spring cleaning

my inner mjane is telling me that it's coming close to that time to move on to the next big project. maybe not as gigantic as moving to france - assimilating, working, tolerating, frenching and all that other shit. but who knows, i might surprise myself and my dream of having the same physical stamina as i did when i was 16 will come true. actually, it wouldn't be that surprising.

in any case, aside from the occassional "eh" and "umm" i insert in my sentences while speaking french, i've triumphed over all the challenges i had set for myself when i landed in france, hungover and sedated (effect of feeling trauma, shock, sadness and euro-vacation-like excitement all at the same time) in '04. so it's time for a new set of challenges that i want nothing more than to conquer.

one recurring question comes to mind in regards to new goals and new projects: what do i want to do now? it could be anything, really. it's just a matter of which one of these anythings will turn into that something just for me.

. . .

bastien is in town this week. the first day he came by 4wheels he showed up wearing a fedora, a flip t-shirt under a pinstriped blazer, his signature jeans, and signature shoes with a fender guitar strapped to his back. all the kids are starstruck. yesterday, one kid looked like he was going to suffocate if he didn't get to shake bastien's hand. no worries, he did.

. . .

not to sound like a blog or anything, but i am seriously feeling the vibe and style behind married to the mob. so refreshing. seriously. read this. and this.

spring

this kitty has blue eyes, originally uploaded by mjane.

the town's been warming up since easter. there are more tourists around, too. i can always tell who's a tourist because they dress more in harmony with what the city has to offer, i.e. sun and beach. thus, they wear brighter colors, less clothing, and casual footwear. unlike the locals who tend to stick with darker hues, coats, scarves, and dress shoes. it's rare to see women in fur coats and way-too-pointy-toed high-heeled shoes along any beach, but they roll deep down here.

lunch break, originally uploaded by mjane.

comedy

photo by ms. mia on hollywood alongside bacon-wrapped hotdogs. one ridiculously funny night., originally uploaded by mjane.

i love laughing. i'm feening for a good laugh today. it hasn't really happened yet. usually i can depend on flo to make me laugh, but since his internship ended last week, it's been kind of dead.

yesterday was super funny. i had barely been at work for half an hour when romi jumps on some random kid walking by after the kid asked romi if he had a staring problem. seconds later, toto is trying to break the two up, a chair is picked up but taken away by an adult before it was thrown, yelling in french ensues... more yelling... walk away, come back, separate the two, walk away, come back, separate the two, and it was over.

of course i didn't laugh when it happened - romi is 16, works at the skateshop and is pretty much their adopted son - but it was funny. i was laughing to myself the whole day.

maybe that story wasn't a very good example of funny. obviously violence isn't funny to me. but considering that they were two little high school punks, it reminded me of when i was a kid in santa clarita and the valley. lots of shit-talking... and sometimes stupid shit-talking confrontations that were pointless... except that they were hella funny and pointless.

back to (non)life

our heini experience, originally uploaded by mjane.

after a relaxing week hiding out in amsterdam, i'm back in nice. the one great thing about having nice as homebase is that the weather is always warmer down here. i got to sunbathe for a couple of hours before we got on the plane to holland and the same again the morning we returned to the south. not bad.

and work is going a lot better for me. although it's still ghetto, i'm happy with that. basically, when i got back to town i decided to see what it feels like to stop using my brain. granted, it's not something that i want to get used to, but while i'm here "not thinking" works. you now what i'm saying? hey jane, i need you to take the prices down on our best-selling spring lines because i like losing money. sure, no problem. take this successful collection off the floor because i'm pissed at the designer. sure, no problem.

i've never hustled anything this way before, but how could i possibly contribute my juices and flow to an environment that prefers the mindless cycle of small-town drama to progress? whatevs, for a grand a month, i don't mind. and i'd like to reiterate, temporary.