october endings

place massena, originally uploaded by mjane.

look at these little kids, so cute, originally uploaded by mjane.

i pretty much spent most of the week hanging out at place massena in nice. mack's been working it over there, and i find myself tagging along which is so interesting. it's kind of weird as massena is a skate spot. and i'm just not usually a bystander like that when it comes to mackenzie's hobbies/job. you know, i'm more the girlfriend/wife who you'll find in the apartment offering you a drink and the joint when you stop by to see mackenzie. yet i've noticed that since moving to france, i've been "out in the field" more with the husband. it's pretty entertaining, but definitely temporary.

anyway, for the weekend, we ate at this restaurant in nice called bruno's on saturday night. it's all about truffles there. i learned about truffles back in february so it was kind of cool having the opportunity to have dinner there and tasting truffles from supposedly the best truffle restaurant in the south of france. mackenzie and i had the steak with seared foie gras on top of it accompanied by potatoes (au gratin) with truffles... and truffle sauce... and truffle oil... and more and more truffles. on sunday, we went to st. tropez with a couple who are friends with the eisenhours. good fun.

and now it's halloween. i think france started celebrating it about 5 years ago. but i haven't really seen anybody dressed up today.

port in st. tropez, originally uploaded by mjane.

sitting in traffic in st. tropez, originally uploaded by mjane.

the new gen

i can't believe how big our family's getting. just last week, the latest member arthur jackson was born to my cousin colleen and ryan. congrats. now there are four little people making up the new generation. and they are the funniest, most honest and independent little people i know.

the fam (a lot of members are missing though - just add 2-3 people per person shown here to get a picture of how big the clan is) taken at my mom's 65th birthday in '04, originally uploaded by mjane.

landon and quirina, originally uploaded by mjane.

mila and her mommy melissa, originally uploaded by mjane.

the lotas with colleen and ryan's baby arthur (i stole this photos from uncle raymond), originally uploaded by mjane.

hot sauces: a ghetto review

my relationship with "hot sauce" began with my dad and my sister putting hot sauce on almost everything they ate - Tabasco sauce, chinese hot chili sauce, vietnamese hot oil, jalapenos, chili peppers, etc. etc. and of course, i was curious about what all the craze was about, so i soon followed suit and would dabble in hot sauces. over the years, my dad gained a reputation for being able to tolerate extremely hot sauces. a couple of years ago, my auntie sent him a couple of jars of an indonesian hot sauce. my dad gave mack and me one of the bottles and warned that it takes barely a drop of it to feel intense heat. mack tried at least a tablespoon of it on his first try, i barely tasted a drop of it, and the reaction from us both was hot. after that, we got a kick out of trying hotter and hotter sauces as if there's some sort of on-going competition taking place - how much heat can you take, and who can take the most heat. the last hot sauce that was so hot and painful and good was a brasilian sauce that our favorite restaurant in paris made. it was so good that we sent a bottle to my dad. i thought it would take him a year to get through the sauce. he asked if we could get him more of it after three months.

mackenzie's parents just returned from their holiday in hawaii and los angeles. along with the many goodies they brought back were a handful of hot sauces. mack and i have tried three of them. i'm breaking a sweat just thinking about them. these are the latest:

colon cleaner, originally uploaded by mjane.

i'm not too sure about this sauce. mackenzie and i agreed that this was the least exciting of the three sauces. it's chunky and yellow/orange in color. mackenzie says it tastes like chutney. i don't think there's any spice to it at all.

see jane burn, originally uploaded by mjane.

mack and i think that this was the best sauce out of the three bottles. not only is the bottle art cute, the sauce is very tasty. it's like a mix between Tiger Sauce (another very good sauce) and Thai Sweet Chili Pepper sauce. and it's very hot.

pain, originally uploaded by mjane.

oh god. the title don't lie. i wouldn't say it's 100% pain when you eat it. it's like 90% pain. it's similar to an Asian chili sauce (the texture reminds me of the Indonesian hot sauce). but it is 100% pain when you take a #2 on the toilet. . . for days.

nuances

My bedroom in my parents’ house is set up like Carrie’s apartment in Sex and the City, except smaller. And without the living area and the kitchen. When I was a kid, sometimes I’d imagine that along the walk from my bed to the bathroom some scary monsters or ghosts would stop me in the hallway, pushing and taunting me. I guess I have a bizarre imagination, but when I was kid it would definitely get the best of me. And it would take me forever to get out of bed some mornings.

That’s how I’ve been feeling this week. The path between my bed and the rest of the world seems a bit sketchy. I feel as if I can’t be bothered with the back-and-forth of everything. Whatever, it’s funky. That’s it.

So I’m at the shop on a regular basis now. In the company of men, apparently. It’s relatable to the movie Anchorman, just change the scenery from being a newsroom to a skate shop. A French skate shop. In Nice. Anyway, in all the years I’ve worked with all-male staffs, I could capitalize on my experiences and write a book on the subject. Don’t worry, I won’t. At least, not yet.

In the meantime, Mack and I are taking advantage of the desk on the second floor of 4 Wheels. It's a very nice location, actually. I'm surrounded by cool clothing and get to watch people shop all day. It's vicarious: my shopping tendacies are relieved through strangers' spending. Very cool.

4 Wheels: another one of my makeshift offices (mack's my stand-in), originally uploaded by mjane.

my view of the floor, originally uploaded by mjane.

. . .
The apartment is coming along. We’re so close to being wired it’s painful. As I’ve mentioned many times since I’ve moved here, France loves paper –including the waste and shuffle of it – with the intention of calling it “work*.” In this case, Mackenzie has spent 3 weeks so far in helping us get a dial tone from France Telecom. And we’re crossing our fingers that one of their technicians will come as scheduled next Monday between 11 and 1 to help us achieve this.

In the meantime, I notice that I’m making a true effort of letting things go as soon as they happen. It beats being upset. And I’m enjoying myself a lot more. During the summer I seemed to have misplaced the pleasure, the humor of what it is I’m doing out here, making it hard to maintain my livelihood in this still very foreign place I’m living in. But coming out of that now, and knowing what I want, things are mostly funny again.

Don’t get me wrong though, it’s a full-time job (that requires 100% attention) keeping myself positive, motivated and inspired, even when my next-door neighbor complained to Mackenzie this morning that I make too much noise when I wear heels. I’m reminded that it is one of the rules authorized by property management (which was last updated at least 15 years ago): women aren’t to wear high heels while walking in the building. That includes while I’m in my apartment. Damn, it’s like the Pharisees hating on Mary Magdalene. Oh well, no more walking around my apartment in just a bath towel and heels while getting ready…or cooking…which is very therapeutic, by the way. I’ll make the peace, although I observe the rule to be a symbol of repression (for lack of a better word).

*The French work 35-hours/week (and most offices close for lunch… usually 2 hours)

in a funk...

it's not my birthday, but we're celebrating anyway (photo:m.villanueva), originally uploaded by mjane.

ho hum blah blah blah. am undergoing a creative block.

signs

my makeshift office, originally uploaded by mjane.

Mercury, the planet of great ideas, is entertaining Pluto, the planet of power, giving you an astrological thumbs-up - and in some cases, a burning bush. not bad for a monday horoscope. here's a great idea: i would like to make a living in progress and positivity. in other words, love. in other words, the ultimate power.

fall

it's been a year since i moved to france, and only last week did i discover la maison de la presse in nice. to me, it's the only newstand here that nearly comes close to resembling what i consider a proper newstand. meaning, they carry a progressive selection of fashion/style magazines. last week was the first time i purchased magazines in france. i bought the fall issue of american vogue, the fall issue of french elle, and the october issue of french glamour. and now i feel safe as i'm "up-to-date" on the season. it's probably laughable how seriously i take fashion, but i'd be lying if i didn't admit that the saying, "you are what you wear" should be the third golden rule. anyway, it's not really about good fashion as it is about style.

some thoughts: unless you're chilling at some ski resort, don't wear the uggs (or anything that looks like it's meant for space exploration, jedis, etc.); sporting a scarf with a tank top doesn't make sense; platform sneakers were never "in"; and the 80s... well, that was about 20 years ago, wasn't it?