What is this blog all about?

The main purpose of this blog is to give an overview of the things I do, in my everyday life, in order to improve my English. Since I am a very lazy person, I mostly read, and watch movies, and do things which make it possible for me to improve my vocabulary, my grammar and my accent without getting bored... So this blog is going to be about the books I read, the movies I watch, and some other things which I find relevant (or not)...

I hope you'll like it! Don't hesitate to leave comments if you have any suggestions concerning what I should write about!!

samedi 28 mars 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

mercredi 11 mars 2009

Follow the light

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

Anyway. Back to business.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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