Archives: October 2006
« September 2006 |
Main
| November 2006 »
I've been off the map all month. I'll be getting back on it, there's just some weird commotion over here. In the meantime, happy almost-Halloween. They don't really celebrate it here (the Frenchies still think it's a little too commercial and American for their taste, although it IS catching on. Mostly the works of the under-12 bunch who are more than happy to spend a day gathering and eating candy, I imagine) but I would gladly use the excuse to eat a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I don't think I've had one of those since I was a teenager.
It's been insane here for the last day or two, and this week is promising to be completely hellish.
Tomorrow, I am leaving for a "business trip" to Marseille. I feel Very Important when I say that kind of thing, because I am still not the type of person who goes on "business trips" -- but helas, that's what I am doing. Even more insane is that I am going on this trip to bid on a few important "works" being featured at an auction. I'm doing the bidding. Alone. Which is hilarious, you know, because I have never been to an auction before. So hopefully I won't make a fool of myself. I asked how it works, exactly, and my boss said, "Just like in the movies." That was pretty much all of the information I got. You're all as prepared as I am, in other words.
But hey, I get to meet up with C and her recently-espoused beau, and we're going to spend the weekend together. It will give me some time away from Paris, and thus the chaos. I'm rolling into Aix tomorrow evening, and will roll my way out on Sunday. It's a little short-notice and thrown-together, but I'm up for the adventure.
I'm still feeling all rickety-rockity but am certainly in far better spirits than a few days ago. One things that always amazes me: other people. They can be so good for the soul. All of your comments and emails, and even a few phone calls from friends who read this site -- they were just so nice and reassuring. Thanks for that.
Last night, we all went out for Beccarah's bachelorette party. Thankfully, none of the girls in the crew were into the the typical body-shots-and-embarrasing-tasks type of bachelorette party, so the five of us opted to treat ourselves to an evening at the hammam. Some hot rocks, a steam room, a sauna, a pool, a body rub, and a massage. The whole experience was awesome, even if the ladies running the place were psychotic. Picture yourself - butt naked - getting agressively scrubbed down by a woman in pair of ratty shorts and an even rattier bra, as she commands: "Flip." "Sit." "Up." There was no smiling or laughing involved, and a minimum of words, as well. Because of their shortness and our new-ness, we didn't quite understand the sequence of events, and were repeatedly publicly shamed accordingly. So be it. Otherwise, the evening taught me two things: a) treating your body right can help soothe the mind by extension and b) I need to do some personal pampering on a regular occasion. It costs a little bit of cash, but I think it's worth it. The hammams are a reasonably inexpensive route to take, and I think they're the perfect solution.
I came home to the best night's sleep I have had in a week, and I think, more than anything, that was the most beneficial aspect of the adventure.
Tomorrow: Beccarah will say her "I do's" (or whatever they're called here) at 10.45 am!
Things have been a little difficult since my return to France. First, there are some tricky personal problems that I can't get into here, but that I will eventually discuss once designated as discuss-able. Second, my request for paperwork from the French government has been refused -- we are now in the process of a "rebuttal," which is sure to drag out for months. Third, we are financially in some pretty dire straights, and it makes coming home to beans and rice even less romantic than one would think. In positive news, The Boy has started a new job this month, which is absolutely wonderful and makes me so happy I could burst, but a good portion of his first month's salary is going towards money he owes the bank -- and he won't even get paid until the 31st. So we're not doing so well.
Today is my 27th birthday, and I can't help but do a sort of personal checklist to see if I'm where I would like to be in my life. It's a little depressing that the answer is more-or-less "No" -- I am not complaining, but I am being realistic. I know I don't have any specific place TO be - but maybe not living off of 25 euros a week is a start. Or maybe it's the job thing more than anything, as it really was a low blow to find out France STILL doesn't want me to work full-time. My boss is irate about it, though, and is doing his utmost to take care of it. As always, "We'll see..." is all I can say, and I'm sort of sick of living year-to-year like that. Perhaps my parents will be happy to know this, but I am coming to the end of my rope with this making-it-work in France thing.
Last night I went to Kathypath's for dinner and a movie, and for my birthday she gave me a vase that she made (she does ceramics) and a huge bouquet of flowers. The whole ensemble was beautiful, and I really appreciated that she gave me something hand-made. As I am not looking to celebrate my birthday in a any way this year, it was great to just spend the night eating dinner and watching movies at her house; I came home early and was in bed before midnight.
When I walked through the door of my apartment, The Boy said, "Oh, so you're buying yourself flowers now?" upon seeing the Dahlias. "No," I said, "Kathy got them for me..." and he just nodded.
After a moment, I said, "She made me this vase, too. It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's nice," he responded, and went back to working on the computer.
I turned to him and asked, "Can you think of any reason why she might have bought me flowers? Any reason at all?"
"No, not particularly," he said, thus confirming that he has forgotten, for the sixth year in a row, my birthday.
Awesome.
Update:
Once fully recovered, I flew to Portland and back to visit my sister and brother-in-law (and their band of amazing friends) over the weekend. It was an absolute success -- everything a visit with family should be. My sister and I were on the same page in most ways, and I think we both felt that it was more just like I was hanging out with everyone for a bit instead of making an official visit. We just chilled, and it was awesome.
I also got to see my sister 'in action' at her job. She is a high school math teacher, and I am so glad I got to see her classroom and some of the students who fill it. I found some of them so endearing that when she was grading papers on Sunday night, I requested she keep me up-to-date on a few students' progress. I am so happy that I now have the visuals to go along with her stories, so that now when we talk about her job and how it's going, I can actually picture her standing at the wipe-off board. Also, she's the advisor for the high school's trivia club, a group composed of such freakishly dorky and excited-by-trivia types that we were both giddy with excitement. They are just flat out ADORABLE.
Portland is such a nice place. I say this every time that I come back from there, but it really is. On Saturday, we went to the farmer's market with some friends (and toddler! Oh the cuteness!) and I just loved it. The weather was perfect: a little crisp, but sunny, and the leaves were falling all around. Everybody at the market was so chill and relaxed ("We're just trying to race through the market...") that I couldn't help but compare it to the Parisian market outside my apartment. They both have their merits, but damn if the Portland market didn't want to make me just sit around and sip coffee on a park bench for awhile. It was just beautiful, and the atmosphere was lovely.
The highlights from the trip abound, but probably the ultimate high point was that my sister got the coolest boots ever. We did some serious damage with the credit card, but all were excellent purchases. Embarrassingly, I have to go back with an extra piece of luggage. But I got new shoes, new pants, and a snazzy new coat.
Tonight I am off on the plane that should get into Paris tomorrow morning. I am excited to see The Boy, and Kathypath, and even to just be in my own bed again, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to stick around for a few days. This last week has more than made up for the hell of my first three days here, and I am so happy to have been able to spend time with my family. They are great people and they make me laugh constantly.
Also, it's in the mid-70's and sunny here, and for some reason the dog is cuddling more with me than usual. When you take everything into account, it makes it pretty hard to leave.
