Chapter 89: Homeless Hincks and the Scotsmen

nerd blog post #93

My head is swimming with a million things right now. It has been a month of unanswered questions, moving, striking and general stress. But it has also been peppered with amazing visits. The past six days have definitely been eventful.

I taught on Wednesday and, as I expected, it was pretty chaotic. Students are desperate for answers as to how the semester will go and no one has a clue. It was a very tiring day. Raffi met me after my final class and came to the theatre group with me. He just wanted to watch, and it was nice to have someone see what I have only ever written about. That night, Merrill had a belated birthday party for herself and Raffi was able to experience how we party with our students. It was a great night.

Thursday was a huge travel day. We took the train to Paris (on which I won Scrabble) and it was a challenge lugging my huge suitcase, our picnic lunch and our bags for the week-end through the metro. As I'm moving out tomorrow, I'm only keeping a small amount of clothes with me, and the rest is being stored at Raffi's. After dropping off the unnecessary, we took the metro to the corner of the city to catch our bus to Amsterdam. In a money saving spree, we opted for the eight hour bus ride as opposed to the four hour train ride. I didn't regret this except for the last hour on the way there when some Scotsmen wearing plaid skirts got wasted and starting singing and shouting obnoxiously. Despite requests from other passengers, the loud and vulgar songs did not stop. It was like being at a drunken teen overnight campfire sing-along and I was pretty annoyed by the time we finally got off of the bus. Now. Doctor had been in Prague and was on the bus to Amsterdam when we arrived. He very craftily hid his apartment key where we could find it and we were able to easily get into his apartment. Exhausted, we went to bed almost right away.

Doctor was not too far behind us, and buzzed up around 530am (I think). After quick hugs, we all went back to sleep until a more decent hour. That day, we walked around the whole city. It was Raffi's first time in Amsterdam which always makes touring around more fun. We noted that there were an exceptional number of Scotsmen in kilts (and probably no undies) and found out that there was a big qualifying game on Saturday between Scotland and the Netherlands to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa. The drunkards on the bus was but a taste of what Amsterdam was to see over the week-end... That evening, we cooked a stir fry supreme and eventually headed out to the bar I went to my first night there with Doctor and Steve. It was a fun night.

The next day, we slept in a lot, cooked a breakie feast and headed out on another walk. The night was spent playing games, catching up and lots of laughs. We didn't end up going out as the daytime partying of the Scotsmen was enough to handle. It was nice to just chill with two of my favourites.

Sunday came in a hurry and we took the bus back to Paris. It was fine and has encouraged me to save my pennies and bus. It was very sad saying goodbye to Doctor. Harder than the other times, maybe because of the uncertainty in Rennes. We had good chats about what might be next. We'd like to get a dog.

This morning was a real treat. I was to get on the 7am train back to Rennes as it was the cheapest option and I teach at 5pm on Mondays. But at the station, there was a mob of people waiting for the platform to show up. Turns out, there was a problem with the circuit and trains were not running. The 730 train to Rennes was packed and people were standing. Sooooo I decided to kick it in Paris for a few more hours and try later. At 2pm, I boarded the train and waited almost 45 minutes for it to leave! This meant that I arrived 15 minutes late to my class. Luckily, I team teach so it's not a big deal. But when I finally got to school, she wasn't even there! The class started close to thirty minutes late. Insane.

In other news, the students voted for a complete blockade and I don't teach this week. The president is trying to figure out how to save the semester. I am worried that I'll have to be here in May when I have guests. I was hoping to be in Paris by Easter. But now I don't know. There are other universities in France that have been on strike and have decided to give 50% to everyone for the year. This seems odd but I guess is one way of dealing with it.

It's my last night in the apartment. My room looks big and empty and all of the photos of friends and family are packed away. I wonder how long before I am settled somewhere again. I'm not discouraged, though, and am very grateful for the people here in France that would never let me sleep on a park bench!

Hope you are all well!

Much love,
Hincks.

Chapter 88: Packing and Snacking

nerd blog post #92

Life without the p-unit was sad at first, but the sun is still shining and there is a lot to be happy about. Raffi came back to Rennes with me on Sunday night, and we will be here until Thursday, when we leave for Amsterdam. I am VERY excited to see the Doctor.

I got Raffi Scrabble for his bday, as you know, and we have had two games so far. I don't want to talk about the outcome(s).

We have also eaten some delicious feasts, of the Mexican and breakie variety. Today we will go see a movie. I don't know what it's called in English but it's something about land burning. There's a deal on at the movie theatre where films are only 3.50Euros so somehow I got roped into yet another one this year.

Tonight is Tuesday Tradition and in the spirit of movies (and its delicious treats) the theme is movie treats. Popcorn and M&Ms all around. Oh, and some wine as well.

I don't want to write too much about the strike as much is still up in the air. There was, however, an online vote, put in place by the president of the university (and strongly opposed by the strikers) in which the outcome was 72% against the blockade. At yesterday's big meeting, the end result was a partial blockade, happening on Tuesdays and Thursdays until an unknown time. This will be re-voted upon at every big meeting, still happening every other day or so. So, I work tomorrow. My first day at work in 6.5 weeks. It will be mayhem as no one knows what the decision for the whole semester will be. It could be elongated (though profs are angry about that and will resist) or all squished in (though only two weeks remain after this one, and there is a partial blockage) or maybe somehow cancelled altogether. Since Cynthia and I are moving out of here at the end of the month (which is in one week) elongating the semester will be tricky. There's no point speculating or worrying at this point, since we know nothing. We just have to wait and see, and somehow teach tomorrow. It will be a mess.

I have been packing up my room today. I don't have a lot of stuff, just one big suitcase and a carry-on, so it's not a big job. I'll leave my big suitcase in Paris and wear the same clothes for the rest of the time. Watch out, young bachelors. Please do not send anymore mail to this address as I don't have a forwarding address. Or a home. I am homeless soon. sigh.

That's the big news of the week, I guess. A lot of waiting and wondering...

Hope you're all well and that the sun is shining!

Much love,
Hincks.

Chapter 87: Pa-Rennes-tal Car

nerd blog post #91

5 points to anyone who gets the triple pun (called a triplun) of the nerd blog's title.

I will try to write a happy nerd blog post, even though I am sad to have said goodbye to the p-unit today... Ahem.

We returned to Rennes Monday night and were pretty tired after a whirlwind in Paris. We headed to bed early (all sharing a room - slumber party!) and had a breakie feast with Cynthia and Benito in the morning. That day (Tuesday) we saw Rennes. We visited the university (yes, still on strike) and the beautiful park and all of the old city. It was a nice day. In the evening, I made dindins and then we went to Merrill's for Tuesday Tradition. The p-u was able to experience the typical Tuesday night: delicious snacks, copious amounts of wine, and good chats. I walked them home for their bedtime and then headed back to Merrill's for a couple more hours.

They had rented a car from Wednesday to Friday and on Wednesday they visited the Loire Valley. This is a part of France that has a bunch of huge castles and is supposed to be very beautiful. Unfortunately for them, the driving was too much that day. Wanting to avoid toll highways and take the scenic route, it took almost half the day to get there. But they enjoyed the castles once there. I didn't have to work this week, but decided to stay back that day and get some applications and other work done. We had roly polys for dindins.

Thursday, we set off early (I joined this time) and we went first to Mont Saint-Michel, the beautiful abbey on the coast of Normandy/Brittany. I had been once before, in October, but we had more time this time and visited the inside of the abbey. This was a huge highlight for me. The abbey was amazing and much larger and more beautiful than I had expected. From there, we drove along the coast to Saint-Malo. There, we saw the beach and walked along the top of the old city wall. We had lunch at little sandwich place and then shared an ice-cream from Sanchez, supposedly the best ice-cream in France. I bought two little cider bowls as a souvenir from Brittany since I only have a few more weeks there. On the way home, we stopped in for just under an hour to Dinan, a beautiful medieval town. Cynthia and I made Mexican food for dindins and Indian chai tea to go with our French pastry dessert. A real international meal!

Friday, Cynthia joined us on our day trip, which was really nice. We went to Bayeux, Normandy, home of a seventy-metre tapestry made in 1077 to commemorate the Norman invasion of England. It was really cool. We had cassettey things to hear the story as we walked along the tapestry which was great as I would have a) been lost and b) missed the cool little things it pointed out. We then went to a war museum, also in Bayeux, that outlined the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy. It was a big museum with tons of information and well-displayed. I learned a lot. From there, we went to Juno Beach, which is where the Canadian troops landed. It was kind of eerie being there, knowing what happened just over sixty years ago on that sand. It was a really neat day and I'm glad I didn't miss it.

My grandparents had generously given my parents some money to go for a nice dinner while in France. So that evening, the four of us had some delicious French food at a fancy restaurant. I had duck and sesame tuna and a dessert that I could eat every day. It was really fun.

And just like that, the time in Rennes was over! We came to Paris yesterday morning and checked into the hotel. Of course, the room wasn't ready, so we went for a micmic lunch and then took a boat ride on the Seine. That was a lot of fun. We met Raffi for dinner and went to a favourite spot of mine, which is near his house. We went there on Steve's last night, too. It's a creperie. My crepe's name was Marie and had tuna and anchovies in it. Delish. I said goodnight to my parents (no more sleepy ovaries!) and met back up with them this morning. We ate breakie in their hotel room and then went to the airport.

It was a sad goodbye. Though this time apart will be shorter, I got really used to them being around and it was so sad. I miss them as it is, but to have had them here made it a bit harder. And it was the best week. It makes me want to move back home and attend high school again so I can have summers off to hang. I don't think that's what they want, though.... Too bad.

Raffi's second term is over and he has two weeks off now. He's coming to Rennes with me tonight and staying until Thursday, at which point we're going to Amsterdam to visit Doctor. I'm looking forward to the week! But if school starts up again, it will be a busy week. And I also am moving out at the end of the month, so I have to pack up my room before I leave Rennes on Thursday. Could be crazy!

Hope you're all well. Much love to Canada...

Love love love,
Hincks.

Chapter 86: P-Unit

nerd blog post #91

Yes, that's right, Loanne and RtD are in France. The parental unit arrived safely and they have been wolfing cheese and chugging wine ever since. As much has happened, I will nerd blog about the time spent in Paris first.

Day 1: Checking In and Rts Unite

I picked up the p-unit at the airport. They had had a good flight and all was on time. They were pretty exhausted as we made our way to the hotel but soon caught a second (fifth? sixth?) wind. Checking in, they experienced their first taste of French tardiness. The hotel wouldn't be ready for at least two hours.

We decided to march to the Arc de Triomphe, stopping for bread and cheese for a micmic lunch. Then we walked the Champs Elysees to the Jardin des Tuileries and to the Louvre. It was an epic walk, and by the time we took the metro to the hotel and finally got into our room, it was time for a snooze.

In the evening, RtC met RtD. They had a dance off, a chugging competition and a medieval duel. In the end, Baby Beluga was crowned king for 500 points. Then we went for a pizzer dindins which was delicious. From there, we walked to the Eiffel Tower (as happens on the first night of any visit!) and watched the tower sparkle and dance. It was really nice. The parentals returned home and I hung with Raffi for a bit before meeting Uncle Doug, Aunt Sheila and Cousin Michael (Birmingham Hincks) and returning to the hotel for them to check in.

Bedtime.

Day 2: Fam Jam and Clown Town

We were up bright and early and had breakie at a local joint. We then took the metro to the Notre Dame. We looked at it inside and out. Then we ventured around the Latin Quarter, stopping in at Shakespeare and Co and the Canadian bookstore. Brian met the fam. We walked along the Seine to the Louvre and then split up. My mom and I returned to the hotel to play vicious games of cards and talk about things that moms and daughters talk about, like boys and dishwashers. The others went to the Arc de Triomphe so the B.Hincks could see it.

We met up again, this time at the train station where another relative (a second cousin from Montreal who is working in the North of France) met us. We walked through a sketchy neighbourhood (my fault. I was not a geography major) to Montmartre. There, we saw the Sacre Coeur and the neighbourhood and settled in to a restaurant for dindins.

Cousin Michael and I peaced out before the bill came (priceless, literally) and went to a dancey bar called the Pop In. It was Raffi's bday on Sunday and he was having a party there.There were oodles of clowns there and it was a lot of fun. As Michael is 17 and his parents are avid nerd blog fans, I'll spare the details of his mad dancing skillz and how he impressed the ladies with his studly accent and heroic tales. It was a great night. I was glad to have been able to ring in Raffi's bday and to party with my cousin all at the same time. A highlight fo sho.

Bedtime.

Day 3: I Saw Dead People

We had breakie in the hotel room the next day and then went to the Pere Lachaise cemetery. It was a beautiful day - sunny and warm. Spring has sprung in France. We saw all of the famous graves - Wilde, Piaf, Proust, Morrison, Chopin... Most interesting for me was the section dedicated to WWII. It had some really impressionable sculptures and I hadn't been to that part of the cemetery.

Lunch was served by a rude waiter. It's funny now, but was kind of a downer at the time. He was ridic. Too much to explain in the nerd blog, but avoid the restaurant on the N-E corner of the S-E exit of Pere Lachaise. The guy's a real wiener.

We walked from there to the Marais, the gay and Jewish quarter. We went to the Carnavalet Museum, which gives a history of Paris through paintings, miniature models of the city, and other thangs.

Then to the Eiffel Tower, which was beautiful by day.

Raffi joined us for dindins but I met him before and gave him Scrabble as a presie. We would have played, but I thought it was mean to make him cry on his bday. I challenge any of you to a game. Winner wins a million points.

Bedtime.

Day 4: Lady Marmalade

The Birmingham Hincks returned to Birmingham. Chincks headed to the Louvre. Loanne and I checked in the suitcases to the train station (after much annoyance) and then went for a coffee near clown school. Raffi and Viktor showed us around and Lo was able to witness some top-notch juggling and hand stands.

The Hincks trio reunited and went to see the Moulin Rouge. I had never noticed all of the sex shops. But walking in between my parents, I definitely did. The Moulin Rouge is cooler by night, but was still neat to see.

Then, Paris was over for us and we collected our suitcases, boarded the train, and came to Rennes.

*

It was a great few days. Slumber parties with the p-unit are better at 24 than they would have been at 14. We had a great time and it's hard to believe it's already more than half over.....

Hope you're all well! Much love to Canada.

Signing off,
Hincks.

Chapter 85: le Vide

nerd blog post #89

Hello dear readers,

The last day in Paris was great. I went to the Centre Pompidou for the first time and my only regret was forgetting my camera. The Pompidou is the mod-ren art museum and has the best view of the city I have seen so far. From the roof, you see the whole city, and you get to ride up the glass escalators on the side of the building. It was very cool. I saw Duchamps urinal. It's a straight-up urinal. And German Clown Michael and I also saw the exhibit on the empty rooms. Called le Vide, this exhibit was a series of empty rooms. Really. In the programme, it says, "After Yves Klein's exhibition ... the empty space became a recurrent artistic theme. His radical gesture would be repeated by others, in other contexts, other places and at other times. Fifty years later, the Musee National d'Art Moderne now presents nine exhibitions by artists who exhibited nothing." Riviting. But actually, I totally dug it.

Back in Rennes, the strike is still on. The next big meeting is this afternoon to decide if the blockade will continue. People are thinking it will. At this point, I'd love for it to so I can spend next week with my parents and not have to work.

I have done this and that this week. Prepared for the visit, hung out with Merrill, Cynthia and Benito (he's back again!) and just about finished a great book that Murphy sent me by David Sedaris.

Cynthia and I cleaned the whole apartment yesterday and last night we had Merrill, Foun and Lucie and another student friend, Kevin, here for dindins. We made Mexican and pumpkin pie and it was really nice.

This afternoon I'm babysitting and then hopping on a train to Paris. Tomorrow morning I'll go and get my parents from the airport. I'm reallllllly excited. We'll be joined my uncle and his fam from England. A second cousin who is working in France will hang with us Saturday night.

Sunday is Raffi's bday so my British cousin and I will party Saturday night. That will be fun. Other than that, plans are still up in the air. We'll see all the good spots in Paris and take a boat ride down the Seine. I love boats.

That's all for now. Hope you're all well.

Much love,
Hincks.

Chapter 84: Milk and Cookies

nerd blog post #89

On Thursday nightI saw the movie Harvey Milk. I am not an avid movie goer and I don't usually recommend movies. But see this one. Everyone should.

It has left me, still, enraged about how much more needs to be done for the gay rights movement. Here in France, issues surrounding equal rights seem swept under the carpet. Homelessness is illegal, yet the streets of Paris are littered with men and women who have nowhere to go. Racism is not a problem, yet the "Africans" who moved here three generations ago and have citizenship are still considered Africans, never French, and this racial divide is very evident. And homophobia is hardly a recognized word, but I have gay friends who have been spit on and threatened for holding hands at one of the most liberal universities in the country.

And France is more socially progressive than many countries.

I find it incredible that Harvey Milk was able to do so much in 1978 and that, a whole twenty years later, his very own state restricted the marriage of same-sex couples in the vote of Proposition 8. California's fight for gay rights in the 1970s left it ahead of its time but has now taken ten steps backwards. The Anita Bryants are continuing to stifle love across the world, throwing dirt in the faces of a minority group who has been persecuted time and time again throughout history. Now it's 2009. It is time to, yet again, be big girls and boys and reinvent those terms that are ingrained in our educational systems and cultural psyche. Just as we have pulled away from notions of white supremicy and male superiority, so now we should stop living in a heteronormative world. It is not inclusive and that is not fair.

And that's all I have to say about that for right now.

Soooooooo ....

Paris is great. I have been having a nice week-end and keep reminding myself that this time next week, I'll be here again but with my parents! I am super pumped. I hope they are prepared for all of the fromage they'll be eating and berets they'll be buying. It will be a crazy party.

On Friday afternoon, I snuck into clown school to see an afternoon's performance. Every Friday, the clowns show the teachers what they have been working on all week. They have part of every class to come up with and rehearse what will be shown at the end of the week. For this section, members from other classes are welcome to watch, but only peeps from the school. I was sneaky. It was great to finally see what I had only heard of from the beginning. If you recall, I met a bunch of the clowns (including Raffi) the week-end before clown school even began.

That night, Clown Francine (Canadian) had a little party where we chatted and drank hot wine. She makes really hot wine. It was fun. Oh, and she had good cookies as a treat.

Yesterday, I met up with a British Clown named Charli and we walked all around the Latin Quarter and the Marais. It was nice to get to know her a little bit better and hang during the day. I want to be her friend. I like her. Charli+Hincksi=BFF. I then went to the Canadian bookshop and visited the owner, and my pal, Bryan. I stayed for over an hour and chatted and we had coffee.

In the evening, we went into the common room at Raffi's and had a little party. Just six people, but from five countries! We played a card game called Ligretto, which is the same as Dutch Blitz, a Hincks family klassic. There were too many of us, so there were teams. I had no partner but still won. It got extremely competitive and I worried that I would be shipped off on the first train back to Rennes. Did I mention that I was the winner?

Today, I'm meeting up with German Clown Michael and we are going to the Centre Pompidou, Paris' mod-ren art museum. This is my first time to go to the Pompidou and I'm excited. That urinal artwork is there as well as a temporary exhibit called "La salle vide" or the empty room. As a past employee for College Pro painters and then Lia's mom the house flipper, I know what those look like.

I have heard from Rennes that the strike is still alive and kicking and that they have voted to blockade Master's classes again. Tomorrow is the next big meeting so we'll see what happens. This would make it week 4 of blockade and week 5 of not working. At this rate, I'll have the week off when the parentals are here, which would be groovy.

Peace and love, my friends and family. I hope this finds you all well!

Signing off,
Hincks.

Chapter 83: Hands Up, Baby, Hands Up

nerd blog post #88

On Monday I went to the big meeting held every few days by the students to vote on, among other things, whether or not to continue the blockade. It was one of the strangest things I have ever witnessed and I wish I had had my camera. Hundreds of students huddled outside for three hours while the meeting and voting went on. They voted on what seemed like every possible thing. Notable things included voting to blockade the airport next Tuesday and voting to blockade the train station this Thursday. Then they voted to continue blockading until Monday. On March 19th there is a very large nation-wide strike. The rumour is that the blockade at our school will continue until then.

One thing that happened that really affected me was that they voted to allow Master's classes to go on, despite the blockade, which meant I taught the first Master's class yesterday. But at the meeting today, they voted against this, so now I don't teach them anymore. Ridic.

Oh, and this is the way they vote. Two hands in the air. To evade cheaters who put up two hands when they're only supposed to put up one. And then the people at the front decide if it's majority or not.

To escape the madness, I have done the following:
-I met the theatre group twice this week, for a few hours each time and we have continued working on our end of year piece.
-I revised the lecteur guide for next year's lecteurs.
-I have been reading great books and writing various thangs.
-I taught that one Master's class and it went really well.
-Tuesday Tradition entre filles was great, as always.
-I came to Paris this morning and will stay until Monday.

No big plans for Paris. I have some work that I'd like to get done and I want to go to the Picasso museum. I will also see a movie by the name of "Skim Milk" with Raffi. There is a clown party on Friday.

Hope you are all well. Whoever is happy put two hands in the air. No cheating. Aaaand great.

Much love,
Hincks.

Chapter 82: Comings and Goings

nerd blog post #87

Quite a bit has happened in the past few days in terms of pondering, planning and partying. I will make a list so no one gets confused.

1. For those of you who don't know, I have a dear friend named Katie Holly Woods who befriended me on my first day at St. John's Elementary School at age ten. Katie and I walked to school together the next day, and every day after that until the end of high school. She is a part of the notorious gang of girls called the SJC which is made up of eight of us who were friends from St. Johns. ANYYYYWAYS, Katie is getting married at the end of June and has asked me to be a bride's maid. And so, I have booked a flight home on June 9th for just under three weeks. The trip is primarily for her wedding, although as I have decided to stay in Europe for the Summer (at least), I am itching to see my friends and family in a big way. So get ready for an epic party of monstrous proportion. That means you, Dad.

2. As teaching (or not teaching) is finishing up after the first week or so of April, Cynthia and I are both moving out of this apartment at the end of March. Cynthia is going to Italy mid-April until the end of June to spend time with Benito and learn Italian before heading to Cleveland for medical school. I will move to Paris at the same time.

3. My parental unit are coming to visit in less than two weeks! Hide the drug paraphernalia and replace it with good literature and knitting needles! But for real, I am very excited. I think about it at least 40% of my day. Maybe more.

4. Paabor left on Friday, heading to Normandy to check out some war beaches. Before that, though, Merrill through a party on Thursday. It was great. At the party, Foun and Lucie gave me a birthday presie. A pair of what are called "Baba Cool" pants that are all the rage in France (but especially Brittany). Made of a canvas-like material, they are elastic waist and ankle, very baggy, with a crotch anywhere between the knee and the floor. A ton of material. Mine are brown and the crotch is a bit below my knees. They are sort of like Aladdin pants, but way more. I look ridiculous but I love them. I think they are so funny. They also made me a book of lessons of French slang that I wouldn't otherwise learn. It was great. After the party, Paabor and I joined Foun and Lucie to check out Thirsty Street and then Caveau, my fave dancing bar. It was a great night. I was sad to see my dear friend go and my room felt emptier upon my return.

5. There's a rumour the strike will continue until March 19th. But who knows.

6. Yesterday I went on a day-trip with Cynthia, Merrill and Merrill's friend, Other Emily. We went to Dinan, which is a medieval town about an hour away by bus. It has beautiful old buildings, narrow streets, a nice port on the river Rance, and a huge castle. Also, there was a fair on! We went on a ferris wheel and it was Merrill and Cynthia's first time on one. I guess Texans aren't into the ferris wheel, or the big panaromic wheel, as the French call it. Other Emily had tried it. I also had a treat of barbe a papa (cotton candy) which was delicious. We went into the castle and my fave part was learning that the French word for dungeon is 'donjon' and seeing the view from the top.

7. I have been asked to take the reins on creating a guide for the lecteurs for next year and am happy with that. I like both writing (surprised?) and holding reins (ultra surprised?). I will start working on it this week, in consultation with the others.

8. Spring is here. It must be. The temperature is in the mid-teens in the day and the sun has been shining a lot. I hope it keeps up!

Hope you all had good week-ends! Sending a lot of love to Canada.

Signing off,
Hincks.