Monday, July 5, 2010
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
Happy anniversary to my one and only. I love you like crazy and can't wait for at least 50 more of these babies to roll around. You make every day brighter. I love you.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Quand les fils s'y mèlent
Cette semaine (enfin la semaine dernière) fut riche en émotion. Non pas parce qu'un évènement extraordinaire est venue perturbé ma vie mais parce que les fashion week de Milan et Paris pour la collection Printemps-été 2011 avaient lieu. C'est un peu comme attendre lors de notre enfance ses jouets pour noël.
Chaque année je suis surpris par deux choses:
- Le virement de bord de certains stylistes qui faisait des choses magnifiques auparavant mais qui se contentent et continuent dans la médiocrité
- L'apparition de nouveaux stylistes mais qui probablement rejoindront la première catégorie (ceux des médiocres) dans quelques années.
Et je suis moins surpris par certains qui perpétue la même qualité de création au fil des années (Et il y en a!)
Il y a eu mon coup de coeur pour la création SS08 (Spring-Summer ou Printemps été) de Dries Van Noten qui m'a totalement plongé dans cet univers. Et c'est sûrement la seule création de lui que je savoure.
Est venu ensuite un sublime mélange de couleur Jaune/Orange/gris de Neil Barrett pour SS09 comme en témoigne cette photo.
Au fil des années, j'ai peaufiné mes goûts et ai suivi de plus près le travail de Véronique Nichanian, qui fait la collection homme d'Hermès depuis plus de 20 ans. Hermès est réputé pour son style très classique et la plupart du temps ennuyant. Et c'est vrai que ce n'est pas Hermès qui fera des explosions de couleurs. Mais nous ne pouvons pas reprocher à Nichanian de négliger la qualité de ces produits. Entrez dans un magasin Hermès et regarder, toucher les produits. Et après aller dans un magasin Louis Vuitton ou autre et faite de même.
Mais par dessus tout, je pense que c'est la philosophie de Nichanian qui me passione. Elle renvoie la mode à son destin primaire, l'art, et non pas cet engouement du m-as-tu-vu impératif.
S'habiller c'est faire notre propre art sur notre toile, notre corps. S'habiller c'est s'exprimer, évoquer des émotions, faire ressentir des sentiments pour les autres.
Alors quand je vois ces personnes porter des sacs Vuitton avec des tennis affreuses, cela me donnent envie de leur vomir dessus.
Et pour finir, un cliché de la collection SS11 Hermès:
Chaque année je suis surpris par deux choses:
- Le virement de bord de certains stylistes qui faisait des choses magnifiques auparavant mais qui se contentent et continuent dans la médiocrité
- L'apparition de nouveaux stylistes mais qui probablement rejoindront la première catégorie (ceux des médiocres) dans quelques années.
Et je suis moins surpris par certains qui perpétue la même qualité de création au fil des années (Et il y en a!)
Il y a eu mon coup de coeur pour la création SS08 (Spring-Summer ou Printemps été) de Dries Van Noten qui m'a totalement plongé dans cet univers. Et c'est sûrement la seule création de lui que je savoure.
Est venu ensuite un sublime mélange de couleur Jaune/Orange/gris de Neil Barrett pour SS09 comme en témoigne cette photo.
Au fil des années, j'ai peaufiné mes goûts et ai suivi de plus près le travail de Véronique Nichanian, qui fait la collection homme d'Hermès depuis plus de 20 ans. Hermès est réputé pour son style très classique et la plupart du temps ennuyant. Et c'est vrai que ce n'est pas Hermès qui fera des explosions de couleurs. Mais nous ne pouvons pas reprocher à Nichanian de négliger la qualité de ces produits. Entrez dans un magasin Hermès et regarder, toucher les produits. Et après aller dans un magasin Louis Vuitton ou autre et faite de même.
Mais par dessus tout, je pense que c'est la philosophie de Nichanian qui me passione. Elle renvoie la mode à son destin primaire, l'art, et non pas cet engouement du m-as-tu-vu impératif.
S'habiller c'est faire notre propre art sur notre toile, notre corps. S'habiller c'est s'exprimer, évoquer des émotions, faire ressentir des sentiments pour les autres.
Alors quand je vois ces personnes porter des sacs Vuitton avec des tennis affreuses, cela me donnent envie de leur vomir dessus.
Et pour finir, un cliché de la collection SS11 Hermès:
Friday, June 25, 2010
A Méditer
Est ce qu'écouter du rap allemand dans un quartier juif est aussi provocateur qu'écouter du Sizzla dans le quartier du marais?
Friday, May 21, 2010
Les banques
Avant de venir aux États-Unis, je supposais que les banques américaines étaient les pires. En fait, elles ne le sont pas tant que ça. Il est à avoué qu'elles gagnent des milliards sur les marchés financiers et ne redistribue que ridiculement les bénéfices à ses consommateurs. Mais il y a bel et bien une différence entre rien et un peu.
Les banques françaises ne m'ont pas laissé un bon souvenir sur le principe "gagnant-gagnant". Elles gagnent (beaucoup) mais pas le consommateur qui se voit payer des frais s'il retire des sous ailleurs, s'il fait un virement, pour l'activité de son compte. En résumé, nous payons pour pouvoir payer et le tout pendant que la banque s'enrichisse de cette transaction.
Les banques américaines ont un cran d'avance sur la relation avec le consommateur. Je pourrais les résumer à deux mots: gratuité et récompense:
Gratuité:
Toutes les banques proposent des comptes courants gratuits. Et à chaque ouverture de compte, on reçoit sa carte bancaire et son chéquier (le tout gratuitement!). Après des services sont proposés dépendant du montant disponible sur son compte. Prenons l'exemple de ma banque. Ils proposent trois types de comptes: Free, Performance et performance select. Les trois sont gratuits et ne diffèrent que par la disponibilité des services:
- Free: Le compte courant le plus basique offrant carte et chéquier
- Performance (ce que j'ai): Le compte courant qui requiert un minimum mensuel sur le compte de 2500 dollars (sinon on paye $15 de frais). Mais en contre-partie je n'ai plus de frais si je veux retirer dans les autres banques; je suis assuré contre le vol de mon identité; je peux commander des chéquiers gratuitement. Et en plus de ça, je reçois des intérêts (0.05 à 0.10%) tous les mois. C'est pas grand chose mais c'est toujours appréciable.
- Performance select: Le compte courant qui requiert un minimum mensuel sur le compte de 10 000 dollars (sinon on paye $25 de frais). Il comporte les même avantages que le performance mais avec des taux d’intérêts plus élevés.
Ça change des 2 euros par mois que je payais pour avoir juste un compte...
Récompense:
Dans le même esprit que les intérêts gagnés avec le montant disponible sur mon compte, il y a différentes formes de récompenses.
PNC (ma banque) offre des points. Les points sont accumulés à chaque transaction (payer sa baguette, payer une facture...) que l'on effectue par carte. C'est un peu comme les points smiles de la sncf. Au bout d'un certain nombre de points, on a la possibilité d'acheter des produits avec ces points. Il faut quand même accumulé un bon nombre de points pour pouvoir acheter. En gros c'est 1 point pour $1 (avec quelques exceptions). Et pour 3500 points on a une place de cinéma.
Après il en vient les récompenses grâce aux cartes de crédits. Les cartes de crédits sont par exemple la carte PASS de carrefour sauf que dans mon cas, nous ne sommes pas limités à un endroit (quoi que je crois que PASS a changé). Enfin j'ai bataillé pour avoir une fameuse carte de crédit, élément indispensable aux États-Unis pour pouvoir emprunter par la suite (cf. credit score pour les personnes intéressés de comprendre le système américain). Cette fameuse carte de crédit me récompense gracieusement de tous mes achats que je fais avec:
- je reçois 4% du montant que je dépense en essence
- je recois 2% en restaurants, cinémas
- et 1% pour le reste.
Donc en gros pour $100 dépensé en essence je reçois $4.
Banques américaines je vous aime!
Les banques françaises ne m'ont pas laissé un bon souvenir sur le principe "gagnant-gagnant". Elles gagnent (beaucoup) mais pas le consommateur qui se voit payer des frais s'il retire des sous ailleurs, s'il fait un virement, pour l'activité de son compte. En résumé, nous payons pour pouvoir payer et le tout pendant que la banque s'enrichisse de cette transaction.
Les banques américaines ont un cran d'avance sur la relation avec le consommateur. Je pourrais les résumer à deux mots: gratuité et récompense:
Gratuité:
Toutes les banques proposent des comptes courants gratuits. Et à chaque ouverture de compte, on reçoit sa carte bancaire et son chéquier (le tout gratuitement!). Après des services sont proposés dépendant du montant disponible sur son compte. Prenons l'exemple de ma banque. Ils proposent trois types de comptes: Free, Performance et performance select. Les trois sont gratuits et ne diffèrent que par la disponibilité des services:
- Free: Le compte courant le plus basique offrant carte et chéquier
- Performance (ce que j'ai): Le compte courant qui requiert un minimum mensuel sur le compte de 2500 dollars (sinon on paye $15 de frais). Mais en contre-partie je n'ai plus de frais si je veux retirer dans les autres banques; je suis assuré contre le vol de mon identité; je peux commander des chéquiers gratuitement. Et en plus de ça, je reçois des intérêts (0.05 à 0.10%) tous les mois. C'est pas grand chose mais c'est toujours appréciable.
- Performance select: Le compte courant qui requiert un minimum mensuel sur le compte de 10 000 dollars (sinon on paye $25 de frais). Il comporte les même avantages que le performance mais avec des taux d’intérêts plus élevés.
Ça change des 2 euros par mois que je payais pour avoir juste un compte...
Récompense:
Dans le même esprit que les intérêts gagnés avec le montant disponible sur mon compte, il y a différentes formes de récompenses.
PNC (ma banque) offre des points. Les points sont accumulés à chaque transaction (payer sa baguette, payer une facture...) que l'on effectue par carte. C'est un peu comme les points smiles de la sncf. Au bout d'un certain nombre de points, on a la possibilité d'acheter des produits avec ces points. Il faut quand même accumulé un bon nombre de points pour pouvoir acheter. En gros c'est 1 point pour $1 (avec quelques exceptions). Et pour 3500 points on a une place de cinéma.
Après il en vient les récompenses grâce aux cartes de crédits. Les cartes de crédits sont par exemple la carte PASS de carrefour sauf que dans mon cas, nous ne sommes pas limités à un endroit (quoi que je crois que PASS a changé). Enfin j'ai bataillé pour avoir une fameuse carte de crédit, élément indispensable aux États-Unis pour pouvoir emprunter par la suite (cf. credit score pour les personnes intéressés de comprendre le système américain). Cette fameuse carte de crédit me récompense gracieusement de tous mes achats que je fais avec:
- je reçois 4% du montant que je dépense en essence
- je recois 2% en restaurants, cinémas
- et 1% pour le reste.
Donc en gros pour $100 dépensé en essence je reçois $4.
Banques américaines je vous aime!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Spring Sprang Sprung
Spring is here! Finally! I didn't even sit through a whole winter, but its been quite a shock to go from California where it was 70-80 degrees, to Pittsburgh where it was 12 degrees, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, the weather here shot up to the 70s, even the 80s! Its been great though...we've had a few 'hot' days...they weren't so much hot as they were humid. I think coming from such a dry area I'll need some time to get used to that, but I'm excited about spending a summer where 100 degree days are the exception rather than the rule. No more 120+ days! Hooray!
Me and Yannis are making a lot of progress on our apartment. We've managed to begin furnishing the 'office', probably now my favorite room in the house. We had a field day at Ikea. I love that place. Yannis, not so much. He's always excited when we first get there, but halfway through, usually in the desk section, he starts to get antsy and cranky and I have to threaten throwing meatballs and lignonberry soda at him if he doesn't snap out of it. We managed to get a really cool desk though, and we finally have an actual 'office.' I'm not sure how much work will get done here, but at least we have a place to keep our computers and books. I finally have a sewing area set up (kinda) and we've got the easel propped up and the paints out. We have a lot of big ideas for the house, and this room specifically. We plan on painting but need to decide on colors, and we want to install a cork wall to hang up photos, 'inspiration', reminders, whatever. We've got a lovely view of our neighbors brick wall, so some non-hideous curtains are in order too. I think this room might become our favorite place to be. Its a lot warmer than the living room, which might be nice when winter comes roaring back.
Winter. Eugh.
Here's some pics of our place!
There it is, folks! We'll post more as we do and re-do the different parts of the house. We're pretty excited about the cork wall, though.
Me and Yannis are making a lot of progress on our apartment. We've managed to begin furnishing the 'office', probably now my favorite room in the house. We had a field day at Ikea. I love that place. Yannis, not so much. He's always excited when we first get there, but halfway through, usually in the desk section, he starts to get antsy and cranky and I have to threaten throwing meatballs and lignonberry soda at him if he doesn't snap out of it. We managed to get a really cool desk though, and we finally have an actual 'office.' I'm not sure how much work will get done here, but at least we have a place to keep our computers and books. I finally have a sewing area set up (kinda) and we've got the easel propped up and the paints out. We have a lot of big ideas for the house, and this room specifically. We plan on painting but need to decide on colors, and we want to install a cork wall to hang up photos, 'inspiration', reminders, whatever. We've got a lovely view of our neighbors brick wall, so some non-hideous curtains are in order too. I think this room might become our favorite place to be. Its a lot warmer than the living room, which might be nice when winter comes roaring back.
Winter. Eugh.
Here's some pics of our place!
There it is, folks! We'll post more as we do and re-do the different parts of the house. We're pretty excited about the cork wall, though.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Carpooling in the steel city
Ok this one will be in English. I would like to apologize first for all the grammatical/vocabulary mistakes i will make.
I thought about this topic while i was carpooling back home and i sadly noticed all these i-m-alone cars complaining about the (really bad) traffic. I tried to understand what would lead people to carpool more and hopefully to decrease the traffic.
Surprisingly there are not a lot of information about carpooling in Pittsburgh. I could only find two relevant websites (excluding craigslist). That is really not a ton comparing to Europe!
So the first website is like the one i have at home but a way less user-friendly. look at by yourself! http://www.erideshare.com/carpool.php?city=Pittsburgh . Only 54 ride share are proposed among millions of inhabitants we have in Pittsburgh area... wooo.
The second one is a little more interesting. http://www.commuteinfo.org/comm.shtml They have more information about what is carpooling, how you can do it, etc. You can carpool or vanpool. The van is provided by the organization and you pay a fixed price every month.
But again, the list of available carpooling doesn't exceed 5 and 30ish for van pooling for not only Pittsburgh area but people coming from outside this area.
the lack of carpooling information doesn't explain entirely why it does not work. From what i saw i think there are two majors issues:
First, the distance are so long between ride-sharers. I experimented that because i am carpooling with a co-worker who lives 3 miles from my house. It is not actually that far but i live right across the freeway and he lives middle of the traffic and pretty far from the freeway. So it means i have to pick him up which adds me at least 30 minutes to my regular drive. I can tell that i am starting feeling exhausted, especially knowing that i can avoid all this extra-time/traffic by taking the freeway next to my house.
I am pretty sure that the way roads are build and the housing spread-out doesn't incite people to carpool. It does not become profitable at all.
Second, i have the feeling people are afraid of carpooling. And that's not something only for carpooling i noticed. I have the impression most of Americans are afraid of strangers especially the ones who enter in their private area (including car). I don't know if it's because all the safety issues related to the little screen or something else. Anyway, i definitely think people don't have the willingness to share a daily drive with someone they don't really know. They would rather get use to the traffic. And i can tell you i am amazed every morning how people can handle the traffic on the other side of the road (i am on the "good" side :) )
In conclusion, I don't it will change that much and thinking about some carpooling hub is worthless at this time.
I guess we have to wait the expected gas increase over the next decade/century in order to might see things changing.
But for now, let's pollute and get stuck in traffic!
I thought about this topic while i was carpooling back home and i sadly noticed all these i-m-alone cars complaining about the (really bad) traffic. I tried to understand what would lead people to carpool more and hopefully to decrease the traffic.
Surprisingly there are not a lot of information about carpooling in Pittsburgh. I could only find two relevant websites (excluding craigslist). That is really not a ton comparing to Europe!
So the first website is like the one i have at home but a way less user-friendly. look at by yourself! http://www.erideshare.com/carpool.php?city=Pittsburgh . Only 54 ride share are proposed among millions of inhabitants we have in Pittsburgh area... wooo.
The second one is a little more interesting. http://www.commuteinfo.org/comm.shtml They have more information about what is carpooling, how you can do it, etc. You can carpool or vanpool. The van is provided by the organization and you pay a fixed price every month.
But again, the list of available carpooling doesn't exceed 5 and 30ish for van pooling for not only Pittsburgh area but people coming from outside this area.
the lack of carpooling information doesn't explain entirely why it does not work. From what i saw i think there are two majors issues:
First, the distance are so long between ride-sharers. I experimented that because i am carpooling with a co-worker who lives 3 miles from my house. It is not actually that far but i live right across the freeway and he lives middle of the traffic and pretty far from the freeway. So it means i have to pick him up which adds me at least 30 minutes to my regular drive. I can tell that i am starting feeling exhausted, especially knowing that i can avoid all this extra-time/traffic by taking the freeway next to my house.
I am pretty sure that the way roads are build and the housing spread-out doesn't incite people to carpool. It does not become profitable at all.
Second, i have the feeling people are afraid of carpooling. And that's not something only for carpooling i noticed. I have the impression most of Americans are afraid of strangers especially the ones who enter in their private area (including car). I don't know if it's because all the safety issues related to the little screen or something else. Anyway, i definitely think people don't have the willingness to share a daily drive with someone they don't really know. They would rather get use to the traffic. And i can tell you i am amazed every morning how people can handle the traffic on the other side of the road (i am on the "good" side :) )
In conclusion, I don't it will change that much and thinking about some carpooling hub is worthless at this time.
I guess we have to wait the expected gas increase over the next decade/century in order to might see things changing.
But for now, let's pollute and get stuck in traffic!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Update
Its been a while since I posted, especially a positive post, and I think its time!
The giant pallets of furniture finally made it, and I can't tell you how nice it is to have a place to sit down, dishes (REAL dishes! Not paper ones!) to eat off of, and all the little knick-knacks that make an apartment feel like home. Hopefully we're not jinxing anything, but the neighbors upstairs seem to be keeping their kids a little quieter during the early morning hours, which means we're getting to sleep in later than 6 am on the weekends. Yannis is back from Minneapolis, but will be headed back again on Tuesday for another 10 days. Hopefully after that, we're done and can finally spend some time as an every day, regular couple, instead of this pseudo-long distance thing. Its been great living together and at least having the same address, but only getting a couple days a week with him makes it difficult to really adjust to living in the same house. I realized while he was gone that I've never really lived alone, or even stayed alone. Staying in a big empty apartment alone was pretty scary at first, but now that it feels like home its a lot more bearable, but I'm always happy to see him when he comes home :)
The snow is finally melting! There are still giant piles of gross black snow/ice on the ground hogging up valuable parking spots, but its finally melting. Its been so nice to see the sun these past few days. Cloudy, cold days really make you appreciate the sunshine so much more. I started my new job and am having a great time. My new family and I are dealing with sorting things out (its been difficult without a car and a set schedule), but they're so nice, the kids are great, and I feel so lucky to have found a family like this to work with. The communication seems to really flow and I'm having a great time exploring Pittsburgh with my new tikes. We went to the Phipps Conservatory the other day, a gorgeous greenhouse and garden, which was incredible. The sun was out and it was a fantastic day to go exploring some miniature rain-forests and English gardens. We're really looking forward to Spring and Summer when we can really get out and get our hands dirty in all the parks, trails, and museums have to offer. Its a nice departure from the desert, where there's never much new to do with kids outside of the house. Now I just need a car and I'll be all set!
The giant pallets of furniture finally made it, and I can't tell you how nice it is to have a place to sit down, dishes (REAL dishes! Not paper ones!) to eat off of, and all the little knick-knacks that make an apartment feel like home. Hopefully we're not jinxing anything, but the neighbors upstairs seem to be keeping their kids a little quieter during the early morning hours, which means we're getting to sleep in later than 6 am on the weekends. Yannis is back from Minneapolis, but will be headed back again on Tuesday for another 10 days. Hopefully after that, we're done and can finally spend some time as an every day, regular couple, instead of this pseudo-long distance thing. Its been great living together and at least having the same address, but only getting a couple days a week with him makes it difficult to really adjust to living in the same house. I realized while he was gone that I've never really lived alone, or even stayed alone. Staying in a big empty apartment alone was pretty scary at first, but now that it feels like home its a lot more bearable, but I'm always happy to see him when he comes home :)
The snow is finally melting! There are still giant piles of gross black snow/ice on the ground hogging up valuable parking spots, but its finally melting. Its been so nice to see the sun these past few days. Cloudy, cold days really make you appreciate the sunshine so much more. I started my new job and am having a great time. My new family and I are dealing with sorting things out (its been difficult without a car and a set schedule), but they're so nice, the kids are great, and I feel so lucky to have found a family like this to work with. The communication seems to really flow and I'm having a great time exploring Pittsburgh with my new tikes. We went to the Phipps Conservatory the other day, a gorgeous greenhouse and garden, which was incredible. The sun was out and it was a fantastic day to go exploring some miniature rain-forests and English gardens. We're really looking forward to Spring and Summer when we can really get out and get our hands dirty in all the parks, trails, and museums have to offer. Its a nice departure from the desert, where there's never much new to do with kids outside of the house. Now I just need a car and I'll be all set!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Manuel : Comment virer un PDG en 1 jour
1. Envoyer 6 allemands en avion d'Allemagne (forcément) vers Pittsburgh
2. Ne pas oublier d'inclure le PDG du groupe dans l'avion.
3. Faire la surprise (de venir)!
4. Après les salutations, dire au PDG de la filiale américaine "Hey how are you? good to see you again! Oh by the way, you are no longer CEO of the company starting now"
5. Mettre en place le nouveau PDG
6. Informer les employés (en voyage) du changement
7. Rester 2 jours et repartir en Allemagne.
2. Ne pas oublier d'inclure le PDG du groupe dans l'avion.
3. Faire la surprise (de venir)!
4. Après les salutations, dire au PDG de la filiale américaine "Hey how are you? good to see you again! Oh by the way, you are no longer CEO of the company starting now"
5. Mettre en place le nouveau PDG
6. Informer les employés (en voyage) du changement
7. Rester 2 jours et repartir en Allemagne.
Friday, February 19, 2010
I just want to sit down.
So apparantly my stuff is NOT in Harrisburg, as was told to me by my shippers in Palm Desert. I'd be a lot more patient about waiting for my stuff to get here if I just had a chair to sit on and maybe a radio or something. The internet is getting old and shoveling snow isnt as fun as it looks.
I'm on my last nerve, here. Desert Moving is getting an earful from me, if they ever return my phone call.
I'm on my last nerve, here. Desert Moving is getting an earful from me, if they ever return my phone call.
People here are really nice. I mean REALLY, really nice.
Maybe its just that I've been conditioned to believe most people are pretty selfish (thanks for that, So Cal), but I've been absolutely blown away by people's kindness here.
Exhibit A: I called a taxi to take me to the grocery store on Monday night. It was too snowy to walk and I don't have a car, plus I knew I'd have a lot to haul back up the hill. There was a bit of a wait but I had such a friendly cab driver. Not only did he give me some tips about Pittsburgh (don't steal peoples parking chairs, for example) some driving tips, and a couple Pittsburgh etiquette/slang pointers, but he also came back to the grocery store to get me. I was in line checking my groceries out, about to call the cab company for another cab, and I look up and there he is, nicest cabby in the world, decked out head to toe in black and gold (people are REALLY into sports here), bagging up my groceries and carting them back out to the cab for me. He even helped me haul them all up the icy steps to the front door, and didn't even run the meter. I tipped him extra and he seemed shocked. It was only a 4 dollar cab ride but I felt like I had my own personal assistant for an hour. +1 Pittsburgh!
Exhibit B: The people at the Chick-Fil-A are amazing. I went there yesterday with my new nanny family and not only had the best lemonade ever but we were also 'seated' and our orders taken from our table. Some people lined up at the front to place orders, but staff came out and personally took their orders, told them to have a seat, and brought the food to them. An older woman (the manager, maybe) walked around asking if she could "refresh" our beverages or bring us more condiments. Wow. I never even had service like this at expensive restaurants, let alone a fast food joint with a kiddie area. +2 Pittsburgh!
Exhibit C, D, and E: Numerous offers from people, both friends and strangers, to help me/us out in any way. The upstairs neighbors offered me the use of any towels, pots and pans, or kitchen goods until my stuff gets here. Thanks, neighbors! Our friend Justin is/has been extremely helpful in helping us get settled, find a car, and fix our place up. Justin has a soft spot for Mac and Cheese, so I'm going all out for the next batch. My new mom-boss/nanny family, prior to even meeting me, offered to bring me anything I needed or take me anywhere I needed to go. Really? Wow. I mean I know there's snow and all, but wow. Thank you. +3 Pittsburgh! Even people at the grocery stores, banks, and KMart are super friendly and actually help you find what you need. When I walk in the snow I get a lot of "you're not from around here, are you?" looks, but everyone is understanding and helpful. I wasn't really expecting that, at all.
Exhibit A: I called a taxi to take me to the grocery store on Monday night. It was too snowy to walk and I don't have a car, plus I knew I'd have a lot to haul back up the hill. There was a bit of a wait but I had such a friendly cab driver. Not only did he give me some tips about Pittsburgh (don't steal peoples parking chairs, for example) some driving tips, and a couple Pittsburgh etiquette/slang pointers, but he also came back to the grocery store to get me. I was in line checking my groceries out, about to call the cab company for another cab, and I look up and there he is, nicest cabby in the world, decked out head to toe in black and gold (people are REALLY into sports here), bagging up my groceries and carting them back out to the cab for me. He even helped me haul them all up the icy steps to the front door, and didn't even run the meter. I tipped him extra and he seemed shocked. It was only a 4 dollar cab ride but I felt like I had my own personal assistant for an hour. +1 Pittsburgh!
Exhibit B: The people at the Chick-Fil-A are amazing. I went there yesterday with my new nanny family and not only had the best lemonade ever but we were also 'seated' and our orders taken from our table. Some people lined up at the front to place orders, but staff came out and personally took their orders, told them to have a seat, and brought the food to them. An older woman (the manager, maybe) walked around asking if she could "refresh" our beverages or bring us more condiments. Wow. I never even had service like this at expensive restaurants, let alone a fast food joint with a kiddie area. +2 Pittsburgh!
Exhibit C, D, and E: Numerous offers from people, both friends and strangers, to help me/us out in any way. The upstairs neighbors offered me the use of any towels, pots and pans, or kitchen goods until my stuff gets here. Thanks, neighbors! Our friend Justin is/has been extremely helpful in helping us get settled, find a car, and fix our place up. Justin has a soft spot for Mac and Cheese, so I'm going all out for the next batch. My new mom-boss/nanny family, prior to even meeting me, offered to bring me anything I needed or take me anywhere I needed to go. Really? Wow. I mean I know there's snow and all, but wow. Thank you. +3 Pittsburgh! Even people at the grocery stores, banks, and KMart are super friendly and actually help you find what you need. When I walk in the snow I get a lot of "you're not from around here, are you?" looks, but everyone is understanding and helpful. I wasn't really expecting that, at all.
Yannis needs to post more!
Ah, the sun. I can finally see and feel the sun. It only pokes through the clouds every few minutes for just a second or two, but its there. The dripping sounds of melting snow are almost as soothing as the sound of rain falling, but much more relieving...except that melted snow = ice tomorrow. Either way, I'm just happy the white stuff is disappearing, slowly but surely.
This week has been a bit nutty. I should have been blogging all along, seeing as I've been in this big empty apartment with nothing to do and nowhere to go (oh woah-oh). The snow made it more than inconvenient to get out and discover the neighborhood, what with a lack of sidewalks and all. My furniture was supposed to arrive on the Monday the 15th, but when I called to ask what time it would be delivered, I was told my stuff was....still in Palm Desert? What? Yep. So now its Friday, and I'm "told" my stuff arrived in Harrisburg the yesterday and should be delivered today. Harrisburg is on the other side of PA for those of you wondering. It'd probably be faster for me to go pick the stuff up myself. Of course, they don't deliver on Saturdays so if it doesn't come today we've got to wait till Monday. Grrrrr. I just want my couch and my bed...just something to sit on besides an air mattress and a hardwood floor...cozy and cute as they are, they are also hard and cold.
Moving drama aside, the place is fantastic. We've got a little work to do, mainly just basic sprucing-up like a fresh coat of paint. The bathroom needs a little work, but our landlord is staying on top of it (as much as a 75 year old Hungarian who speaks little English can). We're getting a new vanity to replace the fluorescent monstrosity thats currently calling our bathroom home, and tomorrow theres a guy coming to seal up and paint our bathroom. I'm just hoping this doesn't mean we have to go shower-less while the layers of paint dry. Stinky. Yannis got back from Minneapolis last night and it was SO good to see him after being alone in this place all week. I can't wait until he's done with this assignment.
On a cheery note, these have to be the orangiest oranges i've ever seen...and delicious, too! Thanks, Giant Eagle.
This week has been a bit nutty. I should have been blogging all along, seeing as I've been in this big empty apartment with nothing to do and nowhere to go (oh woah-oh). The snow made it more than inconvenient to get out and discover the neighborhood, what with a lack of sidewalks and all. My furniture was supposed to arrive on the Monday the 15th, but when I called to ask what time it would be delivered, I was told my stuff was....still in Palm Desert? What? Yep. So now its Friday, and I'm "told" my stuff arrived in Harrisburg the yesterday and should be delivered today. Harrisburg is on the other side of PA for those of you wondering. It'd probably be faster for me to go pick the stuff up myself. Of course, they don't deliver on Saturdays so if it doesn't come today we've got to wait till Monday. Grrrrr. I just want my couch and my bed...just something to sit on besides an air mattress and a hardwood floor...cozy and cute as they are, they are also hard and cold.
Moving drama aside, the place is fantastic. We've got a little work to do, mainly just basic sprucing-up like a fresh coat of paint. The bathroom needs a little work, but our landlord is staying on top of it (as much as a 75 year old Hungarian who speaks little English can). We're getting a new vanity to replace the fluorescent monstrosity thats currently calling our bathroom home, and tomorrow theres a guy coming to seal up and paint our bathroom. I'm just hoping this doesn't mean we have to go shower-less while the layers of paint dry. Stinky. Yannis got back from Minneapolis last night and it was SO good to see him after being alone in this place all week. I can't wait until he's done with this assignment.
On a cheery note, these have to be the orangiest oranges i've ever seen...and delicious, too! Thanks, Giant Eagle.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Its the final countdown!
Today I:
packed the last of my boxes
booked a one-way ticket outta here
made a delish chicken Parmesan. Take that, Rachael Ray.
Today was a good day.
packed the last of my boxes
booked a one-way ticket outta here
made a delish chicken Parmesan. Take that, Rachael Ray.
Today was a good day.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
To ship or not to ship?
This one little question is driving me crazy. Shipping my stuff to Pittsburgh saves us a heap of money in furnishing our new apartment. We'd have a bed, couch, all the kitchen gadgets, plates, forks, and knives we could ever want, not to mention all the little touches of home. The price to ship the stuff isn't too bad, especially compared to renting a uhaul and truckin it' cross country...but not shipping and just buying the basics (a bed, mostly, and maybe some plates) until we have some more money gives us cash to get cars right away. I'm so worried about finding a decent car loan and would much rather prefer to buy an old used car than some overpriced new thing thats just going to go all rusty and salty from the pittsburgh freeways anyways! Why does money have to be so complicated?
Friday, January 29, 2010
work work work
I am still uncertain about what i am going to do for work and especially after this project in Minneapolis that ends in one month. I have couple of plans that i wish they will work but i am still not sure...
I should meet my superior this weekend for a coffee-beer-wine to talk about my training/networking plan. When i first signed my contract (almost one year ago), we defined a pretty great training plan. But you know one year is pretty far and i don't know if it is still what they think.
Anyway, i write down some ideas, goals and actually am pretty happy with what i did and how i conceive my career path. I just hope that my supervisor will accept it.
We will see this weekend if we could make it...
Comme à tout commencement d'un nouveau travail, il y a beaucoup de questionnement sur ce que je vais pouvoir faire et où est ce que je vais aller. J'ai rendez vous avec mon supérieur ce week-end (meeting informel je vous rassure...) pour discuter du plan de formation. Il y a un de cela, nous avons défini quelquechose mais le temps est passé et peut-être les choses ont changé. Enfin j'ai peaufiné ce que je veux faire en formation et pour une fois, je suis satisfais de la tournure que ca prends... Il faut cependant que je le fasse valider. Je serais plus informé ce week-end si nous pouvons nous voir...
I should meet my superior this weekend for a coffee-beer-wine to talk about my training/networking plan. When i first signed my contract (almost one year ago), we defined a pretty great training plan. But you know one year is pretty far and i don't know if it is still what they think.
Anyway, i write down some ideas, goals and actually am pretty happy with what i did and how i conceive my career path. I just hope that my supervisor will accept it.
We will see this weekend if we could make it...
Comme à tout commencement d'un nouveau travail, il y a beaucoup de questionnement sur ce que je vais pouvoir faire et où est ce que je vais aller. J'ai rendez vous avec mon supérieur ce week-end (meeting informel je vous rassure...) pour discuter du plan de formation. Il y a un de cela, nous avons défini quelquechose mais le temps est passé et peut-être les choses ont changé. Enfin j'ai peaufiné ce que je veux faire en formation et pour une fois, je suis satisfais de la tournure que ca prends... Il faut cependant que je le fasse valider. Je serais plus informé ce week-end si nous pouvons nous voir...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Petit bout de chemin
Sorry for non-french speakers but i need to balance the French-English language...
Voilà presque deux semaines que j'ai mis les pieds sur le sol américain avec quelques mouvements déjà. L'arrivée s'est plutôt bien déroulée malgré les contrôles de sécurité renforcés et la (ré)adaptation à l'univers États-uniens. Comme à mes débuts il y a presque deux ans, j'ai (encore) éprouvé des difficultés face à la nourriture beaucoup trop grasse et aux multiples problèmes de communication. C'est un peu comme si votre geste le plus simple (aller faire ses courses) devenait un vrai calvaire. Alors imaginé pour trouver un appartement, acheter une voiture...
Néanmoins je viens de recevoir l'appel de mon futur proprio pour l'appartement. Nous emmenageons dans un F5 mi-février! L'appartement est sûrement sur-dimensioné pour nous besoin mais c'est le seul que j'ai trouvé convenable à un prix dans notre budget. Nous allons donc avoir 3 chambres, une salle à manger, un salon et en plus de cela un grand balcom avec le barbecue déjà en place. L'avantage du quartier et ce pourquoi je l'ai choisi est que tous est accessible à pied (très important pour un Européen...): restaurants, bars, supermarché, librairie, banque, cinéma... Au final je pense que c'est un bon choix!
Côté boulot, j'ai commencé dès mon arrivée et une semaine après j'étais envoyé à Minneapolis pour la semaine et cela jusqu'en Mars... Je n'ai pas vraiment trouvé le temps de visité la ville et je dois avouer que les -20 degrés avec vent glacial ne me motive pas trop. Plus qu'un jour et je serais de retour pour le week-end à Pittsburgh histoire de faire des papiers, signer le bail et plus si affinités... Je vais quand même réussir à caler une soirée, enfin on verra!
Voilà presque deux semaines que j'ai mis les pieds sur le sol américain avec quelques mouvements déjà. L'arrivée s'est plutôt bien déroulée malgré les contrôles de sécurité renforcés et la (ré)adaptation à l'univers États-uniens. Comme à mes débuts il y a presque deux ans, j'ai (encore) éprouvé des difficultés face à la nourriture beaucoup trop grasse et aux multiples problèmes de communication. C'est un peu comme si votre geste le plus simple (aller faire ses courses) devenait un vrai calvaire. Alors imaginé pour trouver un appartement, acheter une voiture...
Néanmoins je viens de recevoir l'appel de mon futur proprio pour l'appartement. Nous emmenageons dans un F5 mi-février! L'appartement est sûrement sur-dimensioné pour nous besoin mais c'est le seul que j'ai trouvé convenable à un prix dans notre budget. Nous allons donc avoir 3 chambres, une salle à manger, un salon et en plus de cela un grand balcom avec le barbecue déjà en place. L'avantage du quartier et ce pourquoi je l'ai choisi est que tous est accessible à pied (très important pour un Européen...): restaurants, bars, supermarché, librairie, banque, cinéma... Au final je pense que c'est un bon choix!
Côté boulot, j'ai commencé dès mon arrivée et une semaine après j'étais envoyé à Minneapolis pour la semaine et cela jusqu'en Mars... Je n'ai pas vraiment trouvé le temps de visité la ville et je dois avouer que les -20 degrés avec vent glacial ne me motive pas trop. Plus qu'un jour et je serais de retour pour le week-end à Pittsburgh histoire de faire des papiers, signer le bail et plus si affinités... Je vais quand même réussir à caler une soirée, enfin on verra!
We got the apartment!
Hooray! We just heard from our new landlord that we were approved for the cutest freaking apartment in the whole wide world. We're so excited about this...I know I am, anyways. The place has hardwood floors, built ins, a fireplace, a huge dining room and THREE bedrooms! That means you all can visit us whenever you feel like escaping :) Here's some photos the current tenant sent us of the place...consider these the 'before' pictures...we'll post 'after' photos later! I want to paint the kitchen cupboards but I love the funky avocado stove. Word is we'll have a big pantry and a creepy basement too! My favorite part though is the front porch, complete with a porch swing and barbecue, and french doors that we can open up in the summer for some fresh air. The house is in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, which is a really cutesy neighborhood. I think Mr. Rogers used to live there, too (seriously).
Weee!
Weee!
Apartments and Cars and Deposits, Oh My!
Moving to a new city is hard. Especially when you have to arrange stuff before you even get there. Some of the stuff on our to-do list is pretty obvious...find a place to live, find a mode of transportation, figure out where all the necessities are (i.e. grocery stores, libraries, beer distributors, etc.), finding a good doctor and dentist...blah blah blah. I can't really speak for Yannis, but its a little overwhelming sometimes! There's this sense of excitement for something new and of course that we'll actually be in the same city for once, but all these little details that I've never really had to deal with are suddenly coming on all at once! Its all really exciting though, and as much as I'm going to miss the West coast (goodbye, sun. see you in August), I'm really looking forward to exploring Pittsburgh. We think we found an apartment, just crossing our fingers and toes that we are approved (more on that later), and I've gotten some pretty great leads on nanny jobs, including one in particular that I'm really excited about, but don't want to talk about for fear of jinxing everything. I'm also coming off of my recent trip to Europe and kinda miss the place. More on that later, too...with pics. I swear mom, they'll be up soon.
Welcome!
Hey, welcome to our blog!
This is just a little something we put together to keep friends, family, and whatever strangers happen to come across us here updated on our lives. "Meet Me Au Milieu is Franglish for "meet me halfway", which is pretty apt for our situation. The steel city might not be exactly halfway between California and France, but its pretty darn close! We're hoping to use this blog as a place where we can keep in touch with people from home and share with them all the new stuff we're getting into in Pittsburgh.
This is just a little something we put together to keep friends, family, and whatever strangers happen to come across us here updated on our lives. "Meet Me Au Milieu is Franglish for "meet me halfway", which is pretty apt for our situation. The steel city might not be exactly halfway between California and France, but its pretty darn close! We're hoping to use this blog as a place where we can keep in touch with people from home and share with them all the new stuff we're getting into in Pittsburgh.
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