What Happened to January?

I feel like this month just disappeared somehow...I can't believe it's already over. Guess I've been keeping busy, so here's a random assortment of thoughts and activities:

At the gym: Although I love the amenities, I've always been shy about changing in public. (And yes, it's women-only in the dressing room, but it still reminds me of junior high days when everyone was looking at and comparing to each others' bodies.) Some women have NO issue with this however, and quite a few I would suspect are exhibitionists. I politely keep my eyes averted, but I couldn't help overhear a conversation between two young moms where one showed off her boob job. Really?! I guess she was proud of the work and maybe had to justify the cost to herself by getting external approval.

On the learning front: I'm taking a tele-course by Martha Beck, best-selling author and life coach, and I'm LOVING it. Of course, there's quite a bit of homework to factor into my busy weeks, but I'm learning so much about myself and gaining new perspectives. More to come on this.

On life and death: A friend and former colleague of mine passed away last week after a hard battle with pancreatic cancer. He was just 41 and was diagnosed just after his wedding 6 months ago. Ray was one of those energetic, charismatic people that draws people to them, and although I am saddened by his death at such a young age, I truly admire how he lived his life.

On crazy Texas weather: We had a beautiful, spring-like weekend. It was unbelievably warm and sunny. But in just a few short days, we will be hit with another winter storm. The extremes are amazing, so I had to share a iPhone visual for those who won't be here to experience it in person (and I've included the Celsius version for my European fans):



On creativity: One of my colleagues is pregnant with her first, a baby girl, and she has been one of the most welcoming to me on my transition to the Austin office. I enjoyed making her a baby quilt (this pic was taken in progress), and her reaction to it was truly touching.


So next up: February! More winter weather, travel, personal victories to celebrate...2011 is off to a roaring start.

And with my Chinese food lunch, my fortune is "A lifetime of happiness lies ahead of you." I believe that's true. :-)

Hitting the Gym

I joined a new gym. It is Texas-sized HUGE! The facility is really impressive with so many classes, equipment and things to do. It's close to my place, and I'm enjoying going. Being January, I start to think about my triathlon in June -- just five months away! So I have to ramp up my exercise program to get ready.

I've been finding it's not too difficult to motivate myself to go. Partially it's because there is a lot of eye candy (although not everyone is perfect, so I don't feel intimidated), but I'm also drawn to the steam room. I LOVE IT!

I think I might need a steam room in my dream home...

Some are Gold

Anyone else remember this song from Girl Scout days?

"Make new friends, but keep the old,

Some are silver and the other gold."

I had an amazing time visiting with some great friends yesterday. First, I flew up to Dallas for a few hours to reunite with my gal pals and have our belated Christmas Lunch Bunch. One of them said we've been doing this for 13 years or so now, and because of my insane travel schedule in December, I had to push it to January. But we wished each other a merry Christmas anyway and had a lovely time visiting and catching up. It's always interesting to me to hear what everyone is doing with each at different stages of our lives: one is actively raising 3 little ones while another is about to send her second to college and one is about to get married (time for a shower to celebrate!). Lots of joy, and I value our strong friendship bonds.

Facebook is great to catch up with people from years past. Of course, there's always the ones I don't remember (we went to high school together? And you remember that?), but many people I've enjoyed catching up with and seeing what they are up to now. One former colleague who actually did go to high school with me (although we didn't know each other then), emailed to ask if we could get together while she and her husband were in Austin this weekend. So after landing, I met up with them for dinner. We had a great visit and caught some live music that Austin is so famous for on 6th Street. I got home after midnight with a full heart.

The Rest of Paris

Belated, I know, but here's a quick summary of the rest of my amazing trip to Paris.

Irish Parisienne and the French Guy both had to work come Monday, so I was free to do my own thing. I started most days with a walk down to the bakery to grab a croissant and a coffee. My bits of the French language improved each day, but I was still limited to "This please" and "Merci!" However, seeing as I didn't go hungry, I guess I did fine.

I decided to do some shopping on Monday, and IP met me later that afternoon for a movie. I find the Metro system easy to navigate in Paris (probably learned behavior from my years in NYC), and I'm good with maps. IP told me to meet her outside Saint Eustache Church, by the statue of the head in a hand. Her description was perfect, and as I sat near the statue waiting for her, a bum came up and asked me something in French. I politely explained I didn't understand (one of my key learned phrases), to which he angrily asked something like "you don't speak French?" in French. I said No, and he threw his hands out to the sides and asked, "Cigarette?" As a devout non-smoker, I had to again say No, and he walked off in a huff. I was so tickled by the interchange, and had to suppress more giggles later when he walked by and looked at me withcontempt again later.

After our movie, IP went home to do some more work, and I met French Guy for dinner. It was lovely. We ate at a typical brasserie, and I had a delicious roast chicken with mashed potatoes and French wine. Afterwards, we went by the Eiffel Tower so I could get an obligatory picture.

Tuesday was my last day, and I went to the Musee d'Orsay. Monet is my favorite, and I had been told they had the most of his pieces. I decided to save his work for the end, and I really enjoyed the sculptures. When I got to the Monet section, I was horrified to find a paltry four or five pieces with a sign saying the majority had been leant to the Musee National Grand Palais. I looked it up and took the subway over there, just to learn they were closing the exhibit at 2:00, precisely the time I had arrived. I was very disappointed.

Later, I met up with IP again and did a little more shopping (where we both bought the same dress, even in the same size!), and we stopped for a Kir Royale. We had a lovely dinner together. It's so easy spending time with her. She is definitely a soul-mate kind of friend.

French Guy offered to take me to the airport the next morning, which was sweet and very helpful. We arrived extra early to accommodate for any morning traffic, and after checking me in, we grabbed a coffee and croissant. Then the police started moving everyone back away from the eating area. At first, it just seemed annoying. We could hear announcements that a woman had left a bag unattended. They continued to move us back across the terminal, and we heard a loud BOOM that made me scream (and French Guy jumped), which was probably the police and security blowing up the bag. I was also getting nervous as the clocked ticked by because I still had to get through security. French Guy was sweet and gave me lots of kisses and hugs, saying this was his "best New Year's ever. And January 1, and January 3..." I didn't want to leave.

Since being home, I have emailed with him and asked if I could see him again. While some of my friends expressed some dislike when learning he's Jewish, it didn't bother me, but ironically, my not being Jewish is why he won't consider me as anything more. Rejection is never easy, but I wasn't that invested. And we'll always have Paris...

A Day in the French Countryside

(Well, maybe that's stretching it a bit. We were in a Parisian suburb, though.)

Irish Parisienne got an invitation to a friend's for lunch on Sunday, and they graciously extended the offer to me as well. Her friend is an Irish artist who married a French woman. They were absolutely lovely. She made a fantastic feast for us -- vegetarian in respect for I.P. -- and I was surprised by all the courses! First, there was miso soup, followed by roast vegetables and a stew made with eggplant, tomatoes and chick peas. I thought this was it and was completely satisfied. Then she brought out salad and cheeses (blue and brie), and finally an apple dessert made with hazelnut flour with coffee and tea. It was all so delicious, but I didn't have to eat again for the rest of the day!

After the meal, I took a walk with the two Irish, and we saw this beautiful chateau:

The time is flying by too quickly.

A Most Unusual First Date, and then some

A couple weeks ago, I got an email from a friend in NY asking if I was going to be in Austin as he was thinking of visiting a warmer climate. I replied yes, I would be in Austin until my trip to Paris. That piqued his attention, and he asked if I was travelling with anyone. I explained I was going on my own to visit my friend Irish Parisienne, and he asked if he could join me, admitting it was a crazy request. (This is all over email.) I agreed it was a crazy request, especially since we had never even gone on a first date! So he proposed coming to Austin, taking me out on a date or two, and if it went well, accompanying me to Paris, at least for a couple days. I said that sounded okay, but then when he went to book his flights, he realized if he didn't book all the cities at once, he would have unused tickets so he just decided to do the whole thing. I felt a bit pressured at this, but I didn't say anything other than to insist that he not "expect" anything from me and that getting his own accommodations was a requirement.

We had a couple dates in Austin as we had planned. He's very intelligent and I enjoyed showing him around a bit, but I didn't feel anything when he kissed me. (Just pecks, nothing sloppy.)

When we arrived in Paris, I was predictably jet-lagged and not wanting to do much sight-seeing the first day here. (I knew this would be the case and had explained that to him, however, since he was only here for 2 days -- had to get back for work -- he was eager to pack in as much as possible.) Things got a little tense, but we split up and did our own things.

The one thing the NYer really wanted to do while in Paris was Disneyland, so we spent the majority of New Year's Eve day there at the park. (See pictures below.) That night, Irish Parisienne got us invited along to a party of a friend's for New Year's Eve, and we arrived with our obligatory 10 Euros for food and a bottle of champagne each. It was a great party, and the Parisians were friendly and spoke English fluently. We drank much champagne, feasted on smoked salmon and other hors-d'ouvers and danced to American music. And then I kissed a Frenchman.

I think that pretty much took care of having to explain to the NYer that I wasn't interested in him as more than a friend. I did feel bad that I hadn't had "the talk" with him prior to that, and to be honest, I guess I chickened out. However, I didn't plan on kissing another guy, it just happened. (He was cute and nice and we just clicked.) Anyway...a bit of drama. More drama was involved as there was a French girl at the party who has quite a crush on the French guy I kissed. But said French guy insisted he isn't interested in her and only thinks of her as a friend, so something like this was bound to happen.

The NYer was very good about the whole thing. I apologized, but he said "no worries." He left New Year's day to go back to NYC as planned.

And me? I got a cute new Frenchman to show me around and take me to lunch on New Year's Day.