Une semaine de l’heureuse; or, Best Week Ever

This week had its ups and its downs. Serious downs including the most bizarre doctor’s visit of my life, about which you already read, and the fact that I still can’t withdrawal my pay. Bummer. But despite that, and some other negative things, there was a whole lot of good this week. And so I’d much rather focus on that.

First and foremost, I found the best cereal ever in the supermarket! Whoever came up with the idea of an entire breakfast of chocolate chip cookies is my hero. And, to go with this delish cereal, I found soy milk! Thank god, because I was beginning to think it didn’t exist here before I found it. Phew. Now I don’t even have to think about the whole drink-from-a-cow-thing.

Over the weekend I had a walk with some of my colleagues from the school where I work. It was a lovely walk on a trail through Point L’Eveche, a nearby city to Lisieux. We spoke in French and I understood a lot! Not everything, but through the words I did know and the context, I could figure out the bulk of the conversation. And like everyone else, these friends were great about keeping me engaged.

The night after the walk in Point L’Eveche, I hung out with Cecil and Milena (the other American assistant and the Spanish assistant). I just adore both of them. We had really good, relaxed conversation over a game of Uno and some disco biscuits and pizza crackers. Milena doesn’t speak English, which is great for Cecil and me because it makes it necessary to practice our French instead of falling back into comfy English. And here’s the most awesome thing (I think): when Cecil walked me back home after, we continued to speak in French. For the whole 15 minute walk! It would have been much easier to speak in English, but I think it’s pretty clear that Cecil and I both care about learning the language and practicing as much as we can. And that’s exactly the type of person I want to be around here in France.

The night after Point L’Eveche and hanging with Cecil and Milena, I did not have a headache! Usually, after a day with that much French, I feel entirely drained and need to take two ibuprofens just to be able to sleep. Would it be arrogant to say this shows I am on the way to becoming fluent?

Tapan told me he’s going to download Veronica Mars seasons 2 and 3 for me. This is part of the best week ever for a very serious reason: Veronica Mars rocks! I bought season one with me and planned to watch it over the course of seven months, but it was impossible. The end of each episode is a cliffhanger, OK? Can you really blame me for having to constantly go on to the next? And besides, it was a long, lonely vacances and I had no money to go anywhere, and sometimes it was raining anyway. Considering all that, it’s only mildly frightening that I watched the entire season in two days.

I sent Donna her b-day present and the postage was only 3 euros. Sweet. This means I’ll be able to send many presents to many people.

There were only two good things about the doctor’s appointment. 1. I met all the other English assistants in Caen and they were pretty awesome. 2. I found the clinic entirely by myself. The day before my appointment I had no internet access at all so I couldn’t use google maps to get my directions. I just had an address in my hand. But I somehow managed to get to Caen (the next-door city), find the correct bus line, and find my way to the building. And I only had to ask one person on the street for help. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but anyone who knows Oh Ashley will understand what progress I have made! [As an aside, why is google not recognized by the Microsoft Word dictionary? It is both a noun and a verb.]

I have acclimated to the French keyboards. So much in fact, that I often make typos on my personal QWERTY keyboard.

My lungs are healthy. Check ‘em out!

On Eating

It occurred to me this weekend, as I was sitting in my teeny, tiny apartment, that I had not yet eaten French food. What the hell! I've been so preoccupied with getting settled in my apartment and teaching that the only food I've eaten has come from the local supermarket. Pathetic!

I am here in France, the land of the chefs, why have I not had any real food?

So I went to the first place I saw and bought this, crudites poulet. Not too original as far as sandwiches go - it was sliced chicken with lettuce, egg, and onions. And a lot of mayo too, which I am definitely not opposed to.








And for dessert, I bought myself this tasty little treat, a tarte fraises. I think you can tell by looking at it what that translates into. And it was absurdly delicious! Decadent, yes, but a good portion size, which is something I am not used to with the way portions in the US are out of control.

On Sunday I didn't do too much. I was grateful to have a veg-day. I wrote a lot in my journal, made a brand new poem, and just had time to think. It was nice. I also went out and bought this for dinner: I didn't finish it because it was just slathered in mayo. Hey, I like mayo, but this was overboard. It's like a sea.

Then today I enjoyed my first meal in a restaurant. To hell with waiting for someone to dine with. I am independent. I came to Europe on my own; I can certainly walk into a restaurant by myself. So I did. I don't have pictures for you (didn't want to be a complete tourist) but I can tell you it was a delicious plate of meat, potatoes, rice, mushrooms and carrots. I'm not exactly sure what the meat was because it was the plate of the day, and the waitress recited it too quickly for my non-fluent ears. Then for dessert I got the most delicious brownie! I'm so happy that chocolate is universal.

The highlight of my day? I watched a nostalgia movie from home. Anyone who thinks Alyson Hannigan and Seth Green met on the set of Buffy forgot about My Stepmother is an Alien:

Hooray for nostalgic gems!

Laverne fired on I Wanna Work for Diddy

I was so hoping she would make it a little further. But Laverne Cox, the beautiful dancing queen trans woman, was kicked off I Wanna Work for Diddy on last night's episode. The reason I am upset is not because she is gone - hell, my favorite contestants never win reality shows (except for Dee of course) so I can't say I'm surprised. It's the reason Laverne was fired that bothers the hell out of me.

In mission 6 of the series, both teams have to sell as many bottles of Diddy's new perfume as they can. Laverne has recently been switched from the Downtown team to the Uptown Team, which includes queen bitch Poprah. And no, I will not link to Poprah's website because it does not deserve any more hits.

So the teams have to sell this perfume that must not be so hot after all since no one is interested in buying it. But the challenge is about hustling so the teams have to come up with some marketing technique. And Poprah decides that it would be a good idea to put Laverne in the window as a live mannequin. Because really, that's the only way that people won't be put off by her. Laverne says no - that is exploitative of who I am and I won't do it. Kudos to you, Laverne. It was an incredibly arrogant and exploitative idea that Poprah had, and I am glad that Laverne rejected it and told her as much.

In the end, Laverne didn't sell any perfume, and her team lost the challenge. Which meant that they had to vote one person into the board room. It was a tie between Poprah and Laverne. The people who voted Kim did so because her attitude is cancerous to the team, and the people who voted Laverne did so because she didn't meet the challenge. Diddy's panel of judges now have the opportunity to send one person home. You would think that they would finally get rid of Poprah. She has the same conversation with the panel every time she stands before them, and the only thing that changed last night was that she defended her obesity (though no one even brought it up). And Laverne has proven to be a smart, witty, productive member of both teams she has been on.

But they told her she's not ready to work for Diddy.

What???!!!!

The panel told her that in the end, this show is about results. And she didn't sell any perfume. Would those people have been happy if she'd stood in the window the whole time? She wouldn't have sold any perfume then either, and she would have been a spectacle instead of a salesperson. But perhaps that would have been a better approach, what with the transphobic attitudes of people in this country.

Laverne didn't deliver in this challenge, but Poprah has failed to deliver several times as well. LIke in the episode where the teams had to map trails through a forest, and Poprah couldn't even walk half a mile before she suffered an asthma attack. Guess what? She didn't deliver. And remember when Diddy's mom came to New York and Poprah promised her a Southern style breakfast? She couldn't deliver then either.

This show is about results, all right. And Poprah pulls in more ratings with her crazy bitchy antics. I don't want to watch her anymore. She depresses me because I know she is exemplary of too many people in this world who are just like her.

I am sad to see Laverne go. I hope that she finds something more fulfilling than a job with Diddy. Like Isis on this cycle of America's Next Top Model, I think Laverne probably felt some pressure to represent the trans community, which is a pretty large and unfair task. But I felt like she was as authentic as one can be on reality TV, and she probably impacted a lot of viewers in a positive way.

Whether you liked Laverne on the show or not, you should check out this piece on her blog, in which she talks about her experiences with objectification and devaluation in her life as a transgender black woman. I found it really smartly written and informative, and I'll certainly be following her blog from now on.

I feel it all I feel it all

I watched Where the Heart Is last night. It's been a favorite of mine since the first time I saw it in 2000 and had to immediately buy the book because I loved it so much. And as I was rewatching it last night, I learned something about myself.

I'm anti-pretentious. I am un-elitist. I am completely fine with that.

I enjoy media that is designed for the masses. Indeed I prefer it over media that is produced for the elitist crowd. Sure, I can enjoy indie music when my roommates listen to it at home, but when I am alone in my car I would much rather spin a CD that will make me dance or sing. Though I love The Books and Broken Social Scene, I would rather rock out to Danity Kane or Maroon 5 anyday.

I've been thinking about how I felt while I was watching Where the Heart is last night. I cried with Novalee when Americus was stolen and with Lexi when her boyfriend abused her and her children. I clutched my pillow when the tornado swept away Americus' bear and Sister Husband (and almost took Americus and Novalee too). I actually laughed out loud when Novalee told the baseball team to untuck their shirts. And when Novalee and Forney embraced at the end of the movie, I felt the way I imagine it would feel to be swept off my feet. All of this emotion in a two-hour movie seems excessive, I know, but I thrive on these types of feelings.

It's the reason I like gimmicky movies so much. When I laugh at a punchline in a movie, I feel a connection to all the other people who laughed at the same line. When the prey overcomes the hunter in a horror movie I feel a wave of satisfaction that I assume (at least some) other people feel when they watch it. This connection, this sense of fulfillment that I get from movies, TV, music, is something that I hope I never lose the ability to feel.

If I closed myself off to media that wasn't entirely intellectual, if I only let myself watch things that appeal to the most elite of viewers, I would lose a hell of a lot. I like feeling as connected to as many people as possible. Though it's fulfilling to have similar moments when watching an indie movie or listening to an incredibly talented, lesser-known vocalist, the group of people who can share these feelings with me is far smaller.

For a while I was embarassed about my love for trashy reality TV and B horror movies and Janet Evanovich, but why should I be? I can get down with Regina and The Science of Sleep and Aimee Bender too. I'm more cultured than any hipster (and by that I mean conforming non-conformist) could ever be.

And besides, I don't have enough money to be a hipster.

nostalgia

makes
me
happy.

Pizza for breakfast?

According to an article by Lucy Danziger (e-i-c of SELF) it's not such a bad idea. She says that anything for breakfast is better than nothing, and that pizza with lots of veggies and a thin crust is actually a great idea for a breakfast that will keep energy levels up all day long.

Well, if only Andy and Sharon and I had saved some from last night's pizza-beer-bad-horror-movie-fest we'd be on the way to "slicker abs." But we scarfed it all down last night before we even cracked our third beers. Oh, how I love my bad habit friends. Don't get me wrong - I also have a special place in my heart for my wine and cheese friends, but sometimes (especially times like the day I had pre-Andy and Sharon) it's nice to unwind, talk about stupid nonsense, and drink Old Heathen until all the horrible things that happened on said day morph into stories worth rolling on the floor about.