lalalalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I'm so happy. I just sat here pondering for a few minutes about what could make my life better at this very moment and I haven't come up with an answer... I'm full of contentment right now and that's such an awesome feeling. It's definitely not always easy to seek out the positives in life and I think it's an act that needs a certain cultivation but when it clicks things just fall into place. I have been working at CapTel in Milwaukee since the end of July and I am happy to say that I really like my job. It's extremely flexible and there's freedom to do homework or other miscellaneous things during my down time. I also became a lia sophia advisor this summer which is an endeavor I am very excited about, as well! I think once I do my first few parties it will be a very successful little side project. I love their pieces and think I should have no trouble promoting them! :D

School starts up again next week and I'm not sure I'm totally ready for the structure I'm about to be thrown into. 18 credits is a lot to handle but I think I'm a fully capable woman of successfully juggling all the essential aspects of my life. Caffeine is going to be my trusty side kick, I can say that for sure.

In the love department I am thrilled to announce that things are still going strong with Jesse. We are awesome together and I just love it. It's so cool to finally understand what it's like to be blissfully happy and content with another human being. We just keep continuing to figure each other out and it has been a lot of fun. He makes me laugh like I've never laughed before... his wit is hilarious and he's the best joke teller I've ever met. It's amazing when you find the right person... conversations span from politics and international affairs to silly made up songs. It's also amazing when it's so easy... I know that relationships definitely take work but they shouldn't take THAT much work if it's supposed to be. I've learned a lot by being with Jesse and that's what is exciting to me... he challenges me in great ways and I him... we're very compatible and it's radical.

This week has been cool... took some senior pictures on Tuesday, taught some French last night and today I'm going to be hanging out in the kitchen.. ;)

So excited that fall is right around the corner... I love all autumn activities and cannottttttttt wait to make pumpkin soup again.... my mouth is watering just thinking about it! :)

Oohhhh it's been sooooo long

It's sweltering outside and only a little cooler inside as I write this reactivation blog entry. God, it's been forever. It's not that I haven't had fantastic things to write about... I suppose you could say that I fell off the wagon in the middle of February... I'm trying to reattach myself to this little past time, so here goes nothing. I ended up finishing the spring semester with a 3.87... I know... why couldn't I have given it a bit more gusto for the perfect 4.0... well, I wanted to have a life also and I'm rather content with the outcome.

After school ended I went on a fabulous vacation to St. Maarten with my family. It was a week long hedonistic indulgence spree and it was AWESOME. What more can a person ask for than delicious dinners, cold drinks, hot white sand and refreshing turquoise water?? I say nothing. It was a lovely 8 days spent with the people closest to me. 

I'm dating someone new. His name is Jesse and he is absolutely wonderful. He is the yin to my yang, the butter to my popcorn, the peanut butter to my jelly, the salt to my pepper, the cheese to my macaroni... ok ok ok, you get it. He's great, and I'm really happy. We like to get ourselves into lots of mischief and have tons of fun in the mean time. 

Aside from all of that interesting news, I helped put flames out on a burning building last week. Felt a lot like a hero. Perhaps I'll publish that story at a later date, for now, though, I am heading to the store for some ice cream and a flick. It's good to be back!

Tell him Samir says "Halloo"

I am about to watch The Hangover 2 with my parents. Yeah, my parents are quite hip. I never feel shame in laughing along with any of the vulgar or crude jokes that coincide with today’s comedies. I relish in them; my parents know that I am a perv at heart. We have a great relationship.

I am also drinking a Fat Tire; I figure I deserve it. There’s really no reason why I don’t deserve it, so that is my logic. J

Today was a good day, as Ice Cube would say. I had class this afternoon and chose a research topic for a presentation that I will be doing in my Contemporary France class. I chose Simone Beck. This particular personnage happens to be a woman after my own heart… equipped with a love for food and writing, she rallied up with Julia Child and Louisette Bertholle to create the cookbook entitled “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” She also anchored the creation of a cooking school with these two fine women: “L’école de Trois Gourmandes.” As you can see, I am excited about this project and am anxious to see what else I can figure out about this woman. I admire the fact that all three women previously mentioned were farrrr into their “middle ages” before finding out exactly what made them tick. Suffice it to say that passion comes through in mysterious ways… so follow yours.

After class I came home and went to spinning. This is a little shout to Mr. Jeffrey Iding. Speaking of passion, take a class with him, you will realize that he has it for cycling. I felt honored tonight because Jeff made the majority of his music routine to songs that I have recently posted on Facebook. That makes me so happy because it’s evident that he pays attention to what I write/post. Overall, his classes kick ass, they make me sweat, and they are fun. SO, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A GOOD WORKOUT-CHECK IT OUT. Spinning has honestly been an amazing addition to any type of workout regimen I had going on before. Ok, that was my infomercial for the day!

Last weekend was a wonderful time for me. Friday night I got my Victor Hugo quote tattoo touched up with Stephanie. After, we decided to play a little game. The rules: stop at the first bar we see and have a drink. We ended up at a little martini bar and it turned out to be a cute place; morale of the story is that I would go back. I had a martini named Dazed and Infuzed… it was full of tequila and … something else. J

The car ride from West Bend back to Erin was a blast. We cranked the music and sang as loud as we could. I love Stephanie.

After that we went to the Erin Inn for a few more drinks. We played Brown Sugar by the Stones and of course, American Pie.

Saturday was also an eventful day. I went grocery shopping with my mom (happens to be one of my favorite hobbies… the word is hobby, rather than chore!!) Saturday night I went out with some girls for a birthday party. We went to Taylor’s, a nice bar in Milwaukee. Rhea—if you are reading this, know that one of your co-workers (I think her name was Erin) came up to me and asked if I was your roommate from Paris! How cute is that!!

After, a little intimate party led me to my crush’s apartment. We drank some wine with other friends and enjoyed good conversation until 5am.

The next morning, said crush went to breakfast with his brothers and was sweet and thoughtful enough to bring me an omelette. Sunday night had a really great dinner at my house with my parents and my little interest. On the menu was venison tenderloin (marinated for over 24 hours), parmesan mashed potatoes, scalloped corn, zucchini/tomato casserole, bacon wrapped chestnuts and a dessert enshrined “Died and Gone to Heaven”. It was a lovely dinner and a perfect evening to relax before a busy week. Things are going swimmingly.

This Friday is my birthday. I’m turning 24. I’m excited, but I get excited about everything. The plan is to go to La Chimenea for Mexican food. Can’t wait.

Overall, I’ve learned so much about myself in the past 6 months. I have really grown into a woman and I am proud of myself. Having single time, and time in Paris I have been able to look at the present and future and see what I need in my life. I have really analyzed what I want and what I don’t want and think I have a really great grasp on it. I know what makes me happy, what motivates me, and what is important to me.

I feel positive and happy. 

Breakfast burritos

This first paragraph is going to be a tribute to breakfast burritos. I learned this morning that they are not as simple to make as they appear. I woke up with a hankering for something containing eggs and cheese, and as I was scanning the refrigerator I noticed tortillas and salsa. I thought to myself, what a fabulous idea... a breakfast burrito--should be easy enough. Well.... what I ended up consuming was not an authentic burrito à la breakfast, but it was edible. So, I give credit to the chefs out there that can make a stupendous concoction out of a flour tortilla, eggs, cheese, salsa and onions.... moving on.

This past week marked the start to the Spring 2012 semester at UW-Milwaukee. I am going to be taking 15 credits altogether... 4 classes of French and a history requirement that I've been putting off. It is going to be quite an interesting and labor intensive semester but I'll get through it. I am finding that my French vocabulary has already been challenged and is growing, which I am happy about! :) My French history class is my favorite so far. Je crois que je dois commencer à "blogger" en francais... peut-être la prochaine fois.

Alors...

Just because school has started does not mean that my social life has diminished... au contraire... I am fluttering effortlessly between school and une vie sociale. Monday night I ate some Thai food with a dashing young man (perhaps more details to follow at a later date). That same night I was conversing with Jenna Bruckner, and she suggested that we go to Arizona for spring break in March. Without hesitation I said yeah, so we booked our flights right away. I can't wait to travel with her! I'm also excited to go to Arizona. The state holds a particular allure... I think it has to do with a sense of outdoors and adventure. I can't wait to see the Grand Canyon and I knowwwww that my camera and I are going to have a field day capturing the intensity of the red rock.

Um, my mind is alllllll over the place tonight... I had so many creative ideas about what to write about this afternoon and I should have jotted them down because this particular entry has NO cohesiveness... soo, follow me and my scattered thoughts......

So, I guess, going back to this dashing young man. I have a crush for the first time in ages, and let me tell you that I am having SO much fun. He's everything that I am looking for in a person. Just know I'm giddy. That's all.

Anyway... I'm going to wrap it up here...

Funniest moment of the day: French class with Allan (HI ALLAN!!), I raised my hand and whispered to him "AHHHH yesssss my armpits smell like TAHITI!" He heard, "My armpits smell like DIGNITY!" thinking that I was commenting on my sweat glands and their power.. lol. No, Allan, my deodorant smells like a tropical island, that's all I was getting at :) anyway, it was hilarious.

CIAO

Nothing but a grandddddd time

First, I have to put it out there, that blogging is awesome. Case in point: Rose and Rhea landed housing thanks to my last entry. It turned out that another duo of American students had recently had their two roommates tell them they were moving for cheaper rent… leaving them scrambling to find two replacement roommates… One of the roommates read my entry and realized that Rose and Rhea were essentially homeless… so, Rhea and Rose jumped on the opportunity and have signed their lease. They’ll be living at Place de Clichy which is REALLY close to where our old apartment was. So, I am very happy for them, but continue to miss them daily!

It’s amazing how close people can become after such a short amount of time. They are really sisters to me, rather than friends. (Lauren, don’t you dare worry, I’m going to write an entry JUST for you!) So yes, Rose and Rhea… we went through lots of beautiful situations together and I want you two to know that I appreciate all of the love you have both shown me. I can’t wait to reunite in Milwaukee this summer!!

My journey home from Paris was really calm and relaxing until the last leg of my flight from Chicago to Milwaukee. My patience was severely being tested by delay after delay but I finally did walk out from the little hopper plane victoriously. My parents were (patiently) waiting for me and grinned as soon as they saw me walking up the ramp towards them. We hugged and I proceeded to get a skinny white chocolate mocha. We drove home and then ate pizza and drank beer.

My adjustment back to this particular time zone took some time but now I’m sleeping like a baby.

My social life has been exploding since I came home and I am loving every minute of it. I have been catching up with wonderful friends and reuniting with people I haven’t been in touch with for quite some time. My wings as a social butterfly are getting a great workout now that I am home to the motherland! J

Getting re-established has been a bit of a challenge. I sold my wonderful 2008 Kia Optima and quit my two jobs before leaving for Paris, but that’s ok! At this point, I’m just looking for a beater—SO, if anyone knows of any vehicles being sold for under a grand… let a sister know! As far as jobs go, I’ve applied for lots but this morning went to breakfast at Perc Place and Cynthia, the owner, demanded that I come back and serve tables… I couldn’t resist. I love Perc Place and that coffee shop will forever hold a wonderfully special spot in my heart. So, I will probably start this week… let the caffeine high commence!

This past weekend was Alyssa Hultman’s birthday party and I am so happy that I was able to participate in the festivities. We rented a party bus and ended up going to Lucille’s, Red Rock Saloon, Coyote Ugly and Buckhead’s. I had a great time and danced my buns off! A new friend came out to join me and we had lots of fun together too….. :)

Overall, I am soooo happy to be home. Life is good. REALLLY good. I am feeling so optimistic and happy. Coming home after a semester was definitely the right move for me, and that decision does not discount ANY of the wonderful experiences I encountered while in Paris. School at UW-Miwaukee starts tomorrow and I am more than ready for that challenge, as well. I have lost 5 pounds since getting home so that is also a move in a positive direction!

Favorite moment from the day: My mom and I were riding in the car, “Nothin’ but a good time” by Poison comes on the radio… I stop mid sentence and crank the volume… we air drum, guitar and sing until the end of that glorious song. The title of the song pretty much signifies my outlook on life right now. So, I wish you all nothing but a good time with whatever endeavors you are chasing… enjoy the ride people, it goes fast! And while you're at it... enjoy Bret's feathered hair and glamorous make-up! ;)

Au revoir....

The sentiments in my last blog were hopeful and excited. Although, at that time I was speaking of my year in Paris, I have changed my outlook towards a new semester at UW-Milwaukee and a new appreciation of home. Over the past 5 days, so much has transpired that I am feeling very exhausted mentally and emotionally. On Thursday, as I was returning from my day of teaching, I received a phone call from Melissa at our study abroad center MICEFA. She was calling to see if my roommates and I would be available for a meeting on Friday at 1pm. I said yeah, no problem, and asked what the meeting was regarding. She informed me that my landlord had contacted her stating that there were some issues we needed to address concerning our living arrangements. As I was sitting on the metro on the way home my heart raced, wondering what these issues could be. I thought back over the past several weeks… there was one occasion that we were loud when returning home from a club… otherwise we had been pretty mild.

When I got back to my apartment I talked with Rose and brought her up to speed on the situation. She decided to call Melissa to get more information regarding the issues. Melissa clarified that the noise complaints were from our neighbors and cited several noise complaints pertaining to a violin and piano. First of all, who complains about musical instruments during the holidays?! Apparently our neighbors did. Secondly, she said that we were being loud in the halls. Ok, perhaps there were several times that this occurred but it has never been an every night situation where we are binge drinking idiots. So, we felt calm about the situation thinking that we would get chastised and told to be quiet in the halls, sign a notice and we’re good to go…

On Friday at one we all filed into an office at MICEFA. They cut the shit right away, and explained that they wanted us evicted and out by Monday, January 9^th. I hate to admit it, but emotions got the best of me at that moment and I started to cry. We asked if we could work something out. After all, we were never given a warning or notice as to the issues. Further, our “issues” seemed quite minimal. Noise is something that can be easily dealt with. After requesting this, we were responded to with an affirmative “NO”. We were to be out OVER the weekend. After our meeting, Madame Kaplan (our landlord) and Melissa followed us to our apartment to go through the “état de lieux” or, state of the apartment. She jotted down notes as we awkwardly sat there waiting for her to leave so we could make our next move. After Madame left, Melissa informed us that she would be available to us all weekend should we have any questions or concerns. At this point, we felt as though we could depend on her for moral and house searching support.

After Melissa left, I spoke with my dad who quickly came to my rescue. He did some research and found that it is completely illegal to be evicted during the winter months in France. Others confirmed this. Further, Lauren lives with a French lawyer who stated that what our landlord did was wrong and that we did not actually have to leave the premises until Spring. All of these revelations made our blood boil more. Our concerns consisted of retrieving our security deposit ($2500 per person), finding housing for Rose and Rhea (I had already decided to return to the states at that point) and finding temporary housing thinking that we were going to be homeless by January 9^th. On top of these notices from our landlord, all three of us were totally sick. Rose and I had been considering each other Ethel and Fred for days because neither of us could hear anything the other was saying, and this situation only made matters worse. The final note on this is that Rose’s friend Nicole had just come into Paris on Friday morning… bon voyage.

Typically I am a VERY positive person, but all of these things were causing my morale to crack.

Over the weekend we looked for housing, went to IKEA to refurnish certain items of the apartment that had been damaged, and waited for what was to come on Monday. We also tried to contact Melissa NUMEROUS times in order to get some answers and she NEVER once responded. I have to say that this was a disappointment considering we are students at the end of the day. We do need support from a study abroad organization when we are not getting it from anywhere else, and to not get it from Melissa after she specifically said we would was a big letdown.

Yesterday, we looked for housing. 3pm, doom’s time, the hour at which we were to return our keys to MICEFA came and went without a word from any involved parties. We had taken the lawyer’s advice and decided to stay in our apartment considering that what Madame Kaplan was requesting was illegal. Last night we binged on pastries and drank champagne to improve our morale and we slept like babies, again, unsure of what the next day would bring.

This morning we woke up, and spent the day searching the internet for any housing listings. Rose and Rhea are having some trouble finding anything big enough for both of them, but they are being persistent, hopefully this is an occasion where it pays off!

I am quite happy given the circumstances. I feel that this situation shed light on my desire to return home. I had previously been contemplating my financial situation. Paris is, as I have previously mentioned in posts, is SO expensive. I had been stressing on how I would pay for college this fall because all of my resources had been going towards this experience. Coming home now gives me the opportunity to take classes this semester AND work so that I can continue with classes this fall. I am so excited that I have already registered for 18 credits at UW-Milwaukee. I need to feel academically challenged again; that just wasn’t happening here. Overall, it just made sense to end the study abroad experience with this situation. No, I am not bitter in anyway. This was a growing AND learning experience and I will leave it behind a wiser woman…

 So, I am coming home after a semester when initially my plans were to stay a year, and I am perfectly fine with that. I feel that spending a year and a half altogether in France is more than most can say, and I am satisfied with that and my decision to go home. I have had a wonderful semester here and have learned so much about myself, my future plans, my past experiences and who I am as a woman. I have found future bridesmaids, laughed until I cried, and cried until I couldn’t anymore; I will never forget the memories that I have created here. At this time, I am looking forward to creating new memories at home with a new outlook and appreciation that I wouldn’t have without having had this experience in Paris. I am positive, and happy, and still looking forward!

This semester was a wonderful experience. Paris is a beautiful and magical city and this last negative event has not tainted any of the city's enchanting essence. France, you can bet your bottom dollar that this is NOT the last time I will be stepping foot on your cobblestoned streets... I will be back. For now; Paris, je t'aime et au revoir! 

Shut up and smile

I can't stop grinning. I'm listening to reggae and eating oranges... my cheeks are warm from laughing, making them feel sunkissed. Happiness is a great feeling!

New Year, New Shoes

First and foremost, Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that 2012 is prosperous and exciting and fulfilling for each of you.

I’m going to commence this tale by citing that I had grand intentions of a fabulous New Year’s Eve in Paris. I will say that events did not unravel as planned, but that what I have now is a story for the ages. I was forewarned, by a true Parisian, to at all costs stay in for New Year’s Eve in Paris. She indicated that it is typically a night full of crazies, that it is complete chaos and that it would end in peril. I should have heeded her warning.

So, the story goes…

Rhea, Rose and I decided that we wanted to close out 2011 with an unforgettable night out in Paris. We searched and pondered how exactly we were going to do this. Several Internet searches later, we came across a club that was hosting a New Year’s Eve bash. The details entailed an 80 euro entry fee which included 10 drinks per person. In addition, bottle service and a private table could be purchased for an extra 100 euros. We decided to splurge, considering this was our first and possibly last NYE in Paris.

We looked onto the night with anticipation.

Selma came back to Paris on the day of New Year’s Eve. She had just come from a ten day whirlwind travel to Germany. She was exhausted but in excited spirits to bring on 2012 in the “City of Lights”. We gathered, along with my two roommates (Rose and Rhea) as well as a second guest Ola, in the living room to discuss our plans. None of us could wait.

We started preparing hours in advance. My ensemble was a beautiful black dress with black high heels and a chic updo. Of course, dramatic make-up and matching jewelry. The other girls wore sparkly dresses.

We left the house at 10:30 with plans of heading to the Eiffel Tower for the countdown at midnight. Great intentions, bad planning.

Side note-Stupidly, 4 out of the 5 of us did not have cell phones.

The metros were absolutely crowded and it was nearly impossible to squeeze all five of us onto the same train. We did manage for the first leg of the journey, but we got split up on the second. Sadly, we celebrated the countdown underground in the metro.

 After the first leg, our group of five became separated. Rhea and Selma were together. Ola, Rose and I were together.

We decided that we would exit the metro because Rhea and Selma were nowhere to be found. We searched the metro, and wondered where they could have gone. We decided to have a seat on a park bench. With us we were carrying bottles of champagne. The police approached us. Thank goodness I’m quick on my feet; otherwise the bottles would have gone to waste. The police indicated that we could not have open intoxicants on the Champs Elysees, so I told a white lie and said that we were heading to a friend’s house. Then, a funny thing happened. The police actually helped us HIDE the bottles of champagne in our coats so that we could “transport” them to our “friend’s house”. Genius. The police helped us smuggle champagne!

So, as we sat on the park bench sipping champagne, Rose, Ola and I contemplated our next plan of action. We decided that we were going to locate the club, thinking that that is most likely where Selma and Rhea were heading. Of course, we did not know where we were going, so we asked policemen along the way. The majority of the policemen that night were not even from Paris so were absolutely no help to us. We finally found one with some knowledge of the city and he directed us to the correct road. Miraculously, we were reunited with Rhea and Selma in line.

After waiting in line for 45 minutes (so much for VIP treatment), we entered the club to find even more sweaty swarms of people. We were told that there were no more private tables left, so our group was corralled to a packed area of tables and we were given our rightful bottle of Smirnoff vodka.

I ended up losing the group somehow, so I walked around for an hour looking for them by myself. I finally found them and tried to have a good time despite everything that had already gone wrong. We danced a little but felt like prey to the men that evening. They were completely inappropriate with their behavior and finally we got fed up and left regardless of having paid 100 euros for the night.

We exited the club together and took the metro. We somehow got split up again. Ola and Rose together. Me, Rhea and Selma together. From there, Selma and I got separated from Rhea. So Rhea ended up all by herself. We all had scary encounters on the way home. Walking around for hours. Waiting for the metro to open.

It was not a good New Year’s Eve. But I am not discouraged. The year is young, and one bad night is not going to defeat me.

Sunday during the day was spent recuperating from the New Year’s Eve fiasco. Sunday night, though, I got out of the house and went with Lauren to a bar entitled W.O.S, short for Wide Open Spaces, to watch the Packer game. To my delight, the bar was full of Wisconsinites and Packer fans alike. It was a lovely time and we met a bunch of great people. I will definitely be going back to this bar for future fun endeavors!

Monday was the first great day of the new year. Rose, Ola, Selma and I had a fun filled day exploring Paris. We visited two interesting streets and had Indian food. We discovered the Pantheon, then made our way to Notre Dame and L’Arc de Triomphe. We ended our evening at Trocadero and went ice skating in front of the Eiffel Tower. Ice skating in front of the Eiffel Tower was a completely magical experience for all of us. We rediscovered a sense of childhood joy by ice skating and we felt the enchantment of the city all over again by viewing the sparkling tower.

Tuesday was back to reality after a nice long vacances. I taught for 2.5 hours and then came home. I went with Rose to her visit spot and walked through it with her. That night, I slept like a baby.

Yesterday was Selma’s last day in Paris. For dinner we went to an Italian eatery and after we walked up to Montmartre so she could see Sacre Coeur at night. It was, as always, astonishing.

This morning came fast. I woke up at 4:30 to get Selma ready for her shuttle and by 5:45 she was off to the airport. I am so happy and thankful that she came to visit me in Paris. I believe that she had a wonderful experience despite NYE being a total disaster. Ask her, I’m sure she’ll tell you that she loved spending time with me! ;)  

Today, I teach all day. I will be exhausted when I come home so I plan on relaxing tonight. A funny fact is that I am practically deaf since yesterday. I had been surviving on my one good ear for the past three days, but both ears went foggy last night. I’m afraid it’s another nasty sinus infection. I should probably get that checked out…

Anyway, the title of this blog references what are known as “les soldes” in France. Once (or twice, I’m not sure) a year, all the stores in France have gigantic sales. With this being said, you can be sure I am going to be purchasing at least ONE new pair of shoes. I’m a fiend; what can I say? J

In regards to New Year’s Resolutions… a friend inspired me to come up with one. Typically, resolutions are seen as cutting back, or reducing a certain activity, but he actually swapped that notion out for a positive one. So, I am doing the same. My resolutions are 1) to discover, visit and explore a new part of Paris every week, and 2) to do the same for a different city or country in Europe once a month. I think that my resolutions will cause me to engage with my current city and continent on a more intimate basis and also will make me realize all the magic that I have yet to encounter.

2012 is going to be a spectacular year. My outlook is positive, I'm feeling healthy (aside from a little weight gained due to holiday indulgence and 2 bum (Rose, your favorite word) ears, I am healthy as an ox!!), I'm excited to be in Europe, I'm looking forward to second semester and I am enjoying teaching... all things scream ROCK ON 2012!!! Alors, bonne années à tous!

PS--Recent photos and videos to follow!