Paris 2012 Tweetup at O Chateau

One of the things I am most grateful for about my life in Paris is all the amazing people I’ve met. Common themes often arise when you ask expats how they ended up in the City of Light – love, work, happy accident.

But it takes a special measure of fortitude and creativity to pick up and move to another country. So it’s no surprise then to run into so many interesting folks. We may not be the “Lost Generation,” but I think there are deep things we have found.

What do I mean by that? Well, last night was the first “Tweetup” of 2012, held at O Chateau. (Jeez there are of a lot of us bloggers/Tweeters! There must have been 40 of us packing the friendly wine bar.) As I chatted my way through the crowd, this reality that so many people have remade their lives here kept coming to the fore.

I saw friend Kasia Dietz, for instance, a former Manhattan ad girl, now designer and founder of her own handbag company. I talked with Lindsey, who not only started blogging (at Lost in Cheeseland) in France, but also began a baking business, Lola’s Cookies (We were treated to her sweets last night. Yum!)

I got into a long conversation with Alexis Niki, a talented screenwriter and Alexander Technique teacher about finding the unifying thread of our lives, even if we do many different things.

Is living here the opportunity to reinvent? To discover new things? Or to dig deep to what has always been there?

In any case, I feel privileged to know so many creative, innovative souls. The room was filled with them last night! (More photos of the event here.)

I wanted to give a special shout-out to someone else today. I first talked about Emel Mathlouthi back in 2010. I knew her from my dance class, and didn’t at first realize she was something of a star.

Last year she left for awhile and I asked my dance teacher if she knew where. The answer: back to Tunisia for the “Arab Spring.” She wanted to be part of her country’s remaking. Sure enough, I saw footage of her in the crowds; a striking image of her in a red coat in the midst of thousands of people standing up to sing. She would describe herself as a “protest singer.”

Emel’s back in France and today is the release of her new album. I just wanted to say wow.

Aren’t we blessed by the people we meet?

Me on Pont des Arts

I’m delighted to be featured today in Lost in Cheeseland’s “Franco File Friday” series.

Lindsey, the creator of Lost in Cheeseland, has been making quite a name for herself and her award-winning blog. The Franco File Friday series is just one reason, highlighting short interviews with everyone from Elaine Sciolino, The New York Times Paris bureau chief, to Meg Zimbeck, foodie about town and founder of Paris by Mouth.

I’m not sure what I’m doing in such illustrious company, but it’s pretty cool! I especially appreciated Lindsey’s introduction. Click on this link to see how I answered questions about creativity, escaping Paris, and summing up what I love about France in just 3 words.

Enjoy!

Twitter’s 140 character limit, for example, sometimes forces me to substitute “2nite” for “tonight” or “u” for “you” if pressed for space. This is also common text speak.

I try to do this as little as humanly possible, however. Why? Because I die a little inside each time I do.

My writing in French is horrible, though. There’s barely a sentence that’s not riddled with some kind of error.

So I can’t really complain about badly written French.

Still, I saw this ad in a metro station and physically recoiled:

For those requiring translation I think it would read something like this in English:

“I wud like to b a riter cuz I adore writing. Its a reel pasion.” (Shudders).

I hopped on the train, happy to be whisked away from this awful sight.

When I arrived at my stop, though, I was confronted with another ad in the same series:

This one had no spelling mistakes (well, as far as I can tell). Instead the message was:

“Later, I would like to be a physical therapist so I can manipulate men.”

Hmm. I stood looking at this one for awhile, too. What was going on here? I looked at the top and saw it was sponsored by L’Edutiant, a specialist magazine for students. The slogan for the campaign read “young people have a future.”

My question: really?

These ads sure ain’t making me feel good about that future. (Ain’t used only for effect here. Please don’t despair).

I already have enough fears about the future (global warming! financial crises! the Mayan apocalypse! – well, actually not worried about that last one so much). Though intended to be funny, I couldn’t quite get on board with the ads.

But, brush it off. Came home and wrote this post and I fele much beter ; )

(Confession: that last sentence was really hard for me to write).

How about you? How’s the future looking these days? Still excited about the possibilities for this new year?

They grow up so fast. My baby blog is now a toddler – two years today!

One-handed baby lift in Buttes Chaumont

Soon the blog may even go from babbling to talking.

And before I know it, it might start causing trouble.

Hanging out in bars.

Slamming back whisky.

Grant's whisky pop-up bar

Seriously, though. It’s amazing how big a part the blog – and you! – play in my life now. Thank you, thank you for dropping by, speaking up, sticking around, making me smile. I feel blessed.

Yesterday I logged into the blog and saw my stats counter. One of my quirks quickly surfaced.

Have I told you before? I can be a geek about numbers. Not numbers as in math. As in number combinations, hidden (probably nonexistent) meanings.

So the 99,999 was cool. But it meant one more visit and I’d break 100,000, just in time for my blogiversary. I did! Nice milestone.

I had also secretly been hoping my 200th post would coincide with my 2 years (I’m close – in the 190s right now).

But, as we know, things don’t always line up perfectly. And that’s ok. More interesting that way, too. This messy, unpredictable, confusing, joyous life is just awesome. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Blue orb in the night

Ok, I will not be cruel. I will just tell you.

Autolib’ is Paris’ new electric car rental system. It uses the same principal as Velib, the ever popular bike rental program. Users can choose between an annual, weekly, or daily subscription, which in turn allows them to take a car wherever they may be. (Swipe a card for a car! Wow!)

Vroom, vroom? (What sound does an electric car make?)

I noticed the cute little vehicles in December when the program launched, but I was stopped short recently by the sight of the glowing orb above. I hadn’t yet seen the stations. The stations are glowing orbs!

I saw the blue lights and immediately wondered what kind of alien pod it was. (Ahem, I guess this is why I’m a fiction writer? Hello, reality? Are you there? It’s me, Sion).

Anyway, I can’t imagine driving one myself (I’ve lived in cities with good public transportation for the past decade for a reason), but I think it’s a pretty cool idea. Electric’s even better – glad that it’s green!

Here’s a video by the City of Paris:

Find out more on the Autolib’ site itself (English version).

In other news, another poem has recently been published in the new issue of Stone Highway Review. It’s not the sort of poem you might see on the subway (ahem, mature themes). I actually wrote this one 8 or 9 years ago, so it’s kind of weird to see it in public now. Let’s just say I’m usually happy and horrified by my work in equal measure. (Other writers get this? The embarrassment?)

Anyway, I’m on page 29.

Next up, I think I’ll have to write a poem about the proliferation of glowing alien pods in Paris. Yep, yep.

Hope you’re having a good week!

#2 cracks me up the most. The examples may seem a bit exaggerated, but I can vouch that all of these “mouth gestures/sounds” have a basis in reality. (Oh la la! Pfff!)

Funny thing is, I *do* speak French now, but I unconsciously make the mouth sounds, anyway. Guess I’m really authentic!

Enjoy!

For the past three and a half years, I’ve lived a ten-minute walk from Père Lachaise, the famed Parisian cemetery that’s home to many historic luminaries – everyone from Abelard to Chopin, Edith Piaf to Marcel Proust.

Then one day….

Yes! A cliffhanger! To read the rest of the essay, head on over to Numero Cinq.

Enjoy!

With what stillness at last
you appear in the valley
your first sunlight reaching down
to touch the tips of a few
high leaves that do not stir
as though they had not noticed
and did not know you at all
then the voice of a dove calls
from far away in itself
to the hush of the morning

so this is the sound of you
here and now whether or not
anyone hears it this is
where we have come with our age
our knowledge such as it is
and our hopes such as they are
invisible before us
untouched and still possible

Mini grand piano

A friend gave me a set of “nanoblocks” for Christmas.

Nanoblocks are described as the world’s smallest toy building blocks. (Check it! My sunglasses next to the finished piano in the pic offer a size comparison).

I had mentioned I wanted a piano, so my friend thought this would be a good start.

My new piano amidst festive cards

He was right!

There was something infinitely pleasing about quietly fitting these micro pieces together for no other reason than it was fun (geek alert!)

I’ve decided my only new year’s resolution is to play more. Sure, goals are important and can serve as good motivators. But I’m convinced that incorporating more freeform play into my life will help me reach my goals.

Counterintuitive?

I don’t think so.

One of my collages when I went on a brief collage kick

We are hyperconnected these days. I’m addicted to my ever changing Twitter stream, friends’ updates in my Facebook feed. I love how the Internet allows me to stay connected to people I care about. In this day and age, the ocean is no obstacle in keeping me close to cherished ones.

Creativity and original thought require time, however. I find my attention span has diminished the more I’m online, clicking one link to the next, ‘liking’ people’s photos, surfing the web. The unceasing stimulation comes from all sides and I have more and more trouble settling into a calm state of mind.

Collage of Robert Doisneau photos

I want to create space again for the kind of stillness a constant barrage of information makes us tune out. I’ve been feeling a little tapped out creatively, but since starting to take tiny steps to do something (anything!) just because I want to (just for fun!) I can sense that subconsciously I am refilling the well.

In my dance class recently, we began incorporating improvisation. The idea of improv terrified me, but I’ve found how liberating it can be. My teacher suggested I close my eyes and not to worry about how I looked; just go with what felt interesting. Let my body lead. Afterward, she told me that when I lose the self-consciousness, my movements are beautiful.

This is what I mean by play. Being curious, experimenting, not trying to do something “right.” It’s surrendering to the present moment and seeing what I discover there. This kind of openness is required to create, too. To write. Lifting the pressure of always having to have a goal in mind frees me to explore further – and sometimes stumble into something really cool!

New Year's Eve socks courtesy of another friend (yes, I am so chic and my friends are fun!)

So, while on the surface building micro creations or glueing collages together or dancing around my apartment in colorful socks may not seem like it has anything to do with my writing goals, I know this kind of playfulness is an invitation to the muse. Look, muse! I’m having fun over here! Don’t you want to join?

I had just set out to write this blog post when I noticed on Facebook (yes, it’s still open) that a lecture at my MFA alma mater (Vermont College of Fine Arts) was happening today called “The Importance of Wasting Time.” It was a discussion of the importance of diversion and described thusly:

“Throughout our lives, we’ve been cautioned against the evils of wasting time. Writers, in particular, are constantly wary about whiling away the hours on trivial pursuits. Yes, we dance and fish and hike and shop and play sports and watch television and fiddle with the Internet. And sometimes we feel guilt-ridden—occasionally to the point of writer’s block—when we realize just how much time we spend on so-called idle endeavors. However, in the tradition of Bertrand Russell who said, “The time you are enjoying wasting is not wasting time,” we submit that time wasted is often time well spent, because writers live special lives. After all, even in our dreams, we are hard at work.”

Another one of my random collages

See how serendipity strikes again! These kinds of organic connections happen more when I’m just kind of exploring what’s out there and seeing what comes up. I took the fact that some of my favorite writerly people were busy in a lecture about wasting time as vindication that I am definitely on the right track with this play theory.

It is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top – Virginia Woolf

So, 2012, bring it on! We’re going to have fun! And I’m even pretty sure I’m going to get a real piano! Step away from the computer keyboard and tickle the ivories on another kind of keyboard. Play the piano, play with legos, get my groove on, glue more collages. This may be my most random resolution list ever, but I feel it’s the way forward.

My last little trick? Whenever I’m taking myself too seriously (rare, I swear), I hit play on this little guy on my shelf. It always makes me laugh.

Ok, friends. That’s it for this edition of “sneak peak into strange things around my apartment and how I spend my time.”

Happy New Year! What are your plans?

A 'green' Christmas tree made of plastic bottles

Hello friends,

I hope you had a wonderful weekend full of warmth and good cheer.

Mine was laid-back but lovely.

On Saturday I finally went to Angelina to try their famous hot chocolate. I was tickled to be a tourist in my adopted city for Christmas – what better time? Angelina has a grand dining room and the hot chocolate does not disappoint.

Next I strolled from the Tuilieres to the Marais where my friend and I grabbed a falafel.

Yes, my Christmas Eve dinner was a falafel from a Rue des Rosiers joint. As we sat eating our falafels on a stoop (classy all the way), we remarked this was the fun of being an expat, especially during the holidays: no rules. No expectations. You make it up as you go.

Hotel de Ville

Continuing on with the unconventional Christmas Eve I then watched a decidedly un-Christmasy movie with another friend (“The Getaway” with Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw).

Not always falafel. Every once in a while a nice dinner out, too. Here at Au Petit Thai.

The next day I took it easy (yeah, as if the day before had been difficult!) then was adopted by my friend and her family for a proper French-American-Scottish Christmas dinner.

This is another cool thing about being an expat during the holidays: friends take you in.

Buche de Noel - see how it glows!

The onion soup and confit de canard were delicious, but the Buche de Noel made me laugh. The traditional “Yule Log” was yet another French thing I’ve seen for years, but never tried. For me, it was confirmed why. It’s cute and all, but wasn’t really that tasty. I love that shot of it up there, though. Look how it glows! (Trick of the light only, I assure you).

My bookshelf getting into the spirit

This week should be pretty quiet, too, but no complaints. My cozy, unconventional Christmas is kind of just right.

And you? What did you do? What are your plans? Still on holidays or back to work this week?