la vie en rose

Good morning, tout le monde! Please excuse my enthusiasm this AM, but I've been up since 6am and am more than well-caffeinated at this point (must work on reducing that). I trust you had a good weekend? The highlight of mine was watching the Tour de France fly through Versailles. Other than that, it was uneventful. I have one last academic responsibility looming over me (class-wise, not thesis-related) so that was my focus and concern. It has been for the past two weeks actually; in addition to transitioning into a full-time schedule at my internship and moving out of my chambre de bonne into a real studio apartment.

I really came back from New York and hit the ground running, huh? And since I'm still getting a hold on my new day-to-day life here, I thought I'd offer perspective on how it's been... alongside visual examples (1/3: old view, 2: office neighborhood, 3: new home).

7:30am: wake up to obnoxious bird crowing outside window. 7:30-8:50am: shower, make tea, eat breakfast, do everything else that constitutes "getting ready." 8:50-9:25am: read and commute to work. 9:35-10am: take morning coffee break with the team. 10am-12pm: be productive. 12-12:30pm: discuss being hungry and ready for lunch with co-workers on Skype group chat. 12:30-1:20pm: take lunch break--venture out for food/warm up left-overs, enjoy meal on the building's terrace while pathetically attempting to join the team's conversation (in French). 1:20-1:30pm: have a coffee/tea. 1:30-6:30pm: be productive, have strategy meeting(s) with boss, respond to funny links (in English/French/Spanish) posted to Skype group chat. 6:30-6:50pm: formally say goodbye to offce, pick up groceries for dinner. 6:50-7:30pm: read and commute home. 7:30-7:40pm: buy bread (still testing boulangeries for my neighborhood favorite). 7:45-9pm: make dinner, transfer notes and citations, eat dinner. 9pm-11pm: read, write, try to sleep.

Sounds exciting, huh? Ha, I like it so far. In the past two weeks, like I said, I've also had to pack up my chambre de bonne (see above, 20 square-meters of mess), move into a real studio apartment, and clean, unpack, and transfer as much homey-ness as possible here.

Needless to say, I've had a lot on my plate, and only one real opportunity to spend time with friends. Thank god for the boy's patience with me as I attempt to deal :). Once I have this final paper out of the way, I'll be able to relax. Until then, I'll savor brief fun plans like today's: meeting an old friend (passing through Paris on a Euro trip) at my preferred happy hour-with-a-view spot.