Merde
There is a certain inevitability in life that a good thing can't last forever. We like to imagine that if we put ourselves in the right places and do the right things we can make life what we dream it can be. I bought into this hard in high school with self-improvement tapes and books. I guess what I am trying to say is, the real inevitably is that at some point life is going to punch you in the face - hard. And well this last week I got knocked out.
Last week started innocently enough - I was following up on my French immigration.
For the last month, I have been preparing my own personal mountain of paper and other things to apply for my "titre de sejour" or residence permit. It is, in essence, my green card. When you arrive in France you submit an application and you receive a confirmation of a date that you will show up at the OFII(office of french immigration and integration). It consists of an orientation(mainly focusing on the fact that in France your wife is allowed to work and drive), a medical examination and finally an interview. After you do all this and give them your mountain of paper(including a 241 euro stamp - sold at tobacco shops???) you get a nice little sticker for your passport.
I did all of this and received my sticker which made me feel super relieved. I thought I could finally just settle down and enjoy the rest of this year. It was a feeling that was great for the whole 24 hours before I lost my passport.
Let me just say first that my passport holder/wallet is awesome. My mom got it for me 6 years ago when I first went to France and it has been a loyal companion for most of that time. I've taken it all over Europe and it was my wallet for a big chunk of time in the US as well. But, well it's showing it's age. The velcro doesn't quite stick like it used to, the zipper sometimes get jammed and there are some seams that are starting to get a little loose. I hate getting rid of anything though due to nostalgic reasons. My mom bought this for me! It's traveled everywhere with me! It still works great!
Well after about 1000 times of pulling my passport in and out of the passport holder well the holder was shot. My passport had already slipped out a few times when I pulled out my bank card. The day after I received the stamp I was out for lunch with a friend in the 16eme and when I pulled out my bank card it must have slipped out. I was supposed to make copies of it in the afternoon and well it was gone.
You would think knowing exactly where and when you lost your passport would make it easy to recover. Especially because I realized it just a few hours later. I have read that if you lose anything in Tokyo you can usually expect to find it a few hours later at the police station. Turns out Paris is pretty far from Tokyo. My father in law rather resolutely told me that an American passport with a french work permit was far too valuable to find it's way back into my hands.
So this last week I have been running a different gauntlet. I've been to the police station, the office of lost and found affairs and early next week I will concede defeat and head to the American consulate. It's a bitter expensive pill to swallow, but well I have no choice. Those 3 seconds it took for my passport to slip out and fall to the ground are just pummelling me over and over again.
On top of that work was a bit of a nightmare. I ended up working like crazy for a demo that didn't happen. While Celine went to Nantes for the weekend I ended up staying in my office. That is not entirely true, I did end up taking a nice little 4 hour walk around downtown Paris. It actually ended up being a pretty awesome walk, I started at Deyrolle a large taxidermy and curiousity shop and just wondered side alleys. I even ended up in an underground contemporary art show. Also marche aux fleurs is just the best thing ever. I don't know what black magic allows lemons and other fruit to grow in Paris in late October, but I am ok with it. It saved my rather gloomy weekend.
I am loving my job, but I am excited for Christmas break to come. This next month will be really intense(in a fun way), but I'll need to relax. Celine and I are crossing our fingers that we can take a few days to run off together while we leave the baby with his grandparents.
Speaking of Celine she is doing well. She is pretty overwhelmed too juggling her agregation studies with her doctoral duties, but it looks like she is going to pull it off.
No new news on Gael. He's a happy little baby.
Well here's to a better week - and a more focused, happier, less rambling newsletter next week,
DJ
Last week started innocently enough - I was following up on my French immigration.
For the last month, I have been preparing my own personal mountain of paper and other things to apply for my "titre de sejour" or residence permit. It is, in essence, my green card. When you arrive in France you submit an application and you receive a confirmation of a date that you will show up at the OFII(office of french immigration and integration). It consists of an orientation(mainly focusing on the fact that in France your wife is allowed to work and drive), a medical examination and finally an interview. After you do all this and give them your mountain of paper(including a 241 euro stamp - sold at tobacco shops???) you get a nice little sticker for your passport.
I did all of this and received my sticker which made me feel super relieved. I thought I could finally just settle down and enjoy the rest of this year. It was a feeling that was great for the whole 24 hours before I lost my passport.
Let me just say first that my passport holder/wallet is awesome. My mom got it for me 6 years ago when I first went to France and it has been a loyal companion for most of that time. I've taken it all over Europe and it was my wallet for a big chunk of time in the US as well. But, well it's showing it's age. The velcro doesn't quite stick like it used to, the zipper sometimes get jammed and there are some seams that are starting to get a little loose. I hate getting rid of anything though due to nostalgic reasons. My mom bought this for me! It's traveled everywhere with me! It still works great!
Well after about 1000 times of pulling my passport in and out of the passport holder well the holder was shot. My passport had already slipped out a few times when I pulled out my bank card. The day after I received the stamp I was out for lunch with a friend in the 16eme and when I pulled out my bank card it must have slipped out. I was supposed to make copies of it in the afternoon and well it was gone.
You would think knowing exactly where and when you lost your passport would make it easy to recover. Especially because I realized it just a few hours later. I have read that if you lose anything in Tokyo you can usually expect to find it a few hours later at the police station. Turns out Paris is pretty far from Tokyo. My father in law rather resolutely told me that an American passport with a french work permit was far too valuable to find it's way back into my hands.
So this last week I have been running a different gauntlet. I've been to the police station, the office of lost and found affairs and early next week I will concede defeat and head to the American consulate. It's a bitter expensive pill to swallow, but well I have no choice. Those 3 seconds it took for my passport to slip out and fall to the ground are just pummelling me over and over again.
On top of that work was a bit of a nightmare. I ended up working like crazy for a demo that didn't happen. While Celine went to Nantes for the weekend I ended up staying in my office. That is not entirely true, I did end up taking a nice little 4 hour walk around downtown Paris. It actually ended up being a pretty awesome walk, I started at Deyrolle a large taxidermy and curiousity shop and just wondered side alleys. I even ended up in an underground contemporary art show. Also marche aux fleurs is just the best thing ever. I don't know what black magic allows lemons and other fruit to grow in Paris in late October, but I am ok with it. It saved my rather gloomy weekend.
I am loving my job, but I am excited for Christmas break to come. This next month will be really intense(in a fun way), but I'll need to relax. Celine and I are crossing our fingers that we can take a few days to run off together while we leave the baby with his grandparents.
Speaking of Celine she is doing well. She is pretty overwhelmed too juggling her agregation studies with her doctoral duties, but it looks like she is going to pull it off.
No new news on Gael. He's a happy little baby.
Well here's to a better week - and a more focused, happier, less rambling newsletter next week,
DJ
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