--I went to London for the Jimmy Buffett concert on July 5th - holy amazing!!!!!!! British Parrotheads are alive and well! GREAT outfits, everyone singing along, small venue. Awesome time - I think I was smiling for about 4 hours straight - much needed rejuvenation.
--I was in Trinidad for work for a week, July 6th-10th. The return from which involved flying to London, having a 'layover' at St Pancras station, and then taking the Eurostar back to Paris. Planes, trains and automobiles! The time at St Pancras was lovely though - book store shopping, relaxing at the Starbucks in the station which is conveniently located next to doors that were open to let in the fresh air, and relaxing in the Eurostar Business Class lounge. Work went well, but I had little to no time to be on internet. Will post the few pictures at some point...
--July 11th was a happy day as I spent the ENTIRE day in my apartment - an awesome pajama-wearing, book-reading, champagne-drinking, music-listening, weather-watching day at home. Next time that is likely to happen will be on/after Aug 29.
--The 13 hours of sleep I got Friday evening, July 10th, came back to haunt me when Saturday night I was awake past 2 a.m. unable to sleep. So 8 a.m. came very early - I got up to go to church because I had volunteered to help count the money from the collection plates after the service. And no joke, the sermon was 25 frickin' minutes long. Not necessary. I guess I don't have to go back until September! And, it wasn't even a good sermon. (Side note : on counting the money, the woman 'in charge' of the volunteers is also on Finance committee with me (her sole qualification for being on the committee is that she is in charge of the money counting). She is the bain of my church life existence. She was complaining about the amount of money collected saying it wasn't enough/expected ; flitting about the room not doing anything ; treating me like I was an imbecile who was unable to count bills ; chastised me for using 2 paperclips on a stack of bills instead of 1...)
--After church Sunday, I went to Marissa's for brunch with other expats from work. Quite a nice time. Got home, and no sooner had I put on my PJs and started to read than I get an email from Kevin (coworker) who said he was in the neighborhood with his sister (in from out of town) and asking to meet for drinks. I swear I could be in the sequel to the movie Yes Man (I've not seen it, but the premise is Jim Carrey's character answers Yes to everything for a year). Of course I should've stayed home, gone to bed early, etc. But, of course, I said Yes and went out and wasn't home until 11.
--Monday was exhausting at work and extremely quiet since Tuesday was a holiday for Bastille Day.
--Bastille Day I left home at 8 a.m. to walk to the Champs Elysee to find a spot for the 10:30 parade start. I should've stayed in bed - it was horrible!!!! All it was was military tanks and artillery and such cruising down the street. It must've been down by Concorde where the troops were marching (I only saw the invited Indian troops on the tour bus taking them to what I presume was Concorde in the morning - they looked like they were having fun). So I stood there and watched this stupid display of military 'might'. Parades in the UK and US are MUCH better. There at least you have people waving flags, noise makers, face painting, etc. People have national pride. The parades are full of volunteer groups, workers' guilds, bands and dance teams, car enthusiasts, they old guy playing the spoons, etc. Those parades at least showcase the people, the nation, the spirit. Not some random Jeeps and tanks that are so heavy they break many of the cobblestones on the street.
--I came home, did some work, and then Marissa & Julia came over and we had dinner/drinks and waited for the fireworks to start at 10:30. Although I am literally 1 block from the Champ de Mars / Eiffel Tower, I cannot see it. So we walked out and got a great spot. AMAZING fireworks. Great use of light, optical illusion, music, and the Eiffel Tower. You Tube it, seriously. Well worth it. 30 minutes of being in awe.
--Julia and I were supposed to leave on an early train this morning to see Bruce Springsteen at Vieillles Charrues festival in Carhaix, but we cancelled - it involved camping out (which I do NOT do) and forecasts are for heavy rain/thunderstorms/wind. And, we would've gotten back late Friday night and a variety of other factors. Instead, we are going to see the Alvin Ailey dance theatre at Chatelet Friday night.
--Now it is Thursday evening. This has been the slowest work week. I am still jet lagged from Trinidad and NYC/Houston (I was in Boston/NYC/Boston/Houston for 12 days, Paris for 4, London for 1, Trinidad for 5, Paris now for 6). My body is not happy with all the change.
I am sure I could've written much more on all these topics, and I do have pictures to post (and still to post more from Norway in Feb ; Reims in May ; Ireland in May/June...) I think I just need to resign myself to my new state of being - hopelessly forgetting things, being way behind on stuff, and never being able to catch up!
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