Taxi drivers queueing for petrol in Chongqing, China

via tywkiwdbi

- Mila lent me her book ‘Captivating’. i’m gonna read it after this. and i really thank God for her (:

- Feng Hui gave me an apple this morning lol. she told me it was from Washington HAHAHA. value-added-ness!

- i had a good time spent this afternoon. well, New Moon. amazingly, i didn’t get irritated by Jacob this second time of watching. but i’m wondering about Bella. to me, it seems that she needs protectiveness from guys too much. HAHAHA, if you get what i mean!  

- even though we failed the uniqlo adventure (lol, the queue was crazily long and the shop was super crowded), i got a java chip frap from bucks for free lol. thank God the queue there wasn’t long.

- my rent for this month is only $330! instead of $500! the contract clearly states that tenants have to pay the full rent which is $500 despite not staying for a full month. i’m gonna move out (supposedly lol) on 21st, and i thought i needed to pay the whole amount. but God is so gracious! the landlord only took $330 x). i’m still so amazed at God’s goodness! i won’t spend the rest but save up xD.

- a job offer from Pete’s cousin’s company (:

however, until now, i haven’t got a seat on the 21st Dec flight since i had been kicked out from the booking list without me knowing LOL! potentially homeless. but God will make a way!

i can’t stop praising and thanking Him for what He’s done to me.

now, Daniel [can't believe i dozed off last night ><"] and Captivating! (:

An Damaris <3 Jesus

don’t worry, i’m gonna be away very soon.

You could already sort your Instant Queue on http://feedfliks.com. Now, you can sort your DVD Queue as well. We’ve also added two handy links – the ability to sort by Predicted Rating and the ability to see if any titles that were already in your Queue but not yet available on DVD have become available recently.

At … SONGS THAT WAY zu laut und deutlich. FÜR DIE TECHAHOLIC … seiner Satelliten-TV ANYWHERE! ALL Mobilfunkbetreiber FUMBLE kleinen Bildschirmen von Handy-TV … DIRECTV SA ALLES, WAS SIE ALL YOU ARE GO TO ONCE.WHEREVER MACHT. Solange Sie nicht in New York City Hotel Zimmer, wie ich war, als ich versuchte kürzlich SA … GO 26 PFUND Das Gerät ist ein wenig mehr als ein iPod Video. THE ALL in ein Handtuch INCLUDES A 17-Zoll-STANDARD DEF RECEIVER UND SPÜLMASCHINE Satellitenschüssel. FÜR 15 …

Many people in this country are short on time today.  Work, family and other obligations take nearly our entire time.  There is not much left for personal time to ourselves.  Not much time is left to be politically or religiously active or start a business.  For the good of the country, the good of the economy, and most of all the good of ourselves we must recover some of this time. Three areas of opportunity present themselves for recovering some of our precious time. 

WAITING: Airport delays are among the most lengthy and the most variable delays we face.  For example, the last time I flew to Chicago, the airport delays took longer than the flight itself, on both the way there and back.  Certain delays are due to security checks that don’t seem very useful, are invasive, but are also politically touchy to remove due to peoples’ fear of terrorism – (which are not to be ignored or taken lightly).  The airlines themselves are also much to blame for not having planes ready to go on time.  There have been proposals for years for a Fliers’ bill of rights that addresses airport delay due to airlines. It should be strengthened to require airlines to refund some or all of the ticket price depending on how many hours the customer has to wait.

Doctor’s offices schedule patients to maximize their profit, not to get patients in and out on time.  (For the record, I just fired my doctor for this, and her $140 tetanus shot).  A patients bill of rights similar to the proposed Fliers’ bill of rights, specifying free service if the wait is longer than X, would go a long way to solving the problem.

Phone support queues, such as when calling your credit card issuer or phone company can last an upwards of an hour.  To add insult to injury, they also like to play ads while you wait.  Lately some companies have added a feature where you can give them your account # and phone # and they will call you back at a time of your choosing instead of waiting.  It should be required of all companies to give their customers this option.  This need not be an onerous new regulation: just providing an option to leave voicemail would be acceptable.

Checkout lines at stores are ripe for reform.  In the 1990s self service check out was
introduced.  Generally these are no faster than a human cashier, because of all their error.  I believe we have all heard “*beep* please wait for cashier assistance” far too many times.  I know many people like these lines (because they can verify that the scanned price is correct) and do not advocate their removal.  I do advocate that they be made to work properly without waiting for a cashier to be called to assist every 2nd customer.  For example stores like Wal-Mart, allow their checkout lines to form 15-20 minute queues – even when most of their registers are open.  I am not sure how to solve this problem – but it has to be done.  15-20 minutes x 6 stops per family per week = 1.5-2 hours/week x 52 weeks per year = 78 to 104 hours per family per year is more than 3 or 4 entire days per family per year spent standing in line.

Several people I know have proposed some solutions to waiting:
$1 shop online – this is great if present privacy problems can be resolved.  (See my upcoming series on privacy).
$2 make waiting more productive.  This can work to the extent that you can conduct your business, worship, etc, in the checkout line.  I read in lines to improve myself and my skill-base for my career – so I am sure others could do something along these lines.
$3 Finally it was suggested that, a person could record his time spent waiting in line, multiply it by his hourly wage, and have it deducted from his bill.  Heaven help the company that delays a million dollar a year CEO for half an hour.

WORKING:  Presently, the 5 day 40 hour work week is standard.  This leaves 5 evenings and 2 weekend days to service our family and other obligations.  Good luck having any time left for yourself.  (I realize that some blue collar workers earn time and a half by working beyond this, and many white collar professionals and managers are forced to work beyond this by their company for no additional compensation.  They could certainly put in some portion of a 5th workday each week if they chose; perhaps by telecommuting.)

Lately many companies have been experimenting with flex time and the 4 day work week.  Flex time allow employees to schedule their day such that they can service all of their obligations around their work.  The 4 day work week allows the employee to work 4 10 hour days instead of 5 8hour days, thereby gaining an extra useable day on the weekend.  For many employers, this makes sense too.  Any office building operating Monday-Friday 8-5, could have all of their workforce be in at least 1 day a week together so that meetings can be scheduled, and then sign up for any other 3 days they please.  Retail and service operations would especially benefit from this too, because they could have more employees around before and after operating hours to restock shelves, clean and so on.  Likewise, a call center, hospital or a steel mill operating 24/7 with either 3 shifts or 4 turns rotating in every 8 hours could use 10 hour blocks instead to staff their operation just as well.

Employees would benefit by having a 3rd useable day off every week.

DRIVING:  There are about 300 million people in this country.  About half of us work.  Nearly all of us workers commute to our job.  Many of us have long-mileage trips.  Many of those trips take unnecessarily long to make; the average American spends ½ hour commuting, each way, to work.  If we could save some of that time, as a society we would be better off.  Families could spend more time together and people would have more time to relax.   Roughly 300,000,000 people x ½ work x 2 trips per day x ½ hour average per trip multiplies out to tell us that American spend roughly 150 million man hours are spent in a car commuting to and from work each day.

What if we could save some of that time?  25% would be roughly 37 million man hours saved per day.  To the average American, that would mean saving 15 minutes every day.  Multiply that by 250 commuting days per year and the average American would have roughly 2¼   extra full 24 hour days each year to do something other than sit in a car.  So how could we do it?

First we should establish some ground rules:  (1) whatever changes are made should not increase driving fatalities.  (2) whatever changes are made shouldn’t cost a lot of money.

There are many things that could be done.  Most commutes involve a mix of highway and city driving, so both should be addressed.  Many of the worst commutes involve long delays due to high traffic, construction or poorly designed intersections – which makes these ripe opportunities to work on.

Highway driving is an easy fix: raise the speed limit to 85mph on all highways.  Insurance companies compile a slew of statistics showing that higher speed is associated with higher fatalities.  More careful researchers note that it is the difference in speed between the many cars on the road that lead to accidents and fatalities.  So when raising the speed limit, we should also raise the minimum to 70 or 75mph .  Excepting certain collectors’ antique cars there are no cars on the road that can’t do at least 70 or 75mph.  It doesn’t cost hardly anything to do this.  Many motorists already drive at these speeds in defiance of the law, and seem quite safe doing it.  Indeed, the British Medical Journal noted in 2006 that British highway fatalities per year actually increased slightly after installing speed enforcement cameras (studied 1996-2004) to slow their drivers down -i.e. speed is not the dangerous and important factor that we are led to believe. Obviously, in severe weather, one would drive at a safe and reasonable (slower) speed – no one wants tp do 70-85mph on snow and ice.  Also, local government would have to stay on top of potholes, read: Canton, Ohio, where the potholes often seem to be more numerous than the sands by the sea, and they can appear to be large enough to float ocean-going vessels.  All other things equal, the average American motorist, could save a maximum of 8 minutes a day or 1 ½ days per year.

City driving is more difficult.  It depends very much on delays due to traffic and intersections.  1 possible reform would be to raise the speed limit on most roads that are not highways to 40 mph.  Critics argue that in certain situations involving on-street parking or older (small dense) residential neighborhoods, that 25mph makes sense.  I agree with them on this.  No one wants to run over a child or have any other kind of accident.  But everywhere else, 40 mph would make sense and make a big difference.  Enacting this reform would save the average American commuter a maximum of a third of a day per year.  It would save us even more time when running our errands.  This is not an expensive change either.  It would also help for all the cities in a given metropolitan area to cooperate in synchronizing their stoplights.  Pairs of multilane 1 way streets with timed lights have significantly reduced travel time in many cities across the nation.

Reducing delays are the biggest improvement opportunity of all.  When I first started my previous job, my 30 mile commute took 65 minutes on average – event though it was 2/3 highway driving with a 65mph speed limit.  By leaving for work at 6AM instead of 6:55AM, I found I could reduce this time to 35 minutes.  I avoided traffic, drove 40 and 80mph instead of 25, 35 and 65mph and had more favorable stoplight cycles.  In practical terms, I saved 10½  24 hour days each year.

Herein lies a large part solution: it’s cheap and easy to change the time at which we commute.  As companies allow more flex time and telecommuting, this reduces the peak traffic densities on our road ways.  We can improve this by having governments pass ordinances that non-customer service buildings open before 7:30 or after 8:30 in order to spread out the load.

This still leaves the matter of construction delays.  Most delays form when a roadway is reduced by 1 or more lanes to be worked on.  2 innovative solutions have appeared lately, but not yet widely.  (1) do the work at night, and reopen the entire road each morning.  (2)  Rather than close down many miles of highway all at once, just close down the section that needs to be closed in order to do work and cure the cement properly.

More creative ideas yet are worth exploring.  Many professional people could telecommute to work at least 1x per week, thereby saving at least 20% of travel time.  Moving to a 4 10hour day work week would certainly save 20% of commuting time for everyone.

If all these ideas were implemented, the average American could easily save at least 1 to 2/3  of his driving time each year.  Imagine what you would do with an extra 20-40 minutes every day.

I was down at the Rottnest Island Visitor Centre in E-shed today sorting out a permit for Rottnest and I noticed a little community has sprung up on its doorstep.

Accommodation for Rottnest 2010 goes on sale next Tuesday and demand is high as you can imagine. Some people have already been queuing for three days. It all seemed very civilized with cozy blankets, kettles for hot drinks and ice-cream.

Good things come to those who wait.

Camping Out = Hard-core

Must be British – form an orderly queue, originally uploaded by Photographs by Jim.

What I think are geese, in Barneveld, the Netherlands.

It’s like running a red light, only to rear-end a slow-moving school bus full of orphans and hungry kittens.

For the Calgary Flames, a sneaky bit of queue-jumping has exploded into a public relations horror, leaving the team to explain why millionaire hockey players deserve what shivering children and seriously ill Albertans do not.

So how did these different sports teams respond to this unique controversy?

The Flames released a statement and answered questions but never acknowledged any wrongdoing.

 “We sought counsel and guidance on this matter and determined it appropriate given the facts available at the time,” the statement said pointing out it had all been arranged through Alberta Health Services.

Flames’ president Ken King was adamant in his defence of the players saying, “Our players did not seek to avoid a line-up. They didn’t ask for special attention, they followed the direction of our physicians, they followed the organization’s direction.”

King is adamant that the Flames organization believed there was plenty of vaccine to go around, even as they filed down to the private location where their personal supply of vaccine was waiting.

It’s unfortunate no one in the Flames group reads either of Calgary’s major daily newspapers, which shared front-page headlines that day, warning of the looming flu vaccine shortage.

“Shot Shortage Warning,” was this paper’s bold black-and-white headline on Friday, when the Flames and their families were enjoying VIP vaccine treatment.

Still, the Flames boss says no one knew of the impending clinic closures.

King admits the team was skipping past long lines at Calgary’s five public clinics, but the team had no clue Albertans might soon be denied vital vaccination.

“We were pretty comfortable knowing we were not disrupting people — the lineup notwithstanding — but under no circumstances are we going to take a shot away from somebody,” said King.

“If anybody said you can have this, but that’s going to mean somebody else isn’t going to, that’s a whole different move — at the time, they were saying high-risk people should get it and all others who want it can, too.

“I can guarantee you, if that was the case, then we wouldn’t have taken it.”

On Saturday, the Flames held a meeting with season ticket holders “to answer their questions about members of the team receiving the H1N1 vaccine ahead of high-risk Albertans.”

Flames president and CEO Ken King said he wanted to hold the meeting so season ticket holders could get all the facts about what happened.

The Vancouver Sun spoke with media relations officials for the many Canadian NHL teams:

Ottawa Senators spokesman Phil Legault also said no players have received the vaccine. “We are waiting in line just like everyone else here in Ottawa,” he said. “They’ll wait in line until it’s their turn.”J.J. Hebert, media director for the Edmonton Oilers, said players are waiting to be vaccinated. “At this point we are still waiting direction from our team medical staff,” he said.

A spokesman for the Vancouver Canucks said the team is “taking every precaution possible to protect our staff and players from illness. . . We will provide players and staff with the option of flu shots at the appropriate time.”

What are your thoughts? How should the Flames respond to the public outrage surrounding their H1N1 shots?

Well, in my opinion, it would help if the Flames could make amends by playing a game for charity and donating the proceeds to Sick Kids’ hospitals. They have a history of working with children’s hospitals and would remind the public of the good charitable work they already do. They should also publicly apologize for their actions instead of shifting blame on others… just a thought.

3rd Dream of the week. This one I didn’t write down, it’s kind of embarrassing.

It was a signing for either Paramore or a situation where Hayley Williams of Paramore was present and I, along with one or two others who don’t hate this band, were queing up to try and get signings or meetings or something. I remember finding a way to the front and just having this point where I saw her and she saw me and nothing happened, it was just that. I got to meet her I think and possibly talked to her about something, but not writing it down just gives me the idea that I wanted her autograph and a photo. I belive that this is not the case. I’m sure there was more to this dream than just being a fan, but I won’t be able to pinpoint it now. I was very atmospheric though. Hordes of people seemed to be entering into theis… browny / cream colkoured circle shapedroomn. It reminded me a little bit of amusement parks due the the queing style or something. And there were different platforms / leels that people were on, all accessible and to all. I thiunk Hayley was on the second to highest. Was a feel good dream though .

One thing I’d like to add though. I think blonde is sexy, but I loved her as a redhead!

Tout l’hiver offrez vous du bon temps en dircte live sur les cams des plus beaux models sur le meilleur portail Européen de chatcam, ils sont tous la bite á la main et n’attendent que toi pour se faire cracher alors dépèches toi de les rejoindres, fais toi aussi plaisir pendants la période de Noël 1, ils ont pour toi  une place bien chaude juste en dessous de leurs gros paquets ou tu pourras avec ta bouche ou ce que tu souhaite prendre ton pied.

voir des mecs !

I did as planned for Saturday morning. I queued outside H&M to avail of the limited edition Jimmy Choo products on offer. I arrived at 08.00 to find an orderly queue of around two hundred – most of whom were women – snaked around the corner of South King Street. Anticipation filled the air; it were as if the crowd might suddenly break into a sprint. The line contained just a few men accompanied by girlfriends. The best pickings of Jimmy Choo’s men’s range were as good as mine, I thought. My brother, Catherine and I waited patiently in the drizzling rain, making chit chat with some of the others in the queue.

At 09.00 the doors of the store swung open. The queue slithered at a quick pace until it was consumed by the entrance.  In mere seconds, the ground floor of H&M descended into chaos. Countless women bounded for the centre of the shop, rummaging and throwing garments aside. Many grabbed anything they could, paying no heed to size or colour. I have since learned that a member of staff received a kick in the back by an aggressive customer. I am grateful to have given the lady-shoppers as wide a berth I did. I left Catherine to her sorority of fashion-enthusiasts. I made my way to the refuge of the men’s section. As the Bro and I descended on the escalator, I briefed him on the rules of engagement.

At the foot of the stairs was the Jimmy Choo range. It easily stood out from H&M’s regular collection. The clothes were adorned with lush, royal blue tags. The shiny, blue stacks of shoe boxes were a sight to behold. On my wish list was a leather jacket and suit. I rushed to the suits to secure my size. I quickly learned there were limited sizes on offer. I tried on a jacket. It was a little baggy. I opted for a thirty six waist trousers instead of a thirty four. Unfortunately, the men’s changing room had become an overflow to the women’s. There was no possibility I could try my suit on. My Bro suggested I strip in a quiet corner of the store, if I were desperate. I did consider it for a moment. The Bro and I separated to find the leather jackets.

“Find the leather jackets in size large!” I instructed him firmly. “Grab one in black and brown, if they have both colours!”

Minutes later, after no success, I scanned the increasing number of bodies to locate him. His eyes met mine.

“Any luck with the jacket?”

“Is that them?” He pointed to some shabby looking, fake leather jackets.

Frustrated, I glanced around the men’s section. Suddenly, it was obvious that this little island of fancy clothes and shoe boxes was the entirety of the Jimmy Choo men’s range. Only one third of the men’s range was on sale. There were no jeans, scarves or jackets. I located a member of staff.

“Hi, can you tell me where the leather jackets are?”

A young – and quite attractive – guy with a British accent shrugged. “Sorry, mate. This is the extent of it. They sent no leather jackets.”

“Oh!” I responded. Young, Sexy Shop Assistant turned to accommodate a pushy customer.

I stood there a little dumbstruck. What was I to do with the remaining few hundred euro I budgeted to spend? Catherine appeared from nowhere out of the bustling group of men. She carried a few items. I recognised a grey dress from coverage of the celebrity launch party earlier that week.

“How did you get on?” she asked in expectation.

“There are no leather jackets, Catherine! I am disappointed. What do you have?”

“I got these,” she replied as she held out her prizes. Two dresses draped from hangers. “I like this grey dress, but it’s not my size. It’s expensive. This other dress is pretty much all I could get. I am not mad on it either.”

We concluded she would not purchase either dress. She was not completely happy. She hung both Jimmy Choo dresses on a rail. Both garments were pilfered within seconds.

“What do you think of my suit, Catherine?”

She looked about my person. “Where is it?”

My brother howled with laughter.

“I’m wearing it now,” I said dismissively. “You are obviously astounded by its fabulousness.”

We all laughed.

“Is it a little big for you?” This question was put gently.

I turned to the mirror. I made an assessment of its size. A nearby woman advised the suit was a “fine” fit. My doubts were quashed. On the way to the pay point I stumbled over one or two shoe boxes that carelessly littered the floor. Maybe shoes would cater to the void my leather jacket would have so perfectly filled. I opened a shoe box to find a brown pair of suede boots. A second box contained the same.

“I hate suede,” I said to Catherine as I opened yet another box. “Behold! More suede boots.”

I reached for my fifth box. I could sense my brother’s impatience. There was no horrid suede boots. This box contained a pair of breathtakingly beautiful, black, leather boots. I gasped. I placed a hand to my chest.

Young, Sexy Shop Assistant reappeared in front of me. “Try them on,” he said (in probably less a provocative manner than I recall).

A good looking man need never instruct me twice. I sat on a display shelf and wedged my wide foot into the boot. They fit perfectly. I strutted up and down the shop, wearing one boot.

“I’m taking them,” I announced aloud. “And I am taking this Jimmy Choo wallet too.”

I proceeded to the pay point. Young, Sexy Shop Assistant had just opened a till (especially for me). He beckoned me forward. We made conversation as he meticulously folded the suit.

“You’re very lucky to find these boots,” he said. “These were the most popular item of the range.”

I lapped up the attention as I handed over my cash, momentarily considering suggestively throwing it at him.

Leaving the store, I felt good. I had just flirted outrageously with a sexy guy and bought some Jimmy Choo threads. I can’t exactly recall how I vacated the store; it may have been on a large, white, fluffy cloud.

Back at home, Boyfriend failed to conceive the idea of owning such amazing footwear. Nor did his basic mind grasp my suggestion I was now out of his league.

“I own Jimmy Choo boots,” I advised him. “The stakes are much higher now.”

He did not respond.

Boyfriend will not cease pestering me to remove the boots from the middle of the floor in the living room. They are a focal point; to be admired by all. Someday, I might have to wear them outdoors, but for the moment I desire to savour the perfection that is my black Jimmy Choo boots.

Super chaud ce site, je dois vous parlé absolument de ces mecs qui se branlent en direct, ils donnent leurs queue leurs culs, il y en a pour tout les goûts, des passifs des actifs des bi transexuel femme lesbienne, ils sont super sympat et tu te feras surement de belle rencontre avec des models de ta région
C’est mecs donnent l’impréssion d’être sans arrêts éxités et toujours prét á éxiber leurs corps.

For several days now, I’ve been feeling it.

And yes, I’m dreading it might be that notorious flu.

You know when your joints, hips, and leg and arm muscles are telling you, “I’d rather be lying in bed than sitting on a chair,” and you generally feel under the weather, but not really sick, sick, that’s how I’ve been the past few days.

So I went through the checklist of symptoms that will suggest whether I’m inflicted with H1N1 flu.

Cough, check.

Fever, no.

These two discomfort are always a good sign one has the flu, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada website.

Fatigue, check.

Muscle aches, check.

Sore throat, no

Headache, occasional.

Decreased appetite, hell no.

Runny nose, nope.

The above-mentioned symptoms are common.

Nausea, no.

Vomiting, no.

Diarrhea, occasional.

The three symptoms sometimes mean one has the virus.

I don’t experience more than half of the symptoms, but I sure do have some of them.

I shouldn’t be worried though, because I got the H1N1 shot the first week it was offered.

I don’t belong to the high-risk groups, but my partner does. When he checked if he could get the vaccine, I tagged along and luckily I got the shot as well.

Since the vaccine began rolling out a few weeks ago, some friends have been asking me if I had apologized for jumping the queue.

“I’m not a Flames player or a family member. I won’t apologize,” has been my usual playful response.

I still jumped the queue.

No matter what I say that I don’t have the dough to get the shot south of the border unlike the Flames folks, some friends still say that I owe those who needed it the most an apology.

Maybe, I do owe them an apology.

Maybe I’ll feel better if I do that.

Maybe I just need to rest up tonight and not fatigue myself more thinking about it.

To anyone who needed the vaccine more than I do, I apologize.

Just calling up good karma to come back my way. 

Nov. 16, 2009

bibliothèque (n.f.) : library

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12009357@N08/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

So a trip to the bibliothèque in Paris, to say the least, is un peu…différent.
Exhibit (A) : Have you ever stood in une queue to enter the library?
Exhibit (A.2) : Have you ever stood in une queue to enter the library for two and a half hours ?
Exhibit (A.3) : Have you ever stood in une queue to enter the library for two and a half hours next to un fou ivre?

Non? Ca ne me surprend pas. Because in the United States, there are no lines at the libraries, except maybe to check out books or prove to the guard that you’re not sneaking in a firearm.  And thus, drunk homeless men cannot corner you in said line, without being escorted away by said guard, guaranteeing you a risk-free entry to said library.

But- to be fair, there aren’t lines at all the bibliothèques in Paris.  Just like the complicated hiérarchie of the French university system (la fac, grandes écoles, écoles nationales supérieures…I’m still not quite sure how to explain it to my non-French friends…), the french library system has levels of exclusivity (in terms of entry) and difficulty (in terms of access to information).

The library where I stood in line for two hours next to a drunken clochard was the Bibliothèque Publique de l’Information, at Centre Pompidou.  It’s a free public library that anyone can go to, but the books cannot be emprunté, you have to consult them sur place, the photocopies are a fortune, and according to the loudspeaker announcements, there are pickpockets roaming the stacks.  However, the mass-produced, standardized chairs are eerily comfortable…

As far as other bibliothèques in Paris, there are four major options:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davearquati/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

1) The BNF (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, also called the Bibliothèque François Mitterrand)
—This is the largest library in France, with a special emphasis on the preservation of works (a copy of every book published in France is sent to the library), and it has two levels of entry : Haut de Jardin, for everyone, and Rez de Jardin for chercheurs.  To get a carte de chercheur you have to have a special interview where you prove you are doing advanced research or studies, and when you go into the restricted access area of the library (only for chercheurs) you cannot freely roam the stacks.  You have to have made an appointment in advance and ask for the librarians to go retrieve the oeuvres for you.  And again, you cannot take the books out of the library, you have to read them there- which means bring food, your headphones, and wear comfortable clothes- you’re there for the long haul.  (If it sounds intense… that’s because it is.)

2) University Libraries
—Almost every Parisian (if not every) university has their own specialized library, though the access is typically restricted to students and most of the works cannot be borrowed.  These libraries also tend to have lines, such as the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève of the Sorbonne, right next to the Pantheon.

3) Speciality Libraries
—These bibliothèques range in terms of rules and regulations, but again, typically don’t let you borrow the bouquins.  My favorite is the Bibliothèque des Arts Décoratifs, where I studied several times a week as an undergrad.  It’s right next to the Louvre and they have a ridiculous collection of manuscripts and works for chercheurs interested in art history, and anyone can get a library card for free (you just need an ID photo).

4) Municipal Libraries
—Finalement! Here you can take the books home- and you know what that means-no appointments, no lines.  Sadly the collections at the bibliothèques municipales have significantly more general and thus, restricted- so if you’re looking for anything unusual or extremely specific, you probably won’t find it here.  However!- they do have copies of Alain Ducasse’s cookbooks, so all is not lost.

So back to the BPI at Centre Pompidou, the painfully long line, and my drunken homeless friend.
On one hand, c’est ma faute.  I decided to go there on a Sunday at 3pm, when everyone else is going to be making up for their procrastination on Friday and Saturday.  (I’ve gone there several times on Friday with no problem, it’s pretty empty).  But I would’ve handled the line much better if the drunk homeless guy didn’t decide to harass me for the whole time I was waiting there.  He was pretending to read my article about “Ethnic Food Stereotypes” over my shoulder while he was blasting music on his mp3 player.  (Why did he have an mp3 player?  Even if he stole it, it would’ve run out of batteries eventually…)  Anyway, it was ironic, because I really don’t mind the omnipresence of these Parisian characters, but of course when it’s the one time you can’t walk away, they decide to take a liking to you.

Heureusement, after the sighting of not one, but deux! dread-locked rat-tails (a male and a female version!), my wait in the line

http://www.flickr.com/photos/redneck/ / CC BY 2.0

was becoming more amusant, and I had begun to think about how the guy at Apple who thought of the Ipod should be canonized (or not, because if we all didn’t have Ipods, maybe less people would be willing to attendre for 2+ hours)- when I noticed that my drunk little friend had wandered off.  Almost at the door, I started to look for him, when suddenly I realized he was on the other side of l’entrée, chatting it up with the library guards.

I should’ve been shocked, I could’ve been pissed off, but honestly, j’ai éclaté de rire.  Only in France can the black-out drunk guy get into the library without a problem.  And right at that moment, the song, “We need a little Christmas” started up on my Ipod.  As if the past two hours hadn’t been odd enough.

But hey, I eventually got in, got out, and got my research done.  The open stacks, high-ceilings, and pin-drop silence at the BPI makes it (presque) worth the wait.

And I meant what I said; the chairs really are remarkably comfortable.

—vocabulaire—

un peu…différent > a little…different

une queue > a line

un fou ivre > a crazy drunk guy

Non? Ca ne me surprend pas > No? That doesn’t surprise me

hiérarchie > hierarchy

la fac, grandes écoles, écoles nationales supérieures > public, private, state universities

clochard > homeless person, perjorative

emprunté > borrowed

sur place > on site

Haut de Jardin > literally “above the garden”

Rez de Jardin > literally “garden level”

chercheurs > researchers

carte de chercheur > library card for researchers

oeuvres > works

bouquins > books (slang)

Finalement! > Finally!

c’est ma faute > it’s my fault

Heureusement > Fortunately

deux! > two!

amusant > amusing, fun

attendre > to wait

l’entrée > entrance

j’ai éclaté de rire > i burst out laughing

presque > almost

VIEW THE TELEGRAPHS WRITE UP HERE

The Jimmy Choo collaboration with high street faves H&M went into over drive yesterday, as fashion lovers braved the bitterly cold weather awaiting the doors opening at 9am.

I however, did not wait in line for a pair of budget Jimmy Choo’s, I’m going to wait until I’ve saved up enough money for the real deal;o

What were your purchases?

Cx

Over at HackingNetflix, Mike asked his readers for suggestions on improving streaming and there were a few readers requesting the ability to sort their Instant Queue. That was something on our to-do list for a while and and we spent a little while finishing it up over here at FeedFliks and we rolled it out last night.

Under your Instant Watch Queue you’ll now be able to sort your queue by a variety of options: Alphabetically, Expiring First, Genre, Duration etc. We hope this is useful to all of you!

(Bach Flower) Impatiens Person

• He is an impatient person. He manages to attract lazy people – Scleranthus people, who postpone doing things by saying that they have enough time.
• For an Impatiens person, time is important, while the person opposite him does not feel so. His train will leave at 12 noon. But, he will arrive at the station by 10 am. His wife will be so patient that she will start her preparations to leave only by 10 AM. He will turn into Beech and Willow.

We want to finish our tasks faster when we are stuck in a traffic jam or a queue. Bach Flower Remedy Impatiens or Animal Spirit Guide Wolf will help you in such situations to finish them faster.

Don’t get impatient, for you may never arrive at your destination

One day a neighbour of mine was planning to go to a Jewellery shop by 10 am. His plan is to leave the house by 9 AM and come back before 12 noon as per the instructions of his astrologer. Being an impatient person, he told his relatives to join him the day before. He informed them in advance on his plan of action.

At 9 am, except for the two – which includes his wife, everybody was ready. When he yelled at his wife, he fell down. Now everybody could go except for him to the Jewellery shop!

Beware what you pray for…as you will get it!

Shanti prayed to Animal Spirit Guide Wolf, “Today I am paying fees for my son’s education. Nobody should be there, so that I can finish my work faster”. 

It does what you ask it to do. When she reached her son’s school, nobody was in the counter, including the cashier!

She became Willow, as she thought Wolf did not help her. She criticized that the cashiers did not know their responsibilities, as they were absent. She failed to see the notice that it was a holiday for the collection counter at the school (so impatient!).

So be careful in forming the intention, as you will get exactly what you want!  

Impatient persons expect that every event properly done. Therefore, they will go one hour earlier to others.

Reports are coming in of severe traffic jams in and out of Caerleon as millions of people attend the ritual of begging big lottery winners for money.

The queue is said to be formed of hand drawn carts, various old car, VW camper vans full of hippies and representatives of Britain’s banks.