Thank you Paddy Ashdown

http://www.ted.com/talks/paddy_ashdown_the_global_power_shift.html

And are we --- especially the ones who are used to being in power consciously or subconsciously--- ready?

Symbiosis, co-existence, back to basic.

Chanagility December 2011

Here is the last agility training of the 2011 outside in the mud (the ground was covered with snow for some time) on December 29. After the first tunnel and a jump, I got lost and confused Chana. She was a good  girl not to take the jump in front of her. Chana missed the entry on the second weaves, but not bad all together for a our Chana pooch! After the training, we ate together in the club house to celebrate the end of the year.

So much has happened in the last quarter of 2011: our trip to Brussels and Vimy ridge, Carin, Ken and Hana's visit in Grenoble for a month, travelling with Donna down to Avignon, Toulouse, and Barcelona... As this blog is serving me as a form of diary, I should write about them before I forget or my memory gets crystallized.

We have also started doing a language exchange with our agility coach Isabelle. Every friday we host each other for an evening of communication. Together with Isabelle's husband and her five dogs, we spend some quality time together, quiet and rich. We were at their place for the "reveillons" on December 31st where some more excitement was added with a Chihuahua named Gusto :). I saved him from Chana when she turned into a gremlin.

Bonne année 2012!

It's the year of the dragon: a deliverer of good fortune and master of authority. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!

Senor salamander at Parc Güell, Barcelona. 

Healthy France 2

Pour votre santé, éviter de grignoter entre les repas.

Snacking is not recommended in France. Well, burger is more like a meal, no?

On the side note, the use of English words is quite common compared to Quebec. They just have to include a translation as seen in the photo.

Healthy France

L'abus d'alcool est dangereux pour la santé. À consommer avec moderation.

This kind of makes sense. What amazes me is when we see an ad for cookies, and it tells you not to snack because snacking is bad for you.

Oui, c'est ça.

Thanks David Suzuki.


Misato Sekita-Krislock

Paranomal Activity

Nathan loves Hallowe'en. He misses trick-or-treating. As Nathan insisted, to celebrate Halloween, we got together with his colleagues and watched a horror movie. There is no rational relation here, but that's what he decided to do on his favourite day of the year. The movie he chose was "Paranomal Activity," and we all survived as it turned out to be not too scary after all. We said good-bye to our hosts, and that's when our true "Paranomal Activity" started.

When we got to a tram stop, we saw a man who was helping another old man. He asked us to stay with this old man while he went back to a bar to call a cab for this man. The old man had a little too much to drink tonight. We waited a good 30 minutes, but there was no sight of this man or a cab. We had not idea what to do, and after a consultation among us (representing 4 different countries), it was decided that we should call 112, the equivalent of 911. In 5 minutes or so, an ambulance arrived and we handed over the old man. Thanks to France, my experience level went up again! It was my first call to an ambulance.

Then on the tram heading back home, we saw a beginning of a fight between two men. The next thing we saw was that they got off the tram and one was on the ground while the other kicking him... Yes, Grenoble is quite active on the night of Hallowe'en.

After all, drunk adults outnumbered cute kids dressed in their costume. The movie was not scary, what's scary is the effect of alcohol on humans.