James

I am 40 years old. And, to be honest, I am not doing well. I have a four-alarm midlife crisis. I'm not where I want to be, professionally or personally. I'm sure my younger self would be very dismayed to see where I am (and where I am *not*) right now. I miss my youth. When I hear about a younger person more "ahead in life" than me, it drives me up the wall (not that I'm not happy for them). I feel the clock ticking. It's beginning to affect me physically.

So...I was wondering whether I could use a different perspective. When I look back on my 20s, I think "Wow, I was so young, and I didn't realize it!" About my 30s, I think "Wow, a great mix of youth and some know-how, and I didn't make the most of it." I ask myself what I will think when I look back on 40.

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm having a pity party or that I'm fishing for reassuring comments. Anything honest and thoughtful would be appreciated. And is there a happy ending to a midlife crisis? I know I might be a tad early having one. I'd hate to think this will go on for a long time.

I request only native French speakers to answer this one, please, because I'm not only asking about the meaning of a word but what French speakers think of it.

I've watched some French movies, and there have been times when "con" was translated in the subtitles to "idiot". But I've also seen it translated to "******". Google Translate suggests all sorts of bad words as a translation.

So, is it an offensive word or just rather strong? Would you say it at work? A job interview? At church? Would you ever hear it in a children's cartoon?

Bonus question, what about "connerie"?

"Levant les yeux, il decouvrit avec un effarement indicible la tete de Dutilleul, collee au MUR a la facon d'un trophee de chasse......A peine venait-il de s'asseoir que la tete reapparaissait sur la MURAILLE" (Marcel Ayme)

Le mur de Berlin...La Muraille de Chine

Mur, muraille, la meme chose?

Merci d'avance!

I drive a 2005 Saturn, about 40k miles. When I drive sometimes, I hear a "click" in the vicinity of my steering wheel, then the power steering warning comes on, and indeed it is hard to make turns. But the next time I start the car, it is working beautifully. (It never gets better, though, during the drive. Only after I have turned off the car and turn it back on the next time does it work again.) This has been happening irregularly -- once it happened twice in day, but another time 10 days went by before it happened again. Does anyone have an idea as to what is going on?

The pole would be of the strongest material possible, and extend out for many thousands of miles, well past the moon, such that, as the Earth spins, the end of the pole is covering enormous distances in a second.

I read the comic book "Asterix et Cleopatre", and I don't understand the joke of one passage. Roman soldiers tried to get through a barricade but were repelled. The general tells them to try again.

Soldier 1: "Mais on vient de se replier" (But we just retreated)

Soldier 2: "Déployés, on va se faire égorger" (Deployed, we're going to get ourselves butchered)

Soldier 3 (with a smile): "égorge déployé" (Butcher deployed)?

Then another solider says that if he hears another play on words like that he's going to desert.

I must be translating something wrong. Or, because the book likes to make references to historical events and things going on currently (in this case, 60s), I am not getting the reference.

I am not a student; I just love the language, I want to use it for travel, and I want to read French newspapers and books -- current books, with the exception of "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Three Muskateers." Are these tenses worth learning, or are they about as relevant as Shakespearean English?

My personal trainer invited me to his wedding that's a couple weeks away. I accepted, but I'm not really looking forward to it, because besides him I won't know anyone there. At best, I might recognize some faces that work or go to my gym, but that's it. And I won't have a guest to bring along either. The worst part in my head is the mingling time between the wedding and the reception. I can just see myself standing alone with a drink. Sure, I can try to strike up a conversation with the familiar faces at the gym, but it seems awkward to me. Any tips/advice?

A few months ago I decided to get serious about working out. I even hired a personal trainer who pushes me to the limit. I have definitely become stronger. BUT for every bit of muscle I've gained I've gained fat to go with it. I'm 5'9, used to be about 150 lbs with close to 20% body fat. Now I'm 10 pounds heavier with a bigger chest, biceps, etc -- but still at almost 20% body fat. I don't think diet is a problem. I know what sensible foods are and I eat them in small portions. Does this happen a lot? What can I do?