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2008-09-14
Kraaij en Balder
Today Julia and Geert-Jan did a stage performance at literair café Kraaij en Balder, in Eindhoven, Netherlands. There was also a life broadcast on Ustream...
Here is the recording (unfortunately the sound level is a bit low):
Here is the recording (unfortunately the sound level is a bit low):
Labels: Gniffels
2008-09-13
Gold!
Today was the official celebration of my parent's golden aniversary. They had rented a hall in "De Landvast" in Alblasserdam and all their friends and family gathered together there. There were 70 people at least and quite a few of them had never met me as Evelien before. I had not seen them in ten years and yes... ten years ago I was quite a different person 
So my parents and I were somewhat apprehensive about this, but everything turned out well. We had a nice meal together and I got several positive reactions about my new self!
The worst thing that happened was the collapse of one of the tables: The tables in the restaurant are foldable and the kicking feet of one of my nephews were too heavy for one of them: A table-leg spontaneously folded away and the table top fell on the armrests of the chairs... Fortunately there were no hot drinks on the table, so nobody got injured!
So my parents and I were somewhat apprehensive about this, but everything turned out well. We had a nice meal together and I got several positive reactions about my new self!
The worst thing that happened was the collapse of one of the tables: The tables in the restaurant are foldable and the kicking feet of one of my nephews were too heavy for one of them: A table-leg spontaneously folded away and the table top fell on the armrests of the chairs... Fortunately there were no hot drinks on the table, so nobody got injured!
Labels: transition
2008-09-11
Gliding
9/11 is a great day to fly. Have a look!
2008-09-06
Cash!
It was exactly one year ago I had had my operation today. Many trans-people celebrate that as a kind of birthday, but I did not feel like making a big thing out of it. It did feel kind-of special, but life just goes on as usual.
It was my turn again to volunteer at the cash register on the monthly T&T-evening. Because the community center was under reconstruction, we could not make use of the normal entrance. The guests had to come in trough a door at the side of the building. So where should I put the cash register now? I think it should be at the entrance! Otherwise there is know way to know who is coming in. But it was not very practical to set it up in the corridor.
So I decided to use a room next to the door where people would enter. I constructed a nice, big arrow from some stationary. It worked out fine: I could see people coming in and they all knew where to find the cash register. Apart from the normal work I got a stack of photographs to take care of: "You can give those out for free to the people who are depicted on them." Tricky job... I am not very good at linking names to faces anyway. I hate it to have to ask the same people for their names every month again.
But I did like this location in this room: outside of the noise, away from the crowd. And there were enough people who came to me for a chat or even for long, profound conversations... A great evening!
Previous T&T evenings: August 2008, July 2008, May 2008, March 2008, February 2008, December 2007, October 2007, October 2006, September 2006, August 2006, July 2006, June 2006, May, April, March, February, January, December, November, October, September, July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005, March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004, November 2004, October 2004, September 2004, August 2004, July 2004, June 2004, May 2004 and April 2004.
It was my turn again to volunteer at the cash register on the monthly T&T-evening. Because the community center was under reconstruction, we could not make use of the normal entrance. The guests had to come in trough a door at the side of the building. So where should I put the cash register now? I think it should be at the entrance! Otherwise there is know way to know who is coming in. But it was not very practical to set it up in the corridor.
So I decided to use a room next to the door where people would enter. I constructed a nice, big arrow from some stationary. It worked out fine: I could see people coming in and they all knew where to find the cash register. Apart from the normal work I got a stack of photographs to take care of: "You can give those out for free to the people who are depicted on them." Tricky job... I am not very good at linking names to faces anyway. I hate it to have to ask the same people for their names every month again.
But I did like this location in this room: outside of the noise, away from the crowd. And there were enough people who came to me for a chat or even for long, profound conversations... A great evening!
Previous T&T evenings: August 2008, July 2008, May 2008, March 2008, February 2008, December 2007, October 2007, October 2006, September 2006, August 2006, July 2006, June 2006, May, April, March, February, January, December, November, October, September, July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005, March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004, November 2004, October 2004, September 2004, August 2004, July 2004, June 2004, May 2004 and April 2004.
Labels: TandT, transition
2008-09-05
Cooking-range
My mother had been using the same kitchen stove for exactly fifty years. Made by ETNA. Indestructible quality indeed. But over the past few years it had developed a few minor problems... So my sister and I (plus our partners of course) decided something had to be done. A new stove was called for! And there was a good excuse for giving a present because, you could have guessed this: Today was also their 50st. anniversary. On their wish-list was just a micro wave oven, but we added the stove...
My parents are not into modern equipment at all (this microwave is really a big step forward) and also cooking on gas is not their thing. Fortunately we have managed to find a good replacement for them: A modern cooking-range that is just as simple to use as the old one.
The stove had been delivered without a power cord. The guy in the shop said it would be easy to use the old power cord for the new stove. I think this idea is penny-wise, but pound-foolish really: Why make a problem of a cheap power cord when you are buying equipment worth several hundred Euros?!?
So we decided to try using the old power cord. First we took it off the old stove. It was a lot newer than the rest of the stove: it had been replaced just 39 years ago.
Of course the insulation had become very brittle and it broke off as soon as you touched it. So we had to go to the DIY-shop for a new power cable. In Alblasserdam the DIY-shop is Hornbach. To be honest I had never heard of that company, but it turned out to be a very big, well-assorted shop. They had everything we needed: A five-wire cable and a five-way plug, specifically intended for use on electric kitchen stoves.
So my brother-in-law Gert and I had a little construction job to do that afternoon. And when this was done, we proceeded to demonstrate the stove and the microwave by preparing a meal for the family. My parents were now equipped for cooking another half-century...
And the old stove was ready to take to a vintage electronics museum!
My parents are not into modern equipment at all (this microwave is really a big step forward
) and also cooking on gas is not their thing. Fortunately we have managed to find a good replacement for them: A modern cooking-range that is just as simple to use as the old one.The stove had been delivered without a power cord. The guy in the shop said it would be easy to use the old power cord for the new stove. I think this idea is penny-wise, but pound-foolish really: Why make a problem of a cheap power cord when you are buying equipment worth several hundred Euros?!?
So we decided to try using the old power cord. First we took it off the old stove. It was a lot newer than the rest of the stove: it had been replaced just 39 years ago.
Of course the insulation had become very brittle and it broke off as soon as you touched it. So we had to go to the DIY-shop for a new power cable. In Alblasserdam the DIY-shop is Hornbach. To be honest I had never heard of that company, but it turned out to be a very big, well-assorted shop. They had everything we needed: A five-wire cable and a five-way plug, specifically intended for use on electric kitchen stoves.
So my brother-in-law Gert and I had a little construction job to do that afternoon. And when this was done, we proceeded to demonstrate the stove and the microwave by preparing a meal for the family. My parents were now equipped for cooking another half-century...
And the old stove was ready to take to a vintage electronics museum!
Labels: Electronics
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