Toutes Directions

Hmmm, nothing extraordinary has happened recently, though I haven't just been twiddling my thumbs.

I had my last checkup for my weird eye problem that I mentioned. I never went back to that old guy in his ancient office. I just had regular checkups at the CHU, and my vision has recovered from MEWDS, although there's the equivalent of a scar in my eye tissue that the ophthalmologist can see.

We went out for sushi for the first time in ages. B had the unlimited sushi menu and ate twice as much as a couple sitting near us. I had oyakodon, a yummy Japanese dish with cooked chicken, eggs, onions, and a slightly spicy sauce mixed with rice (plus B slipped me a few sushis when the waiter wasn't looking). The restaurant where we ate is possibly the only Japanese restaurant in Toulouse that has more than sushi and brochettes.

My early Christmas present from B (because apparently it's French man thing to not wait until Christmas to give their gifts) is Professor Layton's new puzzle game for DS, but I haven't opened it yet. I am horrible at 3D video games, but I'm pretty good at games involving cubes or puzzles to solve (and last year I finished the first Professor Layton really quickly).

I found out that MyAmericanMarket has gift certificates now, so I'm thinking of just asking my mom to buy me that for Christmas since she recently mailed me something and shipping was out of control. I was thinking about asking for an Amazon gift certificate, but has anyone ever tested using a .com certificate at the .fr store? There's no way my mom can figure out the site in French, but shipping will be less expensive at the French store.

I'm also trying to build my professional network by improving my LinkedIn and Viadeo profiles. LinkedIn is of course the professional social networking site, and Viadeo is basically the same thing but used by more French people and a lot cheaper if you want to pay for the full services. I joined some professional groups, and someone posted a link to this video (in French) on personal branding. It all seems so seductive and like it just might work, until you read this critique from Intelligent Life by The Economist. If you can find the magazine at a library or news stand, there's an insert that wasn't included in the online version where they interviewed several Personal branding experts and some people who have gotten help from experts. They asked the experts what a personal brand was, and only one of them was able to give a concise answer: "Your personal brand is other people's perception of who you are." The video suggests starting a blog, although in the article the experts all agree that the worst blogs are the real or authentic ones.

And I think my neighbor is listening to some old French music like Yves Montand or Charles Aznavour.