Empty Promises Made Less Empty

Enfin, je reviens!

I finally don’t have much to do. Well, I should rephrase that. Everything that I have to do, I am not currently inclined to do – like mailing all of my books home and cancelling my various accounts around town. Boring! So I ventured out of my apartment and have been at a café eating lunch and drinking wine and coffee. How French of me, non? Lots of exciting things have happened since I’ve been here. A dog chased a pigeon into the corner where I am sitting. It flew almost straight into me and then started banging itself against the windows until it took a seat in the chair right behind me. I had to get the waiter to catch it and throw it back out into the air. Then, there was some sort of motorcycle/car collision right outside, but no one was hurt so I can call it exciting and not tragic.

I have been renting an apartment on Ile Saint Louis, which is an amazing location and the perfect place to say au revoir to Paris. The apartment itself it filled with stuff – lots of old dusty stuff. I hung 7 sheets around the place to keep everything out of sight. I also put as many objets d’art, like the African reed instruments and the tusk with teeth, as I could into bags and hid them away. I have a great view of the street, which is always busy and it’s only 3 flights up, which is a welcome relief from the 7 I’d been climbing since December. The apartment is also sans Internet, which is sort of my excuse for not posting more often.

I don’t even know where to begin with catching you up on things. I want to say thank you first to anyone who’s still reading. It’s been hard to keep in touch this year and I’m not exactly the best at it to begin with. It’s so nice to get emails and see that people have checked my little blog because it makes me feel like I’m still connected to my friends and family.

I’ll just start with the most recent news and go backward. Earlier this week I was in London to interview with Phillips de Pury (an auction house) and Fabergé. The first went really well, and I’m very hopeful that they will have a good opportunity for me in New York in November. The second was not so great, but I’m glad I went to check it out anyway.

Here’s a picture of me waiting for the Eurostar. I still think that’s one of the coolest things ever. You just pop on a train in the middle of London where everyone is speaking English and being helpful and calling you “Love,” and before you know it, you’re in the middle of Paris where everyone’s speaking French and not caring about you. Still I love Paris. I liked London, but it’s no Paris. For the first time, I actually felt like I was going back home when I left St. Pancras station. Of course, Paris isn’t home home, but it’s become a new home like New York is a new home place for me.

So, yes, I’ve decided to come back to New York, for a while at least. I don’t seem to be able to plan more than a year ahead anymore so I’ll just have to wait and see how long I stay and where I go next. Dammit! That pigeon just flew back into my space! Are you kidding?? It’s sitting next to me on the floor just looking. Good, now the waiter just told it to leave and it walked out of the door like a human. Maybe it is a person who’s been turned into a pigeon. Anything’s possible here . . . .

London