carla bruni, glad or sad, poems, new shoes, son #1, jobs, books
'I loved them 'til they loved me.' - Carla Bruni, after Dorothy Parker, Ballade at Thirty FiveSerendipitous, again.
On Wednesday I heard Carla Bruni for the first time, singing in French, her first album. Not in person, obviously.
I was captivated by her voice. Not a clue what she was singing, no French spoken here, but it sounded beautiful.
I bought No Promises when I got home. Love love love it. Poems read in that breathy voice to music. Dorothy Parker's Ballade at 35. Ok, I'm 34, but give me a year.
Today, relaxing, I opened my Esta and there, in the back was an article written tongue in cheek about how if your man walked past Carla Bruni, sat with a coffee at a cafe, poetry book in hand, he'd be quoting Auden and thinking 'Carla Carla Carla' for the rest of his life. The shorts and the sneakers, and the hair and the poems, oh the poems.
Auden's The Secret is Out. Christina Rosetti's Promises Like Pie Crust:
The Observer and Cool Hunting had something to say about this album too, and it's all good.Promise me no promises,
So will I not promise you:
Keep we both our liberties,
Never false and never true:
Let us hold the die uncast,
Free to come as free to go:
For I cannot know your past,
And of mine what can you know?
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Glad or sad. Emotion analysis of photos as part of a University of Amsterdam study. I submitted a photo, please go vote on mine so I can get the analysis. I want to see if I'm really happy! Just in case I need reminding in the future.
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New shoes really make you go faster. 5 km in 35 minutes today. This was serendipitous too. Last week three different people told me my shoes needed replacing. Then Wednesday I ran with them and hurt my shins. Yesterday I bought some new shoes, and these are them. And only 49 euros.
Last week I was running 4 km in 31 minutes. It's all the shoes, I tell you.
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Son #1 told me today 'Mama, you put on weight.'
Hah. How to tell the boy that mama has pre-menstrual bloat and combined with PMS saying things like that might not be the best way to win favours?
Then he compounded the pain by saying 'Ja echt, mama, you look fatter around the middle'. Careful boy!
He turns 8 soon. We're going disco bowling, yeah babay! Mama gets to bowl too. For Amstelveen.
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Job interview on Monday. 2 days a week in Schiphol-Rijk. I could do that, right? 2 days a week and not go crazy?
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If you don't read Neil Gaiman's blog, you should. But, if you don't, you wouldn't know that there is a free download of Harlequin Valentine on Last.fm.
So now you do.
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Books bought yesterday:
India Knight's The Dirty Bits for Girls. I hesitate (and blush) to share that I read most of the books that have excerpts in this book. Notable though, in the Dirty Bits reading was Lace, which my mom caught me reading lying down by the side of her bed. Ooh la la. I was 11 and already naughty.
The New Granta Book of the American Short Story. I have a weakness for short stories. They're so cut and dried. A beginning, a middle and an end. Swift and succinct, short as a love affair, there is no time for disillusionment. My shelves are full of them.
Books I want:
Four Letter Word, New Love Letters and Francine Oomen's Gek van Liefde. Ben je gek van de liefde? Or is it all a matter of choice? Crazy not crazy crazy not crazy... Love is a conscious choice. Chemistry, ah, that's different.
A bit like this:
Book club I joined:sitting across from him in the cafe
I thought for a minute that I could see
that brief moment of truth
of how it could be
the ins and outs, the shine
then just as quickly it went again.
One in Amsterdam, on Wednesday nights. Book being read right now, Andrea Levy's Small Island.
Book club I started, linked with the Dutch Word of the Day:
First book. Boudewijn Buch's de kleine, blonde dood. Grab a copy and come join us on facebook. We start in March.
Go read the Dutch Word of the Day too. Those guys do a fantastic job of making Dutch accessible.
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I just realised I could have spun this blog post out into a whole week, but today I have so much to say. Funny how that happens sometimes.
Quite a lot going on today then, Ash? It's great when life is so full. I have to tell you that you inspired me to get on the treadmill at my gym for the first time in - oh - ten years this week, and I tried jogging and I loved it. Immediate addiction to the endorphin high. The only problem is that my knee hurt so it looks like I'm going to have to go an hang out on a cross-trainer instead. I would really rather run. Anyway, if it hadn't been for you, I probably would never have done it, so thank you.
I like the new shoes. I am an avid Asics supporter and recommend them to everyone. You are not going to regret that purchase at all. They do sound like a good buy too - even converted and with the current crap exchange rate!
Well done on your running time!
Charlotte: I am so pleased I inspired someone! That should be my motto - inspire one person a day to do something new :) How is the cross-trainer working for you? I find it takes much longer to get the endorphin high with anything other than running.