Mes Premiers Jours

Bonjour (or Bonsoir if you're reading this at night)! I am currently trying to upload a bunch of crap and the videos aren't working! ugh...they're 88MB, which for a video isn't much, but this French WiFi cannot support the weight of a fly. Oh I am so harsh, but I am also a young American, and however you look at it (positively or negatively), my life almost revolves around the Internet.

I am actually not too hurt that my video isn't uploading. My voice sounds bad (as always with recordings), I had just travelled like 20 straight hours or something and I was distraught and frustrated. 

I arrived in France on Saturday, August 30, on-time and ready to head into the city. I needed to call a friend with a French number and didn't know how to do it (now I do). My baggage came, all 100+ lbs of it, and I lugged it around Charles de Gaulle airport not knowing exactly where I needed to go. To those of you who are coming to visit me, heed this: read the arrival directions on the monitors on your plane as you land and don't be afraid to speak English if you need help when you're in the terminal. Anyway, I was surprised to see an Hermes boutique in the bloody airport (wtf?). To make this story short, I rode the RER (the regional train from the suburbs of Paris into the central part of the city) and it was hella hot. I couldn't find my way, had to ask in broken French how to use the phone and luckily found a cell phone store and just decided to buy one on the spot. Anyway, I found my friend and spent a fantastic weekend in Paris.

The Many Moods of the Eiffel Tower:

The Eiffel Tower by day...

and the Eiffel Tower by night.

(It's blue because France has the European Union presidency).

Well ya'll, the WiFi has got the best of me, and if you know me well, you know that when I get frustrated I want to break something. So to save the life of my computer I will let you go. I am sorry about not posting so many visuals...I will see what I can do this Saturday. I plan to go try out the WiFi at the Anglophone Library here in Angers.

I had a test today, which went well, but this schedule stresses me out like none other. It's like high school, except longer. 

Merci beaucoup and "talk" to you soon,

Chris(topher)

Just A Teaser

Hello All, or should I say Bonjour à Tous!

I hope you all are doing well and that Kansas isn't treating you bad. This post is just to let you know that tomorrow I have an almost three-hour break and will be doing my first official blog from the beautiful, wonderful country of France. :)

So, stay tuned and please bear with me. There was absolutely no excuse for me to only post, what...three times in New York, but here...omgs, here Internet access is insanely hard to find and it's definitely not like the States (let's just say I'm dying inside a little).

Tonight I tell my host mom that I am moving closer to the university and centre ville (downtown) to maintain a more active presence with my new friends and the city itself. I live in the suburbs and it takes anywhere from 30-50 minutes to commute to class (that includes the bus ride and the walk from the station). My new home will put me only 5-7 minutes walking distance from both school and downtown, so I'm very excited. The sad thing is that my family is absolutely wonderful, but I figure that we can maintain contact--if they don't wanna kill me when me and my roommate tell them--without having to live with them. It's just more convenient.

Anyway, check this on a weekly fashion. As I adjust to life here and find the best places to set up my computer, you can expect a weekly post, some with pictures and some not. Tomorrow's post will be chock (chalk?) full of multimedia delights, so get ready!

Love ya'll,
Chris(topher)

Escaping Temporary Posting Paralysis

Hello to all my loyal readers who are so very angry with me...Hopefully the following stories provide an excuse for you to continue reading this blog, which, I have to add, will be continue on as I journey to La France in the coming weeks.

As you might well know, I come from a tradition-rich basketball school—Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!—and there are a few fellow interns who come from similar programs. In the spirit of intercollegiate competition and an effort to build on our camaraderie, I decided to found the 2008 ASME Summer Basketball League, which is comprised of five, three-on-three basketball teams: the Bridge Burners (my team, with Arkansan Eliza "Block Your Shot" Borne and Texan Marissa "Clutch" Carl); the Giant Squid (fiesty Holly "In Yo Face" Otterbein, Mandi "Whack-a-Mole" Woodruff and the one and only Boozin' Susan Elgin from good ole Iowa—which takes us to our next team); the Boozin' Susans (with NY-Times Nate Olivarez-Giles, Lesley "Pattycake" Patterson and spritely Spencer Kornhaber); the News Flashes (with Emilia "Amilia" Benton, NF Brigadeer Bridget O'Donnell, Megan "Make You Pay" McClure and Karen "Keep Away" Snyder); and lastly the Negative Nancies, who have at times in the competition have been, well, rather negative (with captain Jeff "This Isn't Gonna Happen" Dooley, Kristi "I Don't Like Green" Oloffson and Justine "I Can Keep Time, Too" Blanchard).

The first game pitted my team, the Bridge Burners, versus the News Flashed. Within the first 5 minutes of play, I decided to take the ball to the hole, as my defenders were getting pretty lax, and on my way down from what I thought would be an easy layup, I rolled my ankle, and since June 30, I have had a nasty right foot, which most of you saw over the Fourth.

In between the Fall—yes, it's capitalized, mostly because I was named Week 1 MVP—and the Fourth, I hobbled around NYC, propping my foot up on desks or computers when I could. After daily doses of 800 mg of ibuprofen, my ankle/foot has decreased in size immensely, with the exception of the outer bone, which is still puffy and looks like a knob. AKA horrible.

So, the newly crippled me taxied off to La Guardia Airport, flew that extremely boring flight to Kansas City—how I'm gonna make it to Paris without my mom's leg to sleep on, I have no clue—and landed to a gorgeous Midwestern morning, chock full of a slight wind, no clouds and an expansive sky: all the things I've missed being in the city. We embarked on Girard, KS, that itsy bitsy town of 1,200 or so folks set out in the middle of farmland. The last two times I've been to visit my family, I have actually appreciated it—don't misinterpret my quote here, but let's be real...Girard and me? We're definitely incompatible. But no, really...being surrounded by family you haven't seen in awhile, set in a place with absolutely no distractions...that really helps you clear your mind and relax. Lord knows I need to relax, I'm the most paranoid person I know.

But this weekend was un peu different. No, this weekend we had another apparently quadrennial Gardner-Weber reunion—I think I've only participate in one or two before this. Our Iowan relatives set out for Girard just like my mom, brother and I did, with visions of reunion activities, talk of our great- and grandparents' days of yore and eating scrumptious food. It was definitely a weekend to remember...

Friday was jam-packed with a very rough game of wiffleball, which I used to play as a child. I was team captain, and, with my second in command, Tammy, I came up with the name Team Ankle, paying hommage to the injury I probably shouldn't have been playing on—yes, mom, I heard you 80 times—but still had to do. We lost, 7-3, against Team Law, with its rules! lol...no hard feelings, I swear. We also had some exciting, and very interesting, karaoke at which I don't excel due to my fear of single in front of other, the same way Piper Parabo was in "Coyote Ugly." Saturday had some bloody mary action and a Texas Hold 'Em tournament, which I ended up winning, taking home a $50 purse, $5 of which went to my brother for the entry. It was a great game! I did a good bluff and also had some good hands, which really helped me. 

All in all these past two weeks have been rather lazy, due mostly to my bum ankle, but also because I'm realizing that I don't have much time left in New York. It's crazy that as you start to get into the groove of things in these types of positions, you have to leave 2 weeks later. I love it here and wish I never had to leave! But, alas! I must and I will see you all very soon...if I haven't seen you already!

Love,

Chris(topher)

Now Accepting Starbucks Cards

So sorry about the delay in my second post, especially to my dear cousin Tammy, who anxiously checks this thing on what I'm guessing is a daily basis. 

Ya know that thing I might've told some of you a few weeks ago about being bored at work with nothing to do? Well yeah, that part of my internship is done, I'm thinking. Real Simple has really put me to work, which is definitely to my liking. Most of my projects right now are for the Web site, www.realsimple.com, or the newsletter, which all you women—men, too, if you'd like—should subscribe to. I am answering two questions sent in by readers, so you'll see my little name. Yay!

As things become more hectic and work gets to be a tad bit more stressful, I find myself in desperate need at the end of my eight-hour day to rest. I get on my computer—I'd get on my bed too, if only NYU would let me plug in my wireless router, jerks—and I listen to music and sit, despite the fact I sit on the computer at work as well.

Lately, we've been watching the NBA finals. My roommates, Jeff and Nate, and I enjoy sports. Because I love my little brother soooo much, lol, I am cheering for the Lakers, even though Paul Pierce hails from the best school eva—Rock Chalk, Jayhawk! But those games have been going late and I always sneak in a beer or two to relieve the stress. :) But yes, go Lakers!

This lack-of-sleep pattern I find myself following is requiring some much need caffeine, thus the title of my post. Venti iced skinny vanilla lattes are rather expensive here. So...send away! JKs ;)

At the magazine, I'm helping the editors with the holiday gift guide, which will come out in the December issue. This is a big thing with lots of people, so it's pretty cool they have me helping. So far, I've been to a toy show with THE most amazing toys. Totally made me wanna be a kid again. They had night vision goggles and cupcake kits for the microwave. Just really cool stuff. I even got samples of the toys, which will be dispersed at the family reunion. The thing is they don't necessarily qualify for our aesthetic at the magazine, so it's pretty much just an excuse to see awesome little gadgets. Next week I'm going to the flagship FAO Schwarz holiday press show! Oh I'm so excited.

I promise, when I've begun to organize myself and my work, I will routinely update this and eventually make sure I post pictures and video of the city. It's pretty cool!

Thanks for the comments and to those of you like Tammy, keep checking consistently, I won't let you down anymore! ;)

-Chris(topher)

Sick and the City

Hey everyone!

Hope all is well wherever you're reading this from. My first 11 days in the Big Apple have been tremendous. For the most part, the New Yorkers I have met have themselves debunked the myths I had about big city folk. They're warm-hearted, helpful and very eager to lend a hand. Yes, they are fast-paced and somewhat impersonal, but that's only in the subway—I've become that way too. The first day I was here, I knew this was the place I belong and this is the best place for me to excel. People here know what they want and the city offers endless networks to achieve those goals—I've already met a Real Simple editorial assistant who is a former ASME intern and went to one of our rival high schools, Shawnee Mission East; a Staten Island woman named Rosemary whom I helped find her way to Union Square (where I live) and who works at another Time, Inc. publication, Essence. It's amazing how small this city is when you think about it.

Now you're probably wondering what's up with the title. Well, since I did walk by the "Sex and the City" premier the first day I got here, where I saw Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis and also heard shouts for Cynthia Nixon, I figured it'd be best to allude to a great summer flick about America's best city. :) It was good though, even though I really didn't watch the series. Except for the fact that I was sitting next to my managing editor, which made the extremely emotional scenes and the sex scenes a little uncomfortable. Some of us are going back to see it again, though, so that we can have a fulfilling experience.

And to the play on the title: I've been battling the worst allergy season in my life and it was made worse when I arrived in New York. This means extreme sinus pressure and yellow phlegm. Yes, you get the picture. But it's clear again! Which means my immune system, loaded with like 30,000 mg of Vitamin C, kicked some major viral ass. I'm still coughing like it's the plague though. I did realize, as I left the NYU student health center the other day, that I am somewhat of a hypochondriac. The doctor was seemingly annoyed that I would be there to waste her time, but I just wanted to cover my bases!

Well, since I've briefly gone over my first week or so, I feel like that should suffice. Check out my facebook for pictures—which I have to say have been better than par since I've arrived. Maybe the city just brings out the best in me.

Love you all and thanks for tagging along! Leave comments. :) And to my family, I'll see you on the Fourth!

Chris(topher)