whatever else has happened

I'm losing track of what I've written since the last time, so I'll just quickly run down my further adventures.

Paper #4 is turned in successfully. I believe I told you guys the corrector girl was really nice and made my day. The greve withered away and was officially ended rather recently. Thursday we went to the Opera for Thanksgiving. I don't believe I covered this. It was awesome. It was called Alcina, and was about this woman and her sister, Morgan, who are witches and live on an island. The woman, Alcina, likes bewitching handsome men into falling in love with her (and, really, who wouldn't?), but when she gets tired of them, she turns them into animals or inanimate objects. Into her milieu bumbles this adventurer guy, whom she bewitches, and soon his wife shows up in drag, looking for him. Much intrigue ensues before the husband is rescued and Alcina and her powers are destroyed.

Since everyone in France likes to strike, the opera tech crew was on strike, too, so apparently the play was missing a good deal of its pomp. Nevertheless, it still seemed pretty awesome to me. The staging was, of course, a little flat, since a good deal of the effects and razzle-dazzle was missing, but that was all right, as it just seemed minimalist; and, besides, being a Tsai Ming-Liang fan, I had no problem dealing with a little dryness. I thought the mounting was beautiful, though. To a large extent, the play was lit through a large side door, which created interesting and strong shadow lines and gave the whole thing a bit of a noirish feel. Besides that, though, it seemed consistently like an add in Vogue or something, with beautiful bodies moving languorously through opulent settings full of billowing curtains and whatnot. Also, all the men who had been transformed into various objects where crawling around in various states of undress. As Steve Sawyer would say, "c'est pas mal, ca!" Every play should have frontal male nudity.

Anyway, Friday we took a tour around the Place de la Concorde and the opera house, and I took pictures that would help me illustrate what I want to tell you, and which I assume I will get up later, in some form or another. I'm really starting to get a backlog.

After that, I wandered around with a few people and we ended up going to a cafe and getting drinks and the most delicious creme brulee that I've ever had. Following that, I returned to the dorm and finished up work on the paper, in addition to looking up horribles videos online in a disgusting video contest with Steve which ended in my computer getting spyware and needing to be system restored. Sigh... I finally got the paper in at 5 in the morning.

Because of that, I ended up scrapping my plans to go to the Louvre the next day, and instead slept in. I decided I could go to Pompidou in the evening, but somehow I was cursed and could not tear myself away from my computer. Finally around 8 I tried to go out and get some dinner, but I could not get out because of this African wedding or something. I don't know what it was, but there were all these African people there in traditional garb. Ostensibly their party was in the community room or whatever, but they were all milling about the lobby, too, which is fine, I guess. What is NOT fine, however, is deciding that you will take all your photos in the ONE DOORWAY leading into and out of the dormparment, and then ignoring anyone who is trying to push his way through you. Good lord, how can people be so oblivious sometimes?

Anyway, I retreated to my room for a while longer to let that sort itself out, and I made myself a delightful mustard chicken concoction and I enjoyed heartily. I then headed out to try to catch the new reissue of Suspiria on the Champs Elysees (how amazing is that?!), but after getting all the way there, I ended up being 3 fucking minutes late and not going on because I didn't want to miss anything. I could return, I figured. I went home, sadly, and watched Pasolini's Oedipus Rex on my computer, because I wanted to see an English-subbed version before going to see it in the theater on Monday.

I neglected to mention that I ran into my friend Bryan as I was heading out to the movie, and we eventually ended up setting a date to go to Pompidou the next day. And that we did. It was probably a good thing he was there with me, too, or I would have compulsively looked a every piece of artwork, no matter how crappy it was. His irritation rushed me through it faster, so that I didn't end up spending an hour staring at funny-shaped chairs.

Following that, we bummed around for a while, going to cafes and walking about, until we finally had dinner in the Latin Quarter. I had this amazing steak and fries, and he had this atrocious veal liver. Scarring. I felt bad for him, particularly considering what he paid.

Back at the dorm, I ended up staying up ridiculously late looking up reviews of Turkish cult movies online. I finally went to bed around 4 and fell asleep around 5 (thinking about Turkish cult movies actually gets me really, really wound up), so I was crazy tired this morning. Nevertheless, I soldiered through class, like a good little boy.

Following that, I went home and had a nap, then headed out and saw Oedipus Rex at the Accattone. It was a delightful experience, and I think this is quickly becoming one of my favorite Pasolinis.

Following that, I headed to a cafe and get a creme brulee (since the last one had been so good), and, after that, a glass of wine, while I spent several hours doing my reading. I have to say, it actually gets done when I don't do it in front of the computer. Also, when I skim it very quickly because it is some bullshit memoir that has nothing to do with anything, least of all being interest.

I headed back around 12, planning to do more blogging and writing (of blogs and letters) that I actually did (just this), before (it looks like) going to bed around 3:15.