Special K

I like using initials, but for K it seems more relevant since she is Eastern European, and you know how they love using initials.

Anyway, K came to visit, which was wonderful. Not many people could put up with living on a cot out of a suitcase for ten days, but she did it without complaint. I always knew there was something special about that girl!

We did a bunch of touristy stuff, and I finally climbed the Eiffel tower. It actually wasn't as expensive as I thought it was, or maybe I just got used to outrageous prices. Anyway, I don't have much to say about it except that I like how they numbered the steps. Also, there are a lot of steps. My legs hurt the next day.

Went to the Louvre again. I have this kind of weird relationship with the Mona Lisa where I take people to see it or I walk there by myself if I'm alone, but then I won't actually look at it. I just cower at the opposite side of the room. I'm really scared of becoming that stereotype, saying "there really is something captivating about her!" But I finally walked up and looked at it for serious, and she winked at me! It was pretty creepy. Supposedly it was actually a self-portrait that Da Vinci became obsessed with. I think there's also a map to some hidden treasure the founding fathers got from Egypt if you put some special stuff on the back.

Also finally went to the Rodin and Picasso museum. Those guys sure can do what they do!

It was really sad when K left. I stayed up all night because I was at a party until about 2:00 and her taxi left at 4:00 or so. I couldn't sleep after that, so I went running around the block at about 5:00. I learned that it is much safer to go running in Paris at 11:30 or midnight than 5:00 AM. Some guy was yelling at me from his car that he was a DJ, so I just yelled back that I don't speak French and then I ran away. It was pretty intense. I also got really sick immediately afterwards because some food poisoning from a bad drunchies choice kicked in. Ouch.

Bad job

Whoa, I kind of forgot about this. In short: I became addicted to the blogosphere for a few weeks, and then K came, and then I had to write a 60-page research paper in French, then I went to Switzerland. Also, I lost my journal in Switzerland. So here come some belated posts, completely from memory!

10 Things On The Internet (Even) Better Than This Blog

These are things that keep me from blogging consistently.
1. Reverse Cowgirl: Susannah Breslin's blog, there's some weird stuff going on out there!
2. Daily Kos: Smart, in-depth political coverage.
3. Indexed: Funny charts of stuff.
4. Diet Blog (esp. discussion boards!): Has really good up-to-date health information, and you can read the comments of health-crazed readers below each article. They can be kind of annoying sometimes (i.e. "I splurged on salt-free popcorn last night!") but I like it when they fight.
5. Last.fm: This website was not so good when I was in high school, but it has gotten way better in the past three years. It's kind of creepy because it takes information from your iTunes (if you allow it to), but it will create a custom radio station based on your musical likes and dislikes. Also generates custom musical recommendations, which helped me to find some great music. I'm downloading the Postmarks right now as a result.
6. Huffington Post: I've had a huge affection for Arianna Huffington since I first saw her on Real Time. So charming and ruthless at the same time! Her blog (we call it HuffPo) features many contributors covering style, living, and left-wing politics. If I have a daughter, Arianna is on the potential name list.
7. Daily Dish: Andrew Sullivan's blog, another political one, is updated constantly. I don't know how he does it. It's smart, and the news summaries are fast with more in-depth articles if you choose.
8. Sartorialist: I'm really mad that he hasn't photographed me yet despite the fact that I'm in Paris. But I love him anyway.
9. Craigslist: Not just if you're buying/selling/dating. It's really fun just to read the ads and see the stuff people are trying to sell. My favorite sections are "free to pick up", "pets", and "jewelry". Expensive jewelry descriptions often start with angry descriptions of why a relationship failed.
10. Style.com: Lots of pictures of pretty clothes! You can look at all of the clothes from every major designer's collection starting in 2004.

Training for Disappointment

I am on the train, again, on my way back from Amsterdam. I had an amazing weekend, and I really don’t want to start work again tomorrow.

Showing up in Amsterdam was just as I imagined it, times ten. It was the biggest drinking holiday of the year, and as soon as I got off the train I was surrounded by drunks in bright orange. Even the cops were trashed; I asked one where to get a taxi and he told me that there are none. Eventually I found a driver who almost killed a few dozen people getting me to T’s, and over-charged me pretty drastically.

T’s room is palacial. His closet is the size of my room in Paris, and there’s a kitchen in it. This really doesn’t seem fair, and makes me even less happy to go back to the foyer. I got the day off recently and in late morning the fire alarm went off. About half the residents were still in the building. This in combination with the free presentations from government officials entitled “You CAN Get A Job!” made me realize that I’m living in, basically, the projects. Which is fine, I guess.

I rented a bike in Amsterdam. I’ve had bike envy for the past couple of weeks, so it was really good to get that out of my system. The shop I rented from was (bizarrely) called MacBike. I think I got a lot better at locking up my bike and riding my bike during the weekend, which probably had a positive effect on my self-esteem.

T and I did three museums: the contemporary art museum, the Van Gogh, and the Dutch Golden Age museum. The contemporary one was a mix of really cool and the kind of work that makes people say they hate modern art. Usually, when people say this they mean to say “contemporary”. Modern is the earlier part of the 20th century…Sometimes if I’m feeling like being difficult, I say something to these people like “I actually really like Picasso!” That gets them every time.

J and her friend came down from Maastricht, so we all four took a walk around the city and the red light district. I saw some prostitutes; there’s a pretty wide range of body types to choose from. Good to know that you don't have to be perfect to be a prostitute.

Believing (Or Not) In Oneself

I am writing on a train in France. How hopelessly idyllic! I’m on my way to Amsterdam, where people are already crowding the bars (or so I hear) in a celebration of Queen’s Day. Her name is Beatrice. Haha!
These trains just aren’t what they used to be. I am going from Paris to Brussels in about an hour, because I am on the TGV, one of the fastest trains in the world. Maybe an hour doesn’t sound that fast to you, but keep in mind that it takes me thirty minutes to get from the 14th to the 4th arrondissement in Paris, which is traversing less than a quarter of the city. Now does the TGV sound cool? Allright!

I paid $1.70 to use the train station bathroom. It wasn’t even that nice of a bathroom.

I have been studying the European Union today because we have a test over it on Wednesday in our Foreign Policy class. It’s one of those classes where you can tell no one is listening and there’s an ambiance of pleasant daydreaming. I have discovered a lot during that class, like that I can draw some animals just by thinking about them. I’ve been reading the wikipedia articles as a substitute for reviewing my notes/lists of foods I like, and it’s kind of funny how much I absorbed in the actual class just by osmosis. Anyway, it turns out that the EU has a pretty complicated infrastructure, but it’s not as bad as the time I took Chinese Politics. There are a lot of acronyms in the EU, like the ECSC, and the EEC, and the EC, and the SCEA, and the FBI, and the CIA, and the BBC, Doris Day, Dig it!

I am so happy right now. I’ve got a great internship “earmarked” (it’s not official yet) for the summer, I’m living in Paris, I have a great boyfriend to go home to, a nice apartment waiting for me, my best friend is coming to visit me soon, I’m on a train for Amsterdam! What more is there to say? My life is perfect.

I keep thinking about when I was a freshman at Macalester and I went to a study abroad info session for the French department. I saw this girl, A, talking about her time interning and studying in Paris. I had seen A before in MacDems meetings, and was already fascinated by her perfect makeup, stylish clothes, and poise. How did she get so cool? Hearing that she had worked in Paris really tipped the scale from admiration to secret obsession for me. She must be so good at French, and so cultured. I still remember asking her about how study abroad is financed, and she said that in Paris you’re going to end up paying $9 for shampoo. Then she half-rolled her eyes and half-smiled in a perfectly blasé way that only a really cool girl could do. I will admit that one of the most flattering compliments I’ve received was when another girl at Macalester told me that everyone kept thinking that I was A. Now I’m thinking I’m never really going to be A, but I can be equally cool in my own right. I mean, I worked at a fashion PR firm based in Paris this semester. Damn, that sounds cool.

I have been trying to find that David Bowie song “don’t believe in yourself, knowledge comes with it’s release…something something”. I know it’s on my iPod, but I can’t find it. So annoying.

Bad Attitude

The French are a mean group of people. Here are the things that people have done to me when I run:
1. Glare at me
2. Stare at me
3. Run alongside me
4. Ask "why are you running?"
5. Yell at me (mean things)
6. Yell at me (um, you know...)
7. If I start walking, yell "run! run!"
8. Laugh at me

This is why I have to take the metro to the park to avoid ridicule. This is why I can't wait to go home.

Famous In Japan

Would you rather flood your room or not shower? This may be a hypothetical for some, but for me it's a real-life situation. The drain's broken, last night I chose short shower with no hair wash. My hair is greasy and my room smells like mildew from the towel I used to soak up the water that flooded my room. I hung the towel out the window to dry but then it started raining. Also, did I write earlier that I am probably on Japanese TV? I walked into a shot because the filming was in my way at a local market. Then I decided if I was going to be on TV I was going all out, so I just kind of stubbornly shopped in the way of the shot for about three minutes. Those Japanese are so polite, they didn't say a thing!
Speaking of racism, I met an Australian woman who told me it was okay if Obama won because he's not a real negro. Hmm, I agree with the former part.
Today a Japanese movie is filming outside my building. It involves a child crying over the body of a man with blood streaming out of his head. I watched them shooting that scene from different angles for maybe ten minutes. It must get pretty old for the kid. And uncomfortable for the guy. I guess the movie business isn't so glamorous after all. I definitely wasn't in the movie image-wise, but maybe you can kind of hear my footsteps in it. Get ready Japan, here I come!