No Brainers

Well I must have struck a cord with my last posting! Your comments included strong opinions, but I'd like to think you all were looking out for my best interest, like an older sibling! We often hear that marriage requires love, but it also requires a lot of work. I understand this because Mr. O and I have been together for nearly 10 years. This situation was much more complex than it seemed. As it is with many other things requiring scheduling and planning, it's hard to compromise with everyone. I guess the week of Mr. O's trip was the only week that worked out in his friends' schedule, and he of course, forgot that it didn't work in mine. I understand. One of my own bridesmaids can't make it to my bachelorette party.

Mr. O offered to cancel his trip. We did try to reschedule, but with such a long trip overseas and so many full-time employed friends, it's hard to work with everyone's vacation schedules and such. The only alternative would be for Mr. O to return from the trip early, leaving the guys over in Amsterdam, or to cancel it all together.

I figure, I'm a big girl. I can handle checking my results by myself, although it definitely won't be easy for me. I think what I needed the most from him is acknowledgment of his poor planning and remorse for making a mistake. (I know, I'm kinda evil like that.) People need acknowledgment in order to move on! We've talked about alternatives, and we've talked about our feelings towards the situation. Now I'm moving on.

Well, yesterday I went to Centre Pompidou, which is Paris' modern art museum. Each time I go to see modern art, I get very excited at first, because I think it's so Stella. Then, I get there, and I can't understand it. I'm not sure if I'm missing the "deep art" abilities, but some art truly baffles me. For instance, I saw a big white canvas titled "Minimalist Painting." I stood there, stared at it, and chuckled to myself. I mean dude, the guy painted a bit white canvas with white paint! That's as minimalist as you can get. What got to me the most was how people stared at it for long periods of time. I would look at the painting, then look at the people, wondering whether they were truly deep in thought or just deeply perplexed like I was. How did this artist get away with this one? Ha.

I'm finishing off my last week in Paris. I just love it here now. It started off bumpy, but I'm finally beginning to understand the flow of the city and the people. True, I still don't know the language as much as I need to, but I'm getting by pretty well. Yesterday I ordered a tarte au saumon, which is a salmon tart or quiche. I think I said, "saw-mon" - no. "Sal-mon" - no. "Saaaa-mohn" - no. The lady had NO idea what I was talking about. I mean, how many different ways can a person pronounce salmon in French! Finally, another man said, "saumon" and everyone was like, "ahhhh, saumon!" I stood there confused...again. I thought that's what I said! :)

There are things I'm really going to miss, like going to the boulangerie at 7pm to pick up a fresh baguette for dinner, or perusing down the streets of St. Germain and Marais, eating a falafel at Chez Hannah (seriously good - I've already eaten there twice).

Next on the trip - Florence just for a few days next week before I head back home to SF.