This game--- the game is over.

My internship is over. I'm leaving Wednesday.

My brother is here and we're having tons of fun.

I don't wanna go home.

That's all I have time for.

biz

The writing's on the wall...

It's my last week in my internship and, wow, it sure has been amazing. I've learned a lot. I've really enjoyed it and I'm so thankful for this opportunity. I got a killer letter of recommendation from John, too. :-)

I'm trying to keep up with writing what's going on at least on paper so I can put it on the computer at a later date. It really just is one of the last things I want to do when I get home. But maybe, with any luck, I'll have it all up to date by the time I leave! Haha.

France is closing down slowly but surely...everyone is on holiday like they always do in August. If you want to go to France and not run into French people, August is the time to go. Just a little tip. :-) Even the Sarkozy has nothing on his calendar for this month because he's on the beach with Carla! Haha. Oh, the French.

It's sort of a sad way to end the year, because I didn't get to say good-bye to many of the people on my street that I've befriended. However, my baker DID ask me out the other day! Haha! I was on my way to a bar to meet a friend and he saw me and we had our first real conversation that didn't involve an exchange of money for a baguette. Haha. I politely declined his invitation but we talked about what a bummer it was that we were only just now getting to know each other. Haha...oh well. The pizza guy and I have reached a new level in our relationship, as well. We now care about how each other is doing. We first say "hello" as has become habit, but now, we add in a little "Ca va?/ Oui, ca va et toi?/ Ca va." ("How are you?/ Good, you?/ Good.") It's getting serious, y'all. There have been a lot of screaming couples on the street lately. I don't know why, but the other night a woman was yelling at a man, today I saw a fist fight break out AND the chinese restaurant had a fit below me- throwing plates and everything! I think it's because all these people can't afford to get out of the country for the month. Or maybe it's the heat. I don't know, but these people are in bad moods. Even more than usual.

My brother is *supposedly* coming over this weekend and I couldn't be more excited...we're finally going to get to do all the things he's wanted to do. If he comes over, that is.

I'm getting stressed about moving back. I get these mini-anxiety attacks which I haven't had in a looooong time. I remember getting them when I was a sophomore but now I think I'm more scared of moving back to the United States and not fitting in or not having people remember me or like me and all that (Though I think my sorority has finally realized I'm gone- that was horrible!! - if you don't remember, or maybe I didn't write it, in November of last year I got an e-mail from one of my sisters asking where I was because my roll call fines were adding up and my membership was coming into question...I guess the memo didn't get out to the whole sorority that I was gone?). I had a bit of a cold these past couple weeks and am still trying to get a good sleeping pattern and my imagination is pretty active so getting good sleep is harder to come by. Prayers are appreciated.

I was accused of stealing today. Yes. Me. Read on!

I walked into the EASE (the convenience store and gift store in the embassy) today and was asked by the cashier to not leave without talking to her. I went into the convenience store and was rung up and ready to pay and the cashier came back and began questioning me about my purchases at the convenience store and gift shop the day before. I’d purchased nothing at the gift shop and had only gone through the gift shop to get to the convenience store- I knew of no other way. At first, she was saying I was carrying a bag wrong, or a certain way. I asked her if that was a fashion tip, but eventually I understood what she was saying- that I had taken a bag. The cashier in the convenience store finally spoke up (which would have been much more helpful earlier, as I believe her English skills to be better for situations like this) and said that a Longchamp bag had gone missing yesterday and the other cashier believed I was the culprit.

I explained to both women that yesterday, after carrying a large box in my bag down to the Post Office and sending said package, I folded up my bag - as Longchamps do, which is why I found it so convenient- and went to get a cup of soup and a Fresca at the Convenience store. I paid for my food and left. In no way did I look at any Longchamp bags or was even trying to hide the fact that I was carrying my bag. It was my own, and I should be able to carry it however I want. I was not approached at all, and when I asked the first cashier about this she said she was busy with customers. I asked her why she didn’t ask any one else to speak to me and she had no answer. I asked to see a security tape, as I know cameras are all over the Embassy, but they were unable to show me one. There was no reason for such an accusation as there was absolutely no proof. What’s worse, is that my Longchamp bag isn’t even real- it’s a knock-off from China that my mother bought me at Christmas! It’s not any of the colors displayed in the gift shop and has holes and marks all over it from use as well as the fact that the bag the cashier was accusing me of stealing isn’t even the same size as the one I have. I understood that bags look alike, and it is unfortunate for them to have lost a bag on the very day I carried mine in, but I was still upset.

What is written above is basically what I wrote to the manager of the store and I ended it with an offer to bring the alleged bag in tomorrow as proof. I was so mad that this happened 3 days before I was done! It didn't seem right- I was innocent. The manager called me a bit later and was so so so apologetic. She did, however, mention that a *some* (yeah, more than one person) people called/wrote e-mails saying they saw/overheard the commotion and 1) thought I was innocent 2) thought the way I was being treated wasn't right. So that's good. I'm meeting with the manager and the accuser tomorrow morning at 10:30 before the store opens so that I can show my bag and she can apologize.

I'm not mad anymore, just frustrated that I had to expound energy on trying to prove my innocence. I apologized to the manager in case the e-mail was a bit harsh, but she said no and she was glad I wrote it after it happened because she wanted a detailed account. She said she would take disciplinary action with the woman and that I need not worry. Okay, I'm not worried. I just want to clear my name. :-)

After that, though, the most amazing thing happened. I got called to answer a technical problem for a woman's computer. A Frenchwoman, mind you. She couldn't get her CD to play. I took one look, opened the drive, TURNED THE CD OVER and pushed play. Worked like a charm. Unbelievable! Pretty much that made my ENTIRE day. Poor Frenchies with their bad technology skills.

Craziness. Well, that's about all the computer I can stand. I really really have been keeping up with my life- just not on a machine. I want to remember (almost) every moment of my last week here because I was so good about my first weeks...I wanna see the difference! Haha!

biz

What are we doin' in the middle of the Champs-Elysees?!

Sunday- Mom and Dad arrived and I made chocolate croissants and coffee while we caught up. Then we went to the Marche aux Puces where I got some much-needed leggings. I wanted to get more flats but they were out of my favorite kind. I'll go back before I leave, though. Then we went to L'As du Falafel- they'd never seen it or had it before and my Dad had never heard of it!
They really enjoyed it and I was glad I could teach them something new even though they'd been to Paris so many times. Then we walked through Ile St Louis and Ile de la Cite, and finally through my favorite little area next to St Michel. Which of course, they knew about. We were all really tired (Remember I suffer from sympathy jet lag.) so we went home and took a nap. When we woke up, it was time for dinner and I made my famous Irish Pepper Tart. Mom and Dad loved it! I thought I did a pretty good job, and it helps that they were hungry. We watched some TV, as Daddy is amazing and fixed it, then took a walk on the Promenade Plantee that is close to my apartment just to get some fresh air, played cards, and then went to bed.

Monday- We woke up and the repairman for the leaky wall showed up. Finally- I couldn't waittoget that fixed.I had basically let John take hold of the little project and didn't really keep up with what was going on, and then he left. So I had papers to go through, letters to read (that I didn't even know had come!), and insurance and repair companies to deal with. John had been waiting for the repairman to show up for 3 weeks, but then he left, so then I got the lovely task of asking where the repairman was- only to find out that the insurance never called a repairman- that was our job! Somewhere down the line it got lost in translation, so I wish I'd been more proactive about the whole thing. In less than a week I had everything running like it should have probably in May or June. Just another cultural experience that down the road I will be thankful for. The repairman was nice and helpful. He said he would tear the wall out where it was the worst, scrape off the paint, then cover the hole up, and paint the wall. Pretty big stuff. I was a little nervous, I had to admit, I mean, this isn't my apartment. It's not my fault, but still. Plus, they were coming at a pretty inconvenient time with my parents here, but it had to get done before August because they were shutting down their business for vacation. Anyway, he said it would take a week. I went to work and Mom and Dad had a nice breakfast that I'd left for them. I really wanted to stay and enjoy it but I had to go...I wondered why I didn't make myself such nice breakfasts in the morning- it wasn't hard! On the metro to work, John and I saw each other. I hadn't heard from him in weeks and had finally just let it go and chalked it up as his loss, so seeing him put my knickers in a twist. Work was okay but I would have much rather been frolickng with my 'rents, but they met me at the Embassy and we went to my favorite boulangerie for lunch- that was closed. So, I quick thought of another restaurant in the area that I liked and we went there. It's right across from SciencesPo and it has some of the best burgers so that's what we all got. Daddy had a 1664 (beer), a cheeseburger,and fries, so it looked like he was at a fancy MacDo. The burgers were quite good but a little raw. I guess that's how it's done in France. I didn't really mind- as long as it wasn't mooing. We walked back to work and then I spent the rest of the afternoon doing something important, I'm sure. After work I came home and lazed about for a bit. Then we decided to go out to the Bastille area for Happy Hour. We had a few drinks and good conversation and it was fun to be able to go out to a bar with my parents- a first! We grabbed a crepe for dinner at the creperie right next door to one of my favorite bars and were walking back to the metro when I saw John- again. Okay, wait- do y'all remember John? He was British, met him on the metro, blah-dy-blah, now he's a, um, well he's not on my Good List right now, let's say that. Okay, so I'd just been all excited about having a good time with my parents not thinking about him since I'd seen him that morning and it was just awkward and I just wanted to remember the Bastille as a fun place I'd been to my parents with instead of where John lived, but no, b!tch had to ruin that, too. I told my parents that he was there and they were like, go on, go talk to him. And since I was lookin' pretty cute, I pulled up my big girl panties, sashayed over there, and in my best drippin'-with-suga Southern belle accent said hello. Flabbergasted isn't even sufficient to describe his face. He asked me what I was doing there and I said stalking him, and for a second, I think he believed me. Haha. Come on! Gimme a break. Anyway, he eventually introduced me to his friends who promptly invited me to sit and have a drink with them, but I politely declined- even though it would have been delightful to have done so. I said good-bye and went back to my parents. My mom was shocked I returned. The whoooole way home it was all, "Go back there, go talk to him!" Haha, I tried to tell her that if the past was any indication of the future, the night wouldn't end up with me coming home. That didn't bother her as much as the fact that I actually was declining his invite. Haha. Sooo funny, my mom. I think my dad was just observing the whole thing from afar. Whatever makes me happy is his point of view. He's a good supporter. Needless to say, I was surprised to get a text from John later that night apologizing for his rude behavior with a string of sorry excuses and the possiblity of hanging out before I leave. Whatevs. There are tons more James McAvoy lookalikes in this world. I decided yet again to take the "his loss" standpoint. Overall, I had tons more fun with my parents than any dumb boy...so it was a good day.

Tuesday I woke up and went to work. The repairman was going to do his business again today, but he could already tell he wasn't going to finish early like he'd thought he might, so to Friday it was. Mom and Dad came to the Embassy for lunch and I showed them around, too. They seemed very impressed and basically got to meet everyone I interact with on a daily basis. Pizza and salad was on the menu that day so that's what Mom and I had and Daddy got this weird meat casserole/stew thing that he said he liked. It was really neat that they came to the Embassy. I got to show them my office and they met some interns and all that. They were as amazed as I was about all the American food that was imported, too. That night was a lazy one, we had esacrgots and mussels- probably more than we should have, but it was soooo good. I hadn't had escargots in a really long time! We played a few rounds of Cribbage and watched some of the Office and just had a nice time sitting about.

Wednesday was almost as uneventful. Mom and Dad came and we went out to lunch at this pretty cafe close to La Madeleine church. Mom and I had chicken and fries and Daddy had lasagne. Then we got cafe creme (thicker than cafe latte) and had our dessert. We had quite a long lunch, so it wasn't too much time before I got to go home. We stayed in again and watched TV, movies, and played games. For dinner we had the rest of the tarte I'd made on Sunday night.

Thursday was a big day. The hole in the wall was patched and he was going to finish everything tobe ready to paint on Friday. It was Tallie's last day so I said good-bye to her, too. She was the only intern I really felt I made some sort of connection with. I think that was because we had offices across the hall from each other, and I was always travelling in the weekends. It doesn't bother me so much, it just is kind of strange now with out her because I don't know anyone well enough, and usually they hang out after work and I'm not included in that so I can't. It's all good though. I've got plenty keeping me busy, and I had an excuse this week, what my parents and all. That afternoon I went to Eric Kayser Boulanger that I wanted to go to on Monday. I picked up sandwiches and met them at the Eiffel Tower. We planned to meet at 11 but it was more like 12:30 when I showed. I'd forgotten how hard it was to get to the Tower. You can get close but the metros don't go too too close so you have to walk quite a ways. Thankfully, Mom and Dad had a little fiasco so they didn't wait too too long. I felt bad about their drama though, because the line they took by my house is under construction. Well, I knew this, and I'd heard announcements about it and I knew about the bus that makes up for the stops that it blocks, but my parents didn't. I didn't think to tell them about it and they didn't call me asking for help, so poor things. Anyway, on the way back I filled them in and they had a breeze. For lunch we sat under the bridge and listened to the sax player. I like him. He plays oldies but goodies. Mom and Dad went on a bike ride after lunch and I went back to work. At a little after 6 we met up to go to Marie's parents house for drinks.

THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!!

I woke up at 8 just in time to get to work. I left Mom and Dad sleeping and stepped out just as the repairman was coming in. When I got to work, I realized I was the only one in my section of the office! Tallie and Mark left the day before, Anita was leaving that morning, and there was never any one in the 5th office! So for 2 weeks I'll have no one. :-( 2 weeks...le sigh. I worked on the PowerPoint Florence gave me to update but I was pretty tired from the night before, so not much got done. My parents called when they work up and asked what I wanted to do for lunch. Thankfully, I had decided that and we made plans to meet up at Cafe Les Deux Magots (probably one of the most famous ones in Paris) at 1pm. Finally it was 12h30 and I left to try to figure out some things with the bank. The insurance money is supposed to have been put in my account but it hadn't been and I was getting anxious to pay the repairman. The whole bank episode was quite an experience- for the first time in a long time I had absolutely no idea what was going on! I didn't understand the simplest French and made a complete fool of myself. I'll tell you though, because you'll enjoy it as much as I did. You see, when I looked at my bank accounct, I thought I was looking at a balance that said the insurance had paid me 800E and will pay me 300E in a few days. Ironically, this is how much the insurance was to have paid me: 1100E. It also said somethign about "plafond," which means ceiling in French- which I had redone. I took this to mean that for the repair of my ceiling, there would be 2 dispersements
of 800E and 300E. So when I went to the counter at the bank and did my whole explaining thing, the lady looked at me like I was crazy. Apparently, I was all mixed up. The "account" I'd been looking at was not an account at all. And I hadn't been dispersed any money. The sheet I'd glanced at said the maximum- or ceiling- I could withdraw from the ATM per day was 800E and the most I could take out per transaction was 300E. How silly of me! When I realized my blunder I tried to explain my faux ps to the teller, but she was not amused. At all. So, I chuckled to myself and went on my merry way. I needed that money, but I was just going to have to wait a bit longer. I got to the restaurant and didn't see my parents so I went inside the St. Germain des Pres church like I'd been meaning to for a while. It was beautiful and old and lovely. It was built during the Moorish times, making it the oldest church in Paris. Of course, it's been remodeled quite a bit. I called my parents after I was done thanking God I'd made it to my 21st year and found them and sat down at the restaurant. We looked over the menu and I was able to order in French, no matter how badly the waiter wanted to practice his English. I chose the house salad. In Paris (maybe France) this is more like the Club Salad in the States- egg, cheese, ham or chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, corn, and carrots. The house dressing is usually a creamy mustard vinagrette of which I've become fond. When in doubt at a resto, I order this salad. You can't go wrong. So, I got my salad, my mom got a tomato/mozzarella/basil salad (I've found places that do tomato/mozzarella/proscuitto ham- it's so good! But I don't like basil, anyway.) and my dad got a Quiche Lorraine (ham and cheese). They were all delicious- and very French. We also got a bottle of Chardonnay and split that. At that moment I became useless to the Embassy for the rest of the day. Not that I was even buzzed, it was just the perfect amount to put me in that real sleepy disposition. And I'm prone to sleepiness as it is. The wine was certainly a treat, though! And it was good- perfect with a salad. Fresh and cold. We had an excellent lunch- well, except when the woman next to us got wine spilled on her white capris, then suddenly my mom was much more interested in her than the Birthday Girl. ;-) I'm kidding, but this lady was pretty sad. The waiter poured salt all over her, because that's what the French believe takes out red wine the best. He said the "salt drinks the wine." That day, the salt was not thirsty and the woman did her best at getting her meal comped... compt?...for free. But that's why you gotta think about those things! I know I do, but that's because I'm prone to as much clumsiness as sleepiness...probably because I'm sleepy. Aaaanyway, sitting at the cafe just a few blocks from my school brought back a lot of memories and made me realize I didn't have much time left. I was getting sad. After my internship, I didn't have any more excuses as to why I needed to stay in Paris. I do think, honestly, that traveling throughout Europe has made me love Paris more. If that's possible. Okay, no more talking about Paris. Lunch was good. Then we went to my favorite creperie and got Crepes aux nutella- which made my mother decide she needed crepe pan. From Paris. So we went to the Monoprix across the street and got her one. I also got some cheap sparkling juice for later that evening and my dad found some killer...placemats that he just had to have. We all left satisfied with our purchases. I went back to work and Mom and Dad went home. This trip has been nice for them because they just go home when they're tired and go out when they want. It's been very relaxing which is good because they don't do that very often. I went home after leaving work (early!) and was greeted by a clean apartment, escargots, baguettes, wine, and PURPLE FLOWERS!! My favorite. My parents are sooo sweet. We sat down and watched an episode of the Office while we enjoyed our snack. We also got to talk to Liz- cuz it was her birthday, too! Then, we showered up and went to our restaurant. Y'all, this place was amazing. It's at the top of the Pompidou Museum...well, just- here, look at the link:
http://www.centrepompidou.fr/Pompidou/Communication.nsf/0/C802434866E91C8CC1256D9800513026?OpenDocument&sessionM=3.8&L=2
That was where we went. I'd been to the museum part before and taken pictures from the restaurant terrace, but never did I dream that I would eat there! I thought, oh museum food, gross. But no, this restaurant is quite highly acclaimed among the Parisiens and the chef is very good. It was recommended to me by a Parisienne and so I took her word for it. It has a great view, and it's probably one of the more reasonable places, all things considered. When we arrived the sun was down but it was still light out. We were were going to be able to see the lights of Paris come on. Ahhh. We got a bottle of wine and I did my best translating the menu. I got the duck, my mom got risotto and langoustines and my daddy got the Chateaubriand (steak). They were all excellent- especially my duck! I was really hankering for some, so of course it tasted delish. The lights of Paris slowly switched on and I continued to enjoy my meal. I know I drove my parents crazy with how slow I ate, but I can't help it! I'm trying harder to eat slower in hopes
that one day, I will need less food! Haha. But I do love savoring every little bite. Well, it doesn't help that I talk a lot. Dinner ended and we got coffee and dessert. I got a fraise feuilletee (basically strawberries in between the crispy part of French croissants with a little creme between to make it stick together like a sandwich), and an espresso. My parents each got a boule of ice cream (which I'm pretty sure my dad ate both of) and cafe cremes. That was their favorite. It's different than a cafe latte- made with creme instead of milk. The way they presented it though was neat- 2 little pitchers- one with coffee and one with creme so they could make it as strong as they wanted. We enjoyed our last bits of dessert, walked around the restaurant inside (which was actually really cool, but I'm glad we sat outside. I think my mom would have rathered indoors, but she was sweet to let me choose.) The inside of the restaurant was eccentric (As you can see in the pictures if you click on the link) and matched the uniqueness (?) of the museum. We stood outside on the terrace a bit longer and watched the Eiffel Tower light up and took some pictures. It was so beautiful. I'm so proud I'm able to name the buildings at night just as easily as when they're lit up, too. I loooove Paris. It was the perfect meal and everything. But the night wasn't over! Ohhh no. I dragged my parents to the end of Ile de la Cite and we opened that bottle of sparkling wine and sat on the Seine and drank it. It was the only thing I wanted to do for my birthday since I'd arrived. Sure, everything else was stupendous, but that was the thing I said I would do in 2007. So, to have remembered that and actually fulfilled it- with my parents, no less- was really cool for me. It really was the best 21st birthday I could have ever imagined- with the exception of the absence of my other half. I really did miss Liz a lot that day, even though *somehow* I was able to have some fun. I think she managed without, me, too. And now I've had my 13th, 16th, and 21st birthdays in Paris (among others, I'm sure, but those are the Big Ones). I wonder how many people can say that! At midnight we went home because we had a long day to get ready for- Mom was going back to the States and Daddy and I were on our way to Prague! Not to mention, none of us had packed for it and I had to pack a bag for my mom to take home to the States.

I'm 21!!!!!!

Happy birthday to my FAVORITE younger twin sister named Liz!!!!!!

I'll be home in a few weeks!!!!

biz

21 in a week!

My parents are on their way to Paris (via Business Class, no less!!) right this second. I'm so excited I can hardly sit still! I've not seen them in about 3 months. I cleaned the apartment like crazy getting ready for them! I turned John's room into my room so my parents could have the master, moved EVERY piece of furniture in the place, some just a few feet, others to the other side of the apartment, and just basically made it look like a completely different place. I love it. I took tons of pictures just so I could remember how it looked.

Anyway, I'm still just crazy busy with work during the day, not to mention the fact that all I do is sit at a computer, that the last thing I want to do when I get home is get back on one. So sorry. I'll do my best to get back on track.

Hope all is well!!!! I'm turning 21 on Friday and have 3 weeks left in Paris!! :-)

biz

Happy Bastille Day, Tout Le Monde!

Life's been pretty awesome recently. I've spent time with friends, been to Nice, Monte Carlo, and Lisbon, seen Jack Johnson in concert, and gone to work. I'll definitely be expanding on all that, though! It's just been so fun I've barely had time to think!

I am also now the only one from Georgia Tech over here from the study abroad. 2 people, one including John, left today. :-( And in less than 30 days I'll be back in les Etats-Unis. I'm still trying to figure how I feel about that because I really don't want to go back, but that sounds, I don't know, ungrateful? Selfish? Snobby? Just plain mean? I just really am having fun here and every time I talk about going home I don't get as excited as I feel like I should. And then there's the fact that America is full of Americans. It's been a weird week at work, that's for sure. I think once I get back in the South my faith will be restored in the American people. I don't understand Yanks....or people from CA. More on all that later.

Anyway, I had about 3 days done for the blog but then I accidentally x-ed out and didn't save, so I'm working on it.

xoxo