january 18th 2014: i did walk 500 miles

the trip from the hostel seemed harmless enough. down two intersections. take a left. stop at the water. look to the left. so i figured id make a foot trek of it. it took about 50 minutes. this put me at the louvre which was a little harder to find than im used to. the museums i see usually are big with the name on some kind of fancy sign or power font. i guess people expect youll know to look for the big pyramid thing.

interesting things were in that behemoth of a structure. saw the mona lisa. i guess thats cool; it didnt really do anything for me.

walking over to the eiffel tower to start my trek back. another 50 minute walk.

i walk into the rer to get a ticket. i pass the ticket desk in favor of using my card at the machine. it doesnt read either one and wont take cash. just coins. i turn around and the desk is closed. i walk out and look for a place to buy something. oh, look at that...a change store. they must give change. nope. its an exchange store. poor marketing. buying mentos. getting coins. back to the rer to buy a ticket. of course now the ticket desk is open again. damn that. im using this machine.

and back at the airport. my free hour of wifi was actually more than an hour. it went through my stay at the airport. small miracles. and mlk miracle actually. i was able to call mom, check out the interwebs, and read up on the emails. one of which telling me to pick up my laptop at the luton airport.

finding those red phones was a hassle at el aeroport. they were where dude said, but the directions didnt make sense until i actually found the phones. and they dont stand out either. but regardless i got my laptop back. ate a band sandwich. and waited for the bus.

a significantly shorter wait at the later stop than yesterday. but because it was earlier and things would be open i took a walk around and ended up at a burger place. first bean burger since ive been in england. and it wasnt too bad.

back to where i came from. no surprises there. and off to home.

considering all the things i did in that day im surprised my phone lasted as long as it did. pictures being uploaded. moms being called. thing i see being immortalized in the digital world of dropbox. directions. it was on battery from about 9 am until i got home. well done, samsung.

january 17th 2014: magneto? or maybe hes just jewish...

the flight to france was only an hour so i didnt get much sleep there. and i wouldnt be getting much more for a long time. glad i got those naps in the last while.

figuring out my way into paris was made so much more complicated by my own uncertainty. and more expensive because i was working with the clarity i usually have.

once i get there i find the eiffel tower. as it turns out, you dont really have to look for it. my first thought was that it seemed bigger on tv, post cards, pictures, etc and that it was an impostor of sorts. it wasnt. so i walked around there for a bit and found some place to eat. breaking out the hand sanitizer. wait. whats this? cant find it? realizing i left my bag of things at the security check point. and what does that mean? i also left my laptop. 

stay focused. think it through. worry and anxiety clouds minds. an email to the property office and back to lunch.

ordering some ham infested monstrosity. luckily the guy was nice about sending it back and replacing it with another thing. id offered to pay for it since it was my mistake. i get the bill and hed only charged me for one meal. it came out to 12.90 but i gave him the 20 and let him keep it. possibly the largest tip ive given...if not, it would be chilis with chris.

harnessing the power of skype i make a phone call to the property office to leave a message. ive done all i can. theres hope in reason.

walking the city and finding the versailles express. i felt like i got a good nap on the 40 minute ride

the palace was oh so much better in person than i expected. 3 years ago id made a personal goal to see it and now i was doing it. it would be better in the summer or spring, but thats only for the garden shows and such.

back to the tower. a long walk. a long ride. checking in at the hostel. walking the city. finding food. walking the city. checking out the shindig next door. what couldve been a good time wasnt. far too crowded but the music seemed good. 

january 16th 2014: off to the races

got home from work a little early because i skipped the gym. *knock* *knock* who's there? brett and in need of a little transportation. i postpone getting ready since its only 5ish and i dont have to leave until 11:50ish.

we end up at the little race watching/betting thing. apparently he analyzes each race of the day which in a way is impressive. the time it probably takes to do that...its just something i cant do. wouldnt do? cant may be right too.

eventually i do some calculationing and decide to run off so i can get ready without rushing and still have time to relax. i figured a nap would be nice.

parking at the store and getting on the bus im told that ill be switching buses at an upcoming stop. seems that this is the reason that my trip is going to be so long. standing around outside for almost two hours... part of me wishes id know that and part of me is glad i didnt. luckily there was a parking garage to hang out in. it wasnt much, but it blocked the wind.

checking in at the airport went by pretty quick. quicker than usual even for someone of my traveling habits. small airport. short scanning line. and off to the terminal. where id wait for a little over 2 hours.

and then i call it a night as much as i can and go to sleep.

january 15th: we're just gonna overlook the wolves?

murder. murder. murder. all day. witty remarks and dry humor. but a decent point here and there.

someone: that could be better...

me: 2% better.

email from mom asking to, "help a mother out." quite enjoyable.

borderlands was just terrible today. doing the big game thing to get it out of the way was a good idea and after today it still kind of is. but man...twas rough

tickets are booked for paris. now to figure out a place to say...but i guess first is to figure out where ill be.

i am un-used to the emotions i am currently feeling. 

explaining the google voice to ol' mom. she doesnt get it. or maybe she does.

january 14th 2014: you own a lot of things

turns out that batman was a sign of things ahead. i got the other 5 dudes in today along with aqua man vs mer man. i think i own 3 of those now. setting those up. talking to brett about nothing. modern family in the background. he says i own a lot of things and i explain that its because i dont have much of a social life. at least not one that takes place outside of the home.

rewatching a few episodes of things. the crack bandit episode of community. ricky spanish from american dad. and that community episode where starburns 'died.' j-caps and i had been talking about the bandit episode and i guess liking it just isnt meant to be.

somewhere in watching those i found out that archer started coming on again. thank paste.

im going to seriously try to knock out trips over this next 12 months. im thinking i can pull off 12 fairly easily. hopefully good things come of it. first up will be france. i dont often remember the things that i want to see/do, but the palace of versailles really stood out. likely because i did a report on it a few years ago. 2011 to be exact. june. so i researched that. little bit of nervousness about things but im going to go with it and see what happens.