And of course I worry about the health, safety and happiness of family and friends at home. That goes without saying, but doesn't really count, because I would worry about that even if I wasn't in Paris.
But in the last couple of days I have had a few things on my mind here.
First I was worried about the electrical meter. The guardien (supervisor of the building) knocked on my door last evening. To be honest it is the first time anyone has knocked on my door. She told me that the meter reader would be here today between noon and 3 p.m. and if I was going to be gone, I needed to tape the number from the electric meter on the front door. The meter is in the toilette closet and I need to stand on a chair to even see the meter, and I don't have a clue what number the meter reader needs. So I stayed home until he came early this afternoon, with the guardien, and read it himself. He didn't need a chair and that went along quite easily.
Recently there was an announcement taped to the interior building door. I'm having trouble deciphering it.
I do understand that something is going to happen with "infestation" on December 6, but I'm not clear on what I need to do and whether this is a building thing or optional. I did understand that even if I have respiratory problems I have nothing to worry about, and that if I'm going to be out I need to leave the key with the guardien. When I asked the guardien........she spoke very quickly, using words I couldn't understand and didn't help at all. So I guess I will need to email the apartment owners, so that if someone comes in to spray and there is a charge, they can pay it.
I'm no longer worried about all of the doors, but I still worry about losing the KEY! I'd rather lose all of my money and my credit cards than the key.
And I worry a bit about the homeless people living below me in the phonebooths. There are two phonebooths on the square below me and both of them are inhabited. Luckily everyone in Paris appears to have a smart phone, so no one is inconvenienced. And these are the lucky homeless (more on this topic another time), because they have somewhere to store their belongings and get out of the elements. But I'm mad at them now. I was coming into the building and ran into the guardien scrubbing the entry. She was disgusted. She told me that one of the mamans from the cabines had let their child pee and defecate in our entry area. Of course she was disgusted; she had to clean it up. And now I have to worry about all of the germs coming into my little home.
Finally, everytime I walk down rue de la Rocquette (which is right around the corner), I get a twinge because I have to walk past the immigration office with a huge line of motely looking immigrants standing outside, waiting their turn to see a French bureaucrat. And I remember that I have not yet sent in my immigration papers which are due within three months of my arrival in an EU country. That would be December 8. And I've sort of decided I'm not going to bother, mostly because my return address is worthless because I can't get into my letter box, and if I give my address as "general delivery" that will make the French bureaucrats wild. I've decided, since I'll only be here for six or seven more weeks after the three month deadline, and since I won't be needing social services... to ignore it. And if the subject ever comes up, I'll act ignorant (although that didn't work with the metro police, it did with the train people on the way back from Reims) and plead forgiveness. They love that!
And since my mantra is "why go through it twice, deal with it when it happens", I guess I can quit worrying and enjoy my Thanksgiving leftovers like everyone in the U.S. is doing.
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