Making Things Happen

Should I write about the weather, the food or the men. The weather is crazy, like Portland, one day, it is cold, dreary, grey and cold and then the sun comes out and it is warm and blue and wonderful. Yesterday’s choice for outings were with a boat policia, an aristocrat or Patrick and Mr. Secret Agent.

Patrick, Guy & I just had the best meal to date in Paris. The amazing home-style repas where the owners feed you until you tell them to stop. You choose your entrée but they do the rest. Sabine brought soup to start and said it was to warm us. She brought pastry encrusted escargot and country pate, which is formed like meat loaf. Her eccentric husband/chef brought our entrees, the guys had lamb and I had scallops skered with apricots. Salad followed with accoutrements of carrot yogurt and salmon yogurt to put on top of your salad…grilled herb potatoes, along with grilled eggplant and yummy haricot verts, but the old fashioned green beans like grandpa Henry, Helens dad use to grow, fat and flat and full of flavor.

She gave us special cherries soaked in liquor and after that special liquor, lots of wine. Really great French meal, been waiting for that one.

Guy, aside from being military security in charge of civil police, teaches and is an ambassador. He believed my marketing course is perfect for business students here. He is going to get me a meeting with the people to figure this out. Ok, now how exciting would it be to have to go to Paris to teach.

He said it will be good for my resume to teach in a couple different business schools and then I could do a conference. We found one on the internet that teaches beginners, google marketing, for 495e a day/ that’s about $650 US per day. I am not so expensive. Guy is a very interesting man.

OK, so cool, so Guy drove me home in his police car, and yes, ran the siren and lights a couple times to make me laugh BUT we get to the end of a road, that is pietons (walking) street… and there is a line of 5 white cement cylinders in the road.. and I am trying to figure out what he is doing… As it turns out, these spots are under surveillance and he was waiting for them to see him, and all of a sudden the cement cylinders descended into the ground, to allow us to pass, and when I turned around, I saw them raising back up.. OK, having never seen that, good way to impress a girl Mr. Secret Agent Man.

Today I decided to DO the Louvre. Can’t say that I wanted to other than, you could not spend 6 weeks in Paris and not go to the Louvre. Impressionist lover that I am, I still can appreciate art in other forms.

Rick Steve’s says when speaking of the Orsay, “I personally find it more enjoyable and rewarding than the Louvre. Sure, ya gotta see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, but after you get your gottas out of the way, enjoy the Orsay.

What struck me the most today, was how rude and inconsiderate people were, and I have really not seen that before in Paris. Selfish and self centered, maybe because there was just so many people. I do not ever like to group together people, but today I will say, that the Asians that visited the Louvre today were the most rude and pushy people that run in packs and think they are superior. That place was the craziest crowded place, I have been in Paris.

I toured the entire museum and found it impressive because of the vast amount of art and history. From everything I had heard, I thought it would be more intimidating than it was. There are three big wings and really everything is basically in one wing Denon.

I could not get a good shot of the Mona Lisa…I couldn’t believe how small it was. The Venus de Milo was not the most impressive sculpture but it sure gets a lot of attention. I liked the Winged Victory but as you will see, I really did not take many pictures, mostly too dark and not allowed flash, too many people and not enough air…but I had a blast taking all the penis pictures and will put them in their own album for your viewing enjoyment.

The picture of the crown belonged to Louis XV, had to wait awhile to get close enough to take a pic for you, it is jewel studded with a 140 carat diamond.

I walked home thinking I was going to relax and have some dinner along the way, but ran across a very nice food market.. I got tomato mozzarella along with a great big rice saffron ball covered in vegetable ragout.. got two slice of pate, (country and encroute) for a picnic tomorrow… and some mega big cherries.

I think tomorrow I am going on a canal ride that is off the Seine and travels 2 ½ hours..bringing a picnic.. yumm.

Tomorrow night, big dinner with Patrick, Guy and the other professor Stephen..who is not taking us to Synagogue Friday night.

It was mentioned to me that this journey will be a gift that keeps on giving as my transformation continues at home. Very true. That I have been unveiled from my more isolated life and that is very true and I doubt I will ever be the same.

But what I know, I am definitely a city girl, I like an ethnic store on every corner, food and people form everywhere, interesting things to do. That is why NY, SF and BC are my top cities.. I like speaking french and I am getting good. I like the way it makes me feel.

I heard this guy on CNN talking about the Beatles. He said he believes talent is the desire to practice. A desire to do whatever it takes..like an entrepreneur.. – my definition of an entrepreneur, is someone who will do whatever it takes to get the job done. This guy believe that the Beatles wouldn’t be the Beatles if they hadn’t been a house band in Hamburg for 2 years, apparently 2 years 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. He feels they had the desire to learn, practice, mesh as a group, learn new genres, write songs and generally become what they were to later show us. I did not know that story, but dug the theory.

Sort of like Meesh, who knew nothing about making glass beads and I don’t know that she was born with some talent for it, yes she is artistic, but it was her desire to practice and keep practicing that is making her a bead talent. I have been studying French my whole life. I don’t have talent but have always had the desire to learn the language and practise. And if I want to be more fluent and have a life in Paris and teach in Paris, it will take a talent, a desire to practice and work hard and do what it takes..hhmm, now this makes me think of Barbara N… Her talent .is the huge desire to practice her craft, work hard and do whatever it takes to get the job done. And like me, if something fails or we falter, we get up, we dust ourselves off and we do it even better..whatever it takes.

My mom says about acting, if you can think of anything else in life you want to do, than you should do it.. cause this is going to be hard, talent or not talent, it is about PRACTISING, WORKING HARD AND DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THE JOB DONE. So Meesh will fire beads all over the country, and I will teach marketing in Paris and Barbara will act and touch hearts everywhere with her stories of bravery and light..

I think we are all capable of more than we know. We restrict ourselves with fear. I have mostly not lived in fear as I know I will always do whatever it takes to get it done. And my history shows that I am capable.

Again, I must say, how lucky a girl, if I could tell you all, I have to go to Paris to teach marketing.

With a whole month behind me and two weeks to go, I do not have time to visit enough with all my friends and do everything I want to do, but I guess that just means I will have more adventures to look forward to when I return to teach my first class.