Man, I'm telling you, if it's not one thing it's another. When we first brought the new computer home, we couldn't get it to connect to the internet and, long story short, finally figured out that we simply needed a new cable to connect the two computers together, because the old one had chosen that exact moment to go to the great big cable heaven in the sky. Then my computer started losing the connection and then started restarting itself until one day it wouldn't start up anymore. That time it turned out that the processor was bad, straight from the manufacturer. Once we got it back from the shop, everything seemed fine until my computer started disconnecting more and more frequently until it wouldn't stay connected for more than five minutes at a time. This time it turns out that the filter had gone bad. Here in France, you have these little filters that plug into your telephone connection in the wall and you plug your computer into that. Everything seems fine once again but I swear if anything else goes wrong I'm going to chuck both computers out the window and invest in a copying machine and just mail you all weekly updates.
Anyway. Hi!
Yesterday was another national holiday in France, commemorating the end of World War II. This is the second of three national holidays in May and when these days land on a Tuesday or Thursday, many folks "faire le pont," or make the bridge, which means they make a big old four day weekend out of it. Stéph couldn't make the bridge, but he doesn't teach on Wednesdays so he has a nice weekend in the middle of the week anyway.
This morning Stéph and I went to Troyes to do some shopping, or as I like to call it, "Stéph's mad dash through four different stores to see how fast we can get home again." Drives me crazy, that does. Anyway, we hit the bookstore and I found Frank McCourt's latest so I've started rereading the first two so I can catch up. I'd forgotten how good and yet how very sad Angela's Ashes is. Then we raced through the mega grocery to pick up paper goods and drinks for the big PARTAY we're going to this weekend, and then we went to buy some chairs that actually match our dining table (very exciting), and all was done before noon. I also managed to procure some knitting needles that I needed for my current project, but all I could get was aluminum needles, which I find I don't like very much. The sound of them rubbing together is like nails on a chalk board. Ah well, the price we pay, eh?
Some folks have asked me to express how I feel about the outcome of the recent French presidential elections and I hesitate to reply. I can tell you honestly that if I had the right to vote this year, I am still not sure who I would have voted for in the final round. Part of this is because I'm still dealing with language barrier issues, so there are perhaps some points I'm not very clear on. Another part is that, like a good Independant, I can see good points on both sides. In any case, I'm hoping that in five years when elections come up again I'll have French nationality and I'll be able to make my voice heard, for better or for worse.
But really, I don't like to talk about politics here. That probably comes from growing up with parents who rarely told me who they voted for, though I could guess (and they often cancelled each other out). I don't mind discussing politcs face to face but I don't feel comfortable putting it all out there in this kind of format. Guess I'm kind of funny like that.
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