Now anyone who knows me, knows that I am not TG. I just feel I understand what those who are go through. I know my work isn't the most popular, but it's been read often and most of the comments have been positive. I'm obviously on the right track at least.
Penny of course is more than a little uncomfortable with this, but accepts that she may not like the subjects I have chosen to write about but is comfortable that I'm not going to start wearing her clothes or spending the weekends 'en-femme', demanding to be called Susan or something similar.
Now here's the irony.
As Pen's husband, I am known as her 'Marie' in French. Not only that, but my name - Nicholas - in French sounds like Nicola - a feminine form of Nicholas here in England. Of course in France, that's Nicole, but it was still a bit of an eye opener for her.
Looks like even moving to France, she's not going to get away from the TG aspect of things, even if I don't actually do anything physically, apart from grow my hair very long (it's almost down to my backside now and doesn't appear to be stopping there).
Evidently moving to France is going to be odd in more ways than we thought. I will have to get used to being called two girl's names and Pen will have to get used to hearing them.
27 days to go and counting ...
Comments
Lol.
Well, when you get to France you will see the joke I played on my second daughter when I named her Blaise.
You named your daughter after a speech impediment?
That is what that means, isn't it?
Nope
After Blaise Pascal the French mathematician and/or Blaise from the Athurian Court. It is a French name usually given to a boy. It caused her hob with bookings when she was in France.
You swine, Thera
I suppose it's a parent's job to embarrass the offspring though :)
There's that..
My parents went and gave me a guy's name (with a roman numeral at the end)... Guess they thought it was the right thing to do...
I have...
I have a MALE colleague in France... His name (apparently not uncommon there) is "Stephane"...
Best of luck to you and the Mrs...
Annette
Stephane
Is actually pronounced as if there were no 'e' on the end. I know this as our friend the baker's name is exactly that - Stephane.
Dominique would be the one to cause problems, as it appears to be spelt the same for either a boy or a girl.
Oh,
Oh, I know... But for most Americans (and I suspect other English Speakers) it might be a surprise. Like I said, he's a colleague.
Cultural Trickery
My birth name was Gwinn, and if I'd been in Canada, or perhaps the UK, it would perhaps have been seen as a boy's name. Of course there are spelling variations Gwynn, Quynn, and all sorts of ways to spell it. As things happen, I was born in San Diego, and in self assured America, a name that sounded like Gwen could cause its owner all sorts of trouble, and it did. Growing up, those who liked to be sods, called me Guinevere, Gwendolyn, and Gwyneth.
To add insult to injury, until they gave me shots of what I think were testosterone, I was in the third percentile for height and below that for weight. One wonders what the point of it is?
In that case, Gwen ...
Nicola doesn't sound so bad :)
Good enough for Tesla
Nicolas was my grandfather's first name. He didn't like it, so he went by his middle name, Frances. Yes, that's how he spelled it. The convention on which spelling was which gender didn't reach the Ozarks in time for his birth in 1888. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I went to school with Francis
I went to school with Francis Scott Key - yes, same family. (great great uncle, maybe a couple more greats). He went by Scotty, and threatened to beat up anyone calling him Francis.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
It's simply amazing how each
culture, nation, or language has it's own unique way to spell and pronounce names and words. A prime example is the difference between American English and the English in the United Kingdom.
May Your Light Forever Shine
Solder would be a really good example, Stan
I still don't know why American's make the 'L' in SOLDER silent, pronouncing the word Sodder. Using logic, Sodder, sounds like someone who lays turf (sod to you Yanks), but as we all know, logic doesn't always prevail where language is concerned.
It's similar to 'salve' which
It's similar to 'salve' which is pronounced 'saave'.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
We won't even get into
Aluminium. Hey, there is an i in it folks!
There was, yes, but
There was, yes, but apparently the guy that perfected the refining used _both_ bleeding spellings.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
And the Americans, of course,
Decided to standardize around the shorter spelling AND it's corresponding pronunciation evolved as a matter of course. After all, who wants to include an I when you don't have to?
Abigail Drew.
Well
I don't like to be excluded either ;)
+3 Pun Damage.
+3 Pun Damage.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Ou Est Le Papier?
Bon chance, mon ami,
Joanne
Thank you, Joanne
I think we need it too!
Much has been packed now ... well, most of the kitchen and also the garage, as far as is possible. I have boxes of stuff in my office and have cleared out heaps of old documents, some going back to the nineties! Having taken so much stuff across the Manche already and being brutal with throwing things away, it's a big surprise to see there's still so much left, but there you go, I guess we're officially pack-rats.
With just twenty-two days left before we go, naturally nerves are a little frayed, as it's a big step and there's so much we feel we don't know. We're basically flying by the seats of our pants and in a great many respects, trusting to luck. Despite the nerves though, we're really looking forward to the move, although extra luck is certainly appreciated.
Do we feel sad to be leaving our home?
Not a bit of it!
We have no love for the rented place we're in and while our house in France needs more work than you can shake a forest-full of sticks at, we can't wait.
Doesn't stop the nerves though!