a new office, a new season
5 things going on this week.
Hello and bonjour everyone,
Happy, happy spring from me to you. 💐
I’m just going to jump in with the five things going on this week on this side o’ the pond.
And they are…
1/ Paris stuff
On Tuesday, Aurélien and I went to a metalcore concert at Elysées Montmartre (a gorgeous restored venue at the foot of Sacre Coeur).
Are we fans of this kind of music? No.
Was it as loud as it sounds? Yes?
Was it melodic? Not really.
So, why did we go? I learned the lesson that I cannot operate heavy machine (the heavy machinery here being my computer) without my glasses. I thought I was buying tickets to see Bikini Kill (who are also playing at Elysées Montmartre) and bought tickets instead to see a band called Botch. Mon dieu. I called the venue to see if we could make an exchange or get a credit for the tickets I intended on buying but no dice. There was also a very strict anti-reselling rule in effect so I went with the next best thing and tried to sell them to a crew of dads here that like this kind of music.
Their response:
“The tickets went on sale at 11:00. We got ours at 11:03.”
Gotcha.
Since Aurelien and I are always up for an adventure, and our son’s grandparents are freaking awesome, we went with the other dads to the metalcore show.
Me with my son’s protective headgear and my 1989 (Taylor’s Version) T-shirt to rock out to Botch. (Please see 6-second video.)
We seriously had a blast (even thought I had to take breaks every few songs because it was really that loud) but we ended the night at a gritty rock n’ roll dive bar where I sipped my ginger soda while the guy sitting in the next barstool explained to me in detail how he could no longer get an erection with his girlfriend after the lockdown. I think he farted at one point. Actually I know he did. But it just reminded me how that used to be me oversharing (hopefully not the farting part but I can’t be sure) and I’m happy to be the listener these days.
2/ French Village Stuff
I got a brand new office!
After a massive hail storm that destroyed our roof, we decided while the roofers were up there, have them put in two skylights in our room, which is a restored attic. Town regulations permitted one of the skylights to be installed in the…. closet. So, instead of fighting city hall because you can’t, we decided to repurpose the closet into an office!
Before:
After:
3/ Currently Consuming
After a very heated Instagram poll deciding between Bob Dylan’s Chronicles and Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, the results are IN.
I’m just kidding. Like two people voted.
But those two people voted on The Boss, and I dug into it this week. I’m only fifty or pages in and he’s mentioned sex, now, like five times. So, I feel like I’m in for a treat. Also: I had no idea he was half Italian. Like this whole time. And yes, I have wondered about The Boss’s origins and this just makes so much sense now. His New Jersey roots should have tipped me off though…
4/ Book stuff
This week I was a guest on Greg Potter’s Album Reviews podcast. On it, I talk about writing, my favorite albums, my characters, and life in France. Hands down it was the best podcast I’ve ever been a guest on. Greg did such a fantastic job asking questions about my novel, dissecting the characters and supplementing the conversation with music. It was such an honor and I do hope you check it out (or some of it) or his other episodes! Link here: Album Reviews Podcast
5/ Fun & Games
Yesterday on my Instagram, I shared this throwback photo of a very blonde and 14-year-old me and a very 90s Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz).
The hair! The side part! The braces! The clearly THRILLED Britpop heartthrob.
I fucking can’t with this picture. 😂
This was during Blur’s Great Escape Tour so it’s early 1996 and I remember being so excited to meet the band thinking they’d be thrilled to meet their American fan base (as if they’d never seen an American before). I was the only person in my high school who listened to Blur and so I really did think they were niche. Yeah fucking right. There were tons of us out there doing the same thing as I was. Not to mention the sold out show with The Rentals opening. But ‘twas life before the internet told us EVERYTHING. I guess modern life really is rubbish.
Anyway. Here I am happy as can be “with” Damon and a memory of my New York mom (who yes, was there) being like who are these people? MOMMMMM!! 👀 So. Embarrassing.
Alright…that’s all my news that’s fit to print.
Here we have sunshine and flowers and I’m going to enjoy every second before the inevitable rain returns….because it always does. Vive la France.
Bon week-end!
