I am spending too much time on www.stumbleupon.com!! Thanks to my friend Andre. (thanks Andre you are the best) I could have been hella productive over the past couple of days, but I have been reading poetry, downloading recipes, looking at cute pictures of dogs, researching the great religions of the world, and a myriad of other things which waste massa time. Great big bites of time have slipped into the time continuum never to be found again. Luckily, my Internet was down earlier today so I ACTUALLY left the house.. Yet, as soon as my high heels entered the threshold of my abode, I raced to the computer to get on www.stumbleupon.com! I am an addict with no hope of recovery any time soon. I mean. Come on? The stuff I am stumbling across is priceless.. The justification is, I am actually LEARNING something as well as exposing myself to beauty. Either way. Today I ran across this quote which I love love love love.. I will share it with you as it is full of wisdom.
Cherish your solitude.
Take trains by yourself to places you have never been.
Sleep alone under the stars.
Learn to drive a stick shift.
Go so far away that you stop being afraid of coming back.
Say no whenever you don't want to do something.
Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees.
Decide whether you want to be liked or admired.
Decide if fitting in is more important than what you are doing here.
Believe in kissing.
Eve Ensler
I totally love this quote. It embodies everything I would like to live my life by. However, there is another site I stumbled upon which I like just as much. It is dedicated to the top 10 best French curses. Ah the dichotomy of the Oracle.. Not too nice and not too naughty. Here are some of my favorites.
1. Putain!/Pute!(Poo-TAHN)/(poote)
This word packs a serious punch, so use it with caution (and maybe not in mixed company). Putain literally translates as “whore,” but tends to be used more like the word “fuck” in English. Not only can it be used as an emotional reaction to something, like “Fuck!” in English, you can also direct it at someone in particular, “ca pute” (that whore). People joke that the word “fuck” can be used as every part of speech in English, and in French, putain functions much the same way.
2. Chiant/Ca me fait chier(CHI-ant)/(sa meh fey CHIay)
This word is most commonly used in the context of “ce me fait chier,” which translates as a more vulgar version of “that pisses me off.” This became one of my favorite expressions when I was living in Paris (which tells you something about my personality…) and my great Aunt who I lived with would cringe when I would accidentally let this slip out at home.
3. Foutre/ Je m’en fou (FOO-truh)/(Juh MONH foo)
Again, although you may hear this dropped around a lot, use it with caution as “foutre” is the verb for “to fuck.” You’ll most often hear this in the phrase “je m’en fou,” which essentially means “I don’t give a fuck.” This also became one of my favorite phrases while I was living in Pairs and it was another one that would make my grande tante (great aunt) cringe
4. Ta Gueule! (THAI-gull)
This is just about the rudest way possible of telling someone to shut up. While it does not really have an exact equivalent or translation in English, it’s kind of like saying “shut the fuck up,” or “shut your trap.” You’ll definitely hear this in banter among friends. 5. C’est des conneries! (Say-day-KOHN-ree)
This can be translated best as “this is bullshit.” I particularly enjoy this phrase and found it very useful in my daily life. I also like to throw in extra words for emphasis like “C’est vraiment des conneries!” (That is REALLY bullshit).
Comments (1)
I would say that I am a bad influence but from what you have been learning. It seems as if I am in the right this time ;) hehehe