2 posts tagged “tutoring”
Today was an excellent day. While I still have some serious jet-lag, I was able to wake up only 2.5 hours after my alarm went off. And then I trotted off to Mike and Rion's old house, to pick up my new bike! Mike and Rion, and most importantly, Dante, just moved to London on Sunday. While I'm happy for them that they're starting a new adventure, and a new job for Mike, I'm definitely sad that they're gone.
Okay, so I only *really* care about Dante, but it can't hurt to let Mike and Rion think they're part of it too, right? Seriously, who could compete with this face:
But in the midst of the craziness, Mike forgot to tell the movers to pick up their three bikes in the shed. Off all their belongings went to London, leaving three lonely bikes behind. And, lo! Sophie saw that it was good.
So I got my lazy butt over to the 6th, to get one of the bikes from the gardien. Only he had already left for the day by the time I got there. I knocked on someone's door, asking if they would let me into the bike shed. The woman was very nice, but said she didn't have a key. She suggested I go try directly above her. So up I go.
There, the woman who answers the door is on the phone. She beckons me into her apartment and signals me to hold on while she finishes her call. When I explain the situation, referring to Dante's adorableness as a mental cue, she says she'd be happy to help, but her husband has the key and won't be home till later. She suggests I try the man upstairs. I tell her I don't want to bother any more people, but she insists that it's no bother. So up I go.
The man who answers the door is a bit grumpy, but willing to help. We head down to the bike shed, and I make small talk on the way. Did he know Mike and Rion? The did live in the building for three years, so it's not a silly question. He tells me that he knew who they were, but since they didn't speak very good French they never talked. Hm. Okay. Mike's French definitely improved this last year, but whatevs.
He then adds that they kept their baby stroller in the lobby with a padlock on it, "comme si c'etait le Bronx ici! On n'est pas dans le Bronx!/As if this were the Bronx! We're not in the Bronx!" I thought this was particularly amusing, since he was, for all intents and purposes, helping me take a bike that he had NO IDEA was actually mine for the taking. Not to mention the fact that I'm sure the padlock was not intended for the building residents, as it's a very nice building in a very nice neighborhood, but rather for the delivery and service people who come and go. Dante's stroller is pretty snazzy, and I could imagine a pizza man (were there any pizza men in Paris) getting the wrong idea.
I did not relay any of this to the grumpy man who was helping me, however. He was trying to adjust the seat to the right height for me, but since it's a folding bike, he kept flipping the wrong switches and it was just a disaster. I told him not to bother, that I wouldn't ride it home anyway, since I don't have a helmet yet. To which he replied, "T'as pas besoin d'une casque! On n'est pas à Los Angeles!/You don't need a helmet! We're not in Los Angeles!"
There are several flaws in this argument: 1. What the fuck is up with this guy's pointing out what American places we are NOT in? 2. One should always wear a helmet. 3. The streets are currently completely covered in black ice, due to the utter lack of post-snow clean-up in this city, making a helmet even more necessary. 4. Who the hell rides a bike in LA, anyway?
I just thanked him again, said happy new year, and walked the bike about a mile home.
After a fun hour tutoring Prune, an adorable six year-old, I told her that it was time for me to go. "Déjà?/Already?" she asked. Aw. Makes me feel all warm inside. But I had places to go, and shopping to do! For today was the first day of the almighty winter soldes, or twice-yearly government sanctioned SALES. Whoop!
This year, unofficial sales started back in December, due to the shit-fest that is the global economy. But all the good stuff didn't get marked down till today. I had a very specific shopping list in mind, and stuck to it. I got the goods for 30-50% off, and am so psyched. I now would like the bonus of finding a new winter coat, a pair of low grey boots, and a new going-out top, since I'm so sick of all of mine. But even if I find nothing else, I've gotten the essentials: 3 new turtlenecks (heather grey, brown, and a color called "caviar,"), a very pretty grey silk dress for any wedding that doesn't permit cleavage, and a pair of black lace-up shoes.
And THEN! Anna's horoscope (I know, I make fun of her for this, too) told her that tonight is a good night for drinks with the girls, so she decided to organize drinks with the girls! I'm so glad she did. Anna, Lauren, Julie, Pauline and I got together at Le Pantalon for kirs and beers.
It was really good to see everyone together. The five of us, while all friends, have actually never hung out as a group. Normally it's any combination of 2-4 at a given time, but since we all split our lives between at least two cities, it's very rare that we're all in Paris at once. Here's to more apèros!
After my full-day clean-up last Saturday, I headed over to Anna's house for an organic dinner party. Five of the seven of us had been at my party the night before, and the others told me all the funny stories that I had missed. I'm not the only one who, after a night of drinking, smacks herself on the forehead upon remembering some of the things she said and did, am I?
The dinner party was fantastic. We had beet hummus, fennel soup with little goat cheese and citrus crackers, pea and mushroom risotto, and chocolate mousse for dessert. Everything was homemade and organic and really, really good. Friends Pauline and Baker helped Anna with the cooking, while I contributed wine and Monsieur La Carotte. (I look weird in those pictures because Anna mocked my annoying habit of smiling when someone points a camera at me. God forbid.)
On Sunday I joined Colin and some of his friends for a pub quiz at an Irish bar. We came in second place, losing by only one point! Do you know the first Christian martyr? Or the first city to have a duty-free store? Or what the Wassermann test is for? I didn't think so. It was lots of fun though, and since they do it every Sunday night I'm hoping to get my own team together and take down Colin next time. Watch out!
This week has been insanely busy. Most of my tutoring jobs are relatively far away, which means that I average an hour of traveling for every hour of teaching. That leads to days with four hours of teaching, and three hours of transportation, and a very exhausted Sophie. I've also been having a lot of trouble sleeping. There is just nothing worse than lying in bed, so tired that your eyeballs hurt, and unable to stop the wheels from spinning. I'm hoping to balance out my clients a bit, and shove all the 16th and 17th arrondissement people into the same day so that I'm not shlepping over there twice a week. On the plus side, I'm making ends meet with just my lessons. I'm hardly saving anything, but I'm not going to run through my savings too quickly, either.
Thursday night Pauline had me over to her place for dinner. Her place is so small that when I stood up from her desk she elbowed me in the sternum. But it's cute and clean and she whipped up a four-course meal for the two of us: melted brie with sautéed mushrooms and fresh spinach, quinoa with ratatouille, a cheese course, and chocolate crème, all of it organic. My friends here are very into organic food, in case you haven't noticed. Which is nice, 'cause it balances out all the nutella I eat.
I want to catch a movie this weekend. I'm thinking Blindness, since I'm going to marry Mark Ruffalo and he'll probably want me to have seen it. Any other recommendations?
