l'interview

Miko, who had been very impatient since the day Séb told him about the big event, found himself very disappointed this morning. So, what was supposed to be this big event? He was supposed to interview the group The Black Eyed Peas - who's having a concert next month at the Bercy in Paris. Voilà.

That was supposed to be for Geo-Ado's "Interview of the Month". The magazine asked Miko if he could do the interview and you bet he was as delighted as his mother! Hehe. But hélas, for whatever reason I don't know if it's justified or not, the said interview is cancelled. The group's agent/manager said that there's a problem with the schedule and they might not make it. Ah, okay...

Though Miko adores this group that much, he apparently didn't find the not-so-good news trop dramatique. "Pas grave...je comprends, il y aura toujours une prochaine fois...", he said. Nice attitude, son...

Clémentine's tarte aux pommes

Clémentine asked me if she could help prepare la tarte aux pommes. I said, "bien sûr, pas de problème!". I peeled the apples and cut them in thin slices then the rest was hers... photos will speak for themselves...

en piquant la pâte avec une fourchette...

en versant la compote...

en posant les pommes...

en léchant les doigts, hehe...

avec un peu de sourire aussi...

voilà, presque fini...

la touche finale, le sucre...

Clémentine's tarte aux pommes

Aah!, she enjoyed every minute of it! ^-^

anniversaire de mariage

Yesterday, by the way, was our eighth wedding anniversary. I almost forgot to write about it like we almost forgot about it. Oh I know, am not being clear here. Ok, it was almost dinnertime when I asked my son about the date yesterday and it was Séb who answered, "Errr, tomorrow's my cousin's birthday... 27... 26!". Then we looked at each other at that same moment and just realized that it was our wedding anniversary. "How can you both forget about that? You're incredible!", Miko exclaimed. "Well, quest-ce que tu veux?, that happens", I said.

Eh, oui... Imagine that? forgetting our own wedding anniversary... haha! Oh, that's ok, pas grave.

So, we've been married eight years. Tsk tsk. As though it was only yesterday when I met him in one of those birthday dinners. Laurent's b-day dinner. About ten years ago, MaryJane, Laurent's-then-girlfriend-now-wife, who also happens to be my friend invited me to his man's fête d'anniversaire. And there where I met Séb, who used to be Laurent's colleague...

We went out together... lived together... got married... and still together... Yeah, and hopefully, stay that way... forever.

discounted courses de Noël

It's bientôt Christmas and every year, every last week of November, the supermarket Leclerc gives 50 percent off on toys and this year's treat falls on a Sunday - today. We don't usually wait for this day to buy gifts for x-mas as I and Séb have already witnessed some stupid fights among customers because of this. People sometimes tend to forget they're humans and act like some wild animals fighting over prey.

But yesterday, Séb told me that that could be exciting and we should give it a try, that we should go to the supermarket and see if we could put or hide toys behind other goods such as dog croquette so that today, we wouldn't need to squeeze ourselves into densely packed toys section. Uh-uh, I wasn't really keen to the idea since I know there are caméras de surveillance everywhere, I didn't want to look ridiculous. "So what?, we're just putting toys aside for tomorrow. It might not work but it's worth a try!", he said. "Yeah, I know, mais quand même..., I answered. So, in the end, he didn't insist and just decided to do it alone, haha! Bon courage!, I told him.

And today, as I write this, am having my breakfast, Clémentine's still sleeping and it's been 30 minutes that Séb & Miko left for the supermarket. (Ah yes, early birds catch worms). Séb even put the alarm clock on to be able to be there when the doors open. About two minutes ago, he called up to tell me that they have already paid for the toys. Hehe. He said that apparently, there were other people who thought of doing the same thing since there were about 15-20 toys behind dog foods, haha! And that as usual, there were gendarmes in the supermarket, well in case...

*******

Séb and Miko just arrived and handed me the receipt, paying E86 instead of E172. Ah! now I realized, his ideas are sometimes worth considering, haha! (kidding ^-^)

ma tête, mes plantes et la première neige

For two days I was 'unfunctional', a potent migraine attacked me. I spent these days doing nothing and now I've got lots of things to do. I got up early today and consecrated my morning cleaning the balcony. Coincidentally, we got our first snow of the year and I'd say, I enjoyed doing the ménage under the snow.

First snowfall - when I was still taking my breakfast.

It snowed so hard this is how it looked outside when I finished cleaning our balcony.

I wanted to save my geraniums and herb plants over the winter but it's too late, none of them survived the frost and they all ended up in the trash bags. Oh, I should have brought them indoors before this killing frost...

My geraniums

Poor basilic...

Oh, that's alright, at least I could start putting outdoor garland already. Clémentine's been asking for it.

un temps imprévisible

Yesterday

Today

Tomorrow

Clémentine's liste de Noël

I intended to post this entry last night but just like what happened the other night, I fell asleep with this ordinateur on. "Oh la la!", was what I heard from Séb this morning. He said he found this laptop on the verge of falling out of bed. Ooops! Oh no, I don't want this thing to find itself sleeping at the repairman's office again! D'accord, I'll be more careful next time... (c'est promis, Séb ;))

Ok, what was that déjà that I wanted to write?

Ah yes, we spent the whole afternoon yesterday doing Clémentine's list pour le père Noël. She actually clipped out toys' photos from Toys 'R' Us catalog and pasted them on a bond paper. She's really funny... asking us non stop if Santa wouldn't mind if she asked for toys that look complicated for Santa & his lutins to make, hehe. But of course, we told her that Santa might not be able to give everything that she asked. And as what most parents usually tell their children, "that would depend if you've been naughty or nice" and "that also depends if you eat well or not", we added. Haha!

(So, Père Noël, here they are...)

recto

verso

euh...

Ha! It's Saturday, we all got up quite late this morning and didn't finish our petit dejeuner until 11 o' clock. But obviously, because of over sleeping, I woke up with a headache. And of course, my 1000 mgs. of painkiller to the rescue! So, no sweat.

Miko, afterwards, returned to his room to do his school assignments and to brush up for Monday's Science exam. Clémentine, who's a fan of Dora the Explorer, occupied herself by sticking Dora stickers on her album. Hubby, with his every morning 'confession' & la douche 'combo'. And me, though still looking like a zombie, despite 'heavy' legs and 'floating' sensation, started with my daily housework; eh oui or I'd be a perfect killjoy to an otherwise enjoyable and relaxing Saturday. So, got no choice but to bouge.

Séb, already feeling fresh and smelling oh so good, told me that he's got to go out to do some errands. I wondered what he was up to since we already did the grocery thing yesterday. He said he just forgot to get something for his motorcycle. Ah, ta maitress", I said teasingly. But to my surprise, he came home with this:


There, I was speechless... then I wondered if he happened to read my entry about 'it'. Nah, I told myself, I don't think so, I don't even think he remembers this blog's URL. Bof!, even if he does he wouldn't understand a word, he doesn't speak l'anglais. So, I asked him why and for what occasion. He just said, "rien... je t'aime, c'est tout".

Well?

à table!

Soupe de riz or rice porridge, we philippins, call this dish lugaw. It's called chicken arroz caldo when it's cooked with chicken, goto when cooked with beef or pork tripe. But I love it with both so I don't know how I'm going to call it. In the Philippines, this dish is considered a mid-afternoon snack. But for me and my family here in France, it's a lunch/dinner main course already and is considered a 'cold weather' dish.

Anyway, we had it for tonight's dinner. It's quite cold outside and my son had a craving for it. Why not? So, even though I already thought of having pot-au-feu for dinner, I went to the supermarket right away and bought the lacking ingredients. Good thing I always have a stock of Asian ingredients at home for it's not always evident the supermarket has them.

The main ingredients needed for this dish are rice (one part glutinous, one part regular), chicken/tripe, ginger, onion and patis (fish sauce). This is one of those dishes that takes time to prepare since this is served with cubes of boiled pork belly and fried tofu (bean curd) soaked in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar and diced shallots. Chopped onion leaves and coriander are also added just before serving.

This dish has become one of my men's favorite plats philippins. Too bad Cléms is still in the process of getting used to its taste and always having a hard time finishing her bowl.

little things comptent beaucoup

Cher é-journal,

Just got something to get off my chest...

Judge me, ok? Is it being materialistic when I expect something for my birthday? Am I being selfish if it makes me sad each time I think I was taken for granted on this special day? Is that égoïsme? I don't know. I don't want to give that impression because I'm far from being one.

Contrary to what most persons do, I don't invite or ask people to celebrate my birthdays with me as I find it very imposing. Well, in a way that these people got to bring something for the occasion. C'mon admit it, when you invite someone to your birthday party/dinner, you also expect that they'll bring something, right? A present. Or even if you tell them, "oh, don't bother!", are you sure you're giving an image of being sincere? Do you think you sounded convincing enough when you said that? A birthday celebration is never complete without gifts! So for me, no merci, that's not for me. I never liked being the center of attention. I never liked imposing on people to buy me something, as if it's obligatory. Say I'm bizarre but that's me. That's why I never celebrated my birthdays. The first and the last time I had it celebrated was when I turned thirty and that was a surprise party from friends. I felt like a melting candle the day I went home and found out that they had put effort for that day, everything was meticulously planned and prepared and all my friends were present. Cétait gentil de leur part but throughout the evening, I was feeling stressed and uncomfortable.

From then on, every year, I just let the day pass, I made it a point - no celebrations or whatsoever. Then last month happened to be my fortieth birthday. People called up to greet me... oh, I did appreciate it a lot I admit but if you only knew how I was feeling each time I lifted that receiver... Ah, ce genre de situation, that for me is quite difficult to handle. I felt grateful ok, but the fact that they took time out from whatever they were doing just to call me made me feel awkward.

But I don't know ... in all honesty, I waited for something during my birthday... there was one person I wished and I thought would hand me quelque chose that day. I really waited for it. Strange, am I? I don't think so. I just thought, "after all, It's my 40th!". Yes, I expected it from my husband. C'est normal, non?, he's my husband. And being his wife, I, too, always made sure he gets something from me every year. But I guess I expected too much, he had nothing for me. Why? I don't know, he didn't tell and I didn't ask. Then days after, he told me to treat myself (as his birthday present) for he was too busy he didn't have time to get anything for me. Oh, thanks, but no thanks. Now, he was telling me to buy myself a gift? No, chéri, I didn't want any gifts, I just wanted something that would make me feel appreciated, that's all. A bouquet of flowers or just a single rose on the day itself could have done the job. Just a little something that could make me feel I exist, that was all I wanted.

It's been a month since my 'big'(?) day but each time I think of it, can't help but shed tears. Is that normal? Or am I just being childish?

ça caille!

Apart Miko (car il était à l'école), nous avons resté à la maison toute la journée. Pourquoi? Le mauvais temps, il fait froid et il pleut; en plus Cléms est malade. Et je n'avais rien à faire dehors de toute façon. Séb travaille maintenant à la maison et le seul moment quand il est sorti, cétait pour descendre la poubelle et chercher les courriers. Voilà, hehe. Bon, c'est rare qu'on sort pas mais c'est comme ça. On a resté à la maison regarder la télé, jouer et lire. Et alors? Ce n'est pas grave, il caille dehors!

bonne nuit mon amour, dors bien...

Cher é-journal,

Ma pauvre Clémentine, elle ne se sent pas bien. Elle s'est réveillé ce matin avec le nez bouché. Bon d'accord, de toute façon, à chaque fois elle reprend l'école elle attrape des saletés. Je sais que c'est normale, mais bon, au bout d'un moment c'est fatigant, surtout pour elle. Ce n'est quand même pas marrant d'avoir un nez bouché surtout pour dormir, c'est très embêtant! La pauvre.

Nous somme allé chez Ikea ce midi et j'avais senti qu'elle n'allait pas bien. Nous avons mangé chez Quick car tout les restaurants dans les environs étaient bien pleins alors on a decidé d'aller manger là-bas même si ça ne me branché pas vraiment (et voilà les petits-pains à hamburger qui sont super secs, je sais qu'il y a toujours quelque chose qui ne va pas dans ce resto)! Je ne sais pas si c'est à cause de ça où c'est parce qu'elle n'avait pas d'appétit, elle n'a presque pas touché son hamburger et frites.

Voilà ma plus belle qui est entrain de dormir en ce moment, je la souhaite vraiment une très bonne nuit car à chaque fois qu'elle est malade, elle se réveille dans la nuit pour vomir. D'avoir un nez bouché, ça la gène tellement. Demain, je ne sais pas encore si on va la mettre à l'école car elle avait la fièvre cette après-midi. Mais je pense qu'il vaut mieux qu'elle reste à la maison, je préfère. En plus, il fait super froid ces derniers jours et à l'école elle n'arrive pas à se moucher correctement. Ma pauvre, elle a du mal à réspirer et ça s'entend... (bonne nuit mon amour, dors bien...)

Miko et sa passion...

Cher é-journal,

Our Saturday is plutôt calme. After having a lie-in, a late breakfast and a very late lunch, we consecrated the late afternoon to watch Miko's handball match. Although I already scheduled myself to go shopping after le déjeuner (I need a pair of rubber shoes and a jacket), I told him that we'd be there. Bien sûr, un premier match de championnat shouldn't be missed!

He's been playing handball for years now and this sport seems to please him a lot. Though he, every now and then, plays football with friends, il a un préférence pour le handball. He asked us yesterday if we could come and watch him play, genre he needs supporters (though he didn't say it directly cos he's so timid to accept it), I know he wanted me to 'scream' for his équipe, a 'boost'! Haha!

*******

I wrote the paragraphs above last night (in bed) while watching my favorite TV program Tru Calling; I just realized that I fell asleep when hubby entered the room and took this computer from me, it was about half past midnight. There, I also realized that I missed the last two episodes of the only série I love to watch every Saturday. Purée!

I took about fifteen photos yesterday but I'm such a good photographer they're all blurred, well except for these two...




Et oui, ils ont gagné!

un gâteau de la paix

Cher é-journal,

Today's a holiday. C'est l'Armistice, (November 11, 1918, end of the first world war). Et bien sûr, tous le monde est à la maison, a long weekend! Though it's a holiday, some of the boutiques and department stores are open and I'm thinking of doing the grocery shopping today instead of demain for I've been thinking of inviting my belle-famille to lunch tomorrow. It's been a long time since the last time they were here, oh when was that déjà? Je ne me rappele plus du tout.

Now, what could be tomorrow's menu? *je re...fle...chis...* Ah! How about these turkey legs that have been sitting in my freezer for months now? The hubby thinks of cooking it with chorizo, parsley, celery and green onions. Ah, he's talking about this Gumbo-style recipe. Yeah, that could be good. Why not? Ok, gotta write down the ingredients... Now, pour l'entrée... 'warm goat's cheese on toast and some green salad' could be perfect. Voilà, gotta go now, le supermarché closes early today.

*******

At the supermarket, Séb called me up and told me that there's a change of plan. He just received (through email) several works to do this weekend and the fact of having his family over could be a bad idea. Ok, "c'est comme tu veux", I said. So, instead of buying the ingredients that I listed down earlier, I just thought of buying the Combiné lecteur dvd/magnétoscope for Cléms. Haha! "La surprise qu'il va avoir Séb!", I thought. The difference between chorizo, etc. and this appareil hi-fi, y a pas photo! haha!

When I came home from the supermarket, c'est moi qui a eu la 'surprise', Séb said that he baked a cake. "Wow, I'm impressed!", I said. "Yeah, but errr... it looks a bit burned". A bit??!!


Dommage. The cake really tasted so good, just had to remove the top, the sides and the bottom. *lol*

merci, Rei!

A friend from the Philippines who happens to be a movie scriptwriter and a TV film director sent me an email yesterday telling me to check out an online magazine where he also writes showbiz-related articles. The magazine's ok, it actually comes out monthly but the site is updated only after a month it was released (of course, otherwise no one's gonna buy the mag anymore, ha!). He also told me to check out a section where he put my family's photos. Ok, I did check it out and here it is...




Haha!!
(You're really something, Rei!)

transportée dans le temps...

I don't know how many times I listened to Rod Stewart's "I Was Only Joking" song today. Rod Stewart is one of my all-time favorite artists. I used to have a collection of his albums back home, errr... I just don't know where they are now. Oh, it's been ages! I was still in high school when I started to save from my pocketmoney and started buying his albums. I was about 14 years old then. Now I'm forty and I've been feeling nostalgic these past few days and one thing that just came to mind was to télécharger this song. The day I downloaded this and listened to it for the first time after several years of almost forgetting its existence, was when I was feeling so down, that was the time when I sent a courriel à mon ami telling him I was being sentimental. Truth was I was feeling blue and needed someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on.

Not that I'm feeling down or unhappy at the moment. I don't know, I suddenly have a longing for familiar things and persons. I think I'm missing things I really don't know what. Now as I type this entry, I look for a Philippine radio station that still plays songs I used to love à l'époque. Songs that will bring back memories. But unfortunately, can't find one. Well I might just help myself with itunes music store.

Ah, wait... apparently I got it! The station's iFM 93.9. Not bad... It's now playing Tracy Chapman's "Baby Can I hold You". j'adore cette chanson... I guess I found what I've been looking for. Thanks to the net... As though am suddenly transported back in time, now I'm feeling how it felt ... a long time ago ... when I used to spend my Saturday nights with friends -- pub/disco hopping (oh I still remember the receptionist complaining about how we were dressed, "there's a dress code, sorry", she used to say, haha! I wonder what she does for a living now...), our mugs and mugs of coffee at dunkin' donuts, our favorite "weng-weng" at tia maria's ... aah, I feel suddenly connected to the past and you bet, that feels good...

quel cinéma!

Whoa! I knew it. I knew that the day will come that I wouldn't have an entry posted and that was hier. Comme d'habitude, c'était à cause de ce damned headache, couldn't make my brain work. Had invited friends over for a crêpe goûter I couldn't even remember its recipe. Et oui, heureusement, hubby (à la rescousse) took charge of the preparation and la cuisson, everything. It's not very easy pretending everything's ok even though this petite tête's on the verge of exploding. I'd say, I feel a lot better today, though I could still feel the pounding, that's ok, c'est supportable.

Armanda and Fréd were here yesterday and confirmed that Séb's gonna be walking on the streets of Tokyo on the eight of décembre. Super, eh? Coincidence, he just got his renewed passeport yesterday morning from la mairie. I remember seeing him caressing it with excitement, (Ah yes, Séb, I could feel it... you just can't deny it). nyehehe.

Uh-oh, as I write this, voilà Séb entrain de dégouliner dans les toilettes. He's sick. He woke up with a terrible headache. Oh, I guess it's because of yesterday's excitement and stress: he's feeling the effect today. (C'mon Séb, cooool, prends tes cachets, vas te coucher et tu sentiras mieux).


Oh no, I guess he's gotta go out, the sky is blue, Il fait super beau! Il fait froid dehors mais c'est super agréable car il y a un soleil magnifique! He doesn't know what he's missing, celui-là... qu'il arrête son cinéma... haha!

une escapade ensolleilée

The sun was au rendez-vous, so, we decided to do something worthwhile this afternoon. We went to Chantilly, the horse racing capital of France. Although it's only 10 minutes drive from our place, this was just my second time going there (always too lazy to go out, tsk!). We took our snack with us and spent the whole afternoon walking around the garden and fish ponds. We also brought some stale bread, why? ah, those were for the carps, ducks, seagulls and swans. Cléms and Miko had a fun time throwing bits of bread into the water while hundreds of carps and birds would assemble all in a huddle before them. What a funny sight! Too bad I wasn't able to take a picture of that, I forgot actually, j'ai une "tête de linotte", haha!

Voilà quelques photos que nous avons pris de là bas...


le château de chantilly
l'hippodrome
le musée vivant du cheval
les étangs de la reine blanche
le moulin à eau

la crêperie

que la paix regne...

I turned the TV on while we were having breakfast ce matin. Since it was already late and there were no more dessins animés for Cléms and miraculously she didn't ask for any cartoons on DVD, we were able to see the late morning news. As usual, the devastating news about these bands de connards de rioters! The French interior minister, Sarkozy, warned these bons à rien of stiff jail for arson. Ah, you bet, that's what they deserve! I just don't get it, why do these youths do horrible things like that? ça sert à quoi? And why is it that it isn't surprising that the ones who started all these things are from Seine-Saint-Denis?

Well, Seine-Saint-Denis (dept. 93), is considered as the worst or 'rotten' suburb of Paris. I know that this is unfair for those who live in this area and have nothing to do with what's happening right now. But sadly, it's the district's image. C'est comme ça, le 93 is branded as a craintif area, c'est la 'zone', c'est le Bronx. Why? At first, all I knew was that this area has full of what they call HLM buildings, known as la cité. Unfortunately, these apartment buildings have become known as habitations for 'less fortunate' people and that they pay 30-40 percent less rent than they'd be paying for a similar apartment dans un immeuble non-HLM. To acquire one, one should ask the municipal office, fill up papers and wait for years as there are waiting lists of people wanting to live in these buildings. I remember the assistant to the mayor of the 11th arrondisement in Paris telling me and Séb that the families with at least 4 children with just one person working and/or disabled persons are the priorities and we were far from being priorities.

Then months later, a friend of a friend who happened to live in one of those buildings invited us one Sunday to lunch. My God, I was sooo glad we didn't land in one of those apartments! Children with filthy clothes, ages 4 - 5 were playing outside, unaccompanied. So much parental neglect, I noticed. Teenage girls hanging around with boys with lighted cigarettes in hands. Walls of the buildings were graffiti-filled, filthy stinking halls, and the smell of marijuana was in the air ("oh, c'est normal ici", I remember my friend saying that) -- such a miserable place. There I understood why this place is considered as what it is considered today.

In an English speaking country, usually, when you say "suburbia", it refers to the upmarket areas of a city. But here in France , because of this merdique quartier, the word banlieu or the french term for "suburb", has now a different meaning. Sadly, it now refers to the impoverished suburban areas frequently associated with problems such as unrest, delinquency and unemployment. Not fair, although we're not from that departement and consider the place where we live la campagne bien tranquille, we're still part of Paris' suburbs and called les banlieusards (ewww! I hate that term!).

impeccable!

I don't know why but I feel ashamed of the entry I posted yesterday. But I told myself, this is my blog and I can write whatever I want no? So, no inhibitions or whatsoever. For months, I was too inhibited to write my thoughts down. Oh, those were the frantaglais days, I didn't know how I would look or image I'd give to my readers if I just wrote whatever I felt like writing. I thought, better be careful, or it wouldn't look right. I was scared of looking like a deranged person and being seen as someone not worth listening to. But now, with this one, I said I don't care. Haha!, and who cares anyway? I'm gonna say what I want to say regardless of how crazy, self-centered or childish it seems, so, to borrow from the Coca-cola ad, "it's the real thing...".

Ahh, I feel a lot better today. Yes, malgré le mauvais temps. It's darn cold outside, the temperature plummeted to 12 degrees and it's raining. Kids are at school and I was able to pamper my plants d'interieure a little this morning. They were already looking so dull because of dusts on leaves. Well, maybe that's the reason why my Yucca has been losing its leaves, they couldn't absorb sunlight anymore. I found myself in pleine forme I dusted every leaf... of every plant...

Gotta go now, I still have to go to the supermarket (for I don't have tomatoes for my sauce for tonight's spaghetti bolognaise, hmmmm...), but I got to fetch Cléms from school first.

Alors ... à demain!

et ben...

Wednesday. C'est le dernier jour des vacances de la toussaint. Ahh, that means my calvaire restarts tomorrow. No, I'm exaggerating... au fait I'm talking about Cléms, my problem when giving her her breakfast. She just couldn't take it without feeling queasy. Well, just like anyone else I guess, comme moi I have the same problem. That's why I don't blame her. But it sometimes gets to my nerves when she eats nothing before going to school. So every morning, I know, I wake my neighbors up with my depeche-toi! and alors?!, hehe.

No outdoor activities for us today car it's been raining since this morning. Ah yes, I did have one, how can I forget that? hehe, I cleaned our balcony! I spent at least two hours scrubbing the tiles. It's been a while since I last did it that's why I had a hard time cleaning mildew off them. I also had to remove dried and faded flowers from my geranium plants. Oh, I think they're slowly dying, the cold weather is not for them. Now that my balcon's sparkling clean, je suis contente I could already ask Séb to put x-mas lights on its rail. Uh-uh, I guess, it's a bit early for that...

La coquine! elle n'arrête pas de tricher, elle en profite! haha! 'am playing domino with Cléms en ce moment, as I write this. And she's been taking advantage of quelques seconds de my inattention! ^-^ Ok Cléms, enough, maintenant, à la douche!

Ce n'est qu'un mauvais rêve!

Early this morning, I woke up sweating and gasping for breath for I had a bad dream. Details I remember so clearly that I thought of jotting it down...

I came home from work feeling washed-out when I found Clémentine (she was about one year old) in her dark-green sleepers sleeping on the stairs. She apparently got tired of waiting for me and slept there. There I realized that I left her alone in the house sleeping in her bed. But that was this morning, does it mean she stayed alone in the house all day?, I asked myself. "Oh, poor Cléms", I thought. I carried her to put her back in her room when I saw Lani (my superior at the hotel where I worked years ago). Strange. What is she doing in my house? "I saw her sleeping on the stairs.", I told her. Then she answered, "No, she wasn't there when I arrived". With Clémentine in my arms, still sleeping, I opened the bedroom door and found out that her bed (it was actually just a mattress and no bedsheets) was soaking wet because of the rain that enters through an open window. I pulled the mattress far from the window, turned it over and started putting sheets on it when suddenly my dream's setting changed -- we were in a shopping mall with lots of people with their plastic shopping bags. With Cléms still in my arms, Lani and I were trying to put the bedsheet on the mattress when someone behind me called my attention by touching me with the tip of his little finger (in a 'robotic' kind of way). Bizarre. It was a medium built man wearing a long-sleeved light-blue polo shirt, a hat like that of a cowboy, a pair of cowboy leather boots and a big bulging backpack on his shoulders. He was asking for money. The moment I said "sorry, I don't have here with me...", he took his backpack off his shoulders and hit me with it in the head. He hit me many times with it I felt what were in it, dumbbell weights! He was hitting me so hard my vision got blurred but I still managed to protect Clémentine (who was still in my arms) from him. Lani, at that time was screaming for help but no one seemed to hear nor see what was going on. People continued walking as though we were invisible. In that instant I thought of what my daughter would become if I die. Who will take care of her? I was too afraid this man would also hurt my daughter, so I let Lani hold her and tried to fight the man. I tried to kick his testicles but I had no strength my toes didn't even touch his fly. He then tried to choke me and the moment he was about to kick me in the stomach with those cowboy boots, I thought, "this has to be just a bad dream" and there... I opened my eyes.

Whew! What a relief! I looked at the time, it was 6:15. My whole body was aching, hard to explain.. as though I got electrocuted, my heart was beating so fast and my head ached as though it was in a vise. I got up and took painkillers right away and tried to sleep more but just couldn't. I never had dreams like this before, seemed so real I gave Cléms, who was sleeping profondément, a hug.