Citation de René Fallet: La soupe aux choux

 

On ne trinque pas tout seul. On boit sans amitié, sans rien, comme une vache, et ça, ça oui, c'est mauvais, si mauvais qu'il n'y a même pas plus mauvais au corps.

(p 28)

Du moins, c'est que je pensais adolescent et un peu après. Plus après, j'ai trouvé que, dans certaines circonstances, un bon livre, ou même juste mes propres pensées, peuvent être une compagnie aussi bonne que les gens.

Cion thoiteanan

Obh obh. Dhiùlt mo phiuthar toiteanan a cheannach dhomh tuilleadh, agus am pasgan mu dheireadh agam. Tha mi 'n dòchas gum bi mo bhrùthadh-fala àrd gu leòr a-màireach, 's gum bi an neart agam am flat fhàgail airson a' chiad turais bhon 18 an t-Samhain, 's ri dhol gan ceannach leam fhìn. Tha mi a' faireachdainn an-dràsta gur dòcha gun soirbhich leam, ach chì sinn.

Done with WordPress

Today I've finally transferred here my remaining old WordPress blogposts, deleted the blog and closed my account.

I used to like the WP website, but it fell victim to a not uncommon disease: developers continually making major 'improvements', which actually kept making it ever less user-friendly, at least for those of us who are primarily interested in the words we write, with the editing interface remaining by and large what we're used to, not changing every couple of years or so.

So to celebrate I opened a bottle or (red) wine; if I remember correctly, my first one since I went into my self-imposed exile.

Stuama

'S ann neònach a tha seo. Dh'òl mi balgam vodka glè bheag madainn DiLuain, agus as dèidh sin, gun a bhith a' rùnachadh sin, cha do dh'òl mi balgam alcoil eile gus oidhche Ardaoin - agus cha do dh'ionndrainn mi e. Gu dearbh, cha tàinig e a-steach orm gus an oidhche Ardaoin gun robh seo air tachairt ...

True listening

"A person cannot give full attention to what is being said to them at the same time as assessing it and framing a reply. I cannot do this, and neither can anyone else I have ever met. Therefore, true listening rarely occurs."

(Rachel Pinney: Creative Listening, as quoted in Jim Pym: Listening to the Light)

I think this is true about any conversation in which one is supposed to react immediately after the previous speaker has finished talking. But it reminded me most of two features of my rehab stay.

One, of how rarely I spoke during the speech-therapy-based sessions, because before I properly pondered what had been said and what could be said in response, somebody else would already be replying; in fact, often the very topic would have changed to another by the time I had a reply phrased well enough to consider it worth uttering.

And two, how during those sessions at which it was compulsory to give a short summary of one's views formed on what had been said, I would often stop paying proper attention as early as mid-session, trying to inwardly formulate (and not forget) said summary in time for when it was my turn to give it.

Less pub time

It’s odd, but so far I’ve only been to a pub six times this year, each time for three pints on my way back from work. On the one hand I’ve only managed not to go after work once; on the other hand I’ve always managed not to go on a day off. What’s possibly even odder is I don’t really miss it. (Admittedly the winter cold and the uncertainty about whether there’d be an unoccupied table help.) And from tomorrow it’s my night shift week: as likely as not I’ll no go once …


(originally posted on WordPress)

Another 'bender' almost over

Hmm, ‘bender’ … Usually when I’m on the skite I just move between my bed and a pub or pubs, not even bothering to switch on my laptop or mobile. This time I was most of the days doing my language studies, following the news, checking my mailboxes and so on and so forth, even looking for and finding a new job. I just couldn’t help going to a pub for three to five pints almost daily (in fact more often than not twice in a day, first in the afternoon then at night). Well, the next week I’m on night shifts so I won’t be able to.

 

 

(originally posted on WordPress)

Beaucoup d'emplois

Intéressent. J’ai finalement dessaoulé, plus ou moins, j’ai commencé à chercher un nouvel emploi, et dans une semaine de la première demande j’ai eu une proposition. Mais j’ai trouvé qu’il était trop difficile d’atteindre l’endroit – et je buvais un peu plus de nouveau – bref, ça n’a pas marché.

Alors, j’ai dessaoulé une nouvelle fois (relativement vite), j’ai recommencé à chercher un emploi, et même plus tôt qu’avant j’ai reçu une nouvelle proposition. Il faut qu’il y a beaucoup d’emplois dans cette ville.

Cependant, j’espère que celle-ci va marché.

 

(à l'origine posté sur WordPress)

 

Hermiting again

I’ll savour the softness of summer
I’ll wrap up when winter blows

(The Waterboys: In Search of a Rose)

Since the 18 May I was in a pub daily (with the single exception of 5 Sep, when I finished work at 10pm and knew I’d have to be there again at 8am the following morning). Indeed, since the 10 Sep I visited what has become my favourite howf twice a day. But I’ve stopped that on Monday, managed to persevere, and today I finally haven’t gone there at all. In a sense a salutary effect of having quit my job I suppose.

And it actually wasn’t as hard as I’d thought it would be, although admittedly I was helped by the fact that after Tuesday’s pleasant, serene night there there were two when I had to sit down next to the door, with the consequent draught each time it opened.

Nevertheless I think that before I go to sleep I’ll reward myself with a dram of Glenlivet. 


(originally posted probably on WordPress)

Addicted to a beer garden

Funny how sometimes one can get addicted to an alcohol-related habit, rather than to alcohol itself.

For almost three weeks now I would go after 2pm to a nearby pub’s beer garden, have a few pints, come back to my digs for a meal and some time at my laptop, then return to the pub to have a few more pints inside. But of course one can’t go on like this forever.

So I decided to stop my afternoon beer garden visits and only go to the pub at night. Today was the first day. Now I have enough beer and vodka in my digs to fight alcohol withdrawal, yet I’ve been listless all day simply on account of knowing I had to wait until the evening before going to the pub.

I’ve survived, but I still can’t wait to be there.


(originally posted probably on WordPress)

The Union and the Carpenter

Funny how from early April to early July I would visit the Union almost daily and the Carpenter only very rarely, and then all of a sudden, without ever intending to and for no apparent reason whatsoever, I began frequenting the latter and never returned to the former. The staff is equally good in both places; maybe I became subconsciously fed up with the Union’s piped music and clientele.


(originally posted on Tumblr or WordPress)

(untitled)

Seems like the recent weeks, when the combination of frustration from my new laptop’s slowness, a fair amount of extra hours at work, and too frequent pub visits, is finally over, and I’m (however slowly) beginning to try and catch upon the backlog this caused.

And frankly I enjoy it; in fact I was becoming surfeited not only with the extra worktime, but even with the pubs, and missing the online world.

But it took the worst withdrawal I’ve had for a couple of years to actually start doing something about it.


(originally posted probably on Tumblr, or maybe on WordPress)