So apparently the madness is behind me now, since I've finally handed in the mega research project and ended the class that has ruled my life for the past few months. My prof e-mailed me this afternoon and wrote the following message:

Chère Camille: j'espère que vous vous portez bien et que la fin de la session n'a pas été trop pleine. le plaisir d'avoir des étudiantes comme vous dans ma classe était tout pour moi. maintenant, sachez que vous êtes mon étudiante à vie, et que cela veut
dire que vous pouvez vous adresser à moi si vous vous sentez perdue, si vous avez des questions, si vous pensez que je peux servir de petite lumière à vos questions potentielles. ma porte, en tout cas, serait toujours ouverte, car comme j'ai l'habitude de dire en classe, je suis un professeur (en latin cela dire "guide"), pas un enseignant!!!:)
Portez-vous bien et n'abusez pas trop du temps des fêtes
au plaisir,

If you translate the message on a crappy site, this is what you come up with: Dear Camille: I hope that you go well and that the end of the session was not too full. the pleasure of having coeds as you in my class was all mine, will know that you are my coed for life, and that that wants to say that you can address yourselves to me if you feel lost, if you have questions, if you think that I can be used as a small light for your potential questions. my door, in any case, would be always opened, because as I am accustomed to saying in class, I am professor (in Latin that to say "guide"), not a teacher!!!:) You carry well and do not misuse too much the time of the festivals. with the pleasure,

So we've been to the moon but we can't develop decent translation tools. Anyway, the point is that it is a nice message, despite the fact that my anglophone friends will not understand it, and despite the fact that nothing has really sunk in yet. But I managed to celebrate in a back-door kind of way; after sharing a nice candlelit spaghetti supper with Manon and Mark, Jean-Sébastien came over with some cigars to celebrate the birth of his new little nephew, Raphaël. So with a glass of wine in one hand and a cigar in the other, I was able to toast the arrival of this new little being along with my own personal victory, albeit much more irrelevant in comparison.

The gang went to see the Narnia film tonight, but I needed some down time alone. So I washed the tower of dishes on my counter while singing my heart out to a bunch of different cd's - yes, there were enough dishes to last a few albums. It has been nice to be on my own, although I still can't quite decide how to feel next. All I know is that I have to meditate and find more kindness and love in my heart, cause somehow they got sucked out of me lately. Believe it or not, I was reminded of this need when speaking with my normally gruff, tough-as-nails boss.

I'm so tired. I'd like to go to bed now, except that Sonny the cat has just settled into my lap with the happiest look and the loudest purr. I suspect he is jealous that he no longer writes the blog entries. Be nice to Sonny the next time you come over, ya hear?