FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Read to the end of the story for a helpful relationship tip ♥.

Today's Word: rendre l'âme

    1. to breathe one's last breath (person)
    2. to stop working forever, to give up the ghost (object)

Click here to listen to the following sentence in French
Mon ordinateur portable HP a soudainement rendu l'âme.
My laptop suddenly gave up the ghost.

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

My computer died the day after Christmas. Thankfully I had finished composing my blog post, and as the next billet was due in a week, I could remain (somewhat) calm in time to trouver une solution!

Mais tout d'abord, why had my laptop suddenly gone kaput? Had the foot of my chair crushed the cord? Had the grid finally shut down (a government-issued "blackout" as rumored by les complotistes... It sure began to seem so when a day later my iPad a rendu l'âme! Rest assured, I am not a conspiracy theorist (not unless, as someone once said, there is a conspiracy!)

Thinking it over, I recalled a string of unusual activity beginning when my husband bought me the HP (this, after my PC died). The new laptop never did work properly. After several glitches, I began to suspect there was some sort of magouille behind it all. Had the revendeur sold us the computer equivalent of a lemon?

To begin with, the laptop took at least  20 minutes to start up. Early on, I had to work around this issue. I'd fire up the machine in the morning, then go downstairs and pull some weeds, feed the chickens, make some tea and hopefully return to a ready screen. By then any writing I had composed in my head was lost. To say this loss was not unpainful is, to put it frenchly, une litote!

(une litote = an understatement)

In the next two years, as I updated my blog, typed up our memoir, and wrote articles for a bi-monthly magazine...the clavier began to disfunction, making it more and more "challenging" (litote! litote!) to write.    

--les guillemets ont laché (the quotes key no longer worked)
--pareille pour l'arobase (same for the @ symbol)
--et le pavé tactile ne marchait plus (and the touchpad stopped working). I resorted, instead, to a very old souris. At least it worked!

Then, this past week the numbers pad began to act up, and a few chiffres were now unavailable. Just as for the quote key and the arobase, in order to write (especially dialogue, which called for quotes) I had to copy and paste certain characters from another document, which entailed googling the letter or number, (i.e. writing the words "italics" or "arobase") and then manually transferring (copy-paste) the needed character. I also memorized several Alt combinations that would produce the needed punctuation (again, the most often needed were those " " and @, or Alt 34 , Alt64).  Imagine working this way! All the while trying to focus on the story you are trying to write. What is the definition of insanity?:

La folie, c'est de faire toujours la même chose et de s'attendre à un résultat différent. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. --Albert Einstein

I did try to solve the problem, spending time in online forums or googling "mes guillemets ne fonctionnent plus!" But none of the tips to recover the keys worked for me or my (contreband?) HP. After periodic efforts to solve the issue, I gave up, and because I am a pathetic fencesitter and will suffer obstacles rather than remove them, it took a complete computer breakdown to resolve this worsening situation.

As bad as it was to have a laptop gone kaput, it forced a change of circumstances. 

It was time to find a new ordinateur portable but just which one? L'embarras du choix! There began two days of torture for me and for my husband. Jean-Marc tried to help and in no time at all had narrowed things down to a Huawei Matebook d15, but I had my doubts as to how he came to this ultra-rapid decision. Price? The fact I could use my Paypal to purchase it? or did he simply choose the first thing he found?!!!

When I accused him of this much, let's just say he didn't take it well (litote! litote! litote!)!

It really wasn't fair to expect him to help me only to criticize his help (we've run into this issue before in our 26-year marriage: If left to do so, my husband is willing to make choices for me--where to eat, where to vacation, what color to paint the bathroom) as long as I do not complain about those choices! I finally understand his side, now that I am in a similar situation with another family member. Just like Jean-Marc, I find myself reminding my loved one:

I will help, but don't complain about my choices for you if you won't make your own! 

It was time to make my own choices. So why the resistance? Why not get a MacBook?! After all, writing has been my full-time job for 18 years. (Why the need to justify?) A high-end computer was certainly justifiable--as it was the main investment needed for my business. Now, on the other hand, looking at my husband's business...his beloved wine shop...it seemed he needed thousands of items and art on his walls!

Tu fais comme tu veux! my husband reminded me. You do as you want (and leave me to do what I want!)  

So, after a short-lived fight, the two of us swallowed our pride and went to DARTY--France's popular electronics store. As complicated as I could make this computer-choosing quest, and in desperation to get back to work ASAP, I pared things all the way down to the essential. I needed:

--un bon clavier (a good keyboard)
--un grand écran (a large screen)
--quelque chose performant et fluide (something efficient and rapid)
...or whatever was in stock! 

And we had 19.5 minutes in which to choose if I was to take my husband up on his offer to shop with me! (He needed to be at work by 10.) I walked out with a Lenovo ideapad L340, a laptop that may be better suited for video gamers, but the salesman assured me, c'est vite! Hopefully it would be quick enough to catch the Muse, or Inspiration, before she flew off once again!

Later, when I got home, my son pointed out the bright electric blue backlighting beneath the keyboard... Oh well, the fluorescent lumière adds a bit of disco to my writing routine. And my fingers have certainly danced across this keyboard while writing today's missive. Yippee, and thanks to my husband or I might still be on the fence instead of back in the saddle.

As for "what is the best computer for a writer journalist novelist" (a phrase I typed into google several times during my laptop search), let me give you the answer from my personal experience: the best computer is the one you use, whether or not all of the keys work! 

--
In the comments, I would love to know what computer you use and if you would recommend it. Also, have you made the transition to a MacBook and was the learning curve ok? I see Google has come out with a laptop, any thoughts? What about Dell? Finally, do you have those special computer glasses? Because, even with this big screen, my eyes are blurring. See any mistakes in this post? I thank you for your edits.

FRENCH VOCABULARY
rendre l'âme = to give up the ghost, to die
le billet = column, blog post, missive
trouver une solution = to find a solution
mais tout d'abord = but first off
un complotiste = conspiracy theorist
la magouille = scheming
le revendeur = reseller
une litote = understatement
la souris = computer mouse
le chiffre = number
lâcher =  give up
les guillemets = quotes, quotation marks
l'embarras du choix = so many choices

From Darty, I headed to Le Vin Sobre, Jean-Marc's wine shop, where he offered to help me set up my new laptop. Notice those disco keys on the clavier! (Also, that's one of Mom's paintings in the background)

That evening, computer problems now behind us, we had a relaxing and romantic stroll at the Old Port here in La Ciotat. 

All's well that ends well. Tout est bien qui finit bien.

Welcome to the antépénultième post of the year. Read on for less obscure and more meaningful words! (This photo was taken this morning. Do not miss the end photo of a horse in the sea also taken here in La Ciotat.)

Today's Phrase: Tout va bien se passer

  : everything will be alright (it'll all work out!)

Click here for the sound file

   
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
Round three of trying to compose a story for this last (second-to-last? or antépénultième) post of the year--in which I'd planned to share what's on my mind and, in so doing... en agissant ainsi ... cobble together an offering in the midst of les fêtes (au fait... BONNES FETES! By the way, happy holidays!).

Like so many of you, I have a lot on my mind, which is just the Devil's way of distracting us from our goals and dreams, and my goal and dream is to keep writing. Not because I enjoy writing (I don't. It can be torturous...), but because writing is an effective way to focus, to calm down, and, best of all, to find meaning in seemingly meaningless things. (The word manger is a timely example!)

I may not have a 'real' story to tell today, but I can write for writing's sake! And so as not to waste your precious time, I will add as many French words--autant que possible--for édification. That, after all, is why you and I are here: to improve or s'améliorer. You came here to improve your French, and I'm here to improve tout court!

At this point in our messy essay (this, the antépénultième paragraph? on verra!) I am doubtful as to just what these words are adding up to... except freedom (au moins pour moi -- at least for me). I hope this billet will free you, too, from whatever might be torturing you!

Back to writing... It is not my style to plug this many French words and phrases into a post. I would rather things happen naturally, and not forcibly.  Mais, on fait comme on peut, we do as we can... on days when we feel we can't. Otherwise said, if we do what we can on days we feel we can't...we are a little freer, less tortured, and enjoy more meaning in life.

I'd better end here while I still have your attention. Have I? Good, then please remember this: It is okay if you are stuck today. You won't fall terribly behind. You are not a failure or a loser or an imposter. Most importantly, You are not alone. And one more message for those who need it most: It will all work out. Tout va bien se passer.


FRENCH VOCABULARY
Tout va bien se passer = everything's gonna be OK
antépénultième = third to last
en agissant ainsi = in so doing
les fêtes = the holiday season
au fait = by the way
bonnes fêtes = happy holidays
autant que possible = as many as possible
améliorer, s'améliorer = to improve, to improve oneself
le billet = column, blog post
tout court = period, full stop
on verra = we will see
au moins pour moi = at least for me
on fait comme on peut = we do what we can


I'll end with Mom's favorite picture, taken a few years ago here on the shores of La Ciotat.

Heartfelt remerciements for your responses to this award from La Renaissance Française. Your kind words are pure gold! Back now to the weekly chronicle. I'm eagerly rolling up my sleeves and I thank you for reading.  (Mince! just realized today's word (selected days ago) clashes with this opening message. Read on to find out why... and learn extra vocabulary and French phrases in the story.

Today's Word: le vide

    : emptiness, nothingness, void

Audio file: click here and listen to Jean-Marc read these French words:
Il y a dans le coeur de l' homme un vide en forme de Dieu que rien de ce qui a été créé ne peut remplir. There is a God-shaped hole in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing. 

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

When my husband alerted me one of our hens was loose, I hurried over to the poulailler--a large enclosed yard where our 4 chicks and most of the neighborhood doves and pigeons congregate at feeding time. But as soon as our snow-white fugitive, 'Mama', saw me she hurried behind the narrow fence, out of reach.

Zut! There was no time to chase down Mama if I was to make it to church on time. Tant pis! With any luck, Jules would see her from her studio window and put her safely back. On my way out, I quickly covered an artichoke plant to protect it from a wandering beak and hoped the lettuce et compagnie would be safe! Still, I worried about any fowl play, or damage I might return home to, what with a hen-on-the-loose... 

Strangely, the moment I walked out our front gate, poof! the worry disappeared...only to return hours later, on my way home from Sunday service. During the twenty-minute walk, I had been busy trying to memorize a quote our pasteur shared, by the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal:

Il y a dans le coeur de l' homme un vide en forme de Dieu que rien de ce qui a été créé ne peut remplir. There is a God-shaped hole in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing.

Il y a dans le coeur de l' homme un vide ... I was in the middle of repeating the citation when Mon Dieu! Ma poule! I remembered the situation back home... Cautiously opening the front gate, I was surprised to see my chicken bolting across the yard, in my direction. Skidding to a complete stop at my feet, my hen abruptly turned and crouched down in an instant surrender. So I reached down and swooped her up.

As we walked quietly back to the fenced pen, my feather fugitive resting securely under my own wing, I murmured to her: Big world out there, hmm? Lots of fresh grass to eat, luscious lettuce, forbidden artichokes leaves... And now, after tasting all that you want to go back to your humble--cozy abode...

With each vérité, my hen murmured back, her eyes fixed on her now-precious enclos.
Yes, I understand, I do understand! I continued, sharing a famous dicton:

Un petit chez soi vaut mieux qu'un grand chez les autres. A little place, all one's own, is worth more than a big someone else's place.

A sweet quote, n'est-ce pas? This brings me back to the other citation I had been trying to memorize. Let's see, where was I... Il y a dans le coeur de l' homme un vide en forme de Dieu...there is, in the heart of man, an emptiness... in the shape of God....

The two sayings have nothing to do with one another, but after trying to scribble some philosophy into a chicken story, I am suddenly all fowled up, and struggling to conclude today's offering. How about we combine both quotes and end with this proverb:

Home is where the heart is. Là où est le coeur, là est le foyer.



--
For more, don't miss Pascal's God-shaped Hole, an article in The Harvard Ichthus. And, special thanks to our hen, 'Mama,' for inspiring so many bilingual French quotes in today's edition. 

FRENCH VOCABULARY
le remerciement = thanks, acknowledgment
mince = damn!
le poulailler = henhouse, chicken coop
zut! = shoot!
tant pis = too bad
et compagnie = and the rest, and the others
le pasteur = pastor, minister
Il y a dans le coeur de l' homme un vide en forme de Dieu que rien de ce qui a été créé ne peut remplir = There is a God-shaped hole in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing
la vérité = truth
le dicton = saying, adage, proverb
un enclos = pen, run, enclosed plot of land
un petit chez soi vaut mieux qu'un grand chez les autres = A little place, all one's own, is worth more than a big someone else's place!
n'est-ce pas? = isn't it?
Là où est le coeur, là est le foyer = Home is where the heart is

I was looking for photos to go with the heart/home theme in the last quote. Est-ce que ça passe ou ça casse? Does this one make it or break it? Would you rather see a photo of a chicken? :-)

Today's Word: le ravin

    : ravine, a deep or seemingly bottomless chasm...

Audio File: Click here to listen to Jean-Marc read the last sentence in his story, below.

A BILINGUAL STORY  by Jean-Marc Espinasse

(English version follows, below)

Puisque que la météo avait prévu de la neige dans les Alpes, je me suis décidé à partir tout seul ce weekend pour faire de la randonnée en profitant de cette première neige fraîche de l'année. J'avais déjà utilisé notre petit Jimny 4X4 pour venir dans les Alpes alors qu'il neigeait et j'avais pu vérifier que cette voiture avait une bonne tenue de route dans ces conditions là.

Mais ce soir, la neige était très glissante et vers minuit à presque 1 km de mon arrivée finale un petit animal a traversé la route. À vrai dire je ne sais pas si j'ai mis un coup de frein ou si j'ai mis un coup de volant pour l'éviter, ce qui est sûr c'est que la voiture est partie en travers et qu'elle est entrée dans le ravin. Vous pouvez imaginer l'effroi et l'horreur que j'ai vécu, ne sachant pas, pendant cette chute, si ce ravin était pentu, s'il était long, s'il y avait des arbres , une rivière... bref je me suis véritablement vu mourir. Cette descente infernale dans ce ravin n'a duré peut-être que deux ou trois secondes mais pour moi elle a duré une éternité.

La voiture est miraculeusement restée sur ses quatre pneus puis elle a stoppé net. Heureusement j'avais ma ceinture de sécurité et j'ai été franchement étonné de savoir que j'étais en vie, sans aucune blessures. J'ai réussi à ouvrir la portière malgré la neige je me suis rendue compte de la chance que j'ai eue puisque la voiture n'as pas fait de tonneaux dans ce ravin très pentu. Il m'a fallu 30 minutes pour grimper, à l'aide des branches de buissons, les 15 m de dénivelé enneigés et rejoindre la route où un ami était venu à mon secours.

Après une très mauvaise nuit de sommeil je me suis réveillé sans courbatures et j'ai trouve les personnes qui m'ont aidé à remonter la voiture sur la route. Il a fallu un tracteur agricole avec un treuil, un porte-char pour amener le tracteur sur le lieu le travail et enfin un camion avec plateau pour pouvoir mettre la voiture accidentée dessus et l'amener chez le garagiste. Trois officiers de police sont également venus pour couper la route pendant cette opération délicate. Après avoir attaché la voiture aux câbles, le très puissant treuil du tracteur a réussi à la remonter au bord de la route sans aucun souci. Quel a alors été mon étonnement de voir que la voiture n'était pratiquement pas accidentée et que le moteur a démarré au quart de tour.

Le soir de cet accident, il y avait un tirage du loto historiquement élevé. Je n'ai pas joué à ce jeu mais j'ai quand même eu l'impression d'avoir gagné le gros lot. Je n'ai eu aucune blessures, la voiture n'a pas eu besoin d'être réparée et j'ai finalement pu profiter de cette neige fraîche, à l'origine de mon accident mais qui a également amorti et évité le pire dans ma course folle au sein de ce ravin.

ENGLISH VERSION

Since the weather forecast had called for snow in the Alps, I decided to go alone this weekend to hike, taking advantage of this first fresh snow of the year. I had already used our little Jimny 4X4 to come to the Alps while it was snowing and I had been able to verify that this car had good handling in these conditions.

But tonight the snow was very slippery and around midnight, almost 1 km from my final arrival, a small animal crossed the road. To tell the truth, I don't know if I put on the brakes or if I used the steering wheel to avoid it, what is certain is that the car took off sideways and so entered into the abyss. You can imagine the dread and horror I experienced, not knowing, during the fall, if this ravine was steep, if it was long, if there were trees, a river ... in short I truly saw myself dying. This hellish descent into the abyss only lasted maybe two or three seconds, but for me it lasted forever.

The car miraculously stayed (upright) on its four tires and then came to a stop. Luckily I had my seat belt on and I was frankly amazed to know that I was alive with no injuries. I managed to open the door despite the snow and realized how lucky I was since the car did not roll over in this very steep ravine. It took me 30 minutes to climb out, using the branches of the bushes, the 15 m of snow-covered vertical drop, and reach the road where a friend had come to my aid.

After a very bad night's sleep, I woke up with no body aches and found some people who helped me get the car back on the road. It took an agricultural tractor with a winch (a hoist), and a tank loader, to bring the tractor to the area and finally a truck with a platform to be able to put the damaged car on it and take it to the garage. Three police officers also came to cordon off the road during this delicate operation. After having attached the car to the cables, the very powerful winch of the tractor managed to raise it to the side of the road without any problem. I was astonished to see that the car was hardly damaged and that the engine started at a quarter-turn (of the key).

On the night of this accident, there was a historically high lottery drawing. I didn't play this game but still felt like I had won the jackpot. I had no injuries, the car did not need to be repaired and I was finally able to take advantage of this fresh snow, which was the cause of my accident but which also cushioned and prevented the worst in this mad race into the abyss.

 
Jean-Marc enjoying the snow.

I am delighted to share with you that I will be receiving a gold medal, La Médaille d’Or des Valeurs francophones, from the French government. This is a landmark in my near 20 years of blogging about the French language and culture. Sincere remerciements to Bernard Duhaime, president of La Renaissance Française, to the American Delegation, and to the French Committee for this nomination and award. And merci infiniment to you, Dear Reader, and to my family, for your support and ongoing encouragement over the years. This reward would not be possible without you!  (photo of French Ambassador's Residence by APK via Wikipedia)

Today's word: le remerciement 

    : thanks, acknowledgment

Sound file: Listen to my husband, Jean-Marc, read in French and in English:
Médaille d'or des Valeurs francophones--Cette médaille distingue les personnes qui se dévouent au développement ou au resserrement des liens linguistiques et culturels entre la France et les pays ayant la langue française en partage.

Gold Medal for Francophone Values -- This medal distinguishes people who devote themselves to the development or strengthening of linguistic and cultural links between France and countries sharing the French language. -La Renaissance Française

More than an honor, this award is a second-wind, uplifting, and a motivation to continue to peaufiner or refine, polish, and improve this weekly French journal--and it will keep me on my toes for an eternity (this last word reflects the accidental stars in the photo, above).