November 30- Opera Bastille in Paris: la Boème and romantic love

Farewell November!

In yesterday’s post I was comparing Prince Charming to the acquisition of a tablet, in a very disrespectful way for love, I have to admit. Today, I was exposed to a different point of view: I went to see “La Bohème”, at the Opera Bastille in Paris. And cried my eyes out in this romantic love story at the end of the 19th century.

The story is about poor artists living in small attics in Paris at the end of the 19th century, freezing in the cold winter, but on fire with love and talent. Two romantic souls meet, they are made for each other, but of course, it is a drama, and a tragic death puts an end to the romance. I love so much Puccini’s music, the composer of this opera!

The scene where Rodolfo and Mimi meet and open their heart to each other, is my best I think.

Just a link not from the Paris Opera, but of the Scala in Milano in 1979, because I also like it, to show you what I mean.

Meeting another soul, is so powerful that its only existence in art and in life, moves my heart!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_boh%C3%A8me

 

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November 29- On Tablets and Prince Charming

Hello dear November,

this was a wonderful day in Paris, sunny, it didn’t even feel cold! It was pleasant to walk around and enjoy the weekend rhythm of the city, with the streets becoming crowded from tourists and locals.

I decided to go shopping (credit cards are great for this … at the beginning 🙂 and get myself a tablet. For some reason, this act is identified with more organization, in my mind. I need a tool, like a magic wand that will prioritize my activities and will serve as a helmet if someone tries to get in my face.

I also wanted something where I could read, and eventually, open a word document and write. And something I can afford.

So I spent a lot of time researching in the internet, asking friends, calculating, explaining my needs -at least part of them-.

And I ended up with something that seemed to concentrate many of the qualities I am looking for. I have it next to me right now, and somehow it symbolizes my decision to start a new chapter and be very effective during the next month.

Technology has something magical around it for me, and having an object that interacts, seems a better choice than a new pair of shoes…

Do we proceed in the same way when we become friends with people, or when we choose a “Significant Other”?

Could it be like: ” I need a Prince Charming, this week”. Let’s see what kind of characteristics this individual should have. What are my needs? My desires? How could I afford this Prince? Is he compatible with my life-style? Is this Prince going to change my life? Making me happier, more organized, etc? Does he symbolize something for me?

In the case of a tablet, or a pair of shoes, they don’t have anything to say, it is a question of being able to pay the price.

But there is a price to pay in relationships also. Time, presence, love.

I don’t know if this approach is useful. I haven’t tried it that way. I wonder if other people do.

But what if I did?

http://www.wallpapertopix.com/very-funny-wallpapers/funny-charming-prince/

November 27- Did the wannabe boss win?

Dear November,

today I had a meeting with the wannabe boss, the no 2 of the Platform and his lieutenant. A meeting I was not exactly looking forward to.

Just to remind you, the Platform is a constellation related to art; a place where I am associated to, as a free-lance. They give me a space to operate, and cover some expenses when I suggest the realization of an exhibition for example.

I thought that being there was giving me some connexions and credibility; but it doesn’t guarantee any income for me. And the man who became the Platform no 2, saw himself as a “boss” who can rule in an authoritarian and disrespectful, in my opinion, way.

I had challenged him in the past, by answering back to his insults: he was telling me last year that the Platform is too important and I am not able to organize sufficiently important international events (I report this in the nicest possible way, it was more nasty). He had forgotten to mention that last year was the first time I had some means concretely for “spectacular” events.

After this meeting, that triggered the creation of my blog, I concentrated on my work. I accomplished all the objectives he had set, saying that they were too big for me. But of course, he wasn’t happy. During the whole year, he did his best to make my life difficult and sabotage my projects. But they succeeded.

I tried to go to the Big Boss and for some moral support, in order to get out of his sphere of influence. But the Big Boss refered me to his no 2, the wannabe boss. It was feeding Christians to the lions.

And the lion, with his assistant, wereready to devour me today. The wannabe boss didn’t want to look at my work, he just let me know that I would have to leave the Platform by February 2015. They restructure and change their objectives, that was his reason.

I told him I understand there is an institutional logic and thanked him for the interesting experience I had at the Platform. He wasn’t happy I took it so “well”. And started to count all the benefits that I would miss. How did I dare not to be hurt? Or hurt enough? May be I didn’t realize it was such a big deal!

How do I feel now? Relief

It was no longer productive for me to stay close to a man who undermines everything I do and tries to put me down in every possible way. I performed “miracles” the last year, I even found private funding for my activities. But no matter what, nothing is good enough for him, if I keep my independent, carefree smile in my face.

And it is my most precious treasure.

For some time, the Platform has allowed connections to the art world; but now, under the rule of the wannabe boss, it is not any more a place I desire to be.

I have dreams, and they need love and loving people, in order to come to life.

Goodbuy wannabe boss, you have been my muse for some time.

The moment has come to become my own Boss.

 

November 24- Dreams are like a river that we sail towards the sea

Dear November,

a co-bloger, Charlee Felice, congratulated me yesterday on the realization of my dreams, and that made me think: what are my dreams today, and can they be realized to their full extent?

I came up with an image, dreams as a river we sail, something that pushes us to travel, taking us to the sea. A dream is like a desire, something that motivates us to take action, and at the same time, accompanies us all the way to our destination.

A dream is a way to happiness, special to us and at the same time common to all 🙂

Dreams are also our co-travellers: they change along the way as we change, they transform, but they are in a way, manifestations of our desires 🙂

Let’s have a wonderful journey, and at the same time let’s create new dreams until we get to the sea.

 

https://april4june6.wordpress.com/2014/11/24/november-23-weekend-update/

http://inspirationinwords.wordpress.com/about/

http://motivationgrid.com/21-quotes-about-dreams/

 

November 23- Weekend update :-)

Hello November,

thanks for this beautiful weekend in Paris, we didn’t have so mild autumn days the last years, so we were out and about the city: in cafés, parks, shopping centers, bookstores, or simply, in the streets.

I was having a friend visiting, someone I haven’t seen for three years; it was good to catch up, and somehow, this visit was very uplifting for me! And on Saturday night there was an even bigger gathering with other friends at a tiny restaurant, we were about a dozen, so great to be together!

Old and new friends together, is realizing where we came from and where we are now. It makes us reflect on where we want to be in the future.

Seeing old friends makes us go back to the time we were hanging around together, and get out of a time capsule. We realize what has happened in between: how we have changed and how we haven’t, what things have been accomplished and other not, …

A few years ago, I was having an idea about writing a novel, but hadn’t finished yet. I meant to organize artistic events, but the idea had not materialized yet. Right now, a novel is here and I am talking to publishing houses; there is also a translation that started. Considering the artistic event organization, I have made progress with initiatives that have met success, like the one in the one this summer, in the South of France.

The next step is to find partners and people who can complement me to achieve more and better 😉

Anyway, the bonus with positive friends old and new, is that we can focus on our accomplishments, even if they are small and decide to accelerate! This is what happened to me.

I wrote down a number of things I would like to see done and started … action

Having friends is like having mirrors, but at the same time, it can be a way to become perfect: our qualities together, make us a hell of a group!

http://www.ridesintherain.com/tags/where-i-am-2/

 

November 18- Being the best and taking it easy :-)

Dear November,

I am expecting friends to visit and felt overwhelmed between cleaning up the house, keeping on track with my goals and taking some time for myself.

A lot of things have been accomplished, but the side of me that is critical, is not completely satisfied: is this good enough? There is an ideal of “perfection” that is hiding somewhere, ready to say a word.

I could compare this to the feeling I had as a child when I first stepped into a huge library. Is it ever possible to read all these books? And then, shouldn’t I, if I am a good pupil or student?

One of my teachers laughed at me and told me that with the time I will realize a lot of things are not worth reading, so that limits the number to quiet few in the end.

Maybe this is a bit arrogant, but at the same time it is a way to limit options and make a choice: what is important to me today?

Or, how do I follow an objective and at the same time stay cool?

It’s like being a tender mother to ourself, encouraging and loving no matter what, and at the same time giving ourself incentives to grow and get off  the beaten track 😉

http://www.wikihow.com/Love-Yourself

 

November 17- Wine tasting in Paris

Hello November,

how was your day? I tell you how I finished mine: with a wine-tasting experience! A good friend of mine, invited me to a wine cellar, or to a restaurant that organized a wine tasting experience, with different varieties from … Greece!

You might say, wait a second here, with all this French wine of excellent quality, why bother?

Because we always look for new experiences in life! Isn’t this enough?

So I accepted the invitation to the “cave Mavromatis“, at the 5th arrondissement, and found myself tasting red and white wine from different regions, as well as some interesting “petit fours salés”, or “meze” with cheese, olives and spinach 🙂

My favorite, wines from Nemea, from the Skouras wine house (http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/skouras+grand+cuvee+peloponnese+nemea+greece); why? because there was something I found original, compared to French wines and easy to drink; but I am far from being an expert; but there was an expert around who also liked it and could say everything about the way it was made and all the flavors you could find…

Probably the best wine is the one we drink in good company, reminding us of gathering around the table with dear ones 🙂

http://www.tripadvisor.fr/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d4582810-Reviews-La_cave_Mavrommatis-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

November 16- How to make your own luck and just in case, how to pray for a miracle

Dear November,

I am ready to go to bed after a rainy day in Paris, and dividing my time between my favorite cafés and meetings with certain artists I would like to work with.

As I finally returned home, I started browsing some web pages and came up to “How to make your own luck” and the advice given seemed quiet interesting:

a. Be assertive and proactive

b. Believe in a goal

c. Put deadlines on your goals

d. Expect great lucky ideas to occur to you, but do not worry, if you’re not inspired right now.

e. Raise your expectations

f. Work smarter, not harder

g. Seek new experiences

h. Be positive

i. Persist!

And in case this doesn’t work, there is always another possibility 🙂

How to pray to God for a miracle:

a. Visualize clearly what you want

b Take a moment to calm yourself and connect with God

c. Believe that you already received when you prayed

d. Let it go

f. Alternate Method for Quicker Results (just ask, and see what happens)

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Luck

and http://www.wikihow.com/Pray-to-God-for-a-Miracle

November 15- Powerful female characters in literature and … life

Dear November,

do you think strong female characters come up often in literature and films? Would you say it is important for our growth? The reason I ask is because I have been thinking that starting a small group to help us achieve our goals, should somehow integrate some reading, or film watching, or …

Anyway, being exposed to some female role models. Does powerful mean being some form of warriors? How about being charming? We want to charm our men don’t we? Isn’t it what we have been trying, to show that the two are linked together?

I have been looking in French literature, and the novel that has come to my mind is the “Chartreuse de Parme”, of Stehndal, “The Charterhouse of Parma”, in english, for the character of Gina that has inspired me a lot as a young woman, when I first became acquainted with the novel. I was so much moved by it, that I wouldn’t go for lunch if I didn’t finish an important scene 🙂

The Charterhouse of Parma chronicles the adventures of the young Italian nobleman Fabrice del Dongo from his birth in 1798 to his death. Gina is Fabrice’s aunt, and not what we might conventionally call a character with high morals, but she has a lot of character, and is definitely very active.

How about Elisabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice? To take an example from English literature.

Anyway, I think I will go one reflecting on this issue, and the ways we are powerful and charming 🙂

http://www.e-booksdirectory.com/details.php?ebook=6901

November 14- If you value yourself, the world values you :-)

Dear November,

I spent the biggest part of the day preparing a report for the wannabe boss. The idea was to explain to him my activities as an artistic event organizer for last year, and the ideas I have for 2015. One of the secretaries came by to tell me she overheard he is not happy with the way I spent part of the budget. I promised it to a big art exhibition this summer, and for some reason he was not happy with that.

I felt in a mystery novel, in Kafka’s Castle, or another bizarre château, full of intrigues, treasons, talking behind closed doors, etc. There is a part that is inspiring for a novelist, and another part, in everyday life that is challenging.

In any case, I realize that I have a purpose that inspires me: to work on uplifting artistic expositions, that stimulate creative responses in challenging times. This sounds general, but still, I can find concrete ideas to objectivate it.

And for this reason, a very central place is important, it could be the Platform, or a place at the crossroads of artistic events, but I also need some people who are happy to work with me and trust me.

Right now I am drinking a form of herb tea, “Yogi tea” and there is an inscription on it, that says: “The moment you value yourself, the whole world values you”.

It sounds so true!

So I guess everything falls into place when I get to see the larger picture. And the larger picture is my goal and the means I need to accomplish it. And the person I become taking this path 🙂

http://ink361.com/app/users/ig-289214352/karisanari/photos