... and a happy new year !

I may, or may not have used the same post title last year, but, well, it's seasonal. And appropriate.

In any case : Happy New Year reader ! I am off to Berlin, to celebrate the new year with my friends and enjoy a bit of the German atmosphere. First time in Berlin in my whole life, though I've studied German for... wait... 12 years. Quite a lot von die Motivation !

My plans for next year : Eat less, work more and spreaaaad love. What about yours ?

I wish you all the best, anything you might wish for yourself (except if it involves whatever form of death and destruction), and love, health, glory and riches on top of that !

Fahlala lala, lala, la, la !

** MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU **

I wish you all the best, a very, very merry Christmas, and also this :

Loooove all around !

The world is all around you...

Hej! Hej hej hej! I am back from Copenhaguen where I spent these last ten days for the Klimaforum09. It. Was. Awesome. And really weird sometimes. A mixture of hope and despair and stress and love and hate and tiredness and music and noise and laughter and tears, and yes I do believe I'm out of clichés XD

It was very exhilarating and if you add all the excitement to the message and the depressing-ness of the situation, you end up with being perpetually on the verge of some kind of break down. The kind of state where you start crying because your keys fell to the very bottom of your handbag, and you fall in love with anyone who says hi to you in the corridor. The kind of state where you want to hug people half the time, and kick the furniture and scream the rest of it. Nothing in between. It is all very exciting. And very tough to describe. But here are 5 things I wanted to tell you about more particularly. My top 5 Copenhaguen "Here's to".

1) Here's to guitar playing hippies Yes indeed. Guitar playing hippies. Here's to vegan people, here's to the Via Campesina, here's to love and vegetable soup. Here's to woolen hats, here's to yogis, here's to trees and raisin bran, here's to organic coffee beans and to activist T-Shirts, here's to that lady from Tibet, and the other one from Bolivia, here's to you all who came and went and changed the way I see the world like nothing that happened to me before. Here's to me becoming a little less cynical and a little more sorry.

2) Here's to the danish pølse (and to those danish letters with the slashes and the ° on them...) Pølse is a type of special Danish hot-dog, with pickles and three types of sauce on top. They are very inexpensive, and they include some meat. Pølse are murder. Here's to vegans indeed, but I needs my proteins.

Pølse saved me from turning into a turnip at day 5, or falling into the dark pit of vegetable-spread induced depression.

Look Marion! Cool stuff on the walls in Copenhaguen too!

3) Here's to the Danish people in general, to their English skills which helped me a lot throughout the trip, to my hosts who were very, very kind and accepted to give me a bed for 10 days even though I came home at crazy hours every night. I need to find some kind of karmic offset for my hosts.

4) Here's to the Danish currency, which also saved me from starvation (had the prices been in Euros, I would probably have eaten nothing but the free vegetable soup they gave at the conference center). Honestly, Denmark, what's with the crazy prices ? 5€ for a coffee ?

5) Here's to the booth technician P, J from GoodPlanet, and the grey-haired lady who believed our tales of peanut and chocolate-fueled interpretation and brought us sweets and water all the time : Just seeing them got me in a good mood. I really like those people who are always, always in a communicative good mood.

I forget many, many things like the guy in the black hood talking about "ze pipole of ze Bretagna", the øko-chocolate cake of the conference center, my pillow and my blanket, the little christmas gnomes they have all over the place in Copenhaguen, my awesome lipstick from Japan which helped a lot with the frostbites, MSN and IT in general, all my colleagues and cinnamon rolls, but if I go on for too long, I'll start crying and saying things like "we are all part of one big human community" or "spread love" and then we will all be sorry .

PS: Sorry about the layout of this post, blogger seems to have gone wild

In the box right now

Hi reader! I'm writing here straight from my hotel room in Le Mans. I'm so glad to have a blog, sometimes... It's been a nice working day, and everyone was really nice, only I must admit to feeling slightly stupid in comparison with the experienced interpreters I worked with today. But I learnt plenty, and it was really cool. I left my hometown in the morning, (at 5.30, in fact. Too morningy for me, I am afraid) and thought about my blog in the train, since I stupidly forgot my Dorothy L Sayers at home. I hate forgetting my book at home, especially when it's as great as this one. But let's get back to business : I have a new list ! The top 5 amazing things I learnt over these past two weeks. I learnt many more things besides these five, but these are the ones I feel like talking about.

1. On the latest album of my favourite French singer, there's a duo with Eagle Eye Cherry. Now. This number 1 thing implies my admitting to the world that my favourite French singer is Gerald De Palmas. And I know for a fact that most of my readership (one is a person, two is a "-ship") knows what De Palmas sings, and is familiar with his lyrics. But I have no shame, and I love De Palmas. He's great, he is!

The reason why it's amazing that he sings a duo with Eagle Eye Cherry now, is that when I was at the end of junior high (i.e. about 10 years ago), my very very first pop-rock concert was a double bill Eagle Eye Cherry and Gerald De Palmas. It was sooooo great. I went with my sister M and my best friend V, and had such a great evening. I saw De Palmas and Eagle Eye Cherry afterwards too, but each in their own concert. So it's really strange that they should record a track together now, but it makes me very happy. Besides, it's a really cool track. Called Pandora's Box. I likes it. Makes me happy. Listening to it right now and shaking my head like those plastic dogs they put in cars...

2. Reading a book by Jane Austen is just not the same as reading another book. Now I knew that already, but last week, I read "Persuasion" in a beautiful room with golden chandeliers and portraits of dashing officers on the walls, and then I had two gin tonics, and then I went completely crazy. The kind of crazy where you pretend you are slightly lifting the long skirt of your dress when going up the stairs so that you wont step on it, even though you are wearing jeans. The kind of crazy where you can't help smiling when you remember about the "you pierce my soul" part, even though you are on the subway. Aaaaah, my. Jane Austen. One more person I'd like to thank if I ever go to heaven.

3. A good reason for tall people to wear nice shoes. I have noticed in Paris lately, and very often before, that people tend to look at my feet when I get up. Now I might be paranoid, but I can't help thinking that they are checking if I'm wearing heels. So, I figure, it's a good reason to have nice shoes. And yes, I am just trying to justify buying two pairs in two days.

4. If you are doing something silly in the street, there will be someone to watch you. Say you are in a small town, where hardly anyone is out after 10 p.m. except for you, apparently, since it's midnight and you're going home trying to be furtive as a ninja so maybe you can startle someone who's just like you, except going the other way.

Say there's a little chain dangling from the top of a shop window. Say you want to try and see if you can touch it, and then you jump a little and make a little jingle-noise with the chain. Well, statistically there is a 100% chance for a parked car to materialize right there on the spot, with a guy inside, and then you look ridiculous. And it really doesn't go with the vampire image you are trying to have when walking alone at midnight. But then again. Who knows. Maybe vampires play silly games in nightly cities all the time. If I were one, I know I would.



5. I can eat a shrimp with a knife and a fork and not use my fingers. What the mind can do... :)



Have a nice day !

Rows and rows of big dark clouds

It's Sunday. No big and interesting adventure ever happened on a Sunday. I hate Sundays. I don't really, cause they also mean sleeping till 11 a.m., only since I don't really have a job these days, I can pretty much sleep all I want any day of the week, which robbed sundays of their sole purpose. And outside of family reunions, I really do hate sundays, because there is nothing interesting to do on a sunday, and I don't know why, but they seem to be rainy all the time. So today's top 5, in honour of Crap-Sunday-Weather, will be the top 5 things I sould remember not to do when I am down on a sunday, together with possible solutions. I do not actually believe there is a cure to sunday crap-ness, but you never know. There we go. I should not :

1. Listen to the music I want to listen to. What I should do is choose whatever track I feel like listening, and then pick its exact opposite. I should avoid, in particular, listening to sad tunes (it only ever makes things worse. Patty Griffin nearly killed me today. By the way, about Patty Griffin... Is it cool to listen to Patty Griffin ? I like it, but I also have to be pointed out what's cool, so I'd really like to have your opinion... Long Ride Home is such a nice song...)

Also, listening to rock music that you believe will make you more... say tonic and... wake you up is not a good solution. I tried the Babyshambles (whom I really, really love), and all it did was adding a wish to kick the furniture and punch innocent walls to a feeling of down-ness. Whatever you call it. It's no good.

Because then either you stay aggressive till it's time to go to bed, or you do punch a wall, and then you hurt your hand, and then you feel so stupid you want to punch yourself. I would say... stupid hip hop stuff. Or maybe also "Superman (It's not Easy)" by Five for Fighting. But that might just be me. Cause it's a sad song, but it makes me feel happy, somehow. Scouting for Girl also does the trick (especially "James Bond", which is really cool).

2. Go back to bed and do nothing. Then I feel bad because I haven't done anything worthwhile with my day and it adds guilt to the lot. Baaad idea.

3. Start making a complicated recipe that I always wanted to try. Are you crazy, Reader? On a gray sunday under the sign of Craponus, roman God of failures? Usually, I find out that I am missing a key ingredient AFTER I melted half a pound of butter. Then what do you do with half a bloody pound of melted butter? Drink it? So no complicated recipe.

Then again, you might never have thought of baking a cake just because you're down, but that's what comes up first when I think about things I could do when I am bored. It's also valid for any creative work. Start with what you do have, and then figure out what you could do with it should be the general guideline.

4. Procrastinate. Cause it's sunday and you're supposed to rest and you're entitled to do nothing. No good at all. The logical thing is to start on the most boring task you can think of. Like... I dunno... cleaning the windows. Because, look at it this way : you are already bored to death doing nothing, so why not go on being bored to death, but at least figure you've done something worthwhile at the end of the day? (There, even I would argue that cleaning windows is really not worthwhile at all as long as you can see through them. But I'm sure you see what I mean).

5. Go. On. Facebook. Going on Facebook when you are bored will only EVER make things worse. I don't know why I like Facebook so much. I think I like the Facebook pages of other people so much that I pretend I like it myself in order to absorb some of their coolness... Doesn't work. Three hours spent on FarmVille are a good equivalent to drinking half a pound of melted butter.

Now, reader, time for me to follow my own advice and go 'glossarize'. I promise I'll write something a little more... interesting and cool next time. When the sunday afternoon jinx is gone again. Have a nice week-end!! Hu hu hu... that sounds kind of cynical now, doesn't it? Well go ahead, then! Clean the windows!!

You make my dreams come true

Hey reader !!

My sister F is going to Japan tomorrow (Bon voyage, F !! Keep breathing until you're on the plane, and then everything will be fine. You are a tree. Your roots go deep, deep in the earth, and you feel the wind in your leaaaaaaaaaaves. No? Ok, then...) and the other day, when she came to visit, she told us about two of her favourite movie lines ever. Now. Is that not a great idea for a top 5 ? It is. Let me not forget it is. But it is not today's. (Feintés :D)

Today's top 5 is also a movie-related top 5, concerning "those moments that make you shiver even long after you have watched the movie". Please, please, for my sake, read the top 5 rules. I probably forgot great ones. And also, please, please, tell me which in the comments.

So. Here goes. (Oh, and I make no claim to originality). (Oh, and now that I think of it, possible spoilers ahead)

1. The Dead Poet's Society (unexpected, huh?). At the end. I love the movie, I love that scene, and it makes me shiver just thinking about it right now. You know which scene I mean, I'm sure, and I don't want to spoil it for you if you haven't seen it yet. By the way, if you haven't seen it yet, do.

2. The shower scene in Casino Royale. Now Casino Royale is hardly a "favourite movie ever" candidate, but that scene ?! That scene is wonderful. I told you about it already I know. But let me tell you about it once more. Eva Green (oh, if I just could look like Eva Green, just for a minute) has killed a man. It was self defense, and she had no choice, but still. She killed a man, and she's traumatized. James Bond (yeah, OK, I say Eva Green and James Bond. Indulge me.) comes up to her room to see if she's OK (This is getting real long, but I love it so...) and he finds her sitting under a cold shower in her wondrous dress. Now what does James Bond do ?

Does he take her out of the shower and dry her hair ?

No he does not. He sits next to her under the shower, keeping his expensive leather shoes on, because does he care about his expensive leather shoes ? No, he does not. And then he takes her in his arms and turns on the hot water tap to make her warmer. I can hear you hardcore James Bond fans at the back going "Sean Connery would have thrown her a blanket and poured himself a drink". To you I say : "You do not exist, I only ever have 2 readers, whom I both know, and who are no hardcore James Bond fans". And "I don't care. I like Daniel Craig 100 times better".

3. The prison scene in Dark City. I don't remember the movie so clearly, to tell you the truth, even though I remember it was great, but that scene is carved in my memory for ever. He's in prison, and she comes to visit him ("he" being Rufus Sewell, and "she" being Jennifer Connelly --If only I could look like Jennifer Connelly...--) and he's got the power to change reality, and he shatters the parlour's glass, just so that he can kiss her. OK. Those "shiver" scenes are always big, girly love scenes. Breaking news, I'm a girl.

4. Collision. Now it's not a scene, it's a movie. But there are at least 5 scenes in that movie alone that make me shiver just thinking about them. My favourite one involves Sandra Bullock and her cleaning lady, but I cannot say more, because 95% of my readership has never seen the movie (in spite of my insistance, pleas and numerous begging sessions). I guess I might have spoilt it for them.

5. The scene in Amelie when she bakes her cake at the end. A French movie in a top 5 is not a usual thing. But then again, Amelie is not a usual movie. Anyway, she bakes a cake and imagines her love is at the door. Then it turns out he really is. Might be because I've baked so many cakes and imagined my love bringing me the missing ingredient so many times without him ever showing up at the door that seeing the scene was kind of like having a wish granted. I love that movie.

Now, reader, I have to go, because a top 5 includes... well... 5 things, so mission complete, and also because lunch is ready and I should go take it out of the oven. Weirdly enough, I now really, really want to see Sense and Sensibility. Do you ?

PS: The title is tacky, but the song is cool. Have you seen 500 days of Summer ?

Ashes to ashes

Well reader, it's me again! I'm coming back from my first international business trip to Lille. What do you mean, "it's not international if you stay in France" ? What do you mean "we don't give a rat's ass"? Have you been watching Craig Ferguson again, reader? Oh no, wait. That's me. Guess I'm talking to myself again...

Anyway. First mission complete, it was really nice and interesting and I love my job. Did I tell you already? Well, I do, anyways. And while going to Lille (and coming back from Lille, which included missing my stupid train because of my stupid alarm clock and waiting for three hours at the stupid Lille train station in a stupid café and having to pay for my stupid ticket twice) I watched videos on my laptop (which I had probably brought with me because a part of me just knew I could not catch a train before 7 a.m.)

I watched the first episode of Dollhouse season 2 (while going to Lille. That's a paragraph ago. I know I should go see a doctor about that brackets issue...). What I mean to say is: I watched the first episode of Dollhouse season 2 and THE WHOLE season 1 of Ashes to Ashes. And I just thought I should tell you that it was great.

Both were great.

And I will never, ever understand why shows like Smallville manage to stay on air for years on end, and shows like Dollhouse and Firefly get cancelled in a jiffy. Bad ratings. For DOLLHOUSE! It's great! It's fantastic! It's moving, it's original, it's funny, it's sad and I love it. I hope it's going to keep things up until the end, which I know to be near. So here's to Joss Whedon, and I hope he keeps up the good work for years to come, even if it's just one season at a time.

But let us not be bitter, and let me tell you more about Ashes to Ashes (nothing whatsoever to do with Joss Whadon there. It's an English show). It's a Life on Mars spin-off. Or a follow-up, I don't quite know which, but it's really good in any case. It's the story of a single mother who gets shot in the head (things are starting out great for her...) and who is sent back in time to 1981. She doesn't know if she's dreaming or if it's some kind of paranormal time travelling thing, but in any case, she knows for a fact that she's one second away from death in her real life, and she still wants to get back to her daughter.

You might or might not enjoy the main character being a little too hysterical for my taste, (even though she plays really well), but not liking Gene Hunt (who is about as unlikable as they get, since he is racist, homophobic, bitter and rude) is a real challenge. I don't know what it is with English series these days, but between Dr Who, Life on Mars and this one, I just can't wait for the next one to come up.


Anyway. I guess this is all for today. I hope you are well, and I hope you managed to follow. Next time, I promise, less brackets and more interesting stuff. I know I can do it.

PS: We do have TGVs in France. The steam train thing is just because my TGV just looked like a weird rectangle.

And I'm a million miles froohom youuuh

Well well well reader. Guess what? YES! Indeed! I have not written in a very long time!! No particularly good reason for this. I was thinking about something great to write about the end of this schoolyear, that will be my last, it is now official. Did not find anything great, at least not great enough to describe my years at the university, so I figured, let's just tell them I made it and move on.

I MADE IT READER!! I'M AN INTERPRETER!! Do the boogie, do the boogie, YEAH!! YEAH!!

So, 5 words to describe my mood now, before I move on to today's 'official' top 5: happy, incredulous, sad, panicky and hopeful. I do hope sad will go away one day, when hopeful turns to happy. Twice happy! Wish me luck!

But enough about me, let us turn to today's top 5 : The top 5 things I learnt while watching "Alisa, Folge deinem Herzen" on the German channel ZDF.

You have to forgive my regular references to Alisa over the last few posts (actually, I think I only talked about it once, but still), since I am watching one episode a day these days. It is slowly becoming an obsession. It is eating away my life, my soul, and most importantly, any sense of taste. Just kidding, it's actually not that bad, the actors are good and the music is great. (Check out "wrong turn", by Jack Johnson, it's a great, great song). Anyway. Alisa, as we will call it for short, is, as the title indicates, following her heart. And teaching me valuable life lessons in the making.

1. If you are in Germany, and you really, really want to look inconspicuous, because the whole police force is after you since you've been making dirty business with arms dealers (I always feel silly saying "arms dealers" in English. I keep imagining some kind of limb-distributing ATM...) what you really, really should do is sport an ugly and fake looking blond wig, huge sunglasses and Columbo's coat. And walk really fast but making teeny tiny steps, looking either at your feet or casting quick glances all around you.

2. Apparently, the German police force are quite stupid

3. If you're really sad because your boss died, the first thing you should do is go out in the garden and play a sad little tune on your trumpet while doing the boogie of death. It's always appreciated by the mourning family, which will then proceed to come out in the garden and give you a nice big hug.

4. Behind every great german businessman, there is a strong willed Damart-model who bakes apple-pie for him.

5. You could make me watch anything. Anything at all. Put a nice soundtrack and a love story in it, and there I am. Lost. Forever.

There you go reader. And if any of you likes "Alisa, folge deinem Herzen", please note that I am being mean, but I like it too. More than I like to admit. They're all so lovable. XD

Have a nice evening !!

Every step

Lo reader !

I have not written in quite a long time (how many of these posts start with that same sentence, I wonder...) but I was quite busy. I ACTUALLY was quite busy, for once, since I finished my final paper from hell (though I had a lot of trouble with La Poste, and let it be known right here that I really, really don't like them. *insert something rude*). Anyway, between two nervous breakdown, I still found time to go to a festival in my hometown, Colmar, and see plenty of concerts, which was absolutely great. Great, great, great.

Here it is, then, the top 5 concerts I saw at the Foire aux Vins this year. Top 5 rules apply (I saw only 6 concerts, and I'll spare you the BB Brunes, which is a French pop group and which I don't like very much. At all. And there are not enough numbers in 5 to make room for Superbus either, which is another French group, and which was nice and all, but not really my cup of tea.)

Well.... here goes!

1. Cocoon. First group I saw this year. It's a French group, but it's in English, and their songs are all soft and pretty. They were very nice and funny, and the perfect way to start the whole series. Do listen to their songs, and maybe look at their videos too, they're really nice and put you in a great mood!

2. The Do. They are kind of French too, I believe, though they sing in English, and they are at least part Finnish. Well, let's say they're European. They absolutely did not sound like what I expected, and I liked them very much all the same.

3. Charlie Winston. Might well be the best concert I ever saw. It's definitely in the top 2, anyway. (I feel very sorry for my sister M who was not with us, but if he ever comes to Brussels where she lives, I'm in!). I was in love when I got out. I don't quite know with whom, but I sure was. He started the concert, then his brother joined him (Tom Baxter, apparently well known in the UK, and very very good at playing the guitar and being awesome), then at the very end people from Cocoon and the Do as well as his brother joined him on stage and it was really, really cool.

In case you don't know about Charlie Winston, his album's called Hobo, it's just brilliant and it makes you feel happy. Do listen to it, and tell me what you think. Especially... Well, especially all of them, but more particularly 'Tongue Tied" and "Every Step".

4. Amy Macdonald. I don't know if I ever told you about Amy Macdonald before, but I bought her album about a year ago after seeing her 2 minutes on a French TV show. I just love her voice and her lyrics are nice and it's folk music, which is, I believe, my favourite kind. She's from Scotland, and no one in the whole room could understand a word she was saying when she spoke to us, but the concert was still brilliant, and I wish I could go back and hear it again right this evening. Thank you so much, V for inviting me!! And if you don't know Amy Macdonald, I would say... listen to.... "Barrowland Ballroom", and "Let's Start a Band".

5. The Babyshambles. We waited for one hour, and were quite convinced that they wouldn't come, since Pete Doherty had had legal troubles, but they were very much here in the end. I did not know their songs, and I don't even know why I took the ticket in the first place, since I did not know the music and was firmly convinced that they would actually not come, but I don't regret going for a minute.

The atmosphere was incredible (really), and the music was great, and their rendition of Twist and Shout was just... well. We all twisted, we all shouted, and we had a great, great time. I felt a little bad though, because... well, I know it sounds silly and probably patronizing and all, but it made me a little sad being so happy and seeing that man on the stage being so not well. Made me think of that song by the Flogging Molly that goes:

"Well it breaks my heart to see you this way

the beauty in life where's it gone?

Somebody told me you were doing OK,

somehow I guess they were wrong"

But. It was a great concert, and I loved every minute of it.

Altogether, it was a great, great festival, and I really want to go again next year and see as many concerts as I can. There really is nothing like live music with cool people around you, in my opinion. And then you can go have a dring and talk about the coolest bands you saw and all, and it's still great memories years after. What was the coolest band you ever saw? I need to know! I need to know who I have to see next year!

Love is hard...

Hi Reader !!

Here's a new top 5 ! A new Top 5 inspired from my sister F's Blog a few weeks back. The Top 5 Things I love even though I'm terribly ashamed to admit it. It's such a brilliant top 5 idea. And yes, there are things that I am STILL ashamed to admit, even though I already told you so many shameful stuff. Let it be known that I still hesistate here, line 5 of this post. Maybe I'll just give up and not publish this message. But let us be brave and write on. Nobody reads this anyway. And those who actually do probably know I have to be ashamed of a lot of stuff. Bollywood, musicals, my multiple crushes on nine tenth of hollywood actors (notwithstanding Orlando Bloom), my hopeless love of Dr Who... Aaaaah, so many things I should be ashamed of, and stand up for, against all odds... (whatever...)

Well, enough procrastination, here comes the actual top 5.

1. Rrrrrrrrrghhhhhhaaaaaaaacan't say it ! Can't say it !! Thhhhhhe Twiiiilight-----(Ok, ok, no one knows my actual name. No one is interested anyway. Go on ! Go on ! Breathe ! It's easier if you say it fast...) Hhhhhh... hhhhhh.... THE TWILIGHT SAGA. Feels better now it's out.

Yes. The Twilight saga. I read the four books in two weeks, stayed up all night to know the ending, and found it great. I liked it, I liked it, and I firmly intend to go ahead a read them again some time soon. Also I went to the cinema, and saw the movie, and will go ahead and pay for my ticket to watch the second one, might even watch it twice and pay both times. And even though I laughed at the sutpid joke that goes "what do you get when you cross a disco ball with a douchebag" and the answer was Edward Cullen (yeah, cause in Twilight, vampires glitter. I also laughed when I found out...) I still must admit it. I liked the books very much.

2. English-old-lady style dresses. Put a dress with tiny pink flowers on it in any clothes shop, you can be sure that I will take a fancy to it. If given the choice, I would probably look like an English Gran all the time. Probably comes from all those Jane Austen books I read. By the way, have you seen "The Young Victoria" ? If you have not, you should, it was pretty good, and they had great dresses. It made me giggly (especially Sir John. Go, see The Young Victoria, and giggle at Sir John for me. His life is crap, he hates everyone, and he kicks the furniture around. I thought he was swell). I would like to see it again, actually. And Paul Bettany's in it. What a great, great link to point 3...

3. Well, I must admit, my kind of man. Tall, blond, blue-eyed. This is, I must say, quite shameful. And very unoriginal. But well. Here it is.

4. My willingness to see anything that's a musical. Even if it's French. Even if it's Le Roi Soleil and I bought the CD. Oh, no, no, no, this is never going to be published on my blog for all to read. Le Roi Soleil, yes, I must admit. This is sooo less cool than secretly being a gothic punk fan and listening to Hard Kaur, F, if you hear me... But well, I liked it. I still kind of do ("Je fais de twaaah mon essentieeeellle..."). Still recovering.

5. Oh so many songs and groups and music styles that I KNOW are not particularly clever but still love to listen to, very loudly, in my MP3 player while I brush my teeth. Rihanna, Britney Spears, the Sugababes (oh my...), and the Spice Girls, and also, even, too, Billy Crawford). There. I said it. I wrote "I love to listen to Billy Crawford" on my blog.

Help me ! Tell me what you love and are ashamed of before I wilt and die !! Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi. You are my only hope.

Your butt is mine ! \o/

I just can't believe I finally found a good reason to put this as a title here. Anyway. Yeah, cause "I'm bad". You'll understand in a minute. But first, a big question, adressed mostly to my sister F: What does Michael Jackson say, in Bad, that sounds like "shamoo, shamoo"? Anyone?

Ok, now for the actual post : Today, my top 5 favourite actors who look perfectly evil without even trying.

1. Rufus Sewell. This whole post is actually just an excuse to write something about Rufus Sewell. He looks evil, he squints a little (or maybe one of his eyes is bigger than the other, I can't decide), and he's got green eyes and curly black hair. I want green eyes and curly black hair on the 7 feet tall and cape-wearing, curry-eating man I ordered for Christmas. Write that down, Santa! Rufus Sewell played in A Knight's Tale, which is one of my favourite comedies ever (featuring Paul Bettany. Crap. Paul Bettany's got no curly black hair, and blue eyes. Whatever, Santa. Take your pick.)

He also played in Dark City, where there is one of those scenes (oooh, I just found the theme of my next post!)... One of those scenes that make you shiver just thinking about it. Oddly enough, it involves another black-haired and green-eyed creature, who is, incidentaly, the wife of aforementionned Paul Bettany. This first paragraph is getting sooooo long... :D Well. Rufus Sewell.

2. Alan Rickman. I saw him first in Robin Hood when I was 8, and he said something to the effect of "I'm going to tear your heart out with a teaspoon ("why with a teaspoon ?") because the less sharp, the more painful". And then I saw him in Sense and Sensibility. Like Rufus Sewell, I saw him both as a nice and as a totally evil character, and loved him in both cases. Wait... Am I talking about Rufus Sewell again ?

3. Gary Oldman. Just for the "disappointed" thing in the 5th Element. Just for the 5th element. I have not seen him in much else, in fact. But just for this, he's got my vote. I really like the 5th element actually. Mostly because of Gary Oldman, I believe.

4. Thomas Gumpert. Yeah, I also did not know the name until 30 seconds ago (thanks, IMDb), and you probably don't know the face. He's the guy who plays the villain in a stupid German telenovela I'm watching at the moment in order not to forget my German during the holidays (Ok, also because I really want to know the ending, and also because I'm slightly addicted. But the actors are actually very good, unlike the scenario which is as lame as they get).

Thomas Gumpert, then, who plays an evil German (how original). He looks very much like the stereotypical Nazi, I must say, with icy-blue eyes and he's kind of freaky (also he speaks German, which sends shivers down my spine). Yet he is so caricatural that he cracks me up. He smiles an evil smile, and you can see that the actor is actually having fun (or at least I like to believe he is). I'd like to meet him in person, I'm sure he's great fun. I can't see his evil smile without smirking too. And now I can't even see his face without smirking.

5. Paul Bettany. Comes 5th because he doesn't actually look evil without even trying, he just plays evil guys very often. But I love him in anything (except of course for Dogville (akh, bakh) and Firewall (ukh bukh) for very different reasons. And some other things were bad too. But I still love him). And he can look absolutely terrifying. Have you seen Gangster Nb 1, Reader ? He laughs and bares his fangs in an elevator, and the picture is burnt in my retinas. Very, very frightening.

Anyway. This is it for today's top 5 (I have no time left, lunch-break is nearly over). I am sorry for the lack of ethnic diversity in this post. I tried thinking of a black or asian evil looking actor whom I really love, and could not find any. The only asian actor I could think about was Takeshi Kaneshiro, and he's not evil at all. In the last movie I saw him in, which was quite good, he was cast as a wise military genius/zen master. About as believable as Orlando Bloom as Yoda. But hell... any role will make me happy... Have a nice day, reader !!

Paper planes

Hello again, reader !

Yeah, two post in two days, I'm just in a crazy mood, don't get used to it...

First of all, let me wish a happy happy birthday to my brother P! Happy birthday P! Hope you have a really nice day!

Now to today's post: I have been to the movies recently to see "The Boat that Rocked" (called "Good Morning England" in the French version, God knows why...) and I liked it a lot, and it made me think about how great soundtracks can be, in movies. A few days before, I had watched Star Wars episode 4 with my mother (4, 5, 6, let me say it once more, the only Star Wars episodes worth watching) and it had reminded me how important soundtracks can be, in movies.

So here you are, my top 5 soundtracks (musicals excluded, because that's cheating, and I've done it already anyway...)

In order to keep me sane, please do refer to the Top 5 rules in the right-hand part of this blog!

1. Pirates of the Caribbean. The soundtrack just makes me happy. Also makes me march down the corridors of the subway with a Xena the Warrior Princess grin on my face, which I know is going to cause problems sooner or later. But there's really nothing quite like the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, except maybe for...

2. Star Wars. It's mythic and great, and I like that low, humming noise you get when Vador walks in, and I like the main theme, and just listening to the music at the beginning, with the text fading away in the starry sky, makes me feel like I'm 5 all over again. These movies, reader... I don't care what happens with the franchise now. These movies are just great.
3. Pride and Prejudice. This is the one I like to pretend I'm a 19th century English lady to. Especially on the train to Brussels. Going all "my is that couch slow" and batting my eyelids at my reflection in the window, pretending Mr Darcy is sitting in the seat in front of me. Of course, that's just before I fall asleep, start drooling on the seat and can only be woken up by the ticket punching guy after the third time he's called me and tapped on my shoulder. Less ladylike, but very entertaining for all the other people in the wagon.

4. O Brother Where Art Thou. This is not very original, I know, and the movie is actually not that great, but the soundtrack is just brilliant. I don't think I'll ever get sick of these Alison Krauss songs. I don't think I'll ever get sick of any of that soundtrack. Only problem is, I can't listen to it on public transportation, because I can't help but sing along, and there's only so much my dignity can take. Drooling and snoring is OK, singing is a no-no.

5. Slumdog Millionnaire. Not very original either, but really, really, those M.I.A. songs? That great, great one with the gun-noises? And listening to a song that goes "some I murder, some I let go" on the Parisian subway is also quite satisfying, I must say. It is possible that I have a murderous light in my eyes while doing so, but then again, I pretty much always have a murderous light in my eyes in the Parisian subway, so it's not too embarrassing. Pretty much everyone does. Thank you to my sister F, by the way, who both gave me the CD as a present and pointed out to me what the singer was saying. I thought it was "sam sam sama sama mah dah". Now my life has changed.

Anyway, here it was, my top 5 soundtracks. I have to say it. I probably have forgotten some great ones. Elizabethtown, Juno, Shrek, Shrek, Shrek (crap, I've forgotten Shrek...) all kinds of great soundtracks. Don't resent me.

Have a nice day, reader!

Elle est dans ma tête, elle ne m'abandonne jamais

These, readers, are the words of a stoopid French song. They mean "she's in my head and she never forsakes me". It's exactly what happened to me with the stupid song, which is now constantly playing in my head, and driving me crazy. Call me Jukebox-girl.

Anyway, I'm not here to complain about the radio (yet), but to say hi, because I have not been writing in a terribly long time. I've been sitting the Big Oral Exam From Hell, which I passed (yay!), and then going to Cracow in Poland on an internship (yay again!).

The internwhip was great, except we interpreted for a guy for 4 hours, and he then proceeded to tell us that he had actually understood the original version all along, and we needn't have bothered, with the happiest grin I had seen in quite a long time. But it was a nice experience anyway, and we would just have sat there and been bored if he had told us he didn't need us any sooner, so no big deal.

I then moved back to France, and slept for 10 days straight, which was nice indeed, and now I am in Paris, working, which is nice too. It's sunny here, and also I'll get paid at the end of the month (yay!) and I have a little time to blog on my lunchbreak, which is nice too.

Of course, it would be a good idea to work on my thesis and/or on my German (which I'll have to sit again in Spetember... could someone please do something for my grammar?) during my lunchbreak instead of coming here and telling you all about my rivetting life, only you know me... besides, my fingers are all sticky because of the soy sauce that came with the japanese meal we ordered for lunch, so you'll understand that I can't possibly write anything serious with sticky fingers. (Just kidding, IT guy who probably reads my blog like 15 milion other readers at least, of course, I washed my hands thoroughly and never eat anywhere near my keyboard).

Well, I'll have to run, now, I just wanted to say that I was still pretty much alive and give you some news, before writing something more interesting and focused some time soon, I promise. Have a nice day in the meantime !!

Standard de Liège, olé olé olé

Well hello reader ! It's been quite a long time since I last wrote, but I've been very busy (for real, what a nice change...) Indeed, it's exam time again, and I took the first of a long and dreadfuls series of oral exams on monday (I started with German, which is a good thing, insofar as it's... well... not my main strength, let's put it that way so I'm just glad I'm done with it. Till September anyway... -_-'')

The other exams were not that bad, but it's not finished until the Big and Evil Jury of Death which is on Tuesday. I don't know yet if I really am going to go. I consider a lot of alternative careers, nearly all of which involve the words "vodka", "country singer", "under a bridge" or all three... Anyway. Since I am going to leave Brussels soon, whatever the outcome of the exams, I wanted to tell you about another Belgian top 5 : The top 5 things I'll remember about the Place du Luxembourg.

1) The European MP's walking around in their nice charcoal suits and shiny shoes. They are all very serious and elegant, and they always have their name tag hanging around their necks, which oddly reminds me of the "Unaccompanied Minor" things that they make you wear when you are taking the plane alone. Like "If lost, please return to seat 234, European Parliament, Brussels"...
And also I love how they all have backpacks with teeeeeny tiny straps and then their backpack is stuck just under their heads and their suits are all crumpled up. It looks a bit like their backpack is holding their arms up. I whish I worked at the European Parliament, then I'd get to see them wriggle and writhe to try and extract their arms from said straps. But don't mind me and my evil mockery, I'm just jealous is all. One day I'll work at the EP too, and I'll be wearing the shortest backpack straps of them all... Just wait and see.

2) The Liege Football team winning the Belgian football cup. I was "working" on my Big and Evil Paper from Hell, and then I heard quite a lot of noise downstairs, so I decided I'd go and have a look (I had been working for 5 minutes straight, and thought I deserved a break.) Never seen that many people peeing on such a small surface at once before. Amazing. All the supporters in a line, peeing on the wall of the sport's bar. I wish I'd had my camera...

3) The homeless guy who asks for money downstairs. He always says he accepts checks and credit cards, and he cracks me up. He looks a little like crocodile dundee, and once told me I had saved his dog, because he would have had to eat it if I had not been there to help him out with his lunch money. I then said "well, it would have been nice with a little ketchup and stuff" and he looked at me like I was weird. Anyway.

4) The unbearable crazy drunk who wanders under our windows screaming rubbish all the time. I don't mean screaming "RUBBISH" all the time, I mean screaming rubbish as in... well, you know. He's rude.

5) The Delhaize downstairs where I spend 85% of my money buying a lot of very unhealthy stuff. Especially now that it's exam time. I pretty much feed on sugar and fat now. I am always afraid that the students who work at the Delhaize downstairs think I am some sort of alien creature who eats only broccoli and mars bars. I do have the complexion of a broccoli eating alien right now, so I don't blame them, I just hope they won't call the FBI or anything. But then again, I might get a Dana Scully autograph for my brother...

Anyway. I'm going to get back to work now (trying to find some interesting speech in German...) I hope you aree doing fine. Oh, and if you've got a little time, go see Craig Ferguson singing on Malinky's blog. She's got the greatest YouTube channel ever, and uploads Craig Ferguson's show every night. I'll be forever thankful, Malinky!

Have a nice day!

Seems like everywhere I go...

The more I see, the less I know...



Ok, granted, it's not too original. But hell. That's a good song. In fact I was on the verge of a terrible panick attack tonight, and then I went and saw a Craig Ferguson video on YouTube (I've been doing that a lot when I was on the verge of a giant panick attack, which has happened often this week. I love it. And then I make stupid private jokes with myself all the time...) Anyway.

I was looking at Craig Ferguson videos on YouTube (because I don't have CBS here at my flat) and then I saw that video of Michael Franti & Spearhead, and suddenly I felt much better. I do hope it will have the same effect on you. Especially if your back is stuck. But I'm just saying.

Spread love, reader ! Weee heeeheehee...

PS: Here's the non-live version if you like those better. I know I often do.

Space cowboy

Hi reader!!

I have a question to put to you. What do you do, when you learn that the thesis you have to wirte, due in 7 days, must be 100 pages instead of 40?

You get to work, stop sleeping, replace meals by Red Bull and coffee and consider brewing your own vodka with old potatoes in a plastic bottle under your mattress?

Ooooor, maybe... you pretend nothing happened, work little by little, hide the panick under a thick layer of sugar and go to the movies? That's what I did. I liked it.

I went to see Star Trek, since I am planning to become a geek in order to understand all the jokes and references in The Big Bang Theory. I liked it. I like all these recent movies that are very first degree and could have been shot 30 years ago. Star Trek perfectly qualifies, and it was really great. Only it's still shows that it's a modern movie, since the special effects are very, very pretty and I think the costumes have been slightly updated.

There were some things that I did not like though. For example, the guy cast as Jim Kirk. You can only be so ridiculously caricatural and not lose me (Not true at all. I am very, very hard to lose. But that guy? With the blue eyes and the squint?) And the music too. The music was a little weird. Though I loved the title music which was basically just TAM TAM TAM TATAM. Got me in the mood for the rest of the movie.

Anyway, I thought it was really nice, and I secretly believe it dealt with nuclear weapons and why they are not good for you. I like making up my own secret meanings for movies as much as I hate reading those of other people. I have a great secret meaning for Joss Whedon's new series Dollhouse. Probably completely obvious secret meaning. Interested in knowing?

If you hate reading the secret meanings other people discover in movies (like ""Singing in the Rain" is a metaphore for McCain's campaign and why it failed" or whatever weird stuff you sometimes read on the Internet) then do not proceed with the reading. (Is that English, or do I just sound like a douche?)

Well, the Dollhouse is a series where people are emptied of their own personalities and kept in a super-secret underground base. They are then imprinted with a new personality and sent on missions. I thought at first it was about whether you are a body or a soul and, if you are a soul then where is it exactly, in your body, or in your memories and stuff. But I think, in the end, what I get from it is more a story about what we do with ourselves.

It's like we were all our own little Dollhouses. We go on missions and we want to have new personnalities in order to be able to face the challenges, so we make room for the new character to step in. Only sometimes it's a little complicated not to forget who we were in the first place, and if you do a bit, which is a compulsory part of growing up, then when one of your "mission" personnality is outdated or falls, like a mask, maybe because you are a little tired or because there's no one here at the moment to remind you of what you are exactly, then you feel like you're empty and meaningless, like the empty Dolls of the series.

I'm not saying we all are empty deep inside or anything that pessimistic and depressing, just that you may feel this way once in a while because you realise that you can't remember who you are exactly. I feel that it's because I am not exactly the same person depending on the context and on who I'm with. In real life, though, I like the fact that you make your own imprints. People around you may change the mission. But you make your own imprints. I like it.

Anyway. This is starting to sound half-Gollum, half-Dr Phil, so I guess I am just going to go to bed now. Yes. That will be nice... HIT THE PILLOW !!

Live long and prosper ! (I bet you did not expect that one...)

Explosions in the sky

Hey reader !

I bet you don't know the song, because it's not very famous at all, but it is still a song, and most appropriate for tonight's post. As you probably know, Brussels, Belgium, is the capital city of Europe (Kind of. I believe it's Strasbourg, people in Luxemburg believe it's Luxemburg (har har) and I guess people in Germany believe it's Berlin, because of the symbol and all.) But Brussels, I think, is the real capital city of Europe. It's the most European place I've ever been to, whatever that may mean.

So tonight, they had a great European celebration (the Festival of Europe, it's called) and there were fireworks tonight, which I saw from my window. And here's tonight top 5, therefore, the "Top 5 random things that went through my mind while watching the Festival of Europe's fireworks" (that's one top five I bet you did not expect. I thought about doing the "Top 5 actresses I'd most like to look like", but then I changed my mind. Maybe later)

Anyway.

1) I don't know why I hated firworks so much as a kid (apart from their being noisy and loud and terrifying, and the fact that I'm afraid of big crowds, especially the ones that drink stale beer from plastic cups on the 14th of July (and I do mean 14th, it's not a typo, I'm French, goooo team baguettes, I heart frog legs and snails, give me my beret, I need to go on strike and march down the streets singing the Marseillaise)

2) If I hear someone tomorrow saying "I wish they would not use up all our taxpayer's money to blast stupid gunpowder in the sky for 15 minutes, we're in a recession and all going to die, they should save it to subsidise baby seals' feeds", I might get a tiny little bit agressive. I'm glad we can do something pretty and light and poetic with the taxpayer's money for a change. Without that, it would all just be business, and I do hope Europe's more than that.

3) I'm very glad I chose to become an interpreter. It's because of Europe and all, international community and stuff. I'm glad I chose to become an interpreter. I do hope I'll manage to get my diploma. WRITE THE DAMN THESIS, CLAIRE ! (I read my own blog, so why should I not leave a little message to myself, huh?)

4) At some time during the fireworks, however, I decided that I did not have a good enough view from my window, so I joined my roommates who were watching it from the roof. The next thing that went through my mind, as I was climbing the fire-escape ladder barefoot, was how important it is, in life, to have the appropriate shoes. One should always take time to consider footwear before coming out of their room (especially in their pyjamas at midnight in Belgium). Might help one not freeze to death and enjoy the fireworks without one's feet turning blue. Also they looked like they had been barbecued, since the floor up there was an iron grid. Things are better now. I added a hot water bottle to the comforter I was wrapped up in before, and things are going great.

5) Even if you don't feel like you belong and you don't know what to tell them and they look a little puzzled everytime you open your mouth, it's nice to have roommates.

So there you are, reader, tonight's Festival of Europe fireworks. Hope you had a nice saturday and will have a nice sunday too. Any random thoughts you'd like to share with me?

Chanda mama

Hey reader !

I was a little tired today when I came back from class, and I needed to get to work but did not, and then I felt a little bad, and then I went there

http://www.playingforchange.com/episodes/7/Chanda_Mama

And I suddently felt much, much better. So if you're feeling tired and down, go there, listen to this one and the other ones too, maybe bake some brownies or something, and everything will suddently feel much, much better.

Good evening !! (Next time, I promise, I'll post a real post and not just a link)

<3

All you need is...

Reader ! Reader ! Hark !

This weekend, my sister M got married. Look at her! Is she not pretty?

Yes she is.

The wedding has been "being prepared" for nearly a year, now, and I've been wanting to tell you, and then I felt silly, because you know, when something's big like that, you never really know what to say, and though I'm OK with being silly, it's more difficult to... well... that's it right here. A very good example.

The ceremony and the party were great, I got a chance to see all of my huge family, and also the huge family of my brother in law, V.

I see my sister M and her brand new husband V pretty often these days since I am studying in Belgium where they are currently living. In fact, V is Belgian, like the chocolate, and that's not the only thing they have in common. Indeed, V is very very nice, and has a knack for being supportive when you're down.

(V, if you hear me, sorry again for the total meltdown this summer, after the interpreting school incident. If you had not been there to look slightly confused and make me a nice, strong coffee, I'd probably have been reduced to an alternative form of life. I'm so very glad my sister M's got you to make her a nice, strong cup of coffee and look slightly confused whenever she needs it, because I wouldn't want my sister to be reduced to an alternative form of life). Indeed :

My sister M's perfect as she is. Have you seen her? Scroll back up, and get a second look. There are not so many things you can be sure of, and everything changes very fast, and nothing is ever for certain, and why did the chicken cross the road, and what about black holes and the speed of light, but one thing I know for sure is: Everyone, everywhere, needs an awesome big sibling like the ones I've got. I should know, I've got three.

I wish I could tell you all about my big siblings, and I wish I could tell you all about how great it is to see all my family and my mum and dad and aunts and uncles and grand-mothers and cousins, only I can't, because by the time I'd be finished just with the immediate circle, I'd be old and gray, and I've got important things to do (like seing them in person). But let it be known that my family, new brother in law included, is the awesomest in the whole universe, and I wish you the same one.

Spread love, Reader!

PS: The great picture's courtesy of my friend V (she's not the same person as my step-brother V. Same initial is all :)! What a nice picture! Thanks!

Call me up before you're dead, we can make some plans instead...

Heeey reader!

I told you this was going to happen... I said "I'll have to work on my thesis, so I'll be here babbling away pretty soon"... Well, here we are. I sat down half an hour ago, highly motivated and wheezy (stupid month of April strikes again... And it's even worse than last year...) and here I am already, not having written a single serious word...

Anyway, still, I'm going to try to keep it slightly short, so that I can still manage to do some work before it's 6 pm.

I just wanted to tell you about a few articles and blogs I have read lately, and how you should go have a look at them and all.

a) This blog, if you want to see beautiful pictures (better to know French, but you can manage without it too). Eerie and cwoool.

b) This interview of David Tennant and Russel T. Davis. I know I should be ashamed. But today, they are showing the first of Tennant's last four episodes as the doctor. Please indulge me. Besides, it's a cool interview.

c) This blog. It's huge and it's funny and it's updated every five minutes or so (I'm sure that woman does not exist. She can't possibly do that many things all alone. I think she's a team. I wish I could have a team, then I could stay on my bed and read her blog all day. Only that's not true, my dream life is not to stay on my bed all day being a no-life. That's just my life in Belgium. Hu hu hu...)

Anyway. I just wanted to tell you about these three. I'll try to go on to write something interesting and serious and academic now. Please, please, let me write something interesting. Please, please, please, I so wish I could hand that paper in some day.

Have a nice day, reader! A bientôt!

Don't ever let your mind stop you from having a good time

Hello hello !

It's been verrrrry long since I have last written here, and I really am sorry. The good news is that I have plenty of things to tell now! I've had plenty of internships lately, and then my awesome friend V came and visited me and we had a great week together in Brussels, partying and visiting and sleeping a lot too, I must admit, and now I am back in Colmar for two weeks holidays before.... oh before something, reader, if you knew :) (Only you probably do, since 5/6th of my readership is part of my family) --I promise I'll tell you, only I need to figure out something, like, really good.

Anyway, I've been going all over Belgium, one city a day for the past few weeks, and it was great. I want to Ostende (internship) and to Blankenberge (for fun !), both of which are on the Belgian coast, which is always nice (I've got a thing with the sea. No matter how ugly the coast might be, if you turn your back to the land and watch the far-dom, it's always, always a nice feeling. Also I like to play in the sand and bury my feet in it and write stuff in it with my fingers and look at the shellfish, and then when I get bored with the silly stuff, it makes me want to lay flat on my back and wait forever. It's a feeling I get a lot, lately, I must say. The urge to lay flat on my back and wait. But then I get bored with that too, get up and go eat some free-trade chocolate.

I also made a stop in Marchienne au Pont, on an intership, before Blankenberge and the fun part started. Whatever you do, in your life, wherever life brings you, I would recommend that you avoid Marchienne au pont on a friday night at 7 p.m. It is probably the most depressing place on earth, even on a bright sunday morning at the beginning of spring, but on a rainy evening, when it's just getting dark (you know that particular twilight light that makes everything look a little bit dirty) it is really very depressing. Go to Blankenberge instead. Avoid Marchienne au Pont.

Anyway. I also wanted to tell you about another thing which is very nice to do on the beach, and that is listening to I'm Yours, by Jason Mraz, sharing headphones with your best friend. We went to see him live with V and our friend A (who was a perfect hostess and provided Cecemel for all) last tuesday, and it was just brilliant. Really really nice. The first part of the concert was Marit Larsen (if you don't know her, she's made a very fast and amazing climb on my "The people I'd like to be if I wasn't me" list, check her out on YouTube, it's really nice and very very sweet. Maybe too much so if you're not in the mood, but still).

And then the second part of the concert was Jason Mraz, I already told you about him, and I must once again thank my german friend A (hey A! Haven't talked to you in forever! I hope you're doing good!) for making me aware of how great he was, and I don't just mean "I'm Yours", though it is the best song ever written (This week. Might change soon. But this week it definitely is. Honestly, who can resist I'm Yours? It's so nice! It's nice and pretty and it makes you want to smile. I love that song.)

Well, that's basically the news from me, back in Colmar. I promise that I'll try to write a little more regularly over the newt few days (probably going to happen since I have to work on my thesis (also called "*shout curses* bloody paper from hell *shout curses again*", but don't tell anyone I said that))

I have to go now, shopping time, but have a really nice day. And here's to V for coming to Belgium to visit me even though she'd already been there and for being awesome and taking cool pictures that I can put on my blog.

Spread love ! (what do you mean, "stop that hippie crap, Claire, the concert's been over for a week now"? Go pick some flowers and bake cookies, and don't be so cynical.)

Follow the light

Hi Reader! I have not been here in quite a long time, but I am back today for a top five, the top five things that kept me away from thinking about my beloved blog lately. It also goes under the name of "top five worries in our hero's rivetting life" (I guess maybe I'll change my blog's name. "Our Hero's Rivetting Life" sounds much classier than "Bloody Blunder", you have to admit.)

Anyway. Back to business.

1) The Prom Ball. Hell yeah ! XD
I get to go to a prom ball this year, for the first time of my life, though it is my last year at the university if all goes well. Only
a) I don't have a ticket yet and the pre-sales are over

b) No one has asked me "are you going to the ball" looking excited that I might be there, and I don't mean a guy, I mean any kind of person. (I did ask that very same question to everyone I met before even sayinig "hi", without giving them the slightest chance to ask first.. I think I'm the only one for whom that ball's such an issue. The others have been spoilt by too many balls, and are completely blasé).
Besides, good news, I was invited to the pre-ball party today. Not quite officially, but still. I can officially crash. You won't know what's coming, pre-ball party-ers !

c) I'm not so sure about my dress anymore. It's a kind of Indian thingy which looks really nice, but I'm afraid that it will look weird, and I already look weird enough with my six feet on the dance floor. And I mean six feet as in the size. I have the right number of feet at the ends of my legs, thank you very much.

d) I have the strange impression that I sound like a stupid high-school sophomore (throwing hysterics about how she deosn't have a daaaaaaayyyyte and how her dress looks all wrooooong). Do I really? Yes I do.

2. Next year. As I mentionned, this is my last year at the university (if all goes as planned, which is not guaranteed. Do not kill the bear before selling its skin. No wait. Do not skin the bull without selling a cart. Crap. You see what I mean, I'm sure.)

I am worried about not finding a job and not knowing what to do. But I'm sure things will work out. German's said to be a very good weapon on the interpreter's job market. German's a very good weapon anywhere, if you ask me, it nearly killed me more than once.

3. Becoming an interpreter. I'm training to be an interpreter. I love being an interpreter. It's a brilliant job, the most entertaining in the whole world, if you ask me, and you get to speak a lot. I like speaking. But mostly I like learning things everyday and knowing a little something about everything. So I am not worried about the "will I like my working life" part.
I am however worried about the atmosphere and the people. Most of the professionals I have met up till now were all extremely serious and professional and impressive. I feel very much not up to the standards.

4. Writing my final paper. It's supposed to be like a trillion pages, and I have not gotten properly started yet (and by that, I mean that I got kicked out of the office of the person I was supposed to gather most of my info from). I have a plan, though. A scheme. Ideas and documents and contacts. But will I ever really get around to writing anything worth reading?
Let us hope I will. If I don't, I'll write a little poem instead of the introduction, and tap-dance at the oral examination. (Is that not a brilliant failsafe plan?)

5. Other stuff. Lots of other stuff. Some things are not worries but puzzlement, anticipation, excitement, patience, doom, and generally sensing a revolution in the air.

Whish me luck, reader! And have a good evening. Do tell me about how you felt at the end of your studies too. Maybe with your help I can decide how I feel at the end of mine ;)

Ode to joy

I spent the summer in a crap-town

Called Saarbrücken in Deutschland
I've been bored and I've been broodin'

From June up to homecomin'

I lived with ugly slugs

My room was full of bugs

I hated life, I wanted home
Drank vodka out of mugs

But one mornin', came a'rollin'

Straight from heaven

Tanned and dashin'

The Bus Seventy-Seven !

Oh, bus driver, my bus driver,

I'll never forget thee

You were the sunshine of my summer

But d'you remember me ?

I've seen you once, I've seen you twice

And then you disappeared,

"Timetable change" was my demise

It shouldn't have interfered

If I could've, then I would've

Looked into your eyes

But you were looking at the road

Which probably saved my life

And each mornin' I sat waitin'

Dressed up to the nines

For you to come a'rollin'

In that big bus of thine

OOOOH, bus driver, my bus driver,

I'll never forget thee,

I wish all other drivers

Would be so nice to me !

<3

PS : Dear reader, I hope you enjoy this magnificent bit of high-profile poetry. I've just had a brilliant week-end with my sisters, and I'm in a great mood. Here's to you, F and M !

Mmm mmm mmm mmm

(That's a song, by the way. Crash Test Dummies, as I'm sure you'll have guessed)


Anyway. I have been, once again, reading that blog, which has been recommanded to me by my sister M, and now I want to eat this, more than anything. I want to eat this when it's still nice and warm, and I want to bake it before, and I want to smell the smell of the hot chocolate in the pan, and I want to smell the smell of the butter melting, and then I want to feel the icing under the knife, and then I want to eat the cake. Eat the Cake. Eat the Cake ! Eaaaaat the caaaaake ! It has replaced all other ambitions. It has become my purpose in life, and my sole obsession. My quest.

But apart from that, I'm OK.

So since I don't have chocolat, or butter, or sugar, or pecan nuts or vanilla, or eggs (in fact, all I have is a pack of flour, and a longing heart) I figured I'd come here and tell you about the cake of my dreams. Some day, I'll go buy some groceries, and that day, reader, I shall be avenged.

Right now, I'm trying to fight off bankruptcy and overweight (why not kill two birds with one stone, after all, let my being broke have a silver lining !), but soon enough... soon enough... I'll go to the Delhaize Express downstairs, and buy all the ingredients. And when that happens, I will take pictures and post them here.

But apart from that, I'm OK.

Have a nice day, reader, and forgive that silly post !

If there's a rocket tie me to it

Is that not a brilliant song title, reader ?

Well, well, reader, it's late again, and I can't sleep again, and I don't know why ! No green tea today, nothing that could possibly explain why I'm more awake now than I was this morning during my German class. I reached a new German-class low today, and got my teacher to say that I annoyed him. I would try and be a smart-ass and say that's what I was going for, but I must admit, it would not be true.

I was drenched in cold sweat and praying to make it out of the room alive, and then I forgot all about declination and grammar. And the teacher actually said "it is really getting on my nerves." In so many words (only in German). I do believe I had managed to convince some teachers that I was a hopeless case (with the cunning use of swedish verbs and a completely radom declination system) ... I remember one in Graz, who had told me my grammar was as bad as my vocabulary, and that she really did not see what she could do for me... But never had I in fact managed to make them personnally feel annoyed. (Hey ! My very first auto-link to the single most self-pitying post in the history of this blog !)

But honestly, though, it did not bring me down too terribly, since I really felt that I had done a good job in the simultaneous translation that we had done moments before, and since I knew I had done a very bad job while he was listening to me.

Somehow, when I feel I've done a good job, I'm never the one that we listen to, and today, as I was even considering offering my candidacy for the correction, we realised that the booths had a problem and our speech had not been recorded...

It's funny, because yesterday I was all alone in class, since my two classmates had an internship, and once again, I had no chance of escaping the scrutinous ear of my teachers... that's when my stupid brain decided it was time to launch into one of those great ocular migraine crap sessions, where you can't focus and see bright flowers all around and get tingles in your cheeks. Let me tell you I had a great time convincing them I was not on cocaine. ("No, it's like a migraine, only it doesn't hurt, and it makes me see things... and sometimes I get all.. allif... afuse... acon... a little ! confused ! With ! Wordjjjz !")

Anyway. Apart from that, there is not much to say of my life in Brussels, it's been dreadfully dull lately, and I've been spending a lot of time watching movies. I have watched one today, in fact, called Dor, it's an indian movie, and it's brilliant, but the subtitles are only available in English.

So I figured, Claire, my dear (yeah, I call myself my dear, especially when I have annoyed my German teacher, and when I'm out of chocolate), why don't you translate them yourself, so that your French-speaking friends can watch it too... So I downloaded a sub-titling (sub-titleing?) programme. Then I spent about three quarters of an hour trying to work on the first three minutes of an episode of Dr Who (I was just training. Don't sigh. I'm not watching the whole series all over again a third time. At least not this month ^^).

Of course, I did not get very very far, but you never know, maybe tomorrow !

In the meantime, reader, good night, sweet dreams, and à bientôt.

PS: Here's to my sister M who also had a headache today. Hope you're feeling better !!

Keep myself awake...

Hi reader ! Good morning ! It's eleven past five a.m. here in Brussels, and I have been struggling to get to sleep for hours, and I still can't, so I figured I'd come and tell you some stuff about what I did lately !

I've not been writing very regularly recently, somehow, because I've had quite a lot of internships (Ha ha ha. Who am I kidding ? I've been doing a lot of nothing, watching series all the time and reading the Twilight books. Much as I hate to admit it here in public, they are quite good, and really badly addictive. I just wish she would stop talking about his "muscular chest" and how he "looks like an angel". Because it makes me laugh, and it spoils the mood. Oh ! And I've also been reading this blog which has proven to be addictive too, and then I had used up all my daily screen time and had none left to come here and tell you my opinion about everything...)

But still, I've had a lot of internships, a "fake" one at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg (which was really cool, because it was an internship in a prestigious European institution, but I still felt a little like I was on holidays because I could go on seeing my French friends and family), a magic one in The Hague, which was as cool as they get, mostly because of the Shakespeare-quoting Irishman for whom we got to work and the fact that we generally had a lot of fun, while it was still interesting and possible to follow and well-organized. Please, hire me again, people !

And then today, I had another one (a fateful one, should I say), in Brussels, for my own school, which had organized a "Chinese New Year" event.

As you might have guessed, I was the interpreter for the "tea" workshop, and have been, therefore, drinking Oolong, Pu-er and other weirdly-named beverages for pretty much 7 hours non stop, and now I am hyper. High on caffeine. Oh, and I also had a double espresso on my way home at around 7 p.m. because I was feeling a little sick and wanted to sit down some place warm before actually going to bed.

Good idea, Einstein.

But the workshop was really interesting, I learnt plenty of stuff about tea, actually enjoyed a cup of tea without sugar in it, and it was all very lovely. Also I liked the way there were some complete ignoramus (ha ha ha, ignoramus... that's why I like dictionnaries so much...) on the one hand, and some very educated people trying to do things by the rule on the other...

The lady who presented her rare and precious teas, and said things like "smell the herbal and flowery flavour that stays in your mouth as an aftertaste" or "it is very herbaceous". She was handing a little pot with the wet leaves in it for us to smell, and to compare and indeed, even though I am not one for warming up the cups before pouring the tea (what difference could it possibly make, honestly), they did all smell a little different... and the temperature too ! It actually made a difference ! I was beginning to see things ! I had entered the Matrix (or whatever)!

And then a weird old man said "OOOOH ! CA SENT LES EPINARDS" very very loud. So the tea-woman looked at me with question marks in her eyes, so I felt I had to translate... "he says it smells like spinach," I said, and I was very subdued... and then he went on to say "yesss, spinage, spinage, it's comme les spinage, ha ha ha" and she was all confused and not a little annoyed.

He he he. I do love that future job of mine.

Have a nice day, reader !