Christmas in Paris

My inspiration for this blog was to tell of my travels which were made easier when my sister Alison got a job at Continental Airlines. As the story goes...

My sister left her job in Denver to live in Paris. She lived on a student visa for years and finally decided to get a job. She called me to ask for me to be a sounding board; it was uncharted waters. She got her act together. It's not easy in a foreign country but she's smart, a good accountant and is very professional. Still there were moments of doubt as we started into the process at the beginning of the summer of 2006. But by the end of the summer she had three job offers and was then asking for advice on which job to take, plus she was very clever in negotiating an addition 20% on to the salary on the offer she did take...after all she was in demand. She took the job with Continental Airlines. As she is single, she gets to choose a "designated spouse" for travel benefits, and I was her choice.

I was going to visit her at Christmas last year. It was last minute but no problem for us, sometimes we book less than 24 hours in advance. So, I'm on the phone with Alison and sorting out plans. Economy was oversold and the only seats were in Business/First. Alison said to me, "Just pay the difference, it is so worth it. The steak is this big." "That big," I joked into my phone. Yeah it's great. I had another this time, but it wasn't easy. Paris was overbooked so I went via Brussels, but I did get first class, great steak, good conversation with the gay Episcopal Minister and Theology professor (whose 30 year partner, wow!, was working the flight), and it's so much easier to sleep in those big chairs with space to stretch out. You're practically horizontal.

A couple of years of free champagne, thick steaks and hopping about, I was back in Paris. Alison is a great host, she loves to have friends over. I love small gatherings but don't have the knack for hosting. We talk menu, decide, she's very good at certain things and I charm the guests, then we change places when she's done and I take over the kitchen.

She's got great friends in Paris. I don't think she'll ever leave. (I tell my story about how I feel so at home in NYC, to me Alison is the same about Paris. She says she'll be in Denver again someday, but her heart will always be in Paris in someway. As Heminingway said...Paris goes with you as it is a "Movable Feast", great read.)

Alison is very American, yet has taken to the French mannerisms and savoir-vivre.

Florence et moi, dans la cuisine. (That's not a stain but a lens-light thingy.)

Letting loose, being silly: Anastasia, Martin, Marine, Katherine, Florence, Samir, plus Alison.

What a great Christmas eve! Lovely and lively conversation, beautiful people ... happiness can be so simple.

Can I Overcome B.O.?

A few weeks back I got an email from Beth that made me laugh so hard. She informed me that if you search "Barack Obama" on Facebook, I came up third. Well by the time I read the email and tried it myself, I was down to fourth.


Today, I'm up to second. What would it take to overcome the man himself? How can I overcome BO? How can I better a man who raised a record $750 million?

I need to make a mistake. I mean a monstrous f*!k up such that the US government will give me $750 billion ... that's with a b, so that I can out spend the BO.

What do you suggest?

Thank you for your support,

Eebie

PS: Is it because I live in a NYC, in a blue state that I never heard any cheezy jokes before about his initials being BO?

Tagged by Coffey...

I'm so busy, still, not much more to go to finish school, Beth nicely roped me into another blog, this time it's a one word "question"...

1. Clothes? Being back in school I decided not to spend any money on clothes and just wear out what I have. When I get a real job, I will toss them and buy a new wardrobe. (I must say I do leave a lot behind in Honduras.)

2. Furniture? Best place to shop – the streets of Manhattan’s Upper West Side. On garbage night, these people lay out some good shit on their curb. I picked up some nice chairs, organizing bins for my closet, vacuum cleaner (needed a cleaning – ironic – but I got it working nice), and all sorts of stuff. Plenty that I say, "Looks great, I've no place to put it. (Therefore I don't need it.)" Best find = 250GB external hard drive.

3. Sweet? Great expression for something that was great, excellent, wonderful…

4. City? That’s where I live…in the city and New York City is the city. But even for NYC, Manhattan is the city. If you live in Brooklyn and you say you’re going out in the city, everyone knows that means Manhattan.

5. Drink? Yes, too much. I love beer. I really like wine and stay away from the hard stuff. My saving grace is that when are exams are over and I’ve celebrated their departure, I stop.

6. Music? I love it all. My collection has tango, heavy metal, fado, teenie pop, bossa-nova, rock, blues, opera, lots of musicals, mariachi, plenty of jazz, and the list goes on.

7. TV Series? Numbers, CSI, Law & Order, etc. All those crime investigation shows. I especially like Numbers as it explores math and Judd Hirsh went to my school.

8. Film? As vast as my music selection: Star Wars, Cinema Paradiso, La Reine Margot, Anything Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro or Al Pacino, Au Revoir Les Enfants, Chariots of Fire…

9. Workout? I love it when work is out and I can go home. I haven't jogged in the park in months. I miss it. There was a time not more than a year ago I could run a 5:40 mile.

10. Pastries? Mille Feuille (Napoleon); I love them. But a simple croissant can be just as heavenly.

11. Coffee? Oil slick. The Exxon Valdes was a terrible disaster, I brought a straw.

Back to Honduras...

I've been out of the loop as I've been busy preparing for our next trip. We've got a good group of 10 enthusiastic and smart people, so we're looking good.

Someone found our first project on Google Earth. A bit to the upper right of the center is the construction of the tank; the picture was probably taken 1/2 way through.

Here's the skinny on the next projects...
La Nueva Suiza
The work in La Nueva Suiza continues as most of the homes do not have chimneys, so the smoke from the stove/oven remains in the kitchen.
There is no electricity, but now that the dam and tank are working and managing the water, there is actually more water than they need. The overflow can power a generator to produce electricity.
Las Chicas
Currently Las Chicas has a small tank but has serious problems with water distribution. The community is quite poor and has difficulty raising funds. At the same time the tank has no lid, is covered with mold and has no chlorinator.
There is no electricity in Las Chicas. There are two options: the town is 300 m from an electricity distribution pole or an off grid solution like La Nueva Suiza is a possibility.
Many of the homes do not have proper latrines. Gray water and waste management area serious problems. Some of the homes do not have "pilas" or a water basin (25-30 gallons) that are used as the water management center for all homes – washing clothes, dishes, bathing and everything water, they are essential.
Tegucigalpita
A fairly large community of 4,500 people,they have more resources. We see our role more as the pure consulting engineer. They need the big picture, the calculations, the plan for water usage, conservation and management for the next 10 years.

Looking for extra cash?

While in San Diego hanging out with Jenn and her friends as part of her send off before moving to Albuquerque to start the MFA in Creative Writing, we spent time on the beach with her friend Karen.

Karen has traveled much of the US and shared the story of someone she knows who, if I recall, wanted to be a stay at home mom. Money got tight but she found a great job working at home for $300 an hour. She's a dominatrix. She doesn't even get naked, just a two piece leather ensemble and a whip. Even better, she makes them clean her dishes and scrub down the bathroom. While in LA, she wouldn't be able to pull down that sort of cash, she works in conservative Orange County where it has to be hidden.

It's a wacky and wonderful world out there, so get out there and enjoy!

Book Commentary: Life on the Color Line

First book that I finished this summer is a wonderful autobiography of Gregory “Billy” Williams who happens to be the President of The City College of New York where I currently attend. He spent the first 10 years of his life in Virginia on the road that divided the white neighborhoods from the black, US 1. His father owned a bar/restaurant that served both communities; it was not typically tolerated for a white business to serve blacks but it was as it was war-time and many of the patrons were military. His father worked hard and started another few business, then it all fell apart as alcohol took its toll on his father.

His parents broke up after his mother left to not take any more beatings; she took the youngest two kids with her. The eldest boys, “Billy” (the author) and “Mike” his brother returned to their father’s hometown of Muncie, Indiana where he and his brother discovered that they were black.

He struggles for acceptance, he fights for and against his drinking dad, he tries to help his brother Mike find his own way and not take to the same path as his father. Through it all he pursues his dream of becoming a lawyer.

Well written, it’s a very enjoyable read that shares the mood and madness of life under segregation.

The List!

After an Engineers Without Borders meeting, a few of us went to the pub for some bonding. Joanna is great and we get along too as we are both second degreee students. She spent 5 years as a journalist covering the courts here in NYC.

So she mentions that she'd like to set me up with a friend but wants to what I like, blonds or brunettes or what? And I try to share how I'm more about relationship and really like to spend time with people who have been overseas, are cultured and have a friendship as a part of dating. Joanna tells me about how she's reading a book about how we chose our sex partners and the need for mystery in the chemistry. I explain that I understand many people are like that but not all. A humble friendship in the midst of the thrill of dressing up and going to opening night doesn't burst everyone's bubble. The book seemed to suggest that by design we are about the excitement of the unknown and the competition and the chase. I avoided saying that if left to our natural instincts we might act like chipanzees and focused on "I'm not like most people."

Joanna was didn't know where to go with the conversation so she relied on what she knew and asked, "Do you like blonds or brunettes or what?"

"I want a woman who likes museums."

"You know those glasses you were in the lab, the goggles; you should wear them when out at the pub." She explained.

"So as to let everyone know up front I'm a geek; I'll consider it. It might save me some time."

Years ago, I believe it was in a flight magazine, I read an interview with Renée Zellweger and thought what a wonderful person, she likes to read, her father is Swiss and mother Norwegian, she's from Katy, TX nearby Austin and loves the city as well as the country. I also like a lot of her movies and so if I were to mention someone for the moviestar fantasy, she comes to mind. Although, the recent supposed plastic surgery that has not been confirmed or denied did put me off; she's quite elegant without it. But I don't go for looks first (plus I haven't found anyone to replace her).

I would never mess with a married woman. At the same time, when Keith Urban went into rehab, I was hoping he'd get help for his problem and a divorce from Nicole Kidman. I guess I got a Cold Mountain ménage a trois fantasy. (Actually, I don't, one woman at a time is perfect for me, but this is a blog so we say stuff like Cold Mountain ménage a trois fantasy.) And she'd always have the curls. She looks fab in curls. I think she'd do that for me.

Many years ago I saw the movie Gotham with Virgina Madsen; she was smokin hot and I was too young to control my hormones.

The first three are blondes, yeah I know but it's been said men have wanted blondes since the thirteenth century.

Being hands off married women also means no Halle Barry. But she's hot. Her streak of bad-boys makes me think she'd never look at me unless I was doing something strange like wearing lab goggles, still this is a blog so I get to say she's hot. I chose the bond girl pic.

It's always that last one that makes life so difficult. Actually, I know nothing about these women so it's over before it started. Still, I won't put up names of women I admire as that is so not sexy, especially once you see the list: Cokie Roberts, Madelaine Albright, Condaleeza Rice, and there's the dead ones Mary Cassat, Princess Grace Kelly, Ella Fitzgerald, Marie Curie. Anyway, let me just roll with the illusion...

There's another bond girl that I think is so hot...Lucy Liu. She is so sleek and sexy when she's kickin ass and so elegant on the red carpet...très hot. While the attraction of a woman wrapping her legs around me while doing the horizontal mombo gets my motor running; I don't think it's hot that she could tie me into a pretzel at any moment. I'm not really into kink, especially if my bones get broken.

So, I don't expect to meet any of these women ever, but if you do, let them know I'm still available. If that works out, then I need another on the list. If Renée wakes up next to me realizing that it's forever, I'll need another to give her the list of five women.

I could sing duets with Shania Twain. She'd have to dress down a bit; I'd look stupid next to her looking like this, but it is my fantasy so I chose this picture.