:: Life of Dave ::

:: Saturday, January 31 2004 ::

Germaine Greer has written an article on why Australia sucks or something like that. It's an interesting counterpoint to what many people think Australia is. I suspect my friend Rob will read this posting at some point, and I would just like to say for the record that I do not necessarily share her sentiments (although I would certainly not say that suburbanization is a good thing!)
:: David (12:05 in Michigan, 18:05 in Paris)
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Thought on reverse culture shock from my friend Jill, who just got back to the States from South America.
:: David (07:17 in Michigan, 13:17 in Paris)
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Well, we wandered all over hell's half-acres looking for a package the post office tells us we have, but nobody seems to know where it is. I have come to believe that the post in France may not be the most reliable thing in the universe. That said, of course, the US Postal Service is not overwhelmingly reliable either, so I really can't complain....
:: David (06:45 in Michigan, 12:45 in Paris)
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OK - this is funny - a woman was meeting a guy for a date, but she wanted to check he wasn't a freak, so she googled him, and pulled up an FBI arrest warrant. She called the authorities, and they met him at the restaurant. Funny! The BBC has the full story
:: David (04:33 in Michigan, 10:33 in Paris)
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:: Wednesday, January 28 2004 ::

So, I have been invited to a shindig put on by the US representative to the OECD in the middle of next month. From what I have gathered thus far, this is a standard thing the representatives from each country do to welcome citizens who join the OECD. I'm not exactly sure why - perhaps it's nice to know that your money is going to your own citizens. Hard to say. Regardless, I suspect I shall attend - it's always good to know who and what is going on, and I may need some heavy hitters if my visa work doesn't go through and I find myself in a French prison.

:: David (16:12 in Michigan, 22:12 in Paris)
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So I was chatting with Finian about role-playing, and the subject of Mazes and Monsters came up. That was the movie which made every parent in America afraid if their kid role-played he or she would go crazy and kill someone (or him/her self). I can't believe I'm that old! It came out in 1982, and I saw it when it came out (I think everyone saw it at some point). Ouch!
:: David (13:06 in Michigan, 19:06 in Paris)
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Is there anything more wonderful than leaving the office early enough to see the sun? I don't think so! Especially not in winter. Add that to a visit to my local Greek store to buy Greek coffee and Kalamata olives (really good Kalamata olives) and you have the makings of a perfect day. Or perhaps it's just because it's so much nicer than yesterday. Ahhhh.

I'm having a little trouble lining up a fake address for the UK - I need to have an address to 'live' at when the nice French government officials ask me where I live, and I haven't been able to convince anyone that giving me their address is a good idea. I'm thinking of using Misty's old flat in London as my address. It would amuse. But for now, waiting on friends.
:: David (12:24 in Michigan, 18:24 in Paris)
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I don't know if it's a function of leaving the house later (today I left at 8:15 instead of my usual 8:00), rainy weather in general, or the fact that the rainy weather lately has been mixed with snow, but for some reason the Metro has been absolutely packed lately. I mean shoulder to shoulder 'I'm sorry I'm crushing you' packed! Yucky. It almost makes me want to get up earlier. Almost....
:: David (02:57 in Michigan, 08:57 in Paris)
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:: Tuesday, January 27 2004 ::

Bad day. Grrrr.
:: David (17:15 in Michigan, 23:15 in Paris)
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:: Monday, January 26 2004 ::

Quick notes on exciting things and somesuch, before I turn in: First, the Supreme Court is going to review the execution of minors (and about time I say - all those people with pick-axes going to the chair! It's just not right!). Of course, Detroit was the site of one of those notorious cases (probably more than one, but I only remember the one off the top of my head). I seem to remember he was something like 13 when the crime was committed? Crazy! I can't remember the outcome, whether he was actually put on death row or not.

Second note - George Soros has written a new book, and parts of it were excerpted in the Guardian, under the title "The US is now in the hands of a group of extremists: Fundamentalism has spawned an ideology of American supremacy". I like George - I'm sure I don't know enough about him, but he reminds me of myself in that he seems to genuinely care about the overall good, but hasn't let that stop him from working the system. Mind, he's worked it better than I, having (notoriously) once made a billion dollars in a single day.

My final thought for the evening involved a tune I found myself humming: the song from VeggieTales' rendition of Daniel in the Lion's Den which includes the wonderful phrase:

We could give him jelly doughnuts,
Take them all away
Or we could fill his ears with cheese balls
And his nostils with sorbet

Anyway, I was thinking I hadn't heard it in a while, and that I should download it. And then I thought 'if stealing is a sin, and downloading music is stealing, what level of hell do you go to when you steal religious music?!' Tee hee.
:: David (18:04 in Michigan, 00:04 in Paris)
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:: Sunday, January 25 2004 ::

Well, the BBC may have beaten me to it, but I managed to get my photos of the Chinese New Year's celebration in Paris up before they were completely out of date!
:: David (13:05 in Michigan, 19:05 in Paris)
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Well, the BBC got their photos of the Paris celebration of the Chinese New Year up before I did, which just goes to show that they have a huge staff, and I'm all alone. Take a look - there's lots of interesting information about the celebration.
:: David (03:23 in Michigan, 09:23 in Paris)
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:: Saturday, January 24 2004 ::

So, first off our weird stories for the day. First, 'mommy' and 'daddy' get on the metro, pushing a stroller with a little baby in it. 'Mommy' looks kind of frustrated, and at the next stop pushes the stroller over next to daddy, says something kind of terse, and charges off the metro. Doors close. I spent much of the rest of the trip assuming they had had some sort of fight and she had just bailed, leaving him with the kid. In retrospect, they had probably planned it and it wasn't at all what I first thought.

In contrast to this was our second 'fighting couple' of the evening, who were both speaking English so there could be no confusing what was going on. It looked and sounded like one of those 'where do we eat' fights that happen when two people are travelling with one another, are hungry and tired, and can't agree on their next course of action. We got away from them as quickly as possible, en route to, naturally, a restaurant. Thankfully, we had already decided which place we were eating, so we didn't have to be that couple. It did remind me of the first time I went through Europe, though....

So what were we doing downtown anyway, you might ask. We were going to see the Chinese New Year celebration on the Champs Elysees. Lots of fun. And in celebration of the Chinese New Year, for the next couple of night the Eiffel tower is RED! It's a really cool effect, I have to say. Sadly my camera isn't up to the challenge of reproducing the reds correctly, so I'm going to have to get creative with photoshop before I put up any pictures.
:: David (15:44 in Michigan, 21:44 in Paris)
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Over the past couple of days the apartment block across the street has become covered in the traditional scaffolding and mesh that typify so many residential areas - I'm not sure if now is the time to do it, or if it's a year-round thing, but there are certainly a number of places under the knife right now. It's amusing because you're never really sure what this means in terms of the long-term - sometimes construction happens, and they go away. Other times they stay all year (witness the construction taking place on one of the buildings at work - scheduled to last until 2010 or something crazy like that). I hope they finish sooner rather than later, because it's not nearly as nice a view with the scaffolding up.

:: David (04:28 in Michigan, 10:28 in Paris)
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Mmmmmmmmm. Tasty tasty payday! We loves it! Of course, now it's all rainy and icky outside, so there won't be a lot of wandering around town, nor I think is Versailles in my immediate future. Perhaps tomorrow, but I doubt that too. For the moment breakfast is thinking about existing, and the heat is in dire need of being turned on (I think it may be warmer outside than it is in my bedroom right now).
:: David (03:58 in Michigan, 09:58 in Paris)
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:: Friday, January 23 2004 ::

A University in China has published a list of the top universities in the world which doesn't put France in the best light. Liberation had an article yesterday.
:: David (03:25 in Michigan, 09:25 in Paris)
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:: Thursday, January 22 2004 ::

Misty now has both a blog and a webpage! Tee hee. I'm sad that her images are so much better done than mine. It just means I have to try harder. Sometime.
:: David (15:49 in Michigan, 21:49 in Paris)
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Although it isn't finished yet, the important part is complete - my metro entrance finally opened after several months of being closed. Gambetta (the stop I live near) has been undergoing some serious transformation over the past few months, and it has not really been pleasant - having to walk halfway around the intersection to get to an entrance, the intermittent closure of ticket lines, escalators, etc. Scary guys carrying drills in the entry area. But I assume it will all be worth it - certainly it looks better than it did before. I'm just glad I'm not paying (much of) the bill!
:: David (13:30 in Michigan, 19:30 in Paris)
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I have to say, the elections are finally somewhat interesting. I still don't really like any of the candidates, but at least they are providing some circus to go with the bread. In a couple of weeks or so I suspect we'll have a Democrat, and that's when the Bush machine starts whipping mercilessly. Interestingly, the domestic agenda might still get Bush before this is all done - although, who knew that his own party would have to beat on him for spending like a mad fool? I'm pleased to be far away, for the moment, and although it will be some work to get an absentee ballot, I'm looking forward to casting my vote - it will be nice to say either 'I helped get rid of Bush in 2004' or 'Don't look at me - I tried', as the case may be.
:: David (13:27 in Michigan, 19:27 in Paris)
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I found this article today in Le Monde:

Les trois mots-clés de Davos Partenariat , sécurité, prospérité : ces trois mots-clés composent cette année le thème de la réunion du Forum économique mondial, qui se déroule à Davos depuis trente-quatre ans.

The three key words of Davos Partnership, safety, prosperity - three key words of the World Economic Forum, which has unrolled in Davos for 34 years.

The article goes on to describe an interlinked world, in which partnership leads to safety, and safety leads to prosperity, and all the worlds problems should be addressed and solved at the World Economic Forum. Very cute.

In contrast to this is an article in the times (UK) which points out that truly serious problems are not even spoken of at the WEF - that's how you can see them coming from a mile off, if you're looking - just listen for the pointed silence....
:: David (13:06 in Michigan, 19:06 in Paris)
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I can't decide if it's a good sign that my co-worker forwarded me this article - the real state of the union. There are some truly... interesting... numbers in it, like the percentage of Americans who see less than a $100 reduction in taxes due to the Bush Administration's tax cuts (88%). But not to worry - someone is benefiting - the Bush administration's cabinet will see an average $42,000 reduction in their tax bill.
:: David (03:37 in Michigan, 09:37 in Paris)
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The other interesting thing this morning is the headline of 'metro', which is the newspaper given away each morning to anyone even remotely near a metro station (the paper is paid for, one presumes, by its advertisers). The large photo is of a person dressed as a wealthy looking 'uncle sam'-type character, leading another person, dressed as the world, by a leash. The article is about the World Social Forum, which just completed in Bombay, and the headline reads 'Goodbye Bombay, Hello Davos' - a reference to the ending of the World Social Forum and the beginning of the World Economic Forum, to be held in Davos, Switzerland. Everyday there are tons of articles about 'altermondialisme' - roughly translated as the movement opposed to globalization in its current form - and it all makes me wish I read French better!
:: David (02:56 in Michigan, 08:56 in Paris)
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Random thoughts for a busy day - apparently the widow of Roy Kroc has left 1.5 billion dollars to the Salvation Army. The visual I have is of a guy in a Santa suit, looking dazed and confused with a bell loosely gripped in one hand and his other hand on his forehead, standing next to a huge pile of money overflowing from the traditional money collecting cauldron. Now we'll see what they do with it....
:: David (02:50 in Michigan, 08:50 in Paris)
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:: Tuesday, January 20 2004 ::

I try to avoid passing these sorts of things along, especially by email, but I just got one of those "You might be a redneck if..." forwards that actually amused me. It was a series of photos without captions. I liked the second one the best.
:: David (13:21 in Michigan, 19:21 in Paris)
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:: Monday, January 19 2004 ::

More on the bizarre Swedish/Israeli art row today. Other than that, I'm mostly just waiting for the headlines tomorrow concerning the Iowa primaries. We'll see what happens. I don't really much like any of them that much, but we'll see what happens.
:: David (17:13 in Michigan, 23:13 in Paris)
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:: Sunday, January 18 2004 ::

Here's something more than slightly bizarre - an Israeli envoy to Sweden has physically attacked an art exhibition which he, and now the Israeli government, have called 'anti-semitic'. The twist? It's an Israeli artist. From the description of the piece, it sounds like one against terrorism, rather than for. Weird.
:: David (13:49 in Michigan, 19:49 in Paris)
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This is as close as I got to putting my photos from the Louvre up on the web.
:: David (12:33 in Michigan, 18:33 in Paris)
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We took a little road trip to Chartres yesterday, to visit the cathedral, see the town, that sort of thing. We had a little difficulty with the train tickets, which delayed us a bit, but in the end we were able to see everything we wanted to see. It's a nice town, and I suspect we'll return when people come to visit, as the cathedral is quite famous, and quite nice.
:: David (07:35 in Michigan, 13:35 in Paris)
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:: Friday, January 16 2004 ::

Why I love Foxtrot! Computers and Monty Python all in one wonderful comic. And he does Star Wars and Lord of the Rings jokes too!
:: David (13:36 in Michigan, 19:36 in Paris)
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:: Thursday, January 15 2004 ::

Francis Fukuyama has written an article for this month's The Atlantic which talks about Iraq, Afghanistan, and the US's almost continual forays into nation building. Fukuyama, for whatever reason, is one of those people who gets read, and quoted, and somesuch - he reminds me in some ways of Alvin Toffler, in that he tries to tell us where we are going, or where we should go, or, as Wired magazine points out, puts a new spin on where we are, and although I rarely agree with him somebody out there must, because he keeps getting things published. He certainly does his homework, and comes across in this article in a very balanced way, before making an outrageous suggestion. See what you think - it's thought provoking, at the very least. And really, what else do you want?
:: David (16:54 in Michigan, 22:54 in Paris)
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I was talking to my co-worker today, and she commented how she and her husband had all their wine and food notes online, with a database that could update automatically. I was thinking how nice it would be to be able to do that with my wine page, because I'm always jotting notes to be added later. Maybe another project for me will be a program that updates my web pages from the web, just like I do with this blog....
:: David (12:25 in Michigan, 18:25 in Paris)
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:: Wednesday, January 14 2004 ::

More Photos! Yes, it's time for another bunch of random photos from around Paris! I still haven't managed to get all the photos from the Louvre together - maybe when I have a holiday (ha, ha!). Today I heard the woman in the next office, an American, bemoaning the latest stupid idea from the Bush camp - spending over a billion dollars on getting people to get and stay married. What I found interesting is that the push to go to Mars and build a base on the moon is only 800 million - thus we are going to spend quite nearly twice as much on some form of 'defense of marriage'. I don't really approve!
:: David (16:21 in Michigan, 22:21 in Paris)
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:: Monday, January 12 2004 ::

There was an interesting article today in the New York Times concerning stay-at-home dads of a different nature. Specifically, homosexual men in partnered relationships staying at home to raise the children. The article discusses the interesting dynamic of males, traditionally defined by work, removing themselves from the workforce.
:: David (15:42 in Michigan, 21:42 in Paris)
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Work again. Sigh. On the up side, I started my French classes today, which are chock full of speaking French, so I'm hopeful that things will move towards being understandable in my daily life. Also today I got a raise in my pay, thanks to some fancy footwork on my part - basically there is an allowance given to people who didn't live in Paris before they started working for the OECD, and I managed to qualify for it. So that will be a nice addition.
:: David (13:48 in Michigan, 19:48 in Paris)
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:: Sunday, January 11 2004 ::

Sasha and I headed over to the American cathedral today for the late morning service, and, because today is apparently the day when these things get done, several children were baptised into the church today. Sasha commented later that it was interesting to her that all of the children had been older (perhaps three or four years old), and suggested that the reason might be because people were taking longer to choose a church than they had in the past, and thus were having children before, rather than after, they chose a church. This led to a very interesting discussion on whether this 'soul-searching' (sorry!) was new, and what possible other causes there were. For example, do people have more options now than they used to, and thus it takes more time to weigh them?

The discussion was held as we walked along the Seine, admiring what was quite possibly the clearest day we've had since we got to Paris. Not the sky, but the air - usually even from a very short distance away the eiffel tower is obscured by a haze. Today one could see it from all the way across town. We half-heartedly discussed going up on a tall building, but decided instead to have a nice long lunch in town, and then do some shopping. It was a madhouse in all the stores, but we finally succeeded in getting a lamp for the apartment and a coat for Sasha (which I am going to call the Cruella DeVille coat), so it all worked out well. OK - dinnertime!
:: David (13:48 in Michigan, 19:48 in Paris)
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:: Saturday, January 10 2004 ::

You know, one of the most eye-catching cars here in paris is a two-seater that could be mistaken for a high-tech shopping cart. Turns out this vehicle, which has the emblem 'Smart' on the hood, is a Mercedes Benz. Well, in the way Chrysler is a Mercedes Benz. I actually went to the site because, in addition to making a cute shopping cart (the base engine has 50 horsepower!), they also make an amazingly sexy sports car. Which confuses me to no end.
:: David (17:32 in Michigan, 23:32 in Paris)
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I may have been the last person in the world to see The Return of the King, but I saw it with French subtitles, so *nyah*! I'm glad I saw it on the big screen, but quite honestly I've little to say good about the movie. I know liberties had to be taken to convert the book to a movie, but this movie had to incorporate all the previous changes, and added more on top. Sadly, I still feel like Peter Jackson (who?) missed the point.
:: David (16:46 in Michigan, 22:46 in Paris)
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So apparently some kids in Michigan have discovered the frequency at least one of the fast food restaurants use with their drive-thru windows, and have started playing games with drive-thru customers. Fun, fun stuff!
:: David (16:38 in Michigan, 22:38 in Paris)
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OK, this is fun - the island blogging project is a UK project which provides blog space to residents of islands on the west coast of scotland. Considering my goal to live there someday, perhaps these will either encourage or discourage me....
:: David (04:37 in Michigan, 10:37 in Paris)
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:: Thursday, January 8 2004 ::

Arts and Letters Daily has a link to a completely disturbing, and yet totally interesting, article in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which describes what physicists believe would happen were a modern nuclear weapon to be used on a city.
:: David (13:18 in Michigan, 19:18 in Paris)
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:: Wednesday, January 7 2004 ::

You know, I could have lived the rest of my life without seeing The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins, but then how would I have known how hip Leonard Nimoy was in the 60's and 70's? Like, wow, man! And if I hadn't googled him to find some pics, I wouldn't have found his photography site. I must confess I'm intrigued - the imagery of his latest photo series has apparently offended some Jewish groups - and let's face it, no matter how much you like star trek black and white photography is much cooler.
:: David (16:14 in Michigan, 22:14 in Paris)
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I recently received one of those letters that reminds you that any large organization will, sooner or later, lost its mind. In this case, the letter in question involved the restaurant the OECD has in its largest building. I was warned about the restaurants operating in the various buildings when I first joined by my co-worker, who told me the food was bad, and they have a fee simply for sitting down - basically a cover charge. I was shocked and flummoxed. More recently I have been given to understand that many large organizations in France subsidize their in-house restaurant, but that still doesn't mean I intend to go. So, this letter stated that the contract with the restaurant was being renegotiated, because, strangely, attendance at the restaurant had been far lower than expected. Hm. Almost as if they were charging you more than other places. The letter went on to say that any increases in fees would be covered by the organization, but that the renegotiation process would be smoother if only more people would eat there. To review, the OECD is an organization which deals with economic issues. Many people would say that this was an economic issue. Many people would probably also point out that if you have a restaurant which is priced higher than other comparable restaurants, that restaurant will not make money.
:: David (12:28 in Michigan, 18:28 in Paris)
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:: Tuesday, January 6 2004 ::

What I'm reading: The Death Gate Cycle by Margeret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I have an hour and a half commute, all told, and since it's on the metro, someone else drives and I read. It's amazing how many books you can make your way through in the course of a week or two. Good for reading newspapers, too....
:: David (16:38 in Michigan, 22:38 in Paris)
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A movie with Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, and Katharine Hepburn together! I wish movies today were as witty and charming as they were sixty years ago!
:: David (16:12 in Michigan, 22:12 in Paris)
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We interrupt your regularly scheduled brain pattern to point out just how cool Buffy the Musical was.
:: David (14:26 in Michigan, 20:26 in Paris)
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Somebody had the temerity just now to ask me 'What is a Tea Cozy?'
:: David (12:52 in Michigan, 18:52 in Paris)
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:: Monday, January 5 2004 ::

Have I mentioned how much I love tea cozies? I got one from Sasha's mom for Christmas, because I had been bemoaning the fact that our tea always got cold before we could drink it. It's a lovely blue one with a peacock done in golds and reds. We also just acquired a lovely large teapot which holds six cups of tea. It actually holds more tea than our little kettle can make hot water, so we max out at about four cups of tea on any particular evening, which is probably a good thing.
:: David (13:09 in Michigan, 19:09 in Paris)
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:: Sunday, January 4 2004 ::

Adventures for today - the museum of the city of Paris. And shopping. The city museum had cool things like shop signs from the 19th century, and lots of paintings of the various personages of the various revolutions, and general stuff concerning the city of Paris. One of the more interesting things about the paintings from the revolutions is that, because they were often painted during or just after, often you could see the progression of opinion, depending on which side was painted heroically and which side wasn't. The execution of Louis XVI was particularly notable for having contentious representations. The we wandered down a street and found a little clothing shop where the man was so nice I had to spend 200 euros. We headed over to the Picasso museum for half an hour to wait for the trousers I had bought to be shortened, and then walked back to the house. Overall a good way to spend a Sunday.
:: David (16:42 in Michigan, 22:42 in Paris)
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On the amusing side of life, the fact that Sasha's parents return home was delayed made the front page of the Danville Bee and Register. It's not a long story, mind you, but it still amuses me, as well as reminding me what small town papers are like.
:: David (16:36 in Michigan, 22:36 in Paris)
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OK - on the grander scheme of cool web sites, British Pathe, which allows you to download any of their archived newsreels dating back to 1910 or so, is very near the top. I watched the footage from the titanic disaster, which had some really interesting details I had not known about how the disaster was first reported, etc. And it's also fun to watch the 'new' moving pictures on a 'new' medium, the computer. Is the grainy, jumpy footage because it is old, or because of your bandwidth? Who knows!?
:: David (16:31 in Michigan, 22:31 in Paris)
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:: Saturday, January 3 2004 ::

A friend of mine asked a while ago what the Swiss were like. I started to write something earlier in the week but lost it to a browser failure. So here I go again: The Swiss are an awful lot like the Japanese. I was really surprised to discover this, but in many ways it makes a lot of sense - both on islands (of sorts), both having an isolated and independent nation (a loose term in the case of the Swiss, where the Cantons or provinces are quite independent), and both not meeting a lot of people who aren't just like them. The trains always run on time in Switzerland, and the rules are always followed, enforced by peer pressure - like the Japanese proverb "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down". In some ways, of course, the Swiss are very cosmopolitan - French, Italian, and German are spoke in the country, and I'm not sure how many of them don't speak English - a 90 year old woman came over to Brad and Erin's house for tea, and she spoke English and German both during the day, both fluently. But at the same time, one gets a sense of the isolation - foreigners are not encouraged to stay, and there is a distinct lack of a deep understanding of other cultures. The question raised seeming to be 'why don't they do things like the Swiss do?' Currently the nationalist party is in charge of the government, and my understanding is that they ran on a platform of keeping the bad foreigners out. This is not to say they are any worse or any better than any other country - certainly I wouldn't want to be a foreigner (especially of Middle Eastern descent) living in the US right now.

So there's 20 seconds or so on the Swiss. The country itself, of course, is lovely and mountainous and easy to travel (those trains again) and highly recommended as a destination, despite the high cost of everything. I just don't know how much I would want to live there for an extended period.
:: David (15:40 in Michigan, 21:40 in Paris)
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:: Friday, January 2 2004 ::

Fun and games in Paris - you can buy the One Ring downtown!
:: David (13:11 in Michigan, 19:11 in Paris)
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There is something seriously relaxing about a day when noone else is going anywhere. The metro was empty, my workplace was empty, I had no problem getting lunch - it was great!

In other, bizarre news, Sasha's parents were scheduled to be on the flight to the US which keeps getting moved around because of unspecified security concerns. Apparently they made it home (she's talking to them now), but it caused us some concern over the past 24 hours.
:: David (13:09 in Michigan, 19:09 in Paris)
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:: Thursday, January 1 2004 (New Year's Day!) ::

Photos from last night's New Year's Festivities are now up.
:: David (09:26 in Michigan, 15:26 in Paris)
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Favorite quote from last night's big party:
"I've seen better fireworks on flag day!" -Some drunk American woman's comment on the festivities under the Eiffel Tower.
:: David (08:44 in Michigan, 14:44 in Paris)
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Sasha's parents made it safely out of their hotel and onto the train going to Charles de Gaulle Airport. Considering the huge snowstorm going on outside, there's no guarantee they will make it out of Paris, but we'll keep our fingers crossed and if they call, we'll fire up the heater in the other room and try to find a place for them to sleep. Fortunately, there's lots of time yet today.

The metro to the train station was bizarre - I've never seen the Paris metro system so devoid of people. Everyone must be sleeping off the big party last night.
:: David (06:00 in Michigan, 12:00 in Paris)
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You know, I had written this great little essay on the Swiss, and then I let someone check their email on my machine and when I came back the browser window had been closed, erasing my work. Sad. I'll try to write it again today (since I should have free time (fingers crossed!)).
:: David (02:19 in Michigan, 08:19 in Paris)
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So now it's 8 A.M. on January first, and we're getting ready to see Sasha's folks off to the airport. We've had six hours of sleep and no coffee. Do not try this at home.
:: David (02:11 in Michigan, 08:11 in Paris)
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Bonne Année!! Happy New Year!! All that stuff!!

We went down to the Eiffel Tower to watch fireworks and tourists and Parisians. Quite a party. Now it's sleep time.
:: David (19:48 in Michigan, 01:48 in Paris)
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