possibly a little too much time in sudoc, poking around for my bibliographies and syllabi...
scene: sunside, a jazz bar near chatelet.
pour quoi faire: to see yvonnick prené, that ambiguous blue-eyed harmonica player, play a gig with a jazz quintet. 12€ at that. worth it? read on...
the first set started at around 22h30. i of course have become nearly as flaky as michael beharie in terms of punctuality (mais je rigole). still, i was significantly late in showing up to metro chatelet with meredith (who constantly plans well, and got there just shy of 21h45). the bar was easy to find though.
the ensemble was pretty good, in general. twins, scott and tony, on violin and piano respectively, a girl i can't remember the name of on drums (pretty freaking good), some guy joe i think on bass, and yvonnick on harmonica. it's interesting, actually, the sound of the harmonica in a group like that. it's like a saxo, but not quite, with more of a mellow sound...and it apparently gives your mouth hella blisters if you play it too much.
their sound in my opinion (take that as you will) was a little too consistent. scott's solos were blasé at first and then grew into craziness (impressive, and then tiresome after he gave similar solos in other tunes). yvonnick's playing is extremely agile. i remember trying to play harmonica in my childhood, i think my dad taught me...yvonnick sounds way better than the lame-o sounds of small martha.
anyway, after a long "pause" (with jazzers i suppose intermission is too brief a term), meredith had to check her watch because she wanted to catch the last metro home (she lives all the way in the 17th and had to transfer). i bought her a nutella crepe (the forlorn anemic ballerina) and she stuck it out until the end of the 2nd tune of the final set. i chilled in the back til the end and proceeded to get sleepy.
i think yvonnick was glad i came though, he was very appreciative. there was a brief instant at the end where it wasn't clear whether or not he would be walking me home, but he was smoking a cigarette and got distracted, so i took off into the night. i wrote in my journal for a while after getting back and before turning in noticed i had a new call. apparently, he called me to see if he could crash at my place (which isn't really mine at all)...and i have absolutely no clue how that would fly with my host family. not even an inkling.
he's moving to new york next year, and i've been storming ideas for the fall too, like: what if...i don't get into grad school?...i don't get the fellowship i want?... i don't get enough money?...i decide that living with kat in nyc sounds damned good?
24.3.07
geographical tongue and crêperie-bound pompiers
date: 23 mars
time: 16h
location: the 7th arrondissement, and surrounding area. start, musée rodin. end, the terminus of line 8.
persons involved: chelsea from harvard and erin from yale. pompiers, around 17h30 til arrival at hospital. crazy sick people, 18h30 forward. doctor who gave me his cell phone number, 23h.
i have never experienced this before in my life. i think i had an anxiety attack yesterday. it was basically a cascade of unfortunate events: the start of that time of the month, exhaustion from not sleeping enough because of the small dosage of prednosone (steroids for the sinus infection), really cold weather (plus rain), stress froma long week of classes and studying, the medium-sized stress of planning spring break with darcy...basically, as one of the pompiers said, "it's just not your day."
needless to say, i started having cramps at the musée rodin and had to take a couple of sitting down breaks, and by the time erin arrived the museum was closing and i was feeling worse. we tried to make it to a café, but a lot of places were closed, inexplicably for a friday mid afternoon...eventually i found a place to go to the bathroom and erin ran and got me some meds close to ibuprofen to ease the pain.
we got to a creperie, where i proceeded to slump to the floor (i was very sleepy and just wanted to lie down, but was also nauseous). this couple in the corner was terrified for me. one of the people working there called the pompiers (an ambulance, i guess), and 4 guys rolled out in uniform with a gurney, and a first aid kit and everything. they tried to calm me down - by this point i was shaking, my hands were numb and trembling, and i was basically just freaking out - and thought maybe it was my blood sugar, so they tried to have me drink a coke, but i don't really like coke, so i was sipping it very slowly.
then i asked if i could just lie down, so they sped me off (chelsea and erin included) in their ambulance-type vehicle to the emergency room (by this time i had not vomited, was still just convulsing). i was lying on my stomach, and they convinced me to turn my head towards them and not fall asleep.
when i got there, i was slightly calmed down, but i had to check in and get seen my an initial person who evaluated the state of my emergency (not very grave, i guess). while she was taking my blood pressure, i felt much more nauseous and proceeded to give up my lunch (there was a little warning), which was a camenbert sandwich. maybe it was food poisoning?
after that, we waited for 5 hours, and honestly i felt a lot better after vomiting. we waited until 11 pm at the georges pompidou hospital, where we saw all sorts of types come in and out - broken bones, one guy foaming at the mouth, one older man yelling at the hospital people fairly insistently, one very depressed marching philosopher who talked to me about his anorexic girlfriend and his metaphysical despair and his hypersensitivity - lost of people who needed to get seen before me.
when i finally did get to see the doctor, he diagnosed it as an isolated incident of vomiting, and gave me a scrip for something and his cell phone number (is this typical?). i recounted my life story, including my psychiatric diagnosis 3 years ago, my stomach flu history when i was in high school, and my utter lack of panic/anxiety attacks. all in french. i think he was impressed that i was american, maybe for the fact that i could so lucidly explain myself in french.
we all bounced at around midnight, and i hope that erin was able to catch the train at porte de versailles alright. they're troopers, man...i was hungry when i left, and of course madame cheminal left me a complete dinner: crepes with ham and mushrooms (delicious), a salad with balsalmic vinagrette, ratatouille, avacado slices (which i love), and yogurt. i had some orange juice and drank some water and went to bed around 1 am.
a story for the grandkids, people. and erin and chelsea will take a pompier each. i failed to notice their charm at the time. i think i was thinking too hard about trying not to convulse and/or vomit.
time: 16h
location: the 7th arrondissement, and surrounding area. start, musée rodin. end, the terminus of line 8.
persons involved: chelsea from harvard and erin from yale. pompiers, around 17h30 til arrival at hospital. crazy sick people, 18h30 forward. doctor who gave me his cell phone number, 23h.
i have never experienced this before in my life. i think i had an anxiety attack yesterday. it was basically a cascade of unfortunate events: the start of that time of the month, exhaustion from not sleeping enough because of the small dosage of prednosone (steroids for the sinus infection), really cold weather (plus rain), stress froma long week of classes and studying, the medium-sized stress of planning spring break with darcy...basically, as one of the pompiers said, "it's just not your day."
needless to say, i started having cramps at the musée rodin and had to take a couple of sitting down breaks, and by the time erin arrived the museum was closing and i was feeling worse. we tried to make it to a café, but a lot of places were closed, inexplicably for a friday mid afternoon...eventually i found a place to go to the bathroom and erin ran and got me some meds close to ibuprofen to ease the pain.
we got to a creperie, where i proceeded to slump to the floor (i was very sleepy and just wanted to lie down, but was also nauseous). this couple in the corner was terrified for me. one of the people working there called the pompiers (an ambulance, i guess), and 4 guys rolled out in uniform with a gurney, and a first aid kit and everything. they tried to calm me down - by this point i was shaking, my hands were numb and trembling, and i was basically just freaking out - and thought maybe it was my blood sugar, so they tried to have me drink a coke, but i don't really like coke, so i was sipping it very slowly.
then i asked if i could just lie down, so they sped me off (chelsea and erin included) in their ambulance-type vehicle to the emergency room (by this time i had not vomited, was still just convulsing). i was lying on my stomach, and they convinced me to turn my head towards them and not fall asleep.
when i got there, i was slightly calmed down, but i had to check in and get seen my an initial person who evaluated the state of my emergency (not very grave, i guess). while she was taking my blood pressure, i felt much more nauseous and proceeded to give up my lunch (there was a little warning), which was a camenbert sandwich. maybe it was food poisoning?
after that, we waited for 5 hours, and honestly i felt a lot better after vomiting. we waited until 11 pm at the georges pompidou hospital, where we saw all sorts of types come in and out - broken bones, one guy foaming at the mouth, one older man yelling at the hospital people fairly insistently, one very depressed marching philosopher who talked to me about his anorexic girlfriend and his metaphysical despair and his hypersensitivity - lost of people who needed to get seen before me.
when i finally did get to see the doctor, he diagnosed it as an isolated incident of vomiting, and gave me a scrip for something and his cell phone number (is this typical?). i recounted my life story, including my psychiatric diagnosis 3 years ago, my stomach flu history when i was in high school, and my utter lack of panic/anxiety attacks. all in french. i think he was impressed that i was american, maybe for the fact that i could so lucidly explain myself in french.
we all bounced at around midnight, and i hope that erin was able to catch the train at porte de versailles alright. they're troopers, man...i was hungry when i left, and of course madame cheminal left me a complete dinner: crepes with ham and mushrooms (delicious), a salad with balsalmic vinagrette, ratatouille, avacado slices (which i love), and yogurt. i had some orange juice and drank some water and went to bed around 1 am.
a story for the grandkids, people. and erin and chelsea will take a pompier each. i failed to notice their charm at the time. i think i was thinking too hard about trying not to convulse and/or vomit.
20.3.07
sometimes i wish, i do
that i could breathe and not cough. that it wasn't 0ºC and raining in paris. that lawrence earp could do my motet analysis for me. so that then i could prepare my bibliography for my paper on the mosque at al-azhar in peace. that i could snap my fingers and a lonely planet/lets go morocco would appear in my hand and i could instantaneously book hostels. cheap ones, with no sketchy people. that i could stock librarie imagigraphe with wanderlust stationary, so i don't have to buy tacky high-heeled andy warhol paper. that the things sold at museum gallery bookstores didn't always break my wallet (except in sweden, where i bought a book in the icons series about extraordinary objects bound upside-down for 20 kronor, which is about 3 dollars). that somehow, someone could meet me once on the street and get me, take me at face value, and not be blown asunder. that the desks in st genevieve library could be as accomodating as those in michelet. that my legs didn't ache. that i could play the flute again. that i could have a pocket version of maéva to smile and blink at me.
18.3.07
freebox and lhasa
FINALLY, finally, people, i have a consistent airport signal. flaurent cheminal is awesome. i no longer have to steal from neighbors, nor deal with weak signal insufficient to send email attachments or gmail chats! with freebox, i am free.
rejoice.
last night meredith and i skipped the free baroque concert in the 15th arrondissement and ate at a tibetan restaurant called lhasa between blvd st g and rue des écoles at place maubert. there's another tibetan one right next to it, an argentinian one slightly closer to the metro, and a vietnamese place across the street. basically, a little international haven. the prices weren't too bad. i had friend beef dumplings with homemade sauce, a beansprout and carrot salad, and a sweet lassi. it was small, if a little smoky, and very peaceful for st. patrick's day. then we ventured on to this canadian bar near odéon in the 6th called moosehead, it took us a few minutes to find it even though we were stonecold sober (which i remained throughout the night, i bought a liter of water across the street)...they were playing the march madness basketball games. in particular, all the girls from georgetown were out in full form to support their team...there was also talk of buying tickets to fly back to the states to see the final if they won the game (which they did)...coming from oberlin, i guess i have no perspective on that, although i do remember when maryland beat duke my senior year of high school. that was sweet. they couldn't burn their blue benches.
today, it's raining and it looks like a cool front has returned, at least for this week. i haven't really brainstormed about flight tickets to barcelona yet, but hopefully the prices won't be abominable by the time i book them. i also am going to have to work on my machaut motet analysis during spring break.
rejoice.
last night meredith and i skipped the free baroque concert in the 15th arrondissement and ate at a tibetan restaurant called lhasa between blvd st g and rue des écoles at place maubert. there's another tibetan one right next to it, an argentinian one slightly closer to the metro, and a vietnamese place across the street. basically, a little international haven. the prices weren't too bad. i had friend beef dumplings with homemade sauce, a beansprout and carrot salad, and a sweet lassi. it was small, if a little smoky, and very peaceful for st. patrick's day. then we ventured on to this canadian bar near odéon in the 6th called moosehead, it took us a few minutes to find it even though we were stonecold sober (which i remained throughout the night, i bought a liter of water across the street)...they were playing the march madness basketball games. in particular, all the girls from georgetown were out in full form to support their team...there was also talk of buying tickets to fly back to the states to see the final if they won the game (which they did)...coming from oberlin, i guess i have no perspective on that, although i do remember when maryland beat duke my senior year of high school. that was sweet. they couldn't burn their blue benches.
today, it's raining and it looks like a cool front has returned, at least for this week. i haven't really brainstormed about flight tickets to barcelona yet, but hopefully the prices won't be abominable by the time i book them. i also am going to have to work on my machaut motet analysis during spring break.
14.3.07
is no news always good news?
this sounds like the start of a "sex in the city" episode, but nonetheless: when dealing with summer programs and grad schools, in no news always a good news? or are they just putting off the rejection? alice teyssier, don't be discouraged. music is a subjective candyland anyway, especially in voice and flute. tone color, technique and sound production are things that everyone does differently, and chacun à son goût, you know?
i bought a blue yoga mat today, excited that the spring is coming, but i still am dehydrated and wish that my feet didn't hurt all the time. i think i need to give in to some highly expensive european shoes. i'm currently listening to tété's 2001 album "l'air de rien" and it's putting me in a good place. he started as a musician in the métro, i don't know for how long.
i have no excuse for feeling blue. i am still recovering from my rotten head cold, but that shouldn't make me have a headache and long to eat chocolate several times a day. fabiola told me that chocolate (except white chocolate) was her only craving when she was pregnant with maéva.
this summer, and next fall, no matter what happens, i hope that i do something that pleases me (une chose que me plaît). be it waitressing at home, interning for mostly mozart in nyc, playing penniless at bowdoin, or auditing pmf, something meaningful.
i bought a blue yoga mat today, excited that the spring is coming, but i still am dehydrated and wish that my feet didn't hurt all the time. i think i need to give in to some highly expensive european shoes. i'm currently listening to tété's 2001 album "l'air de rien" and it's putting me in a good place. he started as a musician in the métro, i don't know for how long.
i have no excuse for feeling blue. i am still recovering from my rotten head cold, but that shouldn't make me have a headache and long to eat chocolate several times a day. fabiola told me that chocolate (except white chocolate) was her only craving when she was pregnant with maéva.
this summer, and next fall, no matter what happens, i hope that i do something that pleases me (une chose que me plaît). be it waitressing at home, interning for mostly mozart in nyc, playing penniless at bowdoin, or auditing pmf, something meaningful.
12.3.07
ligeti and a blue cavalier
last night i saw cat cantin (my flute professor in paris) play at palais garnier (opéra national) - GET THIS - the boulez sonatine with pierre-laurent aimard. basically, awesome. no one plays this piece, um, ever because it's SO hard. wild stuff. i was able to get in for an astonishing 10 euro. the sunday night concerts are not at all expensive, and even though i arrived a little late, i was able to sneak in during the debussy cello sonata (cyrille lacrouts). then susan graham sang debussy trois poèmes de mallarmé, ravel chansons madécasses (terrifying, even though she has a light soprano), and i missed her last set of ives songs (sue me, i was tired and hadn't eaten dinner).
immediate plans: tonight, bang on a can all stars at théâtre de la ville (near chatelet), one of my *free* cupa spectacles; wednesday (possibly), 18h, at a bar called le cavalier bleu, a jazz trio that a harmonica player named yvonne is playing in.
today in XXe siècle langage musicale we studied #6, 7, 8 of ligeti's 10 pieces for wind quintet. here's to the obies who rocked miller theater fall 2005 with the violin concerto with jennifer koh and mysteries of the macabre! lovin it. i announced several concerts in class today, trying to bolster the enthusiasm of the 50-some-odd students for contemporary music...particularly for ensemble intercontempo because they're playing some GREAT concerts here in the coming weeks. can't wait!!
immediate plans: tonight, bang on a can all stars at théâtre de la ville (near chatelet), one of my *free* cupa spectacles; wednesday (possibly), 18h, at a bar called le cavalier bleu, a jazz trio that a harmonica player named yvonne is playing in.
today in XXe siècle langage musicale we studied #6, 7, 8 of ligeti's 10 pieces for wind quintet. here's to the obies who rocked miller theater fall 2005 with the violin concerto with jennifer koh and mysteries of the macabre! lovin it. i announced several concerts in class today, trying to bolster the enthusiasm of the 50-some-odd students for contemporary music...particularly for ensemble intercontempo because they're playing some GREAT concerts here in the coming weeks. can't wait!!
10.3.07
the summertime
return to reality for a sec - i'm storming my brain for cool ideas for the summer. i applied to pmf, banff, bowdoin, and back to cc, although i doubt any will come through. then i was thinking about radio internships...there's an interesting one for the chicago public radio, which is unpaid and 3 days a week. i would have to get a paying day-job and a place to stay in the city (or at least not far from a t).
erin wang is coming with nick to paris in a couple of weeks!
the institut de monde arabe will be a stellar place for research for "le monde islamique"...quiet, and super-close to where i live. still haven't chosen a topic for my 20-page dissert. ((quaking in my shoes about the topic and bibliography due at the end of the month))
erin wang is coming with nick to paris in a couple of weeks!
the institut de monde arabe will be a stellar place for research for "le monde islamique"...quiet, and super-close to where i live. still haven't chosen a topic for my 20-page dissert. ((quaking in my shoes about the topic and bibliography due at the end of the month))
6.3.07
quelques mots
hejhej = hello, pronounced "heyhey"
taktak = thanks
other favorite words: "exact"; "absolut"
when i went to the nationalmuseum in stockholm, i had to ask a policeperson (policewoman?) for directions, and she looked it up on her map and couldn't find it, but eventually when i get there there was an expo on flowers. i especially liked the "design 1900/2000" exhibit, which featured, among many other things, chairs, tables, textiles, and other cool art objects from each decade of the last century. some american pop art, but mostly swedish/scandanavian designs. while wandering around in old town later that afternoon, i bought a ring made out of a fork (bevin confirms that it's totally sweet).
st. genevieve is forcement confusing as hell. sending packages is expensive. note to self: i really, really wish i were braver. i need to learn how to improvise musically, and to learn not to be socially inept. even with the language barrier.
taktak = thanks
other favorite words: "exact"; "absolut"
when i went to the nationalmuseum in stockholm, i had to ask a policeperson (policewoman?) for directions, and she looked it up on her map and couldn't find it, but eventually when i get there there was an expo on flowers. i especially liked the "design 1900/2000" exhibit, which featured, among many other things, chairs, tables, textiles, and other cool art objects from each decade of the last century. some american pop art, but mostly swedish/scandanavian designs. while wandering around in old town later that afternoon, i bought a ring made out of a fork (bevin confirms that it's totally sweet).
st. genevieve is forcement confusing as hell. sending packages is expensive. note to self: i really, really wish i were braver. i need to learn how to improvise musically, and to learn not to be socially inept. even with the language barrier.
5.3.07
back in the game
and...it was a good trip. mille mille gracias goes to anton for putting up with me for 4 days and 4 nights...i had a great time in stockholm. coolest part? sofo and the many design stores and little funky nooks. a fashion store called "grandpa" - overpriced, but still cool. all their clothes would have ended up incredibly wrinkly on the plane, and my legs are too short to accomodate those weirdly shaped dresses and leggings anyway. anton, tall lanky and especially tall, can basically pull anything off. the swedish know how to throw a soirée, that's for sure. saturday night it was 3 friends, anton, his parents and me, around his 75 kronos second-hand, recently refurnished coffee table, in candlelight, having just eaten a delicious pasta salad-type dish involving twisty colored pasta, pork, bell peppers, cucumber, red onion and chili-flavored crème fraiche and had a little too much wine/beer, while anton and this PHENOM guitar player ola (this is a bad spelling, but a joke went around that in spain they'd have a lot of fun due to the pronunciation of his name) jammed to works by a canadian badass guitarist (don ross? correct me?) and also to the more acoustic-y side of dave matthews (luther college). let's just say: "let you down," "#41," "crash," with ola and his husky voice and anton on the cajones...pure bliss, basically.
today, i met a harmonica player in my 20th century musical language class who is moving to nyc next year. he needs to work on his english...and might let me into his gig in a few weeks for free?...we'll see about that.
i got back from beauvais at around 10:45 pm, ate a yogurt, wrote a letter to angie wood, and crashed. 9-11 am at michelet was GRUELING. made it there barely on time, and halfway understood all the comments about mosques in cairo from 900-1180...?!
darcy has a beautiful man. it's time for me to locate one for myself.
today, i met a harmonica player in my 20th century musical language class who is moving to nyc next year. he needs to work on his english...and might let me into his gig in a few weeks for free?...we'll see about that.
i got back from beauvais at around 10:45 pm, ate a yogurt, wrote a letter to angie wood, and crashed. 9-11 am at michelet was GRUELING. made it there barely on time, and halfway understood all the comments about mosques in cairo from 900-1180...?!
darcy has a beautiful man. it's time for me to locate one for myself.
back in the game
and...it was a good trip. mille mille gracias goes to anton for putting up with me for 4 days and 4 nights...i had a great time in stockholm. coolest part? sofo and the many design stores and little funky nooks. a fashion store called "grandpa" - overpriced, but still cool. all their clothes would have ended up incredibly wrinkly on the plane, and my legs are too short to accomodate those weirdly shaped dresses and leggings anyway. anton, tall lanky and especially tall, can basically pull anything off. the swedish know how to throw a soirée, that's for sure. saturday night it was 3 friends, anton, his parents and me, around his 75 kronos second-hand, recently refurnished coffee table, in candlelight, having just eaten a delicious pasta salad-type dish involving twisty colored pasta, pork, bell peppers, cucumber, red onion and chili-flavored crème fraiche and had a little too much wine/beer, while anton and this PHENOM guitar player ola (this is a bad spelling, but a joke went around that in spain they'd have a lot of fun due to the pronunciation of his name) jammed to works by a canadian badass guitarist (don ross? correct me?) and also to the more acoustic-y side of dave matthews (luther college). let's just say: "let you down," "#41," "crash," with ola and his husky voice and anton on the cajones...pure bliss, basically.
today, i met a harmonica player in my 20th century musical language class who is moving to nyc next year. he needs to work on his english...and might let me into his gig in a few weeks for free?...we'll see about that.
i got back from beauvais at around 10:45 pm, ate a yogurt, wrote a letter to angie wood, and crashed. 9-11 am at michelet was GRUELING. made it there barely on time, and halfway understood all the comments about mosques in cairo from 900-1180...?!
darcy has a beautiful man. it's time for me to locate one for myself.
today, i met a harmonica player in my 20th century musical language class who is moving to nyc next year. he needs to work on his english...and might let me into his gig in a few weeks for free?...we'll see about that.
i got back from beauvais at around 10:45 pm, ate a yogurt, wrote a letter to angie wood, and crashed. 9-11 am at michelet was GRUELING. made it there barely on time, and halfway understood all the comments about mosques in cairo from 900-1180...?!
darcy has a beautiful man. it's time for me to locate one for myself.
1.3.07
stuck...
so what happens when anton's roommate forgets and locks the door? martha is stuck in the apartment. i tried, yes i tried, pounding on the door and even sending a note written in terrible swedish out the mail slot to try to get someone to unlock the door, to no avail. tragic, really. i had planned to go to the nationalmuseum, wander around old town...but no, i'm stuck here. comment on this post if you have suggestions on how to weasel my way out of this situation!! i tried yelling "help" and "hello" and things like that...but my hands are raw, and i don't want to abuse my hands.
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