Working....

I had also planned to go to Birmingham over the summer, but couldn’t. I thought I would find the money, but I hadn’t counted on my dear boss at the supermarket... He had promised me a job for the end of June and then the whole month of July. However, everytime I called to know when I would be starting, it was something like: “I don’t have any work for you this week, but don’t worry, you’ll start next week”. After a while, I went there, and then, he actually told that they now had a new big boss who wasn’t so keen on hiring any new staff. Of course, by that time, I had refused another job. I was soo fuming! Fortunately, my mother hired me for what was left of the summer at her job.

So I spent the summer (like many summers before this one) working at Plouaret’s retirement Home (if that’s how it’s called). It was quite nice. It might sound strange, but I always enjoy working there. Some of the people living there are very nice, and I now know some of them quite well. After all, I first worked there eight years ago! Well, some of them have died, of course, and some new ones have arrived...

One of my favourites has always been Olga: she is something like 97, and she had told me about her life last summer. She (if I remember correctly) had been a dressmaker in Paris until her retirement, and told me about her family and all. Quite extraordinary! And I loved seeing her daughter visit her. Her daughter is about 76, has red hair, and extravagant clothes she fashions herself.

This summer, I mainly had to bring lunch to old people who still lived at home. I would visit about 30 of them in 2 hours. Very tiring work, but quite nice. I met my great-grand-aunt this way. My great-grand-mother died when I was two, and, believe it or not, I still remember her! Anyway, she wasn’t really my great-grand-mother, but my great-grand-father’s second wife, but she was always considered as part of the family. From what I know, she raised my grand-father, as his mother had died when he was still very young.

So, Maryvonne, my great-grand-mother, would have been 117 this year, so I hadn’t been expecting to meet her living sister! Except that Maryvonne was the eldest in a very big family. Her sister was the 13th child (and maybe not the last, I don’t know), and is 96... She is a very sweet woman, and, from what I saw, will probably live during many more years :)

I finished working there on Thursday. I had expected to start at the supermarket next week, as had been promised by Monsieur Charles (the dear boss I mentioned earlier), but it apparently wasn’t to be. I went to see him so that we could talk about it, sign the promised 10-months contract maybe, but once more, he wasn’t sure he would be able to hire me because of his new boss. Bullshit in my opinion. Fortunately, I had had a phone call two days earlier from Habitat, saying they would like to meet me for a job interview. I hadn’t called them back yet, as I had first wanted to know about the supermarket.

So I did call them back and had an interview the very same day (last Thursday). And: THEY HIRED ME!! I was so thrilled when I had the news!! Habitat is a great shop, kind of like IKEA, but much more expensive, and much better quality. Last, but not least, it’s basically round the corner from my flat! The downside is (yes, there is one), it is only for two months... However, I personally prefer working during two months there than ten months at a supermarket that is on the other side of town!

Oh, and I don’t work on Wednesdays and Saturdays, which leaves me plenty of time with my son, and I don’t work on Thursday afternoons either, which is when I have singing lessons: that job was clearly waiting for me!

Writing, Reading and Validating...

Where to begin ?!?

I know it’s been ages since I last updated but no worries, I haven’t given up my blog :)
I suppose I should start with the beginning then: July. Well, as you probably know, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was due for release on the 21st of July, my birthday’s eve (yes, believe me, that’s one of the major events of my summer). Of course, as soon as July began, I started feeling thrilled at the mere thought of finally knowing how it would all end. And I wasn’t disappointed. Our dear Jo didn’t let any of us fans down. There were many twists, a whole new unexpected plot unravelled, there were many deaths, and... No, I won’t give the end away in case you haven’t read it yet, although I suppose that, if you haven’t read it by now, you probably never will...

Anyway, back to my summer: about one week before the release, I had the pleasant (euphemism) surprise of finding myself appointed validater at HarryPotterFanFiction.com. This is quite a big thing. It means I am now a staff member, and have to make sure the (many) stories submitted every day are ToS (Terms of Service) compliant. It also gives me powers in the forums (and believe me, the forum is a beast). To give you an idea, HPFF has 21 581 authors right now, 86 142 members, and 11 944 registered forum members! That kept me (and still keeps me) very busy, as about 250 new chapters are submitted every day, and there are about 15 validaters...

It was really nice knowing that I was handpicked by the staff to assist them, and that I was trusted enough to help them!

I also added chapters 6 and 7 to my main fic: Tom Marvolo Riddle ... I am Lord Voldemort, and I wrote a chapter, entitled Toujours Pur, for a collection (Loyalty), written for the two staffers who have taken over the management of the site (Jay, the founder, retired in the summer). It is from Tonks' point of view, and shows how supportive and loyal she was to Harry. It am quite happy with it, even though I had to speed write it :)

Aline xxx

Not that down actually

Hey there!

Well, I was rereading the previous post, thinking that all that rubbish was due to the fact that I was really tired... Well, I feel better now!

First, I need to update on the concert that we gave last week: it was BRILLIANT! I so enjoyed it :) I wasn't so scared, especially once I was on-stage, surrounded by my friends, and the audience was really nice. They applauded at the right moments, and that really encouraged us. Our singing teacher, Aude, told us that she would try to find more dates for us, and that we would get paid for those too! Even if it doesn't happen, that's good news.

The next day, Marion and I went to the French Coffee Shop, and helped Aude and Régis change a few things in the café. And Aude made a cool offer: as she and Régis are going on holidays in Ibiza and won't be there in July, she wants me to kind of replace her, ie, check everything is fine, and check the employee, Jérémie, is doing ok... I'm not getting paid, but she leaves me her car, and I'll get three months of free singing lessons for my trouble. So that's really cool :) Oh, she leaves her house on the seaside to Marion for two weeks, so I'll go there too in the weekends (it's actually a castle, le "Château Rose"...

Now, I really have to start planning my trip to Birmingham and probably Holland as well. I still don't know when I can go, I just hope that I will be able to. I really miss England and my friends there, and visiting a bit of Holland would be nice as well. I wish I could speak English a bit more often... I have already forgotten a lot of it, and writing in English is not as easy as it was two or three months ago.

Yesterday, I took Jérémie to do some shopping: he was in a desperate need of a female adviser concerning his wardrobe, and we spent the whole afternoon (and quite a bit of money) in shops. I'm pretty proud of myself, as he looked quite dashing in the evening! I just hope that it will help raise his self-confidence :) He desperately needs that too...

Well, that's all for now, but I'll be back soon for more :)

Aline xxx

Ups and Downs

Right, I was lying there, thinking in my bed yesterday. No, rather like early this morning. I suddenly realized that I've been down for weeks. Well, about two of them weeks. I just can't believe how long it took me to realize that. I mean, two weeks? Maybe it took me that long because nothing really happened to make me feel down. It's more like a conjunction of mildly depressing things. Oh, I'm not depressed, don't worry!

Now, let's think: on the 16th of June, there was the PGCE ball, to which I was invited, but I couldn't go due to work; last Friday was the end of the PGCE, and yes, I still wonder sometimes if I could have gone to the end of it; then, I don't know if I'll have enough work this summer to pay the rent (let's say funds are low); I had been expecting something for this summer, and it won't happen, and I suppose that still buggers me somehow. And there are other things, rather intimate ones, that I keep thinking about. Oh, and I think my anemia is finally getting real bad. I have lost count of the number of times I thought I was going to pass out those days (the last time being this morning), but I've just called my GP, and have an appointment for tomorrow morning.

Of course, good things have happened too, and I'll be singing (one song) on stage next Thursday, for instance, although I can't really think of it as something great right now, cause I'm just freaking out real bad about it. I just hope I'll feel better once it's done. Oh, I've lost most of the weight I had put on in England as well, so that's cool too. And it's the beginning of the sales on wednesday, so I'll get some shopping done, nothing better when one's down (and when one's a girl).

Anyhoo, I'm not depressed at all, I suppose I just need to have a few good things happen, and I'm too tired those days. Really really tired.

Right, gotta go to bed to lie down a bit and then go get Abel at school...

Aline x

Fanfiction #2

I thought I should talk a bit about how the writing's going... As you may or may not know, I have been a member of HarryPotterFanFiction.com for a little over a year now and I currently have two stories on the site. They are, of course, related to Harry Potter. I find that writing fanfiction is a great way to improve as a writer, as I can have instant feedback on what I write. There are also some pretty darn good writer on the site, and being able to tell how good they are, or make suggestion is cool. Of course, most of them are just bad. Like really bad. But then, more than half of them are teenagers... I must say that I have already read stories written by 13 year-olds, and they were captivating! Some of them have a real potential :)

As for me, I don't update my story much, but I think it's quite good. By the way, it's been read by someone who owns another website: The Ultimate Storylist, and they mentioned it, and even marked it as a "Must Read"! I have to say that I was thrilled the day when I saw that :)

I realize that this post is all about me, myself and I, and how good I am, but believe when I say that I am not like that, and can't quite believe it when other people say that they like what I write!

Anyways, I have to finish my story on Tom Marvolo Riddle and how he became Lord Voldemort (very dark fic), and then, I'll write something short about Merlin and the knights of the round table, but I'll try and make it a bit lighter, although, seeing what I already wrote, I don't think it'll be that much lighter... Oh, well, you never know!

Right, I'm starving, and have to go and buy some food :) If anyone wants to read what I write (that is, if you are not allergic to Harry Potter), here is my author's page: http://www.harrypotterfanfiction.com/viewuser.php?showuid=71139.

And if you do read it and like, or even see room for improvement, please, let me know, and leave a review, that would be much appreciated!

Of course, I am not going to write fanfiction for the rest of my life, but I think I still need to improve my writing skills (a lot)... And I'll also let you know when the "real" writing is going anywhere!

New Year is in May this time

Hi folks!!

Ok, I have decided that in 2007, New Year would be in May. I have actually noticed that important things always occurred in May. Thus, I thought that I should have New Year resolutions. I never do them in January (what with hangovers and all, not the best time of Year to do that kind of stuff):

I solemny swear (that I am up to no good, dixit certain Marauders) that I want:

1- to eventually, some day, maybe, stop smoking

2- to start writing for real, like, maybe some day, even do it for a living or something

3- to find (not that I am looking or anything) a not-scared-of-commitment-kind-of-guy

4- to say to myself every morning: I am good, I am the best, I even look good, and those who don't agree are selfish / wasting my time / they quite frankly don't know what they are losing

Right. Let's see how long they last. My New Year resolutions usually last long enough for me to say them aloud... Most of the time anyway. But then, this is my own personal New Year, so it might work!

Happy New Year to me! (and only to me, sorry to everyone reading this)

The French Coffee Shop

I also wanted to write about the singing lessons I now take once a week. A cool place opened in Rennes quite recently: The French Coffee Shop, which is coupled with the "Mini-Conservatoire de la Chanson", in reference with Mireille's mini-conservatoire, if you've heard of it. The teacher is Aude Brenner, singer and actress, and who knows what else. Régis Simon is the pianist. The lessons take place in the café every thursday and friday evenings (from 6 to 9). I go there on Fridays. Aude is an excellent teacher, and in two lessons, I have already improved a lot.
She is also Gilles Paquet-Brenner's sister. He is a movie director (UV, with Jacques Dutronc, will be released this month), and he also directed 'Les Jolies Choses' with Marion Cotillard (Aude played her mother in the movie). Aude wrote UV's soundtrack (and sings in it). So you see, she is a professional!
She sings in the café on Thrusday, Friday and Saturday nights, and anyone can come and sing. Marion (my friend, not Cotillard) of course sings everytime and, gosh, that girl can sing! I have sung there a few times too, with a little less success, but well, I don't really care, I sing only for my own pleasure :) I'll take a few photos and post them here.

Art Déco

Here I am again. I thought that I'd try and publish new entries a bit more often. It's not as if I had anything better to do, after all :)
I took the first pics of the flat yesterday; they are only of Abel's bedroom, but the rest will come soon. As you can see, he's got a cool bed! I wish I had had one like that when I was a kid. And, believe me, he loves it! He spends all his time on the bed, acting as though he was a pirate on his ship, looking for Treasure Island. Of course, I took the picture after cleaning the room, and putting away all the toys, because it isn't usually like that, even right now, there are Playmobils and trains all over the place (he's currently playing at "Pole Express").
As for the rest of the place, I want to try and give an Art Déco touch. The building was built in the thirties, and you can kind of see it in the flat. So, even though I have very limited financial means, I try and use that Art Déco touch, and I think it won't be too bad in the end. What I do involves mostly painting things here and there (painting furniture, I mean). But that will be done little by little. I'll post photos to show how things are going.

Living near the UMP's office

definitely isn't that much fun. As you probably all know,the second round of the French presidential elections took place on Sunday (yesterday). Nicolas Sarkozy (right wing) won. He is described by many as far-right, and it is true that he certainly took many of Le Pen's ideas. Anyway, I am not going to enter that debate, I'll just add that I didn't vote for him, and I don't like him much.
I have recently moved to the Boulevard de la Liberté, and the UMP (Sarkozy's party) is literally round the corner. Yesterday evening, after the results of the election, some people began demonstrating (wonderful French tradition). They, of course, soon arrived in my street, and things started to get pretty violent, as you can see on the pictures. They didn't make much material damage, apart from burning all the dustbins and breaking a telephone booth. Well, that was some show. I watched some of it from my balcone, until I got some tear-gas in the eyes. Not smart, I know.
The surprise came from the fact that they did it again tonight. It actually ended just now, after maybe 30 minutes, when it lasted for over 2 hours yesterday evening. Not much damage once more, and the show was quite unimpressive this time, apart from the few times when the CRS was throwing their kind of tear-gas bombs. They make very nice fireworks when they explode :)
I am of course being ironic when I say that it is nice and that I enjoy it, but, well, the people who were in the streets tonight and yesterday were only there because they were looking for trouble. I am not pleased to have Sarkozy as a president, and I can't wait to leave France again, but going in the street under that pretence when all they want is actually causing damage and fighting is still pretty lame. At least, I don't own a car anymore, because I wouldn't fancy being one of the people who had parked on the Boulevard tonight.

End of an Era

Well, well, well....
I should have updated this blog a long time ago... Lots of things happened since my last entry.
As some of you had noticed, the PGCE wasn’t heaven for me. Yes, I said “was”, because I am not part of the PGCE anymore. I decided to withdraw from the course more than a month ago, at the end of February. Let’s just say that the pressure was too much for me, and I definitely don’t want to spend the next few years staggering under the impossibly heavy workload. Being a teacher in secondary schools is not for me. I had tried ever since December not to quit, but then, I suddenly wondered why I was trying not to quit? I mean, it’s true that I don’t like failure (who does?), but in a sense, carrying on with the PGCE would have been a kind of failure: I pride myself in knowing what I want and doing all I can to achieve it, but in this case, I knew what I didn’t want, but still did it... Now, comes the hardest part: I have studied during six years and a half to be a French teacher abroad, and I have to accept that, even though it was not entirely in vain, I still need to start again from scratch. Going back to Uni is not a possibly I, for now, want to consider, as I feel like I’ve “wasted” enough time there as it is. So what now? Well, your guess is as good as mine. I am going to look for a job, any job, anything that helps pay the rent. I’ll keep you updated on that.
Of course, there is one thing I desperately want to achieve, that is writing. I haven’t had time in about two years to do much of it, and I am adamant on succeeding, even though it will need time.
Since I am back, I have found a flat (I moved in three days ago), and I have taken some time for myself. That felt good! Now I need to finish unpacking. As soon as it is done, I will put some photos on this blog.
New entries will come soon, as I have loads to tell!
Bizzzzz
Aline

Le blanc manteau

Hi folks!

It's snowing!!!! Well, it's actually been snowing like mad since yesterday, and it's beautiful! :) I just hope that there won't be a problem with the plane tomorrow... The airport was closed yesterday, but I went on their website earlier, and they said that it was now open and working normally... I'm still a little worried, also about the coach I'm taking to get to Stansted. Hopefully, it will be allright, we'll see...

Well, this has been a short post, but I just thought I'd update you all on the weather situation in the UK, or more particularly in Birmingham :D

Anyways, bon vent, and all your comments are welcome! bizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Aline

PS: the photo was taken quite early yesterday... There is a lot more snow now... I'd say about 20 cms.

More photos...

Bobby Sands

The Giant's causeway
Christ Church's Dining Hall

In a French Café in Edinburgh
Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone was shot here!!! (before they enter the Great Hall)

View of one of Oxford's colleges

Publishing photos on this site is REALLY difficult, so sorry about the mess it is:) I did try.... but I then gave up.

Edinburgh, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford and Belfast

Oxford

Edinburgh

Stratford (Shakespeare's grave)

Edinburgh

Hey folks!!

Right... This month of January has been very busy! My boyfriend and I had decided to travel around the UK while he was there, as staying in Birmingham didn't seem to be very appealing...
During the first weekend, we went to Edinburgh, and I think it was the best weekend we had! The town is beautiful (and yes, also VERY windy and VERY rainy, but, well, that's Scotland!). The old town is clearly separate from the rest, and is the most beautiful part of the town. It is dominated by the Castle of Edinburgh, which is, for some parts, very old (I can't for the life of me remember the century), and it is where the Honours of Scotland are kept: the crown, sceptre and sword. The visit was very interesting, and I learn loads about the Scottish history... We also went to a writer's museum: very small, crooked place, where we could find everything related to Walter Scott (who seems to be a hero in this town), Burns and Stevenson... I loved it, of course!

On the second weekend, we decided to rent a car to go to Oxford. It was the first time I ever drove in England, i.e on the left side of the road, and I did it in an English car, i.e on the right side of the car! The first few miles were a bit awkward, but I got used to it in the end :)

We first stopped in Stratford-upon-Avon on Saturday. As you all surely know, it was Shakespeare's birthplace (he also lived there during a long time, and is buried there). As I love Shakespeare, I wanted to see the town, and we weren't disappointed at all! It is beautiful, and the people managed to keep some very old houses in an excellent state. That's one thing I love in England (there had to be one): they are respectful of their heritage, and they take care of historical buildings, and all... Anyway, Stratford-upon-Avon is out of our time, and I wish we had stayed a bit longer...

Still, Oxford, where we arrived on Saturday evening (it is barely more than an hour from Birmingham), is equally beautiful, although in a different kind of way. Here, you won't find any little crooked old house, but rather grand imposing buildings. The University of Oxford is literally all over the place, and all the colleges are grander than the next.... (nb: that wasn't correct, was it?) We went to so many places I couldn't possibly remember them all: the Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian Library, the School of Divinity, I don't know how many colleges, and of course, Christ Church, where some scenes from Harry Potter were shot: I couldn't miss the dining hall which served as a model for Hogwarts' Great Hall!!!
That was another great weekend, and gosh, I really didn't want to go back to ol' Brum...

The next and last weekend was spent in Belfast. I must say that the city was downright weird... There is no real city centre (or we didn't find it), and it's almost as if there is still a curfew. Most pubs are closed in the evening, and the streets are just empty. I can tell you that finding a place to eat and something to do in the evening in these circumstances is quite hard........ We of course went to see the murals in both the Protestant and the Catholic sides of the town. I have to say that I found the Catholic side more welcoming and just not as creepy as the Protestant one, although I might be a bit biased :) (on the photos, when there are any guns, it's Protestant, and when there aren't any, it's Catholic, that should give you an idea). We also went to the Giant's Causeway, which I loved! I had seen photos of it when Florie had been there, and I wanted to see for myself too. Here is the legend:

"It is called the Giant's Causeway because of a legend about the quarrel between two giant's called Finn Mac Cool and Benandonner. Benandonner is said to have built a causeway from Scotland to fight with Finn Mac Cool, Finn Mac Cool pretended to be a baby in a pram and his mother told Benandonner that the baby was Finn Mac Cool's brother Finn Gal. When Benandonner saw how strong the baby was, he thought that Finn Mac Cool would be stronger than him and he ran back across the sea to Scotland, tearing up the causeway as he went."

It was very windy, and I thought several times I would just be blown away! But then, the storm meant that the sea was incredibly beautiful...
Right... Enough about that... I had a great month with Ralf, but he went back on his trip last Wednesday. He should be back in August. These next six months are going to be VERY long........
Oh, and my second school placement starts on Monday. :( ( I'll try and give you all regular news.
But the good news: I'm going to be in Rennes next weekend!!! I can't wait to see Abel again! I miss him so much..... At least, I'll get to spend two days with him!
Right.... Sorry about the length, that was a really long post, and I refrained myself from writing loads more, of course ;)

Bizzzzzzzzzz
Aline

I'm not dead, just very busy :)

Hey, just in case anyone wondered, I am NOT dead, but just busy with the uni. Me and my housemate also didn't pay the internet bill over the Xmas holidays, so the internet was not working anymore. This has been solved today, and the internet should be back tomorrow. My laptop also stopped working, just when I had to write a 3000 word-long assignment on the use of target language :( Brilliant. Well, it decided after a while that it would work again (one hour after I finished the assignment on the uni computers), so all's fine in the end!
I'll send a new post very soon, telling about my weekend in Edinburgh... Let me just tell you that it was great! Scotland is as beautiful as I thought it would be! I'll also tell a bit more about my holidays in France... Gosh, I really didn't want to come back to England...
Bizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Aline :)
(come back soon, I've got loads to tell!)