I got married.
I’m not sure when, or how, or to whom, exactly.
All I know is that it happened.
Perhaps I should ask my students. They seem to know more about it than I do.
After all, they insist on addressing me as “Madame” when I am (insofar as I am aware) clearly a “Mademoiselle”.
Look mum, no ring!
Perhaps it is simply a question of semantics, but... semantics matter!
Let’s investigate further, shall we?
The Oxford Dictionary of Current English gives us the following definition of “semantics”:
semantics
/sɪˈmantɪks/
plural noun
[usually treated as singular]
the branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning. The two main areas are logical semantics, concerned with matters such as sense and reference and presupposition and implication, and lexical semantics, concerned with the analysis of word meanings and relations between them.
So basically, we’re looking at linguistics and meaning; (infe)rence and (pre)supposition.
On that note, we should probably analyze a few more definitions. Thanks to the friendly folks over at Larousse for helping out with these ones:
madame, mesdames
nom féminin
(de ma et dame)
1. Titre donné à toute femme mariée, ou qui l'a été, ou, dans les relations courantes, qui est en âge de l'être (avec majuscule [abréviation Mme] quand il est suivi du nom propre ; avec ou sans majuscule quand il n'est pas suivi du nom propre).
Whilst neither 1a. nor 1b. applies to myself, technically 1c. could. One point for “Mme.”
2. Titre donné à la maîtresse de maison par un domestique (avec majuscule).
Ya, I don’t have a maid...
3. Titre précédant la fonction d'une femme quand elle lui confère une autorité (avec majuscule) : Madame la Présidente.
Tricky… let’s think about this… President is to Dumbledore as Teacher is to Scabbers… not so tricky, really.
4. À partir du XVIIe s., titre des filles du roi de France et du Dauphin, et de la femme de Monsieur, frère du roi.
At last check, my father was not the king of France (shocking, I know. Perhaps I should verify...) And, if we're talking "Filles du Roi" (which clearly we aren't, but who am I to take the excitement out of a(n anecdotal) teachable moment??) according to my kids, they were nothing more than trumped up “belles du nuit”. Furthermore, I haven’t been called upon to populate any new colonies recently...
5. Titre donné aux religieuses dans certains ordres.
Self-explanatory, no?
So, to sum it up:
"Mesdames" are either a) women who are married, were married or could be married; b) women who have a maid; c) women in a position of authority; d) daughters of the king/ one of the king's daughters; or e) a nun.
And the tally please?
Mlle: 6
Mme: 1
Carrying on:
mademoiselle, mesdemoiselles
nom féminin
(de ma et demoiselle)
1. Titre donné à une jeune fille ou à une femme non mariée. (S'écrit avec majuscule [abréviation Mlle] quand il est suivi du nom propre.)
At last check I wasn’t married (as far as I know… refer to intro) so I’m going to award a point to “Mlle” here.
2. Titre donné à la fille du maître et de la maîtresse de maison par un domestique (avec majuscule) : Mademoiselle dînera-t-elle ce soir ?
No maid = null and void.
3. Titre donné autrefois à une institutrice, une gouvernante, etc.
Well, I AM a teacher, so if we ignore the “autrefois” thing...
4. Titre porté par certaines princesses, en particulier, à partir du XVIIe s., par la fille aînée du frère du roi de France (avec majuscule).
Key word = princesse
No?
Ok. Fine. It doesn’t count.
So… Mesdemoiselles are: a) young girls or unmarried women; b) the daughters of women who have a maid; c) a teacher or a governess; or d) princesses.
Tally?
Mlle: 2
Mme: 0
All together now!:
Mlle: 8
Mme: 1
So there you have it. My excellently (un)scientific study has clearly(ish) demonstrated that I am, indeed, a “Mademoiselle” and not a “Madame”. That is providing, of course, that my students are not actually aware of something that I myself am not...
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
We Joust!
Welcome to my 28th birthday extravaganza. Apparently as soon as one sees thirty approaching they immediately revert back to early childhood...
Happy Birthday to Me!
Happy Birthday to Me!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Right Now...
I am…:: STEALING Emma’s idea, but it’s ok because she stole it from Mel, who may or may not have stolen it from someone else...
::watching Grey’s Anatomy. Both Emma and Mel had profound thoughts on the nature of time for this particular word, however I have nothing comparable to say. So I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy.
::loving the weather. Spring is such an amazing time of year!
::wanting to find a contract so I can stop applying for jobs already!
::reading my way through the BBC’s book list, thereby becoming intimately associated with Ms. Austen.
::preparing for my next move. And taking suggestions.
::discovering who I am and who I want to be.
::waiting to see where I end up!
::enjoying the sunshine, non-fat lattes and the company of a few ridiculously amazing friends.
::surprising myself with my new surfer-girl mentality.
::considering my options.
::feeling content and free, if not a little anxious and frustrated at times.
::hoping things work out.
::planning nothing. Sometimes it’s nice to just roll with life and make lemonade. Or raspberry lemonade cupcakes.
::listening to myself and trying to figure it all out.
::searching for the perfect muffin receipe. Next up: Williams-Sonoma.
::finding that my conversational French needs a serious facelift.
::watching Grey’s Anatomy. Both Emma and Mel had profound thoughts on the nature of time for this particular word, however I have nothing comparable to say. So I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy.
::loving the weather. Spring is such an amazing time of year!
::wanting to find a contract so I can stop applying for jobs already!
::reading my way through the BBC’s book list, thereby becoming intimately associated with Ms. Austen.
::preparing for my next move. And taking suggestions.
::discovering who I am and who I want to be.
::waiting to see where I end up!
::enjoying the sunshine, non-fat lattes and the company of a few ridiculously amazing friends.
::surprising myself with my new surfer-girl mentality.
::considering my options.
::feeling content and free, if not a little anxious and frustrated at times.
::hoping things work out.
::planning nothing. Sometimes it’s nice to just roll with life and make lemonade. Or raspberry lemonade cupcakes.
::listening to myself and trying to figure it all out.
::searching for the perfect muffin receipe. Next up: Williams-Sonoma.
::finding that my conversational French needs a serious facelift.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
7 Minutes in Heaven
I've recently returned from Paradise.
Well, if Paradise can be said to serve as an introduction to the realm of functional alcoholism whilst simultaneously turning one's body (lobster red) golden brown, then that is most definitely where I've just come from.
The Daily Routine in Paradise:
6:30 am: get up, reserve poolside chairs under those lovely umbrella-hut things.
6:45 am: coffee and a little Wheel of Time audiobook action.
7:30 am: shower.
8:00 am: meet Elvys at the buffet.
8:15 am: stuff oneself full of crêpes. Creep on the incredibly cute French couple sitting across from you.
9:00 am: begin poolside chilling.
9:30 am: hello Ms. Austen.
10:00 am: drinks. Repeat approximately every 15-20 minutes.
10:30 am: observe (from swim-up bar) but do not participate in, aqua-fit class led by a man in a chicken costume.
11:30 am - 12:55 pm: drink and swim in ocean as required. Observe frustrated parents and mentally take notes for when you have your own children, fully knowing these will never be anything more than hypothetical.
1:00 pm: meet Elvys at the buffet.
1:45 pm- 6:30 pm: drink and swim in ocean as required, always remembering to creep on the regulars, be they the French Boys or Inappropriately Dressed Speedo Guy.
7:00 pm: shower.
7:30 pm: à la carte dinner. I would like to recommend something off of the Menu of Children.
8:30 pm - 9:30 pm: nap.
9:45 pm- 10: 45 pm: people watch at pervert's row.
11:00 pm: watch, but do not participate in, incredibly horrible karaoke at the bar.
11:30 pm: follow the conga line into the Discothèque.
11:35 pm - 2:00 am: shake your groove thing. Do not forget to "get low". Frequently contemplate the mechanics of dancing in flip flops versus heels...
2:00 am - 3:00 am: beach party.
3:30 am: sleep.
Lather, Rinse, Repeat.
Well, if Paradise can be said to serve as an introduction to the realm of functional alcoholism whilst simultaneously turning one's body (lobster red) golden brown, then that is most definitely where I've just come from.
The Daily Routine in Paradise:
6:30 am: get up, reserve poolside chairs under those lovely umbrella-hut things.
6:45 am: coffee and a little Wheel of Time audiobook action.
7:30 am: shower.
8:00 am: meet Elvys at the buffet.
8:15 am: stuff oneself full of crêpes. Creep on the incredibly cute French couple sitting across from you.
9:00 am: begin poolside chilling.
9:30 am: hello Ms. Austen.
10:00 am: drinks. Repeat approximately every 15-20 minutes.
10:30 am: observe (from swim-up bar) but do not participate in, aqua-fit class led by a man in a chicken costume.
11:30 am - 12:55 pm: drink and swim in ocean as required. Observe frustrated parents and mentally take notes for when you have your own children, fully knowing these will never be anything more than hypothetical.
1:00 pm: meet Elvys at the buffet.
1:45 pm- 6:30 pm: drink and swim in ocean as required, always remembering to creep on the regulars, be they the French Boys or Inappropriately Dressed Speedo Guy.
7:00 pm: shower.
7:30 pm: à la carte dinner. I would like to recommend something off of the Menu of Children.
8:30 pm - 9:30 pm: nap.
9:45 pm- 10: 45 pm: people watch at pervert's row.
11:00 pm: watch, but do not participate in, incredibly horrible karaoke at the bar.
11:30 pm: follow the conga line into the Discothèque.
11:35 pm - 2:00 am: shake your groove thing. Do not forget to "get low". Frequently contemplate the mechanics of dancing in flip flops versus heels...
2:00 am - 3:00 am: beach party.
3:30 am: sleep.
Lather, Rinse, Repeat.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Namaste
How great is yoga?
I know, pretty great.
Doing yoga actually makes me feel like a better person. Ending world hunger, putting an end to the AIDS epidemic, executing a perfect natarajasana (my personal favourite).
So when I was out shopping today and came across flip flops made out of recycled yoga mat, how could I resist?
Sure they were a little pricey, but they're very comfortable. And they mould to your feet.
ALSO, THEY'RE MADE OUT OF RECYCLED YOGA MAT.
I bet I could do an exceptionally... exceptional... natarajasana in those bad boys.
Well probably not, but it might be worth a try.
I know, pretty great.
Doing yoga actually makes me feel like a better person. Ending world hunger, putting an end to the AIDS epidemic, executing a perfect natarajasana (my personal favourite).
So when I was out shopping today and came across flip flops made out of recycled yoga mat, how could I resist?
Sure they were a little pricey, but they're very comfortable. And they mould to your feet.
ALSO, THEY'RE MADE OUT OF RECYCLED YOGA MAT.
I bet I could do an exceptionally... exceptional... natarajasana in those bad boys.
Well probably not, but it might be worth a try.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Throwing Down the Gauntlet
Because apparently I don't have anything better to do?...
I’m sure that all five of you have heard of/seen the (in)famous BBC booklist that’s been floating around the interweb. The other day I was bored (read: trying desperately to appear too busy to do my planning/ marking) so I decided to hunt it down and see how many I’ve read. The grand total? 21 of a possible 100. TWENTY-ONE. That’s nowhere NEAR a pass, despite being acceptably higher than the estimated average of 6. Seeing as I’m a) a perfectionist, b) highly competitive and c) somewhat of a masochist, I’ve challenged myself to read every single last one of them.
I’m hoping that this won’t prove be all that difficult, considering that most are titles I’ve been contemplating adding to my library for quite some time and, having already read Catch 22, I’m confident that the worst is behind me.
So here’s the plan: I’m just about done the third and final installment of Pullman’s His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass left much to be desired, but both books two and three have been amazing thus far) and am planning on reading Emma over the break, followed by The Life of Pi. I’ll update the list whenever I finish another. Bolded titles mean that I’ve read the book in its entirety, anything that has been italicized I am currently working through, and everything else is waiting to be conquered.
PS: You may have noticed that I’ve slipped in 101 on my own. I feel that R.J. deserves to be acknowledged as the genius that he so undoubtably was :)
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (En Français!)
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (En Français!)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shaskespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
101 The Wheel of Time Series - Robert Jordan
I’m sure that all five of you have heard of/seen the (in)famous BBC booklist that’s been floating around the interweb. The other day I was bored (read: trying desperately to appear too busy to do my planning/ marking) so I decided to hunt it down and see how many I’ve read. The grand total? 21 of a possible 100. TWENTY-ONE. That’s nowhere NEAR a pass, despite being acceptably higher than the estimated average of 6. Seeing as I’m a) a perfectionist, b) highly competitive and c) somewhat of a masochist, I’ve challenged myself to read every single last one of them.
I’m hoping that this won’t prove be all that difficult, considering that most are titles I’ve been contemplating adding to my library for quite some time and, having already read Catch 22, I’m confident that the worst is behind me.
So here’s the plan: I’m just about done the third and final installment of Pullman’s His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass left much to be desired, but both books two and three have been amazing thus far) and am planning on reading Emma over the break, followed by The Life of Pi. I’ll update the list whenever I finish another. Bolded titles mean that I’ve read the book in its entirety, anything that has been italicized I am currently working through, and everything else is waiting to be conquered.
PS: You may have noticed that I’ve slipped in 101 on my own. I feel that R.J. deserves to be acknowledged as the genius that he so undoubtably was :)
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (En Français!)
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (En Français!)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shaskespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
101 The Wheel of Time Series - Robert Jordan
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