Friday, October 5, 2007

Finally back in Barbizon

Hello everybody, this is N, writing directly to you from the Barbizon-studios !
After a hectic day at work, and a tedious drive of four hours last night, I finally made it back to P. And I’m sorry to admit that some of the worst case scenarios I prepared (see earlier posting) already came true.

For three hours, I totally ignored any speed limits, just to find myself completely stuck on the Peripherique around Paris, losing the so preciously gained time. Anyway, I still made it earlier to Barbizon than P planned, so while I was thrilled to finally see the “Barbizon 6km”-sign, P was standing in line at the cash desk in Carrefour, doing some last minute grocery shopping, trying to hide the fact that for three weeks the only thing edible in the house had been cornflakes and cookies.
I refused to arrive in Barbizon without P being there, so I drove around the pitch-dark forest roads for about 15 minutes, than returned to Barbizon. (Nuts? Probably…)

Anyway, seeing P back after three weeks was kind of overwhelming, feeling overcome with joy and sad at the same time. So glad to be back, and at the same time mad at myself for not being here the past three weeks. In the mean time, those highs and lows have leveled out a bit, and now I’m simply the happiest girl in the world.

To plunge me right back into Fonty-live, P took me to a party last night. (yes, correctly : after a working day, and a 4 hour drive, I still managed to live up to any social expectations). I admit I was kind of nervous : maybe everybody would already know everybody (unlike three weeks ago), and I would just be the “unknown partner”.
So I was very relieved to find out that the most used phrases still are : “Hi, I’m x.” “Where are you from?”, “What did you do before the MBA?”, “What are your plans afterwards?” etc. I’ve taken the liberty to extend this standard questionnaire with one more question: “What are you thinking of the program so far?”.

I was less relieved to find out that the Barbizon killer mosquitoes are still in town. During my summer holiday, I tried to convince them to leave the premises in a rather non-violent and polite way. I bought this bio-lamp, which is making a high-frequency noise (imitating a male mosquito), and this should keep the female mosquitoes at a distance. Yeah, right…
After their brutal attack last night, I will show no more mercy. Full chemical warfare is starting as of today!

No comments: