The big day is coming up. Luckily it's not a "milestone" birthday, just an ordinary, but new number in my life.
I've awoken the last few mornings with a tiny bit of dread. Another year is in the books. The first few times I have to write out or speak my new age, I always stutter, stumble on the number. How can this have happened?
But, there's hope. I have always tried to make life's daily decisions to the best of my ability, hoping that in the end, I'll have no regrets, no missed opportunities, no unspoken words.
To this end, it is time to change things up a bit. I plan to make some birthday resolutions this year. I don't usually make them, like other Americans, on New Year's Eve for the coming year. I thought that the french make resolutions at La Rentree, by my friend, Anne, says "no". They make New Year's resolutions but they are more of a hope than a resolution. I can accept this and I like the idea of hope. It certainly takes less work than a resolution.
I won't make many resolutions, and like all goals, they need to be readily achievable, but significant. I've already picked them and am in the mental preparation stage for their achievement. Several days to go for this.
They also have to be do-able in any location, the US or France, or anywhere else that the coming year might find me.
No, I'm not sharing just yet.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Brain Is In France
I just wrote a phrase to my sister that is very telling, "my brain is in France". This sounds silly, but the minute I get off the plane (and through immigration) I'm in France and my brain is confused. It has American thoughts that have been ingrained in me since my birth, but I also have French thoughts interjecting in a stream-of-consciousness that defies my control.
It's all very difficult to be one nationality. Which translates, in most cases to NORMAL.
She asked me for some simple gift suggestions but my brain is in France so it goes immediately to the French go-to items - chocolate, flowers.
Since the gifts are for Americans, who are in the US, this is not ideal. A struggle ensues. It's all in my brain, you can't see it, you can't hear it.
Instead of left brain-right brain things going on, I have French Brain/US Brain thoughts passing rapidly into my conscious. Flowers/chocolate/books/wine/gift certificates...
I have no control over this and I don't want to! We'll just have to settle for gift ideas that are somewhat out of the ordinary.
It's all very difficult to be one nationality. Which translates, in most cases to NORMAL.
She asked me for some simple gift suggestions but my brain is in France so it goes immediately to the French go-to items - chocolate, flowers.
Since the gifts are for Americans, who are in the US, this is not ideal. A struggle ensues. It's all in my brain, you can't see it, you can't hear it.
Instead of left brain-right brain things going on, I have French Brain/US Brain thoughts passing rapidly into my conscious. Flowers/chocolate/books/wine/gift certificates...
I have no control over this and I don't want to! We'll just have to settle for gift ideas that are somewhat out of the ordinary.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
We've Suffered Enough!
It's been a long, cold winter in Paris. This week, the sun is out, the sky is clear and the heavy coats are momentarily in the closet. Everyone is out enjoying the gorgeous weather.
Since it's only mid-March, is it too much to ask that this continues? I think so. Last year, we had snow flurries on Easter. (Easter was early last year).
In any case, we're ready for Spring, warm weather and sunshine.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
We Didn't Really Want To Be In France, Anyway
We were just trying to enter the country that we live in for nearly half of every year.
We have done this dozens of times at CDG, showing passports to the police officer in the plexiglass cage, then rushing off to pick up our suitcases, find Joseph (the driver) who then takes us home.
Today was different.
We have tried to play by the rules, even though it is hard to find the rules and even harder to find two "fonctionnaires" (civil servants) who define these rules the same way.
Our "Carte de Sejour" (long term visas) are up-to-date, we don't stay in France longer than is recommended for tax reasons and we certainly have tried to stimulate the economy over the years. Why don't they want us anymore?
Today, we were among the first off the plane, so we sprinted toward the immigration line. Passports and carte de sejours were passed to the policeman who was sharing the plexi kiosk with another policeman. The other guy waived through about 5 sets of people without even looking at their papers or their faces. Our guy held up my passport to compare the photo with my face.
Luckily, the photo was taken in one of those terrible passport photo places that are normally in the Metro station. The one we used was on blvd. Raspail near the flower shops. My picture is awful, so I hoped it matched my face, weary after traveling for at least 24 hours to get to this point. He typed into his computer, compared some more and then told us to step aside so that he could pass more people through the line as we were holding everyone else up.
WE were holding everyone up?
So, we waited (he had our passports and Cartes locked in the kiosk so we didn't have much choice). About every five minutes we put up a little barrage of verbal assaults at the guy, who just continued to ignore us. We paced around, everyone was looking at us, of course. We waited for about 15 minutes when the guy finally said he would take us to meet his "responsable", his supervisor.
For a moment, still holding onto the American concept that we're innocent until proven guilty, I thought that we would just go in, shake hands, laugh about the misunderstanding and we'd be on our way. We're law-abiding people, citizens of a free country and are in France legally.
Of course, this is France and it didn't work quite this way.
We enter a room with a few other cops. The supervisor starts to type something into the computer and at the same time rattles off a slew of immigration rules that seem contradictory to everything we've ever heard. They make no sense at all to us and our situation. This is crazy. Let us go!
They don't. The supervisor then stands up, puts on his coat and leaves. Oh great, we're left in the room with the original lunatic cop.
Terry asks to use the bathroom. But, they have to escort him since we're basically prisoners. They spend a lot of time discussing how this can be done properly and finally another cop escorts Terry away.
I'm left with the cop, who's still on the computer and all our coats and luggage.
Again I wait, now alone. Finally, they move me to another room so that the original cop can call the Prefecture of Police to check us out in privacy.
Terry doesn't come back. So, I decide to leave all our stuff (they are cops, so it should be safe) and walk around the corner and see where he went. At this moment, it seems that enlightenment has somehow occurred. We are not criminals and are in the country legally, according to the person on the phone from the Prefecture.
That's what we've been trying to tell you folks all along but you wouldn't listen!
Let's hope the rest of the trip is less eventful than today.
We have done this dozens of times at CDG, showing passports to the police officer in the plexiglass cage, then rushing off to pick up our suitcases, find Joseph (the driver) who then takes us home.
Today was different.
We have tried to play by the rules, even though it is hard to find the rules and even harder to find two "fonctionnaires" (civil servants) who define these rules the same way.
Our "Carte de Sejour" (long term visas) are up-to-date, we don't stay in France longer than is recommended for tax reasons and we certainly have tried to stimulate the economy over the years. Why don't they want us anymore?
Today, we were among the first off the plane, so we sprinted toward the immigration line. Passports and carte de sejours were passed to the policeman who was sharing the plexi kiosk with another policeman. The other guy waived through about 5 sets of people without even looking at their papers or their faces. Our guy held up my passport to compare the photo with my face.
Luckily, the photo was taken in one of those terrible passport photo places that are normally in the Metro station. The one we used was on blvd. Raspail near the flower shops. My picture is awful, so I hoped it matched my face, weary after traveling for at least 24 hours to get to this point. He typed into his computer, compared some more and then told us to step aside so that he could pass more people through the line as we were holding everyone else up.
WE were holding everyone up?
So, we waited (he had our passports and Cartes locked in the kiosk so we didn't have much choice). About every five minutes we put up a little barrage of verbal assaults at the guy, who just continued to ignore us. We paced around, everyone was looking at us, of course. We waited for about 15 minutes when the guy finally said he would take us to meet his "responsable", his supervisor.
For a moment, still holding onto the American concept that we're innocent until proven guilty, I thought that we would just go in, shake hands, laugh about the misunderstanding and we'd be on our way. We're law-abiding people, citizens of a free country and are in France legally.
Of course, this is France and it didn't work quite this way.
We enter a room with a few other cops. The supervisor starts to type something into the computer and at the same time rattles off a slew of immigration rules that seem contradictory to everything we've ever heard. They make no sense at all to us and our situation. This is crazy. Let us go!
They don't. The supervisor then stands up, puts on his coat and leaves. Oh great, we're left in the room with the original lunatic cop.
Terry asks to use the bathroom. But, they have to escort him since we're basically prisoners. They spend a lot of time discussing how this can be done properly and finally another cop escorts Terry away.
I'm left with the cop, who's still on the computer and all our coats and luggage.
Again I wait, now alone. Finally, they move me to another room so that the original cop can call the Prefecture of Police to check us out in privacy.
Terry doesn't come back. So, I decide to leave all our stuff (they are cops, so it should be safe) and walk around the corner and see where he went. At this moment, it seems that enlightenment has somehow occurred. We are not criminals and are in the country legally, according to the person on the phone from the Prefecture.
That's what we've been trying to tell you folks all along but you wouldn't listen!
Let's hope the rest of the trip is less eventful than today.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Elliptical Texting
I have been a multi-tasking lunatic today and I'm confessing all.
While on the elliptical trainer at the gym this morning, sweating with all the other Sunday "regulars", I was also busy texting my sister. The texting centered around trying to find a mutually agreeable time to talk on the phone and then clarifying the time by time zone.
Talking on the cell phone is illegal at the gym, so texting is the only way to communicate since I couldn't get internet service to send an email.
Back and forth we went, 3PM my time, 5 PM her time. Around and around my legs went on the elliptical, going nowhere fast.
The time really flew but eventually we agreed on a time and that activity came to an end.
I then realized that muiti-tasking is a good thing, so I turned on the TV (it has captions), turned on my iPOD to some inspirational music and the time started to fly again.
But, my mind was still spinning. Ideas kept popping up and I was afraid I'd forget, so, with the music and the TV still on and the TV captions still coming at me, I found the notepad on the iPHONE and wrote myself a few notes. Including the idea for this blog.
I've accomplished everything on the list except one thing. That thing is a "find" note. I've looked but I haven't been able to find the thing I was looking for.
My French friend, Anne, just sent me an email saying that she will participate in a bi-lingual debate, the subject is, "are we slaves to the screen?" She answered very accurately in English that she is a slave to the computer but not to the TV. Ditto for me, except that I have about 5 different screens that I'm using to communicate, keep track of things and enjoy myself. I could never be as good at multi-tasking if it weren't for all my electronics.
While on the elliptical trainer at the gym this morning, sweating with all the other Sunday "regulars", I was also busy texting my sister. The texting centered around trying to find a mutually agreeable time to talk on the phone and then clarifying the time by time zone.
Talking on the cell phone is illegal at the gym, so texting is the only way to communicate since I couldn't get internet service to send an email.
Back and forth we went, 3PM my time, 5 PM her time. Around and around my legs went on the elliptical, going nowhere fast.
The time really flew but eventually we agreed on a time and that activity came to an end.
I then realized that muiti-tasking is a good thing, so I turned on the TV (it has captions), turned on my iPOD to some inspirational music and the time started to fly again.
But, my mind was still spinning. Ideas kept popping up and I was afraid I'd forget, so, with the music and the TV still on and the TV captions still coming at me, I found the notepad on the iPHONE and wrote myself a few notes. Including the idea for this blog.
I've accomplished everything on the list except one thing. That thing is a "find" note. I've looked but I haven't been able to find the thing I was looking for.
My French friend, Anne, just sent me an email saying that she will participate in a bi-lingual debate, the subject is, "are we slaves to the screen?" She answered very accurately in English that she is a slave to the computer but not to the TV. Ditto for me, except that I have about 5 different screens that I'm using to communicate, keep track of things and enjoy myself. I could never be as good at multi-tasking if it weren't for all my electronics.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Daylight Savings Time Revisited
In the US, daylight savings time has been moved forward by about a month. I'm not sure why, but I think it has to do with saving electricity. So, we set our clocks forward last night, losing an hour of weekend.
It's great at night, when it stays light later, but it was very dark this morning.
The worst part about this is that we will go to France and revert to Standard Time for another few weeks. Even though the french are fanatical about saving energy and electricity, daylight savings time continues to start around April 1.
Then, I'll lose an hour all over again.
It's great at night, when it stays light later, but it was very dark this morning.
The worst part about this is that we will go to France and revert to Standard Time for another few weeks. Even though the french are fanatical about saving energy and electricity, daylight savings time continues to start around April 1.
Then, I'll lose an hour all over again.
It's On Sale In The US
My pre-trip preparations always include some shopping.
This time it's for bathing suits for Cap Ferrat and a few necessities. I put this off until the last minute, so I had to venture out on a Saturday, the most crowded day of the week for shopping.
What I hadn't anticipated was the sales! Normally things go on sale at the end of the season. But, with the bad economy right now, the price of almost everything seems to be reduced. The stores were mobbed, an indication that the price reductions are working.
Some stores are being a little more creative with their price reductions. I encountered one store that offered a $20 discount with each $75 spent. Another store offered a coupon good for $50 off a future purchase with a $100 purchase. The things that are on sale already also can be used for these price reductions, so it gets very complicated.
With a little bit of planning and calculating, things can be purchased for pennies. I ended up with a very high end, name brand pair of jeans for $80 off the original price. The sad part of this is that I would have bought them for full price. I needed them, wanted them, and know that they will be in my wardrobe for years. (Barring an unforeseen weight fluctuation, of course).
When the shopping trip is productive, I can go for hours without getting tired. But, I went out a few days earlier and was unsuccessful. The two hours marching around from store to store was exhausting. I guess you have to train to shop and I'm out of shopping shape right now.
But, since sales in France are mandated by law, and held only twice a year, I don't need to continue my training for shopping. We will be back in the US before the sales start in July. We always miss the sales in January, too.
With the Euro still high against the dollar and the sales in the US, you can bet that all my disposable income will be spent in the US this year. Except, of course, for the second, french iPHONE. Post and photos to come.
This time it's for bathing suits for Cap Ferrat and a few necessities. I put this off until the last minute, so I had to venture out on a Saturday, the most crowded day of the week for shopping.
What I hadn't anticipated was the sales! Normally things go on sale at the end of the season. But, with the bad economy right now, the price of almost everything seems to be reduced. The stores were mobbed, an indication that the price reductions are working.
Some stores are being a little more creative with their price reductions. I encountered one store that offered a $20 discount with each $75 spent. Another store offered a coupon good for $50 off a future purchase with a $100 purchase. The things that are on sale already also can be used for these price reductions, so it gets very complicated.
With a little bit of planning and calculating, things can be purchased for pennies. I ended up with a very high end, name brand pair of jeans for $80 off the original price. The sad part of this is that I would have bought them for full price. I needed them, wanted them, and know that they will be in my wardrobe for years. (Barring an unforeseen weight fluctuation, of course).
When the shopping trip is productive, I can go for hours without getting tired. But, I went out a few days earlier and was unsuccessful. The two hours marching around from store to store was exhausting. I guess you have to train to shop and I'm out of shopping shape right now.
But, since sales in France are mandated by law, and held only twice a year, I don't need to continue my training for shopping. We will be back in the US before the sales start in July. We always miss the sales in January, too.
With the Euro still high against the dollar and the sales in the US, you can bet that all my disposable income will be spent in the US this year. Except, of course, for the second, french iPHONE. Post and photos to come.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Visiting Paris?
A lot of our friends are, it seems.
I feel that we know Paris inside and out. We can do almost anything, including dealing with utilities, cable TV, internet, all the hard stuff. We even can deal with workmen and have a secret plumbing source, better than anyone we have in the US.
When it comes to entertainment for visitors, we are out of it, though. With each new visitor, we get a request. It is almost always something I have to research.
The list grows but here are some of the more current requests: flea markets (twice), fashion show, Folies Bergere, The Louvre (we can do this one), Giverny (ditto), Versailles (ditto). Also on the list are discos or clubs. We have no idea about most of this stuff. We don't even stay up late enough to go to a club.
It seems that our simple pleasures don't really cut it with the folks that are in Paris for a couple of days. They want to check things off the list, take pictures to show everyone at home. One of the best photo ops is at the Rodin Museum, a palatable, even pleasant place to go. There, "The Thinker" is surrounded by beautiful rose bushes. It is a great photo. The Eiffel Tower, on the other hand, is too big to get a photo with a recognizable person in the same shot.
But even the Rodin is esoteric for many visitors. Why would anyone spend quality time there vs. seeing the Impressionists at the Musee d'Orsay? With the advent of cameras in cell phones, tourists line up in front of the famous paintings to take a photo of it. Why don't they just buy a book? All the flashes are a bit unnerving.
There are no "deals" in Paris. The Euro is still high and prices are always increasing. I think this might be why people think that a flea market is a good idea. But, there are vide-greniers, brocantes and other street fairs to buy things, but not the kind of deals that tourists think they can get. I advise people to think twice before going to St. Ouen to the flea market. But, maybe they will have better luck that I've had.
I will try to think up a list of the places that I'd like to go if I had just a couple of days in Paris. It would probably include the Musee d'Orsay, and the Rodin. It would also include Le Bon Marche or BHV, just to see a large department store. It would also include the Guimet, my favorite museum, an outdoor farmer's market, many churches (maybe a free concert), and the ever-present Paris river tour on a boat. A picnic is nice at the Luxembourg Gardens or the Champ de Mars, the food can be purchased on rue Cler.
That's my list and I'm sticking to it, although I might add to it.
I feel that we know Paris inside and out. We can do almost anything, including dealing with utilities, cable TV, internet, all the hard stuff. We even can deal with workmen and have a secret plumbing source, better than anyone we have in the US.
When it comes to entertainment for visitors, we are out of it, though. With each new visitor, we get a request. It is almost always something I have to research.
The list grows but here are some of the more current requests: flea markets (twice), fashion show, Folies Bergere, The Louvre (we can do this one), Giverny (ditto), Versailles (ditto). Also on the list are discos or clubs. We have no idea about most of this stuff. We don't even stay up late enough to go to a club.
It seems that our simple pleasures don't really cut it with the folks that are in Paris for a couple of days. They want to check things off the list, take pictures to show everyone at home. One of the best photo ops is at the Rodin Museum, a palatable, even pleasant place to go. There, "The Thinker" is surrounded by beautiful rose bushes. It is a great photo. The Eiffel Tower, on the other hand, is too big to get a photo with a recognizable person in the same shot.
But even the Rodin is esoteric for many visitors. Why would anyone spend quality time there vs. seeing the Impressionists at the Musee d'Orsay? With the advent of cameras in cell phones, tourists line up in front of the famous paintings to take a photo of it. Why don't they just buy a book? All the flashes are a bit unnerving.
There are no "deals" in Paris. The Euro is still high and prices are always increasing. I think this might be why people think that a flea market is a good idea. But, there are vide-greniers, brocantes and other street fairs to buy things, but not the kind of deals that tourists think they can get. I advise people to think twice before going to St. Ouen to the flea market. But, maybe they will have better luck that I've had.
I will try to think up a list of the places that I'd like to go if I had just a couple of days in Paris. It would probably include the Musee d'Orsay, and the Rodin. It would also include Le Bon Marche or BHV, just to see a large department store. It would also include the Guimet, my favorite museum, an outdoor farmer's market, many churches (maybe a free concert), and the ever-present Paris river tour on a boat. A picnic is nice at the Luxembourg Gardens or the Champ de Mars, the food can be purchased on rue Cler.
That's my list and I'm sticking to it, although I might add to it.
It Pays To Have Points
Unfortunately, we don't have many frequent flyer miles. We don't earn them like we used to and we use them as soon as they accumulate.
The coach seats on Air France are incredibly small. Perhaps because French people, in general, are smaller than Americans. I am short and my knees touch the seat back in front of me. Imagine being a 6 foot tall man with long legs!
We aren't in a position to fork over $15K for round trip business class seats. So, we generally are in the back of the plane, begging for a meal, a glass of water or waiting in a long line for the 3 bathrooms allocated for 200 people.
Lately, we've been lucky. We finally accumulated enough miles on Air France for an upgrade. No seats were available until the day before the flight, but we finally cashed the miles in and rode in comfort. Now we're spoiled, it happens so easily.
My sister and her husband have points, though. I can't tell you all their secrets for accumulating miles, but they have plenty to go around, it appears.
We now are the beneficiaries of their efforts. They gave us First/Business class seats round trip for our next trip. I've just confirmed it all today, and it's really true!
Once again, I'll be enjoying the "lounge" before the flight, sitting in the front of the plane, not sharing the bathroom with the masses, I will be very spoiled, pampered and comfortable.
Yes, it pays to have miles. Or at least to know someone who has them, in this case. Thanks, Cork and Alan!
The coach seats on Air France are incredibly small. Perhaps because French people, in general, are smaller than Americans. I am short and my knees touch the seat back in front of me. Imagine being a 6 foot tall man with long legs!
We aren't in a position to fork over $15K for round trip business class seats. So, we generally are in the back of the plane, begging for a meal, a glass of water or waiting in a long line for the 3 bathrooms allocated for 200 people.
Lately, we've been lucky. We finally accumulated enough miles on Air France for an upgrade. No seats were available until the day before the flight, but we finally cashed the miles in and rode in comfort. Now we're spoiled, it happens so easily.
My sister and her husband have points, though. I can't tell you all their secrets for accumulating miles, but they have plenty to go around, it appears.
We now are the beneficiaries of their efforts. They gave us First/Business class seats round trip for our next trip. I've just confirmed it all today, and it's really true!
Once again, I'll be enjoying the "lounge" before the flight, sitting in the front of the plane, not sharing the bathroom with the masses, I will be very spoiled, pampered and comfortable.
Yes, it pays to have miles. Or at least to know someone who has them, in this case. Thanks, Cork and Alan!
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