As I wrote yesterday, today marks 12 months since I told the people at work that as of the following day I would be living, and so working, as Stacy.
Also, as I wrote yesterday, the people have been really supportive.
So... Today I bought breakfast in for everyone who works on my floor, and in my wing of the building. Croissants (plain + cheese), pain au chocolate, Dutch egg cookies, fruit teacakes and a large Stollen. I sent a mail to everyone saying thank you and letting them know where they could find the food.
And so a steady stream of people came to congratulate me on making a year (I don't know how many times I have told someone - today, and the breakfast, is about me saying thank you more than celebrating making it 12 months - but thanks!) and taking food.
And then marketing arrived en mass... And apparently I have just outed myself to the new members of the team. One of the women who started in the last 12 months was really confused by the mail, what news? What support? And so someone told her what the mail was about.
Apparently she had no idea. I said thank you to her well :) That kind of thing can really make your day!
I guess that you just cast a spell on them all!
ReplyDeleteEither that or you are as fabulous as your photos show...
Hardly seems any time since you could were worried about the short distances from your car to appointments, how quickly we can take our place in the world with a little confidence and support.
Do you have enough stollen left for your followers?
Well, apparently one of the new product managers also had the same problem... It's just something that I struggle to accept. I guess I have to start to.
DeleteUnfortunately the Stollen was one of the things that disappeared the quickest...
Stace
Hi Stacy!
ReplyDeleteLoving the blog so far, sounds very similar to my story up to a point, and hope everything is going well at work!
A bit cheeky I know, but I was wondering if you might be able to offer some advice to another British TS girl living here in the Netherlands? Long story short I moved over here before going FT, and now not too sure of the path to follow with the healthcare system over here, so would be great to get any tips and advice from a fellow Brit who has gone through the process!
Hope this is OK and not too cheeky, and would be great to hear back!
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
DeleteWork has been superb, including what the guys in my department did for me this week - another post there!
As long the battery doesn't die on the laptop then I have no problems giving you some info! Here we go!
The first thing that I would recommend is make sure that you get yourself to your GP and ask for a referral to the VU, or if you are in the north east of the country maybe the gender clinic in Groningen.
My doctor was wonderful in her help, and the VU (whilst very busy and with long waiting lists) are so friendly and helpful.
They will help you through the stages of the Dutch diagnosis and treatment process, and how to proceed further.
The treatment is covered under the Basisverzekering assuming that you go through the official channels.
If you need any more information, or have any other questions then please let me know your email address and I'll see what I can do!
Stace
Hi Stace,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply - great to hear things are going so well at work!
I managed to catch up with some local girls a couple of days ago, and they also mentioned the VU in Amsterdam, and the hideously long waiting times! From a good long chat it seems it might be easier to keep seeing my Dr back in the UK when Im home, simply as the whole diagnosis process and initial work has been done. The only thing that worried me was being treated ofifcially in the UK but going through the process over here, but it seems thats not a problem at all.
Would be great to hear your thoughts and experiences on the workplace thing, I know there are discrimination laws over here, but not sure how they compare to the UK. Im sure I can go into more detail over email rather than a public post, so would be great to hear from you, my add is s.honnor79@gmail.com. Hope to hear from you!
Take care,
Sarah