Saturday Meme
By Citronella on Saturday, May 24 2008, 14:47 - Permalink
1. Four things I did ten years ago (1998)
- Visited the south of Morocco ;
- Played the viola almost at my best and in a long series of concerts ;
- Read Sartre ;
- Got an awful grade in an important French literature exam for the dubious reason that I had treated Beauty before Ugliness in my commentary while Ugliness "should" have come before Beauty.
2. Four things I did five years ago (2003)
I am all "what? 2003 was five years ago? Damn you, time!"
- Gotten deeper and deeper into what would turn out to be a destructive relationship ;
- Passed the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (with level B) ;
- Visited Andalusia ;
- Worked my ass off to organize a series of concerts and cultural events.
3. Four things I did yesterday
- Bought an ugly "Good-Bye" card for a departing student (I did not find a better one and he leaves tomorrow) ;
- Got caught in the rain ;
- Fixed some buggy code ;
- Had a deliciously relaxing evening.
4. Four TV shows I love to watch
I don't watch that much TV, even less TV shows, so "love" might be ever so slightly overrated.
- Mythbusters ;
- Frasier ;
- The Antique Roadshow ;
- Any of the Discovery Health shows about unknown diseases. (I can't remember which is which.)
Yeah, I sound old. I'm not.
5. Four things I love to do
- Reading ;
- Cuddling and snuggling ;
- Laughing ;
- Research.
6. Five things in my bag
- My keys ;
- My wallet ;
- My passport (which is my only valid ID in the US, as I don't have a driving license and never bothered to get another ID) ;
- Mints ;
- Sunglasses.
7. Five favorite things in my bedroom
- My plush mouse (which was given to me by my dad when I was 6 months old. It was bigger than me back then.) ;
- My pictures ;
- My viola ;
- My books ;
- My laptop!
8. Five things I've always wanted to do
- Write a book (might never write a non-scientific one, though) ;
- Speak several languages ;
- Be independent ;
- Discover new places ;
- Teach.
9. Five things I'm currently into
And I'm into them most of the time, anyway.
- Dick Francis novels ;
- Research! ;
- Italy ;
- Blogging ;
- Quality time with the Fabulous Feline.
Comments
Your statement about the bad grade on the French exam makes me fear for my children who are in the French educational system. You can't think outside the box; you can't change your mind about your career path when you are 20; I could go on and on about it.
I know this wasn't the point of your meme, but it got stuck in my brain as soon as I read it. Sigh.
the french education system at least upholds standards. except for the very snooty expensive schools, anglo-saxon schooling is a disaster (i guess that's what happens when you turn things over to the sans cullottes).
speaking of monumental ugliness (physical and moral): does anyone come close to sartre?
You're rather fantastic, C. Everything I read about you makes me like you more.
Coffeesnob - don't mention Sartre! I finally did my exam on him on Friday and can forget about him forever...
Alison > In my experience, the French educational system was rather flexible. I was really able to follow my own path in it (between skipping grades when I was a kid and doing with my degree in engineering something rather outside the range of possibilities it was supposed to open...), but I know I've been lucky to find along my way various teachers (and, also very importantly, headmasters) who were about to think outside the box. That said, I know a good amount of people who were able, in France, to change their mind about their career choice in their early twenties without too much trouble (from engineer to lawyer; from literature professor to educator; from economist to social worker...).
Coffeesnob > I'm not so sure about French educational standards. But at least, not being able to afford to pay for an expensive school does not mean that you're going to end in a disastrous one.
Amy > You're a sweetheart. We won't talk about Sartre anymore.