nous sommes tous hors de NORMAL

Ok so far there have been many great moments. MANY. But last night, unable to sit in the hotel alone, I took my laptop downstairs to my friend and concierge Matthieu and asked him to help me find out if the Pari-rollers were on! It had been raining and the streets didnt look wet but were at some points. I hadn't skated in about 4 weeks so I knEW jumping into a 30 kilometer (18 mile) insane city skate with near professional skaters was the right thing to do!



HOLY ALL THAT IS GOOD ON EARTH.....it was BEYOND the right thing to do. I was nervous as hell (again). Matthieu definately noticed and he kept telling me to relax. But the fact remained:



1. I was alone

2. It was late at night and i hardly know Paris

3. Even in that scenario, I REFUSEd to carry anything with me

4. I did end up carrying my metro card and 20 euros

5. I was certain all the annoucements would be in french



So the MOMENT I put my skates on, my feet started cramping up like insanity. I found the place where they begin which ironically is like 2 blocks from where I live and where I WILL LIVE. I couldnt sit down honestly cause of my feet, I tried stretching and stretching and more stretching and skating around. Finally they stopped hurting. And the place was really exciting. They had a dj, tons of music and then tons of men started showing up. Like one single man after the other. This, of course, made me more nervous. They all appeared single. There were very few women but one other who apparently came alone like me. Or maybe her friends didnt make it.



Ok so as predicted ALL the annoucements are in French. I am lost, people are skating everywhere....where do we actually begin, when, why, how, I was not sure of anything. Finally a resemblence of a starting point appeared. I got right up in front. We started on a hill but I didnt even care...And we were off!

It was insanity. Pure insanity.

Roller blading cops with us the entire time

They formed skaters of three in line and raced passed me several times

Cars and streets stopped with no honking

Employee's with yellow "Pari-roller" shirts skating all around us weaving in and out like maniacs

They stopped at almost every street ahead and within to make sure cars wouldnt kill us

Hand signals and yelling in unicen when cars were in the way or we were about to turn

It was fast and everyone clearly had a need for speed

The better skaters did all kinds of crazy speed demon tricks, weaving in and out, taking turns on two wheels, jumping up on sidewalks and my favorite wa sthis one dude who dodged a car in this INCREDIBLe fierce skate to the left microsecond moment. And the car didnt even honk. And the city didn't even care.

I'm sorry but NYC could NEVER pull this off. Close roads, not once but you understand EVERY friday night for measely little skaters.

We stopped to rest at all the right moments

I could hardly see but I know we were on rue St. Lazare

Near Place d'Italie

RIGHT through the gorgeous lights of Printemps

By Notredam

the list is endless. Well look at the map. They do a variation on the route every week apparently. And last nights involved a lot of hills. By the last 1/2 hour (its 3 hours, 10pm-1am) I was near death. In fact, some nice Parisian man was pushing me to help and one of the yellow shirted workers gave me his hand to pull me at some point cause the hill was killing me and clearly they do not like anyone to go slow. NEAR DEATH! But I felt so damn good and knew that I had to do this many MANY more times. But I need interim practice skating to gain stamina. How can I do this if I am home so late everynight? Its so wrong.

So there was this one kinda cute guy Nicholas who saw me fall on my ass at one of the stops while I was trying to stretch. I fell like a bastard. haha. and we talked a bit, of course he realized I didn't speak French and he didnt seem to upset. He asked for my number but of course I dont have it memorized so the best I could do is give him my email.

We were closing into the end of the ride when I recognized the big building (tour Montparnasse) and my body got this burst of energy, probably cause it knew it was almost done. So I raced towards it and finally made it home. Of course the hotel was empty and the concierge locks the door so I stood outside the hotel for like 10 minutes freezing, in pain but still so excited about what I accomplished. Matthieu had left already so I wont get to tell him about it until tonight!

Feelin good my friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted in: on Friday, December 28, 2007 at at 11:49 PM 0 comments

On the bus today I thought about my cousins. Specifically the bond i have formed with Mark. He makes life so much sweeter.

In the canteen today, I found a seat far from everyone (it was packed). Away from all the French conversations. Away from the coworker who clearly did not invite me to join her. Near the window which meant near the heater which felt great on the cold legs and I read. I pretended I was alone. And I was.

In my dreams wednesday night I was bitten by at least two snakes. They surrounded me from all sides. I woke up in a panic. I was pissed at the snakes in the dream because I missed my train and then I didn't know how to get where I was going.

Last night I woke up with another nitemare, this time at 3:30. My stomach was talking for about 1 hour and it had nothing good to say. I finally fell back asleep but with anxiety.

No matter how much water I drink I'm still dry.

About a year ago my stepfather had a stroke. He has suffered badly from depression and I think he is going to have some breakthroughs in the new year. We have been emailing eachother and he has opened up to me.

People pass my office all the time but very few stop.

When I was 29 I had perfect hair.

Maintaining impure thoughts is just as hard as not maintaining impure thoughts.

I am lonely but I am not sad. Music is here to keep me company.

Currently: 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong by Mogwai

Happy New Year

Posted in: on at at 4:22 AM 0 comments

So I copied Elizabeth Gilbert last night and met up with a native (French) man to begin a casual exchange of languages. She talked about this in her book Eat, Pray, Love. Only she was in Italy. But as fearful as I was to even take the meeting, it was pretty much perfect well with the exception of me. haha. Let me begin by saying on the way to the "financier" (a bar) I saw this cute guy give money to a homeless person and briefly wondered if that could be the man I'm meeting but he said he would be in a grey coat and this man had a dark black coat on. Well about 5 seconds later in the bar, it WAS the same man. And even though he may have a color handicap he was terribly cute.

So instantly I felt better as he was not the monster I pictured in my mind. We talked about everything. So then he suggested food which i KNEW would be impossible with my nerves but we went to a creperie which was like 1 block away from my new place and I dont know why I suddenly trusted this man so much (the two glasses of wine could have something to do with it) but I decided to show him my new apartment! Plus I'm so eager to show it off. But the hords of you have just rolled your eyes, YES, and the word stupid has probably rolled off your tongue because what on earth was I thinking!! I mean he didnt kill me or even try to kill me. In fact, we had a long discussion about the lack of space for my appliances. It was very normal. He's very normal (so far). Anyway, after that, we stood there and I was still very nervous and I didnt know what to do, so I stuck out my hand to shake his and he essentially pushed it aside for the double cheek kiss and then he proceeded to tell me we should hang out again certainly and then he threw in "Actually I have a girlfriend for the moment" haha. I didn't quite know what to make of that sentence and specifically "for the moment" Perhaps he doesnt think it will last? Perhaps its a language barrier? But his English was quite good and I didn't think he would say that wrong.

Anyway, he suggested a museum. I was actually relieved he had a girlfriend in a way. It made being friends much easier. I also feel that it takes the pressure away. So it was a wonderful night even if I greately insulted his people (He's from Brittany) and didn't eat any crepes. Or as he calls them: "Galette" and apparently this is what I should be calling them if I plan to fit in to my new neighboorhood.

History Lesson by Me:
Briefly, I will be living in Montparnasse. As I understand it, a very long time ago tons of Galette farmers/makers from Britanny would travel/migrate to Paris and the train from that part of France (Northwest) would always go directly into the Gare Montparnasse and since they didnt stray far from the Gare, they settled near there and now you have like a million creperies all over my neighboorhood. I've been to two of these creperies so far and I feel like I need more time to find the perfect crepe/galette. To be perfectly clear, this man last night said "crepes" are said/associated with dessert and the flour used is different from a main course galette which looks like a crepe but uses different flour and all that.

Posted in: on at at 12:03 AM 0 comments

But as I'm confused about todays date/time/what country I'm in, I opened the calendar on this laptop and just as if France wanted to clarify with me that I am, indeed, here, they put me in the perfect time zone! hahah - see for yourself....

Pic: A clear message of where I am in the world

Posted in: on Wednesday, December 26, 2007 at at 1:42 AM 0 comments

Pic: salmon on mushrooms and spinach wrapped in dough then baked for 20 min. the main course of my xmas dinner. Gorgeous chunk of fish!

Posted in: on Tuesday, December 25, 2007 at at 3:11 PM 1 comments

Otherwise known as the plan that didnt work out...Found in my new hood, nestled on a street near Gallerie Gaite

Posted in: on at at 4:50 AM 1 comments

Pic: Cemetery Pere Lachaise, signifigant winter sun, day after the solstice

If you find yourself in Paris in winter when everyone is home with their families, stores are closed and nothing to do...head to the nearest cemetery! I felt like they opened it JUST for me and my two super cousins. We followed super fast cousin #1 to some side entrance which he thought was the main entrance to Pere Lachaise cemetery. We spent at least three hours in the sunlight walking around all the dead people just lovin every inch of that day.

Last night was xmas eve. We had no plans and no reservations. A quick internet search took us to this famous restaurant called La Coupole. A favorite of Hemingway, J. Baker, its a huge brasserie upstairs and dance hall downstairs. As we walked up to the place, I started to realize that I was there last year...with the poet. We met his poet friend there. This is where she took us. I remembered we ordered food but never ate it cause we realized we had 15 minutes to catch our train across town back to Brussels. We rushed out and later missed the train. We stayed at his friends that night. Forced to stay in Paris. I frowned to myself thinking that free trip he got to europe (on our mutual friends frequent flyer miles) was the only reason he was with me. I decided to enter the place as if I'd never been. And it was so much fun!
Pic: Small bits of color caught my eye

We had a 45 minute wait at the bar where we drank and told stories. Cousin #2 lost her earring so there was the hunt for the silver soho dangler...then the food, the cute waiter who thought we were japanese! lol. And the table switch which I couldnt stop laughing about. They sat us next to this empty table.

Brazilian Mom and Son

Empty table with no place settings

Us Three

Parisian Family of 5

Then as if the waiters held a meeting and decided that our personalities would not blend well next to this french family, they explained we need to switch. Our table was pulled out pushed to the left and the empty table was pushed to the right, a switch. We were now sitting next to the brazilons. And the empty table remained empty for at least a 1/2 hour. Then some other small family of three sat there. But i never understood the reason for the switch. It had to be a personality switch. We were quite boisterous and laughing and talking to everyone. The waiter seemed to love us. The brazilion doctor/mom had lived in Minnesota (where the cousins are from) and spoke four languages (portugese, spanish, french, english). The food was insanity. We had fish and the cousin insisted on red wine. He is not a fan of white even with fish.

Pic: Oscar Wildes bises and love

We never found the earring but it was a perfect night. And this place is two blocks from my new apartment. TWO BLOCKS. At the end of the night the waiter gave me some advice on learning french. He said its best to watch tv late at night when no ones in a rush and they speak slower. Hahaha. that was awesome. Late night french programming where they speak slower!

Pic: Just across from Oscar, a great crane rose into view

Pic: near the real entrance of the cemetery, giant empty cobblestone road

Posted in: on at at 4:29 AM 1 comments

Today, the nerves have come and go. I decided to be zen with my first venture to the canteen alone. I half looked for anyone to ask to join but no one was in sight and those who were, I didnt recognize.

I put on the coat, grabbed A Movable Feast and headed to feast. I spotted the roasted tomatoes and headed directly towards them. There were other things being served behind the same counter that were running out. The server said something to me which must have meant the pasta is gone but I stood tall and starred daringly into the plentiful supply of tomatoes. I said I wanted two, he gave me four, I gave him back one. There was some salami and yogurt and I took two clementines for a snack.

I headed towards the main eating section and saw a woman alone reading. I thought Ok, not so bad. So I found a table which gave me a full view of whose coming and going, sat, scanned the room for a familiar face or a cute guy and proceeded to read. I felt like mostly the foreigners were left behind. The room scan looked like a Jackson heights grocery store minus the children. I suppose southeast asia is expensive and far for just one day. And I'm guessing most of them could care less about santa or claus.

I probably could have finished the book in one sitting but I only have a few books with me and they are super expensive here so I stopped before I couldnt stop. Of course upon arrival back at the office, I am greeted by a coworker asking if I had lunch yet. Earlier before I left he rushed by in a coat so I figured he left already. But he was sweet enough to ask if I wanted to join and he also seemed worried that I ate alone. Dammit these people pay attention to detail. Either that or they don't often get new employees. I feel terribly loved here.

My mind is wandering here at work. I have 15 more ground truths to complete. This means I need to check the quality of the registration software. That means that that two radiology scans are overlaid (CT, MR, PET, etc) and I need to check it, then save the results which are in the form of some quantification table called a "ground truth".

The truth is, without a proper phone, I have no idea what day or time it is. This led me to forget my stepfathers birthday. I felt so bad that I wrote him a letter. I told him how sorry I was to forget his birthday and how great he is and how he's a good father and I also stuffed some portions of how I think he's depressed and needs to cheer up and get off his ass and start doing shit to make himself feel better. I hope he doesn't get mad but I was quick to "disclaim" that I am the child with the heart on the sleeve while he locks away every possible emotion.

I'm alone at the office. I'm the dj, the sound controller, the light controller, the office furniture mover, the rearrange expert. I'm happy.

:)

Posted in: on Monday, December 24, 2007 at at 4:07 AM 0 comments

I whisper to my cousin at this dinner party last night. He leans in, starts laughing and says "Its a lamb".

For the record I did eat a decent portion (for me) of this bird animal creature. And no, I'm not a veggie. I just have little experience with any non cow type eating experience. So france will certainly be opening the doors of new animals. My favorite line at work in the first week of eating in their "canteen" was when Cedric said in his terribly cute English "It is not a chicken but not a turkey, it is something in between I believe" As if France alone has created an entirely new bird that they didnt tell anyone about!

So I decided last night that I am totally addicted to listening to french people speak english. Its the cutest thing in the world next to the three different puppies I dreamed about last night. (i was petting them in my dream, still seems to real to me). One of the guests, Liz, an american, (she's been here 6 or so years) was explaining to my cousins wife how it goes both ways. She's been told that for a french person, the "cuteness" factor in the accent and way of speaking for an american speaking french is just as much.

Par exemple...Sometimes when my boss and I head to the "canteen" for lunch, Cedric will come meet us in our office and we go. But the first time he was about to come, he emailed me "I will come take you now in your office"!!! hahaha, im still laughing at that one. I was blushing when he got there and had to explain the story to my boss which was even funnier.

Actually its refreshing to have coworkers that are humorous and these people definately are. Humor is essential to the workday. And they even get my jokes!

(8:00) AM. On sunday.

Posted in: on Saturday, December 22, 2007 at at 11:07 PM 0 comments

First of all its 7:45 AM. Even nuns must sleep in on Saturdays.

Last night was magical. I took the cousins to my new "local". It mean't all the peanut butter in the midwest to have to them sitting with me, talking to me, drinking with me here in Paris. And I knew having them here would get me out of the hotel. I knew I needed to get out and the plans they have for me this week rolled off their tongues almost all nite...This exhibtion, the view from that tower, the walk down this street, they remembered the corner of a church they once stood in front of. The list was endless, and time means nothing when you live as freely as my cousin. They stood there inspired by me and my move and I couldnt help but wonder why? I was looking dead in the eye two people who have earned medals in living life to the fullest. Its a priveledge to know them. And yet, there they were, looking at me and complimenting me. They said they saw themselves in me. They saw the earlier selves. They are near their mid 50's. Of course one could never tell.

What I liked the most was how my cousin took a bite of my omelette at dinner. I find something terribly endearing about people when they feel comfortable enough with you to share food. It has always been a sign of closeness that I mark highly in a friendship or even a relationship. The french nerve, albiet he was poor, would share from my plate (even when he had his own) and offer me parts of his food that always warmed my heart. My friends (who will marry next year) share food together all the time and its sweet as hell to watch this in person.

Its mad early still. The sun isnt even out.

Posted in: on Friday, December 21, 2007 at at 10:45 PM 1 comments

Cause im in LOVE with this town. And forget that I told a stranger today that I loved him accidental French is what happened. I meant to tell him simply that i liked Paris. But the french for like and love is the same and the french for you and Paris is quite differnt of course but I messed it up! He blushed! :)

&%*$()%#$&*(%)#&
DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT I SAID ABOUT NICE PEOPLE!?!
you should take a HINT. I swear you should.
Nice is the way to go.
ITS THE IN thing.
its now. its here.
nice is hot! sexy and kisses so well.
%$()%#*$%)(#$%#*)

i love that i can put my headphones on and forget everything for a while. forget im an ocean away of everything and everyone. forget that im in this TINY hotel room.

i fill this space so sweetly.
and now step back.
stop starring
stop asking
im happy being quiet
im fine being left alone (now thats a lie)

I stood in the concord yesterday
and ate force fed goose liver
i thought it was pork

the nicest part of today was when Christian stayed in my office and asked if i was ok. I think he saw me rushing off to the bathroom last week to cry
he is seriously nice.
and as articulate as a french man can be.


the lip bruiser sweats four women at once
the neighboor meets and greets with Robert Johnson
the nigerian packs for London
the fake blood embarks for Paris
my southern lance armstrong wakes up a COUNTRY with his smile
the little ecuadorian sighs and sips her Mojito
while my Pastis stinks up the office
The days moves on and on

I'm concentrating on the ocean. I am pulling it closer. I need this giant body of water to soothe the ache's

the song, and the day, are almost over
perhaps you havent quite got it
Perhaps you have no idea how rich I am with love
and family and people who care.
you cannot break this

Posted in: on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at at 2:14 PM 0 comments

Each time I witness it, I am in disbelief. Seriously, its like nothing you have ever seen. I may have mentioned in a previous post how Parisians do not share the New York sentiments of impatience. But I am witnessing this more and more. Each moment when you expect rolled eyes, screaming, horns honking...it just doesn't happen. The people in public service you automatically expect poor treatment from constantly suprise me by smiling, caring, taking their time and even looking you in the eye when you speak to them. Its insanity.

You are greeted every time you enter the grocery store. There are people in the front that actually stop and get coffee (standing up and hanging out) IN the grocery store as if its a fun place to be.

Bank tellers, bus riders, secretaries at work, even HIGH SCHOOL kids being roudy will still move out of your way and nicely, politely ask you for cigarettes and the time of day. Its like another world.

The main thing is that people are really genuinely nice from what I have observed so far. And while the occasional New Yorker would definately go out of their way to help you (of course), I am witnessing this here almost all day long and I cant help but search for the sarcasm in each "Bonjour"........

the main detail is how damn good you feel after being treated nicely, the way you wish you were treated by default. kinda warms the inside heart/cardiac area. Below the neck, but above the intestines.

Very warm.

Posted in: on Monday, December 17, 2007 at at 2:03 PM 0 comments

Step ONE: Immediately fly back to the US, shop, and ship everything back to Paris.

I'm serious people. Now granted I have just started my search, but the outlook is VERY DIM. If you share my taste, then the idea of furnishing your apartment with IKEA makes you nearly dead. And this means you are in big trouble. I have asked around at work, in groups, from my small group of Paris friends and almost every single one immediately answers "Ikea". I went online: Ebay - France, Kijiji - France, Fusak.fr, Craigslist...take a look, go ahead, its ALL IKEA!!! and/or crappity crap you wouldn't even put in your shed out back!

Ok, so I'm being pessimistic you say? Well this weekend I hit two of these famous "antique markets" and well, I saw barely ANY furniture. So now my quest is to hit the more famous larger ones on the north side of Paris. It might be my only hope. My issue is two-fold really:

1. I just sold/gave away all my beloved pieces of furniture that were 100% me and I will not replace them with IKEA.

2. Aside from the taste of living alone in my last apartment (1 year), I have always lived in other peoples places/spaces and I need this apartment to be stamped with me. And that stamp does not include anything modern.

How can there not be a more classic furniture store here? Heavy solid wood with curves and shapes thick and sturdy. Nothing you build but something shaped into furniture, not crushed, smooshed and then laminated back together!!! Hell, even a Paris Pottery Barn would do! Honestly, half my shit came from there anyway.

There MUST BE a place. This will be my project/something to do. And believe you me, if there is such a place, I will HAVE to find it.

Ok. now breathe and exhale. haha. kidding.

Posted in: on at at 1:53 PM 1 comments

Today I did a citywide search for an ATM vestibule. You know those ones where you can actually Deposit money. THey have deposit slips, envelopes, etc. Well clearly the memo never reached Paris as after 8 different ATM's I gave up. Even the other banks didnt have them. How, then do people deposit money!!! Do people actually use live tellers to do this? Is this possible? I thought we had reached the future. lol. kidding, but seriously, it is near impossible for me to deposit money during the "bank hours" (9-5) as I work in the middle of nowhere and dont get home till 8pm. And now I am FORCED again to ask my boss to leave early.

And after last week, I was really trying not to ask these favors of her. So in my quest, I saw the Arc de Triumph, went further into the 14th eme and St. Germain again. It was fun despite the near freezing temperatures. But just to give you an idea of how cold it is here, I'm in my WARMEST sweaters which means its freaking COLD!!! Cause even in NYC, I only pulled these out like two winters ago.

What I found nice about Sunday was that hardly anyone was out. Even though the city was packed yesterday and the holidays approach. So I wandered without fighting for space. And I'm starting to even memorize the metro grid. Slowly but surely.

And now back to your own lives.

Thanks for tuning in.
xoxo
Anna Lisa

Posted in: on Sunday, December 16, 2007 at at 9:36 AM 3 comments

I have been trying to think of a way to explain last week. Essentially it all boiled down to first impressions.

It was very important for me to make a good first impression on my boss. Especially since she just returned from a conference with all my old coworkers and bosses and I knew they told her how lucky she was to have me. So I knew I had to fulfill these statements with actions that proved it.

Anyway, at the beginning of the job I jumped right on board to the middle of preparations for a huge "workout" where tons of doctors and engineers from our other global sites come to watch the doctor’s work on their software and evaluate it. So I had to make these tasks for them to complete on the software.

I won’t even discuss how challenging that became especially since it was soo last minute. (there was almost another post on the lack of time management skills in France, but I want to give them another shot before I conclude they are awful at it)

So I thought I printed out enough sheets for each doctor and I wasn’t even clear on the number of doctors coming and my boss was so busy all the time that, despite my efforts to corner her and go over my work, I couldn’t get to show her.

So I was going to try again early the morning before the event. But at the last minute I was put in charge of escorting the Budapest team (four young funny engineers) from the hotel (they stayed in the same one as me) to the site via the metro/scnr/shuttle etc. They hadn't been there before so I was to help them. Anyway, as nice as they were, they completely ignored the time situation. And I thought the French were bad, but clearly in Budapest, keeping to a schedule means nothing.

So this made me over 45 minutes late and of course I missed the opportunity to go over my work with my boss.

And so as you can imagine...by the time I showed up, my boss was in a complete Panic and it was all my fault. She couldn’t figure out my prints and she was rushing around and panicking IN French which I couldn’t understand. The Budapest team clearly saw my face and read how upset I was. I tried to help fix the situation but ended up just keeping quiet and letting her sort it out. Ahhhh. Anyway, when she finally talked to me, I felt awful and thought I let her down and it was only my first week. I actually excused myself to the bathroom and had a small cry. I couldn’t even believe I was crying because its only work and normally I didn't take work so strongly but maybe I was just homesick. Who knows?

I think the most difficult thing is that my boss is really such a terrific person in life and at work that its those type of people you hate to let down. She has done so much for me that I didn't want to disappoint her. So now I will just prove myself via some other way to make up for it. I hope she will see better work from me.

Anyway...in between the two days of this meeting were fabulous dinners and outings that I should mention. I am starting to see a bit of Paris! Thursday nite was this outing with just the engineers and I went along.

Usually it’s about 10 of them who go out often to a different bar and this time more than 20 people showed. I believe we took over the entire bar. I attempted to order a José cuervo margarita and was handed a glass with lemon juice and some extremely cheap tequila and about 3 gallons of triple sec. It was awful. So I asked around to coworkers and most of them agreed they have never seen Jose Cuervo in Paris before. So I'm not sure if they weren’t looking or really its not here. Also, triple sec should be banned as a mixer in general. I think it’s a scam. And bars should be given Contreiu (sp?) and/or grand mariner just for opening! But the group is really close and seem to enjoy each other both in and outside of work. This is a phenomenon I haven’t really experienced from my last job so it was very exciting.

Also, there is this cute German who I have met and been talking to. I haven’t quite put my finger on it but he reminds me of someone. He seems to me very much like the poet I dated and after that experience I would be cautious to again face this type of guy. He has so many personality traits like the poet. And I think he was being flirtatious but I can't really tell.

Actually the nite of the soiree, I started to feel quite sick (from the smoke I think) as well as nervous with the language barrier and couldn’t wait to get home. Plus I didn't want to miss the last metro home cause cab's here are difficult to find so I kinda rushed out but honestly, I need to learn the language. Even with people speaking English, in a crowded bar, with their French accents, it was near impossible to speak to people. The German actually had the easiest accent to understand but I was running out of stuff to talk about cause I was so tired.

So I rushed out, took verbal instructions on the location of the metro and somehow found it and somehow made the last one and somehow made it home! and somehow got enough sleep to be alive at work on friday. Today I am invited to another soiree of the boyfriend of the woman I met in the ATAC grocery store. I'm still debating whether or not to go.






Pic: Finally signed on the apartment! Here is one of THREE balcony views out the french doors....oh la la

Posted in: on Saturday, December 15, 2007 at at 2:21 AM 2 comments

today was hard
thats all i can manage right now

Posted in: on Thursday, December 13, 2007 at at 4:06 PM 2 comments

But you know who you are. You know that I said if you did not show at my party then an entire year would go by without me speaking to you. And I think you might be reading my blog (i hope). Well it sucked not having you there. But I will say this, you played a PIVOTAL role in a lot of areas of my life which would have turned most people running for the hills...and so I try to remain positive. But still, I didn't get to meet your man. I didnt get to give you back your blackberry. And most importantly, I didnt get to say goodbye to you.

I went to see your friend on sunday. I was invited over for lasagna. He was BEYOND gracious and accomidating to the fact that I was allergic to the main ingrediant. His partner even created and non-cheese one just for me. The dinner was as one would expect from our dear gay fellows as to the "nines". Emmaculately detailed down to the embroidered napkins. I felt, as I do in dinners like this, like white trash. But everyone was nice, and there were only but a few dead angry silences. I loved their floors. And a few pieces of furniture. Their gayboy friend offered me up his popout oven. I am still trying to figure that out.

But all in all, the nite made me miss you. And made me mad all over again. But mostly, it made me miss you.

Posted in: on Monday, December 10, 2007 at at 11:28 AM 0 comments

Below is a list of observations. I have been in Paris now for one week and these are the things I have noticed:

1. You must weight all veggies on the crazy scale system which only contains tiny pictures of whatever possible veggie you picked up. This means that there is more than one type of green grape. And the taste is insanely sweet, even for me. All this must happen before you get to the register.
2. Most registers still have a total in "francs" which is usually seriuosly high so do not confuse this as your total in euros which is next to it.
3. Bananas taste different
4. At work, people actually convene and chat at the coffee vending machine. Incidentally this would be a great place to really know your french.
5. Do not expect your female coworkers to get to know you. You will be lucky if you even get them to awknowledge you.
6. Paris is just as busy as nyc. There is little room for relaxation. People are always busy.
7. There is no soft toilet paper (so far)
8. Whether you like it or not, most sites (google, yahoo, even blogger) will force you to view the french version of their sites. And then you try to force back the english site, you are directed to the UK.
9. You cannot watch the full episodes of all your shows because they are "not available in this area" on NBC, CWTV and ABC.
10. Bring LOTS of cash with you and exchange it very soon after you arrive as you can buy nothing here without a french bank account. NOTHING. And you cant even put money into it unless its a transfer of funds and if you think you are gonna transfer funds from your US bank account, think again cause they will charge you a LOT for this transfer.
11. On a brighter note, French tv is not shy. Prepare to openly see boobs, butts, gay love, curse words, and this will happen any time of the day or nite and on any channel in commercials, shows, anything. Most of the normal programming is american shows dubbed in french.
12. the blogger spellcheck does NOT work here. dammit. sorry for the mistakes.

If you can laugh at all the above, you will be fine. The city more than makes up for all the insanity the nonspeaker goes through. more than...

Thats how I feel this sunday. And now I must nap.

Posted in: on Sunday, December 9, 2007 at at 5:26 AM 2 comments

Pic: strange opera singing clown lady enters store on stilts and cut line at register.

The main thing to know about today is that it’s FREEZING cold both outside and even in this little room. AND I have the little heating unit on. The bathroom is quite warm so I'm thinking of camping out in there a bit but for now I have blankets and layers on.

I forced my body today into my tightest black "skinny" jeans from the Gap. It was quite the force but I made it. lol. So then I went to see my very SECOND apartment. This one TOPPED the first by OCEANS of difference. And the price was perfect. It is on the 5th floor with a "lift" (elevator). It’s got a BALCONY which can be accessed by NOT ONE but three sets of French doors. It’s incredible. The kitchen is big, needs appliances. When you rent an "unfurnished" apartment in Paris, there are no appliances. But honestly, I don’t care. Cooking is not my main thing. So I met the owner and his brother and we chatted in the little French I know. I think I made a decent impression. I just hope they choose me. Christine translated after the appointment that they have a few people but they said to her that I made a good impression. Apparently they stressed that their decision making is more about your character than all the other details.

So the next stop was back to "darty" that insane PC Richards type store which is in a mall where I attempted to buy a phone card for 5 hours and they gave me one for 5 minutes. This time I took my friend to translate and see where I went wrong. Apparently there was mis communication but the fact remained, I was screwed out of 30 euros (not horrible) and I would not be using the phone to make any calls because buying more minutes cost too much. However, the phone can RECIEVE calls from anyone so Christine can call me no problem. So suddenly we heard this opera singing and I turn around and these two people on stilts are in the hall of this mall all dressed up and walking around singing to everyone. Then this one woman enters the store, goes right up to the very busy register and starts singing right in people’s faces and not one person working at the store seemed to care. It was hilarious. She just walked around all over, cut in line and pushed her way through while singing opera and walking on stilts. I had my camera in hand so I was able to snap a pic of this insanity! And of course street performance is not new to me being from NYC but I found it interesting that she could cut the line like that and nobody seemed annoyed that she was interrupting their purchase at the register. haha



Pic: another view of lady

Posted in: on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at at 6:36 AM 0 comments

Today at work (which was day 2 of work) I learned that they really weren’t joking with me when they said I would get to travel. Apparently I will. I still am not clear where to but I know there will be travel. And I will probably be travelin with that bright eyed red head who is really really nice.

I also learned that there is no use stocking up your fridge with anything cause you may come home to an apartment with no electricity! And that BRAND spankin new Jamon you picked out is now trash so money wasted!#$*(%)( damnit

On the bright side, I got a call from my friend the real estate American chick about yet ANOTHER apartment. It kills me since SHE was the one who drove home last night that I should really wait on finding something it’s just too soon. So I get a call and she goes on and on about how great this apartment is. There is even a balcony which should NOT be confused with a "terrace" which you can actually walk on, but I have yet to see it or figure out how "great" it really is. I will say this though, I mappy.fr'd and google'd it and threw on that aerial photo and my friends, check it OUT....TREE LINED BLOCK!!! that is HUGE for me. Seriously, I used to walk a block out of my way on the way too work in NYC JUST because 69th st had nice trees to walk by. I love LOVE LOVE tree-lined. you have no idea. just sit down, you don’t get it! TREE's PEOPLE. big ones...ok here’s the shot, look and see

Pic: clearly obviously the tree's people! Pay ATTENTION. There’s like four rows of them.

Ok so tonight I met this Canadian girl in the store. I attempted to ask her if I was buying lotion or body wash and she realized how badly I was murdering the language and spared me the death by letting me speak English. Then we got to talking, she works here for an international relocation program (not the one helping me) and she has a French boyfriend. I got nosey and asked her how long it took to meet him but then I found out she met him long before she arrived (which was 5 months ago) so her French was already great before she came. Lucky BIOTCH!!!

I had SO many opportunities to practice my French today but I got very involved with the job and there were these conference calls to Budapest which is all in English so I get all into it and the multitasking is INSANITY and so I got on an English roll. lol. but I will make a solid effort tomorrow to speak french. meanwhile, tomorrow, im told I will be FORMERLY introduced to an entire ROOM FULL of engineers during a party they plan to have (the party is not for me), but anyway, I need the perfect outfit cause I think that hottie I saw the first day of work is one of them. I didn’t see him today dammit.

Ok. I think im running the dishwasher but one can never be sure, so I must be off to watch it explode.

BONSOIR

Posted in: on Thursday, December 6, 2007 at at 12:52 PM 3 comments

My awesome boss gave me the day off so that I could go open a bank account which was shockingly easy. Actually this housing service sent along a person to help me but the banker spoke English so I'm not sure why I even needed her help!

Then I went to get a basic "sim" card for my euro phone. It will be a while before I get a check book so I needed the card in the meantime. It’s simply a small card with minutes on it that you pay for. I wanted a 1 hour card which is usually 15 euros. I was sent to a place called "Darty" which reminds me of a PC Richards really. Honestly, I had bought these before, in Belgium, Swissy land, Spain and even in France and never had to go through the "process" I went through today. They needed my passport; they typed my name into a computer system. For a while I thought I had somehow asked for an entire phone but I did show them I had one and just needed a card. FINALLY after 45 minutes (25 min longer than setting up a bank account) I received a 5 hour card for 20 euros. Apparently that’s the minimum number of hours. Or apparently I'm a big sucker. Who knows, but at least I can use my phone now. Of course the entire thing is in French and I keep getting messages which I don’t understand. Probably "this phone will explode the next time you use it"
lol.

Ok so the apartment search came to a bolting HAULT tonight when I crunched the numbers for the third time and realized this amazing one of kind place I found was well over 30% of my monthly net pay (the recommend percentage not to EXCEED). That’s WAY too much. Am I insane? Yes, yes I am. But I have signed nothing so I'm still capable of walking out. I think the beauty of the apartment, location, etc clouded my brain for a few seconds, but now I'm ok. I seriously need to consider all my expenses. And living there will not allow me.
Just to give you an idea:

it was in the HEART of St. Germaine on a very lively block with coffee shops, restaurants, boutiques, grocery
totally renovated with new everything: washer/dryer, dishwasher, kitchen, bathroom
6th floor walk up in the back of the building (so away from the noise)
but yes, no elevator but apparently finding a building with one is like winning the lotto so I gave up that thought already
a true one bedroom
50 square meters (538 square feet) which is huge for just me.
all for 1600/month

Yes, the dream is alive but just recently, it has died. Its dead, let it go..
LET IT GO...

but now for the highlight of the day. I will begin this section with a quote:

"Since I must always be an exception to the general rule in everything and everywhere I am going to pursue my destiny" Gustave Courbet

And if not for his work, this statement alone, said in the 1800's, perfectly describes how I feel about myself now and forever including childhood, possibly embryonic-hood and adulthood and not excluding old-hood and death and afterlife if such a thing exists. even as an ALIEN, I will live by this rule. uhh where were we?

...who is Courbet you asked? SHAME SHAME ON YOUR FOR NOT KNOWING!!

He's seriously a crazy painter from the 1800's. Honestly, it’s his portraits and portrayal of people where his talents really came alive. He did attempt landscapes and I have to say, not too impressed (yes, I realize im absolutely no one)
but anyway, I could sit in front of his paintings all day (except the museum was crowded today so no place to sit), I waited 45 minutes in a line which apparently was a bag check line. They hardly glanced into my bag at all which made the need for the line completely useless and what killed me after I found out it was just a bag check was they broke us up into three lines actually (the non ticket holders, the ticket holders and then one I couldn’t figure out at all, probably members) but why do that for just the bag check. Aren't we all equal status when it comes to bag check? Are the ticket holder’s bags nicer? better, require more thought to look thru. So THEN you go inside and into another line for the tickets. I was taken to the front of a line that just started which was cool. Then I walked through a mad MAD crowd of ancient (yet dressed perfectly) French women and students and a few tourists. I will see that the palace itself is guarded by really mean looking statues and sculptures of angry men and snakes

Pic: I didn’t bring my camera so this is from the web but it’s the palace from above, there is a also another palace across the street called the "le petit palace".

And once you are inside, it certainly doesn’t seem like you are in a palace, I think they are hiding the palace behind the museum. But its soo damn big that I know I didn't even come close to covering the entirety of the place, I was probably in the maids quarters at best or the dogs quarters....lol speaking of smelly things...my hotel lobby suddenly this morning smells like the bathroom at port authority. I do not understand why. And no one seems phased by this at the desk. It’s very odd.

back to work tomorrow.
oye vey!

PS. I was JUST invited to my first Parisian dinner party and you will NEVER EVER guess what the host is serving (please sit down):

LASAGNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is my WORST nightmare come true!! The ONE CHEESE MY BODY cannot even LOOK AT...the allergy of a lifetime, and they are serving this as the main course!! I might literally die. Please stand up again.

Posted in: on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at at 10:31 AM 1 comments

As most of you know, me and "sweat" are like passionate lovers that are always doing it...so you can imagine that after putting on like a gallon of CLINICAL strength secret this morning in preparation for my nerves on the first day of work, i walk into an office that is seriously, the hottest place on the face of the earth. I almost died. And I'm wearing the perfect combination of button down shirt with short sleeve sweater over it so that if i DO sweat, then the sweat marks are hidden but lets face it people...this was unmanageable!!!! COME ON!! i mean this is an office with about 200 computers, how could they possibly keep it that hot!

well that was my big event of the morning. Train ride was fairly easy and the amount of cute boys made it all that much more exciting. My office mates are, well, office mates. One bright eyed red head and another skinny tall looking olive skin frenchy who seems to share my sentiment of him. he's very quiet and we dont say much. you have to YANK information from him so mostly i spoke with the red head.

It was a FEAT to keep my eyes open as the jet lag dared to enter my body during the morning...I had three cups of steaming cappucino but nothing worked, i was falling asleep on the job, thankfully the bosslady left the office for a long time. what i find interesting is that the red head and myself are apparently at the same level of jobs but on thursday I'm moving to an office which will house just myself and the bosslady. I dont know if that is a female/male thing. cause then the two boys will be left in an office with one other dude apparently....so midday i was told i was not even supposed to be on the premisis as i had not yet had my "physical exam" which essentially meant I could not "legally" work. A few people came in and from what i gathered, i could NOT get hurt. I was too tired to even get up so I didnt think that would be an issue.

Then came lunch....thank GOD, i was STARVING...i needed food. I was handed a lunch ticket which would provide free lunch until i got some card. i had HIGHLY anticipated what lunch would be like in France....i heard there were no sandwiches at all. and pretty much for the last 8 years I have been eating "sandwiches" everyday for lunch....So we enter the lunch/cafeteria/restuarant and here are my findings:

plates of jamon
plates of cheese
pizza
a rotisseri with chicken (on and off bone)
some main courses (veggie, rice looking thing, potatoes and green beans
tomatoes
green cucumber salad type thing
TONS of desserts
some odds and ends

i got the boneless chicken
what resembled zuccini
some tomatoes
and green cucumber thing

at the check out i was asked if i wanted "coffee".
i just said Yes cause i didnt want to feel left out of whatever that meant

the bread situation is plentiful, you are offered bread everywhere, before and after you go through check out. i think its a freebee.


so it took me about 20 minutes to find bosslady and crew, but i did. after you drop your tray in the belt thingy and think you are walking out, you are not, you walk right into an almost FORCED coffee shop, standing room only with fresh cappuccino. that explained the coffee situation. but i did notice that i was the only one who added sugar to mine. im not quite ready for the strength of straight shots of espresso.

ohhh that reminds me of one thing that happened early in the AM. actually right when i arrived and bosslady took me to get coffee which was simply a coffee vending machine. we were met there by about 4 other guys and after all the coffee was dished out, it was the most AWKWARD silence on earth. even bosslady didn't seem to possess the skills with an icebreaker...i was silent simply because I had no idea who was english speaking and I didnt want anyone to know i couldnt speak french. i assume this embarrasment will last for some time...i have yet to hear about my french lessons although i am cc'd on a email to the lady who will teach me....where is SHE!!! damn her.

i NEEEEED lessons

Pic: Micro kitchen, room enough only for my beloved peanut butter. ps, im running low so feel free to hit costco and send more...

anyway, the end of the day brought upon two cuties who came to the office, one who heavy eye contact was made. in the midst of conversation, i heard red head tell him i was from nyc and i heard him sound intrigued!!! he also later helped me realize that the bus had, in fact, stopped to let us all out at the train station and i should get off. i was seriously lost. the driver did NOT stop at the same place as pick up. He then waited outside the bus and told me to follow the others to the station. Since he wasnt going, I am assuming he lives in Versaille. Or near it. Of course I cannot remember his name.

The one difficult thing today was figuring out the time. I had this premeditated french ready to ask people the time but two challenges occured:

1. instead of asking what time it is, my nerves forced me to ask what the weather is like...lol

2. even if i got the time, how could i get anyone to say it slow enough for me to translate properly.

I made the red head repeat something after lunch which i finally understood to mean "how did you like lunch" but he kept asking about the canteen, i didnt even get that. so i told him it was "nice".

i love letting people laugh at my french. its so cute.

I'M LIANG!!!
that will only make sense to people who worked at my last job and new this cute little chinese fellow who said the funniest things ever in his learning english phase. kept us all laughing all day all nite and even now.

finally and not to go unnoticed. i dont think that my workday will ever be the same. i assure you people of the United states, the "french" at my job are workaholics. I was told that due to the ties to the US, they often stay very late and roll in late as well.

but goodbye are the days when 5pm seemed like the end of life. my only help is that the last shuttle back to paris is 7:30pm and i BARELY made that tonight.

but i think this job will be great. i am very excited about being part of something big and signifigant*

*due to the nature of the blog and blogging in general, i simply cannot disclose details about the job, but lets just say its in the healthcare field.



side notes day three:
-there is no soft toilet paper in paris, prepare to chaffe
-there is no winter in paris, prepare to sweat
-when/if it does ever snow, apparently paris goes into complete panic, the city literally shuts down, i think there are maybe two snowplows TOTAL in the entire city, so im told anyway.

Posted in: on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at at 11:36 AM 0 comments

Pic: View out microstudio window. 6th floor. Looking out to something. i'll let you know as soon as i figure it out. it says Galerie Gaite if that means anything. And now to the post:

Its a cold, rainy, overcast day but I am safely in my hotel room which will forever be referred to as the "micro studio" (MUCH MUCH smaller than seen on the interwebs) and alive. My baggage even made it. I was shocked at how together my bags were when they rode down the baggage belt thing at the airport. One after the other in a very nice and neat line. Of course me trying to lift and carry all four of them off the belt and onto the airport cart required some fast and tricky skills. No one was injured thankfully.

Some memorable moments on the plane, my favorte line was from the PILOT himself as we approached Paris "Well apparently we are now landing, so buckle up" as if he was just simply a stray passenger!

I will say that flying American Airlines has every bit of stigma you can imagine. It might as well have been a flight to Cleveland...they barely spoke french, even the french was spoken with as little effort as possible. There was very little sleep due to excitment/nervousness/etc. I had fully anticipated my bags to be headed to Bangladesh and I would never see my belongings again.

Of course, the one carry on I had was so stuffed with my life that it took three men to shove it into an overhead bin and just as many to get it out. I almost broke the plane. lol.

And then there was the key moment when you are ready to exit customs and enter the world of france when RIGHT in the doorway of this opening (with everyone watching), I slammed the cart into the side and 1 of my 4 giant bags went FLYING out into France!!! haha. It was hilarious. And embarrasing and all that good kinda stuff.

My driver Dominique was awesome, and even though I was terribly sleep deprived, I appreciated him driving me all over Paris on a mini tour before going to my hotel. He spoke English but REALLY fast english so I had to use this super non-sleep power to concentrate on his words and understand him. He drove me by the grand palace, the champs, the arc de triumph, Sarkozys house, the Musee de Orsay, Louvre, a few squares, embassy's and finally made his way to the hotel. I gave him a nice tip.

Ok so then skipping thru the naps, internet set up, showers, etc, I then ventured out for food and walked into this corner bistro thing and holy crap were there about a BILLION hot french men. It was like an ad for Abercrombie. I swear I thought I had walked into the wrong place and it was totally one of those music stops everyone turns moments. I didnt know what to do. I walked back to the smoking section and the bartender (also hot) leaned in, I could only say "Je n'pas parle francais" to which he very sincerely said "of course you can speak english". So there you go, first encounter and they were nice. So far though, I have had two encounters which predict many more where by I start out in my premeditated french and the return is this long and fast french response of which I cannot even come close to understanding. haha.

The day is still cold.

I just skyped my mom and now chichi. Love the skype. Gotta have the skype. Ps. for those of you not in the know....skype is this free internet service where you can essentially video (if you have a webcam) or not video call anyone else in the world who also has skype for free. So within 4 hours of landing in Paris, i was starring at my mom and stepdad in the background in their little southern MAISON chatting about the flight. Very very cool especially considering I dont have a phone yet. I was going to hunt around for one today but its too cold and windy.

I really want to get food. I'm going to hunt down the grocery store. I think there is one close by.

More soon!!!

Posted in: on Sunday, December 2, 2007 at at 5:14 AM 3 comments