Frazzled

I woke up in the middle of the night due to some loud sounds, but then couldn't get back to sleep. Everything I had to do today kept going through my mind, so I finally got up and made a list - it had 17 items! 5 for work, 5 were relocation related, 5 personal finance related, and 2 other! I've been living like this for weeks, making lists, writing on my hand, leaving myself voicemails and emails so I won't forget stuff. I'm so tired of it, just a few more weeks, and i should be all settled, with all my utilities, ma carte de séjour (residency permit) etc. I just have to hang on....
I thought about staying up (it was 4am) but then just ironed a shirt and went to bed for 2 more hours instead.

Also there will be no more posts until Wed at the earliest! I'm not in work mon and tues, so i'll be internet-less. Even in my apt it will take a few weeks to set up.

sorry

Sorry not posting much lately. Work and running around for settling-in related activities is keeping me busy, and i no longer have internet in the seviced apartment. For whatever reason it was beyond the intelligence of the corporate housing company to set up internet, (though they claim they can), and the wireless network i was piggybacking onto has probably gotten wise to me, and now requires a password.

Signing the lease today, and moving in next week! So pictures of my new place soon!

Star Wars L'Expo

A Star Wars exhibition, the Cité des Sciences et l'Industrie has. Costumes, props, drawings, etc. from the 6 films, displayed they are. For the big fan, a must-see it is. Very interesting, it was. Only one thing wrong, there was. Alone, was I. With Masters Tonru, Davel, Ang'Gl, and Katbu, gone to see it, I would have, if in NY, it was. Miss my Jedi friends, I do. Too sad, I will not be. For sadness could lead to fear, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to...suffering!! (Yoda to Anakin, Ep I).
(My apologies for those not into the rhythm of Yoda-speak). :)

Maybe being a vegetarian is a good idea

Today in the cafeteria, they had burgers. Mmmm, nice juicy hamburgers, I thought. Looked cooked enough. But beware! Though the outside was a nice brown, inside looked like raw ground beef! It didn't even look rare, but raw. And as someone who usually orders burgers well-done, I couldn't touch it after seeing that. My co-workers said to bring it back, they have no problem cooking it more if you like, but i had mangled it pretty good. Next time i'm tempted by a beef offering (though that may not be for a while), i'll know to ask them to cook it a bit longer.

Today i bought chicken nuggets for dinner (yes i buy frozen food here, and yes so do other french people)! While they were cooking, i looked at the ingredients. Of the ingredient “meats” it listed
chicken 18%, turkey 10%. Um, no word on what the other 72% of “meats” were. Oh god. What did i just eat.

Housing visits Day 2

Another day of housing visits! At least i didn't oversleep this time.

Visit #1 – 9^th arr. Nice, clean, big (relatively speaking) but boring. And in a boring quartier, mostly commercial area.

Visit #2 - 9^th arr again, but more towards the 18^th, so a bit more lively. Gorgeous apartment, this I loved as much as Visit #6 yesterday! They were renovating it, but keeping all the charm – the moldings, the fireplaces, etc. Big too, though no closets. Hmmmm...if this was in one of my neighborhood preferences i would have snapped it up.

Visit #3 - 7^th arr. Pretty nice, but boring area.

Visit #4 – 7^th arr again. Charming, some nice touches, stained glass, etc. But kitchen had tiniest washing machine i'd ever seen!! Even smaller than the normal small washing machines! It was like for baby clothes something. I don't even think a large beach towel would have fit!

Visit #5 – 7^th arr again....Good size, lots of closets, great kitchen. But ugly carpet, and weird layout in living room would have precluded my furniture. Anyway, i don't want to live in the 7^th, people!

Odile and I went back to Monday's #6, on Boulevard La Grenelle in the 15^th arr. I know i loved it, but it was getting smaller and smaller in my head. Luckily enough, it had not shrunk to the size that was in my head. :) But is it big enough for all my furniture? Well, no. I will have to make some decisions on what to store in the cave, what to get rid of, etc. And I will have to make some very creative storage decisions. Good thing there's IKEA in Paris (well in the suburbs at least).

But i'm happy. A charming apartment, in an old Paris building, in a pleasant neighborhood. A non-chic, non-pretentious, non-touristy neighborhood. Yet, the Champ de Mars (the large grassy area in front of the Eiffel Tower) is only about a 5 min jog away!

Despite it's non chic-ness, supposedly Brangelina lives there! Though of course their apt has a view of the Eiffel Tower. Well, i'll let you all know if i bump into Brad or Angelina at Monoprix.

Housing visits Day 1

Wow. What at exhausting, and mostly, disappointing day.

The day didn't even start right. After my watch alarms went off (all 3 of them) I decided I could still sleep another 20 minutes, until 7:30, so re-set one of the alarms. I woke up to the phone ringing, at 8:34!! Then when I tried to answer the phone, I dropped it, and the batteries fell out. I put them back in, every which way, but the phone never did work again. However, it would ring, but i couldn't answer it.

After a rushed shower and dressing, I run outside to call Odile, the woman who was meeting me to look at apartments, from a telephone booth (cabine). I figured it was she calling, but it wasn't. Then i called the corporate housing provider about the phone, and they said someone would be there that day to fix it. I run back home and rush rush to get ready to meet Odile.

Ok. So my assumption of what the day would be like, we would go to one of the areas I had specified, and look at several places in that area. Um, i really wondered why they had bothered asking what my neighborhood preferences were. We saw places everywhere. Of the 9 places I saw, 3 were where I had specified (2 near Bastille/Republique, 1 in the northern part of the 15 arrondisment.) And, we drove to each one, which with traffic took absolutely forever. And the planning of the visits was all scattered, we'd go from one area of Paris to another, then back to near the previous area. Here's a summary -

Visit #1 - in the Marais, near Republique, thus one of my area preferences. Cute apartment, but TINY. No way furniture would come close to fitting. Scratch

Visit #2 – In the 9^th arr., not one of my preferred areas, though convenient for commute. Apartment was actually 3 pièces (pièce is non bathroom or kitchen room), so could be a 2 BR, or have a study or seperate dining room. 3 students were living there now, so it was rather messy, but with a non-messy person could be nice. :) Big kitchen, but was going to be non-equipée (no appliances). However even with the 3 pieces, was hard to tell if furniture would fit, due to layout of fireplaces, big windows, etc. Also, price was higher than my ceiling, but negotiable. Hmmmm.

Visit #3 – In the 11^th arr, near Bastille, thus one of my preferences. Apt was converted industrial space. Ugly. Fairly spacious, and good kitchen space and appliances, but just ugly. Too modern looking, floor was like concrete, etc. Anyway, doorway way too narrow for furniture to even fit through. Scratch.

Visit #4 – In the 7^th. A nice area, but not really for me. Nice apartment though, lots of closets!! Big kitchen, but was going to non-equipée. Also, living room rather small, judging from their sofa, I knew mine wouldn't fit. Scratch.

Visit #5 – In the 17^th arr, very chic area, but not for me. Gorgeous building though. Apartment was on the “attic” floor so had sloping ceilings. Was being renovated, and the floors were beatiful, and with a big american kitchen (meaning it had an island) tout equipée. Again, though, too small. Also, the elevator went to the 5^th floor, then 2 flights of narrow stairs, and once on top in the apartment, i felt i was just too high up. Kind of disconcerting. Scratch.

Visit #6 – In the 15^th arr, near La Motte-Piquet metro stop, one of my preferences. I loved this apartment! It definitely had character and was different from all the others. When you first go in, there's a long hallway, that has a long beautiful shelf/bookcase. There's a big kitchen, equipée, including the washing machine. Now that i'm writing this, i realize i have to check if it was washer only, or washer/dryer!!

The living room, while not large, had room for my sofa, coffee table, and tv/book shelves ( i think...). The bedroom came with a gorgeous armoire. In face i would have to get rid of my dresser, becaue there'd be no room, and use the armoire instead. The bedroom faced the courtyard so was nice and quiet, while the living room faced the street and you could open the windows and stand on a mini-mini terrace. Both living and bedroom had a fireplace, but they did not quite disrupt the layout of the rooms the way they did in other apartments.

Unfortunately no room for my dinette set. The kitchen has room for a mini-table, but not mine. But, there is a cave (storage space in basement). We took a look, it's like something out of a Edgar Allen Poe story! The basement is a long winding corridor, dimly lit with bulbs here and there, with the caves, or storage rooms leading from it. Big enough to store the dinette set if i wanted to try and sell it, or keep it until moving again!

Another negative, is that yes it had the shelves in the hallway, and the armoire in the bedroom, but that's because there were no closets! No matter what i'd have to buy some sort of closet with a bar, to hang clothes.

I told Odile I wanted it though, though now I'm having 2^nd thoughts. If I was coming with no furniture, no problem, there was just something about the place i fell in love with, but trying to make my stuff from a good-sized queens apt fit into a parisian apt is really going to tough. (Which is why a pre-housing visit before moving, which i SHOULD have had, would have been a good idea!!!! I definitely would have sold/got rid of/stored more of my stuff. Fucking Cendant). I will also ask Odile about the washer/dryer, if it's only a washer, I will ask to replace it with washer/dryer.

Visit #7 – Again in 7^th arr (me no like). Carpeted, when i had requested wood floors only. Bedroom so small only my bed would have fit. Scratch.

Visit #8 – Again in the 17^th arr (me no like). Decent size and closets, but didn't grab me. Very modern looking. Kitchen had neither appliances nor cabinets. Scratch.

Visit #9 – Back to the 7^th arr. Again decent size and closets, but wouldn't have fit dinette set (none of these apartments would have). Kitchen non-equipée, but had lots of cabinets and storage. A carpet but said they could remove. Didn't grab me though. Sigh. Scratch.

Finally got home close to 7pm, to find out the phone still not fixed. Those bastards! Um, my company is paying 3750 euros per month for this corporate housing, you're supposed to get good service!!

So that's that. Even though i knew beforehand apartments would be small, actually seeing first hand how small they are makes it a reality. It's depressing. And depressing that they showed me all sorts of places in neighborhoods I had no interest in. Oh, and now i just realized that my desk would not fit in the apartment I love, #6. Fuck. What to do, what to do. We're seeing some more tomorrow, but i don't have high hopes.

Why does america have to have such big crap!?

Sat 18 March

This first picture is of the lovely parisian staircase in my building. The staircase which alas ends on the 4th floor so i have to take the small rattly elevator the the 5th.

The 2nd photo is of a street in the Bastille area where I had lunch today. I just love all the narrow little streets. The Bastille area is one of the areas i'm thinking of living in, so it was fun to walk around and pick out buildings i liked and think that could be my new home! The relocation people BETTER do a good job of finding potential apartments. The relo people here in Paris are different people from those flakey idiots based in London, so there might be hope.
I came across an awesome fruits and vegetables market in the area, I wasn't going to buy anything but then I was finally tempted by some clementines. 1 kilo for 1 euro! mmmm.
I was in the mood for a crepe at lunch, not on of those nutella crepes from a stand (not that they aren't delicious) but a creperie, a resturants specializing in crepes. I couldn't find one and ended up eating at a thai restuarant. Hey i love thai, and can't eat escargot, etc. every day. After i ate, guess what kind of place i discovered was right next door. A creperie. :) Oh well, the Thai was delicious, and now i know where to go for crepes next time i'm in the area.

Mon and Tues next week are apartment hunting days! I can't wait!!

Duane Reade

I miss Duane Reade. It's the familiarity of knowing where to go for certain products I miss. Duane Reade (and by DR i mean American drugstores in general) are great. Where else can you go and get your toiletries, paper products, drugs, medicine, cosmetics, greeting cards, soda, a snack, batteries, photo prints, etc in one place???

I'm still trying to figure out where to go to get all those items for reach i took DR for granted. Though it is part of the fun of a new culture!
The pharmacies here have a lot of that stuff, but certainly not everything. I do like the fact you can always spot one blocks away - they all have a green cross outside, which flashes if it's open. And they are more plentiful than starbucks in new york. But it does seem like 95% of the products are some sort of lotion. I generally have to ask the pharmacist for what i want, and they disappear for a second and mysteriously come back with the item. Items i've asked for are

-mouchoirs (tissues). The pharmacist asked me if i wanted 1, 2, or a packet? They sell them individually?? So i said a packet, which turned out to be a packet of about 10 packets. But they are tiny packets, smaller than those travel size kleenex packet in the US! Don't french people blow their nose? I must ask my colleagues where to buy a big packet of mouchoirs.

- creme pour douleurs musculaire (cream for muscular pain). In other words i needed Ben-gay! I had a stiff neck and back after my 11 hours of sleep sat night. But i'm happy to report the french "bengay" worked wonders!

I could go on but you get the idea. I'm sure at the end of my 3 years here i will have asked for every item they stock. :)

Stereotypes

So it's only been a few days, but so far the myth that the french don't work late is just a myth. I haven't left the office before 6:15 yet, and there are always still plenty of people.

And i've gotten no flak about being American. I really didn't think I would, but i was sort of hoping someone would mention Bush so i could go off on a rant about how much i hate him. :)

1st night out

Last night was my first dinner out in Pa-ree. There was a training session at work, and some people from other offices where there. They all went out to dinner, as well as others in the instrat "equipe" (team) and the guy from the software vendor leading the session.
I have to say, everyone in the office, the equipe and others in the office, has been very nice and friendly. I was worried they'd be a bit standoffish at first, but it really hasn't been the case. And the equipe alwasy eats lunch together so my worries about what i'd do for lunch were unfounded as well.
Back to the dinner - luckily for me it was just a few blocks from my apt. It was a place called "Music Hall" but was designed in rather a 70's motif. There were these lights that kept changing from red to green to blue, so it was a bit bizarre. Like being in a disco, but eating dinner instead of dancing!
I had escargot to start, once i saw those on the menu i couldn't resist! And they were fantastic! The main meal and dessert weren't quite as great, but it was a good time nonetheless.

Finally!

Well, i'm finally online and can post! I still don't think I have internet access from the corporate housing company, but I have wireless and jumped onto a wireless network. I don't know why I didn't think to do that before....I'll blame it all on jet lag!

I arrived Friday, and despite business class, barely slept and felt like crap. I got to the apartment around 1 and napped from 1:30 to 5! Amazingly enough I was tired again at 10 and went to sleep but woke up in the middle of the night because when I set the clock in the flat I accidently turned the alarm as well - which was at midnight! Unfortunately then I tossed and turned for several hours.

The apt is cute - a small studio. The kitchen is the tiniest kitchen I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty of tiny NYC kitchens! There's a fridge the size of a dorm fridge, and both an oven and a dishwasher the size of a microwave. Some genius decided to put the fridge underneath the hot plates (stove top? what do they call it when it's not on top of the oven?) and my ice cream melted in the freezer. :( I've been eating, or more like drinking, it anyway.
I find it hilarious that there are only 2 water glasses, but 6 wine glasses, 4 espresso cups, and 6 coffee cups. Guess i know what i should be drinking!
Speaking of wine, i bought a bottle, and the apt has a wine opener, but then i realized, no wine stopper. And i'm not about to start downing a bottle by myself. I must buy a stopper soon, i'm dying for a glass of wine!

I'm posting a photo of the tiny kitchen, as well as the view from my windows - of the building across the street. It's the same type of building as the one I'm in, so you'll get the idea.

I'm on the 5th floor (it would be 6th in America...ground floor is 0), which is the top floor. And the stairs only go to the 4th floor! Bizarre. There is an emergency staircase which goes all the way though. I wish i could take the regular staircase though, it is a beautiful curving wooden staircase. And the elevator is tiny, and tends to rattle a bit...um normal for paris right??

Saturday, my first full day in Paris, i did something which I'm sure will not surprise many of you - i joined a gym! It is just down the block. I signed up for a monthly membership, as i'll only be in this neighborhood for a month - they have other locations but maybe i won't be by one. If i like it and wind up living near one, i'll join for a year. It's tres tres cher to join for just a month, but if it's gets my recently lazy ass back in shape, and renews my motivation for running again, it'll be worth it. And i really miss running!

This internet connection is rather weak, so i'm going to post before it craps out on me...

Testing adding photos

I'm testing adding photos. Why can't I get one on the main blog page itself?? argh. I'm tired and will go to bed. Will figure this out later.

1st post

Ok, so my friends J and L suggested I create a blog once I'm in Paris. I figured it was a good idea because that way I could talk about things such as apartment hunting and other fun getting-used-to-paris things without sending basically the same email to a million different people. The blog will probably only last a few months, b/c hey, who can keep up posting day after day???
Probably not me, but I'll give it a try.

You're probably wondering where the title "The Sound of Bubbles" comes from. Well one day one my way to work at the corner of 6th Ave and 23rd St, someone was selling bubble makers and hundreds of bubbles were blowing in the air. At the same time, the timer on the walk/don't walk was going off, a "beep beep beep" sort of sound, which I had never been aware of before. For some reason the bubbles and the beeping sounds got mixed together in my subconscious, and whenever I'm at that corner and hear the timer, I think of bubbles. I thought that "The Sound of Bubbles" would be a good name for a short story collection. And there are many things which cause me to think "hey, that's be a great idea for a short story". But alas, I know I will never write a short story, much less a collection, so at least I can have a blog with the name.