I called my salon yesterday to get my "fringe" cut....these are "bangs" in just about every European country, and they could only fit me in at a time that wasn"t terribly convenient, but I took it because if I hadn't I couldn't get in until after the 11th of April. Why? They will be closed for a week and a half. Paul emailed me yesterday about the location I gave him to rent the car that will take us on our 4-day Germany adventure. But that location is "temporarily closed". Then today I rushed home from school to get to my salon, only to have the woman shaking her head when I gave her my name and apointment time...."tsk tsk"-ing at me, saying the "rendez-vous" was for tomorrow, not today. So I took it well and went on my next errand to the post office. I walked right into the lobby without paying any attention to the big eisel in the entrance...found it diserted with hand-written signs reading "guichet fermé" at each station. Window closed. Okay....so I went back to the entrance where a man wearing a "La Poste" jacket had just walked in....and I asked him what was going on. He just pointed to the board and said, "Grève!" Strike. And then, just to top things off (really...I am NOT joking....each of these things happened between yesterday and today!), I opened my mail to discover that my gym will be closed for a week in April due to "traveaux". Work. Or construction....both, really. I actually put it on my calender. Gym Fermé. At least then I'll know!
And just one more gripe about this systme....I am still fighting (or re-igniting the battle, to be more precise) the 108€ tax that the governement wants to charge me for an espresso machine that my friend Henderson mailed to me...even though the thing was bought IN Paris in 2005 (and therefore was already taxed at 19 percent!), has been used over a thousand times....AND I already wrote and faxed a letter explaining all of this when customs originally wouldn't release the package. So now my tax bill--because I didn't pay it, thinking my letter was sufficient--has been passed to a collections agency and I have to still battle them. But the best part is this--they want a HAND-written letter explaining everything! (Sadly I didn't save my old one.) They must want to do some hand-writing analysis or something...make sure I'm really who I say I am...who knows!?
Okay, and finally I have to share this photo. This small rally happened several weekends ago. It's a protest against
more recent measures that make prostitution more "dangerous" for the prostitues. I don't know any of the details...but they claim they're less protected now. So they took to the streets. My street. Of course. (I AM smiling at this point!)
more recent measures that make prostitution more "dangerous" for the prostitues. I don't know any of the details...but they claim they're less protected now. So they took to the streets. My street. Of course. (I AM smiling at this point!)
