... have been up to my ass in the effing French subjunctive tense. And sinking fast. Doubting whether I will pass this course at all. Had a serious melt-down in class on Friday (forcing me to get up and leave the room before anyone noticed I was having said melt-down) when asked to write something using "beaucoup de subjonctif" -- and being able to write NOTHING. I was absolutely NUL. Blank. Vide. Still have to send email to my prof to apologize for that. And did I mention, my grade on my second weekly grammar test was... 3/20. BAD. So very bad. But I won't quit the class; quitting is not the answer. And I don't want to switch to a lower level at this point, 4 weeks in. So I will tough it out. I dropped about 60 euros on more grammar books and exercises that I can do on my own to hopefully narrow the gap between what this prof seems to expect of us at "avancé" level, and where I actually AM. FYI I don't think I'm the only one having difficulty in the class; I just think that some of the young students don't CARE as much about failing, if they're there on Daddy's money for a semester in Paris.
... was catching up on my backlog of some 2,000 newsfeeds this morning, and found myself wishing I'd been at Colbert & Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" in Washington DC this weekend. Sounds like it was exactly the sort of anti-politics, anti-fear-based-media event I would have enjoyed. Side note to my local congressman back in New Jersey: Your twice-daily pre-recorded phone messages are both annoying and a waste of your campaign funds. Stop calling me, please. I live in France, in a different time zone, and have had to turn the ringer off on my phone to avoid your 2am "chipper" messages.
... am over the moon that Georges' eye surgery on Tuesday afternoon went so well. He had a cataract removed and a corrective crystalline lens implanted in his right eye, and one day later his vision was already so improved that he could read and see things WITHOUT glasses. And he hardly had any pain, post-operatively. His vision continues to get stronger in that eye every day, and even though eventually he will be tested and fitted with new glasses (to balance out the vision in both eyes), he is functioning quite well with no glasses (even went back to work on Thursday, less than 48 hours after). This has been life-changing for him and for both of us, already. I am SO VERY GRATEFUL for his excellent doctor (and thankful to my friend Samantha for the referral!) and for the amazing medical technology that made this possible.
... am freaking out a little over the fast-rising airfares for our trip to NJ for Christmas. The two older kids are coming with us, but we haven't been able to book the tix quite yet because of scheduling around their school obligations and other things, and in the 2-3 weeks since I last checked prices, they've just about doubled. Now almost as expensive as the summer of 2008 when we got married, and THAT was blamed on the super-high cost of fuel that year. We'll still make the trip and will enjoy ourselves in the end, but this is eating into our savings, big-time. Merry Effing Christmas, oh ye money-grabbing airlines... where's the peace on earth, good will towards men?
... haven't worked on my book again in over 10 days. And yes, I am hanging my head in shame. But at the same time, there is only so much of me to go around and lately other things have been taking all my mental energy (see first paragraph, above). Also part of the reason blogging has been light.
... am still here, though. Not going anywhere. Not to worry. All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well.
And by the way, Happy Halloween, and I hope you and your kids have a fun (and safe) time when you're out trick-or-treating tonight!
