Greve can tear people apart or bring them together

I'm not sure how I feel about La Greve. I haven't had enough time to process it really - which sounds utterly pathetic. I think I've found myself in a vicious circle - school is overwhelming which makes me feel overwhelmed by school which makes school overwhelming. I'm not sure what I lack (or have) that the other students have (don't have) in this capacity. They seem to have a lot more time to party and hang out and drink ans socialize and I feel like I'm constantly tiring my eyeballs out to read as much as possible. I'm starving for this information but now it's been heaped so high on my plate I can't even conceive of seconds or thirds or a whole 'nuther year and a half of dishing it out!

Anyway... Anne and I had a tense moment yesterday during the Greve. She said she didn't support the unions organizing to keep their retirement benefits and age and actually said she wanted to help Sarkozy because this lowered retirement age is affecting France's power to be competitive, etc. Since my days at PP I've been in favor of unions and I think if they don't stand up to Sarkozy now it's really downhill for their culture and interests. Anne comes from a private industry background, I'm from a non-profit background. Debate is good.

It took me 1-1/2 hours to walk to school on Wednesday morning (left at 8am). I was going to meet Magdalena and her girlfriend at l'Opera at 9am but I got there at 8:30am so I grabbed a bathroom stop via getting a coffee - Starbucks yuck, but convenient. We met up and walked - a lot more leisurely pace than I had carried down the hill - through the Louvre Tuileries, over the Seine as the sun was really starting to show its glow behind the buildings, and down through the city to Blvd Saint Germain.

A few buses were running but mostly it was a speedy parade of bikes, cars, scooters, motorcycles, rollerbladers, rollerskaters, and walkers. We got to school a bit early and ran into a portion of the Greve unions.



Global Governance class was all about cybersquatting: Judicial Globalization
1. World Intellectual Property Organization, Arbitration and Mediation Center, UDRP – Domain Name Dispute Resolution
2. Administrative Panel Decision, Excelentisimo Ayuntamiento de Barcelona v. Barcelona.com Inc., Case no. D2000-0505
3. United States Court Of Appeals for The Fourth Circuit, Barcelona.com Inc. v. Excelentisimo Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, no. 02-1396
4. ICANN-Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy

It hurts my brain, invigorates my thinking, and astounds me - as I'm sitting there - that I'm learning about this stuff. Which starts that vicious cycle again. But, oh no, woe is me... poor me... walking 2.25 miles to school IN PARIS, feeling insecure about global law IN PARIS. It's still very surreal and still a gigantic rollercoaster. One day total self-assurance, the next complete insecurity.

I walked back after classes. My ipod wasn't working properly so I did without which is such a good thing. (No, no, I don't walk around the whole time with my ipod but it is good for the walk/run work-out to and from places sometimes.) There was so much noise and sound and discussion - so much LIFE in this city walking home in the dark.

Today, I tried the metro as RATP said they'd started running more frequently. But, of course, running metros means crowds and crowds. I watched a guy hold the doors open to the car for like 4 minutes while he really tried to shove himself in. The second metro and I tried to shove myself in - making a fool of myself no doubt. The third metro came empty! I got a seat which was fantastic and good viewing for the sardine action. It's comical but annoying, dangerous and community all at once. It took me 1-1/2 hours to get to school. HA!

On the way to the metro this morning, I walked from M: Blanche to M: Barbes. I must have looked too serious or pinched-face because all of a sudden I had this silly teenage boy's face in mine, fingers spread out from his head and tongue out. It definitely had the right effect. I started laughing and laughing while walking totally caught off guard! Perfect!

It is indeed the little things.

......

Tomorrow I'm off to the doctor visit and tax payment for the official carte de sejour - long-stay visa. I hear there's an x-ray, blood pressure check, tax payment of 55E, and then done deal.
3.07 miles to the doctor.
2.20 miles to school.
2.17 miles back home.

Between school and home, I think I might treat myself to a leisurely stroll through the Carrousel du Louvre for the Paris Photo exhibition.

I often wonder if there's some part of photography and writing that is playing itself out loudly within this grad school plan. Perhaps some of my struggle is in integrating all the pieces and right now only a few aspects are receiving the most attention in the 'grad school plan.' I've heard of many students attending Global Public Policy or Public Affairs programs to augment careers in journalism. I need to investigate that more.