... with all the distractions in this place?
OK, first of all, I spent the weekend doing a walking tour of the neighborhoods around Jardin de Luxembourg, Saint Sulpice and Saint German-des-Pres on Saturday, and on Sunday back up to the 6th to see "The Apartment" at a Billy Wilder film festival (OK, so I thought they were screening "Sabrina" but I read the dates wrong in "L'Officiel").
Then today I spent a fair amount of time making plans to meet people later in the week:
1) Meeting AussieLass and KylieMac for lunch tomorrow as they have honored me with a request I can't talk about yet but which you will hear more about in the next few weeks. Plus it is fun to meet other Paris ex-pat bloggers so I can't wait to meet them!
2) Thursday my friend Lisa arrives from the States. Although she's not bunking with me because I have another friend arriving Saturday for 9 days, Lisa will be arriving very early on Thursday because of her flight times, and will be camping out here for the early part of the day until she can get into her hotel. She can shower and take a nap, and we will have coffee and fresh croissants and catch up on old times and new happenings.
3) Friday I'm meeting yet another blogger friend, Linda. We are going to see "Sabrina" (this time I double checked the schedule) and then for dinner. It's so delightful to have the chance to meet people I've been "reading" for months or in some cases years!
4) Saturday my best friend Wendy arrives. I'm meeting her at the airport -- taking the RER out but I've arranged for a car service to pick us both up because of all the luggage (I am making her haul a duffel bag full of MY extra clothes and sundries so I wouldn't have to pay to ship it). She is staying until the following Sunday and we have a very full week planned, complete with two days in London where we're seeing "The Mousetrap". We haven't been on a vacation together since before she met her husband, nor have we been alone in a room to have a conversation for more than 2 hours at a stretch in over 14 years -- the age of the oldest of her FOUR CHILDREN. She has had a very difficult time in the past, oh 4 years -- first her youngest was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 19 months (she's in remission for 4 years now) and then her father died suddenly two years ago and left the estate from hell for her to cope with. She has EARNED this week away from everyday life and I'm just so excited to share Paris with my best friend.
5) Add to all of this social fun, the fact that I was tentatively trying to schedule an actual DATE -- you know, like with a MAN? -- this week, with someone I've been writing to online for about two months. Yes, we're talking internet dating and don't stick your nose up about it, it can work out great. The challenge has been that he just arrived this weekend and I've just got NO FREE TIME for the next two weeks so I think I am going to have to put this off a bit longer. The funny part is, how totally relaxed I am about the whole thing, considering my last real date was something like 1999? I thought I'd be totally freaking out about dating after such a long hiatus but really, I'm very laissez-faire about it. Which in hindsight is probably a good thing.
So it will be a very busy time and I am only now starting to get caught up with client projects, work I definitely want and NEED to keep the cash pipeline flowing and make it possible for me to STAY here in this wonderful place. Let's not forget, either, that with houseguests coming I have to CLEAN and make sure there are plenty of clean towels and sheets -- and thanks to the wonders (ha) of the French washer-dryer it takes about 2-1/2 HOURS to do a complete load start to finish and everything still comes out a tiny bit damp and very wrinkled. And oh, how I hate to iron; I never ironed anything back home, but here it's unavoidable unless I want to look like a bag lady.
And to top it all off, wouldn't you know it, I am STILL coughing and wavering back and forth with other intermittent cold symptoms. I'm not sick enough for a doctor and I can get out and do things, but it's damned annoying and I am sucking down Ricola drops at lightening speed. And now with the colder weather, the dry heat is making matters worse for my upper respiratory issues.
The good part? Apparently in France you can get cough syrup with a dash of codeine in it, without a prescription. Amen to that, sister.
