J'habite à Paris!

Moving Day!

2006-09-18T03:10:00.000+02:00

Thanks again to everyone who followed our adventures in Paris this past year. We had an amazing experience overseas and were happy to be able to share it with so many others. I hope you'll join me on my new blog, which is celebrating its first real entry today:

http://2roustabouts.blogspot.com

Au revoir, mes amies!

Ta-da!!!

2006-09-15T00:58:00.000+02:00

I thought I'd end this blog on a happy note...

The bookshelves are FINALLY done! Thank you, Joe and Kate, for letting us take over your garage for far, far too long.

I'll have one last post on this blog to wrap things up and announce the web address for the new site. In the meantime, we are off to South Dakota for a weekend o' reminiscing! (Well, for Colin, anyway...)

Also, I have an update on the Gift of Giving Challenge: the project I originally picked out has been funded, so I had to find a new cause. I think this one is even better, since it helps kids make healthier beverage choices! As of right now, they only need $63 to fund their water cooler. So, if you haven't donated yet, please click on the thermometer to the right. Let's finish this challenge in style!

The Democratic Process Goes Blogging

2006-09-11T00:56:00.000+02:00

OK, here they are ... the finalists for the name of my new blog! Please vote to let me know what you think. (A runoff will be held in the event that no clear winner emerges.)

It's about time to switch forums

2006-09-06T23:31:00.000+02:00

Remember back on August 9 when I said that I would use my newfound employment as an indicator that I am really not going back to Paris? Well, here we are, almost a month later and I'm still unemployed. But, I also know that I'm not moving back overseas anytime soon. *sigh* So, I've decided that it is time to officially close one chapter of my life and start a new one.

I'm gettin' me a new blog.

After all, you can't really write for a blog entitled "J'habite à Paris!" if you can't even claim to live in Paris, Missouri. It's just weird.

The real trick, however, is coming up with a new name for my next blog incarnation. I have a few ideas, but nothing has struck a true chord with me yet. Any suggestions out there?? Put your suggestions in the comments section, please.

In job-related news, I applied for three more jobs last week. This was somewhat of a relief because you can't get hired if you aren't even applying for anything! One of the three new ones has since closed, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that I'll get an interview out of it. As for the other job that's still pending ... it's been three weeks since my interview with them. So -- while this is only the second day of classes and it's completely understandable if they have put hiring issues aside until things settle down -- I'm starting to assume that I'm not going to get a second-round interview from them. This is a bummer, but more because I was really interested in the job than anything else. But, they did promise to let me know either way if I was getting a second interview, so all hope is not completely lost. I figure if I haven't heard from them by the middle of next week, I'll give them a call. (Gotta give them a chance to get through the first-week crazies and then get resettled.)

In bookshelf news, I am pleased to report that we're on the last piece. I am less-than-pleased to report that we didn't get any work done on them today, but that's because I was lazy this morning and we spent the afternoon at the gym. With any luck, we'll finally be unpacked by the end of next week.

And on a final note, my mom is loaning me one of her digital cameras until we can replace the one that the French soccer hooligans stole from me. So, coming soon ... pictures, pictures, pictures!

Almost 1/3 of the way there!!

2006-09-05T05:04:00.000+02:00

I am thrilled to point out that we are already almost 1/3 of the way to meeting the challenge goal that I set for this blog! Yea! Thanks to everyone who has donated so far. (And yes, in case you're wondering, I chipped in $10, too.) But, we still need $210 to fund the proposal that I picked out. If we can't make it to that goal, I'll have to find a smaller project to fund.

So, if you haven't given yet, take a moment to read this description of what your money will be funding:

fulfillment

To donate to the challenge, click here or on the thermometer to the right of this entry. Thanks again for your generosity!

Wiener Envy

2006-09-03T01:54:00.000+02:00

This weekend, Colin and I are dog-sitting for one of Joe and Kate's dogs. Frankie, as pictured to the left, is the 10-year-old weiner dog staying with us for Labor Day. I've actually been looking forward to this all week because Frankie is a very sweet, cuddly little dog. Plus, when she's happy, she grunts. Too cute!

I wasn't the least bit concerned about how Frankie and Didge would interact because they normally just ignore each other. OK, occasionally, Frankie will stick up for Homer (Joe and Kate's other dog, a giant black lab) and snap at Didge when he's been too rough. Clearly, there is no cause for alarm when comparing the size and force of a wiener-dog bite to the ridiculous thickness of Didge's head and neck. (Literally and figuratively.)

As expected, Frankie has largely been a little angel. She cried a little when she first got back to our place, but that's to be understood. Didge, however, has turned into the big green monster. He is insanely jealous of Frankie's presence in the apartment. In fact, just before I started this paragraph, I was leaning down to scratch Frankie's neck when Didge came running into the room. He stopped cold in his tracks with a soap-opera-worthy look of shock and betrayal. "What? My mom? With another dog??" He instantly started chewing me out for daring to show affection toward his rival.

Last night, Didge spent most of the evening pouting and pacing because Frankie was sleeping on the bed with us. It's not like Didge ever sleeps on the bed with us anyway ... it was just the mere idea that another dog would think herself worthy of being there. When Colin got up this morning, Didge jumped up and plastered himself to my legs. By this time, Frankie had already wiggled her way up so that she was nestled into my stomach. When Colin walked back in the room, he just laughed and called me "The Dog Lady."

Just in case you don't think Didge is truly jealous, I should also point out that he blocks Frankie's path whenever she gets near me. So, even if I'm calling her, Didge will wedge himself in between the two of us so that she can't reach me. Instead, I have to look over Didge into Frankie's woeful little eyes, pleading with me to help her overcome the big, furry insurmountable obstacle in her way.

If nothing else, I guess you can call this a good self-esteem day for me! :)

Big brother's bachelorhood is (almost) over!

2006-09-02T03:49:00.000+02:00

Well, I wish I had a great picture of the happy couple, but I don't... so, you'll just have to settle with the text announcement that my brother is officially engaged! He proposed to his girlfriend today, and (obviously) she said yes! All I can say is: it's about time, you two.

Oh yeah, and welcome to the family, Mary! (Or should I say the Shields mafia?)

The Gift of Giving Challenge

2006-08-29T20:10:00.000+02:00

Today, I'm issuing a challenge to anyone who reads this blog: help me to fulfill a wish for a school affected by Hurricane Katrina! I've picked out a request from Donors Choose.com that I think we can work together to fulfill. I get about 30 hits on my site every day -- if each person that hits would donate $10, we would fulfill this goal in one day!

If you can't donate $10, how about $5? Even $1 will get us a step closer to fulfilling the request. Here's the link, or you can click on the graphic below for more details.

Watch the thermometer in the menu on the right side of my blog to see how we're doing! And tell your friends and family to help out! Let's see how fast we can make a difference in the lives of children and hospital patients in Biloxi, Mississippi.

There's too much French in my head

2006-08-29T05:12:00.000+02:00

I totally thought I had won a particularly close match of Scrabble against Colin tonight. I had to skip a turn, but it paid off -- he played a U tile right out in the open, and I could finally get rid of my Q tile.

I spelled que. Yep, a French word.

I lost, but only because I couldn't play my &^%#* Q tile, and as such had 10 points deducted from my final score.

All of these languages (yes, all two of them) are cluttering up my mind! When I play Scrabble, I can only think of French words! Argh!!

And to think, I'm planning to start learning Italian in the next year or so. I wonder what that will do to my French, much less my English? *sigh*

The other bit of culture shock (I guess) was when we went out to eat with our friends Monica and Ben this evening. They beat us to the restaurant (because we were in the middle of the aforementioned Scrabble game and lost track of time). When we arrived, the waitress asked if we were meeting someone, which we were ... but before we even got to the table where our friends were already seated, she asked us what we wanted to drink! Good grief, are we Americans so parched that we must have a beverage within mere seconds of arriving at any given location? I panicked and ordered a Coke, just so that the decision-making process was narrowed down.

Hey, at least I didn't say, "Un coca, s'il vous plait."

Aw come on, I don't need this!

2006-08-27T01:38:00.000+02:00

So, I just got back from Meijer about 30 minutes ago (think Super WalMart, for those of you not in the upper Midwest or whatever region Michigan is a part of these days). Among other things, I was looking for a new toy for Didge because he could use something fun to enjoy indoors. Our favorite kennel, Arbor Hills, said that they blow bubbles for him, so I thought that would be a good and cheap option to entertain him.

As such, I was browsing the toy section of Meijer, trying to find the bubble stuff. I basically walked up and down the aisles because I didn't know what it would be grouped with.

Then, it happened: A toy robot puppy whined at me. It was the saddest little electronic whimper I've ever heard!

Come on, toy makers of the world, it's hard enough to go to the Humane Society and not come home with a new pet. Don't give me a guilt trip over a plastic dog!! Using a motion sensor to have your product cry when you pass it up? That's a low blow.

(By the way, HSHV is having a 20% off sale on adoptions right now ... go find yourself a *real* friend today!)

Top Ten French Blogs

2006-08-26T04:59:00.000+02:00

Miss reading about my exploits in Paris? Here are some substitute blogs for you. Paris Daily Photo seems pretty cool.

Stumbling through the big trip (Part III)

2006-08-24T05:19:00.000+02:00

When last we left our travelers, they had just abandoned their horribly tortured and abused dog in favor of airport security. (In case you need to catch up on our return trip home, here are the links to part one and part two.)

Even prior to the "no liquids on board" days, there was no lack of security in Charles de Gaulle airport. In fact, my theory is that they are single-handedly trying to combat the high unemployment rate by hiring hundreds of people and positioning them in arbitrary spots to check IDs and plane tickets. If we hadn't been so stressed about being bumped to stand-by status, we probably would have laughed at the absurdity. I swear, we'd walk about 10 to 15 steps down a hallway, and two airport personnel would stop us and ask for IDs and plane tickets. It's not like we were going through a security gate or checkpoint -- it could have been anywhere. In fact, I'm surprised that they didn't check my credentials when I stopped to buy a bottle of water.

Anyway, we got through security just fine, and followed signage through a maze of hallways and personnel until we got to ... a door to the parking lot. "You've got to be kidding me," I thought. Nope, at this point, we showed our IDs and tickets, and then boarded a shuttle bus to take us to the next stage in our journey!

Once we got off the bus and wove through more hallways, we finally found the counter for stand-by passengers to check in. We make a beeline for the counter and begin to plead our case for getting on to the flight. (If only I had had a picture of Didge making big brown eyes at the camera...) The folks at the counter were nice, but they couldn't tell us anything for another 20 or so minutes (I've forgotten the actual length of time, but it wasn't terrifically long). The minutes dragged onward, and finally, we were able to ask again.

After clarifying to the airline employees that we were not staff members (to which they replied, with surprise, "Then why are you flying stand-by?" Aaaaargh!!), we finally got word that there were two free seats on the plane. We made it! I can't even begin to describe the relief that rushed over both of us. We had been strategizing about who would go on the first flight if only one of us could get on, but that, obviously, was not ideal. Now, we didn't have to worry about it.

As a side note, we were as polite and patient as we could be throughout this whole ordeal. As for the family next to us who had also been bumped to standby ... well, let's just say, I think they spent a heck of a lot more time at CDG than we did that day. (It pays to be nice to the people in charge.)

Fortunately, once we were comfortably seated on our desired flight, we were good to go for the rest of the trip home. Didge popped out on the other side of the Atlantic without any major injuries, and we realized just how easy it is to get through customs when you speak the same language as the agent. (Not that we didn't spend a good 10-15 minutes mentally preparing for a French conversation while waiting in line ... some habits die hard!)

Thus endeth our tour de France.

Waaaaaahhh! When can I go back??

New Day, New Attitude

2006-08-23T20:41:00.000+02:00

To answer everyone's question from my previous post -- yes, I did contact the person who was in charge of hiring at that job. The response was a form letter rejection, so I'm definitely out of the running. I'm not taking it personally, though. I think I've discovered the root of the problem, and I'm going to take care of it before my next interview. Sorry, I really can't go into details on the blog, but rest assured that all is well now.

Stephanie reminded me that we haven't finished the story of our return to the US from France. I don't have enough free time to do that right now, but I'll get it done shortly.

In the meantime, here is one of my favorite pictures. This sunflower grew out of a crack in the cement porch at our last apartment in Ann Arbor. It was such a weird fluke! Of course, someone probably had a bird feeder before us and a seed got stuck in there, but I was amazed that it rooted and actually grew into something incredibly beautiful. So, I'm taking my inspiration from this. It doesn't matter if you're stuck between a rock and a hard place - literally or figuratively. You can still come out smelling like roses. (Or sunflowers, if you prefer!)

A blow to the ego

2006-08-22T01:58:00.000+02:00

Ouch. I'm not sure what went wrong, but something clearly did. I interviewed twice for a position at the university, and after the second interview, the woman in charge told me that I was her top candidate. She even admitted that she rushed me through a second interview because she didn't want to lose the opportunity to hire me. Last week passed without any further information, which made me a little nervous ... but guess what? The job is reposted on the internet.

So, not only did I *not* get the job, but I didn't even get beat out by someone else! What the heck happened between interview #2 and now? I either said something really stupid in the second interview, or one of my references isn't being as helpful as I'd like to believe. I suspect that it is the former because I had already given my references to the woman in charge after my first interview. So, in theory, she would have called my references before calling me back for a second interview.

Yep, I'm feeling really awesome right now! *sigh*

No news is ... well, no news!

2006-08-20T02:58:00.000+02:00

No news on the job front this week, other than a self-perceived successful interview on Wednesday. I thought it went really well, and the job sounds very interesting. Here's hoping that I make the second round of interviews. I'm supposed to hear either way in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I don't have a job offer from the place that I interviewed twice, which is OK. (Gives me time to stall on the job I interviewed for this week.)

Colin and I joined Joe, Kate, and Jack for a trip to the Eastern Market today. Other than being "somewhere" in the Detroit suburbs, I have no idea where we were. (I'm sure Colin will chime in and clarify.) We didn't end up buying much: a bouquet of cut flowers and some herbs to start a small herb garden. Still, it was fun to be out and about, and nice to see reasonably priced produce for a change!

Didge is slowly driving us insane with his excessive barking fits. I'm not sure what has him so unsettled, but he just barks all the time! It doesn't seem to matter how much exercise or attention we give him -- he still goes off like crazy. I'm hoping that the second round of de-worming treatment that we're going to start this week will help him feel better. Ideally, I'd like to get him into another obedience class, or maybe an agility class. I'm sure he's bored to tears laying around the apartment all day. Goodness knows I am!!

The only other thing occupying our time is the ongoing bookshelf project. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this in a previous blog, but Colin decided to buy two bookshelf kits from Lowe's and stain them himself. As it turns out, this is not any cheaper than buying real bookshelves, and is actually a HUGE time-consuming pain. We've only got one of four parts done because the humidity has been so high. (Nothing wants to dry all the way when it's humid.) Joe and Kate may never get their garage back at this rate, since we're using it for this little project-gone-horribly-awry.

So, as the days tick by and the bank account balance drops, I find myself more and more eager to be employed. I'm sure that I'll change my mind when I lose all of my free time, but for the moment, I find myself stir-crazy. If I still had my digital camera (sigh), I could at least go out and take pictures! But, no big purchases can be made until we have a steady income (bookshelves excluded, of course).

Ah, Paris, I miss you so!!!

Random thoughts on a Sunday night

2006-08-14T04:25:00.000+02:00

I love this picture of Didge. I took it back in April 2005, when Colin and I had the mutt in a tub at the Dog-O-Mat in Ann Arbor. Needless to say, Didge is not a big fan of bath time. He sort of puts up with it as a necessary evil. After Didge tipped over the kitchen trash can and strung the contents all over the dining room this afternoon, I'm tempted to give him another dose of bath time as sweet, yet gentle revenge!! On the other hand, he does love the hairdryer. I guess there's a bright side to everything when you're a dog.

Colin is currently booking plane tickets to go to his 10-year high school reunion. Looks like we're going through Northwest Airlines, a.k.a. NWA. I don't know about anyone else, but the marketing technique of calling this carrier NWA is ... well, weird. To me, NWA will always refer to a rap group featuring Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Easy E. Imagine what it would be like to fly THAT airline! (Out of fear for my own safety, I will refrain from elaborating on this idea in writing.)

Hopefully, Colin's reunion will be a success. I don't think it's nearly as well planned as my 10 year was, but since he went to a bigger school, there should still be a few people there. I have to admit, I'm really hoping to meet an ex girlfriend or two while I'm there! Time to get the dirt on adolescent Colin...

I have another job interview this Wednesday. It's possible that I'll have a job offer this week, too, but it depends on how quickly this particular unit decides to move on their final decision. It would be nice to be employed by the end of the week. As I told my parents on the phone this evening, it's a lot less fun to be unemployed in Ypsilanti than it is in Paris. (Hmm, imagine that!)

My e-mail inbox is empty. Sigh.

At least I haven't been using a staple gun...

2006-08-12T03:38:00.000+02:00

When you move into a new place, you find yourself doing a lot of little "projects" to fix small problems. Unfortunately, despite what I consider to be a reasonably strong intellect, I am not necessarily cut out for do-it-yourself home projects. Case in point: no matter what I'm doing, if I open a bottle of Superglue, I'm going to end up sticking my fingers together. I don't know why this happens, but it always does. Earlier this week, I was trying to "fix" a fake foliage arrangement that had lost a leaf in the moving process. Not only did I fail miserably at reattaching the errant leaves, but I also managed to glue several fingers together. (Folks, that line on the bottle that says, "Bonds instantly to skin" is 100% true and accurate.) Of course, as I know from experience, I can unstick my fingers without too much trouble. Further, I have mastered the art of scraping the excess glue off my fingers. But the real trick is fingernails. Even now, several days later, I have weird lines and bumps all over my thumbnails.

Apparently, however, this isn't good enough. Today, I caved in and decided to help Colin finish his new bookshelves. (He bought kits from Lowe's and is staining them on his own.) I've stained things before, and just couldn't resist getting involved. So, in preparation for the stain itself, we spent today coating the boards with a sealer so that the wood wouldn't absorb too much stain. Careless me, I had a little bit too much sealer on my paintbrush and flipped some onto my knee. "No big deal," I thought. "I'll just find a rag and wipe this off." But, I didn't find one right away, so I forgot about it.

Unfortunately, wood sealer doesn't wash right off with soap and water. Nor does it give way if you try to use your razor to shave it off. So, in addition to lumpy thumbnails, I now have a wrinkly -- yet somewhat shiny -- left knee.

Geez, I hope we get all of our home improvement projects done before I get a job offer. If we start using colors, it's going to be really hard to explain to a new boss. "Um ... so ... you're probably wondering why I have a giant blue dot on my nose ..."

Starting to feel like home

2006-08-09T02:54:00.000+02:00

The last few weeks have been ... hectic, I suppose! We've just had a lot to do, between a great wedding, a new car, visits with old friends, and (oh yea) job hunting. I'll try to sum things up a little bit.

Last Saturday, we went to our friends Ryan and Lisa's wedding. We had a blast! During the day, we managed to catch up over lunch with our friends Claudia and Miguel, and then braved a thunderstorm to go to the wedding itself. It was great to catch up with old friends and see two great people finally tie the knot. The next day, we went up to South Dakota to buy Colin's parents old car so that we have transportation again. After that, it was a two-day drive back to Michigan, stopping off in Sheboygan, WI, to see Katrina's family. (Katrina as in Kat's Korner, as linked to the right.) My only regret was not getting there earlier so that we could have really spent some time catching up! It was still great to see them and finally meet her two adorable boys.

Mixed in with all of this traveling, I've been going on job interviews and trying to unpack. I'm not sure which of these two activities is more successful lately, since I just got turned down for one job today and we still have an entire room of boxes to unpack! On the bright side, I got called back for a second interview on Friday with a small but very nice department at U of M. (I'm not sure whether I should say on the blog the exact places that I'm getting interviews, so I'll stay vague for now.) Besides that, I have a first-round interview next week with a non-LSA department. The job is really intriguing, but will I be happy outside of familiar territory? Guess I'll interview to find out.

The culture shock is largely worn off now -- I am no longer shocked and appalled by the size of drinks (i.e. "That's a small?" or "People still have dessert after this shake?"). It's fairly rare that I can finish a full meal in a restaurant, but I've decided to just accept that and not push to fill my already bulging gut. (I'm referring to my stomach as my "cheese weight" these days ... it had to have been all of that good French cheese that made my waistline expand, right?)

One thing that I'm still struggling with is our washing machine. It finishes a load of clothes so ridiculously fast! I feel like I've just closed the door to the laundry room when I hear the buzzer sound. Plus, it washes so many clothes! Folding laundry takes forever now!!

The other oddity is how much people talk to you here. Man, some people never shut up! On the bus, in the grocery store, on the street ... and they are so loud! One of my odder moments was when a woman saw me pick up a box of brownie mix in the grocery store, after which she felt compelled to tell me that another brand was on sale. I said thanks and switched my choice, but after a moment to grasp what had just transpired, I thought, "Who the heck was that lady? Do I know her? Why is she talking to me?" And smiling ... don't even get me started! What is everyone so happy about? Is my fly down? Do I have a giant piece of chocolate in my teeth?

On the other end of the spectrum, I haven't been quite as mesmerized by TV as Colin has (he'll probably argue with my word choice). Sure, I've watched my fair share of shows -- it is nice to be able to understand everything without making the squinty "I'm trying really hard to understand French" face. Amazingly, Days of our Lives is just as slow and dull as I remember it. I think I'll just stick to reading The Early Edition blog. At least then, I'll know when a good episode is coming on.

People keep asking me if we're starting to feel settled. I can finally say yes, but not because the last of the boxes is out the door. (I wish!) Instead, it's because we hung some of our pictures on the wall this evening. Finally, we've gone from living in a non-descript beige room to a place that looks vaguely familiar. We really like our new apartment/condo/whatever we're supposed to call it. The view isn't quite the same as our last place, but at least it's starting to feel like home.

As for this blog ... the jury is still out on what I'll do on the web once I'm employed. Right now, I'm expecting to use employment as the signal that I'm really not in France anymore, and can wrap up J'habite à Paris! at that time. I think I'll start a new blog, but I'm not yet sure what it will look like. So, I guess you'll just have to stay tuned to see what happens!

Is anyone else tired?

2006-08-02T03:42:00.000+02:00

At long last, our journey has truly come to an end. In the past five days, we have visited 8 different states through 2 plane flights and a heck of a lot of driving! But, we are safely back in Ypsilanti with our new (to us) car and an apartment with boxes that need to be unpacked.

So, where do we go from here? Other than unpacking and de-worming our dog (more on that in a future post), we have a lot of errands to run between various appointments, meetings to catch up with friends, and (hopefully) more job interviews. I had one job interview last Thursday, but I haven't heard anything back yet. Not sure if that's good or bad, since they are trying to decide quickly on who to hire! But, I applied for two more jobs this evening, so the process continues.

For the moment, however, I think I'm going to follow Didge's cue and go to bed for the night. As always, there is much more to come, including the answer to the question, "Are you going to keep up your blog now that you're back in the US?"

Stumbling through the Big Trip, part II

2006-07-27T15:33:00.000+02:00

[Posted by Colin]

In the previous post, I told you the story of getting to the airport. Today, our adventures at Aéroport Charles-de-Gaulle.

After getting out of the cab, we loaded up two luggage carts with all of our stuff and had Didg hop into his kennel. While the kennel was still in the apartment, Didg had been surprisingly comfortable in it. [For those who don't know, Didg was claustrophobic as a puppy and every time we tried to put him in a kennel, he screamed like a three-year-old girl throwing a tantrum.] Outside the airport, with the kennel up on the luggage cart, he wasn't terribly excited about getting in his box. That, should have been a warning to us.

As we walked into the terminal building, Didg figured out what was going on and seemed to remember his flight to France. In other words, he started crying and whimpering incessantly. He honestly sounded like some little bird shrilly squeaking as loud as possible. As he tried to bust out of the kennel, he was shaking the cart terribly and making it very hard to steer. Amy, meanwhile, was on the verge of tears since her baby was sounding so upset.

Once we got into the ticket line, things got worse—everyone else wanted to know what was making that awful racket and kept peering in to look at him. Everybody felt sorry for him and cooed at him. Now, if you see someone hauling an unhappy dog in the airport, DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE THE DOG!!!! Every time someone looked in and said something to comfort him, it only rewarded him for making all that noise and encouraged him to be louder and more incessant!

The line actually moved pretty quickly, so we got up to the desk after about 20 minutes. We walked up to the lady, handed her our paper tickets (with seats reserved in the 34th row), and I started moving luggage off of the carts. That's when she informed us that we were on the standby list. WH- WHA- WHAT??? How in the **** do you end up on standby when you have paper tickets, reserved seats, and an obnoxious dog who has a space reserved in the special, pressurized, climatized hold just for dogs?

[BTW, on a side note, if you have to fly with a dog, fly Air France.]

After pressing that lady for all the information we could and offering to pay to get onto the flight, we realized that this lady couldn't do anything for us. So, rather than killing the messenger, we set off to find who had put us on standby!

After saying goodbye to Didg and handing him off to one of the luggage handlers, it was time to pay the necessary fees for traveling with a large dog and for having an overweight suitcase. Naturally, this can't be done at the ticketing counter that actually accepts the luggage. So, we set off in search of the one counter that handles all of these fees for Air France. Once there, we paid in cash (come prepared...they wouldn't take credit cards...) and headed off for security.

[To be continued...]

Stumbling through the big trip (Part I)

2006-07-23T19:05:00.000+02:00

[Posted by Colin]

Last Wednesday, we were still in Paris. "La Canicule" (the dog days) was in full swing, with a high of 97 degrees Fahrenheit and humdity level at about the same number. I was sick with a wracking cough.

After I finally got back from running an errand at the BNF, Amy asked me to call the shuttle company to confirm our reservation for the next morning. Imagine our surprise when the girl told me that our reservation had never been processed! Since all of their shuttles were booked for the next morning, there was nothing she could do to help.

Taking the train or bus to the airport was completely out of the question. Our checked luggage included four suitcases weighing a total of 90 kilos (roughly 200 pounds), plus Didg and his kennel. Plus, there was our carry-on luggage: a small suitcase, a duffle bag, a laptop bag, and Amy's purse. So, here we are, 16 hours before our flight, way too much baggage, and now we have no shuttle.

When I picked up the "Pages Jaunes," I saw an ad for a company called AeroTaxi. At this point, that sounded perfect, so I gave them a call. Everything was going along swimmingly, until I told the dispatcher about the suitcases and the dog. She said she'd note it in our reservation and see what could be done.

Thursday morning, we got up early. Well, Amy "got up" early; I'd only managed to get an hour's sleep because of the heat and my cough. About 6:40, we started hauling suitcases down to the front door. As you may remember, we have a tiny elevator, so I think it took five trips (plus, Amy walked down the stairs with Didg and one of the carry on bags). After the second trip, I poked my head out the door, hoping to see a van parked out front with "AeroTaxi" emblazoned on the door. Instead, I noticed that there was a taxi--a spiffy little station wagon--parked around the corner. I mentioned this to Amy as I got the next load ready. She asked the driver, and sure enough, our airport shuttle to handle all of our stuff, was a European (i.e., small) station wagon.

The driver was terrific, though he definitely seemed concerned about the amount of stuff we had. He and I loaded the car, trying to stuff things this way and that. Finally, with two giant suitcases riding shotgun and blocking most of the driver's peripheral vision on the right, we had everything packed in such a way that Amy, Didg, and I could ride comfortably in the backseat!

The ride was smooth, fast, and not as expensive as I feared (the fare was 55 euros or so, even with two people and all that luggage!). We arrived at the airport by 8:00 and, having cleared that stressful hurdle, we were all set to get on back to Michigan!

(to be continued...)

Back in the BIG city!

2006-07-23T18:48:00.000+02:00

Just a quick note to my loyal readers (thanks, Mom and Dad) that we are "home" again! Our apartment is working out great, except for the fact that its loaded full of boxes and nothing is put away. Colin and I continue to marvel at how much stuff we own. We've already started a box called "Sell or Give Away" for stuff that we have no idea why we had in the first place. Funny how a few months of efficient living can change your perspective!

Speaking of perspective, we definitely had a monster case of culture shock when we first got back to the US. The main shocker is how HUGE everything is. For example, we went to Steak 'N Shake for dinner, and I was appalled by the ridiculously huge shake that the waiter brought me. Honestly, I don't know how anyone could ever consume that much shake, much less as a "drink" along with a meal. Gross.

The novelty of air conditioning wore off quickly. We turned ours off after one night because we were so cold! And, every business has its a/c cranked up so high that I end up shivering wherever we go. Don't get me wrong -- I LOVE not having a constant stream of sweat running down my neck, but the other extreme is a bit annoying, too. We do, however, love to run it in the rental van.

We had quite an adventure getting home, complete with a last-minute scramble to book a new airport shuttle and a very tense couple of hours when we were somehow flying standby. I'll relate the stories later, since I'm in a computer lab at the moment.

In other news, I've got an interview offer already. So, maybe I'll be employed sooner than I expected! Here's hoping.

So much more to come ...

Our last day in Paris

2006-07-19T12:07:00.000+02:00

[Posted by Colin]

Well, we've finally made it. We've had our share of stumbles, confusions, and moments lost in translation; but of course we've also achieved some great successes and had a lot of fun on the way. Even though Amy's planning to continue the blog at least through our re-adaptation to American life, today seems like a good day to note several "lasts."

Right noz is my lqst chqnce to type on these frickinù AZERTY keyboqrds thqt qll of Frqnce seems to love1
This is my last visit to the Bibliothèque Nationale (BNF) for awhile.
It's also my last time dealing with the strange schedules at the BNF--can anybody explain to me why the photocopy people only works afternoons, even though the library is open from 9am to 8pm every day (except Sundays, when only part of the library is open, and Mondays, when the library opens at 2pm)? And of course, this only refers to the Tolbiac site, all the others operate on their own schedules...
We just closed our French bank account, so no more Carte Bleue for us. :(
Yesterday I cancelled our internet subscription...which they were remarkably prompt about shutting down. (Hence, I'm writing this at the BNF.)
I just had my last meal at Quick, the Belgian chain established in response to McDonalds. And when I say "in response," I mean that whenever you stand in front of a McDo's in Paris, you can bet that there's a Quick within one or two minutes on foot.
Last night was Didg's last playdate with Sophie. He was an absolute maniac, so I think he's going to miss her as much as we're going to miss all of our Parisian friends--especially Monsieur et Madame Hake.
Tonight will be our last Métro ride. [Scheer, if you're reading this, I still maintain that the Métro is way better than the Tube in London!]
Tomorrow will be my last visit to Charles de Gaulle Airport for quite while. Thank goodness, because in the last two weeks, I've been out there once to see Rachel off and have flown through there four times!
Tonight is our last supper in Paris. The plan is a picnic dinner--we're picking up a baguette, charcuterie, cheese, fruits, a bottle of cider, and little cakes from Lenôtre.
And, last but not least, tonight is our last night of romance in the City of Love. We're having our picnic on the Champ de Mars, where we'll watch the sun set behind the Eiffel Tower. And at 10 and 11pm tonight, we'll get one last chance to see the Tower sparkle like a diamond...without a doubt, that is the most beautiful sight in the City of Light.

Thanks for following us through this adventure, and we'll see y'all on the other side of the pond!

Amy Goes Postal Again (or, how I stuck it to the (wo)man)

2006-07-18T19:39:00.000+02:00

Colin and I have ended up mailing a ton of stuff back to the US - more than I expected, actually. All told, we should end up with one really large box, one VCR-sized box, and 5 extra large Collissimo boxes. How in the world did we get all of this stuff here? I'll never know.

Anyway, I ran back over to the post office right before it closed this evening because we needed two more boxes. (Note to future Frenchies: don't buy your own boxes to mail stuff overseas -- the Collissimo boxes are cheaper to buy and send than the do-it-yourself ones.) As luck (fate?) would have it, I got the Parisite. Yep, the most surly, unhelpful postal employee in all of France. OK, maybe she's not that bad, but I still hate getting waited on by her. But, I decided not to let it worry me, since I'd already been to La Poste once today and had better luck.

I tell the Parisite that I need two XL International Collissimo boxes. (For the record, all conversation is in French.) First, she looks confused, as if she doesn't understand. But, there's no way around it -- she understood me perfectly. She mumbled to herself a bit, saying something to the effect of, "The orange ones?" to which I said, "Yes, that's it." She heads off to the back to see what she can find.

When she returns, she is still waiting on a colleague to bring the forms, but is ready to take my money. I hand her my American Visa card, and she asks if I have a piece of identity to go with it. Just as I did earlier today, I handed her my Michigan driver's license. She starts to shake her head and say that it won't work, to which I replied, "It worked this morning." Now, I've got her! She can't cop out on me this time! Mu-hahahaha! She tries to run my Visa card by sticking it halfway through the scanner to start ... and of course, it doesn't work. She tries this two or three more times, and then ask if I have cash. "No," I tell her, showing her that I don't have 70-plus euros in my wallet. She has to take this card.

Now, she's getting nervous. I can see her hands start to shake. She runs off to get my boxes, then returns to try again. She tries my Visa card several more times (during which time I remind her that it worked just fine this morning). Finally, feeling pity on her, I decided to see if my Carte Bleu would still work. Fortunately, it did, so we were all set. She gave me my receipts a few moments later, and said, "Au revoir."

I didn't move. She gave me a disapproving look and told me that we were finished, and that I could go. I quickly (and coolly) replied, "I still need the forms for the boxes." This sent her running to the back room again, where she (gasp!), had to open a new package of forms so that I could have two. Flustered, she runs back to the counter and hands them over to me. I smile, thank her politely, and wish her a good evening.

YEA! How ya like me now, b-yatch?!? American girl speaks French now! What you gonna do? I know, it's not very ethical or moral to gloat, but I feel vindicated from last December when she had the upper hand. So, yea for me! :)

1 day left...

The dog is cleared for take-off

2006-07-17T22:37:00.000+02:00

Now, the "fun" part begins ... wrapping up the last details before we leave the country. Didge went to the vet for his last checkup, and as indicated by the title of this post, he is healthy enough to fly. In fact, he is quite healthy: 55 pounds healthy. This is a little high for him, depending upon who you talk to. Some vets have told us that he should be around 45 pounds; the vet here said that Didge is fine right now. Personally, I have no idea how vets arrive at the magic number. Sure, I know that they feel for a rib cage and look for a waist line, but how do they know if 45 or 55 is better ... especially when you consider what a bizarro dog he is to begin with!

In general, I think Didge is starting to figure out that something's up, but he seems to be in denial. Right now, he's laying next to me on the floor, upside down, with all four legs protruding out into different directions. How that position can be comfortable, I'll never know.

We've also packed up more boxes to mail back to the US, and Colin packed two of our suitcases. I checked today to see if it would be better to mail our books or check them as excess luggage, which turned out to be more of a no-brainer than I expected. Colin and I can have two suitcases each, which must weigh no more than 23 kilograms (50.6 pounds). If we want to pay a "forfeit" of 125€, we can increase the weight of one bag to 32 kilos (70.4 pounds). After that, it's 25€ per kilogram! That final option is also the way they take excess luggage. Yikes! La Poste is looking better and better all the time.

2 days left...

The Last "Pain au Chocolat" Sunday

2006-07-16T18:26:00.000+02:00

Colin and I have developed a mini-tradition of eating pain au chocolat for breakfast on Sunday mornings. (This is basically a croissant-style bread with two sticks of chocolate in it. See picture at left, which doesn't do it justice.) I think it started because we were eating pain au chocolat everyday, and realized that - perhaps - this wasn't such a healthy habit. Today, our pain au chocolat ritual became yet another sign that our time here is almost over. Yes, folks, it's true:

We fly back to the US on Thursday.

Last night, we had a lovely going away party at Colin and Maggie's place. We got two lovely coffee table books on Paris (one in French, one in English) that will be lots of fun to read through and reminisce over. And, despite our original intent to say our final goodbyes, we found ourselves making plans with nearly every person at the party! So, in many ways, I didn't feel like that gathering was any different than the other ones we've had throughout the last several months.

Then, I ate pain au chocolat. Now, I'm all nostalgic and moody again, realizing that I only have three full days left in the City of Light. Am I ready to go home? Yes and no. I definitely love living a carefree life in Paris, but I knew it wouldn't last forever. I guess I just didn't expect July 2006 to show up so suddenly! By this time next week, I will be living in an apartment nearly 3 times the size of where I currently am, stocking up on preservative-laden frozen foods and cursing at the gas pump. And yet, I'll have 24-hour access to cheeseburgers, dental floss, and the ever-overseas-elusive Lysol spray disinfectant. What a tradeoff!

A Bastille Day that didn't want to end

2006-07-15T19:56:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was le 14 juillet, otherwise known to Americans as Bastille Day. This is more or less the French equivalent to the 4th of July, complete with a parade and fireworks. Colin and I had really been looking forward to being in Paris for the celebrations, figuring that the capital city would not disappoint. Little did I know that I would eventually become a prisoner of the city...

The day started out great. Colin and I met Isabelle and went to the Champs-Elysées to stake out a spot for the parade. We got a good spot near the métro stop Georges V, and waited for things to kick off. As it turns out, the parade is actually a military review. Unlike parades in my hometown, there were no combines or flatbed trucks loaded with kids throwing candy. This was all a show of military might. (Please, no French-military-bashing jokes here.) For the first time, Colin and I saw tanks moving at what we assumed to be full speed, and were amazed at just how fast those suckers can go! Plus, it's a little unsettling to watch anti-aircraft guns roll by. It makes you want to stand up a little bit straighter, just in case someone's looking for an excuse to push the proverbial red button. The other half of the parade was in the sky, when a ton of jets and other military aircraft flew over in formations. All in all, a very interesting morning. The only "odd" part to us was probably because we were so far from Concorde, where the actual judging was going on. As such, we tended to see a constant traffic backup instead of a steady flow.

After the parade and lunch in the Latin Quarter, Colin and I went back home to nap (he got home late the night before from his conference, so we went to bed late). By the end of the day, Colin wasn't feeling very well, so I met Isabelle on my own and we went to the 7th to watch the fireworks. Here's where things got ... interesting, I suppose? We were invited to the home of someone who lived on the Avenue Rapp (thus having two 5th floor balconies with a great view of the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower), but neither Isabelle nor I knew her. Of course, we managed to be the first ones to arrive, so I had to go through the awkward explanation that we were friends of friends. Fortunately, all worked out well and we had a great time visiting and watching the show.

The real adventure started afterward. Isabelle and I made sure to leave the party with 30 minutes to spare so that we could get back to the métro and catch the trains we needed before everything shut down for the night. Well, when we arrived at the closest métro stop (Ecole Militaire), the line was so long that people weren't even able to get down the stairs, much less through the ticket line and onto the platform. After a few minutes of map studying, we decided to walk to Alma-Marceau (probably 15-20 minutes from where we were) and race to make up for lost time.

We arrived at Alma-Marceau with time to spare ... and found the police blocking the entrance to that station. Not ready to give up yet, we decided to walk to métro Franklin Roosevelt (another 5-10 minutes away). Then, we got a break: the other entrance to Alma-Marceau was open. So, we dashed down the stairs, ran through the ticket turnstyles, and jumped on the 8 for a one-stop ride.

Yea! We made it!

Or so I thought.

We ran down the hallway at Franklin Roosevelt in an effort to squeeze onto the last train on the 1 line for the night. But, when we got to the entrance, it was blocked off by police officers. ARGH! Isabelle asked why the train wasn't running as late as usual, and one of the officers said that the time for the last train is actually the time that the last train arrives at its terminus. (Yeah, right.) Now, we had problems. Isabelle lives in the suburbs, and there was no other way to get her to the last RER A train for the evening. No problem, I said. You can just stay at my apartment tonight, and go home in the morning when you wake up. She accepted, and we moved on to our new objective: get back to the 14th arrondissement.

Easier said than done. There were no taxis anywhere. After a few phone calls to Colin, we figured out the night bus route and set out for the nearest stop. The plan was to go to Châtelet, then catch a different bus that would go past my apartment. We found the bus stop, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited ... with at least 100 other people who were also stranded.

Finally, we realized that there was no way that we would all get on to a bus, even assuming one was going to show up completely empty. So, we decided to get a phone number for a taxi company and call to have one sent to us. While we examined our maps to find the nearest taxi stand, some drunken reveler decided it would be great fun to set off a firework in the middle of the crowd waiting for the bus. It exploded so close to us that I temporarily lost hearing in my left ear! (Never mind the car accident it nearly caused.) Fortunately, my hearing returned about 10 seconds later, and we decided to get away from that bus stop. Our destination was the Théâtre de Rond-Point, figuring that a taxi would never find us if we just said we were at the Rond Point de Champs-Elysées.

After another 20-30 minutes, Isabelle finally got through to an operator and successfully got an order placed (the woman on the phone wouldn't accept anything other than an exact address, so she put us on hold while we looked for a street number). Finally, we had our salvation! We confirmed the addresses ... and the operator told us that there were no available taxis in Paris.

At this point, it's about 1:40 am. We're both tired and unable to walk all the way back to my apartment (I'd guess it would have been at least a 2-hour walk.) Our last ditch effort was to call Maggie and Colin, our friends that live just off the Rue de Rivoli, and hope that we could stay on their couch until the métro reopened. Finally, something worked out -- Colin answered the phone and kindly allowed us to come over. So, at around 2 am, Isabelle and I found ourselves sheepishly dragging into an apartment that Isabelle had never been to. Despite the awkwardness, we were very, very happy to be off the streets and resting.

Hopefully, Colin and Maggie are well-rested enough now that they will forgive us for the late-night intrusion. We finally managed to drag ourselves home around 9 am this morning, after which I promptly showered and went to bed. Thus endeth my first Bastille Day in Par-ee, the city that just wouldn't let me go home!

I always believed that I would be writing some poetic blog entry about my Bastille Day experiences, accompanied by some romantic photo of fireworks and/or Colin and I together near the Eiffel Tower looking all mushy. I think if I had known I was going to end up hearing impaired on the Champs-Elysées at 2 am, I would have just stayed home and lit a candle instead! But, as Isabelle pointed out many times, at least we have a memorable story to tell!

A Brief Hiatus

2006-07-10T23:21:00.000+02:00

Hey folks -- just a quick note that there probably won't be any posts for a few days. Colin is off to Nottingham, England, tomorrow morning, and the computer goes with him. (Sigh!) I'll try to keep up with e-mail with a few visits to internet cafés, but with the French keyboards, I doubt I'll feel much like blogging! Plus, it should be a quiet week.

In other news, the French soccer team came home today to a hero's welcome. The police estimate that about 10,000 people showed up at La Concorde to cheer for them. A few of the players even cried at the reception, since it was far more than they were expecting. I'm very happy for them!

As for the Zidane incident, the rumors are that the Italian player, Marco Materazzi, was taunting many of the French players with racial slurs throughout the game. It is widely believed that Materazzi made some kind of offensive statement about Zidane's family, which was the ultimate reason that the head-butt occurred. Still not excusable, but if it's true ... it sounds like the Italian guy deserved it! It's a shame that there aren't more consequences for yelling racial slurs (or anything offensive, for that matter) in a game that is supposed to unite people around the world. "Zizou" has said that he will explain why he did it in a few days. I think that's classy, since it allows the Italians to enjoy their victory untainted for a while. If Materazzi did do what everyone seems to say that he did, it should be handled seperately from everything else.

In general, many people here seem to believe that the Italian strategy was to get all of France's top players thrown out of the game (either by injuring them or provoking them into committing a yellow or red card offense), and then beat them in a shoot-out. I don't know whether this is true or not, but there certainly is a reasonable amount of circumstantial evidence to support this theory. If it's true, then the Italian players involved will have to live with the knowledge that the victory was won cheaply and unethically.

I hope this post doesn't portray me as a sore loser! After all, someone had to win, so why not Italy? I'm just sad that it had to be such an ugly, unsportsmanlike game on *both* sides. I can handle losing when my team is outplayed, but I prefer to see teams win and lose with class. I don't think that's too much to ask for, do you?

... and After

2006-07-10T01:43:00.000+02:00

Well, what a disheartening way to end an otherwise exciting run for the World Cup championship. Unfortunately, Zidane ended his career rather ungracefully with a red card for head-butting an Italian player. (Now, no doubt, the guy probably deserved it for all of the trash talking he was doing, but it was still a blatant red card offense.) It's a shame that he couldn't keep his composure just a little bit longer -- at least long enough to participate in the shoot-out. Plus, the red card meant that he couldn't even stand on the podium at the end of the game to accept his silver medal.

Watching the game at the stadium wasn't nearly as much fun this time. The crowd was really tense and stressed out from the moment that Italy scored. Plus, there were a lot of what my dad would call "Walters," more commonly known as @$$holes, in the crowd. The less offensive of the misbehaved consisted of one or a group of people who thought it was really fun to light firecrackers and throw them into the bleachers below them. Unfortunately, they didn't get caught because the event staff and security guards were too busy dealing with gang warfare on the field. (I don't think I'm exaggerating too much here.) There was a whole group of hoodlums who were clearly at the stadium to do nothing more than get into fist fights. They basically walked back and forth around the track, constantly starting fights with event staff or fans. So stupid. On the bright side, the people we were sitting around were very angry at this group, and whistled and booed them every time they started a fight. Eventually, the group gave up and left, but there were a lot of spectators carried out on stretchers. All in all, we felt pretty lucky because we weren't sitting in the path of the firecrackers or the fight-starters.

Anyway, we did get a good night's sleep, which was nice. Our neighborhood is the quietest that it's been in quite some time, which is a little sad. Everyone is really disappointed. Honestly, I don't think it would have been so bad if Zidane hadn't left in such disgrace. I got the impression that he really let people down with his actions -- not exactly a glowing way to end your professional career. But, for us, things go back to "normal" now that the World Cup is over. And, we're still proud of "our team" for going so far. It sure was fun while it lasted!

Before...

2006-07-09T17:39:00.000+02:00

Yes, it is already a mad house around here. The honking (and air-horn-ing) is constant, and when Didge and I walked past the stadium around 4:30 pm today, there were already about 75 fans in line to get in. (The game is at 8 pm our time.) Colin and I are taking our friend Lori with us to the stadium tonight. Should be crazy!!!

Watch for an "...and After" post to come post-game tonight.

Who's that girl?

2006-07-07T23:05:00.000+02:00

OK, since I'm a big ol' copycat, I'm going to fill in the blanks that Katrina used on a recent post from her blog. The only difference is that I don't have a cute picture of myself to put up. Ah well, I'll just put up pictures of other people instead.

My favorite color: Dark blue (though it occasionally gives up its #1 spot for dark purple)

Favorite faraway place I've visited: Gee, I wonder...!

Favorite author/poet: I've read a lot lately, but I can't think of a specific author that I absolutely adore. As for poet, I guess I'd say Shel Silverstein. But, my favorite poem is by William Blake: "To see the world in a grain of sand / And heaven in a wildflower / Hold infinity in the palm of your hand / And eternity in an hour."

Biggest pet peeves: Lately, it's been excessive car-horn honking. Also, I really hate the kids who ride the métro and feel the need to play their music outloud instead of using headphones. It's not really that I like or dislike their music choices -- it's more that A) the sound quality is terrible, and B) I'm usually listening to my iPod, so I don't really want more competition. Plus, I think it's really rude! Just like driving around with your windows rolled down and your music blaring. Do you really think people are happy that you are "sharing" your music with them? You don't look any cooler. If anything, you look like a fool! (Except for the guy in Switzerland who was blasting polka music - at least he gets points for creativity.)

Favorite band/song lyrics: Favorite band is probably Garbage. Not that I'm really listening to much from them lately, but I really dig their sound and the lead singer. (It's amazing to me that she has low self-esteem and thinks that she's ugly because I think she is one of the most beautiful women around. She has a really quirky, unconventional type of beauty.) As for favorite song lyrics, man, I know that I should have a million answers to that question! And yet, I'm sitting here drawing a blank. So, I'll just say, "Ain't nobody dope as me, I'm dressed so fresh and clean." (Thanks, OutKast, for basically becoming the mental soundtrack on permanent repeat that accompanies every shower I've taken since the year 2000.)

Favorite way to exercise: I dig pilates and yoga, though I haven't done either in ages. (Also, I suck at both.) I also enjoy weight-lifting (which I also suck at) because it makes me feel like a super-strong person. That, and you see results in your arms really fast when you get into the groove.

How I got my name: As I understand the story, I was supposed to be named Jill LeAnn instead of Amy LeAnn. Mom said that I "just looked like an Amy" when I was born, so they changed. (Apparently, Amy's look like red, squalling, misshapen-headed freaks.) Dad wanted to name me LeAnn because, when he was in the US Army, he babysat for someone who had a daughter with that name. He thought it was a pretty name, but Mom vetoed it to my middle name.

Actor/Actress who stars in most of the movies I own: Well, I sold almost all of my movies before I moved to Paris, so it's tough to answer this question! But, I'm a big fan of Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Tim Robbins, Jack Black, and Jon Stewart.

Favorite food: I think it would be easier to name a food that I detest! OK, so for the sake of simplicity, let's just go with any French A.O.C. cheese and some fresh fruit. Oh yea, and a big ol' slab of coeur fondant (think death-by-chocolate cake) for dessert!

Person I'd be happy to become: I wouldn't mind looking like Jennifer Aniston or Catherine Zeta-Jones, but I wouldn't switch places with either lady! I'm pretty happy with who I am, even if I don't have an uber-glamorous life.

Person I'd most like to trip while they were running: George W. Bush. OK, and maybe Brad Pitt. Ooh, and Posh Spice. (Wait, I only get ONE answer?)

What I would have been, if I hadn't been a journalist: Well, obviously, I'm not a journalist (though I do have a degree in it). And, though I try, I'm not really a geographer, either. I guess if I had it all to do over again, I'd go for a degree in education. I really dig the research and theories on learning.

So, all of you Conan O'Brian wannabes, take those photos and do an "if they mated" photo so that I can see what I would look like if I got everything that I wanted! (That Shel Silverstein photo is really going to be my undoing...)

Excessive Celebration

2006-07-06T22:55:00.000+02:00

Well, if you follow World Cup soccer at all, you can probably guess that we were up late last night! France beat Portugal 1-0 to advance to the championship game for the second time in team history. Needless to say, there was a lot of celebrating in the streets last night -- 2.5 hours solid of car-horn honking, to be more precise. The picture to the left (taken from the FIFA/Yahoo page) is on the Champs-Elysées after the game. At the end of this post, I've added a picture of what the same street looked like *during* the game, while everyone was glued to TV sets around the city! What a difference a game makes...

Our greatest form of entertainment ended up being a drunken guy wearing a blue clown wig ... and little else. He was shirtless, and his shorts were so baggy that we could pretty much see three quarters of his boxer briefs as he wandered through the middle of Général Leclerc. Fortunately, he was a happy drunk, so he was hugging everyone else who either happened to wander into the street or lean far enough out of their cars. I was also amazed at the sheer number of serious fireworks that got set off in the middle of the street. Crazy stuff! (And a little scary ... somehow, I don't think it's a fantastic idea to set off a bunch of noisemaking firecrackers in between cars sitting in traffic.)

Perhaps the more annoying occurrence was that the celebrations spilled into today. When I took Didge out this morning, I watched a VERY weary looking couple drive by on a motorcycle: the driver was still honking the French's Morse Code cheer (.. ... .... ..), albeit slowly, and the woman on the back weakly held up the French flag-turned-cape in the breeze. They literally looked like they had been driving around all night long celebrating, as if they had vowed to do this if France advanced to the final game.

Sometime this afternoon, there was also a large group of teenaged kids hanging out at Porte d'Orleans, cheering "Allez allez bleus!" over ... and over ... and over again. This, of course, prompted more of the Morse Code car-horn honking. Colin and I were trying to nap, since we had been kept up until 3 am-ish by all of the noises from the previous night, and then took Rachel's luggage to the airport at 10 am-ish this morning. At some point, I remember saying rather loudly, "Hey, you won LAST NIGHT! Get over it, already!"

Seriously, folks, you've got to save some energy for Sunday. I know there isn't a penalty in soccer for excessive celebrating, but I'm beginning to think that there should be a fan penalty! Thank goodness I don't have to get up and go to a job here.

Of course, there's always Sunday. We're headed to the stadium to watch the game on big screen again. Here's hoping that they upset Italy and win it all! (I have faith, anyway!)

What will happen?

2006-07-05T13:37:00.000+02:00

So, as I was awakened today by the monthly testing of the air raid sirens (yes, that means I slept until noon) I wondered what sounds I would be going to bed to tonight. Will I be up late because I choose to be, or because the constant barrage of car honks and drunken revelers is too loud for me? Last night, I feared I was in for another night of celebrations after Italy beat Germany. (There are a few Italy fans around here, apparently.) Fortunately, it quieted down fairly quickly and -- if I had wanted to -- I could have gone to sleep at a decent hour.

It rained -- nay, thunderstormed -- overnight, so the oppressive heat has toned itself down a bit. Makes me glad I saved my errands for today instead of pushing through and doing them yesterday. Plus, I might actually get Didge outside for a real walk! I hate to take him out when it's so hot and humid, but I know he's going crazy locked up in the apartment with me all day. Poor guy. It must suck to be a dog, living at the whim of what your owner is willing to let you do. And, little does he know, he's about to make his second flight across the Atlantic! This next stop will be his seventh home in his short life, if you don't count the week we lived with my parents while I waited to get into a dog-friendly apartment in Missouri. He's a real trooper, I tell you! On the bright side (I think?), five of his homes were with me, so there is some consistency.

Well, I wish everyone a pleasant day back at work. Hopefully, you got your fill of yummy grilled foods and fireworks yesterday, and feel somewhat rested enough to head back to the grind.

Hey, they have the 4th of July here, too!

2006-07-04T20:20:00.000+02:00

Allow me to vent for a moment, as I am now nursing a bruise on my back from getting caught between a shoplifter and a store security agent. I don't know whether the thief or the guard knocked me aside, but rest assured, it did not feel good. To make matters worse, the kid got away! I was so disappointed. I guess the security guard just ran out of steam because he gave up the chase fairly quickly. If it's any consolation, the shoplifter couldn't have gotten away with much, given that he was in a grocery store and the small items that he could have tucked into his pockets aren't really worth much. What was worth the risk of getting caught, I wonder? Batteries? A packet of pencils? What a waste of everyone's time, not to mention my back.

Other than that little dash of excitement, today has been a dull, albeit hot, day. I've pretty much hid indoors with the dog and tried not to move out of the fan's line of fire. Couple the weather with a headache that just won't go away, and you have a complete picture of how fantastic my 4th is going! Actually, it's not that bad. I finally broke down and bought a bottle of Coke, which I am now enjoying "on the rocks" as a way to cool down and fight the headache. Yes, I said "on the rocks" -- I made ice. There, I said it, I made ice! Call it a celebration of American civil liberties. I don't have to be an ice-hating European if I don't want to be. (Cue Stars and Stripes Forever here.) I'm also observing independence right now, since Colin is in Scotland for a conference. Lucky guy: this morning, he was lamenting the fact that he forgot to bring a jacket!

Anyway, happy birthday, USA! I'll be back to see you again in just over two weeks.

*************************************************************

Postscript -- I went hunting for something to make me laugh. Hence, I give you the quote of the day, complements of Jack Black:

"You must never underestimate the power of the eyebrow."

Top 10 things I miss about the US -- Take Two

2006-07-03T13:20:00.000+02:00

Back in November, I wrote a top ten list of things that I missed about living in the US. I haven't read through that list since I wrote it (though I remember my #1 from that list, considering that I recently referred to it). So, before I read through it again, I thought I'd write up a new list, based on things that I am looking forward to once I get back.

Strangely enough, I've been working on this entry for about a week now. I'm having a hard time coming up with 10 things that I truly miss! (Bear in mind that the original "rule" was that I couldn't include friends and family.) Anyway, here's what I've come up with after a lot of brainstorming.

#10 - Working with *one* currency

I hate wasting money on processing fees. In particular, I'm tired of paying a fee for converting dollars to euros -- come on, Mr. Banker, isn't the poor exchange rate punishment enough? It will be nice to have just one bank account again, without worring about how much I'll have to pay to get and use my money!

#9 - Peace and quiet

One of the drawbacks of living in any big city is that it's just plain noisy! Between the constant stream of emergency vehicles and the nightly drunken singing/yelling from the bar down the street (never mind what happens when France wins a World Cup game), I'm starting to look forward to the relative peace and quiet of Ann Arbor/Ypsi.

#8 - Giant stores that you could live in (you know, if you had to)

After visiting three different stores the other day just to find a package of dental floss, I am more than ready to return to the land of super grocery stores. OK, I suppose I will probably walk about the same distance when you compare the size of my neighborhood to the size of one of those mega stores, but at least I know right where to find everything. Plus, things don't seem to sell out in the US like they do in Paris. (If you don't get to Champion by about 2 pm, you can't cook with chicken breasts that night ... they are long gone!)

#7 - Yellow mustard, Dr. Pepper, and root beer

It's not that I'm a die-hard fan of any of these products. But, when you suddenly realize that you can't have something as common as regular old French's mustard, guess what you want to buy more than anything else in the world?

#6 - The Dog-O-Mat (a.k.a. the self-service dog wash in Ann Arbor)

Have you ever tried to give your dog a bath in a 2-foot by 2-foot shower stall? 'Nuf said.

#5 - A regular income

It's not that I really want to go back to work, but I'm tired of coming up with creative ways to stretch a euro. (You know you're becoming a scrooge when you're trying to decide whether or not to splurge on brand name conditioner...)

#4 - No more bratty tourists

Overall, I don't really mind the tourists. It's the spoiled, bratty ones that I'm tired of. For example, we were in line at Ste. Chapelle behind a man who pitched a fit because the ticket seller asked for ID to prove that his son was 16 years old (thus getting in free). He kept saying, "I'm not a liar!" to her, and when he walked away, he muttered "bitch" under his breath! Colin and I were appalled. Plus, you know that this guy is going to go home and tell everyone that the French are rude ... hey buddy, look in a mirror! At least she has the "excuse" that she was doing her job!

#3 - Being able to read product instructions without a dictionary

This is particularly a nuisance when I'm looking for cosmetics. I love to read the backs of the beauty products to see what every little cream and potion can do to make me a better person. Much to Colin's dismay, I can easily spend 30 minutes in the hair care aisle of the grocery store back home, mulling over whether I want softer, shinier, or lighter hair (or some combination of the three). Here, I'm lucky if I can tell what body part I should use something on, much less what it's going to do for me.

#2 - Being able to read product instructions without an attack pharmacist's help

This, clearly, relates to #3. Most of the beauty products that I want to look at are sold at pharmacies. (Yes, I can get them at department stores, too, but pharmacies are closer to my apartment.) However, you aren't allowed to browse in a pharmacy. OK, it's not like there is a no-browsing policy -- but as soon as you set foot in the store, a clerk wants to help you find whatever it is that you're looking for. And, they really aren't content when you tell them that you're just looking around. If only they knew that leaving me alone could potentially boost their sales by at least 50 percent ... who knows what things I need there? I just need time to find them and realize that I need them.

#1 - A luscious, juicy, thick, greasy cheeseburger

Speaking of things that you want because you can't have them ... I cannot wait for a real American burger. Colin and I are already planning to eat at Steak 'N Shake for dinner on July 20. (OK, they don't have thick burgers, but they are still yummy.) Oh man, that means I can also get a nice, thick milkshake, too. Mmmmmmm!!

Of course, the counterpart to this list is yet to come: things I miss about France, once I'm back in the US. (Why do I have the feeling that I could make a top 20 list based on food alone?)

******************************************************************************

Postscript -- I just re-read my November list. Here are the things that I don't really miss anymore: unlimited computer access (I'm used to going in shifts now); The Weather Channel (I can get the forecast online, even though it's always wrong); leash-free dog parks (there are plenty of places for Didge to play here - it's actually better than the US); my electric blanket (this might have something to do with the fact that it is nearly 90 degrees outside and I don't have AC); a bathtub (got my fix when I was traveling with the 'rentals ... besides that, they take longer to clean than teeny little showers); businesses that are always open (I've learned to adapt, and it's no big deal now); and smiling (like an idiot) all the time for no reason.

What a difference 8 months can make!

Whoa.

2006-07-01T23:51:00.000+02:00

Ok, fine.

Colin, you better relish this moment.

You win.

Soccer is pretty cool.

By the way, we got home from the stadium safely. Now, we're listening to celebrations that are twice as crazy at the other night. And so far, no one has stolen me.

So far.

Potentially my last post...

2006-07-01T15:05:00.000+02:00

I really don't want this to be my last post, but I fear it may be ... Colin is making me go to a nearby stadium to watch the France-Brazil game. If they lose tonight, we'll have to walk home amongst angry drunks. If they win, it's a repeat performance of the other evening when my camera got stolen. Either way, I'm convinced that tonight is going to spell doom for me. Colin, of course, is far more optimistic, i.e. "You won't have anything for anyone to steal." Oh yeah? What about ME?? What if *I* get stolen? Hmm? Colin doesn't seem to have an answer for that yet.

On the somewhat brighter side, our friends Colin and Maggie will be joining us, so at least we'll be in a "group" of sorts. Safety in numbers, right?

Please watch the blog for cries for help ... I'll try to give an indication of where the kidnappers are holding me!!

And if I don't make it back, tell my mother I love her.

France 3, Spain 1, Amy -1

2006-06-28T10:15:00.000+02:00

Last night turned out to be a lot more eventful than I ever expected it to be! If you are following the World Cup, you know that France beat Spain last night. Rachel and I watched the end on TV, mainly because the city started to go nuts after the goal that put France up 2-1. So, we saw the third goal and all of the celebrations at the end of the game on TV. Of course, this was nothing compared to what was to follow...

Within minutes of the end of the game, the streets were absolutely flooded with drunken revelry. Car horns were honking non-stop; people draped in the French flag were running out into the middle of the streets; neighbors across the street from us were hanging off their balconies in celebration. I got my camera out and started videoing the TV and the scenes out our window, which only got more frenzied as the minutes ticked by. Finally, we decided that we needed to see things close up, so we headed downstairs to join in the festivities.

Rachel and I ended up down at Porte d'Orleans with a horde of fans who had complete disregard for their own safety (much to our amusement). Traffic moved at a crawl, mostly because masses of happy soccer fans would leap in front of cars and scream at the top of their lungs while waving the French flag or some other form of soccer-related paraphernalia. The best part is that they were also leaping in front of my camera and going nuts, so the videos were absolutely hilarious. Of course, the people in cars were just as crazy -- we saw a guy set off a road flare from his window while driving down Général Leclerc!

Unfortunately, the inevitable happened. While I was holding my camera up to capture the action, someone took the opportunity to rip it out of my hand and take off. Yup, my camera got stolen! AGAIN!

[This comment requires a side story for those of you who don't know the saga of our digital camera. We bought it two years ago because it was on sale for a really reasonable price. We took it to France with us, where it was pickpocketed from us on a tram in Montpellier. Fortunately, our homeowner's insurance covered all but the $100 deductable, and I found the same camera on eBay for $100 less than we originally paid. So, no harm, no foul. Then, I took the camera with us to Reno when we visited our friends Ryan and Lisa. On this trip, I managed to break the view screen on the back, which cost us a little bit more than $200 to repair. Still, we decided it was worth it because it was still cheaper than buying a new camera with comparable features. And now, the camera is gone for good once again! Given the history of this stupid camera, I think it was just meant to be. There's no way it could have just broken on us - something dramatic HAD to happen so that the story was complete.]

The only real bummer for me is that I lost the great videos I shot last night. Sure, I hate to lose my camera and the memory card inside it, but that can always be replaced. We tried desperately to get our web cam to shoot video from my apartment window, but there was some kind of glitch in the software and we couldn't get it to work. (Thanks to MoMom for trying to help!) So, I have no videos or pictures to share with you, sadly.

But, I will always have the memory of witnessing all of the following things from outside my window:

Two men (on separate occasions) wandering through the middle of Avenue du Général Leclerc with their pants around their ankles. One had on boxers ... the other gave us a bright and shiny view of his arse.
One man so drunk that he jumped out of the car he was riding in and started beating on its roof so hard that he was putting dents into it. This was followed shortly by a pedestrian who walked up to him and apparently explained that what he was doing wasn't such a good idea.
Four men dancing on the roof of an RV as it slowly drove down Général Leclerc. (Yes, I'm quite sure that it was as bad of an idea as it sounds.)
Several near accidents between cars and crazed fans that just ran out into the middle of the intersection with Boulevard Brune/Boulevard Jourdan and Général Leclerc.

I'm sure I'm forgetting things (Rachel made a list, which I unfortunately can't find right now). We finally gave up and went to bed after two solid hours of celebrations outside my window. I'm not sure how much longer the festivities went on, but there were definitely still car horns honking as I drifted off to sleep after 1 am.

Allez Bleu!

This "sucks donkey balls"

2006-06-27T00:23:00.000+02:00

I had a chance to chat briefly with a friend back in the US, who provided the quote for today's posting's title. Like me, she is job hunting (which is what "sucks donkey balls"). Mainly, I just hate writing cover letters. I either don't have enough room to say what I want to say (because who wants to read a multi-page cover letter?) or I have absolutely nothing to say and end up filling the space with meaningless phrases. Resumés aren't too bad, since you can pretty much use the same one with slight modifications. But, every job requires a different cover letter. Such a pain!! Despite that, I managed to apply for two more jobs today: one at U of M and one at Eastern Michigan (EMU). I doubt I'll even get an interview for the EMU job, since it looks like a fairly high-up supervisory job. But it seemed interesting, and we'll be living right across the street from the campus.

Things that also suck donkey balls: Colin is in Normandy right now (good for him and his parents, a bit lonely for me). Normally, I don't mind having a few days to myself, but he took the toothpaste and floss! ARGH! I just noticed this fact about two minutes ago, far too late to go to the store and buy replacements. Fortunately, I have mouthwash, so I could scrub my mouth out fairly well with that. I just know I'm going to have that nasty fuzzy feeling tomorrow morning...

Of course, I can't stay "mad" at him for this because our song just popped up on iTunes. It's kind of hard to clench your (gritty) teeth while your heart is melting at the thought of your first dance as husband and wife.

PS -- I'm uploading new videos to my Youtube site tonight.

Reverse Culture Shock

2006-06-24T21:45:00.000+02:00

I had my first case of what I'm dubbing "reverse" culture shock while in Switzerland this week. I say reverse because I was startled by something from my own culture, rather than another one for a change! Anyway, on to the story. While we were walking through the town of Gimmelwald on Wednesday, we crossed paths with an American tourist walking in the opposite direction as us. As we passed her, she made eye contact and said, "Hello!" in this super-friendly way.

In that moment, I completely understood why the French think it's weird that we smile at strangers, much less greet them. My instant reaction (other than to laugh) was one of surprise and confusion: why did that woman feel the need to greet us? We didn't know her; she didn't know us. I found myself having the "French" reaction of thinking that she was either A) an idiot, or B) up to something suspicious.

To say the least, this is a reaction that I never expected to have. When I lived in the US, I generally *at least* smiled at people when I cross paths with them. Here, I avert my eyes and keep to myself. It seems polite and normal now! Funny, especially when compared to the #1 thing I missed about the US back in November. Some time this week, I'll have to make a new top 10 list of things I miss. I think it will be a bit different from the first one.

Before I sign off for the evening, I'd like to take a moment to continue with my obsession for odd signs in Europe. Both of these came from Switzerland.

I can't help it -- I swear that this sign is telling me to stop and smell my finger. (This was all over the place at the Chateau de Chillon in Montreaux. I'm assuming that it is actually asking people to be quiet, but I can't really figure out why they would be so worried about silence when it's not a particularly reverent place.)

This was a sign in the restroom on the train from France to Switzerland. I have two interpretations: 1) Do not chill your wine in this toilet, or 2) Do not drink any wine that has been chilled in this toilet. Again, I know that the real point of the sign is that you shouldn't use the toilet as a trash can, but using a giant wine bottle that is the same size as the entire bowl in the graphic seems a bit excessive. Why not just have some balled up paper?

If you have better captions, send them on. I have one more postcard here that I could mail out if the mood strikes me right!

Return from Swiss Bliss

2006-06-24T08:29:00.000+02:00

This picture is from last week, when we were listening to a band concert in Luxembourg Gardens. Aren't Colin's parents cute? :)

It's a relatively quiet morning here in Paris. I say relatively because, in comparison to last night, you could hear a pin drop! France did exactly what it needed to do in its World Cup game last night, so the whole town was abuzz with celebrations at the end of the game. Even at our "far" end of town, car horns honked and inebriated fans filled the streets with French huzzahs late into the night. I may not be a soccer fan, but I love being around explosions of joy and celebration. It's amazing to see and hear people unite en mass like that!

Anyway, as you can guess by the arrival of this posting, we are back from Switzerland. It was a super-quick trip, but we had a great time. (Colin is glad that I am no longer inspired to burst into song ... but hey, the hills were alive with the sound of music! Ha.) We spent one night in Montreux and one night in Interlaken. The picture to the right is from Lake Brienz, on a boat trip from Interlaken to Brienz. Even though it was rather cloudy, the views were fantastic. I would love to have a little Swiss chalet near here for summer retreats! (OK, who wouldn't?) This trip was a wonderful respite from the recent heat in Paris. Anyway, I'll have more pictures to share in the weeks to come. (I know, I still haven't shared many from Prague or Normandy!)

We returned home to a couple of surprises. The first was the arrival of our new couch yesterday morning. It's gorgeous -- red suede! Of course, we admired it for about an hour, then covered it with sheets and towels to protect it from doggy hair and drool. So far, Didge seems to prefer my side of the bed to the new couch, which is probably for the best.

The other surprise was that Rachel is going home sooner than we expected! She was originally leaving Paris on July 20, but has changed her plans to leave on July 6 instead. So, we basically have one week to say goodbye to her because she's off to Rome a week from today. This revelation triggered some strong feelings in me, as I suddenly realized that our time here in Paris is truly coming to an end. I've been going through the motions of planning our return, but losing a key member of our friend circle truly drives the point home! I'm starting to recognize that another chapter in our lives is coming to an end, and we're looking toward the next stage in our lives. My retirement is nearly over, and employment is on the horizon. Colin heads into the home stretch to becoming a doctor. Then it's on to destinations unknown to meet new friends, find new careers, and forge new adventures. It's exciting, but at the same time, I am sad to see this part come to an end. I never, ever thought I would live overseas, much less in a non-English-speaking country! Sometimes, I think that if I can do this, I can do just about anything.

So, forgive me if I start to wax nostalgic in the weeks to come. It's going to be an exciting, hectic, and emotional time for us! I'm glad that I have this online outlet so that I can express how I feel, and I'm grateful to those of you who keep coming back to watch the story unfold. Stay tuned! There is more to come...

The 'Rentals are Here, Part II

2006-06-18T09:28:00.000+02:00

As the French would say, my "beau-parents" are in town, a.k.a. my in-laws. Interesting, I think, that the add-on is not legalese, but a word that literally translates to mean "beautiful" or "handsome." I'm not sure if this is a cultural commentary or not ... do the French adore their spouse's parents, whereas the Americans feel legally bound to theirs? Or are the French actually just more sarcastic (i.e. "Oh great, my beautiful parents are here...") than the Americans, who choose to call it as they see it?

Fortunately for me, I have good beau-parents. I know many people who are not nearly as lucky! The only downside to their visit is that it signifies the last visitors that we will have before we return to the US. As of Tuesday, we have one month left. Simply mind-boggling!

The good news (other than the arrival of family) is that we have an apartment waiting for us in Ann Arbor! OK, technically, we're going to be in the neighboring city of Ypsilanti, but we try not to think about that. (Our friend Andy calls that city Ypsi-tucky, if that gives you any indication of how it compares to Ann Arbor.) The apartment is a two-bed, two-bath that sits just south of WCC and just west of EMU. Oh, for those of you who are wondering what happened to the house we were going to rent, we decided not to take it when we saw the crime statistics for the last six months. Call me picky, but I prefer to have my car stereo in my car. :)

We're off to Switzerland on Tuesday morning for a few days, so blog postings will be a bit scarce again this week. Don't worry - when I get back, there will be some gorgeous pictures of the Swiss Alps to enjoy!

Dakota dear, be glad you're not here!

2006-06-13T16:58:00.000+02:00

Here she is, my doggie-niece, Dakota. Colin just sarcastically told me, "Well, that's a nice shot of her ass!" Personally, I just think it's a cute picture. Given that fur coat, I think Dakota is pretty happy to be hanging out with my brother right now.

Dear sweet Lord, is it HOT! 90 degrees to be exact (just over 32 celsius for you European folks). Colin and I don't want to do anything but just lay around in front of the fan. You know, if it got cold and stayed cold for the rest of our time here, that fan STILL would have been worth every penny I paid.

On the bright side, there is a 90 percent chance of rain tomorrow. That should give us a bit of a reprieve. We might even be able to open our window shutters during the day! (OK, so the windows would have to stay shut if it rained hard.) We sit around in the dark these days, allowing our light-colored shutters to reflect away the heat of the glaring sun.

What is most amazing to me -- "culturally" speaking -- is how few places have air conditioning. Further, of those places with a/c, only the Champion grocery store cranks it up. (You wouldn't want all of that butter, cream, and cheese to go bad!) Even my gym, which *seems* to have air conditioning, barely turns theirs on at all. Granted, I wouldn't want to work out in a freezing-cold gym, but I could take a little bit more relief from this nonsense. After all, it can't be good for my waistline if I'm lingering extra long around the dairy case in an attempt to cool off completely.

By the way, for those of you who might not regularly check out "Kat's Korner" (my college roommate's blog), you HAVE to check out this post:

http://katrinasspace.blogspot.com/2006/06/serenade.html

The audio clip is awesome!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a cold shower for reasons other than the one that "cold shower" generally conjurs up in the young adult mind.

Hot Dog

2006-06-12T19:46:00.000+02:00

Apparently, I'm not the only one in this apartment that misses air conditioning. After yet another night of mediocre sleep, I broke down and went to Darty to buy a fan. Colin and I both hated to spend the money when we're only a month or so from moving home, but ... well, I'm a pansy, OK? I hate trying to sleep when I'm hot.

Once Didge was introduced to the fan, however, it became quickly apparent that we had a third entity to share it with. I put it on the floor for Didge this afternoon because he just looked so hot and miserable. Of course, he's such a smart dog that you could almost see the understanding welling up in his eyes. "Ah ha!" he thought. "So that's how they stay cool!" He looked so relieved that we left it oscillating on him until we were ready to eat dinner.

Then, we ran into a small problem. Didge has a command -- mealtime -- that means he is supposed to jump up on the couch and stay there until released. We made up this "trick" while living here because his begging for food was becoming overwhelming. (It's hard to enjoy your food when you have a lap full of giant dog head.) Normally, he's pretty quick to respond to the command. This evening, when Colin gave the command, he looked at both of us as if to say, "You've got to be kidding," and then looked longingly into the fan. Only when he realized that we had adjusted it so that he would still receive a good breeze did he finally follow his command. As Charlie Brown would say, "Why can't I have a normal dog like everyone else?" :)

In other news, I just finished going through my mom's vacation pictures. She got a new digital camera before she came over, and tons of her pictures are just stunning. Here are a couple that I had to share on the blog. Good job, MoMom!

A woman stops to collect another seashell on Omaha Beach in Normandy.

Part of a limestone bluff at Pointe du Hoc, also in Normandy. The water is so gorgeous, it looks like we were in the Caribbean!

Random thoughts on a hot evening

2006-06-11T21:42:00.000+02:00

The lovely picture at left is one of an obscene amount of photos that I shot of sunset while at Mt. St. Michel. This is low tide, of course -- when the moon is just right, high tide rushes into this area at about 2 feet per second. Pretty amazing stuff!

Anyway, I don't have a big theme for this entry, so I thought I'd just take a moment and rattle off a few things on my mind.

First ... apparently, Paris is operated on a series of switches. There's the tourist switch: flip it, and suddenly, there are tourists everywhere. There's the spring switch: flip it, and the weather suddenly becomes nice, albeit a bit rainy. Then, there is the June 1st switch, otherwise known as the summer switch: flip it, and the sun never goes away. (Photographic evidence aside, of course...) Don't get me wrong -- I am thrilled to see the sun instead of rain and cold. But, with sun comes heat, humidity, and allergies. So, I've spent the last several days in a slightly stuffy apartment, seriously considering having my face removed so that I don't have to itch so much anymore!

This brings me to random thought number two: have you ever noticed that, when you are getting ready to leave a place permanently, you suddenly start to see all of these flaws that were never there before? Well, I always tend to do this, despite my generally optimistic outlook on life. And, since our time here is quickly drawing to a close (we fly home July 20), I'm starting to think about all of the things I will enjoy back in the US. Item 1: Central air conditioning. Item 2: my HEPA filter. No sweat, no itchies. Ah ... it sounds too good to be true!

Speaking of moving home, I've actually started to make reservations for things back in the US. Totally weird. Everyone who has lived abroad keeps telling me that I'm going to have a rough adjustment period, or at least a bit of culture shock, but I find it hard to believe. How different can it be? After all, I'm moving back to the same town I lived in for four years prior to this move! I guess only time will tell. Maybe I've got a few funny stories left for this blog yet...

Random thought number three: I thought, for some insane reason that I was going to come to Paris and get in great shape. In fact, this could not be further from the truth. Sure, my legs are in good shape from all of the walking and stair climbing. The rest of me, however ... well, let's just say that I saw a number on the scale today that I didn't expect to see until I became pregnant. Ugh. I guess that means no more mousse au chocolat for me!!

OK, that's all I've got for now. In the meantime, if you've got any spare money lying around, consider donating it to lung cancer research:

http://www.lungcancer.org/

I'm providing this link in support of someone close to me, who I just learned is facing a battle with the disease.

To that person, my message is simply this: if anyone can beat lung cancer into remission, I KNOW you can. Think positive -- we will be doing the same on this side of the pond.

La Coupe du Monde. Sigh.

2006-06-10T20:00:00.000+02:00

Post Number 200! Woo hoo!

As a few Americans are dimly aware of right now, the World Cup officially started this week. For those of you who don't know (or, like me, don't care), this is a monster world-wide soccer tournament. This year, it's taking place in Germany, but it may as well be right outside my window for all of the noise it is generating here. You see, Europeans LOVE soccer ... I mean, football. Trust me, this is one generalization that flies. Every time there is a soccer game on TV, I don't actually have to watch it because the bar down the street explodes when the favored team gets a goal ... I mean, a gooooooooooooooooooooooooal!!!! It doesn't matter if the game is Trinidad and Tobago versus East Timor. People around here are just nutty about watching and playing the game.

Unfortunately for me, Colin is "one of them." Since he grew up playing soccer, he is now reveling in the sport, which comes on at least twice a day now. Not only do I get regular updates on the action from him (which I don't understand), but I have to put up with a constant roaring sound from the TV set because the fans in the stadium are singing some goofy song, beating drums, or otherwise just being crazy.

Probably the oddest thing I've witnessed yet happened just a little bit ago on TV. After 90 minutes (that's an hour and a half for you non-math-majors), the game ended and NO ONE WON. Seriously, they ran like crazy on the biggest field ever conceived by man or beast, sustained many painful injuries ... and in the end, were in the exact same place that they started! Better yet, one team was totally thrilled, i.e. "Yea! We didn't lose!" and the other team was dejected. I even saw a male fan of the latter team weeping like a little girl in the stands. Seriously, if that isn't bizarre, I don't know what is.

I teased Colin that I was going to buy a t-shirt that I saw down the street from us that says, "Je detese le foot" (I hate soccer). His response was the most heartbroken, crushed facial expression I have ever seen.

Don't call me the soccer mom ... call me the soccer widow.

And now, since I KNOW he's going to rebut....

COLIN'S RESPONSE

I don't know about Amy or our faithful readers but, on July 9th, I will be joining a billion other people on this planet to watch the culmination of the biggest sporting event in the world. Yes, I said a billion, and no, that's definitely not hyperbole. That's how many watched the 2002 World Cup final.

If you're not in on the madness yet, there are three things you can do to figure it out:

1) Start watching some of the games. Pick your home country, just so you have a little investment in the outcome.
2) If that fails to inspire you, read this article from Time Magazine about how soccer is being used to make the world a better place. If nothing else, it'll make you feel better about being part of a really big thing that's changing the world.
3) If you still don't understand why people love the game, read the chapter about soccer in Adam Gopnik's Paris to the Moon. It's a very well told and pretty funny story of an American living in Paris during the 1998 World Cup (which was not only hosted by France, but won by them). He gives a really insightful description of what to watch for and why it gets so addictive.

Here are a few of my favorite things about the beautiful game (cue the music...and):

It's so simple. There are only 17 laws to the game, of which you only need to read 10 to understand how to play (the others have to do with official field size, official ball size, and stuff like that). The laws are the same everywhere around the world, so everyone's talking the same language.
It's a game for anybody that you can play anywhere. The leagues I've played in have been for boys/girls/men/women/co-ed. Leagues are usually split into an age category, ranging from little kids to the "over 45" leagues. In Paris, for example, you'll see pick-up games on the streets and in pretty much every park that has a small stretch of grass.
The fans are awesome and incredibly knowledgable (not hard, since it's such a simple game). Half the fun of watching a game—outside the US at least—is the crowd (especially if you're in the middle of it).

I could tell you lots of funny and inspirational stories about my personal history with soccer, but I won't (unless people start asking). Instead, I'll just say this: if you're already a fan of the beautiful game, enjoy the World Cup action. If you're not a fan yet, get together with a group of friends and have a World Cup party, watch a couple games (especially toward the end of the first round and in the elimination round), then start playing yourself!

Someday, I'll convince Amy. The only trouble is that, on principle, she refuses to like anything that's popular. Yet, every once in awhile, I see her break down and enjoy some of the spectacle that is the World Cup. So, the question now is, how can I convince her to let herself enjoy the most popular sport in the world?

At the very least, at least she has finally agreed to let our kids play soccer (once we have kids).

Berlin Photo Journal Completed

2006-06-09T14:35:00.000+02:00

I've finished uploading and journaling all of my pictures from the Berlin portion of my trip. Here is the link to my Photosite. Since I can only have 100 photos available at a time, I'll leave this album up for a week before switching to the Prague and Normandy albums.

For those of you who expressed specific interest, Chapter Three of the Berlin journal is the one with pictures from the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Heartbreaking stuff.

If you take a look at the photo album, I'd appreciate it if you signed the guestbook! Don't worry if you don't have anything clever to say when you comment - I'd just like to know who is visiting. :)

New Photo Journal for a Lazy Thursday

2006-06-08T10:36:00.000+02:00

I posted a new photo journal, covering our second day in Berlin. Here's the link.

Obviously, it's going to take a few days (weeks? months?) to get all of my pictures labeled and uploaded, so I'll post announcements as I get things done.

Colin and I are enjoying our first truly lazy day in a few weeks. Unfortunately, he's sick, so it's not as lovely for him as it is for me.

And then, there's Didge.

If one is to judge solely on the moans and groans coming from him, Didge is at death's door. Fortunately, we know our puppy well: he's just tired. Reeeeeeeeally tired.

While Colin, my parents and I were in Normandy, we "boarded" Didge with a very nice man named Cédric. Unlike a normal kennel, Didge got to stay in this man's home with about five other dogs. During the days, he got three hour walks in one of the forests near Paris. This, of course, is more excitement and exercise than Didge has had in months. Since his return home on Monday, his agenda has consisted of the following:

1. Hop on couch and pass out.
2. Wake up, shift around and stretch while belly aching.
3. Go back to sleep.
4. Get up, drink some water, maybe whine for a little bit of food. (Maybe not.)
5. Find a comfy spot on the floor and pass out again.
6. Repeat.

Today is Thursday, day four of the Didge recovery period. I've never seen him so pathetic. It's lovely!

When Cédric dropped Didge off, I was a little bit worried that he would tell me that he couldn't take Didge again because he was too much work. So, when we met up, I nervously asked, "So, how was he?" Cédric got a huge grin on his face and said, "He was great! You have a very good dog. A very funny dog. When he doesn't want to do something, he just sits and [picture a stubborn look]. When he wants something, he barks." Yep, that's my boy!

The only drawback to Didge's stay in the country is that his allergies seemed to wind up a bit. I think that this is contributing to his sleepiness, since I know firsthand how exhausting an allergy attack can be. He's a lot less itchy now, so I guess I can look forward to a crazy mutt again in the next few days.

(Just don't tell Didge that Cédric is coming back for him in about a week and a half...)

Just a quick hello

2006-06-06T08:29:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone!

We just got back from Normandy yesterday afternoon, so there is much to blog about when I get my act together. In the meantime, just a quick "news item" about my job prospects. Unfortunately, the community college I applied to is not going to fill the geography position this year, so I didn't get the job by default. I'm a little disappointed, but am working on applying to jobs at U of M. As long as I'm employed, that's the most important thing!

I was going to post a picture, but alas, the photo function is not working (as usual). Photos will come later!

My apologies, by the way, to everyone who is waiting for me to respond to e-mails. I'm way behind, but I will write you back!

Berlin, Day One

2006-05-31T14:07:00.000+02:00

Since posting pictures on my blog is a bit of a time consuming and often unreliable process, I'm going to make use of my photosite to share trip pictures. You can see the first installment at caroust.photosite.com.

In general, I'd say that Berlin is a very vibrant city in a state of constant progress and change. Between WWII bombings and Soviet determination to destroy anything Nazi-related, the history of the city now consists of a lot of "this is where X used to be." In a lot of ways, it's too bad - so much history was lost in the last 60 years. On the other hand, it leaves a lot of room for building up industry and commerce that is on the cutting edge.

I was troubled by the fact that nearly every square inch of this city bears an apology for some form of crime against humanity. There were so many different victimized groups that you can hardly turn around without remembering more people who were falsely imprisoned, tortured, or murdered. It seems unfair to me: how long should these people have to apologize for the sins of their forefathers? Clearly, they have atoned -- and continue to atone every day -- for the atrocities committed by the Third Reich and the Soviets. Are they condemned to spend eternity in a perpetual state of apology? How many memorials and tributes are enough, and how long must this go on?

And yet, I wouldn't change a single thing that they have done so far. Every memorial is appropriate and poignant, as well as vitally necessary for many people to heal emotionally. I guess, in a way, this is a culture shock for me. I'm used to living in the optimistic culture of the USA, where people are encouraged to aggressively go after "The American Dream" and succeed against all odds. In Berlin, you don't feel that sense of excitement, except maybe in Potzdamer Platz or some of the other more contemporary structures being built throughout the city. I'll be curious to see what happens in this city over the years!

Yeah, I know ... I'm getting all moody on the blog again! I hope you'll indulge me for a few days as I recall the amazing things that, as a child of the end of the Cold War, I never thought I would see in person. If you need something happier, visit Life Begins at 30! You can't help but smile at pictures of Jack. :)

Home is where you hang your chapeau

2006-05-30T14:24:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone! I'm back in Paris again for a few days before heading off to Normandy with the 'rentals. It's going to take me a few days to get reorganized, so I'll report on the details of our trip to Berlin and Prague throughout the coming week or so. Overall, we had a great trip and I have many stories to share.

One of the more unexpected outcomes of this trip is that I have a renewed desire to learn more French, as well as to perhaps start on another language. I just didn't realize how much French I actually knew until I set foot on German soil and suddenly couldn't communicate anymore. It was initially a very frustrating experience because I'm used to "simply" switching into French when people don't speak English. Suddenly, that "instinct" didn't work, and I had to rely on the other person's ability to speak English. (I didn't find any French speakers.) Once again, I was struck dumb and illiterate because of the language barrier.

By the end of our stay in Berlin, however, I had picked up a few words and phrases and was eager to learn more. Perhaps the best part of my time in France is that I have absolutely no fear in going up to a complete stranger and making an attempt to communicate in his or her language. (My dad was stunned when I asked for the bill at a restaurant in Prague, and the waiter understood me completely. Pretty cool!) If I had to live in Germany for a while, I would definitely start taking German lessons so that I could start to make use of that language in more complete terms. Who knew language could actually be fun??

Perhaps the most interesting personal moment for me was returning to Paris yesterday. I don't know if anyone else does this, but I generally get a bit of a "warm and fuzzy" feeling when I'm flying back home. For me, there is just something comforting in the transition from tourist to local. So, as we were landing at Charles de Gaulle airport, I felt a profound sense of homecoming. And, as soon as I stepped off the plane, I could communicate again -- I could talk to the customs officials, I could read the signage, and I could understand most of the PA announcements. It was an absolutely amazing feeling! I never thought about the possibility that I would actually view Paris as "home," but there I was, feeling a sense of belonging and community to a city that sits an ocean apart from where I grew up.

And, as I mentioned before, I have a renewed desire to learn more French as a result of this experience. Now that I know that I have truly made progress and that it has paid off tremendously, I hunger for greater fluency. French has - at least temporarily - ceased to be the albatross that I carry on my shoulders. If you'll indulge me to carry the bird metaphor one step further, I now view other languages as the wings I need to fly through other cultures and civilizations. Why stop at French? There are SO many languages that I could learn. Sure, it's really hard for an adult to learn a new language, but that knowledge opens so many new doors for you in the long run. I used to think that Americans were lucky because they didn't have to learn more than one language. Now, I think we are an impoverished culture because of it, sheltered from the way the rest of the world operates.

OK, that should be enough personal epiphanies for one day.

Sports heaven, here I come!

2006-05-27T11:17:00.000+02:00

[Posted by Colin]

Those of you who know me well, know that I really enjoy watching sports on TV...particularly when there's something else I ought to be doing (like, say, a dissertation). One thing I've discovered this year, is that there just isn't as much to watch in France as there is in the US. Of course, that fact is mainly attributable to the fact that we have the "Basic 6" cable package (i.e., the free one), meaning that we don't get Eurosport and Canal+ goes to static about 10 seconds after kick-off of every soccer game they show (ditto for the San Antonio Spurs games, which are all shown here).

But, at last, after months of waiting...

Sunday is the Grand Prix de Monaco. Yes, Formula 1 racing on the streets of a major cosmopolitan city! Plus, who knows, I might be able to see the house where Auric's widow lives.
[ADDENDUM: Yeah, I might see her building...I couldn't quite make out the building numbers as the cars flew through Monaco, but after checking some maps, let's just say that (assuming she was home) Mme Auric needed only to lean out her window and look straight down to watch the race.]

Sunday is also the start of Roland Garros, or as the rest of the world calls it, the French Open. Fifteen days of the best clay-court tennis has to offer. I've become a fan of Amelie Mauresmo this year, and here's hoping she gives a good showing on her home court!

The Tour de France is still several weeks away, but I'm curious to see how the dynamic of the race changes without Lance Armstrong. Will Hincapie be the breakout star after serving Lance Armstrong so well for so long, or will Jan Ullrich finally get the big win? Of course, Alexandre Vinokourov has been really improving a lot the last couple years—if he changes teams, he might have a good shot of taking it all. The only sad news is that, now that we have our plane tickets to go home, we're leaving three days before the Tour arrives in Paris! Arghh...stupid, stupid, stupid...such poor planning on my part!

But of course, the most important, the grand-daddy of them all, is the event that bridges the time between the French Open and the Tour de France—le Mondial 2006, the World Cup! 31 days filled with 64 matches of le beau jeu (and an event that's encouraged about a million prostitutes from across Europe to get work visas for Germany...they're all banking on the fact that soccer fans also like to get drunk and horny). Finally, I'm in a country that cares about soccer, and I look forward to jamming myself into the crowds in front of the Hôtel de Ville so I can watch les Bleus with 10,000 of my newest and closest friends!

As far as Amy goes, well, there's a play opening soon in Paris that I think she'll be interested in. The English title is The Soccer Widows.

A quick note from Prague

2006-05-25T19:59:00.000+02:00

Quote of the day from Jerry, Amy's dad:

"Remember when mom and dad said they walked 'five miles uphill both ways in two feet of snow' to get to school? Well, I'm here to tell you, we walk 10 miles up stairs both ways every day, no matter where we go!"

(apparently, Dad doesn't dig stairs...)

We are sitting at a computer in our hotel in Prague now. Except for our "Trail of Tears" on the train today, the day has been pretty good. (We didn't even know we had assigned seats until we got to Dresden, where a bunch of American kids told us that we had to move. Between getting on a full car to begin with and then getting kicked out of our seats, we basically wandered the whole length of the train while carrying luggage. Not fun.) On the bright side, getting kicked out of our first set of seats worked out better than expected because a really noisy group of adults with whistles filled up half of that car after we left.

Berlin was great, except for a lack of good customer service from Original Berlin Walks. (Don't use this company!) We saw a lot of the major sites in the city, and took a day trip out to Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp about 45 minutes north of the city. One thing we've learned is that a concentration camp is actually a work camp, i.e. the prisoners had to do hard labor and weren't necessarily put to death. Of course, a lot of them died from the brutal conditions, but they weren't marched into gas chambers in large groups like we've all heard about. That type of stuff happened at Auschwitz in Poland. (They still had an execution building, but most of the men who stayed in that camp died from beatings, torture, starvation, exposure, overwork, being shot for following one order while breaking another, etc.)

There is MUCH more to come, including pictures, of course. Right now, I just want to wash the cigarette smoke smell out of my hair and get a good night's sleep. Cheers!

Rising to the occasion

2006-05-24T21:43:00.000+02:00

[Posted by Colin]

Hope you haven't missed us! Amy and her parents left early Monday morning—early, as in the shuttle picked them up at 4:35 am. They are currently in Berlin and head to Prague tomorrow, then back to Paris next Monday. Again, they're traveling early, the plane arrives in Paris at 7:45 am! Even though Amy is suffering greatly by taking such early flights, at least we can look forward to seeing some cool pictures in a few days!

Meanwhile, Didg and I are holding down the fort. He really misses his mommy. The first two days they were gone, he barked everytime he heard someone on the stairs, thinking mommy was coming back. Now he seems to have given up his lease on life. When I got home from Rachel's this evening, he very energetically (but silently, thank goodness!) greeted me at the door as if to say, "Phew! I thought you had left me, too! I mean, you disappeared and left me alone for a whole four hours!" Right now, his head is in a puddle of drool and I just heard a very labored sigh that seems to say, "I miss my mommy." I'd post a picture, but Amy took the camera.

Other than Didg moping, I'm just trying to get some work done. I spent this afternoon working on the paper that I'm giving to the Royal Musical Association in July. Let's not talk about what I've done the last two days. Let's just say that I've finally reached the point where I really appreciate and understand the comic strip "Piled Higher & Deeper."

Last bit of news—tomorrow is another jour férié (like a federal holiday in the US or a bank holiday elsewhere), Ascension. For the non-Catholics out there, this marks the fortieth day after Easter and the day that Christ ascended to Heaven. More importantly for the French (after all, France has an official separation-of-church-and-state policy), this means that a four-day weekend starts tomorrow! Even better for some, this Sunday is Mother's Day. That's right, two of the four French holidays in May in one extra long weekend (the other two, Labor Day and Victory Day, were the first two Mondays and meant that May started with back-to-back three-day weekends). Does life get any better?

So...in the spirit of the holiday season, let me rise up and say to SDMom:

Happy Mother's Day, don't work too hard, and here's to another election victory in November!

More Photos of the 'Rentals in Paris

2006-05-21T13:19:00.000+02:00

A few more pictures from our adventures in Paris over the last few days...

Beth and Jerry in the garden behind their hotel, Cecil Hotel. (By the way, we HIGHLY recommend this place! It is amazing. I can't believe it's only a 2 star!) The owners speak English and French, and the accommodations are spectacular.

The sign announcing the entrance to the Parc Floral de Paris.

Jerry and Colin walk down one of the many rhododendron-lined paths in the park.

A closeup of an iris with coloring that we've never seen before.

A little boy in the playground was very eager to demonstrate how the zip line worked! We had fun laughing at him as he loaded up and flew down the line again and again and again. (Poor grandma!)

Thank goodness Newton didn't sit near hedges...

2006-05-20T19:06:00.000+02:00

Before I go any further, let us be clear about two things:

1. Didge does not like traveling mariache bands.

2. Didge cannot walk on hedges.

I will explain more shortly.

Yesterday, I had the odd experience of running into someone I know from back in the US. One of the French faculty members from U of M, Kathryn Ibbett, happened to be at the same tiny restaurant in the 15th as us last night. Talk about surprising! We took a few minutes to visit, and it sounds like she is doing well and enjoyed her sabbatical immensely. (Who wouldn't?)

OK, on to today. Colin and my parents took off for Versailles early this morning to beat the crowds into the chateau. Since I have already seen it, and didn't particularly want to deal with crowds again, I decided to meet up with them at lunch so that I could see the gardens again, and enjoy the fountain show. (The fountains only run on weekends.)

Bear in mind that, up until today, Didge has spent a lot of time by himself in the apartment. So, when push came to shove, I just didn't have the heart to leave him behind again. (Never mind that it had been raining earlier and was likely to do so again.) Anyway, once I had lunch all packed up, I got Didge on his leash and headed out to the train.

Mishap number one: I almost didn't make it out of my neighborhood. One of the transit officials yelled at me for not having a muzzle on Didge. (Apparently, you're supposed to muzzle larger dogs on the metro, but in Didge's case, that would actually make him unbearable.) Anyway, he let me go on, so no harm, no foul.

Mishap number two: Unlike the metro, the RER trains are very tall. So tall, in fact, that Didge couldn't get on by himself. So, I had to sling the food in ahead of me and pick his overweight ass up. We barely made it in before the doors closed, and it was NOT a graceful sight.

Mishap number three: As anyone who has been to Paris can probably attest, there are many musicians who make their living by playing in the stations and often riding the trains. To everyone's great misfortune, the RER car I happened to be on with Didge was "blessed" with a traveling mariache band. Now, anyone who has owned a dog can tell you that dogs do NOT like musical instruments being played in their presence. When I saw them get on, I just had one thought: "Dear sweet Lord...." Within about 5 seconds of the start of the lively little song, Didge was barking his head off. Fortunately, they didn't stay to play another song. (Amazingly, they still expected to get money from me!)

Mishap number four: In between rain squalls and wind gusts that nearly knocked us over, my parents, Colin, Didge and I made our way into the garden to find a place to eat our lunch. At this point, Colin had Didge on a loose leash (he was on one of those 6 feet retractable leashes) and Mr. Doo was taking full advantage of his freedom. True to form, he was basically running around erratically, intoxicated by the smells in the air, the new surroundings, and the freedom that comes from leaving our apartment.

Now, before I explain what actually happened, I will pause to give my dog some credit. The French trim their hedges into perfect shapes, and they probably look pretty solid to a dog. But in fact, as Didge discovered, you cannot walk out on top of one and expect to stay on the top for long. Didge's downfall in this case was a hedge-lined level of concrete path. The path itself sloped downward, but was about 4 feet tall where we were walking. Didge assumed that, if one were tired of walking on the concrete path, one could just continue walking at the same level by stepping on to the hedges that were trimmed to the exact same level.

You know that look that Wile E. Coyote gets when he has just run off the edge of the cliff, but hasn't started falling yet? He knows he's in trouble, but there really isn't much he can do about it? Well, that was Didge once he stepped a bit too far out on the hedge. He tried to double back and jump onto the concrete path again, at which point Colin's surprised downward gaze was met with an equally surprised (if not more panicked) look from Didge. Moments later, I was screaming, "Ohmigodohmigod!" while Didge plunged helplessly into the shrubbery.

Fortunately, the thick hedge broke his fall, and he really didn't have that far to go. (I panicked because I thought he was really falling a LONG way down.) We ran to the edge of the walkway and looked down while Colin ran down the stairs to get to the level that Didge landed on. Suddenly, we hear some rustling around, and pop! Here comes Didge, the happiest dog in the world, out the bottom of the hedge. He only gave one little cry through the whole ordeal, and that's only because his leash was caught in the bushes and he couldn't get it loose.

Anyway, once we determined that Didge was completely unharmed and had already forgotten what happened, we all had a good laugh and went on our way. And, as I type, Captain Adventure himself is passed out on the couch, blissfully unaware of any of his adventures from today. Ah, to be a dog.

On seeing The Da Vinci Code

2006-05-19T00:12:00.000+02:00

Well, we succumbed to all the hype and publicity and saw The Da Vinci Code tonight (it opened on Wednesday in France). Jerry was lost and confused for about 75% of the film. Beth enjoyed it. Amy didn't care for it. Colin thought it was okay. So...even though the critics seem to be remarkably unanimous, we are anything but. Here are some thoughts from Colin and Amy:

Colin
Ron Howard is simply not a great film maker. His cinematography was tremendously predictable and unimaginative, at times even over-done. The script was weak (our audience laughed-out-loud at the same line that sent Cannes tittering): characters were poorly developed and some of the story lines too thin to be followed. The script's greatest flaw--it assumes that all of the viewers have read the book. (Just to clarify, Jerry was lost for two reasons: #1 because the French dialogue was not subtitled and the Spanish and Latin dialogue was subtitled in French; #2 because he has not read the book.)

As far as the actors, a mixed bag. The only character I felt any sympathy for was Silas--Paul Bettany did a very nice, very subtle job of showing Silas recognizing the realities of his situation. Sir Ian McKellan did fine, as long as you don't mind imaging Teabing as a doddering old Brit who's watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail a few too many times. Hanks, Tautou, Réno, et al.--I thought they gave mediocre performances that were hampered by a weak script.

Of course, the film's been surrounded by "scandal" and "blasphemy." If you think that this book or the film are blaspheming religion, you're probably overreacting, especially where the film is concerned. Opus Dei isn't really demonized in the film (the book paints them in much worse light). The Catholic Church itself hardly appears. And, let's face it, the theories that Dan Brown put so much stock in--very provocative, great potential for a fictional novel, and...well...rather dubious. [And for the record, can someone explain to me how a fictitious group that was allegedly founded in 1090 AD can have been battling the Catholic Church for 20 centuries?]

Bottom line--if you haven't read the book, don't waste your money. If you have read the book, it's probably worth seeing, probably on video or on HBO.

Amy
I was pretty disappointed overall. For me, a great movie sucks you in and makes you forget that you're in a fictional world all together. It's an escape from the normal, everyday world. Da Vinci Code the movie just didn't suck me in. Granted, I was lost every time the actors spoke a different language and there was no English refuge for me to fall back on ... that definitely put a damper on things. But even when English was being spoken, I found it very difficult to get immersed in the story. In fact, in a few spots, I wished I had read the book more recently because I couldn't remember/figure out what the motives of the characters were. I'll second Colin's statement that reading the book is a prerequisite.

Having said all that, I still love Audrey Tautou and Paul Bettany. I think the script killed them because they had no opportunity to offer depth to their characters. If they had had the opportunity, I think they both would have shined. Paul Bettany was a great Silas, but again, if you haven't read the book, you don't really understand what he's doing or what his motivations are. As for Audrey Tautou -- she's just so darned cute! I suggest renting Amélie instead of going to see Da Vinci Code in the theaters. You'll get a better mystery with clues, and undoubtedly a much better movie.

Jerry and Beth do Paris, Part I

2006-05-17T22:19:00.000+02:00

Just a couple of quick photos from sightseeing with Amy's parents today! More to come when I have a bit more free time.

Dad and Mom, next to the Seine and in front of Notre Dame Cathedral.

Mom enjoys her first taste of Lenôtre's finest: in this case, a feuille d'automne. (Think rich chocolate cake and cream.)

Mom and Amy stand in one of the fireplaces in the Conciergerie (the prison where Marie Antoinette was kept until she "lost her head.")

Where's the bear, honey?

2006-05-13T15:09:00.000+02:00

[Posted by Colin]

Amy and I always get a chuckle when we talk about the first time I took our friend Muriel shopping at an American grocery store. Even though it was her first full day in the US, she had already noticed several striking differences between Ann Arbor and Paris. The most shocking difference yet was the size of the vehicles. Then we went to Meijer.

For those of you not familiar with Meijer, it's one of those behemoth one-stop-shopping meccas where you can live for several days without going outside (like Super-Walmart, Super Target, or Super-K-Mart). The size of the store didn't shock Muriel, however, since the "hypermarkets" in the Parisian banlieues are often larger than Meijer. No, no. The culture-shock moment for Muriel arrived when we got to the dairy section of her list:

"Next, I need butter."
"Okay, that's over here."
She stood in front of shelves and just stared. "Which one is the butter?"
"Well, that depends on what you want. This shelf has butter, this one has margerine, this other one has a variety of butter alternatives." As I pointed to the shelves, I noticed--for the first time ever--that there are a lot of brands of butter in the US! [In hindsight, Muriel was probably confused by the packaging--in France, butter comes in different shapes and sizes than in the US.]
"What's the difference between them?"
"Butter is made from milk and margerine is made from vegetable oil. I have no idea what I can't believe it's not butter! is made of."
Muriel continued to stand there and stare, her petite form dwarfed by the shelfs of creamy goodness. Finally, she looked to her right and saw the shelves of yogurt. "I think I'll just get yogurt instead."

That was then, this is now.

I made a lovely dessert last night that called for honey. If you're like me, then you find your honey in the US by searching for the little plastic bear that looks like this:

So, I walked across the street to our neighborhood supermarket (significantly smaller than an American "supermarket") and headed toward the miel (honey). When I got there, all I could do was stand there and stare. Not only were there no bears to be found anywhere, I had 30 different options. Yes, that's thirty! Miel d'acacia, miel des fleurs, miel de mille fleurs, miel de Jura, miel de Provence, miel de Normandie, miel des Pyrénées, miel de lavande, miel romarin, etc. etc. etc. Plus, many of the flavors came in both liquid and creamy forms.

I guess I should have been better prepared. While having lunch with the staff at an archive, one of the archivists mentioned that his hobby was apiculture. He went on to passionately describe the drastic differences between honeys made in different regions or made from the nectar of different flowers. His favorite was a creamy honey made from the nectar of lilacs in Ile-de-France.

So, feeling overwhelmed and not being a honey connoisseur, what did I do? I grabbed the closest thing to a bear I could find...
Only later did I discover that I had picked a generic-brand blend of miel de fleurs and miel d'acacia. As much as I'd love to describe for you the flavor of this generic gourmet treat, all I can say is: "It tastes like honey."

LA is for ...

2006-05-12T17:48:00.000+02:00

Today's theme is LA, which stands for...

Los Angeles - The title of quite possibly the worst art exhibit I have ever seen in my life. Isabelle and I checked out the art exhibit under this name at Centre Georges Pompidou today. I guess the location of the exhibit should have tipped me off that I wasn't going to see photos of the American city. But, I had such fun with Isabelle last week that I hated to go back to sitting at a café table for two hours. Oh well, live and learn. Isabelle left thinking that LA is an incredibly violent place (which, depending upon where you are, is kind-of true!) I left thinking that the performance "artist" Chris Burden is in desperate need of some therapy. Sorry, Chris, but nailing yourself to the back of a Volkswagen Bug is not my idea of art. It's a cry for help!

L'Ascenseur - Otherwise known to those who parlez anglais as the elevator ... which WORKS!! Finally!! The inside is exactly the same (no new carpet, oh darn), except that there is a new control panel with only one, clear option for calling for help. The other fun part is that: A) it moves silently (Didge won't be provoked into barking when someone takes the elevator now!) and B) it doesn't bounce suddenly when you reach your floor.

MoMom and MoDad, don't be alarmed to see the read-out to the left (floor one-half). We actually want the elevator to stop between floors! (If it doesn't, we'll be stuck in a box slightly larger than a casket.)

Dakota sasses, Jack arrives, and we visit the 20th

2006-05-11T19:56:00.000+02:00

I'll start today's post with a couple of photos from back in the US.

First, the shot at left is my brother's dog, Dakota. A friend of his is cutting up meat, and Dakota is a little bit ticked that she's not getting any. So ticked, in fact, that she's sticking her tongue out! Talk about a great shot -- this picture is awesome! I haven't met Dakota yet, but she sure seems to have a lot of personality. (Just wait until she meets Didge...)

Second, the big news from back in Michigan: our friends Joe and Kate had their baby! Jackson Edward Michael Weber joined the world on May 6, weighing in at 7 lbs 6 ounces. You can see the little guy to the right. Jack has got to be one of the cutest newborns I have ever seen! Normally, newborns look a little funny for a while, but he just looks darling. I can't wait to get back to Michigan to see this little guy (and take his mommy shopping!)

On a related note, I highly recommend checking out Joe's blog, Life Begins at 30. You can read a first-time father's observations on becoming a daddy, which are both hilarious and endearing. While you're at it, click on the ad on his page ... you'll help pay for diapers!

On a more mundane note, Colin, Rachel, and I checked out a park that we haven't been to before. Le Parc des Buttes Chaumont is in the 20th arrondissement, a bit of a haul from our apartment. But, it allows dogs if they are on leash, so we decided to check it out.

The shot to the left is a gazebo on top of a limestone bluff in the park. (You can see Colin and Didge in the middle.) Unfortunately, the whole thing is horribly vandalized, but it still makes for a nice view of the park itself. It's always disappointing to see graffiti in an otherwise gorgeous place -- you'd think that the "artists" would be satisfied with the metro, the trains, the sidewalks, and regular building walls in the city. I guess I'll just never understand why people feel the need to express themselves with cryptic names and words in public places.

The other shot is also in the park, looking at the lake that surrounds the hill that the gazebo is on. In a lot of ways, this park reminds me of Parc Montsouris in our neighborhood, except that it is a lot hillier! OK, that, and I have yet to see a naked man sunbathing in our neighborhood. (Ew!) No, I didn't get a picture of Mr. No Tan Lines. There are some things that are better left to the imagination. (At least you, my dear reader, can picture a much finer specimen on display than what we saw in reality.)

Tomorrow, I'm off to the Centre Georges Pompidou with Isabelle, and Saturday, Colin and I are going to Doug and Stephanie's for a party to celebrate Rachel's acceptance into Juilliard. And then ... the 'rentals arrive! That's right, folks, MoMom and MoDad will arrive on Tuesday. This can only mean one thing: May is almost half over! Man, that is mindblowing. Before I know it, I'll be on a plane back to Detroit! Where did the time go??

Seeing St. Denis

2006-05-09T22:48:00.000+02:00

I am a bit overdue on blogging about our adventures on Sunday, but better late than never! Colin and I were guests of Muriel's for an afternoon in St. Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. Muriel cooked us an AMAZING lunch (seriously, I'm still drooling thinking about it) and we got a chance to meet her family. Her mom, step-dad, and brother are all such delightful people!

Fortunately, my French held out well enough to understand the gist of the dinner conversation, which quickly turned to a heated political debate. Even though I was too slow to participate, I had an absolute ball listening and watching the whole event. And seriously, did I mention the food? Oh man. Awesome.

Here are a few pictures from our afternoon.

Unquestionably the jewel of St. Denis is the basilica. Built on the site of a cemetery where St. Denis himself was interred, this house of worship is now the final resting place for all of the kings of France.

A shot of the inside, as seen from behind the altar. I love the inside of the basilica. It's just so much warmer and brighter than Notre Dame is, and yet it still showcases some amazing gothic architecture.

St. Denis also has a spring tulip festival, which we managed to miss by about a month. Fortunately, most of the tulips were still there, so we got to see the remnants of the magnificent display. The dark red tulips in this particular section are called "Ile de France" tulips.

Just trying to be artsy again. I can't help it! Colin thinks it looks like a sci-fi shot: walking through the tulip forest.

These are two of my favorite things! ;)

Everything but funnel cakes and a tractor pull

2006-05-06T20:05:00.000+02:00

We made our mark on a one-thousand-year-old tradition today by attending the annual Foire du Trône in the Bois de Vincennes. This turned out to be much more like a summer carnival than I expected. In fact, it was exactly like a summer carnival, except that there were no funnel cakes. (I suspect that the French, upon explanation of what a funnel cake is, banned them from the country all together.) All we really needed was a good tractor pull / monster truck rally, and we would have been all set!

The lack of American Midwest flavor was not the only difference in the French version of the traveling carnival. First off, the prizes can be WAY better! There were many games in which you could win such things as flat-screen TVs, home entertainment systems, and dune buggies! Of course, the best prize was the one that Stephanie pointed out: you could win rims! How ghetto-fabulous is that?

Colin will also want me to point out the booth in the background of the photo at the left. It's for a game called "Mexico" -- but none of the flags flying above the booth are Mexican flags. You have the Union Jack, the Portuguese flag, the French flag, and the Italian flag. What the heck?

The rest of the day is best expressed in pictures ...

Doug and Stephanie on one of the two ferris wheels. Stephanie is a teensy bit afraid of heights, so I left out her death-grip handle on the gondola itself. Unfortunately, the child that secured us in our gondola also thought it would be really fun to spin us around as fast as he could. We managed to stop it fairly quickly, but everyone left a little bit dizzy. (I'm not kidding about the child part, by the way. There is no way that this carnival worker was more than 10 years old.)

Doug and Stephanie had seen this character before, but in a better context. While this one is holding a sign with the menu, the one that they saw had a "No Smoking" sign in its hand! (Doug pointed out that the fry in his mouth looks an awful lot like a joint, and the expression on its face doesn't really help matters.)

In the first of a several part series, here is my first photo under the heading of "things you wouldn't see in the US." Maybe you can't see what the fuss is about in this shot, so allow me to zoom in on the game ...

To be fair, though, it is a beach theme and going topless on a European beach is no big deal. However, there is NO WAY you could get away with the following theme on a haunted house in the states.

Yes, that is a painting of a "woman of ill repute," right next to a slogan that says "For The Family"! Other than lots of paintings of scantilly-clad women, there was also a notice in English that said, "A dollar for a dance!" (I can just picture the look on Bill O'Reilly face over this one!) Anyway, we decided to pass on this ... um ... attraction.

Colin and Doug took a spin on the rollar coaster. Unfortunately, it was the kind that shakes so much that you end up with a headache (or in Colin's case, a jaw ache because he was too tall for the head pads.) Yet another difference in Frenchie-Land ... no one is going to sue here if they get a headache on a ride!

If the shoe fits ... it must not be fashionable

2006-05-05T18:43:00.000+02:00

Last fall, I complained a bit about the true price of "choo-chee" shoes. Vowing never to get blisters again, I tucked my sandals away and stuck to tennis shoes for months. This was pretty easy in the dead of winter, but spring just begs for sandals and open-toed shoes! So, I broke my vow ... and I'm sitting here with blisters on my feet again.

I don't blame myself, however. I blame the Parisian women. Here's why.

First, just look at the picture of my nearest shoe store window! Have you ever seen so many strappy heels in your life?? Well, every single shoe store in the entire city is loaded full of them. Sparkly silver. Metallic gold. Black leather. White satin finish. Clear with fake flowers. You name it, and there is a strappy heel in Paris to meet your needs.

What's worse is that every woman in Paris is wearing a pair of these shoes. OK, there are a few pairs of tennis shoes running around town, but they, too, are very stylish and trendy. In fact, I've never seen so many bright red tennis shoes in my life, either. When faced with these options, I have to either follow the strappy trend or stand out in my white tennis shoes. I never thought I would have to choose between foot health and fashion!

Up until yesterday, however, I just assumed that the Parisian women had just grown accustomed to tight, pointy, spiked-heel shoes. After all, I never see a woman walking around with a pained look on her face. But yesterday, I went to the Foire de Paris with Isabelle, who was wearing a pair of very stylish black heeled boots for the occasion. (Bear in mind that the Foire de Paris is more or less like a GIANT home and garden show.) By the end of our five-hour exploration, Isabelle was just about ready to collapse because her feet hurt so bad. Heck, even in my flat everyday sandals, I was working up a decent blister! I can only imagine how bad it was for her.

And yet, this is exactly why I blame the Parisian women for my predicament. They collectively made the decision to value fashion over foot health, and they act like they have both! Not fair! All I wanted was to fit in ... but is the dark side of the fashion club worth it? I guess some days it is, but at the moment, I'll take my tennies.

Good news on a sunny day

2006-05-04T20:02:00.000+02:00

Another unbelievably gorgeous day here in Paris! It actually hit 75 degrees today. Man, I love it! I hope the weather holds out through the weekend, since we have some outdoorsy plans. Saturday, we're off to the Foire du Trône (sounds like a carnival with rides, games, food, etc). On Sunday, we'll get a personal tour of St. Denis, the suburb that our friend Muriel lives in. There is much to look forward to.

Anyway, there is no better complement to a sunny day than some good news. So, in no particular order:

Colin was offered a 12-month fellowship from his department, which means that he does not have to teach in the fall. This is great news, of course, because it means that he can focus entirely on writing his dissertation. Plus (assuming we have the money) it will be easier for him to fly back over here if he can visit Mme. Auric or some other useful resource.
Rachel was accepted into Juilliard, beginning this fall! Now, she gets to coordinate a move from Paris to New York City. (Too bad her van is in Kansas, huh?) We are absolutely thrilled for her, not only for the prestige that the school brings, but for the challenges and benefits that it will bring her. If you would like to congratulate her, leave comments and I'll forward them to her.
Seeking closure, I contacted the community college that I applied to teach at, and asked what the status of the position was. As it turns out, they haven't even picked up the applications from Human Resources yet, much less finalized a selection committee! To think, I had already given up hope. Maybe by the time they get around to interviewing, I'll be back in the US, thus saving me the cost of an extra plane ticket to the US. Regardless, I'm glad to know that I'm still in the running!

More pictures from Keely & Brandon's Visit

2006-05-03T16:10:00.000+02:00

OK, I'm having more luck with posting photos today, so here are the rest of the ones from Keely and Brandon's visit last week.

Happy birthday, Colin! I hired a cherubic artist to paint you a cow. (This is one of a series of cow sculptures around Paris right now. We can't figure out why the cow is the medium for expression, but then again, why not?)

While walking next to the fountains between the Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower, we came upon this naughty little statue. I can just hear the stern words coming from the scantilly clad woman's mouth: "I swear, if you try to tweak my nipple one more time, I'll break your finger off." Looks like he tried because his finger isn't there anymore.

OK, I've heard of art imitating life, but life imitating art? (Note to Brandon: watch your finger.)

How would you like to have your wedding day photos in front of the Eiffel Tower? Ah, if I did, people would probably just look at them and say, "That's a fake backdrop. You weren't really there!" By the way, I totally dig the bride's style here. Check out that hat, ladies!

But Mom, all the French kids are wearing this ... pleeeeeeeeze?

Rachel and I try out artsy photography while wearing our new sunglasses. Creative genius? Or just another Eiffel Tower sprouting from someone's head? You be the judge.

"Sudden catastrophic failures" are never sudden and don't have to be catastrophic

2006-05-03T12:42:00.000+02:00

Our mechanic in Ann Arbor impressed on us a very important fact: "There is no such thing as sudden catastrophic failure in an automobile engine." After Amy and I began following his advice, we soon discovered that we were saving money on repairs and our 10-year-old cars were running like new (except for the suspension problem in the Corolla that we were monitoring).

After another round of computer problems this last weekend, we started thinking: "There shouldn't be any sudden catastrophic failure in a computer, right?" So, with this post, Amy and I are asking for your help. What kind of regular computer maintenance routine will help us prevent future computer emergencies? Naturally, problems will occur, but we'd like to be able to plan for and budget for them (rather than being surprised by the need to, say, replace our motherboard).

Here are the maintenance options/software that we already have on our computer.

McAfee Anti-Virus software (scans everytime the computer boots and every Friday afternoon)
Ad-Aware
Spybot
Disk defragmenter utility
Disk cleanup utility
CheckDisk utility
Windows Update automatically downloads any new stuff from Microsoft when it's released
And, of course, we back up everything once a month.

But, how often should we run these? Is there anything we're missing that we should have?

And, we're back!

2006-05-02T19:19:00.000+02:00

Hey folks, sorry for the long hiatus. Many, many thanks goes to our friend Doug for fixing what ailed the computer. So far, it's working like a charm. Apparently, we corrupted some files. (I always knew I had a corrupting influence ... I just didn't know it applied to the computer, too!)

As promised, you see a photo of Mia Marcella, my friend Sabra's new little girl. Pretty cute, don't you think? :)

Speaking of birthdays, Colin celebrated 28 years of circling the sun last Thursday, though "celebrating" is probably a strong word. We did go out for dinner, but beyond that, all was quiet. (The next installment of Colin's stipend came this weekend -- we were broke until then!)

Keely, one of my former co-workers, stopped by on Thursday and Friday with her boyfriend, Brandon. I think my favorite moment was when I led them around the corner and Notre Dame came into view. Keely had to stop us and say, "Holy shit!" before being able to move on. (Pico would be proud ... another "holy shit, we're in Paris" moment). Her excitement reminded me just how cool this place is. How can you not get excited about this city? (OK, if you had asked me that when I was a kid, here for the first time, I would have said, "It's small and dirty." Eh, what did I know?)

Anyway, here are some photos from their whirlwind tour of Paris.

Here they are, the happy couple! We were taking a break on Pont Neuf so that the jet-lagged folks could catch their breath. Gee, I don't know why they were so tired ... they had only just gone from Sacramento to Minneapolis to Detroit to Paris in one day. (If I were them, I sure as heck wouldn't have been smiling!)

Keely and Brandon love to take "artsy" pictures of themselves, which normally turn out really cool. I got jealous and decided to try it with Colin. That's Paris behind us (we're on the Tour Montparnasse). I think the only thing artsy about this picture is that I grayscaled it. Oh well, I tried.

OK, I have more photos, but Blogger is being stupid and not letting me upload more. I'll try again later.

Computer Problems

2006-04-29T22:33:00.000+02:00

Hey folks, we're having some problems with our laptop right now, so I need to wait until we get things running reliably again before I blog. Coming soon: updates on Colin's birthday (last Thursday) and our visit from friends Keely and Brandon! Stay tuned....

The Other Viewpoint

2006-04-24T10:49:00.000+02:00

One of the blogs I follow, SuperFrenchie, has a really interesting post about US pride in its military victories over the years. OK, you can exchange "interesting" for "incendiary" quite easily. SuperFrenchie is on vacation, so this post is from another person. Given the earlier discussion from my blog about Francophobia, I think it's worth a read. And, since the bulk of my readers are Americans, I would love to see some of you post your responses to what this person has to say.

Here's the link. I hope some of you will chime in.

Congratulations, it's a baby ... tooth??

2006-04-23T18:51:00.000+02:00

Could someone please explain to my body what age group I am supposed to be in? I've already mentioned the recent discovery of a gray hair. And, as you can probably pick out in my pictures, I still get zits on a regular basis. But today ... well, this is the last straw.

I lost my last baby tooth today.

OK, so it's not like I didn't expect this day to come. I knew I had a baby tooth in the back of my mouth that would come out eventually. And yet, it's been really weird to have the experience of wiggling a loose tooth around in my mouth for the past few weeks. All of those childhood memories have been flooding back -- being devastated at losing my first tooth in a Hostess cupcake, thus swallowing it before I knew what happened; sitting in the cafeteria at Eugene Field Elementary School, being dared by my peers to pull hard on a loose tooth to get it out; waking with anticipation to see if the Tooth Fairy really left me a shiny quarter. Ah, those were the days, I tell you!

So, now I have a gaping hole in the back of my mouth (thank goodness it's not up front, thus sparing me from a hillbilly-esque appearance for the next several months!). In all fairness, I'm not the only adult still harboring vestiges of my youth. It's actually fairly common that people get baby teeth that have no permanent teeth formed beneath them. I've met a lot of people in the same boat (though Jodster, you take the cake, buddy!).

So, once I get back to the US, I get to start the long process of getting an implant put into that hole. My dentist will be SO happy -- he's been salivating over the opportunity since I first saw him. (By the way, I picked my dentist because of his ad in the yellow pages that proclaimed, "We cater to cowards.") I had a ton of dental work done as a kid, including retainers, braces, surgery, and a total of 10 teeth pulled. Man, would I have been UGLY! It was a miserable time, but I'm glad for the mouth that I have to show for it. Oh, in case you were wondering, my childhood dentist wanted to pull this baby tooth and put in a bridge, but when he told me what he was going to do that day, I cried and he felt too bad for me to do it. So, I've had it ever since! I feel ready now to go through the pain of getting the tooth replaced, so I'm glad I was allowed to wait. (Of course, I wish my parents had paid for it instead of me!!)

And, since everyone loves a happy ending ... Sabra, one of my longest and dearest friends, just gave birth on Friday to a healthy baby girl! Mia Marcella joined the world at 12:10 pm central, weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces. Mia joins two brothers, Bruce and Sam. I am so excited for the whole family, and only sad that I'm too far away to visit. I'll post pictures as soon as they are available. In the meantime...

Welcome, Mia!

Spring picnic at Luxembourg

2006-04-22T20:51:00.000+02:00

Colin and I met Rachel, Mike and Annie for a picnic dinner this evening. There's just nothing like kicking back in the Jardin du Luxembourg on a nice spring evening! A few photos...

Mike, Rachel, Annie, and Colin. Oh yea, and the Palais de Luxembourg.

We tried to get Mike to pose for a picture. Honestly, we did. But when we told him to smile as if he actually liked his wife, they both cracked up laughing. (I'm not entirely sure what this says about their relationship ...)

Colin and me, sitting at the edge of the fountain in the center of the gardens.

Pictures from Musée Rodin

2006-04-22T13:07:00.000+02:00

I've been having ongoing problems getting multiple photos uploaded onto the blog, but fortune smiled on me today. Here are a few shots from yesterday's excursion to the Musée Rodin.

Here he is, The Thinker in all his pensive glory. Colin and I were both marveling at the detail in his calf muscle. Just amazing!

I just liked the expression on this angel's face. I think he's in the midst of battle, but I like to think that he's just really stoked about something, and is yelling, "Yeah!!"

Here is the statue of Honoré de Balzac that Auric was always compared to. (Let's just say that both men were pleasantly plump in the belly area. Of course, the faces are somewhat similar, too.) In the background, you can see the gorgeous gold dome of Les Invalides, where Napoléon rests.

This is the view from the far end of the outdoor sculpture garden, looking back at the museum. It's a typical French garden - everything is symmetrical and groomed into perfect little shapes. I'm glad we got to see it before this place is absolutely swarming with tourists.

Friday Fun

2006-04-21T20:59:00.000+02:00

After our late night with the long-winded opera singers, Colin decided to stay home and sleep in this morning. By the time we really got going, it was time for lunch, so we decided to indulge our craving for "real American food" by trying the diner in the 5th. Known as Breakfast in America, this restaurant proudly proclaims its status as a "real American diner in Paris." After reading through the menu online, I was practically drooling with anticipation.

I wish I could say it lived up to my expectations, but it didn't. Don't get me wrong - it was good food, and definitely a diner-esque atmosphere. (I was surprised to be greeted in American English.) And, I can honestly say that my root beer float rocked. (Funny what six months without an A&W can do to you.) But, Colin's milkshake was too thin, and the burgers were pre-made patties that weren't the real, truly meaty and juicy style that I love. (Of course, Colin grills the best hamburgers in the world, so I'm already spoiled for nearly all of the competition.) I guess there are just some things that you can't get in France. (By the way, the picture is from the women's restroom. I managed to get a picture before the light turned off on me. (The button in the women's stall was broken, so you had to push the button in the men's stall to turn on the light. I enjoyed a few moments of panic when I couldn't find the lock on the door. Argh.)

After lunch, we met up with Rachel and headed over to the Musée Rodin. It is really a lovely place -- just big enough that you are satisfied with the amount of stuff you see, but not so big that you're tired before you're finished. Of course, I am a big fan of Rodin's sculptures. After my trip to the Musée d'Orsay, I realized that no one can hold a candle to his work. We got to see "The Thinker" in person, as well as "The Gates of Hell" and "The Kiss," all among his most famous works. Of course, there was the usual requisite number of illiterate people who apparently didn't understand any of the languages requesting that no one touches the statues. Sigh. But, I decided not to let it bother me. The weather was just spectacular outside, so it was hard to be in a foul mood.

After we toured the museum, we sat outside at a café for a while and just chatted. It's so great to have nice weather again. Of course, half of all of the Parisians are wearing coats and scarves as if we were in the middle of winter. (Doesn't anyone watch the weather report around here?) Rachel and I also hit a couple of sales in some nearby clothing stores so that I could have something else to wear besides printed t-shirts that I got in college. I finished the day with a stroll around the neighborhood with wild-man Didge, who tried (and nearly succeeded) to run in every direction at once. He's a bit happy about the nice weather, too.

A loooOOOOOOoooooong night

2006-04-21T01:04:00.000+02:00

I am crushed. Truly, utterly, and completely crushed. Remember when we went to the Opera Bastille, and I was one of two people wearing an evening gown? Tonight, we went to opening night of Bellini's Semiramide at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, which is located on the French version of Rodeo Drive (av. Montaigne) and I was the only person even remotely dressed up! Seriously, there were tons of people in jeans and t-shirts, toting along their shopping bags from their excursions earlier in the day. (One guy spilled the entire contents of his FNAC bag down the stairs during the first half of the opera. Sigh.) So, once again, I felt like a fool when I thought for sure that I would be in better company this time. I've never been happier to see the door to our little apartment.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the opera left a lot to be desired (like acting, for example). Colin didn't tell me until intermission -- 2 hours into the performance!! -- that the most important part of 19th century Italian opera is to showcase the beauty of the human voice, rather than to tell a story. Then, he let slip that we had another 1.5 hours to go! Oh man, what torture. We got home a little bit after midnight from a show that started at 7:30 pm. Ugh. I never thought I'd get "car butt" from sitting in a theater! Oh, and don't think that I took solace in the costumes or scenery: it was 100% black and white, save two red robes. (When the first red robe came on, I wanted to weep with joy.)

There's a country song that came out a few years back, entitled something to the effect of "I shaved for this?" Well, I thought about titling this blog with the same sentiment, except that I actually didn't shave for that. We had the start time wrong, so I had to hurry through my shower. So, take that, jean-wearing Frenchies! I may have worn an evening gown, but I had hairy legs, damnit. (Sigh. I wish I could say that "insult" made me feel better...)

ps Happy Birthday, Dad!

The American in Paris

2006-04-18T19:53:00.000+02:00

I finally saw An American in Paris last week. I figured that, after 6+ months of living the title, I was obligated to see what all the fuss was about. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed, mostly with the ending. I won't give away the ending here, but I thought that the resolution happened very quickly and left me feeling like, "That's it?" The bright side, however, is that Gene Kelly's dancing does not disappoint. Wow, that guy can move! He's so graceful and light on his feet, no matter what complicated steps he's performing.

I was going to write the majority of this blog posting on my general disillusionment with the US government, but I'm finding the words very hard to come by.

---snip---

The rest of this blog entry just hit the cutting room floor. I needed to vent, but I decided it wasn't worth leaving up on the blog for the rest of the world to read. After all, I've got rhythm, I've got music, I've got Colin ... who could ask for anything more? :)

The Bois de Boulogne

2006-04-17T13:04:00.000+02:00

Colin, Didge and I went to the Bois de Boulogne yesterday to enjoy the nice (albeit cloudy) spring day. We were out for about five hours total, including métro riding and whatnot. Didge is an absolute wreck today, completely wiped out from all of the running around. (Happiness is a tired puppy.) Here are some pictures from our excursion.

We crossed the Avenue Foch on our way to the entrance, and got a nice view of the Arc de Triomphe. (Metro: Porte Dauphine)

A shot of the runoff from the Lac Inferieur in the Bois de Boulogne.

When we were still dating, Colin used to say that he always knew it was spring when the magnolia trees bloomed on campus at Mizzou. No magnolia trees so far, but hopefully, this will do! Welcome, Spring!

OK, so Baron von Haussmann destroyed the homes of countless poor people while renovating Paris in the 1850s and 60s. I'm still a fan of his because it resulted in a lot of green space, and the creation of such lovely landscaping as this faux waterfall! What a nice reprieve from the dirt and noise of the busy city.

You might notice that there is a person standing behind the waterfall (look for a red shirt and jeans). When we walked behind there, Didge finally won the battle to go swimming by slipping in before we could get him under control. He had a ball, though, as evidenced by the short video I shot. But, if you still don't believe that he had a good time ...

... here is evidence of his blissful happiness!

Menu #7: Classic Bistro Fare

2006-04-16T21:54:00.000+02:00

[Posted by Colin]

For the most part, all the recipes I've posted so far have been rather extravagant, time intensive examples of French regional cooking. Today, I thought I'd change things up with three of my favorite bistro recipes.

#1 Chocolat chaud à la français à la Maggie (Maggie's French Hot Chocolate)

I have to give credit where credit's due. Our friend Maggie analyzed the hot chocolate that you can find in any good Parisian café or bistro or brasserie. Then experimenting in her kitchen, she reverse-engineered the taste and texture to create the ultimate hot chocolate recipe. Needless to say, Amy and I have this recipe pretty much every day (sometimes, twice on Sundays!).

Serves: 2
Time to prepare: about 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 bar of dark chocolate (we actually get "melting chocolate," fondant de noir)
2 cups of milk

Directions

Heat up the milk in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Meanwhile, break the chocolate bar into squares.
When you see steam starting to come up off the milk, add the chocolate.
Stir with a wire whisk until the chocolate has completely melted into the milk.

#2 Croque-monsieur (usually translated in bistros as a "Welsh rarebit")

This is one of the classics of French bistro fare. When I was here two years ago, I fell in love with croques. Sadly, with the introduction of pain américain (square, bland, American sandwich bread) croques seem to be usually served just like an American grilled-ham-and-cheese sandwich. This makes Colin very, very sad, so now he makes his own croques the old-fashioned way!

Ingredients

Bread--here I go with a pain Poilain, a boule de campagne, or a boule fermier. In the US, look for a hearty bread that's baked round, rather than in a loaf.
Grated cheese--here I usually go with Emmental (Swiss), but you should definitely experiment with this.
Meat--ham, prosciutto (my favorite), bacon, chicken, turkey, etc. etc. Just take your pick (though thin slices are best).
Vegetables--you can order a variety of croques that tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, or whatever you feel like (with or without meat).
Egg--if you want to make a croque madame.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 170 C (350 F).
Arrange the meats and/or vegetables on a slice of bread.
Bake for 5 minutes.
Pull out the bread and cover it in grated cheese (I usually use about 50 g per sandwich, mainly because we buy our grated cheese in 100 g packages).
Bake for 5 minutes.
If you are making a croque madame, fry an egg (sunny-side up or over-easy). Place the egg on top of the sandwich when it finishes baking.
Serve with fries or a salad.

#3 Assiette berger (Shepherd's plate)

This is a quick, simple, and hearty meal for those times when you just don't want to cook (for example, a night like tonight, after taking a five-hour hike in the Bois de Boulogne). Like the croque monsieur, there are hundreds of variations, so feel free to substitute. This recipe reflects a lunch I had at a bistro on the rue de Rome, across the street from the Gare St.-Lazare.

Ingredients

Hard-boiled egg
One wedge of cheese (Amy and I love Cantal for this, usually splitting a half-pound wedge between the two of us)
Prosciutto
Salad

Directions

Artistically arrange the food on the plate.
Eat cold. Ideally with a nice beer or wine.

Lazy Sunday

2006-04-16T12:04:00.000+02:00

Happy Easter, everyone! (Or, for the non-Christians, happy Sunday!)

It's a pretty cloudy day here in Paris, but already in the 50's, so I can't complain. Colin and I are going to risk the chance of rain and take Didge out to the Bois de Boulogne for a long stroll this afternoon. I wish I could say we will be working off a big Easter dinner, but since it's just the two of us, we'll have our normal fare. We tried to find ham of a respectable enough thickness to have ham steaks, but no such luck. Oh well, just one more thing we can enjoy when we get back to the States!

Except for the exciting arrival of the letter from Michèle Auric, it's been a quiet week for us. Colin has been diligently combing the libraries, and I've been visiting the gym and lugging groceries up the stairs. (Side note: I thought stairs were supposed to get easier when you took them all the time. Not so. I think they get harder every day!)

I also made a trip to Cimetière Montparnasse on Thursday to get more grave pictures for FindaGrave.com. As usual, I met an assortment of characters among the graves, including a gentleman who has been searching "for years" for the grave of painter Oscar Dominguez. I got the grave's exact location from the conservation, but neither one of us could find it. So, my anonymous friend decided instead to reward me with a tour of other graves nearby where we were. I learned that the sculpture on Cesar Franck's grave is an original Rodin (my favorite scultptor), as they were good friends. I continue to marvel at the people that wander the rows of cemeteries, just waiting for a chance to show a tourist what they know! You never know what you're going to find next.

On a different note, I have a question for the few people who still comment on my blog. (Hint hint!!) Colin and I discussed this with our friends Ryan and Lisa last night on AIM, so I thought I'd bring it to the blog.

Practical considerations aside (safety, health, money, etc), what is the place on earth that you would LEAST like to visit, and why? (Or, if you prefer, what is your top destination and why?)

Jackpot, baby!

2006-04-14T23:21:00.000+02:00

I apologize for the Dickey-V-ism in my subject for today's post, but what else can I say? You are looking at a photo of Michèle Auric's signature!! Yes, Colin got a handwritten letter in the mail from her today, expressing great interest in his project and giving him permission to photocopy Auric items in the national library!

This is all a direct result of my chance encounter in one of the Paris cemeteries. If you haven't heard or read the story, here's the link from the day I blogged about it. Colin e-mailed the gentleman that I met that day, and he sent Mme Auric's current address. After two years of letter writing, he's finally made contact -- and he's the first musicologist to get a response. Ever. Not bad!

Grève off

2006-04-10T22:19:00.000+02:00

After much fuss, the widely hated CPE law has been repealed. I have to say, I'm a little surprised that it was withdrawn at this point, after it actually became a law. I figured that if it went into effect, that would be the end. (Not the end of the strikes, but the end of the government's action directly regarding that particular piece of legislation.) I assumed there would be another law that superceded it, rather than seeing it withdrawn all together.

So, mark a victory for la jeunesse on this issue. All that remains to be seen, from my perspective, is whether de Villepin will lose his job.

By the way, please observe a moment of reverent silence for Annie, who must now go back to work. Sorry, Annie! Grève off.

Other than this monumental event, this was a quiet day for us. Colin went to the library early and I did my normal Monday chores (cleaning house, grocery shopping, etc.) Rachel and I are meeting for lunch tomorrow, possibly with Maggie, and if the weather is good, we'll head up to the cemetery at Montmartre afterward. I haven't been to this one yet, so it should be interesting to see how it compares to the others.

ps If you ever wondered what our landlord does (which I'm sure you didn't), check out this recent posting on Superfrenchie's blog. Steven L. Kaplan owns our apartment! We're so proud.

Dropping the F-Bomb on France

2006-04-08T11:54:00.000+02:00

[posted by Colin]

Since my arrival last September, I’ve noticed some important rhetorical differences between French and English. For example: while searching in my French-English dictionary one day, I discovered 35 phrases using the f-bomb. After memorizing several—hey, you never know when they’ll come in handy!—I heard several of the French translations on TV, usually in pretty innocuous circumstances:

Fou le camp! (F*** off! or Get the f*** out of here!)Said by the host to an interviewee on a panel discussion show.
Said by a game-show host to an eliminated contestant.

Foutu (F***ed)
Said by a game-show host to a contestant: “Nous sommes foutus.” (The whole phrase in English was: “One more mistake and we’re f***ed.”)

Merde (S***)
Said by an anchor on the evening news.
Said repeatedly by a celebrity contestant on a game show.
This word has also appeared in several letters that Auric wrote (and only once did he mean it as something stronger than “turd”).

Clearly, since the French equivalents of Dan Rather and Howie Mandel can drop these phrases on-camera, the French cuss words lack the conversation-stopping, room-silencing rhetorical power latent in the f-bomb.

As further evidence of this difference, I’ve noticed that when the French really want to go for a rhetorical flourish, they drop the f-bomb. Thus, we are graced here with tons of graffiti reading: “F*** Villepin,” “F*** Sarko,” and “F*** le CPE.” During the anti-CPE demonstrations, I’ve also noticed a variety of picket signs employing the word. My favorite of these is a parody of old American draft posters. Villepin is decked out in Uncle Sam’s star-spangled stove-pipe hat and blazer, pointing at the reader and saying, “I F*** YOU!”

Having said all that, it’s worth mentioning that there is at least one French word that carries some of the rhetorical impact of the f-bomb: nique (from the verb niquer). As a noun, the word is safe enough—according to my dictionary, this is the name for the gesture of thumbing your nose at someone. As a verb, let’s just say that on a scale of 0 to 3 stars (where 0 is safe and 1 star means you shouldn’t use the word in polite company), my dictionary gives the word 3 stars. I first encountered the word in the name of the legendary French hip-hop trio, “Nique ta mère” (Babelfish will tell you that ta mère means "your mother," I leave it to you to figure out the rest). A few years back, they made the news by giving a controversial performance in a very conservative, right-wing town in southern France (picture Public Enemy playing the Kansas State Fair). After prefacing their hit song “Police” with an impromptu speech about the French police, a couple “friendly” gendarmes helped them off-stage and brought them before a judge that night. (They received 6 month prison sentences and were banned from performing in France for a year. A successful appeal reduced that to 2 months “at the farm” and a hefty fine.)

Wait, it's FRIDAY?

2006-04-07T19:59:00.000+02:00

Normally, when you get sick, you have one small consolation that you can roll around in your head: you don't have to go to work. In ideal cases, you are paid to stay home (i.e. sick time). Now, I'm not saying that I'm an advocate for abusing sick time - quite the contrary - but when you feel lousy, you look for a bright spot wherever you can find one. Of course, when you're at work, you console yourself by counting the days until the weekend. Finally, TGIF comes and you have the promise of two whole free days ahead of you.

Today, I find myself saddened that it is Friday. I missed a whole week! And what's more, nobody missed me when I didn't show up anywhere! Very discouraging.

Since I didn't really do anything this week, I'll instead post a few pictures that I took before and after the Paris Marathon.

Here's a self portrait of me and Colin, just before my birthday (observed) party kicked off. We are facing out of the open window in our bedroom - the weather was gloriously warm.

My "last meal," so to speak. [Clockwise from the cups on the left: Muriels' chocolate/coconut cake; Muriel's apple, cinnamon, and nut bread; Doug and Stephanie's fruit cream cake; my Colin's family-recipe rice pudding; and Colin and Maggie's chocolate/raspberry pie.] I still can't look at desserts without feeling a little sick. Could this be the end of my love affair with sugary goodness?? Bum bum BUM!

A closeup of one of the tulips that Muriel brought me. I think Colin took this picture for me on Monday, once they had really opened up. They were absolutely gorgeous for days.

Poisson d'avril! This little girl has on a full fish hat/mask that she must have made in school (there is an école maternelle across the street from us). I shot the picture from our window this afternoon.

Back story: On April Fool's Day in France, the customary joke is to tape paper fish to your friend's back, belongings, office door, and so forth. There are a mix of stories as to why a fish was chosen as the symbol, but the most plausible to me seems to be that April 1 coincided with the end of Lent, and that serving fish when you didn't have to eat one anymore was the joke. Of course, Easter is yet another week away, so I guess the fish is on us...

A Threebee

2006-04-06T22:06:00.001+02:00

As the saying goes, good things come in three's. Here are ours for the day:

1. I feel much better today!!! Though I'm not completely well, I was able to venture outside with the dog this afternoon, as well as pick up around the house a bit. From this point on, I will be referring to the past week as my own personal Paris Marathon. Why? Because I have no intention of running that much in a short period of time in this city EVER again. (And with that, I bring to an end the string of crass jokes in relation to my recent illness.)

2. Colin was offered a GSIship with Screen Arts and Cultures (formerly Film & Video) this fall at U-M! (To translate the Michigan lingo, he got an offer to be a teaching assistant.) It's a relief to know that there will be at least one income for us to survive on. No word yet on whether mine will come from a certain community college, but the position just closed last Thursday.

3. Colin also got accepted to present at the national meeting of the Royal Music Society this summer in Birmingham, England! This is a really prestigious conference to present at, so we are both very excited about it. He's hoping to make the Scotland and England trip at the same time, with a stopover in London in the middle to do some research and meet up with some friends. I, of course, am DYING to join him! At this point, however, it's going to be a neat trick to pay for his trip (damn that English pound...) so I'm not holding my breath. Of course, you're welcome to contribute to the cause through my tip jar! [insert sheepish -- yet charming -- grin here]

Not sprouting a beak yet

2006-04-05T19:39:00.000+02:00

Hey folks, I am unfortunately still in the grip of la grippe. For those of you who don't speak the language, la grippe is French for hell on earth. If you know the story behind why I hate hummus, all I can say is: this flu is WAY worse.

Fortunately, eggs are not among the things I am laying these days, so I think it's safe to say that it's not the bird flu. I think the real problem is that I'm taking a bunch of homeopathic crap that the pharmacist recommended. I need some drugs with unrecognizable chemical names, man!

I remember thinking during my French lessons that it was odd to stress the word "biologique" (organic) as a key word to learn right away. Then, I moved in next door to a "para-pharmacy" with nothing but holistic remedies. Now, I am literally digesting this lesson in the form of activated charcoal gels that come in a tin suspiciously similar to what US gourmet lemon drops would come in. Sorry, but it's really hard to take a drug seriously when they have carefully packaged the instructions for use in an artfully designed fold-out circle. (One of the statements in said instructions really made me laugh, but it's a bit more graphic than I would like to post here. If you *really* want to know, e-mail me.)

Anyway, while I continue to languish in bed, I offer you yet another blog to enjoy:

http://www.digitalfog.com/

The pictures on this site are hilarious! I had to stop looking because laughing hard hurts. (Love those flu aches!)

p.s. Colin is, once again, going to win the Husband of the Year award. The rest of you don't need to apply.

The Grip of La Grippe

2006-04-03T21:06:00.000+02:00

As it turns out, I wasn't suffering from a massive hangover of epic proportions. I have the flu. Lucky me.

Speaking of unrest (ha ha), the CPE law is in effect now and the activists are not happy. There is another big nationwide protest planned for tomorrow, so you can expect to see burning cars on CNN by this time tomorrow night. I hope I'm joking! There was a spontaneous protest down the street from us this afternoon, where a bunch of high school kids blocked off the intersection of Avenue du Général Leclerc, Boulevard Brune, and Boulevard Jourdan. It was SO loud! Colin told me the details, since I was stuck in bed and he was at the grocery store at the time.

While I struggle to regain my health, here is another fun video clip:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QPtVwWwmIPY

I think you'll agree that this would be a lot more fun to see in Paris than what we get to see!

Wine, Wine, Whine.

2006-04-02T23:36:00.000+02:00

You'll have to forgive the brief post, as I am nursing a wicked, wicked hangover. Too much wine + excessive amount of desserts = unbelievable pain for Amy! Ugh. (Note to self: never let Colin (Maggie's Colin, not my Colin) anywhere near my glass when drinking.)

In the meantime, I stumbled upon a new blog that might interest some of you: Intercept Exchange. Basically, this guy is giving his two cents on every controversial issue he can think up. He's only got 5 posts so far, but has already covered the death penalty, same-sex marriage, and the evolution debate. So far, nothing particularly wacky has come up ... but here's hoping! I haven't had a chance to comment on his views, but my current headache is preventing deep thought at the moment. :)

With that said, I'm going back to bed!

Happy Retirement, MoMom!

2006-03-31T22:55:00.000+02:00

At looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong last, we have come to a very momentous day in history. At the end of today, my mom will never have to do ANYTHING that she doesn't want to do again. That's right, it's her second birthday: she's retiring! Woo hoo!

So, today's entry is short and sweet:

Happy Retirement, MoMom!

In tribute, I refer you all to this classic scene from the movie "Office Space." (Don't crank it up too loud if you're at work -- the music is bound to call negative attention to you.)

A little tip to MoMom's (almost former) boss: if you're missing any office equipment on Monday, check the pastures.

The Hussy of Justice!

2006-03-30T23:18:00.000+02:00

At long last, here he is: the Hussy of Justice, Jean-Louis!

We finally remembered to have the camera ready for his big moment on A Prendre ou A Laisser. Colin did the honors, and I think he did an excellent job of taking pictures of the TV.

Perhaps the only disappointing part is that he's not wearing a hideously colored tie. He is however ....

Coordinated with his wife, ensemble-wise. (OK, and skin-color-wise.)

Eat your heart out, ladies. He's on five times a week. Take THAT, Howie Mandel!

Labor pains

2006-03-29T21:06:00.000+02:00

Yes, I did have a good birthday yesterday ... but someone had an even better birth day! My cousin Lindsay gave birth to her second child, Marlee Grace, on March 28. Now, I'm not normally good at sharing, but I suppose I can make an exception for this. Of course, that makes three people in my family -- me, my Great Uncle Ben, and now my first cousin once removed -- who celebrate birthdays on March 28. Plus, we're all blood relatives of my mom! Go figure. Anyway, congratulations to Chad (dad), Lindsay (mom), big sister Maryn, and of course, Grandma Lee!

Fortunately, my birthday did not involve any pains or labor. Rachel was kind enough to take me out to lunch, where we got a chance to try a crêperie that I've been wanting to check out for a while. She also *made* me a birthday card, which is pretty impressive. :) On the walk back from lunch, Colin and I stopped off at the gourmet bakery Le Nôtre to get my birthday presents. I have been asking for a cake from this bakery for about three months now, partially because they have AWESOME desserts and partially because I wanted to try a new flavor. My creative boy went one step further and told me to pick out six mini cakes, so that I could try a bunch of different flavors. You can see my choices, as pictured to the left. From top to bottom, left to right, the flavors are: "Savarin Chantilly" (sponge cake soaked in rum, topped with cream); "Masai" (chocolate and caramel); "Schuss Fruits" (cream cheese, raspberry sauce and fruits); "Plaisir" (chocolate mousse, cream cheese and toffee); "Concerto" (dark chocolate cake and mousse layers); and in front, "Tartellette Citron" (a lemon tart). Geez, I can feel my waistline expanding just looking at the picture! But hey, it was my birthday ... I'm allowed to pig out. Right?

As if this isn't enough, we're having my birthday party this Saturday, with the theme of "dessert and wine." Fortunately, I will have a few people to help me celebrate (and eat), so I won't be quite as much of a mess. I hope.

Ah yes, as I previously mentioned, there was no labor on my birthday. Even though I'd like to say that I gave everyone the day off, the truth is that there was another massive countrywide strike yesterday. Aside from the protest parade, most businesses were shut down, too. That included most public transportation, all post offices, the media outlets, and even the Eiffel Tower. I can't say that I was inconvenienced, but the streets were noticably quieter yesterday. What really made me chuckle, though, was the night before when the reporters were interviewing people at the train stations, asking what they would do without the trains and buses. Seriously, every person started their answer with, "Well, like usual ..." That's just how common strikes are around here. No big deal!

The sad part was seeing more violence on TV last night. The police seemed to have better control this time, but what was abundantly clear was that the protestors are NOT the ones causing the violence. Instead, there is a group of youth that target the end of the parade route, where they start fights and do lots of property damage. It almost seems like they are purposefully doing this in an attempt to give the protestors a bad name. What a sick way to show your political differences!

The controversial CPE law goes into effect as soon as Chirac signs it, unless de Villepin withdraws or postpones it. Chirac is going to make some kind of a statement later this week about the whole thing, but thus far, he has said that he supports de Villepin. I don't think that de Villepin is going to back down, but I also think that the protests will continue indefinitely. They just aren't losing any steam - in fact, yesterday's protest was about twice as large as the one we attended about a week ago. But, our friend Muriel says that, if de Villepin retracts the law, he will have to resign as prime minister (that's the way it has always gone in the past). Both sides have a lot to lose by backing down.

Anyway, Colin and I are going to avoid "labor pains" of our own by staying away from the protests from now on. It's a shame that a small group of violent people can ruin a peaceful expression of free speech. Here's hoping for a resolution soon ...

Happy le birthday, Amy !

2006-03-28T12:06:00.000+02:00

[Posted by Colin.]

Well, today is Amy's "29th" birthday...though I promised her I wouldn't tell anybody how many times we've celebrated her "29th" birthday. I guess it's time to run out and get her a present but, before I do that, let's just wish her

Happy birthday
Bon anniversaire
Gueter geburtsdaa
Kul sana wa intai tayeba
Zorionak
Yumi selebretem de blong bon blong yu
Deiz-ha-bloaz laouen deoc'h
Som owie nek mein aryouk yrinyu
Vsechno nejlepsi k Tvym narozeninam
Hartelijk gefeliciteerd
Zorionak zure urtebetetze egunean
Bonne fête
Alles gute zum Geburtstag
Fortuna dies natalis
Vill Gleck fir daei Geburtsdaag
Grattis på födelsedagen
and, as the Dalai Lama would say, Droonkher Tashi Delek!

Menu #6: A springtime meal from Centre

2006-03-26T21:43:00.000+02:00

[Posted by Colin.]

The culinary adventure for us this week takes us to Centre, a region south of Paris that includes the famous Loire Valley chateaux. The main dish for this meal is lapin aux petits légumes aux jardin (rabbit with garden vegetables) and the dessert is tarte Tatin (a famous apple upside-down cake invented at the Hôtel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron).

Lapin aux petits legumes aux jardin (Rabbit with garden vegetables)
Serves 4
Prep time: 20 min
Cooking time: 50 min

Ingredients

1 rabbit
250 g (1/2 lb.) of carrots
200 g (1/3 lb.) of green beans
200 g (1/3 lb.) of pearl onions
500 g (1 lb.) of peas
10 cl (1/3 c.) of white wine
50 cl (1 pint) of chicken bouillon
1 bouquet garni (a mixture of fresh herbs)
3 Tbsp of olive oil
12 g (2.5 tsp) of salt
5 g (1 tsp) of freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Peel the carrots and cut them into spears. Snap the ends of the green beans. Peel the pearl onions.
Heat up the olive oil in a stewpot, then brown the pieces of rabbit. Add the wine and cook over medium heat for a few minutes. Salt and pepper toward the end.
Add the bouquet garni, the carrots, the onions, and the peas. Bring to boiling, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the green beans and simmer for 20 more minutes.

Tarte Tatin
Ingredients

DOUGH

450 g (4 sticks) of butter
450 g (about 3 c.) of flour

PIE

150 g (1 1/3 stick) of butter
125 g (a little more than 1 c.) of sugar
1 kg (2 lbs.) of apples (i.e., about 5 or 6 of them)

Directions
DOUGH

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl.
Separate the butter into four equal pieces. Cut in one piece of butter, until it is well blended. Add some cold water to make it into a dough.
Roll out the dough, until it is about half a centimeter thick.
Using a fork, flake in another piece of butter. Fold the dough into quarters and then roll it out again. Repeat until all of the butter has been used up.

PIE

Preheat the oven to 190° C (375° F).
Butter a cake pan. Spread the stick of butter on the bottom of the pan. Cover this with the sugar.
Core and peel the apples. Cut them into thick slices and arrange them on the bed of sugar and butter.
Bake for about 15 minutes (the butter and sugar will have formed caramel).
Take the pan out of the oven and lay the dough on top of the caramel and apples.
Bake for 15 more minutes.
After the pie has cooled for several minutes, cover the pan with a serving plate. Quickly flip the pan and plate upside down.
For a traditional tarte Tatin serve as is, without any accompaniments.

[Note: This recipe is my translation of the "authentic" recipe originally made in 1898 by Stéphanie Tatin. If you would like the recipe in the original French, check out the Site Officiel de la Tarte Tatin.]

Confusion!

2006-03-25T15:57:00.000+01:00

The theme of today's post is confusion!

Confusion #1 -Another bizarre sign

First things first -- the new contest. We spotted this sign on an entrance ramp to the highway that heads west out of Paris from La Défense. I am utterly clueless on what it is supposed to be advising drivers. I must figure it out, though -- this is the same road we'll be taking when we drive to Normandy with our parents (mine and Colin's, on different trips).

So, the contest is simple: write your own caption. As usual, I will value the funniest/most creative, but if you actually know what the sign means, I would really like to know! Post your entries in the comments section. Multiple entries allowed. Good luck, everyone!

Yesterday turned out to be more eventful than I originally expected. The plan was to eat lunch in the Latin Quarter, then head out to the cemetery in Neuilly to take a couple of pictures. Maggie and Rachel were good enough to join Colin and I for lunch, though unfortunately, we didn't do the greatest job picking a restaurant this time. I can't complain too much, though, since I got a main dish, dessert, and drink for 6 euros flat! I just wish the food had been more memorable. What *was* memorable, however, was our conversation. Hence...

Confusion #2: What are we really saying?

During lunch, we were talking about our recent experiences with the French language (successes, failures, helpful tips, etc), which is always good for a laugh. Maggie lamented that most of her conversations are more of a guessing game than anything else. For example, while asking for help in finding butcher-block oil, "I have a piece of wood in my kitchen. I cut things on it. The piece of wood is dry. I need some liquid to make it wet again." Ah, how many times have I played that game with salesclerks around Paris? The most memorable for me was the first time I went looking for dental floss, unknowingly using the Quebeçois translation of "soie dentaire" that I learned from a pack of floss that I had in Michigan. Of course, when the salesclerk corrected me (fils dentaire), I couldn't figure out why anyone needed to buy a dental son. It took a while to figure that one out...

Maggie's worry right now is that she is misunderstood when she thanks someone for their time and help. Why worry about this? Well, the word for ass is cul, so she thinks that when she says merci beaucoup, she thinks that the other person might be hearing merci beau-cul instead. (Thank you, nice ass!) In a way, I suppose it's a compliment: "Thanks for your help, and by the way, you have a nice ass." Maggie parted company with us after lunch (and a hearty exchange of "nice ass"), and the remaining three of us went on a hunt for the cemetery in Neuilly. Here it comes:

Confusion #3: Ceme-where?-ies

To make a long story short, there are two Neuilly cemeteries - an old one and a new one - and we went to the wrong one for who I needed! To make matters worse, we couldn't figure out how to get into the wrong one, so we ended up wandering around the edges for a good 20 minutes, culminating in walking along the side of a busy, dirty highway entrance ramp. (On the bright side, this adventure provided the fodder for the new contest.)

Thanks to a phone call from the folks at the new cemetery, we found ourselves in the conservation of the old Neuilly cemetery with a very helpful manager. Unlike the other cemeteries I've visited, neither Neuilly cemetery has a printed map or a list of celebrities that tourists can use. So, the very kind people who work there had to look up all six of my names in a computer. Even better, the head conservateur at the old Neuilly cemetery gave us a walking tour and pointed out many celebrities! As it turns out, he's writing a history on his teeny little cemetery, and is very curious to learn more about its "residents" from researchers who are visiting. He was so thoughtful and helpful, and the cemetery itself was really neat. It's very small, but well landscaped and very interesting. Thankfully, Colin was able to interpret when Rachel and I couldn't understand, so we got a good French history lesson.

The one drawback to this cemetery confusion is that there are no less than 5 entries for the same cemetery on the Find A Grave website! So, I'm holding off on posting new entries until the administrators can clean up the duplicate entries. And finally...

Confusion #4: DST, sort-of

We just learned that Daylight Savings Time starts tomorrow in all European Union countries. It does not, however, start in the US until April 2 (one week later). Geez, as if I had enough trouble remembering what time it was "back home" before now!

With that, I think I'll go watch a book or read a movie.

Unfortunate Juxtapositions

2006-03-21T23:58:00.000+01:00

Learning to speak English? Be careful which dictionary you choose...

At least the editors of our French-English dictionary were careful to keep drink and drive off the same page.

[insert your own tasteless Eddie Sutton joke here]

Menu #5: An Aquitainian Feast

2006-03-20T15:21:00.000+01:00

[Posted by Colin.]

This weekend, Amy and I continued our culinary tour de France with a some excellent recipes from Aquitaine. For the appetizer, foie gras de canard poêlé aux pommes (duck foie gras with apples); for the main plate, magret de canard aux cérises (duck filets in a cherry sauce); and for dessert, gâteau basque aux cérises (Basque cake with cherry filling). We had Banyuls (similar to Kirsch) as an apéritif, and our wine was a lovely Saint-Emilion Grand Cru.

I recommend waiting until cherry season for these recipes...they're darn near impossible to find in Paris at the moment!! (After visiting our street market, three local fruit markets, and about four supermarkets, the organic food store next door came through for us!) This marked our first experience with foie gras. We're not converts yet, but I think we're both at least willing to try it again. The main dish and dessert, however, are definite keepers for our return to the US—especially since Michigan is cherry country!

So...here we go:

Foie gras de canard poêlé aux pommes (Duck foie gras fried with apples)
Serves 4
Preparation time: 20 min
Cooking time: 15 min

Ingredients

4 slices of duck foie gras
4 golden delicious apples
50 g (3.5 Tbsp) of butter
1 Tbsp of honey
4 Tbsp of cider vinegar
25 g (about 2 Tbsp) of flour
1 Tbsp of apple jelly
15 g (1 Tbsp) of salt
5 g (1 tsp) of pepper

Directions

1. Wash the apples and cut them in quarters. Cook them in a frying pan with the butter over low heat for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, salt and pepper the foie gras, then roll each slice in flour. Shake off any extra flour.
3. When the apples are halfway done, heat up a non-stick frying pan and cook the foie gras in it for 2 minutes on each side. Salt and pepper at the end. Remove the foie gras and keep them warm under a sheet of aluminum foil.
4. Add honey and the vinegar to the frying pan and heat it for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce has a syrupy consistency. At the end, add the apple jelly.
5. Serve the foie gras with the sauce. Garnish with the apples on the side.

Magrets de canard aux cerises (duck filets in a cherry sauce)
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 45 min
Cooking time: 25 min

Ingredients

2 filets of duck (about 400 g each)
500 g (about 1 lb.) of cherries
10 cl (about 1/4 c.) of kirsch or Banyuls
2 tsp of vinegar (ideally, vinaigre de banyuls or a wine vinegar)
2 Tbsp of olive oil
50 g (about 3.5 Tbsp) of butter

Directions

1. Cut a criss-cross pattern into the skin of the filet. Place it skin-side down in a frying pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
2. Turn the filet and sear it over high heat.
3. Reduce the heat and continue to cook the filet for another 5 to 10 minutes, turning it often and making sure that it stays pink in the center. Salt and pepper at the end of cooking.
4. While the filet is cooking, wash the cherries and remove the pits.
5. Heat the olive oil over high heat in a frying pan. Add the cherries for 2 to 3 minutes. Spread some sugar over them, stir, and simmer for 2 to 3 more minutes. Remove the cherries with a skimmer and set them aside.
6. Add the kirsch to the frying pan and let it boil for a couple minutes. Add the vinegar and thicken the sauce.
7. Add the cherries to the sauce and stir. Then add the filet and spoon the sauce over them. Cook for 2 minutes, turning the filet once or twice.
8. Cut the filet in thin slices and serve with the cherries.

Gâteau basque aux cerises (Basque cake with cherry filling)
Preparation time: 30 min (plus setting for a couple hours)
Cooking time: 45 min

Ingredients

280 g (about 3/4 c.) of flour
200 g (about 1/2 c.) of sugar
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
200 g (about 1 2/3 sticks) of butter
1 tsp of grated lemon zest
1 jar of cherry pie filling (confiture de cerises noires entières)
salt

Directions

1. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a crater in the middle and place in it a pinch of salt, the sugar, the whole egg, and one of the egg yolks. Mix the ingredients by stirring outward from the center. Gradually add the butter. Also add the lemon zest.
2. Shape the dough into a ball and wrap it in cellophane. Leave it at the bottom of your fridge for a couple hours so that it firms up.
3. Preheat the oven to 190° C (375° F).
4. Separate the dough into two parts, one a little larger than the other.
5. Butter a cake pan. Press the larger ball of dough into the bottom of the pan. It should be roughly the same thickness everywhere and should climb up the sides a bit.
6. Spread the cherry pie filling on the dough in the pan.
7. Roll out the remaining ball of dough and cover the cake with it, sealing the edges.
8. Add some water around the edges to moisten the dough. (NB: this step is important, otherwise the edges will be dry out way too much.)
9. Cut some slits in the top. Mix the second egg yolk with a little bit of water, then brush it on top.
10. Press hatch-marks into the top with a fork. (To make it look like a traditional gâteau basque.)
11. Cook for 45 min. (NB: Gâteaux basques are usually served cold, but Amy and I liked this recipe better when it was still warm.)

George Mason vs. Wichita State in the Sweet 16???

2006-03-19T23:09:00.000+01:00

What in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks is going on with the NCAA tournament this year? I leave you guys alone for one year, one lone March Madness, and you literally go mad! Did anyone predict that George Mason would be playing Wichita State in the Sweet Sixteen? Up until this week, I wasn't actually aware that either school even had a basketball team! And what about the "B" schools, Bradley and Bucknell? (Also known as my two new favorite schools because they both have the distinction of whoopin' up on Kansas in the first round of the NCAA tourney.)

But most important of all -- how can I be missing this?! I haven't watched a single basketball game this season. Crazy. (Needless to say, my bracket is ... um ... less-than-accurate.)

CNN's coverage of the CPE "Riots"

2006-03-19T00:29:00.000+01:00

[posted by Colin]

While we're over here, we often use cnn.com to keep up on the news back home. Last November, their coverage of the riots in Paris was amusing to us, since it reflected absolutely nothing of our experience of those weeks!! We saw galleries of photos of burning cars and violent confrontations between the youth and the police. We're not saying that stuff didn't happen, but the actual violence was blown out of proportion in their coverage.

The coverage has gotten even worse regarding the CPE demonstrations. I just read the CNN story about the manifestation that we watched today. There's also a really dramatic gallery of photos. Be sure to check them out.

All right...here are my problems with that story.

#1) The headline is: "French Labor Law Protests Turn Violent." That is not news today; that was news Thursday when some 50 police officers were injured (most with minor injuries as I understand) and a couple hundred youth were brought in for questioning. That was also news last week when the students occupied the Sorbonne and were subsequently forced out by the police. That was also news when politically right students who wanted to resume their studies confronted the politically left students who were blocading the university.

#2) Again, the headline is: "French Labor Law Protests Turn Violent." That is a gross misrepresentation of the facts. More than a million protestors took to the streets in France today (350,000 in Paris, according to the Agence France Presse). By and large, it was a perfectly routine manifestation, despite its unusual size. According to AFP and Le Monde, the "violent clashes between demonstrators and police" actually involved about 50 people who showed up at the end of the march and were spoiling for a fight. According to France 3 news, only one car in Paris was overturned and set on fire. One. CNN happened to get a photo of it and put it in their gallery.

#3) There was indeed violence associated with the protests today and last Thursday. But, CNN does a terrible job representing the relationship between that violence and the groups protesting. The left side of the French political spectrum contains somewhere around a dozen parties. What I've been gathering from French news sources is that all of the violence is being attributed to one or two of the most extreme parties. These parties have been consistently described as anarchists and I think it highly plausible that the government and French journalists have them pegged correctly—they are consistently showing up at the ends of the demonstrations and are consistently picking fights with the police. In other words, the violent groups are using the anti-CPE demonstrations as a publicity vehicle for their own political motives.

#4) On cnn.com you will also find a video that carries a variety of titles, such as "Watch protestors charge riot police" and "French labor law makes people really mad." Jim Bitterman and Miles O'Brien severely disappointed me on this one. Bitterman's description of the law was a poor description, considering he's a foreign correspondant for a major news organization. Not that he got much help from O'Brien: "Obviously the students are for it...I guess the business leaders are against it?" [paraphrased]. Come on, what kind of question is that? The real question is—who is supporting this measure? (Business leaders, de Villepin, Chirac, the UMP.) Who is against it? (At least 9 political parties and almost all of the unions in the country; according to a poll today, more than 60% of French voters oppose it.)

#5) The gallery of pictures related to this story shows 10 very violent pictures. Folks, we were there, too. Take a look at Amy's pictures and videos. Do some searching around on the internet, you'll find a ton of pictures like Amy's. For the first four hours, this was a completely peaceful, family-oriented demonstration.

In summary: I certainly don't consider myself a leftist, and am usually pretty luke-warm when it comes to labor unions. In this case, if you believe CNN, the French unions and students have France perched on the verge of complete civil disorder. If you were actually there today, watching 350,000 people march, sing, and dance in front of you, you know better. My hats are off to the organizers of today's demonstration! I'm still not sure where I stand on the issue, but I do know that the unions and students did not disgrace their cause today.

So...I guess the moral of all this is: consumer beware. Always remember that (at least in American journalism), "if it bleeds, it leads."

[Colin now steps off his soapbox and hopes that this blog quickly returns to its regular programming.]

Ré-si-stan-ce!

2006-03-18T18:48:00.000+01:00

Colin has covered the facts of the protest, so I'll just interject with some of the photos I took. (By the way, I only took 70-some-odd photos and videos, which is lower than what we originally thought I had!) You can see a couple of the videos that I shot on my Youtube.com site. (Link is in the right-hand menu, or you can click here). My favorite video is the Sorbonnards' Polka.

Here is a long line of CRS (national police) vans, leading up Général Leclerc toward Denfert Rochereau. Police presence was very heavy today!

Some of the setup at Denfert Rochereau. Even at 1:45 pm today, there was a lot going on. If nothing else, it was weird to walk down the middle of this normally busy intersection.

On the left side of this photo, you'll notice a van with the side open. This guy is selling food (sandwiches, sodas, and the like). Colin and I were both surprised to see the abundance of makeshift food stands that appeared in the area for the "festivities." It felt like a street carnival!

There's always at least one guy -- you know, that guy -- who comes up with the most bizarre costume imaginable. Here is "that guy" for the day. (Secretly, I think de Villepin is behind that mask!)

This picture begins to show you the masses of people that were involved in the protests. France 3 News just gave the official estimate of 350 thousand people in Paris today. They also said that the anarchists and the CRS are clashing at Place de la Nation (the normal place I meet Isabelle for conversation!), and that there is at least one fire.

This one shouldn't need any translating.

Hey mec, just because we're protesting, doesn't mean we can't enjoy a brewskie on a nice Saturday afternoon!

Do you think this guy is climbing the stoplight because he wants a better view? Or is he just using this as an excuse to climb a stoplight without getting arrested?

A newly formed group, les Familles contre le CPE, represents families who oppose the law. According to France 3 News, there were a lot of multiple-generation families marching today.

As for Didge, he just doesn't seem to understand what all of the fuss is about. I guess if you go through life with a knee-high view of everything, labor laws just aren't as big of a deal to you. Ah, it's a dog's life, n'est-ce pas?

The Mother of All Protest Marches

2006-03-18T16:43:00.000+01:00

In blatant disregard of this morning's e-mail from the US Department of State, Amy and I walked up the street to check out today's manifestation against the CPE (the controversial new labor law, more details at the bottom for those who haven't followed the story). This is my response. Amy will post hers later today, rife with some of the 118 pictures that she took.

The march began at Place Denfert-Rochereau (at the top of our street) and ends this evening at Place de la Nation (some 5 kilometers north and east of us). In addition to nearly all the universities in Paris, several of the most prestigious lycées (high schools) and a couple collèges (junior highs), twelve major unions and a ton of small unions participated. After walking through the staging area and marvelling at the food vendors and the masses of people, we walked up the Boulevard Arago to the official starting point of the march.

As we passed the prison, all the inmates with windows overlooking the street were shouting out to the crowds. One even shouted some compliments to Didg and thanked him for supporting the protests!

Once the march began, it was simply overwhelming. Realize that I have been in huge crowds before. For New Year's 2000, I was in the mass of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the Sydney Harbor Bridge. That crowd didn't even begin to compare to the size of this march.

We had front-row seats on the curb for 75 minutes, leaving early because Amy was getting cold and Didg was irritated by how many people were stepping on his tail. While I can offer no promise of expertise, here's my estimate of how many people we saw. An average of 30 people passing directly in front of us at any given moment, about 30 rows per minute, for 75 minutes. For the mathematically challenged, that's roughly 67,500 people. That doesn't count the hoards marching on the sidewalks (many of the unions were marching up the sidewalk behind us while the students were going in front of us on the street), nor does it include the tens of thousands of people still in the staging area.

The sheer size of this crowd--from high-school groups through to the most experienced veterans in the unions--was simply mind numbing. Of course, the other shoe is yet to drop. If the law isn't repealed by Tuesday, the unions have promised a general strike nationwide to support the 64 universities already on strike. (BTW, France only has 84 universities.) We'll see what happens...

*****************
Colin's summary of the controversy for those who haven't been following it:

Prime Minister de Villepin passed a law last Monday called the "Contrat Premier Embauche" (First Job Contract). If the law stands, it will go into effect at the beginning of April. The basic idea is that employers of large companies (those with more than 20 employees) will be able to offer a new type of job contract to people who are 25 or younger. The key feature of this contract is that, during the first two years, the employer can fire the employee at any time and for any reason.

A few quick facts. In this age bracket, the nationwide unemployment rate is about 20%. In some areas (for example, the depressed banlieus that saw rioting last November), that number climbs to more than 40%. French workers currently enjoy some of the most generous labor laws in the world.

According to the supporters and de Villepin, this measure will encourage employers to take chances on hiring young, inexperienced employees. As it stands right now, it's almost impossible to fire an employee if they are merely incompetent at/inappropriate for the job or lazy. They believe that this law will only adversely affect bad employees. Their hope is that the law will reduce youth unemployment and (tacitly, I think) improve the work ethic and habits of a generation that seems to be oft-perceived as lazy and underachieving.

According to the critics (the unions, the students, the Communists, the Socialists, and other leftist parties), this law (and a similar one that is already in effect for small companies) are a significant threat to job security and represent a form of age discrimination. Many also feel that this will provide a vehicle to increase racial/ethnic/gender/sexual-orientation discrimination in the workplace. Most importantly for them, it is in direct opposition to one of the three cardinal virtues represented by France--Egalité (equality).

Relic-Kissing

2006-03-17T20:07:00.000+01:00

Colin, Rachel, Maggie and I checked out the Veneration of the Relics ceremony at Notre Dame this afternoon. If what this church says is to be believed, we saw a piece of the True Cross, a nail from the Passion, and the Crown of Thorns. Given that there are at least 700 versions of "the" Crown of Thorns scattered about the world, I suspect that we didn't actually see the real thing. It was interesting to think about, though.

The ceremony wasn't too long, considering a typical Catholic service. Fortunately, it wasn't a Mass, so we didn't have to sit in the back while everyone else took communion. But, it was really neat to see some of the Knights Templar, as well as the Catholic regalia of robes, incense, and so forth. The service was in French, so I understood a teeny little bit of it (much like three-quarters of the people around us, who were also tourists who had hardly a clue as to what was going on).

The cool part of the service was that everyone who participated was allowed to file past the relics so that we could see them up close. Since the Crown of Thorns is "the most precious and the most revered" of the relics (according to the English version of the handout), you get to walk right up to it and give it a kiss if you like! I *almost* chickened out because the woman who cut in line in front of me didn't give it a kiss. But, then I figured, it's *expected* that I give it a kiss, so why not? The attendants even had a special cloth to wipe it off between kisses, so they were ready for me.

No doubt you're wondering by this point if I took a thorn to the lips. I can assure you that I didn't because A) there are no thorns left (they've all been given away over the centuries) and B) the whole thing is in a protective glass cylinder. Since we couldn't take pictures, I bought a postcard with a picture, and then took a picture of that, which is what's posted with this blog entry. The nail and the piece of the True Cross are in custom-made glass containers, too, but we didn't get to see it as close up as the crown.

So, I don't know if I really had a brush with greatness today, but it was an interesting cultural/religious experience nonetheless.

Tomorrow, Colin and I are going to participate in another Parisian tradition: rioting! OK, just kidding. Actually, there is supposed to be a HUGE anti-CPE rally at Denfert Rochereau tomorrow, which is just up the street from us. Curiosity has the best of us, so we're going to walk that way tomorrow with our camera and see what happens. The good part is that, if it's scary, we can just go back home to the safety of our apartment.

You know, I used to joke that no tour of Ann Arbor is complete if you don't participate in a protest. Little did I know that Paris is WAY ahead of the measly little war protest groups in front of the post office!

What should Amy's new blog be called?
	The Lost Geographer
	The Musicology Widow
	Roust Abouts
	Trials on Quarterback Court
	French Tigers
	I Left Paris for This?
	The Moveable Rousts
	None of the above

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