Hey! Happy New Year

I knew I had a few extra euros somewhere. I funneled them into a small baggie a few months ago. It seemed as though I hide them from myself. In fact my room is hiding from me behind numerous piles of papers and books. Some piles are a foot high. Seriously.

So I tracked down those elusive euros. They were in a corner of a drawer that doesn't open all the way. I counted my catch. 50 euros in coins. Jackpot! According to the bathroom scale, I have 1.5 pounds of coinage. Ah Paris, here I come.

Happy New Year from the other side of the pond! ... the side with stinky cheese and pastries that make you squeal with delight. Cheers. Thinking of you. Adieu.

Notions of Time

In exactly 10 days, I'll be in Paris. In 16 days, I'll be in Prague. In 22 days, I'll be in Clermont-Ferrand. In 25 days, I'll return to my true love (Paris). In 29 days, my last semester of college commences. Wow. How time flies.

Looking back over this year, I would classify it as one of the most rapidly changing - on a personal level - to date. I know that a few things in life are constant; God, birth, death and change. The rest seems to come and go like flowers in bloom; some blossoms continually bloom while others appear for merely a day. So now that I've decided not to go to law school and broke up with my boyfriend of 3+ years and discovered James Baldwin and placed in a ballroom dance competition and went a bit mad while growing up a litte, not to mention made (and lost) friends along the way, I can safely say that this has been an intense but incredible year.

Why do Men Wear Ties?

While watching France2 tonight, I was hit by a burning question: why do men wear ties? Your comments would be appreciated.

Dead Animal

An animal, probably a cat, died in the engine of the family jeep. Although there is no tangible evidence, we know this because a rotting smell radiates from the engine. Inside the jeep, the smell overtakes you. At first you want to hurl. Then it seeps into your pores. You smell nothing. Outside, the smell carries about 15 feet before relenting its pungency. Good times.

Mom took me grocery shopping. I love her. We also went to Bellefonte's Victorian Christmas where we toured old houses (which were decorated for Christmas) and received free hot chocolate with mini marshmellows. Oh the joy!

Winter Blues

First snowfall of the year. today. Big flakes.

I went shopping. at target. Bought cropped pants.

My car stopped at a red light. shut off. I was pretty upset.

School is officially over in two weeks. i'm numb. Next semester will be better.

Golden Croissants

French Media Presentation today. I thought it would be nice to bring breakfast for everyone in the class. No one else has done this yet, so it fit into the "be original with your presentation category." I forgot how expensive croissants are in the States. 1.50 each. Yikes! The croissants were a success though, so rock on me.

I came home from classes and crashed. I didn't sleep at all last night nor much on the previous nights. I meant to sleep only a few hours. Instead I did a full 10 hours worth. Bon.

The end (this semester) is near!

Nutella

I'm munching on a nutella and honey sandwich. I consider it preparation for my vacation in France. Fabulous!

I still have no place to rest my head for the first week. I'm looking into options:

a. Craig's list.
b. couchsurfer.com
c. friends of friends
d. hotels in the ghetto for 40 euros and up.

I'm confident that I'll find a place - suggestions/offers welcome.

On other news, the semester is over in two weeks. Wow. It's been a crazy 13 weeks. I'm not sure how I feel about it. Ask again later.

On other news, there is an animal family living in my ceiling. They moved in about 1 month ago. I've spent many enjoyable evenings listening to their animal chatter. If only I knew what they were ...

Good little Sarah is handwriting her application in cursive. I haven't written cursive in YEARS! I was in my groove when suddenly I placed one too many "humps" in my cursive "n." The horror! I couldn't just white-out my mistake. I had to start anew!!!! Argh. The French Embassy will hopefully appreciate my time intensive labors, but still...

So I'm applying to teach English in France. I'm requesting Paris. Despite the expense, I'm drawn to Paris. I want to go there. I want to live there again....