This update will be a bit short, since I’m typing on a French keyboard and that slow me down. The weather in Cannes for the first half of this week was wet wet wet! It wouldn’t quit raining! But today it’s all sun. So much sun that I took my alone time and wandered down to the beach. I meant to go explore the old city centre, but then I saw the ocean and wondered “how do I get there?” So I found the way. Then I realized that I was, for the first time, on a beach that allowed women to take their tops off. Oh my gosh! America, why can’t we do this? No tan lines! I mean, you let men go to the beach topless, America, why not me? So of course I laid down and enjoyed the sun (after running back and getting my bathing suit. Guess I only needed half of it).

I’ve seen three movies so far and I’d say Trashed has been my favourite so far. It’s a documentary starring Jeremy Irons, and you should go see it! <it also gave me an idea for something I’d like to do…. but I’m not telling yet.

More later, when I have time on my own computer. The downside to the place I booked… no internet. :-P At least somebody here has a password for SFR, so we do have a bit of internet in one corner of the apartment. :-)

So my trip to Cannes is approaching… my short film is in the short film corner, my director is already there, and I will be making the trip on Friday and picking up my pass and keys ASAP! I’ve been packing up a suitcase of the cutest and most elegant clothing I own and just praying that it doesn’t rain the entire time. I’m thinking I should pack my rainboots, just in case. 

I love going on trips…. at the beginning, looking forward, I just stop to think of everything that’s going to happen that I can’t even imagine. I know that at the end of the trip I’ll look back and think “I never would have guessed! I didn’t see that coming!” It happens all the time. I meet people, I go to places and events, I discover things… even on trips back home to Los Angeles. It’s not all good. Sometimes things happen that I wasn’t expecting and really didn’t want to happen, but it’s all part of the story…. When things go wrong, for some reason the one thing I can comfort myself with is just the fact that “things happen.” You can choose how to respond to them, how you want to let it impact your life, what you want to learn from it, how you want to let it become part of your story. As a defeat, or a learning experience? 

When I was in high school, I discovered the Renaissance Faire. Now, don’t laugh, but I would imagine elaborate stories of how I’d go to the faire and meet a handsome “prince” and live some kind of fairy tale life… or be kidnapped by gypsies (this was before I’d gone to the faire, where I found out they weren’t even real gypsies there. And I’d done so much research on gypsies…). I would end up pretty disappointed when seeing the handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed drummer flirt with another girl after making me feel like his one-and-only. It was all an act. I started to imagine the actors as they must be once the faire grounds closed. Dressed in jeans, just like me, I guessed. Anyway, I would do this constantly. I would build up a future event and be very disappointed if it wasn’t as magical as I had imagined. I finally started training myself not to do that. Have hopes, but no expectations. Is that bad? I don’t know. But this week, I’m looking forward to Cannes, and although I hope there will be sunshine (so I can go to the beach! Just mastered the self-waxing kit bought at Monoprix), and that I will get to wear pretty dresses to lovely parties and meet interesting people, I’m trying hard not to build up my expectations too much. Hoping and planning, but I’m going to make sure that the outcome exceeds my expectations - by having none! lol. OK, well, like I said… a few. Sunshine, movies, and parties. 

Speaking of sunshine… it HAILED yesterday! I had gotten off at Opera to go to Uniqlo. I knew it was around there, and was trying to find it on my iPhone, but the darn thing wouldn’t connect to the internet before it started pouring down rain. I hopped from shop to shop until I had gone around the block. Then I gave up and sat in a café and ordered an espresso. And that’s when it hailed. I waited for the skies to clear, and then went on my way. The phone STILL wasn’t connecting to the internet (what’s up with that?!?!) so I had to text someone to find the address for me. Finally made it to Uniqlo, but found that they didn’t sell what I wanted (seeking - European version of Spanx. Apparently Spanx is not sold here) but I did find some Orla Kiely scarves. So I bought one (it was cold!) and continued on to Galleries Lafayettes, where I found some Spanx-like things that made absolutely no difference (come on, how do you flatten a little belly? There must be a way) so I decided NOT to spend 70€ + on anything. I bought cookies and left. 

I don’t really know how to end this blog post. I just felt like posting something, since you probably won’t hear from me while I’m in Cannes. Though I do hope to post some photos when I get back! Also, does anybody know how to integrate Tumblr with a website better? I’d like to have more navigational options, an “about me” page, some Adsense, etc…. but I have no clue what I’m doing. :-P

So Sunday night I had the privilege of joining my friends Cat and Darren at a fundraiser for the English language SOS Helpline here in Paris. Cat Jahnke, as you might know, provided a lovely song for my recent short film, and then I finally got to meet her in L.A. at the premiere! Then, it turns out, she had this gig in Paris, so here we are again! I loaned her my guitar and piano (yep, that’s my guitar there!) and enjoyed the show. Also a guest at the event was food blogger David Liebovitz , whom I didn’t know before but know now and will read his blog and learn about this city and it’s food! 

In other news - I’m going to be spending my summer (and possibly longer) out in the suburbs! I mean really out in the suburbs. RER out in the suburbs. But because I’m paranoid, I’m not going to share exact details. :-) But it’s far enough out that I’m finding it a wise idea to invest in a Vespa. Now, with my license, I can only drive what they call a 50cc Vespa. Soon, I will understand this. Anyway. I’m learning that after purchasing the Vespa, there are all sorts of other costs involved. Helmets are ridiculously expensive, and I should buy two (because I’ll surely have guests hop on the back). Then there’s registration and insurance and all that jazz. This is adding up. Which normally might not be SO much of a problem, but it just so happens that it’s the first of May and I have NOBODY lined up to pay my rent and mortgage back in L.A. Errrr…. so that’s $2000 lost this month if I don’t get someone in there. Every day that passes is a little more gone that I can’t spend on worthwhile things, and just gets spent on an empty place in California. Lovely. And then to top that off, I was informed after giving 30 days notice that if my current landlord can’t find somebody after 30 days (which is exactly what’s happening to me on a grander scale…) then I should pay for June as well. I wish I had that deal with MY tenants! lol I’m very confused about the way they do things here in France, and maybe I’ll get it all sorted out and understood soon (like everything else that confuses me here…). I do see that the lease says to give 3 months notice, but it also seems like 30 days is standard for a furnished apartment rental here, and I recall being told that the one year lease was nothing to worry about and that it was just a formality, when I signed it. Plus, I’m not sure who would be willing to say “what, you can’t move for 3 months? Oh, sure, let me hold this vacant house/apartment for you and when you’re time’s up, you can move in!” Yeah, when I get emails about MY place saying “hopefully it’s still available in June, when I get to Cali!” I laugh and think “um, hopefully it’s NOT.” Anyway, the French lease doesn’t specify that if you give another acceptable amount of warning (say, 30 days) that you’d owe anything beyond that last month’s rent. At least as far as my translation skills go. So as they say, “if it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage.” I would think. But things here are never as they seem. And it’s been my year for getting screwed over financially. First it was the photographer that took $400 and never delivered the photos. Then last May when I moved, I had to pay double rent because our roommate fell through. Then I had to pay for all of June ($2000. Yeah, and plus rent here) and I’m STILL trying to work that out with my brother. Then a friend borrowed $1500…. yet to be repaid. Then I had no tenant because of a huge mess, in the first half of January…. and now it’s happening again. Oh, and I didn’t mention the BNP ATM that stole 20€ from me. I’m actually eating about one meal a day now that I’m back from L.A., simply because food is my biggest expense next to rent here and my bank account is hemorrhaging euros. I have to afford to eat while I’m at the Cannes Film Festival this month, too, and THAT won’t be cheap…. but I’m just praying that it’s worth it as a networking opportunity.  Does anybody need a typist for anything? I can type about 90 wpm. How about a Canon Rebel T1i? I’m selling one. Or even better, does anyone want to move into my lovely place in L.A., like, right now? I’m lucky that I managed to tuck away money into savings over the past few years and that I still have an income, but I’m quickly running out of spare cash. It’s not even spare, I had the grand goal of saving up for a real house with it… but that’s getting pushed farther and farther into the future now….

Arg, maybe I should call that SOS Helpline!!!

So I’ve been living in France (I really can’t say Paris) for a year now. And I still can’t hold a conversation in French. That’s my first thought. Second thought is I still don’t live in Paris. Some day. Maybe not soon. I’m actually going to look at a house even farther out into the suburbs tomorrow, but hoping I like it enough to deal with the RER. I think the fact that it’s a HOUSE with a yard and garden and a two minute walk from a CASTLE for practically the same price I’m paying right now for a garage in what my friends call “the worst suburb in France” might make up for the fact that I’d need the RER to get into town. I could use some fresh air and sunshine, to tell the truth. Plus, I’d probably buy a Vespa and learn how to drive that, finally. Having wheels would be a good thing. 

I’m going to renew my efforts to learn French (agaaaaain) now. I don’t know why it hasn’t been going well. I’m taking classes and understanding a little more, but I still can’t follow a conversation or know how to put together sentences so that I can join in. So I’m the mute girl at the party. 

Can I tell you, I think I found my favourite crêpe place. It’s a place called Crêperie Beaubourg and I’m just in heaven eating crêpes there. I took some visiting Canadians there yesterday and we almost didn’t get seated. It was raaaaaining the entire walk from the metro, and when we got there they said they had a reservation for 65 people, so there’d be no room. I didn’t give up on this. We sat under the awnings outside, since the rain had subsided…. and we ordered crêpes from heaven. Seriously. I had a crepe with chocolate, pear sorbet, and chantilly cream. And one with baked apples and chevre. Mmmmmmmmmmm. And I’m going to go back today. To celebrate one year in France AND finally finding a restaurant/food that I can’t get in L.A. and will miss when I’m not in Paris. :-P

Please go here and repost my photo. :-)

http://pinterest.com/backstagecast/faces-of-actorfest-philadelphia-12-afphilly2012/

Oh, wikipedia made this easy. 

Nation:

It is named after the Place de la Nation, named in honour of Bastille Day in 1880. Previously it was called the Place du Trône, where guillotines were set up during the French Revolution.

Personally, I hate using this metro station. It’s not as massive as Chatelet, but can still be annoying. One of the first times I caught a metro there, I decided to fib a little bit by texting a friend that I was “getting on the metro right now!” when I was just entering the station. I thought it would only be two minutes before that text would be true. Well. The Nation metros must be the deepest in Paris because it took me ages to get to my metro. By that point I decided to fess up and say “OK, I lied, I’m getting on the metro now.”

It’s also a little confusing on the outside, as I realized once again just the other day. I walked to the square (er, circle) and started looking for a Metro entrance. None in sight. So I just start walking counterclockwise. Rejoice! An entrance…. marked RER and line 9. If you want lines 1, 2 and 6 (I could have this mixed up a bit) goooo that way. Oh. Ok. Keep walking. Walking, walking. Finally find that entrance. I probably walked halfway around the circle. And it’s a BIG circle. So yes, Nation is not one of my favourite Metro stations to go through. Right now my favourite is Gare de L’Est because I can hop straight from line 5 to line 7. :-D

Porte de Vincennes - 

Originally the eastern terminus to line 1, until 1934. I had never disembarked here before until this past Thursday. I had nowhere to go around there, I just made a mistake, and got back on the next train! But I noticed how extraordinarily wide the platform was. And here is the explanation of why!

Originally the station consisted of two separate island platforms for arrival and departure with tracks on each side. After the extension, a track on each island was filled in to create the present wide platforms.

The name comes from a gate in the Thiers wall, the last of the defensive walls around Paris. It was built between 1841-1844 and torn down in 1919. Now the Boulevard Périphérique takes it’s place. 

So I finally rode on a Velib the other night. I didn’t, however, pay for it, so that will be another blog post for another time. A friend of mine on a bike swiped his card so I could use the bike to follow him home. It’s really been ages since I’ve been on a bike. The last one I was on was the one I bought off of Craigslist a few years ago in an attempt to enjoy the ocean breeze through my hair as I bike to Santa Monica. I never did get there, though. I biked down the coast through the beach parking lots until I got exhausted, and then somehow got back home. Then it sat in the back yard. 

Anyway. It was a little frightening to be on a bike on the streets of Paris, even in the middle of the night. Only a couple cars went past us, but willing yourself to keep a bike straight between parked cars and moving cars is nerve-wracking. I can’t imagine doing this during the day. At first, it was on second gear and I just felt my feet kind of moving in resistance-less circles, but once I figured out how to change gears, it made a difference. It’s a heavy bike, with an uncomfortable seat I kept trying to scoot back and balance on, but I made it! First Velib ride, I’d say it was a success. 

Yesterday was one of those days that really renewed my desire to live more centrally. I went to French class in the morning, and was supposed to meet someone at their office to help them paint. I seem to do this a lot. But I enjoy being able to help out. Anyway, I had time to kill and decided I would pick up some frozen food and head to his house (I have a spare key, this is my home away from home) to eat and do some computer work. Well. I got there to discover that I’d forgotten the key. So I’m standing outside with a bag of frozen food, trying to figure out what on earth to do for the next hour. I ended up sitting at a falafel place, having a falafel. Well, several falafels, in a pita bread. Then I decided to find a cafe with wifi. I looked up something nearby and walked there. Closed. OK. Well, there’s a Starbucks. I’ll go there. I went to Starbucks, purchased a little pastry and espresso, and sat down. Hello, wifi, are you there? Does wifi hate MacBooks? Because no matter what I tried, I could not get it to work. Here I am, sipping my espresso as it cools to room temperature, glaring at my computer and looking things up on my iPhone, until I finally just give up and pack it all in. I head to the office, but he’s running late. So I sit in on a wet park bench and just stare at the grass. I catch up on Facebook. I pet a little black cat that wanders by. I turn to my right and see a man just peeing in a corner. Hello, I’m the ONLY other person in the park besides this small group of men, and you decide to pee within my eyeline? Oh if I could curse someone out in French. Or had something to throw at him. Or both. Ruin my pleasant park experience, will you? Finally I get a text, and head over to the office. As soon as I’m in there, I strip off my winter coat and hat and just lay down on the floor for a nap. And then for the next 6 hours I paint until I am rewarded with sushi. 

No wonder I’m getting sick all the time. The only upside to my long metro rides is that I’m getting a lot of reading done. Just put two new books on my Kindle. 

Hmmm what else is new… what else, what else. Oh I need to get caught up with learning about the metro stations. Next post!! I got two requests to audition for feature films online. So that’s exciting. I like it when I’m requested. Ohhhhh I have another story to share with you. I just need to figure out how exactly to tell it. Don’t let me forget. :-)

Well, it’s about time to get ready to go do more painting now!