The most dangerous time of the year, and fun with friends

I didn't realize, when I left the house today, that today was the start of les soldes ('the sales'). It's mandated by the government when they start and how long they last, and they only happen twice a year.

And the first day of les soldes seems to be something of an event. When I went to rue des Archives to deal with another document they wanted for my health insurance, around 4, the sidewalks were very noticeably busier than usual, even though it was raining. And you know, the sidewalks in the Marais are not always too wide. The most amazing thing was that around BHV they had to have police directing vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

So...well, see, there was this purse I had coveted before Christmas at BHV, too expensive then, and I just wanted to check and see if it was on sale. It was, and it was a third off. Still too expensive, but I bought it anyway. It's a French brand (Lamarthe), it's a lovely pink (a bit toward the fuschia end but neither dusty rose nor magenta), it's a bit Queen Mum but in a youthful way. I lurrrrve it. I can't find a photo online, and I can't seem to do it justice with the lighting available in my apartment, so you'll just have to take my word for it, it's yummy. I'm trying to be a good Buddhist and remember that I'm just borrowing it, and not to get attached, but it's so cute!

Met P and K for coffee. They are hilarious, quite a breath of fresh nitrous. They are a bit older than me and seem to have been through a lot before finding each other, but it seems to have been worth it for them. They are always finishing each other's sentences and so very much on the same wavelength, such a crazy wavelength that it's great fun to surf it. We were the loudest table in the place. They brought out a bottle of sambuca to tip into their coffee when the waiter wasn't looking. They offered me some, but I declined; I don't like the anise taste. On Friday we are going to spend some time working in the Hôtel de Ville library (I didn't know such a thing existed); I'll work on my handout while they study, K for her alternative medicine program, P for his next engineeringy interview with the company in the south of France, and then we'll hang out in the 5th. And maybe P's mom will come join us too....

Oh, and when I showed them my new purse out of the shopping bag, the girl at the table next to me (an English-speaking tourist) asked me where I got it because she loved it! So I think I did well.

Then a bit of Buffy with A; we had a kind of Turkish ploughman's lunch for dinner inspired by his trip to Istanbul. The worst part was: anise liquor from Turkey! I gamefully sipped some but I really, really don't like anise. Funny to be offered it twice in one night.

A showed me some comedian whose name I forget, Jake someone? and Little Britain, because he'd asked me, "Is that guy [Anthony Stewart Head, who plays the librarian in Buffy] the guy who plays the prime minister on Little Britain?" I didn't know because I'd never seen Little Britain, but we put on an episode he had, and sure enough, Giles is the prime minister.

He appreciated the Reese's Pieces. I had decided not to have any, because I'm not crazy about them, and I thought it would be wasted on me. I knew I had done the right thing when he accidentally dropped one on the floor and screamed because he didn't want to lose even one. It's nice to bring friends things they like.

While I was walking to the subway I got an "Oh la la, je t'aime" from a guy in a car. In Paris, when you've got it, they let you know. :)