Update
posted Monday, 28 April 2008
The recent lack of posts can be blamed on a few things.
First, I have had very little free time with work deadlines and house guests. Second, what free time I do have has been split between a rewarding and indulgingly time-consuming email correspondence with a fellow foodie and friend in Barcelona (as I plan to impose myself on his life for a week come Thursday) and a fitness routine that will in no way get me beach-ready by Thursday. Turns out the exercise routine is no match for 11 pm pizza, pints of beer, cheese and other delectable indulgences that I seem unable to live without. Oops.
Otherwise, or rather, overall, life has been good. Friday and Saturday night I had a friend staying with me from Pakistan and we ended up going out dancing with some Canadian and American friends. It was his second time ever in a bar and we had a riot as he taught us dance Pakistani moves and we tried to explain that a techno-remix of Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose” and “Come along and ride on the fantastic slide slide…” song is not really normal dance-club fare… although I suspect it probably is in France.
We also cooked together which proved rather interesting. He had never made tomato sauce and I learnt that in Pakistan they tend to cook pasta noodles well beyond al dente (to mushy consistency). I had a hard time convincing him of the merits of the non-mushy spaghetti.
Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day here in Paris and all the locals shed their ironic smirks and black attire for tank tops and beach blankets that they lay down on any available spot. The park in front of my house was full of young, hip Parisians soaking in the welcome rays. I sat, rather nerdly, on a park bench with my laptop, a report, and SPF 30. I lasted a mere 30 minutes before heading back inside. It was simply too hot.
In the evening, I took a French friend to the We Are Scientists concert. He has taken me to an opera and a contemporary play that attempted a post-modern analysis of the increasing banality of the French family life. I figured an Indy-rock show would round out the mix nicely. Unfortunately, I did not realize when I purchased my ticket online that I had to go to a store to pick it up. I assumed that the confirmation number would allow me to “confirm” my reservation at the venue…. But no. Turns out you must pick up the tickets elsewhere because the venue does not have the technology to support the distribution of online ticket sales (despite the fact that I bought the tickets off their website). The manager of the bar was pretty nice about the whole ordeal but was unable to get me in for the price of one ticket as he (understandably, but somewhat confusingly given that it is 2008) had no way of proving that I had not already picked up my ticket at the ticket store (which, by the way, is closed on Sundays).
I must say that I do not regret paying for two tickets as the show was pretty great. The boys in the band have perfected on-stage charm and their performance was solid. Off to another show on Tuesday that I am looking forward to and then...SPAIN. WOOT WOOT.