The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Débloqué

I think I can finally say "au revoir, writer's block". Whew! This makes two days in a row that I've actually worked on my book again, after two months of not even so much as glancing at the manuscript. I've even been working on it at my very messy and cluttered home (and yesterday Georges was home for the majority of the time I spent working) because I decided that using "I can't write at home" and "I can't write when the family's around" and "I can't write because I have too freaking much to do around the house" as anti-writing excuses was just plain bullshit. OK, so two successive days of writing in the grand scheme of things means rien, but considering how diligently I've been dragging my feet for the past five months, working two days in a row feels like a pretty significant step in the right (or write) direction. I've set a target for myself that I have to have the manuscript completely cut, reworked and edited by the end of June, although I'm planning to shoot for finishing even earlier in the month than that. Then I will use the rest of the summer to... Read more →

Happy Happy Happy

Jet lag? Totally sucks. But being home with Georges TOTALLY makes up for it. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. It's magnificent. And I can't believe I got this shot from a moving car on a curved exit ramp! I had a pretty good flight, except for the fact that I never seem to be able to sleep on an airplane, even in an upgraded class. And in future I will avoid JFK like the plague because of the horrendous traffic getting in and out of there -- between 2 and 3 hours EACH WAY -- and the stress of wondering if I will even make my flight to Paris because of the frigging Belt Parkway and the limo company insisting they were picking me up "early enough". (You New Yorkers know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. FUGGEDABOUDIT!) But at least while I was not-sleeping on the plane, I was more comfortable than in regular coach class. A Twitter friend of mine pointed out that I could fly Open Skies' business class for less than the cost of business class on Air France or any other airline, and he's right. But I have to say, the Premium Voyageur class on Air France, which... Read more →

24 hours

So, 24 hours from now I'll be heading to the airport, destination GEORGES (woo-hoo, honey, I'm comin' home!) I think I've done everything (and more) that I came here to do. At least, I sure hope so, because if not it's pretty much too late. I had lunch or dinner with several friends. I wish I could have met with more of my friends this time around, but there just never seems to be enough time to see everyone. So if you're one of the friends I missed seeing this time, maybe we can see each other at Christmas or on my next solo trip in 2013 (or hey, why don't you come over to Paris!) I was able to attend my friend Dwight's funeral service, which really gave me a lot of peace, seeing how strong his wife is being in the face of such a terrible loss. I also got to help a classmate organize a silent online auction for the benefit of the Trust created for Dwight's wife and kids, and when that auction is ready to lauch in the next 2 or 3 weeks, I'll post about it here because you may want to get in... Read more →

The N.J.G.T.C.

Overheard last night at an Italian restaurant in Bernardsville, NJ -- two white-haired grannies chatting: Granny #1: "I like to save my wine for dinner parties. [pause] I'm not always successful." Granny #2: "Well, I tipple every day." A few minutes later, a white-haired gentleman joined them... bottle of wine in hand. We dubbed them the North Jersey Geriatric Tipplers Club. May we some day be members. Read more →

Home sweet (dusty, cluttered) home

So I've been here in New Jersey since Friday. I haven't posted any photos or blogged about anything that's been happening because frankly, there's not much here that would be of interest to anyone but me! That's life in a small town. I like this part of New Jersey a lot - green, rolling hills, lots of old historic homes, good local farm produce this time of year (strawberries!) - but there's not a lot going on to blog about, and on this visit I'm not even going into New York or to the Jersey shore. I've spent time with my family and I've got lunch or dinner dates set up with friends all week long. I went to the funeral of my friend Dwight on Saturday (I swear, there were at least 1,000 people there - a packed church, an amazing service with a beautiful and very calm speech from Dwight's wife Carla; so wonderful to see so many people who loved him) and got to see a lot of old friends for a little while. And I got to celebrate my birthday with my family for the first time in about 3 years. I've been doing some projects... Read more →

GWB

The George Washington Bridge spans the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey. We locals just call it the GWB. So, I made it! Read more →

Aux Champs-Elysées

I'm in the final day of frantic packing, cleaning and organizing for my trip to the States on Friday (why, oh why did I book an 8:20am flight? WHAT WAS I THINKING?) and for some reason I'm inordinately more anxious about this trip than I usually am when I travel. (And no, I'm not having premonitions about bad things happening to the plane. I'm just freaking out about the piles of laundry, the messy kitchen, and the fact that I haven't vacuumed, food shopped, or ironed Georges' work shirts yet. Oh, and I haven't put a single thing in that damn suitcase yet either.) I remember the days, back when I used to travel at least once every other month, if not more, for my corporate I.T. job - I used to LOVE flying. Seriously, I did. I never saw it as a hassle and I was never afraid. And I'm not afraid to fly now, either... but a hassle it truly is these days, for all of us. Before, even if I got stuck in an airport because of bad weather, somehow it all seemed fun. The fun has since gone out of the process of travel for me;... Read more →

Typical

"OK, time to get up. It's 7:10 and your alarm went off." "OK, it's been 5 minutes, you really need to get up now." "Are you awake? It's 7:20. You really need to get up or you'll be late." "OK, now it's been 15 minutes and you REALLY need to get up. Please get up and come to the table." "Come to the table, now please. It's 7:30." "Now. Table." "Now, please." "NOW." "No, not on the couch. To the table. You need to start eating breakfast. OK, thank you." "Please pick your head up off the table and start eating." "Pick your head up and eat." "Eat, please." "Eat now, please." "OK that's good, but you need to eat more than 2 bites. Eat. Please!" "Eat." "Eat." "EAT." "And drink your juice and your milk." "Wait, your juice! AND the milk." "OK we only have 10 minutes until we have to catch the bus. You need to get dressed and brush your teeth." "Are you getting dressed in there?" "OK 5 minutes - are you dressed yet? Are you? Hurry up, please!" "Hurry up! We leave in 2 minutes and you haven't brushed your teeth!" "HURRY UP! Please!! If... Read more →

The Remains of the Déjeuner

Finally having time to explore our new quartier this weekend, we stumbled on this restaurant ("Le Mansart") on a side street between Blanche and Pigalle, and decided to have lunch. I had an amazing salad with lemon-marinated chicken, fresh melon and Parmesan. Apparently, they do a brunch (with mimosas!) on Sundays so we'll have to come back some time. And they have foosball, so what's not to love? Read more →

When words don't seem enough

When I was writing my silly post earlier today (because humor is much needed on difficult days), I just had a feeling something wasn't "right" back home with my friend Dwight. Several days had passed with no updates from his wife, and in this case no news was NOT good news. He passed away very peacefully this morning, in his own home with his family around him, exactly where I know he would want to be - it was the family home and he grew up there with his sister and his two brothers, and he and his wonderful wife Carla raised their five beautiful children there. The oldest is 19, and the youngest (and the only boy) is just 5. He had been fighting this battle for only two months. I believe he was 50 or 51, as we were in the same class in school. All of us who knew him are heartbroken, especially for his family. Yet it's comforting to know they are a family of great faith and I hope this will carry them through this. Still, there are real-life considerations. The Dwight Errickson Trust needs donations now more than ever, to help Dwight's family through... Read more →