epiphany au gym

I had an epiphany last night as I was walking home from le class de cycling.  I have done spinning before in the states numerous times, however this was a very different experience.  Firstly, you had to call beforehand and sign up for a bike where they give you a number - the number of the bike you will be riding for the class.  The class was absolutely full!  This was the first shock, because all the classes I have done in New York are never full.  We are lucky if it is half full.  Everyone arrived a little beforehand to prepare their bikes and warm up, while the instructor got the music and her mic prepared.  Side note: The instructor was at least 5-6 month pregnant!!! and pushing it harder than most in the class!  Another thing I noticed before the class started was that there was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling.  I thought it was just for decoration, until the class begun and as the teacher turned the lights down low, the disco ball began turning and emiting reflections.  WOW!  I felt like I was in a club!  It was incredible, the music blaring, a light show - what more could you ask for - I am not being sarcastic - I really did enjoy it!  There was one other thing that made the experience even more motivating - throughout the 60 min class, there was many moments during intense cycling intervals that various men would yell "ALLEZ-UP" or "ALLLLLEEEEEZZZZZ!!!!".  In New York, it was only the instructor who was trying to motivate the students, not the opposite.  I really enjoyed this exchange.  The class was great.  I look forward to doing it again and also trying this one called Aqua Cycling - where you do spinning in water.  It is a little of a trek as they don't have it at the club I usually go to, but next weekend I'm in town I will for sure try it out!

This morning, I chose to take another route to the gym.  Rather than the usual route which takes me 15-20 minutes, I thought why not try another route, maybe it is faster, I thought.  Was I wrong.  Being used to the grid-system of New York, Paris is COMPLETELY different.  I discovered this blog last week when I was bored at work of this woman named Maggie Kim who is a singer and writer and she was from New York but now lives in Paris - she moved here for the man she fell in love with.  Anyways, she writes about all these things that she notices living here and about her life.  One of her entries was about the difference between how New York and Paris are in terms of how they are set up: 

Paris, with its arrondissements, is built like a snail’s shell—or that’s what I read somewhere once.  The center of the shell is the 1st (where I live) and then circles around from there until you get to the 20th. Yeah, it makes no sense for people who come from gridded cities, like New York and even Philly.  So I have this theory that this town has a million wormholes that you step through, just by making a left turn instead of a right, or vice versa. There are routes I know to certain places like the back of my hand. Now, logic would make it seem that if you take the street that’s parallel to the one you’re on, you’ll still wind up at your destination at approximately the same time.  

Not so, mon ami!

This was exactly how I felt this morning.  My normal route consists of walking down Rue Nôtre-Dame-de-Lorette which become Rue du Faubourgh Montmartre, then turning left on Rue Bergère, followed by turning right on Rue du Faubourgh Poissonière.  It feels like I'm walking down, going straight and then walking back up - feels totally backwards, like I'm walking in circles.  Today, my route made more sense to my grid-like mentality, but ended up taking me 20-25 minutes.  France is so twisted...literally!

Happy Canada Day!  I will be sporting the red and white in spirit of beautiful country.  O Canada!!!

The weatherman is always wrong.

I have learned from experience, that the weatherman is only correct 50% of the time, and thank g-d for that.  As I had said at the end of last week, the weather was not looking good for this weekend.  I had consulted over 10 different weather websites and 9/10 said that saturday AND sunday would be thunderstorms.  There was one however, that didn't follow the pattern, predicting that it would be a beautiful weekend.  I chose to follow that prediction, going with the path Robert Frost describes in his poem "The Road Less Travelled" - trying to not be persuaded by the masses.  It was the right move, because it was such a beautiful weekend!

I came home Friday after work to the most beautiful new washing machine I have ever seen.  I sound crazy being so excited about a washing machine, but when I tell you about the first wash I did you will understand.  This machine is just brilliant.  It doesn't just wash.  It also dries.  Even better it washes and dries all in one!!!  I put my clothes in, set it on mixed wash, pressed secheuse and 3hrs later I had clean and dry clothes!  So un-France!

Saturday was SOLIDAYS.  My friend had arrived from London Friday night and we were super excited for the festival.  Friday night we just chilled, cause we knew saturday was going to be nuts.  It was my first time at a music festival of the sort.  I was most excited to see Girl Talk.  We met up with Lindsay and her friends Olivia, Arielle and Vivianna at the arrival in Bois de Boulogne.  It was set up like an amusement park.  There was a bungee jump, canteens and the concerts looked like circus tents.  We got there around 4 as we were only aware of who was going to be playing which day, not the specific times.  When we arrived, we found out Girl Talk was only playing at 3AM.  We were hoping we would be able to stay awake till then, but weren't promising anything, unfortunately.  We were able to catch Keziah Jones at 8pm and the Tings Tings at 11pm.  Keziah was really good - a mix between Rock and Reggae.  I wasn't too excited to see the Ting Tings because I can't stand their song "That's not my name", but I found myself pleasantly surprised with the other songs they played.  The main girl was dressed in this awesome purple sequined top with iridescent leggings.  The best was her microphone being lime green.  We got there early, and were able to get pretty close to the stage.  At around midnight, George and I we were totally knackered and decided to leave.  By this time, we were very close to the stage and there were A LOT of people behind us.  Weaving through these crowds of people unaware of where the exit was was a terrifying experience.  I am not claustrophobic, however at this point I felt suffocated and I was also very scared of loosing George in the crowd.  The odds are not really on your side when trying to find someone amongst 50,000 people.  Très soulagé, we found ourself FREE of the crowd and worked our way to the exit.  There was no way we could have stayed for Girl Talk!

Yesterday, we had a picnic under Sacre Coeur at Montmartre in the afternoon.  Gigi joined us as well as Paula and Delphine.  It was really relaxed, perfect for post festival.  

This week is quite festive.  Tonight is relaxed, but then the teuf (party) begins.  We are having a party at Upside Down to celebrate all the birthdays and summer being here.  It starts at exactly 17h31 and the theme is Paris Plage - so the dress code is bathing suits and shorts.  Wednesday is Canada Day and Lindsay is organizing a picnic at the Champs de Mars under the Tour Eiffel for the evening.  Thursday I have dinner with Paula and a friend of hers who works at Première Heure - an audio visual production company and finally Friday is Gigi's birthday so I was thinking we would go back to Chalet-des-Isle as they are having another one of those parties again.  Saturday very early in the morning, Lindsay and I are off to AMSTERDAM!!!

Big week. 

TGIF...for real.

I know I've used this title before, but today I really mean it.  Thank g-d it's FRIDAY!  It has been quite a long week and it is finally the weekend and it looks like it will be a good one.  Hopefully the one weather website out of ten I found saying the weather will be nice this weekend proves the others wrong who say it will rain everyday.  Who knows, my birthday weekend the weather was supposed to be bad and it turned out beautifully.  My main concern is rain on Saturday, for the Solidays festival.  I have also loosely planned a picnic at Sacre Coeur for Sunday, so hopefully it will stay clear as well.  I am trying to make this picnic as large as possible - so anyone I know in Paris is invited...you know who you are, just bring wine and food and we will meet on the grass under Sacre Coeur in Montmartre.  

I AM GETTING MY NEW WASHING MACHINE/DRYER TODAY!!! I think I am a little too excited, but who cares.  It looks absolutely awesome and I have been waiting all week to do a wash and have it dried.  Just so you can be jealous - this new washing machine has a washing cycle of 15 MINUTES.  This is unheard of in France.  I will be doing very small loads - I do not want to break this machine!

I found out this week that one of the graphistes at work, Flo, will also be going to Sensation as well with a group of about 20 friends.  At the beginning we didn't really talk.  Then we were stuck in the graphiste office just the two of us for a good hour working and he started conversation.  Since then, we have developed this little friendship.  He is very very sympa, a little shy, but same with me.  He has been going to Sensation every year since 2005 and told me it is incredible.  I wasn't quite sure what it was all about and was just tagging along cause Lindsay really wanted to go and why not go to Amsterdam for a night for a Techno Festival when it is so close.  Flo said that more than going for the music, it is the decoration that is incredible.  Here is a photo from last year.  There is always a theme and this year it is the 10th anniversary and it is Winter Wonderland.  The only rule is that you must be dressed head to toe in white.  Lindsay is so cute - every time we talk she has thought up a new outfit.  I wish I had time to go shopping and find an awesome outfit to wear.  I will do it last minute.

It is the SOLDES right now.  This is like boxing day in the States, but it lasts for about a month starting June 24th.  People take work off to go to the sales - its crazy!  But stuff are really on sale, so I guess it's worth it.  I will wait till it calms down and then head out next weekend before Amsterdam.  

Fingers crossed for the weather.

RIP Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett

Things are breaking...but most importantly getting fixed.

Yesterday, I got a beautiful email from Paula with some great news.  Odile has decided to replace the washing machine and I will be getting a new one on Friday!  It is a washer/dryer which is ever more exciting.  It is really funny how the little things make me really happy.

Last night after work, I met up with Lindsay and her friend Arielle who is visiting from Montreal, along with Olivia on Ile St.-Louis for a picnic dinner.  I really am going to miss picnics when I return to NYC.  It is such an important part of Parisian culture.  Lindsay and Arielle made a beautiful salad with salmon, avocado, carrots that was very yummy, along with a lentil salad that had this amazing truffle oil mustard.  I must buy some.  I brought some wine, bread, cheese, tomatoes and carrot salad.  Next time I will bring better food.  That was my first time on Ile St.-Louis and I will for sure be back.  It is right next to Notre Dame and the Seine in the 5th.  

Another thing happened last night which made me realize how small Paris really is.  We were packing up the picnic and heading home and I heard the group that was sitting next to us speaking English and I recognized the guys voice.  I looked over and it was Sean, Dave's friend that he stayed with while he was here, that I met a few weeks ago.  So weird how things happen.  He is an avid volleyball player and I have been looking for a place to play here.  He is part of a club that plays a couple nights a week, but the season is almost over, but beach volleyball is starting soon.  He will let me know next time he goes and I will join him.  

This weekend is SOLIDAYS - a music festival in Paris - www.solidays.org.  I am very excited because Girl Talk is performing and I have never seen him live and I heard it is a lot of fun.  There are many other artists such as Friendly Fires and Yusek.  I am going with Lindsay and a couple of her friends as well as George - he is coming back into town this weekend for it.  I am very excited.

Coming out of the garde-robe.

I am not used to weekends going by so quickly.  It is already Sunday and tomorrow is Monday...back to work.  I have been very lucky the past few semesters to plan my school schedule so that I have no school on Fridays, making my weekend seem longer because it starts Thursday night.  Then again, the faster it goes, the more fun you have had...and this weekend was a lot of fun and VERY eventful.

Friday night I went for dinner with Stella to this really delicious Pizza restaurant called Paparazzi.  They are known for their paper thin crust.  We had a very nice time together catching up.  Unfortunately she is leaving for Hong Kong for the summer this coming Friday to spend time with her family, so that was probably the last time I would see her as she is very busy getting ready this week.  It has been very great developing a friendship with Stella.  She was always a good friend of my mothers, but we were not close when I was a child as I never got to really get to know her since she moved to Paris a long time ago.  Developing this friendship with her has been very interesting for me.  It is the first time that I have had a friendship with someone who is quite a bit older than me and feel comfortable talking about anything and everything with.  Usually when I meet people older than me, I am intimidated by them and judgements that they will make.  With Stella, I am not.  It is also nice, that it is not because of my mother that we have become friends.  It is more that we both have made the effort to get to know each other and have found that we really enjoy each others company.   I am sad that she is going to Hong Kong so soon, but I'm sure I will find myself back in Paris and our friendship will continue to grow.  

After dinner, I met up with Paula to go to her friends party.  We met a group of her friends in Saint-Germain at this really cool restaurant/bar called Alkazar where they had live ambiance music to have a drink.  When all her friends had arrived we made our way to the club Lup where the party was.  It was ]  party her assistant Kelly's partner had invited us too.  I had no idea what to expect.  When we arrived, I immediately found myself surrounded by an abundance of girls.  It didn't click until we got to the bar, that this was a Lesbian club or party.  This was the first one I have ever been too.  The music was great, but we only stayed for a little while, cause it was clear that we didn't really fit in.  Paula chose to stay, however Delphine and I moved on to another party two of her guy friends had invited her to.  It was at Chalet-des-Isle.  This party only happens every two weeks or so in the summer and it is in Bois-de-Boulogne (the Central Park of Paris).  It is so different because you have to take a little boat over a small river in order to get to the party.  Think a Chalet, like that Beaver Lake, add over 2000 people, great dance music and open bar and that was what this party.  I definitely want to go back.  It is considered "l'un des endroits les plus branchés de la capitale"!!!

The funniest thing happened when we were trying to find a taxi on our way home.  It was around 4am and we had taken the boat back across the river.  G7, the taxi company, had a line set up.  We were about 5th in line.  A girl behind us asked Delphine if she knew if it usually takes long time for a taxi to come.  Delphine didn't know, and as she replied I looked slightly to the back, curious who was asking and immediately heard someone call my name.  I turn around fully, only to see that Marguerite, Lindsay's friend, is right behind us.  What is the chance...to run into someone in Paris at such a huge party like this.  I couldn't wait to tell Lindsay!

I didn't get much sleep that night as I was meeting Sophie and her family in the morning to go to the Marché au Puces.  Her mother is a serious collector of antiques and various tzatch that she is a regular every Saturday morning at this market.  It was set up like a garage sale where each vender comes and sets up their own little stand.  I find numerous little treasures such as an awesome vintage leather sheepskin bomber pilot jacket, a purse, a wallet, a bracelet and a couple other things.  The most important thing to do is to bargain, and my Dad taught me well.

 After the market I went to Marché Barbès and Gigi met me there.  It was so much fun going with her as she speaks the language of the venders and was 'drague'ing' (flirting) them in arabic in order to negotiate better prices.  To help with the fake 'flirting', I was her niece and we were both already married.  The weather was awful - it was raining buckets.  We stayed there until the market closed.  This is the best time to buy as all the venders want to get rid of their produce so that they don't have to bring it back with them.  We bought a huge bag of potatoes and onions for 1 Euro.  

We returned to my place with our purchases and Sophie joined us with some meat and we cooked dinner together.  We had such a nice night just chilling and talking.

The following morning was the House/Techno Dance class I mentioned I was going to do.  I said I was nervous because I am not inclined at all in Dance and I did end up making a fool of myself.  Lindsay joined me with two of her friends.  We couldn't stop laughing the entire time.  It was so hard and I couldn't even get half the steps.  There were two 60 year old women there who were doing better than me.   But hey, looking back, it was a lot of fun.  This was the video from So You Think You Can Dance Canada that intrigued me to try this style of dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qeg0iRHq5A.  It is way harder than it looks.  

I took the rest of the day to relax, do my laundry at a laverie (the machine is fully broken and am waiting for it to be replaced) and clean the apartment.  

Last night was the Fête de la Musique in Paris.  This night happens once a year and it symbolizes the first real day of summer.  How it works is singers/dancers famous and infamous perform on the street for free.  There is music and dancing on every corner.  From my apartment I could hear drumming at Pigalle.  There was a group who were doing numbers like from the movie Drumline.  It was so cool.  Gigi joined up with me and we made our way to le Marais to check out what was happening there.  We hadn't eaten and felt like Falafel - so we went to the best place on Rue des Rosiers - L'as de Falafel.  There was a line halfway down the street - but it was well worth it.  They had techno music blaring and people were dancing like they were at a night club.  It was amazing!  It was like they didn't have work the next day.  

I had a really eventful weekend.  It was the first time that I have had tons of things planed which was really nice.  I do look forward to coming home after work tonight and relaxing, as I didn't get much sleep.  But hey, who needs sleep when your having fun!

Planting seeds.

Last night was a lot of fun.  Usually I take the metro everywhere but I had quite a bit of time before I had to meet Paula and her friends, so I decided to walk from the 10th arrondissement to the 2nd.  It was a really nice walk.  It was supposed to rain yesterday but by the afternoon it had cleared up.  Its really nice to see how the quartiers change from one to another.  

I arrived a little too early and funnily bumped into Stella on the same street as the restaurant I was meeting them at.  She was outside of her favorite place to 'prend un verre' called 'Joe Allen' and invited me in for a drink.  I had a quick catch-up with her and then continued down the street to meet Paula and her friends.  I'm having dinner with Stella tonight at this thin crust pizza place that she has raved about, so more catching up tonight.

Paula had three other of her friends join us - Delphine, Anne-Sophie and Renaud.  They are all Parisians and very nice.  Before I found the apartment through Paula, I was supposed to rent her own apartment.  She had planned to move into another apartment that she was going to share with Delphine, fun little tidbit.

My favorite food here which I ordered last night is escargot.  They are just so amazing - the combination of garlic and parsley is 'halucinant' !  I had them the night of my birthday and again last night and this will not be the last time.  

Paula was telling me that she knows a lot of people in the domain of production and arts that she wants to introduce me to - so that I will know some people in the area that I potentially want to go into.  She also invited me to this private party at a club tonight that her friend is taking her too.  I'm very excited because its the first time I will be going out 'out' in Paris.  

Tomorrow I'm going to Marché au Puce with Sophie and her family and then back to Marché Barbès - I cannot wait! Then Gigi will join us in the afternoon and 'on va faire la fête' le soir.  Its the first weekend I have tons of things to do!  It took a month for it to become this way...I'm vachement happy that the seeds have been planted and have begun to grow.

Just to add a side note...the time difference here is quite great.  Getting to talk to my best friend Kiki at 6:30 in the morning before I head off to the gym makes my day.  Thank g-d also for 'rigoler-ing' time at work...what would I do without Gchat and Facebook.

Bosser avec la MUSIQUE...c'est GÉNIAL!

More schema's today.  As I told Thierry today, I live to make them.  Thank g-d for this awesome software I was introduced to at ECS called Inspiration, it has made my life so much easier.  To use photoshop or word to make a chart/schema of a website is hell.  This program is made specifically for the purpose of brainstorming with links and bubbles - exactly what I need.

The great thing that has happened today is that Cyril, against his usually intimidating nature, decided to bring something new to the office to try and soften up the mood and make it more friendly here.  He decided that there will be music playing all day every day and each day is assigned to someone different and they can play what they want.  My day is Thursdays and because its today, I got to start this whole thing!  

Two days when Paula came over to check over my washing machine we had a nice chat about Paris and Parisians and she said that next time she goes out with her french friends she will invite me.  This morning she emailed me to invite me to join her at Etienne Marcel with 4-5 of her friends for dinner and drinks.  Im really excited.  This should be fun.

formation....booo!

I took Monday off...which has already made this week go by much much faster.  My parents sent me this beautiful bouquet to the office for my birthday.  Its so large that unfortunately I can't walk it home.  

Its hump day already...in other words, we have made it over the hump - middle of the week - and Thursday and Friday are the only days left.  This week has been quite unfortunate since Gigi is "en formation" or "in training" to become a better 'commercial'.  This means that we haven't been able to "rigole" - which means "play around/laugh" together much in the office.  I have been catching her for 15 minute intervals when she has a coffee break from the formation.  

This week is pretty lax at the office.  There doesn't seem to be any big rushes on projects which is nice compared to last week which was nuts.  Yesterday I spent the day doing "annulation de fax" - calling all the companies that send us fax SPAM and telling them that we would like to be taken off their lists.  What an enriching task.  But hey, after my crazy weekend, it was nice to do something that wasn't too intellectually straining.  

So it looks like I broke my washing machine.  Paula came over last night to help me test it and we discovered that probably when my mini flood occurred, it broke the washing machine.  She will talk to the owner and will work on getting another one.  Already did one hand wash this weekend, guess this is how it will go for a little while.

an amazing weekend

Friday was the most stressful day at work.  The morning was very calm, however after returning from lunch there was a wave of stress that swept in.  Cyril was on his second day of formation (training) to become a manager at Upside Down and this left all the decisions and pressure on Emilie.  There were so many projects that needed to be finished and sent to clients that she was uber stressed.  The main project which we had been working all week on was the rock compilation album - Rock Line.  This was the one the project I wrote about earlier where I was given the opportunity to take close up pictures of a guitar.  We had five other freelance graphic designers working on possible options.  I was competing against professionals.  Wednesday we received everyones creations and returned to them with corrections after having a little réu with Nathalie.  I was told that my photos were good but the text needs to take a more primary role and really fit into the image.  Not having much experience in graphic design, this was a challenge.  I was supposed to be able to work with Thierry - the head in-house graphic designer - so that he could help me with text placement, however he was so busy with all the other projects that had been left to the last moment, I was again left on my own.  This was what made those last few hours on Friday mad stressful.  Ultimately, I finished two designs that Emilie and Thierry approved, created a pdf with all the chosen designs from the freelancers and mine, and we emailed it to the client.  I am curious to see which path he chooses.

One I left work, all the stress that had built up was immediately released.  I was super excited because my friend George from London, was coming into Paris to spend the weekend with me.  We met in New York at the SOFA show in April and really hit it off.  I was so excited to have someone to chill with and not be alone, especially on Sunday which was my 21st birthday.  I've officially been here a month today and as much as it has been amazing so far, it has also been really hard.  I have made some friends, but it has been a very difficult endeavor.  It is hard to find yourself alone most of the time, especially on weekends, but I realized last night that that is soon going to change.  For my birthday I invited the few friends that I have made here over for drinks and munchies.  It is always very risky to bring people together who don't know each other, because you run the chance of personalities colliding.  I invited my friend Lindsay who I went to high school with back in Montreal.  She was two years older than me, but when she found out I was in Paris she reached out to me.  I'm very glad, because I think she's such an awesome person.  Lindsay brought her friend Marguerite who I met Thursday night when I went with Lindsay for drinks at La Perle in le Marais.  Marguerite is Parisian and very sweet.  I also invited Gigi - who I absolutely love.  Although, she is originally Moroccan, I feel that she has given me a taste of the true "french friend" I talked about before.  We have been spending more and more time together at work and outside and I feel like we have been friends for years.  Sophie came as well.  Sophie and I went to elementary school together, and she lives down the street from my old house on Metcalfe.  We were really close in elementary school and then drew apart during high school.  My cousin is her best friend, so during the past few years I have seen her quite a bit.  She is such an awesome person and I can really relate to her on a lot of levels.  She is leaving beginning of July and I can't wait to spend more time with her.  Lastly, Stella.  Stella is a jewelry friend of my mothers who I knew of as a little kid.  She moved to Paris many years ago and we haven't seen her since this trip when my mother visited.  We had the most amazing lunch and time catching up then, when my mom left, she invited me out to dinner to this most amazing japanese restaurant in le Marais.  We had such a great time and couldn't stop laughing.  It was so nice to have her at my house for drinks yesterday.  Its nice to develop a friendship with someone who you get reintroduced to like Stella.  

We had a really wonderful chill night, chatting, drinking, eating.  It was so relaxed and so natural.  Everyone meshed so well together.  What was most amazing is that the language barrier didn't create a problem at all.  Gigi speaks very little English and George very little French.  It was so cool how we kept changing languages and translating one for the other.  Usually it gets annoying to have to do that, but it was the furthest from it.  

What also made my birthday was that there were supposed to be thundershowers all day sunday, however the weather man was so wrong.  It was such a beautiful night - warm and sunny all day as well.  Today it's raining, and I don't mind.  After such a nice weekend, its the perfect way to end it.  I took off work today and George is leaving early tomorrow morning.  Looks like a movie day.

Week #3....CHECK!

It's Friday! This week went to fast I can't believe it.  I think the older you get, the faster the weeks go.  This means that come sunday, the weeks will start going even faster.  As of next Monday, I will have been here for a month, and if feels like yesterday I arrived.  

It has been a very chaotic week.  Emilie had a last minute sickness and wasn't able to come in on Wednesday.  She has forgotten to let the team know about something that needed to be done and this made us all very stressed as the deadline was that very day.  In addition, Cyril has been in formation from yesterday till today and this keeps him unavailable, so Emilie is very stressed having to juggle everything herself.  Both JP and I were trying to help with anything and everything to lower her stress level.  Hopefully the week will end on a less stressful note.  We will see after today.

As for the problems in my apartment, I finally managed to relieve my wet clothes from my washing machine.  I was so worried they were going to grow mold.  Unfortunately, from what Paula believes, I have broken the machine.  It is the reason the fuse went out in the apartment - something went wrong after my little flood in the wiring.  I am waiting on the electrician to fix the problem.  Waiting is the key word.  Here, a broken washing machine is not a priority.  Hopefully he will come next week.  If not I will have to go to a laverie.

The weather finally got nice here yesterday, and its looking up for today and tomorrow.  Unfortunately, Sunday and Monday is back to rain.  Sadly, it will be raining on my birthday.  I'm thinking of having a few people over or going to a bar close to me for some drinks that night - with the few people I know here.  It won't be like my normal birthdays in Montreal, but a nice change.  

My friend is coming in from England tonight to spend the weekend.  I'm quite excited to have someone to explore Paris with.    

it can only get better...

got my spare keys at lunch time...came home to electricity, but the washing machine is still broken.  Hopefully Paula has arranged for the electrician to come tomorrow.  She believes it is a result of my flood accident that the fuse in the apartment blew.  My laundry is locked in the machine as a result.  I really hope this gets fixed soon, before my clothes become all moldy.  

I must have a positive attitude.  After these consecutive misfortunes, it can only get better from here.  Come Thursday, the weather will change to hot and sunny and be that way throughout the weekend.  I can't wait!

It ended bad...started worse...

I thought the little flood of the washing machine was the end of my worries with the apartment for now, yet it was just the beginning.  I blame the following events on this horrible weather.  As I said, it does something to me.  

This morning I tried to do another wash and blew the fuse.  I went into the electrical box to raise the leaver in the hopes of turning it back on and it worked for the first two minutes and blew again.  I tried once more and it still didn't work.  It was 6am, I couldn't make my coffee and it was too early to call Paula, the manager of the apartment to tell her about the problem.   The cherry on the cake, was that as I left my apartment I managed to leave my keys inside and lock myself out.  Now, on top of having no electricity, I can't get back in.  

I called Paula, feeling like a complete idiot, and she said that she doesn't know if she can get an electrician to come today but will come and take a look today.  I gave an extra pair of keys to a friend of Nathalie's after my fainting incident, so I will pick them up from her mid-day.  

Hopefully this will be the end to my streak of incidents and when I return tonight I will have electricity in my apartment.

Theme of the day: WATER

Long Monday.  Wet Monday.  The weather this week is not going to be good and my Boggs are happily staying dry in my apartment in New York.  Luckily, come Friday the rain will stop and it will be a beautiful weekend.  Lets just hope the weather man is predicting right.  

Not only did I get drenched walking home, but I also almost flooded my apartment.  These little washing machines are quite finicky and I discovered what happens when you fill it up just a little too much.  Water started poring from the machine onto my kitchen floor.  I thought it was the rain outside, but no it wasn't.  I turned the machine off and was able to fix the problem.  What a scare!  There was already so much water outside, I didn't need some inside as well.

The rain makes me cold and unhappy.  I want it to stop.

J'ai pensé que c'était aujourd'hui!

Malheureusement, as I got off at the Barbès Rochechouart station at 11am, I quickly discovered that I had mixed up my days and the market was on Saturday and not on Sunday.  I had waiting all week for the market after getting such great food last week, that I was very disappointed!  I returned home, motivated to find another one.  I found that there was another one close to Metro Simplon - Ordener Market, still in the 18th but just a little further.  Once I arrived, I discovered it to be very different from the Barbès Market.  Most importantly, the prices were higher.  Rather than 1 Euro for a kilo of strawberries, the cheapest I could find was 2 Euro for a kilo.  Everything else was much more expensive and the location was different.  The Barbès Market is located under the overpass of the Metro while this one was on either side of a boulevard.  All in all, I prefer Barbès and will make sure to go next Saturday.  The one good thing I found here was baby romaine hearts :)

Here are some photos from the Ordener Market:

Today, I spent the day with Gigi.  We had such a nice time.  She came over at 10am for coffee and then she had to go and meet with a friend at 11 - so we parted ways at Pigalle and met back up at my apartment mid afternoon.  She was originally supposed to come with me to the Market, but I'm glad she didn't because I would have felt really bad that I messed up the date.  We will go next weekend together and we will cook a Moroccan meal together with the food we buy.  I can't wait.  The weather was beautiful and we went out to grab "des sandwich" at the boulangerie down the street and walked up to Montmartre to sit in the park.  It started to rain and we rushed back home.  It was cold and damp and we decided to watch a movie.  After spending a good half an hour trying to find movies online streamed that are dubbed in French so that she could understand - we found Coyote Ugly or "Coyote Girls".  I usually cannot stand watching dubbed movies because I get frustrated that their mouths are not moving the same way as the voice, but I really didn't mind it this time.  It was probably because I have seen the movie so many times.  She had seen the trailer for the movie a while back, but never saw it.  She really enjoyed it.  

Gigi told me about this Moroccan comedian from here that is very big and we watched some youtube videos of his skits.  This one is hilarious.  He is making fun of French Canadians from Quebec --> 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xgwd5kLiDY

Its one week till my birthday!

Monday, and then it was Friday...what happened to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday?

As I sit here chilling after my second full week at work, I look back at how much better it was than last week.  There are two main things that I think has brought about this change:

1) I am really getting to know everyone in the office very well and developing not only working relationships but also friendships.  They each have their own unique qualities and personalities where the amazing interaction between the team makes the days go by much faster.  

2) I have been leaving the office for lunch.  With an hour and a half lunch break, most of my colleagues get something like Picard or Thai takeout and bring it back to the office and eat in our little kitchen.  I was doing that the first week and found that I wasn't really taking advantage of my break.  Gigi is never there for lunch and she invited me this week to join her at the park where she goes everyday - Parc Montholon a 5 minute walk from the office.  The weather week was so beautiful in comparison to the damp weather of the week before that it was so nice to get out of the office and enjoy the sun and chat with someone in French about non work related stuff.

I was told by a friend who went to school here for a while and has a lot of French friends that there is a big difference between the notion of being "friends" with the French versus the Americans.  He used the analogy of a coconut versus a peach and I feel it holds true - at least for what I have experienced so far.  He claimed that French people are like coconuts because like the fruit, it is very hard to break the surface, but one you are in you are stuck for life.  In contrast, with Americans, it is very easy to break into a peach but once you reach the pit you can pull yourself out quite quickly.  There is this notion in the US that you must be friendly to everyone and have lots of friends and this ultimately results in you having a lot of surface friends.  I am lucky enough to have found some really amazing people in NYC that I consider true friends...you know who you are, but I can see the other side as well.  I was taken aback at first with how cold the people here seem, as opposed to what I am used to in New York, but now I see it is just a different approach - something more true and honest.

I feel that during my first week, I was trying desperately to hammer my way into the coconut and this week, I have really managed to break through.  Everyone has welcomed me in with open arms, and there are a few which I feel even after I am done with this stage I will continue being friends with.  

Today, it is raining, and as much as I would like to be motivated to go out and explore, I am feeling like calling it a pajama day.  I forced myself to sleep in till 11am, as I truly need to catch up on my sleep - 6hrs a night with 13hr days is just not cutting it.  I have been feeling like I sleep 1hr nights.  

Tomorrow, it is the Barbès Market.  I invited Gigi to join me and am very excited to go with her.  She is from Morocco and works as one of the Commericals at the office and has this very negotiating nature.  I am sure this will be an experience and for sure a blast going with someone else.

Mon ami

Translating word by word from French to English can get you into a lot of "trouble" here in France.  Yesterday, I joined Gigi and Thomas for lunch and we went to the Parc Montholon just a few streets from the office.  It was such a beautiful day, and it was time to enjoy it - I am stuck in the office enough working from 10-7pm - it's important to get out and take advantage of the long lunch break I am given.  

Since Nathalie showed Thomas my photos back when we had first met, he has really liked my work.  He is part of a band that plays rock metal music and approached me yesterday to ask if I wanted to take pictures of his band.  I said I would love to and am available pretty much every weekend except the first one in July as I am going with "mon ami" to Amsterdam for a techno/electronic festival called Sensation.  He quickly replied - oh you have an "ami" here - very shocked.  "Mon ami" is more than simply "my friend", rather as a boyfriend.  That started all three of us on the topic of how to simply express friend in French, which got us into the top of the many differences between guys and girls from the US.  There are too many different ways to say "friend" in French - but it depends on the context in which you are using it to express its meaning.  If you say "un ami" rather than "mon ami" - the pronoun implies the different - however, "un petit ami" and "mon ami" are the same thing.  

There is also a big difference concerning the notion of dating here.  Thomas, having gone to school in the states for a few years, tried to explain to Gigi and I the difference, using the example of how he met his present girlfriend versus girls he met in the US during that time.  Here, if you meet or go out with a guy and you kiss at the end you WILL almost all the time make plans to see the person again and then probably after a couple more times he is "mon ami".  However, in the states girls/guys will date multiple guys at the same time.  For this reason, the French have a stereotype of Americans as "whores".  

It was very interesting to hear from them how it functions here, because to be honest, it is how it should function in the states.  The French are more into the traditional ways, and that is how it should be.  Still after the conversation, I am unclear on how to say "my friend" - I am sure I will figure it out in the next few days.  

Today, I am working on that CD cover of the guitar I mentioned a couple days ago.  I'm excited because I get to do something creative, that might win the competition between the other freelances offered to work on the same cover.  Lugging my camera and laptop to work will not be too much fun, but on the plus side, no schemas and archive searching today!!!

the sex shop "strip mall" versus the sex "strip"

I thought I lived in the Red Light District.  Turns out I live in the fake touristic version, and damn am I glad.  Tonight I was invited to friends of my boss from NYC's house in the 2eme on Rue Saint-Denis.  He is a movie director for commercials and his wife is a freelance graphic designer.  They have two girls - one 3 and the other 2 months old.  They were both very nice and I had a good chill time.  He was kind enough to show me some cool websites that list fun things to do in Paris and tell me about good concert venues.  I look forward to checking them out in more depth.  To return to my initial claim, as I walked there, I was confused of the address he had told me earlier on the phone - 21810 Rue Saint-Denis was what I had heard - when really it was 218bis.  I ended up wandering the street trying to find the address that I had written down and saw various women on different corners dressed pretty provocatively.  They seemed to be just standing there, waiting.  It was still light out at 9:15 and it hadn't clicked who these "waiting women" were at that moment.   When I told him that I lived between Pigalle and Blanche, he asked "tu as vu les femmes sur la rue dehors?" [did you see the women outside?] - they were undoubtedly prostitutes.  On my walk back to the Metro, I saw a woman in full gear.  She was wearing the red patent leather over the knee boots with plastic heel that I pass every day in my neighboring sex shop that specializes in footwear.  I imagine she shops on my street but "works" on theirs.  I prefer being on the "sex shop strip mall" !

On another note, I am really starting to like my stage more and more.  I think I am liking the people I am working with more than the job itself.  In turn it's making the job more fun and the long days go by faster.

New vocabulary I learned today:

Machin - whatsit, thingy, etc.

Vachement - really, very

Carrément - straight out, bluntly 

Génial - I knew this word already, but I must begin replacing incroyable with génial

Axe - an option -- taking one path versus another

Today was such a beautiful day, that after work before I went over to the couple's house, I stopped on my way home for a drink.  I stopped at the place down my street where I went alone my first weekend here.  The waiter remembered me! He even asked me if I wanted the same drink as last time!  I couldn't believe it.  I think I should start going there more often.  I didn't feel as awkward going alone as last time.  This is a good sign.  

NEXT GOAL: draw up the courage to eat alone at a café.

Les réunions de Lundi.

Another Monday, another réunion.  This is the one day of the week that the whole team gets together in the salle de réu to discuss the upcoming week and administrative business.  The main goal of the meeting is for the production team to tell the graphistes what they will be working on during the week and for everyone to be aware of the projects that we are working on.  Today the meeting ran ESPECIALLY LONG!  It lasted from 10:30am to 1:45pm - I felt like I was in a photo critique class.  A couple interesting things happened during, however by the end I was getting so restless and my stomach was crying for food.  We are working on a rock compilation album for Sony and were brainstorming on ideas for the cover and the idea of macro photography of a guitar came up.  Nathalie immediately turned to me and said, we just need to rent a guitar and Erin can take the photos - so exciting!  Who knows if it will even happen and if it does if the client will like it, but hey could be cool.  It will bring me back to the world of "little things" that my fellow students in Lighting this past semester were so excited to see each week as I showed my work.  

Thankfully at 1:45, Cyril let JP and I excuse ourselves from the meeting, insisting that we didn't need to be there any longer.  I was so relieved, as I was meeting my friend Alexa for lunch and said we would meet at 1:30.  I hate being late!  Luckily she was running late as well.  The weather today was nikel (a new word that I learned to day - means perfect, awesome, incredible, insane!).  Last week it was cold and rainy and this week is looking up.  We sat outside and had sushi at a cute little japonese restaurant near Cadet.  I had the most incredible summer roll - so un japonese but so good - crab, cury, cucumber and carrot.  We were both starving and felt so much better after scarfing down our food.  Alexa is leaving tomorrow to go back to New York and I'm so sad - as is she to leave Paris.  I've really enjoyed chilling with her.  She goes to school just outside the city, so I'm sure we will see a lot of each other next year.  I am so glad my colleague put us in touch...even for such a short time.  

After a late night last night, tonight I'm taking it easy...