Concert Fever

It's that time again. It doesn't feel like five minutes since I was complaining about not getting enough sleep and two years later here I am again, using that as an excuse for why my little blog has been neglected like an old shoe for the last few weeks.

The month of June is always so packed with work (the French realising that it's about time they got on with something before the holidays start again) and concerts (everything comes grinding to a halt in July and August so June's calendar is always jam-packed). This month I have three concerts to do, last month there were two and I'm trying to run a business and hold down my day job as well. The old biological clock doesn't even get a look-in.

It's all change in September though. Our choir director Bonnie has decided to leave for a year to go to Cambodia to help people; a brave and daring venture for anyone. So we're getting a new director who seems to be extremely gifted musically, but I haven't got to know him yet. Anyway, that's all to be discovered.

The band is also 'disbanding'. We're shutting shop for a variety of reasons and I'm quite relieved that I don't have to make the decision myself. Concerts are lots of fun and practices are usually pretty enjoyable, but our opinions on repertoire, direction and organisation are fairly disparate to say the least.

We have a private gig tomorrow and then the last gig ever of all time on June 21st. So, come down to the Café d'Orléans at Mouton Duvernet (line 4) from 8.30pm to see the Mumblers' finale concert.

OK, I'm going back to dreaming about my "Epicurean" week in the Caribbean planned for July.... watch this space.

Speaking too soon

Well, as my lovely Aunty J pointed out to me at my lovely niece Chloe's christening last week, "You don't keep your blog updated anymore!"

She is of course right, and hopefully will be happy to see this my first post in over a month.

I spoke, as we often do, too soon, and now my business has sprouted wings and is off like a shot. I've had four quite major projects to complete and everything is going rather swimmingly. I've almost made back the salary cut I took when I started working part-time, so it's actually a pretty satisfactory state of affairs.

The only problem I have now is trying to juggle the two things. If I get a translation project on a Monday to be handed in on a Wednesday I end up working in the evenings, because I do my other job at the beginning of the week. It's much more complicated than it is interesting so I'll spare you the details, but suffice to say that I have work and I'm rather pleased about it.

The last two Thursdays (1st and 8th) have been public holidays here in France, so we visited my family last weekend (and for little Chloe's christening), but the weekend before we went to the Ile de Ré and the Bordeaux region.

The Ile de Ré is brilliant for several reasons. The first is that everyone is absolutely charming and friendly to you, the place is totally devoid of Parisian gruffness. A breath of fresh sea air.
Another reason is that you can go anywhere on the island by bicycle, and you can hire a bicycle in practically any village or hamlet on the island. There are bike lanes all over the place with their own signposts and they are all protected from the traffic.

We also went to Sauternes, Pauillac, Pomerol and Saint Emilion. No, not for the scenery or the museums, but to taste the wine there. Bordeaux wine is truly delicious, but the amount of pomp and circumstance given to the fermentation process in some of the big haut-médoc chateaux is just ridiculous. Of course they have to do something to justify the three-figure price tag, but I really struggled to understand how 75cl of fermented grape juice can end up costing the same as a holiday for two in Greece.

The holiday was short but very relaxing, away from the hum of the city, and it was just what we needed.

Now go and read L's recent post about finding weevils in her pasta - she spins a much funnier yarn than I do!

Part-timer

I'm currently in the process of setting up my own business, as I've mentioned here before. The hard part has not been the French bureaucracy, which I honestly thought would be the real nightmare, but the confidence that I need to take a job and just get on with it.

I've done hundreds of translations inside businesses, advising people on how to word their correspondence, their presentations, their reports, but I just can't seem to find that same confidence to work alone.

Admittedly, it has only been three weeks since I got my auspicious numero de SIRET, but I can't help thinking there are stacks of other translators tapping away more quickly, more effectively and more confidently than I can.

I'm also using the two days a week I have supposedly to concentrate on my business to see family, friends and take short trips. I'm in England at the moment visiting my family and it's so lovely not to be flying in late on a Friday to leave two short days later.

I've been playing with Chloe today at "hidey-boo," her 11-month old charm sweeping away any thoughts I had of applying to more agencies, catching up with old clients and generally networking.

Blood is thicker than water, but I've a feeling my bank balance is going to be getting thinner if I keep this up!

Fairy Godmother

My gorgeous little niece Chloe is being christened in May, and my sister has asked me to be her godmother. I'm really honoured that she asked me, especially since I'm already the Auntie.

Not being entirely sure what the role of a godmother entailed, apart from wearing a big blue cape and brandishing a starry wand, I did some research on my good friend wikipedia. Wiki told me that traditionally, the godparents provide the religious education for the child and that legally I don't have any more right than the next person to take care of the child, should anything happen to her parents.

So, up to now, I'm responsible only for the religious education of the child. Well, not being entirely clueless Bible-wise, I don't mind that. The only thing I'm wondering about is when all of this religious instruction will take place? As I live in France and Chloe lives in the UK, it's not like I can pop over for a Sunday school class once a week.

Anyway, my sister considers all this as symbolic, so there's no real pressure on me to interpret what the Bible may or may not say about sugary chewing gum before bedtime or roller-blading without a helmet.

Now all I have to do is find a god-mothery hat.

Bibbedy-bobbedy-boo!

A poisson out of water

I've done it. My very last week of working full-time for my current employer.

As from Monday, I am officially a 3 days-a-week part-timer / slacker / lazy girl. But not really. Because what I'm doing from next week is something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember: to be my very own boss (at least for 2 days a week).

Last year I spent long hours studying for a translation diploma at the University of London in Paris. I did this diploma thinking it would be good to have translation as a back up to teaching and it has been something I always enjoyed at school and at university. As I was doing the work for the diploma I realised that I was enjoying it much more than I had expected; the craft of putting together sentences and transferring one language into another not just with words but with tone and style became something not just useful but enjoyable too.

So, my fledgling company is just poking its beak out of the nest for the moment. There are days and weeks of URSSAF (French independent workers' authority) documentation to file, bank accounts to open, accountants to see, and of course clients to canvas. All this will have to fit into my newly freed-up Thursday and Fridays, the rest of the week is still dedicated to tutoring.

It's a risk, but it's a risk I have to take now, while I don't have a family to support or a mortgage to pay!

iConvert

I'm a true pc girl. In truth because I've never had the opportunity of trying a mac of any other kind than that which comes big and with fries; I have never ventured out into the crispy world of apple.

But, all that changed last week when I ordered a shiny 8G iPod nano. I have since discovered how iTunes works (it's very easy) and have ordered and sorted my music into albums with proper track titles, rather than trying to decipher whatever has been assigned to the file by whoever or wherever I picked it up.

So now I am the proud owner of a very sexy little iPod, which never leaves my person. I'm having a little difficulty knowing where to put it though. My first mp3 player had an attachment which you could put around your neck, but the iPod doesn't have that. At the moment it's being zipped away inside my bag with the tell-tale wire hanging out and leading up to my ears. Not sure how much of a good idea that is.

One thing that I hate about it is the excuse for earphones that they put with the iPod. White, plastic ridiculous objects that fall from your ears the moment you put them in. I was ready to throw them out after only 10 minutes of using them. I have another (non-fall out) pair, so no harm done.

So now I'm discovering tracks on albums I never knew I had. It's fantastic to rediscover your music collection. The memories some of the songs bring back are Proustian in their power and I have found myself dreaming away on the metro several times .

Now I'm starting to save up for an Air Macbook, for the moment I have about enough for the paper envelope it comes in...

A day in the life of Paris Lights

I've just read a great blog-book (more and more of these around nowadays) called Queen of Sky - Diary of a Dysfunctional Flight Attendant, and I found it amazing that someone can actually make money from writing a blog. I know she's not the first, and she won't be the last, but it really shows how a news story (she was fired for posting photos of herself in company uniform) can boost readership and make celebrities out of regular Joannes.

I don't plan to be a celebrity, or get fired for that matter, but reading that book did make me want to make my own blog more interesting. I don't have a huge readership and obviously I hide rather a lot of things to protect myself from instances such as the above. Anyway, one of the Queen of Sky's good ideas was to post a 'day in the life' style entry, to explain to her readers how she passes her time. I know that a flight attendant's life is probably much more interesting than an English tutor's, but you never know, so here goes.

7am - telephone alarm clock goes off to a (now annoying) gentle ring tone

7.04am - force self out of bed and stare at gradually forming eye-bags in mirror

7.10am - shower to wake up - decide whether or not to wash hair (curly day / straight day decision time)

7.20am - do make-up trying to look sophisticated but businesslike (usually manage neither)

7.30am - eat bowl of Country Store / Country Crisp - or any sugary cereal masquerading as healthy muesli - and drink glass of red fruits fruit juice while checking Facebook.

7.59am - panic and run around flat packing phone, metro card, purse, keys, work badge and USB keys into handbag

8.02am - realise am wearing brown boots and have taken black bag. Unpack black handbag and repack into brown one

8.09am - steel self for metro horror hell. Fight with grown men for non-flip-down seats to avoid standing later

8.20am - find self inexplicably jammed into someone's armpit. Notch up fever of 39.5°C and begin dizzy spell.

8.40am - burst out of hellish metro onto street and make way to office (variable locations).

9am to 6.30pm - nose to grindstone

7pm - see 8.09am

8pm - partake in musical activity of the day (choir, band). Yawn and moan during other singer's rehearsal sections.

11pm - arrive home, cook measly bowl of spaghetti and eat with parmesan cheese while checking Facebook.

1am - spend twenty minutes panicking and worrying about what I didn't do during the day.

4am - wake up in a cold sweat and write down list of 5 things to do for next day, knock over glass of water onto new parquet floor.

So you can see that my life is full of interesting and enjoyable activities. Definitely time for a breath of fresh air now...!

Ch-ch-ch-ch changes

I think it's time for a change. This new year has brought several truths to the forefront of my mind:

1. I'm not getting any younger
2. A good night out always precedes a bad day in
3. Women want babies
4. When you get a knot in your stomach on a weekday morning it's time to do something about it
5. I'm not getting any younger

The last one was so important I thought it deserved a curtain call.

It's not that I'm hearing ticking clocks with baby faces on them in my head or anything, it's just that I'm starting to understand the passage of time and how things just inexorably continue until they die and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Someone I've worked with is retiring soon and just speaking to her made me realise that a life can whizz by and suddenly your at the end of your career and you feel like you just got your teeth into it. Unless you're a dentist in which case you're taking their teeth out of it.

Anyway there's only so much I can write on here, so suffice to say that things will be moving in my professional life pretty soon if I get myself organised.

On the plus side, and to move away from naval-gazing, last night I made rabbit in mustard sauce for some friends and we had a very lovely evening laughing and eating and I don't even have a headache today. There's nothing like a nice dinner with good friends to put things in perspective.

Make-over

New Year, new style of blog and I've added one of those lists 'about me' which I enjoy reading when other people write them.

That's about all really.

Still breathing!

It's been a while since I've sat down and put finger to key to update this virtual diary. Not because I've been too busy, but because I've been thinking that what I'm doing is not actually all that interesting. My lovely friend L is having such a blast in Hong Kong, working like a dog, but grabbing life with both hands and squeezing out all it has to offer. Her blog is hilarious, sad, touching and inspiring reading, so go and visit it!

One thing I've done recently that certainly was not dull was visiting Manhattan - the antithesis of boring. It was truly amazing. We didn't stop discovering, walking, exploring for the whole week we were there. The city of New York is one of those intoxicating places where you leave with the feeling that you still have so much more to learn and discover. We went to museums (the Met, the MoMA, the Frick Collection, the Guggenheim), restaurants (One If By Land, Uno, Vinyle, Joe Allen), shops (Century 21, DKNY, Barney's, Bloomingdale's) and countless other places.

New York is a sizzling mix of cultures, so you can not only eat Chinese but you can choose from Szechuan or Catonese; the choice of restaurants alone is dazzling. Chinatown itself is spreading out from its original location around Canal Street and is swallowing up Little Italy, which is now just a street or two of Italian restaurants. The map of the city is dotted with Little Ukraine, Little Korea and is only becoming more and more diversified as time goes on.

One threat to this diversification is the gentrification of most of Manhattan. The West Village is no longer gay and bohemian but rich and bourgeois. Harlem is no longer a no-go zone where drivers jump the red lights to avoid stopping in the area, it has an H+M, a Starbucks and a Body Shop. You can even see on the photo above that a Caviar and Champagne Emporium is opening soon in the middle of Harlem. For New Yorkers, the soul of their gritty city will soon be lost forever and they are seriously against most of the sterilisation of their beloved neighbourhoods.

So now I'm back in Paris, back in my real life routine and back at work. My 31st birthday has just gone by and we marked it in style with a New York cocktail party. Lots of fun and lots of cosmopolitans, but somehow the rainy Paris evening outside didn't quite match up to the brisk, cold NY skies.