Ugh why are girls so dumb?

I apologize for the headline, seeing as how 95% of my readership is female (and, clearly, so am I).

But sometimes I really hate being a girl and I hate having that stupid gene that makes me want to buy things I don't need so often! Well, usually I don't like going to malls, etc. If I'm really in need of something, I will buy it. While generally I am fairly cheap, I'll spend a bit more on an item if it's of decent quality or is something I cannot live without (ie., I'm in need of a new black bra ... sorry for sharing, but I need a new one asap!).

And yes, I usually don't go shopping often. I'll usually wait until I get paid, or I'm always talking myself out of buying things. Plus, I'm really trying to save money so I can buy a car sometime next year. And I'm looking to hit that mark pretty well. But, I stumbled across something I've been avoiding for months now, that I really couldn't resist any longer.

As a member of my bank, they introduced a new program a few months ago called Add It Up. Which basically means if you buy things online from certain partnering companies and use your bank debit/credit card, you'll get a percentage of your purchase put back into your checking account later. And it's ridiculous, places like Barnes & Noble, ShutterFly, Target, iTunes, Wal-Mart, Under Armour, and Victoria Secret (plus a billion other companies) are all in on this!!!!

WHY?!??!!?!?!?!?

So I gave in. And since we all know I hate shopping in person, I just clicked around a billion times in 30 minutes and spent over $70. On stupid things at VS like underwear and a sweet new clearance bathing suit.

But hey.... I got $2.35 back into my checking account for using Add It Up. So that makes it worthwhile, right?

Right????

Dommage, Les Bleus!

...and this is the face of defeat, at 16 years old.

Tonight, I convinced myself to jump on the dinner train into Cannes which was about a 10-minute ride that cost me 2,40 € roundtrip. And complimentary ocean views all along the way.

I think I owed it to myself, because it's been too long since I actually went out and did something fun here. Yeah, being in France is fun and challenging at the same time, but I stay in and go to bed around 9 or 10 p.m., if I'm not crying about whatever emotional baggage I've left back in California.

A group of girls who I met in Nice invited me to their apartment and then out to watch the Rugby World Cup semi-finals in Downtown Cannes. When I arrived, we made quiche lorraine, lychee kir, and the usual suspect, baguette and brie for dinner. It cost a mere 4 € per person. When that was sufficiently in our bellies, we took our left over champagne into the street to meet up with the boys -- WHO ARE ALSO TEACHING IN ANTIBES!! So the friends prospect is looking so much better from my end here.

Luckily, one who was Canadian was nice enough to explain the general rules of rugby to me. After crashing an English pub, we put on blue, white, and red face paint -- make that red, white, and blue for me because I did it in a mirror, oops -- bought half-litres of Stella Artois and watched the French suffer their second defeat in the semis to the English in four years. Apparently this time was more painful, because with five minutes remaining France was up 9-8 in quite a low scoring game that resulted in an English 11-9 victory. Maybe they'll get their second-second chance in 2011. And for exta fun, check out this video I took of the French singing their national anthem, La Marseillaise, blissfully ignorant to what would come 80 minutes later.

After the match, a few high schoolers from Grasse were harassing us because Americans and Canadians are too close to the English for their liking. To which I rigoled, "Les français connaissent trop bien la perte... même dans les guerres." Low blow, I know, but it was well-received.

At 11 p.m., the bar cleared out with inconsolable French drunks and we found ourselves sans abri. So off to the next bar. I could only stay 30 more minutes in order to catch the midnight train (supposedly the last before tomorrow's strikes) back to Antibes.

On one last exciting side-note, I finally found the Antibes public library and got my FREE library card today. So after 12 hours, I'm already one-fourth of the way through Écrire by Marguerite Duras -- quite an easy read. Access to the library is easily the highlight of my young weekend.

Potpourri (...rotten jar?)

Here are some snippets of what's been running through my mind lately.

First of all, I can't explain it, but I feel this strong pull towards getting a tattoo. I know it's silly and permanent and generally spur-of-the-moment, but I have been thinking about this a lot. I've always thought, "If I get a tattoo, where would it be and what would it be?" Which was usually enough evidence to convince me I don't need one. But now, I know exactly what and where. Which is odd for someone like me, who changes her mind quite frequently. Long story short, I envision myself with a small and delicate fleur-de-lys (image above) on the lower back, towards one side.

It's not really the tattoo itself, but what it symbolizes. I know I'll never grow out of my adoration for all things French, and the lily definitely stands for that part of my heritage and life experiences. We'll see if it happens or not. My parents would flip, but they're threatening to cut me off financially, so that rules their opinions out! I'm only half kidding...

Next, I recently found out that I do not consume more than 1,100 calories on an average day and about 10-12 percent of that is my daily fat intake. Aimée directed me to this website with a download-able Excel chart to track your daily consumption. And it's not like I'm starving myself, that figure typically includes three meals, snacks and beverages.

Well, nights when I consume alcohol would probably exponentially spike my calorie and sugar count, but it's not like I'm at UCSB anymore. Those days are very rare and scattered throughout the month. Either way, after less than 1,000 calories today before my low-fat, low-sugar ice cream dessert treat, I feel extremely full.

My activity these days is quite mild, taking frequent walks and crunches every other day. For some reason, my knees can't handle running like they used to and I'm getting bored of the same route. Hopefully I'll find many enticing trails and routes to get me back to running when I'm in France!

And speaking of walking and France, I've decided to get back into my old French routine. When I lived in Nice two summers ago, all of my activities consisted of walking since parking, gas and cars are so scarce in the South of France. I had to walk 20-30 minutes to class each day and then walk to go out at night, walk to the beach (ok, two blocks from my apartment!), walk to the market for food and then walk to the shopping areas in Vieux Nice.

So remembering that, Antibes will most certainly be the same lifestyle. I've been preparing myself for those days again -- which I will probably have to attempt in work clothes and heels, yikes -- by walking anywhere I can. Lately, I've walked to get lunch, to the bank, to the grocery store, you name it. If it's less than a mile away, I'll walk it!

Here's to walking the many streets of the Côte d'Azur in 17 days!