Recent happenings and musings

My second interview yesterday for the administrative position I applied for several weeks ago was actually a chance for me to accept the position (I found out upon arriving). They made photo copies of my id's to prepare the contract, and I should be starting late August.

I'm happy to have a job (temporary though it is at just 5 months) on the horizon, even though this throws off my plans to start a French Masters in the fall (but I haven't received the response from the university yet anyway). B's parents said we'll have to have a toast, and it's true that we should celebrate since I've been looking for work for a year now. But I'm not exuberant like I thought I would be.

I'm reminded of a quote from Audrey Hepburn: "Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding out you're exactly the same."


*************************************

I've hear quite a few horrors in French recently, and it's been a while since I've made a list, so here are the ones I remember:

blush= blush (instead of using the real French term fard à joue)
benchmarker= create standards/benchmarks
un briefing= a briefing
tilt= tilt (instead of penché)
pour plus de fun= for more fun
off= used in the sense of "off broadway" to talk about a festival
le must de la côte d'azur= the must-see of the côte d'azur (this is the slogan of a seaworld type park)
les bests de l'été= the best of summer (the slogan for the Esprit summer collection)



*********************************

In other news, it's been interminably hot here in Toulouse and the overcast weather today is a welcome respite. Our apartment is relatively cool, but the bedroom is unfortunately the warmest room and makes it difficult to sleep. With the end of tutoring, I have a lot more free time, but the heat has just zapped my energy. There's a cello competition going on in Toulouse this week and I wanted to go listen to the contenders this morning, but I couldn't bare the heat. I just kind of feel zapped all together after all the hours I volunteered last week and the preparations for my dance performance. B and I bought a bookshelf at Ikea yesterday evening and put it together last night, so we haven't been without action. Next week we'll be in the Gard with B's family, and I'm looking forward to some time in the hammac and a few trips to the beach and Montpellier.