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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2012 21:40:27 GMT
Ah, that's right!! Bastille Day!! Are you going Kerouac?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2012 0:08:52 GMT
Wonder about FMT, also.
Any other anyporters in Paris right now?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2012 4:43:14 GMT
I stayed in.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2012 9:40:30 GMT
While I was waiting for the bus in front of the city hall of the 19th arrondissement, a wedding party came out. Impossible not to take some pictures!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 30, 2012 16:58:46 GMT
Absolutely charming!
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 15, 2012 6:37:13 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2012 16:11:08 GMT
Amazing photo Bixa!!!! WOW!!!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2012 17:02:23 GMT
Those beach balls intrigue me. Where is the beach in Oaxaca?
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 15, 2012 21:09:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2012 21:24:11 GMT
Tonite's the 26th Annual MidSummer Mardi Gras celebration in our neighborhood. Due to last years enormous crowd and NoPD cracking down on crowd control we are having to do a more organized parade,earlier, and having to stick to a main parade route. It won't stop the Krewe of OAK ( Outrageous And Kinky) from doing what we do... noladefender.com/content/midsummer-m23ardi-gras-goes-motorbo67atin-saturdayTo be continued......
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Post by htmb on Aug 25, 2012 21:56:25 GMT
“when the police sirens go off, it’s time to leave |
LOL sounds like a good plan. Have fun! ;D
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2012 20:02:35 GMT
Today, I went to a suburban outing, since I was invited for lunch at my former Iranian colleague's home for a long promised invitation. He and I and another colleague were united in a demand to be compensated for 18 years of incorrect salary coefficients, and since management unexpectedly caved in and gave us the full amount that we requested in a transactional settlement to avoid litigation, he had wanted us to get together for a meal for a long time. In the meantime, our company had the voluntary departure plan that I negotiated, and quite a few people hit the jackpot, including him and also the other colleague. I was unable to join them in the first plan due to my functions as union rep, employee rep, etc... so when I left, I got about 50,000€ less than they did due to a change in fiscal laws between 2011 and 2012. Nevertheless, I refuse to complain, because I got a pretty good deal, and we all got more than we ever expected compared to the first offer that management had made. Anyway, big deal, we finally got together for a pleasant celebration in the southern suburbs. The only thing that bothered me a tiny bit was that while most of us were now in the non-working world, two of the people present are still working for the company, which is the sort of thing that can make you unhappy when you missed out because you are just a little too young to take the money and run. I was the first to arrive in my little Fiat 500 rental device, so I parked down in the driveway behind the house. They built the house a little more than 30 years ago, because it is not too far from Orly, and Djahanguir was working for Iran Air back then, since it operates out of Orly. Don't worry -- we don't call him Djahanguir. I don't even have the slightest idea how that name is pronounced. Most people call him 'Jan', but I know that he prefers the pronunciation 'Jean' (as in Jean Dujardin). Cute little totally unauthentic house, and I can't even imagine what style it is supposed to be. The living room has big picture windows with the silly fake beams slicing it up. Whatever...! Lunch was excellent. We started with champagne and some nibbles, which included little bowls of Iranian tzatziki -- fromage frais with cucumbers and garlic -- and also warm fava beans in a spicy sauce, served in little bowls. He also had pistachios which he had clearly brought back from the country of pistachios (Iran) since they were the best that any of us had ever eaten. There was also some really excellent cured ham from the region of Barcelona, where one of his children lives. Both the pistachios and the ham were the first to disappear, even though all of the other stuff was great. Lunch was barbecued chicken cubes and salmon cubes (he barbecued them in front of us), served with stewed tomatoes, a spicy courgette ratatouille sort of thing and a rice dome that surprised all of us. The rice was 'normal' except for the outer surface which was crispy and golden. He told us that this is a Téfal device that you can find only in Iran. It is a large rice cooker but it has a grilling function to make the outer edge crispy. Then you just put it on the serving dish upside down. I think that if he had been selling them, he would have sold 3 or 4 of them on the spot. (Did you notice that we drank twist-top rosé, which some people claim is a heresy?) Okay, since I have shown you the people, I should identify some of them. Djan is the guy on the left. His wife Nicole is the woman sitting next to the young woman in the striped top. The guy at the end of the table is the former colleague who almost died in February (his wife is to the left of him). This is the first time that I have seen him since the coma and all the rest, and I must say that I was shocked. He has aged at least 10 years, and when you see him walking with his cane, that adds at least 5 more years. We all said that he looked great, of course, and when you consider the alternative, it was absolutely true. His wife did tell me that he was informed that he will probably never drive again due to coordination problems. He sleeps more than 12 hours a day, and they had to leave earlier than the others because he was clearly totally exhausted. But once again, when you consider the alternative... we would all take what we can get! I'll probably have a little more to say about all of this tomorrow when my brain has digested it.
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Post by htmb on Aug 26, 2012 21:23:03 GMT
Looks like a very nice lunch and beautiful weather. Your friends don't mind having lunch with a green frog?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2012 21:32:43 GMT
I just think it is horrifying how often I get placed at the end of the table as though I am some sort of notable person.
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Post by Kimby on Aug 26, 2012 21:40:06 GMT
I just think it is horrifying how often I get placed at the end of the table as though I am some sort of notable person. Nah, it's that your the elderly one elder statesman in the group.
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Post by htmb on Aug 26, 2012 21:43:59 GMT
I just think it is horrifying how often I get placed at the end of the table as though I am some sort of notable person. Nah, it's that your the elderly one elder statesman in the group. Somehow, I doubt that. Perhaps it's to place you closer to the pool.
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Post by mich64 on Aug 26, 2012 23:12:58 GMT
I can imagine that you had an enjoyable time with your friends in this beautiful location! The food looks delicious. I think I would have wanted to purchase a rice maker as well, making the rice to have a crispy edge sounds interesting. How did the wine taste? Those pistachios would have been a nice treat, how fortunate for you.
Your friend sleeping 12 hours a day is completely normal for having had a brain injury and he needs as much rest as possible every day for a couple of years (yes, I mean years...). This outing will probably have him in bed much of the next day. This is normal and a necessity for him. Every aspect of his body will be exhausted. In years to come, he will find he recovers a bit quicker.
My doctors did not think I would drive again either but I did it! Perhaps he might as well. I became stubborn and obsessive about my therapies which resulted in some unexpected progressions. If he does not need to drive again, then he should put his efforts elsewhere.
Cheers!
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 27, 2012 4:27:58 GMT
Wonderful pictures and it definitely looks as though "a good time was had by all", as they say. The food looks fabulous. To me the nicest part of this is that most of you all went through so much together -- the negotiations, births, deaths, illnesses, etc. -- during your time as colleagues and came out pretty much ahead at the end. I imagine, spoken or not, at least one round of glasses was raised to that. Your host looks like a fun guy.
Most interesting from-the-source input, Mich!
Oh yeah -- I'd say it's almost always the women who determine the seating arrangements. You get put at the end of the table because you're tall. Logical, no?
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Post by tod2 on Aug 27, 2012 8:16:56 GMT
What a lovely day ( it appears) to have lunch Al Fresco. I couldn't help similaties between his house and mine - The steep roof incorporating rooms on an upper floor. Mine has the roof but nothing inside it. Secondly the pool close up to the house. Mine is the same.
Can I ask what the idea is behind crisping the rice on the outside? Here we get the same thing when making Phutu (maize meal cooked to resemble stuck-together couscous) but we soak the pot and throw the crispy bottom to the garden birds!
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Post by htmb on Aug 27, 2012 10:18:06 GMT
.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 27, 2012 15:06:21 GMT
Any Zen in a Storm, Htmb?
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Post by htmb on Aug 27, 2012 15:37:55 GMT
Apparently not, bixa, though I am trying.
Couldn't delete a post accidentally placed here when it was supposed to go somewhere else, so I just deleted the text and left a period.
I would very much like to hear more about Kerouac's luncheon, however.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2012 4:24:00 GMT
Can I ask what the idea is behind crisping the rice on the outside? I think the point is just to give an added texture. Rice can be boring sometimes. The weather was indeed nice. This photo shows the only two people still working at the company -- my former supervisor Philippe, who is taking the picture (but he will be leaving at the end of September or October) and Malika, the ticket office supervisor with Djan's granddaughters crawling on her. She still has at least 15 years left to work.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 28, 2012 6:06:13 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2012 10:43:25 GMT
But wildflowers are free!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2012 18:31:16 GMT
On some of the travel forums, a certain number of future visitors are obsessed/terrified by the imaginary "Paris fashion police." What shoes to wear, will they be rejected if they wear jeans, what if the husband cannot be convinced to leave the baseball cap at home?
I have often replied that Parisians have seen everything and that if somebody walks down the street naked, we will make believe we didn't notice.
Well, guess what happened the other day?
Actually, you couldn't say say that this guy was completely naked. He had a sleeveless leather vest and a sort of skirt of little leather strips swirling around his hips. Believe me, they hid absolutely nothing and there was no underwear. Although he was barefoot, he also had a headband and all sorts of little baubles and necklaces for added effect.
Well, he got on the metro at Les Halles at the same time I did. In fact, I was his accomplice, because he was waiting in the turnstile area when I arrived. "Can I come through the turnstile with you?" This is a common request, but ew! He was a skilled turnstile companion, though, so I did not feel his attributes pressing against my buttocks.
Naturally, everybody noticed him but nobody looked at him, not even the children. This is Paris. He ended up changing at the same station where I changed and he got off at Marx Dormoy, just like me. I did not pay attention to where he went (since I didn't "notice" his existence in the first place), but now I am wondering if I will see him again if he lives in my area.
Oh, he was small and maybe about 60 years old, quite self confident and normal acting. When the weather gets colder, will he be dressed the same?
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Post by htmb on Sept 14, 2012 18:41:15 GMT
You're not making this up, are you? You paint a good picture of this guy with words. I can just imagine what he looked like. Did you think about trying to take a photo?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2012 18:51:20 GMT
No, I am not making it up. And I must confess that I could also have posted this on the "And me with no camera!" thread.
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Post by htmb on Sept 14, 2012 18:53:25 GMT
I wonder if he's ever visited Burning Man.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 19, 2012 18:27:47 GMT
In the colectivo ~~
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