I felt sad to read this morning about New Orleans' mandatory evacuation. The levees aren't ready yet! I'm hoping the storm will weaken and keeping my fingers crossed that people are getting out of harm's way.
dimanche 31 août 2008
Not again
I felt sad to read this morning about New Orleans' mandatory evacuation. The levees aren't ready yet! I'm hoping the storm will weaken and keeping my fingers crossed that people are getting out of harm's way.
samedi 30 août 2008
jeudi 28 août 2008
Sigh.
The last few days have been a bit stressful. The formal end of my work contract is around Sept 18th or so. My boss had put in a request for a 3-month extension for both me and another postdoc in my department, and sent all the necessary paperwork to the powers that be, assuming it would not be a problem. But the director of my agency was not to be satisfied, and he demanded more justification for it. So my boss dutifully filled out more information, but this being August in France, everyone promptly left for vacation, including the director. So now I have been waiting for almost a month to find out if I will be in France past mid-September.
There is back story on this, because the director of the agency recently did not have his own contract renewed, which people say he is angry about; people tell me that he just wants to f* up the agency as much as possible before he leaves the job. He doesn't know either me or the other postdoc at all; I have never had a conversation with him, ever.
This is so annoying... hello, people, if I am leaving I would need to be packing up my apartment right now!!! Plus, I have been dodging my landlord for the past 2 weeks who wants me to sign the renewal of my lease. The secretary at work called my landlord yesterday and told her that I was sick, so we could put her off another few days.
So I continue to wait.
There is back story on this, because the director of the agency recently did not have his own contract renewed, which people say he is angry about; people tell me that he just wants to f* up the agency as much as possible before he leaves the job. He doesn't know either me or the other postdoc at all; I have never had a conversation with him, ever.
This is so annoying... hello, people, if I am leaving I would need to be packing up my apartment right now!!! Plus, I have been dodging my landlord for the past 2 weeks who wants me to sign the renewal of my lease. The secretary at work called my landlord yesterday and told her that I was sick, so we could put her off another few days.
So I continue to wait.
samedi 23 août 2008
Chamonix weekend continued
Here is B in downtown Chamonix.
And in front of Brasserie L'M, where we had dinner.
On our last day we decided to head up a téléphérique to see the view. We walked out to La Flégère, which heads up the north side of the valley.
From the top of La Flégère, you can then catch a ski lift to the top, which is called L'Index. Here is a view of the hills up there, from the ski lift.
We made it to Index. 2385 meters! The air was cool and clean, although it smelled like some mountain goats had recently passed by. Stinky!
This is what Index looked like.
Here was the view of the valley. Chamonix town can be seen far below.
Some people were taking off from there to do some paragliding.
It would have been a great hike to walk down to Chamonix from there, as many other people were doing. but we were pressed for time and had a train to catch, so we took the téléphérique back down and zipped over to the train station and took off.
And in front of Brasserie L'M, where we had dinner.
On our last day we decided to head up a téléphérique to see the view. We walked out to La Flégère, which heads up the north side of the valley. 
From the top of La Flégère, you can then catch a ski lift to the top, which is called L'Index. Here is a view of the hills up there, from the ski lift.
We made it to Index. 2385 meters! The air was cool and clean, although it smelled like some mountain goats had recently passed by. Stinky!
This is what Index looked like.
Here was the view of the valley. Chamonix town can be seen far below.
Some people were taking off from there to do some paragliding.
It would have been a great hike to walk down to Chamonix from there, as many other people were doing. but we were pressed for time and had a train to catch, so we took the téléphérique back down and zipped over to the train station and took off.
vendredi 22 août 2008
Back to Chamonix, again
To escape the heat we went up to the mountains the weekend before last, to Chamonix, which, it is fairly safe to say, is my favorite place in France. B hadn't been there before. It is just so gorgeous I think it surprises everyone when they first arrive. The town stands at 3400 feet, so it was cooler and less humid during the day than Lyon, and got nice and chilly in the evenings. We stayed at the Hotel Alpina, where our room was OK, if a bit small. You might generously call it cozy.
We arrived Friday afternoon too early to check into the hotel, so we went to the Scandanavian bar Chambre neuf to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies. We missed most of the spectacle and arrived in time to see the countries parading in. While at the time the countries appeared to me to be occasionally in alphabetical order, but more often not so, someone at work explained to me that apart from the first and the last, the countries came out in order according to the Chinese alphabet "stroke order," I believe she called it. The Chinese order words according to their complexity of strokes. Who knew? Not me.
On Saturday we went for a hike. Someone at a hiking shop where we stopped to buy a map had advised us that a good hike is taking one of the many téléphériques up the mountain and hiking across to another, or down, or further up from there, depending on your energy level. He pointed us in the direction of the Brévent téléphérique and off we went. Oops. It turned out to be under construction and the entire area under it was closed. Instead, we headed along the path called Petit Balcon Sud, which heads east along the valley towards the Swiss border.
Later we came out of the woods a couple of towns over, in the town of Les Tines, where we stopped for a coffee. Below, crossing the Arve river. The Arve starts there in the Chamonix valley, with runoff from the Mer de Glace glacier. The water is a cloudy bluish-green and looks quite unlike any other river I have ever seen.
We walked a different path back along the valley floor, which wound through woods and along the river, and we passed various small guesthouses. Below is the yard of a cafe where we stopped for ice cream.
Above us were Les Aiguilles.
And Mont Blanc in the distance.
We arrived Friday afternoon too early to check into the hotel, so we went to the Scandanavian bar Chambre neuf to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies. We missed most of the spectacle and arrived in time to see the countries parading in. While at the time the countries appeared to me to be occasionally in alphabetical order, but more often not so, someone at work explained to me that apart from the first and the last, the countries came out in order according to the Chinese alphabet "stroke order," I believe she called it. The Chinese order words according to their complexity of strokes. Who knew? Not me.
On Saturday we went for a hike. Someone at a hiking shop where we stopped to buy a map had advised us that a good hike is taking one of the many téléphériques up the mountain and hiking across to another, or down, or further up from there, depending on your energy level. He pointed us in the direction of the Brévent téléphérique and off we went. Oops. It turned out to be under construction and the entire area under it was closed. Instead, we headed along the path called Petit Balcon Sud, which heads east along the valley towards the Swiss border.
Later we came out of the woods a couple of towns over, in the town of Les Tines, where we stopped for a coffee. Below, crossing the Arve river. The Arve starts there in the Chamonix valley, with runoff from the Mer de Glace glacier. The water is a cloudy bluish-green and looks quite unlike any other river I have ever seen.
We walked a different path back along the valley floor, which wound through woods and along the river, and we passed various small guesthouses. Below is the yard of a cafe where we stopped for ice cream.
Above us were Les Aiguilles.
And Mont Blanc in the distance.
jeudi 21 août 2008
mercredi 20 août 2008
Musique
I went to see a couple of shows this summer at the Nuits des Fourvieres, Lyon's series of summer concerts in the old Roman amphitheater. First I saw Leonard Cohen, who was looking extremely elderly but could really rock out. I hadn't realized he ever toured at all-- I thought he lived on some ashram with his Yogi? Maybe he needed a new temple built so decided another tour was in order. At any rate, he did put on a great show.
They ban cameras in there so here were some cell phone shots--
LC is in this pic somewhere, not particularly visible.
Then the last show that I saw was a bunch of Brazilian artists. The first performer, Maya Andrade, was a very good jazz chanteuse. But it was the second act, Barbatuques, was the most interesting of all. They make music not with traditional instruments, but by clapping their hands, slapping their bodies, and stomping their feet. they also sing, but the songs were not always speech; sometimes they would just make rhythmic sounds. They also got lots of audience participation, with different sections clapping at different times to make the music as well. It was fun and a really unique show. Below is an example of their oeuvre from youtube.
They ban cameras in there so here were some cell phone shots--
LC is in this pic somewhere, not particularly visible.
Then the last show that I saw was a bunch of Brazilian artists. The first performer, Maya Andrade, was a very good jazz chanteuse. But it was the second act, Barbatuques, was the most interesting of all. They make music not with traditional instruments, but by clapping their hands, slapping their bodies, and stomping their feet. they also sing, but the songs were not always speech; sometimes they would just make rhythmic sounds. They also got lots of audience participation, with different sections clapping at different times to make the music as well. It was fun and a really unique show. Below is an example of their oeuvre from youtube.
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