March 1, 2003 Three months later
OK, so it's been a while. A long while. But as they say, no news is always good news. It's been a real whirlwind here with classes, finals, my birthday, Christmas, New Year, new semester and of course fun. But I have included some photos this time to make up for it. See my photo pages.
Also see the new additions on my FAQ page. Some of these were fun, so please submit more.
The biggest recent news has been my right wrist, which I broke in January on a class snowboarding trip to the French Alps. I don't have much advice to offer people, but I can tell you one thing: never break your right wrist, especially if you are right handed like I am. Besides the fact that it's very painful, you will also not be able to wash your left hand, cut your food, tie a necktie, floss your teeth, dance without looking ridiculous or tighten the laces in your shoes. Every day I have to wear a big arm "condom" in order to shower, and I'm limited to short sleeve shirts (despite the fact that it's winter) or else I stretch out the right sleeve on all my long sleeve ones (see photo pages). And try buttoning a shirt too. I've had to learn to do everything with my left hand (and I know what a lot of you are thinking) including writing, which is not good when you're an MBA student. March 7th and I am done.
Even getting to the hospital was frightening. A Japanese friend of mine here Sumiyo took me to the doctor in nearby Versailles for X-rays. On the way home the engine in her car suddenly died on a downhill slope, causing the steering to lock so the car ran right into a wall! Gladly nobody was hurt. It was a lease car, so the leasing agency sent a tow truck, which took us to Hertz rent-a-car in order to get a replacement for us. Hertz only had manual transmissions available, which Sumiyo doesn't know how to drive. Normally I can drive one, but not with a shoulder length cast on. So I ended up driving, doing the feet and the steering, while Sumiyo shifted gears on my command ("OK, now back to second"). I was fearing for my left wrist ... can you imagine two broken arms at once?
As if all of this wasn't enough, last week I developed a kidney stone. The Kidney Stone Web Site (yes, there really is one) writes "this pain is often described as the worst pain a person has ever suffered even by women who have given birth. It is reported to be more painful than gun shots, surgery, broken bones, or even burns." Well stated. After spending an afternoon in the emergency room I'm OK now, but my other advice to you is to avoid kidney stones because they suck more than anything you can imagine. My nickname here went from being "Handicap" to "Rocky".
I'm thinking next I'll probably just burst into flames.
OK, how about some happy news. I spent Christmas in Italy visiting some members of the Varani global network (again, see photo pages) and New Years back in Paris. I didn't do a whole lot in Italy except eat, drink and sleep. It was amazing. A good friend of mine Nicole from Germany (who I met in India a few years ago) came to visit me over the New Year. I already mentioned the ski trip to the mountains. I've also had some Japanese friends come to visit me. They are sort of contrabandists so I won't give names, nor will I divulge the name of the famous high-end fashion brand items that they smuggle back to Japan. Paris is interesting. Last week we had a week holiday and I spent it in Paris, and also rented a car for a few days. My friends Flavio from Brazil, Aurelio from Spain, Jon from Florida and myself spent a day exploring Normandy and Mont-St.-Michel (once again, see photos). I also spent time applying to a lot of summer internships, so if anyone out there has any ideas be sure to let me know.
And the French and the potential war with Saddam? Nothing is happening here that I notice. France is pretty laid back at this point, especially compared with how people say the US is. I heard Jay Leno said that during the peace protest in Paris 100 thousand people marched through l'Arc de Triumph and on down the Champs Elysees, and that out of habit the French government surrendered. Then again, George Dubbya has become everyone's favorite person to mock in France so it definitely goes both ways.
Otherwise things are more or less the same here. Due to the workload we haven't been as silly as we were last autumn, and a broken wrist has been a major set-back for the Wa. The locals say winter has been far colder and snowier than usual, and this combined with the isolation of campus has made all of us pretty stir crazy. If it sounds somber, it's because winter here really is. What do you call that large, fiery bright object in the daytime sky: The "san"? The "soon"? The "sohn"? Oh, I forget. Whatever it is, we haven't seen it since October. I think in compensation, larger and larger amounts of alcohol are being consumed, and the place is starting resemble Animal House more and more. I can't tell stories in this forum, but I will say it's amazing how you're never too old to do a lot of things.
And grades last semester? I did well actually. Here the grading system goes from one to five, with one being the worst and five being outstanding. I got fives in Marketing and (somehow) in Statistics. In fact, in marketing I was top five in the class of about seventy, although three of my friends got the same comment on their grade sheet so it seems there might be more than five people in the top five. All my other classes (Macro and Micro Economics, Accounting, Organizational Behavior, French, Spanish) I got fours.
Look for my exciting continuation, hopefully in less than three months this time. If I haven't spontaneously combusted, that is.
See ya!