Quand on est en Aix, on fait comme les aixois
France was a turning point for me in terms of personal growth, strength, figuring things out. I was single for the first time in years, and found myself empty without another "better" half. I tried all types of solutions.
The one that hasn't left is cooking a tasty meal, dragging friends with wine over, then closing it off with coffee and/or tea, nargile, and chocolate. I've decided the Midwest needs more of this type of debauchery-soft, wherein the point isn't to be drunk or riotous, but rather to lounge and converse and be brilliantly relaxed. Many of the best parties I've hosted have ended/become this since, and they are the memories I treasure.
This structure was in part due to a loss of media (no DVD collections, no awesome media-set-up, no Gamecubes or Xboxes) in part due to the euro-dollar exchange rate (why go out when you can stay in?) and also due to the company. The people I had lounging in my living room (and bedroom, as it was both) are still people, even if they aren't currently with me, whom I know best. There are people I lived with for a full year in the dorms, other folks I've known for years -- but I don't know them. A movie is on, video games are dominating the room, there's always some distraction designed to prevent talking and to entertain us.
JF used to complain about this with my friend group, insist that there didn't need to be a movie, didn't need to have a board game, but rather that we could just sit and talk. I tried to explain that we weren't sufficiently comfortable in our skins enough to sit and talk and find that to be ok -- but I took that gem of knowledge and carried it with me.
I want to know people again, to get them talking, to have them tell their stories. I love the stories, the tall tales of epic fun and epic loss. La Maison Jaune, home to myself and Elodie (room mate, not her real name) and two fabulous felines (Lady Olivia and Sir Eli, her knight in shining armor) will be in full operation this summer before cold, seasonal affective disorder, and PhD level work kick in this fall. (Well, PhD for Elodie, grad school apps plus workensking for me.)
Come, crush a cup of wine, and tell me your stories. I'm curious, fascinated, and listening. I might even tell you one or two myself...
The one that hasn't left is cooking a tasty meal, dragging friends with wine over, then closing it off with coffee and/or tea, nargile, and chocolate. I've decided the Midwest needs more of this type of debauchery-soft, wherein the point isn't to be drunk or riotous, but rather to lounge and converse and be brilliantly relaxed. Many of the best parties I've hosted have ended/become this since, and they are the memories I treasure.
This structure was in part due to a loss of media (no DVD collections, no awesome media-set-up, no Gamecubes or Xboxes) in part due to the euro-dollar exchange rate (why go out when you can stay in?) and also due to the company. The people I had lounging in my living room (and bedroom, as it was both) are still people, even if they aren't currently with me, whom I know best. There are people I lived with for a full year in the dorms, other folks I've known for years -- but I don't know them. A movie is on, video games are dominating the room, there's always some distraction designed to prevent talking and to entertain us.
JF used to complain about this with my friend group, insist that there didn't need to be a movie, didn't need to have a board game, but rather that we could just sit and talk. I tried to explain that we weren't sufficiently comfortable in our skins enough to sit and talk and find that to be ok -- but I took that gem of knowledge and carried it with me.
I want to know people again, to get them talking, to have them tell their stories. I love the stories, the tall tales of epic fun and epic loss. La Maison Jaune, home to myself and Elodie (room mate, not her real name) and two fabulous felines (Lady Olivia and Sir Eli, her knight in shining armor) will be in full operation this summer before cold, seasonal affective disorder, and PhD level work kick in this fall. (Well, PhD for Elodie, grad school apps plus workensking for me.)
Come, crush a cup of wine, and tell me your stories. I'm curious, fascinated, and listening. I might even tell you one or two myself...
posted by Kari Stevenson @ 4:47 AM
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