Monday, June 30, 2008

A hot and wild weekend

On Friday night, we went to one of D.'s colleagues to celebrate his birthday, we were three couples and another single colleague. I do not drink. I mean, I like one cocktail once in a while but, I only got shit plastered one time in my life, last summer, in Malta. But Friday went differently, I do not know if that was the environment, the vibes, etc. One rum/orange led to another one after 5 of them, I was "happy"! Indeed, we all got quite drunk, except D. who had to be ready in case he would be called for an intervention for work and because he was working on Saturday morning also.

After the birthday dinner, we went to a night club they are used to go to. I am not a night club person but, as I said, the night livened things up. D. wanted to take his birthday pal on his moto but he was way to drunk so I took his place.

The day after was a hell of a bad day. OMG!! I can tell you that I now understand why I do not drink! I have been sick all day. Not like last year but not feeling good at all. I am now detoxified with alcohol for a while now! lol

Saturday night was a nice went evening. Ito the Stade de France - and in any stadium - for the first time to see the finale of the Top 14 (French competition) between Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand. It has nothing to do with soccer, supporters are very nice to each other, even mixed together in the stadium. The atmosphere was very nice!















Sunday was such a nice sunny and hot day. We got a sunburn on the face (ouch, how to not look ridiculous when you got the sunglasses tan on your face and your nose all red!) and a light one on the arms and the décolleté. D. and I went to the Stunt Bike Show near Paris, I had been there last year, it was very nice and D. loved it! The moto is so practical when the motorway is full with traffic jam at the end of the day.



This week is going to be dedicated to boxes, packing again... and getting that sunburn into a nice suntan! wink

Friday, June 27, 2008

Don d'ubiquité

If only I could duplicate myself... (and be everywhere at the same time = to have the "ubiquité" gift).

I have been doing "nothing" for months and suddenly there is so much to do in so little time!

I have spent so many weekends by myself, at home, bored... and suddenly my weekends are overbusy and not enough or not long enough!

People's birthdays are on the whole year but no, they have to celebrate them the same weekends!

Here is an example.

Tonight
, there is the birthday of a Univ. friend in Paris suburb but also one of D.'s colleagues birthday. My friend was born on May 3rd but she decided to do it tonight along with a friend of hers... why, people why?...

Tomorrow evening, I am going for the first time in my life in a stadium to see a game! A rugby match! The Top 14 final (National French competition) at the Stade de France with my mom and her partner. I am so excited!! But of course, one of my friend was born on June 28th and she sent a text message earlier to warn people she was celebrating her birthday with dinner at a restaurant near the Champs Elysées and then a drink in a Pub. The game should end around 11pm, I hope I can make it to have, at least, a drink there. D. should also come and join me at the Pub as it is three RER (Paris & suburbian metro) stations away from home.

On Sunday, we are going to see a Stunt Bike Show!! I was there last year (without my moto license at that time) and I had loved it!

Next weekend, an Internet friend is coming to Paris for the weekend. Her boyfriend and some of his friends are coming for the huge concert host in the Stade de France by Cathy Guetta so she took advantage of that to come and finally meet. I have had many friends I met with Internet, I met my Italian friend from Rome with who I became close friend on Internet a decade ago, I have another friend who registered on a forum to meet new people in Paris when she arrived from the South of France with her boyfriend (now husband) three years ago... And I met D. on Internet! Stéphanie and I have known each other for 9 years now but never got the chance to meet, we are eager to be able to finally do it next weekend.

Next weekend also hosts a birthday party. Two male friends from Business School are celebrating their birthday (one born June 3rd and one June 30rd) with a picnic at the feet of the Tour Eiffel on the Champs de Mars on Saturday evening.

The weekend after (July 12), D's mom is coming from the South of France with her partner for the weekend.

And the weekend after that (July 19) is the BIG MOVE!!! Wow, only three weeks left before the big thing... I was confident and looking forward to it but now that it is getting closer, I am getting... anxious, wondering about all that... scared (?), do not really know, it is a bunch of emotions and feelings mixed all together.

I am also looking at where to go on the last week of August as we planned two weeks of vacations with D. The first week of September, we are going to the little house near Montpellier, it is a little house that D's mom rent out and that is the only week available so far. So, we are looking for a place to stay for free the week before that, it could be Marseille, because my 21 years old niece has a studio there for her studies or at my Roman friend's, will ask.

As you can see, so many things to do in so little time. Beside that, still job hunting and negative answers to job applications. Imagine if I was working, I would be out of time, but at least, I would be working.

Will give you a little after-weekend feedback next week.

Have a nice weekend fellow bloggers!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Here goes Meme!

Few days ago, I have been tagged by Marianne, for a Meme...

As a good girl too, I now take the time to respond to it.


The Rules: Rules are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player tags someone(or someones) and posts their name(s). Then the player goes to each of the “named” people’s blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged. If you’ve been tagged, you do the same, letting the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer. Your answer is the answer to the following questions.


1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was 15 going on 16, first year of High School (within 3) and it was the last academic year of fun because we did not have final exams! The before-the last year you have to take the French exam of the Baccalauréat and the year after, all the other courses.

I remember that, that year, there had been many strikes (teachers and students) and I took advantage of lots of them! In Seconde, you finish school in early June so you have three months off instead of two!

1998, was of course, the soccer World Cup in France! I watched a lot of games, especially at the end. I had never been interested in soccer before... I think many women and many French people had not been before that! And 1998 is the year, France got crowned World Champion! What a victory. Last week, France did not even pass the quarter-final... what a shame! The glorious French soccer team no longer exists.

It was time of innocence... wished I could be older and wiser but never thought work life (and life sometimes) would be so hard as an adult.


2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today?

- Go to my appointment to the hair dresser in Paris at 10am (check!)

- Do some quick food shopping back home (hum... I took a lighter wallet and forgot the paying card of the supermarket, will go tomorrow...)

- Write the Meme on my blog (check!)

- Do my week schedule/agenda/planning (being done...)

- Send some CVs/résumés and take addresses of firms to go and give my CV in person/to the receptionist/put in mailbox this week (to do...)


3. Snacks I enjoy:

- cereals with fresh skimmed milk (I would eat that all day long, every day...)

- salty snack (crackers, chips/crisps, etc.) but do not buy them so that I will not eat them in 5 minutes

- fruit and/or yogurt and/or tea


- candies (same as salty snacks)

4. Places I’ve lived:

Paris (well, East suburb) for 26 years

Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA for 5 months

Nice/St Laurent du Var (French Riviera): I have spent so many times there, at my sister's since I was born, I even stayed there for 2 months in 2002 for vacation and then a summer job, it is as if I had lived there

Paris (West suburb) in just a month with new love...

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I often thought about what I would do if I won the Lottery...

The first thing would be... a motorbike! I so want to have my own, it has been 4 months since I passed the moto license and still no money to buy one.

A second moto for me and D.

A car.

Offer a great birthday to D.

Offer me a girl-in-need butt surgery...

Hire a sport coach.

Do all the extreme sports I dream to do but cost some money

A flat in Paris. A flat on the Atlantic coast. A flat on the French Riviera. A mas to my mom (Provence little house/farm with animals). A house in England and a flat in London. A flat in Rome and a house in Tuscany near the sea. A flat in NYC and one in California.

Travel..... a lot.... very much... so much....

Help my family and give presents to the friends who deserve them

Give to charities

Build my own business or, like Marianne, buy my way into a great job! lol

Invest

... and not change anything else to my life, unless not caring about the price of food or clothes (but would still go to the same H&M stores and others...)



Now I pass the baton to Annie, Penelope and Onadrought.

Has summer arrived?


Finally a nice sunny and hot weekend!!
Summer day was celebrated properly! (compared to the not very nice spring season).

D. was working and I did not find anyone available to come with me but I wanted to took advantage of this sunny day to have a casual walk in Paris and shoot for a couple of hours.

I have so many nice photos, I could not post them all on the blog so I put a link to have access to my Picasa Web album. Hope you like them!


How nice was it to be able to wear thongs (and not tongs wink), a sleeveless top and sweat... lol

I decided to get off at the station and walk towards the TrocadéroTour Eiffel where was held the World Cup of beach volley, like two years ago. Then, my feet took me to the Invalides where I could also shoot more nice pictures when I finally went back to the underground of Paris to get back home and get ready to go out with a friend to see what was on for the Fête de la Musique.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The past week

HOT:

- Went out with D. and friends of him on Wednesday evening to watch independent short movies, it was nice.

- Went out with D. and a couple of friends of mine (it was time!) on Friday night. I am my friend's witness for her wedding in September. We ate at Planet Sushi, in the center of Paris, the place is gorgous! It is the only one like this in Paris. And the food... I love Japanese food, but they propose some pieces of food you will not find anywhere else, it was a very nice dinner.

- On Saturday afternoon, as I know that D. likes flowers and plants and knows some about it, I knew where to take him. I had been there once with my dad and his partner and fortunately found the way back there. We went to the greenhouses of Porte d'Auteuil and he loved it! (photos on Shoot a Life!)


NOT:

- D. is gone to see his parents - an hour away from Paris - for his (step) mother birthday and did not tell me he wanted to go until Monday night when I asked him if it was sure we was not working on Tuesday night because I wanted to take him out for his birthday (we did not have time to do it yet). I did not tell him why but I had told him I wanted to take him out on Tuesday evening but... he forgot. I was very glad on Monday night. Especially because he will only come back on Thursday afternoon, has a BBQ evening with some colleagues, I am going to my Dad's on Friday night. So we will only see each other on Saturday night for the Music Feast if he does not work (he may...) or on Sunday...

- We had to call our Internet provider AGAIN and we are really angry about it and will write a letter to ask for a payback because we do not think it is normal to have had our Internet connection go off each week for the past two months. Fortunately, we will be soon done with them!

- Being very tired since last week and have been to the fitness club just once as a consequence.

- Still being stressed about the moving, not knowing when we will do it, how... not having papercard boxes to put things in yet, thinking that if the dinner table and the chairs are sold on Ebay this week, we will not have anything to eat and put my laptop on... if the closets are gone, we will not anything to put our clothes...

- Still being stressed about that job hunting that leads nowhere.

- France off the European Soccer Competition. What can I say, was it this new team that was not good and/or our manager?
Anyway, I did not feel it that year compared to two years ago, when I knew they would be in finals.
Good luck to the Netherlands! You deserve it.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

"Back soon" & new pictures

To my fellow bloggers and readers, I am facing Internet problems AGAIN, so I have not been able to write on my blog lately or read yours, hope it will be okay soon!

To wait until then, go and check new pics from the Porte d'Auteuil greenhouses on Shoot a Life! biggrin

Thursday, June 12, 2008

First move !

Yesterday, as I was going to D.'s place by car, I acted on the first step of my moving.

I brought all my DVDs and a little coffee table.

That was so weird, I first thought "how boring it is to move those things there and take them back home... oh no, wait... that's a one-way ticket, there are going to their new home..."

I really have to get used to it.

But it feels nice to have some of my stuff over there now... and it will continue wink

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I love my Internet provider

This is pathetic...

Today, our Internet connexion went off again! It has been happening too often lately, it is really being annoying (yes I am very polite right now...), I have called the customer service once a week and I have other things to do and most of all, I NEED Internet for my job hunting!

So, this afternoon, I called the customer service AGAIN and the not-in-France-not-French-woman told me that she was going to take my cellphone number... because, they were facing network problems (!!)

What?! That is nonsense!

Someone was supposed to call me back on my cellphone in a couple of hours after my call. It was 5pm... and I am still waiting...

I am desperate...

Cannot wait to move and get ride of this provider!


P.S. Being connected from my mom's partner's while they are away in the French province to go on the Net because I had many things to do tonight.

Friday, June 06, 2008

Three to one

This is my Friday night's rant!

As I said earlier, D.'s job has its good and bad sides.

This weekend was supposed to be nice and I was looking forward to it as I had not seen D. the whole week but it got suddenly shortened from two days and three nights together to one day and one short night!

Some guys are sick or had to take days off because of personal stuff so the bosses picked out two guys from D.'s company and, oh, guess what, D. is one that two guys... what were the chances...

So he was back to working at the Elysée today, and also Sunday and Tuesday and he is quite mad about that because he is not supposed to be there so often, that is supposed to be the more little part of his job and because of that, we will not be able to train with his colleagues, what he has not done in a while.

So tonight, I am home alone, bored and sad sad And as D. forgot his mind at home this morning, he forgot to leave me the keys in the mailbox so I could not go there today, I will get up early tomorrow and drive over there around 8 - 8:30am, time they get back to the barracks.

Sunday, I will go and see Sex and the City the movie with a girlfriend of mine and be bored and sad again in the evening back home.

And, of course, weather forecast: tomorrow is supposed to be rainy but Sunday will be sunny!

Yeah right...

Thursday, June 05, 2008

The Glory of moving

I remember last time we had to move, 11 years ago, I was a teenager and moving was a good thing because it gave me the occasion to sort of my personal belongings and - let's face it - crap! lol

We did not move far away, we stayed in the same street actually and for a bigger apartment so it was quite an easy operation.
In about a month, I will be moving, after a decade spent in this apartment and more than 20 years in this town and neighborhood!

D. already has most of the furniture you can need, so I will only bring three or four pieces I want to keep. My mom will not bring anything to her partner's home and very few to the apartment she bought in her native town, in the center of France, she prefers to buy new furniture, it will cost her less money than rent a moving vehicle all the way there. So I began to put the furniture none of us will take on Ebay and another French Website.

If anyone is interested by a TV cupboard, a table and its four chairs, a bed (with slatted bed base and mattress) and its two bedside tables, a display cabinet, two 3 door-closets or a desk, let me know! Everything is in good condition!

Moving has its advantages and disadvantages.

The disvantage: there is so MUCH to do!

The advantage: you HAVE to sort, tidy, give away to associations and needy people and throw away! That's amazing and scary how much crap you can store in a decade! It's always "this could be useful one day..." or concerning clothes "I could wear it again later".

No, the answer is no. If after two years, you have not used the thing or worn the clothe, just give it away, you will never do it!

I do not recognize myself, giving away or throwing so many things. Good for me!
I also have lots of trinkets. I used to collect little bells you buy in the cities and country you go or that people bring you as a souvenir. I stopped collecting them as soon as the dedicated shelf was full, time to move on. I think I will keep the bigger and most pretty ones and store the others in a box. This is what I am going to go for my frogs collection and the other trinkets I have. The more little it is, the more annoying it is to clean a house and do the dusting!

I am also a lights fan! I have different sorts of lamps (color, shape, etc.), fairy lights and the one I love is my Playboy bunny neon light I got for a birthday.

I also want to buy this for my laptop. I am used to have my computer in the living room so I could not put in the office room like D., no I am not an Internet addict... mmhh rolleyes

My mom and I have always been books addict so I will also bring a huge collection of books and comics but fortunately D. also like books and had planned to buy a bookcase, nice... because I will really need one. wink

As I also do not want to rent a moving vehicle, I will begin to bring some furniture and little pieces each weekend - like CDs, DVDs, kitchen stuff, clothes... oh not wait, we need to buy a proper closet for me to be able to do that. mrgreen Even if I sorted my clothes, I still have quite many, I am a girl, so more than D. anyway, thus we need to figure out what type of closet we need to buy so that it is the more convenient possible for both of us.

June seems to be a very busy month to come.
I have to see my dad for Father's Day. I will go the week after because D. is taking me away for this surprise weekend and I will tell him about my new boyfriend AND me moving out with him...

There are medical and hairdresser appointments, birthday celebrations, friends who want to do dinner things to meet D., job hunting interviews and other appointments, preparing the moving out/in and then moving in about five weeks.

I actually had to print a calendar from Works software to write down all this because my agenda is just a mess now! eek

Let's meet in a month to see where I am at.