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Quand on dort pas December 27, 2008

Posted by eternalwriter in Français, blurb.
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Il y a des troisièmes étages, comme le mien, avec des romans ouverts mais surtout des papiers de cours de la dernière session qui traînent partout, des chats vaguement endormis et un copain bourré qui peint au salon, et ce qu’on appelle une untenured faculty chez mes potes américaines, bref, enfin, une pas tenable qui ne dort pas. Et ce, malgré les romans, les chats et les vapeurs de peinture.

Même le site de pseudo-Boggle est peu fréquenté, à cette heure. Et je me demande bien ce que les gens de Malaisie et de Singapour, que l’on y retrouve normalement quand c’est la nuit ici, peuvent avoir de mieux à faire en cette journée de décembre.

The look of Christmas / Le regard de dessous la tuque December 24, 2008

Posted by eternalwriter in English, Français, In the eyes.
3 comments

Hang on, people, this is going to be one more bilingual post… De tout pour tout le monde, quoi!

Having just come back from some last-minute shopping (yeah, I know, it is December 24 in the afternoon here), I was finally able to name what had been going on all over our snowy sidewalks for the past week or two: looks.

You see, in the winter here everybody pretty much looks nondescript, muffled under snow boots, big coats, mitts, scarves and caps (tuques, yes) of various sorts. Moreover, because the sidewalks are mostly very slippery and/or look like snowbanks whith little foot trails twisting around them, everyone has to look down while walking — that is, if they want to make it alive to the next street corner.

But people look when they pass you. Which means that 1) everyone is sort of looking up with their head cocked downwards and 2) all you see is their eyes. Bad hair days, lousy fashion statements, no one knows what’s hiding underneath all those layers of winter clothing. But you see eyes, and looks, like you rarely see unless you are in the habit of going out to clubs full of very flirty (and overclothed) people.

This all makes for intense, focused staring. Verrrry nice.

Oui, donc, le regard des gens qui vous regardent par en-dessous — parce qu’ils doivent avant tout regarder où ils marchent, n’est-ce pas — et parce qu’ils portent tous la tuque (à pompoms, aplatie, à visière, à oreilles, youppidou!), hmmm. Enfin, je trouve ça très séduisant, tous ces regards par en-dessous.

Je sais pas si c’est à cause de Noël, mais en outre je trouve que les mecs dans mon quartier ont vraiment des beaux yeux.

Ils devraient s’en servir de cette façon plus souvent, tiens.

Un peu plus et on se croirait en France! Gnuck gnuck. ;)

All in all, ce sera bien la seule chose qui me fera aimer l’hiver — ne serait-ce que pour une vingtaine de minutes… Hmpfff.*

 

* Notez bien le nombre d’onomatopées dans ce post. Et dites-vous bien que j’ai même pas commencé à boire encore!

Maybe we could talk December 20, 2008

Posted by eternalwriter in English, blurb.
2 comments

At one point, there was almost something like words, maybe even a sentence. But maybe it was just a breath in the shape of a word,

and it lingered.

Then one of us, I can’t remember if it was you, one of us looked out the window.

It seemed to be Christmas out there, out of the warmth out of the orange darkness out where people were talking, endlessly, stupidly talking.

Something was almost said. 

Our silence was green, if I recall.

Red our desire.

Dark blue, our thoughts.

Let us remain there. Safe.

My very first meme… sort of December 13, 2008

Posted by eternalwriter in Uncategorized.
3 comments
Okay, so if you’re curious, I found this here, linked to from here
The trick is, you have to copy and paste the list, and then bold the things you have done in your lifetime. Enjoy!
1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band. 
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain 
9. Held a praying mantis 
10. Sung a solo. 
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch. 
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. 
18. Grown my own vegetables. 
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France. 
20. Slept on an overnight train 
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb 
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run. 
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors 
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language. 
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke. 
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted 
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. 
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class 
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies. 
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job 
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. “Speeding” is a bit of a stretch.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book. 
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House. 
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. 
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous 
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee. 
100. Ridden an elephant

 

Winter… December 12, 2008

Posted by eternalwriter in English, overflow, professional procrastinating.
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… it is a sleeping fire in the womb.

And this is only my second cup of red wine.

And the music is not even excruciating yet.

It is my rescinded resolve, disjunct from the body’s movement toward illicit warmth.

Maybe I can back up — no, not winter, not yet, no snow no Christmas parties no — well, dear, maybe you should have thought of that before you took a bite of the infamous apple.

Preparing the last two classes is a torture. But winter is much worse.

Sweet. And worse.