Yeah, We Know It’s Just a Freaking Car

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
“The car has become a secular sanctuary for the individual, his shrine to the self, his mobile Walden Pond” ~Edward McDonagh"The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance"It used to be something so banal, so mundane...sometimes, even an effort or a pain the ass.  Just another damn thing that you gotta do.Driving to the grocery store.It used to be so boring.  Just another everyday activity.  Well, after living in Paris for 2 years, waiting at rainy bustops, standing next to old ladies wearing too much lipstick with little dogs just begging to be kicked, after being smooshed up against & rubbed & touched by greasy strangers on the metro who reek of cheap cologne & hair product, returning to car ownership is nothing short of euphoria.Especially for a Coloradoan - we drive everywhere.  If you don't have a car in Colorado, well...your life pretty much just sucks.After 2 years...
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The Megaliths of Carnac

The Megaliths of Carnac

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
Okay, so maybe you thought that I was all done with talking about Brittany. Well, you're wrong, because I'm not.One of the more famous locations in Bretagne is the megalithic site in Carnac, a ridiculously large collection of Neolithic menhirs, or standing stones. The legend says that the stones are a Roman legion that was turned to stone by Merlin, which is why the megaliths are standing next to one another, lined up in perfect formation.Well, that may be true, but it seems to me that if they were men turned into stone, then they would look more like men somehow. I mean, I saw Clash of the Titans and I also saw that episode of Hercules where the men from the local village were being turned to stone.I know how men look once they've been turned to stone.The truth is, the menhirs of Carnac were brought there by a menhir delivery man by the name of Obelix, as those...
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So, a French, Canadian & American Super Hero Walk Into a Bar…

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
Obviously, when two people are from two different countries, opposing opinions are inevitable, regardless of how compatible they may be.From time to time, I wonder why Olivier does things a certain way.  I shrug it off, deciding that it must be because he's French.  On other occasions, he shakes his head & dismisses something that I say or do, figuring that it must be "an American thing".Most of the time, those very small differences don't really amount to much.Most of the time."Iron Man was so fucking awesome."  I said.  "Incredible Hulk was just as good.  When The Avengers movie comes out, it's seriously going to rock me."  I continued scrolling with my mouse.  "It says here that they're doing Captain America next.  I can't wait."Olivier looked over my shoulder at the monitor.  "What?  Why are they doing Captain America?"I let out an irritated sigh.  "Um...yeah.  Because it'd be impossible to do The Avengers without Captain America, that's why.""I don't know." ...
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Brocéliande, La Forêt de Paimpont

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
It turned out that there was plenty to in Brittany besides eating turkey sandwiches & boozing in a damp tent with a yowling cat.There was actually plenty of sightseeing to do.Now, for those Arthurian legend reading, medieval sword fight movie watching, painfully uncool geeky types, we were in just the right place.Since I am painfully uncool, I was actually in the perfect place to bask in my geekness.The Paimpont Forest is stuffed with a ridiculous amount of mysterious, magical, medieval Merlin fun.Before we ventured deep into the forest, we stopped to take a look at the Arbre d'Or.  (The Golden Tree).I'm sure that you're thinking that this is some type of mystical faerie magic at work, here.  But, you'd be wrong.  "The Gold of Brocéliande" is the work of a Parisian sculptor.  I know...not really as exciting, but tell me the last time that you stumbled upon something like this in the forest.  Yeah, that's what I thought.We drove a...
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The Customer is Always Wrong

The Customer is Always Wrong

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
I turned the knob on the stove & waited for the little hiss.  I was answered only with silence.  There I was, frying pan in hand, ready to make dinner, & then...nothing.  Silence."Something's wrong."  I turned & looked in the living room.  There was Olivier, his body mangled in some painful looking yoga pose.  "The fucking stove isn't working."He immediately unknotted himself & began flipping knobs, pushing buttons & tossing switches at various locations of the apartment.  It quickly became obvious that the matter was out of our hands.  We would have to call the gas company.  We were now in one of the worst possible situations that any resident of France could possibly be in - the circle of Hell that is almost too awful to even talk about - customer service.Dealing with customer service in France is something that takes a lot of getting used to when you're a spoiled American.  Ah...America - that fat, lazy country where...
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A Tent, A Toad & Booze in Bretagne

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
"It always rains on tents.  Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent."  ~Dave BarryFor our first night in Brittany, Olivier & I decided that we would do a night of camping.  Being from Colorado, sleeping in a tent is something that is almost second nature.  It was definitely something that I've been missing here in France & I mentioned to Olivier on a few occasions that I wanted to try camping here in France.I had been warned by several of the French natives here that I wasn't really missing out on anything, that camping in France just isn't all that great.  But, I hadn't yet spoken to someone who had tried camping in Colorado & France & who could make a fair comparison.  I decided that I would have to be that person.YAY for me.When we arrived at the campground, the first thing that I noticed was that the ground...
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