Walking in Paris

Day 4:

This day we walked. Boy did we walk. Pretty much the entire Seine. We walked the quais and it was pretty fantastic. Nothing but great views and lovely scenery. If I could, I'd live right here:


It was nice, quiet, and right on the river....and not to far from Le Marais. Yeah, yeah I know. I've already mentioned the Marais, but it's just so damn cool! We stopped there for a coffee at this cute place called Le Grizzli. LOTS of drinks to choose from and spot on decor.



A cool mix of modern and classic with the coolest chandelier made from desk lamps.


After coffee we went to the department store BHV. I wasn't looking forward to checking out a department store but I'm glad Bronwyn convinced me. It was Ikea meets Home Depot meets Pearle meets Best Buy meets Macys. Need to find one place to buy lipstick, paint supplies, a wii, and an indoor sauna? They got your back. It was pretty amazing. I don't know how much time I spent just looking at knobs. This wonderful endless wall of knobs.


Like a crack baby to a pipe.

We continued on the quais tour (The Alexander III bridge will never be given justice in pictures) and stumbled upon a protest. A long row of people in tents tied together and held down with rocks protesting the homeless problem in Paris.


After our brief exposure to french street politics we marched on to le Palais du Tokyo - One of the smaller modern art museums in Paris. With an exhibit on sustainable design (i got to sit in a tesla!), a cafe with a DJ, and a fascinating book store this is definitely a place i'd return to often if I lived here.


This museum is chill, rad, and open until midnight. You gotta love it. And although I wanted to stay all night we headed to home to down a bottle of wine and give our feet a break.

"Adjusting" to Paris

It's my 5th day here in Paris...and the first day that I've showered before noon. What can you do?

Day 1:

This trip has been all over the place since I landed. Once Bronwyn met me at the bus stop and we dropped my things off at the apartment we were off. We had to go to the Google Paris office to pick up the second Beirut ticket, then back towards the apartment to have dinner and change, then back north of the seine for the show.

We made it to Le Bataclan just as Beirut started. The show was wonderful. Everyone around us was full of energy. There were two guys standing next to us, really nice and rather cute, who turned out to be from the states (one visiting the other who lived there)..gotta love it. Zack Condon and crew did three encores that night. The love affair between those boys and Paris is just lovely.

After the show we found a cute bar, drank kir royales, and smoked until the wee hours of the morning. That's just how we roll.

Day 2:

We had a quick lunch in the neighborhood (14e) and headed for a walk in Le Marais, my favorite neighborhood in Paris. Bronwyn had a book with walking tours of Paris. We quickly went off track after we started. It took a while but I was able to convince Bronwyn to put the guide away and let us wonder the streets and get back on track naturally. (and people with my lack of sense of direction that is not an easy thing to do.)

It started to rain on our walk but we found ourselves only blocks away from L'as du Falafel, my favorite restaurant in Paris. We enjoyed some falafel especial while the downpour continued.

We headed home to do some shopping and enjoy the rain on our couch

Day 3:

I worked. That's right I worked on my laptop. All Day. Granted I didn't get out of bed until 12:00, but still. I was kinda annoyed but you can't be too annoyed when you're working in Paris. It's weird though. I didn't feel like I was on vacation. Yes, I know that when you're WORKING you don't feel like you're on vacation. But I kinda felt like I was home in a way. I mean I'm in this city that I love, where I speak the language, where people have assumed I'm a native, where I have favorite spots, where I have no interest in monuments and taking pictures, and where I can navigate the subway like no one's business. Basically I kinda feel like I belong here.

I don't know what that means exactly, but I like it.

Paper Heart

So I can't stop watching the trailer for this movie.

It stars Charlyne Yi (the one girl in the "Knocked Up" stoner crew) as the subject of a documentary focusing on her lack of belief in love. As they travel the world, and her celebrity circle, the director (Nicholas Jasenovec) and Charlene explore the concept of love and her doubts.

One of their stops is with comedic charmer Michael Cera, who becomes fascinated with Charlyne and her story. So much so that his interest turns into relationship. And what was a documentary about a love cynic becomes a cute little story about budding love.

This makes me both smile and cringe.

I don't know if i would call myself a cynic* per say. But I would say that I do the following:

- say "if" i get married rather than "when"
- scoff at people who gush over a first date
- remind friends that relationships have a 99% failure rate

That being said, a documentary examining someone who questions love is right up my alley. But imagining it turn into a love story makes me wonder; When I see this movie will it give me a change of heart (no pun intended) and say "awww" and smile, or will i sit there with arms crossed thinking "et tu brute?"

I guess I'll have to wait and see this summer.



* a person who questions whether something will happen or whether it's worthwhile

some things never change

friday night i went to sleep as the sun was coming up. saturday i danced until 4:00 in the morning.

i am a party girl.

it's not something i take pride in. or something i like calling myself. it's just a fact. a cold, hard, guess-i-got-to-suck-it-up-and-deal-with-it fact.

i wish i was one of those people who do what they need to on the weekends. run errands or go on a hike - i can't even make my weekend dance class. i wish i was someone who wanted to stay home and snuggle up with a good book. i wish i was one half of one of those couples who are fine with just a nice quiet dinner. i wish i was one of those people who's ultimate goal it was to "settle down".

but alas i am not. i am someone who apparently lets my batteries run out before i would even consider powering down. and i try. i do! but there's just something in me. example:

after sleeping on bill's couch for 4 hours i planned to just chill out. but when spencer and jules texted me about a city wide scavenger hunt I was out of bed, showered, and out the door in 30 mins. After four hours running around the city with miller lights in hand checking off our list (my biggest contribution: kissing an attractive bartender) we ended up at murios. realizing that no one had eaten all day we decided to meet a bill's for pizza. we were all exhausted. and even though there was a great party that night i decided to take a cab home. but just as the cab approached my place i told the cabby there will be two stops and called susan and told her to come downstairs and get in.

i danced until four a.m.

that's just how i roll.

and i have to learn to be okay with that.

lame

that's how i feel right now. instead of being out drinking with co-workers and friends, saying good by to one of the most awesome people i've worked with, where am i? at home waiting for jen to come over? why? because i can't justify paying for a cab jsut to hang out and have water for 30 mins and leave, because hanging out with jen i more important and i don't want to be tired when i do it. because i have to wake up early and get a good night's sleep. because i have to study for the gmat. because of the fucking gmat.

what was once a noble feat has turn into a crippling handicap. my excitement and dedication has turned into annoyance and regret.

discipline sucks. ambition is a bitch.

2009 is off to a strange start

after a fun yet exhausting nye party i found myself not drinking for a couple of days. basking in the luxuries of living by myself and having cable(housitting definitely has it perks) it seemed that the need/desire/ease of having a beer on the couch had mysteriously dissappeared. meanwhile my discipline to study for long periods of time outside class had begun to develop. after a few more days i began to wonder if these two occurances were related. although i knew i was entering trepedatious territory i decided to continue on this path and explore where it lead.

and here i am. still not drinking. save a date and an inaugrual celebration alcohol i have not experiecne the joys of drinking. i don't know how lond this will last. i ony hope that this sascrafice will prove worth it.