Things have still been going well here in Paris and are never boring. Just last weekend we spent time with two friends of ours. On Saturday (I think) we spent time with our new friend, Erik. We watched tapes on YouTube with him and played games we brought (My DS and Niall's PSP). On the day after that we once again spent time with our friend David, only this time we all went to a park and played our games, had lunch, Mom and Dad played music with David's parents, and David played rugby ball with Niall and I. Then all of us played a game called petanque (it involves throwing palm size metal balls toward a much smaller wooden ball at a certain place and the goal is to get your ball closest to the wooden ball) in which we all had fun. So far, I am also doing very well at Strayer U. and I feel I'll continue to do well on it. Things have still been going well for us and I hope they continue to do so in the future.
Kian Hagan
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Me again...
Saturday (5/22/10), we had a fun afternoon. My brother and I now have made our second friend here in Europe. He is called Erik. My parents met his Mom over the internet (they are Americans living in Frnace just like we are) and they arranged a get together at their house that Saturday. The neighborhood where Erik and his Mom lived was close to where David's place was, so it was not hard to get to. The neighborhood itself was quite good looking, with its interestingly designed houses and hedge walls. The inside of the house was no different, for it was quite beautiful to the eye as well.
My brother and I then met Erik, who like David, shared a lot of the interests (video games, net videos, films, books, etc.) that Kian and I share. While our parents and Erik's Mom engaged in conversation on the 1st floor, Erik took the both of us to his 2nd floor bedroom, which was quite the entertaining set up. He had a Nintendo Wii console with some games and he even let Kian play his Super Smash Brothers Brawl game, which Kian really liked doing. But the real cruncher of this fun period was when Erik busted out this little video player machine that plays videos from the internet (the name of the thing escapes me right now) and he showed us some hilarious internet review videos. I had not laughed so hard at a net video in a while and I expect we will do some more with him in the next visit.
In fact, we were having so much fun up there we even forgot about the snacks our parents brought along for the visit. All in all it was a great afternoon. We hope to invite him to our place after we get transformer adapters for our game systems.
The following Sunday (5/23/10), we had another very fun afternoon, making two in a row that weekend. David and his parents invited us to join them on a picnic in a park right next to the Seine River. We gladly obliged to have another outing with them. It was also the first picnic that Kian and I have been apart of in ages. The spot we picked was absolutely beautiful. It was all green, there was some good shade from the trees, and there was a lot of cotton stuff from the trees being blown around in the breeze and on the ground looking a little like snow. My brother and I had our usual lunch packed with us while Mom and Dad had their own. The lunch itself was quite enjoyable along with some good conversation to go with it. Afterwards, while Mom and Dad did a little musical stuff with David's parents, Kian got out his Kingdom Hearts 358 & 1/2 Days for his Nintendo DS and played that for a while while I (and David for a little) watched him, and that was fun.
After some time, David invited me to play some rugby with him, something I knew little about and had never seen before. He gave me the basics and I guess I did pretty well at it. Kian would join in after a few minutes and he got the hang of it as well. I must also say that David was and is quite good with the ball himself. Kian and I had a little break following a good time of playing. A short time later, David and his parents taught as a new type of game called pentanque, where we had to throw and roll metal balls tot he small wooden ball and the player who has closest metal ball to it wins. It was another game I was very unfamiliar with, but I got the hang of it in a hurry and it was a great game. Following that, our outing came to a close and we had to head home. We do intend to get together again in the future. And as I have said before, as soon as our game systems are fully set up, he can come to our place and we can have some more fun. All in all, it was an exhilarating Sunday afternoon.
On a separate note, I have now reached my 8th week of my Strayer sessions. I have completed and submitted my first research paper and I did quite well on it. I am pleased to say that I am continuing to do well with Strayer.
Niall
My brother and I then met Erik, who like David, shared a lot of the interests (video games, net videos, films, books, etc.) that Kian and I share. While our parents and Erik's Mom engaged in conversation on the 1st floor, Erik took the both of us to his 2nd floor bedroom, which was quite the entertaining set up. He had a Nintendo Wii console with some games and he even let Kian play his Super Smash Brothers Brawl game, which Kian really liked doing. But the real cruncher of this fun period was when Erik busted out this little video player machine that plays videos from the internet (the name of the thing escapes me right now) and he showed us some hilarious internet review videos. I had not laughed so hard at a net video in a while and I expect we will do some more with him in the next visit.
In fact, we were having so much fun up there we even forgot about the snacks our parents brought along for the visit. All in all it was a great afternoon. We hope to invite him to our place after we get transformer adapters for our game systems.
The following Sunday (5/23/10), we had another very fun afternoon, making two in a row that weekend. David and his parents invited us to join them on a picnic in a park right next to the Seine River. We gladly obliged to have another outing with them. It was also the first picnic that Kian and I have been apart of in ages. The spot we picked was absolutely beautiful. It was all green, there was some good shade from the trees, and there was a lot of cotton stuff from the trees being blown around in the breeze and on the ground looking a little like snow. My brother and I had our usual lunch packed with us while Mom and Dad had their own. The lunch itself was quite enjoyable along with some good conversation to go with it. Afterwards, while Mom and Dad did a little musical stuff with David's parents, Kian got out his Kingdom Hearts 358 & 1/2 Days for his Nintendo DS and played that for a while while I (and David for a little) watched him, and that was fun.
After some time, David invited me to play some rugby with him, something I knew little about and had never seen before. He gave me the basics and I guess I did pretty well at it. Kian would join in after a few minutes and he got the hang of it as well. I must also say that David was and is quite good with the ball himself. Kian and I had a little break following a good time of playing. A short time later, David and his parents taught as a new type of game called pentanque, where we had to throw and roll metal balls tot he small wooden ball and the player who has closest metal ball to it wins. It was another game I was very unfamiliar with, but I got the hang of it in a hurry and it was a great game. Following that, our outing came to a close and we had to head home. We do intend to get together again in the future. And as I have said before, as soon as our game systems are fully set up, he can come to our place and we can have some more fun. All in all, it was an exhilarating Sunday afternoon.
On a separate note, I have now reached my 8th week of my Strayer sessions. I have completed and submitted my first research paper and I did quite well on it. I am pleased to say that I am continuing to do well with Strayer.
Niall
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Slack Trumpet Players In The Street
Bon soire friends,
One of the vagaries of living in the otherwise wondrous City Of Lights is some of the slack street musicians. Not all are slack but there are those who are bad enough to compare them to the pigeons that screw constantly on our back windowsills 24/7 and that being said they're just as welcome.........*
For some really odd reason there are either 2 trumpet players (and I use players very loosely here....) or sometimes the arrangement is one trumpet player and a clarinet player with a hand cart that holds some kind of loud boom-box that plays really schmaltzy waltzes and other arcane ditties that are neither welcome or appropriate when one's windows are open after it warms up which of course is now. They tend to stay in neighborhoods and these guys seemed to have taken a liking to our neighborhood. I certainly don't see hundreds of neighbors coming out of their apartment buildings throwing money at them.
Last weekend while on a train headed out to the suburbs a lady with one of those carts got on the train, turned on the background music and sang for about 2 minutes, then made the rounds with her cup essentially demanding money for a 2 minute performance. The next day on a different train headed to another destination an accordion player who was actually pretty good with a chick playing tambourine also got on the train and played so loud there was no way to ignore them. We gave them some money but felt captive both on the trains and while in our living room tonight trying to listen to Fleetwood Mac and being unable to hear them because of the sound of pigs being killed outside in the street........oh I forgot,
it's music right?
Once upon a time in a universe long ago and far away I had to wait in line for bad food while in the military. At least there I could opt out but here with the slack trumpet players in the 16th, there's no escape. I wonder how hard it would be to obtain a large pot that would fit on our stove-top and fill it with boiling oil...........but, I wouldn't be able to fit all of the oil in my pull-cart.
But there's always rotten fruit and vegetables and we're 4 floors up. I was a pretty good pitcher in little league and a fastball from 4 floors up would get there in a hurry wouldn't it?
It's just a thought..........*
If they were just on pitch and in tune and somewhere else, perhaps the 15th or 17th......*
Here's wishing all of you things that are in tune and played right and if whoever is trying to do can't they'll be kind enough to woodshed until they can......*
Love to all everywhere but NOT the slack trumpet players in the 16th.......
A bientot,
Sid
One of the vagaries of living in the otherwise wondrous City Of Lights is some of the slack street musicians. Not all are slack but there are those who are bad enough to compare them to the pigeons that screw constantly on our back windowsills 24/7 and that being said they're just as welcome.........*
For some really odd reason there are either 2 trumpet players (and I use players very loosely here....) or sometimes the arrangement is one trumpet player and a clarinet player with a hand cart that holds some kind of loud boom-box that plays really schmaltzy waltzes and other arcane ditties that are neither welcome or appropriate when one's windows are open after it warms up which of course is now. They tend to stay in neighborhoods and these guys seemed to have taken a liking to our neighborhood. I certainly don't see hundreds of neighbors coming out of their apartment buildings throwing money at them.
Last weekend while on a train headed out to the suburbs a lady with one of those carts got on the train, turned on the background music and sang for about 2 minutes, then made the rounds with her cup essentially demanding money for a 2 minute performance. The next day on a different train headed to another destination an accordion player who was actually pretty good with a chick playing tambourine also got on the train and played so loud there was no way to ignore them. We gave them some money but felt captive both on the trains and while in our living room tonight trying to listen to Fleetwood Mac and being unable to hear them because of the sound of pigs being killed outside in the street........oh I forgot,
it's music right?
Once upon a time in a universe long ago and far away I had to wait in line for bad food while in the military. At least there I could opt out but here with the slack trumpet players in the 16th, there's no escape. I wonder how hard it would be to obtain a large pot that would fit on our stove-top and fill it with boiling oil...........but, I wouldn't be able to fit all of the oil in my pull-cart.
But there's always rotten fruit and vegetables and we're 4 floors up. I was a pretty good pitcher in little league and a fastball from 4 floors up would get there in a hurry wouldn't it?
It's just a thought..........*
If they were just on pitch and in tune and somewhere else, perhaps the 15th or 17th......*
Here's wishing all of you things that are in tune and played right and if whoever is trying to do can't they'll be kind enough to woodshed until they can......*
Love to all everywhere but NOT the slack trumpet players in the 16th.......
A bientot,
Sid
Monday, May 24, 2010
A Magical Weekend in Ile de France
By Cass
It was another long weekend here in Ile de France, the French reference for that island of civilized splendor known as Paris.
I returned home late Friday night from Finland, where AREVA is building the first in a fleet of new-generation nuclear power plants. It was the first time I've been there since August 2006 and the progress was incredible. We stopped in Helsinki for dinner, a beautiful city. Wooden sailing ships in the harbor, dinner in the shadow of an ancient church with golden domes, and hordes of young people basking on the lawn under a sun that almost never sets.
Saturday morning Sid and I did some shopping. Afterward, we all took a train line we've never taken before (SNCF Transilien) out to the western suburbs to meet some new friends, Cindy and her 18-year-old son Erik. We met through a support organization for parents with special needs in Paris. Erik also has high-functioning Asperger's just like the guys, but is a more independent, worldly young man. We all hit it off like gangbusters, or as Niall put it, it was "a hoot and a half!" I look forward to watching the guys' friendship grow, as well as ours with Cindy. We plan to go see "Robin des Bois" next weekend with them.
Saturday night Sid and I met one of my colleague friends from the U.S. and her friend at hour home for aperitifs, then enjoyed a lovely dinner on the terrace at our favorite local brasserie. Spring seems to have finally arrived here and it was a beautiful night to dine alfresco with friends at our Parisian "Cheers."
Sunday was another splendid spring day, and our friends Frederic & Claudia and their son David invited us to enjoy a picnic with them on the banks of the Seine. So there we all were in a beautiful park, also in the western suburbs, on the Ile des Impressionnistes, an island that inspired the original Impressionist artists. The sharply blue, clear sky was a stunning backdrop to the blizzard of fluffy cottonwood seeds that blew all afternoon. Claudia and Frederic laid out an amazing feast of fois gras, rillette de canard (a kind of Underwood Deviled Duck), salad, baguettes, cheese, chips, wine and beer. Incredible! And we spent a couple of hours playing music together. But perhaps even more memorable, was watching Kian & Niall toss a rugby ball with David, and play petanque, a French version of Bocci ball with the adults. Our sons have never been interested in sports, so it was wonderful to see them enjoying some physical activity. David is an amazing young man who is so good with our guys.
Today is another French holiday, so after a busy social weekend, we've just relaxed here at home. I've checked in on some email, but also spent a couple of hours at a nearby park lying in the sun and reading. It was idyllic, until a parade of THOUSANDS walked by with banners, signs and loudspeakers walked down the street singing Catholic songs. They celebrated their way, and I celebrated mine. Life is good.
It was another long weekend here in Ile de France, the French reference for that island of civilized splendor known as Paris.
I returned home late Friday night from Finland, where AREVA is building the first in a fleet of new-generation nuclear power plants. It was the first time I've been there since August 2006 and the progress was incredible. We stopped in Helsinki for dinner, a beautiful city. Wooden sailing ships in the harbor, dinner in the shadow of an ancient church with golden domes, and hordes of young people basking on the lawn under a sun that almost never sets.
Saturday morning Sid and I did some shopping. Afterward, we all took a train line we've never taken before (SNCF Transilien) out to the western suburbs to meet some new friends, Cindy and her 18-year-old son Erik. We met through a support organization for parents with special needs in Paris. Erik also has high-functioning Asperger's just like the guys, but is a more independent, worldly young man. We all hit it off like gangbusters, or as Niall put it, it was "a hoot and a half!" I look forward to watching the guys' friendship grow, as well as ours with Cindy. We plan to go see "Robin des Bois" next weekend with them.
Saturday night Sid and I met one of my colleague friends from the U.S. and her friend at hour home for aperitifs, then enjoyed a lovely dinner on the terrace at our favorite local brasserie. Spring seems to have finally arrived here and it was a beautiful night to dine alfresco with friends at our Parisian "Cheers."
Sunday was another splendid spring day, and our friends Frederic & Claudia and their son David invited us to enjoy a picnic with them on the banks of the Seine. So there we all were in a beautiful park, also in the western suburbs, on the Ile des Impressionnistes, an island that inspired the original Impressionist artists. The sharply blue, clear sky was a stunning backdrop to the blizzard of fluffy cottonwood seeds that blew all afternoon. Claudia and Frederic laid out an amazing feast of fois gras, rillette de canard (a kind of Underwood Deviled Duck), salad, baguettes, cheese, chips, wine and beer. Incredible! And we spent a couple of hours playing music together. But perhaps even more memorable, was watching Kian & Niall toss a rugby ball with David, and play petanque, a French version of Bocci ball with the adults. Our sons have never been interested in sports, so it was wonderful to see them enjoying some physical activity. David is an amazing young man who is so good with our guys.
Friday, May 21, 2010
OFII And Stuff In The Cave
Bonjour all,
Tuesday this week was the day of days in our ex-pat journey here. A legal firm had been hired by Cassie's company to shepherd us through the French immigration organization (OFII) which naturally is different from the French Consulate (the abode of the great and powerful OZ in Georgetown) and where we reported to with well over 150 other foreigners for our "physicals" that would then lead to all of the supporting paperwork being forwarded back to the legal firm (more on this later on). Let's just say that the process or the way we were processed was not unlike going into the military again sans uniforms or drill sergeants. Papers were exchanged, and we waited, our names were called (mangled) and we were then moved into another hallway brusquely. More papers exchanged and then into a semi-large waiting room that was already filled with people and no available seats.
While all this was happening, various staff members were milling about looking very important in white lab coats and eventually a very stern looking administrative lady started shouting orders in French to the room full of waiting people many of whom didn't speak enough French to understand her.
Eventually people started being processed and chairs opened up but there were several women waiting to be seated and I made sure they had seats. For some reason, the curt admin lady had been watching me and as soon as a seat opened up she yelled at me pointing to the seat which I took to mean that I needed to sit down which I did. I looked over at Cassie who was grinning on the other side of the room. I'll also mention here that at least half of the people in the room hadn't bathed in at least 3 or more days so there was an air of funkiness in the room that had little or no rhythm.
Our names were finally called and we were ushered into a room with 2 lab-coated persons who weighed us, measured our height and then pricked us with pins to check our blood sugar levels which were a bit high as we ate sandwiches before leaving figuring that we'd get hungry if it went overlong. Of course no mention was made that they were going to check our blood sugar levels or we would not have eaten. From there was the next room where we were lined up for chest x-rays which were sans shirts, bras, etc. with no gowns or lead aprons to protect everything else. The x-ray techs were from the Nurse Ratched school of bedside manner and surprisingly didn't shove red hot pokers up our asses too just for fun.
After that we were eventually called into offices with separate doctors both of whom were very nice. The doc who saw Cassie exclaimed at her high blood sugar and she told him of the Parisian sandwich (jambon au frommage avec mayonnaise au butter on a sliced baguette) she'd eaten less than an hour before. My doctor was female and a big sweetie who wanted to know a bit of my history and who told me my chest x-ray was "bon" as was my blood pressure. She wanted to make sure I was being followed by a doctor and I told her of Dr. Audabert and again she said "bon". Minutes later we out of there and took the metro back to our hood and had drinks at Brasserie 16.
The final step here is to wait for the paperwork to be processed by the legal firm and then sent to us and we take that to the local Prefecture du Police and submit it and pay over 400 euros and probably get some kind of ID card that identifies us as Americans authorized to live in France. I may be wrong on this but it's fun to conjecture. We both felt that we'd passed a mile post with this and it was actually easier than our experience with the consulate back in late February.
Lastly, we finally got the guardian (Angela) to give us the keys to store the old mattress from Kian's room and one big tucker tote down in the "cave" (basement) which basically leaves the apartment clutter free for the first time since getting here. This transpired yesterday while Cassie is in Finland again. I'm hoping she brings back a big box of moose meat.
Love to all everywhere!
Sid
While all this was happening, various staff members were milling about looking very important in white lab coats and eventually a very stern looking administrative lady started shouting orders in French to the room full of waiting people many of whom didn't speak enough French to understand her.
Eventually people started being processed and chairs opened up but there were several women waiting to be seated and I made sure they had seats. For some reason, the curt admin lady had been watching me and as soon as a seat opened up she yelled at me pointing to the seat which I took to mean that I needed to sit down which I did. I looked over at Cassie who was grinning on the other side of the room. I'll also mention here that at least half of the people in the room hadn't bathed in at least 3 or more days so there was an air of funkiness in the room that had little or no rhythm.
Our names were finally called and we were ushered into a room with 2 lab-coated persons who weighed us, measured our height and then pricked us with pins to check our blood sugar levels which were a bit high as we ate sandwiches before leaving figuring that we'd get hungry if it went overlong. Of course no mention was made that they were going to check our blood sugar levels or we would not have eaten. From there was the next room where we were lined up for chest x-rays which were sans shirts, bras, etc. with no gowns or lead aprons to protect everything else. The x-ray techs were from the Nurse Ratched school of bedside manner and surprisingly didn't shove red hot pokers up our asses too just for fun.
After that we were eventually called into offices with separate doctors both of whom were very nice. The doc who saw Cassie exclaimed at her high blood sugar and she told him of the Parisian sandwich (jambon au frommage avec mayonnaise au butter on a sliced baguette) she'd eaten less than an hour before. My doctor was female and a big sweetie who wanted to know a bit of my history and who told me my chest x-ray was "bon" as was my blood pressure. She wanted to make sure I was being followed by a doctor and I told her of Dr. Audabert and again she said "bon". Minutes later we out of there and took the metro back to our hood and had drinks at Brasserie 16.
The final step here is to wait for the paperwork to be processed by the legal firm and then sent to us and we take that to the local Prefecture du Police and submit it and pay over 400 euros and probably get some kind of ID card that identifies us as Americans authorized to live in France. I may be wrong on this but it's fun to conjecture. We both felt that we'd passed a mile post with this and it was actually easier than our experience with the consulate back in late February.
Lastly, we finally got the guardian (Angela) to give us the keys to store the old mattress from Kian's room and one big tucker tote down in the "cave" (basement) which basically leaves the apartment clutter free for the first time since getting here. This transpired yesterday while Cassie is in Finland again. I'm hoping she brings back a big box of moose meat.
Love to all everywhere!
Sid
Monday, May 17, 2010
My Fourth Blog
It has now been another week since my last blog, and some more interesting things have happened since then. I've still been doing well on my Strayer work and I got over an eighty on my midterm exam a couple weeks ago. We all went to the movie theater here in Paris for the first time to watch Iron Man 2. The movie was in English, but had French subtitles, which I was told they do that kind of thing with American movies in other countries as well (even Japan), which I was both glad and thankful for. After the movie, we all went to have dinner at an outside cafe which was a very interesting experience. Last Sunday we even had our first French dinner (Mom and Dad did their first French recipe here). Mom even had what she called her first "pajama day" in which she had the entire day off to relax after a tiring work session the other day. Things are still going well for us here in Paris and I hope they continue to do so in the future.
By Kian Hagan
By Kian Hagan
A Good Week...
Sunday, May 16th, 2010
This has been quite a good week, I must say. First off, I will begin my 7th week of my Strayer College studies and I am pleased to say I have been doing very well at this point. I recently did my first Strayer Midterm Exam for my course and I really aced it with 50 out of 50 correct (A.K.A. 100%). Three or four days of going over my materials seem to have paid off. Needless to say, the results were pleasing to me and my parents.
On Friday (5/14/10), my family and I had our first European movie theater outing. It was an English language theater where foreign films with English (like from the U.S.) are viewed in their original audio rendition, complete with full subtitling in French. The film we all chose to see that day was the recently released Iron Man 2, and I'll tell you, it was quite a fun experience. It was well acted, there were nice lighthearted moments, the action scenes were well done, the story was engaging, and the music score just rocked. All in all, I felt it was pretty much on par with the first film. We expect to see more films there in the future, and the next one that we plan to see soon is the new Robin Hood film by Ridley Scott.
Following the film, Kian and I had our first dinner at a sidewalk cafe. The food was enjoyable for the most part and the place itself was nice. I expect more ventures to sidewalk cafes in the future.
On a separate note, we had our 3rd visit to the American Library in Paris on Saturday and we all got a number of new books to explore. The visits seem to get better with each one the more we explore the library.
By Niall
This has been quite a good week, I must say. First off, I will begin my 7th week of my Strayer College studies and I am pleased to say I have been doing very well at this point. I recently did my first Strayer Midterm Exam for my course and I really aced it with 50 out of 50 correct (A.K.A. 100%). Three or four days of going over my materials seem to have paid off. Needless to say, the results were pleasing to me and my parents.
On Friday (5/14/10), my family and I had our first European movie theater outing. It was an English language theater where foreign films with English (like from the U.S.) are viewed in their original audio rendition, complete with full subtitling in French. The film we all chose to see that day was the recently released Iron Man 2, and I'll tell you, it was quite a fun experience. It was well acted, there were nice lighthearted moments, the action scenes were well done, the story was engaging, and the music score just rocked. All in all, I felt it was pretty much on par with the first film. We expect to see more films there in the future, and the next one that we plan to see soon is the new Robin Hood film by Ridley Scott.
Following the film, Kian and I had our first dinner at a sidewalk cafe. The food was enjoyable for the most part and the place itself was nice. I expect more ventures to sidewalk cafes in the future.
On a separate note, we had our 3rd visit to the American Library in Paris on Saturday and we all got a number of new books to explore. The visits seem to get better with each one the more we explore the library.
By Niall
Friday, May 14, 2010
Pajama Day Ascension
By Cass
Friday, May 14, 2010
It’s not just another gray day in Paris, but one in a four-day-weekend string across the Ascension holiday. There is a baffling assortment of national holidays here that, luckily, my team reminds me of to make sure I don’t show up at work wondering where everyone is.
Instead of Ascension, I celebrated Pajama Day yesterday by sleeping in ‘til an unheard of 10 a.m., and remaining in my pj’s until relegating them to the hamper this morning just as they were about to ascend all by themselves. Sid discovered that we inexplicably have additional channels in English, so it was a marathon movie day, from the wildly raucous indy film “Radio Rock” to the somber “Rachel Getting Married.” Movies, popcorn and wine without moving from my recliner. Glorious!
Having regained consciousness this morning, I helped Sid e-pay bills in the U.S. and go get groceries. After lunch, we took the guys to see Ironman 2 at our neighborhood movie house, the Majestic Passy (pas-SEE). The movie was awesome! As good as the first Ironman. The theater was…different. After waiting in line in the lobby, they led us up three flights of stairs into a room that, in real estate parlance, was “cozy.” My sister’s basement family room is more spacious. French movie crowds are also more restrained. We were stifling whoops and “yeah babies” after noticing the occasional appreciative chortles. How anyone sat still with a soundtrack featuring AC/DC is beyond me.
Instead of hitting McDonald’s in a classic American dinner-and-movie play, we took Kian and Niall to Aero, a nearby bistro. We sat outside under the awning and its welcome heaters as the rain poured around us. The guys tried croque monsieurs: sophisticated grilled ham-and-cheese-sandwiches that I discovered last summer when my friend and colleague Holly Coghill’s girls ordered them when visiting here. The cheese is on the OUTside. Yum!
All in all, it was a great day to celebrate Kian’s and Niall’s successful mid-term success. They both have “A” averages in this first class with Strayer University online. Perhaps my pajamas aren’t the only thing to ascend around here.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Grey Days And Ascension Holiday
Good Evening Everyone,
Cassie spent today in jammies in front of the TV relaxing which is a good thing on any day as she seldom stops to smell the roses being usually on the runaway train that's her job. We saw our new friends Claudia, Fred, and David last weekend and have been invited to a small village shindig somewhere near Cluny on August 15th or thereabouts where Cassie and I will play a set or maybe 2 and also do a set with Fred who's keen to play with us. Should be fun. More on that later.
The days have been grey here and hovering in the high 40s with rain and it seems almost like winter returned although we still need to remember that we're at a different latitude than we were in Lynchburg. I've been watching the politics in Lynchburg recently and the way things are going there I don't think we'll ever live there again. Who knows what will happen.
Kian and Niall continue to do well with Strayer and this weekend we plan on going to see the new Iron Man movie.
Work continues on my new music and that's it for today.
Hope everyone is alright there. So far not much interest in the house but we'll see. I suspect there's someone out there who would love it.
Love to all everywhere,
Sid
Cassie spent today in jammies in front of the TV relaxing which is a good thing on any day as she seldom stops to smell the roses being usually on the runaway train that's her job. We saw our new friends Claudia, Fred, and David last weekend and have been invited to a small village shindig somewhere near Cluny on August 15th or thereabouts where Cassie and I will play a set or maybe 2 and also do a set with Fred who's keen to play with us. Should be fun. More on that later.
The days have been grey here and hovering in the high 40s with rain and it seems almost like winter returned although we still need to remember that we're at a different latitude than we were in Lynchburg. I've been watching the politics in Lynchburg recently and the way things are going there I don't think we'll ever live there again. Who knows what will happen.
Kian and Niall continue to do well with Strayer and this weekend we plan on going to see the new Iron Man movie.
Work continues on my new music and that's it for today.
Hope everyone is alright there. So far not much interest in the house but we'll see. I suspect there's someone out there who would love it.
Love to all everywhere,
Monday, May 10, 2010
My Third Blog
By Kian
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
A couple more developments...
This morning, Mom just returned from a week long venture back to Lynchburg and she brought a little of it back with her. By that I mean Mom brought back stuff we can't get here in Paris, like floss on handles, graham crackers, desert mixes (cake & brownie) that we loved getting back in the U.S.
One more thing; our last (to my knowledge) shipment of things from the States arrived earlier this afternoon with Dad's shelf, Mom & Dad's dresser, and my dresser, which I have now set up and started to use. It is just a little more of home with us now.
Best regards,
Niall Hagan
Back to blogging...
The ride to their neighborhood was something, for we had to use 3 different metro lines to get there, and then get a ride from David's parents themselves. Speaking of them, they themselves were very nice people, and they lived in a very idyllic street with a home that was just fancy to the max in my opinion.
Kian and I had a great time with David since he had many of the common interests that my brother and I had. We both showed him a game on our portable game systems (I have a P.S.P. and Kian has an N.D.S.). He enjoyed both of them and showed us a game on his PS3, which I found to be a very entertaining experience. The both of us then told him about the videogames and VG systems we have at our apartment (we have N64, PS2, & GC), and how our PS2 games which we would bring during over during our next visit were compatible with his PS3 system. David was excited about it and he told us that he was looking forward to our next visit just as we are. We also have plans for us to get together at our apartment for some gaming fun as soon as we get our TV sets for our aforementioned systems.
Needless to say, it was a great Sunday afternoon for us.
Best regards,
Niall Hagan
Winter In May
Mornin Pilgrims,
Yesterday it never went above 50 F here and I had to turn the heat back on as the twins were complaining that they were cold. Since last weekend it's been gray and cloudy with intermittent rain and wind. Cassie's home today and she canceled her Provence trip as she just has too much to do. The rest of our personal shipment arrives today and we're all the way in after that.
Both Kian and Niall are carrying very high averages in their Strayer University classes and we are all well pleased with the choice which frankly I was apprehensive about not having any experience with colleges online although we've read many articles extolling the virtues of online study. Cassie and I are just glad that it's working and that it's looking like Kian will finally make it through college math which is GREAT!
In the next couple of weeks we make our first European trip to London on the Eurostar through the "chunnel" which scares our French buddy Veronique but hey, we're intrepid. At least there should be no volcanic ash down there.
Grocery shopping yesterday was a madhouse after the holiday weekend and I got elbowed aside by a number of little old ladies who beat me to the bananas. I ended up buying the "organic" brand that was just as good but more expensive. Gotta love this place. Cassie brought back goodies from the states in her big suitcase which is what a lot of ex-pats do when they return home from time to time. She also had a great and restful visit with Vivian and Bob and got some good sun while she was there too. She looked at me coming in the door and said, "what happened to the Spring?"
Mid terms this week for the twins. Time to try the market again today to see if I can get everything without being trampled.
Love to all everywhere!
Sid
Yesterday it never went above 50 F here and I had to turn the heat back on as the twins were complaining that they were cold. Since last weekend it's been gray and cloudy with intermittent rain and wind. Cassie's home today and she canceled her Provence trip as she just has too much to do. The rest of our personal shipment arrives today and we're all the way in after that.
Both Kian and Niall are carrying very high averages in their Strayer University classes and we are all well pleased with the choice which frankly I was apprehensive about not having any experience with colleges online although we've read many articles extolling the virtues of online study. Cassie and I are just glad that it's working and that it's looking like Kian will finally make it through college math which is GREAT!
In the next couple of weeks we make our first European trip to London on the Eurostar through the "chunnel" which scares our French buddy Veronique but hey, we're intrepid. At least there should be no volcanic ash down there.
Grocery shopping yesterday was a madhouse after the holiday weekend and I got elbowed aside by a number of little old ladies who beat me to the bananas. I ended up buying the "organic" brand that was just as good but more expensive. Gotta love this place. Cassie brought back goodies from the states in her big suitcase which is what a lot of ex-pats do when they return home from time to time. She also had a great and restful visit with Vivian and Bob and got some good sun while she was there too. She looked at me coming in the door and said, "what happened to the Spring?"
Mid terms this week for the twins. Time to try the market again today to see if I can get everything without being trampled.
Love to all everywhere!
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