Non-smoker, non-ugly

I'm ba-aaaaack! Although I don't know if anyone is still out there because I maybe scared you all away with my last post. Oh well! It's now been almost 3 months since my life exploded like that Icelandic volcano that messed up everyone's travel plans last year. I'm not sure how 3 months have gone by, but I'm still hanging in there somehow even despite some unexpected news that I learned of this week: the dreaded new girlfriend. Someone has already come along to take my old spot. I'm not going to go into all the gory details because I've analyzed the situation too many times for my own good but the basic idea is that he has moved on...ALREADY. I'm not sure how long they've been together but it was at least a month after the breakup that they got together if not before. We all know the golden rule: it should always be the breakupee who moves on first not the breakuper. OK, that might just be MY golden rule that I invented. I wanted him to be the one to run into me on the street as I walk hand in hand with Gaston who just happens to be taller, funnier, better-looking and extremely charming. Instead, I live in fear of running into him with the copine and have images of me hiding behind a tree or something to avoid an awkward situation. All I can do is make sure I look amazing every time I step outside the house which, of course, is not possible but I will do my darndest. Besides, I know the 5'9" stick insect that he calls his copine must have her faults too...right? Right?

For now I choose to either dwell on this new discovery constantly or pretend like it isn't happening. Healthy, I know, but I just can't seem to find the middle ground. I've been going out a lot into town in the evening and night hours and hanging out with new and different people. I crave change. I need to have future plans. I want to feel connected to people and don't like being on my own. I suppose these are all normal feelings but because this is the longest relationship I've ever had, I've never felt these feelings so strongly and they definitely didn't last this long. It's not a precise science, but there is definitely truth to the length of the relationship being proportionate to the time it takes to get over it. I can't believe people have to go through this multiple times. I definitely want the next one to stick around for good.

Actually, I think a lot about the future Mr. Leah en France Part Trois(though it's hard to imagine ever being with someone again.) I think about the good points that The Chef had that I'd like the new guy to have and then the negative ones that I don't want. There are certain things that might be a deal breaker. Do I really want to deal with dating a smoker again? I really am anti-smoking and that was one of the things that bugged me about The Chef. We got into arguments about it and whenever he'd smoke, it would seriously rub me the wrong way. He did quit a couple times and he also reduced the amount of clopes he'd smoke, but I don't know if it ever would have been enough for me. The other big thing was his schedule. We worked opposite schedules. He worked on the weekend. I spent(wasted) so much time waiting for him. It was hard for us to get to know each other's friends. We both wondered sometimes if he wouldn't be better off with someone working in restauration. (FYI I'm pretty sure Salopey McPetasse aka the new gf is a hairdresser so she will see how difficult it is to have opposite schedules too!) I'd say these two things are pretty huge heck no's for me. But then I realize that no one is perfect so I won't be able to find Mr. Perfect and will have to compromise on some things, but what? I definitely am not willing to settle but how picky can you really be?

I've been listening to music about breakups and being at a certain place in your life. I really relate to a song by Lily Allen called "22." It's about a girl who remembers being 22 and feeling so much hope but now she's almost 30, goes out a lot only to find losers that don't stick around and isn't happy in her career. She's waiting for her dream man to come along and rescue her and wonders why her life has worked out this way. I totally feel ya, Lily, you have noooo idea. Besides that, I've been listening to a lot of Adele. I heart Adele. She has such a beautiful voice and sings so effortlessly. She's amazing. Her second album was inspired by a breakup and, again, I completely relate to what she must have been feeling when she wrote those songs. Music is great for that.

Other than being a crazy, past quarter-life crisis, analyzing, heartbroken, hating-being-single gal, I'm kind of on pins and needles for what's going to happen in other parts of my life in the next few months. Will I have a job? A CDD or a CDI? Will I get a raise? Will I move? Back to the states or in Rennes? I feel like there are going to be a lot of changes in the near future. I'm not a huge fan of changes and going through different transitions, so I kind of just want to get it over and done with. If I could hop in a time machine and skip over the waiting and the bad stuff, I totally would. Unfortunately, that's not possible, so I will just have to deal with it for now and wish time away like I've been doing for the past three months.


Dear Time,

I'm ready for you to do your job and heal me.

Love,
Leah

PS-There's something really great just around the corner, right?

One month later

It's now been two months since my life tossed its' proverbial cookies all over me. I keep thinking I'm OK and then some little thing reminds me I'm not. It really doesn't take much to drag me down again. I've had three friends visit from the states over the past month or so which was such a lifesaver and could not have come at a better time, but now I'm back on my own again and having to face the music. I've got vacances coming up at the end of next week which will be good as it will be a break from my job which is always needed because it is one of the parts of my life that is not going well, but at the same time, my job also provides a distraction from all the other bits of my life that suck. I know I'll get through it because that's all I can do, but I'm looking forward and not looking forward to it at the same time. If money weren't one of my woes right now, I would totally want to get away, but helas, it cannot be. I do have possible travel plans this summer to visit a friend in Angleterre before I leave for the states but it's not yet set in stone. At least I'm able to go home for almost a month and get away from this pile of merde I call a vie. Wow. I really can't wait to be able to re-read this blog post someday in the (hopefully near) future and be so glad I'm not in this place anymore. I'm just wondering when the heck that will be.

I know I sound negative, but you have to understand that so many areas of my life are in the crapper. Yes, I know it could be a lot worse, but I also think it could be a lot better. Career, money, love, family, friendships and health are kind of the essentials of a healthy life. Of course it's not every aspect of those categories. For example, though they're far away, I do have an extremely wonderful, loving and supportive family and the person who has cancer seems to be doing well after the surgery. Also, some of my friends have been really kind and thoughtful which I'm so very grateful for. I do have moments of trying to be positive, you see, but it wavers. Overall, I would just say it's a feeling of being uncomfortable in my life. I'm not happy how the majority of things are going. I'm able to be happy for other people who have great things happening in their lives...new houses, weddings, jobs, babies, pets, couples, etc. It is hard for me, however, to see all these wonderful things happening to important people in my life and not wonder why it isn't the case for me.

I do believe that in life things happening for a reason. If all this depressing stuff is happening to me all at the same time, it must have some purpose. I don't know why that is, but I think with time, I will be able to see. It's said that it takes half the time of a relationship to get over it which would be October. I've decided that that should apply to all of the negative things going on in my life. I know that's a bit silly to group everything together and give myself an expiration date for all of these bad feelings, but it helps to think of things in a practical and logical way. What I do know is that in theory I should know about my job situation in June. They know I'm leaving at the beginning of July for the states, but I know that they also are big fans of waiting until the last minute without really considering the people this affects. I have in my head that if I don't get a new contract or a renewal with them, I will probably be leaving France for good. I'm putting all my eggs in one basket and hoping it works out.

I try to predict how it's going to go, but there are lots of different things they could do because there are 3 of us on CDD, but only about 1.5 postes. In theory, it means they will keep 2 of us. But, they could also always try to give the hours in the 0.5 poste to the CDI people even if they wouldn't want them. They could also hire an outside person. If they did either of those things, that would mean 3 people going for 1 poste and I have a feeling that one of the people would get it over me because we really need someone who is specialized in History and that is the case for this person. However, there are lots of primary hours. The History person wouldn't want them and I don't think any of the CDIers who aren't already in primary would want them. So either they could hire someone from the outside, keep the third person or me. I know this is probably confusing, but basically it means things are totally up in the air. Also, even if I get a position, they could offer me a CDD again one more time which I don't want to have if I apply for nationality which is my plan if I get offered a new contract with my job. It's a lot of "if a happens, then will it be b or c? If it's b will it be d or e? If it's c will it be f or g?" Enough to make you analyze it over and over again, but know that in the end, you can only wait.

Money could also get a little better if they take me on a CDI, but I doubt my salary would change if they gave me another CDD which means potentially another year of being in the merde. I will have a prime at the end of the CDD I have until the end of August, but most of it will be used to pay off loans so it won't last all that long, a mon avis. To help my financial situation, I was thinking about a coloc with a friend, but it seems now she probably wants to stay in her studio because she might be moving back to Paris. I don't really want to do another coloc with all new people so, for now, I'm staying in my appart until I know more info about my job and will deal with the coloc sitch later.

My life has never been such a mess before. I guess stay tuned to see what happens and keep sending those positive vibes my way. I will try to update here from time to time. If I don't update for a while, it probably means I've been eaten by wild dogs a la Bridget Jones! Voili voilou.

One year later...

It's been about a year since I posted. I am impressed with myself, I guess? Not really, it's more that I didn't always have things to say and, to be honest, when I'm happy, I don't blog. I'm blogging again now because a lot of stuff has gone down this year and it has pretty much all been very negative. I've been writing in a journal when I feel like it all needs to get out, but I do miss the blogosphere and the ability to share things with the thought that we're all here to support each other and maybe what I say could somehow help someone else who is going through or has gone through a similar situation. I won't get into everything, but I can share a bit of what I've been going through.

The first semester of the school year was very difficult with the loss of a colleague, school admin that often don't have the best intentions, my status here up in the air and a promotion that never was. But, with the change of the year, I always have a feeling of a fresh start and my heart becomes filled with hope for better things. This was especially the case this year more than most other years. Well, on the job front, things definitely did NOT get better which seriously affected other areas of my life. Then, The Chef and I got a puppy which was a totally unexpected and joyous event that ended tragically when he came down with a very aggressive disease called Parvo. We took him to the vet to get hooked up to an IV on a Friday because he was very weak as he wasn't keeping anything down. Monday afternoon, the vet called The Chef and I told him not to tell me anything until I finished the work day because I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back my emotions if he didn't make it. So he picked me up from school and I could tell right away what had happened although I so didn't want it to be true. He didn't make it. My heart split into a million pieces. Poor little pup. We didn't have him a long time, but as an animal lover, I got very attached very quickly. He was a really sweet dog, basically the most awesome puppy ever.

After that, I found out that someone that is very dear to me has cancer. That was a huge shock and I couldn't even wrap my head around it with everything else that happened. I guess I tried not to obsess over it too much to avoid just completely breaking down. But, the fear of losing that person ate me up alive and though I didn't necessarily analyze this information like I normally would, it was ALWAYS in the back of my mind.

When I thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, The Chef tells me he's having doubts and has been thinking about this for the past two months. I'm sorry, what now? We decide to take a break for a week and he goes to stay with his brother. We meet up a week later and he tells me he's now sure that things aren't working for him and he's not happy. It's the kind of split where nothing happened, no one "did" anything, but it's just not right. Except that it was a total surprise to me and I thought I at least had him in my life still and could count on him to help me get through everything that was weighing me down. Not the case.

It's been a month since the break-up and I was doing OK, but I'm starting to feel really horrible again. I don't know if it's going back to work(I was on vaca the past two weeks) which just reminds me of all the problems at work, the fact that The Chef finally moved out all his stuff a week ago which reminds me of the break-up and feeling alone, seeing a good friend come and go or a mix of all these things and more. I think it's the latter. Plus, I just feel so unsupported by certain people which is a really hard pill to swallow. Thank goodness for those friends who have been so supportive that I feel so lucky, however it seems to just point out more those who haven't been very supportive at all.

I just feel that it's a lot of things for one person to deal with at once. It's hard to stay positive and I know time is what I need, but I just so want to not feel this way anymore. I'm looking forward to the day that I can look back and be OK and I know that day will come, but I'm seriously willing the time to go by...and fast.

To not end things on a completely bad note, I will tell you that I somehow magically got my French permis de conduire by exchange. I was technically about 6 weeks late past my first permanent CDS, but something had to give for Pete's sake and I got it in the mail...4 months after I asked for it, but whatev, I got it! Another positive thing was that after doing lots of research and trips to the Dreaded Prefecture, I think that I will be able to renew my CDS Salarie without having my employer go through the Labor Dept which is exactly what I need and want to happen. Now they just have to offer me a job...on verra for that. Lastly, the person who has cancer had surgery just yesterday that is very essential to a cure. I do have hope and everything should be OK, but you just never know. So voila, just wanted to get that all out there.

Meowdy y'all!

Wow, so I've posted 5 whole times so far this school year. Yikers. Where to even begin? I think my last post was during vacances if I remember correctly, vacances during which I did a whole lotta nada. I did go to Paris the first weekend, but the rest of the time was spent with the kitties and the copain(will get to this eventually.) It was basically R&R time that was really necessary after a speedy Christmas hols which didn't even feel like vaca because of running around seeing people and being sick and all the general holiday craziness. I do have to admit I got a bit stir crazy by the end this time what with the French friends working and many of the Anglos gone, but I didn't have the sous even if I did want to go somewhere. Hopefully April will be a different story and if not, I have travel plans swirling around in my head that need to eventually get set in stone. Maybe a weekend in England this Spring? Maybe a reunion in the south of France in July? Paris for Ep. 333 in April? My English friend in the states chez moi and visiting our other Rennes buddies elsewhere in the states this Summer? There's definitely some sure-ishness somewhere in all those plans. I also plan on renting some terrain with a salle de fete to fete my anniversaire in April which a friend of mine did last year to fete her 30 ans and we had a blast. I'll be co-feteing my anniv as the copers' bday is just 4 days before mine and he is turning the big 3-0. Anyways, there is exciting stuff to look forward to and time is a-flyin as usual and April will be here before I can say supercalifragi...

In other news, I have indeed...joined a book club. Thought I was going to say something else, now did you? Well, this isn't new news persay as it's been going on since December. I haven't had time to read all the monthly books(I finished December's over Feb vaca for example), but I am enjoying the monthly get-togethers and reading on a (semi) regular basis. We've done Water For Elephants, We Need to Talk about Kevin(still need to read this one!), The Land of Green Plums(this one's started) and this month is Life of Pi which I have already read...thank goodness. A pretty great lineup and I've already started April's book which is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which I've been wanting to read for a while now. I also have the second one in this series lined up as I joined France Loisir and got my first book for a discount so I chose that one knowing I'd be reading the first one for April. I hope its being in French doesn't ruin it for me. It's true the English version is a translation from Swedish, but still...I prefer French books that are originally in French. Petit rant, whatev. But yeah, I love reading, I really do and always have. I was totally that kid that stayed up late with my flashlight reading late into the night. I love books that you just.can't.put.down. Yay for reading...and nerdiness!

Lastly, as you have gathered by now, I am currently maquee, c'est a dire, avec boyfriend. It's relatively new aka 4 months this Sunday, so I'm still on my toes and getting used to the newness of the situation(ok, that just totally made me think of the Jersey Shore...am I the only one? Bueller?) Things are going well, but it is difficult sometimes considering that (insert nickname here) is a cuisteau and works many late nights and then is off in the afternoon when I'm generally working, well MTRF in any case. Luckily, as the season slows down ie it warms up outside (it's a savoyard resto), he works less and at the end of March, he will have two whole days off plus a half day(it used to be just two half days til January, people, that was roughhhh.) It is hard for him to get to know all my buds considering his schedule, but as I have had pas mal de soirees these past weekends with all the bdays, cremailleres and whatnot, he has gotten to know a few of my proches. So, we will all have to keep tuned to see what happens with the copers, but all is well for now! I will need to think of a nickname for the blizzog, but I don't think it should take too long as we all know how I love a good nickname. I actually have a few already, but I'd like to think of a different one for here. I'm thinking maybe something having to do with cooking or specifically cuisine savoyarde like Mr. Potato Head or something equally ridiculous. Ideas are welcome!

Besides that, the kitties are good. Still not yet cuddling in each others paws and no eskimo kisses as far as I can tell. To be honest, Owen is kinda douchey sometimes. Well, 50% douchey and 50% cuddley...ok maybe 40/60. I'd like to blame it on kittenhood, but kittenhood is quickly coming to an end as he will be 11 months in a few days. One day he will de-douchify, at least I can only hope so for now! Sienna at least gets a break at night when Owen goes in his panier to sleep. Ah, the kitties, gotta love em. Well, I think that's it for now, but it's been good talking! Talk soon(ish.)

SnOwen

Here is another kitteo for your viewing pleasure whilst I gather my thoughts in order to write a real post un de ces quatre. It has been snowing up the wazoo here in Rennes, that is to say, more than negative 1 times per year as it usually does. Kitten is intrigued by this phenomenon and I'm sure, if he could, would love to romp around in the snow like the dog that he was in a former life. Enjoy and a+, mes amis!

Meli-Melo of Ideas

I'm still vivante! I thought I might throw that out there to distract you from my absence, helas, I doubt it worked. I do have to say I definitely thought I would be blogging at least once a week for Pete's Sake, not once every 7 weeks!(It's been literally 7 weeks, I just went back and looked!) During vaca, for example, I was sick for part of it, but otherwise I had plenty of time on my hands that I clearly prefered to spend watching True Blood and going on FarmVille. I know part of the reason why I've been unmotivated to blog, but I can't blog about it here so then we start going around in circles. Yes, I realize that makes no sense to 99.9% of you(with me being the 0.1%.) Unfortunately, that's how it will have to stay for a while because this isn't a private blog and I don't really want to have to make it one either. Anyways, enough of me saying things that make no sense, what CAN I tell you? Well, to continue from my last post, I had my medical visit(no TB, woohoo!) and I went straight to the Dreaded Prefecture afterwards and got my recepisse with no probs(with the exception of thinking I didn't have to pay for the 70 euro timbres until I got my actual carte...oh well.) I can also tell you that as of 2 weeks ago, I am now the proud owner of a carte de sejour salariee...youpiiiii! So, I am now proof that it IS possible to work in France legally and not be a student, assistant, pacsee, married or go through a program that sponsors you...yay!

Next stop on the France train: citizenship! Ok, so I mayyy be getting a little ahead of myself here, but it's something I've been thinking about as the years roll on by. I am guaranteed a job at my skool until the end of the 2010-2011 school year which is also about when I would be eligible for citizenship, so we will have to see what happens with my job. So far, the two previous people before me have worked exactly 3 years which will be the case for me at the end of 2011, but I think the only 3 years thing was due to the fact that the job is not a CDI for now plus one girl went back to the states and the other passed her CAFEP-CAPES so she moved up to the college/lycee level. On verra, maybe I'll be working more in the International program next year than this year? I will very likely have 2 extra hours to fill again like this year and I won't necessarily be doing 8th grade grammar, plus the program is constantly changing and having more and more hours open up, so it really is a big ol' point d'interrogation. I wonder, though, if it really is necessary to have a CDI to get citizenship or if anyone has ever done it with a CDD. Like I said, I really am getting ahead of myself.

For now I need to focus on the present which is easier said than done because the future sounds far more exciting. Christmas with my fam, New Years with my university friends that I haven't seen in ages and are the funniest group of nutters I know, a weekend trip to Nantes in Jan or Feb with my former roomie to visit our other former roomie who is such a positive, funny dude, the K&K infamous Episode 333!!!, a reunion in the south of France in May with my friends from Rennes 04-05 who are some of my very favorite people and then possibly this summer my lovely English friend from Rennes who has sinced moved back home coming to visit in the states. I just reread that and got re-excited! My current life of couilles-less kittens, colds that won't quit and online TV just somehow doesn't inspire me as much, ha! Not really, I mean, I have managed to do some intersting and fun stuff like meet a bunch of new people, make French people celebrate Halloween, see a Flashmob MJ tribute and sing 3 songs at Karaoke(whilst sick, I must add!), host a couchsurfer for a few days during vaca, go to the Salon des gourmets to taste and drink some yummy bits and host my own mini Diner Presque Parfait. I think my prob is that I just need some sort of creative outlet, like singing, dancing or cooking classes. These are all things I love and I like to do them on my own time, but it would be nice to go to an actual class rather than me singing and busting a move as I prepare my own dinner in my kitchen that equals not the same thing. Plus, I'm a creature of habit and I like having regular weekly/bi-weekly or monthly plans. I'm not making cards regularly either anymore(only when I go home and go to classes) and I just don't find it as enjoyable by myself. While we're throwing things out there, I should get back into running too...yikes, one thing at a time, of course. Now that I've thrown my year plans out there for you all, I'll let you contemplate what your own plans are and enjoy a kitten video aka a kitteo if you prefer. A la prochaine!(hopefully less than 7 weeks this time!!)

Tarte de Mesjours Update

As I mentioned last time, I was eagerly awaiting notification of my visite medicale and worried that, because this is CDS season, it could take a long, long while. Well, I got a letter at New School just this past Monday from the OFII/ANAEM/OMI/Please stop changing your name why don't you? in my casier. I quickly tore it open only to see a letter about the timbres I would have to pay for plus a map. That's great you're telling me the money I have to pay plus where you're located, but how about what day and time I'm supposed to be at your office? Duh. So, I called that same day, but it was clearly the old number that had since changed and so then I sent an email which bounced back. When Tuesday morning rolled around and I got a break from teaching, I sent off another email and later that morning when I went to go back to the site to call them as well, their "handy dandy" France map with all the contact info wasn't working on not one, but two comps at the school because they didn't have some plugin that I didn't have the right to download and there was nowhere else on the site itself or the internet to find the contact info, believe me I tried! You're thinking I should have written down the number when I got the email except that I didn't have a pen handy because I forgot my trousse down at the primary school and was at the college and was about to have class. Fin bref, I managed to FINALLY have a look at lunch at a comp that had the plugin and wrote down the number and called that afternoon.

Good thing I did call! Turns out they forgot to put in the convocation telling me when my med. visit was. Yeah, that's right, forgot! Oh, France. So, the lady was very nice and said that was definitely not supposed to happen and told me I have my visite this Thurs(as in tomorrow) at 9 AM. So I luckily had the time to notify my teachers I won't be there Thurs morn. I don't know how long my visite will take, but in any case, afterwards I'm headed straight to the Dreaded Prefecture to give them the OFII form so I can get my recepisse because my carte expires tomorrow!! Talk about pile freakin poil! It's that time of the year again, folks, so please croisez those doigts for me that everything goes ok!

Kitty Wranglin etc.

So it's been 2 weeks since I posted. Whoops-a-daisy! Whoops-a-daisy? Did I really just write that? Does that make anyone else think of that scene from Notting Hill? Anyways, I just wanted to FINALLY post the video(s) of my appart that I've been meaning to film/post since foreeeeever. I 've been in this apt since Feb, that's 8 whole months! Time really does fly. I still am so glad I left the colocdom when I did even if it means I've had to dip(or in the case of this month: plunge) into my decouvert pool several of those 8 months...sidenote, is it the end of October yet? Money issues aside, getting back into the swing of things here in Rennes and at school hasn't been too much of a challenge so far. My scheduling was annoying, yes, but I knew it would be like that, so at least it wasn't a surprise like last year. It was actually even more complicated this year as I have more hours at New School than last year which meant that I was only able to work a couple hours at Old School(ie just with the CPs, not the GS.) This is because the extra time I had to fulfill was filled by teaching 2 hours of grammar to bilingual 8th graders. Let me just say, gramer sux. That being said, I'm doing what I can and will get what needs to be done done, but I'm hoping next year to have any extra hours used teaching bilingual 2.5-11 year olds aka not college kids! On verra. At least my group is small(11 kids), motivated and generally nice and I can't say it's not interesting to hear their life stories about how they came to be bilingual, trilingual, etc. Ca donne envie, quoi!

In about 2 or 3 weeks, I'll start with my classes with the university students on Wednesdays which will be good for the bank account, but I will miss my free Wednesdays. Quoique I haven't been really even able to sleep in (kitten's fault) and I've oftentimes had errands to do and by errands, I clearly mean crops to grow on farmville, so it's not thaaaat big of a deal to go back to work there afteral, I suppose. Speaking of work, I have yet to receive my carte de sejour "salarie" because I haven't had a convocation for my visite medicale yet! My current CDS expires...next week! Yikers! I guess this means another trip to the dreaded Prefecture to try and get a recepisse whilst I await the visite. I was hoping to not have everything be so last minute, but I am not in the least bit surprised. Lets just hope the OFII hasn't lost my dossier and by lost, I clearly mean jete-d in the poubelle! This is not the ideal time either with all the new assistants coming, fin bref, whatev.

Besides school and the usual paperwork shuffle, I've been spending a lot of time kitty wrangling. Owen is a bully and Sienna has had it jusque la and is fighting back and it's getting old. I never expected them to be snuggle buddies or anything, but a bit of tolerance would be nice. I'm hoping it will change as he grows up and maybe after he gets his, cough, man parts removed? Only time will tell. For now I'm running around the appart like a crazy woman trying to get him out of everything he's getting into. Let me just say it is hard for such an organized person as myself to deal with a kitten causing a mess in every.single.room. Yes, he finds a way! He is sleeping in the kitchen on work nights, but I might do a test next week to see if I sleep through the night ok with him roaming free. Cats are hard work sometimes! I think that's it from me, folks, but I wish you a happy Friday and a tres soon!

Previously on Leah en France Part Trois...

Not to waste any time explaining why I was gone, here's what you missed:

February

I moved in here.

March

I have no idea what happened in March. There aren't any holidays, this month blows, nuff said. Haha!

April

My parents came here. We also went there and there.

May

I had my Cremaillere and dressed up as her. Also, I worked maybe 2 days because of all of the jours feries.

June

I got very anxious to be done teaching these guys.

July

When in France, I went here, here and there. Then, once back in the US in early July, I went here to visit with family and friends after a 13 year lapse!

August

I got one of these. His name is Owen. Stay tuned to see what happens with these two.

In other news, I missed my freakin blogiversary! It's been 3 years, can you believe it? Apparently I've posted just 165 times, so that's an average of 55 times per year. However, we all know I've sucked at posting these past 7.5 months and then the first year I wasn't thaaaat post-y, so I highly doubt the average is so perfectly spread out. Anyhoo, no excuses, I'm the only one to blame for not keeping a written record of my vie. That being said, I really don't know how posting is going to go this year. I really would like to get back into it, but I might be just as busy as last year socially and workwise. I've been given 2 more hours at New School so that they can sponsor my CDS(long story, but it needed to be done because of regulations), but as of yet, I'm not sure what I will be doing for those 2 extra hours since all the teaching time has been filled up. I might have to surveille the kids or some shiz like that which is all fine and dandy, but I had worked it out so that I could have one afternoon off, so I'm hoping whatever the directrice has me doing will be either before or after school or during lunch hours. On verra. I also have yet to hear from the directeur of Old School which is sort of my fault because I kind of partir-ed like a voleur this summer, but to my credit, I did call his portable last week and have yet to hear from him. I'll have to call again this week at the school itself and see what the dilly is. If they don't need me, it could mean 2 afternoons off and also, one less job to have to lesson plan for and worry about, but it's also less money(well, the same amount as last year, but I was going to make more with those 2 extra hrs.) So, I'm sort of torn. Basically, if they still need me, I'll do it and if they don't, I don't plan on getting something to take its place.

The rentree is tomorrow...ahhhh! It's kind of scary to think about working with all those little ankle biters again. It'll be easier than last year just due to having last year's experience, but there are always things that will change and new kids and teachers. We actually have a lot of new people coming in! There's a new lady in maternelle to replace the collegue who retired last year. There's also a new stagiaire working with one of the CE2 teachers, but I probably won't see her very much unless I have that class the day she teaches. Then, there are 2 new people taking over another CE2 class and a new CM1 prof. This is all because we had a split level CE2/CM1 class last year because there weren't enough kids to have a full class of each level. Well, the person who taught that was just a sub essentially. Then, this year since we had enough kids to separate that split level CE2/CM1 into 2 different classes, we had to get 2 new teachers or in our case, 3 new teachers. So, that's already 5 new people. Plus, we need a new aid to work with one of the kids in maternelle who needs to have their own personal helper. And, we also have 2 new teachers in the International Program for the bilingual and high level English students. So, 8 newbies all together once everything takes shape! It'll be interesting. Tomorrow, almost all of those peepz should be there minus the International profs who will prob be at the College/Lycee meetings. I have to be completely honest and say that I am kind of dreading all those meetings because a)I really don't like small talk and I still kind of feel like the new girl b)so much of the info at the meetings is not for me since I don't really collab with any of the profs, more like work alongside them if that makes sense and 3)I could be sleeping. Tear.

In reality, all I need to do is set up my classroom with new material, decorate the door, update some of the posters and set up my schedule. Last year, I spent the first 2 days of school setting up my schedule and it was a lot of waiting and then running around like a crazy monkey from classroom to classroom and during recess trying to track down teachers and get them to choose a time slot. Some were easy, but most were a pain in the A. There were some that were difficult just to juggle all the things their class had going on (recess, gym, choir, catechese, International English class, wine tasting, cheese sniffing, etc) and then there were those that really weren't willing to compromise for no good reason. Although, while I'd love to get the scheduling done before the kids come back (ie Thursday), in a way it does make sense to have one full week with the kids so I can have all of the classes in one go rather than miss out on Mon and Tues classes this week. I guess I'll find out tomorrow or Tues or Thurs or Fri for that matter! I just want to get the beginning over with and ease right back on in to teaching, this before stuff is no fun. I also am looking forward to the next vaca, not gonna lie.

In terms of the future, the plan is set for a couple more years in France. The school is sponsoring my CDS and all that is left to do is have my visite medicale and then pop on over to the Prefecture(I say that dripping with sarcasm, has anyone in history ever popped on over to the Prefecture?) The whole process has gone relatively smoothly(so far) except for the little blip with the hours which cost us some time, however it was probably for the better because had we known this earlier and had the Labor Dept given the OK, I would've probably been gone when my medical visit was scheduled which I'm sure would be fun to reschedule....NOT. So as it stands, I'm waiting to get a med visit scheduled sometime soon(as my CDS expires at the end of Sept), then go to the Pref for my CDS(well, my recepisse, but whatev) and I will have a CDD for 2 years(summer pay, woohoo!) and a CDI at the University where I teach 3 hrs per week. But, I am waiting for something to go wrong, so I will be holding my breath until I get that laminated carte in my mains! I think that is it from me, I'd better be off, I've got some kitties to wrangle!

Bisous,

Crazy Cat Lady aka Leah en France

Appart Hunting 101...Agence Style

So, I know a few of you specifically are interested to know more about apt hunting en France. As someone who is currently going through this, I deem myself capable of informing the masses(and by masses I mean the 2 or 3 of you reading this.) So, here she goes:

I was looking for a T1 bis or a T2. T1 bis can have an alcove so that you could put a curtain or divider up and separate your chambre. T2 has a chambre separee. Lesson 1 of apt hunting: The proprio can call an apt a T1 bis a partir du moment ou la cuisine est separee, so be careful, T1 bis doesn't always mean it has a renforcement for your lit! I technically started my search three months before I wanted to move. I signed up with Seloger, Logic Immo, My local newspaper, Leboncoin, Vivastreet and Pap to get email notifications of available apts and then checked the sites occasionally on my own as well. However, there was little to nothing available at that time, so I didn't actually head to the agencies until 2 months before I wanted to move. I went to 3 agencies at that point and it was pretty evident that there was very little available because 2 months ahead of time was "too early." I think it's definitely worth it, though, to go to several places and see if there even is anything available. I found that online, it sometimes says the date that apparts are dispos, but not all that often, so it's always good to go into the actual agencies. Lesson 2: If you see something online that interests you, go to the agency in person and ask about it. I did that for one place I thought looked great and it wasn't available, but I ended up having 4 visits with that agency qd-mm, so you never know.

Due to Xmas vacation, I didn't get to head out to more agencies until early January. At that point aka 2 weeks ago, I went to 2 agencies that had nothing and then the third had something that was maybe interesting, so I arranged a visit for that same week on Wednesday. Then, I went to an agency that a friend had used and I scheduled 2 more appts for that Wednesday. I also arranged for 3 visits with another agency(where I liked the apt, but it wasn't available anymore) for that following Thursday and I brought along a friend. Lesson 3: Always try to have at least a second opinion! Well, that ended up only being 2 visits because the 3rd apt's proprio decided to sell. So, that first week, I had 5 visits total and only 1 apt that interested me out of all of them. The next week, I arranged for 2 visits on the Tuesday and again had that same friend come(that was the apt in the quartier des putes!) On Wednesday, I had previously arranged for a revisit(you can do that!) of the apt I liked from the prior week, but I got a call on Tuesday night saying the agency had to cancel the revisit because the apt had been rented that day. Lesson 4: If you like something, do NOT hesitate. This apt did have a few questionable factors such as only containing a kitchen sink, but I later learned not to be surprised by a cuisine non-equipee. Tant pis, someone else got a reasonably-priced apt in the quartier I wanted, I knew it just meant something better would come along.

Though disappointed by the loss of the apt I liked so much, I continued on and scheduled 3 more appts for the following Thurs and 3 for the following Fri, these both ended up being only 2 visits each because those 2 apts had current locataires in them, so the agency didn't have the keys and had to get their approval, but of course, they didn't call the agency back. Oh well. So, the apts on Thursday, I had that same friend come again(this means she did 6 visits out of a total of 11 and I'm really glad for it.) The apts on Thursday were nice enough and located in the centre historique, but one was cher and the other was on the 5th(!!) floor with no elevator. Which brings me to Lesson 5: Know what your criteres de recherche are. If you know(like me) you're lazy, don't even waste time seeing something that's up 5 flights with no elevator. I should have listened to myself and not bothered, I can't imagine moving in and carrying furniture and boxes up 5 flights or even carrying my heavy weekly groceries or my heavy school bag. Although, Lesson 6: Don't rule an apt out just for one small thing. Know your deal breakers of course, but see things even if the photos look ugly for example(case in point: the first apt I liked looked very moche sur les photos, but ended up a lot better in person.)

Which brings me to Fridays visits. I saw one apt in the quartier I wanted, but there wasn't a separate bedroom or a way to separate the living room to make a bedroom and this was one of my deal breakers. I gave it a chance even though I saw it said T1 and usually that just means the piece de vie is one big room, but it just didn't do it for me. Then, the other apt I saw, I was wary of the quartier, but though it's not located exactly where I'd want, it at least had more of a neighborhood than the one in the quartier des putes aka Ho Hood. It met all my criteres plus more and was really nice. And, my big news, I've dropped off a dossier for this apt and as soon as I can get 3 quittances de loyer from my proprio this week as well as a garant all I'll need to do is wait. I even got the proprio to baisse the prix by 2o euros. Lesson 7: Don't rule out an apt that's at the maximum of your price range or slightly over it. As you can tell from my experience, negociating can be had. If you find it expensive, let peepz know! Lesson 8: If you notice an apt you like that could do with a paint job or new tapisserie, ask the agency if it's already set to happen and if not, if they could ask the proprio to do so. It maybe won't happen, but it's always worth a try.

For my dossier, I needed:*

1 copy of my CDS

3 last quittances de loyer

3 last bulletins de salaire

2 last avis d'imposition**

1 RIB

1 garant and all their papiers

1 attestation d'assurance multirisques habitation (in order to get the cles)

*They also asked for a livret de famille, but I explained how I was 'mercan and they didn't have a problem. Btw, they could also ask for your contrat de travail, this agency just happened not to.

**I'm sure if you only have 0 or 1 of these, you could also explain the situation and they would be understanding.

So, now it's a waiting game, on verra if my dossier will be accepted, but the apt is pretty sweet, so I hope so. I'll fill you in on it more once I know if it's a yay or nay!

Grippe-ness

So, I am home with the grippe. It started yesterday before work, but at that point, I thought it was just a mix of lack of sleep, a stuffy bus ride and cigarette smoke at 8 AM. I knew I wasn't doing too well when, at the end of the afternoon, I absolutely had to give my whole class sitting down because standing up was too uncomfortable. I told my kids I was sick so they had to be quiet-this is one of the few times that they will (for once) voluntarily behave. I went home after school and laid around until bedtime when no sleeping was to be had. I was shivering cold, so I put on 4 layers of tops, 2 pairs of socks, slippers and at one point also had my jacket wrapped around me. I knew I would just get hot during the night, but I couldn't do otherwise. Well, I just couldn't get comfortable, I was cold, had a headache, had courbatures, was overall not doing well. However, I went to school anyways because I thought I would try to just get through the day and make it to tomorrow when I only have to work 2 hours. I guess I forgot how if in the states you come in when you're sick, you're a trooper, but in France, you're an evil, germ-spreader infecting everyone else around you. Once the teachers found out I was sick with a grippe, they said I really should head home. Obviously so I get better, but also so I don't infect them or the kids! In the end, they were right that it wasn't that smart to be there when I was in that state, so I talked to the directrice and she gave me the green light to go home.

When I got home this morning, I took my flu meds and went right to bed and that's pretty much where I've been since. It has done me worlds of good and though I am still sick, I do feel better. I think I'm actually going to go to the apt visits I had scheduled for tonight because I don't know when I'll be able to reschedule otherwise and I really need to make a decision by the end of this week. The only apt I've liked so far will be my apt of choice when I resee it tomorrow if neither of these that I'm seeing tonight are goodies. But, I'd still like to feel like I've explored my options as much as possible in 2 weeks' time. So, seeing these apts today will mean I'll have seen 7 apts total which I think is a fair number, although it doesn't exactly feel as such when 3 of the 5 I've seen so far have been immediate no, no, nos. Oh well. Hopefully 1 of the 2 today will be a yes, yes, yes. Although, a couple copines told me that the apt building(the 2 apts are in the same building) is in the quartier des putes. Umm, Rennes even has a quartier des putes? That's news to me! I knew there was an area where the drag queens hang, but I didn't know there was a whole quartier for the prostitues! On that note, I'm off!

Warning: blog post is longer than it appears

So, I've gotten a few requests(hi Crystal and Emma!) for a blog post and hordes(over statement of 2009) of people asking me where the F I've been. Umm, doing stuff? Duh. I can't really say what I've been doing, I barely remember what I did yesterday! That's not true. I checked and my last post was from Dec 1st. Wowza. I know I had soirees up the wazoo all through December, went to the K&K 200th episode bash in Paris, had tons of lesson planning to do, then was sick, then got ready to go home for xmas break, then was home and was busy watching Food Network all the live long day, then I got back on NYE, got thrown into a soiree hosted at my apt but thrown by my amis because I didn't get back til 17h, then I slept a lot because I was all jet lagged-ed and then again with the tons of lesson planning and adding in test correcting, then this week has been apt hunting and that little(understatement of 2009) summary should bring you up to speed! To tell you the truth, I didn't really think that much about blogging or when I did, I just didn't have anything that great to share. And we allll know how well-written I like to keep my posts...or not.

What you should know:

-It was great fun at K&K's 200 episode and I am now officially "Intern Leah." I think that just means I'm supposed to do stuff for them and get paid in M&Ms. I'll gladly take it...as long as by M&Ms, they clearly mean mojitos and margaritas! Je deconne. Yeah, twas fun, met some bloggas(hi Andromeda and ASL!), stayed with my fave Canadian bloguesse(is there a word to distinguish female bloggers because I feel like there should be), saw the ksam and the kkarina and had some rhum-rhums finally. Yay!

-Home was awesome. I was so happy to see my family and be back home. And it snowed! The morning after I got back. I freaking love waking up to a beautiful, white, untouched layer of snow on the ground. It continued to snow throughout the day as well. I heart snow. I have a pic above that I took at like 7 AM or whatever heinous hour the jet-lagged me got up at. Oh and for the first time in a long time, I gave into jetlag and ended up going to bed super early and rising with the roosters(if we lived on a farm which we don't so don't ask why I said that) which was one of the worst ideas EVER because it threw me off schedule for the first 5 days or so.

Xmas eve was at my house and my mom and I made some delish wassail, olive garlic cheese dip(recipe below if I remember), Kariner-beaner's stuffing, roasted chicken with a white wine sauce and veg, eclair cake, apple crumble and other delices. It was so good, but we were SO fullll by the end. Don't worry, I still managed to shove my face with eclair cake at the end. Don't get me started on that...I might still be full from everything I ate over the Christmas hols. I don't believe in resolutions, but I do plan on getting back into faire-ing some sport in the near future which is much needed! Anyway, all in all a good time and I didn't feel ready to leave at all after just 12 days. I think I was spoiled by spending 6 weeks over the summer, those 12 days just flew by! Luckily, I was sent out in style by landing a spot in business class because I arrived so late at the airport due to traffic and there were no more economy seats. I got a seat that reclined, tons of legroom, real silverware and plates, a comfy blanket and the best part!!, a privacy screen so I could pretend the person next to me didn't exist. That was sa-weet. I actually got to sleep more than my usual little snippets of 5 mins at a time before my head jerks up because I'm so effing uncomfortable. I know this because I missed breakfast! I was a little bitter about it at the time, but it turned out ok because I got a bit of food on my London-Paris flight. Yes, I had a connection. I miss Air India's direct flights, but I actually got to sleep for once, so it didn't seem too long. Then later, per usual, I slept like a bebe on the train...that thing rocks me to sleep, I swear!

-I'm on the apt hunt. I've had 5 visits in the past 2 days with 3 different agences and I do have one candidate that is good placement-wise(a bit closer to centreville), c correct au niveau du prix, it's lumineux and has an American salle de bains!!! The major downside is that the kitchen is pas du tout equipee and literally just has the kitchen sink. Isn't there an expression with something about everything but the kitchen sink...this is the opposite, nothing except the kitchen sink. Oh wait, isn't it something about taking everything but the kitchen sink? Then, n-mind, this would be the same. I'm tired. So yeah, that is a big downside because it means money, money, money, money, mo-ney, MO-NEY! But, it might well be worth it. I think I'm going to schedule a revisit tomorrow and hope no one has snatched it up! I have 3 more visits planned for Monday, have emailed a few particuliers and then was thinking of going to another big agence in town tomorrow. I want to be all set by the end of next week. I'm going to be moving in before I know it and I have trop hate, I really do. Thank goodness I'll be moving on a weekend and thank goodness for friends that can borrow their rents' big cars! Also, I'll be on vacation the weekend after, so that should give me plenty of time to get stuff done that I won't have time to do during the week. Yay! Ok, y'all, I's reals tireds, donc I'm gonna go couche myself, but bonne nuit to you all and if I don't blog again soon, just know I really am trying to keep up with your blogs(although jeez you guys write a lot more than me...I had over 2oo posts to read on bloglines after I got back from xmas!) Toodles!

Recipe for delish dip:

1 cup green olives(with pimiento)

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup cream cheese

1 garlic clove

Mix olives and cheeses in a food processor until a little bit chunky but not completely smooth. Grate in garlic. Eat copious amounts!

Quadrice Turkey Days

No, I still have no clue what comes after thrice, but then again, I didn't actually try to look it up either. Ah well, quadrice(or fleetine!) works just fine for me! So, last week was the week of Thanksgivings. I have never eaten more than one Thanksgiving meal ever before in America. Ok, that's not entirely true, I guess you could say two meals actually if you count the leftovers the next day! I had one T-giving in the afternoon on Thurs which was arranged by my school. Pretty sweet. A few of my coworkers actually brought in some decorations and made little quizzes for people to answer about the history of Turkey Day that were placed on each table. It made me very thankful to be a part of a pretty awesome program and team. The Frenchies seemed to be willing(except for that guy that got fries) to try the meal(they had an alternative option) and everyone said how much they enjoyed it. An added bonus was discovering I'm now getting even more of a discount than before on my lunches at the school(thank goodness considering I eat there M, T, R&F and it's not cher, but it can add up!)

Thurs night which is the scene of the pics above was a minigiving/thanksmini at Yuri's place. It was nice to do an actual meal on the day of and in someone's home and Yuri had the wonderful idea, so how could we not take her up on it? It was a smaller scale thing because we all were going to another big T-giving the next night...so I bought some English cranberry sauce, made my cornbread mix and made garlic bread. We had escalopes of dinde, mashed potaters, gravy, corn and a broccoli casserole. For dessert, we had brownies and those patisseries you see above. We were only 5.5 people(1 came later hence the half) so, needless to say, not all of those puppies got eaten. No they weren't actual dogs, excuse the dad language! It was a nice, relaxing meal entre amis.

Fri night was a big shindig with about 25 people that was fun, but not really Thanksgiving-y. Plus, I made stuffing, but didn't have time to cook it beforehand and on top of everything, I ended up being extremely late, so the stuffing didn't get cooked enough and wasn't all croustillant like it should be. Tant pis. On Sat, I headed to Fougeres to a T-giving hosted by a coworker and her pacse. I was glad to be invited(we were 15!) and everyone there was very nice, although I realized at one point that though there were two other girls by themselves it was only because their counterparts stayed home and that meant I was the only single person there. Kind of blechy. But, I didn't have time to focus on that because, as you can see...food galore! Real turkey, real cranberries(and even the fake kind with the can rings...love it!), mashed potaters, green bean casserole, 3 kinds of stuffing(I made a second batch of mine and it was properly cooked this time and delish, thanks to Karina for the recipe I've used 2 yrs now!), sweet potaters, green bean casserole, cornbread(with cranberries!) and even biscuits! For dessert, apple pie and yummy pumpkin pah as well! Many laughs were had and games were played. Turned out to be quite a good night! So, voila, there is my "remember the time I had 4 Thanksgivings in 3 days" story. Hope your T-givings were as bons as mine!

Top ten...

Reasons why I CANNOT wait to move...

~Fishy smelling kitchen because the oven fan isn't put on.

~Roomate being in the salle de bains at the EXACT moment every morning that I need to be in there...I know he knows...grr.

~Cleaning&organization all according to me...mwahaha!

~Decorating!!

~Exciting plans!!!

~Kitty can have free reign of the apt and not be enfermee in my chambre when the others are here.

~Having a place for my parents to stay when they visit me in the spring!!

~No more dishes piled up...and if they are, it'll be all MY fault!

~Singing out loud to my heart's content!!

~Wearing pyjamas on the weekend for hours on end and not having to feel like a lazy bum!!!

Things I'm thankful for this holiday season...

~Moving(sorry, couldn't resist!)

~Rennes' current development(the big new movie theater, all of the construction of apt buildings, the renovation of facades as well as many other changes.) Rennes is a happening spot!

~Celebrating Thanksgiving not once, not twice, not thrice, but FOUR TIMES!!

~The fact that it's almost Thanksgiving and we all know after T-giving, Xmas celebrations begin!

~Xmas decorations in my room and classroom(ok, so I started a bit early!)

~Sending out my homemade Xmas cards!

~Xmas lights up and soon to be lit around the city!!

~The American goodies waiting to be brought back in my bedoroom at home that I couldn't fit into my suitcase(s)!

~My job(s)!!

~My family, friends(espec my new enlargened group of anglo buddies in Rennes) and kitty!!!!!!

Could she be cuter...

...I don't think so!

Random comme d'hab

I think I'm supposed to be eating dinner with my colocs ce soir which is about as tempting as punching myself in the face, so instead I choose to blog. I know I'm still almost as absent as ever, but for good reasons. What with teaching, preparing for teaching and lotsa socializing(note vid above of the third of three Soiree Raclettes in the past 2 weeks), I really just haven't had the motivation/inspiration to sit down and blog. My brain is constantly thinking of about a bajillion things at once and blogging is usually not one of them. High on the list is moving plans and thinking about allllll of the things I will have to purchase when I move. I mean, I have the bare minimum furniture-wise(a couch, 4 chairs and a bed!), but if I were to make the list of everything else I'm missing, it'd be pretty dern long! Though I did more than double my salary from last year(which was pretty meager to begin with, so I'm definitely not rolling in the dough by any means), I've had a lot of stuff to pay off. 140 for a mattress+sommier, 110 for surcharges of our EDF/GDF, 130 in Taxe d'habitation, 500 for a plane ticket home...that's 900 easy euros gone right there. Thank goodness for the bank loan I got because there's no way I would have been able to get by otherwise. And by no way I mean no way besides asking the rents, but I want to avoid that if I can because I am a quasi-grownup afterall.

So, I won't be buying out any expensive furniture store anytime soon, but I will be hitting the Trocante, Ebay and a couple places I've heard of in Rennes where you can get new products with not-so-grave defauts(like dents, scratches, wrong colors) for way cheaper. Although I don't want to get too much before I move because that's just more stuff to have to move! I think I'll wait for a)the soldes which tombes bien because I'm moving end of Jan/debut fev, so I can hopefully grab some of the bigger, more expensive things then. But, I'm thinking even the little things I don't have are going to add up fast...vaccuum, broom, mop, toaster, microwave along with all the cleaning supplies I will have to buy as well. My detail-oriented personality(read:a touch of OCD) makes me want to do things like guesstimate prices of aluminum foil+mop rags+windex=?? I guess I shouldn't think about it too much in detail because it might, maybe just maybe, stress me out a bit. I think focusing on the caution, first month's rent and agency fees are quite enough, thank you very much. Plus, not all of what's on my lists(yes, you read that right, that's lists with an 's') is really priority. Take cheese grater for instance, I can live without it. Yes, my lists are specific. I should do that for a job except that I don't wish to organize other people's lives, just my own.

So yeah, I've got moving on the brain a bit. Plus, exciting plans for when I do actually move(Yur, you know what I'm talkin bout!), so I'm looking forward to actually getting stuff sorted. The sooner, the better. It's a maladie, I tell ya! Sur ce, here's a little meme that I've wanted to do for a while but for aforementioned reasons, I never got to. Taggees, find your names at the bottom.

Six things you probably don't know about me:

1) I only give myself 30 mins in the morning to get ready. I value sleep too much, so I take showers at evening or nighttime and I oftentimes wake up with yesterday's makeup(yes, I know this is bad.)

2) I am very sensitive to certain noises(what's interesting is that my sis is like that with smells and can't go near a perfume shop.) I was that girl that stood inside watching the fireworks from afar because the sudden BOOM! just didn't bode too well with me. I've gotten more used to it as I've gotten older, but it still bothers me a bit. It's now translated into standing far away from people opening bubbly wines or champagnes, although that might also have to do with my fear of things going into eyes.

3) I can tell when meeting someone for the first time if they are someone who I could be good friends with. I haven't been wrong yet. Bizarrely enough though, unless it's blatantly obvious like they are a jackface or a creepster, I have a hard time placing exactly what it is about people that just doesn't rub me the right way.

4) I have a strange fear of falling into open spaces. My mall back home has its' second floor overlooking the first and I avoid being near the railing like the plague. I constantly think about what if someone accidentally bumped into me or what if I was leaning on it and the glass broke. This goes for sewer grates, metro stations and any cavernous space of any sort pretty much.

5) I can never remember who I tell what to. For instance, now that I'm thinking about it, I might have mentioned my fear of falling into open spaces on here before, but I'm not sure. In some ways I have a really good memory(like useless random facts or memorizing things), but other times, I have a hard time remembering very specific details of a general thing if that makes sense. I did well in high school for instance because it was a lot of memorization(which is a big part of why languages came so easy to me), but college was more difficult because I am not so analytical and it takes time for me to organize my thoughts.

6)I am random. I start talking about one thing and then end up in a completely different place. Hence the blog. Oh and speaking about organization, I am so organized sometimes I forget how organized I am and try to do things like a normal person. Say I'm going to use the same photocopy for 2 different classes. Well, I will do something like make a photocopy and put it in the folder for each class, so that I can have the copy in the 2 places I need it instead of having to remember that I need to transfer it from one folder to the other after I'm done with the first class. Then I file the orignal away because I like to get $h!t done. Then, I proceed to forget that I have done so and spend time looking for the original(that I have already filed away) so I can make copies for the second class and then remember that I am so ridiculously organized that I already not only have filed away the original, but also have the copy that I need in the folder for that class. Yeah, so that probably only made sense to me. What was I saying about being random again, I forget if I mentioned that here or not. Cycle vicieux.

Je tagge: Fellow Canuck, Going to Episode 200!, hopefully also going to Ep. 200!!

Two outta three ain't bad!

So, the apartment hunt has officially begun. While I've been checking out ads on the internet for a couple months now, I was waiting until I actually sent out my lettre recommandee with accuse de reception and got the confirmation that my proprio got it and then hurdled the task of telling my current roomies. Well, now that that's all said and done, it was time to tackle the beast of going to the agences to see what's available since not much is online for when I want to move. I headed out today not knowing how it was going to go since I've never been to the agencies before as I found my colocation on the internet. I decided to go to the three places near me figuring that a)since I want to stay in this hood, they might be the best bet for that and b)since they're close by, if I ever need to stop in for whatever reason, it would be very convenient.

First agence-I walk in and two younger girls are at the accueil. They both are very friendly and when I say that I know it might be a bit early(seeing as all the annonces they had outside were for at least a month before I want to move), one tells me it's never too early to search for an apartment. She takes down my info as well as my general preferences and says that the woman who takes care of this is busy today, but she'll give me a call once something comes up. I then proceed to the second agence.

Second agence-I walk in and the lady at the desk walks away, umm not really a good sign. Luckily, she redeems herself by calling out her colleague's name saying there is someone waiting to be helped. Phew. New lady gets down to business and takes down the details of what I'm looking for. She then tells me the person is out today who would be able to help me, but asks for my name and number so that she can contact me once she has done some recherches. She writes down Mlle Leah until I correct her and say Leah is my first name, umm duh. On to the third!

Third agence-I walk in and lady is on phone. I patiently wait for her to finish and remark on how freakin hot it is in the place. Me hates the heat. Strike one. The lady finally gets off the phone and I explain that I'm looking to rent an appart etc and she directs me to her collegue in the next room. Collegue says hi and then just sort of waits for me to talk. Awkward. Aren't real estate agents supposed to act like your new bff so they can get your money? She should learn a lesson from the bankers. Strike two. So, I am awkward and say c'est vous, Christine? The lady at the reception didn't tell me her last name, though! Oh well. I go on to say I'm looking for an apartment a louer in a little under 3 month's time. She looks at me like I have two heads and says and I quote " c'est beaucoup trop tot pour chercher" and then tells me she only has 1 appart that she knows of that is even dispo then and that I should come back at the earliest at the end of December. I say umm ok, I'll repasse a ce moment-la. Thanks for the help(or not.) Strike three.

I'm an organized person, I can't help it, I like to get $h!+ done. Coming from the two places where they didn't hesitate to take down my info and where one girl even said it was never to early to look for a place, I thought it was pretty lame for the lady(from a reputable company, btw, that exists in the US) to look at me like I was crazy for already getting started with my search, then tell me she did have a place(ok, just one, but still, it's not like there were none!) and then not even take my info. It doesn't really make me want to go back there and actually I was hoping to get this sorted before I go home for Xmas anyways. Is that like super crazy of me? Now, I'm just hoping to hear soon from the other ladies and if I don't hear from them within a week, I'm thinking I'll go elsewhere just to leave my options open. Wish me luck!

Nouvelles

Well, after my bit of drama a la Gossip Girl, I'm ready to share some major news with you people that I'm very excited about. I'm mooooooving! That's right, after over 2 years in the same ol' apartment and 5 different roomies later, I'm ready to casse-myself. I've always told myself this would be my last coloc and that the next place I lived would be my own appart. I wasn't in a rush to get out before, though, I mean it is gonna take a decent amount of sous to do this afterall. However, I think that the fact that my newest roomies are not people I ever see myself being friends with has really given me the extra push I needed to see this thing through. I told them last night which was a huge relief because for whatever reason it was making me nervous. But, I'm giving them plenty of time plus I already know of someone who might be interested in taking my place which means they could be set pretty soon and without paying 1 centime on appartager or any other roommate sites.

I, on the otherhand, have to actually find this magical, new apartment. I've been looking for about a month online and have seen very few things open for when I want to move. So, I'm thinking I'll have to go to the agencies and see if they do actually have stuff dispo and they just haven't put it online(thinking it's too early) or what. I really would love to stay in the same quartier I live in now-close enough to walk to downtown, lots of buses if I need to take them, but at the same time pretty calm seeing as I can hear ducks coin-coining as I write this. The only other place I would live would be centreville, but that usually means an apt that's either super cher or the size of my pinky, so on verra. In any case, I'm very excited and can't wait to find my new place and get all the perks that go along with it. Plus, decorating, hello? What could be fun-ner? So yeah, that's my big news and I honestly CANNOT wait!

PS-Go Obama!

Secrets, secrets are no fun

So, I've always been one to believe in being honest with people. Honesty is the best policy, they say. It might sound a little Gertrude Goodie Two Shoes, but it's me. Yes, I've told some white lies in my time, but bold-faced lying just isn't my thing. I guess I can't say I've never done it before either, but it was when I was much younger and now I'm older and wiser. Or so I thought. Is it lying if you just purposely choose not to tell someone something? You know, just leaving something out. And is it good to tell the truth knowing it will make you feel much better(to have whatever it is off your chest), but make someone else feel much, much worse? How do you decide when someone needs to know something? Should you let time pass by and wait to say something? These are questions I find myself facing. I won't go into details, but help!

Vacation, all I ever wanted

Hightlights of my holidays so far:

Watching ridiculous amounts of Gossip Girl

Running errands up the wazoo

Finalizing a very important decision that will mean a big change for this lady

Getting together my Halloween costume bits and pieces-just know that my costume involves a boa and a sparkly flower in my hair, details to follow later

Shopping for school supplies and magic pens!

Picking up my Tarte de Mes Jours!!!



And vacances aren't even over yet! I still have 4 more days plus a very exciting Halloweener party on Friday!

PS-Isn't that pic of the Go-Go's so deliciously 80s it hurts?