Posts filed under 'Sharing is Caring'
Summertime spells fields of sunflowers in certain parts of France. These ones are just outside of Toulouse. And now, for a totally unrelated post…
Since seeing the movie Transformers, I’m convinced that our old beat-up Peugeot 205 is in fact an alien robot in disguise. Her name has evolved from plain “Lucy” to “Lucy Prime”. So she is Optimus Prime’s little sister and one day, she will save us.
Lately we’ve gotten into watching an American series called Heroes. You must have heard about it, it’s actually very good in a comic-book-set-in-real-life kind of way. It’s a little like X-men, but without the funky, weird haircuts and costumes. It’s set in our everyday world and life and centers around ordinary people who find out that they are in fact extra-ordinary - something to do with evolution and genetic coding. Together they must, of course, do no less than save the world! And we follow our Heroes on their journey.
Friday night, we went to see a wonderful movie: Caramel. If it comes out at a theatre near you, make sure to go and see it, if you can handle watching subtitled films, because the movie is set in Lebanon and is in fact in Arabic. I guess it’s in a similar vein to Volver and Chocolat, so if you liked those, you’ll love this. It was heart-warming… warm and smooth just like Caramel. Loved it. It’s interesting to note that the lead actress actually wrote and directed the film! But I didn’t know that when I was watching it.
This was a quick post to break the silence of the last few days. The new French school year starts tomorrow, so people have come back from their seaside holidays and as a result, since Thursday work has resumed for me and my life is once again ruled by deadlines. So, back to the grindstone!
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August 26th, 2007
I realise I have not been updating my blog regularly for some time now and I probably should provide an explanation. The gap between February and April is explained by my 5-week impromptu trip to Australia to spend some time with my Mum and make her birthday this year all the more special. I probably won’t really write about that, though you will eventually get to see some photos.
The gap between my return on April 9th and today is due to my concentrating on getting constructive projects off the ground and a considerable amount of work done.
I am currently working on the finishing touches of my new-look personal website, so hopefully that will be up within the next few days. Part of those finishing touches involves getting all the photo galleries up to date and that is a huge task since the presence in my life of a great digital camera!
This morning I was looking up how to say “parapente” in English (I found it: paragliding) and as it turns out this sport qualifies as an adventure sport, though it doesn’t seem it to me. Is adventure sport the same as extreme sport? Anyhow, trusty old Google led me to an A to Z guide of adventure sports, a couple of which triggered a raised eyebrow or a quiet “What the…?!”. Check this out:
Extreme Ironing: the list description is “The world’s newest adrenalin sport. Combines the thrills and spills of your favourite extreme activity - be it rock climbing, surfing, snowboarding or whatever - with the rosy glow and sense of self-satisfaction that only a razor-sharp crease in your slacks and neatly-pressed lapels can provide.” I mean is the world really that short on thrills?? I still don’t really understand the concept, but if you’re game to find out more you can visit their website.
Fly by wire: “Oh my god! James Bond eat your heart out. Imagine being strapped to a rocket pack and propelled around a mountain. I shall repeat that… Imagine being strapped to a rocket pack and propelled around a mountain. I cannot do it justice, you should visit the site and watch the videos.” So H, there’s something for you to try out on your next ski trip to NZ.
Free fall: “Falling out of an aeroplane is not always an accident, you can actually pay to do it. From the moment you jump your body will accelerate at about 10 metres per second until you are approximately travelling at 120mph. This speed is dependant on how long you are in free fall. Then hopefully your parachute opens and you can slow down a little before hitting the ground.” Sounds great! I’ve always wanted to fall out of an airplane, where do I sign up?
Rap jumping: “This is basically abseiling, except with a little more adrenalin. You launch yourself off a cliff, facing downwards but attached to a rope. When you start to get close to the floor you use the rope to decelerate your self, hopefully with enough time to spare.” Facing downwards, Geezus! Apparently you can learn more about it here.
Or you can go for Tank Driving, some particularly strange activity they call Vindaloo which I believe is just the morning after a very hot curry but I can’t confirm that because the site link leads nowhere, or you could even try Wadi Bashing - it sounds like you go around bashing Pakistanis or Middle Easterns, but that’s not it , or Zorbing!
Well there you have it… choose your adventure. I think I’ll just stick to learning to ride a bike and drive a car for the time being, both of which I am doing at the moment 
BTW… the above quotes were pulled from the A-Z list located here.
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May 13th, 2006
I spent a little more time on this post to try to make up for not posting much this week. Well, a lot more actually!
I got the idea from here and she gives credit to someone else also… For me it was a good chance to learn a bit of Photoshop. So here goes.
1. Who am I? 2. Who knows me better than anyone? 3. What age do I feel? 4. The most important thing in my life is… 5. I always wear… 6. Something I always do 7. I am happiest when… 8. On Monday mornings… 9. My favourite means of transportation… 10. My eyes are…
11. The object I’m glad to own is… 12. To relax, I like to… 13. The city I live in is… 14. My worst habit is… 15. My forbidden pleasure is… 16. The first thing I notice in someone… 17. I think… is gorgeous 18. Something I can do without… 19. Something most people don’t know about me… 20. My life is…
So there you have it! It was good fun so if you feel up to the task, go for it! Otherwise, you can maybe give me some of your own answers in comments or on your own blog 
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January 22nd, 2006
Apart from being an apparently very good movie which I fell asleep watching, it is also a questionnaire that Mr H has tagged me with. Now email questionnaires are quite easy to pike out of… you just don’t reply. Unfortunately when it comes to blogs, all eyes are on you and that brings some pressure!
So here goes… Ze Game of Ze Seveune
*ahem* *cracks knuckles*
(nothing is listed in order!)
7 things I want to do before I die:
1- Write at least one book
2 - Be published
3 - Have a child (or 2 or 3)
4 - Heal myself
5 - Learn to love myself
6 - Win tomorrow’s lotto draw (yep, it’s Friday the 13th so I bought a ticket!) to make life a little easier for myself and those I love
7 - Live in one place for at least 5 years
7 things I know how to do:
1 - Pick spelling mistakes
2 - Make people feel at ease
3 - Ask a lot of questions
4 - Laugh at myself
5 - Smile and laugh contagiously
6 - The jukebox
7 - Make a fool of myself playing Uno (how hard can it be??)
7 things I don’t know how to do:
1 - Ride a bike
2 - Pick the right pair of shoes
3 - Buy t-shirts and jumpers (sweaters for those who aren’t from Oz or UK) that don’t shrink to above your navel the minute you wash them even if they came down to your knees just before they hit the water
4 - Drive a car
5 - Not fear at least 7 ridiculous things a day
6 - Speak a third language (keeping up on my Spanish would be a good start!)
7 - Play a musical instrument (guitar or piano would be great!)
7 things that I find attractive in the opposite sex:
1 - Confidence
2 - Intensity
3 - Good pool playing or driving (don’t ask me why, I have no idea)
4 - The ability to understand me and take me seriously and yet still laugh at me and with me
5 - Creativity
6 - Love of travel
7 - Culture and intelligence
Add a cute bum and there you have my Remi! 
7 things I say all the time:
1 - Ya reckon?
2 - Grrrrrrr
3 - Quiet time, sleepy time
4 - Ecoute-moi bien la (in a quebecois accent) … What does it mean? ‘Listen to me real good now’
5 - I forgot…
6 - Sorry
7 - Buggah
7 celebrity crushes:
1 - Dopey
2 - Doc
3 - Grumpy
4 - Sleepy
5 - Sneezy
6 - Bashful
7 - Happy
Ok, not really but I just couldn’t think of any aside from JJ Goldman and just putting that would have been waaaaay cheesy! There was Angelina Jolie until she started romping around with Brad Pitt and destroyed any bit of credibility she may have had. I have not replaced her yet.
There was Bono until he lost all the credibility he ever had, the tip of the iceberg being when they released a limited edition U2 Ipod *shudders*
There was Natalie Portman until I saw her in an interview and realised she’s dumber than my shoe. So I have a lot of disappointments to overcome when it comes to celebrities and the seven dwarves will just have to comfort me until I find some replacements
7 next tag victims:
1- Remi
2 - Denis
3 - JJ (might get you updating your blog at last??)
4 - Bons (same goes for you as for JJ!)
5 - Anne (might get you started on that blog that’s been sitting there for about 2 months?)
6 - Adrian (might get you started on a blog)
7 - H (might get you started on a blog too… god knows you love a rant! :D)
So the 7 people named above must answer the same questionnaire. Ok, those of you who don’t have a blog and really really don’t want to start one, you may simply post your answers in the Comments field.
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January 12th, 2006
A little P.S for today since I cannot upload the Barcelona stuff until early next week (connection at home is too low).
I am feeling much better tonight and even got to go and finish my Christmas shopping before meeting Remi and John (remember the guy who travelled through Arizona with us?) for a yummy Indian meal at “Indira” - rue de la Colombette. For those of you in Toulouse, the food is great, portions are generous and very reasonably priced! Try to ignore the tacky decor and the annoying thing by the door that loops bad Christmas carol music (we kindly asked them to switch it off and they obliged).
Those of you in Australia, try getting down to see Carla (Werner) live before Christmas. Check out her website for details
Also some details of her next album… yes, the one we have all been waiting for… due out in March. Some of you have been hanging out to get your hands on her ‘old’ EP and you will see on the site that it is available again.
Also, check out her myspace page to sample some of the new stuff - unfortunately you can’t download the samples so you need to have a reasonable connection!
Those of you in the States, you can’t attend the shows but you can get down to your local record store and buy the album!
Those of you in Europe may only know her as the voice on Paul Oakenfold’s “Southern Sun”, but she’s definitely worth discovering
Me, well I’ll just plug her talent from time to time and hope someone sends me the CD in March *HINT HINT*
Ok, that’s it for the ad break :D… but seriously…
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December 16th, 2005
On Sunday there were two CRS on our bus as we headed home. No, they have not swapped their dark blue vans for public transport and no, they were not armed to the teeth. This seemed strange to me: I figured they were there to protect us and yet they were armed only with a two-way radio. Until we turned the corner and I saw the dark blue van shadowing the bus.
To me, coming to France has been somewhat like coming full circle, face-to-face with a childhood that faded into oblivion when I arrived in Australia at age 13 and a half and struggled to integrate to this new culture that I had been exposed to in small doses all my life and yet that seemed so foreign to me. As the months wore on I began to feel totally separate from my other life, as though none of it had ever happened. I cut off from my friends and took to growing up too fast. So now I have this opportunity to join both ends of that circle and try to be careful to blend each end into the other so as not to leave any unsightly bumps. I already have too many bumps to sort out
The French president has called a state of emergency and given prefects the power to impose curfews to restore peace. The last time such a measure was taken on French soil was 20 years ago in New-Caledonia and I was there and I was grateful to see the army and the CRS landing and taking over the streets because I really thought I was going to die. I remember one particular day, my mother had been evacuated to Australia for radioactive treatment and back in Noumea we had the worst riots I can recall. I can still feel my heart palpitations and my mind racing as I packed my bags in case we had to leave our house or still could. And I remember crouching down beside my bed and crying because I thought I was going to die and the worst part of that was that I was never going to see my Mum again.
But this time must be different. These people aren’t fighting for their right to freedom from French colonisation, they are fighting for their right to be accepted as being French in French society. The issue at hand is very complex. I received an email the other day stating quite plainly that ‘it is up to them to integrate, it’s not up to the French to integrate them. When you live in a country you bend to its laws’. If you see only in terms of black and white this statement could be true but we all know that reality is very different. There are issues here that we are only just beginning to encounter. Yes, there is a big problem here that needs to be addressed and it will take time. No, you don’t solve those problems by burning cars and spreading violence and bigotry. Ironically, actions are now being taken, changes being planned, and this outburst was the catalyst. What message is that sending?
So things are starting to calm down over here and it may take a little longer for tensions to simmer down but let’s hope that some real positive and durable changes come out of this whole experience. I can only wonder how the world will be for the next couple of generations now that it has become so much smaller and easier to navigate and people are migrating all over the place. Where will our children fit in? How do we go about making sure they have that precious sense of belonging? That ‘home’ element that seems so vital to us humans?
In other news… the other night I turned on the radio to drown out the noise of sirens and circling helicopters (imagine that with a less dramatic tone please) to hear some ridiculous song about ‘Aimer jusqu’à l’impossible’, a song I had heard before and hated just as much. Imagine my surprise when they announced that it was performed by none other than Australia’s Tina Arena! Geezus, god help us. She’s taken to singing in French now. As if Celine Dion wasn’t punishment enough to the francophone/anglophone worlds. Apparently our little Tina has quite a following here!
More important news… read this because it could help you save a life. The other day my friend Betty forwarded me an email that explained how to recognise when someone is having a stroke. Since it was a forward that asked to be forwarded on to 10 other people and didn’t reference any names, institutions or anything vaguely scientific, I almost ignored it. But I didn’t, because I’m curious So I did a little search and here I quote from an article I will be linking to:
‘Every 45 seconds someone suffers a stroke and many are not acting fast enough to prevent a fatal outcome or the serious long-term disability that can occur if treatment is not received in time. Researchers report 80 percent of strokes are preventable, yet one in four Americans cannot name a single risk factor for stroke.’
And though I am not American and though I have previously held a first-aid certificate, I realised I had no clue how to recognise the signs. So PLEASE, read this article
Though I hope you will never need this knowledge, it may just help save the life of someone you love.
Lastly, I have started sorting through my photos to bring you the French albums soon and also a ‘best of… Canada’. I hope you all took a peek at the Pyrenees photos, they are really worth checking out. The blog will probably be going back and forth in time over the next few entries to accommodate for the blanks that will link to the photos, so please bear with me.
As for me, I am on the job trail and fingers crossed something will come up soon!
xoxox
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November 16th, 2005
You are Wallace Stevens. You love everything,
especially the sound of things. Too bad you
are so obscure that at times even you don’t
understand what the hell you have written.
Which Famous Modern American Poet Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
I don’t agree that I am obscure. Ok, let me say that more definitely. I am not obscure. Although it is true that sound is very important to me. Words absolutely have to be melodic.
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June 11th, 2005
I am currently reading Da Vinci Code to figure out what all the fuss is about: the controversy, the spin-off books and the spin in general. Not so keen to blow 50 bucks on hype, I was waiting for it to be released in paperback version and growing increasingly disgusted by the clever marketing ploy that was delaying this so. Finally, however, the French paperback version has been released so I snapped it up and am now swept away on the journey. It really is absorbing. It really does leave you guessing, wondering… curious. How much of it is fact and how much fiction?
The clues so far are certainly enough to keep Google in business for a while and I’m sure http://www.opusdei.org/ never got so many hits. Of course, I’m right in there furiously clicking from link to link. Today I came across the website of a Melbourne guy who believes he is Jesus. He’s completely cracked, but hey it’s worth a peek! http://www.holyconspiracy.com/archives/Jesus.htm
Of particular interest is how he “proves” his conviction to us, so be sure to follow the “Can I prove I’m Jesus?” link at the bottom of the page.
I have not had much of a chance to post for the last week since life has been pretty hectic… I am taking advantage of a quiet 5 minutes at work to post via e-mail. Tonight I should finally be able to post a picture I have been wanting to share with you for a while.
Until then…
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June 9th, 2005
I just did an IQ test online (www.tickle.com) and got 129 which is only 4 below Remi and I’m claiming a handicap for the fact that it’s 1 am 
hehehe
So here’s my result:
Your IQ score is 129
This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others. Your Intellectual Type is Insightful Linguist. This means you are highly intelligent and have the natural fluency of a writer and the visual and spatial strengths of an artist. Those skills contribute to your creative and expressive mind. And that’s just some of what we know about you from your test results.
Pretty accurate eh!
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May 23rd, 2005
Lately I’ve felt the unshakable urge to read. It’s been a while since I read a book and honestly the books I got into reading before I left Sydney were hardly literature. ChickLit is a good chuckle but it won’t inspire you to great heights. Then I tried to read Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende but found her writing no longer fits me, so I didn’t finish the book. You could never compare something like “Daughter of Fortune” with “Eva Luna”, impossible. Maybe she has lost her passionate rawness and became too formulaic. Since she was always one of my favourite authors I persisted and tried to read her autobiography entitled “My Invented Country”. Though I learnt quite a bit about Chile, I didn’t finish that one either. Remi’s mother read them both while she was here and she really enjoyed them but then she hasn’t read any of her other stuff so the bar wasn’t set too high.
I went into a bookshop today, half looking for Bill Bryson’s “In a Sunburned Country” (in Australia it’s called “Down Under” and I urge everyone to read it. In fact if you’re curious about the world at all, I recommend any of his books. He is very witty and warm in his accounts) and half looking for anything else that might catch my eye. I ended up with a copy of “Love” by Toni Morrison. This woman is an amazing writer. I guess I’m not the first to think so since she has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (*sigh* Pick me! Pick me!). Seriously. I picked up the book in need of some sweet medicine and boy am I getting it. So it’s true, I seem to have a penchant for South American and African American writers, but these people write from the ground in. They have two feet planted firmly on the ground and their head is swimming with the angels. That’s the stuff of inspiration. That’s the stuff that saves lives and minds and hearts. That’s what I’m talking about.
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May 19th, 2005
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