Just a few words to wish all of you who visit 'Serge the Concierge' and read my 'prose' a Happy and Healthy 2007.
I will be off the grid until Tuesday.
Happy New Year and thanks for reading!

I agree fully with Resolved: To Go Easy on the Resolutions by Lisa Belkin in today's New York Times.
Obsessing over the details and wanting to control everything can be a recipe for failure. Maybe a better way to describe it is overreaching.

My friend Steve Shapiro of Goal Free Living yesterday posted a passage from What you'll wish you'd known a January (2005) piece by Paul Graham.

Let me pick just one sentence out of Paul's piece "Don’t worry if a project doesn’t seem to be on the path to some goal you’re supposed to have. Paths can bend a lot more than you think. So let the path grow out the project."

I see this confirmed in the interaction between two loosely joined pieces, my concierge business and this blog.

So No New Year's Resolutions for me, well but for a soft one: some form of European trip, some time in 2007 to visit family and friends and find out how americanized I am or not!

Want to show your sense of style, original taste, culture, worldliness, dislikes or just looking for attention, Canadian company T-List lets you customize T-shirts that lists your favorite or least liked things and people. Pick between Top 5 or T-List and you are on your way to designing your own fashion statement.
I used their sample for 'likes-dislikes' as an illustration.
I think it would be neat if after you pick your choices and before you buy they allowed you to see what your shirt will look like, so you can do a final edit.

Each t-shit  costs $25 plus $12 for shipping.

I found out about T-List on Springwise.

My last Canadian flavored post was on the Work Less Party.

As we are only 2 steps away from the end of the year, let me list the Top 5 Posts on 'Serge the Concierge' in 2006 or should I say the Most Read.

They are listed in alphabetical order :

• A culinary side trip to Cambodia with Feel like Stuffed Frog caught your eye and the attention of Topix.
• A frustrated and enterprising traveler came up with Mile Guru, Track your Frequent Flyer Miles simple and useful.
• Show them the door: Music as a weapon to deal with lingering guests was inspired by a how to post on the same topic on Chow and benefited from being quoted by the Idolator blog.
• The U2 pastiche One Bank with two Bank of America managers singing the praise of mergers and credit cards, a divertissement.
• Last of all This Piranha pries open sharp edged plastic shells whose popularity was due I think to the fact that many of us including Marc Cuban got nasty cuts from these sharp plastic shells.

Which were your favorite 5? Feel free to share them with us!

Above all, thank you for being part of our growing readership.

Two things I have been asked frequently in my 17 years in the US are:

• Are French people romantic?
• Do French people hate Americans?

I would say that the second question was asked way more often.

A poster by Jean-Pierre Got, a Bordeaux (France) based illustrator, that I got recently with his Christmas Wishes is a good way to answer.

Here is how Jean-Pierre describes it:
"A poster exhibition scheduled in 2008 will pay a special tribute to American wineries and vineyards : "Le troc" ("Barter") was designed in the style of "les images d'Epinal" those very popular wood-engraving prints sold by peddlers throughout France in the early nineteenth century."

As you might remember, The prize I Offered for 'Menu for Hope' was a generous gift from Jean-Pierre Got, a signed pastel by the artist.

As a footnote this global fundraiser started by our friend Pim, brought in close to $59,000.00.

Planning a week away to kick off the year and love authentic music and dance, look no further than this program.
Explore the world of Flamenco at the Festival Flamenco 2007 in Nimes(southern France) from January 22 to 27.

Read the details of the program and its highlights courtesy of De Flamenco.

The Nimes Tourist Office offers special passes (combination of concert and hotel stay).

For more Flamenco news visit Flamenco World which lists other events including the 2007 Flamenco Festival USA with concerts in the US and Canada from January 28 to February 25th.

I recently mentioned the Feria, another event taking place in Nimes in 3 Feet of Chocolates.

Just wanted to wish a Happy Holiday to those of you who celebrate Christmas.
Everyone else can at least relish a long week-end.
As for myself, I will soon have to put my concierge hat on and go help clients so their Christmas Eve party runs smoothly and they can enjoy their guests while we keep things tidy.

I will take a break from blogging tomorrow and will be back with new stories on Tuesday.

Feel free to send me snapshots of your holiday from wherever in the world you are. I will publish the Top 5 sometimes next week.

Let's see if I get a Laguiole corkscrew.

Have a good day

Last Call as my friend Ryan the Bartender (not the Barbarian) famous for making the Best Shirley Temple in New Jersey says. Let's get serious now, the last call in question is for our Global Fundraiser named 'Menu for Hope'.

By 6:00 pm (Pacific Time) today Friday, the bidding for all the wonderful prizes will be over.
As I write this more than $50,000.00 have been raised so help us make it say $60,000.00.

Check my Original Post with my prize for more details, pick your prize, feel free to bid on more than one.

The Khmer Dinner at Meric in Cambodia (read my post Feel like Stuffed Frog) is a nice one.

Also check What Pim Says about some nice prizes that might have been overlooked.

Make the most of these 6 hours and 30 minutes left to Bid.

Merci beaucoup!

I found out about the restaurant Meric through my participation in Menu for Hope.
If you travel to Southeast Asia, Meric is located at the Hotel de la Paix in Siem Reap (Cambodia)near  the famous Angkor Wat. The restaurant is named after a Cambodian pepper.
The team of Australian Chef Paul Hutt and French Chef Joannes Riviere offer both a Khmer Menu and a 'Mainstream Menu'.
The Khmer Menu includes such delicacies as Grilled Stuffed Frog.
Joannes Riviere comes from a family from the Lyon region with a long culinary tradition. He has been living in Cambodia since 2002 and immersed himself in the local culture and traditions.

He is credited with having written 'La cuisine du Cambodge...' one of only 3 books on Khmer cuisine. It has only a French edition I believe (cover used here as an illustration).

You can win a 7 course Khmer dinner at the restaurant by bidding for Gift  Code AP17 in Menu for Hope.

Today is the last day to bid for Menu for Hope gifts. Bidding stops at 6:00 pm (Pacific).

From designing things, Karim Rashid took the plunge and wrote 'Design your Self' to share advice on how to improve your wardrobe, work space, love life and eating habits.

He offers signed copies on his Online Store ($25).
Classify under last minute gift ideas.

I am not sure if he mentions Zen Gardening in it.