An uninspired epiphany

I am having a mildly disturbing epiphany of sorts as I write this. See, Micah asked about our blog and told him he can read it (no more talking about making out with his sister Mik) so I hope that's all cool with everyone. If not, let me know and if I ask him not to read it, he actually won't. He's surprisingly good like that. But all of a sudden I got all oddly self-conscious about the shit that I wrote. Not that it's bad writing or that I am nervous that I may have written something that Micah wouldn't like, but that I haven't written anything particularly insightful or inspired since we started this puppy. And I know that we didn't start this blog because we wanted a public forum for our thoughts and ideas that others around the world would have access to. We just wanted to keep in touch since we are all moving all over the friggin' continent and sometimes the thousands of daily e-mails during the work day can be hard to sift through. So this is our own personal forum to share daily occurences and life happenings that we would all know about if we were all still back in Chi-town together. And I think that's great and wonderful and keep up the great work . . . everyone but Sarah. Ironic that the longtime English teacher is currently failing Blog Writing 101. Most students call it an easy A or a class even the football team could pass. Yet Sarah is on blogademic probation and in danger of failing out of The Kitchen Floor Institute. I have a call into her father. He says he is going to make her mow the lawn if she doesn't bring her grades up.

But I digress.

So I decided that I was going to sit down and write a different sort of blog entry. I was going to wax poetic about something that was confusing me or angering me or inspiring me. I was going to pull a classic Beth Rahm stream-of-consciousness writing frenzy gig. I was going to elaborate on some personal epiphany, something I would have bitched about or rambled about at Guthries over our Miller Lites and soggy mozzarella sticks. But the only friggin' epiphany I could come up with is . . . that I haven't had any epiphanies! Ew! What's wrong with me?!?!! Three weeks in our nation's capital, living away from my family and friends and boyfriend, going through the horrifying process of apartment hunting and job hunting at the same time, and I don't have anything of consequence upon which I can ruminate?!! What's wrong with me? I try to console myself by insisting that it's because I am trying to get into a routine here, trying to establish myself, and that I have only been concerned with logistics during these first few weeks.

But actually deep down inside, I think it's because without you guys and my family and my sweet, sweet Micah here beside to play the role of active participants in my daily life - I have no muse! I have no stimulation! Emotional, intellectual, spiritual, physical (sigh . . .) - I am void of inspiration! Shit! I start to panic - is it always going to be like this? Am I always going to be this vapid without them? Am I always going to be this void of ingenuity? I have come to the conclusion that without you guys, and with only cable TV in your place, I will.

So there are a couple options, no? You guys come here. No? Okay well I could go home. Well maybe no not really. I could abandon cable TV though, couldn't I? I know it's been pretty thrilling since I am so unaccustomed to its presence. But really, all I watch is snippets of reality crap, the same 7 music videos over and over again (although I really like that one by the Pussycat Dolls so I don't mind it so much but if I hear "Baby Grind With Me" sung one more time by a bunch of pre-pubescent, gold-toothed wankstas rubbing up on women 10 years older than them and ridiculously out of their league, I might pick up and join the Maoist revoltion in Nepal), occasional baseball highlights with some headline news, and movies that I already own and have seen 27 times each. Not what one calls expanding one's horizons. So I have decided that I have to do one new thing a day. Whether that means finding the local dry cleaners so I don't have to keep ironing my own damn shirts for thiese interviews (cuz when it's 102 outside you can't get away with wearing your cotton button-down more than once) or trying a new pool in the community here or going to a new museum or whatever. I have just been a little afraid of leaving the apartment the last few days because of the heat but I thinkI need to suck it up. I should have much more to say that I do tonight. And not as if any of these new experiences can replace daily interaction with my family, my favorite ladies, and my favorite boy . . . but at least I should make an attempt at finding temporary replacements, right? Looks like the Smithsonian will have to do for now.

So stay tuned for my future pontifications and ruminations . . .

Our Vacation to Be

Okay so I dug up a Calendar and here are my days off:
Labor Day weekend
Xmas break Dec. 17-Jan 2nd
Martin luther king weekend Jan 14-16 possible to the 17th if i don't have to be there when not giving my final
I have a random week off in January, Friday 20th-Sunday 29th (i may be off as early as thursday the 19th if not giving a final)
Presidents weekend Friday, february 17th-20th
Some catholic holiday and i get Monday march 27th off
My spring break is Holy Thursday April 13th through Sunday April 23rd
Memorial Day

I do not have many days to take off. I only have 2 personal days and 5 sick days. this is significantly less than I've had in the past. So If i can avoid taking them, it would be very helpful. Especially b/c I have to take one when my parents come over thanksgiving.

Food for thought

I know everyone has more important things to think about, but I think we should try to think up a weekend that we can all go on vacation. Or at least a season. :)

What's happening?

I'm sure it's not any different in the States and you all have just as much reason to be nervous or scared but right now I feel like all of Europe is on guard. Everywhere I go I'm supicious of the man with the large stuffed backpack and an sort of bag left lying around. I should be enjoying my last week in Paris and instead all I can think of is in order to get home on Sunday I have to ride muliple metro lines to the airport, then fly to London where I have a 2 hour layover and then a 10 hour flight home. And right now none of those methods of transportation strike me as very safe. From the multiple bombings in London, to Egypt, those on a daily basis in the Middle East, I really can't help but wonder where it's all headed. Though honestly I'm not sure I want the answer to that. I've resigned myself to the fact that I really can't read the paper because I just start to panic about my long trekk home.
Maybe I'm over-reacting and being dramatic, but I can't honestly say that I feel safe. And not that the U.S is any safer, but at least I'll be with the people I love.
Like the American man whose daughter was killed in Egypt said, I don't understand what's going on and why. I get the logistical crap and the politics as much as one can. But that doesn't explain to me the thoughts that provoked all that has passed. I know I'm not alone in these thoughts, but nonetheless I find them frustrating and horrifying.

Corny, but cute

Aj sent this :

After three weeks in the Garden of Eden, God came to visit Eve.
So, how is everything going?" inquired God.

"It is all so beautiful, God," she replied. "The sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking, the smells, the sights, everything is wonderful, but I have just one problem. It's these breasts you have given me. The middle one pushes the other two out and I am constantly knocking them with my arms, catching them on branches and snagging them on bushes. They are a real pain," reported Eve.

Eve went on to tell God that since many other parts of her body came in pairs, such as her limbs, eyes, ears, etc..........she felt that having only two breasts might leave her body more "symmetrically balanced," as she put it.

That is a fair point," replied God, "But it was my first shot at this, you know. I gave the animals six breasts, so I figured that you needed only half of those, but I see that you are right. I will fix it up right away." And God reached down, removed the middle breast and tossed it into the bushes.

Three weeks passed and God once again visited Eve in the Garden of Eden. "Well, Eve how is my favorite creation?"

"Just fantastic," she replied, "But for one oversight on your part. You see, all the animals are paired off. The ewe has a ram and the cow has her bull. All the animals have a mate except me. I feel so alone."
God thought for a moment and said, "You know, Eve, you are right. How could I have overlooked this? You do need a mate and I will immediately create a man from a part of you. Now let's see.....where did I put the useless boob?"

Now doesn't THAT make more sense than that crap about the rib?

WHAT?!

How is London going to survive without the Underground? What about people who can't get to their livelihoods without the public transportation system?! It's one of the most congested cities in the world, and now their major level of people-moving is SHUT DOWN? cause some Ass-hat set a pipe bomb? fuck!

And I was just driving in, listening to my most recent book: Dave Barry's: Boogers are my Beat., and the last two essays were the one he wrote for September 12th, 2001, and September 11th, 2002. Bizarre, sobbing way to start the day. yikes.

This is just nuts.

DC: Epidose 2 (that's right I said "Epidose")

Whazzup bitches? Just writing to bring you up to speed on the impending limbo that is my nondescript existence at the moment.

Apartment.

I was supposed to find out about whether or not my lease was approved for the aparment I am dying to move into at 3217 Connnecticut Ave, NW. I called and they told me that they were still waiting for the employment verification from my mom's employer (since she is co-signing the lease for me) but that other than that things looked good. I called my mom and she made sure that they sent it over to the leasing office this afternoon. They told me to call back on Friday but I am going to call tomorrow morning just to confirm that they received the fax. Sarah Gurfein (who is hopefully going to be my new roomie and since Sarah Ruzicka objects to another Sarah in our lives, I will henceforth refer to her as "Gurfy") seems to think they are stalling since they don't have their shit together, still can't tell me when exactly I could move in or how much exactly the place costs since it's not techinically on the market, and she says it's illegal for them to approce an application for a place that's not on the market. I have no idea why it is not on the market since I was in it and it's vacant - they were just finishing up the paint job. All of this makes me increasingly nervous so I try not to overthink it.

In the meantime, Gurfy is coming in to DC on Friday, we are going to see the apartment, and - in an ideal world which probably doesn't exist for me - sign the lease that day. If something goes wrong, she and I are going to spend the weekend apartment hunting. Oh joy of joys. If all you churchgoers could please say a prayer for me that would be great. Yes, I like religion when it is convenient to me and advances my own personal goals.

Job.

I had my second interview yesterday afternoon and I think it went pretty well. Dave, who I previously interviewed with and would be my immediate boss, is an easy going, jovial guy and we had lots of laughs during the interview. When I met with him plus the president and founder of the company and the head of HR (who happens to be the president's wife), the meeting was slightly less fun-filled. Ken and Donna were nice but just a little more tight-lipped and staight-laced than Dave so it was harder to get a read on them. I think Donna was particularly suspicious of whether or not I would still be looking for a government job after they hired me. I think I answered all questions truthfully and still made myself appear to be an appealing candidate. Sometimes I think it is unfair of people to ask a 24 year-old "Is this what you want to do for your life's career choice?" Dude! Can you really make an educated decision about something like that without experiencing it? Who knows? Maybe there will be something in finance, some job aspect that I don't even know about right now, that will really excite me and give me the opportunity to travel internationally and yes, it will be what I dedicate my life to professionally. Maybe I will take the job for a year or two and bust my ass, do a great job, impress the hell out of you, learn a lot, but in the end decide that there is something out there that is better for me. Would that be so horrible? I don't know exactly what I want to do and is that really so hard to believe given my age and my past experiences and my current situation?

In any case, Dave said he thought I did really well and that he thought he looked more nervous than I did. They wanted to call on my references and do a background check so I think it would be a couple of days before I know anything. But Dave said that he should be able to tell me something by the end of the week since then the bossman is going out of town for a while. I am not in a huge rush to start working there since the commute from CM's place on public transportation is 2 FRIGGIN' HOURS!!! I shit you not. Two hours each way and that was without having to wait long for a train or bus and without delays or anything like that. If I get this apartment I want, my commute shouldn't be longer than about 45 minutes - which I can totally handle.

Oh and are any of you PowerPoint pros? Yeah, I might need some serious tutoring in PowerPoint before I start this job (knock on wood) since that's big part of it. I need to know how to make pie charts, data charts, and graphs and so on for marketing materials. Any suggestions on how to learn it or where to find a good online tutorial? By the way, if anyone wants to learn more about finance and feels completely inept on the subject - investopedia.com has these awesome, idiot-proof, user-friendly tutorials on economics and investment and stuff. Love it.

Friends.

I have none. Boo. Well, it's not quite that bad yet. Casey and I are going to a Nationals game tomorrow (I get to wear my ballcap!) and Gurfy and I will be hanging out all weekend. Hopefully she and I can be pals regardless of whether or not we live together. She seems like one of us, you know? Plus she will know some people here through her boyfriend (did I mention he lives here?) so that would be another good way to meet peeps. When I was in Spain I met a good friend of Denise and Debbie's named Emily - anyone remember me talking about maybe living with her? Well, she still plans to move here in about a month and has a roomie friend from high school. The apartment search is kicking their asses as well so she and I talk frequently to bitch about the market here. She even asked if I wanted to live with her and her friend but I had already committed to Gurfy and I would feel bad about ditching her. So hope is not entirely lost on me having some estogen-enriched buddies here in the district.

That's about all for now. My cousin is pretty much going to be out of town on work for the next three weeks - anyone want to crash at my place? :) I think I am going to visit my Aunt Penny and Uncle John in North Carolina next weekend. It should be fun since they have a 35-foot sailboat they love to go out on and I am seriously considering hang-gliding again because it's such a wicked adrenaline rush and I haven't been to Great America yet this year. But other than that stuff, my social calendar is looking pretty lame . . . I am sure I will do my best to change that though. Goals for the next couple of weeks? Research where the hip and happening language institutes are that teach Russian and find me a Planned Parenthood clinic and twist their arm until they let me volunteer.

Take care honies. Mwah.

Le Cinema au Plein Aire

So I went to a free movie in the park last night. It's this cool park way up north in Paris by the Museum of Science and Industry (which is this really cool building) and they have this huge blow up screen and amazing sound system. Tons of people come and picnic. It's a very popular thing and apparantly they show a movie everynight all summer. So I'm excited, free movie, excuse to picnic and relax, and hang out.
So I figure that I probably won't understand much of the movie, but no big deal, it'll be good practice. The movie you ask... Scarface, subtitled! What? They don't show French movies. Oh no, the French love the American Film industry and that's what they'll be showing. So weird but at least I understood the movie!

DC: Epidose 1

Okay so I meant to start this earlier than one in the morning so I could write lots but time slips away when you get sucked into the luxuries of cable television so we will see how long I can keep this up . . . .

So I have been here in DC for almsot two weeks and I like to think that I have a pretty healthy grasp on the geography of the city, public transportation, neighborhoods, and even a little highway driving. Although Beth will attest to the fact that I have been known to drive 17 miles out of my way and call her, desperate for yahoo maps inspired guidance. But for the most part, I feel pretty comfortable getting around the city. I think that is due, largely in part, to the seventh circle of personal hell that has been my apartment search. Let me see if I can sum it up for you:

Wednesday 7/6: My cousin Catherine Mary takes the day off from work to drive Sarah and I all over the city to check out places . . . and now that I think about it, I can't actually remember what we did this day. All I know is that we accomplished next to nothing.

Thursday 7/7: Sarah and I check out more places and meet Rob my "roommate" in the afternoon. Seems like a great guy. Nice. Dorky. Completely harmless. And as time would show, completely inept. Again, we don't really see anything worthwhile, I become incredibly crabby and frustrated and Sarah contemplates leaving early. All in all, not the ideal day.

Friday 7/8: Sarah says she has a feeling about today and it turns out she is right as we wind up finding too great places that I put in aps for. We are really pulling for the morning find in Van Ness because it's a good apartment but for WICKED CHEAP at $1000. We think we have good odds on getting this place because the woman who showed it to us said we were the first ones to see it and then we went straight to the leasing office. We feel good about it. The other place is nice, the property management company awesome, and although it is $1600, I am still excited about this opportunity too. Sarah and I celebrate by going out with Carrie and her friend Megan. We ate, drank, and were merry.

Saturday 7/9 & Sunday 7/10: Sarah and I abandon the apartment hunt since we feel confident that I am going to get the Van Ness place. We went shopping and spent money we shouldn't have, hung out with the cuz some, watched Dogma, checked out the Holocaust museum, and had a lovely late lunch snack at a roof top bar in Adams Morgan - the funky, swanky, hipster part of town.

Monday 7/11: It's a sad, sad day for Kelly as she escorts Sarah to the Chinatown bus that will take her back to NYC. Boo. Now Kelly has no friends in the friggin' city at all. Except for Casey and Carrie and Megan but really . . . no REAL friends. But then I guess I only have a few of those anyway so I really shouldn't be shocked that none of them currently reside in the samw city as me. In any case, Sarah gets on her merry way and I call the leasing office to see when I can move into my Van Ness apt. Yeah about that . . . he leased it to someone else already. I call Sarah to give her the bad news. Then I call Rob who tells me that he already called them and found out we wouldn't be getting the place. I am mildly annoyed that HE DIDN'T THINK TO CALL ME AND TELL ME. Boys. So I tell him that he should really get his half of the application in on the second place today so we can go look at it when he comes down tomorrow because it was always the plan for him to come down and search more with me on Tuesday. But wait, his car is being repaired (leaky sunroof) on Wednesday and he has to leave the car there on Tuesday so he won't be coming down until Thursday. I make a mental note about his apparent lack of urgency. He says he is worried about costs and that we (I) should check out Silver Spring, a neighborhood that is outside of DC in Maryland.

Tuesday 7/12: I call Rob to see if he has sent in his half of the ap for the apartment I like yet and he says, you know what, if we are going to spend that much money he wants to be closer to a Metro. I get EXTRAORDINARILY frustrated with that fact that he is shooting down, from Philadelphia, apartments that he hasn't seen at all and is really not participating in this process at all. I was preparing a Come-to-Jesus talk for when he came down on Thursday but I can't hold it any longer after this last admission of his and I very calmly let him know what is on my mind is a collected, well-spoken, perfectly reasonable fashion. He had NOTHING to say in reply so I tell him to call me after he has thought about things a bit. Somewhere in there I had lunch with Casey. And then I went to Silver Spring to check it out because that is what good people do when they are trying to find a place to live with someone else but just as I suspected, I hated it. I didn't move to DC so I could live in Oakbrook.

Wednesday 7/13: I pound the hot, hot pavement again and this time, still not having heard from Rob, I am checking otu studios because I am researching plan B and no, I am not talking about the morning after pill. I see 3 or 4 and while they are nice, they are SMALL!! But there is no way that I could afford a one-bedroom by myself in this city right now, especially not knowing how much I am going to be making. The last place I go, the guy mentions that there is a two bedroom available. On a whim, I ask to see it. I fall in love with it, the neighborhood, and the fact that it is a block from the metro. I think this is going to be the thing that saves me and Rob. I call him, psyched that I have found a great place for $1500, and although he seems excited about the place, he still doesn't know about the cost. What?!!?!!! Didn't we talk about this weeks ago? Weren't you going to take out an extra grand or two in loans since we determined it wouldn't really make a difference since you are already going to be $100,000 in debt when you graduate law school? I go out to dinner with the cuz, and in the meantime Rob leaves me a message saying that $1500 is out of his range. Even though this whole time he has had me searching under the premise that he could spend up to $1600. Holy shit does the venom pulse through my veins. But there is no use in staying mad long. I haven't called him back yet. Whoops. I think he knows where we stand. I go home and e-mail 6 people from Craigslist who are looking for roommates in DC and collapse into bed.

Thursday 7/14 (go Bastille Day): I wake up and I have three e-mails from people I e-mailed last night. I am most excited about Sarah Gurfein, a cool chick in Boston who is moving here at the end of August. We have lots in common, we communicate the same way, she's a big Red Sox fan so we can relate about baseball, she was hoping for someone who loves to travel and can speak another language, and we actually have vague friends in common through college. She currently works for a liberal publication in Boston and is moving to DC because she and her on again/off again boyfriend of too many years and her have decided to give their relationship a real try like adults do and he lives here. She seems great and she is certainly interested in the place I have found.

Friday 7/15: I submit an ap for the apartment in Cleveland Park which is now my favorite of all the places I have seem. They tell me that although the building manager told me $1500, it may go up once the place has been assessed. But they don't know how much yet. I want to submit the ap but think it's dumb they are going to charge me $60 to apply for an apartment that I don't know if I can afford. I put up a fight and they tell me that if the place is out of my range, they will refund my ap fee. Duh you schmucks. So I submit it and they tell me to call back on Monday to find out how much the place will be and that by Wednesday I should know whether or not my ap was approved. Sarah admits that she doesn't know if she can afford the place if the price goes up much. I tell her not to panic yet. The day ends and the weekend nailbiting begins . . .

That pretty much brings us up to date on the apartment hunt. I will call tomorrow with my fingers crossed. that the price hasn't gone up much. I think we could handle $50 but I am not sure she would be down if it went up more than that.

Other than that, I had a really good interview with a friend of my former boss, Lloyd, and he loved me. Dave's company is into funds managing which means mostly futures trading in this case and I would be a jack-of-all-trades person and basically assistant to Dave, the VP of Sales and Marketing (I think?). The job is not exactly what I had in mind but they would pay me a sick amount of money compared to what I was making at Weber and I could keep volunteering at PP, start taking Russian classes, and take the foreign service exam again this fall. My most interesting job prospects have has application processes that lasted at least a year and this wouldn't be a bad job to have in the meantime. It's looking pretty good to me . . .

Okay, I have to go to sleep now. It's 2 AM. I will make these blogs more frequent, I swear. I am sure you understand how crazy it has been . . . I can't wait to get a detail or two nailed down though. As always, I miss you ladies a lot but I hesitate as I type that because I know that I will miss you more as the days pass. Take care honies.

This week blows...

Now, I understand that in reality, this week is not the worst week ever. I understand that there are people all across the globe that do not have food or homes or clothing or whatever... But for me it has not been a great week. And I am taking advantage of the opportunity to whine. You don't have to read it, I just like thinking that I'm actually talking to everyone.

Let's start with the car because that is the most recent debacle. My car got towed into a shop on Tuesday, May 31. Though they kept telling me it would be finished earlier, it was not completed until Tuesday, June 21. I picked it up and it felt like it was driving funny. And I heard a scraping noise. I brought it back last Wednesday and a mechanic drove around with me. I left it Thursday morning and they said it would probably be completed by the end of the day or possibly the next day. I called Friday, Monday, Tuesday... Not done. On Tuesday when I spoke with them, I said - "Look. I need to know when this car is going to be finished. You have had it for the SECOND time and you keep telling me its going to be finished and its not. I'm borrowing a car and need to know when it will be good to go. I will not be at work tomorrow (Wednesday) so can you guarantee that it will be finished on Thursday." He said, "If its not, I'll make it up to you." So Thursday comes and I wait until about 3 to call them (yes, I called them... not the other way around) and they said it would be ready in about half an hour. Well by this time my lunch is completely gone and I can't get it. Mom says she will meet me tomorrow with the car. She meets me at CostCo (we had party supplies to get) and all is fine la dee dah. We load up my car, load up her car and away we go. But my window won't go back up. WHAT?! So I call the shop and they say it will take about half an hour to fix. I call mom (the saint) and she says she'll come back and get the car and take it in... She yells at them, but they don't care. Not one bit. They say it wasn't accident related (mind you it was working up to the minute before the accident). She tells them to call me and deal with it. I call State Farm (they don't care) oh! And I have to go to court on Thursday next week, but they don't really deal with any of that (even though the other guy will have a lawyer there). STRESS!!! So I tell State Farm that I want it on record that I called bc the car place has been difficult to deal with and they say they'll write something down. Blah. The car place calls me back and says State Farm has to come out and look at the car on Monday. They can't fix anything until State Farm comes out to look at it. It looks like it was more a routine wear and tear than from the accident. (Odd timing though I might add.)

So who knows what that's going to cost me. I thought I got a Civic so shit wouldn't break. Argh!

On Tuesday I was going about my work day with my cup of hot chocolate (since I was chilly and don't like coffee). Oh Tuesday. you'll be good to me, I just know it! (Enter Tuesday... NO I WON'T!!!!) I reach over something and my cast knocks my cell phone into my cup of hot chocolate (which is now cold). Crap. Stupid cast. I immediately grab it out, take it apart and dry it off. I let it sit for a bunch of hours. Yes, a bunch of them. When its time to take my late lunch, I piece the phone back together again (it fits!) But the darn thing won't turn back on. Literally won't even make a peep. So I guess I will walk to T-Mobile and see what they can do - Maybe there's some sort of trick to it? On my way over, I press the power button REALLY HARD and hold it. Nothing. Then my phone starts vibrating... In rhythm! Weird. I get to T-Mobile and the guy starts laughing at me! (It was pretty funny.) He tells me that my phone is busted and I better look for a new one. And - lucky me - I can get the full discount. I look at the phones (all they really have are the Samsung - the brand I had that I really thought was crap - or the Motorola that I've heard a few people say they don't like... So I ask the guy and he says the Motorola is the way to go - Samsung is what it is, but the Motorola is much better. So I ask about the discout. Its the exact same as listed on the sign. But I thought you said I was able to get a discount... What if I re-sign for another year? Silly Molly, you HAVE to re-sign for another year to get any discount at all. What about customer loyalty? Nope. Nada. So I pony up 213.46 or whatever and take my stuff for the rebate. Ridiculous.

We're also planning this party. We've been saving money this whole year and are ready to get going. Well, once we sit down and look at how much everything costs, we realize we may have underestimated just a bit. We'll be okay - Just can't do EVERYTHING we wanted to. Boo hoo.

Oh and my health insurance was not going through for my OT. What?!

Then I get a dog and spend bazillions on that (It cost $150 for adopting plus supplies, etc) I think it totalled around $250-$300.

AND Wednesday mom called and said she found a good couch for me, so I went and looked at it on Thursday. Its alright - Its one of those "As-is" buys, so its not perfect and its not even the color I want really, but it'll do. I immediately had buyers remorse as soon as I handed over my credit card. And don't expect a simple delivery process - They can deliver it next Friday. Great! I have next Friday off, but I have to go to the OT at 10:30. Can you tell me what time on Friday or give me a guesstimate? We'll call you the night before and let you know. Okay, but what if I can't make it at that 4 hour block of time? Well, the couch will already be on the truck then, so can someone be at your apartment for you? You mean someone during the day on a weekday when people work? No, no they can't. Well, then you'll have to let us know now about a different day. WHAT?!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! I am very much looking forward to this weekend and I wish you girls were here so I didn't sound so pathetic all at one time - I could have spaced it out over a week.

Bitch bitch bitch. Whine whine whine.

Micah just called. He's not coming to the party tomorrow...

Hey - At least Lucy's cute. :)

Posted by mychela, in abstentia

I should be in class right now, but i'm not, why? b/c there was no way I was getting out of bed thismorning. Yesterday was Bastille Day, the FrenchIndependence day. Very Very exciting.We went to the parade very early in the morning andthen walked around, napped, ate, etc. Chirac, thepresident, is the person who starts off the parade(can't think of the word for that), but it was cool tosee him.though there were snipers on every rooftop! it wascrazy. all during the parade, any festivity and thefireworks. you could see them everywhere! then thefireworksi had a picnic with my chicago teacher's frenchfriends and that was fun. we were about 100feet fromteh eiffel tour. now imagine the coolest fireworks you see every year,glen ellyn, chicago, whatever. then have them comingfrom the eiffel tower! it was so amazing and set tomusic played by a live band. not so bad!it was fun. trying to get home, not fun.forget the metro, it's really impossible. i've neverseen anything like it. plus it stops running at 12:15,so waiting for 45 minutes to get to the platform at11:45 is not worth it, they're won't be anymoretrains.so we walked a super long way and then got in a taxi. it took me 2 1/2 hours to get home. i was not happyby 2am. but i got home safely and slept through a good two hours of class...oops. so i'm up.oh i did take some video of the fireworks but i doubti can send it via email. but i'll show you when i gethome.

[editor's note: see pics at this link ]

checking II

checking out the e-mail posting feature. . . .

6 P's

Is this the image that we wish to put out to the world? It's bad enough that we waste the billions of government dollars to send people into space. scratch that. . . to prepare to send people into space, but we can't even get it fucking right? something that important and monetarily costly (not to mention risky. . . ) is being FUCKED up at the last minute? WHAT?!! People, people, please: Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.

Oh yeah, I live in Paris...

Sometimes I forget. I know that's sounds stupid, but I do. I have a routine just like at home, get up go to school in this case instead of work, exercise, read, homework, stupid things like that. When I go out, recently it's been to walk around and have coffee with friends. These activities aren't different than ones I might do in Chicago. So it actually makes it harder because I then start missing you guys a lot more and my family and of course Adam. It's kind of weird. I have to remind myself that this is a foreign country.
So what have I been doing while living in this country. I obviously have been going to class. Last Friday I went out to celebrate Barbara's birthday (the swiss girl). That was a lot of fun. Maryann made me dinner before that and then we out to this bar and i invited a bunch of my school friends. It was a very good time. Saturday I needed some alone time. So I went running and then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and buying some souvenier. I actually bought a suit! it was so inexpensive, though funny because I bought it from Zara, a Spanish store! Of course the pants have to be hemmed, so I pick them up tomorrow. Bought some gifts, had an excellent crêpe and headed home. That night Maryann and I walked around Montmarte, bought scarfs and just sort of wandered. I went home early (like midnight) b/c the Metro stops running after
12:30 and it's not a short walk for me. But it was for the better as I went to that picnic on Sunday. So my chicago French teacher introduced me to her two best friends via email: Olivier and Hélene. Hélene invited me to a picnic at her house this past sunday. of course i accepted. She picked me up at 11:30. I got home at 7:30pm! I was exhausted and my head was killing me. I had a great time, but it was a whole lot of french for a really long time. the french love their picnics. seriously, love their picnics. the spend hours lounging on blankets, eating, drinking, napping, etc. Something I'm not used to. Had a great time though. As for food, there was pâté, and meat slices, bread, salads with couscous and stuff, a french form of gazpacho, of course cheese and wine and fruit and dessert. It was lots of fun but very exhausting as I couldn't let my guard down attention-wise.
They also invited me to a picnic on Thursday as it is Independence Day and we're going to picnic and watch the fire works by the eiffel tower. kind of crazy but super fun i'm sure.
I also somehow in the midst of not understanding full conversations, agreed on a weekend get-away. apparently one of them has a house in the country and they're throwing a huge party there. So they're going up next saturday morning and coming back on Sunday. I'm sure it'll be a great time, but I'm not sure i'm comfortable going. we'll see...
Ballet class. So the girl who I met who gave me all the info about this school, Anne-Benedict, was out of town in london on vacation until this week. I took class last tuesday and friday and loved it. Last friday this really nice girl introduced herself to me (i didn't catch her name, but i thought it was Mindy). then friday night i get an email from Anne-Benedict saying she was really glad to meet me, sorry she couldn't talk after class but maybe we could get coffee this week....
so the girl who introduced herself was not mindy at all, it was her!!! So I felt stupid of course. But c'est la vie. She's so nice! We went out for coffee after class today and talked for about an hour and half. she's very nice and super friendly. we'll probably get coffee again this friday!
So that's my crazy life right now. On another note, I'm so tired I could cry and my body is already sore from pushing myself too hard!
Miss you beaucoup!

Out on the Myra. . .

this depressing song is going through my head, and when i tried to google the lyrics, this weird site is all i came up with. But:

Out on the Myra on warm afternoons,/old men go fishing with black twine and spoons. /and if they catch nothing, they never complain/I wish I was with them again/
Out on the Myra, the people are kind/ They love you like they do and help you unwind./And if you come broken, they’ll see that you mend./And I’m going to be with them again./

**sniff**
Anywyas. speaking of books. which I was. sometime. anywyas. Two books of concern to me: Any roomate anectdotes would be greatly appreciated. I have a few stocked up, but if you think of anything and are bored, lemme have it. :) Second book of concern: I think i'm gonna start with miki, so that it has time to get to her in paris, but I've been thinking the book I made to mail around needed more, but Inspiration is failing me, so It's coming out to yas. I think. I probably shouldn't have prefaced it, cause now I'll put it off :) but, nonetheless, I think it should have minimal rules, but we should try to turn it around pretty fast. I dunno how well it will work, but now i'm babbling. Wish this weren't immortalized in cyberspace. . .

". . . I wish I was with them again." :(

Okay. I did it.

I went and met a dog this afternoon, and she's a cutie. Here's what the website says...

*****************************************
Name: Misty
Breed: Terrier Mix
Age: 2 years
Gender: Female
Weight: 35 lbs.
Misty is an adorable buff colored terrier who wiggles when she walks. Her tail is always wagging and she is always looking for attention. Her deep brown eyes will make you automatically fall in love and her curly hair makes her look like the canine version of Shirley Temple! Misty would love to be your only dog in a family with no children. She likes all of the attention for herself.
*****************************************
Here's what I know... She looks exactly like Ally, but with longer, curly hair. She's a sweetheart. A little aggressive (By that I mean she growled. Sort of.) when you try to take the ball away from her - but that's playing, right?! She aced all the tests they give except a tiny bit of food aggression, but that has gotten better since she's been there. Her old owners had her tied up to a tree outside until one of the volunteers at PAWS convinced them to let her be put in the shelter to find a better home. (They sent her over in a limo!)

PAWS wanted me to take her tonight, but I thought I could pick her up tomorrow and get bowls, etc tonight.

Oh - I also know that I want to change her name. This is where you come in girls. Help!

Hump Day

I wanted to post this yesterday, but alas the internet was not working. It's hump day here and Paris and will for the next week be known as the day Paris didn't get to host the 2012 olympics. C'est la vie. There was an article in the paper that said the verdict would be announced at 13:42... okay, apparently the couldn't make it an even 13:45. but whatever. So it's been a crazy week already.
Monday night, a well celebrated holiday in states and not celebrated here, was not so bad. Maryanne and I met up for dinner and 3 of her french friends came out to help us celebrate. they were all really nice and lots of fun. Two spoke english really well and the third not-so-much. So we spoke in this grand mix of French and english over a long dinner. then I headed home to do homework and crash.
Last night I had my first ballet class. First of all the school is this studio tucked behind a bunch of stores and what night. It looks identical to something out of Degas' paintings. I mean seriously, a cluttered corner, wooden floors (not like a dance floor, my poor ballet slippers are not going to make it), mirrors all around and the bar. Sure most dance studios look alike, but this is not modern and what I would picture in Degas' time. By no means bad, it has sooooo much character. there ws no mistaking i was in france. and WOW, the language facture is huge. The class was hard work, but not level hard. At first I had to follow someone till i picked up what we were doing. Towards the end it got easier. But by then i was sweating like crazy and my muscles were exhausted!
I talked to the teacher, as best as i could after class, and I think I'm going to take a little harder class, which there are two of. so i can dance twice a week. So dance was so much fun and successful. Plus the commute there is amazing!! the metro line i take there is elevated and it crosses teh seine and passes the eiffel tower and the parks. it's amazing and very Film-esque.
oh yeah, I started class. I thought it was four hours, but it's really 4 1/2 hours Monday-Friday. That's crazy and long. We do get a little break where everyone runs for a cup of coffee in the cafateria. I took up coffee again. And Beth, it is really good :o) Though I get cafe au lait not black coffee. AS for the class itself, apparantly I'm really old. Or so i feel. everyone is around 19/20 years old. There are 3 people from the states and there all about 20. There are 5 people from brazil! and then everyone else is scattered, Spain, georgia (the country), italy, poland, chile, mexico, switzerland, china, i'm sure there are more. it's crazy. so really, you all talk in french b/c a lot of the time it's the only common language. so that's good.
Yesterday i had coffee in teh park by the louvre with the girl from Georgia- Tatia, two sisters from Brazil -Natalia & Lucia, and the italian- Camille (who's 16!!!). It's so crazy but so fun. So i'm getting to know people and that's cool. Directions are getting easier as it really is a much bigger city than i thought. Okay i'm going to end this as it's sooooo long.
ps. no one talks on there cell phone much on the train, they text!! :o) so it's not so bad!

Riiiight. . .

Just realized that it's actually Tuesday. :)

Just another Manic Monday. . .

So, the excitement in my life lately: I'm trying out a new chair at work. I'm having obnoxious menstrual cramps. I'll get a paycheck today. I'm stealing a bike and hopefully a sewing machine from my parents this afternoon. Oh yeah, and I just delivered the last of the ditchers to the U-Haul Fortress today. So sad. Molly and I should have a pity party this week.

Nonetheless, vicarious living options will abound. . . Sarah can send her accounts of married life. From Mychela, pictures of exotic places and enlightening art. Kelly's venturing into a brand-spankin' new fronteirs. And Molly and her funnyfriends will make me laugh through my tears. Phenomenal :) I seriously can't wait to hear all about it.

Miss you guys already.

anyone??

Happy Saturday. I'm posting a blog knowing that Beth will definitely read it and probably respond too. Molly will read it too. Sarah, Kelly?? I know, I know they're busy. Okay I'm done harrassing. I was going to email, but thought this a more appropriate method or documenting this day. So first of all as I did say in my email, i did a very non-miki thing and put my ass in a hot air balloon. and let me tell you it was scary as shit! but totally worth the amazing view. So after a few moments of being freaked out, I was okay and was able to take cool pictures.
Then later today I learned my cell phone works on the subway. Yep, underground! How coo! It's really nice, especially since the subway is scary at night. Plus I'm paranoid.
Lastly, I met Micah's sister, Maryanne tonight. She's super cool and really down to earth. We wandered a bit and then sat at a cafe and later walked by Notre Dame since it's really cool at night. We talked at first in english and decided that was dumb and spent the next 2 hours in French. It's really nice to have someone you don't feel stupid talking in French with. Her french is very impressive and she was so helpful. So we had a really good time and it's so nice to have a friend. Like I said before we're celebrating the 4th together. As Micah said to me in an email "she's the smarter of us Philbrook kids." and she really is very smart and ambitious. she's here doing research for her senior thesis. Funny enough she goes to school out in Los Angeles! also crazy. I don't think she looks at all like Micah, but I'd have to see a picture of each or see them next to each other. she's about my height, my color hair, maybe a tad darker. It's shorter and curly/wavy. It was super hard to talk in French at first b/c vocabulary is so limited. But it got easier for both of us! thank goodness. So we talked and walked and then for the first time ever I braved the metro at night! whoa. Not a happy place to be. I was a nervous wreck the whole way home. but i'm home safely and trying to upload pictures, but snapfish is being a pain! So good night, I hope you all had great weekends.