Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Go ask the water pump's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
3:04 pm	How long had it been since my last work-related rant? Bah, nevermind. Dear people at work (you know who you are), The next time you come to ask for my help on something that's due tomorrow, please refrain from :  - mentioning that you were briefed on the subject two months ago  - leaving me to do all the work  - telling me once it's done that the presentation is for the CMO of a major client and that you expected more insightful / intelligent slides and a deep analysis of their product portfolio No love, Amélie And now, off to read some SG1 for a change. Stupid work *scowls* Current Mood: aggravated (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, August 18th, 2011
6:02 pm	I have one word to describe this past weekend: centaurs *g* Any questions regarding this should be sent to celli and slodwick  I had an awesome time in Chicago, even if it rained quite a lot and my iPad convinced me to stay in my room reading badfic instead of, say, going to the museum or something. But I spent  lots of time walking through the city, and seriously, Chicago is just great. I love the buildings, the shops, the atmosphere, the river... Yeah, pretty much everything. The week I spent in training was not bad either, interesting classes, lots of fun comparing accents (try putting one French, one Indian, one Finnish and one Chinese in a group), and way too much food, which seems to be a recurring item of my US trips. Going out with our analysts and consultants was a definite wake-up call though, drinking-resistance wise (hint: its gets worse the older you get. Shocking, I know). I still don't know how I managed to get out of bed for class on friday morning. Another cool thing was that we had cable in our rooms and HBO, so I watched some eps of True Blood. Now, I've read all the books (except the last one, because there's only so much I can take in terms of plot-holes and disjointed characterization), and nothing in the 2eps I watched made sense. But I liked the guy that plays Erik, so I watched anyway (I'm petty that way). In fannish news, I've just finished The Bound Prince series... and I don't know what to think. It has everything that I don't like usually: mpreg, let'sjumpinbedandforgetwe'vebeenenemies!Harry, sex scenes every two pages... and yet I couldn't stop reading. It was actually quite well-written and riveting and the plot was good and, yeah, I don't know. I'll file this as "guilty pleasure" *g* Current Mood: cheerful (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, August 5th, 2011
11:40 am	So... Is Harry Potter a good enough excuse to start posting again? Apparently, it is *g* The weird thing is, I never really took a break from LJ or fandom. I mean, I go through my friends list every two days, I read tons and tons and tons of fic (ok, Harry Potter for the past three months, but I blame the 280 fics listed in the gunshandcuffs most-read poll, I mean, it's a list, I don't feel complete unless I've ticked all the lines)... It's just... well, hard I guess to jump back into the fray. So let's see, still French, still living in Paris, still very much in love with the same guy (hurray!), still working at the same place which means that I'll be in Chicago next weekend, still a football (soccer) fan, plus, this year the Paris club is rich and is buying tons of OMG! great players which will hopefully mean that we'll qualify for the champions league. New things include, well, a serious crush on Tom Felton and all things Drarry, an addiction to Hawaii 5-0, an intense desire to learn something new but I still don't know what, back aches that won't quit but which are probably weight-related (another thing that won't quit) and an iPad that has become an extension of my hand. Random thought of the day: The HP fandom is huge. Seriously. You'd think that 12 years as a rabid fangirl would make you LJ/fandom savvy, and then you find HP and you discover that now matter how hard you scratch, there's still more to it than you thought. And I'm not even looking outside of H/D. You'd also think I would have discovered this earlier. *g* Random thing that made me snort coffee out of my nose in the middle of Starbucks this morning, and still makes me crack up thinking of it: Tom Felton doing the ugly dance. The Grease moves had me rolling on the floor (well, figuratively right, I was sill at Starbucks). So hello fandom! How are you? *g* Current Mood: bouncy (Comment on this)
Saturday, March 13th, 2010
11:29 pm	Status of me, myself and I Again, ages since my last post... What can I say, I've been binging on H/D fic, and when I say binge, I mean that even my boyfriend (who is notoriously oblivious) commented on the fact that I spent my time reading fic instead of, say, talk to him... oops? *g* Also, I finally (finally!!!) got the promotion I was expecting since last september. I feel... relieved and exhilarated at the same time, and also like I can finally get on with my personal life, like I can switch my focus from professional success to, let's say, family success. It's a weird feeling, but dude, it feels great! And what else... At the moment, I'm in Venice, Italy (it's my birthday present from my boyfriend), having the time of my life. Les gens heureux n'ont pas d'histoire, il parait. Plus ça va, Plus ça me semble vrai. *g* What about you? How are you all doing??? Current Mood: dorky (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
8:09 pm	Feel Good Inc I feel totally justified in high-jacking a Gorillaz song as subject, since I'm in a totally Feel Good mood *g* I've won four very cool things for help_haiti , which I can't wait to have!  - 1 box of recipes! Including a secret recipe for fudge (how cool is that!!!) that I will totally bribe my boyfriend into making  - South Dakota in a Box! (so, ok, I had to look at a map to actually locate South Dakota, but as it's where celli  comes from, it's bound to be cool *g*)  - 1 custom-made Southern cookbook! because I've been obsessed for ages about Southern-style food (which I love and is just sooooooooooooo hard to find here in Paris). And it's custom-made! I know how I'll be spending my weekends when I'll have it *g*  - 1 something in Icelandic wool! I still can't decide what I'll ask for. I'd love a hat, or a scarf, or mittens... blah, can't decide, it's all too tempting! Plus I'll get to make a very cool "Paris! in a Box!", which I have tons of ideas for. I love the idea that so many people participated in this auction, and it boggles the mind to think how the mods managed to organize it so smoothly in so little time. So yeah. Feel Good *g* Current Mood: good (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
12:04 pm	Reminder! Paris! In a box! I'm still offering to send you Paris in a Box for help_haiti , full of Parisian surprises or any other French thing you might want (which can even be fandom related if I'm able to find anything that fits) here. Auction is open till noon Eastern Standard Time (I'm still trying to calculate what time it means for me, is Eastern Standard Time New York time?), and I have this huge list of things I could put in the box, seriously, it's not often you get to do exciting in addition to doing someting good, I love it *g* (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, January 15th, 2010
1:16 pm	Paris! In a box! I'm offering to send you Paris in a Box for help_haiti , full of Parisian surprises or any other French thing you might want (which can even be fandom related if I'm able to find anything that fits) here. Title shamelessly copied from "Sausage! in a Bun", copyright CMOT Dibbler and Terry Pratchett *g* Current Mood: cheerful (Comment on this)
Monday, January 11th, 2010
12:08 pm	I had this weird nostalgia thing going on this weekend, which led me to read again the fic I'd written back in the old days. That was... well. Interesting because it mostly did not make me cringe as much as I thought it would and it also made me realize that I miss that accomplished feeling I got when I finished a fic and posted it. I don't know yet if it's going to lead to anything production-wise, but it could definitely be a step toward being back on the writing side of fandom *stares at picfor1000 picture* It also got me thinking about what it meant to be in fandom. I mean, were I to be asked, I'd say I've been into fandom for about 10 years, from the time I discovered Sentinel fanfic, and into slash for 9 years (the time it took for me to follow a link and never look back). But most of my involvement in fandom can be defined more as lurking than participating. The only constant thing is that I've never stopped reading. Even when I went a year without posting, I still read fanfic left and right, in various fandoms and pairings. I don't know what that means about me as a fangirl. I get, of course, that there are as many fandom involvement forms as there are fans probably, but somehow this weekend it felt as if I should have been giving back more. IDK, maybe it's just meaningless sunday afternoon thoughts. We'll see how that reflection turns out. On a totally random note, since I discovered the awesomeness that is Audiofic, which (haha!) works wonder when I go running, I've tried reading some of my fic out. And I knew, right, that the voice you have is not the voice you hear but what I also discovered is that the accent you have is *not* the accent you hear either. Seriously, it was all laughable, I sounded like a 12YO on crack who couldn't decide when she came from (half the fic was with an sort-of American accent, a third with a sort-of posh English one, and the rest was just mush with French undertone). I couldn't stop laughing for a solid five minutes *g* Current Mood: thoughtful (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
3:55 pm	Podfic and New Year resolutions As part of my new year resolutions, I've decided to try and be more sporty in 2010 (yes, I know I have the same resolution every year, but well. One can hope that one day, one will get up from one's lazy ass and actually try, you now *g*). And just as I was thinking "huh, but what to do?????", bexless posted about this awesome guide to cheap sports. And not only because it provides training schedule and running tips and such, but because it gave me the most awesome idea so as not to get bored while exercising : listen to podfic! I mean, I get that sports is necessary to a healthy and long life etc etc etc... but as I get bored out of my mind after 5 minutes, even when listening to my favorite music, I'd pretty much given up. But! Podfic! If fic is, like, the only thing that can keep me awake at night, maybe podfic can make me try and exercise longer just to get to the end of the fic! or the chapter! or something! But this is where I need your help, oh wise friendlist. I've never actually tried to find any, the only podfic I've heard of were because some of you posted some on their LJ. Is there anything like a podfic library? Cross fandom? What are the ones you know? Any help would be more than welcome *g* Current Mood: rushed (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
5:05 pm	Things I like about Christmas holidays... #1 Finding out that there are more Big Bang challenges out there than I thought possible #2 Having the time to literally read through them and gorge myself on fic #3 Eating foie gras!!! (also while reading fic) #4 Watching my christmas tree lights (from the couch while reading fic and eating foie gras) #5 wait, there's not fifth, pretty much everything is up there. Have I mentioned foie gras? Well, and presents, of course. I'm particularly happy with what I got people this year, can't wait to see them opening their gifts! Speaking of which, I've got some more wrapping to do. And some Merlin to watch! I knew there was a fifth thing I loved about Christmas: time to watch shows, as well as read fics *g* Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
11:18 am	How cool is it... ... that Jason Momoa gets to play Khal Drogo in the HBO series based on A song of Ice and Fire???????? My favorite fantasy book epic crossed with my favorite show, I mean, seriously, how cool is it?????? *g* Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
3:41 pm	So how am I supposed to work when (apparently a week after everyone else) I discover the world of Survey!Fail??? I mean, obviously, five days away from vacation, with my promotion down the drain *and* a brainless boss, motivation is at an all time low and my attention-span ranges around 5 seconds, but this? This is... something else altogether. I mean, just the list of questions made me cringe, not to speak of all the obvious missing elements such as, oh, getting the agreement of the people you're interviewing to use and interpret their answers in a profit-oriented endeavor. Some have expressed their feelings about this better than I ever could, but the first thing that came to my mind when I read the questions was: "Wow, already know what you want to prove and asking biased/offensive questions to make your point, much???" I've been going through pages and pages of screencaps (since the original LJ has been locked up), and dude. I've been in fandom for what, 8 years or so? But this seriously reaches new lows. And the saddest thing is that they abused people faith and trust. But at least I had a good laugh when I learned that fandom could be compared in "cognitive neuroscience" to single-neurons in rhesus monkeys *mind boggles* Current Mood: discontent (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
10:05 am	The worst thing about not being promoted? Is of course, well, not being promoted, but also, on the day that promotions are official, the tons of mails you receive asking "OMG What? You're not promoted???" which is nice but also just like rubbing salt on an open wound. Today officially sucks. Current Mood: aggravated (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, August 30th, 2009
10:46 pm	If my caffeine intake today is to be believed, I'm slowly turning into Rodney. Minus the giganormous brain, right, but the same everlasting love for coffee. And yes, I choose to think it's because I love coffee that I drank so much of it today, and not because of the stupid amount of work I have to do before I leave on vacation, which will very likely keep me up all night. *sigh* Nine days to go. I seriously can't wait. Also, did I mention I didn't get the promotion they've been promising me for more than a year? Yeah. So, let's just say that it pisses me off all the most to have to work my ass off for nothing. One thing that made me happy today nevertheless is when I realized that no internet access for three weeks meant tons of great mcshep_match fic to read when I'm back *g* Current Mood: productive (Comment on this)
Friday, August 14th, 2009
5:33 pm	lalalalala just passing through lalalalala There's is something vaguely funny about seeing the commotion created by Obama's plans for healthcare, as over here, what we call "Sécurité Sociale" is *deeply* rooted in the way things work. Everyone has access to the same basic medical coverage /insurance (though as always, if you want to be better reimbursed, you can take additional insurances). I remember how surprised I was when I learned that what I thought was the norm (at least in the so-called "Western World") was indeed the exception, and that in many countries some people had no access to even basic medical insurance. Or that the type of medical coverage you had depended largely on your employer's will. Does that make France a socialist country? Well, maybe, but is that such a bad thing when what it really means is that you can go to the doctor when you need to, as opposed to when you can afford to? *end of meaningless rambling about political debates I should not get involved in* My boyfriend's sister got married two weeks ago, and I swear to God if I never speak to their mother again, it will be too soon. The past six months have been a constant opportunity for her to let us know what a failure we are at living, since we're not yet married, and far less committed / glamorous / successful / beautiful / insert-other-compliment-here than the happy couple. I mean, it's always been like that with her, what with my BF's sister being the favorite, but it reached such heights (or lows, depending on the POV...)that she managed to turn my life into a definite nightmare. And it seems that I won't be able to escape spending Christmas with them either, instead of the nice friendly and fun dinner planned at my parents'... I am not, and I mean NOT a happy camper right now. :-( The silver lining is that we're leaving on vacation in 3 weeks (Mauritius! 3 weeks of nothing to do but bask in the sun, dive, eat fish and drink rum!) and I need advice: what series should I take to watch on vacation? Which new series would you recommend (preferably one that has at least one completed season so that we're not left hanging!)? Which classics would you take? Any advice would be welcome *g* *goes back to plotting about christmas plans* Current Mood: aggravated (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
10:31 am	Sweet Home Chicago... So the cool thing about working for an American company is that our training center is in the US, namely near Chicago. I've never been to Chicago (I've only ever been to New York and Los Angeles), most of what I know of the city comes from watching ER, so I thought I'd stay over for the weekend and visit! Anyone has advice on what to do / what to visit / things not to miss in Chicago? Because if I listen to my friends, I'll just spend my time shopping to bring them stuff that's less expensive there than here. *g* I'll only be there 2 days (arriving friday 6th evening and leaving sunday evening), any advice would be more than welcome! Apart from going to Chicago? Well. I'm on a project that sucks like a really big sucky thing with tentacles, but hey! economics says it's not the right time to change jobs, we're looking into moving to a bigger appartment... and I don't know how or why, these days I'm all about Buffy and Spike. Which is weird beyond measure, but I figure it's just a phase and that I'll soon be coming back to sinking cities and space vampires *g* Current Mood: curious (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 30th, 2008
5:06 pm	Sport... how do I hate thee... So, those of you who know me might know that "lazy" does not even begin to cover it when it comes to describing how I feel about exercising. This did not use to matter when I was still a student, as I was walking around quite a lot, and somehow kept something of a muscle mass. However nowadays, my job is pretty much to stay behind a desk 12 hours a day on a good day, which leaves me with little time to do anything more than go back home, eat and sleep. I kinda feel like I'm nearing a point of no return, and that if I don't do something now, I'll slowly turn into a slob. And now my problem is... I hate sport. I hate exercising. The few times I've tried to go to the gym, I've given up after 2/3 sessions, and my friends have hours that are so different from mine that it's impossible to plan to go to the gym with them. I can't imagine I'm the only one with this kind of, let's say, motivation problem. *g* So, oh wise friends list, if you ever faced this, where did you find your motivation? And did it work? Current Mood: curious (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, November 17th, 2008
10:59 am	work, life and John Sheppard ...is it weird that just as I've been granted both a raise and some sort of recognition award, I keep dreaming of changing jobs? You'd think I would have dreamt of this while stuck 9 months in Egypt, or asked to go on missions at my previous employer, but no. Apparently recognition is the trigger. Who knew? In other news: - Raph and I celebrated our 4-year anniversary this weekend! I actually can't believe it's been four years already. We went to Burgundy for 2 days, best. weekend. ever *g* - I just foud the longest, greatest fic recs list, and what's better than happy McShep fic to forget about work anxiety? That's right, nothing. :-) Current Mood: content (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
9:59 am	It's not every day that you get to witness history... nor is it every day that a single event creates hope across oceans and countries. This morning when I woke up, the news were starting on the radio, and the first thing the journalist said was "Un coup de tonnerre sur l'Amérique", which can be roughly translated into "A major unexpected/earthshaking event in America". And for, like, the 2 seconds it took for the guy to explain he meant that Obama was the new President, all I could think of was that unexpectedly the polls had been wrong, and that McCain had won. And for the 2 seconds, it felt like the world was crashing down on me. I don't think an election has meant so much to so many people worldwide than this one. And I so so so much hope that one day France too will be a country where anyone can become President. At least now we have something real to look up too. Good luck President Obama, and thanks America for giving me hope that indeed, we can :-) Current Mood: ecstatic (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, November 12th, 2007
12:14 pm	Away in Egypt Am currently on a five month project in Egypt -STOP- Internet is spotty at best -STOP- Am managing 4 people -STOP- Am very stressed -STOP- Oh well. So in short, I'm not dead, just dead on my feet, and have very very little time for anything else but work... The good thing is that Raphael is coming to see me this weekend, and that makes me very happy indeed. *g* Current Mood: exanimate (2 Comments |Comment on this)