tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-179238452024-03-14T19:48:51.088+01:00sitting 'round the kitchen table- Honey, our relationship bridges a cultural divide !
- No, it bloody well doesn't.chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.comBlogger352125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-52300896660929621992010-07-03T20:03:00.000+02:002010-07-03T20:03:32.409+02:00Body image issuesAt the Nike store, trying on work out gear, and I feel fit, muscular and empowered. Hear me roar. <br />
<br />
Cross the road to the Gap, try on a bathing suit and apparently within the last 5 minutes I've transformed from strong confident woman to pudgy dumpling with low self-esteem. <br />
<br />
Briefly wonder whether Nike dry-fit leggings and a tank top (with built-in bra, suitable for medium impact workouts !) are appropriate beach wear. Probably not. Damn.chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-73160677374091298172010-04-28T15:08:00.000+02:002010-04-28T15:08:06.435+02:00Pet peeve du jourPeople who complain about colleagues using the "reply to all" function indiscriminately and cc'ing everyone in the company, by, you guessed, it, using "reply to all".<br />
<br />
Now can we all just let it drop and get on with our lives and the rest of our overflowing inboxes, or will the original offender apologize to all, followed by a handful of good humored "don't worry, it happens" replies, also addressed to a few hundred people ?chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-76112737117851235342010-03-25T19:08:00.000+01:002010-03-25T19:08:18.267+01:00Good intentions.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Hypoallergenic deodorant. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">No aluminum salts, no paraben, no alcohol. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">But at the end of day, ew, what's that smell ? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Oh wait, it's me. </span>chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-35214595142389585242010-03-03T11:16:00.000+01:002010-03-03T11:16:07.075+01:00You know.... that point of "too much work" when it ceases being a challenge and instead just feels like you're trying to bail water from a sinking ship with the help of a teaspoon ? <br />
<br />
That point when you've worked all day practically without a bathroom break, but you still have 29 items on your to-do list at 6:30 p.m. ? <br />
<br />
When you receive a new email every 4 minutes on average, so you barely have time to read them all, let alone act on them ? <br />
<br />
When you think fuck it, it won't all get done no matter how hard I try, so I might as well just play Mafia Wars on Facebook, even though all those Zynga games are kind of pathetic ? <br />
<br />
Yeah. chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-19759834745185894562010-02-22T22:19:00.000+01:002010-02-22T22:19:15.294+01:0030-second review, WolfmanThe best thing about this was the constant amused glint in Anthony Hopkins' eyes. Which makes no sense, because his character's wife slits her throat - or does she ? - and dies in his arms, he is estranged from one son and the other is horribly mutilated and killed by a mysterious beast. But on the other hand, maybe it makes perfect sense, because old Tony is thinking "OK, so this isn't very good, but I've gotten paid, and you're still sitting in a theater watching this, so mwahahahah, suckers".chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-15968187881731592642010-02-17T19:06:00.000+01:002010-02-17T19:06:02.011+01:00Self-appointed beauty police warning.If you want to give your face a healthy glow in the dead of winter - and why not - please go easy with the self-tanner applications. Or you run the risk of looking like the woman I saw today in the metro, with lily-white hands and a dark bronze face. <br />
<br />
And if it's too late and you have gone down that unfortunate route, at least try to keep the fiddling with your hair, glasses, etc to a minimum so that the contrast is not so glaring. Thank you.chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-35797976342532555002010-02-10T22:30:00.000+01:002010-02-10T22:30:45.305+01:0030-second reviewsbecause I haven't done these in a long time.<br />
<br />
Brothers: what, no Oscar nod for Jake Gyllenhaal ? I'm surprised. And it's always good to see Sam Shepard do his thing. <br />
<br />
Sherlock Holmes: hey, it's Tony Stark ! In 19th century London !chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-91752416523999546102010-02-05T22:03:00.003+01:002010-02-05T22:08:12.583+01:00And another thing.I'm searching through my iTunes, trying to make a motivational playlist for the gym. However most of my music is more of the sit around and have a bourbon and another cigarette genre, rather than, "woo hoo, let's get our heart rates up!" type.chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-58694048432534191412010-02-05T20:51:00.001+01:002010-02-05T20:52:47.548+01:00Yoga and Pilates...... not cutting it anymore in the battle of the bulge, and the studio I went to was pretty expensive. So I've gone and joined a real gym, with cardio machines and weights and loads of those scary Les Mills classes which are all called Body Something and feature REALLY loud music and overenthusiastic fitness freaks who yell and punch the air and are probably an entirely different species than me.<br /><br />The good news is they also offer Pilates so at least once a week I'll be able to take a class where I'm not the totally uncoordinated newbie.<br /><br />Met with a trainer today so he could show me the ropes and he asked, as they do, what my goal was in joining the gym.<br /><br />"Be able to eat more and weigh less" just got a blank stare, until I said "No, just kidding, I'd like to improve my cardiovascular fitness and maybe gain some muscular definition". Then he nodded approvingly and suggested a routine for me. But honestly, eat more, weigh less. Isn't that why everyone joins a gym ?chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-68984017442535721692010-01-04T21:57:00.000+01:002010-01-04T21:57:05.440+01:00Back to the grindHolidays are over.<br />
<br />
No more waking up from a nap and thinking, hmmm, must be time for another meal soon.<br />
<br />
Speaking of which, back to eating more reasonably, instead of having leftover foie gras for breakfast. <br />
Back to drinking "everyday" booze instead of the treasures of my uncle's <i>cave</i>: Margaux, Pomerol, Volnay, Pommard, Ruinart, and Laphroig Quarter Cask.<br />
<br />
Ho hum. chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-78228954650515541762009-12-31T14:43:00.001+01:002009-12-31T14:43:56.221+01:00It always makes me sad<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeY_xtj_pKti4ChRR9voCOOGg-WCXTOs_vY-W77GSV8CXsPgNt9LHvlsDPUnO6-_JrcX8jd1Z0wca00NdwAkrxvLyy4vXXRcVY89a644vkjq8FocVlVMfsiGk40bgqG3GIvIZ6Bg/s1600-h/photo-736222.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeY_xtj_pKti4ChRR9voCOOGg-WCXTOs_vY-W77GSV8CXsPgNt9LHvlsDPUnO6-_JrcX8jd1Z0wca00NdwAkrxvLyy4vXXRcVY89a644vkjq8FocVlVMfsiGk40bgqG3GIvIZ6Bg/s400/photo-736222.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421395639250570978" /></a></p>chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-81598872249990103032009-12-29T08:34:00.000+01:002009-12-29T08:33:52.232+01:00Waiting for men in white coats... To come and take the Mac away. OK, so they probably won't be <br>wearing white coats. I'm just happy that after months of slow <br>performance and sudden freezes, someone from the FNAC helpline finally <br>admitted that yes, it could be a hardware problem, and that they would <br>indeed repair or replace, instead of telling me to do yet another <br>clean install and implying that I "don't know how to use the Mac".<p>Actually that wasn't implied, that was actually said out loud. Right, <br>so for instance all I've got running are Safari and iTunes, out of the <br>blue the computer freezes and won't respond to trying to force quit <br>the programs, the disk utility warns that the hard drive is failing, <br>and it might be my fault because I don't know how to use a Mac? Wanker.<p>Anyway, here's hoping it gets sorted, and thank goodness we were <br>obsessive about backing up files!chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-60123832655060204692009-12-07T22:34:00.004+01:002009-12-07T22:38:49.779+01:00Baffling<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.stylebyme.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/givenchy_uma_thurman_ad.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 361px; height: 526px;" src="http://www.stylebyme.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/givenchy_uma_thurman_ad.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.stylebyme.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/givenchy_uma_thurman_ad.jpg"><br /></a> Why would a perfume company hire one the most beautiful women in the world to be the "face" of their new fragrance and then photoshop the hell out of her, to the point where her head looks like it's been stuck on an anatomically incorrect mannequin ?chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-81577134329800138652009-11-23T20:43:00.001+01:002009-11-23T20:43:36.798+01:00There are days...when I enjoy Pilates and yoga classes. Not today though. Today they <br>were 2 hours of discomfort and inadequacy.chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-30340438664598931052009-11-22T22:48:00.000+01:002009-11-22T22:48:58.215+01:00A blah day...made better by a trip to WH Smith. Got the New Yorker's Book of Food and Drink, Foreign Tongues, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. New books are always a good antidote to whatever ails you.<br />
<br />
Then went out for dinner to a fondue place in Montmartre that serves wine out of baby bottles. Yes, it's a bit of a tourist trap, but it was more fun than expected. I had last been there when I was a teenager, believe it or not, and it hadn't changed a bit. Even the waiter was the same. He used to be a metal worker and started working there 21 years ago, is retiring at the end of the year. Crusty and irreverent and funny and intolerant as only an old-time Parisian waiter can be. Plus, I scored a phone number. I've still got it baby, whatever "it" is. chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-6874040688638086232009-11-13T22:41:00.000+01:002009-11-13T22:41:05.102+01:00Madness.An orange alligator/croc skin pattern iPhone case in a shop window near work has been calling me. Sounds bling, but trust me, it's a nice shade of orange, and I wear mostly neutrals, so it's good to have a shot of color in a fun accessory. Anyway, I assumed, as one does, that it was decent quality plastic embossed to look like leather. Turns out, it's real, and it costs the princely sum of 490 €. <br />
<br />
I'm not sure what is more pathetic, that some people would actually spend that much money on a case for a phone (global financial crisis? what's that?), or that this is the topic for my first blog post in 2 months. chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-90733165935639786602009-09-25T18:26:00.000+02:002009-09-25T18:26:09.245+02:00Missed photo opJust saw a girl - definitely pre-teen, maybe 10 or so - hurtling along the sidewalk on a unicycle. <br />
<br />
(And no, this probably isn't enough content for a blog post but I can't be bothered with Twitter, where most of my followers are spammers who get banned before I can even click on their profiles to find out who they are and why the heck they would want to follow me).chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-8860812898869138102009-09-20T23:19:00.000+02:002009-09-20T23:19:53.044+02:00Mars and Venus brush their teethWhen S first moved in with me, his toothbrush was yellow, and mine was blue. Since then I've always stuck to the same color code, to avoid confusion and because, well, I admit it, I'm a creature of habit. <br />
<br />
Buy new toothbrushes, point out to S (not one of my more scintillating conversational topics, granted) that they have a nifty thing that's supposed to polish teeth in addition to just brushing them, and conclude perkily with, "and of course there's one of each, yellow and blue!"<br />
<br />
Blank stare. <br />
<br />
- Ummmm... you mean you haven't always been using the yellow one?<br />
<br />
- No. I just grab whichever one is on the left.<br />
<br />
Some things are not meant to be shared, even in the closest of relationships. Plaque, to my mind, is one of them.chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-39616244301691626742009-09-20T10:30:00.000+02:002009-09-20T10:30:20.807+02:00Strange daysS bought 3 pairs of shoes yesterday. I think he's turning into me.chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-18054232048453629052009-09-10T22:35:00.000+02:002009-09-10T22:35:26.712+02:0030-second review - Inglorious Basterds vs. Un prophèteGranted, the movies have nothing in common other than both being about 2h30mn long. But while every single scene, every line of dialogue in <a href="http://www.screendaily.com/5001221.article">Un prophète</a> served to move the story forward and/or reveal a bit more about the characters, Basterds felt bloated and pointlessly long, rambling on without making much of a point. <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/19/entertainment/et-cannes19">Un prophète</a> was tense and intense all the way through. Basterds had its moments but never lived up its opening scene. chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-90438177438098191882009-09-10T22:22:00.000+02:002009-09-10T22:22:56.617+02:00getting old...Did some more strenuous than usual housework - amittedly, that's not saying much - and now I'm feeling twinges of back pain. Eeek.chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-39500102582244532362009-08-21T23:10:00.001+02:002009-08-21T23:10:05.390+02:00An unfortunate...juxtaposition of articles in my RSS feed. One is "How could a <br>mother eat her baby" immediately followed by "Sometimes abortion is <br>the better choice".chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-45022851002235178802009-08-11T19:45:00.000+02:002009-08-11T19:46:36.549+02:00Greetings from the Cantal<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsNGjhYZjEYkDKTTUmD6IFa8IVxyZHdu7n_kYSJzd_C25dSQiwrzHE9m0P1rhGEIq4Z8925hakoaEyFml3qJfD5xCgGj1A_b1m6_co-K3SSW1e2Gb-txbK5PqB5tNmoksGm1CJXA/s1600-h/photo-796551.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsNGjhYZjEYkDKTTUmD6IFa8IVxyZHdu7n_kYSJzd_C25dSQiwrzHE9m0P1rhGEIq4Z8925hakoaEyFml3qJfD5xCgGj1A_b1m6_co-K3SSW1e2Gb-txbK5PqB5tNmoksGm1CJXA/s400/photo-796551.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368764081513218082" /></a></p>chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-28150487326495726082009-08-05T22:34:00.001+02:002009-08-05T22:34:00.614+02:00Testing mobile bloggingBecause I'm off for 3 weeks without a computer but with my trusty <br>iPhone and I want to see how this works.chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17923845.post-16928058408338177802009-07-29T21:31:00.001+02:002009-07-30T09:46:11.444+02:00Good grief.I haven't posted since June 14th? <br />
<br />
That's also the day I started dieting. Coincidence? I think not. Not stuffing my face = too depressed to blog. <br />
<br />
I did lose 3 kilos, though. 2 of which I gain back instantly as soon as I have a "normal" meal so I'm not sure a) how sustainable this is going to be in the long run and/or b) how reliable my scales are. And is it somewhat worrisome that I find it much easier to give up desserts, and second helpings, and fries, and so on than I do my daily glass or two of wine? Nah, I didn't think so either... <br />
<br />
In other food related news, it's not "la crise" for everyone - I just called 5-6 restaurants before I could score a table for tomorrow night. Will be checking out <a href="http://hungryforparis.squarespace.com/blog/2009/4/21/pramil-an-excellent-modern-bistro.html#comments">Pramil</a> with two dear friends who just happen to be very fit athletic men with healthy appetites, so I will eat and drink with them to my little heart's content and not mention calories, or they will mercilessly take the piss out of me for being such a girl.chimerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699209017189051238noreply@blogger.com0