So I'm all packed and ready to go finally and as this last night before my flight back to beantown settles down I know that I will suffer a fun little bout of insomnia (as I always do). Which is why I'm happy that I will be leaving my house bright and early at 5:30 am to catch the shuttle to Atlanta at 6 to fly to Boston at 10 to get there at 12:40. It's going to be a long morning. But it always is. But what do I have to look forward to when I get there? My loves Sagar, Vishaal and Gauri helping me unpack (thank you guys so much), getting to see my girlies again, dinner with vish :) and then a nice little thirsty thursday out to kick off the semester...hehe I don't have classes before 12. I wish I had gone up a few days earlier but at the same time I'm happy I didn't. Because then I would have missed out on the craziness that was the last weekend with my sister and Ravi and Jess and Scott and Sheeka Ben and Alex (Thanks guys so much for all your help and a lovely dinner :) ). So all there is left to do is to relax for the next few hours, maybe catch a movie or something, and wait till its time to start getting dressed to GOOOOOOO :D
But seeing as I'm bored I guess I'll blog a little more for shits and giggles. And cause I actually do have something to say. About opportunity. It's a funny little thing. I guess because I never really think about opportunity. I'm much more of an "I went after it so it isn't an opportunity, it was earned" type person. But lately I have to say a couple opportunities have quite literally fallen into my lap and I have a couple people to thank, whether they end up panning out or not. It's funny because I never really mentioned to anyone that I would be looking for a job or an internship this coming semester because I didn't really know if I would be. I am about to go into the hardest semester of my undergrad career and taking that with the captainship of my dance team and being pledge master of my fraternity, I just didn't think I would want to take on anymore (not to mention roller derby next semester, but I'll talk about that another time). But then while I was in London I got an e-mail from a professor I had a couple semesters ago asking me to interview for a job at his roundtable and research facility. The place does Organizational Behavior research, which is the psychology of management basically. It looks into what it takes for leaders to effectively motivate their team. It is a pretty interesting job in a field that interests me. So I was thrilled when he e-mailed me asking. He even offered to write my recommendation for it. I sat on it, decided to send in my resume and have an interview with them next week. I was thrilled. If it pans out or not I'm not that worried because I hadn't really been looking for a job anyways. Then I got another call today. Another opportunity which I don't think I've earned but am, nonetheless, very grateful for. I got a call from Northwestern Mutual as I was continuing on the epic task of packing my clothing (which seems to reproduce) into the little luggage I am allowed to take on a plane. Apparently one of my fraternity brothers heard about an opportunity as a Financial Representative Intern there and recommended they call me to interview for it. The lady did so and set up yet another interview with me next week. So I want to thank both Dr. Mccarthy and Tim Ramos for having that kind of confidence in me. And also to say that now that I have been given the opportunities I'm kind of terrified. It's not one of those things I've chased after so I know that I deserve it in the end. This is one of those cases where the opportunity has literally fallen into my lap. So now I have to do the best I can to make the throwers proud. We'll see how it goes though I guess...I need to get some new business clothes for this.
Radhi
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Another one bites the dust
Well. It has been quite the weekend. Thursday night I met up with some friends here in Chattanooga to celebrate a friend's birthday. We went for drinks at buffalo wild wings and then Hair of the Dog pub....I had a little more than I intended to drink, and then I hung out with Torre for the night. Friday morning I got stuff ready to head down to Nashville and spend a funfilled weekend with my sister. I packed up the car and headed out and got to her condo, let myself in, and made some lunch while I waited for her to come home. She had her first med school exam (and I'm sure she did amazingly) and the weekend was her "college cup." At Vanderbilt, they split the med school students into 4 colleges (yes, like harry potter and the houses at hogwarts) and the four colleges - Gabbe, Robinson, Batson, and Chappman - compete against each other in a slew of competitions from a 5k and a swim meet to an iron chef competition. Rachna thought it would be fun if I came up and did some of the events for her college, Batson. The cup started with the 5k, so I ran that in the name of Batson. Then we went back to her condo to get some food and hang out and have a few beers with some of her friends. Everyone was so nice...and kept thinking I was her (if you know us apparently we look incredibly alike...). After the little break we went to the Vandy rec center to do spirit relays. This is where things headed downhill. Rachna, carrying a friend on her back during a piggy back relay (she is really small), did something to her knee and went down like a brick. She stopped moving and was immediately surrounded by about 100 doctors/would be doctors. Ravi, Jessie, and I took her to the emergency room where we endured about 6.5 hours of different doctors telling us she had everything from twist her knee to tear her meniscus to fracture both her tibia and fibula. We were told minor fracture, depressed fracture, and all other kinds of fracture. Finally, at 2:30 am, we were told they were going to operate on her at 7:30 or risk her developing sever arthritis in her left knee later on. So operate it was. In these 6.5 hours we saw about 800 doctors (all of which seemed to be attractive males...Jess and I felt like we were in an episode of Grey's anatomy) and had a pizza party in the ER room Rachna was in :) but once we got this news we finally called my parents and let them know what was up.
Ravi and I stayed with her and he finally left at like 6:30 because he had work at 10:30 and I hung out as she went into operation. And when she came out of operation. We were given a room in the orthopedics wing of the hospital and Rachna was finally officially settled into the hospital. She stayed knocked out for a while and around 11 started waking up. She had had a nail inserted into her knee to repair the depressed fracture and cement filled the part of the bone where the drilling had taken place. She was drugged beyond belief to keep the pain from setting in. But she was lucid and people started to come visit. It is amazing how this tiny med school class of about 105 will rally around one member. People were already offering to give her rides to class when she was back in action and take notes - one of the deans even assured her that they would not let this affect her academically and they would bring materials by her house if need be. Well I had been awake for a rather longish amount of time by now taking into account Thursday and Friday nights, and around 4 I started to not feel so hot. To add to the heap of medical issues the Patel family seems to be having (my dad had rotator cuff surgery the week before). I kinda fell apart and was told to go back to the condo under the care of one of my new lovely almost not quite doctor friends. I spent Saturday night there and was taken back home on Sunday after a farewell to my sis. At least I know she is well taken care of and looked after. Mom is going to spend the next week with her as well. I'm actually happy I was there when it happened even if it wasn't the weekend I was expecting, simply because I would rather her have a family member there when something like this goes down. She is still in the hospital and will likely be discharged tomorrow (they had to keep her while they had her on iv pain meds, not other reason). She is a trooper and though she is looking at 2 to 3 months on crutches and a ton of physical therapy, I know she will surprise most people and get it done better than anyone expects.
Now I need to focus on getting myself to Boston in one piece. Wednesdayyyyyy :)
Radhi
Ravi and I stayed with her and he finally left at like 6:30 because he had work at 10:30 and I hung out as she went into operation. And when she came out of operation. We were given a room in the orthopedics wing of the hospital and Rachna was finally officially settled into the hospital. She stayed knocked out for a while and around 11 started waking up. She had had a nail inserted into her knee to repair the depressed fracture and cement filled the part of the bone where the drilling had taken place. She was drugged beyond belief to keep the pain from setting in. But she was lucid and people started to come visit. It is amazing how this tiny med school class of about 105 will rally around one member. People were already offering to give her rides to class when she was back in action and take notes - one of the deans even assured her that they would not let this affect her academically and they would bring materials by her house if need be. Well I had been awake for a rather longish amount of time by now taking into account Thursday and Friday nights, and around 4 I started to not feel so hot. To add to the heap of medical issues the Patel family seems to be having (my dad had rotator cuff surgery the week before). I kinda fell apart and was told to go back to the condo under the care of one of my new lovely almost not quite doctor friends. I spent Saturday night there and was taken back home on Sunday after a farewell to my sis. At least I know she is well taken care of and looked after. Mom is going to spend the next week with her as well. I'm actually happy I was there when it happened even if it wasn't the weekend I was expecting, simply because I would rather her have a family member there when something like this goes down. She is still in the hospital and will likely be discharged tomorrow (they had to keep her while they had her on iv pain meds, not other reason). She is a trooper and though she is looking at 2 to 3 months on crutches and a ton of physical therapy, I know she will surprise most people and get it done better than anyone expects.
Now I need to focus on getting myself to Boston in one piece. Wednesdayyyyyy :)
Radhi
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The words of another
Sometimes someone else can put into words what you are feeling...at least to an extent...better than you can. And at those rare times you are lucky enough to come across their wisdom, you reach a certain type of enlightenment. I'm not saying that the clouds part and everything is sunshine and rainbows. Everything still may suck. But at least you understand it. You can come to terms with the sucky-ness. So I am going to use someone else's words today. Cause mine just don't seem to come out right.
"I've lived so much of my life according to the edicts of fear. It kept me from going to France (fear of losing Dan). It kept me in the marriage (fear of being alone). It kept me from saying what I thought at work or in social situations (fear of being ostracized). It kept me from upsetting the steady equilibrium of my little life. And now...
Now I knew everything was about to be upended. That was the worst sort of fear - the dread of loss..."
Douglas Kennedy State of the Union
It is a fear you can do nothing about because it is a simple statement of fact.
Radhi
"I've lived so much of my life according to the edicts of fear. It kept me from going to France (fear of losing Dan). It kept me in the marriage (fear of being alone). It kept me from saying what I thought at work or in social situations (fear of being ostracized). It kept me from upsetting the steady equilibrium of my little life. And now...
Now I knew everything was about to be upended. That was the worst sort of fear - the dread of loss..."
Douglas Kennedy State of the Union
It is a fear you can do nothing about because it is a simple statement of fact.
Radhi
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Walls
We all do it. Put up walls around us so that we can manage to protect something of ourselves. Protect it from others. Protect it from ourselves. Protect it from our other thoughts. Protect our other thoughts from it. We all have this nasty little habit of making sure that we cut ourselves into neatly squared away pieces so that we can fit each piece into the certain room that it is supposed to be in. And some more than others (and I find myself very often guilty of this) make sure that I shut each door so that there is no chance of a mixup. Of emotion, of thought, of action. Its a separation of the certain parts of my life to an extent. And I don't know why I do it. I don't know why anyone does it. I don't know why I don't like talking to people. I don't know why this internal neatness has become such an inherent part of the way I function and why I can't just create a little bit of a mess. Why can't I bulldoze a wall here and maybe open a door there? Put in a window here with a light curtain so a little sunlight can come through? Occasionally a light breeze? Why can't we hire interior decorators for the little houses of walls we all have inside of us? Why can't we let someone show us the way to open up enough without giving too much away? Is there a such thing as giving too much away?
"Ruin is a gift.
"Ruin is the road to transformation"
Julia Roberts' character says this in the film adaptation of the book Eat, Pray, Love after spending nearly 4 months in Italy trying to find her "word." Trying to figure out why she feels dead on the inside. Maybe this is the key. Maybe there is no such thing as giving too much away and we need to literally take a demolition crew to the maze of walls. Knock them all down. Just let all of our thoughts and emotions flow free. But that seems dangerous. And scary.
Radhi
"Ruin is a gift.
"Ruin is the road to transformation"
Julia Roberts' character says this in the film adaptation of the book Eat, Pray, Love after spending nearly 4 months in Italy trying to find her "word." Trying to figure out why she feels dead on the inside. Maybe this is the key. Maybe there is no such thing as giving too much away and we need to literally take a demolition crew to the maze of walls. Knock them all down. Just let all of our thoughts and emotions flow free. But that seems dangerous. And scary.
Radhi
Saturday, August 14, 2010
A world away
So I'm back home. Yah. It's been a while since I've posted. But between coming home, seeing friends and family, and then being thrown into a drug induced haze (I got my wisdom teeth taken out) I really haven't had any time to post. But I'm here. Face almost back to normal size. And back to posting :) However I can't help feeling that I left my heart and soul in a country 3000 miles away at a pink gate leading into Hyde Park. I'm sure I'll find it again though. If not here then in Boston :)
My final few days in London were basically a mad rush to get everything I hadn't already done...done. We went to the maze in Trafalgar Square - a maze made of bushes that is a smaller version of the one in Harry Potter. Minus the weird animals and spells trying to kill you. We went to Platform 9 and 3/4, I went to my gym Club Kensington one last time, said bye to Taleb, Ali, the folks at Al Arez. I had my final dinner with Shahar (as it only seemed fitting) at Stanhope Arms, where we said bye to Paul, Tony, and Dennis. Shahar and I downed almost an entire bottle of Absinthe in 3 days that Dennis had brought us back from Spain......those were some special nights. I said goodbye to a bleary eyed Julia who gave me 2 four packs of corona and sent me on my way to pack. The last day in London, Jay and I bought Cuban cigars (a long time dream of mine) and had coronas and cubans in Hyde Park as we all sat there watching the sun rise. I went for a goodbye run in Hyde Park that morning to take in for one last time the glorious nature that I had been able to explore while I was there. We need more parks here. I know this post is just a list of a bunch of things I did and it almost seems like a huge blur, but that is what those last few days were like. No downtime. Just packing everything in. My dear London friends, both in London and in the States, I love you and miss you and thank you for making these past three months of my life some of the best ever :)
Now that I'm back home...I'm recovering. Face still a little swollen but ok to hang out finally and see friends and just chill until I head back to a full semester in Beantown. Can't wait to go back but so happy to be home and so sad to not be in London. Emotionally confused. What's new? So this blog I guess goes back to being my thoughts and mundane daily actions I guess. Till next time loves :)
Radhi
My final few days in London were basically a mad rush to get everything I hadn't already done...done. We went to the maze in Trafalgar Square - a maze made of bushes that is a smaller version of the one in Harry Potter. Minus the weird animals and spells trying to kill you. We went to Platform 9 and 3/4, I went to my gym Club Kensington one last time, said bye to Taleb, Ali, the folks at Al Arez. I had my final dinner with Shahar (as it only seemed fitting) at Stanhope Arms, where we said bye to Paul, Tony, and Dennis. Shahar and I downed almost an entire bottle of Absinthe in 3 days that Dennis had brought us back from Spain......those were some special nights. I said goodbye to a bleary eyed Julia who gave me 2 four packs of corona and sent me on my way to pack. The last day in London, Jay and I bought Cuban cigars (a long time dream of mine) and had coronas and cubans in Hyde Park as we all sat there watching the sun rise. I went for a goodbye run in Hyde Park that morning to take in for one last time the glorious nature that I had been able to explore while I was there. We need more parks here. I know this post is just a list of a bunch of things I did and it almost seems like a huge blur, but that is what those last few days were like. No downtime. Just packing everything in. My dear London friends, both in London and in the States, I love you and miss you and thank you for making these past three months of my life some of the best ever :)
Now that I'm back home...I'm recovering. Face still a little swollen but ok to hang out finally and see friends and just chill until I head back to a full semester in Beantown. Can't wait to go back but so happy to be home and so sad to not be in London. Emotionally confused. What's new? So this blog I guess goes back to being my thoughts and mundane daily actions I guess. Till next time loves :)
Radhi
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Adventures of a wino, an squirrel, and their mom
<3 Paris
What a beautiful weekend! Us three ladies in the city that truly never sleeps. Bella, Jennifer, and I went to Paris this weekend and had an amazing time. We took the Eurostar train after they were done with work. We met at King's Cross station, got our passports stamped :D and then headed onto the train. Every time I get a new stamp in my passport I get a little thrill, no matter how many times I've gotten one. I'm like a little child that way. We got on the train and I started to write my paper. Leave it to us to book a weekend trip right before our final paper is due and on top of that to not bother booking a return trip until Monday morning right before work...a few hours before the paper is due. Smart life decisions.
Friday evening in a speeding train going under the English Channel. I couldn't really focus on my paper. I got through about 500 words and then decided to get up. Bella and I went to the dining car (after a little adventure down the train in the wrong direction...the way wrong direction). Bella had eaten at work, Jen and I had brought food from Marks & Spencers to eat on the train. So neither one of us were really hungry, but we went anyways. And then once we got there we decided to start our trip of the right way...the wino way :) We both got some white wine and hung out. And got a little tipsy :) We arrived in Paris around 11:30 - we lost an hour on the way there - and were picked up by Bella's family friend Eli. Eli is this amazing elderly man with a crazy mustache and a greatly generous spirit. He picked the three of us at the airport, took us to the flat, and showed us around the place. He had gotten us food stores and everything (including two bottles of white wine, to my inner wino's delight). He showed us how to set up the internet, the phone, etc. and then left us to enjoy our weekend. The flat was absolutely incredible. It is right on New York Avenue with a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower - we were literally a five minute walk from it. So what do we decide to do our first night there? At 1 AM we decide it is a brilliant idea to pack up a midnight picnic (consisting of a bottle of white wine, cheese, and bread - the true french meal) and head out to the eiffel tower. We sat there under the light (and sometimes sparkly light :) ) of the eiffel tower and ate our meal while just chatting about how our internships have been going, how things are back home for each of us, and what we wanted to do in Paris over the next couple of days. Jen wasn't drinking (being responsible and careful) and Bella was taking baby sips. And so guess who ended up accidentally drinking a little over half the bottle? Hehehehe. Oh well, it made for a very nice sleep when we got back to the flat that night.
We woke up the next morning and took our showers an pranced around in our robes for a little bit. We had breakfast, and then I ironed my dress...felt like being a bit of a fashionista while in Paris. Then we all got dressed and headed out. We decided to walk to Champs Elysees from the flat, seeing the Libtery Flame along the way, and then walk along the road to get to the Arc de Triumph. We walked, shopped, and had our first meal in a restaurant in Paris. By the way. All they eat in France is bread and cheese. I don't understand how they are not all obese. Bread, cheese, and wine. The end. Well and then of course all of the other stuff. And Crépes. OHHHHH crépes. But more on that later. At lunch I also had my first red wine in Paris. I loveeeeed it. One big glass and I'll go ahead and say I was a little happy. And it was absolutely delicious. We left lunch and headed off to the Arc. It was gorgeous and all, but beyond that it was just fun because we got to take pictures there. And we took some very fun pictures. After that we decided to head to the Louvre to see some art :) We had our first encounter with the Parisian public transportation system. Uff. Lemme tell ya, not nearly as reliable as the London one. It took forever for the bus to get there and they go so SLOW. We finally got the Louvre and of course went first to see the Mona Lisa. Which is great and all, but I feel like its popularity lies more in the mysterious history of the painting and its subject rather than for the work itself. People love a good mystery. We saw some african/oceanic/asian art as well, and greek sculpture, and some european and spanish paintings. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. One of the most striking pieces in the entire museum, I feel is in a stairway leading from the sculptures to the paintings. It is of an angel, somewhat ragged, standing on ruin. The angel is headless but its wings are brilliant. It is absolutely beautiful. Anywho, after we were done with the Louvre, we headed out and walked some of the way home, stopping at little street stalls to look at trinkets and postcards and the like. We finally conceded and took a cab the rest of the way home, where we all showered, got robed up, I made dinner (pasta with grilled veggies), and cracked out the bottle of vino :) After we ate we all decided to relax/nap/watch tv for a little bit. We needed to chill out before we went out.
I got on my computer, talked to my parents - I showed them the view outside our windows and they were absolutely completely excited. My dad was a bit jealous too :) And then I talked to Vishal for a while (NE). Haven't talked to him in a while but we keep our conversations pretty lighthearted so it's always pretty easy to just pick it up. We video chatted...nice to see someone from Boston. It also turns out that he has a friend who is from paris so we had a three way skype chat and we were introduced. Then he told us of some areas and interesting places we could go for nightlife :)
We finally all got dressed and headed out into the Parisian night. But once again found it impossible to find a bus taking us to where we wanted to go. And once we found the right stop it took forever for a bus to come (actually I don't think one ever did) so then we decided to just take a cab. We went to the area that Vishal's friend told us to go to and then went bar hopping :) Can I just take a moment to comment on the strength of drinks in Paris versus the strength of drinks in London? London drinks are basically water in comparison. And men are also rather...emm...forward in Paris as well. On the way from one bar to another we got propositioned. As in properly propositioned. Only we didn't wait around to hear a price offer. Whatever it was it wasn't high enough for three fine looking ladies such as ourselves :)
So Bella and Jen are both lightweights. Me...not so much. I'm not saying I'm a tank or anything, but in comparison? I was still practically sober by the time the two of them decided to call it quits. And by calling it quits I mean Bella's head was on the table and Jen was taking 40 minutes to finish her last drink. So I had a double tequila shot. Usually solves all of my problems. While I was at the bar these three guys started talking to us. They claimed they were italian so I started talking to them in Spanish because I can usually understand Italian because of the similarities. They looked obviously confused. At which point they confessed they had lied and that they were Algerian instead. I chatted with them for a little bit, but they creeped me out massively so we went and sat down. Later I got up again to find Bella a restroom and this other guy started talking to me. He was actually good looking and seemed like someone I would usually stop and talk to in a bar or club. But that was the problem. I don't speak French beyond a few choice phrases and he didn't really seem to understand much english. Ahhhh language barriers. How you ruin things for me. So after very shabbily saying hello and bye to this guy I went back to the girls. We left and went to a late night food place and got noms. Then we went back to the flat, ate, and went to bed.
The next day we woke up, showered, got dressed, and headed back out into a beautiful Parisian day. We went first to the Notre Dam cathedral, which was beautiful. Seriously. We also got in for free because it was the first Sunday of the month. Also, being a Sunday morning, we were there for mass. Which was an eerie experience. The place was huge and dimly lit and pretty friggin creepy with this huge organ playing and this guy in giving a sermon in French. We didn't stay long. I was feeling religiously claustrophobic. After the Notre Dam we decided to make our way toward Montmartre. However we got kinda sort of highly distracted on the way. First we found a fountain we decided it was ideal to play around in. The best part was this little kid wanted to play in the fountain and his mom wouldn't let him. So I immediately took off my shoes and got in. The kid wanted to kill me. I laughed. And inside? I was laughing at him a little bit. Heheheheehe. Why do parents try to make their kids lives less fun? It's just a fountain. If I can play in it why can't your kid?
Anywhoo. We then continued on our way to Montmartre but were sidetracked once again by the Pompidou modern art museum. Again, free entry :) We went around it and the art was great. I just feel like I appreciate Tate more. This museum had a ton of feminist modern art and, while I enjoy it greatly, I know there is a lot more to modern art than the feminist movement side. And Pompidou does not do a great job of showing the variety of modern art. After pompidou we sat down so Bella and Jen could grab some food. They were "peckish." Then we finally just caught a cab to Montmartre. We got up there and it was one of the most amazing views ever. The city looks gorgeous from up there. We took pictures, walked around the city (it is very parisian artsy fartsy) and then sat down on the stairs so that I could eat. A hearty meal of chips and a crépe. Oh my god that crépe. Full of sweet, rich nutella. I died. It was amazing. Then we walked back to Place de la Madeline. I navigated us the whole way using our map (YEAAAAAA GO ME. I am like Magellan). We sat at a restaurant in Place de la Madeline and while Jen and Bella ate, I drank half a bottle of Rose Wine (I don't usually drink a rose, but Bella wanted to drink with me and that is what she wanted. Oh well. It was a strong wine :) ). After that we headed back to the flat and showered and hung around. And then it was time to write my paper. Actually write it. So I set up camp in the living room and the balcony so I could stare at the Paris night sky and the Eiffel Tower - getting my last fill of Paris - while I finished off the paper. Until 4 ish am. It was great. Not really. But it wasn't miserable or anything. I slept for about an hour before I was woken by an alarm to get our Eurostar back to London. It was ridiculous. When we took it from London it was like clockwork. Like things work in an airport. When we took it from Paris, it was mass chaos. We didn't even leave until 30 minutes late at least and we were reassigned seats 2 times. And these trains are known for being on time. But it was fine because I was supposed to reach King's Cross by 8 and we got there at 8:30. And I didn't start work until 10. So I was in plenty of time. And dead tired. It was an amazing trip, but didn't do much for me in the way of resting up. Oh well. One more week. I can sleep when I'm home. Or when i'm dead. Heheheh.
Radhi
What a beautiful weekend! Us three ladies in the city that truly never sleeps. Bella, Jennifer, and I went to Paris this weekend and had an amazing time. We took the Eurostar train after they were done with work. We met at King's Cross station, got our passports stamped :D and then headed onto the train. Every time I get a new stamp in my passport I get a little thrill, no matter how many times I've gotten one. I'm like a little child that way. We got on the train and I started to write my paper. Leave it to us to book a weekend trip right before our final paper is due and on top of that to not bother booking a return trip until Monday morning right before work...a few hours before the paper is due. Smart life decisions.
Friday evening in a speeding train going under the English Channel. I couldn't really focus on my paper. I got through about 500 words and then decided to get up. Bella and I went to the dining car (after a little adventure down the train in the wrong direction...the way wrong direction). Bella had eaten at work, Jen and I had brought food from Marks & Spencers to eat on the train. So neither one of us were really hungry, but we went anyways. And then once we got there we decided to start our trip of the right way...the wino way :) We both got some white wine and hung out. And got a little tipsy :) We arrived in Paris around 11:30 - we lost an hour on the way there - and were picked up by Bella's family friend Eli. Eli is this amazing elderly man with a crazy mustache and a greatly generous spirit. He picked the three of us at the airport, took us to the flat, and showed us around the place. He had gotten us food stores and everything (including two bottles of white wine, to my inner wino's delight). He showed us how to set up the internet, the phone, etc. and then left us to enjoy our weekend. The flat was absolutely incredible. It is right on New York Avenue with a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower - we were literally a five minute walk from it. So what do we decide to do our first night there? At 1 AM we decide it is a brilliant idea to pack up a midnight picnic (consisting of a bottle of white wine, cheese, and bread - the true french meal) and head out to the eiffel tower. We sat there under the light (and sometimes sparkly light :) ) of the eiffel tower and ate our meal while just chatting about how our internships have been going, how things are back home for each of us, and what we wanted to do in Paris over the next couple of days. Jen wasn't drinking (being responsible and careful) and Bella was taking baby sips. And so guess who ended up accidentally drinking a little over half the bottle? Hehehehe. Oh well, it made for a very nice sleep when we got back to the flat that night.
We woke up the next morning and took our showers an pranced around in our robes for a little bit. We had breakfast, and then I ironed my dress...felt like being a bit of a fashionista while in Paris. Then we all got dressed and headed out. We decided to walk to Champs Elysees from the flat, seeing the Libtery Flame along the way, and then walk along the road to get to the Arc de Triumph. We walked, shopped, and had our first meal in a restaurant in Paris. By the way. All they eat in France is bread and cheese. I don't understand how they are not all obese. Bread, cheese, and wine. The end. Well and then of course all of the other stuff. And Crépes. OHHHHH crépes. But more on that later. At lunch I also had my first red wine in Paris. I loveeeeed it. One big glass and I'll go ahead and say I was a little happy. And it was absolutely delicious. We left lunch and headed off to the Arc. It was gorgeous and all, but beyond that it was just fun because we got to take pictures there. And we took some very fun pictures. After that we decided to head to the Louvre to see some art :) We had our first encounter with the Parisian public transportation system. Uff. Lemme tell ya, not nearly as reliable as the London one. It took forever for the bus to get there and they go so SLOW. We finally got the Louvre and of course went first to see the Mona Lisa. Which is great and all, but I feel like its popularity lies more in the mysterious history of the painting and its subject rather than for the work itself. People love a good mystery. We saw some african/oceanic/asian art as well, and greek sculpture, and some european and spanish paintings. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. One of the most striking pieces in the entire museum, I feel is in a stairway leading from the sculptures to the paintings. It is of an angel, somewhat ragged, standing on ruin. The angel is headless but its wings are brilliant. It is absolutely beautiful. Anywho, after we were done with the Louvre, we headed out and walked some of the way home, stopping at little street stalls to look at trinkets and postcards and the like. We finally conceded and took a cab the rest of the way home, where we all showered, got robed up, I made dinner (pasta with grilled veggies), and cracked out the bottle of vino :) After we ate we all decided to relax/nap/watch tv for a little bit. We needed to chill out before we went out.
I got on my computer, talked to my parents - I showed them the view outside our windows and they were absolutely completely excited. My dad was a bit jealous too :) And then I talked to Vishal for a while (NE). Haven't talked to him in a while but we keep our conversations pretty lighthearted so it's always pretty easy to just pick it up. We video chatted...nice to see someone from Boston. It also turns out that he has a friend who is from paris so we had a three way skype chat and we were introduced. Then he told us of some areas and interesting places we could go for nightlife :)
We finally all got dressed and headed out into the Parisian night. But once again found it impossible to find a bus taking us to where we wanted to go. And once we found the right stop it took forever for a bus to come (actually I don't think one ever did) so then we decided to just take a cab. We went to the area that Vishal's friend told us to go to and then went bar hopping :) Can I just take a moment to comment on the strength of drinks in Paris versus the strength of drinks in London? London drinks are basically water in comparison. And men are also rather...emm...forward in Paris as well. On the way from one bar to another we got propositioned. As in properly propositioned. Only we didn't wait around to hear a price offer. Whatever it was it wasn't high enough for three fine looking ladies such as ourselves :)
So Bella and Jen are both lightweights. Me...not so much. I'm not saying I'm a tank or anything, but in comparison? I was still practically sober by the time the two of them decided to call it quits. And by calling it quits I mean Bella's head was on the table and Jen was taking 40 minutes to finish her last drink. So I had a double tequila shot. Usually solves all of my problems. While I was at the bar these three guys started talking to us. They claimed they were italian so I started talking to them in Spanish because I can usually understand Italian because of the similarities. They looked obviously confused. At which point they confessed they had lied and that they were Algerian instead. I chatted with them for a little bit, but they creeped me out massively so we went and sat down. Later I got up again to find Bella a restroom and this other guy started talking to me. He was actually good looking and seemed like someone I would usually stop and talk to in a bar or club. But that was the problem. I don't speak French beyond a few choice phrases and he didn't really seem to understand much english. Ahhhh language barriers. How you ruin things for me. So after very shabbily saying hello and bye to this guy I went back to the girls. We left and went to a late night food place and got noms. Then we went back to the flat, ate, and went to bed.
The next day we woke up, showered, got dressed, and headed back out into a beautiful Parisian day. We went first to the Notre Dam cathedral, which was beautiful. Seriously. We also got in for free because it was the first Sunday of the month. Also, being a Sunday morning, we were there for mass. Which was an eerie experience. The place was huge and dimly lit and pretty friggin creepy with this huge organ playing and this guy in giving a sermon in French. We didn't stay long. I was feeling religiously claustrophobic. After the Notre Dam we decided to make our way toward Montmartre. However we got kinda sort of highly distracted on the way. First we found a fountain we decided it was ideal to play around in. The best part was this little kid wanted to play in the fountain and his mom wouldn't let him. So I immediately took off my shoes and got in. The kid wanted to kill me. I laughed. And inside? I was laughing at him a little bit. Heheheheehe. Why do parents try to make their kids lives less fun? It's just a fountain. If I can play in it why can't your kid?
Anywhoo. We then continued on our way to Montmartre but were sidetracked once again by the Pompidou modern art museum. Again, free entry :) We went around it and the art was great. I just feel like I appreciate Tate more. This museum had a ton of feminist modern art and, while I enjoy it greatly, I know there is a lot more to modern art than the feminist movement side. And Pompidou does not do a great job of showing the variety of modern art. After pompidou we sat down so Bella and Jen could grab some food. They were "peckish." Then we finally just caught a cab to Montmartre. We got up there and it was one of the most amazing views ever. The city looks gorgeous from up there. We took pictures, walked around the city (it is very parisian artsy fartsy) and then sat down on the stairs so that I could eat. A hearty meal of chips and a crépe. Oh my god that crépe. Full of sweet, rich nutella. I died. It was amazing. Then we walked back to Place de la Madeline. I navigated us the whole way using our map (YEAAAAAA GO ME. I am like Magellan). We sat at a restaurant in Place de la Madeline and while Jen and Bella ate, I drank half a bottle of Rose Wine (I don't usually drink a rose, but Bella wanted to drink with me and that is what she wanted. Oh well. It was a strong wine :) ). After that we headed back to the flat and showered and hung around. And then it was time to write my paper. Actually write it. So I set up camp in the living room and the balcony so I could stare at the Paris night sky and the Eiffel Tower - getting my last fill of Paris - while I finished off the paper. Until 4 ish am. It was great. Not really. But it wasn't miserable or anything. I slept for about an hour before I was woken by an alarm to get our Eurostar back to London. It was ridiculous. When we took it from London it was like clockwork. Like things work in an airport. When we took it from Paris, it was mass chaos. We didn't even leave until 30 minutes late at least and we were reassigned seats 2 times. And these trains are known for being on time. But it was fine because I was supposed to reach King's Cross by 8 and we got there at 8:30. And I didn't start work until 10. So I was in plenty of time. And dead tired. It was an amazing trip, but didn't do much for me in the way of resting up. Oh well. One more week. I can sleep when I'm home. Or when i'm dead. Heheheh.
Radhi
Album Launch
So I know these next couple posts have been a while coming but I was too busy enjoying paris...hehe...
On Thursday the project that my company has been working on for the majority of the time I have been here finally cam to fruition. Melpomeni launched her debut album :) I have spent time getting to know her and her music, the process she went through in writing this album, and the process she has gone through as an artist and I have to say that I have an amazing amount of respect for her. She is an incredible, gracious, and surprisingly hopeful person. Also, Wednesday while we were at the office some of the media outlets we had sent Pom's CD to early released album reviews and they were pretty amazing. So Thursday was a night for celebration.
So yah. Julia and I got to work around noon on Thursday because we were going to be working all day so we decided to start a little later. We got business done for a few hours and then at 4 we stopped. Its funny but when Julia is really excited about something she becomes like a child. It's adorable she has so much excitement and it's amazing how much she loves her job. I feel that is mostly the reason she is happy the majority of the time. God I hope I find that.
We stopped at 4, "put our faces on" and then headed out to Huxton square to Zigfrid Von Underbelly. And thus ensued a night of music and drinking. We got there in time to hear the band playing as Pom's opening act soundcheck and then went to check on her. She was in the dressing room getting her hair done. Oh that hair. It was like a massive nest on her head it was outrageous how much it had been teased. But not just teased. Hairsprayed and molded into what looked like a huge flame. It was amazing. After we saw Pom and saw that all was going well and according to schedule, we went up to the pub and had dinner and beers. I feel that if I were 15 years older Julia would have been my biggest enabler in the world. "Do you want a drink?" "oh just have one more!" Yah. Goodbye liver. Thanksverymuch for holding out for so long. We had some pub food and went back downstairs to hear Pom soundcheck. After her soundcheck we went back up to meet Julia's husband who was going to film the show and Julia sat with him while he ate and I took some food down to Pom. Performing on an empty stomach = bad. Then again performing on a full stomach = bad. Happy medium. Find the middle path. For about an hour I just sat in the dressing room with her while she was eating and putting on her makeup and we just talked. It was amazing how much she remembered about me from the brief interactions we had had and how spot on she was in her assumptions about me (usually I hate it when people make assumptions but if you're right...can't really say much can I?) We talked about all that she went through in creating this album: working on it completely alone, moving to a new country (she is australian), writing all of the songs. This album has been 10 years in the making for her. She said it was all her mixed up emotions finally coming out. Even though it is only the launch of it, she was excited for the night because she felt it was a funeral. She could finally put all of it to rest and start the next one. We talked about my interests in fine arts, my work with Peculiar Management, my studies, and she was surprisingly interested in me. We talked about the types of people we know, the types of relationships we have with them. She at one point told me she wasn't worried about me because I'm "a fiery one...there is a fire there." And while that scares a lot of people she clearly meant it as a compliment. Alas, I said goodbye to her because we had opened the doors and it was time to start drinking more and manning the merchandise while listening to some awesome music.
As the opening band went on, Maggie, Pratik, Shahar, and Bella showed up. They came to entertain me because while I was super excited about the launch, I didn't really know anyone there. But it was great because they ended up enjoying it too. The opener wasn't really our type of music (kinda death metalish) but Pom was amazing. Voice of an angel. A dark, melodic, angry angel. The set went amazingly and we sold CDs and drank to our hearts content. Julia - who my friends are now convinced is the best boss ever - would occasionally come up and as "can I buy you another? GOD this night is going well" and who have I ever been to turn down free Jack Daniels. Hahaha. And the icing on the cake was that she gave me the next day off (although I'm pretty sure it was because she knew there was no way she was going to make it into work Friday morning after this).
Look for some stuff from Melpomeni. It's kinda dark, but she has been in some dark places. But the music is great. And look out for her. I see big things for her :)
Radhi
Paris should be coming shortly if I can focus long enough to write it
On Thursday the project that my company has been working on for the majority of the time I have been here finally cam to fruition. Melpomeni launched her debut album :) I have spent time getting to know her and her music, the process she went through in writing this album, and the process she has gone through as an artist and I have to say that I have an amazing amount of respect for her. She is an incredible, gracious, and surprisingly hopeful person. Also, Wednesday while we were at the office some of the media outlets we had sent Pom's CD to early released album reviews and they were pretty amazing. So Thursday was a night for celebration.
So yah. Julia and I got to work around noon on Thursday because we were going to be working all day so we decided to start a little later. We got business done for a few hours and then at 4 we stopped. Its funny but when Julia is really excited about something she becomes like a child. It's adorable she has so much excitement and it's amazing how much she loves her job. I feel that is mostly the reason she is happy the majority of the time. God I hope I find that.
We stopped at 4, "put our faces on" and then headed out to Huxton square to Zigfrid Von Underbelly. And thus ensued a night of music and drinking. We got there in time to hear the band playing as Pom's opening act soundcheck and then went to check on her. She was in the dressing room getting her hair done. Oh that hair. It was like a massive nest on her head it was outrageous how much it had been teased. But not just teased. Hairsprayed and molded into what looked like a huge flame. It was amazing. After we saw Pom and saw that all was going well and according to schedule, we went up to the pub and had dinner and beers. I feel that if I were 15 years older Julia would have been my biggest enabler in the world. "Do you want a drink?" "oh just have one more!" Yah. Goodbye liver. Thanksverymuch for holding out for so long. We had some pub food and went back downstairs to hear Pom soundcheck. After her soundcheck we went back up to meet Julia's husband who was going to film the show and Julia sat with him while he ate and I took some food down to Pom. Performing on an empty stomach = bad. Then again performing on a full stomach = bad. Happy medium. Find the middle path. For about an hour I just sat in the dressing room with her while she was eating and putting on her makeup and we just talked. It was amazing how much she remembered about me from the brief interactions we had had and how spot on she was in her assumptions about me (usually I hate it when people make assumptions but if you're right...can't really say much can I?) We talked about all that she went through in creating this album: working on it completely alone, moving to a new country (she is australian), writing all of the songs. This album has been 10 years in the making for her. She said it was all her mixed up emotions finally coming out. Even though it is only the launch of it, she was excited for the night because she felt it was a funeral. She could finally put all of it to rest and start the next one. We talked about my interests in fine arts, my work with Peculiar Management, my studies, and she was surprisingly interested in me. We talked about the types of people we know, the types of relationships we have with them. She at one point told me she wasn't worried about me because I'm "a fiery one...there is a fire there." And while that scares a lot of people she clearly meant it as a compliment. Alas, I said goodbye to her because we had opened the doors and it was time to start drinking more and manning the merchandise while listening to some awesome music.
As the opening band went on, Maggie, Pratik, Shahar, and Bella showed up. They came to entertain me because while I was super excited about the launch, I didn't really know anyone there. But it was great because they ended up enjoying it too. The opener wasn't really our type of music (kinda death metalish) but Pom was amazing. Voice of an angel. A dark, melodic, angry angel. The set went amazingly and we sold CDs and drank to our hearts content. Julia - who my friends are now convinced is the best boss ever - would occasionally come up and as "can I buy you another? GOD this night is going well" and who have I ever been to turn down free Jack Daniels. Hahaha. And the icing on the cake was that she gave me the next day off (although I'm pretty sure it was because she knew there was no way she was going to make it into work Friday morning after this).
Look for some stuff from Melpomeni. It's kinda dark, but she has been in some dark places. But the music is great. And look out for her. I see big things for her :)
Radhi
Paris should be coming shortly if I can focus long enough to write it
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