Dashing through the snow

What a great start to the week - just coming out of a lovely (semi-)domestic weekend, and the weather's finally warm enough to pull on a skirt and my new high leather boots. Didn't get anywhere near as much work done on the weekend as I had planned, but it's the fault of the damn recruiters I tell you. (OK, so there was only one application due, but it was hard work for someone who's never written a cover letter before.) (OK, so I only ended up spending an hour on it, but gosh darn it sure sapped a lot of my energy.)

Anyhows, here's a quick breakdown. Braved the whipping wind on Saturday to run with S. Never thought I could run comfortably for an hour, but the combination of brisk weather and gorgeous running trails (witness above) has done wonders for my stamina. Back home for a wonderful solitary meal of toasted baguette, scrambled eggs, duck mousse, pork rilletes and my precious Epoisses. It's early days yet, but right now I would be happy to graze on bread, pate and cheese everyday. Certainly helps that I've managed to find some pretty decent stuff in the supermarkets and can highly recommend the Fleury Michon brand of mousse pur canard (recette par Joel Robuchon!).

Quick run to the supermarket - more chocolate - and it was back home to prep for Chinese New Year dinner at Chez S&K. Nothing fancy, P. came over and we whipped up bak kut teh, honey chicken and brownies (new recipe) for a cosy group of 7. Just something to line the stomach while we headed out to the Seven Sins party at chateau Villecerf. I can't imagine what it would be like to live at one of these chateaus - to host half the school in every inch of shared space available, with a DJ and open bar and, in the case of the Villecerf folks, bonfires and fireworks in the backyard. More outrageous costumes, kissing of cheeks and the occassional grabbing of waists. The downside to these parties is that they never fail to remind me how crap I am at networking. Put me in a group of friends and I'll gladly ham it up for everyone's amusement, but leave me next to a stranger for 10 minutes and I'm making excuses to go to the washroom. That's definitely top 5 on my list of lifeskills I need to pick up in the next year. Freshly taken off that list is driving - especially after witnessing the pileup of cars on the icy road back from Villecerf.

Woke up ridiculously late on Sunday, went for another run, and back home to prep for another potluck CNY dinner - this time with the entire Chinese community at Chez School Cafeteria. S. convinced me that we should don our qipaos, which turned out to be good fun, thanks to the other folks who turned up in kungfu costumes and Mao jackets. Couldn't keep my hands off the roasted duck and char siew, and now JJ has the photographic evidence to prove it. Ah well. I know this might sound lame, but I really enjoy hanging out with the Chinese community here. Not that I'm not mixing with non-Asians, but there's always so much to laugh about once people start trying to speak in their not-so-native Cantonese and Mandarin.

Got home just in time to work on my internship application. (The astute amongst you will note that this was the chief reason why I had so little time for schoolwork.) Sent it off 5 minutes before the deadline and duly rewarded myself by whipping up my first-ever batch of Nutella triple-choc cookies. I foresee being on very friendly terms with the size-of-your-head-I-kid-you-not tubs of Nutella in every French supermarket.

So, another weekend has passed in a blur and the week ahead is loaded with group work. Before I run, here's a picture of my first snowfall in Fonty, taken with my trusty Nokia N70. A tout a l'heure!