t-minus 2 weeks

T-minus 2 weeks

As if the past MONTH hasn't already FLOWNNNN by, I looked at a calendar & thought to myself, "self, you only have 2 more weeks of work & then after Italy, YOU GO HOME!" The people at work have been VERY difficult to work with & be around because they're sooo "parisian." OK, being Parisian is no excuse for being rude. It's OK to say hello back when someone says hi to you!! I promise! uuhhhhhhhhhh theyre so frustrating!! Anyways, on a happier note...

Jonathan's bday was on Monday so we were all meeting up at Place de Monge to celebrate the big 28 with him. I had to come late because of work & got turned around because I exited the metro onto the wrong street, so Lisa & Elena had to come find me! We ate on a tiny street off Rue Moufftard at a café called Café Français...way to be unique. It reminded me of Belgium because all the restaurants were close together & the street was cobblestone. I ordered authentic French Onion Soup, which was exactly what I needed because it was cold outside, steak with french cut green beans and roasted potatoe wedges & topped it off with the best French dessert ever, crème brulee!! Dinner was lovely! The newt day I was really busy at work helping Guy with the work for the Eccentric Spirit presentation. I was busy compiling the photographs Leonello selected into an eccentric layout & althought they looked quite simple once I was done, it was difficult thinking where the best place, size & so forth for each image!! I LOVED BEING BUSY & ACTUALLY GETTING TO HELP!!!! I was beginning to feel useless! We all went out for fondue Tuesday afternoon to celebrate Thongsavanh's last day. Lee & I were unsure what to order at first, so we just went with plain cheese fondue!! It was quite a meal- apparently its what Europeans from the mountains (especially Swiss ppl) eat to stay warm. It was a hearty lunch & I was about to vom afterwards because I was miserably full!! Tuesday night is usually Bible Study, but after the Rentree (the official end of Summer when everybody is back in town ffrom vacation), Tuesday night switches between Bible Study & Pizza night. I missed out on baking the pizzas this time, but saw lots of new faces & even met 2 guys who go to Furman! South Carolina is getting its fair share of representation at ACP!!! We sat at tables, so we couldn't all really mingle & I sat at a table with people I had never met before. We played games to get to know eachother, then there was the individual game where you had to go around & leap frog over someone or make them sing really loud & whoever got through all 10 tasks first won. I didn't win, but I did manage to make myself bald because one of the things was getting a piece of hair from someone & who did everybody ask? ME! JR said it was because I was tall (I was towering over everyone that night because I had on heels!! oops!) & because my hair is blonde, so it just sticks out! YOUCH!! We had mango ice cream afterwards for dessert!! Wednesday, Guy & Youri were at the accessories thing, so I spent most of the day perfecting my color & material squares for the meeting. That night, I met Lisa at Saint Michel & we ate at a little café in the Latin Quarter near Saint Severin. I ate steak frites AGAIN! ahhh! Since it was Lisa's last night in town, we did some major "metro-tourism" aka we hopped on & off the metro to go see the big sights like the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Concorde & ended up at the Eiffel Tower!!! IT WAS FREEZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We just stood in front of the Eiffel Tower in awe for like 20 minutes. No matter how many times I come here or see the Eiffel Tower, it n-e-v-e-r ceases to amaze me! Stunningly beautiful & one of my favorite things in the whole wide world! I cant think of ANYTHING more beautiful!! We were walking back & I started getting sad because I dont know when I'll see Lisa again & she has been such an incredible friend to me since I arrived in Paris! We made some great memories & had lots of fun & I won't ever forget her! On the way back, something in the sidewalk caught my eyes- the cobblestone sidewalk had chipped & there was a cross where the rock & cement chipped away! I sort of felt like everything was going to be alright after that! Ive already started getting sad about leaving Paris & saying bye to Lisa & it was kind of as if God was like "dont worry! everything is going to be fine! youre going to be fine!!" I had been feeling bad all week, probably because the weather did a 360 change from saturday to tuesday & it felt more like winter that late summer, and it hit me like a ton of bricks on Thursday! ah! i was coughing & congested...EW! There was a meeting at 10 with Leonello & I had confirmation that I am not a complete idoit, like the rest of the style team often makes me feel like. Leonello, THE head creative director said he liked my work & said "really great job" & I even got a thumbs up! SUCK IT STYLE TEAM!!!!! I dont care if I dont impress them because Leonello's opinion outweighs theirs by like a bajillion!! Guy & I worked on the words & cover of the book for the box that was getting presented to Mark ("the big boss" as they like to call him) on Friday so we were all running around doing work. It's cool to think that they chose some of the images I researched & will be presenting work I did to MARK!!! sheesh!!!! I just wish I was going to be here for the BIG presentation in December...well, I wouldnt want to work until then...I'd just want to be here to see the final product! The presentation will without a doubt be incredible!!! It was Lee's 24th bday that day, so we had pastries after the meeting & got desserts with our lunch to celebrate! Wish I could have baked cupcakes & made her blown out candles!!!!! I am SO lucky to have her here! She has been a God-send! for real, I couldnt have gotten through these past 3 weeks without her!!! We have had quite the time dealing with the accountant & I think she's just hating on us because were both tall & have blonde hair! It makes me sad that I only get to work with her for less than a month! Ive only known her a short time, but we have so much fun together! I told her to email me if she gets bored after I'm gone!!!

Im supposed to go to Geneva this weekend & after looking at the weather forecast, which is 60 percent chance of rain both days, I thought to myself "hmmmm maybe thats not the best idea!" On top of feeling like death, Trevor was going to Munich for Oktoberfest, Jess was working & no one could get off work to come with me! I feel run down because I never sleep & I opted to not go brave the rain this weekend & will be in Paris for my REAL last weekend!!! This weekend is Les Journéé des Patrimoine in Paris & allll the museums & private/non public buildings are open FOR FREE! Grace is planning a picnic on Saturday & the weather is supposed to be nice; so I'm excited about staying here!! Im thinking of going to Invalides, Musée Carnavalet & Hotel de Ville!!

Today at work, Ive been planning my big excursion to ITALY! Ive looked at hostels & things to do & trains & everything & now I feel like I have it under control! Get to Pisa at 6:20 on the 25th, take the bus to Florence & stay there until the morning/afternoon of the 27th, take a train to Cinque Terre & hike around there for 2 days, then back to Pisa to actually see the leaning tower of Pisa before boarding my plane back home...to Paris, that is :)

Even though I love this place & all the experiences I've had over here, I can't help but start getting excited to see my family!!!!! This time in 2 weeks, Ill be almost home!!!!!!! Ill probably be flying somewhere inbewteen NYC & Washington! AH!!!! then it's off to Clemson the next day for the homecoming game!!!!!!!! What a great way to come back to the US!!!!