I use the plural in the title with a bit of artistic liscence since I'm referring to one conversation on MSN with my dear friend Beki, where I missed a message and ended up being confused. Although I didn't have the foresight to save the conversation, this is roughly how it went. The vital information that I missed is in italics.
Beki: "I'm having dinner with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew tonight."
Me: "Aunt Beki! How sweet!"
Beki: "I know!
"They're staying at Disneyland.
"It was a total surprise for my nephew."
Me: "What, that you're his aunt? It must have been."
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Of drunken conversations and goodbyes
Well, yesterday was unproductive. I was tired, the weather was terrible, so I did nothing. Really, practically nothing at all. I hardly managed to motivate myself to breathe. Actually, I posted a letter, bought some chocolate and watched (any guesses...) Heroes. I have also managed to get my brother addicted, who watched NINE episodes yesterday! That's shocking, even for my standards!
I then went to a bar called the Cameleon in St Michel to say goodbye to Cecily, as she's leaving this evening. It was really nice and I had some cool conversations. The bar, which is a jazz bar was cool as well. I thinks I might return. However, I have to confess, that with my prolific alcohol consumption of just two glasses of kir cassis, which probably has a tiny alcohol percentage (and the glasses weren't even that big) I got slightly tipsy. How embarrassing, I'm such a lightweight. I didn't do anything humiliating, I was just very aware that I had consumed alcohol.
Luckily I was nowhere near as drunk as this French guy who decided to join our group. He was wasted. And he kept on staring at the female members of our party. I had a rather interesting conversation with him, which went along the lines of this:
"Why are you in Paris?" (drunken random)
"I'm studying." (me)
"What university are you studying at?"
"The university of London."
"No, what university are you studying at? Cambridge?"
[I repeat previous answer, but he still doesn't believe me, and moves on]
"So, what are you studying?"
"French studies."
"Just French?"
"Yep. French language and culture."
"Not anything like French business? Just French?"
"Just French."
"So, where are you studying?"
And on the way home, a rather jovial (also drunk) black man sat next to me laughing hysterically at a woman because she was wearing a scarf. I know this because he decided to share this hilarity with me. I did the usual trick, "je suis anglais." Didn't work. "Oh, you're English? Wheeeeeerrre arre you frooom?" (note drunken slur) "Southampton." Bad move. He then started talking to me about Southampton Football Team, which I don't support nor know anything about. He said it must be so difficult for me to cope with Southampton being in the second division (now called the Champions' league, n'est-ce pas?). I graciously accepted his sympathy, and smiled to him as he got off the metro.
Today, I got up in earnest to find a job, and looked at loads of offers, but have yet to really get anywhere. I WILL write my cover letter and I WILL send it off! I WILL write my cover letter...
And that brings you up to date really.
Ciao
I then went to a bar called the Cameleon in St Michel to say goodbye to Cecily, as she's leaving this evening. It was really nice and I had some cool conversations. The bar, which is a jazz bar was cool as well. I thinks I might return. However, I have to confess, that with my prolific alcohol consumption of just two glasses of kir cassis, which probably has a tiny alcohol percentage (and the glasses weren't even that big) I got slightly tipsy. How embarrassing, I'm such a lightweight. I didn't do anything humiliating, I was just very aware that I had consumed alcohol.
Luckily I was nowhere near as drunk as this French guy who decided to join our group. He was wasted. And he kept on staring at the female members of our party. I had a rather interesting conversation with him, which went along the lines of this:
"Why are you in Paris?" (drunken random)
"I'm studying." (me)
"What university are you studying at?"
"The university of London."
"No, what university are you studying at? Cambridge?"
[I repeat previous answer, but he still doesn't believe me, and moves on]
"So, what are you studying?"
"French studies."
"Just French?"
"Yep. French language and culture."
"Not anything like French business? Just French?"
"Just French."
"So, where are you studying?"
And on the way home, a rather jovial (also drunk) black man sat next to me laughing hysterically at a woman because she was wearing a scarf. I know this because he decided to share this hilarity with me. I did the usual trick, "je suis anglais." Didn't work. "Oh, you're English? Wheeeeeerrre arre you frooom?" (note drunken slur) "Southampton." Bad move. He then started talking to me about Southampton Football Team, which I don't support nor know anything about. He said it must be so difficult for me to cope with Southampton being in the second division (now called the Champions' league, n'est-ce pas?). I graciously accepted his sympathy, and smiled to him as he got off the metro.
Today, I got up in earnest to find a job, and looked at loads of offers, but have yet to really get anywhere. I WILL write my cover letter and I WILL send it off! I WILL write my cover letter...
And that brings you up to date really.
Ciao
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
MyPod
As you may have noticed, I've added a playlist to my blog. Please comment on my choice of music and of course, make any recommendations of what I should add! Apparently, I can add an unlimited number of songs, so more the merrier!
The mighty game of Go...
Here are some random thoughts that have come into my head over the last 24 hours, which might give you some indication of the bizarre ways that my brain works.
1) A performer is juggling on a jumbo jet. He throws a ball into the air. At its highest point, the ball, for an infinitely small point of time, is perfectly motionless, before it falls back into the performer's hand. However, the ball is never really perfectly still, for it is moving along with the plane at 895 km/h at cruising speed. The plane is flying around the Earth, which rotates at 1674 km/h which means if the plane is flying in a westerly direction, it's actually going backwards. The Earth itself is orbiting around the Sun at on average 107,218 km/h. The Sun itself is orbiting around the centre of the galazy, the Milky Way at a staggering 217 km per second (That's 718,200 km/h). The Milky Way is hurtling through space at around 600 km per second. That means the Milky Way moves a staggering 51.84 million kilometres a day. No wonder it's so difficult to get any stillness nowadays...
2) The number of final positions of the chinese game of Go is larger than the number of atoms in the Universe. The number of atoms in 12 grams of carbon is 1,400,000 times the age of the universe in seconds. I have been alive for 19 years. That's 1/720,000,000 of the estimated age of the universe. To put that into perspective, if the universe existed for one year, I would have existed for aproximately one tenth of the time it takes to blink. That is a lot of final positions for the game of Go.
3) You may have heard that, unless you're Sentinelese and unsociably chase off with arrows and javelins anybody who's not from your remote tribe on a small island near Burma, that there are six degrees of separation between you and anyone else in the world. You can also theoretically get from any Wikipedia article to another with a maximum of six clicks (you can test that here).
So in conclusion, I am just one of six billion people in the world, but nearly every single one of them is practically my next-door neighbour. The world is obviously a small place, which is also moving incredibly quickly through a rather large universe. But nothing compares in size to the number of final positions of a game of Go. But if you were Sentinelese, this wouldn't matter, because you don't even know how to make fire. On the other hand, one expedition noticed that the Sentinelese had what appeared to be an 8x8 game board. So maybe they prefer chess.
1) A performer is juggling on a jumbo jet. He throws a ball into the air. At its highest point, the ball, for an infinitely small point of time, is perfectly motionless, before it falls back into the performer's hand. However, the ball is never really perfectly still, for it is moving along with the plane at 895 km/h at cruising speed. The plane is flying around the Earth, which rotates at 1674 km/h which means if the plane is flying in a westerly direction, it's actually going backwards. The Earth itself is orbiting around the Sun at on average 107,218 km/h. The Sun itself is orbiting around the centre of the galazy, the Milky Way at a staggering 217 km per second (That's 718,200 km/h). The Milky Way is hurtling through space at around 600 km per second. That means the Milky Way moves a staggering 51.84 million kilometres a day. No wonder it's so difficult to get any stillness nowadays...
2) The number of final positions of the chinese game of Go is larger than the number of atoms in the Universe. The number of atoms in 12 grams of carbon is 1,400,000 times the age of the universe in seconds. I have been alive for 19 years. That's 1/720,000,000 of the estimated age of the universe. To put that into perspective, if the universe existed for one year, I would have existed for aproximately one tenth of the time it takes to blink. That is a lot of final positions for the game of Go.
3) You may have heard that, unless you're Sentinelese and unsociably chase off with arrows and javelins anybody who's not from your remote tribe on a small island near Burma, that there are six degrees of separation between you and anyone else in the world. You can also theoretically get from any Wikipedia article to another with a maximum of six clicks (you can test that here).
So in conclusion, I am just one of six billion people in the world, but nearly every single one of them is practically my next-door neighbour. The world is obviously a small place, which is also moving incredibly quickly through a rather large universe. But nothing compares in size to the number of final positions of a game of Go. But if you were Sentinelese, this wouldn't matter, because you don't even know how to make fire. On the other hand, one expedition noticed that the Sentinelese had what appeared to be an 8x8 game board. So maybe they prefer chess.
Of Columbians and Heroes
Yes, I promised to Natasha and Lucy that I'd watch no more Heroes until the rentrée (the start of the next year in case you don't speak French. I might as well have just put 'start of the next year' since that would have saved me having to write this entire explanation...), but I sinned... Although they do know that I gave in. The internet - a bastion of temptation. And like a certain Oscar Wilde, I can resist anything but temptation. But unlike him, I'm neither Irish nor dead.
Sunday and Monday were characterised by my inability to motivate myself to do anything. Instead, I either slept or sat at the computer in a quasi-vegetative state watching Heroes (although I did only watch two episodes... but so many twists and turns. Utterly addictive). I also managed to consume five bars of milka in three days. In the evening however, I went back to that Spanish bar with Nicky, Nichy's cousin, Natasha, Susannah and Susannah's friend who's here for the week or so. A Columbian, who could dance really well (but was incredibly sleazy) danced with Susannah, Natasha and Susannah's friend. And for some bizarre reason Susannah gave him her number... out of sympathy apparently.
Today, I've been slightly more proactive. I washed up for the first time in ages, and sent off my CV to a Subway in Paris, and have printed off some copies of my CV to give to other places around Bastille. I went for a little wander and saw 5 ads, so I decided that might be a good place to target.
Sunday and Monday were characterised by my inability to motivate myself to do anything. Instead, I either slept or sat at the computer in a quasi-vegetative state watching Heroes (although I did only watch two episodes... but so many twists and turns. Utterly addictive). I also managed to consume five bars of milka in three days. In the evening however, I went back to that Spanish bar with Nicky, Nichy's cousin, Natasha, Susannah and Susannah's friend who's here for the week or so. A Columbian, who could dance really well (but was incredibly sleazy) danced with Susannah, Natasha and Susannah's friend. And for some bizarre reason Susannah gave him her number... out of sympathy apparently.
Today, I've been slightly more proactive. I washed up for the first time in ages, and sent off my CV to a Subway in Paris, and have printed off some copies of my CV to give to other places around Bastille. I went for a little wander and saw 5 ads, so I decided that might be a good place to target.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Exams are over!
I have finally finished all of my exams! But it's such a long time since I wrote my last blog entry, and I've done so much non-revision orientated stuff, this is going to be a long entry! Hold on to your seats!
Here goes... last week I had three exams, roman (Monday), grands débats (Tuesday) and poésie (Wednesday). All went relatively well I hope, but I'll only find out for sure when I get my results. Thursday I didn't really do much, at least I don't think so, but if I did I can't remember.
Friday - I can definitely remember Friday! In the evening, a group of us from uni (Lucy, Natasha, Nicky, Susannah and moi) went to the Louvre. Nicky and Susannah walked ridiculously fast, so within two minutes, the rest of us had lost them. We guessed roughly where they would be (the section on French art), but we never caught up, so we decided to go back to Lucy's apartment (spelt correctly this time). It turns out we were probably only a room or so apart all the time. C'est la vie! Nicky returned not long after sans Susannah, and the four of us had lasagne. We then decided in a moment of random impulsiveness to go to a karaoke in Pigalle (which, if you don't know, is the red-light district of Paris). And we were terrible! But we had fun, and Lucy and Nicky chatted to these Australians.
Saturday, I went to Nicky's and Lucy's to watch Cyrano de Bergerac with Natasha tagging along as well! After that, Nicky, Natasha and I met up with Susannah at Invalides to watch a jazz concert. It was really good, although it was a bit odd that the players were in full military costume, slightly contradictory. Lucy then joined us and we went to the Marais, and had falafel. We then went to Victor Hugo's house, but since it was Nuit des Musées it was really busy, but cool anyway. We then went to the Archives Nationales because there was a medieval thingy. I had bottled mineral water and a waffle from a waffle iron. The epitome of medieval cuisine! There were some people in armour though...
Sunday, I did some washing and went to church in the evening.
Monday, I had my théâtre exam in the morning. I then went shopping with Natasha to buy some clothes for the uni end of year boat party which is tomorrow! We then went to Lucy's to watch... can you guess? Heroes! Unfortunately, we got to the end of the 18 episodes that she has, so we'll have to wait till October to resume viewing. In the evening I then went to my first Church council meeting, which I found slightly excessively bureaucratic, but maybe that's just my youthful idealism.
Tuesday was art exam. Went well considering I did no revision whatsoever. I then went to church for the mid-week thingy.
(I started writing this on Friday, but didn't finish it. It's now Sunday, so if there are any confusing time shifts, bear with me.) Wednesday was the cinema which went ok I hope, but was one of the hardest exams. And I don't think I did much else after that.
Thursday was media. After that I went to Lucy's apartment (also spelt correctly) to eat this chocolate fondant thingy and ice cream. I then went to have fondu with Square 1 (the student youth group at St Mike's) in this bizarre restaurant in Montmartre (Refuge des Fondus, rue des deux freres if you ever want to know where it is), which was cool. We then wondered around Montmartre a bit, watched people perform outside the Sacré-Coeur and then had ice cream. Apparently, someone from uni saw me at Sacré-Coeur but I rudely ignored them. You don't expect to bump into people in Paris (well at least, I don't) so you walk around in a little bubble. Then I went home.
Friday was my last exam! And Questionnement too, what a waste of time! We were originally told it was three hours, but it was actually two. And one of the questions was of course 'Peut-on justifier le terrorisme ?' (this probably means nothing to anyone outside of ULIP, but it became a bit of a running joke since in each one of the two and a half lectures we had he asked us to discuss this question). Then I started writing this, but didn't finish.
Then, I went to Lucy and Nicky's apartment for a celebratory drink with Natasha and Gabby. After the drinks and an excessive consumption of crisps and mock petits écoliers we said goodbye for four months to Lucy as she was catching a train back to Brittany that evening. The rest of us save Gabby then went for a nice Italian dinner at Susannah's, where we consumed more drink, and we then went to a Spanish bar in Saint Michel, where Susannah was chatted up by a Spanish car salesman who wanted to marry her the next day and bizarrely stroked my hair. There are lots of weirdos in Paris, I can tell you!
Saturday during the day, I mainly slept, and did some shopping since Monday is yet another bank holiday (the fourth in a month!) so I won't be able to buy anything else till Tuesday. In the evening, I went to the uni's boat party on the Seine. The boat was really cool, but the part of Paris was a dump (by the National Library of France), but that was probably the only place the uni could afford! I then went back to Nicky's apartment with Nicky, her cousin, Natasha and Will Setters. Will and I slept in Lucy's room, since she wasn't there (I had permission to use it, and I'm sure she didn't mind Will sleeping on the floor...). And then I left around midday (when I got up) and came home. Et voila, we're up to date.
Next week, I'm also going to be busy, I'm planning to tidy my apartment, find a job and am also going out Monday and Wednesday...
Till next time, adiós!
Here goes... last week I had three exams, roman (Monday), grands débats (Tuesday) and poésie (Wednesday). All went relatively well I hope, but I'll only find out for sure when I get my results. Thursday I didn't really do much, at least I don't think so, but if I did I can't remember.
Friday - I can definitely remember Friday! In the evening, a group of us from uni (Lucy, Natasha, Nicky, Susannah and moi) went to the Louvre. Nicky and Susannah walked ridiculously fast, so within two minutes, the rest of us had lost them. We guessed roughly where they would be (the section on French art), but we never caught up, so we decided to go back to Lucy's apartment (spelt correctly this time). It turns out we were probably only a room or so apart all the time. C'est la vie! Nicky returned not long after sans Susannah, and the four of us had lasagne. We then decided in a moment of random impulsiveness to go to a karaoke in Pigalle (which, if you don't know, is the red-light district of Paris). And we were terrible! But we had fun, and Lucy and Nicky chatted to these Australians.
Saturday, I went to Nicky's and Lucy's to watch Cyrano de Bergerac with Natasha tagging along as well! After that, Nicky, Natasha and I met up with Susannah at Invalides to watch a jazz concert. It was really good, although it was a bit odd that the players were in full military costume, slightly contradictory. Lucy then joined us and we went to the Marais, and had falafel. We then went to Victor Hugo's house, but since it was Nuit des Musées it was really busy, but cool anyway. We then went to the Archives Nationales because there was a medieval thingy. I had bottled mineral water and a waffle from a waffle iron. The epitome of medieval cuisine! There were some people in armour though...
Sunday, I did some washing and went to church in the evening.
Monday, I had my théâtre exam in the morning. I then went shopping with Natasha to buy some clothes for the uni end of year boat party which is tomorrow! We then went to Lucy's to watch... can you guess? Heroes! Unfortunately, we got to the end of the 18 episodes that she has, so we'll have to wait till October to resume viewing. In the evening I then went to my first Church council meeting, which I found slightly excessively bureaucratic, but maybe that's just my youthful idealism.
Tuesday was art exam. Went well considering I did no revision whatsoever. I then went to church for the mid-week thingy.
(I started writing this on Friday, but didn't finish it. It's now Sunday, so if there are any confusing time shifts, bear with me.) Wednesday was the cinema which went ok I hope, but was one of the hardest exams. And I don't think I did much else after that.
Thursday was media. After that I went to Lucy's apartment (also spelt correctly) to eat this chocolate fondant thingy and ice cream. I then went to have fondu with Square 1 (the student youth group at St Mike's) in this bizarre restaurant in Montmartre (Refuge des Fondus, rue des deux freres if you ever want to know where it is), which was cool. We then wondered around Montmartre a bit, watched people perform outside the Sacré-Coeur and then had ice cream. Apparently, someone from uni saw me at Sacré-Coeur but I rudely ignored them. You don't expect to bump into people in Paris (well at least, I don't) so you walk around in a little bubble. Then I went home.
Friday was my last exam! And Questionnement too, what a waste of time! We were originally told it was three hours, but it was actually two. And one of the questions was of course 'Peut-on justifier le terrorisme ?' (this probably means nothing to anyone outside of ULIP, but it became a bit of a running joke since in each one of the two and a half lectures we had he asked us to discuss this question). Then I started writing this, but didn't finish.
Then, I went to Lucy and Nicky's apartment for a celebratory drink with Natasha and Gabby. After the drinks and an excessive consumption of crisps and mock petits écoliers we said goodbye for four months to Lucy as she was catching a train back to Brittany that evening. The rest of us save Gabby then went for a nice Italian dinner at Susannah's, where we consumed more drink, and we then went to a Spanish bar in Saint Michel, where Susannah was chatted up by a Spanish car salesman who wanted to marry her the next day and bizarrely stroked my hair. There are lots of weirdos in Paris, I can tell you!
Saturday during the day, I mainly slept, and did some shopping since Monday is yet another bank holiday (the fourth in a month!) so I won't be able to buy anything else till Tuesday. In the evening, I went to the uni's boat party on the Seine. The boat was really cool, but the part of Paris was a dump (by the National Library of France), but that was probably the only place the uni could afford! I then went back to Nicky's apartment with Nicky, her cousin, Natasha and Will Setters. Will and I slept in Lucy's room, since she wasn't there (I had permission to use it, and I'm sure she didn't mind Will sleeping on the floor...). And then I left around midday (when I got up) and came home. Et voila, we're up to date.
Next week, I'm also going to be busy, I'm planning to tidy my apartment, find a job and am also going out Monday and Wednesday...
Till next time, adiós!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
101 things about me
I'm bored, so, after reading another blog which did this, I decided to list 101 things about me. Enjoy... or not, as the case may well be.
- I’m a twin
- I’m also identical
- But I’m left-handed and my brother’s right-handed
- I’m the oldest
- I have no other siblings except my twin brother
- I’m English
- I was born in Southampton
- I liked school
- I binge chocolate
- I worked at a supermarket – good old Morrisons!
- I did my two-week Year 10 work experience in a primary school in Southampton
- I’m studying French Studies
- In Paris
- At the University of London Institute in Paris
- Even though French was my worst subject at both GCSE and A-levels
- I’ve always wanted to live abroad
- I applied to Oxford
- But they rejected me
- As a child, my favourite book was the Dorling Kindersley Encyclopaedia
- My nicknames include Shmead, Shmead no. 1 and Mr Wikipedia
- The last is owing to my ability to retain useless information
- As a child, I had two hamsters, a guinea pig, as well as looking after my brother’s guinea pig and rabbit
- I was rubbish at looking after them
- And they died
- I talk excessively
- I hate French pop music (who doesn’t)
- I like rollercoasters and fast rides
- I’m not particularly afraid of death
- My favourite novel is To Kill a Mockingbird
- My favourite French novel is La Symphonie pastorale
- I used to have a comfort blanket
- I once fell down the stairs whilst inside it (don’t ask)
- I was kicked in the mouth by a New Forest pony when I was a child
- I’m a Christian
- I was baptised nearly two years ago
- I hate injections
- And I generally pass out when I have them
- But I survived the BCG!
- But only since I passed out ten minutes after my meningitis C jab
- I also hate blood, blood transfusions, and so forth
- But I can’t give blood in France because I lived in the UK during the mad cow disease crisis
- I play the violin
- But failed my grade 6 exam
- Mainly because I didn’t practise for a month before hand (it was my A-levels at a time)
- I hardly ever revise for exams
- But have the gift of the gab and generally do well
- Simple things amuse me
- If I’m in a bad mood, a cup of tea and digestive biscuits will always cheer me up
- I laugh incredibly easily
- But often sound like I’m hyperventilating
- I like words because of the way they sound (ubiquitous, soliloquy, cacophony, etc.)
- I did GCSE Spanish in a year, and have since forgotten everything
- I forget important things like birthdays and where I put things
- But I’m rarely late for appointments
- I’m incredibly untidy
- Certain people (you know who you are) say I’m like an old man, and maybe they’re right
- I love to sing
- But have possibly the worst voice you can imagine
- Sometimes I talk to myself
- Languages fascinate me
- I love to travel
- I’ve been to Australia
- And went snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef
- I went to Japan
- And ate something which was the most disgusting thing I ever tasted (it looked like Branston pickle)
- The second most disgusting thing I’ve eaten is a type of cheese from Corsica in France
- Sometimes I don’t know why I’m in France
- But I love it anyway
- I have no idea what I’m going to do after uni, well I have some idea – I’m not going to join the Foreign Legion
- I’ve never voted
- I’m very legalistic
- I’ve never smoked
- I hate sport and hardly ever exercise
- I have terrible hand-eye coordination
- I eat lots but don’t put on weight
- I’m trying to read the entire Bible
- I hate marmite
- At the moment I’m a bit of a Heroes addict
- I am a bit of an internet junkie
- I have a Facebook, Myspace, Bebo, and WAYN account, as well as this blog
- I want to write at least one novel in my lifetime
- And I’ve started to write several, but never get further than a few thousand words
- I sometimes have a feeling of Weltschmerz (don’t we all?)
- I’m happy 99% of the time
- I sound stereotypically British with my received pronunciation accent
- I like literature and poetry
- But avoid writing my own poetry, to prevent creating angst-driven prosaic rubbish
- I wear glasses generally
- But I can see without them
- I may have an operation on both my jaws in a few years time
- I had tracheo-oesophageal fistula
- And needed an operation in the first twenty-four hours of my life to prevent it
- My earliest memory of football (soccer) is being hit by a football at the top of the hill with such force that I rolled to the bottom
- My favourite radio station in the UK is probably Classic FM
- But I don’t really listen to the radio
- And I don’t watch the TV since I don’t have one in France
- I like maths
- And studying grammar
- My favourite composer is probably Vivaldi
- But I also like Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Saint-Saens, Fauré and Ibert
- I have just listed 100 things about me.
There you go! I hope you enjoyed that.
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