french videos...

a shocking french ad that has recently started running here...it's part of a campaign to encourage people to wear seat belts...just a warning: it's pretty graphic....there's no direct link...you have to click on the buckle then click on "les videos"...the text: "in this car something has been forgotten. have you found it? the back seat passenger's seat belt. wear your seat belt every time you get in a car."

on a lighter note...a new movie brice de nice (brice from nice) is coming out soon...it's supposedly about some surfer from nice...looks rediculous but the video (click the link after "brice de nice, le clip et son making of") for the soundtrack cracks me up..."be nice with brice!"...by the way, the actor, is jean dujardin from un gars une fille...

because i just can't resist...

if...

• you want my body
• you think i'm sexy
• come on, sugar, let me know

if you really need me

• just reach out
• touch me
• come on, sugar, let me know

a real post for once

a week of lame half-assed posts...it seems time for something real...

it seems this weekend was the exact opposite of the previous weekend...not a party or crazy night in sight...friday miriam spent the night so we could watch sex and the city on M6 (the poor darling doesn't have a television so she has to come all the way to gondecourt to get a little tv action)...saturday we went into lille and met up with aaron in the park...we TRIED to play frisbee again but it was absolutely pitiful...i place full blame on aaron's lame, free frisbee...that, and the sun was in my eyes...yeah! the sun! unfortunately we spent most of the time fishing the frisbee out of bushes and flower beds...oh well, we had a good laugh, quand même...

saturday evening i spent hanging out with M...that's right ladies and gents...miss picky has met someone...he's terribly sweet, cute, and yes, french...in fact he's from my little town! what are the chances...that's all i'm saying at this point...

sunday i spent the day reading and knitting (my latest project is almost finished!!!) and watched lord of the rings on tv...yesterday was a holiday so i went to lille for lunch with aaron...afterwards we went to see de battre mon coeur s'est arrêté...fantastic film! go see it when it comes out in the states...then we met up with carolyn for some coffee...

last night i was super contente because the wizard of oz was on tv...and in v.o....you know, it doesn't take much to make me happy!!!

so all in all, a very calm, yet very nice weekend...next weekend it's back to the craziness...i'm sure we'll be going out every night...we only have five weeks left on our contracts (three weeks of work and two weeks of vacation!!!) so we'll be getting our last kicks here in lille...sniff sniff...it's too soon to talk about the end!!!
*****************************************
as much as I definitely enjoy solitude
i wouldn't mind, perhapse,
spending a little time with you
sometimes, sometimes...
possibly maybe
probably, love...
mon petit vulcan
your eruptions and disasters
i keep calm
admiring your lava
i keep calm...

-possibly maybe, björk

songs in outline format

found this link on srah blah blah...thought i'd share the love...

Ain't no body

• dope as me

Don't you

• think i'm so sexy

I'm dressed

• so fresh
• so clean

word associations...yee haw!

hope everyone had a happy easter...i tried doing an audioblogger post yesterday of the church bells, but it didn't seem to work...now i'm at the internet cafe TRYING to check my email, but hotmail is being a little bitch! oh well, here are some word associations for this fine lundi de paques....go eat some chocolate and be merry!

1. I’m waiting:: see previous post!!!!
   
2. Speak:: "let the idiot speak"
   
3. Roger...:: rabbit
   
4. Knock knock:: who's there?
   
5. Hybrid:: toyota prius (my dream car)
   
6. Can’t believe my eyes:: i can't believe it's not butter
   
7. Hooked:: crochet
   
8. Pontificate:: not sure if it's because of the holiday or david bowie...but, pontius pilate
   
9. Slime:: ghost busters
   
10. Unwelcome:: unwanted
    

an open letter to the world...

in light of recent events i feel the following needs to be said...not directed at anyone in particular...this is my number one pet peeve and i just need to get this off my chest...

if i send you an email...reply

if i call and leave a message asking you to call me back...call back

if send you an sms...send a response

if we're supposed to meet somewhere...show up, or call to let me know you're not coming

that is all...carry on...

click and laugh

fake news scandal

professional journalism

sandra bullock talks about austin (vive la salt lick!!)

pictures in the park

miriam jardin vauban
Originally uploaded by nat x.

ok, so i said yesterday afternoon, but it slipped my mind...here are the pics from our picnic last saturday...

draggin' ass

yeah, that's me today...i think i'm stuck in slo-mo...can't seem to get moving...unfortunately i alone am to blame...it's been another nutty weekend...

friday we went to mcewan's for olivier's birthday...after a night of dancing we crashed back home around 3:30 am...the next afternoon, it was absolutely gorgeous out, so miriam and i made our way to jardin vauban for a picnic...andrew and brandon came and we tossed around the frisbee for a while...the park was quite full, and well - i suck, so by the end, we had succeeded in hitting every innocent by-stander within throwing distance...saturday night we went to the omnia bar for another birthday dinner, this time for sophie...and after we hit the guapa bar for late night latin dancing...sunday it was my neighbor totoro downtown at the majestic and coffee with miriam, aaron and carolyn...

by the time i made it home yesterday evening, i was thouroughly exhausted yet somehow managed to stay up until nearly 1:30...i have to sleep tonight!

*picnic pictures will be posted later this afternoon*

do not resist the power of the word associations...

1. Stink:: "the three words that best describe you, are, and i quote: stink, stank, stunk"
   
2. Renewal:: spring
   
3. I remember...:: once upon a time...
   
4. Loneliness:: the lone ranger
   
5. Ooooh:: de la soul featuring redman
   
6. For real:: valley girls
   
7. Titanium:: titanic
   
8. Get down:: "get down, get down..." - jungle boogie, kool & the gang
   
9. Rupture:: breakup
   
10. Dramatic:: it's all about the drama right now
    

the picture gods have changed their minds

brandon and aaron
Originally uploaded by nat x.

had some trouble posting this picture yesterday...but it seems to be working today...here's brandon (left) and aaron playing chess in jardin vaubin...i'm planning on heading back there tomorrow for a proper picnic...fingers crossed for a beautiful day tomorrow...

"oh jerusalem..."

i woke up with rufus stuck in my head again...so i popped in his latest disc, want two, while i was getting ready this morning...as usual i got stuck on track two, the one you love, and kept playing it over and over...i came to work humming the song...three hours later, i go to check my email, still singing this song, and i find a message from the rufus wainwright mailing list announcing that there's a new video available online...you'll never guess what song it was for...

******************************
"the mind has so many pictures
why can't I sleep with my eyes open
the mind has so many memories
can you remember what it looks like when I cry"
-the one you love, rufus wainwright

shooby taylor the human horn

my dad sent me this link today...too frickin' hilarious not to share...my favorites are over the rainbow and tico tico...thanks dad!

alright, my co-workers are looking at me like i'm whacko now!!!

i just can't get enough

oh john....how i miss you...

spring has sprung!

somehow, in the span of two weeks we've gone from snow to spring (the weather lady was calling it "summer weather" but that's really just getting our hopes up, isn't it)...yesterday we topped out at 20°C (that's 'bout 68°F, for you non-metric folk)...not only that, it was sunny...sunny, i tell you! sunglasses were required!!! i know, i'm sure you're all as shocked as i was to find out that the sun has been hiding all this time behind those gray fluffy things up in the sky...it looked like it was gone, but in fact it was there the whole time!!!

wednesday is my free day so i sat off for lille for lunch with aaron...my original plan was to head to the movies, but it was just to beautiful to sit in a dark room for 2+ hours...hell, that's what i've been doing all winter...so we met up with some other assistants and headed to jardin vaubin for some wine-drinking and chess-playing (well, they played chess, i just people-watched)...i swear, it was like the entire city of lille has emerged from hibernation...the sidewalk cafes, which have been empty for months, were suddenly full...the park was filled with people...we saw a huge group of jugglers practicing over by the zoo...

it seems, however, that the fun isn't going to last...today is not nearly as warm and a very strong breeze has settled in...madame méteo says saturday will be warm and sunny again...and it better be...we have a picnic planned and i won't let anything stand in my way!!!

*had a cute pic of the boys playing chess in the park to post but my cell phone won't let me email it and flickr.com is down so i couldn't post it if i wanted to...i think it's a conspiracy*

ps...i really want to check out his book...
************************************
"so I knock on the door, take a step that is new
never been here before
is there anyone else who's too in love with beauty?
playing all of the games and thinks three's company
is there anyone else who has slightly mysterious brusies?"
i don't know what it is!
- i don't know what it is, rufus wainwright

beware: assistant on a war-path

oh you best watch yourself today...for i am natalie, the american assistant, hear me roar!!!

so i had my second meeting today with a group of terminales...for our second meeting i busted out a parlor game that has been quite successfull with the other classes...you put a celebrity's name on their back and they have to ask yes-or-no questions to guess their identity...very easy, but a nice way to warm them up and get them speaking...well, usually...

so i was walking around putting the names on their backs...the students always crack up when you put britney spears on the class tough guy...anyways, i was putting "madonna" on one of the girls when a kid in the back starts singing "like a virgin"...i tell them to knock it off and stop spoiling the game for everyone...i let them start asking questions and it's pretty obvious they're cheating...come on, there's no way they guessed "shrek" in only three questions...i've played this game at least 10 times in the past three weeks...you're just not that smart...

so i pass out names for a second round, and the jokers are at it again...singing "wild wild west" for will smith...shouting "dopeur" for lance armstrong...i'm starting to get frustrated...finally when i hand out "jennifer lopez" one of the students yells "ooohh! i love (insert word* for female anatomy)!"...ok, that's it...i tell him to get out of my classroom immediately...of course he tries to say that he's sorry and that he didn't know what it meant...give me a break, we've all studied a foreign language as a high school student...those are the first words you look up in the dictionary...this kid knows exactly what it means...

once he finally left i continued on with the game, but they kept cheating....so, i stopped the game and gave them a nice, long article from the new york times...i know it's not the best move, punishing them with reading in a foreign language, but in my opinion it's their own fault...i gave them the chance to do the "fun" activity and they threw it away...at least a few of them actually understood it and were able to have a discussion afterwards...i just feel bad punishing the two good students...

thank god my day is over now...

* hint: if you watch inside the actors studio, it's robin williams favorite swear word

yes, i did just mention furbies in my post...what are you going to do about it??

1. Shape up:: or ship out
   
2. New Orleans:: mardi gras
   
3. In the bedroom:: why can't i remember the difference between salle (room) and chambre (bedroom) in french...do you know how many weird looks and snickers i've gotten because i keep refering to my classroom as my bedroom!
   
4. All the time:: kvrx 91.7fm "none of the hits, all of the time"
   
5. Philosophy:: philosophy cosmetics...
   
6. Tyler:: liv tyler in the aerosmith "crazy" video
   
7. Disturbed:: do not disturb
   
8. French kiss:: bisous
   
9. Solidify:: rock
   
10. Furtive:: furby
    

donnie darko is the shiz-nit...

figure of frank the rabbit from donnie darko...when are they going to make a jake gyllenhaal doll???

you'll notice on this page that theres a link on the right for christmas story figures too!!!!!

la vie aquatique

so i was wrong about yesterday...it wasn't just a sncf strike it was a general strike...everyone and their dog was out "manifest"-ing in the streets...normally that wouldn't be such a huge deal except the olympics committee is in paris to decide if paris should be chosen to host the olympics in 2012...i imagine all that protesting didn't help their chances...

luckily i had a free afternoon...the buses were in fact running and thank god the movie theatre employees weren't on strike, because i finally got to see the life acquatic...i've always been a huge wes anderson fan...i think i've seen rushmore and bottle rocket at least a dozen times each...the life aquatic wasn't spectacular but i enjoyed it...hell, i was just happy to find it in v.o....

today is finally friday...comment dit-on "TGIF"?

ps...star wars episode 3: revenge of the sith trailer
********************************
"i will say a prayer just while you are sitting there
and i will wrap my arms around you cause i know it will be fine
we've got a fantasy affair, we didn't get wet, we didn't dare
our aspirations, are wrapped up in books
our inclinations, are hidden in looks"
-wrapped up in books, belle and sebastian

come to france...just don't expect to go anywhere...

this past week has been full of grèves (strikes)...last thursday sncf drivers were on strike so only 50% of the trains were running (no big deal excpet we had a training session in douai for which we were really late)...saturday the local buses in gondecourt were on strike, so the three assistants had to walk to seclin (about 40 minutes) and wait for a transpole bus...yesterday there was a student strike against some proposed changes to the educational system...11,000 students in toulouse and another 9,000 in paris...tomorrow sncf is going on strike again and it's rumored that so are the buses...thank god the metro is automatic and doesn't need a driver or i'm sure they'd be on strike too...

speaking of lille's automatic metro...i have a question...if there's no driver, why do they need a windshield wiper on the front car???

keep on bloggin...

i'm finding i'm losing momentum here with the ol' blog...maybe i'm just too occupied to write real posts...anyways...

i started watching fahrenheit 9/11 with one of my classes today...i hadn't seen it since it came out in the theatres...there is one scene that really struck me when i first saw it, and continues to bother me when i see it now...it's a totally black screen with just the sounds of september 11th...the plane hitting the tower, the screaming, the sirens...then there are images of new yorkers reacting in the streets...you never see the towers burning or the rubble...it's just image after image of people staring, horrified into the sky...every time i see it, it makes me really upset...those scenes are more powerful than the actual image of the plane hitting the tower...it instantly takes me back to that day and and the sadness and anxiety of watching those events unfold on tv...

on a positive note, i'm quite impressed that my students requested to watch this movie...i asked them what they wanted to see and this was their first choice...

the week is flying by...tomorrow i'm heading into lille to watch sex and the city and make a much needed trip to the yarn store...quite girly, eh? i've been inspired by my new book, stitch and bitch nation...i need a new knitting project...i'm tired of doing scarfs...i think i'm finally ready to try something more advanced...what exactly, i'm not sure...

a very music themed word association

1. Usher:: can't think of anything else but the singer...
   
2. Cherish:: "cherish the thought of always having you here by my side"... man, i must be in a bad music mood today...cherish by madonna
   
3. Mistreat:: r-e-s-p-e-c-t
   
4. Forum:: roma
   
5. Systematic:: centro-matic...my absolute favoritest band ever...
   
6. Warning:: danger danger will robinson
   
7. Wash:: the way my mom and everyone from the midwest for that matter, pronounces this word...it's not warsh, dammit! :)
   
8. I wish:: candles
   
9. Candles:: wish
   
10. Metallic:: metallica!!! *flashing you my devil horns*
    

snowy church in gondecourt

snowy church in gondecourt
Originally uploaded by nat x.

i went home for lunch this afternoon - odd weeks (les semaines impaires), i have class during both lunch hours - and settled into a cup of soup and my amazon.fr purchase that arrived today...45 minutes later i got up to head back to school and found a blizzard...in the span of an hour or so we got an inch or two!!! so here are some pics i snapped on the way back to work...bon week-end à tous!

an end in sight...

i've finally picked a return date...i had been thinking about heading back state-side around june 15th, but the lady at sta quickly brought that dream to a crashing hault...there were absolutely no flights left for the entire month of june...so it looks like i'm heading back may 31st...a little earlier that planned but i think it's a good idea...i must say, though, that there's nothing like having a concrete return date to put a fire under your travel plans...last night i sat down and figured out how much time i had left and compared that to my "to visit" list...i still want to visit greece and sweden before i leave and i feel like i haven't seen enough of france yet (because, well, i haven't)...so no more weekends partying around lille...it's time to get out and explore this country and tout de suite!