I'm back!

After a baseball weekend in Bakersfield (check back on my sports blog, I'm sure some weekend stories will pop up there soon), I'm home. Ugh, I'm so pissed too. Someone egged my car while I was gone.... I'm guessing it's due to the UC Santa Barbara Alumni plates I have and how this weekend was Pacific's graduation ceremony. Maybe you shouldn't display rival schools plates on a weekend celebrating your campus??

But I do have this weekend off! And I plan to go home and see the fam for the first time in about a month.

So how about some life updates, eh?

* Last night I finished the longest run of my life! 7.59 miles and today my legs feel GREAT. I was super sore during my workout and I also tried my very first running gel, which was a horrible first experience. My stomach was hurting the entire run and I told myself I wasn't going to do more than two miles. But it FLEW by and I figured that trying the gel around mile 3 would calm down my stomach. It did, but it tasted SOOOO nasty. I had the PowerBar Tangerine caffeine/protein gel and I literally had to choke it down. The consistency reminded me of warm, chunky toothpaste. Bleh. I won't be trying that one again.

* At work we've purchased the newest version of PhotoShop and WOW it's amazing.... it's so so so so so cool and much easier to work with than the version I had, from two generations ago.

* Purchases! I've been a buying machine. Well, not really, I'm staying within my limited budget so as to put about 1/3 of my paycheck into savings each month. But I did buy something cool I've had my eye on for a while. THE APRON!! I couldn't resist. I've never had an apron before and it's so girly and awesome.

And I promise, I'm not naked under it. I had on a tank top and shorts, just finished either running or yoga as this photo was snapped. And I apologize for the crappy iPhone quality photos. haha, but I did buy J.D. a new digi camera for his birthday last weekend, so maybe he'll let me use it for the blog ;) I also really want to buy this Champion running shirt in hot pink. It's also very feminine and cute. I'm going to hold off for a bit.... but I realllllllly want it!!!

* And finally, there is some possible relocation in my life. J.D. is interviewing for a job at Pepperdine in Malibu, California, ON THE BEEEEACH!!! If he gets it, off we go this summer :) I loooove Southern California and have been trying to get back there since graduating. And, I've been responsible and already notified my co-workers that this may be a possibility if it all works out. We'll see though. Otherwise, I'll continue my adventures in Stockton!

(Pepperdine looks a lot like my alma mater, UC Santa Barbara, no??)

* Which also reminds me..... I guess I've now officially turned down a possible life-changing offer. A while ago I applied to do some grad school at the University of Melbourne...... in AUSTRALIA. It would have been a two year program, but would have cost me waaaay more money than I'm willing to spend. Plus, I have my little doggie now :) I really would like to keep traveling and living abroad after two stints in France. But I think I'll need to work up some money first. And then, back to travels :) Sorry for keeping that a secret from y'all for so long!

Fuzzy Woodstock (ha, get it?!) seeing me off before my 7.59 mile run last night!

Enjoy the weekend everyone! xx

Wrapping things up

Well graduation for all the undergrads was on Saturday, but that never hit me or mattered really since a.) I completed my time as an undergrad in March of 2007, b.) I'm essentially done with grad school for a bit (think about one year or more), c.) I was on the road with the baseball team in Northridge, Calif., and hanging out with Lisa in Santa Monica.

So while school is out, the athletics department at our university is still humming with activity. That includes yours truly, who has been quite busy. However, I only have one more week left of baseball! It's crazy to think that I'm almost through my first year here working in athletics. Even more crazy, I made it through baseball season with all kinds of compliments and requests for next year. Kind of related to that, I'm super ready for the summer! I'm going to be a back-up official scorer for the Ports here, who are the OAKLAND A'S Single-A minor league affiliate!!!

I start on Thursday night! This is big time, I'm semi-working in professional baseball now! How awesome is that?! Next up, Major League Baseball.

Also relating to work, I've officially started full time! Monday was my first day and I spent the majority of it moving from my three-way shared office into my own personal office alone! Let the decorating begin :) Well, my focus is going to be split between the new house and the new office. So it's going to be a busy summer, there is still much to do.

As for my class, I got an A! So I get to keep my all As streak alive from undergrad work. But again, I'm not sure how much this matters. Since I'm a full-time employee now and not a "graduate assistant" I'm actually getting a salary instead of tuition. And at a private university, tuition is NOT something I can afford to purchase all on my own right now. But on May 18, 2010, I will have been hired full-time for one full year, thus eligible for 90% tuition remission from the university. So that's like, what, $1,000 per semester if I take a full load? And I most likely won't be taking a full load ever, since I work three overlapping sports.

Which in 2009-01 are going to be (drumroll, please): soccer, women's basketball and baseball.

Bring it on!

On moving, etc.

Well, I'm finally almost 100% moved into the condo in Stockton! And by that I mean, all my stuff is over there, not that I'm all situated and settled.

Far from it.

He has not yet moved his stuff in, so until that happens I'm in boxes awaiting the rest of the furniture before I can keep unpacking and start decorating. The kitchen and dining room are almost completely settled, however, so I've had some time to decorate there to distract me from the endless cleaning/unpacking that seems left to do.

I'm really excited to have my first place all to myself! Everyone keeps telling me it's like I'm finally a real adult :) Or something like that. Definitely far from it, that's for sure.

But I proooomise I'll put all kinds of pictures up once everything's all settled. I'm so excited! I come home every night and have to pinch myself because I can't believe that I'M the person who actually lives there.

Oh yeah, I'll be at USF (the University of San Francisco, not Southern Florida) all afternoon traveling with the Pacific baseball team to do radio and write the game story. I've never been to USF, despite frequenting the city of San Francisco at least 3-5 times a year, so I'm certainly looking forward to checking out the campus. And then instead of riding home on the bus with the team, I'm sticking around in the Bay Area and making my way towards Oakland, where I'll get to see the A's-Angels game.... my first A's game of 2009! Well, technically that's not true, I did go to a Stockton Ports game, the Single-A minor league affiliate of the Oakland A's. And I did get to see the Giants-Brewers game on opening night in San Francisco.

Lots to look forward to and keep me going/busy. Stay tuned for more!

Two things I really want:

This shirt

...and these flip-flops!!

I might just have to buy them, seeing as how I'll be feeling pretty rich coming to America with all my Euros. The Dollar's almost a joke now, huh?!

(Just kidding, I really don't have any Euros saved up.)

Oh and I also kind of want to know what job I'm going to take when I get back... Aren't ambiguous futures exciting?! (Read: source of high blood pressure?) At least I got in all my traveling now, while I can't afford anything else ;) Annnnnd, I most likely will be attending an A's game this weekend!!! Who would have ever guessed that they'd lose their top two pitchers and gold glove third baseman immediately after opening week?! (Hint, the same thing happened LAST YEAR!) Well in any case, I NEVER would have guessed that this little rebuilding team would be in first place after two weeks into the season. Alas, there are still 120+ games to go this year...

California, here I come in TWO DAYS!

Three days left

Until I'm living back at home!!!!

So as a last reminder of how much fun I've been having here in Europe over the past seven months, here's the link to my Spring Break through France, Germany and Spain!

I'm posting some of my favorite pictures in case you're too lazy to check it out.

California, here I come on FRIDAY!!

La Ciotat, FRANCE

Wine tasting in La Ciotat for the 23rd birthday!Munich, GERMANY: 1972 Olympic StadiumFC Nürnberg: My first European soccer game!
Barcelona, SPAINGaudí museum in Barcelona

I wonder if I'll get to 200 posts before I leave France

Here are some things that I'm really looking forward to in the upcoming weeks, be it in France, Spain, Germany or the United States:

-My mom's visit! It seems that being so far away has really made me miss a lot of things. And while I thought I was pretty independent in college and down at Santa Barbara, I've grown quite homesick. And I think I've seen my family more often over the past seven months here in Europe than I would have during a normal academic year at UCSB.

-Saying goodbye to the beaches of the South of France in the gorgeous SPRING weather! Finally.

-My birthday weekend. Who doesn't like cake? Need I say more?!

-Germany! Being able to visit a country I haven't yet seen. I have NO idea what to expect because I'll be hanging around with a crowd of locals :) Supposedly beerfests will be kicking off soon as well as crazy German football fans. Oh yeah and sausage/canned veggies, that'll be fun.

-Barcelona with my parents! More seeing my family, always fun. But also, seeing another country I've yet to see! And I believe that the weather in Spain will be the hottest I've experienced during this entire trip. With that also comes Spanish beaches, beautiful architecture, TAPAS/SANGRIA, and oh yeah, going out until 8 a.m. If only I can convince my parents to join me...

-Jeopardy! I love that show. Who cares if they're going to be reruns shortly.

-Grey's Anatomy! When the writers' strikes hit, I was still able to catch up on old episodes I'd missed online. But now that that's (supposedly) resolved, new episodes will begin airing in the month of April. When I come back home!

-BASEBALL! My favorite sport. My favorite season. The reason for living -- well, one of the many reasons. And since the A's have gone into such an overhaul mode this season, I imagine their marketing department will be doing all it can to entice fan attendance, i.e. even cheaper tickets, anyone?!

-Road-tripping! With my sister still in Santa Barbara and friends spread out from San Luis Obispo down to San Diego on the coast, I might take a long Wednesday to Monday trip down the 101 and take in all California has to offer! Who cares that I've already seen/done it all, it's been a freakin' year since I graduated and nearly 10 months since my last visit!

-Healthy Food! As much as I've LOVED -- understatement -- the food over here, it's been doing a number on my body. It'll be nice to get back to whole grains, low fat, low carbs, and really small portions. I'm trying to convince myself to stop buying fixed price menus. Even though they're way cheaper, it's still an ungodly amount of food!

-Gym memberships! My gym experience here was ridiculous. Can't wait to finally join a 24-Hour Fitness or something like that with real, modern equipment ;)

And one last thing:

-Customer Service! Sorry France, you just never really got on board with this one. But you know what that also means? NO MORE TRANSPORTATION STRIKES! Those really threw a wrench in many of my travel plans over here.

It's kind of hard to be a spoiled American and adjust to the French lifestyle, isn't it? But I'm really glad I tried it for almost a year!

All good things must come to an end

Long story very, very short.

Now that my friends are here, my roommate troubles have exploded beyond all possible belief. I can't really get into too much detail about it right now because I'm not at home and have limited Internet time, but I believe I will be terminating my contract to teach here after Trimester 2.

Brief run-down: I have friends over for the rest of the week. My mom comes early next week. Then it's my spring break/end of the second trimester.

When spring break's over, I will be staying at my dad's house, hopefully with a flight to get back to California before the end of April in order to start my career search back up.

Either way, I have to be out of my house by the first week in April. And that's a personal choice, seeing as how I can no longer tolerate what's been going on and building up over the past two weeks.

I feel better about it already.

Cold Freezing Feet.

It has been almost three weeks since I've cried.

And here I am, with one full day remaining in front of me and my life in the United States, and I cried. No, wailed. The kind where you have to sit down in the shower and hold the walls because you can't keep it in. And you don't want to keep it in anymore, the burden is no longer enough to hide.

Not over one thing, but many.

But namely, am I making the right choice? Is this a bad decision? Will I regret it?

In 33 hours I will be on a plane, leaving my home and everything I've known. I have no where to live. I don't have any friends. My funds are excruciatingly limited. Expressing myself in this language is the hardest thing I've ever done -- I can read, write, understand French perfectly. Yet somehow, when I speak, I think in my head that I must sound like a simple child. Instead of explaining the word "outlet," I describe the "round, circle thing with holes in the wall to charge my cell phone."

"Ah, tu veux dire la prise." Sure, la prise. Whatever you people call it, all I want to do is charge my cell phone.

The biggest reason why tears stained my face today [cue pathetic drumroll]...

I'm still in love with someone who is probably over me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I feel like I'm running away from the one thing that used to make me happy. Why is the hurting period so long? And is it wrong that at the onset of two of my failed relationships the only thing running through my mind was, "When is he going to hurt me and then leave me?" because God knows I get way too attached to ever break up with and hurt someone on my own.

Am I making the right choice? Will I still be able to re-discover what I thought was happiness when I return in one year?

Or am I nothing but a pathetic excuse for a normal, rational, human being?

Travel restrictions

Ever since I found out where in France I was placed, I've been thinking about things I wear/do/need/use on a daily basis. I then compiled those things into an ever-growing list of what I should -- in theory -- pack to take with me to France for a year.

Now that my parents have returned from their three-week French vacation, I have two rather large suitcases up for grabs. My problem, however, is that I don't know where I'll be living, working, staying, etc. Since there are a lot of unknown variables surrounding my arrival, I've decided to take only one rolling suitcase that I can physically carry. I'm not going to go overboard and load more than I am capable of handling. Then I'm allowed two carry-ons, one will be my computer and laptop, the other I imagine an oversized purse.

That means I'm still thinking about my final check-through item. I'm allowed two, but only one is rolling, so I imagine the other's going to be a duffel bag of some sort I can just plop on top of my rolling bag.

Again, in theory this all sounds like a good idea. But when you get right down to it, how can you fit a year's worth of your life in four bags? We're not even talking things like furniture, appliances and decorations -- there's no way I'd ever be able to cart all that crap across the world with me. All I'm thinking about are clothes, toiletries, teaching supplies (should I be worried I haven't even thought over a single lesson plan yet?), shoes, jackets, towels, outlet converters, the list goes on...

I know I should have begun this process sooner, because it's extremely overwhelming right now. I haven't tried to fit anything in the rolling suitcase quite yet, but I've been making large piles of things I want to take according to their value of importance. Perhaps if nothing fits, I can just pare down from the top of the stack (least important) to the select few items at the bottom (can't live without 'em).

Fingers crossed it all fits! And fingers crossed I'll be able to easily access anything the first few nights I'm living out of a hostel and homeless!

...8 jours!!!! (I'm beginning to feel like I'm going to be the last assistant to arrive in the Hexagon)

Espèce de carrefour?

The more I think about it, the more I believe that moving to France is only a ruse for covering up the loose ends in my life. When everything seems to fail me, I hide behind an international journey. However, I guess there could be worse options to choose from!

This will be the second time I flee the country to escape any emotional baggage I can no longer carry. A clean slate if you will. An image of something totally different -- something completely un-Monique for a change. However, the irony lies in the fact that my name is rather symbolic of the quintessential French style de vie. Without trying to at all, I am all things French solely because of my name. Maybe that’s why I’m about to embark upon this life journey.

Yet all anyone can tell me is how excited they are for me. How scary it must be, or how gutsy I am to just up and move out of the country like this.

But I want to let you in on a little secret. I’m sure anyone, if placed in the same situation -- no long-term job prospects, two utter failures in the romance department, no central localization of any friends and no debt -- would have no trouble following the steps I’m crafting.

Granted, it will be all of those things, but the idea doesn’t seem so life-shattering to me as it does to everyone else. I’m just another confused college grad looking to find herself in the world. Yawn… All my life plans, or what I thought were going to be my life plans, have crumbled and the trail of crumbs leads me down this part of the forest… forêt rather. I’ve been down this road before so perhaps the second time through will be slightly more navigable.

I’m not really sure what I’m doing quite yet. But does anyone really? All I know is that I want to be there, I want to speak French on a daily basis and I want to escape for a little while. Ten months seems fair, non?

Only when I’m ready, will I re-accept who I am here in the United States. And as they are right now, my feet then will also be at the intersection of possibilities, opportunities, broken dreams and rejections. When I return in one year, nothing will be tying me down. Just as nothing is tying me down in the present tense. And for once, I feel extremely at ease with that idea.

...16 jours!!!!

No turning back

I HAVE A BILLET-ALLER TO NICE!!!! For you anglophones, that's a one-way ticket!!! I paid $500 (which at this time of year is pretty reasonable) and I arrive in Nice at noon on September 30.

Wow this is so exciting!!!

Ah mon dieu!!!

Someone up there IS listening to me!!!

After the most horrendous experiences with the French consulate in San Francisco I finally have a visa in my hands! I can go to France, it's official!!!!

...Well not quite, I still have to purchase my ticket. But the hardest part is behind me.

Let me just update you on what I had to go through to get this god-forsaken sticker pasted inside my passport. Last time I tried to make an appointment with no avail since the website was down. So after going to the consulate, I was rejected -- three times.

Anyways, I almost kind of gave up on this. Actually, I did give up. I applied for a whole bunch of jobs with minor league baseball teams and sports pages across the country. So if anyone tells me I have a job, I'm probably going to turn it down. Back to my comedy of errors though. Today I'm all ready to go with all of my paperwork; I hop into my car and turn it on... only to hear the engine never actually catch. It keeps trying to start up for a very, very long time. Shit.

Although my mom just left for work an hour before, I begged her to come back home to get me and drop me off at the closest BART station in time so I could get to the city before my 11:00 appointment. But the French gods were out to get me today.

On the way home, my mom apparently encountered some light traffic, basically meaning I'd miss the train I wanted to be on by five or six minutes. Ok, no big deal, I was just praying that I'd make the train to arrive at 10:45 and then walk the 15 minutes to the consulate as fast as my little (BLISTERED) feet would take me.

Two-thirds of the way there, the BART train stopped. Three times! And at this point I'm completely panicking. So we finally get there and I sprinted. It only took me six minutes to get to the consulate from Market Street, which last time took me over 11.

I probably jinxed myself by calling my mom and telling her I had more than 10 minutes and I was going to get my visa without a hitch. She told me to hang up and go get it already. My favorite security guard was standing there and I prayed that he didn't remember me. After some snide little comment I handed him my appointment slip and passport, when he asked, "Do you have a copy of your passport?"

Of course, I have three copies of everything. But I couldn't find them! He told me not to worry, that STA Travel next door made copies. But in true French fashion, they were closed for a three hour lunch. Then my heart starts racing again. He said I could run to the corner of Bush and Market and get a copy made at an Internet café. So I sprinted, despite my burning feet. And I couldn't find the shop. I ran into a UPS store a little farther down the street and located the only copier in the building. Frantically I pressed a million buttons and the machine would not comply with me, nor would the cashier who was blabbing away on his cell phone. Luckily it worked, I threw him a quarter and ran back up the next two blocks -- with my fingers crossed so tightly they were turning purple -- hoping that I'd make it back before 11 a.m.

Instead of wonder and excitement about the French corner of San Francisco with the Tabac and cafés, I cursed it all for mocking me so. Even though I had my camera, I vowed right then and there that regardless of the outcome, I did NOT want photographic reminders of this nightmare to obtain my visa.

Of course, I made it back with five minutes to spare, my heart still racing every document they checked over, because I had a gut-wrenching feeling that I forgot something. But I didn't. So naturally, I stressed myself out a thousand times more than what was necessary.

And after my paperwork was in, I sat down in a chair to wait for them to print out my visa (an unnecessary two hour process!), sweating and trying to catch my breath. And then I found my passport copies -- figures!

At least I got to meet a few other girls who were also in the process of applying for their teaching assistant visas as well. Just talking with them for an hour made me more excited than I ever have been during this entire process! I cannot wait to go to France in one month :)

It's official!!

After weeks of anticipation, I finally received my arrêté de nomination from the ministère de l'éducation nationale of France, in the academy of Nice.

That's just a really fancy, French way of saying a big package from Nice was looking at me when I opened my mailbox one hour ago.

I was slightly nervous, because one girl told me that she was placed in a very small, rural (and uncommonly ugly) village by Lyon when she was an assistant anglaise.

But I was not placed in a small city! I will be living in:

ANTIBES!!!

From the Greek antipolis, meaning the opposite city (of Nice) on the other side of La Baie des Anges. So to the East is Nice and to the West - Cannes! Which means when the Festival des Films comes to Cannes in May, I'll be living right by all the action! Oh and Saint-Tropez is not far off either. Surprisingly enough, Antibes is home to some of the only man-made beaches in the South of France. Since the waves in the Mediterranean are very mild, no beach has sand. Instead, their beaches contain large stones and pebbles. Such is not the case on the sandy beaches of Antibes.

In numerical values, Cannes is only 9 miles from Antibes, Nice is 17 miles, Monte-Carlo in the principality of Monaco is 29 miles away, and Saint-Tropez is a little under 60 miles from my city of Antibes!

Antibes was once the home of F. Scott Fitzgerald. As an expatriot (like I'll soon be) in the South of France, he wrote many a novel from his apartment overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Coincidentally, Picasso once lived in the city, and the wall I'm standing by is right outside of the Musée de Picasso.

It's going to be a good year :) Oh yeah, Antibes's sister city? Newport Beach, California. Go figure!

More Antibes for your viewing pleasure (all taken by me):