The beginning of the end of the tunnel

Oh-my-gosh!

After these past sh**ty months, I have been waiting for something to change! About work, about love, about money (that goes with work) among other issues.
Three months ago, I decided to buy me a moto finally and I am loving it, even if the Parisian weather has been quite ugly lately...

I took the tests for the dream job last week and I had planned to call my "guidance counselor" at the military recruitment office in Paris to see if he had already some news about the results but I got a call from him yesterday! I have a good profile, I had good grades on the English, Morse code and logical tests, I have a good evaluation concerning my 3-day stay at the Fort of Vincennes and from the recruitment Officer with who I had the two interviews. The only average grade is on the sport tests, the Luc Léger test (cardio) is not easy, then the obstacle race was not hard but it was difficult to link all the different steps. However, I am pround to have held 22s on the suspension test (the minimum asked is 10s). My motivation and maturity took over the average sport results so my application has been accepted to be an Officer in Communication and Public Relations. I could not believe it! I am so happy about thise great news!

The only thing now is that I have to wait for a post to be available. There is one in the Foreign Legion but my guidance counselor is not willing to send a woman there and if you know a little bit about this special body of the French Army, you will understand why . The second one is in Toulouse and really interested me but unfortunately the medical visit stated that I do not fit to be a paratrooper. There is a third post that is going to be available but there is no details about it so far.

On Tuesday, I had a call from a woman from the fitness club I go to. I sent an application to the Human Resources last month to be a hostess in one of the fitness clubs of the chain, it was accepted but I had had no news since then. I went to train this morning and I chat with the woman and I am going to be working there all July to replace people on vacation. This is nice because, although my registration ends this week, I will able to train for free from the next time I go until the end of July so far! This is not very far from home. The only disadvantage is that I will mostly be doing openings so work from 7am till 2:30pm with half an hour break at 11:30am, so get up around 5-5:30am. But, hey, it will help me get used to get up early when I will be working in the French Army! And I will have all my weekends free and afternoons after work.
On August, I am leaving for 10 days on vacation and then, whether I will be getting ready to leave for the 3-month military training I have got a post in a regiment or, I hope so, have other contracts from the fitness club chain.

My mom told me that now that I have had such good news, it can only keep on this way.
May the journey in this dark and long tunnel be over soon?... I hope so and count on it!

You only live ones!

Last year when I started this blog, I was a freshly new motorcycle driver!

It has been a year since I has been waiting to be able to afford the buying of a moto but also the insurance, the gas, the renting of a car park place, etc. as I did not have any fixed job or salary.

Right now, even if I have been working as a temp salesperson, which means that I do not have a important salary, I have helps to pay the rent of my apartment but also live so I decided to please myself and buy a motorcycle! As we say "one only lives ones!".

It may be hard to live comfortably for the next few months but I have been used to that already and do not spend money of silly things, do not go out or buy lost of extra besides paying the bills and go to the supermarket and eat well. So let's do it!

This past weekend, I made some calculus between what I earn in total and what I spend each month and what will cost the moto with all the spendings aside.
- I have enough money to buy a nice a secondhand moto (my maximum budget is 4000 euros).

- My mom will offer me the first year of insurance (approximatly 1000 euros, I have made online quotations and will now call two of them to have more details and chose of of the two).

- As I live downtown, I do not have any room to park a vehicule so I have looked online for a car park place to rent ( a private garage is too expensive!) and will finally take a subcription in one of the nearest public car park of where I live (it is 5 min away on foot, is closed at night and only people who registered and have an electronic key can have access to the car park and thus their vehicule, it costs 45 euros a month for a moto and is cheaper than what I found through private renting).

- Then I will just need to buy a second helmet for any person who would want to ride with me, a anti-theft device and be ready to wait half a day at the Préfecture with a good book - like last year - to have my first carte grise (car registration document).

I am so excited, happy and scared! It is a lot of money but I want to do this, I do not go on vacation anymore since I have not had a fixed job, so this spring/summer, my vacation will be on my moto, riding the road of the neighborhood and the region. I am like a child who is about to have her first doll, her first makeup vanity, her first puppy or any FIRST great thing she has been expecting wisely for so long.

This Friday, is Friday 13 again, I will buy a loterie ticket, any more lucky money would be welcome! Please, please, moto fairy, come to me!

2009, année du neuf!

Hey blog people!

Long time no see!
Last summer, I needed to take a break from the blogsophere cause many (not nice) things happenned in my life and it was too much to handle my blog and my inspiration most of all...

More than once, I wanted to write again but the inspiration (and motivation?) was still not there, I also thought that my fellow friend bloggers would have forgotten me. I hope not cause I'm definitely back on the Web!

It's getting late and I'm getting up "early" (for a Saturday off work) so I won't stay long tonight.

Here are some news about the past 6 months:

JULY
- D. changd his mind about me moving in with him
- Thus, I had to find a place to live in 3 weeks! (because my parents' appartment had been sold already)
- D. suddenly broke up with me
- I worked as a temp secretary for 2 weeks while I was looking for an appartment and didn't like the job at all
-I visited 7 appartments in 2 weeks and finally found one nice (what a record!), not near where I lived for 26 years because I was still dating D. when I signed the papers, so now I live in the city next to where lives D. (how nice...)

AUGUST
- Moved my stuff into the new place with my dad and my former neighbors and lived at my mom and her partener's place for a month for practical reasons
- Got a permanent job in a fashion firm as an assistant buyer
- Worked at the new job for a week before my vacation
- "Had" to go in vacation to the south of France by myself because I still had the train tickets I had bought for me and D. for our vacation (actually lost money because I obviously didn't use all the train booked tickets), but finally had a great week an a half in Marseille and Nice, meeting some friends and family!
- I turned 26 and it was okay
- I indirectly learnt that D. found a new girlfriend and it is still not okay

SEPTEMBER
- Moved in my new appartment with Sisi
- Started the permanent contract job
- Got fired after the two "test" weeks of the contract for no decent reason with a rent to pay

OCTOBER
- Italian friends of mine spent a week at my place, it was very nice but it's really small to live as 3 people here
- Went to a work exhibition in Paris and I decided about my (hopefully) new work life

NOVEMBER
- Went to an information meeting about that (hopefully) future new job and it is definitely what I want to do!

DECEMBER
- My 21 years old niece and her boyfriend from Nice spent a long weekend at my place and it is definitely too small to live as 3 people here! lol
- I had my hair cut... a lot! Like I never did since I was a kid, was scared to do it in one time but I just love it now and so do my friends and relatives! New hair cut for new year!
- After 3 months back on job seeking without any response, randomly encountered a wanted ad for a job on Dec. 31, asked about it and did good because now I have a partial contract job as a salesperson in a Kookaï shop, in my new town, 5 min from home by food, the environment, the job and the co-workers are nice and I have time to prepare my (hopefully) new job test selections.

JANUARY
-Spent a long weekend in the south-west of France at my grand-parents' I had not seen for 2 years (medical problems from my grandpa), didn't do much, was kind of bored but watched plenty of movies in the train and at their house and spent a nice time with them! Family counts!
- Began new job a week ago, not much money but have time for HNJ (hopefully new job) preparation and the job is nice.
- Has been living in new suburb "far" from home, new city, new appartment and I like it here!
- Is back on the blogosphere and it feels nice.

Don't need a shrink, I write a blog!

- Over -

July has almost passed and things have changed.

Have not been on the blogosphere at all since my last post, lots of worries and things to take care.

Not feeling like writing right now.

Will be back soon with news and explain what happenned for the past weeks.

Still need time away for now, but will try to read you to cheer me up a little.


See you soon.

Shit happens... C'est la vie

Last Tuesday, I finally took care of the forwarding of my mail to my new address. It is very simple, for 22€, La Poste will forward the mail and parcels that arrive to your former address to your new one, during 6 or 12 months, how practical!

We also took care, with my mom, of the renting of a commercial car for one day to be able to move my stuff to D.'s place. I gave my new address to many administration offices. Things were going well.

On Tuesday evening, when D. got back from his work day, we chatted on MSN when suddenly we wanted to "talk seriously". That never forecasts good things. And it did not.

To sum up, D. has been doubting about moving in together, he thinks it has gone too quickly and need time to think about it and suggested me to finally look for a place... 3 weeks before I was supposed to move in and before we have to let the apartment available for the new owners.

He prefers to stay as we are for the moment and later if it is still going well, we (he?) could reconsider living together.

I cannot tell you how shocked, angry, sad, disappointed and lost I got in a couple of minutes!

For the rest of the evening and the whole day after, I have been hating him for doing that to me NOW. I hate him for making me be a fool to my friends and relatives to whom I will have to tell what is going now. That is just not fair!

My feelings are still upside down but I have had time to think and try to organize myself differently.

I have spent all Wednesday back on apartment renting ads, called 30 people, 20 to 25 apartment are already rented after only 2 or 5 days on the Web. I also let messages on cellphones answering machines.

So far, I have had three answers and appointments to visit apartments. I had planned to spend the night at D.'s place on Thursday so it was practical to go and visit a studio in the same town.

What were the chances that the building is 5 minutes by foot away from the barracks and D.'s place!

It is nice, brand new (the building was finished a month ago), with a large bathroom but quite small (30m²), in a neighborhood I stated to know, with only a little "kitchen" space and on the ground floor, the only window looking out on the street.

Tomorrow, I will go and visit a one bedroom apartment in another two of the close suburb, in the south of Paris. So it is further away from D., my mom and all my friends but close to my dad's. It is on the 4th floor without elevator (sport is good for me!), it's a 43m² (wow!) with an independent kitchen (nice!). Now, I just need to see it in real, see if I like it, like the neighborhood I do not know. See if I prefer to have a smaller place near D. in a town I already know a little or far away in a bigger place...

I will also visit another one on Monday. I also have a job appointment for a temp job (four months) in the "far away" suburb on Tuesday. That would mean 2h-2h30 of transportation everyday but the job seems nice, will see how it goes.

Now, I will have to - in French we say digérer (digest) this new trial and especially, the fact that it is being inflicted by the man I love.

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

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

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.

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. 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!

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

Life Updates

*My blog is two month old

*D. and I are almost one month old (only!...)

*Sisi is feeling better, she is back to normal, I would say that she is back to being a crazy little rabbit doing silly things - grrrrr - but an ear infection can come back anytime so, we will be watching her carefully

*I have been given advice about my CV that I changed quite much, let's hope it will be productive

*The idea of moving from here where I have been living for the past 25 years is still scary but I will have the whole month to get used to it

*I have been against moving in with a boyfriend for a long time but surprisingly, I am eager to be moving with D.!

*The good thing about moving is that you HAVE to tidy and sort out all your personal stuff!

*This week is the first one D. and I are apart for so long, we will see how it goes

*The good thing about not being home much is that I do not have sweet stuff and biscuits to eat between meals

*We are 2 weeks and a half away from the surprise weekend when D. will take me somewhere

*Yesterday, I put heavier weights for the second time at the Body Pump course, I am proud of me (and my muscles lol)

*D. should have his moto back from the garage in less than 2 weeks, I cannot wait for it! I miss riding a moto (or at least being a passenger) so much!

*Last Sunday, we had a very nice afternoon at the Musée Rodin, it was the only sunny day within these successive rainy and stormy days (pictures posted on Shoot a Life!)

A week-long absence

Sorry guys for this week-long absence but we are going through Internet problems so the only way to be able to go on the Web is to connect my computer on some random non protected wi-fi connection, when I find one.

Thus, I have not been able to update the blog and read your last posts. Last weekend and the one to come, I am at D.'s place but - no offense - I was kind of busy.

Last weekend was very good. I am being less and less at home.

This home where, lately, I only felt good and I would hardly leave for a movie, a drink, grocery shopping or sport.

I thought that seeing my new boyfriend on the weekend would be very enough.

But for the past three weeks, we have been seeing each other almost every two days and all weekends! How crazy! We spent from Thursday to Monday together and I did not even got bored!

Thursday afternoon, I worked on my job hunting at his home while we was reviewing for his soon-to-come exam, same on Friday morning while he was working. On Friday afternoon, we went to the movies and did some shopping (Birthdays, Fathers and Mothers Day). We had our first sleep in together and again, he prepared a nice brunch and went to Paris in the afternoon.
On Sunday, we went to my home and went to... Ikea! lol What else can you do on a rainy Sunday? D. wants me to get involved into this apartment's decoration, that is nice.

Monday went by very fast, he chilled at home and I drove him back home in the afternoon. And after all that, we still did not have enough of the each other!

Today, I came to his place to work. We first had lunch together as he was on a break.

Tonight, he proposed to take me out to dinner somewhere, sound nice!

This weekend, in Paris, it is supposed to be stormy and rainy (again!) whereas the week was quite sunny, not fair!

Big piece of news!
My parents may have found buyers for our apartment. Some people came to visit it last Tuesday and made an offer right after to the real estate agent. They are wealthy people and would pay cash! Thus, they asked for a rebate... and my parents are okay, so they will go and sign the sale promise tomorrow.

Another big piece of news, although nothing is 100% sure.

As soon as I notified D. about the sale, we talked about the fact that I would have to go back to the apartment hunting as our apartment will be available next August 1st. Few days later and after serious talks, it is pretty sure that I will move with D. next July. He is the one who made the proposition. I am barely home now, we spent all our weekends together, he has enough space for two people in his apartment, no rent, I like the neighborhood, it is not far from where I live, we get along very good, we like to cook, he is okay for Sisi (he has a rabbit at this parents'), we think we will be able to bear each other and anyway, we will still keep our habits (sport, seeing our friends, family, invite them over), he does not have Monday-Friday work schedule so we will not see each other every day and night, etc.

That is a very big thing because he have not been together for long but we feel good about it and, strangely, I do not feel scared by the idea of living with a guy! lol We will have more talks about it but, let us say that, in two months, I will be in a new town (first time since I was born) and a new home (2nd time), with a boyfriend (first time!).

To follow...