Merci, Paris, for a Trés Joyeux Anniversaire

Wonderful day!

Thanks, Starman, for the well wishes!

Today was lovely cloudy/sunny/humid/hot day of heaven! I made it on time to the Sciences Po American Center to pick up my student loan check, found out that the woman who helps me with this shares the same birthday! She, being more diligent than I, was working, while I skipped class to run errands and chill out.

Stopped at my favorite boulangerie, got a crudite avec gruyere sandwich, then got lost for an hour and half with my camera in the Tuilleries. Met the landlord/proprietere and got the paperwork I needed for my application for the temporary residence permit. Took a stroll along the Seine, realized I wouldn't make the hair appointment at Cizor's on time, called in late, took a bit of a metro.

I'm kind of a sensitive, sensuous person so haircuts and hair washing are like meditation joy for me. I had THE best head massage ever today from Stephane as he washed my hair, and I got to lie in the chair a bit longer than usual for some coloring, which means I got more chair back massage and got to float longer. Delicious joy. Walked home the long way, and noticed zillions of men smiling at me. Maybe it was the new 'do? Maybe it was because I just felt great in the sun and humidity? Maybe it was because I was doing some reverse-aging?

One the way home, I was taking a photo of a sewing machine through a store window and then kept walking. This older guy stopped me, smiled, and said blah blah blah blah? I took my earbuds out.

"Pardon?" I asked.
"Est-ce que c'est moi qui vous cherchez?"
"Pardon?"
"Est-ce que c'est moi qui vous cherchez?"
I giggled, "Oh, non, desole, c'est ne pas vous aujourd'hui - autre fois peut-etre." We both laughed and he called me trés something nice. I wandered the rest of the way home, without looking at the map, and just sensing directions to go toward.

Then, just as I punched the door code for my building it started raining and pouring. Lucky day. Great day! Merci a my family and friends.

Spring, my friends

It's warmer out and sunny (although not today). I'm walking around more, enjoying the city, falling in love with Paris and all the couples who are in love by the Seine.

I'm also headed to Croatia on Monday for 6 days for my Capstone project. We've got interviews with Ministers, the UNDP, human rights groups, etc. And, will hopefully have some time for some frolic, too. I'm looking 1.5 months of real class work right now and it's scary. Two major papers to write, two memos, final project. And job hunting. And trying to have a personal life. My best friend from when I was fifteen years old is coming to visit in 2 weeks with her husband (with whom we went to school). I haven't seen her since Cape Cod in 1992. It'll be a trip, for sure.

Paris is beautiful right now. I'm trying to soak her up as best as I can, because who knows where I'll be in the autumn. I'm really focusing on Geneve, Paris, Brussels, DC, NYC, and SF. I like cities. If you know of anyone who is hiring -- hook a sister up!

PS. Thanks, Kim, you're too sweet.

Now I feel far away

I really don't have a formulated opinion on the Biden bid. Any thoughts from you all?

I hear Paris is turning into September already. Geneva is turning chilly, although next week promises to be back up in the sunny 77F-80F (25C-27C), just when I finish the internship. I'm keeping an eye on Cinque Terre weather for the last weekend in August to early September (hi, mom & dad, I'm going to Italy for a few days with my Russian friend, Dasha). It's supposed to stay in the same temperatures as Geneva next week. I'm not one to talk much to anyone about the weather, but I have noticed how tremendously much happier I am in the sun and heat. I guess I should find a job in Africa or Central America to keep the spirits up. (only somewhat kidding)

I have noted to a few people that I have been under the weather (hardy har har) of late. Not sick, but low in spirits and not just because of the change in weather. In self-analysis, I'm realizing it's because I miss my friend. Dasha left last week to go to summer school up in the Netherlands. I hadn't really spent that kind of time with anyone since I left Madison. Almost all of my colleagues in school in Paris were friends, but we were working so hard night and day (well, I was) that I didn't have one or two people with whom I spent much time. For nearly two months here I worked with Dasha, went out on the weekends with her, spent nights with her. It was very interesting how quickly we gravitated to each other. Her face in slight features kind of reminded me of photos of my sister when she was a kid - long straight hair, rounder face and warm eyes. We have so much in common, too.

So, when I went to bed the other night, after a nice meal with the flatmate and her friends, I laid there wondering what was wrong with me. I have felt so happy for weeks and weeks. All that surfaced was "Something is missing." I hadn't felt that longing, homesickness (for a person), or minor emptiness in a long time. It was good to feel this. Life is full and diverse and it's not realistic to be happy 24-7 (nor is it healthy to be dependent or sad or angry or whatnot 24-7). I'm lucky to feel it all.

......................

More new photos - mostly in request from the colleague interns that I get the photos online of them, for them, and asap - you can find them in the "UNOG and intern friends" folder. We've had weekly good-bye parties for interns as they depart their internship and go wherever next. I am so thrilled to have made good friends in such a short time. So proud to know such an amazing array of people from all over the world, who are ambitious, smart, funny, and kind people. I've never spent much time with people from Central Asia or Russia, especially during a critical period of international activity. We have discussed the culture of the USA (including the more patriotic side of things from the point of view of an intern who is Russian-born, American by choice versus my more critical point of view as someone who is American by birth, world-traveller by choice). We have taught each other new languages. We have suffered heartbreak, found new jobs, had interviews, shared food, met each others' friends, and laughed so much together. I think that this is the strongest point of the internship. I might not have networked myself to the perfect job after graduation, but I can rest assured that I have made good friends who might one day end up working with me - or me for them!

.................
oh, and there's a ton of new videos from Italy up on youtube/larauk05

March comes in like a lion

Weather:
I thought the roof of my building was going to fly off the other night. That fear was followed by wondering if the sheets of speedy rain were going to break the skylight and drown me as if I were in a fishbowl. Luckily, neither happened.

I guess winter has come and gone. I certainly didn't notice it very much. I might very well take my 4 pairs of long-john pants and 6 long-john tops down to the railroad tracks and burn them in a long overdue thank you to the gods. If you know anyone of medium womanly build who might like some cuddle duds, let me know, as we're starting to have 39F-53F degree days now. Gone are are the 30F-43F, with only one half-hour of rina that looked like snow and sleet. I hear there are flowers blooming in the countryside under the grey skies. With spring break next week I'm tempted to take a jaunt out of town just to see.

.....


India:
in other news: I've started adding the India photos. I've got 2000 in total so it's a slow process. Slightly impatient, I decided to do the editing and uploading while forgoing the titling. That will have to come later - or in stages. So, if you're so inclined to see some of New Delhi, it is slowly showing itself at 616 photos.

.....

Back home:
I/We made a law. I've never made a law before. I hope it's worthy of being on the books and that forty years from now, children aren't reading about the policy failure of Compassionate Care for Rape Victims. Although, I do hope they're reading about "back in the day when this kind of legislation was necessary.."

I wasn't able to be there for the Governor's signing of it into law, but I could feel it over here. A huge sigh of relief. An excitement for future women seeking equality and justice. And, hopefully, just the right amount of pat-on-the-back to help my colleagues to keep fighting the good fight.

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

I am so lucky to have been able to work and live with some amazing people during the CCRV effort.

news article
video of signing (Highlights: Rep. Musser - Republican, says "Don't tell my caucus." and gets a laugh. Survivors: Linda, Amanda. Being able to see all my colleagues through the lens - Sara's LONG hair. And Governor Doyle, who even though he can't pronounce "contraception" very well is still a total champion for women's rights.)

......

School:
I'm going to try to write 3,000 words this weekend. Not randomly, but perhaps stringed together under the frame of privatization or perhaps independent regulatory agencies. Yesterday, our professor for international economics told us we have a lighter workload than our colleagues at other schools and that during his first year of school he lost 15 kilos and his mom told him he wasn't going back (he's Italian and damn good looking, so I imagine he lost a bunch of pasta weight). His comment was kind of harsh and a little uncalled for, but I do love his course. It's just that 3 problem sets (the first of which took me 10 hours total), 1 midterm, 1 group presentation, 4 weekly bibliographies (complementing our course pack readings) seems a bit excessive when considering the totality of the work load. I don't mean to complain or whine, and it's not that I don't want to be challenged. I just want to have the opportunity to do my work well and not half-assed-hoping.

I've heard that the first year of grad school is the worst. But there are only two of them! I'd rather like to have a few more after this one just to balance things out.

Maybe I'm not up to par. I often feel like I'm falling behind, struggling to hear and internalize every word, treading water, barely getting it at all. And then when it comes time to regurgitate or reformulate, I hope I can discover something new. But I gave that up last semester when I realized I'm not in the research field, I will not be discovering new ideas, I will not be publishing right now. So, I am content to try to understand and demonstrate my comprehension. Bor-ing. But oh well.

So, I'm looking at Spring Break next week Thursday for 6 days. It would be a delight to go somewhere for a few days. If I get this 3,000 word paper out, I will let myself leave the city and be alone. Now, to think of a short 2.5 day trip. Please feel free to send your suggestions!

neige

Snow is predicted for this evening, mixing with rain. And full-on showers before noon tomorrow. I wonder what they mean. I'll take a camera.

I'm sure they don't mean this












my parents' house in Wisconsin - dad's got the snowblower out.


We shall see!

Into the Wild

So, some movies debut here (like Woody Allen's film) and then others take 4 months to release in France. It doesn't really matter all that much since I don't have too much time to entertain myself that way. Although, it seems to be a favorite pastime of some of the 2nd year boys.

Last night I finished both the Statistics paper and the prostitution paper and today I turned in the hard copies. So, before I start off on the global law and last Stats papers I thought I'd take a short break. In fact, I ditched out early of the class on log linear somethings (because frankly the stats class needs some serious tweaking and I will never be running log linear regressions). I was really interested in seeing "No Country for Old Men" but it's not out for a week or so. I had heard from my colleague, Eduardo, that "Into the Wild" was a good movie. He's quite an enigma: a chill guy who comes from Chile and spent university years at U California Long Beach (so throw a surfer accent on him). He's kind of a class clown type, wants to run for office back in Chile, is deeply concerned with poverty alleviation, and is bascially an excellent mind wearing checkered Vans.

"You gotta see 'Into the Wild,' man."
"The one by Sean Penn, right?"
"Yeah, but the best thing is that the whole soundtrack is by Eddie Vedder."
"Oh? Cool. What - it's like, about a guy in Alaska, right? God I loved Alaska."
"Yeah, but it's heavy, man." (we were at a party and he had to go back to pseudo deejaying)

Eduardo saying "it's heavy man" is like a clown saying "it's raining." Oh boo hoo, but not really 'cuz it's Happy the Clown!

Coming out of the film though, I think it's more like ... listen when Happy says it's heavy, cuz he means it.

..... Maybe because I've been through a lot of personalities and adopted a bit of all the lifestyles I've led, I'm not afraid to say that I have PMS and it totally affects me. I feel no need to defend that, but I'll tell you that it's real, not made up, and sometimes I just want to kill people and other times I want to weep for hours. And there's nothing I can do about my composure or my tongue. And, frankly, women who are PMSd or menstruating make great soldiers/military personnel: they're pissed, uncomfortable, and irritable - yet still extremely precise in the aim of those emotions. .....

So, "Into the Wild" on PMS. Well, if I weren't trying so hard to have an enjoyable time during my free time, I would have balled buckets. It affected me on many levels. I won't spoiler alert anything so you still need to go see it, but firstly, Penn did a great job directing and filming. My god, the scenery. It made me miss the US. It made me miss Alaska and strange places in the strange country. It totally called out to the side of me that's filled with wanderlust and disregard for establishment and societal rules. It made me want to burn my money and start walking south with just the clothes on my back. I missed the countryside again. I was reminded how much I miss nature and how close I'd gotten to her over the years. It made me hate whiny Americans who think they have it bad (although at the same time I was reminded of myself - I'm stretching here - and how everything is relative..... don't say it, dad).

It was really filmed interestingly though. Different angles and splices, some camera interaction with the actors, naturalness. William Hurt has always played a great snobby dictator father and it is his 'personal moment' in the film that brought me the closest to sobbing. Marcia Gay Harden is still an amazing actor, as well, and should be in more films. I knew so many women in her portrayl. There were so many unknown actors, too. So many real people. I think Penn is really good at that - identifying the naturalness in people and enhancing that in key moments. Emile Hirsch was really, truly well-suited for this film. Although, I did find myself - through about 6/8th of the film - wondering how hard it was to play a kid who abandons the 'real world' for 'real life adventures' as a dirty tramp hippie. We don't see any of the truly negative aspects of living off the asphalt, but perhaps this kid was fortunate. We're shown only one (rather jarring) scene related to train hopping. From my experience with travellers, there are so many other things that are more frightening than this scene. But I still felt sucked in and empathetic. My god, that kid (and the actor) had balls and was super tough - trekking through thigh-high, icy rivers in Alaska with no hip waders. And Penn's close-up shots made me freak out every time the kid went out into the forest - is he going to be eaten by a bear? attacked by a mountain lion? killed by a pack of wolves? trip and break his ankle? And the front, back, in between shots that take us from the beginning to the end and afterwards and in the middle, well I never got confused and it added to the story instead of going chronologically.

(Can you tell I've been writing papers lately?)

But, in the end, it drained me. . . when I was supposed to be rejuvenated by a beautiful story about road trips and finding oneself. I immediately came home - without even stopping in the theatre to find the bathroom - and wanted to have a stiff drink. But I didn't. So I got to being busy again.

It's been full on gale-storming in Paris lately. Last night I was woken up thinking for sure the roof was going to collapse in on me or I was going to be blown away. I remember thinking as I fell asleep, "I'd love a gentle rain while I slept." Instead my wish was heard as a piercing begging scream and I got downpours at like 3am. Lord. So tonight, I will sleep super duper well, I feel.

PS. A billion new photos uploaded, including themes like:
-Sciences Po MPA department
-Back when it was fall
-additions to the Rue Douai folder
-First arrondissement (louvre)
-Professor as Pollack
-holiday shopping, featuring Hotel de Ville igloo, bus ride, Galleries Lafayette (in all its glory inside)
-Montmartre Cemetery
-a small amount of photos from NYE

photos, policy, papers and rain

There are about 700 photos in the "Berlin" category. It's the down-side of digital cameras.

I'm thinking about policy all the time and how it's made. Luckily, unlike everyone else in the class, I have a good grasp on the practical steps, actors, processes, institutions, and politics behind policy making. Narrowing my topic down, but sticking to comparative analysis of prostitution laws: regulation, decriminalization, regulation. I absolutely love having access to all kinds of journals, Lexis Nexis, etc. So much knowledge! So much info!

More papers coming down the pipeline. Our last day of one of my classes today.

I went out last week for colleagues' birthdays and ended up at Favala Chic. Great dancing music but drinks at 10E is too much for me.

We celebrated a late Thanksgiving at my colleague, Dena's place. Those photos are forth-coming. She was so kind as to cook me up some nice salmon. I brought the French cheeses for tasting. Plenty of wine. Great company.

It's been raining since Sunday with only short intervals of dry. Seems like everyone's getting pounded with wetness in northern hemispheres. Hope the snow doesn't make its way over here. And I hope everyone's safe and sound!