Olympic, NDP and balcony updates

Time flies. It has been more than 4 years since I stay in France. I did a blog entry on the opening of the Olympic games back then and I was amazed that I had been writing for 4 years now. I must say that I had forgotten about some trivials and reading them in my blog months/years later helps to bring back my memory.

Le temps passe vite. Je suis en France depuis plus de 4 ans. J'ai écris sur l'ouverture des jeux l'Olympiques il y a 4 ans et je suis surpris de toujours écrire. J'avoue que j'ai oublié quelques petites choses et en lisant mon blog de temps en temps, j'ai retrouvé ma mémoire.

08 August 2008 08.08pm: As I was working during the opening of the Olympic games, I could only catch it from time to time on internet or on the office TV. I managed to see 2 seconds footage of a group of Singaporeans passing by. I enjoyed the performances put up by the chinese though I think it would be more spectular watching from the stadium itself. Somehow, the TV could not display the right lightings and brillant colours.

08 Août 2008 20h08: Comme j'ai travaillé pendant l'ouverture du JO, j'ai regardé de temps en temps sur Internet ou la télé du bureau. J'ai réussi à voir pendant 2 secondes le groupe de Singapouriens. J'ai aimé la performance donnée par les chinois même si je pense que c'était certainement mieux de le voir sur place. La télé n'arrivait pas à montrer les luminaires et les couleurs avec précision.

09 August 2008: Happy birthday Singapore. Singapore has turned 43. However, I missed the National Day Parade as I was out having lunch with granny-in-law. I do wish prosperity for ALL Singaporeans.

09 Août 2008: Joyeux anniversaire Singapour. Singapour a 43 ans. Je n'ai pas regardé la défilé car j'étais en train de déjeuner avec belle-mamie. Je souhaite la prospérité à tous les Singapouriens.

10 August 2008: Balcony updates again. My cherry tomatoes are turning red. So far, I had harvested 50 of them out of my 4 tomatoe plants. I used them in salad and during aperitif. They tasted good. There are still a few dozens on the plants. The ROI (return of investments) is pretty high. It feels good to be eating my own crops though for the moment, it is limited to cherry tomatoes. I even gave a dozen to my neighbour this evening.

10 Août 2008: La mise à jour à propos de mon balcon. Mes tomates cerises sont rouges. J’en ai déjà cueilli une cinquantaine parmi mes 4 plantes. J’en ai utilisé dans la salade et pendant l'apéritif. Elles sont bonnes. Il en reste encore quelques douzaines. Le ROI est justifié. C’est bon de manger ma récolte. Mais, pour le moment, elle est limité aux tomates cerise. J'en ai même donné une douzaine à ma voisine ce soir.For the rest of my plants, they are not doing so well. It is very windy on the balcony and most of my flowers are faring badly. I wonder if this windy season is unique as it is our first year in this appartment. I have to source for hardy plants for the next planting season. Any recommendations?

Pour les autres plantes, elles ne vont pas bien. Il y a du vent sur mon balcon et mes fleurs le supportent mal. Je me demande si ce vent est unique pour cette saison car c’est notre première année dans cet appartement. Je vais me procurer des plantes vivaces pour la prochaine saison de plantation. Les propositions sont les bienvenues !

Where is Belarus, Angola, Saint Lucia?

I watched the opening of Olympics yesterday. As Athens is an hour ahead of Paris, we were sitting in front of the TV by 8pm. The opening was impressive. I really liked the parade put up by the Greeks. A total of 9000 Greek men and women were involved in this parade.

When it was time for the participating countries to appear, I was anticipating eagerly for the appearance of the Singapore team. Then, Seb started to test my knowledge of geography. With each passing team, he asked me where the team's country was located. Which part of the world is Belarus in? What is the capital of Angola? Where is Saint Lucia; and Nicaragua? I realised that I was in dire straits . Do I only know the major, big developed countries? How many countries are there in the Pacific oceans, South America and Africa? Do you know that there are 202 countries involved in this Olympics? I felt ashamed that I do not know these other beautiful countries where life is simple in the middle of no where. And the thing is Seb knows most of the 'ulu' countries and which continent or ocean they lie in. I do need to find out more and urge the rest of the Singaporeans and Americans to do so too. I realised all too well that when we find out more about another country, culture, people, our minds are widen and enriched.

Now back to the opening of Olympics, we watched and waited for 2 hours before we finally saw the Singapore team passed by our 29 inch box in 8 seconds. I felt so proud to see the Singaporeans though I suspected that few are neutralised citizens. Just check out their names and you will get what I mean. In any case, I do hope we bag something. It will really give me a lunch time conversion to start with my colleagues.

With 4 free channels showing Olympics provided by our Internet provider, I shall stop here and catch up on some sports. For now, it is women basketball time.