Pretty simple Math

I'm been feeling rather attached to France lately and in fact Seb and I have been toying with the idea of returning after the Peace Corps and starting our family here. Granted, I'm not exactly bowled over by the French system of education but there are two things that really stand out about a child's living experience in  l'Hexagone.
First, the scouts are co-ed.  (Possibly still quite religious, I'll need to do my research) Mais, a little girl like me would have loved the chance to play with my friends doing cool stuff involving fires and knives...but no, I sold cookies.

 And then there is the chance to travel. You don't see a lot of young French people on those big American back-packing trips across Europe because they spent their school breaks traveling--and not necessarily even with their families. I have no idea of the price range or how universal it is, but all the French families I know send their children away to Turkey, Southern Spain, Ireland or wherever les gosses want for a few weeks of freedom and a chance to meet people that don't go to their school. Striking out on your own like that? Just think of the confidence-builder that would be.
The main reason I'm interested in staying, I mean aside from the education of my non-existent children, is the fact that I'm just starting to get good at French.

Relativement...

Let me ask you: what would annoy you most about learning a new language? No really, think about  

it if you haven't already, what would be the most frustrating thing to no longer be able to express?

Have you ever tried to say "I'm sorry the place is so messy, would you like something to drink?" in another language? Is that even what they say in this culture as way of welcoming?
How about, "We've missed you! What are your plans for summer?"

The goal is to be able to write in the  passé composé, imperfect, future simple, and present of these quotidian verbs in French:

1. to see 
2. to say 
3. to come 
4. to go
5. to have 
6. to be
7. to do
8. to miss 
9. to remember
10. to want

You're probably wondering why I can't already do them all given that I have lived in la Métropole for two years.  Little-known huge truth, I am profoundly pathetic at spelling in English... so writing in French for me had never been le but. However, in roundabout ways I can use most of the listed verbs orally. When you use the form "On" it conjugates the same (sound-wise) as the first person singular, so I can not only talk about myself but also as Seb and I as a unit. Malheureusement, I'm only comfortable with vous (formal "you") with certain verbs: could, go, think, please...

So, I'm totally studying and trying to write them for reals. Being a native English speaker, I have had a bit of an advantage over people who's first language has no Latin roots and the experts say I'd  pick it all up through osmosis if I just hang around and listen. Which would be fine except I can't complete my homework if I don't take a massive hike up learning-curve hill.

And like it or not, I'm a pretty terrible student. Right now, for instance, I could be studying instead of telling you how I      p  l  a  n      to study. I'm supposed to memorize all these verbs and their tenses and then practice them  on top of my actual homework. So how can I make the drudgery of memorization more palatable?

And if you don't know, then now you know.

When I taught sixth grade math, my ladies loved the Thursday before the test because we would always do math centers. The fun originated from  fact that I'm a vrai Geek moi and I brought in my dice to randomize some aspect of their calculations at the various stations.
So here's my game:

Alors, ten verbs...one for each side of a ten-sided die.

 A four sided die for the four tenses I will use!

A six sided die (that must have once belonged to a strategy game) for the personal pronouns. 

And there you have it. Take the output and corresponding meaning in French from each die, and build a phrase! Magic!! Add in the rest of my dice with their side-number values, and the permutations on this exercise become virtually endless.
.......
Can it, Little miss Pedantic,  I said "virtually," OK? And anyway, I can buy more dice.
Simple as that.

 Back to wondering what I should be twittering, I guess. Pacé.

You have read this article Cyprien / Kid Cudi / Les Geeks / math / Math is sexy / Polyhedrons / Simple as / The Adams Family / Wet Hot America summer / xkcd with the title math. You can bookmark this page URL https://trendcelebrity2014.blogspot.com/2012/08/pretty-simple-math.html. Thanks!

What a fool believes

So a few things about things,  my favorite  convocation, I've been a wicked may-jah losah about commenting on all my friends blogs lately--even though I've been reading them in bits and snippets when I can. Frankly I've been working like a skinny tie, 80's upstart with an expensive drug habit. Or a mom with 10 children that are never going to college, if you like.  (One of them really should though, there is good money in that.)
I was very tempted to post and highlight the difference between my teaching resume and and my service/sales resume, but, for the sake of brevity, I will say instead that writing a curriculum vitae is all about constructing a narrative you can sell...
So anyway, I'm waitressing.
I have to balance plates on my hands and my arms, and I'm just learning to trust myself as I navigate the dining-rooms.
 The staff I work with is fluid and flexible and are all totally unafraid to put me in my place--which sometimes made me want to cry, but ultimately, is making me better.

The other night when I returned for my second shift, the back dining room was set up for a cocktail party. Upon inquiring with one of the old timers behind the bar, I was told the space had been rented by"Some theater thing, some--I don't know, film--we had them here last year too." He waved his hand dismissively and impressed me yet again with another perfect pour.
I was like, ok it's Paris, people are putting on little film things all the time, whatever. We closed the whole place down at 10 to the regular customers , who, while being forced to leave, were  whispering to me about how there were famous people in the next room and they wished they could get their autograph.  I was like, lol, the French. Them and their little icons whom no one else has heard of because they're not making films in English. Lolzorz. Lol. Sofunnyahahah.
Ignorant American?
Yes, I believe that passport needs a stamp.

So, the party gets going and my arms are totally loving their workout. I'm moving around the room collecting glasses and giving out finger foods. It's almost midnight, but I'm wide awake and  feeling pretty nostalgic reflecting back on that the idyllic Cape Cod summer my best friend and I catered for the company my sister was managing. The clip on ties and the Doobie Brothers all the time. Some Dj's never change, we were dancing till September everyday...
Atanyrate, being as disconnected with the world as I am, I had no idea who that good looking guy was or what other films he was in. So when I proffered a tray of sweets and pulled it away a few times il a'dit, "vous etes une blaggeur, non?"
"Pas trop" was my response.
Nothing more than that. But I googled the movie and the guy when I got home and realized belatedly that that guy was Jean Dujardin. This is why I don't have a bucket list, because how could you ever arrange to tease a famous actor who's up for an oscar?!

Anyway, in the name of balance, I was horribly sick the next day, my day off, and our anniversary. Sebastien is such a good, good man. His gift to me was a living document of the memories he could remember about our relationship in it's early years. We've only been together six, which makes me chuckle a little about what an old man Sebastien has always been.  It's a good read. It obviously made me cry and I would post it for you, but some of it is pretty naughty. There totally came a point where I said, 'Oh my, we must never let our children see this!'

He's better than I deserve, but I made him chocolate covered chips and Boeuf Bourguignon. We spent all of my tips from that shift on high quality ingredients and were not disappointed. I wanted to break out the champaign and try out some new cocktails but I'm generally not in favor of drinking when I am sick. And when I say genrally, I mean totally.
I had a fever for part of this sick-show and two of our friends came over because they didn't see my cancellation email. They had never seen me in my PJs either, or so near tears as when Sebastien accidentally bumped my arm.
YUP.
It was two single dudes, too. I'm sure they left greatly impressed upon.
Oh, speaking of my friends, Aude defended her dissertation on whether localizing circuits would increase pattern coherence of electrons in low-temperature environments would lead to, yeah I stopped reading too...
Whatevski--she did it! We so proud!

And if you're feeling mathy, and I know some of you are,  please check out my other friend's post doctoral project, Micro GP. He and his team have  developed an evolutionary algorithm to solve hard problems. It's open source and free, so use it and share it and see if you can give it something truly masterful  to consider. That is your homework. Well, that and this:

Yeah, he's one of those. But we don't hug, we french kiss. ;P
Don't worry about me, friends--haven't died, you and I are still cool. Even if you're not the sort of friend who will tell me when I've got something stuck in my teeth,  that means, at least, that I will never fart in front of you...
WHAT?
I fail to see how this is in any way a downside for you, I've been eating steak tartar.
Ok.
It's time for sleeps, my peeps.  Hasta luego.

You have read this article bronies / Doobie Brothers / Earth wind and Fire / evolutionary algorithm / Jean Dujardin / math / Micro GP / open source / The Post Modern Talk-o with the title math. You can bookmark this page URL https://trendcelebrity2014.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-fool-believes.html. Thanks!