Chayanov's on Wikipedia

Hooray! Next up: Sales in France.

The Fêtes of Life

It's been about a month since I've posted anything and a lot has happened since. I had a birthday, a period of beastly mood swings that nicely coincided with a deep distrust and contempt toward some of my students, and a great Christmas / Hannukah. I got a red handbag, a red wallet, and some lavender unmentionables, as well as a a bottle of a perfume I have liked for a long time. It's my first bottle of 'real' perfume - all others have been eau de toilette - and I'm in love. B. was extremely enthusiastic about the holidays and that helped me along into a comfortable place. There were even times when I was giddy and kept begging him to open presents early. He kept his resolve. After Santa's birthday, two of my friends came to visit: one from Puerto Rico and one from Cleveland. It was freezing the night they came, but immediately after the weather got much warmer and all hope for snow was lost. We had a great time nevertheless. Board games, one in particular that we fondly called "baraccuda," was all the rage and we played a couple of rounds every night. We drank, ate chips (thanks to Nicki), and made as many puns as humanly possible. The vacation concluded with a trip to Lille, where it took us two cold, dark hours to find our hotel (in a sort of industrial, shady area) - I thought Nicki was kidnaped or worse when she disappeared for half an hour, but we finally found it. With nothing but an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet with the name of the place nailed to a tree stump between two apartment construction sites, on the other side of some office buildings, sandwiched between a parking lot and the railroad tracks! It was muddy, wet, and very empty on the inside. We barely got in, but the apartment itself was really sweet : a flatscreen TV, a huge bathroom and a big shower, a kitchen with a mini-dishwasher and a microwave, a coffee maker, and even a mop with a bucket. And all that for a stay of 3 days and the price of 15 euros per person per night. Of course getting there was a fucking pain in the ass. The city is decked out for a Bombay festival and there are huge decorated elephant statues on the main street - it's quite a sight. Once we settled in, we met up with a former Lille III student from Chile who is now a Spanish assitant, had spaghetti and got high with a Lilloise who goes to John Caroll (the Jesuit university in Cleve-o), and paid a visit to Wazemmes on Sunday morning, a must for any visit to Lille. Our last night in the city, after a couple of drinks at a faux 'Russian wodka' bar, we went on the huge Ferris wheel that was in the Grand Place - the biggest one I've ever seen or been on. I, of course, screamed like a little girl at the beginning of the ride, but the feeling of "i'm gonna crap in my pants" eventually subsided and gave way to the equivalent of taking a dose of amphetamines. That night we had to say goodbye to the girls and as always, it made me sad to do so. Even though there was a bit of tension between us during this trip, it was an indication that our friendship is evolving, and most of it probably had to do with my hormones. We decided that next time we meet, it'll be in NYC. Monday morning at 6 am, B. and I took a train Lille-Paris and then after switching train stations, another train to Dijon, getting there much earlier than we have been waking up. It was the first day of school.