This post, and all the nonsense contained therein, is dedicated to all the people who e-mail me and get no reply, because I'm a jack-ass who has time to download cartoons and check sports scores, but doesn't have time to concentrate for five minutes to write a pithy, witty and grateful e-mail to the people who love (and possibly worship) me. In particular: Al, Zach, Robin, Maebh, Eileen, Erica and various Korean adolescents, this one's for you. I got a cell-phone today, for some reason I find them to be more useful in foreign countries. I hope I'll be able to bring it back to the states with me, though. It works on those Sim cards that you can buy here in tobacco stores and bakeries (of course), so I don't even know if it will work other places in Europe. Another well-researched investment by Andrew. At least this one has an option for English, so it's already 10 times more advanced than the antique phone I rocked in Korea. Speaking of Korea, I got a job offer in Taiwan by e-mail today. Don't know how they got my information, but apparently word travels fast via the interweb. I gave it short-shrift as I am committed for at least a month to a new job in Paris. This one is much like the internship I outlined earlier with one glaring difference: I am to be paid. Not very well of course, but a pittance nonetheless. I'll be a content-writer for a company launching a web-site with an interactive interface for users to personalize their study of languages, i.e. I'll be writing funny questions for French people trying to learn English. Still slanging the same EFL dope, this time in front of a computer. Again, most of this work can be done from home, which leaves me in dangerous proximity to the delicious cheeses. Must wrench myself away from this decadent country with its midday glasses of wine and sweet sweet pastries. Shaved my head on a whim, and apparently left some attractive patches just behind the apex of my scalp where I couldn't see what I was doing. "You shouldn't have done it alone," my cousin scolded me. Like most things in life, I quipped (In English, in my head, five minutes later). Trying to improve my French the traditional way--by reading comic books and mouthing the words aloud. There's one series in particular that I find to be awesome and for the most part understandable called Aquablue. It is set in an underwater universe with an Aquaman-esque protagonist who is able to communicate with various sea-creatures. This more than satisfies my whimsy for marine mammals, which I just can't get enough of, in the news or in a comic book form. It's actually not fair to call them comic-books, because really these are bound, hardcover graphic novels called bandes desanimes(sic) which are quite expensive in France, but are an uber-popular sub-culture, enjoyed by little kids to adults. I don't remember if I ever mentioned the Korean comic-book that depicts the teachings of the Talmud, but here there's a b.d. titled The Rabbi's Cat. I would read that. Then again I read the USA Today because they have bright pictures and pie charts. I would go so far as to say that the comic culture in France rivals the Asian Manga culture to a certain extent, though the anime in Asia is far superior. Also I find that the French truly enjoy cinema as a general rule. The theaters are always packed, and if you start a conversation about movies with a French person they are likely to be well-versed in all aspects of cinematic genres and histories. Good work Frenchies, though I'll remind you that your unabashed appreciation for the work of Jerry Lewis, Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy will only get you so far.
The parade of long-lost cousins continues for me, I seem to meet a new one once or twice a week. This has been an amazing aspect of my trip here, I'm now surrounded by family that I never had a chance to really know, and I'm definitely digging it. Its kind of surreal to be here without my mom, who grew up with these people, who have welcomed me almost as an extension of her. It's more surreal and actually quite sad to be living in the house of my uncle, my mom's brother, who past away 3 years ago, and be surrounded by reminders of him everywhere. His paintings, his writings, his clothes, his friends and memories are everywhere, as are his children. No, there's only four of them. My goal for the next entry is to have some pictures.
Really, if I don't e-mail you, it just means that I'm a bad person, it's not a reflection of you at all, but you already knew that.
