Il y a une Mois!

Wow, you have a lot to catch up on! I'd better fill you in, but first I am going to distract you with these pictures from Carey's Au Revior party last month. The theme was "Dress Up As Your Favorite Parisian ____." Some people claimed that they didn't dress up because they didn't see that part . . . . You know who you are and I still don't believe you. Anyway, we had a good time. A kid threw up out the window. I think I'm too old for that to be happening at any party I'm attending, much less throwing. Oh well, nothing says "I'm still young" like vomit.

Paris Party

"Thursday's the New Saturday!"

And so it began . . . .

The quote above -- proclaimed in a New York bar in the Fall of 2000 -- was courtesy of my friend John, who will probably deny saying it now, even though it was an amazing thing to say. I've never forgotten it because it was the first time that I encountered the concept of something like a weekday being "in," or utterly "out." I mean at that time, everybody knew that Thursday was the new Saturday. Jeez. Thursday probably lasted about 6 months only to be replaced by Tuesday.

Now, I've spent the past year studying everything that's "in," knowing that tomorrow it will all be passé. As a final step in my program, I need a little help from you to know what's the thing to do these days. Even though I try to keep up, it's hard when you're not living in the States and talking about the latest TV show, restaurant, etc.

So, if you have a second to reply to this post with fun things, it would help a lot. Anything you want to share would be great -- movies everyone is seeing, the most popular TV shows, who Joel is talking about on "The Soup," exhbitions, general gossip, news stories, where everyone is going on vacation this year, the newest frozen yougurt place or anything else that you can think of.

Also, thanks so much to everyone who filled out my shoe survey! So far, it's been really insightful and I appreciate the time you took to help me earn my MBA -- (soon) yay!

If you didn't get the survey and want to fill it out (it only takes 10 mins), here's the link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=5vApQnEdfPQ2ALfrqQLcOA_3d_3d

Sorry to use my blog for school solicitation, but I figured that I had included enough entertainment throughout the year to ask for just a little help with my homework. Carey and I threw a costume party on Friday night so you can count on some good pictures going up soon. I was the Eiffel Tower.

xx,
A

I Once Was Lost But Now Am Found

Wowie Wow! I took a big fall the other day -- 7 whole storeys! A stiff breeze came along, and then, wheeeeeeeee I was flying! And then down, down, down I went. I've always wondered what I would be like to visit the courtyard. Now I know. It isn't really a big deal. You see a lot less of Paris, but do get frequent visits from Clovis the cat.

Anyway, some kind stranger picked me up and placed me under the tree where I sat for a day and a night. Then, my owner's roommate came and found me. After she took a short turn around the neighborhood to get a coffee and a smoothie (so she could pretend for just one day that she was back in New York), she came to fetch me and took me back upstairs.

Now I am with my friend again. Here we are -- happy as little clams.

Love & Kisses,
Plant*

* that's me, there on the right

And Another Thing

When Elizabeth moved in she brought two plants with her and set them on the window sill. Today I noticed that there is only one. There is no evidence of the other 7 storeys down in the courtyard either. I don't know what I'm going to tell her when she gets back.

Good-ness!

I had a lovely picnic last night on the Champ de Mars under the Eiffle Tower. After a disappointing attempt to rent Louise a friend, Jody and I met Carey and a bunch of friends at the park for snacks and wine. It's quite the party over there during the summer. We left around 11:30 and there were still plenty of people hanging around.

We also discovered that the one way to look dumb in Paris is to put on a helment and ride around on a Segway in a herd of other Segway wranglers.

Picnicking on the Champ de Mars

The Chanting Explained & the Exploded Suitcase

I felt like a jerk for not knowing which Jewish holiday it was so I looked it up. It's Shavuot. You can read about it here. Carey and I are now wondering if the lights in are stairwell have been turned off because of Shavuot. It's a little dangerous. We can't see anything until floor 5.

Also there have been police outside of our building since Saturday. Carey thinks it might be due to Elizabeth's suitcase that she left downstairs and was either shot and exploded or just doused in water. Here's that story (I received this email from Carey on June 1st):

i just got back from the police station. here's why.

my friend elizabeth is moving in with me for the month- i live on the sixth floor (french, so seventh american floor) with no elevator, so we left her big suitcase downstairs while we went back for another load. when we went back for the suitcase, there was dirt and water all over the floor. but no suitcase. an old bitch who lives on the first floor was coming downstairs as we were staring confusedly at the corner. i asked her if she'd seen a suitcase.

her: "yes, i was worried about it too."

me: "worried? do you know where it went? it's ours."

her: "oh, the police came and shot it."

me: "what? shot it? uhhh"

her: "yeah, we thought it looked suspicious. there was another real problematic bag a few years ago, you know"

me: "uhhhh"

her: "the police came and told me to stay inside and then i heard a gunshot."

me: "uhhhh. do you know where it is?"

her: "no. they shot it"

me: "uhhh ok."

so elizabeth called the cops. three different places before they figured out where she was. idiots. once she got the, their response was something like:

cop: "no, it was taken immediately to the police station and it was exploded."

elizabeth: "but we only left it for like half an hour"

cop: "nope, we were called and it was a suspicious bag and we had to do that becuase it was policy"

so she took elizabeth's information and told her to come to the commisariat in my 'hood right away. so we have a mental breakdown, then head over there. some nice cops on the street directed us in the right direction. we walked in and the exchange went like this:

me: "we're looking for a suitcase that disappeared"

cop: "ohhhhhhh" (looks at another cop and laughs) "the suitcase!"

me: "uhhhhh.."

then they take elizabeth in the back and i waited out front for her wondering what was happening. what was happening was they took her back and took her around the corner to her exploded bag on the ground. she was suprised cause her stuff was still there, obviously intact, even though they'd said on the phone it was exploded, which we thought meant it would be in smithereens, like if american cops exploded something.

they wouldn't answer her questions but just took her and wrote her info on a piece of notebook paperwhere people had been writing all day, completely unofficial, and she had to sign saying she'd received her luggage and the components inside on the 31 may. they i see her come out with two cops carrying her baglike it was a corpse. apparently "explode" means "cut around the edges, don't look at anything inside, just destroy the piece of luggage and get everything really dirty and wet".

so they gave us a trashbag that we shoved all her clothes in- when i asked for another the bitch cop told me it was the last one they had. go figure. i told them that i'd left suitcases downstairs 7 different times and never had any problem-apparently i was just lucky. since i live next to a synagogue there are always cops patrolling and if something's suspicious they take it and blow it up. aka get it wet. effing france.

"Wait! I Can't Pray!" and Other Exclamations

Something has been going on at the synagogue downstairs. There has been a great amount of chanting and singing and general goings-on over the last few days. I've been too lazy to try to figure out which holiday, if any, it is. On Saturday, I heard a lot of commotion down in the courtyard so I peeked out of the window to see a bunch of men and boys gathered and playing some sort of game. So I made Carey look out the window to witness the scene. Just as she opened the window, she heard the rabbi yell, "Wait! I can't pray!" Who knows? They are chanting right now and it's a Tuesday morning. Must figure out what's going on.

In a sort of religious vein, Carey and I volunteered with our church a few weekends ago at L'Envol, which is one of Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall camps for terminally ill children. We spent the day varnishing the fence of the mini-farm in our space suits (see pictures below). I'm still a little confused as to why the mini-farm has a fence because the goats, ducks and roosters we saw were just wandering around all willy-nilly.

In between varnishing, we took a tour of the château and the grounds, which were really nice. We also had a picnic on the back terrace. Carey and I thought we did well just to pack a lunch, but we were quickly put to shame by one woman's virtual cornucopia of goodies in a huge basket. Whatever, our smushed pb&j's were just fine. Well, Carey just had pb.

The people we were volunteering with were, well, interesting. While I was listening to one woman tell me about how she could not find one single volunteer opportunity for her 16-year-old daughter during her Spring break (and I'm thinking, "wow, what a lame Spring break"), Carey was being regaled by stories of how the woman next to her had moved from Alaska because she felt that she needed a man there, but couldn't find one, but that she was okay on her own in Paris. Sometimes people share too much.

All in all, it was a good day. It was almost not a good day when we thought we might miss our train because the camp people insisted we sit and have coffee. But we made the train, so it was a good day.

Day at L'Envol

Springtime+ (from Lacy's Shower to Evil Prawns)

I can't leave that somewhat depressing entry from Saturday up for too much longer. Alors, here are some fun things I've done this Spring (well, since December really). Just more incentive for you all to come visit.

Paris Printemps & Other Things

There Goes the Sun

I am back from the beach and alone in rainy Paris: a sad state of affairs. Come visit me!

La Côte d'Azur

Here are some pictures from my voyage. I forgot my camera so these are courtesy of a fellow traveler. Thank goodness for my camera phone! I will have more to post for you later.

La Côte d'Azur avec Chesley

Here Comes the Sun!

I am currently in the South of France enjoying the beautiful weather, while my industrious beau works the day away. Well, I am enjoying the sun and working on my school project in the hotel resto (only Internet access) too.

Here is a picture of me also being industrious and responsible:

And here is what is watching me work*:

* Animal arrangement courtesy of the hotel propietere's father

EDF(you)

So Carey and I received a 700 euro electricity bill this month. Let's just ignore the fact that out of the 9 lighting aparati we have in the apartment, only 4 work 75% of the time, 2 work about 50% of the time and 3 have been on strike since September and refuse to work at all (these were made in France). Then, we have a total of 3 heaters, only 1 of which actually works "sort of," as in we have no control over the amount of heat that comes out because the dial broke.

Anyway, besides the stove, microwave and toaster oven (which, by the way, is TOTALLY out of control and has destroyed one Pylones travel coffee cup and a loaf of bread due to its turning on whenever it feels like it -- actually, the bread could possibly maybe have been the result of my not turning said toaster oven all the way off) we don't have anything else that uses electricity. Well, there is the hot water heater, but that can't use all that much because you can't take more than one and a half long showers in a given day. Then there is Carey's alarm clock and the TV, but we don't even watch that much TV because all French shows aside from the Double-Dare-esque game show called "En Ze Boite" (translation: En Zeee Box) are dumb.

The point is that I have no idea how anyone in their right mind could think that we used 6000+ kilowatt hours in 2 months, when we have never used more than 300. That's not the most interesting part of the story, which does go on to include an encounter with an electrician and a disappointing visit from the EDF lady, who might just moonlight as, oh, I don't know, the Devil!

No, the most interesting part of the story, in my opinion, came when I spoke to the nimrod at EDF. So I'm going through the bill and the fact that it seems entirely bizarre bizarre that all of a sudden we would use more electricity than the Eiffle Tower does at night (6000 kw would actually keep the thing lit, sparkle and all, for 3.7 days and nights. I know because I looked it up.) and that, unless he tells me that everyone in Paris had a 700 euro bill this month, we were not paying. I decided that it would be entirely appropriate to use "C'est impossible!" as frequently as possible. I said it about 8 times. It seemed to have no effect.

Suddenly, oh so many things were possible! It was possible that we used too much heat. It was possible that they had underestimated previous bills. About 4 other logically impossible things were now also totally possible!

Alors, I've had to tweak my "C'est impossible" theory a bit. It seems that a thing is "impossible" when that thing would require someome to perform work. If a thing's being impossible, however, actually requires more work, then suddenly that thing is completely "possible" because it's being possible means that someone else is to blame for it.

To sum up, "c'est impossible" really means "I do not feel like doing anything else about your problem." Interestingly enough, when a French person says, "but of course, this is possible," it also means, "I don't feel like doing anything else about your problem." It's confusing, I know. You really have to live it every day to understand it in your bones.

Louise

Here is a picture of me with my new friend.* Her name is Louise. She and I ride all around town together!

Some people call her Rustina because she had a habit of collecting rust before she met me. I don't think that's very nice.

*Note the lack of headlight in this picture. Someone stole it this very night after I had worked so hard to attach it. Frenchies . . . .

Oops! Les Oeufs!

Our neighbors got egged!

A few nights ago they threw a rawkus dance party and sang horrible (well, and some not so horrible) songs for the whole block to hear. I guess someone below us didn't like the playlist because I was looking out the window this evening and noticed that the party apartment's window was totally egged. Nice.

La Famille Va à Paris

I'm a little out of order in my picture posting, but I guess that doesn't matter so much. In mid-March, Dad, Drusie, Beth, Ben and Abby came over for a grand aventure Parisien. While I was in class, they explored all over Paris, experienced the chaos that ensues after a strike of tour guides in Versailles, discovered Nutella and did all sorts of Parisian things. Together we had a fun day in Montmartre, found out that the Catacombs close at will and without any forewarning and finished with a great dinner at my favorite restuarant, Les Cailloux.

The Bishops in Paris

Le Week-End

Springtime is finally in Paris! The rain has gone away and the sunshine is here! The city is beautiful again. I'm even sunburned where I missed a spot with the suntan lotion. I guess that's what happens when you apply sunscreen while riding a bike through the busy streets of Paris.

Here's what I did this weekend:

1. Met with my company about our field project
2. Went to drinks and dinner with long lost fellow Davidsonian, Dan Wingate
3. Slept in
4. Painted my finger and toenails
5. Figured out the basic concepts of leveraged finance
6. Wondered if the two beers I drank during the figuring out process only made me think I understood leveraged finance
7. Decided I didn't care
8. Ate a hot dog
9. Feel asleep while watching "Groundhog Day" for the 55th time
10. Woke up in time to have drinks (a Seabreeze I might add!) with Jody
11. Moved to another bar to meet our friend Erna
12. Realized my French has gotten a little worse after 3 weeks away
13. Slept in again
14. Met some friends for brunch down the street
15. Rode bikes along the Seine for hours and hours
16. Discovered Bercy Village (so cute!)
17. Rode my bike home
18. Rode my bike to a birthday dinner in St. Germain
19. Rode my bike home
20. Wondered if I maybe shouldn't have had 3 glasses of wine at dinner
21. Decided I didn't care
22. Said good-night to my bike when I put it back in it's little Velib (Paris rental bikes) home

Alors, there was a lot of bike riding today. I think I'm going to buy my own because it's so fun. Watch out Paris!

Normandie

Normandie

I've been meaning to post these pictures since October, which is when I took this trip to Normandie with my classmates Gaby, Tyler & Fabio. We had a great time that included some adventures such as:

1. Me drinking lots of tea after Fabio told me I couldn't because he didn't want to stop to go to the bathroom
2. Me panicking when Fabio really wouldn't stop to let me go to te bathroom an hour later
3. Being lost in the darkest, most middle-of-nowehere I have ever been (everytime our headlights hit the road, we saw stray cats and other unidentifiable road animals)
4. Realizing about 3 months later that "a driote" means "go right" and "tout driote" means "go straight" -- this information would have saved us from adventure #3
5. Being pulled over by the French police in a routine roadblock (in the darkest, most middle-of-nowhere, where there could not have been more than 2 cars passing per hour)

The list goes on and I hope that I will get it together soon to complete the story. Other news -- I'm excited that it's finally Springtime in Paris! I had a great trip home last week to go to Lacy's beautiful wedding (so now I'm a little homesick and missing everyone more than usual). I got put on the field project that I wanted (yay!) and classes end in about 3 weeks (double yay! because I won't have to go out to Cergy anymore).

No Plans Are the Best Plans

Lake Como

After Florence, I met Laura and we hopped on a train to Como for a little weekend adventure.

School Field Trip (not your usual trip to the Children's Museum)

Milan & Florence

Here are some pictures from our recent school trip to visit companies in Milan & Florence.

Loire Valley Adventure

Loire Valley

Captions still being updated. Beth and I had a great time driving around the Loire on my Spring Break. I've posted lots of pictures of chateaux and such and I'll post some more of Paris this week. Sorry to be so out of touch! I'm not sure I've even been that busy. Lots has happened this winter so I will be sure to do some updates.