The Majdis Are in Town

So it seems as though I've fallen significantly short of my 2 posts/week goal, but at this point I'm just going to roll with it until New Years when I can make another resolution. I've been extremely busy this past month. But I'm not going to worry about the fact that I still have to start/finish another paper and reminisce about my travels with y'all.

I went to Prague which was pretty alright. It felt like I was "Back in the U.S.S.R., and the aftereffects of communism were still pretty apparent (by that I mean people were quiet, maybe they just didn't feel like talking). I bought a "Ticket to Ride" the tram, which made me appreciate the metro system in Paris (no offense Prague). Then we went to the club where I met a DJ from South Africa, and I was all like "I Want to Hold Your Hand", but she was all like "Help!" and I was all like "All You Need is Love", "We Can Work it Out". But she wouldn't have any of it, so I just decided to "Let It Be". Oh I also went to the John Lennon wall:

"Imagine" that!

After that I came back to Paris. Thanks Danielle for being a real host! Also, I was a bit of a highroller in Prague so it was difficult to come back to spaghetti and peanut butter:

Just put it on my tab.

On the plane ride back, I got stuck in a window seat without a window. Ridiculous! And yes I do think this is worth blogging about.

This is me in the plane. Observe the lack of window.

Last week, Neda was in town so she invited me over for dinner with her new husband Clayton. We may or may not have trashed the apartment but dinner was great!

This is Justin.

Justin.

This is me in Strasbourg.

Me in Strasbourg.

This is me being me in Strasbourg.

Me being me in Strasbourg.

Then we made a quick pit stop at the EU. I kind of like this picture, I may consider a future in politics. Only if I get to work in a cool looking building though.

Supreme Chancellor Sepanta.

After the EU, we made another quick pit stop at Avatar (that was the name of the planet right?). Here is a picture of me with the tree of souls or something.

Me with the tree of souls or something.

And then I came back to Paris. This past week I've been working nonstop on papers, and I am one paper away from freedom, free doom. This morning Arash and his sister Naghmeh arrived. Here is them:

For those who do not know, Arash is also keeping a blog of his journeys in Europe. In fact, he is attempting to uproot my blog in the process. Unfortunately, he didn't make it too far into his next post and currently he is making sweet sweet sounds in front of his open computer:

Anyway, I'll be busy for a while, but hopefully I'll post back within two weeks. The first semester is almost over and I have lots of thoughts but at 3:20 AM they don't feel like coming out. I'm really excited for the next couple weeks. We're taking a train to Amsterdam on Saturday, then Brussels on Tuesday, Aachen on Wednesday, and back to Paris on the eve of Christmas Day (it was cheap). Also, we're trying to be more hipster. Let us know if you have any suggestions (we've already tried googling, Yahoo! Answers isn't that helpful). Also, Blogspot's getting kind of too popular. I can't have my blog become a sell-out. Stop reading and don't show anyone!

In other news, I think I might pull off a Joaquin Phoenix and take a stab at rap. Anybody want to make the documentary?

The (Re)surrection

It has been 3 days since the death of my blog was called (by a med student). Well, I must say I am disappointed in all the non-believers, and hoped that you would all have a little more faith in me. This post signifies the Resurrection of both my blog and of the new Sepanta.

Too much has happened in the past month to even attempt to cover here, but I'll stick with some of the larger points:

• I worked on two films, more about that later.
• I gave (and rocked) a presentation about the exportation of democracy to North Africa.
• Had a super bougie (the bougie way to say bourgeoisie) dinner at a French family's apartment where I was asked who my favorite painters are...uhhhh...
• Visited by Danielle from Prague. I think she had a good time wandering around the city by herself (sorry Danielle)
• 98713498714 other things.

Pictures of things I've done recently/in the past month:

International Suit-Up Day (is that the REAL BARNEY STINSON????!!!)

Made the best breakfast ever. Thanks grandpa!

Played some pick-up soccer with these kids. (Not really.)

Played some pétanque (bocce ball) with these kids. (Really.)

Navigated through this strike at my school.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Took a super-trippy picture of the Tour Eiffel.

Sat on Napoleon's couch. (Really.) (Shhh don't tell anyone.)

Now, to talk about my own Resurrection. Well, since this me never existed it's more of a "Surrection" but who cares about words?

I've changed more in the past month than over the first 2 years of college, probably even more than that. I have blossomed into a young independent woman who can take care of herself. Except, a man. 

I worked on those film sets for a little over 2 weeks, almost full-time, and it was an incredibly rewarding experience (not financially, though). I'd been going through some secret doubts about film and whether it was realistic/possible, but after being in the "real world" for deux semaines, I am more excited about it than I have ever been about anything in my life (including the World Cup final). Despite this amazing influx of a new sense of invigoration and enthusiasm for life, I eventually had to wake up and go back to the world of school and giving (and rocking) presentations on the exportation of democracy to North Africa. Which leaves me here, incredibly frustrated. I feel like a little kid in a 2-hour car ride. 

Are we there yet?

Gunz Blazing

About to start my first essay in a while. It's 8:30 PM and it's due at 9 AM on the topic of consent from Locke and Rainborough's points of view for my Democratic Theory class. I went to the supermarket to get energy drinks but they didn't have any so I splurged on a 5 euro bottle of wine instead. It will get me through the night.

This isn't a "defeat" post.

It's just an "I need to get my shit together" post. My good luck is starting to run out. On top of that slight scare I had this weekend, the past week or two I have literally missed every metro by a few seconds, and work is really starting to pile up and I'm falling behind. It's that time of year again. So apologies if I don't post often/well, it's probably because I have nothing to post about. Unless you're interested in a log of how many total pages/hours of work I am behind...

My Faith in Humanity

Just took a tumble. I split up from my friends tonight to go home, but realized I didn't know where any of the bus stops were so I ended up walking 45 minutes to an hour in the rain to somewhere I knew. Right before I got there, a 6' 3" guy grabbed my arm and started roughing me up, asking what I was hiding in my jacket and that he'd seen me steal something. What he'd seen me "steal" were my headphones that I was just hiding in my coat because it was raining. But he wouldn't understand it and kept pulling me by the arm until I showed him. So he grabbed the headphones, said he was police, and that he had to take them from me. Then he followed the cord, reached into my pocket and pulled out my iPod. Said he had to take that too. I told him he wasn't a cop and to show me his badge, he told me he would take me to the other cops. I didn't follow him and he kept trying to pull me around. This whole process was about 5 minutes of him pulling me back and forth and me trying to tell him to let me go. But what really pissed me off was that there were about 15 people not even 20 feet away who just stood there and did nothing. I don't understand how that is possible. Tonight I promised if I ever saw anyone doing anything to someone else, I wouldn't just stand there, and I hope no one else does either. It's pathetic if 15 people can't stand up to 1. Eventually, I pushed him back, grabbed my headphones and iPod, told him I was a student without money and he should steal from someone else, that he should go fuck himself(quietly), and walked off. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to take a picture. Made it back safe and sound.

Sorry this post wasn't that funny or entertaining but I'm just too goddamn pissed off right now.

On a lighter note, The Social Network is a de-lightful film. Check it out.

Heightsmen Hotel

Wow. A lot has happened since I posted two weeks ago. So I'm going to skip all of that up until this weekend. To be honest, aside from one night where I flooded my apartment, got pranked on by a French kid, saw 2 people doing something inappropriate in a car, and had an epic bike race against time that went down to the wire, it was pretty boring.

So I am going to skip ahead to this weekend, when I was personally invited to go down and stay in the famous Heightsmen Hotel by its owners/managers Nils and Sophie, free of charge. Situated on the outskirts of Aix-en-Provence, the location boasts a luxurious suite, unparalleled generosity, beautiful views, a range of activities and entertainment, free guided tours, and delightful cuisine, all situated against the backdrop of an artistic and hip city-town. Aix has been described in the following ways:

-artsy fartsy
-posh
-former home of Cezanne, Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, etc.
-the sexiest city in France

It lived up to all of these.

My trip began on Friday, when I was transported first-class direct from Paris to Aix. I was greeted personally by none other than the hotel mogul, Nils. We went to lunch where I had stuffed calamari followed by Cezanne's favorite dessert (still awaiting verification on this).

After this, I was afforded a few hours to discover Aix on my own. I walked down the Cours Mirabeau and I needed a watch so I bought one (yes, that's a price not a phone number):

Other highlights included:

-seeing the cathedral
-buying my cheapest crepe so far at 2 euros
-stopping by a video game store to try out FIFA 11, it sucks, don't buy it, I lost to Paris St. Germain with Barcelona
-teaching a bartender what a white russian is
-comic book store:

The city had tons of fountains too:

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, where I settled in and met the staff. Dinner was amazing, here are the hosts:

Afterwards we had some storytime. I recommend this book to everybody:

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Little-Mole-Search-Whodunit/dp/1556703481

We ended the night rocking to 80's music and doing what Heightsmen do best. Well, 2 things Heightsmen know best.

Saturday was a great day. After waking up and eating breakfast, I had a jam session with one of the hotel personnel. Look out for this up and coming star:

Then, Nils and I headed deep into the heart of the mountains for a manly mountain biking ride. Well, it was more like one mountain and we kind of just went up to it taking the easiest path, but still. I think it would be fair to say I spent more time on the ground than on the bike. Here is an action video, accompanied with a picture of my battle wounds (not for the faint of heart):

After a quick dip in the pool, we headed into Marseille, land of Chateau d'If and Zidane. I got a glimpse of the first one and didn't see the second at all. We got lunch at a place in Le Panier (more calamari, yeah!) and then drove up to the Notre Dame de Marseille which has a pretty good view of the whole city:

After that we went on an oceanside drive across the city, and then headed to my first authentic French soiree. I ate delicious hors d'oeuvres, drank good wine, and heard a lot of French. We went back and crashed.

Sunday it rained, which afforded me a much needed day of rest (the view was still great). We had smoked lamb for dinner and then watched Be Cool, which I surprisingly enjoyed a lot. That Vince Vaughn is something. After that it was bedtime again. The next morning we got stuck in rare traffic and I missed my train, but the hotel sorted it out with the train station, and after dealing with a couple other demoralizing individuals, I was back en route to Paris. All in all, it was a perfect weekend excursion. Five stars.

Thanks Nils and Sophie!

Sorry II

When I named this post "Sorry", I noticed that the title was part of the drop-down menu of previous titles I've used, which is bad for two reasons: a) I'm apologizing a lot and b) I'm getting less creative.

Regardless, it was brought to my attention that the last post sucked so I thought I'd supplement all the pictures with a couple stories.

I was about to cross the street the other day when a pigeon was crossing the other way. We were going to walk into each other, and there was kind of an awkward moment when we weren't sure who would go first, so I stopped, and the pigeon proceeded to go. I'm pretty sure it nodded at me too, French pigeons are mad polite.

Later on in the day I saw a French guy (I assume he was French) on a moped, with a horizontal striped shirt, with a beret, smoking a cigarette. I would've taken a picture if I had my camera.

And finally, yesterday I made my most unnecessary purchase so far. 3 euros for a bottle of carrot juice. wtf? I don't even drink carrot juice.

Carrot juice can be seen here:

OK, that's it for what's been going on in my life. Carrot juice wasn't even that good.