Monday, July 22, 2013

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.

4 comments:

  1. I find that being busy here is better than having heaps of idle time. Having experienced both on extreme levels, busy is better!

    I know where your office is! Don't you love that street art installation of the hanging chalkboard just diagonal from the illustration of the man alongside the building? This area is super cool.

    Enjoy your busy schedule. Will you try to get away for a little vacation in August?

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    1. Despite my occasional frazzled frenzy, I agree :) How funny! Belleville is such a cool area. I'm quite a walk from the fab street art but it's my favorite... so I photographed it. I'm hoping to escape for long weekend! It's still in the works but I'll announce it when I'm sure.

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  2. Always enjoy reading about your endeavors, Danielle. Glad you will be moving! The studio will be nice. Take pictures and share!

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