I believe this was "Richest Man in Babylon." I could be mistaken.

Thievery Corporation!

Tonight was Thievery Corporation with Clark. It was really awesome and was the first time in my life that I really wanted to be high but no dice. Oh well. The show was really good.

Liz and some guy who was important for sewers

DONE!!!!!!!!

I am done. Yesterday I had my last final. It was an oral. I don't quite know how I feel about it but it doesn't matter because it is all over. Today I went and gave the Secretariat my self addressed stamped envelope and now I really have no more business left with Sciences-Po except for receiving my grades at the end of July. This is totally insane. I am done with Sciences-Po. I survived Sciences-Po. Hell, I got some 16s at Sciences-Po. What, motherfucking, what?! Now there are 14 days between me and the United States of America. Liz and Caitlin leave tomorrow. I have the Thievery Corporation show tomorrow night with Clark which I am very much looking forward to. Thursday morning Adam arrives and stays until Monday. In that time we will go to the Live 8 concert at Versailles and the Catacombs since I have yet to go there. I am hoping to go to Milan the 8, 9, 10 to see Ilaria then the 12th I fly home. During those other days I have some random errands and what not to take care of prior to leaving. This is it. This is the end. This is scary. I am definitely looking forward to coming back. Next year is going to be great. I can tell. However, leaving Paris is hard. It is Paris. I have had a wonderful year hear and leaving this amazing place is going to be sad. But I have a lot to look forward to which makes things much easier. There is also air conditioning in America which is a MAJOR bonus.

In da club

Thursday night was Ilaria's last night so we finally went clubbing. It was a lot of fun. It was a good send off for Ilaria. We had a good crowd and the music didn't totally suck. They played "Call On Me" and "One More Time." Life is complete now that I have danced to "Call On Me" in a Parisian club.

Sales have also started so I am spending way too much money. But it is okay. I have perchased several cute articles of clothing. I am pleased.

Clark and his amazing birthday gift from Ilaria.

Clark and his sister

Clark, me and Vadim looking somewhat stressed.

Emily, Clark's sister, Me, sweaty as all hell, Clark, looking ridiculous, and somehow Liz, who is visiting, manages to look good.

Ilaria, Vadim and Sophie.

Me and Clark doing lord knows what on the dancefloor.

Oi me fucking vey

So Liz showed up...with Caitlin. I love when people withhold VERY IMPORTANT information from me. I have had the worst luck with guests. It is insane. I have two finals, one of which is tomorrow afternoon. I have two people and space for one. Oi! Seriously. This is fucking ridiculous. I am home in 20 days. Thank God. Oi...I just want to be done and not have to worry about two fucking people. Who neglects to mention that?!?!? Christ alive...

In other news I downloaded "Life is a Highway" by John Cochrane and that makes me not only lame but quite happy.

If I was a superhero...

If I was a superhero my superpower would be castration. I think there needs to be such a superhero in the world today. Especially in my part of Paris.

Take THAT douchebag!

So in my war class there was this GIANT douchebag. I always suspected it from the first days with his over gelled hair and popped collar. Then one day before class it came out that I am not the biggest fan of DC. He was all sorts of shocked and amazed. Then after class he say me crossing the street to go to the metro and was super pissed that I didn't like DC and how could someone not like DC. Essentially proving he was lame as fuck.

THEN in class on Thursday we were just meeting to get our grades and then those who wanted to go to this exhibit our prof organized about Jews in a certain part of Paris in WW2. So the prof is telling us that everyone did a good job and every one will get a good grade. "Everyone except you, Monsieur." I about pooped my pants with joy. The prof proceeded to go off for at least 5 minutes about how much the kid sucks and everything he did wrong. It was amazing. Sucks for the kid but he really did suck and was completely disrespectful in the class. The best was at the end with the prof asked him a few questions and he couldn't understand the French. HA! LOSER! It was SO satisfying.

Brothers are turds

I was talking with Laura and we came to this conclusion. They just are. However, it doesn't make me any less upset about the whole deal.

Backstory. Last year. I knew I was going to Paris. My brother had said he would never come. I get a phone call while still in Maryland. "Maria, you got your wish. I am going to visit you in Paris." So he said back in AUGUST when he found out he was going to Germany. It is now June. I am leaving in five weeks. I talk with my brother's girlfriend the other day who is really nice and I don't know how my brother found someone so nice. She informs me that Charlie is a lazy piece of poo and doesn't want to plan something. I was thinking of going to Germany to see him but he wasn't making it easy. I was relating this to the girlfriend and she informed me that Charlie was hoping I would visit him because he really didn't want to go to Paris. WAY TO GO, JACKASS! Glad you have no desire whatsoever to see you sister in Paris. The city she has wanted to live in for quite some time. Glad you never had the intenion to come to Paris even though you said 10 months ago you would. I hate when people pull that shit on me. I was really looking forward to Charlie coming to visit so that he could see this ascpet of my life that he will never have the chance to see again. Whatever. He is an asshole and nothing will change that. But it is still rather frustrating.

no more memoire!

They memoire is done and was officially turned in yesterday. French students are so anal so we had to pay a total of 12 euros to get all five copies binded. Whatever. It is done and I am happy. To celebrate I decided we should go to Truskel and upon arrival we found out they were having some sort of speed dating event. Not really what we were looking for. But we found somewhere else to go and it was nice.

Now I am officially in the home strech. I have 4 more classes and will officially be done with them a week from today. Then I have my two finals and an oral for my lit class which I still don't know anything about and then I can write the end of the Sciences-Po chapter of my life. I hope I figure out what is up with that lit test soon. That would be good.

It is bizarre that the end of this is actually close. I do have enough to keep me busy. Liz arrives the 22nd and leaves the 28th (?) and then Thievery Corportation with Clark the 29th, which we still need to buy tickets for, and Adam arrives the 30th and leaves the 4th. Any idea for what I should do with Adam? There is that Live 8 show on the 2nd so we will probably go to that even thought the Paris line up is lamx0rz. Whatev.

So Maria's excepted return to the United States of America is maybe the 19th of July. I need to figure out the travel schedule. For that it would be nice if my brother wasn't an ass. If I don't go to Germany maybe I will return a week earlier. I also need to talk to Judith to see if there is still an opportunity to go to Rennes for a few days. I would really like to and then we could go to Mont St. Michel but we'll see about that.

Crazy that in about 5 weeks I will be back in America. Freaky, really. I am definitely looking forward to my return and seeing family, friends and Phil. On the same token, leaving Paris is going to be hard. Really hard. I have had a wonderful time and leaving these people and this place will be difficult. It will be made easier that by the time I leave most of my friends will be gone and some level of boredom will have set in.

For the moment I am just extremely glad that I am with the overwhelming majority of my work. Such a good feeling.

so close...

The stress is significantly better. Two exposes down one memoire to go. The memoire is due Wednesday and I think I can get a nice chunk done tonight. It really isn't that difficult. I can SO do this. However, my expose on Thursday wasn't that great, but whatever. Today's expose went well. Regardless, both of them are done. I had a nice weekend with Erica. It was short but really nice. I have some pictures I should put online. I should be writing my memoire but I think a nap is going to win out for at least a brief period of time.