Planet Françoise

May we surf your couch?

2010-03-29T20:52:00.002+02:00

Planning our 5 day trip to Budapest in two weeks and I have been looking for a couch to surf for days now.

Couchsurfing

We have the two first nights covered, the last three are still open. We could always go to a hostel, but couchsurfing is just an unbeatable experience (did it last time in Albania). It's actually how I met my boyfriend :).

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Disappointment

2010-03-23T19:20:00.003+01:00

Today I got the mark of a difficult exam I had on February 1st. I got a "C". Although the stuff I had the learn for it were pretty intense, I'm really disappointed because the feeling I had coming out of it was really good. While I didn't think I was going to get an "A", I was silently hoping it would be a "B". I probably shouldn't complain, as my marks are, in general, pretty good, but I just find it so demotivating to work really hard and then get a meh result. I can't help but ask myself if my German was an obstacle to clearly expressing my answers to the questions or if I just really didn't get the content of the class...

Oh well, at least I passed, I guess. In 6 months I will (hopefully) have my masters degree...

pure, simple, true

2010-03-21T01:38:00.001+01:00

Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying "Lord I just don't care"
But you've got the love I need To see me through

Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough
And things go wrong no matter what I do
Now and then it seems that life is just too much
But you've got the love I need to see me through

When food is gone you are my daily meal
When friends are gone I know my savior's love is real
Your love is real

You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love

Time after time I think "Oh Lord what's the use?"
Time after time I think it's just no good
Sooner or later in life, the things you love you loose
But you got the love I need to see me through

You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love

Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying "Lord I just don't care"
But you've got the love I need to see me through

You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love

Greetings from paradise

2009-08-01T16:30:00.003+02:00

Well the day before yesterday I landed in Dubrovnik, Croatia and spent the day yesterday lying on the beach. The weather is amazing, the water is clear blue and the people are friendly. Today I m in Kotor, Montenegro, which is nested in a breath-taking fjord, is plastered with white marble tiles and surrounded by huge palm trees. I really feel like Im finally winding down!! Having in any case a lot of fun!!!

Medimax Customer Service Sucks!

2009-07-26T14:29:00.003+02:00

So, my exams went well, all my marks are satisfying. This week I was giving an intensive french class (4 hours a day) and working hard before my vacation.

This weekend being my last weekend before I leave (on Thursday), I wanted to buy the few last things I need etc. Including a small fan I can plug into the van for the over-30-degree-Celsius-temperature in Greece. Off to the local Medimax (german appliance store).

It's Saturday, obviously the day of the week where the most customers are there. I look around and see only one fan, and it's definitely too big to bring in my luggage. I look around on my own, trying to find a smaller one by myself. Nada. In a country where air conditioning is a week breeze of very humid, slightly-cooler-than the-surrounding-temperature air, I thought they would be bound to have at least more than just one model of fans. I finally give up, and look for a salesperson to help me out. It didn't really matter if they did have more or not, it's just that since I was already there, I wanted to be sure I didn't just miss their "fan" section before going home. Double nada. At the other end of the store, in the electronics department, I spot two fat-bellied-men that look like they work there, but they're deep in conversation. I start going through the departments, and finally find a lady in the cd and dvd section. I stand next to her, she just doesn't take notice, so I ask her kindly:
- "Excuse me maam, I was just wondering: I'm looking for a small fan and in the section next to this one I saw one, but it's pretty big and I'd like to know if you have other models".
She looks at me and just says:
-"That's not my section".
To which I (still kindly, but getting annoyed) reply:
-"Yes, I'm aware of that but there's nobody in that section and I just want to know if there are other models"
to which she answers, obviously annoyed
-"how should I know, I told you to ask somebody in the other section".
Mind you, I am used to bad customer service in Germany, but this just bugged me so much, I had to say something. So I answered:
-"Ok, thanks, great customer service by the way".
And THEN, she answers
-"well, if you're going to put in a complaint or something, I can go with you and look for another employee with you".
At that point (we were at the entrance of the store), I just gave up and said:
-"No thank you, I prefer for my money to pay the salary of someone who offers proper customer service, I'm sure I'll find another store where they carry fans."
She looked at me as if I had two heads, I wished her a nice day and I went off.

I don't get it. Especially in these times, where so many companies are going bankrupt and so many people are losing their jobs, you would think people here would MAYBE consider offering BASIC customer service? I get that Germans don't like the whole "hi, how are you, have a nice day" thing, and that's fine, but is it really that much to ask for? All I want is not have to BEG the employees to show me where the merchandise is so that I may PLEASE spend my money in their stores!

Medimax Schönhauser Allee, you suck.

I met Lady GaGa!!!

2009-07-19T19:45:00.002+02:00

Last night I went to GaGa's show in Berlin and stuck around and got to talk to her and get her autograph afterwards... The show was amazing, and although I haven't been a groupie since my 16th birthday, it was fun being able to see her upclose and personal :)

Exams, exams, exams...

2009-07-15T23:05:00.003+02:00

2 out of three survived, will be getting the marks shortly, last one up tomorrow.

Actually I know I'm really not using this blog to its full potential, but I'm hesitant to kill it off, since I might want to start using it again some time...

For example, posting vaca pics in september (pictures of croatia, albania, macedonia, montenegro and greece!)

Next I will be giving an intensive French class at university, and the week after I'm flying to Dubrovnik, where the bf will pick me up in our beloved van. Bliss!

My parents in law will be in Berlin for a week while we're away, and they'll be staying at my place... OH lord, let's hope this goes well! One thing is for sure, there will be an incredibly big summer cleaning before I leave!! And they'll finally get to meet Pouki-Helmut :)

I love Berlin in the summertime, it's so pretty and warm and bright!!

5 nights

2009-06-14T21:31:00.002+02:00

After almost two years of long distance relationship, the bf will be moving back to Berlin - and back in with me - next weekend. I can't wait! Only 5 nights alone and then we'll be together again - for good! No more sad goodbyes, no more three weeks or more apart, no more saying good night on the phone!!!

Tonight we said goodbye for the last time for hopefully a very long time.

On Friday I'll be driving our van from Berlin to Cologne and Sunday we'll be driving back together.

Bliss!

Pure gore

2009-06-07T23:43:00.002+02:00

I won't waste too many words on Salem's Lot: cute, made-for-tv, ok vampire movie. A bit long, and too many details, but nice special effects (when the vampires appear). Not that good, tension could be better. C minus.

Now, on the the real horror movie. The remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003, starring Jessica Biel) is a masterpiece of gore. The viewer feels uncomfortable in the first minutes of the movie and the tension just goes up and up until the end of the movie. The epitome of horror. Of course, being a slasher movie, there are lots of blood and guts, but it's well done. You feel the filth get under your skin. I give it an A, just because at some point there are things that seem unrealistic, but for a remake, I'm really impressed.

ugh, I still have goose bumps...

G'nite!

I want the last hour and a half of my life back!

2009-06-05T23:47:00.003+02:00

This weekend, to celebrate my first weekend "off" in months, I rented 3 horror movies and will be reviewing them here. Tonight, I watched "Mother of Tears" , original title La Terza Madre, an Italian horror movie made in 2007. The plot goes like this: during construction work, an old unidentified coffin is accidentally dug up next to a cemetary close to a church in a little town in Italy. In it, the pastor finds bones and an urn, a talisman and three statues. He sends it to a museum in Rome, and asks an old friend, a historian of art, to analyse it. Two curious employees of the museum are however intrigued and decide to open it without him, which triggers a series of mysterious murders perpetrated my demon-like creatures and an ugly little monkey. Bear with me. In all of Italy, people become more violent and the crime rate goes drastically up. One of the two museum employees who survived and her boyfriend decide to try to get behind all of it. Witches from around the world arrive in Italy and hunt them down. They find out that the urn and talisman belonged to one of three witches who used to rule the world in the 1800s (?!) and that the parents of the employee, who she never met, were white witches who died trying to combat evil forces associated to a sister of this witch in Freiburg, Germany. And the employee hears the voice of her dead mother while fighting demons and japanese witches.

As if the plot wasn't lame enough, the acting is horrible (fake italian accent: "you meen dis ouse is fool of ghost?"), the "special effects" are at the most a nice try (spontaneous combustions, blood pooring out of all bodily orifices etc.) and the music is the classical horror movie spoof. It's almost comical.

Conclusion: Illuminati meets Army of Darkness meets Witchcraft. D minus. Save your money!

The other two movies I will be reviewing this weekend are THE protoype of slasher movies, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (remake of 2003) and the vampire thriller Salem's Lot.

stay tuned!

survived!

2009-06-02T16:00:00.001+02:00

I am pleased to announce that my brain has (at least partially) survived the multiple assaults on it during the past weeks and that my two papers have been given in. Now, please excuse me while I go sleep for a week or two...

I fell in love with a movie and its soundtrack...

2009-06-02T01:21:00.003+02:00

I've been refusing to watch Twilight, thinking
a) it's a teenie movie
and
b) therefore it must royally suck.

I was soooo wrong.
I watched the movie this weekend, and looooooove it! Can't wait for New Moon!

Here's a video of Paramore, a band I've been listening to for a couple of months. Songs of theirs are also featured on the Twilight soundtrack and I really think they're gifted. Listen to it, there aren't that many bands in the same musical category and with female lead vocals which are as good as they are!

oooh, I should've become an ASTRONOMER!!!

2009-05-30T23:16:00.002+02:00

*** thoughts after watching Contact, with Jodie Foster***

I'll tell you a little secret about me: I've always been fascinated by alien life forms, ever since I was a little girl. I would stand on my balcony and look up to the sky, wondering...

Roswell & Area 51, bring it on!!

*sigh* so many things to do, so little time...

Dear Reader,

2009-05-27T16:57:00.002+02:00

(I'm pretty sure you're the only one who still comes by - understandably). No, I haven't joined a street gang, nor ran off with the circus or gypsies and haven't cracked under pressure (until now at least).

I handed in a very important paper on Monday and will be handing another one (a bit less important) on Tuesday. When I finish my Master studies, I will never write anything again, I swear!!!

Looking forward to the summer road trip, I hope the canadian embassy will process my passport application quickly.

On another note, I talked to a good friend of mine back home and she told me our 10 year high school reunion - which I missed and it was really getting to me - was actually boring. I'm starting to realize my home is really here now.

I'm starting to gather info on getting a work permit for after my studies and apparently it'll be simpler than I feared, since I'll be considered an academic and that apparently makes it easier for all things immigration here.

What else? Hmm, not much. Heard back in sunny CA all hell brooke loose because of proposition 8.

Yesterday it was 30 degrees in Berlin and there was a thunderstorm. I like thunderstorms!! (and watching late night horror movies alone - at least when I'm brave enough to finish them)

Enough rambling. I'm alive and ok, cancel the search party...

Overdrive

2009-05-05T16:44:00.002+02:00

I was at school yesterday from 8 AM to 6 PM (noon to 4 there were no classes)
then I went to meet with my professor to discuss mythesis until 7pm.

I got home, did 30 minutes of cardio, had dinner and from 9pm to 11pm I did some more work for university.

around 1am I was woken up by neighbours who thought it would be a great idea to play guitar and sing "kumbaya" with all their windows open. I politely asked them to stop, but they were not happy about it. I was so mad it took another 30 minutes to go back to sleep.

This morning I got up an hour earlier to finish my resume of last week's seminar in my statistics class, am now at work and will be shortly going home to finalise my notes for tomorrow afternoon's literature presentation. and do some cardio.

I feel like my brain is fried.

Music!

2009-05-03T00:00:00.002+02:00

Sorry I haven't been around much lately... Love this song, it's not new or actual or anything, but I still think it's pretty catchy. I would love to see the future German Idol, Daniel Schuhmacher, sing this!

Peace, bbs!

Stay strong and don't catch the swine flu!!

btw, did you know there was already a swine flu epidemic in the seventies?

rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée...

Grandpa

2009-04-13T21:19:00.002+02:00

My Grandpa passed away. He was 91 years old, three times father, 5 times grand-father and 3 times great-grand-father... And the best story-teller in the whole world.

Preview...

2009-04-12T00:49:00.001+02:00

Of my trip next summer...

Berlin - Greece...

CGN

2009-03-26T17:57:00.002+01:00

I've safely landed in Cologne and am almost back to normal health wise! Our airplane was one day old - it had this new plabe scent, it was pretty cool. I LOOOOOVE flying, I'm not at all afraid and I love turbulences. Feels like we're on a roller coaster. The lady sitting next to me, however didn't seem to be enjoying them quite as much as I was.

The weather here really sucks - 7 degrees and raining. Johnny, I'd take your californian 27 anytime!

I'll be here on "vacation" (meaning I don't have to work but will be writing some uni papers) for the next ten days...

Where's spring???

2009-03-25T12:58:00.002+01:00

Well, not anywhere near my couch. I've been sick for the past couple of days, and yesterday I thought I was feeling better, so I decided to go to work to get the most important stuff done. Bad idea!

First of all, at the latest in the subway I started feeling dizzy and noticed although my throat felt better than the day before, my head was still completely fuzzy.

Secondly, I thought it was spring. it wasn't. We had a mix of rain, spontaneous snow storm, sun and lots and lots of wind. Great!!

Today I am back on my couch underneath my comforter and won't move one inch until I'm feeling better... or at least until tomorrow afternoon, I have a flight to catch to Cologne. I REALLY don't feel like flying sick...

I love cats, but...

2009-03-01T23:19:00.002+01:00

I had a cat as I was growing up. Got him when I was 11, and he was my companion throughout my teenage years, survived the move into my tiny first appartment, the move to the second larger appartment with rommate, and when I moved to Germany, my cat retired and lived on a farm on the countryside :)

This week my neighbour was moving, and to help her out, I agreed to catsit her 2 adults cats for a day and a half. I never thought 36 hours could be so long.

First of all, it was kind of tricky, logistically speaking, because of Pouki-Helmoutte, so I put the hamster's cage in the hallway, and kept the cats in the living room / dining room / kitchen. During the first hour, the cats were a bit scared, and meowed a lot. As I was leaving the living room, they slipped through my legs and got into the hallway. All the noise had woken Pouki up and she came out of her nest. I froze for a second, afraid the cats would hunt my baby down.

1-Cats see hamster, and freeze.
2-Hamster sees cats, stands on her hind legs, and makes a loud noise I have NEVER heard her make before (kind of like a hamster-hiss, I guess)
3- Cats freak out and run away!!!

Good Pouki.

Anyways, I still locked the door after that, just to be sure.

Having cats is fun, you always get a surprise each time you come home (Friday afternoon - cats had thrown salt and pepper shakers on the floor, and my whole living room was now perfectly seasoned. Friday night, I no longer had a tablecloth on my table. Saturday morning, there was cat litter underneath the whole length of my dining room table - how appetizing)

Needless to say, as friends of the cat mommy arrived Saturday afternoon to pick them up, I was VERY happy. And celebrated by cleaning the whole appartment, which looked like the cats had shed ALL their winter fur in the 36 hours they were here.

I LOVE having a hamster!!!!

Losing my mind...

2009-02-10T23:54:00.001+01:00

No, not quite yet, but I am feeling quite under the weather because I'm at the end of the semester, in the middle of exam week and days away from my internship in a high school.

"Ok, kids, now who can tell me what the following word means: e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d..."

Insomnia

2009-01-30T00:30:00.002+01:00

Since I can't sleep, here's a great video from a group I used to love, around the millenium: Enigma

Gravity of Love

I haven't followed them much since The Screen behind the Mirror, but I brought their cd back with me when I went home this X-mas. Their video (in this case) and music is artful, intense and slightly erotic. In one word: tastefully done. Loooove it.

I am so happy to have my music again. I know practically everything is available nowadays via internet, but say what you want, it isn't the same as my good old cd collection.

Sorry, non francophone readers!

2009-01-29T11:18:00.002+01:00

but this just really has to be in French!

Dans le cadre de ses capsules "Moment chouchou de stars", Marc Labrèche (pour ceux qui ne vienennt pas du Québec, c'est lui qui joue dans "Le Coeur a ses raisons") imite Christian Bégin, et ils se ressemblent juste trop!!!

Je me rappelle de Christian Bégin du temps de Télé-Pirate.... Oh boy qu'il a vieilli (oui oui, en beauté aussi!)

Alors voici la capsule, qui est assez drôle, et surtout, l'imitation qui est (du moins au début) vraiment réussie:

Price fluctuations

2009-01-23T21:00:00.002+01:00

I went to see Katy Perry here in Berlin 6 months ago. I payed my ticket 11 euros...

Now her tickets for her tour on North America actually go from 40 $ to 342$!!!!

I'm really shocked by the fact that people actually pay that much money to see her live!! I mean, I love her studio music, but live, she just can't sing...

Hell, with those studio computers, I sound just like Celine, too. What makes a real singer is to be able to sing well live. The others are just entertainers. It doesn't make them bad for it, but they're just not singers.

Looooooove it!

2009-01-20T22:56:00.003+01:00

Little boots - meddle

also check out their song Mathematics on their myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/littlebootsmusic

Today

2009-01-20T21:50:00.006+01:00

Johnny Rat made me an honorary american for today. Thanks, John!!

I'm so moved to be able to experience this historical happening!!

Happy belated New Year, Y'all!

2009-01-09T11:13:00.002+01:00

Link:

Baking Christmas Cookies!!!

2008-12-06T12:49:00.002+01:00

This one song to which yours truly just HAS to sing to. In my pyjamas, jumping on the couch, singing into my hairbrush...

This weekend my bf is here for the last time before I fly back to Canada (Thursday!!!)

And we will be very busy baking Christmas cookies, cuddling and visiting Christmas markets.

Oh , and by the way, today is Saint-Nicholas Day in Germany. Last night, thousands of children brushed one of their shoes clean, and put it outside their door. Saint-Nick came during the night and this morning, if the kids were good during the year, their shoe is filled with chocolates, treats, nuts and fruit. If they were bad, it's filled with coal.

I got nuts and fruit. And a cactus dressed up as Santa Claus.

;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIUS!!!!!

2008-11-25T13:08:00.001+01:00

Je te souhaite de l'amour, du bonheur, du plaisir, du succès, et tout ce que ton coeur désire...

If at first you don't succeed

2008-11-24T23:13:00.004+01:00

AAliyah, produced by Timbaland a while ago.

Heard this song today, and just like that, I was back in 2000. Young, sweet and 17. That year, I was in the school fashion show, I had a huge crush on an older guy from Guadeloupe, got in trouble week after week, and really had a blast.

In 2000 I failed most of my science classes, found my true self and re-oriented my option classes to film production and drama.

In 2000, on one Friday night in August or September, I was invited to a party at my ex-boyfriend's place. As soon as I walked in, I noticed a really special guy. His blue eyes, the way he looked, everything about him was so special, so... different.

We spent the whole evening talking, and said goodbye. A friend of mine walked me home and asked "so, what's up with that dude and you?" and I answered "I have no idea, but trust me, this guy is so special, he is definitely going to play a big role in my life, I can feel it, my intuition tells me so". To which my friend laughed. He just said something along the lines of "Oh, Françoise, you hopeless romantic, wake up and smell the coffee, the guy is German, leaving town tomorrow morning and you'll never see each other again."

Well, I'll spare you the whole story, but 8 years later, here I am in Berlin...

All I can say is, gut feeling, connection to the universe or plain and simple feminine intuition, I believe in it... and won't forget the year 2000. Millenium.

What a day!!

2008-11-23T20:04:00.001+01:00

Today I starred in an educational film for pupils learning french. This is the only type of thing I like getting up at 7:00 for...

We filmed at the skating rink, downtown, in a coffee shop and in my appartment and I had loads of fun and a great day! I met nice people and had forgotten how much fun it is to work on a set (my option classes in school were film production and drama).

The producer picked me up around 8:30 and we filmed until 6:00 pm. The final verison of the short film will be 3 minutes long. Can't wait to see the result!

All in all, I must say that I love working on projects that allow me to be creative, and this one certainly did. I hope more projects like this one come my way!!

Oh, and by the way, it snowed on Friday, Saturday and this morning everything was white! It seems like these days I just get everything I ask for...

This one is definitely for John...

2008-11-21T19:39:00.002+01:00

Apparently Germans think rats are sexy. I learned a new word this week: rattenscharf.

Roughly translated, it means "as hot as a rat". And it's meant in a good way...

Snow

2008-11-18T22:55:00.002+01:00

Berliners beware: I am so excited about going to Canada for Christmas, I'll do anything and everything in order to conjure up some snow. Eyes to the skies, guys!

The awful German language

2008-11-17T17:02:00.005+01:00

Annäherungsleistungszielorientierung.

Yes, it's a word. It is used when talking about a certain type of motivation where the student tries to get good marks or do his schoolwork properly, in order to impress his peers or to make them think that he or she is intelligent, for example. They are motivated by opportunities to show off their specific know-how and competence.

By the way, if you ever get your hands on the book with the same title as this post, written by Mark Twain, it's a very good read, especially if you speak a bit of German...

Vintage Céline!

2008-11-17T16:34:00.002+01:00

1993... I loved this song when I was 11 years old.. and still know it by heart! Mario Pelchat and Céline's voices go so well together...

One thing leads to another...

2008-11-17T15:23:00.002+01:00

Today I had an email in my inbox from the person who had asked me to do the radio show. He said he was very happy with my interview and was now looking for someone from Québec to do an interview for a movie (some educational video in France). He wanted to know if I'm interested. I love how in life sometimes one thing just leads to another...

Interview

2008-11-13T19:48:00.005+01:00

For those of you who would like to hear the sound of my voice, I'll be on

Radio MultiKulti Berlin

Sunday afternoon between 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm. The show is about Québec and Montreal. Looking forward to my second ever live radio experience!!

The Lost Fingers

2008-11-12T22:03:00.001+01:00

These guys are funny. Remember this song?

SO WHAT?!

2008-11-08T23:09:00.002+01:00

Love Pink's new song. Can't embed it, but please do click on the link to check it out!!

Pink - So What?!

I love artists who can laugh at themselves and not take life so seriously. For this, Pink gets an A+ from me.

MTV Europe Music Awards

2008-11-06T21:23:00.002+01:00

It is NOT NORMAL that absolute LEGENDS like TheCure and Metallica get beaten by German teenie boyband/wannaberockgroup Tokio Hotel. In ANY category.

YES WE CAN!!!!

2008-11-05T17:39:00.000+01:00

I'm speechless...

Even better

2008-10-30T23:27:00.001+01:00

We all play a "role" in life... to some extent. Some of us even end up believing ourselves. These roles can be influenced culturally, professionally and otherwise.

How far should we go to conform to the society / subculture in which we are living? One extent is "the excentric" (Paradiesvogel) and the other is "the girl next door" (Mauerblümchen)...

Where do you place yourself? Nowadays, are we at all able to be "in touch" with our true selves?

Gut feeling

2008-10-29T18:15:00.002+01:00

I hate it when people cancel appointments at the last minute. Today, I had one appointment at 5 pm and one at 6pm. Got an sms at 4:20 that the first person wouldn't make it. Fine, life happens.

It's now 6:21 and I'm still waiting... Somehow the whole afternoon I had the feeling this would happen...

Oh well, it's not like I don't know what to do with my spare time...

Everything zen

2008-10-26T18:01:00.002+01:00

The semester has started, classes have been attended, homework has been done, texts have been read... All in all, I must say that I'm very satisfied about my classes up to now, and excited about doing my masters degree.

I have a lot of school work to do, and I'm working alot of hours a week, but somehow I feel productive, active and fulfilled. I'm surprused I'm not panicking, but I guess I'm growing. I actually have the feeling that I can trust my abilities to manage the challenge of mastering my studies.

There's a word in German for that, it's called Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung. And mine is very positive. What a nice feeling.

Quand on cherche l'amour...

2008-10-15T01:38:00.004+02:00

Je suis l'exemple de mon ancien collègue de travail et ami Dino, et j'ose écrire en français!

Donc, pour ceux qui s'intéressent à la musique francophone / québécoise, voici une chanteuse qui a une voix extraordinaire. Malheureusement, je ne peux pas afficher le vidéo directement ici, mais cliquez sur le lien, ça vaut la peine!

Natasha St-Pier

Then & Now... Robyn

2008-10-15T00:30:00.003+02:00

Here she was in 1997. I LOOOOVED this song and would sing to it, dream to it, fell in love to it...

And here the more recent stuff... 11 years later, she's matured, and I must say that I don't dislike the more electronic direction she's taken... It sounds less mainstream, more individual... Very different, but I also like it.

Elections in Canada

2008-10-15T00:18:00.003+02:00

We'll have a new Prime Minister today... I hope!

I wasn't allowed to vote, based on the fact that I do not, for now, have the intention of returning to Canada in the long term, but if I'd have been allowed to, I would have voted for Jack Layton (Leader of the New Democratic Party).

Brain defect

2008-10-09T14:12:00.003+02:00

When lost in my own thoughts, I keep thinking to myself, "When I grow up, it would be nice to live in... When I grow up, I'll have a garden... When I grow up, I'll travel with my girlfriends once a year..."

26

2008-10-07T13:26:00.002+02:00

It's a beautiful autumn day in Berlin today. As I walked out the door, a bright ray of sun struck my face and a cool breeze carrying the last remnants of the fading summer tickled my skin.

Leaves are falling everywhere and their dark colours pave the sidewalks.

I am 26 years old, starting my Masters degree in Education, in a loving relationship that has been going on for 7 years now and surrounded by honest and caring friends.

Life is good...

Blast from the Past

2008-09-23T23:56:00.000+02:00

Carly Simon

Being an Expat

2008-09-23T23:47:00.002+02:00

Living abroad is a great experience, no doubt about it. I've learned so much about the world, about people and about myself in the past three years, and I truly believe I would have never gained this knowledge if I'd stayed back home. But beside the great things that have been happening to me (being accepted for my masters programme, mastering in general the german uni systems, finally getting good marks, finding a nice and rewarding job, making good friends on whom I can count, etc, etc, etc) there are also the down sides. Sometimes I have the impression that people back home think it's so glamourous that I live in Europe, but what they (and I) sometimes forget is that:

- I never get to celebrate my birthday with my family
- I hadn't seen my dad in roughly 22 months
- I can't work as much as I would like to - in Montreal as a student I was rich compared to my lifestyle now
- I'm never there for birthdays, weddings, etc.
- I actually miss snow (never thought that would happen!)
- I can't stroll through the streets and remmeber where I used to hang out as a teenager, where I had my first kiss, where I worked for my first job...
- On Facebook's "compare people" I get continously rated as "most absentee" :)

I'm just kind of down now, and really between 2 worlds. I'm thankful for all that I have here, but right now I still dearly miss home.

Seal

2008-09-20T00:08:00.000+02:00

Is it me, or was "Crazy" way ahead of its time?

Hola Décadence!

2008-09-18T16:03:00.001+02:00

Katy Perry sucked

2008-09-18T15:39:00.002+02:00

Last night I went to see Katy Perry live here in Berlin and I was really disappointed.

She can't even sing her own songs (hello computerized album!), started 45 minutes late (um, you're not Madonna!) and the live version of her songs were very disappointing. All in all the background music played while we were waiting for the concert to start was the musical highlight of my evening.

In other news, my dad was here for two weeks and we went to visit Dresden and Prague together. It was great and now I can't wait till Christmas to fly home and see him, my family and friends again. I had forgotten how much fun I have with my dad. I think I just spent the past two weeks laughing non stop.

:)

This is what I listen to...

2008-08-27T22:30:00.003+02:00

in the mornings to motivate me to go the daily 20km by bike rather than in the subway....

Great weekend - good music

2008-08-27T22:30:00.001+02:00

Saturday - 38.8km bike ride
Sunday - 12km kayak tour

and here some good music:

I'm back!

2008-08-18T22:47:00.003+02:00

Sunrise on the lake, seen from our front door...

What a vacation!!

1st day: swam across the lake

2nd day: 25km bike ride through the forest and around 3 lakes

3rd day: 11 km kayak tour on 3 lakes

4th day: relaxing, sunbathing and swimming.

5th day: 18 km, 4-hour kayaking down the Rhin river.

6th day: 14 km hiking through the woods to a charming little town

7th day: 9 km boat tour (rowing) on 3 different lakes.

I feel great, got plenty of fresh air, feel finally relaxed and happy, and most importantly, my body has been reenergised. I can't wait to ride my bike to work again tomorrow.

Oh, and when I came back home, wonderful news was waiting for me: I've been accepted for the Master I had applied for!!!

Vacation!

2008-08-08T15:28:00.001+02:00

I'm off to a top secret location where I can go swimming, kayaking and bike riding everyday...

;)

All I need now is good weather!

xx

Katy Perry II

2008-08-02T01:07:00.001+02:00

Well, it turns out she's coming to berlin in September, and I just bought a ticket for 11 euros!!

I'm really excited!

Anyone care to join me??

Welcome to the world!

2008-08-01T21:14:00.002+02:00

Welcome to the world, Emil Linus!!

A good friend of mine had her baby Wednesday morning and today I had the pleasure, the honour, to be among the first people to see him.

Cutest baby ever! And so sweet and quiet and cuddly and... I almost had to cry when I saw him. It's like I can't even express in words all the emotions I was having.

This tiny being, lying in my arms, sleeping. The happy, ecstatic parents. Perfect.

I felt right away unconditional love for this tiny baby boy.

And I can't wait, when the time is right, not now, but someday, to have my own...

Katy Perry

2008-07-29T20:45:00.003+02:00

What a great weekend!

2008-07-27T17:36:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I went kayaking with my bf and it was great! the weather was wonderful, and it felt good to be out on the water and still enjoying the sun.

Today, it was sunny and 32 degrees Celsius, so I sat outside did nothing and had a couple of beers... NOT!

No, I didn't sit outside and do nothing, I was inside, doing my cardio, training my muscles and rounding it up with a little yoga.

I'm proud of myself!
:)

The problem with german youth...

2008-07-25T19:56:00.003+02:00

is just out of control. Once again today I experienced a crazy situation with teenagers, except this time I was in the middle of it. I left this afternoon to go teach a class, and just as I was waiting to cross the street to get to the tram station, I noticed three teens waiting next to me: a guy, maybe 16, a girl maybe 15, a smaller guy, probably 13 years old. I noticed they were looking in my direction, but I ignored it, thinking they were looking down the street.

When the light turned green, I crossed, and the little guy bumped in to me. I look at him, and just as I was going to say something along the lines of "hey, careful there buddy", he looks at me wth crossed brows and says in German, roughly translated: "hey watch where you're going!". To what I answer "hey, relax, you can't just talk to people like that". Then he answered "shut up, bitch". At this point I looked at the sixteen year old boy, which I assumed was his older brother, thinking he would tell his little brother to be quiet or be polite to strangers or something. But he kept quiet, and looked on, amused. I looked down to the 13 year old and told him "how old are you? I'm sorry we bumped into each other, but you can't go around treating people like that", smiling to try and deescalate the situation. To this, he started getting in my face, bumped me again and told me to wipe that stupid smile off my face!! All the while I'm thinking "this can't be, he's a thirteen-year-old kid!".

Anyways, as we arrived at the tram station and it seemed as though I was going to have to wait for the tram with these devil kids, I decide top go further down and at least get on another wagon than where they're getting on. As I pass in front of the sixteen year old, he looks me straight in the eye and says: "I always wonder how come people as ugly as you dare to come out in public during daytime". What the??

I'm just ignoring them, open a book and try to concentrate on that. The tram finally comes, and they follow me. As I sit down, they pass down the aisle next to me and the thirteen year old hits the book out of my hand. There are 2 other adults who just keep on minding their own business (thanks for the help there) and I just keep on reading. As the kids sit down I think I'm in the clear, and start enjoying reading, and just before they finally get off at the next stop, the thirteen year old creeps up behind me, takes me by the back of my neck and rams my head into the seat in front of me, saying something like "here, have a good look at your stupid book"!!!!!!!!

I really, really, really don't understand what motivates children to think and act like this, but one thing is for sure: their parents should be in jail for creating sociopaths...

And I'm going to be a teacher. Lucky me.

Barack Superstar!

2008-07-25T00:33:00.003+02:00

We were a bit more than 200 000 people this evening at the Siegessäule to listen to Barack Obama's speech, and I didn't regret going! The city had prepared an "Obama-Fan-Mile" complete with sausage stands and beer stands and giant screens for those further away from the stage.

Obama held a great speech, talking about many subjects that are so important and haven't been so much taken into account by the Bush administration in the past seven years, like environnement, nuclear weapons, and TRUST and COOPERATION between America and Europe (and I'm sure somewhere in his heart he was thinking about Canada too, but he just didn't mention it).

I met a lot of nice american people, and all in all, I really had the feeling that I was experiencing history as it unfolded.

Citation of the day (American dude): "It's nice to finally have somebody articulate represent the USA abroad."

Barack in Berlin

2008-07-22T21:30:00.003+02:00

Barack Obama will be holding a speech in Berlin on Thursday night... 20 minutes away from my job, and I'm wondering if I should go to see it. On the one hand, experiencing history as it unfolds, actually seeing an american presidential candidate in person and on the other, the (maybe paranoid) possibility of an attack/bombing?

What should I do?

A lesson in life about letting go

2008-07-21T00:52:00.003+02:00

I haven't been ok in the last weeks. Driving myself nuts, waking up at night, staring at the ceiling, worrying about the future.

What will happen if? I have to apply now for the Master of Education. I literally made myself sick with worry about what would happen if I wasn't accepted.

Until. I reached a point where I just couldn't do it anymore. Three years ago, when I moved over here, I just sent my applications, quit my job, rented my apartment, gave all my stuff away, not knowing if I would even be accepted in my study field. I couldn't really speak the language, didn't know how uni worked here... I just trusted life and that all would be good. And everything worked out just fine. After three years, my grades are excellent, just as they were in Canada.

And now I'm driving myself crazy worrying about details and being afraid of everything.

Kind of pointless, because up til now, life has taken very well care of me. Everything works out.

Sometimes I have to accept that who I am and what I do is Good Enough.

Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars (Les Brown)

What the hell have you been up to?

2008-07-21T00:41:00.002+02:00

I've been working hard on my final paper before I get my bachelor, applying for a Master of Education, and preparing my well earned and long overdue vacation.

I'm leaving for a week in August and going to the "countryside" in Brandenburg - the area around Berlin. We rented a small house on a lake, where you can go swimming, paddling and bike riding. Friends of ours will be visiting for 2 days and I can't wait for the R & R!!! And knowing myself, I will be in the lake about - oh - 8 hours a day!! and the rest barbecueing!!

Then, in September, my Daddy is coming to visit me (yay!) and we'll be visiting Dresden for 2 days and Prague for 3 days. It's been way too long since I last saw him (21 months) and I really can't wait. He loves Berlin, too, and has been dreaming of Prague for years, so it'll be fantastic.

In October, a very good friend of mine and her husband will be in Frankfurt for a couple of days, so I'll be heading down there to meet up with them and visit the city with her (hubby will be working at the bookfair). Right after that, I'll be back in Berlin, where my aunt will visit me for 4 or 5 days - that'll also be great.

And at the begining of December, I'm heading back home (finally!!!) for Christmas. Haven't been there for 2 years and am totally looking forward to catching up with friends and family.

the next months are very promising...

Everything New - Peter Fox

2008-07-21T00:40:00.000+02:00

Tori

2008-07-15T00:05:00.002+02:00

Sometimes music expresses things better than words...

Home

2008-07-14T23:42:00.003+02:00

I'll be going home for Christmas!!! I know this must seem weird and far away for a lot of people, but for me, it's an incredible thing. My ticket is bought, I really will be able see my family and friends. I guess it's an expat thing. I'm so happy I could cry.

Let go - Frou frou

2008-07-14T21:51:00.001+02:00

Amazing

2008-06-22T23:36:00.000+02:00

really good song! Can anyone guess what it's about?

Old and new

2008-06-20T16:45:00.001+02:00

Does a good song stay good when it's covered?

Europe can be weird

2008-05-26T23:41:00.004+02:00

This weekend the Eurovision song contest was held, in which european countries send artists who each sing one song and at the end there's a televoting to determine who wins. What I don't understand is that countries like Armenia or Azerbaijan also participate. Furthermore, most votes go to neighbouring countries, to such an extent that it doesn't have much to do with the quality of the performance anymore ( you're not allowed to vote for your own country). Well, this year Russia won, and as expected most ex-USSR countries gave it the most points.

Germany finished last (Ex Aequo with Poland and the UK) and I read in the paper they're thinking of sending Rammstein next year... or Tokio Hotel..whatever.

What I also think is weird, is that the artists don't have to come from the country they are representing, nor sing in the country's language. For example, in 1988 Celine Dion won for Switzerland... Ummm the link between Québec and Switzerland still boggles my mind...

Oh well, here's a girl who sang for Norway and didn't win, but man, what a voice:

Can't wait till summer!!!

2008-05-24T15:42:00.001+02:00

Squirrels instead of cats...

2008-05-23T18:37:00.001+02:00

more cat pictures

Hot, hot and outshopped!!

2008-05-10T19:46:00.002+02:00

I went SHOPPING today for summer clothes!

What a perfect day! I found light pants I wanted last summer but couldn't find - and they were 10 euros cheaper. I bought a sexy summer dress in which I look like a million bucks. I bought funky tops to go with a cute skirt I found. All the clothes I found fit me in sizes that made me smile.

And when came the time to pay, I thought I had 3 or 4 euros left on my H & M gift card, but the cashier told me there was actually 35 euros left on it...

What a day!!!!

Tee-hee II

2008-04-27T21:51:00.002+02:00

see more crazy cat pics

Tee-hee

2008-04-27T21:51:00.001+02:00

see more crazy cat pics

Appalled

2008-04-25T17:18:00.003+02:00

Today I was with my bike in the train, on my way to a french lesson I was going to give in the northern part of Berlin. The wagon was pretty full, and I started noticing the different people. Among them, a woman, dressed up for work (skirt and jacket), who seemed to be around 45 years old, and had great legs, which she showed off by wearing a skirt. Now, the skrit wasn't indecent at all, keep this in mind.

A young man, maybe 18 or 19 years old, baggy clothes, huge baseball cap, huge earphones, is standing in front of the woman (who was seated). All of a sudden, he spits (in the train!)on the florr between her feet. She takes no notice of it and then finishes her phone call and resumes to chatting with the woman next to her, completely ignoring the young man. He then tells her loudly to "close her legs, because it stinks in here". (Her legs weren't wide spread or anything!!) She continues to ignore him. As if it wasn't enough, he decides to leave the wagon, or at least walk down further away from the woman, but while doing so, he makes sure to step on her little foot with his huge sneakers. The woman ignored him, and when other passengers finally spoke up, she said :"Don't worry, he's probably psycho, I'm just glad he's gone".

Now, nothing happened, because everybody ignored him, but I really had to question myself. How in the world can there still be misogynists, especially at such a young age? WTF??

Crazy people.

Today

2008-04-24T22:30:00.001+02:00

Today I rode my bike through the city, with its parks and streets and bike paths in the sun. 12.5 km.

Tonight I did 90 minutes of Power Yoga.

I feel alive.

Hip Hop

2008-04-24T11:07:00.002+02:00

This semester I've signed up for a weekly hip hop class and last night was our first session.

I had forgotten how much I like it, it felt really great! The teacher is nice and funny, although the hip hop teacher I had in Montreal was incredible and irreplaceable...

For those of you who don't know what a hip hop class look like, here's a vid:

This is what a hip hop class looks like ( except that my group is a beginner group and we aren't quite as good as these guys).

But hey, practice makes perfect! Besides, my muscles are so sore and it feels great!

Tonight I'm going to my second power yoga class...

Awwwwwwwwwww

2008-04-23T00:03:00.002+02:00

Even though this is bad grammar, I just couldn't resist...

A Day in the Life of Pouki-Helmoutte

2008-04-18T13:11:00.017+02:00

I normally clean Pouki-Helmoutte's cage at night, since hamsters are nocturnal animals, but this week it just wasn't possible, so I had to do it during her sleep hours. I thought, no big deal, I'll just move her in the summer residence (small cage), she'll continue to sleep and when I put her back into the big cage, she'll have to rebuild a small nest and continue sleeping... boy was I wrong!

I HAD to throw her nest out, because she wakes up during the day, and used to drag herself to her food, with one eye open, munch a bit and drag herself back to her nest. Lately she discovered that it was way more convenient to store food IN her nest during the night, so when she wakes up for a midday snack, she has it all there. While I don't have a problem with her doing that with dry food, it gets kinda gross when she does it with fresh food (veggies fruit and cheese) but forgets the food somewhere in there.

So off I started with the cleaning...

While I thought Pouki-Baby was quietly dosing off again in her summer residence, little did I know she was wreaking havoc on the other side of the room.

She then realised what I was doing...

"What the... Hey, let me outta here!"

"I said, LET ME OUT!!"

At the same time, in another top secret location, I was cleaning the bottom part of her cage, and quite happy with my work.

Everything had to be squeeky clean.

I was quite satisfied, until I heard a little voice...

"Hey! Down here! There you are. How dare you clean my room!? BAD HAMSTERMAMA!!"

"Ok, ok, I said I'm sorry, can I come out now? Pretty please?"

"Step 1: Pretend to have regrets and apologize. Step 2: Keep quiet. Step 3: ... Step 4: Escape!"

This is what her clean cage looked like: perfect! (I give her 24 hours before it looks just like it did before...)

By that time, she was really pissed off at me.

"I said, I'm not talking to you!"

But then I was able to convince her to give her clean cage a try, even if she was in a cranky mood.

"So clean...but...

...dude, where's my nest?!"

"Excuse me while I comfort myself with food... I am SO going to bring this all back up in therapy in a couple of years, you know that, right?"

Ah, the ups and downs of being a hamstermama...

Power Yoga A1

2008-04-17T22:47:00.002+02:00

Tonight I had my first power yoga class. Part of me was a bit scared, part of me was curious. The description of the course said it's the most physically demanding type of yoga.

I'd been thinking about it all day, and was frankly quite nervous. I walked to the studio, and had butterflies in my stomach. I kept asking myself if I could really do it and what the other participants would be like. I really felt like a first grader on the first day of school.

Finally, the class went really well and I was able to do all the different exercises - I'm really proud of myself!

90 minutes of discovering muscles you never knew you had was amazing! I can't wait until next week...

Fine Young Cannibals

2008-04-17T22:45:00.002+02:00

This song used to be my favorite song when I was 6 years old. And I still think it's prettty good, too!

You know it's SPRING when...

2008-04-16T22:49:00.002+02:00

I choose to skip the subway and take my bike instead.

It did rain a bit on the way home, but the ride was wonderful, and having those little interludes of "fresh" air and physical activity between the various stuff I have to do during the day.

So, I rode my bike from home to uni, from uni to work (other uni), from work to back home, then from home to tutoring (I was giving french lessons today) and then back home again.

Total today: 26,9 km (16,7 miles)

Not a bad start...

All night

2008-04-14T01:05:00.001+02:00

In my top five all time favorites...

Thanks

2008-04-13T23:58:00.002+02:00

Thanks for the great phone call, it was nice talking to you after all this blogging. Can't wait to have a few beers with you in Berlin!

Deichkind - Looooove it!!

2008-04-13T22:18:00.003+02:00

Remmidemmi

Vacation pics!!

2008-04-10T22:38:00.016+02:00

Finally here are some pics from my France vacation - after my exam on Monday I was feeling pretty shitty on Tuesday and Wednesday - sick, sore throat, the works...

But now I'm better :)

So, here goes nothin'

We started out in Cologne and spent the first weekend in Vichy, where Carsten had spent 2 vacations, trying to learn French before he met me :)

I got to meet the family where he lived back then and we also visited the town, including its springs, where you could test different spring waters...

Here's the street where we stayed... Needless to say, your driving skills here have to be really good, since many streets are pretty narrow.

We then drove down to Millau, and saw the bridge that has been constructed.

After Millau, we headed towards Provence, and the route was beautiful. We took a little road through the Gorges du Tarn, the Tarn being a river. We had lunch in this awesome medieval village, and everywhere there were flowers in the trees - spring starts earlier in France...

and here is the Tarn:

We then drove on to the village of Uzès, where we spent a wonderful evening in a small Creperie, eating amazing galettes and drinking rosé wine.

The next days, we drove to visit the Pont du Gard, which was built by the Romans and was part of the roman Aqueduct:

By the vegetation, you can tell that we were getting closer and closer to the Mediterranean area: here's a cypress tree.

After the Pont du Gard, we headed down south to the Camargue region, and were rewarded with this beautiful sunset on the beach:

We had finally arrived in Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, which is an amazing village on the Mediterranean sea. We had once again a scrumptious evening meal in a restaurant, great wine and all in all a very romantic evening.

During the day, it was pretty hot in the sun, I even got sunburn! But the Mistral was blowing very strong, so it felt around 10 degrees...

We wanted to go horse-riding, but it was too cold, so we opted for a Camargue-safari instead...

where we saw typical Camargue landscapes, horses, flamingos and bulls.

Oh yeah, and we also saw this really cute stork!

NO, I'm NOT pregnant! ;)

Keep tuned for hte other half of our vacation...

Love it!

2008-04-09T22:41:00.000+02:00

Just because

2008-04-07T17:43:00.001+02:00

This is what I am listening to and doing my victory dance to:

1,3

2008-04-07T17:35:00.002+02:00

Veni, vidi, vici

The exam was pretty hard, but apparently I made a good impression and managed to answer the questions in a satisfying way: I got a 1,3 (A for the north americans)!!

I am so proud of myself! (And SOOO grateful for the help I received in preparing)

Showdown in 90 minutes

2008-04-07T14:07:00.002+02:00

In 90 minutes, I will enter the professor's office. He will be sitting there, with one other examiner, whom I don't know.

He'll ask me some questions and we'll discuss semantics and morphology.

20 minutes later, I'll get my mark. And be so relieved...

Exhausted

2008-04-06T22:17:00.002+02:00

I'm exhausted. My brain is on overdrive. I've spent most of the day and evening studying, and my brain refuses to do anything more.

Thank god my friend Julius came over this morning to help me prepare for the exam, it really clarified it all up, I don't know what I would have done without him! :)

Thanks Julius!

And the rest of you, you better think of me tomorrow at 3:35 pm (9:35 am in Montreal and I guess somewhere around 6:35 am in L.A./ Vancouver)... please?

I'll let you know tomorrow when I get home ;)

Exam on Monday

2008-04-04T17:26:00.001+02:00

I've been back but studying hard for an important exam on Monday!

Wish me luck!

ps. the vacation was awesome!

Vacation!

2008-03-14T10:17:00.002+01:00

I'll be spending the next 10 days in Provence with my boyfriend! After these last 4 weeks of internship, working and writing papers for uni, I really need it!

I can already smell the lavender fields...

My new toy!!

2008-03-06T17:00:00.004+01:00

I've discovered something new that I reaaaaaaaaaally love! It's like your own little portable internet forum / comment section - without the censorship of the website you're commenting on. You just have to install it, and you can comment on any given website - news articles, company websites, you name it! Here it is, so check it out and have fun "frosping"!

Freedom of Speech