Jul and I moved the livingroom around this weekend so we were without Internet due only to our sheer laziness to plug the cable modem in. I must admit, it was a nice change. I can be a slave to my Internet addiction. 

Saw Closer & Melinda and Melinda this weekend.
Closer brought up some interesting conversation between Jul and I about our relationship and human nature. 
I liked the movie.
I thought the dialogue was smart and the story very ordinary full of selfish and harsh realities of Love.
As for M&M, I enjoyed it because Woody Allen wasn't actually in this movie. 
And Will Farrell remains well, very Will Farrell-ish... he carried the movie to the end.  Everyone else, utterly forgettable.  

This is where I'll be tomorrow night!
We spent this weekend getting reacquainted with Michael Stipe and his buddies. 
Automatic for the People was the first CD I ever bought, I was 15 years old.

This is an early Valentine's Day present from Jul.
I can't believe he remembered!

Now, what to get him?

<3

Currently Playing New Adventures in Hi-Fi By R.E.M. see related

This is a drive by entry...
Really need to focus on work but just couldn't stand not sharing this with you:

Walk in my shoes, don't you wish??

Bought some new shoes last night.
Brown.
Buckle.
And details! I love details!
I usually don't do brown or buckle but when I put them on they felt great and they have a little bebe heel that's so cute.
Next purchase: Jeans!

Edit: 4:40pm
I bought these babies for 60€ (originally 130€) at San Marina.
Gotta love Les Soldes!

***
Question: Are you hard on your shoes?
It seems now that I live in a city setting my shoes just can't take it.
My runners are beyond dead.
My dress shoes are sadly beaten up.
It's really, really hard for me to keep my shoes nice. 
Doesn't help that there are cobble stones outside my office and I literally have to tiptop to and from the RER and my office...
But anyway,  just wondering if you city dwellers have this same problem?

***

I have to plug my fellow expat living in Paris, La Coquette, if you haven't seen the links in my random module then you're missing out. 
Seriously, this girl brings me to tears sometimes she so damn funny.

Currently Playing Quelqu Un M'a Dit By Carla Bruni see related

Commuting

I'll say this now because I know in a year or so I'll change my mind: I enjoy commuting to work. I like the public transportation system in Paris. Here's something you should know, I grew up in Kansas and in Kansas you need a car to get around.  I think there is a bus system but it takes you one direction and then doesn't go back the other way. Subway? Yeah, right...we're in Kansas, people.  On my way to school, on more than one occasion, I had to dodge cows who had gotten loose from the farm next door. And sometimes traffic would be backed up for a mile because an old farmer decided to take his tractor out and attempt to open it up at a top speed of 25 miles an hour on a one lane street. So, when I moved to Paris I was fairly happy to say good-bye to my car.  Sure there are times when I wish we had a car, like when we'd head to IKEA on the train and end up buying too many things (like this chair -only in green) and then having to haul a ton of stuff back on the train and by the time we reach our door my arms are dislocated at the shoulder because all the weight. But these moments are far and few between, to be honest. My time on the train is reflection time for me and nap time, too.  I love watching the people around me and seeing the same people every morning. Nodding your head as you notice one another and rarely making small talk with my French compatriots (which is just fine by me).

In this picture, I'm sitting by the window; a very coveted seat on the train. Since I get on the train at Denfert-Rochereau, which is located in south of Paris, 4 metro stops from Place d'Italie, where I live;  I am pretty much assured a seat. As we head north through Paris, the train quickly fills until we arrive at  Chatelet-Les Halles , where the train literally unloads and a new bunch of people sardine their way into the train.  This is what the train looks like at Chatelet-Les Halles.

What does your commute look like? Be it car, bus, train, subway?

<3

************
Edit: 2:57pm

I love the Internet!
I just bought our groceries online at Ooshop.

180€ for a month's worth of groceries!

Long live consumerism!

************
Edit: 4:04pm

Okay, since Noclevername mentioned it in my comments, I must say that girl in the green coat was so cute.
So cute that I snapped pictures of her!
Crazy am I? Just a little bit.

But her hair was so cute!
Anyway... Here they are:

 

<3

***********
Edit: 5:25pm

Yay! for my good friend, Matt, and welcome back to the working world!

Currently Reading Confessions of a Shopaholic By SOPHIE KINSELLA see related

As she would say, don't hate me because I live in Paris and can do this:

And that this guy is mine...
*grin*

<3

Currently Reading Closer By Patrick Marber see related

Amsterdam Part 1
Ik houd van Amsterdam!

We arrived in Amsterdam around 11:30pm. The drive from Paris was pretty easy, we got lost once in Belgium going through Brussels which added about an hour to our trip. We arrived in Amsterdam and marveled at the city's beauty. It reminded me a lot of New England and especially the part of the city by Vondel Park where our hostel was located. The park is surrounded by these amazing brick town houses with unique facades that reminded me of Astoria where my sister lived in Queens, NY.  It was strange being in a city where I didn't understand the street signs, it didn't help that  we were lost trying to pronounce them to the point where they made sense.  But surprisingly and to our relief we found that the Dutch speak English beautifully.  No matter where we went, everyone single person spoke English from strangers on the street, cabbies and shop keepers.  I started to think, "wow, I could spend a lot of time here".  Another thing that I really loved about this city were the bikes.  Since the center of the city is pedestrian only, everyone takes to riding their bike, it seemed like everyone had the same model and in every color possible, even pink!

So, because  the city is completely closed off to cars accessing the centrum or center of the city can only be done by foot, bike or tram. We ended up driving around the city center for nearly 40 minutes and after Julien driving unknowingly through a bike lane (they are as big as some of the streets in Paris!), we finally arrived at the hostel.  I must say that this was the cleanest, most hip and secure European hostel I've ever stayed in. We promptly dropped off our bags and headed out to the centrum in search of a coffee shop not to be confused with a café where they only serve beverages. The evening turned out to be a time warp for Amy, her friend and I. All the coffee shop played the entire evening were songs popular from the early 1990's.  I remember singing along to Marky Mark, TLC, SWV (sister's with voices), Bobby Brown, La Bouche & Haddaway's What is Love. (Remember the SNL skit ?). Julien sat in a complete stupor as three Americans blasted the words to all these songs he'd never even heard of. And of course, having smoked made it all that much more funnier for us.  I don't remember having laughed so hard in such a long time.  We closed the coffee shop down and headed back to the hostel around 3:30am and hit the sack and it was the best  sleep I'd had in ages.

Lates. <3