Happy New Year!

A much needed break was taken from all semblances of responsibility over the holiday season.  Selfishly, this has slid close to the ides of January.

An apology of sorts, then, as well as some news about new posts coming soon.

Until next time, a wish that 2011 so far a stellar year for you all.

It Won't Slow Down

Returning to a place you have lived, you become more aware of how the landscape changes.  New houses, new business, new people.  All jump out at you as contrasts to your landscape of memory.

Before this experience, the changes were not as apparent.  Like the frog in water crawling to a boil. Gradual changes are not apparent.

In contrast, the flash pan fire of removal.  The people you knew changing, children growing, and landscapes evolving.

When in the same spot, the Earth can appear to stand still.  Start moving and the absence boils ferociously.

Sometimes it is too easy to focus on one place.  So easy that when you are attention shifts for one moment, your sense explode with new information.

In reality the change has been there all along.  You only had to shift position to see it.

Protest du Jour

Somewhere in the annals of human instincts must exist the drive to make placards, march, and make noise.  Some of us carry this gene. The rest contemplate why anyone would want to ruin a perfectly nice Saturday afternoon.

Protesting and free speech are essential parts of free society.  Certainly it is understandable that when you feel you are being oppressed, or when you see injustice, you let your leaders and fellow citizens know.  In fact, yelling and screaming and organizing en masse are much more civilized than the more violent options remaining when you are not allowed this right.

However, just because you are allowed to do something does not mean it should preclude thought.  Take the instance of the rioters protesting the government, retirement, and the fact that Sarkozy has an attractive wife.  Does it really make sense to burn cars and break windows?  The people impacted by the wanton and senseless destruction are tragically not those that have the responsibility of decision.  Instead of making a valid point, it just serves to quench an adolescent thirst to break things.

Further, if there are more pressing issues in the human Zeitgeist, maybe it is not a good time to push other agendas?  It has been baffling to see what people put ahead complex socioeconomic issues and war.

Like animal rights.

Certainly, this is an issue where people have passion and wish to make a change.  There are intelligent people making convincing arguments on behalf of the cause.  However, maybe the time to protest is not during the pension strike engrossing the nation.  France, and the world, is paying attention to proposed reforms.  Anything residing outside of this realm at this point in time has a small chance of being noticed.

And if you are for the conscientious treatment of animals and protesting the abuse and use of fur, you may want to consider a few things:

Like how many of you are wearing leather shoes.

In addition, your dogs hearing is far more advanced and evolved than yours.  So, if the noises are loud and obnoxious for you, they may just be torturous for them.

And some of this may be missing the forest for a few trees.  But if we purposefully take a stance in such an overt way, should it not be consistent?

"The French Buy Nice Things"

Best iron ever

As previously mentioned, “furnished” is a term used loosely.

However, other expats agree, a furnished apartment is the way to go.  A non-furnished apartment takes on new meaning in France – do not expect anything outside of a toilet and sink.  One set of friends had a nine-month adventure from bare apartment to fully-furnished.  Throughout the ordeal, a popular furniture chain experimented with new depths of customer service.

Far be it from this author to criticize anyone’s furniture.  If you find me in a place with nice furnishings, rest assured it will be someone else’s doing.  However, taste and opinion are fair game.

The metal slats and thin
cushion are excellent
motivation for standing.

If the best thing your rented apartment has to offer is a nice Philips iron, so be it.  This actually makes a lot of sense in the land of the five Euro shirt pressing.

But if the iron is Koslowski’s umbrella stand then the rest is closer to his current furniture.  A set of chairs that require an actual steel derrière, a couch from the era of Reagan vs. Gorbachev, and nothing made with wood sans glue.

So why comment?  Because this was mentioned at closing:

“The French buy nice things and keep them for a long time.”

If the apartment is evidence, this statement is half right.

24 Hour Nothing

Upon returning to the US, you realize that we really like to work.  Closing is a special thing that only some businesses do only on holidays and wee hours in the night.  Conversely, opening is the rarity in France.

Do you want something after 7PM?  Sure you do.  Better know the one place in all of Paris that opens after that oppressive hour.

Conversely, if you are running out at the insane hour of 10PM, you can probably still buy most what you want and everything you need in the US.

Ironically, museums have late nights.  Restaurants stay open relatively late.  You can find a place to drink at any point of the night.

Maybe it is expected to use some of the many vacation days for shopping?  Or maybe, just maybe, the French have their priorities straight.

Cheers.

All Aboard

Your life is a train.  People get on and off.  Most of the time you have little control over who possesses a ticket or their destination.

In nowhere do you find this truer than in the expat community.

There are myriads of extraordinary and fascinating people passing through Paris.  Most everyone is on a journey to find something – and mostly it is something about themselves.  Each person has a story offering if you have a willing ear.  There is a fire hose of experience only requiring the time to drink.

For expats, many things are brand new.  And you find others willing to share, help, and listen.  It is truly an honor to meet so many fine and varied examples of humanity.

Here is hoping that the ride will stay good and last long.

Wurzburg

In Germany, there exists a lovely town with a gorgeous river overlooked by a hilltop castle.  The resemblance is a smaller Prague.  Its name is Wurzburg.


Thankful is the person who has friends in many places.  If not for some chance encounters, Wurzburg could be just another unknown European city.  What a tragedy this could have been.


Germany, in general, offers many contrasts to their French neighbors.  Beer, being more the beverage of choice, is elevated to levels of craftsmanship the French spend on wines.  The food is surprisingly underrated, and unlike Paris, easier on your wallet.  Coffee comes in normal quantities.


The town is dotted with many Cathedrals and central European architecture.  There is a gorgeous palace dating back to the Holy Roman Empire rebuilt after it was almost completed destroyed during WWII.  Sadly, there are no pictures of the inside.  Das ist verboten.


The highlight of the trip was found walking through the nearby forest preserve.  In the middle resides a beer garden as your reward for your days hike.  In fact, the only way to get there is to hike, cars are not allowed.  The food was excellent, and of course, the beer was fresh and delicious.


On a side note, train travel is quite nice.  It gives one an opportunity to finish work, right, read, while watching the countryside flash by you.  Even better, you can wash everything down with a beverage.  In short, a great way to view a foreign landscape while moving towards your goal.