Summer Scheduled!

If at all there is something I am good at, but I am sure as an avid reader of my blog you know that I am good or trying to be good in many things, it is planning! :-)Planning to ensure that logistical, organisational, informational, supply and other issues are arranged and considered well in advance. Of course, I am also prepared to be flexible as things never ever fan out as planned but planning for most, if not all, eventualities helps. So, last night, I sent an email to my boss in London in a rather subtle tone enquiring about work-life balance issues and if I could work long hours Mon to Thu and return home on Fridays. Or, even work from Paris on Fridays! Surprisingly, he was quite understanding and more than willing to help and advice me on the matter. As it turns out, I had a good chat with him this afternoon, and he agreed to both flexi-hours and working from home, from time to time. Now, I would need to be available if important things come up but, otherwise, as long as I am performing, there are no hard feelings! This just lifted a huge burden off my shoulders. The funny thing is, since the company is this good to me, I want to work even more and contribute to its success! It is like what a friend once said to me - "The world is like a mirror. Smile at it and it will smile back at you!". Everything is a reflection of something else and good gestures evoke similar gestures in others. Following the chat, I booked my Eurostar tickets to return to Paris on short weekend visits. Ain't got no time to waste when Eurostar keeps bumping up ticket prices as summer approaches.

Now, I wish I could say that everything we planned is going well. The ongoing property renovation is falling a bit behind because we acquired the property a week later than planned due to some last minute changes by the solicitor. Which means it is not going to be ready for us to move in by this weekend. So, we either move to a hotel or stay in the dirt for a week. We renovated our last property partly whilst living in it and, trust me, it is not fun! I was thankful my previous company had a shower in the department! We shall see...

Last Sunday, we had a family BBQ to celebrate my son's second birthday and the smell of the food must have been very enticing as we saw a fox right outside the house in the middle of the day! Anyway, my son and his cousin were not to be bothered as they not only learnt to 'discover' the 'forest' but also how to get down a steep slope - bum on the grass and slide down but careful because mum and dad will not be happy! At least, they had fun!

As for courses and exams, c'mon, do you really want to read about exams and course work? Really? Alright then...the courses are progressing as usual but I am finding it hard to stay focussed and motivated these days. Perhaps, because I want to get to work soon! Honestly, I can't wait for my internship to start. But, I must say I am not alone in feeling this way. We were told that this period would be the toughest as this is when we are given the freedom to choose the track we want to pursue, the electives we want to study, apply for internship, IPP, etc and basically think and decide what we want to do next and how we want to fit all these in the big picture we are painting for our own future. So, for those who are relatively clear about what they want to do, it is not such a tough period! And, hence, the feeling of lumberness. So so...

Tomorrow, I have my French exam and I am also taking a Russian applicant on a tour of the campus. Looks like I get to take someone on tour whenever I have an exam (he he, it has only happened once before but the person I guided around turned out to be the sister of the current Justice Minister of France under Nicolas Sarkozy! Funny world, eh?) Alright, I think I have written enough for today and also made up for not having posted anything for a while. I now better go and work on my passé composé...bonne nuit!