Selling Our House

Well, we've entered the wild and whacky world of selling our house again with our friend and Realtor Extraordinaire Betty Burch as yesterday while Cassie was signing the lease for our new apartment in Paris I was signing all of the documents necessary to start the process to sell our house here in Lynchburg. And of course today there's ANOTHER snow storm which will add at least 3 days of not getting very much done as the city fathers are at best useless when it comes to plowing and at worst unresponsive when calls come from tax paying citizens demanding services that seldom if ever are rendered. Let's just say I could have done without having to deal with snow this weekend but I also know that complaining about the weather is like pissing into the wind. From what I hear from Cassie about how things go in France in day to day life there I'll have to turn my "complaint" button to the off position and that's fine.

I must say that it was a LOT of forms to fill out but Betty seems to think that our house will sell sooner than later and that's a really good sign but I won't go on about that for fear I'll jinx something.

I showed the twins the pictures of our new home in Paris (44 Rue Nicolo in the 16th arrondissement) which Cassie has dubbed "44 Rue Nic" and they proclaimed it as "COOL". After we arrive and have settled in both Kian and Niall will also be posting to the blog. The apartment is fully furnished which will make our move to Paris quicker and simpler and of that I'm GLAD.

Cassie has calls in the movers and she and I will meet in Washington D.C. at the beginning of the last week in February to pick up our extended visas at the French Embassy there and then drive a rental car back to Lynchburg to hopefully supervise the movers in packing up the house and the first week in March we all drive to Dulles Airport with the cats and twins, turn in the car, and get on the plane and head to Paris. Sounds easy doesn't it? More on how easy it is later.

The clock is ticking...........5 weeks to go.

Love to all......

sid

J'habite a Paris!

By Cass

As of 11 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time today, the Hagans have a new address…IN PARIS!! Luckily for me, that’s happy hour here in France, so I celebrated the occasion with a glass of champagne with my relocation agent, Veronique. I mean hell, it's not everyday you sign a lease for an apartment in Paris.

After an unusually trying week, it has certainly ended on a very high note. I was notified this morning that my work visa/residency permit is ready to be picked up at the French Embassy in Washington D.C. I finally received the package of signed bank documents from Sid that he overnighted to me on Wednesday, and dropped them off at my new bank in Paris to start our account. And the piece de resistance: I signed the lease on our new apartment this afternoon. If you plug 44 Rue Nicolo, Paris, France into Google maps, you can get a nice shot of the building and our street using the street view. We're on the 3rd floor (ground floor counts as zero here, so it'd be the 4th floor in the U.S.).

In the movies, it’s girl finds Paris, girl falls in love with Paris, girl moves to Paris and lives happily ever after in a zany, fun-filled romantic comedy. Well, here’s the part that’s not in the movie. When I say “signed a lease,” I don’t mean the form your last landlord got from Staples that he’s photocopied so many times that your signature is the most legible thing on the page. While purchasing a home in the U.S. requires about an acre of trees’ worth of paper you to sign, renting an apartment is an almost negligible formality. In France, the process of renting a flat is based on centuries of contentious landlord-tenant history and procedure that has resulted in a portfolio of documents -- every single page of which has to be initialed, except where an actual signature is called for. There’s the colorful rental folder itself (three initials and one signature); a study that shows the property is safe and environmentally sound (four initials); another study that proves the property is as low-emission and energy efficient as possible (four more initials); a brown form for something (it’s in French – two initials); a blue form for something else (two more initials); a natural disaster form with a map showing that I’m in the 100-year flood zone (I swear I’m not kidding, and that’s three more initials). Turns out this is the century milestone since the last time the Seine flooded in 1910, so it’s a new legal requirement for new residents in 2010.

Veronique kept a watchful eye over the proceedings, making sure no one was pulling any fast ones on the American rube. After 90 minutes, the deed was done. She took me to a nearby furniture store to begin the search for a bed to replace the small one in what was a child’s bedroom (chamber). Then I took us both for the celebratory bubbly. After she left, I had about an hour before meeting my good friend Sabine for dinner, so I slipped into a bar for a Leffe (beer) and to capture the moment in words.

Now, your next question will be if I’m staying in my new home tonight. That would be a logical assumption, except that signing a lease doesn’t mean one is given the keys to the abode in question. That’s a story for NEXT Friday, when the grand Check-in Inspection and Handing-Over-of-the-Keys takes place. What the heck? It’ll be another occasion to celebrate that I live in Paris, or “J’habite a Paris,” Part Deux.

A final thought for today: while walking the few blocks from the metro station to the rental office, on this chilly, wet winter day, I realized – no I felt – myself changing. This experience will change me in ways I can’t even imagine, and today, walking on the sidewalks of Paris just like 12 million others, I was keenly aware of that very moment and the one afterward, that I am not the same as the moment before.

Another Wonderful Gray Day in Paris

By Cass

Winter in Paris is gray, cold and rainy. But as I always say, a bad day in Paris beats a good day in Lynchburg, VA. I just finished my first week working and living in Paris full-time. In answer to the top three questions I’ve gotten this week:

Do you have a place to live yet?
I looked at TEN APARTMENTS on Tuesday with my relocation agent. By the end of the day, my head was full to exploding. I looked at one place with a view of the Eiffel Tower, but it was on the ground floor, with the kitchen in the basement, so I passed. Finally, I narrowed it down to two contenders, both furnished: a huge (by Parisian standards) three-bedroom apartment with 130 m2 and no balconies, and a gorgeous smaller place in the quiet 14th arrondissement with a HUGE balcony big enough to grill, dine and entertain on with almost no closet or storage space. I submitted an “expression of interest” on the larger place in the 16th arrondissement. No balconies, but spacious bedrooms, and a ton of closet and storage space, including a walk-in closet with my name on it. And it had fireplaces in the living room and master bedrooms. Both units’ kitchens are bigger than the two-butt kitchens we have in Lynchburg. I hope to find out by Wednesday if they accept to rent it to me. If so, I could move in as early as the week of Feb. 8. That’ll give me time to do a full inventory of what’s there and what we need to bring from home.

How was your first week back in Paris?
I arrived at dawn Monday, Jan. 18, just in time to attend a 9 a.m. meeting and it’s been non-stop since then. I’ve had a dinner scheduled with friends and colleagues every single night, including Friday night after an all-day, off-site meeting, and none of them ended before 11 p.m. Uncharacteristically, I slept until about 11 on Saturday morning, before meeting an old friend and colleague for lunch on the Champs Elysees at 1 p.m. Afterward I met my culture coach (same guy that gave us the family expat training) for a couple of hours at a favorite spot at Charles de Gaulle Etoile (the infamous rotary around the Arche de Triomphe). It was a fortuitous time to debrief with him, enabling me to share observations and situations that occurred during my first full week on the job. Afterward, I headed back to my apartment-hotel, stopping at the market to pick up a few necessities – wine, flowers and Coca-Cola Light!

It’s been a quiet, leisurely Sunday afternoon in Paris. Had a hot bath this morning, and have been able to catch up on some work all afternoon. I cooked for the first time in my hotel: pasta with a yummy pesto and fresh salad with local pears, and a Sancerre white wine. I talked with Kian and Niall today. They haven’t seen the photos of the apartment I sent to Sid, but Niall actually asked questions about the place. His curiosity was a very good sign of his interest in his new home. I assured him that yes, we could get a TV for one or both of the guys’ new bedrooms.

When will the family join you?
Depending on when the apartment I’ve selected becomes available, I will return to Lynchburg last week of February to pack up, and then move the family to Paris the first week of March. While I’ve missed my family and friends this week, I appreciate the 24x7 time to settle in, work and get situated in my new job without infringing on family time. I look forward to returning to Lynchburg end of February to pack out, meet with folks and tie up loose ends. However, I will always feel tied to my hometown, and the people who know me best.

Cordialement a vous tous!

Strayer University

We've now entered the wild and wacky world of "online" college after adjourning from the wild and wacky world of "brick and mortar" community college. Yesterday I found out that Strayer University where I'd recently enrolled Kian and Niall to continue their educations online required accounting for an associate of liberal arts "general studies" degree or their bachelor of liberal arts degree. Cassie told me she needed just one math credit to get her bachelor degree in journalism. Math and all of it's vagaries has never been a strong suit of any of us my wife included and the thought of the twins having to take an accounting course worries me but what the hell, it's only money.

Since we don't have a scanner in the house I've had to download forms that needed signatures and then take the finished forms to PIP Printing here in town to have them scanned into PDF files I could send to Strayer where an elderly gentleman named Jose has been shepherding me through their enrollment process. The fine folks as PIP have gotten to know me pretty well but after yesterday, I think the only things left are the "promissory" notes I'll need to sign to ensure both twins' class enrollments are firm in the classes they need to take. Strayer is on a "quarter" schedule and the Spring quarter begins on April 5th. I hope we'll be there by then.

Cassie is closing in on renting an apartment this week and we should know when we'll be able to move in which in turn will dictate our final travel arrangements and departure date. She sent along some really great pictures of a large apartment she was shown 2 days ago that she'd like to rent. We'll see what shakes out.

More later with hopefully some pictures of the apartment as this unfolds.

Love to all out there.

sid

Has It Been 20 Years?

Today is indeed a VERY special day. Our twin sons Kian and Niall are 20 today! We currently live 2 doors down from where we were this day in 1990 when after over 23 hours of labor that resulted in a prolapsed umbilical cord and an emergency c-section, the twins arrived early in the morning and the entire labor and delivery was covered by the News Advance here in Lynchburg culminating several months of Cassie's column "Double Talk" when she worked for the paper here. I like to tell folks that our pregnancy was possibly the most public pregnancy in the history of Lynchburg. My father was horrified that we allowed that but it was the end of the 80s..............*

From what I remember, I think the series of stories by Cynthia Pegram and the photos by Lynn Hey won a Virginia Press Award later that year but I could be wrong. Cassie saved all of her columns and we got 8 by 10 black and white prints of the labor and delivery that she collated into what is now referred to as "The Mommy Book" being dubbed that by the twins when they were little guys.

I have a vivid memory of the rush to the OR, getting into scrubs, with Cynthia and Lynn, and Cassie's mom hustling to the OR door as the surgical team swiftly moved to save our sons and bring them into the world. I also remember Dr. Wade Nieman locking eyes with me in the OR and saying quietly, "we're doing fine Sid".......* Kian was the first out and Niall followed about 70 seconds later. Cassie was completely out and I was crying, Cassie's mom was crying and everyone was OK! It made for quite a story on the front page of the Lifestyles section of the paper here the following weekend and Cassie and I both cried again reading it all. I'm going to find the Mommy Book today and leave it out so our guests and friends can see it.

Later on down the road we found out our sons are affected by Asperger's Syndrome which is a part of the Autism Spectrum and my job began as their care giver and steady rock for them as they negotiated Elementary, Middle, and High School and most recently college. To say that this has been a profoundly moving and amazing experience for me is the understatement of the millennium. During this run-up to our move to Paris I'm reminded again this morning of what a wonderful life I have living with the most amazing and loving family any man could ever hope for. Kian and Niall are amazing and wonderful men now and sooner than later they'll eventually push me away which when it happens will be the most gratifying and saddest days of my life simultaneously. It is what they'll need to do though. Still I have great pride and love in my heart when someone asks me "what do you do?".

I look them in the eye and say, "my life's work is my guys........*"

Love to all today!

Sid

How Can You Be 2 Places At Once When You're No Place At All?

Short post today,

We're selling the house, the twins are now enrolled at Strayer University which is an online only school and Cassie leaves Sunday to go back to Paris full time until the end of February when we pack out and we leave the first week in March.

Of course, that could change but even so we'll roll with it. There won't be another Purveyors show before we go nor will there be any kind of going away party. There just won't be time. I told someone the other day that we're just going to sneak out the back door and it'll be as if we were never here.

We WILL miss Lynchburg and perhaps will come back here to retire but who knows when that'll be. There are many aspects of Lynchburg that I personally won't miss but then that could apply to almost anywhere I've ever lived. Suffice to say we'll all be together and that's more important than anything else.

There are a host of things that will need to be done to get the house ready to sell and so me and the twins will be hard at that as well as continuing our French studies. It would be accurate to say that we'll be busier than one legged men in butt kickin contests.

Will get back here when I can.

Love to all,

Sid

Selling The House and Stacks

After some careful consideration and discussion we've decided to sell our house and not rent it. There was also some sage advice from a number of very knowledgeable sources that caused us to pause and consider this and there were and are right. It'll be one less thing to worry about and or manage while we're in France. I must say though that we ARE and have been pretty attached to this home and our neighbors the Alcocks over the years and will miss them immensely. The memories though will always stay with us.

There are still many unknowns currently as to when we leave and where we'll actually be living as Cassie doesn't start house hunting officially until the 19th right after she returns to Paris. Right after she leaves to head back the twins and I go into training walking a mile or more each day as well as immersing ourselves in Rosetta Stone French Levels 1 and 2 until we leave sometime in March. The word has also been passed to start making "stacks" of things that will go, things that will be stored, and things that will be given away. Although there is fear and loathing in some quarters here after 2 other moves and with Cassie coming home the last week in February I suspect that everything will get done in spite of any hand wringing that will take place by us (excluding the twins who don't hand wring).

We just finished our 2 days of cultural training that were very informative and quite fun that will be very helpful in our integrating into life in Paris. All of us are so blessed to have such a wondrous wife and mother who landed this job in Paris that will enable us all to travel to and live there. What a dream come true.

More as the stacks start to pile up. Perhaps even some pictures of that as it develops.

Love to all out there!

sid

Geez.......The Holidays Are Over!

Man, for some reason this holiday season seemed longer than usual in that we traveled a bunch and were away from home for the first time ever as a family at Christmas time. We have however basked in the glow of family and friends and as always are reminded how blessed we all are because of that.

Cassie heads back to Paris on January 17th and won't be home again until the week the movers come and we all get on the plane (drugged cats and twins) and head across the pond to our new home in Paris. Everyone keeps asking if the move is a daunting prospect but we repeatedly tell them that we've always been intrepid and have never done anything the easy way so why start now? All kidding aside, I NEVER thought I'd get to return to Paris which for a while in the mid-70s was literally a second home for me. I felt like I belonged there and almost decided to get out of the Army in Europe and stay. It was a near thing but I eventually chose to return to the US for more school in the Army and fortunately for me that decision eventually led to my meeting Cassie down the road and to where I am now. I'm also back in touch with my dear friends Christine Holzbauer and Chris Madison who were my hosts in Paris for close to 2 years while I was in Europe. We were always so poor back then and to go to Paris the way I'm going back is something that I will get used to very quickly but I will always hearken back to my experiences there in the 70s with amazement and gratitude.

Our culture coaches Gilles and Chern come Tuesday for our family culture training right in our home. It should be very rewarding and informational and will remind me again how different the French are from us yet how close we are at the same time in that our country would have never come to be without help from the French and their final revolution took root after witnessing our struggles against tyranny.

Top all of this off with a cold wave that's reminiscent of our days in Iowa 10 years or more ago when Cassie was introduced to what Winter was really like. I think we've also decided to sell our house instead of keeping it and we'll be exploring that this coming week too. As always, LOTS of balls in the air here but we're a little over 2 months away FROM MOVING TO PARIS! WOW!

I hope that all of you had a joyous holiday season and were at least somewhat warm wherever you are. Sorry it took so long to get back to this. Cassie will post later tonight.

Love to all always!

sid