Un petit update

The Good:

• Working (i.e. earning money for once!). I am happy to have a job and to be earning money, even if it still feels like I don't have any, I know that at the end of September it will be better when I get that first complete paycheck in my bank account. And maybe then I can do some shopping.
• New shoes. I managed to convince my hubby to buy me a new pair of black flats...super cute, pointed toes with a buckle across the toe. And they are from my favorite shoe store...Bata!
• Repaired engagement ring. We had a little disaster this week and the diamond fell out of my engagement ring. Luckily we were at home and I noticed exactly when it happened so we didn't lose it. Lionel took it to the jewelers around the corner, and the next day it was better than new (the melted the gold of the setting a little so the diamond would no longer be able to fall out).
• Married to a Frog meetup. A meetup group for foreigners married to frogs who are living in Paris. This was the second meetup and it was a lot of fun. This time I felt like I really started to get to know some of the other people there and we had a lot to talk about ranging from our battles with France to work to just everyday life.
• Girls night out. Went out Friday night with Jasmin and Marybeth (who just got back to France). We had a blast. We went to Jasmin's for dinner and mojitos, then out to a few bars where friends work to visit, drink, catch up, complain and relax. Good times.
• DJ. I found and booked a DJ for our American wedding...one less thing to do!
• Invitations. I ordered our wedding invitations...something else that is done for the wedding!
  
• Pistachio ice cream. Need I say more?
• Jimmy Buffett! In less than one week I will be enjoying the soothing, tropical sounds of Jimmy Buffett here in Paris. Yes, he is playing a concert here, and I have tickets!!! Can't wait to party it up with some fellow Americans and have a good old US style evening out in Paris while seeing one of my favorite singers!!! It's gonna be a blast.
  

The Bad:

• The laundromat. We had to do laundry today. Since our apartment is so small we don't have space for a washing machine. This unfortunately means that we have to waste 3 hours of our life going to the laundromat every 1-2 weeks (depending on how lazy we are). We see this as a form of torture.
• Bouygues Telecom. Still don't have the new phone (and phone plan that allows me to actually make calls with my phone) I have been dreaming of owning for at least 6 months and that I finally ordered last Monday. According to my account on their website, it still hasn't shipped out because they haven't yet received my pieces justificatives (i.e. justificatif de domicile). I'm getting really impatient...I just want my new toy so I can figure out how to use it (it will be the fanciest phone I have ever owned considering I've never even had a camera phone).
• Monday mornings. I see my evil bitch student first thing on Monday mornings. Last Monday it was horrible (again). She acted irritated and angry and she questioned my choice of activities and subject matter. And I was 30 mins late because the receptionist couldn't let me go up to their floor until someone answered their phone, and no one was answering, but when I finally got there she acted like it was my fault and not theirs. And this is what I am dreading right now because in a few hours I have to see her again.
• Oktoberfest. So, after having reserved a hostel back in February and then searching like crazy this week for a way to get there, Marybeth and I finally had to admit defeat and drop the idea of making it to Oktoberfest this year. It was quite depressing because I've been dreaming of going for forever, but we are definitely going to make it next year when I have been working for longer and can plan to take an extra day or two off.

The Ugly:

• Moving. The hope of moving into a new apartment sometime in this century is practically gone. After having investigated with numerous agencies, it seems like we will have to wait until January to move, which means at least part of another winter in our tiny hell hole of a studio in the KB. Lionel and I have both been grumpy this week because of this realization. It feels like we will never be able to leave this tiny, moldy, disgusting, cold, crappy apartment. We have been wanting to leave for about 2 years (since we moved in) and we haven't been able to. And now that I have a semi-real job we had been hoping to be able to get the hell out...but no. Since I earned so little this summer when I first started I need to wait to have 3 real paychecks before any agency will accept our dossier and consider us for an apartment in the budget we want...otherwise we could move now and end up in another tiny, shitty studio. So we have to wait until the end of November/beginning of December to turn in our dossier and since we will be in the US the last two weeks of December we will never be able to move before January. I can't believe this!!!!!