ruby tuesday

I'm supposed to be
brainy
(an accusation I totally deny)
but i have just spent half an hour discussing hair with Belle Etoile
I love being a girl

I need a change of air

["Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months." O.W.]

Israeli soldiers have just shot a ten-year-old boy in the head.
They should be ashamed of themselves.
I'm ashamed I have origins in a country that says amen to everything Israel does.

[I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. A.E.]

Uninvaded

The three Swedes left today.
Now, I very much enjoyed having them here, and Marcus is very cute and very nice, so that's even more enjoyable, but really, BOYS!
Stick a group of them in a strange house with one girl their age and a teenage boy....girl ends up having to babysit EVERYONE.
So as much as I liked having them around, I'm glad my housekeeping duties are over. Especially as my parents came back today, turning up at the same time as my best friend, which made for a bit of a mess in the yard.
And on Thursday, the American cousin is arriving. I think I might run away. I mean, I've been a tour guide before, but that has always been by choice, and not because I felt like I had to. And it's always been in groups with plenty of guys-the last time that happened, I helped out some friends of my mother's who had a Scottish rugby team coming over and no-one to take care of them. So I did. And it was great fun. But I tend to get on well with big groups of guys. Mainly because when the ribbing gets really too much, I'll have a good rant, and forget about it ten minutes later.
Ah, the Scots. Great ones for drinking, they were. I hadn't seen anyone drink that much since Id been to the Czech Republic.

["Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired." J.R.]

Pointless pictures

Found these by digging around in my computer. No stealing!^^

["They used to photograph Shirley Temple through gauze. They should photograph me through linoleum."T.B.]

Although...

On the other hand, they've been through Germany, Italy, Hungary and the Czech Republic before getting here, so they must have SOME sense of direction.

["The true traveler is he who goes on foot, and even then, he sits down a lot of the time." C.]

Oops

in a moment of distractedness (ie, myself being unsocial because I was tired of boy-noise and them all playing video games-boys never grow out of that, do they?) the three swedes ran away.
They went off to town, which is five kilometers away (7 according to my brother, but he always exaggerates)on foot.
Now I'm just praying they don't get lost.

["Dig where the gold is…unless you just need some exercise."J.M.C.]

unexpectedness

busy watching Wile E. Coyote trying to catch Bugs Bunny, which is against the natural order of things. Although I do wish he'd catch Bip Bip the roadrunner one day. That bird is very annoying.
Anyway, I digress.
I was woken up this morning by a phone call fro my Dad, off holidaying in the Pyrenees, while I babysit a house, a brother, and more I don't care to talk about. He had just had a call from my Aunt Lena (one of the swedes) saying my cousin Oscar and two friends of his were arriving in Avignon today and coming to stay with us. So I've been running all over the place clearing up, getting beds ready, the usual, but it's good news, should be entertaining.

Last time I saw Oscar it was Christmas 2006 in Stockholm and I have vivid memories of watching him tie massive fireworks to a stop sign-the fireworks went off with a BANG! and were very pretty, and a neighbour threatened to call the police.


["Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway."E.H.}

my brother just admitted he knew how to pirate an email account, so I forced him to tell me how so I could destroy his in case he went near mine.
Really, what world are we living in.

["If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance."G.B.S.]

I've always found summers boring, especially as I got older.
At the moment, everyone I know is working or has gone off on holiday.
There is, quite literally, nothing to do.
I am stuck at my parent's house because they've gone off for ten days, leaving me to keep an eye on my little brother and on the house, so I'm stuck here.
Being a complete and utter loser, I don't have a driving license. Which is a pain. I don't usually need one, but my parents live in the middle of fucking nowhere, so now I am not happy at my uselessness.
On the other hand, all year round, I don't care-driving is totally unneccessary in the town I live in, all the interesting places are at walking distance from my flat (this including university, bars, cinemas,shops, my mates' flats-I live in the town center and it's GREAT.)

So it's just when I come here that I find it aggravating.
On the other hand, it wouldn't solve the "everyone is away or working" problem, so I guess I can't complain that much.
Thing is, I couldn't get a job in June or July, cause I was passing exams/in China, and I can't get a job in August cause I'm supposed to take my cousin around when she gets here.
At least a job would keep me busy, man. And make money, of course. I'm hopelessly broke. As usual^^
I guess I'm in a moaning mood tonight-not attractive at all!

But having nothing to do tends to make me like this. Of course, when I have things to do, I procrastinate like crazy, and do it in a rush the night before it's due. It's always worked for me :D

["Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen."A.B.]

woooo

It's raining.
Although it's sunny at the same time.
Bizarre.

Note to self

...it's only when I start moaning that i get what I want :D
yes, my university results came today, two weeks after most students' (not sure of the punctuation there) and all is good, just another year to survive.

On another note, I have been finding out a few things about one of my US cousin who is coming to spend a month here in August. These things worry me.
To put things into context, my Dad is swedish-american, and his parents lived in Paris all his life, well until he was eighteen and went off to university in the States, on which occasion my grandmother(who is the swedish half) applied for divorce and moved down to the sunny south of France, where I am currently located.
Anyway. I can't quite remember when my dad moved back to France, but it was quite a few years later, and then he went to England sometime during the eighties, met my mother, end of story. Until they moved to France in the nineties with my brother and I in tow.
I've only ever been to the US once, when I was fifteen, and met part of the family there (my Dad had eight uncles and aunts.large family).
Well, I was fifteen.
I hated it.
I'm not that comfortable with big family gatherings, because it's not something that's been part of my life, living overseas from just about all the relatives.
Even so, I was bored. The cousins nearest to me in age, between 18 and 25, well they just didn't have much conversation, to be honest. I went with one of them to see a documentary and she came out of the cinema wondering what the hell it was about.
I've always been fairly easily bored, but the two weeks I spent there were mind-numbing. I was sick of the food, of the TV, of the gigantism of everything.
I might be American by blood, but I'm sure not part of that culture.
Although I'd give it another shot. But somewhere alive. I'd love to see San Francisco one day.
But anyway. I digress.
So. My cousin is six months older than I am. Fair enough. Saw a picture of her earlier-she looks between 5 and 10 years older than I do. Dad said "oh, it's the make-up". Um.
And she's getting married. Apparently her fiancé proposed a few days ago.
Looking forward to the conversation.
I'm taking bets with myself on her being religious, which is going to be extremely uncomfortable in a house of atheists. I'm not even baptized, neither is my brother. I don't even have any religious friends. The closest I have to that is my flatmate's boyfriend, and we've never talked about it.
hm. Starting to have doubts about this plan.

The French "service public" is a pain.
Right now I'm moaning because my university still hasn't sent my results, although everyone SHOULD have them.
ALthough now I don't know anyone who hasn't. Except JC, because he went back to England. And Shuang, cause she's in China.
sulk sulk sulk sulk sulk!

I hate

all these female french singers who pass as "alternative" and "rebellious" and "non-conformist" when all they do is moan in a microphone about how life is hard.

Johnny Hallyday.

American journalists who take him as a prime example of French culture when anyone under fifty hates him. And a lot of people over fifty, come to that.

French maintream music. It's some of the worst in the known universe, because all that is shown on the french MTV is rnb and rap copied from the US-but in French, which is pretty bad. Or old singers on the prowl, such as Patrick Bruel, Patrick Fiori, Jean-Jacques Goldman and sooooo many others, Celine Dion in the lot, could someone silence her please.

Being told that all French music sucks by people who only watch M6.

Reality TV (although I admit it, I watched Nouvelle Star last year for Julien Doré, and this year for Benjamin. And when at Agathe's we can have MTV afternoons just to empty our heads-nothing better for it than those freaky shows such as Parental Control-I STILL haven't understood how anyone could actually participate in those, I'm sure they pay them)

Jean-Pierre Pernaut

French sitcoms.

On the other hand, I indiscriminately love a whole set of French entertainment: The Guignols de l'info, Omar et Fred, le Groland, les Inconnus, les Nuls, le Grand Journal, la Minute Blonde (shame that stopped)
Matmatah, Rita Mitsouko,Hocus Pocus,BB Brunes, Billy Ze Kick, Birdy Nam Nam, daft Punk, Sebastien Tellier,Justice, Java, Massilia Sound System,La Rue Ketanou, M and Lousie Attaque and Noir Désir are just some of the French musicians I really like

I've often been that French movies are always the same: X loves Y who loves Z who loves X and everyone ends up in bed and people think far too much. I have to admit, that is often true. But there are so many great French movies, it's a shame anglophones tend to write them off like this.

L'auberge Espagnole-Les Poupées Russes-Le Péril Jeune-Gadjo Dilo-Delicatessen-Un long dimanche de fiançailles-Persepolis-Les Triplettes de Belleville-La Môme-Jean de Florette-Manon des Sources-Le Placard-Le Bossu-Darling-Molière-Une Vieille Maitresse-Le Scaphandre et le Papillon-Les Chansons d'Amour-C.R.A.Z.Y.(french canadian but brilliant)-Prête-moi ta main-Ne le Dis à Personne-Le Couperet-Les Choristes-Amélie Poulain-36 QUai des Orfèvres-Les invasions Barbares-La Reine Margot-Le Mépris-Et Dieu créa la femme-Se souvenir des belles choses-L'homme de sa vie-Monsieur Batgnole-Etre et Avoir-Astérix et Obélix Mission Cléopatre-Le Chocolat(not actually a french movie, but made in France with Juliette Binoche)-Un crime au paradis-Les Jolies Choses-Meilleur espoir Féminin.....

I think that's enough.
I won't bother talking about books, because I read mainly in English (there's an English bookshop approximately thirty seconds from my flat) but I did a lot of French classics in school and read in French when I like the author, like Virginie Despentes or Bernard Werber or when I borrow a book ^^
But the covers are never inspiring. It's terrible.

I just go on posting today.
But then, I'm bored.

On another note, I'm watching Omar&Fred.
They're particularly insane tonight. I have no idea if their humour is understandable by any non-french citizen, but god, they're hilarious.
If you're in France, check out the end of the Grand Journal on Canal Plus in the evenings. The SAV des émissions is my favourite part of the show.
Got to admit, Canal+ is the best Tv channel here. It's the only slightly insane one, what with Les Guignols de l'Info (wonder what they're going to do now that PPDA got fired?), the Groland, the Grand Journal and all that.
Hmmm.

I do believe

I've just fallen in love. With yet another expat blog. An american expat blog. An american expat in Paris blog (sorry, it's kind of hard to get more cliché from the point of view of someone who lives down south). And oh, it's called Maitresse -how am I not supposed to love that? Although I've only ever had one Maitresse, and that was a long time ago (only primary school teachers are Maitresses, and now you're supposed to call them Professeurs des Ecoles) (although I've been a Maitresse myself but that's a whole different story)
And oh, someone who talks about books!
Now, it's time to share a guilty secret.
I.Love.Books.
Not cool at all. I've been like this since I learned how to read at four. It gradually becomes cooler as you get older, but I'm still a bit of a freak. Ah well, I'm used to it by now.

why is it so hard to say goodbye to a mate on internet? I never draw out goodbyes like this on the phone, but MSN, or that new facebook chat-thingy, makes me go on useless chat overdrive-and i'm not the only one.
I think it must've taken ten minutes from the time El said she had to go til the time she actually left, full of good nights and sleep wells and oh shit i'm getting up at 6:30 and commiserations and are you with your boyfriends.
Am I the only one this happens to?

Chitchat

One of my favourite uni mates, El, is off to London this summer again, to be an au-pair, again.
El's english is brilliant-she's one of the only french people i can actually talk english to without feeling constrained by language barriers. Which is also why i think there must've been a problem with her uni results-she studies english, appropriately enough.
So El is back in London, where she manages to meet only French boys to crush on, especially ones that are perfect and only there for the week-end. Talk about bad luck.
You'd think there were enough British dudes in London, especially for a short-haired hot Keira Knightley look-alike, but sexier?
I mean, seriously.

shit

i totally forgot to link the post last night, and i'll never find that post again. ALthough I remember its name (Cultural Schizophrenia, fyi)

My wee brother was going on about accents earlier on, and rather miffed on being told his accent was unplaceable. Like someone who has been brought up abroad.
While mine is an unplaceable mixture that doesn't scream out "I've spent most of my life in France, motherfuckers!"
No-one could guess that from my speech, thank god. French accents in English are atrocious.
But a Frenchman could probably tell from my French that I live down South. Slight accent, slightly more singsong. Nicer than that awful northern Ch'ti "hein" or the german-sounding alsacians. But not caricatural-my mother would strangle me. I can still remember flying off to the States to see the family,years ago, when she warned me not to come back with a US accent. Would've been funny though.
Guess it's thanks to her I still sound English.

this is a terribly interesting article by Petite Anglaise on having different personalities in different languages.
It's not something I actually experience; I tend to be just the same in either language-which is probably why I come over as insane to most British guys (and girls, but in a lesser measure)

I've built myself on my British origins, because whatever happened, I was never from here, and never will be.
People often ask me why, at eighteen, I didn't apply for french nationality (which they couldn't have refused me, having come here at the age of five, done all my schooling in French public schools, obtained my baccalaureat, etcetera). The only I answer I have for that is that I'm not French. I just cannot imagine saying "I am French".
Although it is impossible to know that I'm not unless I say so-which is why as a preteen I kept it well under wraps and wouldn't speak english with my parents in public. I just wanted to be like everyone else. Strangely enough, this period, I believe, is what makes me now hang on to my nationality. I spent so much time being made to feel I was a foreigner, as soon as my foreign status was discovered, that I guess it made me decide that I was one and they could all go to hell.

In the meantime, I cannot separate my French self from my English self; in both I am stubborn, terribly polite when needs be, and swear a lot. Neither language has ascendency over the other-I wouldn't know if I speak French or English better.
The mix was made, and out came I.
Being a foreigner has always been a preoccupation of mine. I think that living in a foreign country, although perfectly integrated and my foreign-ness unnoticeable, you cannot help but thinking about it.
Especially when three times out of four, you're introduced by "this is Froufrou-she's English".
Never understood that.
Is being English my main characteristic? one wonders.

Well, after two and a half days back home, I feel a lot better, although I'm still ill-which is why I had to come back from China early. Ten days early.
I nearly gave my boyfriend a heart attack when I called, i think.

so. China. Not my cup of tea.
Thing is, the trip might just have been spoiled by the fact that nothing could be done without Shuang's mother, except when in Guangzhou-which is probably why Guangzhou was the bit I liked best.
It was unbearable.
My normal friend morphed into a little girl who couldn't-and practically wasn't allowed to-do anything without her mother. It drove me very insane.
And oh, being treated as an alien, all the time, is horrible. I'd never imagined it would be this bad.
I felt like a monster from some freak show.
Also discovered my chinese was even worse than I thought, so felt quite isolated.

It was a fascinating trip,but a sobering one.

oh yeah, I'm back from China, and I don't really feel like writing about it
SUffice to say it was an eye-opener

oh man
just saw a Michaek Jackson feat Akon video on MTV, for Thriller's 25th anniversary
Bloody depressing
The man was the King of Pop-I don't think there's ever been anyone like him
and now, what has he become?

holy shit i cannot access my emails or facebook; am cutoff from the world except here, and since the people im trying to communicate with are french, they dont read this. and i didnt give my parents the address either. and theres no msn here. damn damn damn, i really needed to talk to ;y mother. shit. i hate the internet here.