Every once in a while when i'm walking around the city, the realisation that i live in Paris hits me like a wave of awesome. I realise that for people who have lived and worked here their whole lives, it's not that special; but for a Great Canadian Prairie kid like me, Paris is a wonderful, magical place. Around every corner lurks something of enormous cultural or historical significance. Under each street - each cobblestone - lies the essence of some two thousand years of human habitation. Ah, Paris; the epicentre of all that is French, and by definition, one of the cornerstones of western civilization.
I am astounded daily by how this city works. How it moves and hums and beats to a rhythm that is entirely its own. In many ways, life here moves much faster than it did any where i've ever lived - and in others, it plods along at speeds that could only be described with adjectives like "epic" and "mythic". Yes, Paris is a good place to be, as long as you don't actually need to do anything. But that's not why i'm here - if i wanted to invest in businesses and advance my career, i would never have left North America.
But i did leave, and each day that i'm gone is a re-affirmation of my reasons for doing so. Even now, as the season the locals affectionately refer to as "winter" is setting in, i still find myself in absolutely no hurry to be anywhere, or do anything, ever. That isn't to say that i'm lethargic - quite the opposite, in fact! It's just that i'm not pressured anymore. Getting to work before nine is unthinkable. Lunch takes at least an hour - and there's usually a lovely side of fish involved. Yes, fish! Oh god, the food here is incredible. Montréal is easily the gastronomic capital of Canada, but so far, it doesn't quite measure up to its Old World counterpart.
Yes, life here is good - no, it's great - and i there's precious little i would trade it for at this very moment... well, i suppose i could probably be convinced if there were palm trees and little umbrella drinks involved, but only after very serious consideration.
It's been a long time -
I shouldn't have left you,
without a strong rhyme
to step to.
Yes, it has officially been forever since i did anything productive with this blog. To be perfectly honest, i started strong, since i really like Vox as a platform; but what with the historical ties i have to LJ, and the newfound Facebook addiction, well, Vox just lost out.
It's not you, Vox, it's me. I'm sorry it didn't really work out between us. We had some good times though, right? And hey, we're still friends, and that's what matters. Call me sometime, we'll, i don't know, post a photo or something. Take care.
Je viens juste de démenager en France. Je suis situé dans le 17ième arrondissement de Paris pour les prochaines quelques semaines (avant que je trouve un apartement pour moi même). Les temps sont pas mal excitant. :)
It's time to fire up the time-machine and check out the Democratic Republic of North Korea's hottest summer jam from 1993.
Title: Reunification Rainbow
Artist: Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble
Album: 51 - No Motherland Without You
Ok, enough with the rain already.
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
Ok, yeah, i haven't really been updating this blog at all. To be honest, i'm really more of a LiveJournal man, myself.
Désolé! Quand j'ai plus de photos pour posté, je posterai encore plus. Until then, ça suffit de faire rien. :P
How do you handle phone calls from telemarketers?
I, like many, got my start in the technology industry as an in-bound call-centre monkey. I spent close to two years working phones before i moved onto the rest of my career. Although it wasn't out-bound sales, i learned some valuable lessons about being polite and respectful to the person on the other end of phone - and by "the other end of the phone", i don't mean the customer, i mean me.
As a result, when telemarketers call, i now just thank them for their time, explain to them that i realise they have a job to do, but that i'm not interested. Then i hang up. Honestly, there's no reason to get worked up about a telemarketer calling you, and it'll absolutely make their day if you treat them like a human being - even if it's only for a few moments before the conversation quietly ends.
What was the worst job you ever had?
Submitted by salaryman.
(Oups, je suis un 'tit peu en retard avec cette réponse.)
Quand j'étais 14 ans, ma mère m'a envoyé - pendant un été - chez un petit ville au nord du Canada. J'ai creusé des fossés et posé des pipes dans la toundra, et c'était généralement terrible. :P
Recent Comments
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Jacqueline said:
I am so glad to hear that things are going well for you. This post makes me want to come... read more
on the city of lights -
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phrawzty said:
A fake tree.. were it real, it would have been removed quite some time ago. read more
on it's no longer that time of year
You're welcome to come visit any time you like. :) read more
on the city of lights