Free Woman in Paris.
Sorry the details of Paris have taken so long!
To all the people who have been to Paris and not been to Pere Lachaise you really did miss the very best part of Paris. Fifteen minutes out of the way was completely worth it. But let me start from the top, shall I? I left for Saturday evening, the bus was packed actually. Amusingly enough, the guys beside me were a group of Canadian backpackers. I talked for a lot of the 10 hour trip with one of them, just about Candianisms and stuff… he kept falling asleep on me and I kept poking him awake, it was rather amusing. As he left he gave me a big west coast hug and said maybe he’d see me in Paris, I said I doubted it, and we parted, I didn’t get his name or anything and so that ended that.
It’s funny how ‘Canadian’ you become when you get over here — I’m hardly an overly enthusiastic nationalist, but I’ve been stopping just shy of singing the national anthem in the street (en anglais et francais!) since being in Europe. My french served me surprisingly well considering how terrible I thought I was. So, after I got to my hostel, I dumped my bags and went straight to Pere Lachaise. It was about 7 o’clock in the morning local time, so there was quite literally no one there. I saw Sarah Bernhardt which was completely unexpected (my grandmother used to compare me to her, so that was very touching), I also saw Chopin (not reeeeally that exciting for me because I’m not a huge classical music buff, but I guess it’s pretty impressive all things considered) Next was Jim, of course, he’s tucked in behind a number of bigger monuments so I had a lot of trouble finding him… however there is a large temporary fence around him, on top of the plot was flowers, cigarettes, questionable looking substances and pictures. The inscription on his headstone is the latin translation of ‘True to his own spirit.’ When I read it I really did hope someone would think to write something like that on my headstone, moreover, I want something like that to be true of me. Jim’s grave, a journey I definitely needed to make.
Oscar Wilde was pretty awesome too, his grave was covered in bright lipstick kisses, mostly from gentlemen I’m sure. I adore Oscar, and the whole visit made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. After I visited him I just toured the cemetery, and it was amazingly stunning, all old and cryptic, but beautiful as well, I felt inspired to write but couldn’t come up with any words once I found my journal. From there I did “the rest of Paris in thirty seconds” The Eiffel Tower, the Arc d’Triomph, and Notre Dame being a majority of my hit list. The poor people were VERY aggressive so I did these places quickly because I wasn’t in the mood for being hassled. The tower wasn’t as epic as I had thought! But the arc was beautiful, and so was Notre Dame, I definitely like English architecture better… ehehe.
I went back to my room and met the incredibly sweet room mate Hallie from Mississippi. Great to talk to, we shared THE BEST CHOCOLATE ON EARTH. 70% Dark Chocolate and Raspberry. I could have bought a case of the stuff. I really liked Hallie, she was in a similar position as I was last year (if I had gone to France, that is) kind of at a loss for the infamous ‘what happens next?’ I’m hardly one to give anyone advice but I like to think I’m at the very least an example of options. Apparently you don’t just have to go to school. We had an Austrian girl in the room too, the three of us when out for drinks with some of Austrian girl’s guy friends, it was fun, the language barrier led to some hysterical conversations and of the seven of us I was the only one who spoke even a word of French. I had a Cappuchino and Hallie had one beer while our Austrian friends got wasted, their English got more and more strained as the evening continued.
The next day I went to Versailles, which, wouldn’t you know it, was closed on Monday. Yes, the whole Palace was completely closed, and under contruction. I did get a chance to wander the grounds without anyone there though. The fountains were off and it was a bit cold, I did the Louvre instead.
I took a lot of pictures of paintings and things. Things like the portrait of the princes in the tower, Joan of Arc and Napoleon of course! Actually, I started laughing like an idiot in front of a painting of the battle of Thermopolae, all of the Spartans are nude, and I thought to myself “And people thought they were under dressed in the movies!” I saw the crowd surrounding the Mona Lisa and maybe caught a glimpse of the tiny little painting it’s self. It’s far less impressive than expected I also saw the Venus de Milo. Though to be honest I would have preferred to visit a more history-centred museum than an art one… plus I couldn’t read any of the museum cards!
The next day I went to Versailles again to actually see Versailles. I took the wrong train, or at least, a train that took me to the wrong Versailles and ended up spending an hour and change on transit to Versailles. However that turned into a real blessing in disguise, as the the incredibly huge line up. I met two Americans studying in Vienna, they were amazingly nice and I spent the evening with them. Versailles, I eventually decided I would have been hard pressed to make leave if there were a fraction of the people there as it stood, I was a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing because of the legions around.
After Versailles my Vienna friends and I wandered Paris, I was actually able to translate the menu! And I could even speak relatively decent french! They wanted to go clubbing afterwards, but we didn’t find anything really, and I had to leave on an 11 o’clock bus back to London, so we parted ways.
The bus ride to London was long (obviously) but I did see some signs off to Vimy, and I got to ride the Ferry! I even saw the white cliffs of Dover! They really are white!
I also started my job, it’s incredibly boring of course, but it’s only for a few weeks, and hopefully I’ll find a new job while I have this one.
I also got two amazing books I’ll review soon. Grotesque and the Black Swan.
I have some abstract stuff I really want to write about right now, but I’m feeling a bit tired… maybe tomorrow!
Here I thought the cage was supposed to be empty.
I woke up this morning and there was a small finch-like bird fluttering around the house. Now I hate netspeak and all the but surprisingly I could practically feel the thought bubble burst above my head.
“WTF?”
It took me a clean hour to convince the little thing the door was open… I imagine it had probably fluttered into the glass desperately a number of times already. I just want to know when it got in… it was either when Mike left for work this morning or had been in overnight!
I’m booking my ticket to France for tomorrow because the agency just called because they forgot to mention I have orientation for this new job on Thursday. Gee, what a bloody thing to forget. Anyways, I’m still going to France and trying to come up with somewhere else to go over easter. Maybe Edinburgh. As much as I wanted to throw the phone at a wall I think I was very mature about having to completely shift my trip due to a bit of a stupid mistake on their part. And maybe I’ll get to see another new place (or old place that I love) thanks to this largely unplanned break in the trip. Maybe even somewhere closer like Oxford or something. I’ll be paid for the orientation, so I can’t complain too much.
Uhm, in other news, I talked on the phone to Terri last night, and it was pretty much awesome. I’ll probably call Ange or Stacey tonight, because I’m not racking up roaming charges on my phone by calling people from France. Sorry guys, you aren’t worth that much to me after all! Bahahahahahahahah~~! I kid, I kid, but roaming charges means I cannot afford to bring anyone British Sweets, so choose your battles wisely.
Other then that– anyone who has any suggestions as to where to go for Easter send me a Comment… and don’t say Isle of Wight, I hear the place is booked solid, the whole island, during Easter.
Quick Jaunt to Paris — I am a jerk aren’t I?
Well, the employment agency sent me back a lovely e-mail saying they should have a job for me on the 25th. Fusked! So I have decided to go to Paris for a week. The job will be Dullsville data entry, but on the bright side I can listen to tunage while I do it. I have a feeling it will be a lot like inputting invoices at the bookstore. Regardless, it gave me an empty week which I have decided to fill with the French.
The fare will be about £44.00 via train to Paris. So, I need to go buy myself some Euros.
Nothing else done today as usual. All the best to my beloved commenters!
Ange, there’s a reason why Sugilove was first D=
Amber, I got Cyndaquil fanlist at TFL, it’s taken at TAFL, but I was never a fan of the anime so there =3
Welcome to an entry that has nothing to do with England.
As the title suggests this is pure unsaturated website jargon. Tomorrow I’ll write you all about my British exploits.
I spent today writing content for various websites, specifically finally getting bloody Cursed online and in it’s happy place. Literally, most of my day was spent on that little gem, polishing it to within an inch of it’s life. I’ll have to get more caught up in the series to continue the spit-shine job I intend to do on it, but at least now it doesn’t look like I wrote it in 2005. Har har.
I’ve started work on Ruins too, the planned website for Angel Sanctuary’s Mudo Setsuna and Alexiel. Not enough to stick up, but enough that it might actually get finished one day. One day… and you can insert an epic echo effect here. There’s been a chance this shrine will switch to Kira/Lucifer before I’ve finished but I will neither confirm nor deny that assumption. If anyone reads this and has an actual preference let me know XD Maybe even Uriel.
Following that, Bloodlust might get reduced to a single character shrine, probably Sugimura, maybe Chigusa, Mimura or Kawada. Reason being, a site that huge is so daunting to do alone. Alternatively, I’ll make a shine to tide me over until I feel like making a full out website for everything. I feel like it is required that I have at least something Battle Royale related on my domain.
Loyalties and Valour are both getting ready to be fully shrineified. After my vow of not creating fanlistings without full accompanying shrine, Nevermore’s shrine is of course completely backburnered until I decide on an angle for it. I applied for three fanlistings today, and one a few days ago, hopefully I’ll get approval on at least one of them.
Other fandom websites I want to make are for things like the Cheshire Cat, Godchild, Pinkfloyd/Bauhaus/theDoors, Fromhell/Sweeney, something nostalgic like Pokemon, Digimon, and/or Sailor Moon and something Shakespearian. Though before I get too far ahead of myself I do want to get everything I’ve started relatively well established.
What all this means to the people who follow my website designing (aka. No one…) Things are going to start getting done and filled and ready to go. I do live in fear of having a useless domain so hold onto your hats folks Things are about to get ugly.
Employment Agency, aka. The Land of Smiles
The first thing you will notice about employment agencies is that absolutely everyone is so painfully cheerful that it’s scary. I mean, the agency is cheerful to impress the client, the people looking for jobs are cheerful to impress the agency and the agencies clients are cheerful because they know that for a small fee they are on top in this particular establishment. Everyone smiles constantly, post-agency-face-pain is likely a common side effect of being in too many of these places. I’m surprised how amazingly few hospitals there are in Oxford Circus to accomodate for this.
Okay, so I’m registered at the agency, the smiling agent would like me to know that with my skill set I should be looking at a job before the end of the week. I hope she didn’t take the twitching eye of smiling discomfort as me being an escaped lunatic. I snuck a look at her notes on me as she left for a glass of water. She wrote me a rave review, fooled another one Daddy! I type 46 words per minute apparently, that is when I’m copying out a passage about American commutes, which I pretty much fell asleep while typing. I also, for those who have never had the pleasure of watching me type, only use two fingers (well, and one on my let hand to press shift). She that’s mighty impressive.
The other day (Friday, I am tempted to say…) Mike and I headed to the V&A (Victoria & Albert) Museum, which is a pretty amazing little museum, it’s stuffed full of interesting, but less famous items. Like, you won’t find the Rosetta Stone, but you will find some amazing Renaissance artefacts, the Medici are not mentioned very much though(!) Are they a Zimmer hyperbole(!)? Regardless, Mike finally learned the true extent of my museum addiction and cut me off before I got too carried away, and showed me Hyde Park (Yes, I did think of Sweeney, so shoot me) From there we headed back to Milton Keynes. I highly reccomend V&A I neglected to mention, it’s a low key museum with a lot of sculptures, and everyone except me seemed to be running through it which was disappointing because there was a lot of cool stuff.
I have finally experienced British rain, this is the first I have been out in the rain since coming here believe it or not. And, of course, the only day I did not pack an umbrella in my purse, which I’m considering upgrading to something bigger once this job thing hopefully pulls through. I can’t fit anything in it.
One thing I am going to start kicking people about is my friends and replying to my entries… all my mom’s friends, and my friend’s parents are replying, but none of my chums seem to be able to find it in their hearts to reply to me. So, loves, expect some nasty e-mails involving ‘Comment on my posts or die<3′ To the parents replying to my blog I thank you… at least I know some people love me.
And to commenter:
Crystal<3 I hope Sweeney and Jack join me, we can dance around in happy hippie circles until the sky goes out. You should come down and visit, by now I feel like a regular Londoner. Love! No, you see the trouble with poet is how do you know it’s deceased — Try the priest!
I should be heading into London, but I’m blogging instead
As the title suggests, I should be well on my way to the city by now, but before I go I want to write a quick blog. I have been terrible for getting them out lately because in my overwhelming ANGST!: The Musical (My favourite injoke of all time apparently) the days have all blended into an intermeshing superday.
So, what’s new? Well, I applied for the most amazing job ever that I would have been perfect for… but by the time I got to it it was filled beginning the theme known as ‘my luck’. I’ve never considered myself particularly unlucky before, and maybe I’m only unlucky in the UK. Regardless, the bitter optimism is forcing me to be cheerful, I am not going to hate this trip — damnit!
The perfect job was at the bookstore at Westminster Abbey, and the lady I spoke to was incredibly nice, she said some of their hires would be leaving at the end of March. A running theme, I’ll have ten jobs once April rolls around. I’m reeeeally disappointed about missing out, but I’m keeping with my optimistic theme by saying maybe I’ll get a call April second (not April first, I wouldn’t be able to take it if it was April first) and work the rest of my term at Westminster.
To add to my employment luck, I got another few e-mails with ‘the position is filled’ and one e-mail with ‘Please call me!’ I’m thinking ‘Yes, finally someone appreciates my talents!’ Only to find both numbers provided are not in service temporarily. This is just getting hysterical. If I don’t laugh I’m just going to burst into tears, so I’m laughing.
I finally got out to see some of the sights the other night. It was late and I was on the phone with my Pangeous friend and I decided to wander back to Trafalgar Square (Have I mentioned I love that word? Trafalgar, sounds so epic and archaic, I love it!) From there I wandered down to the Parliament buildings and over to Westminster Abbey. It’s amazing seeing the sights at night.
And for the very first time I was glad I didn’t have a camera. (I think I told Ange this on the phone). Last time I was here it was like looking at the sights in a book because it was always through my camera that I saw anything. I never really looked at and admired all the things I was seeing. I mean, holy crow, for those of you who have seen Big Ben and Lord Nelson all lit up at night laa-dee-dah to you. But to those who haven’t, it’s something amazingly breathtaking. There you are standing in front of something so old and so beautiful, Ange and I listenined to the clock strike 9 before we decided to end our chat.
Big Ben gets this brilliant orange glow to it, and all the shadows cast on it emphasize how imposingly and elegant it is, you almost feel guilty looking at it, as though it is very stern and unhappy to be caught awake at such an hour. Elegant, as I’ve probably thought a hundred thousand times is the best way to invision it.
And Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square seems to just glow in the dark. I want to know how they light him up like that, he’s so high off the ground! Something very imperial about the lions at night too, I’m reminded of some Jim Morrison Lyrics:
Lions in the street and roaming
Dogs in heat, rabid, foaming
A beast caged in the heart of a city
The body of his mother
Rotting in the summer ground.
He fled the town.
He went down South and crossed the border
Left the chaos and disorder
Back there over his shoulder.
One morning he awoke in a green hotel
With a strange creature groaning beside him.
Sweat oozed from its shiny skin.
Is everybody in? The ceremony is about to begin.
I don’t really know why. Probably the first and last lines only, or a Beast Caged in the Heart of the city… That’s me. However, it’s what I thought to myself as I looked at the huge lions at the feet of Nelson. The Abbey is a bit of a sore spot I’ll describe later.
So, there you go, what I’ve done so far. Actually, while I was typing that sentence a recruitment agensy called me back, they may have a few jobs I can do. Isn’t lovely how forced optimism really works. It looks like a grimace but I assume you, it is a smile. I’ll be doing stuff ‘Similar to COIP’ Smile. It’s a job. Shut up and smile. Maybe until Westminster calls and asks where I’ve been all their life. Anyways, tons of love, I’m sending out post cards tomorrow, so e-mail me your addesses everyone or you won’t get one!
To the commenters of this entry and the last one:
To Crystal, now it’s not just Sweeney and Jack the Ripper I have to fear, it’s Youtube abusers D=
To Amber, isn’t that link awesometastic? It kept me amused for ages!
To Mom, I will, I will I promise I will!
To Ange, I totally should as it would be friggan awesome! Do your essay! Ahahahahah! Call you again soon because that was wicked awesome talking to you <3
To Dad
My Anophelosis is starting to get unbearable.
Really dull few days.
The reason for the lack of updates is a simple one. I have been doing absolutely nothing interesting. I know that sounds like a bit of a cop-out but it’s absolutely true. I’ll try to sum up some of the high points over the last few days to keep people at least semi-interested. I haven’t even been writing in my own journal though, so that should tell you something.
Currently I’m living with Mike Powers in Milton Keynes, a town outside of London, it is the most ‘North American’ feeling place I’ve been since I’ve gotten here, the roads even have a semi-logical order! I have been walking around the area a lot and cannot pretend that it really reminds me of home. While Mike was showing me around we did a treetop walk and ‘the best fish and chips in southern England’. Other than that it had been nothing but sleep and resumes/CVs and therefore really boring. I’m going to Charing Cross Road “the book district’ tomorrow so hopefully some jobs pop up by Friday. Mike Britishized my resume it’s amazing how little of what I’m done translates directly into Brit.
So, yes, I really have little to blog about right now, hahah. I’ve only talked to parents, Andrew, and Terri since I’ve gotten here despite my kickass cellphone plan, so if anyone wants me to call them it’s always nice to chat with people without crazy accents.
To my commenters:
To mom, laundry was not bad, in fact, it was decidedly dull. I had been expecting satan’s torment from the way people speak of it. As for the weather, yes, it is more spring than not, and I’ve heard about the snow there and I laugh at you all.
To Mike, thanks so much for stopping by to leave me a comment. I hope Jeff is having a good time on his voyages– though I can’t rub in anyone’s face how much nicer the weather is here because I’m sure he’ll one-up me.
To Harvey (Thomas that is), I am having a good time the museums here are about a hundred times better than any museum that I’ve seen in Canada so far, I’m determined to haunt at least one of them. My next destination will be Liverpool/Manchester I think, hopefully the first vacation from my job! The only intense British food I’ve eaten so far was when I was in Whitby I had some Yorkshire Steak and Ale Pie, it was very good, but I was a bit sick the next day, I’d have it again but be very wary. And Pineapple Fritters, which aren’t too bad, a bit too sweet for me though!
To Harvey (This time to Dana), I do understand laziness and the way it prevents typing as you can see by the distance between this entry and the last one. The library pretty much owned, and, as with everything here, I’ve only scratched the surface. The original Beatles lyrics I was tempted to simply bow to, it only seemed right. As for Across the Universe I actually worked on that at Andy Malcolms (cool, huh?) I would not say no to sexy Jude popping over to sing Strawberry Fields Forever with me. I know I’m your hero, after all I got all 150 Pokemon.
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