I woke up this morning and was just not feeling it. It was still dark and I was sleepy. I turned on my computer and tried to avoid turning on the light. I read post secret and wasted some time before finally getting up. I wasn't hungry but I grabbed my last package of cat's tongues from the cupboard as I made my sugary coffee. I wasted some more time before finally getting down to business. First on the list was my French presentation. Today's slide was about which person symbolizes Paris for me. I picked Caroline. I wish that I had a picture of her for my slide. I finished the slide quickly and then wasted some more time. My head felt fuzzy and I was unfocused. I finally got back to my work. I had to finish the last histories reading before our class on Tuesday. The article was fascinating but confusing. It was about how monuments are dispersed in Paris according to left and right political lines which the author kind of tied into the whole Left Bank/Right Bank divide. I nearly jumped out of my skin when he grouped the Bastille with the Pantheon. They're on different banks! They don't belong together! You know you're Parisian when you can visualize all of the places in an article about Paris and actually have a personal opinion about what the author is saying. I kind of agreed with his argument, but a true Parisian would never say east/west; it's right and left.
I finished the article in about an hour and then moved on to studying for pop. Why did I forget the connection between rock métis and Republicanism? My head was so foggy I couldn't think straight. I know that I've been over studying/can't focus when one note will lead me on a distracting mental tangent. I just couldn't get my act together. I studied the first three lectures of the new material and then wrote my first histories essay. I couldn't find the right pen, and my handwriting turned out terribly because I was rushing. I don't know why I was rushing at all; I wrote the essay in about 36 or 38 minutes. Is that too quickly? I don't even know anymore. I must admit, the only thing I can think about now is how distracting my shiny fingernails are. The sparkles have been reflecting light onto my work all day and right now they're causing a light display on my laptop. I wear sparkles for a reason.
Next up I went back to studying for pop. Despite not being hungry I had finished my cookies. I thought that if I ate something then my headache would go away. It kind of worked, but I was still unable to put my hair up; I can never put my hair up when my head hurts. I was hungry for some reason so I heated up my mac n cheese and continued to be distracted while I studied the last two pop lectures. I wasn't sure if I would study the old lectures today, but I figured that I should at least review them. I put them as a separate article on my to do list and put a star for "maybe" next to it. I had planned on reviewing the readings for the pop essay today but I moved it to Tuesday. I was having a rough day.
I wasted more time before writing my second histories essay. I didn't rush, and the length was a few sentences longer than normal, but it only took about 40 minutes. What is happening to me?! I think I put in all the information that I needed to put into the essays. I even looked up how to spell Feronnerie street so I could mention it in my first essay. I did have to stop the timer while I was writing the second essay to look up what year the wonders of colonialism world fair was held; it's 1931 in case you were wondering. I'm sure that my essays will be fine. I'm bound to at least get a 90 according to my history in the class. I guess I should just let it go.
Next I started studying for French. My head was hurting again and I quickly got jittery and distracted. I fought through studying half of the items and then my stomach began to growl. I figured that I'd finish up a few more small bits and then make myself some ramen for lunch. I google translated some sentences while I waited for my ramen to cook (Je vais me réveiller; don't conjugate the second verb, Michaela!) as part of my studying. I also looked at the syllabus to see what homework I needed to do. With all of the changing in the schedule I was uncertain if anything else was due on Tuesday. I realized that after we "learned" the conditional that I had to do exercises five and six. I added them to the list. My ramen finished cooking and I got into bed to eat while watching a new episode of People's Court. I had to drag myself away from the tv to go back to studying. I finished my French studying (I actually only missed one answer on the conditional exercise! Si j'étais moins timide, je serais contente) and then decided to leave the house. I wanted to go to Église Saint-Séverine because it was the last church on my list. I bundled up and left the house.
It wasn't raining today, but it was brutal cold. I can't remember the last time I was that cold. I was really proud of myself because I knew all of the directions almost by heart. My directions started at turning right next to the quai instead of Saint-Germain and then to turn on the street next to Shakespeare and Company. I started walking and my toes were instantly numb and my nose was so cold I couldn't sniff. My fingers were chilled to the bone despite my two layers of mittens. I hurried as fast as I could. When I got near the bookstore I saw that a marché de noël had been set up in the park. I still have a few gifts that I need to buy, and I figured that this was an opportune time to do it. There was a man dressed up as Santa Clause with a bell at the entrance wishing everyone a Merry Christmas (in English) and behind him was an accordion player and a singer dressed up in clothes straight out of a Christmas carole singing old Christmas songs in French. It was magical. I walked around to all of the vendors until I spotted a gift for my darling Elizabeth; it will go unnamed. I passed on the hot wine because I had to study when I got home. No time for being drunk today. On the way out I passed a vendor selling roasted chestnuts. It was only three euros for a small and he had the huge wooden roasting oven and everything. I decided to get some. He counted a few out, wrapped them in paper, and wished me bonne soirée.
I walked to the church peeling my chestnuts. They tasted like a mixture of fake sugar, crab, and chewy weirdness. I didn't love them, but I also found them disgustingly interesting. At least I have finally tried chestnuts roasted on an open fire. My idyllic Christmas dreams have come true. I easily found my way to the church without my directions. The church is jammed into a crowded block that is filled with tourist shops and fondue restaurants. The back looked unassuming, and the plaza in the front was so small that I couldn't get a good shot of the whole façade. That's the way churches in Paris are supposed to be, but it's not tourism friendly. I was going to go inside the front entrance, but there was a hobo standing on the stoop yelling in English with a British accent about how we were all holy tourists. He scared me so I went in through the back way.
The church was dark and creepy when I went. I'm sure it's light and cheery when it's daylight, but it's never daylight in Paris during the winter. I walked around to see all of the stained glass and the spider arches like the chapel I saw yesterday. There were these strange plaques on the walls near the floor and in other places that had people's names and professions on them. I hope they were tombstones. The church had some really cool frescos, but it was evident that the building needed some major repairs. Some of the wall had cracked down to the plaster and others looked like they'd fall apart right then and there. It was still oddly beautiful.
After the church I walked home. I stopped for a second at Shakespeare and Company to look for a book for a certain someone. I then remembered that the books are way overpriced. I wasn't too happy about the line of tourists stretching outside the door either. I still had some chestnuts in my purse that I hadn't eaten that I couldn't peel with my gloves on. My hands had already frozen so badly that they hurt so I figured that they couldn't get any colder. I took them off and peeled my chestnuts as I walked. I was very wrong; my hands could get colder. The chestnuts were hard to peel with my hurting hands and I ended up eating a lot of shell because some of it wouldn't come off or my hands hurt too much to peel it. I don't feel the need to eat chestnuts every again.
When I got upstairs I decided to take the boxes I had pulled out of the closet yesterday downstairs. I took them down and then realized that I wanted to save the message that mom had written to me on my thanksgiving box. I peeled off the side of the box and then went back upstairs. I made myself a cup of hot cocoa and got into bed to study for pop. I decided to not read my notes but just click on the video links that I had put into a word document. As each video came up I said it's biographical information and then explained the material that I needed to know for the song. Even with my shortened version of reviewing it still took me an hour. You should look up Leo Ferré's Saint-Germain de Près. Beautiful.
Next I read some articles online and then watched People's Court before taking my shower. I then cleaned out the cupboard beneath my bathroom sink. The bad news is that most of it is going home with me. There is no good news. I did discover, however, that I have enough tampons that I brought with me to last me another five months. What was I thinking?! After my sorting I wrote out two of my cards and got back in bed to watch more People's Court. I wish that it wasn't bedtime so I could watch more. Hopefully I won't be tired tomorrow. I have a French exam to study for.
À demain.
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