Back in Framce!
There's lots of things I want to tell lots of people so rather than post it on FB I suppose I should start posting on LJ again!
It's been too long to cover the last year, but in August Helena invited me to come back to France to help her w/ the kids again so here I am! I wasn't doing anything else and there's lots of things I never got to do when I was here last time. I told Max "I want to have a real life this time and not just internet constantly!" He lol'd.
I spent September and October living with my parents in Nashville and I had so much fun! I split most of my time between Sara and Nathan, with special appearances by Lauren, Corey and Noah. I love my Nashville friends so much. I was very sad to leave and am kinda planning on moving back there after July and starting a life with some semblance of direction. Of course, things could change. I also spent my time traveling to see my family in Illinois and Indiana and to see Tots in Phoenix! Yay for dear friends! ^_^
So today's my first full day in France! I think jetlag is a myth, although I understand why people might have invented it. I think the exhaustion that comes after international travel isn't really due to the time change, but the stress you're put under while traveling and the idiots you deal with along the way. I had a resplendent experience flying Virgin Atlantic this go 'round and feel like I've already caught up on my sleep. It's 3pm here and 8am at home, but the fatigue I'm experiencing is probably due to only getting 4 hours of sleep most days the last week I was home.
Anyway, I'm feeling fine.
Helena and the kids live in a diff place now than my last trip over. It's an old house turned into apts. The house was built in 1930 and taken over by Nazis during WWII! It has hardwood floors, skylights, lots of windows, a balcony overlooking a beautiful garden, and a hallway of closets in which the entrance to Licia's bedroom is hidden! My bedroom has its own sink and I can see the clock on the big ol' church in the center of town from my bed. It's just like college!
My trip over here was so great.
It all began in NYC! I told Helena I would get myself to NYC if she flew me the rest of the way so Tang and I made plans to spend a wknd there before I left. The timing worked out just perfectly so that we went to see Gorillaz at Madison Square Garden on Friday! It was a great show and I'm so glad I got to see them live finally. I was a little underwhelmed just because they've never toured and it wasn't mindblowing, but it was very entertaining. So that was Friday night. We stayed at the San Carlos hotel that night w/ Jen and MelBay (college reunion!) and stayed up too late talking about old times and how much jobhunting sucks.
The next morning I woke up early and ran around town doing different errands. Phew. When I got back it was about time to check out so I decided I wanted MelBay to cut my hair in the bathroom. I'm now the proud sporter of a shoddily sheared bob. I'll go somewhere this week and get it shaped up a bit, but it looks fine.
Then we lugged my shit to MelBay's apt in Brooklyn and that sucked. We sat around then met Jen at Red Lobster in Times Square to eat on gift cards. Lol we're such jerks. After the LOBSTERITAS we went to Dunkin Donuts and gossiped about college peeps. By then it was time for Tang to head to the airport, so we said our goodbyes and MelBay and I went to a gallery opening things in SoHo.
The gallery is dedicated to only comic and animation pieces and I was there during comiccon so we got to see Marvel and DC artwork AND STAN LEE himself! It wasn't as good as it would have been had I gone to see him at the Dayton Public Library that time in college when I didn't find out he was gonna be there until the day after it happened, but it was cool. He signed pretty much everything in the gallery then left. MelBay and I took the Sharpies he used to sign things and that's my only souvenir from New York. Lol.
So after Stan Lee left we met Jen at some divey place and shared a couple pitchers. It was so nice to see those fools again! Reconnecting with old friends is wonderful. Then we went home, I got all checked in for my flight and I went to sleep. Hard.
The next day was Sunday, DDAY! My flight wasn't until 6pm, so I slept in a bit, then went to Forbidden Planet (a super comic/game store!) and bought Ivan a bday gift, then met his family at SPiN, a table tennis hall, for his bday party. It was a nice surprise for him and it was good to see Scott, Louise and Jonathan again.
By the time I made it back to Williamsburg, it was time for me to go to the airport with my 2 massive bags! MelBay and her friend Jordan, who had just gotten bit by a dog, did me a huge favor and helped me drag my luggage to the subway and I took it from there. It was so easy and check in was easy and my flight was perfect! I had an aisle seat right next to the bathroom. Like, I could reach out and open the door. So many people came up when it was locked and tried to get in and I was all "duh wth it's occupied". The flight was about 6 hours long so I made the most of it. I slept until we took off and as soon as they turned on the in-flight entertainment I started watching Kick-Ass, which I LOVED. It was so good. They brought my meal of beef stew, a Chinese salad, a roll w/ butter, banana pudding and a glass of red wine shortly after the movie started and I was in heaven. I love airline food so much. I really love international flights. After Kick-Ass I watched Shutter Island, which was good, but too long. Duh. Then I started Jonah Hex and got through most of it, but they shut off the service before it was over. Jonah Hex was alright. It reminded me of The Gunslinger(the book I'm currently reading) so I kept getting the story mixed up in my brain. And Megan Fox's dumb vampy face ruined it. We landed in London around 6:30am and it was cold. Boo it's cold over here! I slept the entire way to Brussels in the very last row, at 10:20am we landed and I meandered to baggage claim as both my bags were circling around. It's a miracle both my bags made it through 2 huge airports and 3 countries!
When I got out, Licia jumped past the gate and ran to hug me! It was cute and I'll bet everyone was jeal b/c she's adorable. Max is like 1 foot taller than me now and a real young man. Helena was there too of course and it was a nice reunion. We stopped at a frite stand in Ath, Belgium on the way to France and all ate huge amounts of the most delicious fried potatoes on Earth. Yum. I started feeling the exhaustion finally and took a shower and passed out as soon as we got back to Tourcoing.
We had a little lasagna last night and it's like old times again.
I really need to practice my french oh wow. It's been so long since I've spoken it, I'm quite worried about getting back into it. I went to the grocery store this morning and forgot I had to weigh the produce myself so the cashier and the lady in line behind me talked about it. I'm def back in a foreign country.
So that's what's happened so far. Friday I'm going to get enrolled in my French class and hopefully I'll find some extracurriculars to get involved in. I want to be active and make an actual life for myself here. Not like last time...I think my bedroom being above ground helps...
Stay tuned, b/c I hope to have the motivation to update regularly. Love you!
It's been too long to cover the last year, but in August Helena invited me to come back to France to help her w/ the kids again so here I am! I wasn't doing anything else and there's lots of things I never got to do when I was here last time. I told Max "I want to have a real life this time and not just internet constantly!" He lol'd.
I spent September and October living with my parents in Nashville and I had so much fun! I split most of my time between Sara and Nathan, with special appearances by Lauren, Corey and Noah. I love my Nashville friends so much. I was very sad to leave and am kinda planning on moving back there after July and starting a life with some semblance of direction. Of course, things could change. I also spent my time traveling to see my family in Illinois and Indiana and to see Tots in Phoenix! Yay for dear friends! ^_^
So today's my first full day in France! I think jetlag is a myth, although I understand why people might have invented it. I think the exhaustion that comes after international travel isn't really due to the time change, but the stress you're put under while traveling and the idiots you deal with along the way. I had a resplendent experience flying Virgin Atlantic this go 'round and feel like I've already caught up on my sleep. It's 3pm here and 8am at home, but the fatigue I'm experiencing is probably due to only getting 4 hours of sleep most days the last week I was home.
Anyway, I'm feeling fine.
Helena and the kids live in a diff place now than my last trip over. It's an old house turned into apts. The house was built in 1930 and taken over by Nazis during WWII! It has hardwood floors, skylights, lots of windows, a balcony overlooking a beautiful garden, and a hallway of closets in which the entrance to Licia's bedroom is hidden! My bedroom has its own sink and I can see the clock on the big ol' church in the center of town from my bed. It's just like college!
My trip over here was so great.
It all began in NYC! I told Helena I would get myself to NYC if she flew me the rest of the way so Tang and I made plans to spend a wknd there before I left. The timing worked out just perfectly so that we went to see Gorillaz at Madison Square Garden on Friday! It was a great show and I'm so glad I got to see them live finally. I was a little underwhelmed just because they've never toured and it wasn't mindblowing, but it was very entertaining. So that was Friday night. We stayed at the San Carlos hotel that night w/ Jen and MelBay (college reunion!) and stayed up too late talking about old times and how much jobhunting sucks.
The next morning I woke up early and ran around town doing different errands. Phew. When I got back it was about time to check out so I decided I wanted MelBay to cut my hair in the bathroom. I'm now the proud sporter of a shoddily sheared bob. I'll go somewhere this week and get it shaped up a bit, but it looks fine.
Then we lugged my shit to MelBay's apt in Brooklyn and that sucked. We sat around then met Jen at Red Lobster in Times Square to eat on gift cards. Lol we're such jerks. After the LOBSTERITAS we went to Dunkin Donuts and gossiped about college peeps. By then it was time for Tang to head to the airport, so we said our goodbyes and MelBay and I went to a gallery opening things in SoHo.
The gallery is dedicated to only comic and animation pieces and I was there during comiccon so we got to see Marvel and DC artwork AND STAN LEE himself! It wasn't as good as it would have been had I gone to see him at the Dayton Public Library that time in college when I didn't find out he was gonna be there until the day after it happened, but it was cool. He signed pretty much everything in the gallery then left. MelBay and I took the Sharpies he used to sign things and that's my only souvenir from New York. Lol.
So after Stan Lee left we met Jen at some divey place and shared a couple pitchers. It was so nice to see those fools again! Reconnecting with old friends is wonderful. Then we went home, I got all checked in for my flight and I went to sleep. Hard.
The next day was Sunday, DDAY! My flight wasn't until 6pm, so I slept in a bit, then went to Forbidden Planet (a super comic/game store!) and bought Ivan a bday gift, then met his family at SPiN, a table tennis hall, for his bday party. It was a nice surprise for him and it was good to see Scott, Louise and Jonathan again.
By the time I made it back to Williamsburg, it was time for me to go to the airport with my 2 massive bags! MelBay and her friend Jordan, who had just gotten bit by a dog, did me a huge favor and helped me drag my luggage to the subway and I took it from there. It was so easy and check in was easy and my flight was perfect! I had an aisle seat right next to the bathroom. Like, I could reach out and open the door. So many people came up when it was locked and tried to get in and I was all "duh wth it's occupied". The flight was about 6 hours long so I made the most of it. I slept until we took off and as soon as they turned on the in-flight entertainment I started watching Kick-Ass, which I LOVED. It was so good. They brought my meal of beef stew, a Chinese salad, a roll w/ butter, banana pudding and a glass of red wine shortly after the movie started and I was in heaven. I love airline food so much. I really love international flights. After Kick-Ass I watched Shutter Island, which was good, but too long. Duh. Then I started Jonah Hex and got through most of it, but they shut off the service before it was over. Jonah Hex was alright. It reminded me of The Gunslinger(the book I'm currently reading) so I kept getting the story mixed up in my brain. And Megan Fox's dumb vampy face ruined it. We landed in London around 6:30am and it was cold. Boo it's cold over here! I slept the entire way to Brussels in the very last row, at 10:20am we landed and I meandered to baggage claim as both my bags were circling around. It's a miracle both my bags made it through 2 huge airports and 3 countries!
When I got out, Licia jumped past the gate and ran to hug me! It was cute and I'll bet everyone was jeal b/c she's adorable. Max is like 1 foot taller than me now and a real young man. Helena was there too of course and it was a nice reunion. We stopped at a frite stand in Ath, Belgium on the way to France and all ate huge amounts of the most delicious fried potatoes on Earth. Yum. I started feeling the exhaustion finally and took a shower and passed out as soon as we got back to Tourcoing.
We had a little lasagna last night and it's like old times again.
I really need to practice my french oh wow. It's been so long since I've spoken it, I'm quite worried about getting back into it. I went to the grocery store this morning and forgot I had to weigh the produce myself so the cashier and the lady in line behind me talked about it. I'm def back in a foreign country.
So that's what's happened so far. Friday I'm going to get enrolled in my French class and hopefully I'll find some extracurriculars to get involved in. I want to be active and make an actual life for myself here. Not like last time...I think my bedroom being above ground helps...
Stay tuned, b/c I hope to have the motivation to update regularly. Love you!