lundi 19 mai 2014

Parce qu'écrire c'est hurler sans bruit

Ce jour est assez spécial pour moi, c’est mon anniversaire. Je me suis levée ce matin en ouvrant la lettre d’une précieuse amie, j’ai ouvert ma porte et ma colocataire avait déposé sur mes escaliers des cadeaux et une lettre me laissant sans mots, m’électrisant des pieds à la tête.

Comme à mon habitude, des larmes ont pris la fuite pour rouler sur mes joues. Quand je suis sortie de chez moi, j’ai vu toutes ces montagnes autour de moi, je suis à Cape town, j’ai 24 ans aujourd’hui et je suis heureuse, comblée et vraiment bien dans ma peau.
Mes jours ne sont pas tous roses et je me rends de plus en plus compte à quel point je suis émotionnelle et sentimentale. Je prends les choses très à cœur, je ressens tout ce que je vis et ça me bouleverse. J’ai pleuré de débordement, je me suis trouvée désarmée, tremblante et brulante face à des émotions qui devaient s’exprimer.
J’ai toujours vécu ma vie intensément et fait les choses que j’avais envie de faire, sans regarder autour de moi, sans écouter les autres. Aujourd’hui je me rends simplement compte que mes choix étaient les bons.

J’ai pleuré parce que j’ai 24 ans aujourd’hui et que ma vie est magique et passionnante. Ça n’a pas de prix, ce n’est pas mesurable.
Les larmes pour moi sont ma façon de faire sortir cette tornade s’agitant dans mon ventre me donnant envie de crier. Au final, la joie et la tristesse sont des éternels meilleurs amis, on ne peut ressentir l’un sans l’autre.
 Je ne suis pas de ces personnes qui aiment la stabilité et l’équilibre. Ma vie est une montagne russe avec des hauts et des bas. Ma vie est un feu ardant qui réchauffe et qui brûle. Ma vie est fait de terrassements inexpliqués, de crash dont je réchappe toujours, de moments d’extases, d’orgasmes me projetant au côté de Zeus.

J’espère, avoir le courage, de maintenir ce chemin jusqu’à la fin. J’espère ne pas baisser les bras et continuer de prendre des risques. On donne tellement d’importance à l’amour dans notre société mais je vous promets, que ce que j’ai ressenti ce matin, c’était fantastique. Ma drogue, mon adrénaline, c’est la vie telle que je la vois, telle que je la vis.

A l’intérieur, je ressens des explosions, des émotions incroyables, uniques et magiques. Certains rêvent de voler, d’autres rêvent du grand amour, moi je ne rêve de rien, je vis mes rêves. C'est banal et facile à dire, mais sortez de votre zone de confortabilité, vous comprendrez. Je ne suis pas prête à vivre et partager ma vie avec quelqu'un. Personne ne m'a jusqu'ici prouvé que le bonheur s'écrivait à deux, j'aime me donner la main et m'emmener au vent. J'aime pouvoir ressentir ce qui n'est décrit nulle part.

Merci à toutes les personnes qui contribuent à ce bonheur. J'ai certes été créatrice de ces opportunités et malgré mon pessimisme et mon acceptation de mon éternelle solitude, certains êtres humains sont des cadeaux du ciel, certaines rencontres vous bouleversent. Je me sens aujourd’hui bénie, et ce sentiment est PUTAIN de bon.





mercredi 14 mai 2014

5 smartphones for less than R2000

Can you survive without your smartphone? We all experienced a phoneless situation. An oversight or the battery betrayal, we all feel lost without it.
We realized how addicted we are to our phone when even though we don’t have it with us or the battery is empty we always look for it

Indeed, Smartphones invaded the market. From the high school student addicted to Snapchat and Instagram to the businessman 24/7 connected to his network, it became a NEED. Many well-known brands developed their own smartphones but the blast of the market was an opportunity for companies to develop their own models matching with a proper strategy. I’m going to list 5 android smartphones available for less than R2000 on the market. Some are from big and well-known brands, some from emerging companies.

1.     Samsung Galaxy Trend (S7560)

This Samsung is a low-end smartphone with Android 4.0 and it costs R2000. Its 4 inches screen offers a wonderful colour experience peculiar to Samsung phones. The ChatOn app enables users to share media content and organized chatting group. Users can easily for instance explain an itinerary drawing it directly during a video call.
The phone fits with a 5 megapixel camera equipped with a LED flash as well as a VGA captor for the front Visio. The internal storage capacity is 4 Go but it is possible to extend it with a 32 Go micro SD card. 

2.     CS Blackberry 8520
Perfect to stay in contact with friends, the blackberry 8520 costs only R1100. Its device ease the email reception and exchange attached documents on live. The Black Berry messenger chat brought together a real community. Really easy to use, this phone has a 2.3-inch screen and an intuitive interface; the browsing is easy and flowing thanks to the optical track pad.

3.     HAWUAI Y300
For only R1800 you can enjoy a 4-inch LCD screen with 16 million colours. This phone is equipped with a high quality camera enabling a high quality recording. Ergonomic there are available in several colours to match different taste. The consumers underline the flowing spec and its intuitive side. The Chinese brand is well known to launch a product without spending money in press and advertising, the result being, more money in the consumer’s pocket due to a cheapest product.

4.     Acer Liquid Z4 Duo
This phone costs R1410 and has a 4-inch screen. It would suit to users wishing a good quality camera and a fast Internet browsing. Indeed, the Acer Liquid Z4 Duo has a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with a LED flash.  Pretty slim, its thickness is 9,7 mm so it fits perfectly in the palm of the hand. Very intuitive, its front speaker boosted by DTS Sound will let you amazed. Very elegant and available with 4GB internal storage, this product is a very good value for money.

5.     Dream ignite II Dream Mobile
With a 4-inch retina screen this phone enables to watch videos and movies on a high quality display. For R1499 have an access to all the android’s apps. The 3.2-megapixel camera offers the possibility to capture everything surrounding you. Developing their own portal, the company adapted its product to the South African market. You can find then all the best South African apps and videos. It’s the first smartphone designed for South African customer.    

The « low-cost » Smartphones market is booming. For now, no brands succeed in developing a high performance cost effective smartphone. Either company are focusing on the quality of the camera, either on the sound, either on the flow…The emerging brand « dream mobile » is slowly entering the market, they found a good balance between a cost effective product and high performances.

lundi 5 mai 2014

What does the" hipster" eat?

Lesson 2 -
If you wanna be a real "hipster" you know NOW (thanks to me) how to dress. Here is the second lesson, open your eyes (I know your glasses are useless).

First thing you need to know, when "hipsters" used to eat something becoming (too) "mainstream" then they change their habits... (Yes, they are smart).

Totally "IN" currently, the burger has been revisited by hipsters. Weird huh? Indeed, this kind of food is usually associated to junk food and fast food (Actually everything is about marketing and packaging, if you wanna make "hipster corn beef" then you just need to work out everything around it). Of course, nothing to do with the famous Big Mac from McDonalds. Say goodbye to fat cheddar cheese and oily beef, those one are made with special breads -ciabatta, poppies bread, olive bread- and special ingredients like rocket, goat cheese, honey, nuts, dry tomatoes, pesto, mozzarella, brie (and so on) and real fresh meat.



"Hipster" are big fans of organic food and some of them are vegetarian. The most brave have their own hens (fresh eggs) and have a garden where grow vegetables. They drink tea -and everything  made of tea like green tea muffin- indeed George Clooney doesn't really target "hipsters". They really like sushi as well although it became mainstream and popular, they always find this special place making food in a hipster way (food trucks are the best). 

Finally, the hipster is a big fan of desert, especially because they like to Instagram it adding old-school filters, "sound so coooool!" They like homemade desert, tartes, muffins, cupcakes, smoothies... They are fond of brunch without even knowing that's the contraction between breakfast and lunch. 

For those who live in Cape town, basically you will find everything I've just said at the old biscuit mill market in Woodstock (I LOVE THIS MARKET, I have to tell you, I'm a bit of a hipster myself...). 

Cheersss


Gallantry - respect or sexism ?

Gallantry: polite attention or respect given by men to women

When I was in Sweden I experienced real equality between men and women. Without even noticing it, in France there are many "mysoginistic" habits. I wanna talk about gallantry or chivalry. Indeed, in my country and in many others, some rules are following by people. Those rules come from the past and History, but have you ever think about it ?

Being a gentlemen means to pay the bill at the end of dinner, open the car door, help ladies to hold heavy things. Guys are suppose to hold the door to ladies and let them go on first.If you go to Sweden don't expect a guy to hold the door for you or let you in first in an elevator. You can judge him for having rude manners but the thing is that over there, they don't have those kind of mores. 

I don't know if you realised it, but there are many "little" things a guy can offer to a woman like flowers and chocolate. Of course you can make happy your boyfriend but it's always harder to find something "small" for boys (I still have something in mind...).

I think everything comes from the past and when women used to stay at home. Indeed, husbands brought gift to their wives at the end of the day either to apologise to come back late from work or simply to please them and make them happy. Same thing for not sharing the bill at the restaurant, women didn't work, guys could afford it.  


Nowadays, Men and Women are socially equal but in my opinion it's more a matter of seduction than sexism. That's the way father raised their sons. Moreover, almost every guys are following those manners so it would be awkward to be the only one transgressing the rules. I don't like when guys pay the bill at the end of a date but I found it stupid to split it as well. 

Here is the thing guys, if you go on a date with me one night, I would insist to pay the bill. If you refuse and I leave you pay, that's because I like you and I will see you again ( So I could pay for you this time). In the opposite case, I would split the bill cause I'm not gonna leave someone to pay if I won't ever see him again. 


Many craps happen on the planet. In my country, I totally have the same right than a man (on the paper at least). In many countries, there is still gender discrimination. I won't fight for something as cute as gallantry, so guys keep doing it ! 



Cheers

mercredi 30 avril 2014

What's a GOOD friend ?

A good friend is someone you call in the middle of the night and answer your call, listen to you, give you advice and calm you down. A friend is someone who's gonna cross a continent to join you and  spend awesome time with you. That person ask for your news frequently, she/he knows everything about your life, every little details. You don't need to ask her/him for help, she/he just feels it when something's wrong and comes to you naturally. Furthermore, he/she'd prefer spend a night with you than with her/his boy/girlfriend. A friend is above all, someone who share your passions, you interests, opinions and ideas... A friend is always honest and respectful, keep secrets and accept your weaknesses. She/he knows you favorite color and favorite meal, what movie makes you cry and the name of all your exes. 



Well people, everything I just said is bull**** !

People always want perfect friends but nobody's perfect. Being tolerant (once again this notion come up) is the most important thing in every relationship. Even though we're all human (already read that somewhere) we're all different. We don't think and react the same way and we don't have the same expectations. No one is always honest and respectful. We all have weaknesses and don't know what to do in every situations. 

For example, I've already said, often, "I'd never do that to her", yourself as well right ? 

Well, that's the most intolerant sentence in the world. It doesn't mean that because a friend did a thing you'd never have done that she/he is a bad person and especially a bad friend. 
We're selfish by nature and that's not being pessimistic but realistic. Nobody is willing to consecrate  time to your happiness. We've our own backgrounds, relationships, problems and to expect someone to react the same way you would is being narrow-minded and beat yourself up. I know it's hard to think that way and not being disappointed when a friend don't match with your expectations. 

We didn't choose our friends because they were attentive and kind. We chose them because they make us laugh, we shared experiences together, we hang out with them and enjoy it. A friendship isn't something flat, that's a roller coaster cause life change, ours and theirs as well. 
So okay, sometimes it's hard (but aka Coldplay - nobody said it was easy-) cause two close friends can be in different places. One of them can be lonely and need more than ever her/his BFF while the other has just a busy life. But guys, really, does not mean she/he forgot about you and doesn't love you anymore. It's just a matter of changes. Things CHANGE and to live in the past or to go on about it, won't fix anything and make it easier. We just have to be strong, learn how to live like that and move forward. 

"Someone who stop learning is a dead man." We do learn everyday, every week and that for the rest of our life. Don't think people's life is better than yours, stop looking around. You're the "master of your fate", don't give up on happiness. I'm not a believer but I still pray, to get focused on my goals, to think of my deepest wishes, to send strength and love to all the persons I love. Even though they don't know it, it makes me happy. I don't think of the utility of everything, and you should stop doing it as well. 

To sum up, a good friend doesn't exist but a true friend, YES! Someone with who you shared amazing moments of life and have comon memories. Someone with who you forget everything because you can't stop laughing. Someone you admire cause she/he has something you don't. Someone real, S O M E O N E ... And the good news is, you don't have a limit amount of friend in  your life, the next one is maybe right next to you, just open your eyes and be open. 

I deeply thought to all my friends while writing this article. I wrote it for someone I love, someone important to me. Not a friend but more than that. And I would like her to try to understand those things. I am not here to give you a lesson or teach you life, far from that. It's just my way to help, put things into perspective and show you I care. I'll keep praying for everybody I love and think to the others lonely soul on earth.

Truly,
Louise









mardi 29 avril 2014

The date mania

Traveling and experiencing other cultures made me realise how people have different perceptions of life, different habits and customs. Even though we're all human being, our way of living is different.
Having several experiences abroad help people to be open minded and tolerant. That's not something stupid to say, that's a true fact, you just realise it when you're travelling.
When you grow up in a country with a really strong society structure, opinions and prejudices about absolutely everything you don't really have other options than being narrow minded. It's just a question of tolerance and the way your parents raised you. The thing is that if you don't experience other cultures you don't really know if the one you're into really fits you.

Anyway, one curious thing for French people is the global notion of "dating".

The french translation for date is "rancard", no other translation even though we don't use that word in the everyday french language. Moreover, there are several other meanings. I'm not sure if I got the perfect meaning of this word/expression but I'll try to explain it to you. 

1- Going out on a date
Two persons get to know each other going out on dates. It can be going out to the movies, out for dinner, out for a drink... It's possible to date several persons at the same time only if it's not really serious and neither side want to commit in a real relationship. You can't date your brother or your friends, the purpose of a date is to get to know someone in order to maybe start something in the futur (for the one well intentioned). 
Double date: Two "couples" going out on a date together. American people are big fans of double dates. Imagine the voice of a st**** American chick saying to her BFF "Owww let's go on a double date!!". 

2- Dating someone 
When you really have a crush on someone then you start a real relationship and you're dating him or her.
Meaning : official boyfriend or girlfriend. 
When you wanna say to someone that this dude is your boy you can say "I'm dating him". 
and if you wanna say that you were with this girl for 2 years you can say "I dated her for 2 years". 

3- Do you wanna be my date ? 
Okay, here is another meaning. When you don't have an official partner to come with you to an event or a party then you can ask a friend, your mother or brother to be your date during the day or the night, he or she will keep you company.

As a french it's a little bit awkward to face the date situation because I never know if it's just hanging out or dating. Anyway, doesn't really matter, the rule number 1 is to be clear with the person since the beginning.

jeudi 24 avril 2014

Saturday night fever !

Hello everyone, 

I went out on saturday and wanted to write something about clubs. You know those places where people are either dancing, drinking or making out in every corner acting as if they were the only ones (I would say "Get a roooom !"). 
Well, I love those clubs, I love dancing but I also love standing against the wall, by myself and looking at them. 

First of all, I'm wondering the purpose of all this. We don't even talk with our friends, music is loud and brains are damaged. Like a profiler in criminal minds, I'm gonna draw up two different popular profiles. 

1- The "every girls are a piece of meat" dude
I am talking to you girls. Those guys, pretty famous and annoying, are usually drunk and try to talk to every girls in the club. They don't care about how you look or who you really are, you are a girl (to be soft) and this is all that matters. 
Usually those womanizer don't really know how to approach you and are really goofy. We feel them coming by far, all sweaty with hungry eyes. 
Here is the top 3 of their favorite approach: 

1- "Hey you, I've never seen such a beautiful girl since ..."
2 - "I am wondering how such a pretty girl can be here alone."
3 - "Does anyone already told you that you look a lot like Scarlett Johansson?"

Your thought about this : 
1- I saw him talking to 20 girls before me, does he really think I'm gonna believe him ? 
2- It's better to be alone than in bad company
3- Really ? I have dark and curly hair, is he blind or something ? 

What they think you are going to think (it works for each sentences) : 

She is gonna be flattered and therefore have desire for me and end up in my bed. 

You know what we say : "where there's life there's hope". We can't blame them to try. 


2- The "out of control" gal 

Target number 1 for the "every girls are a piece of meat" dudes, those girls are neither tipsy, neither drunk, they are waisted. They don't dance, they stumble on the dance floor. Sometimes you see them crying, poor girls life is so hard ! 

They go out and use it as a pretext to wear a short dress and make themselves up. Their goal is to find a guy paying for their drinks. Two in the morning and this is it. Too drunk, they can't even walk in their $20 high heels. Lean on her BFF looking for a cab, she will have to wait seating on the sidewalks for hours (The thing is that cab drivers would rather leave a girl outside than taking the risk to mess up their car).