We are in France now. It is very nice and quiet over here. The fastest thing happening around here are the Roman snails, rushing by during our morning stroll over the dewed grass..."
2004-06-02
The Test
Again a trip to Amsterdam, again a visit to the VU, this time to take 'The Test'.
At first I was afraid, that this would turn out to be 'The Interview' again, but that was not the case. This was a whole new experience. There were three more transsexuals in the waiting room and we were invited together, to follow the psychologist to the testing-room. We went out the building, across the street, into another building, out of it on the other side, through a garden to the building where we had to be.
In a meeting-room there was a stack of forms with questions for each of us. More than 600 questions in total. And many of those were worded in a difficult way, like: "Do you often not worry about..." And sometimes even double negatives. It would be a pity, if I were denied an operation because I have overlooked the second 'not' in a sentence...
We also had to make four drawings. A house, a tree, a man and a woman.
I am not very good at drawing, except for plants and trees. I love drawing trees. I think that drawing came out pretty nice.
Drawing a house is a little boring...
And drawing people is the most difficult of all. In this case it even had to be clear who was the man and who was the woman. I started by drawing a beard. That would be a clear statement, that this one was meant to be the 'man'-drawing. To make it even more clear, I decided to give him a Kalashnikov in his hands. Well, I tried to, but I'm not sure what a Kalashnikov looks like, so this one looks more like a rifle really. I decided to give the woman something important in her hands too: a baby. I wanted to draw her breast feeding the child but this was really to difficult to draw for me. I hope they will understand what I wanted to say with the picture.
We handed in our forms and went back home. The moment I entered the A2 I saw the first traffic jam ahead. And the route information signs were flashing 11 km of traffic jam on the A2, no problems in the other direction.
You can take the other road, but where will it lead you? I don't know! But fortunately, we are never alone in our Twingo. Below the dashboard is Rudy, the navigation system (or "route planner"). So you push a button, turn a knob to set the length of the traffic jam and press OK.. It worked! "Turn right", he said. So Rudy took me along the A9, A1 and A27 back to the A2. But there were traffic jams everywhere. There was no planning against it. Rudy did try. During the detour he told me twice that he was "recalculating the route due to relevant breaking traffic news".
I knew he could do this, it is in the manual, but I never actually saw it happen yet. In the traffic jam, there was plenty of time to play with Rudy, so I found out, that all current traffic information is available in text format in the navigation system. This is called TMC. Nice system. Only the original traffic jam, the 11 km one, was not in there! And it was also not in the traffic information on the radio. Apparently, this traffic jam is so normal every day, that it is not worth mentioning. If Rudy had known about this one, he could have made the decision to take the detour himself, if it was the most economic option. By pushing the buttons and turning the knobs, I had forced it to take a detour this time. So I cannot blame him.
Anyway, Eindhoven to Amsterdam was 127 km in 1 hour and 21 minutes. The way back was 145 km in 2 hours and 44 minutes...
At first I was afraid, that this would turn out to be 'The Interview' again, but that was not the case. This was a whole new experience. There were three more transsexuals in the waiting room and we were invited together, to follow the psychologist to the testing-room. We went out the building, across the street, into another building, out of it on the other side, through a garden to the building where we had to be.
In a meeting-room there was a stack of forms with questions for each of us. More than 600 questions in total. And many of those were worded in a difficult way, like: "Do you often not worry about..." And sometimes even double negatives. It would be a pity, if I were denied an operation because I have overlooked the second 'not' in a sentence...
We also had to make four drawings. A house, a tree, a man and a woman.
I am not very good at drawing, except for plants and trees. I love drawing trees. I think that drawing came out pretty nice.
Drawing a house is a little boring...
And drawing people is the most difficult of all. In this case it even had to be clear who was the man and who was the woman. I started by drawing a beard. That would be a clear statement, that this one was meant to be the 'man'-drawing. To make it even more clear, I decided to give him a Kalashnikov in his hands. Well, I tried to, but I'm not sure what a Kalashnikov looks like, so this one looks more like a rifle really. I decided to give the woman something important in her hands too: a baby. I wanted to draw her breast feeding the child but this was really to difficult to draw for me. I hope they will understand what I wanted to say with the picture.
We handed in our forms and went back home. The moment I entered the A2 I saw the first traffic jam ahead. And the route information signs were flashing 11 km of traffic jam on the A2, no problems in the other direction.
You can take the other road, but where will it lead you? I don't know! But fortunately, we are never alone in our Twingo. Below the dashboard is Rudy, the navigation system (or "route planner"). So you push a button, turn a knob to set the length of the traffic jam and press OK.. It worked! "Turn right", he said. So Rudy took me along the A9, A1 and A27 back to the A2. But there were traffic jams everywhere. There was no planning against it. Rudy did try. During the detour he told me twice that he was "recalculating the route due to relevant breaking traffic news".
I knew he could do this, it is in the manual, but I never actually saw it happen yet. In the traffic jam, there was plenty of time to play with Rudy, so I found out, that all current traffic information is available in text format in the navigation system. This is called TMC. Nice system. Only the original traffic jam, the 11 km one, was not in there! And it was also not in the traffic information on the radio. Apparently, this traffic jam is so normal every day, that it is not worth mentioning. If Rudy had known about this one, he could have made the decision to take the detour himself, if it was the most economic option. By pushing the buttons and turning the knobs, I had forced it to take a detour this time. So I cannot blame him.
Anyway, Eindhoven to Amsterdam was 127 km in 1 hour and 21 minutes. The way back was 145 km in 2 hours and 44 minutes...
© 1985-2006 E.G. Snel
