And of course she enjoyed life immensely.*

Today was green. Much about this day was effervescent & excitable with energy... a day filled with french interpreting from the 40th floor of a downtown office with the most spectucular view, a day of coffee drinking and library visiting, a day of translation and new book beginning, a day of light through the tree branches and cool grassy naps. Today was a dayday...there was much motion about it and it moved through and around me.

*"Mrs. Dalloway" -- Virginia Woolf

I work here

Last night's party had manditory glowsticks for both partygoers and staff. When I wasn't bedazzling guests in necklaces and glowsticks I was running out onto the dance floor whenever I heard a song I couldn't resist. Every now and again I'd sashay through the room and pick up empty wine glasses and cupcake wrappers. Mostly I changed glowstick colors throughout the night and invented new ways to wear them with my friends (headband...like a halo, arm band...like a genie, connect 3 bracelets together for a tricolor belt, etc, etc). When we weren't dancing or refreshing our glowsticks we'd run to the photobooth and take pictures together. Tough luck. Nobody said this job was going to be easy, or even, fun. It gets harder every time, but I always acquiesce. This weekend I'll be forced to work at a disco wedding...& I have to dress theme. (!!!)

Is 9:30 too early for onion soup leftovers? Or, How I became obsessed with onion soup

Yesterday Wonderful & Fantastic Ani came over for a late night supper. Since I'm up to my eyeballs in lettuce (an entire shopping bag-full for only $1 from the farmer's market) and she had just as many onions, so we decided to have a little vegetable dinner party. And just what does one make with 3 incredibly large onions? Why French onion soup of course! Sad as it is to mention, I've never honestly had French onion soup. The idea of it never seemed very appealing...& it's generally made with beef broth in which case it's a complete no go for me. Anyways W&FA came over with all the ingredients for the soup and set to work chopping & sautéing whist I prepared the salad and poured the wine (Which she also brought; it is the wine she grew up drinking 'Valpolicella' and it is magnifico! This is definitely a wine I will buy in the future.) We ate our salad while the soup simmered and reduced and then indulged in the most comforting, warm, soft flavored soup. When it was ready W&FA sliced some baguette and put the pieces in the bottom of each soup bowl, she then laddelled the soup onto it and sprinkled a generous portion of cheese on top. Wowza was it good! For dessert we had raspberry sorbet with dark chocolate bits sprinkled on top, parfait!

The purpose of W&FA’s visit, aside for a vegetable party, was to discuss her upcoming voyage…she is leaving Saturday for France and Belgium for a month, the scallywag. Of course I’m completely jealous and pouted for half of the evening but this is W&FA (and she just made me the best soup ever) so I also told her all of my favorite things in Paris and other places to see and go. Le sigh. W&FA will be in Paris and I’ll be sighing in my leftover onion soup wondering which city street she’ll be wandering at that moment. 89 more for me.

Every Sunday

I will go to the Farmer's Market. Today Pal & I went and had the best time picking out our happy little grocceries for the week. I can't believe how vibrant and well-picked the produce was...and the prices were phenomenal! Here I've been fretting over paying an arm and a leg for a few tomoatoes...no more! I am now a proud supporter & patron of my friendly Farmer's Market...local & delicious. Amen.

This week I will eat:
Arugala
Baby Red Potatoes
Bib Lettuce
Blueberries
Broccoli
Cherries
Purple Grapes
Tomatoes

Word for word

Lately I’ve really been diving into the world of interpreting & translation. I haven’t formally begun my initial interpreting job yet; they book the appointments pretty far in advance so my first appointment isn’t until July. This is a good thing, I think. Initially I was quite shocked that I was offered the job because I didn’t think I was qualified for what was expected of me. (Most of the appointments are at hospitals, thus I need to know and understand medical French.) However, the woman who hired me assured me that she was confident in my abilities and that I had scored very high on the exam. Still I was unsure. Sometimes I have a problem of doubting my abilities, I’ve dealt with this issue since childhood and it’s still something that kicks around in my life from time to time. I’m glad that I didn’t have to dive right in because I needed some time to let myself sit with the idea of my new job. This time allowed me to research the field as well as read personal accounts and recommendations from interpreters and translators.

This week I was also lucky enough to receive a manuscript from the publishing house I interned for last summer. They’ve become more interested in publishing translations and have several French manuscripts for me to look at. I am currently in the midst of reading one right now and my confidence in my French has been renewed. I am flying through this manuscript and feel like, if the need arose, I could translate the majority of the manuscript quite easily. AND today I had an orientation with a local human rights organization and will be volunteer interpreting/translating for them. They work with impoverished asylum seekers and have set up a program where lawyers work on the cases pro bono. So this is where I’m at right now. I feel like I have 4 small children…I really love and care about each job that I have right now and feel so fortunate to have these opportunities come my way.

Alack, it's not all fun & games anymore. Something else I have begun to think about is this whole leaving the country deal. Only 93 more days until I cross the sea to begin anew. Yikes. I’m suddenly unsure of my choices. I get so excitable sometimes and then I’m off and running without thinking twice or looking back. I feel sad to be leaving this community I have created/found for myself. & I suppose there’s not much sense in living by the numbers anymore…important to recognize that France is not an answer to an equation or a cure-all. I cannot pretend that leaving will be a simple act of packing a suitcase and saying goodbye. But this is no time for tears, there are still 93 more days. And that, dear friends, is a lot.

Details, details

Today I opened a savings account and am feeling quite smug about myself because this is the first lovely adult-like thing I’ve done all summer. Not only did I open a savings account but I also, gasp, looked at rates for CD s and other fussy bank products. Warm fuzzy feelings aside, the banker who opened my account was a total skeeze & he looked about as trustworthy as a used-car salesman. Craig The Banker was morbidly boring but made the encounter interesting by managing to inadvertently insult me several times throughout our meeting. I feel horrible for anyone who has to work in a bank…in my mind it’s one of the most destitute places on earth…maybe even in the entire galaxy. However Craig The Banker seemed to have really found his niche in terms of miserable places to work and fit right in with the mundane atmosphere. Swell.

Anyways, I haven’t really felt like blogging much lately. Been doing a lot of doing again. Most importantly have been doing a lot of reading and most nights go to sleep with an assortment of somewhere around 5 or 6 different books in my bed...these lazy summer days are turning me into a complete floozie. Also, I have a movie recommendation: 'The Lives of Others'. It is Phenomenal. Go see it now. And I simply must mention that yesterday I bought peach. It was the most perfect thing I have eaten in a long, long time. Sorry for the random details, maybe more next time. A bientôt chers amis.

100 days to say goodbye

Dear Life,

In 100 days you will greatly change.






Xo.
Moi

Where I am

The happiest place to be on a day like today.

The professional

Today I have begun a new chapter in my life...a chapter I'll call "I Am An Interpreting Goddess & I Rock At Life". (I am now a Professional Interpreter!) I smoked my interview yesterday and passed my exam like a champ...today I got my offical P.I. badge! From this point forward I wish to be recognized as such, and will now be signing my name followed by the initials P.I. (La Fille en Rose P.I. at your service.) I begin my first day of duty tomorrow... je suis trophypercompletementmega contente!

Restlessness, a list

Keeping me awake at night:

-The hat I am knitting...I need to buy another skein of yarn to finish.
-Trying to save money has kept me eating pasta & other lovely cheap dishes...I need to splurge and at least buy some pears or tomatoes or something that grows on a tree. I think the last time I ate something fresh (not canned, frozen, or dried) was last week.
-The new job. It's stressful, long hours, and I already feel like quitting after having only gone to one 2 hour training session. (Perseverance. I shall succeed. I just need to give this new job a chance and push myself beyond my comfort zone for once. I've discovered one my biggest flaws is not challenging myself enough. Now is the time for change.)
-Hair cut. I finally bit the bullet and cut my hair short. Short, short. Like Jean Seberg in 'Breathless'. People seem to like it, but its still got to grow on me (ha...no pun intended).
-Job interview this morning. I feel unprepared & anxious. I hope I am successful, I plan to wear my new Teacher Shoes. This should perk me up.
-Books! I am in the midst of reading 2 (Suite Française & One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)...with several others sitting on my shelf just waiting to be lovingly held and carried. I must be a really stressful person because I can legitmately say that I have anxiety about the number of books I have on my shelf and want to read.
-Small miscellaneous other nitpicky things...Laundry, dishes, selling old clothes, writing thank you letters, etc. This crap piles up all around me. I wish I was one of those people with the talent to micromanage all these small tasks so as to not overwhelm oneself. I've begun to try and accomplish this by continuing to use my weekly planner. So far I've seen a slight improvement in my overall morale and initiative to accomplish these mundane tasks. Baby steps.
-Insurance. I am currently without.
-France, a source of joy and anxiety. I really wish I knew where specifically I was going. I'm also apprehensive about how much I will be able to cover with the salary they are paying me. This causes me to freak out that I need to work more. However, France. A sanctuary located in the middle of Europe. The land of wonderful memories and good friends. Ah yes France. I do adore it.
-There are many other things I am sure. This is a somewhat filtered list. And yet as I read it now I realize how utterly neurotic and volatile I seem. Please don't be alarmed...I can assure you this is normal.

Everyone says goodbye

All this leaving, this packing of boxes, & driving hundreds of miles away isn't good for my heart. My friends why do you have to go? I know 'it's just that time' to be off and leaving, but I wasn't prepared for this. I wish there was some kind of class or something called 'Rites of Passage 101' where you learn about what to do in times of change and transition...what to expect, how to cope, success stories, etc. I'm in a complete state of shock, I didn't realize that watching others (friends, close & wonderful friends) leave would be so painful. I feel foolish even indulging in my own pity because what is important is that everyone does what is right for them. I want for my friends what they want for themselves....happiness, success, love, whatever whatever amen.

I think the only solution to the problem is to invent a little machine that will allow me to see whoever I want whenever I want to see them. I'd be feeling sad one day while I cooked up a little tofu dinner for one and then I'd press the button and ZING! Anu would be right there beside me & we'd have an awesome time...or I'd be wanting to walk around Lake Harriet and remembering all the great times Friend and I had & SHAZAM Friend would be there with me. It’s such a brilliant idea for a machine and I think it's something everyone in this world would want (need). So that's what I've decided to do. Instead of being sad & moping around I'm going to start working on plans for this special 'reunion machine'...until then I'll be content with phone calls & old photographs. (Dear friends, you're a source of so much strength and joy in my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you.)