I'm so sane, it's driving me crazy...

Howdy y'all. What's the news with kaiser willy? (a little inside joke there for the two people reading this that just *might* remember it)

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day to one and all for yesterday. Sorry my greeting is a little late, but I'm French now, and it's allowed here.

Sooo, this past Monday was both Marianna's and Igor's birthday. Seeing as Igor was busy with "school"-related concerns, Monday was Marianna's party. So we got really drunk on tequilla shots and vodka in the foyer of our residence building before being kicked out by security, and thus moving the party downtown. Unfortunately, Monday nights clubs are closed here, and bars close at 2, so by the time we got there, little if anything was open. So we just basically stumbled around downtown drunk for an hour or so, then came back to chill/party in a room. A bit of a downer, but still a great time for all.

Tuesday was oddly kind of, umm, similar (though with a different group of folks)? This time around it was Igor's party, and it began with a failed attempt to find The Buffalo Grill restaurant for dinner. So when we couldn't find it, we ended up at McDonalds, and after eating, made statues out of burger boxes (pictures forthcoming hopefully, as they are not on my camera). Then we came back to residence for a bit and planned on heading downtown to drink, but unfortunately missed the 11:30 night bus, and the next one wasn't coming for another hour. So we returned to residence again, and just chilled in rooms, watching some funny internet videos and whatnot till about 4 am.

And, as usual, up till 4.30, then class at 9. And I made it more or less on time! Valentine's Day was nothing special. It's not a huge deal here in France. I made an alcohol run to Carrefour in the afternoon, and then at night, 7 of us decided to venture into town to see the perfect, classic Valentine's Day movie at the theatre. Yep, you guessed it, Hannibal Rising! The movie is not bad. Sure some scenes are a little gross, but they don't go into excess on the gore, and show only what they really basically have to. And it has a kinda interesting plot to follow as well.

After the movie, we caught the last night bus back and called it an evening, as I got to sleep around 2:30. Yet, despite that "quasi-early" bed time, I still managed to sleep through my alarm clock this morning, and got to class an hour late. But I made sure to actively participate in the discussion, so I'm sure I'm getting my full participation and attendance grades, so no worries.

This Saturday we are going to see a hockey game out here, with our local team from Rouen squaring off against the team from Mont Blanc in their last game of the regular season. Go Hockey Elite 76 Go! This is a picture of some of the tickets I bought sitting on my desk. 8 of us are going, and it should be a hoot.

Lastly for this action-packed rendition of the D.K. Times, I would like to appologize to Mike Angelopolous, Evan McCurdy, and the rest of the Habs faithful back home. I've let you guys down. You see when I left Canada, the team was doing fine. They were in 4th place in the conference, and leading a good battle for home ice advantage in the playoffs.

Well since I've left, my boys have struggled to win a game. If I were at home and this were happening, I'd be in an AWFUL depression, as Habs results often dictate my mood. But of course that wouldn't happen, because it's clearly that the team is only struggling because I'm not there to support them. And I feel bad because the Canadiens losing doesn't upset me as much out here, as there are many things to take my mind off of them. For the first time in my life, they are kind of an afterthought. But hey folks, even if they don't make the playoffs this year, there is always the next one! And I'll be there for the whole season! But this is not to say I've given up hope. They can still do it. My boy Saku just has to grab them by the balls, and carry them up there. And come on Bob, you've gotta make a move, for the sake of shaking up the chemistry.

Laters party people.
Love,
Dan the Man