doing nothing

when packing, i had in fact taken my various class books with me, so that i could do some preparation. after all, there were going to be many hours of free time over the week spent in southern France, so i'd have ample time. or so i thought.

as i finally went to see a doctor, i was finally given medicine, all of which makes me drowsy. and as it turns out i've actually been sick longer than i've been coughing, i decided to forget the classes. this being a holiday, i should really do nothing. which is exactly what i've been doing. apart from a quick drive to nearby Nerac and Condom (yep, that's what the nearest town is called - you should see the postcards they sell!), i've mostly spent my time on sofas, either sleeping or reading a book. i've let myself sleep until i woke up (meaning between 10-11am), which i obviously need. and which hopefully means i'll be in grand shape next week.

tomorrow we're driving back home. that's another thing that'll need my energy...

French Xmas

so, being buried in the depths of France, we had no choice but to go to a French Christmas mass. meaning, catholic. which, i found out, means no singing from the people. only the choir is allowed to participate. everyone else has to mostly stand up while the priest says a million things. many more than in a protestant service. but then again, we tend to sing a lot during a service...

so it was disappointing, because the only part of a service i'm even remotely interested in, is the singing. but the church was cute (if cold, despite the new 'heating'), and very full.

the drive

wanted to leave at 8am. compromised for 8.30. didn't actually leave until 8.45. had driven a full 15 mns before i realised i'd forgotten the 25 euros worth of cheese i'd bought my dad. drove back to get it, and good thing we did, cos my lunch was with it!

after that, the drive went really smoothly. the views were amazing, and generally, there was not a soul on the motorway. except between just before Lyon and just after St Etienne, where drivers also thought security distance was a destitue idea to be replaced with 'let's drive as fast as possible, if possible just up the previous driver's bumper'. but otherwise really nice and not as bad as i'd thought (driving for hours and sitting down for hours, i mean), and not as daunting once we'd actually got on the motorway.

due to the frequent stops for my sister's health, we made it in 10hrs (from getting the cheese to arriving in tiny Montreal du Gers). pretty good, i think.

driving across the country

so, tomorrow, my sister and i are driving 800km to join our father in southern France. i've never driven across a country before (not driving myself, i mean), so it's gonna be interesting. that and the conditions on the motorway, it being a) winter and b) the time everyone is leaving. on the plus side, everyone's coming here, mostly, so we'll be going against the tide...

the year to come

tis the time of year when all magazines will have a yearly horoscope. usually, i read them for fun, keep them somewhere and read them back at the end of the year to see how blantantly wrong they were. problem is, i keep forgetting where i put them. so this year, i'm posting it here, so i'll be able to laugh next December.

Aquarius (for those born between Jan 31st-Feb 8th)
What you'll want, it seems God will want it, too. But do you really know what you want? Ask yourself the question with no further ado in order to enjoy all the benefits of what this year can bring you. You seem to hesitate between projects you have in mind, propositions from friends (omnipresent, this year) and your will to acquire more independence. You could take the opportunities to make good deals (which won't be wanting), thus reaping great financial benefits. At the end of April/beginning of May, you'll have to make a choice, change something (but with care), risking losing what you have. This choice is yours, and thus, so is your future.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the yuletide gay
From now on our troubles will be far away

Once again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more

Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

hate being sick

been sick since Monday evening. which means i had to cancel my pool plans (i haven't been in a month now - i'm sure my game's gonna be horrible when i get back after the holidays), that i'm stuck at home tonight, when i was supposed to go out with some friends, and i might have to cancel tomorrow night's plans, too. i'm really sick of this (pun intended)!

more compliments

so the other night, as people were leaving Mr. J's party, i said goodbye to this guy who said: 'it was really nice to meet you. that way i didn't waste my evening.' which was a little unbelievable, seen as he's one of Mr. J.'s friends. but still, you got to appreciate it when you hear nice things!

drinking the mulled wine

somehow, it appears we all woke up reasonably early, considering the night we'd all had. but we were all dead tired, so that when my friends showed up yesterday afternoon, we all looked a bit like zombies. and acted like them. we drank the mulled wine first, then i made us some rice pudding. and basically, we just lounged around, enjoying each other's company and not having to do much, or say much, for that matter. it was nice and relaxing. and when they left, i listened to my body telling me it was time to catch up on sleep.

Mr. J.'s birthday party

another one for the books. Mr. J. doesn't do things by halves: he reserved the whole half of a bar. and what a surprise when in that half, sitting close to Mr. J., i saw three of my students, who had just spent the whole day sitting the FCE exam, so i got to ask them how it had gone. after they left, our half of the bar quickly filled-up. about 50 people showed up! it was Mr. J.'s 30th, so everyone had made an effort. after that, we made our way to the nightclub, where we danced the night away. or at least, they did, cos i was so knackered that i left at 3am. but he was happy and we had a lot of fun.

mulled wine

i've been making mulled wine for my friends, who're coming for tomorrow afternoon. i've invited them to get into the Christmas feeling. this will be helped by said wine, home-made cookies and perhaps even some rice-pudding.

so anyway, making the mulled wine has been fun, especially as the whole flat now smells of it. which, considering the effect normal wine fumes have on me, is quite funny, really. i get drunk just walking into the kitchen!

grinberg method - update

despite everything i said in my last post on this topic, i decided to go ahead with it.

i've had three real sessions now. the first one was a bit of a letdown, as i expected to feel incredibly tired afterwards, as i had been after my first ever shiatsu massage. but i didn't. also, i was asked to tell how my chest felt when i was breathing (this was part of whatever we're working on). i couldn't reply anything else than 'normal' at first, but later in the session, there was pain, so at least i had something to report. the second sessions followed the first, in the way things happened, but yesterday was different. after a slow start (i'm starting to think that whatever made my chest hurt originally has now gone), i was suddenly hit by an unbearable pain in the back of my head. it was horrible. it came out of nowhere and it was really strong. i mean, i take after my mother in that i don't really say much when it hurts, but i couldn't just let that pass. it was horrible. which, ironically, is probably good, as it shows there's something there that needs to be worked on and that i'm thus not totally wasting my money.

Alfie the Christmas Tree

Did you ever hear the story of the Christmas tree who just didn’t want to change the show? He liked living in the woods and playing with squirrels. He liked icicles and snow. He liked wolves and eagles and grizzly bears and critters and creatures that crawl. White bugs were some of his very best friends, spiders and ants and all. Now that’s not to say that he ever looked down on the vision of twinkling lights, or on mirrored bubbles and peppermint canes and a thousand other delights. And he often had dreams of tiny reindeer and a jolly old man in a sleigh full of toys and presents and wonderful things, and the story of Christmas day. Oh Alfie believed in Christmas alright. He was full of Christmas cheer, all of each and every day, and all throughout the year. To him it was more than a special time, much more than a special day. It was more than a beautiful story, it was a special kind of way. You see, some folks have never heard a jingle bell ring, and they’ve never heard of Santa Claus. They’ve never heard the story of the son of God. And that made Alfie pause. Did that mean that they’d never know of peace on earth? Of the brotherhood of man? Or know how to love? Or know how to give? If they can’t, noone can. You see, life is a very special kind of thing. Not just for a chosen few, but for each and every living, breathing thing. Not just me and you. So when you’re at Christmas prayers this year, Alfie asked me if I’d ask you: say a prayer for the wind, and the water and the wood, and those who live there too.

John Denver

Xmas is coming...

as yesterday was the first of December, i got around to decorating my flat. after a frantic search for my Xmas decorations, i finally started at 2am, when i got back from the pub. it was a bit weird cos it's the first time i decorate this flat, so i wasn't sure what i should put where or how much i should put up. and, as it was dark, i had no idea whether it looked good or not. so waking up this morning brought all the excitment of Xmas, as i wondered what it would look like with the light streaming in through the bay window. and it was really nice! add a little Xmas music in the background, some cloves-sented decorations, and there you go!

this afternoon, i'm baking Xmas cookies. now, if i could just get around to some Xmas shopping...