MY VOTE IS IN!
DIFFERENT AREA CODES, DOUBLE RAINBOWS, AND CHURCH BELLS
CHURCH BELLS
My grandfather on my mother’s side was a master organist and my grandmother on my father’s side was a choir conductor and piano aficionado. Surrounded by beautiful traditional “church chimes” have been a part of my whole life. I am happy to report, even this part.
I live almost directly beside the only church on Île Saint Louis. Therefore, I wake up to the chimes, I eat lunch to the chimes, I go for my sunset strolls based on the chimes, and I start winding down at night listening to the chimes. They have become my daily compass for what’s next.
If you ask my mother, she even bought her house solely based on being able to hear the chimes from her porch downtown. I now get it! An hourly vibration … what an upgrade.
DIFFERENT AREA CODES
Not too much to report this week. Other than that I got a french phone number!!
Well, almost! To cut it short. It turns out that a US Apple phone is blocked from accepting French E-Sim cards. Wild! Right? I think so too!
So, after I was like “Oh, it won’t work? No problem. Here’s my credit card back. You can just use that to issue my refund.” I was told that it was “against company policy to issue refunds since the service was already purchased.” Oh no. I don’t like that answer one bit. So, me: “Oh, yes. I understand that it isn’t policy if the service is working. Alas, as you are here to attest. It doesn’t work. Therefore, by you charging me, it’s like me paying for a chair to be made and the carpenter deciding not to construct a seat. You get it?! It doesn’t work!! I need my money back. Please and thank you.” To no avail. She assured me that she can’t see what she can do, as it’s a policy.
Someone who has had an undercurrent of customer service in her whole career, c’est moi, knows that that is never the answer. Policy? Screw a policy. I was trained, and now firmly believe, that the client is ALWAYS right. Even when they are wrong (which in this case I wasn’t at all). They are right. So, you do what you can to accommodate in order to show good will and retain them in good faith. More or less — just fake it by god! Show me that you’re trying at least to be accommodating and do right. Mais, non. Not here. Not at FREE (ironic company name given my not-free debacle).
I was shocked and dismayed and felt robed, to be honest. So, I told her so (in a calm polite way — but still) “I believe you could have made this better for me. As the saying goes, ‘If you believe you can or you believe you can’t. You’re right.’ So just believe you CAN and then, you can fix this.” Even after my Little Engine That Could words of wisdom, she didn’t budge on her stance.
As she apologized, I said “Thank you. My hope is that this never happens to you. I hope that you are never trying to fit into a new country and making an effort to be more like a citizen by getting the proper things in place and yet then be charged for something that you are not getting aide with at all. And on top of it, being made to feel like it’s your fault for having the wrong thing (my case the “wrong phone”). Because, it is a terrible feeling. This is terrible. This is terrible.” I repeated this is terrible about 1000 times. Because it was. I still don’t get it! I live by when there is a little room for kindness you add it in!!! Make exceptions and when you can see something isn’t right — you fix it. It’s our jobs. All of our jobs. I truly can’t think of one person who has a job that isn’t about fixing problems. That’s what working is. Making life easier for those you are working for (your boss, your clients, your team, your membership). Mais, not here.
I went back again yesterday to see if her heart had softened and to show her that I had gone to Apple, per her instructions, and that Apple even confirmed that it is not my phone’s issue after all. It is indeed a FREE issue. To no avail. She didn’t care. And then, neither did I.
Instead. I smiled and just decided to let it go. When I got home, I cancelled my plan. And took myself to the Seine where I ate tarama. Yes, when I left Apple a few days ago, I made a pit stop by their next door neighbor, Poissonnerie Viot. I picked up the BEST tarama in the whole city. So, with that, my fresh demi baguette, and my can of beer, I made a beeline to the Seine to indulge. While there, it rained on me. But then. I spotted a double rainbow! You can barely make them out in this photograph below, but I promise you, they were there and were the brightest pair of rainbows I had ever seen in the Périphérique.
Rainbows after a rainy day — figuratively and literally. Life continues to surprise me!
So, for now, until I either buy a new phone over here or figure out what in the hell the block is on mine. I will keep paying an exorbitant amount of money to Verizon in the USA to connect with all of you. I will chalk it up as part of my “rent.” Because I don’t pay nearly what I would be paying if I were in my other favorite city… NYC!!
Last night I got a surprise catch-up call from one of my besties, Erica. My sweet little pasta making, pie baking, buttermilk biscuit perfectionist, and fellow southerner. She told me while on the ummmmm almost 3 hour call – THIS NEVER HAPPENS for us. It was a DREAM – that even Jersey City (where her and her husband’s famed butcher shop is) has apartment lotteries right now. Yes. That is exactly what you think it is. A gamble for an apartment that you may never be able to call home. “Whoever offers the most money, get’s to call this place theirs.” was one of the headlines she quoted from a recent search she had made.
WILD. So, my phone bill?! Plus my rent. It’s still almost 7xs less than the cost (your read that correctly) to live in NYC at this moment. I’ll survive! And luckily… with a cellphone that works!
EVERY VOTE COUNTS
I am very proud to say that just before drafting this EN ROUTE, I casted my USA PRESIDENTIAL vote!!!
It has been on my list for weeks now. And yesterday, I finally logged onto VoteFromAbroad.org and registered to VOTE!
Right before I hit submit on my registration, I had to sign all of these statements that I was: of the age, that everything I listed was accurate, or else, and that ummmmm wait for it… that I am “not disqualified to vote due to having been convicted of a felony or other disqualifying offense.” WHAT in the wild fill in the blank?!
Immediately, I voice-texted Miranda. “Tell me I have just read this wrong. Is this right? If you go to jail you lose the right to VOTE?!” I was horrified. She voicenoted me back that my South Carolina state doesn’t allow voting if you have been a felon. I was shocked and a little embarrassed not to have known this fully as a South Carolinian. I have always thought that jail was meant for the sole purpose to rehabilitate people. To give them a new chance, not condemn them for what they did in the past and keep them stuck there. How is this possible? That they aren’t worth a vote. How will we ever grow if we don’t believe in new beginnings and rectifying behavior?
I derail. Anyway… not being a felon, thank god, I was able to REGISTER. Yay!
Miranda also responded that she “forgot to tell me. I will have to mail in my ballot. So I should have sent it with one of my friends who had been in town last week.” I’m like.. “No, mama. I opted for the email version ballot.” She‘s like “It’s not that simple! You'll still have to mail it in.”
Mais non!!
Happy to report that I was right! And that this was NOT another French barricade for me this week. Today, I pressed submit on my ballot and have proof that I have 100% VOTED for our next President of the United States!!! I feel proud to be an American!
THE NINE TO FIVE
I have worked so much this week and simply LOVED it. I keep having to pinch myself. Who knew that this kind of easy work life balance existed? I go for long walks in the AM (while NYC is still snoozing), I meditate, and I buy a fancy coffee most mornings. Then, I come back home or go to SoHo House and grind for 5+ hours until I opt for another stroll (with a beer, not coffee this time) or sauna and steam (if in the four walls of SoHo). It’s perfect!
The team is incredible! I’m simply in love with my boss (who started the day I did, and in the role that I used to have at CLS… Director of Operations. So she feels just as in love with me. I do things for our five-person team before she asks me to. Because I’ve done it before so I predict what needs to be taken care of and off of her plate.) She tells me daily how thankful she is to have me part time. And I feel the same. One hundred fold! We have a call set this afternoon - where she has told me she is offering me more projects and responsibilities. I am so thankful!
What I’m also thankful for is wait for it… wait for it… the rain!
I know I know. Usually, I am the one who is huffin’ and puffin’ about the storms or the clouds or the random mists (and don’t get me wrong, I can still get raged when ummmm TWO random times this week the sun was shining in full force but then it DOWNPOURED on my &$#) — but Monday and Wednesday here à Paris was, dare I say, BLISS?!
It rained all the livelong days and I loved it! The rain gave me permission to bask in my precious little treehouse. Which I am happy to report.. I am MUCH happier in since I have rearranged all of the furniture. Sometimes you just need a little change of feng shui. I actually have been craving to come home (a feeling I have experienced in ALL of my past apartments until this one. But now, I crave her!).
I just need my things.
Erica and I talked at length about this on Wednesday night. She is about to take two months and hop over the Hudson NY for a little reprieve before she moves permanently to Alabama and do her thang… feed people her delicious food. With this upcoming move, she stayed busy packing and sorting as we were on our call. It wasn’t until she came across her “mother’s quilt” that our conversation went to the love of our things and the need for them.
“… and what am I supposed to do with my quilt?! It’s never been in a box. It’s always just been with me.” Her exact words. I thought it was the sweetest thing I had ever heard so I quickly jotted it down. It’s just been with me. That’s how I feel about all of my beautiful belongings that are in South Carolina. They’ve just been with me. They are me. She went on to describe how her quilt had gone to every home, apartment, sublet, temporary airbnb etc. And now? The question was .. does she store it for two months? Or take it? She knows that this time period isn’t long per se, but she loves her things and wants her things with her so that it feels like home right away. Boy do I hear that!
“AC? What is a home without your soul in it? I need this blanket with me!” I believe her. And, I believe that that quilt is already in the car to go.
A few weeks ago I was expressing to Miranda how settled I felt in her and Nico’s home over the summer. How thankful I had been to have had touched down and felt rooted in a solid steady place for a consistent 12 days (the longest of the two gracious blocks of time they offered me in their paradise in the 15th). She laughed and said “Well, it’s about time you fix your home then! If our home made you feel that rooted in only 12 days… you’ve got like a million “12 days” in 6 months so you need to make it home!”
First of all, we roared with laughter at the absurdity of her statement. “A million 12-days!?” Try — fifteen, mama. There are fifteen 12-day increments in six months. A little less than a million.
Secondly, I got what she meant. Time is of the essences. Six months is a long time – so make it a home.
I completely relate and get what Erica is experiencing. Trying to figure out what to take and what to store. What books will make the cut, what dresses will be donated, what designer shoes will be given to friends, what furniture will be sold… etc.
I miss my vintage oriental rugs the most (they would look incredible here in my treehouse), my vases, my wool kitchen runner, my paintings and family photographs, and my DOG!!! Lord do I miss that boodle something terrible. I mean, what is life really without someone/something adoring you the second you walk in. Who has most probably (100%) slept all day on your white couch and yet meets you at the door as if they had been waiting there all the livelong day for your return. And who expects a peanut butter jar to lick every time they hear your keys in preparation to leave again. It’s everything!! I miss Goldie Hawn’s smell, her warmth, her excitement. “Ah! Pack your dogs!” I found myself exclaiming to Erica. “Don’t you worry! They already in the car!”
BRUNCH AND SIDES
Last Saturday, after my upgrade of a brunch with new (feel like old) friends, I pedaled fast up the Grand Rex to find that Dr. Joe’s workshop was canceled last minute. I was wildly disappointed at first – then I realized that maybe this was a good thing. After all, I didn’t have an actual ticket. Remember? I was going to negotiate my way in. So, it wasn’t guaranteed. I think I would have been more devastated if I couldn’t get in knowing that he was here in Paris. Instead, I took it to mean that he will come back (he has too, right?! I mean, he sold out an entire arena!) again, and that the next time I WILL have purchased a ticket in advance. I won’t be subject to the unknown, and hope to negotiate a seat.
Leaving, I had a side FaceTime call coming through from Boggs and Belle Miller. Greenlight! I would have missed their call had I been inside already. My nephew and niece were at my mother’s house, taking hot showers, building puzzles with lights ON, and having fun forgetting that their house was still without power due to the hurricane weeks prior. And Lord did they look cute. They, per the usual, had me cackling with their stories and jokes and precious little selves. Can’t get over how big they are!
Each day of the weekend I roamed the Seine for hours, walked through Jardin des Tuileries, and enjoyed this beautiful city of mine. And each weekday? Place des Vosges. I haven’t missed a morning that I haven’t laid eyes on my gir. She is simply – my happy Place!
Tonight, after I finish all of my work calls, and go for an outside run, I am going to meet Nico and Miranda for beers with their curly top, Margaux, pictured below. Fingers crossed I will get my weekly bébé mouth kisses from her. She’s starting to reach for me when she sees me. Nico declares that she doesn’t do that with anyone but his mama… so, I think that means I’m in!!
Then, I will swoop up her mama, Miranda, and take her with me to meet all of my new friends at a soiree in the 9th. I live for my friends to be friends. I am excited for everyone to meet her, and happy for all the laughter and connections tonight will hold.
This weekend.. Je ne sais pas. I want to do a lot of things… visit museums, roam about the city randomly as I’ve become a pro at doing, and buy paintings. I need paintings on my bare walls. We’ll see where the wind takes me.
And speaking of wind. Please, when you have a moment, send up all the thoughts and happiness to our loved ones down in Florida who were hit with a category 5 hurricane this week. My cousin and her husband were first responders – so, they had to stay put for the storm while others evacuated. Some were even en route to my mama and Joe’s home for cover in South Carolina. Storm season is upon them. May they all be safe!
Xxo ac