Karma police: This is what you get when you mess with us.

Why are some weekends to full of activity and others so completely boring? This has been one of the fuller weekends, where three days pass and you have no idea where they went. I would have posted sooner, thanks to the addition of one computer with internet access in the residence hall, except that there are two girls who are on it non-stop and they guard it like junkyard dogs. On the bizarre occasion that they leave their post to eat or bathe, a group of fifteen Spaniards swarms in, kamikaze-syle. Hence, no internet for the rest of us losers.

This I wouldn't really mind if one thing had not occurred. Yesterday at the market (which I'm not sure I will able to live without when I return to America) my cell-phone got stolen. Not only am I out 45€ because of the rebate and the phone time I had already paid for, I'm now nearly completely cut off from anyone I might have wanted to talk to. Or, if there was, say, an emergency... I have to resort to yelling, I suppose. What I don't understand is this: if you're going to steal a cell phone, why would you steal the absolute crappiest cell-phone ever produced? Honestly, the thing was made with twist-ties and Elmer's Glue. Fate is unkind.

Except for the unfortunate fact of the pilfered cell-phone, it's actually been a marvelous weekend. Since no one has any money left we're all sort of playing the "stone-soup" game, wherein we pool our means and meager ingredients and come up with some excellent food. I knew that 5 kilo bag of potatoes was a good investment.

Among exciting news is that Josh got a tattoo of a Celtic cross on his forearm that is the size of my face, Cody got his tongue pierced and it swelled up and filled his mouth and Alexis keeps cigarettes in his new eyebrow ring. This is pretty much where my body-art phase ends.

I went to the Park Vauban twice this weekend and I'm amazed by how much France can resemble the Renaissance Festival come-to-life at times. So many people lounging on the grass, juggling, playing Radiohead songs on their guitars, making out in public, airing out their dred-locks. It's fantastic really. Yesterday the cutest baby on earth wandered up to me while I was reading and gave me a daisy, while his parents laughed knowingly. You try living in an impressionist painting sometime-- if only the stupid university here (and the cell-phone thieves) weren't trying to thwart me, this place might actually be endearing.

There are moments of surprising clarity when France is everything it's cracked up to be.

Phrase du jour: J'ai perdu mon portable. Si vous le trouvez, j'habite dans chambre 007. J'ai vraiment besoin de cet portable. (I've lost my cell phone. If you find it, I live in room 7. I really need this cell phone.)