Lose weight in 2-0-0-8!

All the whispering behind the back, the comments about the round tummy, the name-calling, the asking about possible pregnancy. People are cruel, it's true. Well, it's enough to push someone over the edge and get them motivated to do something about it. Yep, you guessed it. My cat is going on a diet. Oh, you thought I was talking about myself? Nope. My cherie d'amour des iles has had enough. I don't know why, but so many of the Frenchies that come chez-moi take enormous pleasure out of saying things like "oh, what a gros chat!", "elle est enceinte?" and when a friend of Roomie#2 recently called her Garfield, that was it!

She's not even that freaking enorme. She's 10 lbs, very fluffy and happens to have a bit of a belly on her which seems even larger than it is because of all the fluff and the fact that she doesn't have a ton of fur on her hind legs which gives the illusion of her bidon protruding out her sides. When I first adopted her, she was about 6 pounds because she had been abandoned by someone's neighbor and was living outside without food. She was teeny tiny, but that was not normal. She has since become an indoor cat which is much safer, but she obviously doesn't get as much exercise. She's been eating 1/4 cup of food twice a day for a few years now and will occasionally be treated to a little tuna.

The only thing that could change is WHAT she's eating. Just like for us humans, cats eating croquettes is just a lot of empty carbohydrates without the proper protein and other essentials for a healthy diet. So, I will be feeding her the same amount, but switching over to wet food and see what happens. My sister did this with her cat and her cat lost 1 or 2 pounds. I think it is worth a try and since she won't be eating any less, and this was recommended by her vet, I feel confident in getting the ball rolling on this one.

2008 is going to bring new and different things. A slim, trim Sienna that everyone will refer to as the artist formerly known as Garfield. Yes, 2008 is a brand new year, bring on the change!

Quoiiiiii?!?!? moment of the week

Yesterday, upon getting on the bus to go meet up with friends, I say my normal bonjour to the bus driver expecting anything from a lack of response to an obligatory return-the-favor-kind-of bonjour while the driver looks straight ahead into nothing. Instead, I get a huge grin ear-to-ear and an enthusiastic and happy bonjour directed right at me. I nearly turn right around and sprint off that bus, I mean, people going out of their way to be friendly and actually smiling? Something must be wrong with this person! Either that or he's half-anglo!!!

Quoiiiiii?!?!?

From the horse's mouth

So, a whole lot of nothing has been going over here in my neck of the woods. I somehow managed to get a case of reverse jet lag(ie going to bed early and waking up early like you normally do in the states coming from France) for the entirety of last week which of course is something only I could manage to do. Other than that, I've just been contemplating what I want out of 2008, I won't use that darn "R" word, but I really can't help but compare what 2007 brought into my life vs. what I want out of 2008. To be honest, 2007 was kind of a ginormous piece of merde. What with me being sick and ending up in the hospital's ER, my aunt unexpectedly dying, my childhood pet being put to sleep, my great uncle dying, I think it's safe to say I've seen much better years. Plus, last year I turned 25 which seemed like any other birthday in the beginning until slowly over time, I started to realize all of the things I didn't have going on in my life...no defined career path, no money, no family close by, no sense of being settled in a certain place and no one to share all this with. Genial. I also decided at the end of 2007 to quit the IUFM which was surprisingly a very easy decision, but also very disappointing and depressing.

I don't know how, but I somehow manage to remain optimistic despite myself, but I'm starting to feel like something's gotta give one of these days. I also have a ticket home for mid-July, but if I had my way, I would stay another 2-5 years. I know I can always go back to school just to be able to stay and work here, but that bugs me so much to not be progressing. I miss my family, I do, but I feel like I'm enjoying my time here, I'm getting experience teaching, I love Rennes and I love speaking French. The thought of going home and not speaking French every day just kills me. I've worked for so long and though I've done well, I still feel like there's always so much more to learn. Blah. Plus, if I go home now, my hometown will have none of my friends living there, ZERO, ZIP, ZILCH, NADA, PERSONNE. How sucky will my social life be? Very, very, VERY sucky. How am I ever going to meet someone there? It's a great place to grow up, great for families and older folk but it just is this blackhole of suckiness for people aged 18-30ish. Which leads me to what I wanted to share with you, dear reader.

So, I haven't completely been up to nothing at all. I actually hosted an American party this weekend(thanks for the pic, Sam!) for some fellow anglos and way too many French people. All in all, it was fun times with card games, Beer Pong and way too many cigarette breaks. Anyways, late in the night, I ended up having a chat with a platonic friend about past relationships, what we look for in another person and where we're at now. I miss hanging out with boys on a friend level and it was such a sincere conversation with no hidden agenda behind it, it really was great. At one point, I was telling him how it's been a while since I've been in a long-term relationship and I really have a lot of marre. He said, "mais, t'es marrante, jolie et intelligente. Tu vas surement trouver qqn qui te correspond." Later on in the night, when having a heart to heart with Roomie#1, I shared the sweet thing the Frenchie had said to me. Her response and I quote:

"C'est vrai. T'es ni thon, ni conne, ni pauvre fille."

Umm, gee, thanks. She really has a way with words, huh!?!

Je serai là

I like Teri Moise a lot and, despite one of the least manly voices ever, Christophe Willem is actually a good singer.

Geno y Danni Úbeda: Se me olvidó otra vez

An old Spanish song that I find catchy, I really need to stop with all this video posting!

Beth - Dime

This is the girl that one Operacion Triunfo in 2003 and the song that you couldn't get out of your head if you watched the show.

Anais - Mon coeur, mon amour

Hehe, I can totally see where she's coming from!