cold, cold &.. still cold!

The dreaded winter clocks in officially today. This is my (our) least favourite season since we both abhor the cold. There's nothing really nice about winter except maybe for the snow, which makes things look pretty in this otherwise grey season. It's just too damn cold to be outside doing anything fun besides maybe skiing.. sure it's freezing all the same when you go skiing but skiing gear is quite different and since it's too cold, you kinda 'forget' it after a while. My first ski left me with 'dead' ears (total numbness), so if we ever plan to go skiing again, I'd be better equipped.

If my first winter here had me broke out in rashes due to my unaccustomed 'sensitive, delicate tropical skin', I'm more adapted to the climate here now... and of course I have my own survival kit close by all the time - my trusted lotion(s) and lip balm.. the key here is to constantly moisturize, moisturize and moisturize.. otherwise you'd be left all cracked up and dry as the desert.

I certainly do not recommend family and friends to come around here during this harsh season... unless you wanna have a go at ski (which is quite a feat to do) and wanna fulfill that childhood dream of touching/eating/playing with real snow. Not only will you have to spend extra money on winter clothes which you'd probably wear only once (or a few times) in your lifetime... plus, most of the attraction parks will be closed during this period of the year. Besides, daylight is much shorter during winter - sunrise is at around 8.30 am, while sunset is at around 5.00 pm - no fun... our lights are usually on by 4.30 pm.

So save your money and plan a trip around end spring/early summer, where it's neither too cold nor too hot... and you'll get to experience the country in its full glory.

vous parlez français? *

I've always been fascinated with the French language since my early 20s. I don't remember what sparked the interest initially but it has brought me to Alliance Française which then introduced me to the French culture.. and which in turn prompted my very first visit to Paris. Did all that finally bring me to my French man?.. maybe...

French is known to be the 'language of love' (or so that's what the French has been marketing their language as), aided by the fact that it is technically a "Romance" language - language that descended from Latin.

Personally, I do find the language attached with a romantic aura. And I'm not being bias here (well, maybe a little) but among the other European languages, I find that French is the most classiest sounding. Even cursing sounds a lot better in French.. I'm not proud to say this but I picked up all the bad words before the rest... you know, just so I'd know when I'm being bad-mouthed.. a precautionary measure you could say :)

I've made a huge leap in understanding the French language after 3 years being immersed in it although I can't boast (just yet) that I'm now able to utter rapid-fire French... well mine is more like 'survival' French. The recent event that had me landed in the hospital, put my competence in the language to the test and the outcome is that I could comfortably communicate with the doctors & co. But when hubby is around, I'd choose the easy way and take a backseat and let him do the talking instead.

I remember my very first visit to Paris, trying to find my way to the hotel.. it was opposite a bank and I stopped a passer-by for the direction of the bank. The conversation went something like this:

Me : Excuse me, do you know where Banque de France is?
Woman : blank look
Me : Banque de France?
Woman : still blank look
Me : ummm Banque de France? (wondering which part of those words she didn't understand) and then sputtering the name of the bank a few more times, trying to pronounce it as differently as I could
Woman : ohh.. Banque de France! (and then she pointed the way)

See, the difference between her Banque and my Banque was that I pronounced it as bang (as in abang).. and the way she pronounced it was more like bong=bonque. A little glitch in the pronounciation but I was finally understood.

Indeed, French words are not easy to pronounce. The greatest difficulty in pronouncing French is knowing which letters not to pronounce. And it takes a lot of nasal activity as well as the tip of the throat in order to deliver a decent sounding French. It would make pronouncing the French nasals easier if you were to have stuffy nose, rendering a 'sengau' effect.

The tv plays a huge part in making me understand the essence of everyday French and it's quite different from textbook French.. much like Bahasa Melayu and Melayu pasar. The tv has also make it possible for me to differentiate between French French and Canadian French as the latter has a much different nuance and lingo to it.

Approximately 40% of English vocabulary is of French origin. There are many words of French origin in English such as art, collage, competition, police, routine, table, and many others which have been and are being anglicized. They are now pronounced according to English rules of orthography, rather than French. There're also lots of French words or phrases being used by English speakers, such as à la carte, aide-de-camp, cliché, concierge, en route, fiancé(e)..

The most important word in the French language has to be "Bonjour". It's a customary greeting upon entering a store or restaurant or when approaching the person behind the till or counter. The French are incredibly polite on the surface - but this linguistic etiquette goes further than mere politeness. It implies so much more than that. The manner of your "Bonjour" determines the rest of your conversation with that person. Enter a bakery or a shop or restaurant of any kind, anywhere in France without a courteous "Bonjour" to the person at the till or counter, and your reception will be a frosty one. But try a bright and breezy "Bonjour" and the service becomes much friendlier.

Politeness and good manners remain essential to the French way of life and that's the thing I admire most in the French culture.


* you speak french?

julie's coiffure

The time has come for me to get into scissorhands mode. Hubby was starting to look like he's walking with a wilderness sprouting from his head and me no like. So our living room was temporarily transformed into an impromptu hair salon just now and I snipped and shaved my way into the bushy mass with deft manoeuvre of a professional.. steady lah.

Eversince we bought this hair clipping gadget, I've been the resident stylist for Monsieur and I've perfected my skill along the way. I actually enjoy cutting his hair, though not particularly the aftermath of cleaning up and seeing the annoying bits of cut hair that got lodged in the weaves of the clothes. So to minimize that eventuality, I've asked hubby to strip down to his bare essentials and since we don't have the kinda cape they use in the salons to wrap around you, I've improvised and used the less chic but very reliable trash bag.. it's an excellent way to avoid the cut hair from being scattered everywhere as the trash bag acts like a magnet and make the loose hair stick to it. Sure, hubby refused to be wrapped in a trash bag at first but men should know better than to argue with their wives, especially one with scissor and blade in her hands ;) Now, how many women get to claim that they've put their husbands in the trash bag?.. heh. Well that's the 'plus' you get for free service ;). So the Mister is satisfied and I don't have hair scattered all over the place - parfait!

our glorious third

He's my husband, my friend, my lover, my hero, my light, my joy, my strength,

my soul, my life, my everything.. deux=un, two hearts as one.

Thank you for sharing your life with me.

May we be so close throughout the years,

that when one cries, the other tastes tears.

Toi et moi, pour toujours.. je t'adore de tout mon coeur, mon chéri!

fly us away...

After much searching, we finally bought our air tickets - OUI! So we'll be flying on Saturday, 13th January and will reach Singapore on the 14th. So take note, you guys.. get the banners, confetti, flowers, red carpet, etc.. untuk tetamu terlambat dari negeri Panchis.. hehe. Well we hope we'll make it to Singapore as planned this time around, insya'Allah.

We're really looking forward to see all of YOU soon!

destination paris

Another vacation, you ask?.. nope, we were in Paris today for a doctor's consultation. It's the final step to determine the kinda medication that is best suited for me and also to get to the (much deeper) bottom of things and find out the cause of my stroke. Since the hospital in Paris has a much more sophisticated equipment to deal with the analysis of blood and all that, I was referred to the Paris hospital by Dr. Bakir (Bakri? :).. the doctor who followed my case in the hospital here).

So I grudgingly dragged myself out of bed at 5.30 am this morning.. we slumped in the back of the cab by 6.30 am and reached our destination at 8.45 am for the 9 am appointment. The meeting lasted for about an hour or so and after the bloodsucker had taken around 16 tubes of my blood, we left the hospital, jumped in the cab and endured the 2 hours ride back, dozing off every now and then. The meter counter read an astounding 308.80€ when the cab sailed to a stop at the foot of our apartment.. we've travelled in total, a distance of 320 km in one morning. And thanks to the social security system here and my hubby's company insurance, we didn't have to draw out a single cent.. everything is taken in charge, due to the nature of the trip.

That was the first time both of us reached Paris by car. Compared with a train ride, it's effectively much more convenient and comfortable though not necessarily faster (due to Paris's infamous road congestion) and plus, it can cost you an arm, a leg and some toes. So our preferred ride to Paris would still be the much less convenient but reliable train system.. unless they're on strike.. which would leave us with not much choice other than the cab.. which would then leave us with a beat-up wallet.. which I hope would never happen.. ever.

I had a really good surprise upon reaching home and found out that I've got a snail mail from far away Singapore. It's a birthday card adorably hand-printed by my 2 darling nieces, with greetings from Omi and family.. it's simply priceless.. thank you, you guys! :D

buon appetito!

I've been wanting to eat risotto fait maison (homemade) for the longest time and I've finally snapped out of that hankering mode, bought the right ingredients, put on the toque and worked the kitchen. Since I'm feeling Italian-ish today, I went all out and did the full spread. I started with an antipasto platter, followed by creamy-licious risotto and a classic Italian dessert - the heavenly tiramisu. I've just found out that tiramisu means "pick me up" referring to the two caffeine-containing ingredients, espresso and cocoa.. very apt. And making your own tiramisu is much easier than I thought - you just need the right ingredients and a light hand.

I'm really thrilled with the outcome of my cooking. I love trying different kinds of food and I think when you make it with your own hands, you'll appreciate the food much better.. and not to mention the satisfaction you'll get when the food turns out looking good and tasty. What could be more better than having an Italian dining-in with the company of Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou and Jean Reno on a frosty autumn evening...