Stuk Chocolat's Corner

Another post dedicated to family history.

First I'll answer Rienes question - sorry for not coming back earlier to this!-
The program I use is Legacy Family Tree. The basic version is free, and for a small fee you've got some extra functions.
Like most genealogy software there is an option to export your family history by means of a "gedcom"-file. You're able to upload these files to www.geneanet.org to share your family tree with other people.
Geneanet offers a rather basic search function to search peoples family trees. If you pay an fee you can do more complex searches, and you're able to customize your personal page to your likings.


Story time now...

The father of my great-grandmother was prisoner of war in The Netherlands during the first world war. My great-grandmother didn't remember too much details on this as she was still very little (she was 4 when the Great War broke out). She does remember though that her father lived there in a camp, and they've lived in The Netherlands a few years as well and she went to school over there.
So I've did some research... Probably my great-great-grandfather fled to The Netherlands to avoid having to fight. He was a craftsman, but he was also rather smart, and I guess I found warm something dumb. The Netherlands were neutral during the first war, and they put everyone of a nation at war in prisoner camps. These people were not really prisoners as they were treated very well. They were offered jobs in factories and mines so they could earn money. These jobs weren't popular among the Dutch people, but the prisoners were happy they could earn some money, and nobody was forced to go to work if I understand right. Prisoners with a family had the right to have their family moved to the Netherlands close to the camps. With the money earned from working they could pay the rent for their family.

My great-great-grandfather was a craftsman as I told. In The Netherlands (more particularly in camp "Zeist") he made a very beautiful jewellery box for my great-grandmother.You can have a look at it in my newly created photo album. On top of the box you have the name of my great-grandmother "Jeanne", and the sides read "Souvenir de Zeist" (Souvenir of Zeist) and "1914/1915", the years in which he made the box. On the inside you have a little mirror you can flip open so you can have a look at a photo (here: my great-grandmother) accompanied by a little heart. Both the inner side of the lid as the inner side of the box was decorated with blue silk. Unfortunately in the sixties or seventies the silk of the box (not the lid) was removed and replaced by self-sticking plastic; this was just horrible! Unfortunately I don't have photos of that, but I've looked for new cloth to decorate it. I haven't found silk in the same colour, but I've used some kind of cotton which perfectly matches the colour of the original silk.



Another little gem I want to share... I've found that one of the photos of my great-great-grandfather actually is also a postcard. The photo had been glued in an album so you couldn't see it first there was text on the back. It's written by great-great-grandfather when he was imprisoned in The Netherlands, but the rest of the family still lived in Belgium back then. This was written:
Eindhoven, 27/5/1916
Beloved wife and childeren. Everything is still okay with me as you can see. I would also like to have your portrait. But I don't know what is wrong with you that I don't have any news from you. I hope you are all in good health my wife, are you? Greetings to everybody and for you my wife and children many kisses. From your husband Camile.
Camile Verherstraeten, hand worker, Philips light bulb factory, Eindhoven, Holland.

For me the holiday season starts earlier and ends later than for most people. My holiday season is one of the most expensive times of the year. An overview what to celebrate:
6 December: Though Ilse and I are not wed, we celebrate this day as our anniversary. 6 December 2002 is the day we declared our love for each other
25 December: Christmas. I don't think this needs any explanation
1 January: New Year. Needs no explanation either
3 January: My birthday!
10 January: Ilse's birhtday

This year has been a wonderful year for gifts. Ilse and I got so much presents from my (grand)parents this year, we could hardly believe it. This is due to the fact that I'm now working and having my own money, and I pay my own bills, thus my parents save more. The presents we got were all house-hold stuff going from china (not the country, the things you eat in), to kitchen towels.
Yes, you might have guessed it. We're planning to leave the house of our parents and live on our own. We're planning to do this somewhere in July-August of this year, after Ilse's exams are finished. We're now on the search for an apartment. Later, when we're both working (Ilse must at least still complete 3 years because she's finished with med school) we're gonna move to something bigger.
I just can't wait to have some place of our own (rented or not)!

That's all folks!

It's been more than a month, so I just have to write something down here, otherwise people might start thinking I'm dead.

The past month was not that interesting. Nothing special really happened.
One of the highlights though was the concert of Rufus Wainwright in Brussels last Friday. I know his music for about a year now, and I must say I find him fantastic. His performance was great!

Another pleasant thing was the baptising of Ilse's little nephew. I've never been to a baptism before, and I must say it was special. It was a very nice and funny priest, and also the party afterwards was fun.

You might wonder why I have posted this photo of a chicken. Well, I guess I haven't introduced you yet, which is quiet a shame. This is my (or should I say our) chicken at home. I brought here home in April and called her Marie-Antionnette. She's kind of character!

Now I'm finally making some money myself, I'm finally finding out what kinds of stuff that need to be paid. I am really overwhelmed by the complicatedness of it all. All these different things that need to be paid to the Belgian state, but also my costs for professional licences as well as insurances, ... It isn't as simple as it seems like. I think I now finally managed to get a clear overview of it all, but still... why does everything needs to be so complicated?


---Warning, explicit content here---

I recently saw Brokeback Mountain for the first time. It was an enjoyable and touchy movie, but I think it was hyped maybe a little bit too much. Yes, it deals about a gay men relationship, and maybe that's rather special for a Hollywood, but besides that it was just a good movie, nothing more.

This movie however started my thinking about some things that are hard to get. A few questions pop to mind. What is love? When can you consider someone to be gay? What's the role of sexual attraction?

Let's start with the second question. When is someone gay? Most people would answer that someone is gay when (s)he loves someone of the same gender (and we're talking about love between two partners, not someting like a father-son relationship). But having seen Brokeback Mountain ànd reality, we actually know this is not completely true. There are gay men who are married to women, and I guess a lot of them were very happy when they married and they loved their wife. It's also very possible that these people had a satisfying sexual relationship as well. But when after a whole, such a man choses to leave his wife for another guy, than it's a homosexual. But what was he before, when he still loved his wife?
This brings me to the conclusion that being gay is more than just being in love with someone of the same gender, no, it has to do with sex. Now, does that mean that being gay is all about sex and more? Certainly not, but I think it puts the term love in a different perspective.
When a man loves a woman he's heterosexual, when he loves other men he's gay, and when he loves both, he's bisexual. Or our these just 3 categories to categorize people? Maybe it's like Freud said, maybe everyone is bisexual but for one person the heterosexuality is more dominant than the homosexual and vice versa.

Another thing I have never understood about some gay/lesbian people is why they are attracted to certain types of people. Sometimes you see a couple lesbians, one woman is very feminine, and the other one is very masculine. Why would a lesbian (who falls in love with women) fall in love with someone with a male appearance? You also see the same with some queer guys, some gays really fall in love with other guys looking very feminine, while they actually like men, so what does attract them? This raises the same question again, is it just that gay people are just attracted towards each other just because of the sex, and they don't care for the appearance? Or is it just plain simple love that stands above things like sex? But if that's the case, why can't they fall in love with someone of a different gender?

These thoughts are in no way meant to hurt, stigmatize (or whatever) gays, lesbians, bisexuals and heterosexuals. These are just some questions that recently crossed my mind, and haven't really found a satisfying answer. I guess I'm just trying to get a better understanding of these things...

Having a sour troath and lot of other discomforts. I'm terribly tired, but I have things that need to be done first. After that, it's time for rest. Blah

Although I've always had a reasonably good BMI (body mass index), I was never really completely happy with my shape. The BMI doesn't tell everything, it's just a simple arhytmic formula. I've always felt I had to much fat at my belly and stomach, which is scientifically proven the most dangerous fat, as it goes togheter with a greater risk for cardiac desease.
I've always wanted to lose some weight, but not through excessive dieting. Actually I was more looking for a permanent change of life style, to something more healthier than I have now. I figured out that there were two essential things. The first one is doing sports and the second one is healthy food. They both go hand in hand, you can't seperate them.
As I'm at an important phase of my life now, with a lot of things changing, I thought this might be the time to change this too. I'd start with sports/excercising (can't remember when I had the time for this, I've been soooo busy past years) and with healthy food. But what is healthy? Up till now I've eaten reasonably healthy, but I had no real guidance to help me in the right direction. Maybe that's why the last year I've gained so much weight again?
And than, by accident, I found this book in our library about The Abs Diet (by David Zinczenko). I've read it completely through and I was amazed. It's certainly absolutely not like any other typical diet which is based on eating less, counting calories, eating fat free, ... This book says: more food = more muscle = more fat that will be burned. Although I was sceptical against 6 meals a day (which is from dental point of view not good), his theories seem right. That fact that he also combines excersising (fitness) with the right food, is also good for me, because I wanted to do some more sports!

It's all too much to explain the book here, but I have the feeling this might work, because it seems like a way of life, not like a diet. I've done the diet the past two days, and despite the six meals a day I haven't gained any weight yet. I've lost a little of weight, but since this is only after two days, this can just be normal fluctuation.

We'll see what the future brings. I'll keep you all updated.

This must have been the longest period I've been on holiday. Apart from 1 day, I've been continuously on holiday during a month. I've been at Lake Garda in Italy, in Val Venosta in the Italian Alps, and I've also been in Austria in the Oetztal Valley.

Now I'm back at home, with 100 different things asking my attention and asking to get done.

Photo album of my graduation is updated with some official photos taken by our faculty photographer.

And I start working on Thuesday 4th of september. Back to all the paperwork now!

As promised not so long ago, I would post about my job hunt. I said it was a complicated matter, but things have been 'uncomplicating' recently, which I don't mind at all as it will be easier for me to post now

As you all know, there is this extra year of internship to do. A few days ago it was still a bit uncertain, but the situation as it is now (actually since yesterday) promises us an extra year of internship. This internship has to be done in a group practice of a "private" dentist, and not in a dental clinic as now. There is a list of dental kabinets in which you can do your internship. You don't get assigned a place though, you have to do soliciations, so it's some kind of job hunt indeed. The list with participating kabinets is rather small, and only 4 dentists were in my immediate neighbourhood.
One already had promised her place to another intern so there were 3 places left.
The second one didn't have time for a soliciation when I called (the leading lady was leavin on a holiday the next day), but she would call me back later to make an appointment -- have not heard from her since. So, only 2 places left.
The 3rd one was a man who had studied dentistry in Leuven, and he didn't seem to enthousiastic I had studied in Brussels (The University of Leuven and Brussels have always been "enemies"), but on the other hand he seemed impressed by my practical experience. He would call me later to tell me if he would take me, or the other candidate from Leuven. Still haven't heard from him, but this was only recently so he still has time to call me.
And the fourth place... is the best one! It's very close to home, its a big group practice with a lot of specialists, a lot of chairs, everying digitalised, every dentist has an assistent (which is rather rare over here), everything is shiny and new, ... it's ideal over there... and guess what, I've been accepted! We've only talked over there phone, so there is nothing on paper yet, but we'll do that probably next week or a week later.

Finding a place in the neighbourhood has really scared me because of the list with kabinets is so short - but that's all due to the bad system. We're still awaiting for a lot of official information. I'll be graduated in 12 days, and we still haven't official news of next academic year. I find this scandalous! But oh well, I should be happy I've been accepted for the job, in the best group practice of the enviorement

At the moment I'm exact in the middle of the exams. I'm in the middle of the 3 weeks that the exams take, and I've done exactely half of the exams yet.

The first 3 (cranio-facial traumatology and surgery, throath-nose-ears and juridical aspects of dentistry) went really good. The 4th one (social aspects of dentistry) yesterday was a farce: he promised us a textbook but we didn't get one, so we had to study our handwritten notes only. And at the exam he just asks things he had never mentioned before in class, and I can know it because I've been at every lesson, and I've compared my notes to those of others. Gah! Stupid j*rk
On the other hand, the subject isn't really that important, and I've heard he never fails a student: I hope so!

Countdown:
6 days untill last day of internship
Only half a day of internship (emergencies) to do
9 days untill the last exam
Still 4 exams (about 3 subjects) to do
16 days untill graduation