The final whistle.

Paul the octopus had it all right. And I'm so glad he did. I wish I could have been in Spain last night to celebrate this well-deserved victory with my Spanish friends. Viva España! Olé!

Four weeks of footie fever.

I can recall being in Jo'burg just four years ago during the last Football World Cup when 2010 seemed ever so far away. And yet here we are, on the opening day of the 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup hosted for the first time by an African nation. Kick-off is tonight at 16:00 GMT with South Africa vs. Mexico. Ah, just imagine the pre-world cup buzz and festivities occuring in each town right now. Wouldn't you love to be a part of it? I think I going to start saving up for 2014 in Brazil. Time flies, right?!

Calendar - 2010 Football World Cup

Apple geeks.

The iPad was finally launched in France today and the AAs (Apple Addicts) were au rendez-vous. Update: Charlie Brooker's review of the iPad here.

If you're interested, this article in The Guardian by Charlie Brooker on why he hates Macs is a fun read.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Are you an asker or a guesser?

photo©Alamy

Working in an international environment, I have often come across cross-cultural awkwardness. According to this article in The Guardian it is because as a guesser, I sometimes have to deal with askers, and that is when unpleasantness results. Are you an asker or a guesser? Find out more here.

"We are raised, the theory runs, in one of two cultures. In Ask culture, people grow up believing they can ask for anything – a favour, a pay rise– fully realising the answer may be no. In Guess culture, by contrast, you avoid "putting a request into words unless you're pretty sure the answer will be yes..."

Shoe addiction, what's the cure?

©LaFranglaise

A very funny article in today's The Guardian about how celebrities are completely over the top when it comes to buying shoes. Read the full article here on how Fashion Statement proposes a seven step remedy for these "shoeperstars".

National Procrastination Day.

Why do today what you could do tomorrow? A publishing firm has declared today to be the National Procrastination Day (no joke!). Read more in today's Le Monde and check out the official procrastination website.

Up the duff at 30.

...is what my plan was and had always been. But as life would have it, I'd beat the stats by having a bun fresh from the oven at 28.

According to an article in today's Le Monde, the average age of French women at first childbirth in 2009 has symbolically crossed the 30 year threshold. As more and more women our generation feel the need as much as men to have a career and a good work/life balance, they are postponing having children until after their studies, once they have secured a job, a place to live and are in a stable relationship. Still, this does not mean that French women are having fewer children, quite the contrary. We are the country in Europe with the highest birth rate.

My little beanie came to this world by accident. If I were to have planned it, I'd also probably still be waiting for the right job, the right flat, the right city, the right moment and the right guy. Because regardless of how much societies have changed, there is still a moment in a women's life when she'll think twice about having children for fear their job might consequently be at stake. Priorities do drastically shift as you enter motherhood, but as much as being a mum can be fulfilling, many women also find work extremely rewarding. So why not be able to have the best of both worlds?

You can read the full article here (in French).

photo ©LaFranglaise