The Sugar Monster

Before I start to ramble about trivial - But still very addictive - subjects, I wanted to take the time to send my best wishes to Nonda Theodossakos and his family. Over the week-end I heard about what happened. - Even across the ocean someone's thinking of you... - I hope that he gets better and back on his feet soon. I will keep him in my prayers.♥

Well hello good morning!  I know what you're thinking: "Is she trying to make us forget that she's been gone for wayyyy too long?!" Okay, maybe I've left you on your appetite - reading appetite that is - for a longer delay that usual but I promise I have a good excuse! - Is there such a thing as a good excuse? - What matters is that I'm here now, isn't it? To be honest a couple of things have been keeping me busy the last few days... Most importantly, I'M SLEEPING NORMALLY AGAIN! That might be the reason behind my disappearance being that it was during mainly during the night that I'm particularly inspired! I guess I'll just have to make the time now as you all take the time to read me! - Thanks again -

Another thing that kept me away from you dear followers is a school project - SO interesting... How about NO! - Yet again, it was a team project! Joy to the world... Can you hear the enthusiasm in my writing? I need to drift away from what I'm saying to talk about something else for a second. So, team project. Really? Is it just me or are these so called Team projects the worst thing ever created by mankind? Seriously, don't get me wrong. I'm all for team projects in the real working world. - Oh! She's not a team player, blablabla! - N.B. I'm referring to my past and extensive experience here; Pre-Paris that is; When I actually was putting a lot of hours into my school work... Okay, so maybe I've slacked off a bit; Give me a break! I've been an honor row student since like forever! - It's simply that in school I've found them to be worthless! Yes, I said it: W-O-R-T-H-L-E-S-S! I just feel like everyone has different standards and aims for different goals. - Which is fine by me, as long as the work of each can be rewarded according to the effort. But nooooo, everyone in a team gets the same grade! So try understanding how a A+-obsessed-perfectionnist like me feels when everyone I'm stuck working with on a project aspires to get the average... Bottom line, when the monetary factor is out of the equation people become effortless. - Okay, so maybe, just maybe I'm generalizing a tiny bit, but it's still true in many situations; Trust me I know all about those! - You are not the one RE-doing a 40 or 60 pages document because your colleagues have never learned how to write properly! - And not the SMS or MSN language - Seriously, how do these people even get to College? I've never understood that... 

Okay, I'm done complaining for one night. I just had to make my point. Going back to what I was saying... Yes, that famous project - that actually came out pretty good in the end! Surprisingly enough that is... - kept me busy for a couple of days so did my wonderful friend Maya that was visiting for the week-end. - On a lighter and happier note of course - I was thrilled to have her over! Oddly enough, I had a cooking craving during the time she was there... As it has become custom, here are a couple pictures of what I came up with! 

A little bit of this...

Part 1 : "Sucre à la crème... batter"

A little bit of that...

Part 2: "Sucre à la crème... squares"

A lot more of those...

Part 3: "Cinnamon Buns + Sucre à la crème... both homemade"

Looking at these pictures reminded me that I need to get some out for my friend Timea... I'll be right back! Alright, so I was talking about the things that kept me busy these last few days... On a sadder note, - and happy note paradoxically - I had lots of Goodbye parties for all my close friends that have completed their Erasmus semester here in Paris and that are going back home... It was surely sad at times but all and all these last few nights have been GREAT! I've met amazing people that I hope to stay in contact with throughout my life, from near or far. So, Carina, Christine, Asmait, - even if I met you at the last second; It was truly a pleasure - Valentina, Tina, Radka, Adam and all the others, I want to thank you for making this first half incredibly memorable and especially for all those unforgettable moments spent with each and everyone of you.

On to something interesting we started talking about in one curiously amusing class I took - I'm not just talking about the teacher, but also the content itself - called: Design. To summarize, it's the first class and the teacher addresses the question of Art; What is Art? to be precise. One thing lead to another and we started to discuss the music industry and wether or not Lada Gaga is an artist. 

Before we get into this, here is the first definition of Art according to the teacher's notes: 

Art can be viewed as the domain of creation. The artist is necessarily creator whereas the creator is not necessarily an artist. Creation is truly human. The peculiarity is that he who creates is different from the object created.

Not very insightful, is it? Imagine how we feel when he's telling us in class...

Anyways, to go back to what I was saying... So you know I'm going to intervene on this debate right here. - if not start the whole discussion - Everyone is pretty much giving their opinion on the subject... Most of them saying that she's an artist! But what I don't get is how come everyone is so alienated by this character - The Fame Monster as she likes to call it - that she has put together for the public to see. Furthermore, how is it that people don't recognize that everything she does is thought of, calculated, premeditated to coincide with what the world expects of her and that is specifically to be against all odds, to chock and offend whomever! Oddly enough, when talking about the fact that Justin Bieber - Sorry to all Bieber fans for what I'm about to say - is a product that the Usher Factory came up with to serve his own interest - that being his awful comeback to counteract his flop with Here I Stand - they we're on my side and agreeing with me. But then, when saying the same thing - because God knows that the Music Industry is all the same - about Lady Gaga and the Akon Factory, they were extremely disagreeing... Their argument being that Bieber is going to disappear when he hits puberty whereas Lady Gaga's a revolution in the music world - comparing her to Madonna's I'm a virgin - that's not going to go unknown. Bottom line, aren't they both - Bieber and Gaga - simply staying true to the characteristics of the product they were made into by their respective Factories? Bieber to make all the little girls scream and Gaga to stir up trouble? With the definition that I suggested, wouldn't Usher and Akon be the artists? Bieber and Gaga their creations? I guess we will never have an answer to that question as we won't to the question of Art... At least not in that Design class! 

That being said, we are February 2nd which means I'll be in Morocco in precisely 10 days and in Turkey in 18! That means that the next few weeks will be packed with plenty of cool posts... So I guess I'll see you soon dear ones. Always remember one very important thing: Life is too short, make the best of every second...

Before I let you off the hook, you have to check this video out. 

In one word: Hilarious! - In french but easy to understand... -

Do you still want to work in advertising?! I want to work in it more than ever after this video! Life is good... Dans la Publicité!

Until next time,  ☮, ♡ & Paris...