HAPPY STRIKE DAY, MARCH 23, 2010

The day that most of the transports go on strike because they are angry about their treatment when they are going to retire, or their work conditions or blah blah blah, really I think they just wanted to take a mental health day!

This is the day that I love (please note the sarcasm) a day when every person who takes the transports has the "right" to get upset be cause there are no trains or the lack of trains, like 3 in 1 hour!

All the while the rage is going on, the conductors are fighting for their "rights". The passengers are fighting to get on the train, I had to wait for 3 trains before actually getting on one.


A day where your face is pushed into the glass and someone's hand just happens to touch your butt too long, or a roller coaster effect would take place if the train moved a little bit faster or pushed a little to hard on the brakes, causing you and the 5 people next to you to crash and fall down. Thus an argument starts about how you stepped on someone's Prada shoe or that your elbow is in someone's way, etc.

Basically if you already have a long day it will be even longer due to the fighting, thus stress, rage and accidents happen and for what a little extra retirement time? Really they are fighting for something openly that we can't even fight for in our own country, the only thing the French and us have in common is the adminstration doesn't listen no matter how we handle the situation.

photo from the 20 minutes website just to give you folk an idea.

Art+Paris

Contemporary Art shows or fairs are not only good places to see fine art  but to see what all of Paris is wearing fashion-wise. The Michael Jackson vests are really hot right now, along with those striped sailor shirts, or odd colored stripes, like matching hot pink tights with a dark blue skirt, or green tights with a khaki skirt, make for really good combinations. All of this makes me want to see more of these chic people who follow the world of contemporary art, as I do not fit into this category.

For Art+Paris, this is were people are willing to spend the big bucks, for the upcoming or well-known contemporary artists and willing to spend the $ on the latest fashion.

As for the art, at Art+Paris, none of these paintings resemble those of child's play that one can see at Beauborg or other fairs in Pairs. There are just rows and rows of fine art that just happens to bring people together. Even these eco-friendly fiats, made it to the show.

Even my hatred for contemporary art was put on the back-burner, by the realization that anything goes in the contemporary art world: from nudity to drawings, to photography, etc etc. Just as sex sells, art sells, no matter what is in the picture.
Below are some pictures from Art+Paris

this painting was like 3-d and the angles changed as you moved

To learn more about the show please check out the site: http://artparis.fr/2010/en/

Le Marche

Today was a rare experience, I went to two different marches or markets.

My usual Sunday consists of my husband and I going to the market around 10 making the usual stops to ED (the supermarket), the butcher shop, and then taking a stroll down the main street, where there are mostly non-food vendors, before hitting up the baskets of anything your heart desires from a euro, fifty-two cent lady.

But today was not the typical Sunday, instead it was me who did all of the above alone and then returning home, to find my husband ready to go to the other market down the street. A market which was mostly consisted of Algerian Arabic household items and food supplies. I don't think I have ever seen that many arabic/turkish women in one place at one time in my life. The people were all in a hurry and if I spent one minute extra looking at the fish and deciding if I wanted to buy some, I would get angry glances and comments behind my back. Whereas if I was to do that, in my market in Drancy, never would that happen, or even in a Parisian market.

The markets are a place to meet people and where people come together either to sit at the cafes and people watch, stroll along looking at all of the useless items that no one really needs, but will end up buying because it only cost one euro, or for those who want to get in and get out, because they are not into the crowds. There are endless aisles of bread, meats, veggies and fruits in each little building of the market, alongside rows and rows of clothes from socks to suits, wallets, purses, and shoes for only a mere 5 euros. Its just the people that sometimes get in the way...but if you take your time and let the other people suck it up, the experience is bound to continue.

Doctor Visit

There was no welcoming crew, no one to escort me to the sick or health room, no one with a smile on their face to say in that sweet voice "oh are you sick?" But rather a plain white-washed room with blue door that matched the chairs (and that made my blue scarf fit right in) and a couple of fish tanks. 

Why is it that there are aquariums in doctor's offices? Do people feel comfort with fish? I have decided these doctors want to make you feel like you are in the sea (of sickness) not the relaxing beaches of St. Tropez with music of Bridget Bardot in the background.

 Just a plain and simple office, not even a sign welcoming you there. Disappointed that there was no one there to check me in especially because I didn't know where I was supposed to go, made me a little uneasy if I had might the right choice with choosing this office (my husband sees this doctor). Even more disappointing after having to knocked loudly in order to enter didn't served no purpose. Not knowing which door would be my destiny, was it up the stairs, or in front of me? the questions and the uncertainty continued to pop up, and I wanted someone there to lead me in the right direction.

And at the very second that I was thinking about leaving, because it was already 15 minutes past the time of my appointment, I heard my name! I entered the room and was welcomed with kindness unlike what I encountered upon entering the building the first time. Therefore this doctor's office has become my preferred place to go, despite the lack of homeness.