Hi.
I haven't been here for a really long time. I'm not even going to look to see how long; there's no point.
The job has been a complete roller coaster. I am exhausted. The job on its own is challenging, frustrating, some days too much than I can take, and then adding in driving an hour each way to work, the effect my being gone so much has effected Fry, my general insecurities, my penchant for caring too much and laying awake in the middle of the night stressing about work... it's been a bad time. Bad enough that we decided that, in the case that Stéphane didn't get his transfer, I would quit, because the stress on our family is just. too. much.
Poor Fry. He's four now, in his second year of pre-school, and acting out all the time. It took us a little while to realize that he was acting out because I was suddenly gone from his life. I was always the one that brought him to school, picked him up for lunch, brought him back, and got him at the end of the day, most of the time. Now I barely see him in the morning (sometimes he's still asleep when I leave!) and we only have a couple of hours together when I get home, including making dinner and getting him to bed.
We knew this was going to be hard, but in my mind it would be a temporary sacrifice for making a better life for our family - moving to a bigger town, both of us making decent salaries so that we can travel, save for future projects, giving Fry bigger and better opportunities for his future as well. But this morning was hard - so hard. I'm home sick, his teacher has been out for two weeks (another stable adult who has been a super calming and focusing influence in his life), and Stéphane had to take him to school kicking and screaming. It completely broke my heart and I'm crying just thinking about it.
We got the good news this week that Stéphane got his transfer. This weekend he'll ask for the schools where he would like to be placed (he'll be targeting the Greater Reims area) and in June we'll know where to hunt down an apartment. In the meantime we need to start figuring out what we're going to do with this apartment and preparing to move. And I need to figure out a way to explain to my darling boy that all this upheaval and change will be good for us, that Mommy being gone all the time is temporary, that soon we'll be the close-knit family we've always been.
In four/five more months, we'll get our lives back. Summer can't come fast enough.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Weekend cramming
The biggest adjustment, I think, to this new working schedule, is that we have to cram everything that needs to get done on a Saturday. Even if Stéphane doesn't work on Wednesdays, I have the car so he can't run errands (but at least he can make phone calls!).
We had a ton of stuff to do yesterday, but even then it was a bit much. Stéphane had a dentist appointment in the morning, then we picked up the new-to-us car (where we had to wait an hour (!!!) because there was a document that went missing, then was found at the garage owner's home, then had to be recuperated.... makes for a cranky Vivi, unfortunately!). After that it was new shoes for Fry, lunch with Mémère, and then Fry was off to his cousin's sixth birthday party. Stéphane and I retreated to his mother's house where I took a much needed nap!
The last leg of this errand crushing day had us going to the other side of town, picking up groceries I'd ordered on the internet (and seriously, thank goodness for this option now), shopping for fruits and veg at the fruit and veg store (because while the internet shopping in itself is awesome, bringing home bruised and unsatisfactory fruit and veg is not), finally picking up Fry from the party and going home.
My life is so, so glamorous.
We are very happy with our new Ford Fusion. It's not got the bells and whistles that our C4 had, but it makes up for it by costing half as much at the gas pump. Vive le gasoil! Seriously, when I'm clocking 1000 km per week, the difference is huuuuuuuuge.
Work is going fine, except for that moment on Friday afternoon where I closed an Excel document that I'd been working on all day without saving it. Such a proud moment. I'm really looking forward to doing that one again tomorrow.
Actually, I should say a word about Fry, because I haven't posted about him lately and he has changed so much. While I've been using this blog mostly for outpouring all of my career drama, Fry has been quietly (or to be honest, quite loudly) growing up. He'll be four in November and he's in his second year of Maternelle, called Moyen Section (middle section). He's been in school for three weeks and still loves school as much as last year, to the point where he's disappointed when school is closed! His language skills have exploded since this summer and now we can finally have a conversation. He gets the concept that Mommy speaks English, though he and Papa speak French, and he understands everything I say in English, even if his default is still to respond in French. He also doesn't get that, even though Mommy understands French and English, the rest of his American family doesn't understand French, so he still chatters away in French on the phone (though I think now he's doing it on purpose!). More and more English vocabulary is coming out now, however, and he often asks me how to say stuff in English, so I feel a bit more confident that we're heading closer to bilingualism.
Oh hey - also Autumn started this weekend, my favorite season! I'm really looking forward to seeing the leaves change on my commute.
We had a ton of stuff to do yesterday, but even then it was a bit much. Stéphane had a dentist appointment in the morning, then we picked up the new-to-us car (where we had to wait an hour (!!!) because there was a document that went missing, then was found at the garage owner's home, then had to be recuperated.... makes for a cranky Vivi, unfortunately!). After that it was new shoes for Fry, lunch with Mémère, and then Fry was off to his cousin's sixth birthday party. Stéphane and I retreated to his mother's house where I took a much needed nap!
The last leg of this errand crushing day had us going to the other side of town, picking up groceries I'd ordered on the internet (and seriously, thank goodness for this option now), shopping for fruits and veg at the fruit and veg store (because while the internet shopping in itself is awesome, bringing home bruised and unsatisfactory fruit and veg is not), finally picking up Fry from the party and going home.
My life is so, so glamorous.
We are very happy with our new Ford Fusion. It's not got the bells and whistles that our C4 had, but it makes up for it by costing half as much at the gas pump. Vive le gasoil! Seriously, when I'm clocking 1000 km per week, the difference is huuuuuuuuge.
Work is going fine, except for that moment on Friday afternoon where I closed an Excel document that I'd been working on all day without saving it. Such a proud moment. I'm really looking forward to doing that one again tomorrow.
Actually, I should say a word about Fry, because I haven't posted about him lately and he has changed so much. While I've been using this blog mostly for outpouring all of my career drama, Fry has been quietly (or to be honest, quite loudly) growing up. He'll be four in November and he's in his second year of Maternelle, called Moyen Section (middle section). He's been in school for three weeks and still loves school as much as last year, to the point where he's disappointed when school is closed! His language skills have exploded since this summer and now we can finally have a conversation. He gets the concept that Mommy speaks English, though he and Papa speak French, and he understands everything I say in English, even if his default is still to respond in French. He also doesn't get that, even though Mommy understands French and English, the rest of his American family doesn't understand French, so he still chatters away in French on the phone (though I think now he's doing it on purpose!). More and more English vocabulary is coming out now, however, and he often asks me how to say stuff in English, so I feel a bit more confident that we're heading closer to bilingualism.
Oh hey - also Autumn started this weekend, my favorite season! I'm really looking forward to seeing the leaves change on my commute.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
La Rentrée 2012
My last day at my old job was August 25 and I had a week's break before I started my new job in Reims. I mostly spent that week stressed out, second guessing myself, terrified that I'd made a bad choice.
Luckily, from about the middle of my first day, I felt myself relaxing a bit and realizing that everything is going to be ok. I can't say I felt that way from the very beginning, as I jumped right in shadowing a colleague and everything went straight over my head for the first hour or so. Then, I really thought, "What the hell have I gotten myself into??" Lucky for me, my lunch spot looked like this. I munched my tuna avocado sandwich and people watched for forty-five minutes, and I was ready to attack my new life.
It's been two weeks now and I can honestly say that I love, love, love my job. I still have so much to learn - it's in a business I knew nothing about, though my experience in administration certainly applies - but little by little it's starting to sink in and my confidence is growing everyday.
Of course one of the hardest parts is the fact that we don't exactly live next to Reims. Even with the toll roads it's an hour's drive each way. Our lovely Citroën C4 that we bought last year is unfortunately unleaded and the price of gas is killing us right now, never mind the fact that I have to refill the tank every three days. We made the decision this week to find a new car that runs on diesel, and after a quick search online, we found a decent Ford Fusion that will do in a pinch. Saturday we went to look at it and after a quick test drive we decided to take it. It's definitely a step down in terms of comfort, but it's going to make a huge difference in our wallet! We can pick it up this Saturday. Of course, after we move next year, we can always change it again.
And yes, that's the next big step for us. December is when the "Movement" happens within the Education Nationale system. Stéphane will make a request for a town closer to Reims (but not Reims itself - a bit too pricey and crowded for us) and we'll find out in March where he'll be placed. Of course, he can request two or three towns but there are so many conditions - how long you've been in the system, if you have a family and children in school, how many points you have (teachers are inspected every two years and gain points according to their performance; Stéphane is maxed out), and obviously it depends on if a place is available in the school you've requested! We're hoping that the fact that my job is over there will help us, but we've heard so many movement horror stories that we're only cautiously optimistic.
So you can see that our Rentrée has certainly been a full one with plenty of changes! I definitely had the "back to school" vibe going, since I started the day before students went back to class! I hope everyone's rentrée was a smooth one!
Luckily, from about the middle of my first day, I felt myself relaxing a bit and realizing that everything is going to be ok. I can't say I felt that way from the very beginning, as I jumped right in shadowing a colleague and everything went straight over my head for the first hour or so. Then, I really thought, "What the hell have I gotten myself into??" Lucky for me, my lunch spot looked like this. I munched my tuna avocado sandwich and people watched for forty-five minutes, and I was ready to attack my new life.
It's been two weeks now and I can honestly say that I love, love, love my job. I still have so much to learn - it's in a business I knew nothing about, though my experience in administration certainly applies - but little by little it's starting to sink in and my confidence is growing everyday.
Of course one of the hardest parts is the fact that we don't exactly live next to Reims. Even with the toll roads it's an hour's drive each way. Our lovely Citroën C4 that we bought last year is unfortunately unleaded and the price of gas is killing us right now, never mind the fact that I have to refill the tank every three days. We made the decision this week to find a new car that runs on diesel, and after a quick search online, we found a decent Ford Fusion that will do in a pinch. Saturday we went to look at it and after a quick test drive we decided to take it. It's definitely a step down in terms of comfort, but it's going to make a huge difference in our wallet! We can pick it up this Saturday. Of course, after we move next year, we can always change it again.
And yes, that's the next big step for us. December is when the "Movement" happens within the Education Nationale system. Stéphane will make a request for a town closer to Reims (but not Reims itself - a bit too pricey and crowded for us) and we'll find out in March where he'll be placed. Of course, he can request two or three towns but there are so many conditions - how long you've been in the system, if you have a family and children in school, how many points you have (teachers are inspected every two years and gain points according to their performance; Stéphane is maxed out), and obviously it depends on if a place is available in the school you've requested! We're hoping that the fact that my job is over there will help us, but we've heard so many movement horror stories that we're only cautiously optimistic.
So you can see that our Rentrée has certainly been a full one with plenty of changes! I definitely had the "back to school" vibe going, since I started the day before students went back to class! I hope everyone's rentrée was a smooth one!
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Summer Vacation 2012
So much for updating more often. Hmph.
When I last left you, I'd just been hired for my new job and I'd given my notice to my old job. I'm glad to report that my last weeks at my old job were relatively painless (boring!), with the director even offering up a glass or three of champagne on my last day. I brought cupcakes, which according to one of my colleagues that I'm still in touch with, are still being talked about. I'm no foodie, but it's pretty hard to mess up chocolate cupcakes and cream cheese frosting.
I had already scheduled our family vacation before I gave my notice, so we headed off to the Puy de Dôme for the first week of August. For the first time, we invited my goddaughter to join us. M is a year and a half older than Fry and they get on like a house on fire, and it was an interesting experience for us to double our parental responsibilities.
We stayed in a fantastic, completely isolated, rural gîte about a half hour west of Issoire. What it lacked in amenities was more than enough compensated by the space, the garden, and the fact that the kids could make all the noise their little hearts desired.
The bad news is that we found ourselves quite far away from most of the area's touristy attractions. The good news is that the roads in this mountainous area are extremely well maintained, which meant that descending our mountain by hairpin roads, crossing the valley, and crossing the next mountain to get where we wanted to go took a while but we never felt like we were going to drive off a cliff.
Some highlights were visiting Volcania (link in French), taking the funicular train up the Puy de Dôme, the highest point in the area, and doing a bit of mountain wandering with the kids around our gîte.
With two preschoolers, we found that our best plan of attack was to get out the door relatively early, so our main activity was before lunch, and either hang out in a park and play after a picnic lunch or head back to the gîte and play in the garden. There was even a makeshift barbecue set up in a corner of the garden, and a nice big table where we were able to eat outside a couple of nights - though as soon as the sun sank below the next mountain, it was quite chilly, despite the fact that it was the first week of August!
At one random stop looking for bread on the way home, I grabbed a couple of local beers and we enjoyed them so much, I ended up buying enough to have one every night with dinner. We're not big drinkers, but I think we both really enjoyed those beers!
Fry absolutely fell in love with the beach last year, so I really wanted to find some kind of water activity for our vacation. We went to the lac Chambon, which was certainly very pretty, but a bit too cold to swim in, and of course the pebble "beach" doesn't hold a candle to the fine sandy beaches that we love in the north (or even Cocoa Beach, which we visited last November!). They did, however, have a great big bouncy house and slide and the kids went bonkers on that.
Overall, it was a fantastic week, much more relaxed than our vacation last year (when we stayed in cramped hotel rooms - I wouldn't say we slept in them, ha!! - and had to eat out all the time) and I loved discovering a new corner of France. I can definitely see us returning to the Auvergne in a few years when Fry will be able to do a bit more hiking!
When I last left you, I'd just been hired for my new job and I'd given my notice to my old job. I'm glad to report that my last weeks at my old job were relatively painless (boring!), with the director even offering up a glass or three of champagne on my last day. I brought cupcakes, which according to one of my colleagues that I'm still in touch with, are still being talked about. I'm no foodie, but it's pretty hard to mess up chocolate cupcakes and cream cheese frosting.
I had already scheduled our family vacation before I gave my notice, so we headed off to the Puy de Dôme for the first week of August. For the first time, we invited my goddaughter to join us. M is a year and a half older than Fry and they get on like a house on fire, and it was an interesting experience for us to double our parental responsibilities.
We stayed in a fantastic, completely isolated, rural gîte about a half hour west of Issoire. What it lacked in amenities was more than enough compensated by the space, the garden, and the fact that the kids could make all the noise their little hearts desired.
 |
| Home sweet home for one week - our gîte was on the top two floors. |
Some highlights were visiting Volcania (link in French), taking the funicular train up the Puy de Dôme, the highest point in the area, and doing a bit of mountain wandering with the kids around our gîte.
 |
| The view from our bedroom |
 |
| Les grottes de Jonas - we climbed all the way to the top inside! |
 |
| Lac Chambon |
 |
| Chateau de Murol. Most of the chateau is restored but I love this view of a still ruined corner. |
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Five months later...
Whoa. That's definitely the longest this poor blog has ever been neglected! I have some really good news, but I think the way I got from there to here is important, so I'm going to try to keep this brief.
When I last left you, I was looking for a way to get into a bookbinding program. I did contact the national bookbinding school, only to find that they are moving to Toulouse, on the other side of France! I continued looking for other schools, only to get negative reactions wherever I went. Most places were happy to teach me, as long as I was learning bookbinding as a hobby. As soon as I mentioned that I wanted to earn a diploma in order to start my own business, I was practically pushed away, as if the idea of a nearly 40 year old woman learning a new trade was next to impossible, never mind the fact that I'd be taking the place of a young student fresh out of high school who, apparently, has more of a right to be there than I do.
It was a bitter blow, and in the end I had to accept that I just had to let this go. I really had to mourn it for a while, a dream unrealized.
The next step we took was working on opening a boutique in Troyes. I took a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce, worked on a business plan, started contacting suppliers... and finally realized that we would need to borrow a bit more that what we could comfortably borrow without getting in trouble financially if it didn't work. Cross that one off the list.
Meanwhile, I put as many irons as I could in the fire, planning on striking the one that got hot first. I'd been applying to anything administration related in our département, but after a couple of months of not even getting an interview, I opened it up to all the départements around us, after Stéphane agreed that he was ready to ask for a transfer if I could find something full time.
I also decided that I was ready to reboot my craft business. No need to borrow anything, just invest a bit of savings into some materials and get to work. I started working on some embroidery designs and looking for a used knitting machine.
In May, I finally got a hit for a job close to Paris. I received a message from the Pole Emploi (the unemployment office) to go to an interview with an employer at an unemployment office in the Seine et Marne. When I arrived on the day of the interview, a woman told me that the employer had decided to conduct the interviews by telephone and she didn't understand why I was there, and practically accused me of making all of this up (hey, you're the ones that invited me, lady!). After contacting the employer, she asked me to leave my CV and they would call me at the end of the afternoon. Four hour round trip to drop off a CV. By the time I got home, there was a refusal in my email.
That, my friends, is how I spent my 39th birthday. It was definitely the lowest point in this whole journey.
A couple of weeks ago, I did manage to get my hands on a used knitting machine:
I bought it from a lovely retired lady up in the Ardennes, about an hour and a half north of us. She took amazing care of it, had every single part and instruction book, showed me how it worked, and asked me to keep in touch. There's also a metal stand that it sits on, which needs to be painted. I've just ordered a book from America that explains how to take it apart for a deep cleaning, since it hasn't been used in about 14 years, and then I'll be working on transferring my old medieval bag hand knit patterns to making them on the machine for my craft shop.
I was ready to make a serious go of the online store, but still applying to any and all interesting job announcements, as you never know, right? Stéphane would have to ask for a transfer in December so I figured we had a few months to keep looking. Last week I answered an announcement in Reims that specified spoken English and administration. As usual I sent off my cover letter and CV not expecting anything, only this time I got an email back in less than an hour!
To make a ridiculously long story a bit shorter, we wrote back and forth and agreed on a meeting this past Monday. I had a good feeling about it the minute I walked in the door, and she kept saying things like "You'll be doing such and such... I mean the person that fills this position!" Heh. At the end, she offered me the job. The price is right, even if I have to commute until next summer, and the job sounds interesting and challenging.
It may not surprise you to learn that my new bosses are not French. :)
My new job starts in September. My manager and boss at my old job are being cranky and rude, which is basically par for the course. It's too bad; I would have been happy to stay there, even if it's minimum wage and crap hours, but the environment is just too hostile, and who wants to work like that? My craft shop will still happen, I can't help myself, I still have to create, and I have plans and ideas and designs that have been living in my head for years, and I just have to get them out and share them. Obviously it's going to take me a bit longer to get that going and it will be on a smaller scale than I imagined, but it will happen. 2012 is all about Making it Happen, after all!
Many thanks to those of you that are still around. I plan on showing up here a bit more often than I have been!
When I last left you, I was looking for a way to get into a bookbinding program. I did contact the national bookbinding school, only to find that they are moving to Toulouse, on the other side of France! I continued looking for other schools, only to get negative reactions wherever I went. Most places were happy to teach me, as long as I was learning bookbinding as a hobby. As soon as I mentioned that I wanted to earn a diploma in order to start my own business, I was practically pushed away, as if the idea of a nearly 40 year old woman learning a new trade was next to impossible, never mind the fact that I'd be taking the place of a young student fresh out of high school who, apparently, has more of a right to be there than I do.
It was a bitter blow, and in the end I had to accept that I just had to let this go. I really had to mourn it for a while, a dream unrealized.
The next step we took was working on opening a boutique in Troyes. I took a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce, worked on a business plan, started contacting suppliers... and finally realized that we would need to borrow a bit more that what we could comfortably borrow without getting in trouble financially if it didn't work. Cross that one off the list.
Meanwhile, I put as many irons as I could in the fire, planning on striking the one that got hot first. I'd been applying to anything administration related in our département, but after a couple of months of not even getting an interview, I opened it up to all the départements around us, after Stéphane agreed that he was ready to ask for a transfer if I could find something full time.
I also decided that I was ready to reboot my craft business. No need to borrow anything, just invest a bit of savings into some materials and get to work. I started working on some embroidery designs and looking for a used knitting machine.
In May, I finally got a hit for a job close to Paris. I received a message from the Pole Emploi (the unemployment office) to go to an interview with an employer at an unemployment office in the Seine et Marne. When I arrived on the day of the interview, a woman told me that the employer had decided to conduct the interviews by telephone and she didn't understand why I was there, and practically accused me of making all of this up (hey, you're the ones that invited me, lady!). After contacting the employer, she asked me to leave my CV and they would call me at the end of the afternoon. Four hour round trip to drop off a CV. By the time I got home, there was a refusal in my email.
That, my friends, is how I spent my 39th birthday. It was definitely the lowest point in this whole journey.
A couple of weeks ago, I did manage to get my hands on a used knitting machine:
I was ready to make a serious go of the online store, but still applying to any and all interesting job announcements, as you never know, right? Stéphane would have to ask for a transfer in December so I figured we had a few months to keep looking. Last week I answered an announcement in Reims that specified spoken English and administration. As usual I sent off my cover letter and CV not expecting anything, only this time I got an email back in less than an hour!
To make a ridiculously long story a bit shorter, we wrote back and forth and agreed on a meeting this past Monday. I had a good feeling about it the minute I walked in the door, and she kept saying things like "You'll be doing such and such... I mean the person that fills this position!" Heh. At the end, she offered me the job. The price is right, even if I have to commute until next summer, and the job sounds interesting and challenging.
It may not surprise you to learn that my new bosses are not French. :)
My new job starts in September. My manager and boss at my old job are being cranky and rude, which is basically par for the course. It's too bad; I would have been happy to stay there, even if it's minimum wage and crap hours, but the environment is just too hostile, and who wants to work like that? My craft shop will still happen, I can't help myself, I still have to create, and I have plans and ideas and designs that have been living in my head for years, and I just have to get them out and share them. Obviously it's going to take me a bit longer to get that going and it will be on a smaller scale than I imagined, but it will happen. 2012 is all about Making it Happen, after all!
Many thanks to those of you that are still around. I plan on showing up here a bit more often than I have been!
Monday, February 06, 2012
This roller coaster ride ain't over yet
The last couple of weeks have been ridiculously stressful. After the excitement of that meeting with my boss, I was not at all expecting him to call me at home to let me know that he'd had a discussion with the head of HR only to learn that we can't do an apprentice contract. He advised me to sign up with the Pole Emploi, or unemployment office, to see if they have any info about what to do next.
It might sound weird to go to the unemployment office when I'm already employed, but since I only work (very) part time, I am allowed to go sign up to find a complementary job (sadly, a lot of people rely on two jobs or temp jobs here to get from month to month, but I guess that's probably par for the course in a lot of places right now). As soon as I got off the phone with my boss, I called them right away to sign back up and had to wait until today for my first appointment.
The first appointment is largely administrative, in which you have to present loads of ID and attestations of previous jobs (which I forgot, oops) and you lay out what you're looking for or if you have a certain project in mind like I do. Since I have been signed up before (years ago, long before even Fry was around) we swept past the admin stuff really quickly and I was able to clearly and briefly explain that I want to be a bookbinder, which I can do part time with my current job, but I need to learn how to do it first.
She seemed very enthusiastic about my project and some quick computer searching found that I may be able to get my classes funded for the national bookbinding school in Bourgogne (Burgandy, the region just to the south of us)! It's not 100% sure, and nothing from this first appointment is set in stone. I've got to take a couple of papers to another Pole Emploi office at the end of the week and I'm supposed to set a new appointment to talk with a new counselor then. In the meantime, I can call the school to see if they work with the regional government for funding, and if they don't, I may qualify for yet another financial aid program, so things are definitely looking up!
I was so ready for them to say "No, sorry, there's nothing we can do for you" today that I can't quite believe that the ball is still in play! I'm really hoping I can get a new appointment before the end of the month; that would give us a really good excuse to go visit the national bookbinding school during the Winter break!
It might sound weird to go to the unemployment office when I'm already employed, but since I only work (very) part time, I am allowed to go sign up to find a complementary job (sadly, a lot of people rely on two jobs or temp jobs here to get from month to month, but I guess that's probably par for the course in a lot of places right now). As soon as I got off the phone with my boss, I called them right away to sign back up and had to wait until today for my first appointment.
The first appointment is largely administrative, in which you have to present loads of ID and attestations of previous jobs (which I forgot, oops) and you lay out what you're looking for or if you have a certain project in mind like I do. Since I have been signed up before (years ago, long before even Fry was around) we swept past the admin stuff really quickly and I was able to clearly and briefly explain that I want to be a bookbinder, which I can do part time with my current job, but I need to learn how to do it first.
She seemed very enthusiastic about my project and some quick computer searching found that I may be able to get my classes funded for the national bookbinding school in Bourgogne (Burgandy, the region just to the south of us)! It's not 100% sure, and nothing from this first appointment is set in stone. I've got to take a couple of papers to another Pole Emploi office at the end of the week and I'm supposed to set a new appointment to talk with a new counselor then. In the meantime, I can call the school to see if they work with the regional government for funding, and if they don't, I may qualify for yet another financial aid program, so things are definitely looking up!
I was so ready for them to say "No, sorry, there's nothing we can do for you" today that I can't quite believe that the ball is still in play! I'm really hoping I can get a new appointment before the end of the month; that would give us a really good excuse to go visit the national bookbinding school during the Winter break!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Making it Happen!!
I had a great meeting with my boss last week. It started off a little awkward, with him asking point blank what I wanted from him and me not knowing at all how to answer him, but we finally eased into the conversation.
The bad news first: I had hoped to get a little bit of financial assistance to take classes from my mentor who lived very close, but that won't be possible, as official funding can only go towards accredited schools. But -
But -
Mr Boss has no objection to my looking into the accredited classes accessible to adults in Paris. (!!!) What would happen is that I would change my current contract (average of 14 hours a week in CDI - permanent contract) to a Contract d'Apprentissage (an apprentice contract, and yes, it's available for adults in certain conditions), in which I would work full time, 35 hours a week, with my classes included in the 35 hours, and I'll be paid a percentage of minimum wage (53% I think?), but will still make more than I'm earning right now. My time at work would be divided up in doing what I do right now with the least amount of shuffling as possible, so as not to mess up the schedules of my colleagues, and the whatever time is left in the bookbinding workshop. Whatever money I make in addition to what I'm making now should cover all the traveling between here and Paris. After I receive my diploma, we would revert back to my present contract and I can continue to work there while I'm building up my bookbinding business.
Clearly, this is much, much better than what I hoped for! I never imagined he'd be up for this, I very nearly floated out of his office! Of course, it's up to me to follow up and get as much info as I can with the goal of presenting a financial breakdown to my boss in the next couple of months so I can start this Fall. I've just now got off the phone with the school in Paris and there will be an Open House at the end of March, which I will certainly be attending!
There we go, I feel like I've gotten through the hardest part, for me, anyway - talking on the freaking phone in French! I've always hated the telephone (except for talking with friends, obviously!) and I really have to force myself, or else I put it off for weeks. I feel like we're making good progress! While I'm waiting for the end of March, I hope to get access to the bookbinding materials at work very soon so I can start working on new projects in the meantime!
The bad news first: I had hoped to get a little bit of financial assistance to take classes from my mentor who lived very close, but that won't be possible, as official funding can only go towards accredited schools. But -
But -
Mr Boss has no objection to my looking into the accredited classes accessible to adults in Paris. (!!!) What would happen is that I would change my current contract (average of 14 hours a week in CDI - permanent contract) to a Contract d'Apprentissage (an apprentice contract, and yes, it's available for adults in certain conditions), in which I would work full time, 35 hours a week, with my classes included in the 35 hours, and I'll be paid a percentage of minimum wage (53% I think?), but will still make more than I'm earning right now. My time at work would be divided up in doing what I do right now with the least amount of shuffling as possible, so as not to mess up the schedules of my colleagues, and the whatever time is left in the bookbinding workshop. Whatever money I make in addition to what I'm making now should cover all the traveling between here and Paris. After I receive my diploma, we would revert back to my present contract and I can continue to work there while I'm building up my bookbinding business.
Clearly, this is much, much better than what I hoped for! I never imagined he'd be up for this, I very nearly floated out of his office! Of course, it's up to me to follow up and get as much info as I can with the goal of presenting a financial breakdown to my boss in the next couple of months so I can start this Fall. I've just now got off the phone with the school in Paris and there will be an Open House at the end of March, which I will certainly be attending!
There we go, I feel like I've gotten through the hardest part, for me, anyway - talking on the freaking phone in French! I've always hated the telephone (except for talking with friends, obviously!) and I really have to force myself, or else I put it off for weeks. I feel like we're making good progress! While I'm waiting for the end of March, I hope to get access to the bookbinding materials at work very soon so I can start working on new projects in the meantime!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Thanksgiving
So instead of biting my fingernails down to the bone, I thought I'd keep myself busy by writing about what else we've been up to for the last couple of months. The biggest thing we did is fly back to the States for Thanksgiving.
The last time I celebrated Thanksgiving in the US was in 2003, so this was a super fun excuse to go. Of course, bringing Fry with me meant I could introduce him to a whole side of the family he hadn't met yet. The main reason I decided to go, however, is that my aunt had just learned that she's got cancer. She's responding well to treatment and it looks like she's going to be around for a good long while, but that was what really prompted me to get on a plane.
Fry did pretty good on the 10 hour flight. Our carry on was 90% stuff to keep him entertained and he did actually manage to take a 2 hour nap, which was a nice break. I'm not gonna lie though, the last hour was pretty hard!
We spent the first couple of nights in my old stomping grounds of Greenville, SC. Thanks to a bad bout of jet lag (mostly for Fry) we didn't get to see any many folks as I would have liked, but we had a great visit with some of my college BFFs.
Then we drove down to Tallahassee to spend Thanksgiving at my uncle's home and there we saw tons of family (plus my sister came down to visit!). Fry loved playing with his cousins and it wasn't long before we discovered that he's definitely inherited my family's genes for sports. Not long after picking up one of his older cousin's old t-ball bats, he was hitting wiffle balls across the backyard!
Then it was down to central Florida to see my aunt and uncle. Despite having lost her hair to chemo, she's looking great and is still very active. We had a great visit, even if it was short. We even got to see a missile take off from Kennedy Space Center from their place before we left!
Our last stop was the town where I grew up, Titusville. I hadn't been back we moved up to the Carolinas in 1997 so it was an emotional visit. We stayed with the parents of my BFF from high school (who was also in town with her sweetie!), which was my second home back in the day. They say you can't go home again, but I got pretty close! In the unseasonably warm weather (even for Florida!) we went swimming in the pool and had a great time at the beach. It was wonderful catching up and I wish we could have stayed longer.
Then it was time for the long voyage home. After an obligatory shopping trip at Wally World (the regular sorts of goodies plus I needed another suitcase for all the Christmas presents I'd purchased!), we spent another day in the car and caught our flight home the next day.
It was a wonderful trip, but as I said, far too short. Next time we visit, we will definitely stay at least two weeks. I would really, really like to be able to go again in the Fall of 2013 when Fry is turning five. At that point he'll still be in Maternelle and can miss a few days of school, and I'd really like to take him for Halloween. So mark your calendars, family!!
ho hum, another rocket launch
meeting the locals
Fry becomes a virtuoso overnight
Shuttles just lying around everywhere
The last time I celebrated Thanksgiving in the US was in 2003, so this was a super fun excuse to go. Of course, bringing Fry with me meant I could introduce him to a whole side of the family he hadn't met yet. The main reason I decided to go, however, is that my aunt had just learned that she's got cancer. She's responding well to treatment and it looks like she's going to be around for a good long while, but that was what really prompted me to get on a plane.
Fry did pretty good on the 10 hour flight. Our carry on was 90% stuff to keep him entertained and he did actually manage to take a 2 hour nap, which was a nice break. I'm not gonna lie though, the last hour was pretty hard!
We spent the first couple of nights in my old stomping grounds of Greenville, SC. Thanks to a bad bout of jet lag (mostly for Fry) we didn't get to see any many folks as I would have liked, but we had a great visit with some of my college BFFs.
Then we drove down to Tallahassee to spend Thanksgiving at my uncle's home and there we saw tons of family (plus my sister came down to visit!). Fry loved playing with his cousins and it wasn't long before we discovered that he's definitely inherited my family's genes for sports. Not long after picking up one of his older cousin's old t-ball bats, he was hitting wiffle balls across the backyard!
Then it was down to central Florida to see my aunt and uncle. Despite having lost her hair to chemo, she's looking great and is still very active. We had a great visit, even if it was short. We even got to see a missile take off from Kennedy Space Center from their place before we left!
Our last stop was the town where I grew up, Titusville. I hadn't been back we moved up to the Carolinas in 1997 so it was an emotional visit. We stayed with the parents of my BFF from high school (who was also in town with her sweetie!), which was my second home back in the day. They say you can't go home again, but I got pretty close! In the unseasonably warm weather (even for Florida!) we went swimming in the pool and had a great time at the beach. It was wonderful catching up and I wish we could have stayed longer.
Then it was time for the long voyage home. After an obligatory shopping trip at Wally World (the regular sorts of goodies plus I needed another suitcase for all the Christmas presents I'd purchased!), we spent another day in the car and caught our flight home the next day.
It was a wonderful trip, but as I said, far too short. Next time we visit, we will definitely stay at least two weeks. I would really, really like to be able to go again in the Fall of 2013 when Fry is turning five. At that point he'll still be in Maternelle and can miss a few days of school, and I'd really like to take him for Halloween. So mark your calendars, family!!
ho hum, another rocket launch
meeting the locals
Fry becomes a virtuoso overnight
Shuttles just lying around everywhere
Monday, January 09, 2012
Bonne année ! Bonne santé !
Yes, Happy New Year and Good Health to all of you. I'll be uttering this traditional phrase for another couple of weeks, but I can say it to you all in one go! I hope 2012 is treating you well so far.
Once again, life swept me up and drug me away these last few months. So much has happened I hope I can get back through it all. I want to tell you about my & Fry's trip back to the States for Thanksgiving, having my cousin over from Boston for Christmas, and other fun things, but I most importantly want to update on the bookbinding stuff.
So my bookbinding workshop was right at the end of October and I was very anxious to talk to Mr C, the retired bookbinder that volunteers his time on Wednesday mornings to repair books, and then teaches a children's workshop on Wednesday afternoons. The first Wednesday was still a holiday so I knew he wouldn't be there. The second Wednesday, Stéphane had to work so I couldn't get to Troyes. The third Wednesday turned out to be a scheduling snafu and I couldn't get to Troyes that day, but it turned out that Mr C wasn't there that morning anyway. Then Fry and I left for ten days, so that was the rest of November.
When I got back to work at the beginning of December, I was greeted with horrible news: Mr C had passed away while I was gone. Granted, he was 85 and had lived a long and full life doing what he loved, but I was devastated. I didn't even have the chance to show him the books I'd made.
After getting over that shock, I realized I really had to get creative if I was going to make the bookbinding thing happen. I took a huge chance and emailed the woman who lead the workshop in Paris. You may have to jump into the wayback machine for this, but I've mentioned before that even if she has a workshop and does the bulk of her work in Paris, she actually lives about 35 minutes from my house. Since we got along so well and I had such a positive response from her, I decided to email her and let her know that Mr C had died (she knew I'd planned to ask him for help) and to ask her if there was any way she would consider giving me some lessons from time to time at her private workshop. I figured the worst she could say is no.
Well get this: she didn't! She even said that "it would be a pleasure to teach you, after your brilliant debut." Go me! It would be very irregular, weekends only from time to time, but better than nothing, right?
Now I have to figure out a way to pay for these irregular lessons (which will eventually lead to a diploma, by the way!). I floated it with a couple of my colleagues, and they seem to think that my boss would be open to finding some funding to help me with the lessons in exchange for doing some book maintenance at work (which is what Mr C was doing as well). I felt like things were going in a really positive direction and that I would attack all this after the New Year.
So of course the New Year comes and goes and I really need to get myself motivated. By sheer coincidence (or maybe not), Fry happened to knock over my little jewelry box next to my bed a few days ago and I found this, which had been buried deep under a pile of cheap costume jewelry:
I have no idea where I bought this little stone, but I know I've been carrying it around for at least 10 years. I think it's about time I cashed it in.
Yesterday I hammered out a letter to my boss and Stéphane helped me proofread it. By the time you read this, he will have already read it and I'll be waiting for a response, probably on Wednesday when we have our little company New Year's lunch. The worst he can say is no, right?
Make it happen is going to be my mantra for 2012. One way or another, I'm going to make this happen this year!
Once again, life swept me up and drug me away these last few months. So much has happened I hope I can get back through it all. I want to tell you about my & Fry's trip back to the States for Thanksgiving, having my cousin over from Boston for Christmas, and other fun things, but I most importantly want to update on the bookbinding stuff.
So my bookbinding workshop was right at the end of October and I was very anxious to talk to Mr C, the retired bookbinder that volunteers his time on Wednesday mornings to repair books, and then teaches a children's workshop on Wednesday afternoons. The first Wednesday was still a holiday so I knew he wouldn't be there. The second Wednesday, Stéphane had to work so I couldn't get to Troyes. The third Wednesday turned out to be a scheduling snafu and I couldn't get to Troyes that day, but it turned out that Mr C wasn't there that morning anyway. Then Fry and I left for ten days, so that was the rest of November.
When I got back to work at the beginning of December, I was greeted with horrible news: Mr C had passed away while I was gone. Granted, he was 85 and had lived a long and full life doing what he loved, but I was devastated. I didn't even have the chance to show him the books I'd made.
After getting over that shock, I realized I really had to get creative if I was going to make the bookbinding thing happen. I took a huge chance and emailed the woman who lead the workshop in Paris. You may have to jump into the wayback machine for this, but I've mentioned before that even if she has a workshop and does the bulk of her work in Paris, she actually lives about 35 minutes from my house. Since we got along so well and I had such a positive response from her, I decided to email her and let her know that Mr C had died (she knew I'd planned to ask him for help) and to ask her if there was any way she would consider giving me some lessons from time to time at her private workshop. I figured the worst she could say is no.
Well get this: she didn't! She even said that "it would be a pleasure to teach you, after your brilliant debut." Go me! It would be very irregular, weekends only from time to time, but better than nothing, right?
Now I have to figure out a way to pay for these irregular lessons (which will eventually lead to a diploma, by the way!). I floated it with a couple of my colleagues, and they seem to think that my boss would be open to finding some funding to help me with the lessons in exchange for doing some book maintenance at work (which is what Mr C was doing as well). I felt like things were going in a really positive direction and that I would attack all this after the New Year.
So of course the New Year comes and goes and I really need to get myself motivated. By sheer coincidence (or maybe not), Fry happened to knock over my little jewelry box next to my bed a few days ago and I found this, which had been buried deep under a pile of cheap costume jewelry:
I have no idea where I bought this little stone, but I know I've been carrying it around for at least 10 years. I think it's about time I cashed it in.
Yesterday I hammered out a letter to my boss and Stéphane helped me proofread it. By the time you read this, he will have already read it and I'll be waiting for a response, probably on Wednesday when we have our little company New Year's lunch. The worst he can say is no, right?
Make it happen is going to be my mantra for 2012. One way or another, I'm going to make this happen this year!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Vivi does a stage
As you know, I've been wanting to learn about bookbinding (reliure in French) for ages now, and I managed to meet a professional bookbinder who offers classes in Paris with whom I was supposed to do a stage, or workshop, with in October. So imagine my total shock when I got in touch with her in September and she had apparently forgotten about me and given away my place. It wasn't the end of the world, as I could always wait until the next one in February, but I was bitterly disappointed.
Then suddenly, several weeks later, she called and told me that a place had opened back up due to illness and would I be interested? Boy howdy! So, in the end, I did do my week long workshop in Paris and spent what was possibly one of the best weeks since I've moved here.
All materials were provided by the bookbinder, but I had to come with books. But not any old books, they had to be from a certain date (around the 1950's and 1960's), as recent books aren't constructed in the same way, and they couldn't be too damaged. The goal would be to take the books completely apart, perform any repairs needed, and rebound them with a hard cloth cover. I was told to bring four or five books. I found these at a used book shop around the corner from my work. They are from a series called "Que sais-je ?" (What do I know?) that actually still exists.
We were supposed to choose two books to repair and rebound; we ended up doing all four of them. I cannot believe we managed to finish, but it was by the skin of our teeth and I didn't get to bring them home with me as they needed to go in the press a final time. Since the bookbinder actually lives half an hour away from me (but only gives classes in Paris, totally frustrating!!!) I was able to pick them up the next week.
I didn't take a lot of photos while I worked - I simply didn't have time!! - but I did think to get this one:
All four books were sewn on the same ribbon, there are three here complete.
And here are the finished products:
This week was very emotional for me. It's not very often that you get to take your first real steps to realizing your dream. I've wanted to study bookbinding for years and never had the courage to pursue it, and when I finally did, I found that it isn't going to be as easy as simply going to bookbinding school. I basically did this week long stage to see if I was really interested and if I was capable of doing this, and I found that I certainly am. I still can't believe that I spent hours on end scraping glue off paper and didn't even see the time pass. I nearly cried when it was time to leave because I knew it would be a long time before I would get to work in a real workshop with real professionals again. It is breaking my heart that I'm getting shut down everywhere I turn to move forward with this, simply due to the fact that there aren't professionals anywhere near me, but I'm going to keep trying.
Also, I was as sick as a dog that entire week, the one thing I dreaded and I couldn't avoid it. I wasn't able to get out and see as many people that I wanted to while I was in Paris but there is always a next time, right?
In the meantime, there is a retired bookbinder that works sporadically at my work repairing books from our library. When we get back from our vacation in the States I'll be hitting him up to see if I can help him once a week. At least it will keep my hands busy while I'm trying to find a permanent solution.
Then suddenly, several weeks later, she called and told me that a place had opened back up due to illness and would I be interested? Boy howdy! So, in the end, I did do my week long workshop in Paris and spent what was possibly one of the best weeks since I've moved here.
All materials were provided by the bookbinder, but I had to come with books. But not any old books, they had to be from a certain date (around the 1950's and 1960's), as recent books aren't constructed in the same way, and they couldn't be too damaged. The goal would be to take the books completely apart, perform any repairs needed, and rebound them with a hard cloth cover. I was told to bring four or five books. I found these at a used book shop around the corner from my work. They are from a series called "Que sais-je ?" (What do I know?) that actually still exists.
We were supposed to choose two books to repair and rebound; we ended up doing all four of them. I cannot believe we managed to finish, but it was by the skin of our teeth and I didn't get to bring them home with me as they needed to go in the press a final time. Since the bookbinder actually lives half an hour away from me (but only gives classes in Paris, totally frustrating!!!) I was able to pick them up the next week.
I didn't take a lot of photos while I worked - I simply didn't have time!! - but I did think to get this one:
All four books were sewn on the same ribbon, there are three here complete.
And here are the finished products:
This week was very emotional for me. It's not very often that you get to take your first real steps to realizing your dream. I've wanted to study bookbinding for years and never had the courage to pursue it, and when I finally did, I found that it isn't going to be as easy as simply going to bookbinding school. I basically did this week long stage to see if I was really interested and if I was capable of doing this, and I found that I certainly am. I still can't believe that I spent hours on end scraping glue off paper and didn't even see the time pass. I nearly cried when it was time to leave because I knew it would be a long time before I would get to work in a real workshop with real professionals again. It is breaking my heart that I'm getting shut down everywhere I turn to move forward with this, simply due to the fact that there aren't professionals anywhere near me, but I'm going to keep trying.
Also, I was as sick as a dog that entire week, the one thing I dreaded and I couldn't avoid it. I wasn't able to get out and see as many people that I wanted to while I was in Paris but there is always a next time, right?
In the meantime, there is a retired bookbinder that works sporadically at my work repairing books from our library. When we get back from our vacation in the States I'll be hitting him up to see if I can help him once a week. At least it will keep my hands busy while I'm trying to find a permanent solution.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
What we did on our Summer vacation
Wow, it's been so long that I had to go back through the photos to remember what we did! On the one hand, we had a terrific time with family and discovered an area that was new to both of us. On the other hand, bunking up with a fussy, easily distracted two year old was really hard. Next year we're going to rent a gîte, and that's that!
First we made the pilgrimage to Pas-de-Calais, the region that my belle famille comes from, the region of France that I would move to in an instant if ever given the opportunity (and I don't hesitate to tell Stéphane that every time we go!). I don't know why I'm so drawn to it. I just find it beautiful, it's close to the sea (ok the English Channel if you're being pedantic) with gorgeous beaches, you can't throw a stone without hitting a historical site (which, I imagine, would be frowned upon, but I digress) and I find the people are just really lovely. Seriously can't say enough nice things about that area.
So Stéphane's uncle showed off his latest refurbished cars:
A Hotchkiss!!! Amazing!!!
The original Citroën C4!
And we got to take a spin in them as well. Great fun!
You might remember that Stéphane went on a huge genealogy rampage a couple of years ago and traced his family back to the time of Louis XIV (which is a pretty good accomplishment since most records from before the Revolution were destroyed). While we were in the area, we visited the village where his oldest ancestors came from.
His family left definitively 150 years ago, so no traces left in the cemetery (this is a very common practice in France; as long as tombs and gravestones are well taken care of, they are left alone, but when they fall to disrepair and no one claims them to take care of them, they are repurposed). This would have been his family's church, it certainly dates back to their time.
We did a spot of fishing...
Fry saw the ocean for the first time and didn't want to leave...
Then we drove down to visit Caen. Our main interest was actually visiting Bayeux and the famous tapestry, but we were really happy to visit Caen for the first time (Stéphane didn't know it at all either). We didn't spend a whole lot of time in Caen but we really enjoyed visiting the chateau, which is where William the Conqueror lived before he, well, conquered.
We ended up visiting Bayeux on July 14 (aka Bastille Day) so a lot of places were closed, but not the tapestry, thank goodness!! No pictures unfortunately but amazing. Really loved how they displayed the tapestry and it's super well presented with a free audio guide. There's also a huge museum about the history of the tapestry and William and why he went to England and all that jazz. Two thumbs up!
There are also quite a lot of shops and workshops dedicated to Bayeux lace, but they were closed for the holiday, so I hope we'll get to go back someday and see that! We really enjoyed the town, had no idea it was so big and so lovely!
The Bayeux Tapestry Museum and its Viking Ship (yeah, I don't know)
Finally, we drove home, stopping by the chateau of Chambord to take a little break (like you do):
First we made the pilgrimage to Pas-de-Calais, the region that my belle famille comes from, the region of France that I would move to in an instant if ever given the opportunity (and I don't hesitate to tell Stéphane that every time we go!). I don't know why I'm so drawn to it. I just find it beautiful, it's close to the sea (ok the English Channel if you're being pedantic) with gorgeous beaches, you can't throw a stone without hitting a historical site (which, I imagine, would be frowned upon, but I digress) and I find the people are just really lovely. Seriously can't say enough nice things about that area.
So Stéphane's uncle showed off his latest refurbished cars:
A Hotchkiss!!! Amazing!!!
The original Citroën C4!
And we got to take a spin in them as well. Great fun!
You might remember that Stéphane went on a huge genealogy rampage a couple of years ago and traced his family back to the time of Louis XIV (which is a pretty good accomplishment since most records from before the Revolution were destroyed). While we were in the area, we visited the village where his oldest ancestors came from.
His family left definitively 150 years ago, so no traces left in the cemetery (this is a very common practice in France; as long as tombs and gravestones are well taken care of, they are left alone, but when they fall to disrepair and no one claims them to take care of them, they are repurposed). This would have been his family's church, it certainly dates back to their time.
We did a spot of fishing...
Fry saw the ocean for the first time and didn't want to leave...
Then we drove down to visit Caen. Our main interest was actually visiting Bayeux and the famous tapestry, but we were really happy to visit Caen for the first time (Stéphane didn't know it at all either). We didn't spend a whole lot of time in Caen but we really enjoyed visiting the chateau, which is where William the Conqueror lived before he, well, conquered.
We ended up visiting Bayeux on July 14 (aka Bastille Day) so a lot of places were closed, but not the tapestry, thank goodness!! No pictures unfortunately but amazing. Really loved how they displayed the tapestry and it's super well presented with a free audio guide. There's also a huge museum about the history of the tapestry and William and why he went to England and all that jazz. Two thumbs up!
There are also quite a lot of shops and workshops dedicated to Bayeux lace, but they were closed for the holiday, so I hope we'll get to go back someday and see that! We really enjoyed the town, had no idea it was so big and so lovely!
The Bayeux Tapestry Museum and its Viking Ship (yeah, I don't know)
Finally, we drove home, stopping by the chateau of Chambord to take a little break (like you do):
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Oh hey, what's up blog?
Many, many thanks to those of you that haven't yet deleted this site from your bookmarks (or your reader, your email, or however the heck you end up here). How are you? We're ok. Fry started school, we've basically been sick ever since, I finally did my bookbinding stage, and we're getting ready to go to the US, where I'll celebrate Thanksgiving in my native land for the first time since 2003. I've actually written a couple of posts that will show up this week. Thanks for sticking around and here's hoping there will be more posts, especially after our trip home, to share with you soon!
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Stéphane rides in an ambulance and other fun tales
So, let's go way back, a month ago, right before we left on vacation. School had ended but Stéphane continued working five days straight. Finally, Thursday after school ended, he was finally on vacation and spent the day playing on the computer, lounging around, napping, etc. Nothing weird or out of the ordinary.
Cut to midnight, when Stéphane wakes me up saying "there's an ambulance coming." That's exactly how you want to gently woken in the middle of the night, right?
Turns out, he woke up sitting on the side of the bed with his heart pounding hard and fast. Not knowing what else to do, he called the 15 (the French equivalent of 911) and they sent an ambulance (from Troyes, not very reassuring in an emergency!). When they arrived, they took his blood pressure (160/85), asked him a few questions, and called back to the doctor at the hospital, who told them to bring him in. Stéph walked down to the ambulance of his own accord and the last thing he said to me was "don't worry."
Ah ha ha ha.
He called at 2:30 to say that after an electrocardiogram, a blood test and even a chest x-ray, he was fine but they were keeping him overnight anyway (for a second blood test in the morning). I finally managed to fall asleep sometime after 4:30.
Of course in the morning Stéphane wasn't answering the cell phone, so after chucking Fry out the car to his grandmother and racing downtown to tell work I wasn't working that day (because damned if I can get somebody on the phone grrr), I finally get to the hospital where they told me that unless they had called me I wasn't supposed to be there before 1:30 (even spouses? what the hell is that crap??). But I did get to see Stéphane and he was fine.
Longer story short(er): I hung out at my MIL's until 1:30 and then went and hung out with Stéphane until they released him about 3:00 with a prescription for pills to take in an emergency and a suggestion to maybe see his doctor. Besides the fact that his potassium levels were low, they didn't have much to tell him.
So we bought a blood pressure monitor and Stéphane decided that if his blood pressure was still high in a week he'd see the doctor. All through vacation it stayed around the same (150/160 over 80/90) but when we got home it suddenly skyrocketed to 180/190 over 90/100). He did go to the doctor who put him on a daily pill and ordered a bunch of blood tests. Turns out he's got some fun cholesterol levels, like me.
Well the good news in all this is that we're really making a strong effort to get in shape. Already he's quit smoking (we are both now smoke free!! WOOHOO!!!), cut way back on his sugar intake, and I'm cooking way more veggies and buying lots more fruit, which is all getting eaten! The hard part has been trying to get some sporty activity that we can both do (that we can include Fry in, that's the hard part!). We've been taking about buying bikes for years and it looks like we're going to make that our plan (in fact, we're going to a huge bike superstore this afternoon).
The best part? I can exclusively reveal that yesterday I wore a skirt I haven't been able to get on in nearly a year AND I didn't even have to lie down to zip it up (girls you know what I'm talking about). Let's hear it for losing weight WITHOUT DIETING!!
So I have loads of more things to tell you about our fun vacation but while you're waiting, please enjoy this picture of our very very nearly finished kitchen:
Cut to midnight, when Stéphane wakes me up saying "there's an ambulance coming." That's exactly how you want to gently woken in the middle of the night, right?
Turns out, he woke up sitting on the side of the bed with his heart pounding hard and fast. Not knowing what else to do, he called the 15 (the French equivalent of 911) and they sent an ambulance (from Troyes, not very reassuring in an emergency!). When they arrived, they took his blood pressure (160/85), asked him a few questions, and called back to the doctor at the hospital, who told them to bring him in. Stéph walked down to the ambulance of his own accord and the last thing he said to me was "don't worry."
Ah ha ha ha.
He called at 2:30 to say that after an electrocardiogram, a blood test and even a chest x-ray, he was fine but they were keeping him overnight anyway (for a second blood test in the morning). I finally managed to fall asleep sometime after 4:30.
Of course in the morning Stéphane wasn't answering the cell phone, so after chucking Fry out the car to his grandmother and racing downtown to tell work I wasn't working that day (because damned if I can get somebody on the phone grrr), I finally get to the hospital where they told me that unless they had called me I wasn't supposed to be there before 1:30 (even spouses? what the hell is that crap??). But I did get to see Stéphane and he was fine.
Longer story short(er): I hung out at my MIL's until 1:30 and then went and hung out with Stéphane until they released him about 3:00 with a prescription for pills to take in an emergency and a suggestion to maybe see his doctor. Besides the fact that his potassium levels were low, they didn't have much to tell him.
So we bought a blood pressure monitor and Stéphane decided that if his blood pressure was still high in a week he'd see the doctor. All through vacation it stayed around the same (150/160 over 80/90) but when we got home it suddenly skyrocketed to 180/190 over 90/100). He did go to the doctor who put him on a daily pill and ordered a bunch of blood tests. Turns out he's got some fun cholesterol levels, like me.
Well the good news in all this is that we're really making a strong effort to get in shape. Already he's quit smoking (we are both now smoke free!! WOOHOO!!!), cut way back on his sugar intake, and I'm cooking way more veggies and buying lots more fruit, which is all getting eaten! The hard part has been trying to get some sporty activity that we can both do (that we can include Fry in, that's the hard part!). We've been taking about buying bikes for years and it looks like we're going to make that our plan (in fact, we're going to a huge bike superstore this afternoon).
The best part? I can exclusively reveal that yesterday I wore a skirt I haven't been able to get on in nearly a year AND I didn't even have to lie down to zip it up (girls you know what I'm talking about). Let's hear it for losing weight WITHOUT DIETING!!
So I have loads of more things to tell you about our fun vacation but while you're waiting, please enjoy this picture of our very very nearly finished kitchen:
Friday, July 29, 2011
jinx
I swear to god, I completely jinxed us all to hell last week. Last Friday I posted that recipe (which was so good Stéphane made me make it again this week), and that evening the three of us were hanging out on the couch and I had this moment of complete happiness.
So of course the very next day we had DRAMA.
Saturday I was getting ready to leave for work and our upstairs neighbor knocked on the door (which is pretty unusual for just before 9am). He and his girlfriend are retired and were the very first people we talked to when we moved into our apartment and they are super nice. Anyway, he very gently asked if we knew that our car had been broken into. My immediate response was, "But I have to go to work!"
Stéphane ran downstairs with our neighbor and discovered that they'd broken into the car by breaking the small front window on the passenger side, pulled out an electrical box on the passenger side and then something from under the hood as well. Without these parts, no electricity runs in the car, meaning it's not going anywhere and we can't even lock it.
The craziest thing is that they didn't even steal anything - the radio, our CDs, the car seat, the umbrellas, everything was right where we'd left it. They simply got the parts they needed and left.
I remember for a long time I just stood there and shook while Stéphane ran around gathering paperwork and looking through the car. Even though they didn't steal anything, just the thought of somebody going through our things - and especially my baby's things, made me completely nauseous. I was completely stressed about it all over Saturday and didn't totally relax again until I was home again Sunday evening.
So. I managed to get a ride to Troyes (and was only half an hour late thankyouverymuch) and Stéphane immediately started calling the police, the insurance, all that fun stuff. The worst is that in France absolutely nothing happens for the whole weekend after noon on Saturday, and of course the police didn't show up until late in the afternoon, so I ended up spending the night with my MIL in Troyes since I had to work on Sunday as well. The tow truck came and got the car Saturday evening and since the garage was already closed in Tiny Town, they towed it all the way to Troyes and brought it back Monday morning. Of course I'm relieved that all those miles are covered by insurance but at least the car didn't sit there unlocked all weekend!
Monday we were able to get a loaner from the garage (a cute little C1 that was super fun to drive actually!) so I could get to work and back for the rest of the week. The insurance "expert" wasn't able to come see the car until Wednesday and the garage isn't allowed to do anything until the expert does his thing, but they did plan ahead and order all the parts they needed in advance. Everything went super quick and Stéphane picked up the car this morning.
So there you have our latest adventure. And I still haven't told you about the other stuff that's happened in the last few weeks! Baring any new emergencies I'll tell you about that very soon...
So of course the very next day we had DRAMA.
Saturday I was getting ready to leave for work and our upstairs neighbor knocked on the door (which is pretty unusual for just before 9am). He and his girlfriend are retired and were the very first people we talked to when we moved into our apartment and they are super nice. Anyway, he very gently asked if we knew that our car had been broken into. My immediate response was, "But I have to go to work!"
Stéphane ran downstairs with our neighbor and discovered that they'd broken into the car by breaking the small front window on the passenger side, pulled out an electrical box on the passenger side and then something from under the hood as well. Without these parts, no electricity runs in the car, meaning it's not going anywhere and we can't even lock it.
The craziest thing is that they didn't even steal anything - the radio, our CDs, the car seat, the umbrellas, everything was right where we'd left it. They simply got the parts they needed and left.
I remember for a long time I just stood there and shook while Stéphane ran around gathering paperwork and looking through the car. Even though they didn't steal anything, just the thought of somebody going through our things - and especially my baby's things, made me completely nauseous. I was completely stressed about it all over Saturday and didn't totally relax again until I was home again Sunday evening.
So. I managed to get a ride to Troyes (and was only half an hour late thankyouverymuch) and Stéphane immediately started calling the police, the insurance, all that fun stuff. The worst is that in France absolutely nothing happens for the whole weekend after noon on Saturday, and of course the police didn't show up until late in the afternoon, so I ended up spending the night with my MIL in Troyes since I had to work on Sunday as well. The tow truck came and got the car Saturday evening and since the garage was already closed in Tiny Town, they towed it all the way to Troyes and brought it back Monday morning. Of course I'm relieved that all those miles are covered by insurance but at least the car didn't sit there unlocked all weekend!
Monday we were able to get a loaner from the garage (a cute little C1 that was super fun to drive actually!) so I could get to work and back for the rest of the week. The insurance "expert" wasn't able to come see the car until Wednesday and the garage isn't allowed to do anything until the expert does his thing, but they did plan ahead and order all the parts they needed in advance. Everything went super quick and Stéphane picked up the car this morning.
So there you have our latest adventure. And I still haven't told you about the other stuff that's happened in the last few weeks! Baring any new emergencies I'll tell you about that very soon...
Friday, July 22, 2011
Blog CPR
I know. I know. It's been a really long time. Too long. And loads of stuff has happened. We went on vacation, Steph went to the ER in an ambulance (he's totally ok!), all kinds of crazy stuff. However, today I made a dish so delicious that I had to share it here. The best part is that I totally made it up. OK, not totally, I flipped through a few recipes for ideas but in the end I just followed my instincts and it came out really well!
Unfortunately, we don't have a garden, as you know, but we do have an aunt and uncle with a garden who like to share. Fry hung out with Mémère yesterday and when I picked him up, she handed me a sack of fresh veggies from the garden. Woohoo, free food! Suddenly I had a wicked craving for a good old veggie gratin. Except for the onions, all the veggies in this recipe came from the garden, but you can use veggies that you like or what you have on hand. I didn't measure anything, so these measurements are approximative. Please let me know if you try it and bon appétit !
Fresh from the Garden Gratin
2 medium to large zucchinis, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 small eggplant, chopped
Olive oil
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup of milk
1 egg yolk
1Tbsp parmesan
2 balls of light mozzerella, sliced (or 2 handfuls of shredded mozzerella)
Salt, garlic powder, Italian herbs or herbes de province, to taste
Heat a little oil in a deep pan and cook the zucchini, green pepper and onion until it softens. Take off heat, stir in the eggplant and set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat a tablespoon of oil, then stir in the flour. Slowly whisk in the milk. Take off heat and whisk in the yolk and parmesan.
*Here is the one thing I will do different the next time I make this: the end product had a really liquidy sauce (but still super tasty!), so if you want to avoid that, drain the cooked veggies here before you continue.
Stir the tomatoes and spices into the cooked veggies, followed by the parmesan sauce. Transfer to a baking dish, top with mozzerella slices and bake at 200°C (400°F) for about half an hour or until the mozzerela is all melty and golden and delicious. Let cool and devour.
Unfortunately, we don't have a garden, as you know, but we do have an aunt and uncle with a garden who like to share. Fry hung out with Mémère yesterday and when I picked him up, she handed me a sack of fresh veggies from the garden. Woohoo, free food! Suddenly I had a wicked craving for a good old veggie gratin. Except for the onions, all the veggies in this recipe came from the garden, but you can use veggies that you like or what you have on hand. I didn't measure anything, so these measurements are approximative. Please let me know if you try it and bon appétit !
Fresh from the Garden Gratin
2 medium to large zucchinis, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 small eggplant, chopped
Olive oil
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup of milk
1 egg yolk
1Tbsp parmesan
2 balls of light mozzerella, sliced (or 2 handfuls of shredded mozzerella)
Salt, garlic powder, Italian herbs or herbes de province, to taste
Heat a little oil in a deep pan and cook the zucchini, green pepper and onion until it softens. Take off heat, stir in the eggplant and set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat a tablespoon of oil, then stir in the flour. Slowly whisk in the milk. Take off heat and whisk in the yolk and parmesan.
*Here is the one thing I will do different the next time I make this: the end product had a really liquidy sauce (but still super tasty!), so if you want to avoid that, drain the cooked veggies here before you continue.
Stir the tomatoes and spices into the cooked veggies, followed by the parmesan sauce. Transfer to a baking dish, top with mozzerella slices and bake at 200°C (400°F) for about half an hour or until the mozzerela is all melty and golden and delicious. Let cool and devour.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
happy birthday to me
Yep, yesterday was my birthday. 38. Mmph.
While talking to my sister this weekend, she asked me if I was going to wait another month to post something on the blog. Oh dear.
So what's been going on? Well, the biggest thing going this month is that Fry is signed up to start school in the Fall! That was a very surreal moment. Obviously it's not Kindergarten but State-supported pre-school called Maternelle. I'm really excited for him to go, I know he's going to do amazingly well and he's going to get to play with loads of other kids, which is something he desperately needs, he's not a kid that does well on his own for long periods of time. As for his language skills (which continue to improve everyday but he's still a bit behind for his age), I was very much relieved to get positive feedback from the school's director about my speaking English at home and she assured me that it wouldn't be a problem. I have heard some horror stories from other bilingual families so now that we've got that out of the way, I'm totally ready to let him get out in the world a little bit!
After months of talking about it, Stéphane ended up buying a tablet computer (running Android) for my birthday, and couldn't wait for the actual day to give it to me so I've already had a week to play with it. It's super fun and will be definitely useful when we go on vacation (or when I do my stage in October, yay!). We haven't let Fry play with it as he's totally in a throwing toys period, but I reckon eventually he'll have a go since he's pretty much mastered the full sized PC already.
So my actual birthday didn't feel like a real birthday, really. Maybe that's a sign of finally growing up, when it just feels like another day? That's ok, I can still make magic birthdays for my son. And I got lots of birthday wishes from my friends and family, so that's always nice.
OK, back to the same old same old, with hopefully not another month between updates!
While talking to my sister this weekend, she asked me if I was going to wait another month to post something on the blog. Oh dear.
So what's been going on? Well, the biggest thing going this month is that Fry is signed up to start school in the Fall! That was a very surreal moment. Obviously it's not Kindergarten but State-supported pre-school called Maternelle. I'm really excited for him to go, I know he's going to do amazingly well and he's going to get to play with loads of other kids, which is something he desperately needs, he's not a kid that does well on his own for long periods of time. As for his language skills (which continue to improve everyday but he's still a bit behind for his age), I was very much relieved to get positive feedback from the school's director about my speaking English at home and she assured me that it wouldn't be a problem. I have heard some horror stories from other bilingual families so now that we've got that out of the way, I'm totally ready to let him get out in the world a little bit!
After months of talking about it, Stéphane ended up buying a tablet computer (running Android) for my birthday, and couldn't wait for the actual day to give it to me so I've already had a week to play with it. It's super fun and will be definitely useful when we go on vacation (or when I do my stage in October, yay!). We haven't let Fry play with it as he's totally in a throwing toys period, but I reckon eventually he'll have a go since he's pretty much mastered the full sized PC already.
So my actual birthday didn't feel like a real birthday, really. Maybe that's a sign of finally growing up, when it just feels like another day? That's ok, I can still make magic birthdays for my son. And I got lots of birthday wishes from my friends and family, so that's always nice.
OK, back to the same old same old, with hopefully not another month between updates!
Thursday, May 05, 2011
skipping april
My god, I can't believe I completely skipped over the entire month of April! I'm incredibly embarrassed. And it's not even because things have been so bad, or even so great. That dang 365 photo blog is taking up all my online energy. Ok, here's the lowdown on what happened in April:
I decided to put my sewing machine back to work:
We had our first overnight guest in the apartment, prompting me to try, for the first time, to make my favorite cocktail from scratch, whiskey sours (Grandma, I know you're reading this, I always think of Grandpa Eddie when I have whiskey sours and raise my glass to him! xoxo):
I went to Paris for the weekend and saw Eddie Izzard live and in French! It was everything I thought it would be, but better, as we were exactly front row and center. He was five feet away from me! I laughed till I cried and had a great evening out with the girls (we went to a karoke bar and I sang in front of people for the first time in years! I really miss singing!!).
We've also seen some progress in the kitchen! The tiles are done, Stéphane did an amazing job! (The grout is done too, I don't seem to have taken a photo of it though, don't worry, will definitely do that when that wall is painted!)
Plus the painting is well underway. We're doing one wall at a time, this way we can work just during Fry's nap time. It's not like we're in a hurry or anything!
Work is going fine, it's going to be quite busy for the next few months, straight through summer, but extra hours means extra cash so I'm not complaining!
Oh, one more thing: I had mentioned a couple of posts back that I was going to meet a professional bookbinder that has a workshop half an hour away from here. I did in fact go and meet her and walking into her shop was like walking into a shrine. She had set up step by step examples of each phase of the bookbinding, and after ages of just reading about them, being able to pick up and touch these examples and watch her do some thread work on a few signatures was like a dream come true! We were able to chat a bit and I told her about my plan to do a stage before signing up for an official course and she was very receptive to the idea. She took all of my contact information and I am on the list for the stage in October and she's supposed to contact me at the beginning of September with more details.
I am, obviously, over the moon about this new development, and the only terrible thing about it is having to wait so long to move on to the next step! It's funny - it's taken me years and years to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, and now that I've figured it out, it's killing me that I can't start immediately. I never was very good with the whole patience thing...
I decided to put my sewing machine back to work:
We had our first overnight guest in the apartment, prompting me to try, for the first time, to make my favorite cocktail from scratch, whiskey sours (Grandma, I know you're reading this, I always think of Grandpa Eddie when I have whiskey sours and raise my glass to him! xoxo):
I went to Paris for the weekend and saw Eddie Izzard live and in French! It was everything I thought it would be, but better, as we were exactly front row and center. He was five feet away from me! I laughed till I cried and had a great evening out with the girls (we went to a karoke bar and I sang in front of people for the first time in years! I really miss singing!!).
We've also seen some progress in the kitchen! The tiles are done, Stéphane did an amazing job! (The grout is done too, I don't seem to have taken a photo of it though, don't worry, will definitely do that when that wall is painted!)
Plus the painting is well underway. We're doing one wall at a time, this way we can work just during Fry's nap time. It's not like we're in a hurry or anything!
Work is going fine, it's going to be quite busy for the next few months, straight through summer, but extra hours means extra cash so I'm not complaining!
Oh, one more thing: I had mentioned a couple of posts back that I was going to meet a professional bookbinder that has a workshop half an hour away from here. I did in fact go and meet her and walking into her shop was like walking into a shrine. She had set up step by step examples of each phase of the bookbinding, and after ages of just reading about them, being able to pick up and touch these examples and watch her do some thread work on a few signatures was like a dream come true! We were able to chat a bit and I told her about my plan to do a stage before signing up for an official course and she was very receptive to the idea. She took all of my contact information and I am on the list for the stage in October and she's supposed to contact me at the beginning of September with more details.
I am, obviously, over the moon about this new development, and the only terrible thing about it is having to wait so long to move on to the next step! It's funny - it's taken me years and years to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, and now that I've figured it out, it's killing me that I can't start immediately. I never was very good with the whole patience thing...
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
ça avance
Ooh before I forget, here's our new car:
A Citroën C4, 2005, 50,000 km (31,000 miles), in gorgeous condition. I don't even think we realized that this is the top of the line edition - every time I drive it I find some kind of new feature I didn't even know I needed! Love love love!!
Ok, so that's the car, but that's not the update I wanted to give you. This is even more exciting! It's not even one cool thing, but a small succession of cool things!
First, Stéphane and I have agreed that I should get more information doing a stage on bookbinding. There is a stage available in Paris during school vacations, which pretty much works for us (and the fact that he is ok with me going away for five days to really see if this is something I want to pursue makes him a hero in my eyes!), so we figured the one in October would be good for both of us - I'll be able to take less days off in the fall than in the summer.
The next cool thing that happened is that a dear friend of mine caught wind of the fact that Eddie Izzard will be performing soon in Paris and, knowing my love for him, invited me to come and see him with her! Even better - he's performing on a weekend I'm not working! WOOO! I've been a huge fan of his since I stumbled upon his Dress to Kill show on HBO lo these many moons ago, so seeing him live and in person is Just! Too! Exciting!
So. Stéphane said, "hey, don't you have something else you wanted to do in Paris?" and oh yes, of course, why not kill two birds with one stone and see if I can't meet the professional bookbinding lady that weekend as well? So Saturday I hunched over my keyboard and cranked out a letter in French explaining who I am, how I'd like to learn bookbinding, and does she have a place for October and can I meet her on X date. Much to my delight, I got a response on Monday, and though I'm still waiting to hear if she has a place for October, it turns out that she also has a workshop in the Marne, the département just north of us, it's less than an hour away, and she just happens to be holding an open house this weekend and maybe I could come see her there?
Just imagine my face when I read that. It all seems much to good to be true! I can't believe this is all falling into place! Can it really be this easy?
Please don't answer that. ;)
A Citroën C4, 2005, 50,000 km (31,000 miles), in gorgeous condition. I don't even think we realized that this is the top of the line edition - every time I drive it I find some kind of new feature I didn't even know I needed! Love love love!!
Ok, so that's the car, but that's not the update I wanted to give you. This is even more exciting! It's not even one cool thing, but a small succession of cool things!
First, Stéphane and I have agreed that I should get more information doing a stage on bookbinding. There is a stage available in Paris during school vacations, which pretty much works for us (and the fact that he is ok with me going away for five days to really see if this is something I want to pursue makes him a hero in my eyes!), so we figured the one in October would be good for both of us - I'll be able to take less days off in the fall than in the summer.
The next cool thing that happened is that a dear friend of mine caught wind of the fact that Eddie Izzard will be performing soon in Paris and, knowing my love for him, invited me to come and see him with her! Even better - he's performing on a weekend I'm not working! WOOO! I've been a huge fan of his since I stumbled upon his Dress to Kill show on HBO lo these many moons ago, so seeing him live and in person is Just! Too! Exciting!
So. Stéphane said, "hey, don't you have something else you wanted to do in Paris?" and oh yes, of course, why not kill two birds with one stone and see if I can't meet the professional bookbinding lady that weekend as well? So Saturday I hunched over my keyboard and cranked out a letter in French explaining who I am, how I'd like to learn bookbinding, and does she have a place for October and can I meet her on X date. Much to my delight, I got a response on Monday, and though I'm still waiting to hear if she has a place for October, it turns out that she also has a workshop in the Marne, the département just north of us, it's less than an hour away, and she just happens to be holding an open house this weekend and maybe I could come see her there?
Just imagine my face when I read that. It all seems much to good to be true! I can't believe this is all falling into place! Can it really be this easy?
Please don't answer that. ;)
Monday, March 14, 2011
Vivi goes to the cinema
...and sees a movie in English!! Now there's something I didn't think I could do a few years ago!
When I visited Stéphane in 2003, there was a cinema right in the middle of old downtown Troyes that showed movies in VO (version originale) and we saw Lost in Translation there (no, irony was not lost there). By the time I moved here in the Fall of 2004, that cinema had closed and the new multiplex didn't show movies in VO. Going to the movies, such an integral part of my life before, simply slipped away. As my French got better, we started to see a few movies (I think I saw one of the newer Star Wars movies in French) and by the time the huge French sensation Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis came out, Stéphane and I were making a habit of going to the movies again. Of course, when Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis came out, I was pregnant with Fry... so yeah, not a lot of movie-going after that.
I eventually gave up on checking Troyes' cinema web page for showings in VO, even for the big blockbusters. A few weeks ago, something made me check it again, and lo and behold, there is was, the magical VO, for The King's Speech! I casually mentioned to my MIL that it sure would be great to see a movie in VO and she actually volunteered to keep Fry for me. So guess where I went this afternoon?
Today is the last day of Le discours d'un roi in Troyes, and it just happened to be in VO, so I dropped Fry off just in time for his nap and went to the movies. I have no problems at all going to the movies by myself (I did it quite a lot when I was younger) and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and it completely deserves all the Oscars it won.
Now, that is a completely civilized way to spend a Monday afternoon, don't you think?
When I visited Stéphane in 2003, there was a cinema right in the middle of old downtown Troyes that showed movies in VO (version originale) and we saw Lost in Translation there (no, irony was not lost there). By the time I moved here in the Fall of 2004, that cinema had closed and the new multiplex didn't show movies in VO. Going to the movies, such an integral part of my life before, simply slipped away. As my French got better, we started to see a few movies (I think I saw one of the newer Star Wars movies in French) and by the time the huge French sensation Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis came out, Stéphane and I were making a habit of going to the movies again. Of course, when Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis came out, I was pregnant with Fry... so yeah, not a lot of movie-going after that.
I eventually gave up on checking Troyes' cinema web page for showings in VO, even for the big blockbusters. A few weeks ago, something made me check it again, and lo and behold, there is was, the magical VO, for The King's Speech! I casually mentioned to my MIL that it sure would be great to see a movie in VO and she actually volunteered to keep Fry for me. So guess where I went this afternoon?
Today is the last day of Le discours d'un roi in Troyes, and it just happened to be in VO, so I dropped Fry off just in time for his nap and went to the movies. I have no problems at all going to the movies by myself (I did it quite a lot when I was younger) and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and it completely deserves all the Oscars it won.
Now, that is a completely civilized way to spend a Monday afternoon, don't you think?
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
the other good news!
So I promised you some good news last week and here it is: we bought a new car!! Well, new to us. It all happened very fast, isn't that the best way? We've been talking about it for years and finally everything kind of just fell into place.
This is our current car, Old Faithful:
Bless her. She's a 15 year old Citroën ZX and while she has loads of cosmetic problems (she's been broken into twice, the windshield's cracked, the lock on the trunk is messed up, etc. etc.) she's run really well until recently. I'd say 15 years is a pretty decent run, wouldn't you?
So anyway, we went visiting friends last week and Stéphane and his friend got to chatting about the car and they gave her a once over, and noticed, for example, that she really could use some new tires. Plus the fact that she needs an oil change which runs about 100€ ($135!!) and she's really starting to turn into a rust bucket, we decided that now is the moment. On the way home, we discussed our requirements and budget and I set to work on the internet.
I found a couple of good prospects right away and the next day Stéphane called to get more information. It turned out that one of them, which seemed too good to be true, was available to look at but not quite ready to be sold. It turns out that it's at a garage in Troyes and needs a little body work and a detail and they accidentally put the announcement out too early, but we could come take a look.
So last Thursday we went to see it and instantly fell in love. It's a Citroën C4, 2006, with just under 50k kilometers (about 31k miles) and just has a few bumper scratches. There was only one owner, an older fellow that just used it for in town driving, and it's never been in an accident. Obviously we scooped it up, signed the papers right away! We'll pick her up in a couple of weeks. I can't wait!
For once it seems that something will come together smoothly and easily for us! Can you believe it??
This is our current car, Old Faithful:
Bless her. She's a 15 year old Citroën ZX and while she has loads of cosmetic problems (she's been broken into twice, the windshield's cracked, the lock on the trunk is messed up, etc. etc.) she's run really well until recently. I'd say 15 years is a pretty decent run, wouldn't you?
So anyway, we went visiting friends last week and Stéphane and his friend got to chatting about the car and they gave her a once over, and noticed, for example, that she really could use some new tires. Plus the fact that she needs an oil change which runs about 100€ ($135!!) and she's really starting to turn into a rust bucket, we decided that now is the moment. On the way home, we discussed our requirements and budget and I set to work on the internet.
I found a couple of good prospects right away and the next day Stéphane called to get more information. It turned out that one of them, which seemed too good to be true, was available to look at but not quite ready to be sold. It turns out that it's at a garage in Troyes and needs a little body work and a detail and they accidentally put the announcement out too early, but we could come take a look.
So last Thursday we went to see it and instantly fell in love. It's a Citroën C4, 2006, with just under 50k kilometers (about 31k miles) and just has a few bumper scratches. There was only one owner, an older fellow that just used it for in town driving, and it's never been in an accident. Obviously we scooped it up, signed the papers right away! We'll pick her up in a couple of weeks. I can't wait!
For once it seems that something will come together smoothly and easily for us! Can you believe it??
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)