The Road Not Taken

A very good friend of mine made me discover this poem recently and I wanted to share it with you dear reader. Enjoy it.

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The Road Not Taken,

by Robert Frost (1874–1963).

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Vols/Flights 2010

> Dublin - Paris (CDG), Dec. 22nd, CityJet

> Dusseldorf (DUS) - Dublin, Dec. 17th, AerLingus

> Dublin - Dusseldorf (DUS), Dec. 17th, AerLingus

> Francfort (FRA) - Dublin, Dec. 10th, AerLingus

> Dublin - Munich (MUC), Dec. 6th, AerLingus

> Oslo (RYG) - Dublin, Dec. 5th, RyanAir

> Dublin - Oslo (RYG), Dec. 3rd, RyanAir

> Paris (CDG) - Dublin, Nov. 7th, AerLingus

> Dublin - Paris (CDG), Nov. 4th, AerLingus

> Amsterdam (AMS) - Dublin, Oct. 28th, AerLingus

> Munich (MUC) - Amsterdam (AMS), Oct. 26th, KLM

> Dublin - Munich (MUC), Oct. 24th, AerLingus

> Munich (MUC) - Dublin, Sept. 23rd, AerLings

> Amsterdam (AMS) - Munich (MUC), Sept. 21st, Lufthansa

> Dublin - Amsterdam (AMS), Sept. 19th, AerLingus

> Valencia (VLC) - Dublin, Sept 5th, RyanAir

> Dublin - Valencia (VLC), Sept. 2nd, RyanAir

> Brussels (BRU) - Dublin, Aug. 11th, AerLingus

> Dublin - Brussels (BRU), Aug. 9th, AerLingus

> Marseille (MAR) - Dublin, August 7th, AerLingus

> Dublin - Marseille (MAR), July 31st, AerLingus

> Francfort (FRA) - Dublin, July 29th, AerLingus

> Dublin - Munich (MUC), July 27th, AerLingus

> Paris (BVA) - Dublin, July 11th, RyanAir

> Dublin - Paris (CDG), July 9th, AerLingus

> Brussels (BRU) - Dublin, July 7th, AerLingus

> Dublin - Brussels (BRU), July 5th, AerLingus

> Lyon (LYS) - Dublin, July 4th, AerLingus

> Dublin - Lyon (LYS), July 2nd, AerLingus

> Madrid (MAD) - Dublin, June 30th, AerLingus

> Casablanca (CMN) - Madrid (MAD), June 30th, EasyJet

> Paris (ORY) - Casablanca (CMN), June 28th, Jet4You

> Dublin - Paris (CDG), June 25th, AerLingus

> Leeds - Dublin, June 20th, RyanAir

> Dublin - Leeds, June 18th, RyanAir

> Paris (CDG) - Dublin, May 28th, CityJet

> Casablanca (CMN) - Paris (CDG), May 28th, AirFrance

> Paris (CDG) - Casablanca (CMN), May 24th, AirFrance

> Dublin - Paris (CDG), May 24th, CityJet

> Beauvais (BVA) - Dublin, May 11th, RyanAir

> Dublin - Paris, May 7th, AerLingus

> Leeds - Dublin, April 11th, RyanAir

> Dublin - Leeds, April 6th, RyanAir

> Paris (CDG) - Dublin, April 5th, AerLingus

> Casablanca (CMN) - Paris (CDG), April 4th, EasyJet

> Paris (CDG) - Casablanca (CMN), March 27th, EasyJet

> Leeds - Paris (CDG), March. 27th, Jet2.com

> Dublin - Leeds, March 7th, RyanAir

> Leeds - Dublin, March 4th, RyanAir

> Paris (CDG) - Leeds, Feb. 28th, Jet2.com

> Leeds - Paris (CDG), Feb. 25th, Jet2.com

> Dublin - Leeds, Feb. 5th, RyanAir

> Leeds - Dublin, Jan. 31st, RyanAir

> Dublin - Leeds, Jan. 18th, RyanAir

> Leeds - Dublin, Jan. 14th, RyanAir

> Dublin - Leeds, Jan. 10th, RyanAir

> Leeds - Dublin, Jan. 7th, RyanAir

> Paris (CDG) - Leeds, Jan. 3rd, Jet2.com

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Airlines (10): AerLingus (25), RyanAir (18), Jet2.com (4), EasyJet (3), AirFrance (2), CityJet (3), Jet4You (1), Lufthansa (1), KLM (1)

Countries (10): England, Ireland, France, Morocco, Northern Ireland, Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, Norway

It's the Mo-ment

Movember, 1st. I can already hear Luco. I know what he thinks for that he told me many times when we were at university. Growing a moustache, or a beard or any kind of hair on both his and my face is next to impossible.

Yet, today I'm taking up this very challenge of growing what should look like a gentleman moustache by the end of the month. First, because it's for a noble cause (read more about the cause). Second and main reason, because it's fun. So this morning I started with a clean shaven face and for the next 30 days,

I'll be growing my mo-stache. And while I do it and post pictures on my blog, you generous reader can sponsor me and fight cancer your own way. Stay tune for more updates this month.

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Donate to my Mo-stache

Sprudelwasser

Before this year I had only been once to Germany. I tend not to count it actually because of how short the 2 days trip was at the time (however full of emotions it was since I had traveled to Berlin for a memorable surprise family reunion). This year I've already been twice and as it looks, there are more trips to Nurnberg planned for the next 6 months, which I look forward to. But I have one problem: I don't speak German. Not a word. While I'm not technically required to speak German for the matter that brings me to Bavaria, this would be convenient of course. And also this is a great opportunity for me to learn a language I had never been interested into.

See at school, I had the choice between Spanish and German. My parents having bitter memories of their years of German, I had been adviced to pick Spanish. This was a great decision because I began to learn an easy enough language and to discover a lovely culture. On the other hand, all my friends were complai

ning about how tough German was to learn and the "sausages at breakfast" stories they would tell after field trips would horrify me at the time. I never thought I could want to learn German other than for a pretty girl.

But the last two days have been very frustrating for me. I had entire meetings in German and could only pick up words here and there, when I was lucky. I hated it. I was left out of not just the discussion but the entire understanding of the meeting. During one of them, in between two moments of absence, I decided I would learn German. I don't intend to get fluent overnight or to be able to write properly but I'd like to be able to pick up what's going on around me. Also I wouldn't mind understanding some of the weird German habits. The main one I need explanations with is the sparkling water.

In any country I've travelled to the water choices you have are "still" or "sparkling" water. In Germany, it's "light sparkling" or "strong sparkling"?! And don't think you'll get around that awkward choice by going for the apple juice: it's a trap too! It's mixed with sparkling water! On the menu of the restaurant yesterday I tried to escape the bubbles but I panicked when the waitress (not one of these who would have made me learn German) came over. I had a look at the menu and there were bubbles all over the card. I thought I was going for the safe option by ordering a "Coke" but my awful pronunciation almost got me a local beer had it not been for my boss who corrected my order (I owe you one Hardy). I urgently need German classes. Really.

Any cute tutor available?

Happy New Cycle !

If you know me you probably know I love economics. I live with my economics gogles on all the time. I find it amusing to observe the long term pleasure vs. short term investments in every days lives, analyse the micro-economical decisions in the street, figure out the optimal decision between 2 queues at McDonalds and why people would pick one and not the other, arbitrage between the value of an extra hour of sleep against the cheap price of an early morning plane ticket, or save one day of work over a year by investing 5 min of my time to write to the Gmail team to request a function that helps me save only a few seconds daily. This habit cost me some arguments and possibly a (not so good) friend or two in the recent past but I like it and won't change it.

For the last few months I have entered what I describe as the rising stage of a new Kitchin cycle in my life. Temporarily relocating to Casablanca (then Leeds) as well as changing job in July had ended my previous cycle started on Aug. 31st, 2007, when I first landed in Dublin. With people arriving and leaving, the renewal of the friends I hang out with have been under way since day 1 but have intensified greatly recently (especially with the moves out of my department). Moving into a new flat was the latest step toward a full A-phase of my cycle that I so needed.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't bored or unhappy, or did I think of leaving my island. Not at all. But I was too comfortable and I didn't want to fall asleep, relax too much and then miss out and, even more frightening to me, stop learning.

"If you hide your ignorance no one will hit you

and you'll never learn" - Delores Landingham -

See, everyone is motivated by something. It's commonly accepted that you can bring it down to either Power, Glory, or Sex. Although I like all 3 and can easily remember having been motivated by at least the latest in several occasions, I believe my strongest motivation is to improve and learn new things. Put me in front a problem I've never faced or a game I've never played and I'll want to get to the bottom of how it works and how you get good at it. That's just what gets me going.

So more than a new year, a new 18-24 months cycle has begun for me and I intend to make it a fast paced one before the recession phase kicks in, giving me more problems to solve...

Happy New Year to you all (and new cycle to me)

Unexpected encounter

I close my laptop. I look around the floor of the office, there is no one left. It’s 7 p.m. I’ve been here since 7 a.m. It’s more than time to go home, eat and … get back to work. 7’o clock isn’t a bad time to leave the office during this month of Ramadan. It’s exactly the time of the ftour so every one is eating and I’m sure to be litteraly alone on the road. It feels like being in the qualification laps of a grand prix.

On my way out, I’m passing by the security gate of Casanearshore. The guard I chated with yesterday at about the same time recognizes me and invites me to eat with him and his colleague to share their ftour. There’s no way I say no to that, no matter whether I’m hungry or not. The next 30 minutes are just among the most memorable of my stay in Morroco and at the perfect image of the Morrocans people: simple, friendly, open minded, exotic, full of discoveries.

One of the 2 guards’mother have cooked this ftour for us: tasty harira, grilled sardines, eggs, pastries, date, mint tea … it’s all there and it’s delicious. Miras does most of the talking in an approximative but pretty fluent French. His colleague is more quiet. I think his French isn’t as good and he may be shy about it. Or simply Miras doesn’t let anyone else have the time to speak. God seems to be responsible for everything and Miras thanks him for that every second word. His faith is inspiring. I’m smiling, listening, trying to make sense of what Miras says, add a thing or two in the conversation and mostly, and most importantly, I enjoy the hospitality and I relax.

The night is slowly coming over Casablanca. From where I am with my hosts, I completely forget about my day and try to make the most of the moment. In a few minutes, I’ll leave Miras and his colleague (and their friends who’ve joined us), go to my car and start heading home. I’ll work some more today but that’s ok, this unexpected sharing of the ftour has made my day.

iPont

[July 13th, St Martin d'Ardèche, France]

The trunk of the Opel Zafira is wide opened. Madalena and I are standing in front of it with the same purpose in mind. Suddenly, without saying a word, we start to look at each other in the eyes. She looks puzzled. Yet I can spot an almost unnoticeable smile on her face.
As the seconds pass her smile grows bigger on her lips but her eyes are still full of surprise and disbelief. What's happening goes far beyond her imagination and she's just realizing this. She's not prepared to deal with this situation. She doesn't want to say anything but it's now obvious that she feels the two of us are thinking about the exact same thing. It's getting embarrassing... as well as funny. We're now widely smiling at each other. Hesitating, she finally mumbles : "wh ... where are the sandwiches, Sully?". I answer: "Didn't you put them in the car?"

- I thought you did...

- ... well ... I think we forgot them...

Turning together to hungry Gerard, even more hungry Carlos and starving Nina only a few feet away we're breaking the news: "Guys... guess what?"

A lifetime of memories [7/10]

I’ve been talking about this trip for months before it happened and I’m going to keep talking about it for many many more now that it’s over. You just cannot forget a trip like this one that has been perfect on every single aspect. The organization was so outstanding that I think Steven could work as a tour operator if he can’t find a job soon, you couldn’t believe the sceneries we’ve seen, the level of entertainment was extremely high and the expenses kept extremely low. But this isn’t what I’m going to remember the longest from this trip. I would have signed for this trip even without all of this. The reason that made me go are the people I was to travel with.

I got to meet some of Steven’s friends among which a very funny Boris who’s been in South-East Asia long enough to know better than to go anywhere without a T-shirt to avoid sun burns, and 2 of my twin’s flatmates: Alexandra and her boyfriend Eric who likes to play guitar in under wears.

I also got introduced to both of my brother’s girlfriends. Raly the tiny Japanese looking and Cambodian speaking French girlfriend of Steven who, impressively enough managed to cope with both Steven and me teasing her 24/7 (area where many have failed) and even to respond in a very witty way. Morgan’s girlfriend Marta is just as fun and full of surprise. Always smiling Bulgarian with a perfect French she made me laugh a lot during these 2 weeks but the best part must have been how she negotiated with Morgan at both airports in Singapore and Colombo on my way back. I can’t say more but these two were great to watch.

This trip was also the one chance for me to take part for awhile into Thibault’s biggest dream: travelling around the world for one year. I’ve been reading his blog and looking at his Picasa album for months. I’ve wanted to find a reason to join him for a little bit of time in his adventure. It’s done. I’m so glad we managed to pull this.

Last but not least, I’ve travelled with 2 of my brothers. Most of you know that I don’t see these 2 much since one lives in Sofia (Morgan), the other one has been in Singapore for more than a year (Steven) and I’m on my green island since September. Not only had it been a long time since the 3 of us were all at once in the same place, but it must have been a few years since we stayed this long (less than 3 weeks) together.

These people are the great team I travelled with. No need to say that they made this trip more special than any of the places we went to did (although… the Perhentian Islands were really amazing and come close…okay, not that close). Tomorrow I won’t talk about this trip anymore in my articles but I know I’ll always remember it.

Tomorrow : Des collines, de l’herbe et des moutons [8/10]

One Slope A Day Keeps The Doctor Away [1/10]

I’m not an easily stressed out person in general but there are a few things I’m … hum … let’s say… tend to “focus on” more than necessary. A good example of this is that I’m never late. It’s usually seen as a quality but from my experience I can tell you that it doesn’t help me this much in most cases. By being too “on time” I naturally tend to end up “in advance”. And being in advance is a waste of time and I even think that being too on time at a meeting is a serious mistake since no one (literally) ever makes it on time to a meeting. Those who are on time simply lose precious minutes of there time waiting. But I can’t help it, I have to be on time. This is simply one of the area of my life I know I’m too “focused on”.

On mid-April I went to Sölden with another 2,400 Google employees for the annual ski trip. No need to say I was delighted to go skiing in Austria with all my friends. No need to say either that skiing isn’t 100% risk free. I was to fly to Asia for an 18 days long trip a week later and since no being in perfect shape for this trip was not an option, I did focus a lot on not getting injured while skiing.

After a careful but rather normal day of ski on Thursday, a did-nothing (quite a safe activity) on Friday I decided to risk it again on the slopes on Saturday with Nina having convinced myself that I was being a bit crazy about this knee injury possibility. So off I went with Nina. We met a few googlers on the ski slopes and after only a couple runs we joined Carlos who began skiing last year. With him we went for another few easy runs on the main blue slope we just did twice already. Since Carlos’pace fitted me (who couldn’t focus on anything else that not falling) perfectly and since Nina enjoyed it too we stayed on this blue slope all morning. After lunch, we didn’t see the point of skiing on another slope and stayed on this blue one all afternoon as well. We probably went down this one slope 15 times during the day.

You might think this wasn’t very adventurous of me. I might agree completely. But I managed to get back to Dublin with all my bones intact and in the correct place (which, in case you didn’t notice, was my main concern of the trip) and have this much fun at night in Sölden's bars.

Tomorrow: Le match du jour: Air France vs Sri Lankan [2/10]

Groundhog Day

[March 2nd, 2008]

… I’m warm… I can feel it… I don’t want to open my eyes yet… I’m feeling good, let’s enjoy it… I’m stretching my legs while I push my head in the pillow… I hear nothing outside… no wind, no rain… that’s right, I’m not in Dublin, I’m in Tivenys… Let’s see what time it is… 9 am… I’m not sleepy anymore.

I silently wake up because Timur and Carlos are still sleeping. I heard Gerard leaving about an hour ago. I go get a shower and then I’ll squeeze the oranges I picked up yesterday on Gerard’s trees. I think I must be the first one up. It’s not just sunny outside, there’s also a fantastic clear blue sky like in Avignon or Marseille. God, what am I doing in Dublin?

10 am. I wanted to go for a walk in the streets of Tivenys but people are waking up now. I’ve seen Madalena already, now Pera and Rut. We start “breakfasting”. The TV is on. It seems to be an habit here. I would turn it off because I found it too noisy and mostly because we all seem to be attracted by it but I doesn’t really bother me either in fact. Takeshi Castle is on. I never heard of it. Apparently I’m the only one. Everyone else seems excited about it. I’m curious now. It’s a Japanese TV show. At first I found it stupid but now that I’m paying more attention it turns out to actually be stupid, in an hilarious way. I can’t stop laughing. Every game is stupider than the previous one. It’s great!

We’re meeting Gerard for lunch but before Pera and Rut are taking us to the water falls. I’m debating whether I should take my sweater. Yes? No? Screw it, it’s Catalunya, it’s going to be T-shirt and nothing else today. Once at the water falls, we take a few pictures and end up laying on the riverside for an hour. Just enjoying the sun. Talking. Trying to avoid the tiny mosquitos that leave huge marks when they bite you. Pera and Rut warned us about it. There isn’t much we can do though but at least we know it exist. It’s just too much a nice day to care anyway. There are great flat little rock on the riverside. They are perfect to do some “ricochets”. Last time I remember doing this I must have been 13. I did this with Morgan and Steven in Charente. 12 years that I haven’t done it! Sh*t. Let’s see if I still know how to bounce rocks on the water. First try: 0 bounce. Directly in the river. Hum… a little bit of practice won’t hurt. Second try: 0 bounce. Sh*t. Third try: 3 bounces. There we go. 5 bounces. 6 bounces. 7 bounces. Who’s your daddy?! ;)

On the way back to the village, Pera takes the very small road that goes in the fruits trees and the fields. It’s amazing. I feel like in these movies that take places in these very small villages in Italy or Spain, where you enjoy living without stress. We arrive at the “Calçotada”. Several tables of about 20 people each are already dressed. All the youngs of the village gathered here. Gerard is by the fire cooking the oignons. We’re heading for the “refreshments” (= beers). It’s 1 pm. The sun is high. I love it. What am I doing in Dublin?

People are handing out bibs. It says a lot about what’s going to happen. Now the food is being brought at the table. Gerard throws a big package of oignons rolled in newspapers in front of me. I open it. There is a lot of food here. Pera shows me how to eat it. Somehow you peel one part, dig the other one in a garlic sauce, put your head back, hold the garlic-sauce-dipped-part above you, open your mouth and eat the oignon. It’s messy and fun. Not so tasty. But messy and fun. More “refreshments” arrive. This time it’s the locally produced wine that we’re drinking. We’re done with the appetizers. It’s time for sausages and beans. And more wine of course. By the way, I think I’m tipsy. It’s so much fun.

Pera is now making me try some local drink. Crema Catalan. It tastes like baby Guinness to me. Not bad. Pretty good actually. Let’s get some more.

After awhile, Gerard and I are going by the river. Madalena’s been taking the sun for about an hour apparently. More people are joining. It’s a pretty place, really. You could stay here all day. You could even swim if the water was less cold. Or you could just swim apparently since Gerard is striping and is ready to jump. He’s in. He says it’s not so cold. My guess: he’s lying big time. Nina’s next. She confirms it’s cold. See? Should I be next or should I be next? Screw it, let’s dive in. Wow, it’s is really cold. I can’t breathe normally. Could I drown if I stay too long? I don’t know but let’s no stay long enough to find out. I’m out. So are Carlos and Madalena who must have been thinking just like me. Ge and Nina are too drunk to notice it’s cold I think. They’re having fun though. What a nice day.

It’s 7pm and we need to be in Sabadell by 9. We’re looking at a 2 hours drive from Tivenys to Sabadell. It’s time to go. Gerard’s parent’s will be waiting for us for dinner.

10pm. We’re in Sabadell. There was some traffic on the road but the drive really didn’t feel long at all. In the Sanz’s appartement it looks like Christmas. There is a huge 12 people square table with loads of plates of food: jamon, tortilla, gambas, Russian salad, cheese, … I’m not sure 12 people is enough to eat all of this but I will be glad to contribute at the effort. The food is delicious. I want to help out but Gerard makes me sit. Men don’t help here. I feel bad about it but I look at it as a “new experience”. The evening finishes after more talking, telling stories and laughing. I’m going to bed. I’m falling asleep… I’m exhausted… I’m feeling good… hopefully tomorrow, I’ll wake up in Tivenys … and I’ll live this day again…

TV Show at its best

With a few months left before the election of the next president of the USA, the Democrat candidates are fighting more than ever to win the primaries of their party. The young candidate from an ethnic minority is every day less the underdog of this race. The media write and talk about him helping to grow his credibility. The strategies of both camps are smart and complex and it’s a pleasure to watch it from the inside.

My VIP clearance gets me a ticket in all the trips an stops of the candidate during this campaign. I’m in every room where an important decision is taken. I attend every meeting. During the last few weeks I really got to know this candidate better and I now hope to see him elected because I like his program (especially the education part of it), I like his natural authority, I share his principles and values. If I was a voting American, without a doubt, I’d want Matt Santos for president!

The situation I’ve just described and which very closely look like today’s US presidential campaign took place 2 years ago during the seventh and last season of “The West Wing”. After watching this show in a condensed 2 years, I only have ten episodes or so left before watching the very last episode of what has already become my favourite TV show. After every 40 minutes episode I’m watching I’m feeling depressed because I know I’m now one episode closer to the end of what TV has broadcast best.

When you’re competing with shows like Prison Break, 24, Desperate Housewives, The Shield or Lost (that I all intensively watch), you don’t become number one without a good reason. What puts this particular show on top of the list is a perfect combination of witty and quick minded humor, outstanding scripts, talented cast, amazing acting and exceptional characters associated to the intriguing world of politics, all of this brought inside of the White House. Add to this that the topics discussed in this show are all up to date topics and you get the best possible insight you could dream of the political world. And if you’re only watching to have a good laugh, you’ll like it just as much.

Ce que je sais de Lola

Last week, the French Film Festival ended at the Irish Film Institute. When I heard about it I thought: ‘What a great idea to promote French culture!’. So I went to see one of the selected movie the other day*. ‘Lola’. I doubt this movie really helped France.

To fully understand what type of movie this is you’ll have to make an effort of imagination. Think about the worse movie you’ve ever seen. Multiply it by 10. Now substract any scenario that might have been part of this movie. Also get rid of any jokes, funny or not, that could have make you laugh or smile. Add many scenes that make no sense and make sure not to let any hint in those scenes that could lead the viewer to any kind of interpretation. Make this last for two long hours and you might start getting a tiny piece of an idea of how painful this movie was to watch..

Who’s to blame for that terrible moment in cinema’s history? I think there is more than one culprit.

First of all, I’m to blame. I should have known better than to go see an arty movie like this one. Some are outstanding, but too many are just not made for anyone else to watch it than the movie director.

As a normal consequence of this, I’m holding the movie director very much responsible for creating such a movie. And I’m hoping that any kind of producer that might have been involved in this lost a lot of money making and distributing this movie.

But most of all, I think critics and the people who put ‘Lola’ in the French Film Festival selection are to blame. I’m open minded and yet I don’t see how anyone can possibly ever write something good about this movie (unless out of irony). Critics, I believe, simply tend to write good critics about bad movie to differentiate themselves. They admire movies that no one likes so they can go back to their own little world of critics and talk about how they are the only one to understand what the director tried to show and how beautiful it was. Truth to tell, ‘Lola’ was just a bad movie and I got lured into seeing it.

Yesterday started the German Film Festival at the IFI. I’m more and more interested about Germany since I hang out all the time with what I call the ‘German Connection’ here in Dublin. I wonder whether I should go see any of the selected movie if I really want to have a good opinion about that country...

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*I really intended to go see ‘I do’ (Prête-moi ta main) but it was sold out when I got to the IFI. Since I was there and didn’t have any back up plan I pick the next movie which happened to be ‘Lola’.

Smile you’re being watched

Going to the gym to exercice is among the things I hate most. In my “boring things you can do” list it’s ranked between watching live the drying program of my clothes in my washing machine and waiting 30 minutes for the next train to Cergy since I witnessed the door of the previous one closing just in front of my eyes.

So why did I sign up for a 10 weeks 5 sessions a week program at my local (i.e. Google) gym? Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time I did so. Plus, I never learned how to say “No” (this is a real problem in my life, I might develop why in a post one day). Now I’m stuck with this program since both my roommate and a colleague of mine enrolled as well and count on me to keep all 3 of us highly motivated.

So here I was last Monday at the gym for a 30 minutes session of running that I was already expecting to be boring as always when I found a pair of headphones and the TV switched on a show that was beginning on the BBC. A few cameramen teamed up with 4 police patrols of a rough neighbourhood and I was to watch the most exciting moments of these patrols captured lived on camera. How great!

Story #1: We’re watching the scene from a surveillance camera. A white van is parked on the street. Three 12 years old are cycling in circles around the van. After a couple minutes one of them breaks the front seat widow, steals a package left alone on the seat and cycles away with his 2 accomplices. The kids didn’t see the camera but the camera saw the kids! The chase begins. A helicopter starts chasing the kids that don’t notice they’re being followed. Soon after, a motorcycle and a car join the chase. After a few minutes of unsustainable adrenaline the kids have calmly hidden at their HQ (their mom’s house) and the police arrives only a minute later, enters the house, handcuffs the three 12 years old and discovers what’s inside the stolen package: a pairs of boots. The kids are placed under arrest and brought to the precint. It’s another fantastic victory for the police in the war against criminality.

Story #2: We’re in a car patrol. In front of us a 24 years old in a red Ford Ka just drove into what clearly is a “bus lane only from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.”. And it’s only 5 p.m. The careless driver is pulled off by the police officers. A €30 fine is issued after a good 15 minutes of explanation of why using bus lanes as a shortcut at that time of the day is a very wrong thing to do.

All the stories were more or less the same pathetic ones, all showing how easy it is to waste the tax payer money (chasing 12 year old with an helicopter!) and how dangerous it is to live in England (think that these stories are supposed to take place in a “hot neighbourhood”). Simply amazing for a French guy who just spent his last 4 years in the urban jungle of Cergy.

Fortunately, this poor quality TV kept me focused on something else than my running and my 30 minutes session felt like 15 only. There is finally one person that benefited from all that money wasted.

Fish & Chips

I’m a very organized person. Really. I sometime think I’m too organized. Everything always has to be tidy, clean, ticked, within an automated Excel WorkSheet (I swear I’ll switch to GoogleDocs soon) or on my To Do List. That’s the only way I like things to be. I almost never buy something without thinking it over (also known as “Tedying it over” for the lucky few that are watching How I Met Your Mother). It’s ridiculous sometimes to see me debating whether I should buy this or that. To pick my cell phone package for example I’ve created an Excel doc with list of criteria, scores and multipliers assigned to them and formulas calculating which was the most objective choice to make so I could convince myself I was making the right decision. You think I have a problem? You might be right but that’s just the way I am. And from my experience, there are more annoying habits in life.

One thing that comes with being so organized is that I like (have to?) plan things long time in advance. To feel comfortable I need to know what I’ll be doing in the next 12 to 18 months (the long term). I’m not talking about what I’ll be doing every day but at least the job I'll do and the city/country I'll leave in. What’s more, I also like to know what I’ll be doing in the next few hours or tomorrow (the short term). I’m pretty good at organizing this too. I usually write down on a post it note everything I need to do hours after hours. You think I have a problem? Again, I keep this for me and usually don’t bother people with it although my brother Morgan once made me eat that very post-it note (I was pissed that he delayed my post-it schedule. He was right to let me know I over reacted that time but I wish he would have made his point differently).

By now you get that I’m a very organized person who always know what he’s doing in one year or one hour from now. What I’m very bad at, is to plan things for next week-end.

Because I’m too focused on next year and tomorrow I usually forget to plan things for my week-ends. I don’t have enough fingers on my two hands to count how many days off I forgot to plan things for. You know, these days off that allow people to take a 3-days week-end to visit their parents or take mini-vacations? Well I always failed to make the most of them. I can’t seem to be able to anticipate these when I’m so good at anticipating all the rest.

I’m telling you this only to stressed the fact that I actually did something interesting last Sunday although I brilliantly failed to plan it again. I had a party (my roommate did to be honest) on Saturday where I talked with people that invited me to join them for a trip to Howth on the very next day. Howth is a fishermen village in the North of Dublin. After being here for almost a month now this was the first time I wasn’t looking for an apartment so I jumped on this occasion to finally get to visit a little bit this beautiful country. The plan was amazingly simple: walk near the cliffs by the sea after had a classic Fish and Chips for lunch. How lovely! And so Irish too!

So off we went on Sunday. We were supposed to eat Fish & Chips for lunch. I made sure to be hungry by the time would get to Howth (2:30 pm) to enjoy lunch even more. Well, I wasn’t alone (we were 10 to 12 I’d say) and the plan switched to walking first. I looked at the other guys who were just as disappointed as me to postpone eating. Girls (always on a diet and glad to avoid putting on some more fat) usually don’t mind this kind of things. For guys it’s different. We’re always (and I couldn't stress that word enough) hungry. But it’s okay, we could wait another hour and after making sure we’d be back to eat in an hour we started walking toward the cliffs.

An hour later, once on top of the cliffs (or so I though it was) the program changed again. The girls now wanted to go to the (very) top of the cliffs for a two and a half hour “lovely walk”. 3 guys and I felt like we had to step up and announced to the pack that we had to split now, our survival depending on it. After a quick talk, the four of us were firmly walking to the fish and chips place to tackle our first real irish meal.

Once at the restaurant, we ordered the food and enjoyed our meal. It was no cheap or fancy place but still a pretty good restaurant. A beer helped us have fun while eating.

On my way back to Dublin I met friends that went to play golf in Howth too as I discovered. We laugh in the train and once home I though I had a very nice Sunday. And I would still remember it as such had I not entirely vomited that very evening what has become now my first and last Irish Fish and Chips. I guess, the restaurant wasn’t so good after all…

Put your hands up for Detroit

"Flight attendants are demanding" once told me Sandrine, a colleague who was driving me home after my Boston flight. At the time I'd been flying for only 2 weeks and didn't know any better so I took her word for it. Today, after 2 months in the job, I know what she meant.

It stroke me when I received my August schedule on which I saw I was going twice to Toronto and I felt disappointed about it. Can you believe it?! I'm being sent twice to Toronto in the same month and I dare complain! (I even tried to switch the second flight with a Chicago one, in vain). How spoiled did I become!?

Fortunately, to balance my "bad luck", I had the pleasure to see the 3 letters DTW printed in my schedule too. This meant I was going back to Michigan 6 years after I left it.

Thanks to Vicky and Floyd I managed to make the most out of the little 24 hours I had in the Great Lakes State. Among other things I ate breakfast at Nick's in downtown Durand and ordered a ham and cheese omelette just like I used too after soccer practice. I also many of the people I missed all this time.

After these 24 hours , it's clearer than ever in my mind that I must not wait another 6 years to go back to Durand.

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... soon ...

What's next?

After I’ve graduated in France, I went to live for one year with Vicky and Floyd in Durand, Michigan. For many reasons this year was one of the happiest of my life. I didn’t have to worry about having good grades (although being who I am, I was making sure I did), I was in a way in vacations for the entire year, my family was great (and this is a HUGE understatement), I was playing soccer (I need to mention here that I went to the girl soccer team camp which probably was my best week of vacation ever because a/ it was in Florida and b/ I was litteraly surrounded by 20 to 30 beautiful girls…). Although the main point of the all trip was simply to come back fluent in English (it turns out I rather learn American, which is a bit different) I also discovered and experienced many things among which Track & Field (such a fantastic memory) and baseball.

About baseball though, there is one thing I’ve always been a bit disappointed about. On the one day I went down to Detroit to actually see a real baseball game, this very game got cancelled because of the rain. It was too close from my flight home to make it to another game and I never got to attend a game that year.

Ever since I’ve been crazy about baseball. But living in France offers very little occasion (if any at all) to watch or play baseball. 4 years ago, while in Japan where baseball is big too, I got to finally see a game. But it didn’t had the taste of MLB.

So when flying over the Atlantic I heard that both co-pilots of my crew were heading to San Diego on the next day to catch a MLB game, I jump in the cockpit and made sure these 2 fellows would let me ride with them! Finally I had my game.

The Padres dominated the Atlanta Braves 8-5 and I got one more thing done on my to do list. What’s next?
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Les détails du vol
Vol AF 074 à destination de LosAngeles, Etats-Unis (LAX)
Départ: 6 juillet, à 16h30
Retour: 9 juillet, à 16h45
Temps de vol: 11h
Appareil: Boeing B777-300
Equipage: 14 PNC + 3 PNT
Heure locale: Paris - 9h