eurobound
just a train stop from...
Mediterranean resort masquerades as language school
i'm up at 6am to see Ryan off to the airport and finish packing. the van has to be loaded and unloaded again at the storage space by 5 today. and what am i doing? surfin' the net. not good.
we almost made it through the visit without tears..and then, at the eleventh hour, Kate dissolves. Ryan's not close behind. its neck and neck on Broughton Street (was it the last slice of Vinny's?) at 10pm last night. and there they go! blubber, blubber. i will miss him so much. across the pond is altogether different than across the Mason Dixon line.
Ryan and i did some mostly-window shopping yesterday between errands and we went into "The Banana" on Broughton street...all this time and i've never gone in. of course, i'm not a skinny gay man, so there you go. anyhoo, i was hung over and freaking out about the overwhelming task of packing, and we were running errands which included picking up toilet paper, paper towels and packing tape which i was carrying in a plastic bag as we browsed. i had forgotten to change out of my house shoes (aka: slippers) before heading out. so i might not have looked my very best. the headset wearing sweater nazis followed me around the store, "Can i help you?" "Is there something you need?" "Are you lost?"
the Christmas hangover...foggy memories dance in my head...reindeer antlers, a red doggie sweater/straight jacket, the disco tinsel tree, pounds of chocolate, ghetto jesus on the coffee table, wrapping paper mayhem, and a bottle of wine (a gift from a well meaning neighbor) with a label that read, i kid you not:
"Try it with hamburgers, pizza, or chicken wings! It's a great hot tub wine too!"
Happy Birthday Grandma Mickey! how does she do it?
mom and grandma paris
i've lived in Savannah for 5 years and I can't tell which square is which. Jackson? Troup? whhaa?
ah, Christmas cards. my personal fav: my oldest (and most faithful) friend Erin and her hubby Dougie and baby Sam decked out in red in a sea of red and white at a Wisconsin Badgers game. erin, doug and sam it's a great shot, and brought back a flood of WI memories...the red and white color scheme can never mean anything else to me but cheeseheads, beer, college guys throwing potatoes at passing cars (both were baked), Plaza burgers, $1 taps at the Crystal Corner, State Street, the farmers market on the Capitol square, shoveling the Volvo 240dl out from the snowplow on Pinckney Street, taking the bus in a blizzard to KFC at 10pm just because we had a craving, the Mifflin Street block party, the Rose Bowl maul, 80's night at The Cardinal, any night out with Mike and 'the boys', drinks and chess at Genna's, frozen custard, lesbian bookstores, sliding on black ice across three lanes of the Beltline, hemp sweater shops, Brittany buns, and the sweet (ugh!) smell of patchouli in the air. ahh, Madison.
you know, i lived there 5+ years and i never could remember which lake was which. Monona? Mendota? whhaa?
10 days and counting! for those of you in town on New Years Eve, i'd like to invite you over for a glass of champagne, a little Bon Voyage gathering. ok, not really even a gathering seeing as maybe two or three people will be here, but you get the point. yes, this is an open "drop by" invite. a once in a lifetime opportunity folks, take advantage!
once upon a time there was a modular sofa. nothing special, just simple cubes and rectangles, beige wool. one grey midsummer spring, a young girl (18) came to the big city with a back pack and a pair of doc martens. she slept on that sofa. three cubes long, in the living area of an aunties studio. nine long months. maybe more. but she slept well, she was tired ..two jobs, six days a week. and those boots were heavy. then, in the windy city fall, her own studio with a sliver of a lake view out the kitchen window if you turned your head just so. eight el stops away, but no bother..auntie gave her the sofa. cubes and rectangles one at time in the manual door elevator. nine more months. she moved back up north, not home, but more familiar. a different type of school. a few years pass. one job, a better one. the cubes are reupholstered in dark red ribbed velvet (it was Wisconsin afterall). cubes and rectangles smooshed in to the back seat of the starter marriage's starter car (it was a Dodge afterall). a few more years. a terrific downpour, a misdirected gutter. but three cubes and two rectangles survive. three more jobs, all about the same. no more husband, that's better. she moves south, way down south. something new. and as the snowy plains make way for palm trees, the cubes and rectangles this time carried in a van hauling a car down the highway some 26 hours. five more years. another school, two more jobs. the job is the same, but the weather much better. a boyfriend whose feet hung over the edge of the now shorter modular sofa. but no matter, he moved to California anyway. a new apartment. her first home. eighteen months of renovation. plaster, paint, her handy hammer and level. (it was the Historic District afterall). the sofa is shipped back north for reupholstery once again. nothing special, just simple biege. a durable fabric, for there is a dog now. cubes and rectangles in cardboard boxes one by one up three flights of stairs. but not much time there this time. not a few years or months, but only a few weeks. the girl is leaving for a very long stay in France. no job, much better. another school. the cubes and rectangles will not fit in the maximum two suitcases. but no matter, the young student renter just moved here last year, probably with a back pack of her own and no doubt, at least one pair of heavy boots (it is an art college afterall).
miss Dawn is off for Christmas with her family....glad that she'll be back for New Years though, so we can spend some time together before i leave. i'm going to miss my little sip of champagne so very much. you just can't beat a good ol' blonde curl-bobbin', flip flop-wearing, straight talking, chai tea drinkin', just-a-tad granola friend.
12 more days! and i haven't packed a single thing! i have however, finally been able to hang my paintings and pictures...the house looks wonderful. i never want to leave...its so nice to come home to. i'll be sure to get alot of 'home time' in this next week, load up on enough to last me through the next year.
my search for a motto for the upcoming year is over. seems it was right in front of me the whole time. 'girl at large' duh! (of course, i'm hoping to turn that into a lifelong motto!)
does anybody else see that little red image missing square on my blog? i can't figure it out. i haven't messed with the code or anything. wierd.
so, tonight, as i recover from yet another dental deluge, i make myself a yummy little cup of hot cocoa..mix the cocoa (Ghiradelli's from San Francisco, my favorite) and suger just so, use my favorite mug (circa 1991) and pop it into the microwave. a few minutes later, the usual "beep beep". huh. well, what do you know; hot cocoa-y milk all over the inside of the microwave. so now i'm thinking that those pre-packaged heatable microwave wipes aren't such a silly idea after all.
three more teeth out today. who knew i had that many to loose? this time it was the wisdom teeth on the left side and a molar that was bad. there's always one in the back row thats up to no good.
my sister Margaret (living in Chile) did just the coolest thing! she's started her own little web business--www.raiseyourhand.info. its an easy to use question/answer research service...ask your question, choose the level of response you need and she does the research, finds the answer and sends a report via fax or email in a few days complete with references (not just web, but books, papers, periodicals as well) and even recommended books on the subject. (its a brand new project for her so go easy on the site crit). right up her alley; she's a tenacious researcher and happy to being doing something she enjoys, keeping busy even though she's a zillion miles away from her previous work life in NYC. she's also studying to be a PI. seriously. isn't that neato?
zit cream and control top hose. that's turning 30. one foot in your youth, one foot in your middle age (and in my case, one more foot in my mouth).
well, only 45 minutes to go. countdown to age 30. how come i still feel as clueless as at 22? where's all the levity, wisdom and insight old people jabber on about? its a conspiracy i tell you!
i did already receive the nicest gift...Miss Kristan left a little package-o-love at my door today. a book of crosswords! French crosswords! where she could have found it i have no idea...very thoughtful. and a bag of plastic bottle caps for Ruby to nibble on! our favorites....what a sweetie! thank you.
funny discussion at werk today...about how i have a tendancy to put my foot directly, solidily in my big fat mouth. ask me in person sometime if you haven't already been a witness, or a victim. examples of note:
"Watch out Ruby or he'll eat you!" -in front of cross looking Asian man
"Well, you've packed on a few pounds this year." -to girlfriend commenting on how her shirt didn't fit right
"I need to give him the blow by blow." -to cowerker regarding customer relations
"It's not like you want to marry this loser, right?" -to gal friend, nearly engaged to the guy (in my defense, unbeknownst to me)
"It's not bad, for an ugly lamp" -to boyfriend as he purchased a happy little lamp he still probably has (and likes)
"You can have that removed you know." -don't ask!
i like to think of it as a creative use of language.
three words: turd totem pole. left me laughing out loud in the street! oh, having a dog, what a hoot.
oh boy oh boy oh boy! my all time favorite, most visited, most beloved and valuable website has a compact version downloadable (a channel from AvantGo) to my Palm!
www.angloinfo.com is the best English language Riveria information hub site i've found (and honey, i've searched everywhere!). it has been indespensable during the planning stages of the move...thousands of listings; from English speaking veterinarians to Salsa dancing lessons, American movie listings to British slang translations.
AND NOW...its all on my Palm! i know, i know, i'm getting carried away. but really, what good is a boyfriend compared to a Palm Pilot? i ask you. seriously.
well, it's official. i'm a convert! much to Miss Dawns delight, i am now once again fully participating in the high tech world. (i avoided it like the plague after being so badly burned in '96-'97...ask me when i'm drinking). between planning this move to France entirely via internet and organizing my whole world on the Palm Pilot, i'm hooked. and so excited...i keep finding like minded folks via websites, by researching topics of interest (travel, dogs, SAABs and VWs, art & design, wordies, journaling, etc). one thing leads to another and another....and each time, i exclaim "hey! i do that too!" or "wow i always wanted to do that!", etc. i have developed, very quickly, an international community of friends, comrades all over the world! its like i handpicked my neighbors. i'm looking forward to having the luxury of time to learn more, get my website fully developed. Dawn and i are bursting at the seams with entrepenurial ideas too...i can foresee finding just the right kind of item in France to sell to just the right kind of person via these new channels i've found. (maybe)
its hard to describe how cool this all is, exactly how important. i had such a hard time finding friends in my teens and 20's (i can say that soon!) ...i never really fit in, my interests were so different. and growing up in practically rural Wisconsin did not help any in that department...i was the "wierdo", "snob", etc. not that i minded. i was. and still am, and that's ok with me. but now, i'm not alone! there are thousands of weirdos out there! i can really see now why my sister Margaret (http://members.fortunecity.com/memikkelsen/) went to the East Coast at 17 and never looked back. it was the same for her i'm sure...always knowing we are living in the wrong universe and then suddenly, finally finding your planet.
my anal retentive /obsessive record keeping has paid off. yes, when i went to the Urgent Care center in a dehydrated flu induced fog, i handed my Palm Pilot to the doc...all my medicinal allergies spelled out on the 'Medical Records" screen i downloaded last week. very handy! (don't laugh that hard!)
i'm feeling better today, and hoping to make it to work tomorrow. i missed five days ('missed' is of course, a subjective term) of work. and lots of organizing, packing up time. packing party, anyone?
speaking of party, i have no plans yet for a bon voyage gathering, but i'm sure something will make itself evident. however, i would like to invite anyone in town to join me for dinner next Saturday night...its my 30th.
i've recovered enough this evening (1 nostril works, coughing is at a minimum, broth has stayed down for 5 hours!) to realize that i only have 27 days left!! holy shit, i am not ready! shit, shit, shit....
and yet, i could go tonight. leave it all behind, to hell with it, just go!
i've been so sick the past two days. it started on Sunday, when i was shopping at.....the mall. i thought it was just the heat, the muzac and the flourescent lights, but it turns out to be a really nasty cold/flu combo. i've slept all day and i'm still exhausted. and stuffed up, and nauseaus, and achy and coughing. i want my mommie.