Still Not Gone

So I haven't left yet. I'm in Anacortes, where I'm going to stay until my flight out.

Thank you all who attended either my Last Karaoke, my Goodbye Party or hung out with me on a separate occasion, or any combination thereof. A piece of advice to any of you thinking of leaving the country, or the state: Do not throw a going away party in which people can buy you copious amounts of alcohol. The problem here is not that you will get drunk, which you will. The problem is that once you are drunk, you are supposed to say goodbye to all of your friends. This is a strange mixture of both very difficult to do, and easy to dismiss. Your drunken emotions plus your drunken detachment will create a strange feeling indeed. So yes, that is my advice.

Thank you to Alison & Josh for the notebook.
Thank you to Michelle for the Parisian nightlife guide
Thank you to anyone who showed up at the party at 8pm like you were supposed to, only to find out I was not there...and wasn't going to get there til 9:20
Thank you to Dave for picking me up so that I could get there sooner
Thank you to Jay for the mix cd (i love it)
Thank you to Adrienne for the pictures
Thank you to Amy for Band of Horses
Thank you to Dom for the Shock Top
Thank you to Emily for the Au Revoir Mother Fucker
Thank you to Regina for the Washington Apple
Thank you to Jesse for the whiskeysour type thing
Thank you to Laura for the pitcher of Beer.
Thank you to Nate for the shot of Jack
Thank you to Jay for that apple thing
Thank you to Lawrence (it got fuzzy here, I think it was you Lawrence) for the Irish Car Bomb
Thank you to Nate for the second Irish Car Bomb
Thank you to Jesse for that terrible tasting drink.
Thank you to Nate for the ride home.
If I've forgotten to mention you, I apologize. Let me know and I will apologize more personally.


My phone number in Paris will be (206) 617 6994. DO NOT CALL ME. Don't even leave me a voice message. They will charge me a dollar a minute for voice messages and for any calls I do take. If you want to get a hold of me, please email me. If I happen upon a landline, I will let you all know the number, and that might be a more affordable way for communication via vocalization. I got an iPhone, so wherever there is wifi, i will have internet access and access to email.

Now I guess I should begin packing to go
Nathaniel

Bonjour

Hello (that means Bonjour in English).

6 days until I take off. I'm about to create a list of things that I have no idea about...to give you a more accurate idea of just what i should be figuring out instead of writing a blog:

1. I have no idea where the library books that I owe to the University of Washington. I believe they are in my car. it's a mess. I need to find them before I leave, or I'll be looking at enormous charges to replace them. (this is simple enough...i just need to clean my car)
2. I have no idea where I'm staying before I go. I'm moving all of my things up to Anacortes on Friday...have to vacate the apartment by noon on Sunday. I know i'll be up in Anacortes for a little of the weekend, but other than that....well I suppose I might as well begin getting used not knowing where I'm going to sleep tonight.
3. I have no idea how I am going to get to the airport. My car will also be staying in Anacortes (side note, I have no idea how I'm going to get from Anacortes to Seattle...and then Seattle to the Airport)
4. I have no idea what I will be taking with me to the airport. I haven't begun to think about packing for my move back to Anacortes yet, much less the move across seas with only a couple suitcases.
5. I have no idea how to speak French. Okay. So I have a little idea. I took French when I lived in Belgium...but then forgot almost all of it. I'm relearning it through some podcasts...but that is very basic French.
   
6. I have no idea when I get into Paris and what I'll do there. I bought my plane ticket to London...and have not yet bought the one to Paris. One of these reasons is I don't know if I want to fly or take the Chunnel. Another reason is I want a very cheap ticket to Paris. Another reason is procrastination, and I'd rather play with my new iPhone than book a trip to my new supposed home. Once I get to Paris, I have nowhere to go. I am planning on booking a hotel for a while, as I am in the process of talking to this guy about living in this arts community. You should all check out this article : http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/05/18/style/t/index.html#pageName=18metcalf. Apparently, I'm pretty lucky, because many people want to live there, and this guy wants to come to Seattle to know the arts community, so he's very interested in having me join.
   
7. I have no idea what I will do in France. I have no work visa. To get a work visa, one must show that they are employable in France in some way that its own citizens are not. Or else already have a job. The problem is, in order to get a job....you have to have the visa. Ever read that book Catch 22? I haven't. But I've seen the movie, and it is fantastic. Mike Nichols. Other than that I plan on writing, and exploring. Mostly surviving.
8. I have no idea how long I will be in Paris. Again, with the visa thing, I can only legally be there for 3 months. so who knows.

Alright, that's just a basic idea of all the things I don't know and don't really care to figure out just at this moment. My last day at Specialtys is Thursday. My last Karaoke is Thursday. I'm moving out of my apartment on Friday. My goodbye party is Friday. After that it all becomes this nebulous blob of who-knows-what-may-or-may-not-happen. And honestly, isn't that why we move to Paris anyway? For the who-knows-what-may-or-may-not-happen? Or do we move to Paris not because of the who-knows-what-may-or-may-not-happen, but something else, something not the who-knows-what-may-or-may-not-happen. In the end, though, whatever your rational is behind moving to Paris, I think it all comes down to the who-knows-what-may-or-may-not-happen.