Ma nouvelle apparence
translation: my new look
Although it's likely to last for only a fleeting moment, I decided to spice up my blog with some festive colors. I'm not usually the festive type, but since this will be the first year I spend Christmas away from my family, the holiday somehow feels more important than usual. But, I'm really excited about how Christmas works in France, and I can't wait to see Paris in the dead of winter. The year I spent Thanksgiving in London was interesting, and although it's only an American holiday, it was cool to see people still celebrating with turkey and stuffing served at restaurants. But, I do remember missing the food and fun that usually warms my tummy and my heart during Turkey Day, so I'll likely have similar feelings while I'm celebrating Christmas with Guillaume and his family in Paris.
Besides the new look of my blog, I've starting thinking about how my own personal look might change while I'm away. I know I can be a chameleon of sorts, and usually change myself in some way to fit into a new crowd or a new place. So, I'm hesitant to buy the latest trendy sweater here before making my way to Europe where la mode is, likely, not on the same trend as Austin. Yesterday, after a six-hour brunch, I spent a total of $5.00 (parking!) for the entire day, mostly because I was indecisive about buying a pair of shoes here that I might not wear in France. That's definitely a new record for me!
Although it's likely to last for only a fleeting moment, I decided to spice up my blog with some festive colors. I'm not usually the festive type, but since this will be the first year I spend Christmas away from my family, the holiday somehow feels more important than usual. But, I'm really excited about how Christmas works in France, and I can't wait to see Paris in the dead of winter. The year I spent Thanksgiving in London was interesting, and although it's only an American holiday, it was cool to see people still celebrating with turkey and stuffing served at restaurants. But, I do remember missing the food and fun that usually warms my tummy and my heart during Turkey Day, so I'll likely have similar feelings while I'm celebrating Christmas with Guillaume and his family in Paris.
Besides the new look of my blog, I've starting thinking about how my own personal look might change while I'm away. I know I can be a chameleon of sorts, and usually change myself in some way to fit into a new crowd or a new place. So, I'm hesitant to buy the latest trendy sweater here before making my way to Europe where la mode is, likely, not on the same trend as Austin. Yesterday, after a six-hour brunch, I spent a total of $5.00 (parking!) for the entire day, mostly because I was indecisive about buying a pair of shoes here that I might not wear in France. That's definitely a new record for me!
What I'm going to miss: Version 2.0
So, before I left to California I posted this entry about the things I'd miss while I was away from Texas. This newer version is definitely expanded, since so many little things I take for granted will surely be difficult or impossible to find when I'm abroad. These are just the material things...of course my family and friends are implicitly what I'll miss most while I'm gone!
1) Mom's home-cookin' - be that roast, enchiladas, rice, chalupas, or chicken salad, there's nothing that tastes quite as good as when mom makes it!
2) Driving - even though I won't miss traffic or driving to work during rush hour, I think I'll miss the control that I feel when I'm driving my car; it's almost like that freedom to escape...just get in your car when you feel like it and drive wherever you want to go.
3) Breakfast tacos
4) Wearing flip flops any time of the year - I know you can't do that everywhere here, but you surely can in LA and Austin!
5) American reality TV - especially the really geeky stuff like The Bachelor or SYTYCD
6) Knowing where to find what I need - out of shave gel? gotta go to Target! need some pasta? taking a trip to HEB or Trader Joe's!
7) Fast food - I know I'm going to be living in, arguably, the best city for food in the world, but sometimes all a girl needs is a nice taco combo from Taco Cabana, a biggie-sized chili from Wendy's or a strawberry limeade from Sonic!
8) Friendly people - France (especially Paris) doesn't exactly have a medal for being home to the most approachable people.
...... I'll post more as I think of them!
1) Mom's home-cookin' - be that roast, enchiladas, rice, chalupas, or chicken salad, there's nothing that tastes quite as good as when mom makes it!
2) Driving - even though I won't miss traffic or driving to work during rush hour, I think I'll miss the control that I feel when I'm driving my car; it's almost like that freedom to escape...just get in your car when you feel like it and drive wherever you want to go.
3) Breakfast tacos
4) Wearing flip flops any time of the year - I know you can't do that everywhere here, but you surely can in LA and Austin!
5) American reality TV - especially the really geeky stuff like The Bachelor or SYTYCD
6) Knowing where to find what I need - out of shave gel? gotta go to Target! need some pasta? taking a trip to HEB or Trader Joe's!
7) Fast food - I know I'm going to be living in, arguably, the best city for food in the world, but sometimes all a girl needs is a nice taco combo from Taco Cabana, a biggie-sized chili from Wendy's or a strawberry limeade from Sonic!
8) Friendly people - France (especially Paris) doesn't exactly have a medal for being home to the most approachable people.
...... I'll post more as I think of them!
Lame update
I'm not in Dallas anymore.
I'm temporarily working at my old job in Austin.
I'm spending quality time with most of the people I love.
I've become quite the gypsy.
I can't wait for Thanksgiving to see my nephews, sis and Georgia peaches.
I'm not going to London after all (for now).
I'm moving to Paris at the end of November.
How's that for an update? :)
More soon...
I'm temporarily working at my old job in Austin.
I'm spending quality time with most of the people I love.
I've become quite the gypsy.
I can't wait for Thanksgiving to see my nephews, sis and Georgia peaches.
I'm not going to London after all (for now).
I'm moving to Paris at the end of November.
How's that for an update? :)
More soon...
Movin', movin'
So, I'm in Dallas now. Well, not really Dallas, just north of it in Carrollton, but it's about a 20 minute drive to downtown Dallas, which I passed along the way. I got to do some thinking on the 3-hour drive, and before I got here I was thinking to myself that I was maybe making a mistake...maybe I should stay in Austin for a little longer...maybe forever. But, as I made it closer to Dallas, and after passing downtown, I felt a little jolt of excitement. I'm not sure where it came from or what it was for, but if I had to guess, it was the crazy, independent, thrill-seeking side of me anticipating all of the energy that's housed in a big city. It's like taking a trip to New York, and finally arriving at that little corner in Times Square where all the energy seems to be emerging from. Even though it only lasted a couple of seconds, I feel content that I've made it here and I'm going to give it all I've got to find some sort of success here. If not, at least I'll have tried.
Finally, an update
So much has happened since my last post, so I'll try to sum it all up and then do one giant post of pics to give a better idea of what's been going on with this Misplaced Texan.
After a grueling 2 days of driving through 5 states, and a nice stop to the (under-rated) Grand Canyon, Guillaume and I finally arrived at my sister's place on the 4th. We had such a great time visiting with her, David and my adorable nephews, that it was hard to leave; we even extended our stay for one day to get a little more time in with the kiddos. We were there just long enough to celebrate my nephew's 4th birthday, too, which was actually really fun for us! It was definitely the highlight of our trip. Last Tuesday evening we arrived at our friends' place back in Austin where we had planned to stay for the week. We had a really great time catching up with all our friends (and family), and we were so happy to be back in Austin with familiar places and faces. I even ran into 3 of my cousins at a sport's bar watching the Texas game!
But, alas, Guillaume had to set off back to France today, and we were both very sad about our separation. We're really hoping to see eachother in 8 weeks or less, but no matter how many times we go through this same routine, it never gets any easier. It will be nice once we're finally able to be together without any time restrictions. For now, we'll have to make do with what we've got, which is what we've managed to do so far.
After a grueling 2 days of driving through 5 states, and a nice stop to the (under-rated) Grand Canyon, Guillaume and I finally arrived at my sister's place on the 4th. We had such a great time visiting with her, David and my adorable nephews, that it was hard to leave; we even extended our stay for one day to get a little more time in with the kiddos. We were there just long enough to celebrate my nephew's 4th birthday, too, which was actually really fun for us! It was definitely the highlight of our trip. Last Tuesday evening we arrived at our friends' place back in Austin where we had planned to stay for the week. We had a really great time catching up with all our friends (and family), and we were so happy to be back in Austin with familiar places and faces. I even ran into 3 of my cousins at a sport's bar watching the Texas game!
But, alas, Guillaume had to set off back to France today, and we were both very sad about our separation. We're really hoping to see eachother in 8 weeks or less, but no matter how many times we go through this same routine, it never gets any easier. It will be nice once we're finally able to be together without any time restrictions. For now, we'll have to make do with what we've got, which is what we've managed to do so far.
heat + moving + no food + no electricity = ready for the day to be over
My computer might die since my battery hasn't been charged all day and our electricity's already been cancelled, so hopefully I can finish this blog in, let's see...21 mins (that should be enough time).
So it's gone. All of it. I don't have anything left in this hot, little apartment by the beach except a couch that Salli (the Salvation Army) couldn't take because of a hole in the cushion. I'm waiting for my neighbor to drag it out of here so I can finish sweeping and mopping the living room floor. I finished the bathroom, our bedroom and the kitchen, but I've got one more room left to do before we can officially be outta here. This morning, we shoved everything into our cars that we could fit, so they could take the furniture out of the apartment. Guillaume had to work today, so I was kind of left here to sort it all out after he headed out. What a disaster it was! I had no luck selling my things on Craigslist (& let me just say that people are SUCH flakes...a gazillion people wanted some of my furniture, but they never showed up or called back!), so I scheduled an appointment online for the Salvation Army to pick it up as a donation. I guess it'll be a little nice around tax season, but it was really hard to depart with some of my things that I've had for so long. It was the first time I actually teared up thinking about my journey ahead and the places, people and memories I'm leaving behind.
I have one more day of work tomorrow, and as soon as Guillaume can sell his car, we're heading out on the road! I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited about the trip. I just can't wait to see my little nephews, my friends and all my family! Oops, there goes the low battery message....perfect timing.
So it's gone. All of it. I don't have anything left in this hot, little apartment by the beach except a couch that Salli (the Salvation Army) couldn't take because of a hole in the cushion. I'm waiting for my neighbor to drag it out of here so I can finish sweeping and mopping the living room floor. I finished the bathroom, our bedroom and the kitchen, but I've got one more room left to do before we can officially be outta here. This morning, we shoved everything into our cars that we could fit, so they could take the furniture out of the apartment. Guillaume had to work today, so I was kind of left here to sort it all out after he headed out. What a disaster it was! I had no luck selling my things on Craigslist (& let me just say that people are SUCH flakes...a gazillion people wanted some of my furniture, but they never showed up or called back!), so I scheduled an appointment online for the Salvation Army to pick it up as a donation. I guess it'll be a little nice around tax season, but it was really hard to depart with some of my things that I've had for so long. It was the first time I actually teared up thinking about my journey ahead and the places, people and memories I'm leaving behind.
I have one more day of work tomorrow, and as soon as Guillaume can sell his car, we're heading out on the road! I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited about the trip. I just can't wait to see my little nephews, my friends and all my family! Oops, there goes the low battery message....perfect timing.
Keeping me going
This week has been, and I'm sure will continue to be a struggle to get through. But, thinking about seeing these little faces at the end of it all is what's keeping me truckin' on.
Moving Madness
I hate moving. I don't understand how I can be such a nomad but hate the act of moving from place to place. When we were little, we moved around Austin quite a bit, and even as I grew up, I never really lived in a house long enough to say there was one place I actually grew up in. I'm happy about being able to move around freely from place to place, as I've obviously been able to leave my comfort zones and allow myself to explore other places without too much uneasiness. But, I think this time is a little different; I've been purging my life away. I have 3 bag-fulls of clothes that I'm letting go of (undoubtedly, no easy task in my book), and I'm selling off or donating the rest of my furniture and other belongings that just won't fit in my car. I already feel like my life was so consolidated for the move to California, so having to consolidate my consolidated lifestyle is nearly unbearable. I shipped off 5 boxes of books, clothes and bags back to Texas yesterday, and I'm making some progress towards that consolidation, but it's still tough. I might have to buy and install a roof rack to my car or break down and hire a company to ship my things back for me if I can't manage to fit all I want in my little VW.
I know it'll all come together by Friday....it's just that Friday seems like an eternity from now.
I know it'll all come together by Friday....it's just that Friday seems like an eternity from now.
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