Archives: November 2006
« October 2006 |
Main
| December 2006 »
Thank you everybody for your well wishes. Great to see that my last past got the highest number of comments any post of mine has ever received, except of course the "How many ounces in a gallon" post from years ago that STILL gets comments today. Go figure.
No real updates since The Big One, except that The Boy (who I am considering renaming as The Pops or something equivalent... ) and I have had more heart-to-hearts. I think he's realizing that ignoring things does not make them go away, and he has gone from being completely uninterested to asking tons of questions. He called me all choked up the other day, saying he realized he hadn't been there for me and he want to do his best, despite the fact that he disagrees with my decision. Of course, I cried on the phone, because if there's one pregnancy symptom I am experiencing, it's the constant teary-eyedness.
He was also motivated - most likely by guilt - to do some extreme cleaning yesterday, and when I made a passing mention of my incredible thirst and growing desire for multivitamin juice, he hopped downstairs (all six flights) and bought me some from the market across the street. An hour or so later, I wanted some Lebanese food, so he went foraging for that as well. When the restaurant forgot to include a piece of pita, he went back down for a third time and pointed out their error. That's three consecutive trips up and down six flights of stairs. They say it's the little things that count, and I agree.
Speaking of those six flights, I am considering moving to another apartment, as I don't see how walking up and down those things is going to be very practical at a certain point. There are so many things to think about, but I'm hoping something will work out in that regard. I just would like to avoid that discomfort if possible.
Anyway, thanks again to you all! So nice to get such positive comments!
The first thought that went through my mind when I saw that deep blue cross: Ok, it said wait two minutes. So I think the line disappears rather than appears, because that came up awfully quickly.
The second thought was: That line is not disappearing. Check the instructions again -- you have no idea how these things work other than what you've seen in the movies!
And the third was a rapid-faire combination of: HolyshitI'mpregnantandIknewitbutIdidn'treallythinkitwaspossible and whatthehellistheboygoingtothink and ohmygodmyfamilyisgoingtoflipout and wellI'llhavetodecidewhattodoaboutitafterItalktotheboy and thisistotallyandcompletelyinsane and youbettersitdownbecauseyourlegsareshaking.
So that was early October, a Thursday. On Friday, I took another test (with another definite cross) and then I told The Boy, and he said, "No. I don't want it. You have to get rid of it. And on top of that, I don't ever want to talk about it again." On Saturday, I found out my request for French paperwork had been refused. And on Sunday, I turned 27 and only two people remembered.
I made an appointment with the doctor and she gave me the low-down on how to get an abortion, giving me numbers to call for appointments and time delays to respect. On another paper, she wrote out the prescription for an ultrasound, should I decide to keep it. And then she gave me a third paper for blood tests, and she insisted I call a birthing center "just in case." They fill up quickly in Paris and she didn't want me to have not reserved a spot. I had five weeks to decide.
Read more »Two things:
1. At metro Strasbourg-Saint Denis, there is a poster for that Owen Wilson movie called "You, Me and Dupree." The poster is annoying, in the same way that Owen Wilson films are annoying (yes, I said it). There are probably 15 of them lining the wall, but I love one of them in particular. Scribbled across the top part of the poster, in the typical felt-tip marker style of cheap graffitti, somebody wrote in French, "I prefer Jules Verne." And honestly? I sort of love Paris - and by extension all of France - for even *thinking* of writing that kind of graffitti, let alone actually going through with it.
2. My regular supermarket is huge, the closest thing that Paris gets to Wal-Mart. The top floor is all clothing and home goods, and the bottom floor is all food items. I have the store mapped out in my head, so much so that The Boy - on the FEW occasions he goes grocery shopping with me - just goes into a strange sort of sub-space while I pluck things through the aisles and work my carefully plotted and efficiency-tested route from vegetables to dry goods.
Recently, however, the store has undergone a transformation, and they are entirely remodeling the bottom floor. At first, they shut off the veggie station with massive plastic barriers, and I looked on suspiciously as wiring became increasingly exposed along the ceiling. Next, they moved all of the refrigerated goods into the section where they used to have pots and pans, and let me tell you -- the Frenchies were NOT down with having a reduced cheese section.
The first trip to the grocery since the renovations began was pure chaos. The same amount of people were cramped into a smaller-than-usual spac, all of them turning in circles or second-guessing where to find canned corn. I was disturbed because, as a creature of habit, I could no longer do my veggies to dairy to meat to dry goods loop, as the dairy was now split in two on opposite sides of the store.
As they have finally started getting things in order, I've been redrawing my mental map. Some things haven't changed, but I did find it funny to note one new development: the diet/heath-food aisle has been placed directly opposite of the candy aisle. I would think somebody would have interjected during the meeting on how to set up the new store, saying that maybe this wasn't the most practical solution. But really I think they're taking a sick pleasure in watching those health-food types go through the mini-war each and every time they choose the rice cakes over the Malamars. I wouldn't be surprised if they installed a surveillance camera, just for shits and giggles during staff meetings.
Did I take this too far in my head today? Probably. Maybe they really just weren't thinking.
They've put up these new television screens in the line 38 buses -- apparently the 38 is one of the testing lines for this new navigation and entertainment system. Two flat-screens hang down from strategic positions on the bus, offering a variety of information: the name of the upcoming stop, possible intersecting bus lines, GPS images of the route we're taking, and so forth. This is all very fancy, and I like having the visual guide along the way - especially on a bus whose route I don't have memorized.
My favorite part, however, is when the Parisian bus-TV-maker-people decided to "mix it up" a little bit and provide little tidbits of information alongside the more practical transportation info on the screen. I couldn't help but notice how overwhelmingly French their little newsflashes were. The ones I took mental note of were:
1. How to tell when your meat is perfectly grilled, and the dangers of overcooking your meat.
2. Which wines are most sought after at the moment
3. Fish - it's what's for dinner. But what should the side dish be?
I couldn't help but think that the American equivalent of something sort of in-transit entertainment/information system would most likely feature sports scores instead of gastronomical advice.
ETA: They have apparently put these in on the metro line 1, too, but I haven't seen them. Anybody else?
