I was going to write a cheerful post to talk about my birthday week-end and the warm, summer-y weather we have at last, but then I received a call from my father, who told me his wife passed away today, from a heart attack. Talk about a way to make me forget all about the past few days.

Even if she had been sick for years, this is extremely unexpected, and I really had no idea what to tell my dad. To be honest, I’m not even remotely touched by her death, but thinking about the hell my father is going to go through made me cry my eyes out when I called my mom and my brother to tell them the news. He was finally out of depression, and now this. I really don’t know how he’s going to deal with the event. I’m merely hoping he will be able to deal with it at all. His wife’s daughter will be with him tomorrow, I hope she can help him with all this shit.

Aside from that, well, the week-end did go well. It was my birthday on Saturday, and Ben took me to a nice Italian restaurant to celebrate. I wanted to eat at an outside table to make the most of this beautiful sun, and the restaurant was in the huge park near where we live, so it was perfect. In the afternoon we saw Men In Black III, which was a lot of fun. On Sunday we had lunch at my mum’s and tea at my grand-parents’ with the rest of the family. Good times.

I felt a little spoiled with all my gifts, too: Ben got me all the equipment someone slightly obsessed with tea might need (a filtering carafe and an electric kettle that was obviously designed by NASA and allows me to select different water temperatures), his parents sent me books and my mother got us tickets for a Mozart opera tomorrow. Bliss.

I’m totally delighted by this lovely weather as well, it’s like we went from winter to summer overnight. I’m glad I can leave the windows wide open and enjoy the warmth – or the simmering heat, really. I really hope the weather will stay that way until the end of June, so we can celebrate Ben’s 30th birthday at the medieval fair under the sun – even if that means dying of the heat in our heavy medieval costumes.

I received my medieval dress last week, and it’s just plain gorgeous. It’s a very simple green affair with extremely large skirts, it will be so much fun to wear. Ben will be wearing a pirate shirt and Viking-like trousers. It might sound a bit strange, but it’s actually quite sexy. ;) We’re going to the fair with a bunch of friends, it will be fantastic, I can’t wait to be there. I’ve also received the costume I will wear to these same friends’ 30th birthday party in August. The theme is “TV cartoons from our childhood”. I went for Oscar from The Rose Of Versailles. All I need to do now is find a blond wig and it’ll be perfect!

I was actually fairly happy up until tonight. Why does death always have to ruin the most perfect moments of life? :/

Current Mood: morose

So the circus is over and France has a new president. To say that the results piss me off to no end would be a slight understatement, but hey, what can I do about it? No need to cry over spilled milk, I guess. What’s done is done, and all that. Raging and complaining isn’t going to change anything, right? Right. So there’s no point brooding over how utterly enraged I am. I never thought I could become so upset over politics, of all things, but this particular campaign showed me I could.

Oh well. At least now I have another reason to try and convince Ben to leave the country.

Since May 6th, 2012 seems to be a day of changes, I decided to give up on my novel yesterday. February and March were extraordinarily fruitful in terms of writing, but as soon as I got back to revising my first chapters, everything went wrong. The story has far too many holes, my style is not even remotely satisfying, and I’m just not convinced by the whole thing. And if the goddamn author is not convinced, how could anyone be? It stops being fun when you actually have to force yourself to write, or when writing only one decent paragraph takes up an entire evening.

I’m not going to delete anything, I’m simply going to put things on hold for a while. I’ll probably keep thinking about it as a "background task", as my computer-obsessed boyfriend would say, but I won’t force myself to write anymore, and I certainly won’t let myself feel guilty for not touching the thing for days on end. If I ever have an epiphany, great. If I find an idea for another story, great as well. And if I don’t – well, that’s life. What were the odds of my ever becoming a best-selling author, anyway? There’s always fanfiction. I’ll stick to that and random bit and pieces of stories.

I though the decision would be difficult, but it’s actually a relief – which shows how much of a drag the thing had become. I also gave up on the driver’s license nonsense last month. I never even needed or wanted the damn license in the first place, and after ending up in hysterics several times over the damn tests, I decided to call it quits. I lost a lot of money in the process, but money is less important than my health and well-being, I should think.

Harsh decisions, but I feel better for making them.

Current Mood: geeky
Current Music: Adele - Someone Like You

( Pictures from a busy week-end )

Current Mood: tired

Sunday was book fair day for me and my mom. And two days after the event, my back and arms still hurt. :P I spent an unhealthy amount of money for someone who has not sent a single invoice in almost three months (more on that further down), got a few signatures that were not planned at all and came back home with no less than 14 books, six of which were written by French authors. I had a shortage of those in my drawer-of-books-to-read. A good harvest, all in all, but as I said, my body is still recovering from all the walking and bags-carrying. ;)

( Books! )

Aside from that, life is pretty uneventful at the moment. I’m still desperately waiting for the letter confirming my change of status and giving me my European VAT number, so I can finally send invoices for the work I did these past months. I had a special status when I started out as a freelancer, one that allowed me to not make my clients pay any VAT, but because I made more money in two years than this status allows, everything has to change. Said change is supposed to be automatic, but it was too much to hope that it would be done quickly. I have not sent any invoices to my clients in January or February, which means I have not received any money. I had a little something on the side, fortunately, and there’s always Ben’s salary, but things are starting to get a bit tight on my part. I really do hope I will receive this confirmation quickly, ‘cause I really could use the money!

Also, Nightwish’s version of “The Heart Asks Pleasure First” is awesome.

And that’s all, folks.

Current Mood: creative
Current Music: The Heart Asks Pleasure First - Nightwish

( Back from Venice! )

We’d left Samael at Caroline’s place during the trip and we were really eager to get him back. The little demon punished us for abandoning him by meowing all night and the best part of the next morning, but he seems to be back in his normal mood now. It’s crazy how quickly we got attached to that little furry thing!

It’s a bit hard to be thrown back into the real world, but to compensate a little, we’re going to spend some time in our “headquarters” tonight: “Les Pirates” is a bar we discovered with Bénédicte and Caroline last summer, and we’ve been spending quite a few evenings there since then. They make the most delicious mojitos in the world (with banana and strawberry and raspberry and all kinds of awesome flavours), and the best non-alcoholic cocktails as well. More fun times with great friends in a great place, yay!

Current Mood: happy

2012 is definitely off to a good start. Aside from major translation-software-related problems (sometimes I really do hate technology), the first days of the year have been really, really good.

The best news of all is that, after almost three months in the hospital, my dad is finally getting better. His pancreas literally stopped working shortly after we came back from Canada, and the doctors had no idea what they could do to help him. After only two days in a specialized hospital, they eventually figured it out, and his treatment is going well so far. He’s lost 50 pounds and he’s bored out of his skull, but he’s strangely optimistic for someone who’s been locked between white walls for so long. I really do hope he can get out of there soon and go back to his house, I’m sure being in a familiar environment will help him get better.

My brother hasn’t found a job yet, but he’s really motivated and willing to try anything – including sending applications to Ireland. o_O I’m surprised he’s even considering that option, since his English is very, very limited, but it looks like he really wants to do it. I will do my best to help him with his CV and application letter, and if it can encourage him to take English lessons at long last, all the better.

From a more personal point of view, I’m actually sticking to my New Year’s resolutions so far. I’m incredibly satisfied with the way my writing is going: I completed a chapter in under a week, and I’m well into the next one right now. I suspect the fantastic news my friend Laurence (a fellow student at the Finnish Institute) received this month have something to do with it: the lovely children’s tale she wrote (and which I proofread) is actually going to be published. I am so</> happy for her, and a little proud as well, since I had a small part to play in the adventure. Her success is really spurring me on and makes me want to show everybody that I can do it as well. I’m really happy with what I’ve written so far this year, and hopefully it will not stop there. And Laurence was kind enough to proofread my prologue and told me she found in intriguing, so yay!

2012 is looking very promising so far. I really hope this is not a one-month thing!

Current Mood: happy

Happy 2012 to you all! Or as my boy would put it, happy end of the world. ;)

Does somebody have any idea where 2011 go? It literally came and went in the blink of an eye for me; I can’t believe it’s been a year since Ben and I went to the US for the first time. It seems the older I get, the faster time goes by. Scary…

We spent New Year’s Eve with friends, drinking medieval stuff, eating too much (salmon and chestnut cream and waffles with cheese – yum!) and playing board games, which was super fun. These people are a joy to spend time with, their company is just the best there is for the last night of the year.

This year I made three resolutions, and I intend to keep them:
- motivate myself for sport a little more often (twice a week at home + swimming-pool on Sundays);
- write more seriously (three chapters in one year is NOT an achievement);
- go to an herbalist’s shop in Paris to replace whatever medicine I usually use by natural stuff.

There. Shouldn’t be too difficult. At first I was going to add “stop buying too many books”, but that would be useless, as I know I couldn’t keep that one. :P

Once again, happy New Year! I hope 2012 will be kind to you all. *hugs*

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Ben playing Assassin's Creed 4

Christmas break at last! It was hard to find enough motivation to work these past two weeks, I’ve been looking forward for this holiday for a while now. We’re going to spend a few days at Ben’s parents’ in Burgundy, so it should be all about relaxing and enjoying the company and the good food. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely there will be any snow, even in their mountain village, but hey, at least it means I won’t be freezing to death.

I told my clients I wouldn’t be working today, so I’m already starting to relax and I’m in a rather good mood, but this past month has been pretty awful for me. I tend to be pretty depressed between November and January, and this year was no exception. In December I was completely low due to my utter lack of understanding of the highway code (I can’t seem to remember the rules at all, which is extremely frustrating, especially since I enrolled at the driving school just to make people shut up about my not being able to drive at 25 while I don’t even need or want to damn license), my novel which doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere, my weight, the fact that I’m stuck in a country I can’t stand anymore without any hope of getting away any time soon… Just the traditional winter syndrome, I guess. It should go back to normal by the time we go to Venice in February.

The bright thing in my world at the moment is Samael. The little thing has been with us for less than three months, but I have no idea how we lived without him before. He’s a little devil, always up to mischief, but I adore him. He’s been very cuddly these past few days, I love it when he stays on my lap for more than a few minutes at a time. We’re taking him to Burgundy, and between him, the residents felines and Ben’s sister’s pets, there will be no less than six cats and a dog with us for Christmas – one pet per human! Should be interesting…

( A couple of pictures of the furry little devil )

Time to go and get my things ready for the trip. I wish you guys a very merry Christmas, full of love and yummy food and cool presents. ;)

Current Mood: awake
Current Music: Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now

How to ruin an entire day’s productivity: download Imaginaerum on the Interwebz, look for the lyrics and spend the next 75 minutes studying and analyzing the stuff. Do that three or four times (that’s approximately what it takes for the album to start sinking in), and before you realize it, the day is gone.

I didn’t know what to think when Nightwish announced they were making a movie and doing a concept album to go with it, but now I have a better idea: as a whole, it’s killer and I adore it.

I don’t really know what to make of “Ghost River” and “Slow, Love, Slow”, but the other eleven songs totally work for me. “Storytime” and “Last Ride Of The Day” are paragons of Nightwish DNA, and I’m 100% sure “Last Ride” will be the second single. “Scaretale” is insane, I fell in love with it the first time I listened to it. Anette was clearly on drugs for this one, but it works incredibly well. Generally speaking, Anette rocks big time on this album, she goes from crazy evil witch to rock chick to jazz singer in the blink of an eye, and it’s seriously awesome. “Turn Loose The Mermaids” is just plain gorgeous, and “The Crow, The Owl and The Dove” is a much better song that I originally thought when it was made available a few days ago. The spoken part on “Song Of Myself” almost made me cry, it’s just too heart-wrenching (Tuomas, you evil man, you did it again…). And “Imaginaerum” is a wonderful summary of the whole album.

Overall, I think the band just outdid themselves with this album. It’s definitely much less easily accessible than Dark Passion Play was, and some songs will take some getting used to, but otherwise, it’s a gem. Special award goes to Anette, who sounds really, really amazing and incredibly versatile. The fangirl in me is relieved (I was really afraid I wouldn’t like it), and now I have five whole months to learn the lyrics and be able to sing at the top of my lungs during the concert.

The result was well worth waiting four years. And I think I’m more in love with Tuomas than ever.

*goes back to listening to “Scaretale”*

Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: Nightwish - Imaginaerum

I know I was never good at math, but the past two weeks reminded me exactly how much I sucked. I couldn’t possibly figure out before being drowned in work that agreeing to work full time for two agencies at once was really not a good idea.

Small recap: back in September, the automotive team at the agency that used to employ me asked me if I could work full time for them in November as one of their junior translators was on holiday. I agreed, because I’m nice like that, but I already knew that “full time” for them doesn’t mean for them what it means for me. I’m a quick translator, so that meant I could accept small jobs for other agencies at the same time – more money and all that. A couple of days later, another agency I often work with warned me that a client I’ve been working for several times was going to send them a biiiig project, starting in November. Because I know what this client’s projects are usually like (lots of stuff to review, not much to actually translate), I said yes. Damn. If I could take that yes back, I surely would…

Turns out this project was not at all like the previous ones. I had 35,000 words to translate in under nine days, not to mention the extra 8,000 words I had to deliver in two days because those Japanese clients cannot understand that translators are human beings and not machines. If you add the regular 2,000 words per day for the first agency, you’ll understand why I’ve been going insane these past two weeks. That’s a grand total of 6,000 words a day, which should technically be impossible – unless you start working nights and week-ends, which is exactly what I’ve been doing.

Before yesterday, I had not been able to open a book in days or even take the time to stop to eat for lunch. Eating in front of a computer is not fun. I’ve been close to physical burn-out a couple of times and I’m dead tired, but I can’t even complain, because that’s all my fault. Next time, I’ll really need to stop and think before I commit to two full-time jobs…

Thank God this will all be over my midday on Tuesday, so I could take the time to relax a little this week-end. Ben and I went to the Christmas market held by the Norwegian Church near Paris, and it was lovely. It really felt more like a family gathering than a Christmas market, we felt like we were intruding. :P We had glögg and ate Norwegian chocolate and bought salmon that we will take to Ben’s parents’ for Christmas – it looks soooo yummy, I can’t wait to taste it! Next week we’ll go to the Swedish Christmas market, there should be interesting stuff to see there as well.

On a completely different note, sometimes I’d like to tell the music industry in this country to go f*ck itself. The new Nightwish single was supposed to be out in France on Monday, but do you think anybody ordered it? Do you think CD stores would care for a band as “unknown” as Nighwish? When I went to the store on Monday to ask if they’d received the single (yes, even while being super-busy, I still find the time to be a fangirl – that’s called priorities :P), I was told it was unlikely they would ever receive it at all. Because it doesn’t sell, you know. Right. NOT. How are we supposed to buy music legally if stores cannot offer a wider range of stuff? I would buy it online, but I simply refuse to pay for shipping when I should logically be able to go to a store and buy my single. So I’m more than a little angry, and I really do hope it will not be the same mess when the album comes out.

Anyway, I’m going to enjoy the rest of my day and try not to think that I will have to work around the clock tomorrow. But it will be the last time, so at least there’s something positive here…

Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: Imaginaerum samples