First week

The first day in the office went smoothly, I was absolutely shattered from emotional exhaustion - with a little bit of physical exhaustion thrown in for good measure from the lack of sleep on the Sunday to Monday.  Everybody tried really hard and I had some great conversations with people from the different business units.

A few rooms have done something to try and help people get the name and pronouns correct.  One room is collecting a euro for every mistake and there are a couple of others (mine included) that have started a board to list the mistakes.  A friend started the one in our room, and named it the 'Shame Sheet'.  It takes up an entire white board and lists each person in the room.  Including me.  Each time there is a mistake it is marked on the board.  I have 2 (from signing emails, damn muscle memory ;p), both made within the first couple of hours.  I have now got to the point where writing Stace comes as automatically, thankfully! Most mistakes are made in the heat of the moment and are corrected immediately.

But I can't believe how much everyone is trying hard to get it right!  And most people have made the change in their head quite well - so well in fact that I have given a complement to them for making the change so easy and natural.  After all it has only been so easy for me because it has been made this easy by the people I work with, most comment that I manage help that by being so natural as Stacy that as far as them seeing me goes it's already normal in their head.  The name and pronoun don't come quite as naturally - after all most have known me for more than 5 years.  Whilst they are all trying you can tell with the pause and the way that Stacy or Stace is said who is having the most trouble.  It will come with time I am sure.

There are a few people who are not sure how to react to me when they see me now.  Some just utter 'Morgen' as they pass, some just make themselves treat me normally whilst they get used to it.  Either way there are not negative responses and hopefully once people get used to it they will just treat me normally again.

On the last day of the week I was speaking to my boss before the weekend, he asked how it had gone and I told him well, that the most exciting thing was that it was not exciting and that after the first hour or so it was just so natural that I wasn't thinking of it anymore.  He also commented that I made it easier for other people by staying myself, and just being natural.  And he was pleased to see that I still played table football before lunch - something that is a habit in our room and something he was worried that I would stop.

All in all it was an amazing week, full of moments where I caught myself thinking 'wow, have I really made this step' and full of many more where I could just get on with life as it should be.  Whilst the noise has not gone from head completely, it most certainly dwindled and people comment how much happier I look.  :)