Regarding the previous post

Yeah, I'll admit, I just read about 400 awesome things. That's all they had on the site so far. And man, my 5 were pretty lame.

So here are some better ones:

-The feeling you get in your stomach at the top of the roller coaster

-When you are immediately connected to a real person, and not a recording on the phone

-Pretending you're asleep and fooling the other person!

-Scraping just enough PB or mayo out of the jar to make a sandwich

Also, I decided it was my civic duty to share this with you, because it totally rocks!

Something Awesome

Postsecret just turned me onto this website 1,000 Awesome Things.

So far, I've only gotten through four of them, but I'm hooked. It's a great website to look at right around Thanksgiving, isn't it?

My fave so far: When your nose is dripping and someone hands you a tissue.

Well, I'd say I'm inspired.

Here are five things that I think are hella awesome. Let's see if they're on the list of 1,000 somewhere.

5. The moment when everything suddenly calms down. I'm thinking specifically of when I got off the train from Paris to Lisieux last year. Everything was so stressful, and then stepping onto the platform was like an instant calm. But this happens all the time! When you check off the last in a loooong series of To-Does at work, when you put the last dish on the drying rack or dishwasher, when the giant tidal wave hits the arc you made for 1 million citizens and everyone survives...you name it!

4. Finding a sweet bit of nostalgia. You know the kind, the one you had almost forgotten, then it comes into your mind but no one knows what the hell it is, and you can't explain it very well anyway, so you begin to think maybe you created it too, but then one day it up and slaps you in the face. That one. For me, it's finding Garfield's Halloween Adventure or Dr. Quandary's Island. I'm still looking for episodes of Baywatch that featured scary things like vampires and ghosts.

3. Families we make for ourselves.

2. Falling in love, and having that person love you the same way.

1. My all-time favorite feeling in the world: When you wake up and look at the alarm clock and realize you still have one hour to sleep. I actually used to beg someone I knew who worked overnights to call me at like 4am so I could wake up and then go back to sleep!

I was going to criticize 1,000 Awesome Things for being a bit overblown with the writing, but I'm realizing now that that's just a side effect of raving about things that make you feel good!

Why people scare me

I typed "is" into google today, hoping to ask the wise internet world if I could get away with dropping an apostrophe (which, I know, is sinful most of the time, but it turns out it was OK in this case).

The problem is that google predictor gave me this:



Yes, the volume of people who care so much about celebrity gossip is scary. But what's exponentially more horrifying to me is that 4 of the results question the sex organs of successful women.

Let's be clear: when people ask if Lady Gaga is a "hermaphrodite" (which, by the way, is a horribly offensive and inaccurate term) or if Wendy Williams is a man, they are specifically asking about what organs they have in their pants. No, people are not asking about their sexualities. They're not asking about their gender expressions, since both clearly express themselves as feminine. The people who ask these questions assume they have the right to know about these public figures' biology.

And why? Why should it matter to anyone? Lady Gaga is an incredibly talented, extremely successful pop artist. Wendy Williams is a well-known radio and TV personality who is also quite successful despite, or perhaps because of, her controversial brash reporting style.

These two women are powerful. They have notoriety because of what they do. Not because of their sex. I think this world would be a better place if these googlers would rephrase their searches. My suggestions:

-Is hermaphrodite an offensive term?
-What are the meanings of transvestite, transgender, transsexual, intersex, etc,?
-When is Lady Gaga's new CD coming out?
-What channel is Wendy Williams' show on?
-Is it OK to drop an apostrophe after a business name?

Basically, anything that actually educates us and doesn't feed into this inane obsession with celebrity lives and body parts. Or, you can read this article by Carrie Polansky that articulates part of the reason I felt so uncomfortable looking at the search prediction. It's because of this weird media storm that happened after a video of Lady Gaga in a short skirt was released. I think the genius of the article is that Carrie urges us not to care about the video or Gaga's alleged (not confirmed) response, but how incredibly disrespectful the coverage was.

Of course after I noticed what the predictions were for the word "is," I had to try some other ones.

Here's what I saw when I typed "why" (keyword Pakistani - this one is so terrifying I don't even know where to begin:



And here's the result for "what" (keyword strawberries - ...............?):


Seriously, people, seriously?

disheartened

corzine lost.

phillies lost.

equal rights in maine lost.

boo to this week.

<3

see more dog and puppy pictures

After a long, postless absence

I just want to say, I have the best friends in the world, who keep me very busy, and two exciting new jobs that give me lots of entertaining stories. Sorry for my absence, but I've really been livin' it up.

Camping v.2.0

I just got back from an awesome two-day camping extravaganza for Rachel's birthday. It rocked. There were ghost stories, swimming, barbecues, smores, and all around good times. My hoodie smells like the tent, and my water bottle still tastes like firewood. I couldn't be more satisfied. I hope Rach feels the same way!

OMFG

There's a new Quentin Tarantino movie. Brad Pitt is in it. It's about Nazi-occupied France. Holy. Eff.

Happiness is:

Camping with good friends and a firemaster:



And a friend getting a new kitten who is so adorable it's worth taking claritin every four hours for the next 15 years of your life:



:)

Anyone who reads this probably noticed I dropped off

mostly cause it's been a little strange to be back and I don't know where to start.

So I leave you with this hilarious baby...

Welcome to America.

Your tax return from 2007 is being audited and your cell phone service has been cut and you have a disgusting bill to worry about. You have to start paying your car and auto insurance retroactively as soon as possible. You have no health insurance. Being in your parents house makes you want to snack on processed junk food every thirty minutes. Your bedroom is le basard. You need work.

Though I feel so overwhelmed sometimes I can't think, it is way more satisfying than I imagined to see my friends, yellow school buses, grape jelly, Tapan and my family. I never noticed before how many American flags hang outside of houses or how many people wear fanny packs (thank you very much for that image, Chicago airport). It is good to be home, and I'm sure this debt/credit problem will be handled quickly.

Here's hoping.

Whelmed

Next week I'll be home.

Last week I felt like I wasn't ready. I don't think I realized how quickly the leaving part would sneak up on me.

This weekend I went to Jersey with Emilien and 40 people he works with. It was fun most of the time, but some of the time I felt like this huge awkward outsider imposter person. I don't feel much like going into it here on the interwebs, but it made me realize that, yeah, I'm a bit tired of being the foreigner. I'm excited to come home to my country, speak in my language with people who will understand my slang, cultural jokes, nostalgic references. And I'll get theirs.

This week I'm having goodbye dinners with my colleagues and my friends. It's such a strange, indescribable feeling that I have. All this month I've watched the lasts roll in. Last time I'll see Fabien, last concert in France, last book rental from the medi@theque, last Friday class, last vacances, last grocery shopping. Soon I'll have my last paycheck, last dinner with my friends, last hair wash under my two-minute long shower, last weekend in Paris, last look at French stars. What will the final footfall in France, just before I board the plane, feel like? What will happen in my stomach when I hear my final announcement in French, and this time understand every word?

And what will my life be like in a month? Will I still be able to watch French movies with no subtitles? Understand song lyrics? How long does it take to lose a language? Will I see my colleagues again someday? What if one day I call them on the phone and am not able to understand their French?

You can see I'm a ball of nerves and conflicting emotions. My solution? Take advantage of the last days of my contract. And hope that these lasts are only lasts for this period in my life. Someday I'll come back here and make all new firsts and lasts. There's no doubt in my mind.

Going to the aaaaaatlantic!

Yeah, that's right. To all my Jersey shore peeps out there, I'm going to send you a big fat wave from the other coast of our ocean. Saturday. If you live nearby and the weather's nice, I encourage you to go to the beach. I'll be at this beach, looking at this view (image here):



Technically, I'll be on the coast of the bay that empties (flows? runs? eff geography)into the Atlantic, but that's good enough for me. I mean, there are already something like 3900 kms separating me from the other coast; who am I to complain about the distance of a tiny bay too?

It's another two-week paid vacation and this time I'm not bored out of my mind. I've got a new friend with a motorcycle and a desire to show me cool things about France and French culture. My best friend here (who was away the last vacances) is staying in town and open to traveling with me (that's us in the photo on the beach at Trouville). And most importantly, I'm feeling the crunch. I know I've gotta see stuff, and I know I've gotta see it now. Because, though my heart tells me I'll be back to France many times, my brain and the economic crisis warns me that one is never sure, and that I need to seize the opportunity I have to see this country now, while the language is fresh and I've nothing else to do.

So, this weekend La Baule; next weekend...? I'm thinking Strasbourg or maybe Provence. I so would love to go there before I leave. The weekend after I'm going to Jersey! Dream fulfilled! The weekend after that I'll be in Paris. And the weekend after that...get ready...

Are you ready for this?

The weekend after that I'll be in New Jersey.

(I can't write anymore cause I'm too busy cleaning the pieces of my exploded head out of my keyboard.)

Fail

Well, I did decide to fail.

It's day four of the National Poetry Month poem-a-day challenge, and I've written exactly one so far. Last year I rocked it - thirty poems by the end of April - but this year I feel unmotivated. Also, my time in France is bittersweetly coming to an end, and I don't much feel like having a reminder of the time gone by every day. So I'm sitting this one out.

But you should go see what Rachel's been up to, cause it's awesome.

too tired for a real post

the chain letter said this comes from National Geographic's Best Photos of the Year, but the link I found has a whole different selection. Weird.

Something awesome happened

I checked out a book from the library. An anthology of the most beautiful french love poems. And I decided I didn't want to read it.

Why is that amazing?

I didn't give up because the language was too difficult. I didn't choose to read something in English or a little kids book instead. I simply didn't like what I was reading. I found it cliched. And do you know how? I could predict the lines that were coming next. Whoa. Not only was I able to read and comprehend the words, I was able to predict what French words were coming next. I'm able to recognize cliches in French now! Booyah!

In all seriousness though, this is a big moment. I've been reading in French for a while. Not fluently enough to tackle Le Monde, but substantial writing that hasn't been watered down for a foreigner. When I read the bilingual edition of Julien Green's The Language and Its Shadow I was able to read the English works in English and the French works in French, without using the translation as a clutch. I've been keeping a journal in French. I've even written (using very, very simple language) a poem in French.

I think I'll go to the beach this weekend with a much better anthology of contemporary French poetry to celebrate. If I don't profiter du soleil now, I'll never forgive myself.

PS - Not all the lines were horrible. I liked this one.

The most exciting thing that happened to me yesterday

I've just prepared my dinner (rice with black beans in a tomato onion sauce that will make you want to marry me) and am sitting down to eat. With a flick of my wrist, I knock over my American-sized cup of water - not one of those wimpy canteen glasses - all over the floor. It takes the entirety of my bath towel to sop up most of the fluid. I'm feeling pretty damn clumsy, and sad that no one is with me to make the Oh, Ashley remark. Also, I've been buying all of my water and feel that this is at least a sixty-five cent waste.

After I've hung my towel to dry, I sit down again to enjoy my meal. Within 45 seconds I've flipped my bowl upside down onto the floor and there is now splattered ricey beany sauce stretching almost to all four corners of my apartment. I ask myself what the hell my problem is. I have no answer. I do feel happy though, as I clean the resulting mess, that there's all that water on the floor to lift the stains.

Best Week Ever - London Edition

At long last, here are the highlights in slideshow format:

And some more highlights that aren't available in photo form:

-Conversations in French and in English with the students
-An awesome and hospitable host family
-Good times with colleagues
-Pubs
-The animatronic T-Rex at the Natural History Museum
-Reading Julien Green and learning that languages are hard for everyone, even people raise bilingually.

London Calling

So...I didn't want to blog it before 'cause I wasn't 100% sure it was gonna work out, but everything in in order now and I can finally tell you...

I'm going to London!

I'm chaperoning a group of advanced students on their school trip to London with other professors Philippe and Karen. We three profs will be staying together at one house, while groups of students will be staying with other families. During the days, I'll get to see all the touristy stuff that's designed for the kids' trip, and at nights I'll be partaking in the London nightlife. Maybe.

Many, many stories to come. But I don't think any of them are going to involve me receiving flowers from a London man, so I think Anita is gonna win. ;)

I guess this is kinda me, minus the last line.
more animals

Today is International Women's Day

If you want, you can go look at the official website.

I was more interested in looking at this one. After an attempt by about.com to name the top 100 women in history, and a spread in glamour magazine, Feministe invites its readers to submit the names of who would be on their lists. The user responses are great, and I'm finding out about a lot of incredible women by wiki-ing the names in the comments.

Who's on my list? My three favorite woman poets.

Lucille Clifton, Marie Howe, and Sharon Olds.

To celebrate women's day, I'm going to a free showing of a feminist film here in Lisieux. Then I'm going to continue my newest poetry project - working title Confessions from the fourth grade - cause it has a hell of a lot to do with the women who have had an effect on my life, whether they knew it or not.

UPDATE: The day actually falls on March 8th. My bad.

Happiness is

The time of year a coupla months after daylight savings time when suddeny it's light again at 7:30 in the morning. Guess sometimes a little darkness makes us glad to have light.

Reason Number 11

The Saturday Market.



Notice how healthy my food selection is. I'm keeping up my end of a pact not to eat any junk food. The first person who does has to do something so ridiculous and embarrassing that I can't even blog it. I think that says a lot.

First time for everything

including top ten lists

Top Ten Reasons I love being an English assistant in Lisieux
(in no particular order):

1.I feel like a celebrity – Everyone knows about America, and since I’m from so close to New York, I can use that as a reference point. The students love that, and constantly ask me if I know any celebrities. When I arrive at my schools, the kids are über excited to see me, especially at Michelet where I typically work but once a week. And when they see me on the street outside of school, it’s often like a celebrity sighting: “Oh mon dieu, est-ce que c’est Ashley? C’est Ashley! C’est Ashley!” they say in disbelief, and then when I talk to them they’re all flustered and don’t know how to act around me. It makes me feel super-cool. (Then I say things like super-cool and it resets the whole scale.)

2.The kids treat me with respect – I didn’t get that until Nathalie pointed it out to me, but they all call me vous as opposed to the familiar tu. I was worried the kids would think coming with me for a half hour would be a period to goof off and not study, but on the whole it’s the opposite.

3.The kids love me – and for a reason besides the sheer fact that I’m American. My role as assistant is to talk to them and to get them talking to me and each other. C’est tout. I don’t give them tests, and I don’t give them grades. Therefore, they have no reason to get mad at me every couple of weeks when exam time comes.

4.The English colleagues are awesome – they’re really my saving grace. I’d heard horror stories about how the French are uninviting not because they’re rude but because it takes a long time for them to consider someone their friend. So naturally, I was worried that I’d be hanging out with only the other English assistants. In fact, my time here has proved the opposite! The English assistant make their own plans for the vacations and weekends and usually, if it weren’t for my colleagues, I’d be doing things alone a whole lot of the time.

5.The non-English colleagues are almost as inviting – seriously. They talk to me, they come on excursions with us, they invite me to classes, they invite me on field trips. I’m so lucky.

6.It lets me live in France – Ain’t nothin wrong with that. I get to live in this great place with so much history it makes my head spin. And living here helps my French exponentially. I doubt many tourists have to open checking accounts, receive work instructions or apply for resident cards. All of that has its own specific language with plenty of new terms.

7.Instant Translations – Speaking of language, being an assistant is an awesome way to learn. Each time I say something to the kids that they get, they’re so excited to understand that they immediately translate it into French for the other students. Best way to learn.

8.I barely work – twelve hours a week, four vacations of about two weeks each. I have plenty of time to do all the things I wanted to do and never had the time for – I’m constantly reading classics, translating poetry, writing, collaging, painting. And, of course, traveling.

9.My region is awesome – I mean really. I’m not far from Paris or from the coast. I’ve got Caen, a lively university town, right next door. I’m within distance of Bretagne, which I adore, and Mont St. Michel. So hey, maybe Lisieux is not the best ville in the country, but I’ve got options pretty close by.

10.I don’t feel so far away from home – Much of the culture here is American culture. With the newest songs on the radio, popular Hollywood movies and TV series on the screen, and familiar products in the grocery store, I never feel removed from my culture. Celebrity gossip here is largely about Americans, so I’m never out of touch. It makes it easy to talk to the students about what I like and limits my homesickness to people and places, but not objects.

Best. Valentine. Ever.

It arrived yesterday, not because Tapan was late sending it, but because France decided I can't have mail while the nation is on vacay. Vacation is finally over, and I finally received this:



It says "I love you more than yesterday, less than tomorrow." Can I just clarify that I have been waiting for a good Valentine for incredibly long. In fact, I think the last one I got that was really creative was from Donna, my bestest amigo. In the guy department, nothing has ever been this good.

Also, he sent me his hat which I wore all day yesterday cause it smells like his shampooing.

Workin on it

I'm working on some entries, that is. Long, thought-out, lots-of-research-required entries. In the meantime, have fun with my favorite pun sites.


toothpastefordinner.com
from Toothpaste for Dinner


see more pwn and owned pictures
from Failblog


more lol celebs!
from lolcelebs

my heart; or, partially-eaten cookie

Disclaimer: This blog entry is emo and may sound like something a high-schooler would write. I’m not ashamed, but I won’t be offended if you just skip it.

This is me on Valentine’s Day. I’m feeling pretty lonely, which is why I bought the heart-shaped cookie. I thought maybe I’d split it in half and send the other side to Tapan. But the woman at the bakery told me it would stay edible for a max of 5 days. I thought about the first time I sent Donna a package, and the 30-day shipping time, and decided against it. I want to see him when I get home, preferably not in a hospital bed sick with food poisoning.







So I went home and ate some of my cookie after dinner. When I was finished, my cookie looked like this. I think it looks exactly how my heart feels right now. You know, my Valentine-shaped heart, not the blood-pumping organ. My metaphor heart is still a heart. It still looks like a heart. It still does all the important heart-stuff. But it feels a little shriveled. I think the creature I like to call “five months away from everyone I love” got kinda peckish and nibbled away at the edges.

Miss you guys at home. <3

and V-Day has arrived

It's my favorite holiday of the year. And I have finally, FINALLY, found the perfect Valentine. He's in New Jersey.

But, despite that fail, it's turning out to be a pretty good day. List of wins:

-I got a heart-melting international call when I first woke up.

-Failblog made me laugh uproariously:


-My new vendor friend at the Saturday market gave me all of my groceries (2 avocados, 5 clementines, 1/4 kilo of litchis, a head of lettuce, one carrot, one tomato and three kiwis) for two euros!

And last, but most important, Tapan sincerely adored my present:


Bon jour de St. Valentin, everyone!

Not looking forward to the next two weeks

On paper four two-week vacations look awesome. When you have nothing much to do and are trying to save your money for the pile of debt that is waiting for you at home, they're not all that appealing. I was bored out of my mind yesterday and today, and this vacation hasn't even officially started today. Thank god Tifenn and Murielle will be saving me with a tour of a cheese factory on Monday. After that, I don't know. You can probably expect a lot of entries. But I hope something better comes up. Wish me unexpensive travel opportunities.

In the meantime, here's something so cute you could die:


via, once again, Sociological Images, via New Scientist

You know, I will never understand why people can't just let other people be happy

The first e-mail I got today was from Rachel, telling me that "Ken Starr -- and the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund -- filed legal briefs defending the constitutionality of Prop 8 and attempting to forcibly divorce 18,000 same-sex couples that were married in California last year." This alarms me, because I think if Prop 8 can pass, then tere is a chance that this ridiculousness can too.

Watch this:

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Then, if you have any humanity at all, go here and sign the letter to the supreme court.

Best Week(End) Ever, Paris Edition

As I told some people this weekend, I was traumatized after my first weekend in Paris. And I'm not just a sissy because my arms hurt from toting the luggage. Other things happen to young woman travelers who look lost and un-French. No one hurt me, but I was scared to go back underground alone. Instead, I waited for someone to invite me. Finally, Nathalie did and we had an awesome time!

Here's your video tour, as I'm feeling too lazy to write, too tired to post all the pics, and a little self-conscious of how long-winded I can get. Indulge in the highlights. Also, I'm really nul at history, and I won't be able to do these places justice with my meager knowledge. So if you're curious, follow the links to the Wiki entries, which have a lot more to say than I do.

First stop, of course, the Eiffel Tower:


Here we are at the second landing, after climbing 677 steps. It's as far as you can go without taking an elevator and paying some more money, which we all agreed wasn't worth it.


Here's a view of the Eiffel Tower from a little further away.


Here's a little diddy I like to call walking on the Champs-Élysées, or rather, a stop at a crosswalk on the Champs-Élysées. Toward the end I turn the camera and you can see L'arc de triomphe:


Listen closely to this one, Karen. Saturday night, we celebrated the Chandeleur, a French holiday of crepes. Did I mention how I love the holidays in this country? Here's me making a galette:


Sunday, on Rach's advice, we went to the Sacre-Coeur, which is absolutely magnificent. By the way, it's the highest point in the city. We climbed a huge hill and then another 235 steps to get to the top.


After seeing what we needed to see, we took a walk around Montmartre, stopping for a bite to eat and searching for the cafe in which Amelie was filmed. Sadly, we didn't find it. But here's what the area of Montmartre around the Sacre Coeur looks like:


Here's the obligatory nutella shot, from a creperie on the hill:


And because I'm too much of a ham not to post it:


Let me conclude this blog by telling you my calves have just recently started to heal. If you add the steps of the Eiffel Tower and the Sacre Coeur, they make 912. I'm pretty sure the metro and other random steps throughout the day put me over 1,000. Add to that the steep uphill huff to Montmartre, and the general walking for much of two days, and I'm pretty damn impressed with myself. I've also officially stopped eating meat and seriously increased my fruit and veggie intake. I think my health has never been better, mental and physical. :)

Translating poetry is hard

Really, really hard. New translation up at Lines that Rock. I knew that when I started. But I also thought when I started that 4 months in I'd be fluent. Which is so not the case. The problem is nuance. I mean, Prevert writes with pretty basic language, but how do I know if he means here or there, when the same word is so often used for both? Just because the word derisory exists in English, is that the word he would have used? After I translated ths latest poem I thought I wouldn't even post it. I mean, what if Jacques doesn't approve?

But hey, you all know I'm an amateur, and a beginner at French. And if you have a major problem with my translation, you can correct me!

Sorry, I'm feeling insecure today. I'll put up a better post after the upcoming Best Weekend Ever.

Yes, We Can

That's what I hear surprisingly often from the kids at school. "Sit down please." "Yes, we can!" "Can you clean the board please?" "Yes we can!" "Follow me." "Yes, we can!" Always with the same upbeat and somehow hopeful tone as I would expect to hear from an Obama supporter after one of his speeches. I was just thinking the other day about how huge Obama is over here. This is a picture of the magazine section of my library taken just after the results of the US elections:



Clearly, Americans weren't the only ones celebrating. Headlines from left to right, roughly translated, are: "What the world is expecting of him," "The man who can change the world," and "An Obama Revolution." I forgot to take a picture at the time, but I even saw a headline at a station once that read, "The first president of the world." Wow. I mean, I'm not in any position to speak for citizens of the whole world or anything, but I can say that on the whole, the French are pretty damn happy that Obama won.

The hype has worn down a little. But I still do see signs of Obama everywhere. Some kids still shout "Obama" at me in the halls and wait for their high-fives. Kids who haven't met me and have the opportunity to ask me questions often ask if I love Obama. And then, as I was walking to the library today, I saw this poster promoting annual sales in a store window:



When I saw this, I immediately thought about this recent Sociological Images post about advertising with Obama's "brand." I don't know that I'm equipped enough to argue about what kind of ramifications this type of advertising might have. I'm just adding my example.

PS, I was going to use the Urban Dictionary definition of Obamania for this blog, but then was put off by the negative connotation I gathered from entries two and (most definitely) three. But it's still interesting. I'd say go take a look. And what got me were all the obama- entries on the left side bar. I wonder how many will stick?

PPS, Am I a terrible person because I want the Obama chia pet?

Best and Worst Week Ever

Let's start with the bad to get it out of my system.

To Lexobus, pretty much the only bus company I can take in Lisieux, here is my middle finger. I hope you like it. It hasn't been given to anyone since the last time I drove in New Jersey.

Lexobus was on strike this week. I've written before about the uphill nightmare that is the walk to Laplace, and since I discovered Lexobus I've pretty much gotten fat and lazy and taken the bus to get there. But this week on Tuesday and Friday I had no choice but to walk it. I impressed myself on Tuesday. I got to school in twenty minutes and, while my face was red red red, I wasn't exhausted or anything. Friday was a different story. It was raining, Normandy style. Which is to say a lot. It was also super windy, so it took me double the time to get to school. And when I arrived I was soaking and assuredly stinky. After classes and lunch were over I noticed that the sun was shining bright. I though I should leave ASAP to get home without a repeat of the morning. About five minutes into my walk it started to hail. That's right. It wasn't raining. It was hailing! I'd already been suffering windburn and now I was being pelted with rock-hard pieces of ice. And do you know what happens when hail lands? It turns into water! So I'm soaked and sore from small hail bruises and my umbrella has just proven that it can do gymnastics when the wind blows hard enough (it's so mangled I don't even think it will ever be usable again). I finally get within a block from home and do you know what I see? Can you guess what I see? A fucking Lexobus! Arg!

I thought that my rant would end there, but last night I started to smell something disgusting in my apartment. Like a wet dirty dog. And then I realized that my new bag, the one I bought at soldes, was made of wool. If you don't know what that means, ask Tara.

OK. Breathe. Everything was fine last night. I got home, took a shower, worked a little on a V-Day present, had a nice dinner. And realized that a lot of good happened this week too:

-I understood every single word in "I Robot, You Jane."

-I can now choose between synonyms in French. For example, whereas before I could only call someone a man, I can now choose between the French equivalents of guy, dude, and bro.

-I did walk to and home from Laplace twice this week, and I'm not sore at all.

-I have a new neighbor who is very friendly, talkative, and generous. He cooked dinner for the two of us the other day and we had an entire conversation in French. I never get tired of hearing my accent and vocabulary are impressive!

-I made pancakes from scratch! I was missing baking powder, so in the end they were crepes, but it was fun to try a recipe from home.

-We have a new English assistant at Michelet. She's from Ghana and super-sweet. We won't be working on the same days, but maybe we'll hang out on our own.

and finally,

-Nathalie invited me to Paris next weekend! So I am finally going to see it tourist-style. Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame, Champs-Elysees. Though I am supposed to think of other things I'd like to see. But I don't know too much. Any ideas??

L'Occitanienne

So Lizzi invited me to go to this special viewing of L'Occitanienne at the cinema in Lisieux last night. Rock. Then I found out that the director was going to be there and we would have the chance to meet him and ask questions. Double rock!

I was stoked because I have a slight silly obsession with Occitanie, a region in France. It all started when I discovered the store L'Occitane en Provence in New Jersey. It's a cosmetics shop with luscious perfumes, soaps and lotions. I loved it even before I had any interest in French, back when I used to butcher the pronunciation of the name something awful. When I first got here and saw one of these stores, I thought I was about to walk into heaven. I thought, if the L'Occitanes in America are as beautiful as they are, I can't imagine what they'll actually be like in France. To my disappointment (at the time), they are exactly the same. The owners like to keep the same authentic feel in all of their stores. As much as I wanted a super-store, I know I'll appreciate this when I go home. I'll know that I can go into any L'Occitane in the world and it will be just like the ones here.

Anyway, after Christmas I started reading this quite massive book about the French, and one of the chapters is on regional dialects. And there's one called Langue d'Oc that originated in this area. And I would love to hear this type of language spoken and compare it to French now that I can understand French.

So now that we all know how excited I was to see this movie, we can get to the good stuff! But not immediately, because the movie was not so good, in my opinion. It was the story of Chateaubriand, a famous writer in the 19th century, and his final love. Nice story, but boring for me. The movie lacked action. It was mostly just scenes from one room at one time. All conversation. How am I supposed to follow something like that? Yeah, I got the gist, but there were so many words I didn't get. Add to that the fact that there was some Langue d'Oc phrases, and that they spoke fast sometimes, and I'm actually surprised at how well I did understand.

The movie was not the best, but I was thrilled that I got to meet the director! Based on the search results I got, I don't think Jean Périssé is actually too well known here. But he did get to work with Bernard le Coq, who is apparently hot stuff in these parts, though I've never heard of any of the films on his imdb list. And you know, it was the same for Chateaubriand, the subject of the film. His wikipedia entry says he is considered the founder of French romanticism, yet I've never heard of him! When we asked the director why he's so important, he told us that to understand, we would have to imagine Victor Hugo, Baudelaire, and Johnny Hallyday all rolled into one. And that's how huge this guy was during his time. I don't know. I'm going to have to check out his work for myself.

I had fun last night. And I want to meet more artists. And Jean Périssé signed something for me. Triple rock.

SOLDES!

Do you know what they are? They're huge sales, the kind that are happening all over France right now. I went into Caen yesterday to make the most of these sales:



Black hat: 3 euros
Bright orange shirt: 4 euros
Bag: 5 euros
Looking this good: Pri -- well, actually it cost about $700 to get here
Feeling this good: Priceless


Win of the Lifetime
I was getting on a bus at the station and the driver was curious about me. He wanted to help me (must have thought I was a tourist, since I was at the station and all) by telling me the best way to get where I was going. But I told him I knew where I was going. Home. He then told me he could hear a bit of an accent and we got to talking. He almost keeled over when he found out I only studied French for a year and a half, and now the three months.

And then he gave me the best compliment ever. He told me that I have a perfect accent. I challenged him by reminding him that it was clear I was foreign. Then he told me that that was precisely why it was perfect. I had just enough accent to reveal that I wasn't from France, but not so much that he couldn't understand me. It was just enough to be interesting. Which pretty much rocked my world.

This one's for my mom

Cause it's her birthday.


more animals


more animals


more animals

Love you ma.

This Just In

Another english assistant is arriving at my school tomorrow! I hope she's awesome, and friendly...

I know I know I've been blogging all day

And I am leaving the library, right after I share this with you, which pretty much made my day:



from Sociological Images

Shoutout

To the best friends in the world. This is mad old, and I forgot to put it up. But back when Donna and Rach had their election-party, they invited me. I, of course, was in France. But this did not stop me from being there:

Best Week(End) Ever, Part 92748yt984t698

A short one, but full of fun none the less.

On Saturday, I went to Honfleur with all my colleagues from Laplace. It's this really nice port town filled with great little shops and cafes. We walked around a bit, took a crap-ton of photos, and then had a bit of hot chocolate at one of said cafes. Then, we headed back to chez Murielle to celebrate a French holiday called la fête de l’epiphanie, and I had so much fun! We started with the apéretif, which is where everyone sits around a table snacking, drinking, and chatting. I've come to really enjoy this part of the evening. At first, I found myself getting grumpy because it's basically an occasion for everyone to talk. I love to talk. But when I first got here, I really couldn't chat that way, so aperitifs seemed to be frustrating for me and really drag out. Now, I seize upon the opportunity to speak as much French as I want, ask questions that I've had (for example, Nathalie told me that Samantha Oups! doesn't really have a political message and I was probably thinking about it too much), and find out more about all the people I've come to know.

After the apéro, (and some awesome-ass Wii play with Colin where I won baseball and bowling but lost hardcore at tennis) we moved on to the dinner, which was delicious - way better than the spaghetti and corn dinners I've been eating for the past two weeks while I wait for my replacement bank card. Anyway, to get back to dinner, it was very nice, and the conversation was great. I can't stress enough how happy I am with the progress I’ve made in French. I was able to talk to the kids much more this time (I think they could notice the difference from Deauville!) and I could talk to all the boyfriends/husbands of the colleagues. And, for the most part, I could understand everything they said without having to ask to repeat or look to someone for a translation. It was awesome!

And then, we had our dessert, which was the whole reason we had this get together in the first place – to celebrate La fête de l’epiphanie! I so wish we had this holiday in Jersey. What happens is you buy a galette. Not the dinner-y type, but the dessert-y type. As you cut the galette, the youngest child (in our case Colin) goes under the table and calls out the name of who’s going to get the pieces. That way, no one can cheat. Everyone gets a piece of the galette, and in one or two of the pieces, there will be a little toy! Whoever gets the toy is the king. The king then picks a queen who gets to wear the crown. In this case, Colin got both toys (so unjust!) He gave one of the kingdoms to his dad, who then picked me as his queen! So I got to sport the crown! And Colin did not pick a queen. He said no one was good enough. Ha! Gotta love candor!

After dinner we all moved to the fireplace again to have some coffee and some more little chocolates! I could barely fit any more inside because I was so full from all that dinner and dessert. But it was nice to just sit with everyone and talk and understand things. And you know what's the best part right now? Sometimes I speak in English with some people, but now I feel like that's OK. Before, when I just got here, I had to use English. I completely lacked the means to understand a conversation otherwise. Now, I can do it. I might be slow, and the convo might have to be modified a bit, but I can keep up. Now, if I'm speaking English with someone it's because I made the choice between French and English. That, my friends, feels pretty damn good.

By the time everyone finally left and I got home it was like 2 in the morning! I think dinner itself lasted until after midnight. My alarm went off during the meal and when I said, "Wow. It's already eleven o'clock," Sophie's copin replied with, "There is no o'clock." Which, you know, is true because I had off the next day. Bonus part of the night: when Tapan called me he was at Donna and Rach’s taco party! So I got to talk to all my buddies! Rock!

Then on Sunday, I moved!!! I was getting pretty fed up with the problems in my old-ass apartment. The water that never lasts, the broken cabinet door, the shower head that spurted water everywhere and soaked the bottom of the floor, the creaky bed that sometimes made me itchy. I don't even want to think about what the reason could have been. I just made sure to wash all my sheets before I switched them. Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore because I switched to this awesome piece:

In English:


In French:


As you can see, it is super way more modern, and there's a hell of a lot more space since there's no awkward sink in the middle of the room. I'm very happy with it. Right now the only thing missing are enough outlets and a cable wire for the TV. But these problems will be fixed within the week. I'm a little bit antsy about the TV. Not antsy, really, but debat-ey. Honesty, I'm OK with not having a TV right now. I can use the time to listen to music, write, read, whatever. But then again, the TV is a really useful tool in learning French. Not just language, but culture also. I know what you're thinking: Ashley, why don't you just watch the TV sometimes? My answer: I can't. I'm pretty much addicted to the background noise. If I'm home, it's on. And that's that. Not a good habit, but it's the truth. But I'm enjoying not having it. I have 5,000 songs on my computer. And it's really nice to, you know, listen to them.

Favorite song of yesterday:



Thanks, Rach, cause without you I never would have downloaded this!

Smelly and Loud

I'm not talking about [enter smelly and loud person, animal or character here]. I'm talking about how I like my memories.

We all know that the olfactory sense has super-strong ties to the memory. To me, the best memories are always the ones linked to a smell or sound. They’re like a happy surprise. Usually, when I have a memory of something it’s because I was talking about a time with someone else, or I was thinking about a specific epoch in my history. In those cases, the memories are good, but predictable. I know they’re coming.

But every once in a while, I hear a song or specific noise, or I smell or taste something and this huge wave of nostalgia washes over me. And I prefer these memories to any other type. They’re always so much stronger. When I hear a song from Mariah Carey’s CD Rainbow, I’m not just reminiscing about the Christmas of 7th grade. I’m there, sitting on the old couch, my mom is on the floor with my brother and we’re opening presents. When I smell Victoria’s Secret Heavenly lotion, I don’t just remember the time that I wore it; I’m there in my past, in my car driving to Williamstown for an interview with a vacuum-cleaner pyramid scheme, reaching into my new green purse, listening to the Legally Blonde the Musical soundtrack. Listening to any song by Avant takes me back to my BFF Jenn’s house in middle school; American Baby by DMB puts my in my car at 4:30 am driving to open the airport store; any song by the Books and I’m in the living room in Ocean City with all my best friends. I brought Tapan’s cologne with me here, and sometimes I spray it on the shirt he gave me so that when I miss him I can cuddle with it. And I’m not just with the shirt when I do that – I really am back in his arms.

I’m reminded of this whole phenomenon every time I walk home from or to Laplace. I pass a particularly stinky area on the way - I think it’s a sewage drain or something – and I have memories of sea. I know it doesn’t sound too nice, that the smell of sewage reminds me of one of the best summers of my life, but it’s the truth. The MS Explorer sometimes had its problems with stinky toilet smell. The first level especially, so sometimes when we arrived in port and had to pass through there to get on and off the ship, we’d be a little inconvenienced. It was never so bad that we’d have to cover our noses or anything, and I don’t think there was any sanitation problem involved. And it’s the same here on that road to Laplace. In fact sometimes I feel rather twisted that I smell that and a smile immediately comes across my face because I’m back at sea, about to have some adventures with McKenzie in Costa Rica, or on the brink of gaining some street cred in Callou, Peru with Jesse and Claire.

But that’s the power of the olfactory sense. And whenever a smell or sound triggers a memory I feel incredibly satisfied. Oh, there are so many things I wish I could share with you all that I just can’t. Sure, I can record a sound and post it here, but it’s just impossible to do that with smell. I wish I could send vials of the smell of pain chaud from La Mie Caline, or this new apple-vanilla artisan soap I bought, or the air last night right before it rained. It makes me at once sad that I can’t share it, and grateful that there are some things that will always be just mine.

And whenever I have one of these memories I wonder what will be the smells that remind me of France in the future. Will it be cranberries (my first shampoo)? Will it be the smell of warm brioche? The honey & milk hand soap that I use? The bitter smell of the scarf that I keep forgetting to wash? The deodorant I use here? And what will be the sounds that take me back? What tastes?

What do you guys think? Have you any smells or sounds that bring you back to a specific place or time, good or bad?

It's not mine

I always want to send one in, but I don't have a secret this good:





And this one too:



It says something like: "I imagine myself as the slayer. At 25 years old it continues. I dream of being in her place. She is so perfect." But the ados part loses me. Does that mean during my adolescence I imagined myself as the slayer?

Fun with translators, and curiosities at the laundromat

I put the following message through a translator English-French, then through a French-English translator. Because who does not surprising syntax?

So I went to the laundry room again today. After disasters such as laundry lost money, the loss of yoga pants, a homeless person who yelled at me not to appreciate that he lost his finger in the war, and the fact that it is a kind of up and away, I have not yet decided to find a new Laundromat. Despite all the low is closest to my apartment and the laundry is very heavy. But today was the last straw. Yet another crazy. Thus, mad, in fact, I think I'll finally, finally, finding a new one.

Usually, when I do my laundry I expect the end of the operation, without leave, but I got things to do today. So I dropped my clothes in the washer and head to do some shopping. I have not found what I was looking for, but that's beside the point. When I returned to the laundry room, there was a man he had decided to distribute all things on the table and four chairs, leaving no room for me to sit. Included in the deal has been a giant can of beer, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper, a jacket, waistcoat, a game of cards and a bag of books, which will almost all come into play during the story.

I did not know what to do, and the guy speaks for itself (not a strange thing to see here in Lisieux, by the way) I went outside and took a little walk. Then, when my washing is ready for the dryer, I went back in and transfers. He allowed his things out of one of the seats and it is really very, very cold and I thought, why not, I'll sit down. Then the man started talking about me.

He asked me if I wanted the table to sort my laundry. I look at hair, who said 20 minutes, then return to him and said: "Not yet." Then he offered me a cigarette. I watched his cigarette lit, then the sign of smoke, then back to him and said: "No." He then asked me if I wanted a better quality cigarette. I told him I do not smoke. Then he said something incomprehensible, either Because of my level English or because he was mad, I'm not sure of. I gave him a blank look. Then he asked me if I was here. I said no, and returned to my book. Fortunately, he did not ask for more.

Within 20 minutes, he took my clothes to dry (not by the way, but I sucked him in an effort to get out of there as soon as I could) that this man made a lot of shenanigans. He put his cigarette on his newspaper and sprinkled ash on the ground. It has setits jacket and waistcoat, which n' would not have been dirty tricks if it n' did not make of him déboucler its belt and its trousers unzip. I thought qu' it was going to start to masturbate. I can probably thank Emari the poem “the day when my grandmother is morte" for this impulse. Fortunately, it n' does not have. It finished its massive beer and started with l' other. And then ila started to pack to the top of its things. It folded its paper, extinguished its cigarette and moved all starting from the principal table. Then it reached in the dustbin and took a towel used outside, qu' it had l' practice d' to wipe the remaining ash of the table, and then l' returned in the waste basket. All this that j' observed with a sharp peripheral vision. With him it seemed that j' was completely written in my book. Then this man went outside. What a happiness! But I was to be disappointed. It n' did not leave; it just went to l' outside trashcan, stuck its manner of arm deeply inside, and withdrew a towel or a fabric used different. It returned to l' interior and cleaned the table again. Except this time, he wanted that the towel was wet. Thus it spit on top, and had l' practice then l' moisture to clean the table. It continued to spit in the towel and to rub the towel above the table runner. It must have done this 11 or 12 times, jusqu' with it that the whole table was clean spit-flutter. I could not do anything but think of how with transform this into poetry and also think of all the times that j' had folded my crusty own laundry on this table even. Then, on the new clean table, this man started with s' to occupy a play of the charts. It lit another cigarette and s' a play for two is occupied. It m' did not ask to play. It s' is just occupied. In conclusion, it desiccator s' is stopped. My clothing was still wet, but j' would have wrinkles qu' rather; to be in this place d' more minute. J' went d' more; to the desiccator and threw all clothing in my bag, which I had placed on the floor instead of the table. Because I did this j' heard the familiar noise d' a play called 52 to begin again. L' man had thrown all his charts on the ground. As it gathered them I hurried out moulding a glance outwards there in back jusqu' so that I l' returned to the house. Maintaining my clothing dry on the heater and my preferred sunny yellow towel turned the green because my new jeans bled in him. How j' like the automatic laundry, let count the manners to me.

Wow, I think that got kind of unfollowable in the middle there. Here's the story in original English if you're curious:

So I went to the Laundromat again today. After such laundry disasters as lost money, lost yoga pants, a homeless man who yelled at me for not appreciating that he lost his finger in the war, and the fact that it is kind of uphill and far away, I still have not decided to find a new Laundromat. Despite all the downs, it is the closest one to my apartment, and laundry is heavy. But today was the last straw. Yet another crazy. So crazy, in fact, that I think I'll finally, finally, find a new one.

Usually when I do my laundry I wait for it to finish without leaving, but I had things to do today. So I dropped my clothes in the washer and headed out to do some shopping. I didn't actually find what I was looking for, but that's beside the point. When I got back to the Laundromat, there was a man there who had decided to spread all of his things over the table and the four chairs, leaving no room for me to sit. Included in his things were a giant can of beer, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper, a jacket, a vest, a deck of cards and a book bag, which will almost all come into play in the course of this story.

I wasn't sure what to do, and the guy was talking to himself (not such a strange thing to witness here in Lisieux, by the way), so I went outside and took a bit of a walk. Then, when my wash was ready for the dryer, I went back in and transferred it. He had cleared his things off of one of the seats and it was really, really cold so I thought, why not, I'll sit down. Then the man started talking to me.

He asked me if I wanted the table to sort my laundry. I looked at the dryer, which said 20 minutes, then back at him and said, "Not yet." Then he offered me a cigarette. I looked at his lit cigarette, then over to the no smoking sign, then back at him and said, "No." He then asked me if I wanted a higher-quality cigarette. I told him I don't smoke. Then he said something incomprehensible, either because of my level of French or because he was crazy, I'm not sure which. I gave him a blank look. Then he asked me if I was from here. I said no, and returned to my book. Luckily, he didn't ask more.

In the 20 minutes it took my laundry to dry (not completely by the way, but I sucked it up in an effort to get out of there as soon as I could) this man did a lot of shenanigans. He put his cigarettes out on his newspaper and dusted the ash onto the floor. He put on his jacket and vest, which wouldn't have been shenanigans if it didn't make him unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. I thought he was going to start masturbating. I can probably thank Emari's poem "On the day my grandmother died" for that impulse. Thankfully, he did not. He finished his massive beer and began another. And then he began to pack up his things. He folded his paper, put out his cigarette and moved everything away from the main table. Then he reached into the trash can and took out a used napkin, which he used to wipe the remaining ash from the table, and then returned it to the wastebasket. All of this I observed with a keen peripheral vision. To him it seemed I was totally engrossed in my book.

Then this man went outside. What happiness! But I was to be disappointed. He did not leave; he just went to the trashcan outside, stuck his arm way deep in, and pulled out another used napkin or tissue. He came back inside and cleaned the table once again. Except this time, he wanted the napkin to be wet. So he spit on it, and then used the moisture to clean the table. He continued to spit into the napkin and rub the napkin over the tabletop. He must have done this 11 or 12 times, until the whole table was spit-sparkling clean. I could do nothing but think of how to turn this into a poem and also think about all the times I had folded my crispy clean laundry on this very table.

Then, on the new clean table, this man began to deal a game of cards. He lit another cigarette and dealt a game for two. He did not ask me to play. He just dealt. Finally, the dryer stopped. My clothes were still damp, but I would rather have wrinkles than be in this place one more minute. I walked over to the dryer and threw all the clothes into my bag, which I had placed on the floor instead of the table. As I was doing this I heard the familiar sound of a game called 52 pick up. The man had thrown all of his cards on the ground. As he collected them I hurried out of there without casting a look back until I made it home.

Now my clothes are drying on the heater and my favorite sunny yellow towel has turned green because my new blue jeans bled into it. How I love the Laundromat, let me count the ways.

And what the hell, here's the story translated into French, for my readers who love wacky French syntax too. Who said this blog can't be bilingual?

Je mets le message suivant par l'intermédiaire d'un traducteur anglais-français, puis par l'intermédiaire d'un traducteur français-anglais. Parce que qui n'aime pas étonnant de syntaxe?

Je suis donc allée à la buanderie de nouveau aujourd'hui. Après de telles catastrophes comme la lessive a perdu de l'argent, la perte de pantalons de yoga, un sans-abri qui a crié à moi de ne pas apprécier qu'il a perdu son doigt dans la guerre, et le fait qu'il est une sorte de montée et de loin, je n'ai pas encore décidé de trouver un nouveau Laundromat. En dépit de tous les bas, c'est le plus proche de mon appartement, et la lessive est très lourd. Mais, aujourd'hui, a été la dernière paille. Pourtant, un autre fou. Ainsi, fou, en fait, que je crois que je vais enfin, enfin, trouver un nouveau.

Habituellement, lorsque je fais ma lessive je attendre la fin de l'opération, sans quitter, mais j'ai eu des choses à faire aujourd'hui. J'ai donc abandonné mes vêtements dans la laveuse et la tête pour faire quelques achats. Je n'ai pas trouvé ce que je cherchais, mais c'est à côté du point. Lorsque je suis rentré à la buanderie, il y avait un homme, il qui avait décidé de diffuser toutes ses choses sur la table et quatre chaises, ne laissant aucune place pour moi de siéger. Inclus dans son choses ont été un géant de la bière peuvent, d'un paquet de cigarettes, un journal, une veste, un gilet, un jeu de cartes et d'un sac de livres, qui seront presque tous entrent en jeu au cours de cette histoire.

Je ne savais pas quoi faire, et le gars parle de lui-même (pas une chose étrange à voir ici, à Lisieux, par la manière), je suis allé dehors et a pris un peu de marche. Puis, quand mon laver est prête pour la sécheuse, je suis retourné à l'intérieur et la transfère. Il a autorisé son choses hors de l'un des sièges et il est vraiment très, très froid et je me disais, pourquoi pas, je vais m'asseoir. Ensuite, l'homme a commencé à parler de moi.

Il m'a demandé si je voulais le tableau à trier ma lessive. Je regarde les cheveux, qui a dit 20 minutes, puis revenir à lui et lui dit: «Non, pas encore." Puis il m'a offert une cigarette. J'ai regardé sa cigarette allumée, puis sur le signe de fumer, puis de retour à lui et lui dit: "Non" Il m'a alors demandé si je voulais une meilleure qualité cigarette. Je lui ai dit que je ne fume pas. Puis il a dit quelque chose d'incompréhensible, que ce soit à cause de mon niveau de français ou parce qu'il était fou, je ne suis pas sûr de l'. Je lui ai donné un regard vide. Puis il m'a demandé si j'étais d'ici. J'ai dit non, et est retourné à mon livre. Heureusement, il n'a pas demandé plus.

Dans les 20 minutes, il a pris mon linge à sécher (pas par la manière, mais je lui aspiré dans un effort pour sortir de il dès que j'ai pu) de cet homme fait beaucoup de magouilles. Il a mis ses cigarettes sur son journal et saupoudrées de cendres sur le sol. Il a mis sur sa veste et gilet, ce qui n'aurait pas été entourloupettes si elle n'a pas fait de lui déboucler sa ceinture et son pantalon unzip. Je pensais qu'il allait commencer à se masturber. Je peux probablement remercier Emari le poème «Le jour où ma grand-mère est morte" pour cette impulsion. Heureusement, il n'a pas. Il a terminé ses massives de bière et a commencé à l'autre. Et puis ila commencé à emballer vers le haut de ses choses. Il a plié son de papier, éteint sa cigarette et déplacé tout à partir de la table principale. Alors il a atteint dans la poubelle et a pris dehors une serviette utilisée, qu'il avait l'habitude d'essuyer la cendre restante de la table, et alors l'a renvoyée dans la corbeille à papiers. Toute la ceci que j'ai observé avec une vision périphérique vive. À lui elle a semblé que j'ai été totalement rédigé dans mon livre. Alors cet homme est allé dehors. Quel bonheur ! Mais je devais être déçu. Il n'est pas parti ; il est juste allé à l'extérieur trashcan, a collé sa manière de bras profondément dedans, et a retiré une serviette ou un tissu utilisée différente. Il est revenu à l'intérieur et a nettoyé de nouveau la table. Excepté ce temps, il a voulu que la serviette fût humide. Ainsi il crachent là-dessus, et avaient l'habitude alors l'humidité pour nettoyer la table. Il a continué à cracher dans la serviette et à frotter la serviette au-dessus du dessus de table. Il doit avoir fait ceci 11 ou 12 fois, jusqu'à ce que la table entière ait été cracher-scintillement propre. Je pourrais ne faire rien mais penser à comment à transformez ceci en poésie et pensez également à toutes les fois que j'avais plié ma blanchisserie propre croustillante sur cette table même. Puis, sur la nouvelle table propre, cet homme a commencé à s'occuper un jeu des cartes. Il a allumé une autre cigarette et s'est occupé un jeu pour deux. Il ne m'a pas demandé de jouer. Il s'est juste occupé. En conclusion, le dessiccateur s'est arrêté. Mes vêtements étaient encore humides, mais j'aurais plutôt des rides qu'être dans cet endroit d'une plus de minute. J'ai marché plus d'au dessiccateur et ai jeté tous les vêtements dans mon sac, qui I avait placé sur le plancher au lieu de la table. Car je faisais ceci j'ai entendu le bruit familier d'un jeu appelé 52 reprendre. L'homme avait jeté toutes ses cartes au sol. Comme il les a rassemblées je me suis dépêché hors là de mouler en dehors un regard en arrière jusqu'à ce que je l'aie rendu à la maison. Maintenant mes vêtements sèchent sur le réchauffeur et ma serviette jaune ensoleillée préférée a tourné le vert parce que mes nouveaux jeans ont saigné dans lui. Comment j'aime la laverie automatique, laissez-moi compter les manières.

Sick & Tired

Not in the sense of being frustrated with or fed up with anything. I just happen to be sick with a head cold and tired as an effect of said cold. So I've been lazy with the blogging. Mostly because I lack the motivation to walk to the library where I can use the internet. Oh, things would be so much easier if I had wifi in my studio.

But hey, I had an awesome New Year! The party in Laudeac (accent over the e, I think) was super fun, and I was very impressed with all the costumes:

I'm the one with the ridiculous amount of blond hair (thanks for the wig Karen!)

And I absolutely adore my Pollyanna present:

He's a petit bonhomme Breton (in traditional Brittany dress)

Other than the awesome New Year's weekend, I haven't been up to much. I started getting sick just after, thank god, and I think it will go away soon. On the bright side, I was able to explain to the pharmacist all of my problems with no trouble! That's progress.

Win of the week: It snowed yesterday! Everyone told me not to expect snow and that it's super-rare here, but I guess France wanted to impress me. Even Will Smith, who was on Le Petit Journal last night, said he was surprised to see the snow in Paris. I was happy to see M. Smith on the journal. Apparantly, he bought the rights to Bienvenue chez les ch'tis and he's going to make an American version. Which, you know, makes me pretty excited because I'm curious how they're going to translate it. Maybe something like Welcome to Texas?

In other news, the American movies that have been frequenting network television these past few days have been interesting. In two days, I had the pleasure of watching Avalanche, Poseidon's Revenge, and Showgirls. For me, this is fine. Because we all know how much I adore B-list movies. But I imagine that most people I know would be very disappointed.

Well, that's it today for my useless observations and rambling. I'm going to go have a nap and then I'm going to watch Amelie. Finally, a good one.

I leave you with this, a picture Tapan made for me. It seems he always knows what to do: