To start this week I'd like to pour one out for the lost subscriber(it will have to be wine of course). You are now the chosen 15, let's continue on this journey/quest/adventure together.

Today I had a little moment when I got off work that encouraged me and warmed my cold jaded heart a little bit. It was one of those special little "city" moments that is so much fun. The Paris way is always to be in a rush and I have set about to master it. With broad shoulders and a long stride, I can often use this to my advantage to barge and bustle around and through the crowd.

After getting through the security entrance of the metro I had to descend 4 flights of stairs to get to the platform. I noticed that there was a girl slightly in front of me and I decided to take the opportunity to show my Parisness and beat her to the bottom. Once I caught her on the second flight of stairs I thought I was in the clear, but then she started to speed up. A race! We completed the third flight of stairs neck and neck and I was sure I would win on the last one. I threw myself down them with full force risking a violent fall and she did the same. I think we touched the bottom at the exact same time. I couldn't help, but break out with a huge grin. I glanced over and she was smiling too - for a second it was just two grade schoolers racing to the bottom of the stairs. It made my day.

I also want to tell you about the market next to our house. It's analogous to farmer's markets back home in a fixed place with stalls. You will find more cheese vendors, butchers, and assorted shops to go along with the fruit and vegetables. It's been such a delight to begin to discover again things that we loved so much the first time and forgot about. Getting rotisserie chicken and potatoes(cooked underneath in the fat of the chicken) on sundays and having them with a hardy red. But, my absolute favorite isn't the traditional french food, or the colors and neat fish. Oh my gosh we discovered the most amazing falafel here. It's perfect, fresh, perfectly soft on the inside and just a bit crunchy on the outside. I feel like my 6 month search for the perfect falafel in Seattle is finally over as I have found my (current) perfect falafel. 

Céline is good. She is deep in studying for the agregation. She had a 6 hour exam this last Saturday and couldn't find a bakery selling non sweet stuff(a great tragedy to be sure), so she toughed it out with bread. Her level of English very quickly has passed my own and the rare times she asks for help with a translation I am more often than not just left scratching my head. 

Gaël is also deep in his chair tipping research. So far the results have been inconclusive, but he seems to be able to get a reaction from the two giants if he tips a chair over. He hasn't come up with the connection and he will continue to look. He also casually has completely shredded the IKEA paper lamp. The giants were not amused, but it had it coming anyway.

The updates are coming in hot and heavy now, but don't worry they will inevitably slow down. All of my projects/hobbies tend to flare up and die rather quickly(magic tricks, clock building, a large number of poor plants, art...), but for now I am enjoying using you all as an outlet. Also I miss you,

David