Silver Wings

I wanted to interrupt my regularly scheduled complaining to say a few words about Air France's Flight 447, which has gone missing over the Atlantic Ocean. First of all, it is always a big shock when planes go missing or crash. It just doesn't happen that often and to lose that many people at one time is hard to comprehend. I can't imagine what Charles de Gaulle is like right now, and my heart goes out to all those families that are waiting for answers, the likes of which will probably not be good. Let me tell you a little bit about Air France. I flew Air France for the first time about a week ago, and they are a fantastic airline. The employees at the ticket counter were wonderfully helpful and scooted us to the front of the checkout line because we only had carry-on baggage. Once we were on board, the flight attendants were fantastic. They were so friendly and nice, and every one of them was happy to be there, doing their job. That trans-Atlantic flight cannot be an easy one to work--just think about how you'd feel if you had to be on your feet for ten hours dealing with a bunch of people who were jet-lagged and uncomfortable--but they did not let on for a second. They were the friendliest and most accommodating airline employees I've ever dealt with and believe me, I've flown A LOT. And people, not to put too fine a point on it but these are the French. Who have a reputation for being, how shall I say, un-friendly. Au contraire, mon amie, avec Air France. I don't know really what the point of this post is except to say that this situation sucks, and I keep picturing the faces of those flight attendants that I interacted with less than one week ago. I hope with all hope that somehow, magically, everyone who was on board is just fine and enjoying a cool tropical drink on an unknown island off the coast of South America.

As the Days Go By

So I'm going to do a big giant Paris wrap-up, but not quite yet. I'm having the hardest time adjusting back to normal life, a life in which I need to be responsible, make good decisions, and get my final papers done goddammit so I can graduate already and never do homework again. Unfortunately I seem incapable of getting any real work done. Instead I screw around on the internet, stress about how much student loan debt I have and how I'm never going to be able to pay it all off, worry about the final papers I am not working on, and other productive activities that meaningfully contribute to society. I also mope about how one of my best friends is moving THE DAY AFTER GRADUATION to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and how much I'm going to miss her. This happened right after college graduation too. Lots of cool people I knew left, and I missed them, and it sucked. So I'm really not looking forward to that happening again once I finish this MA in about two weeks. Sigh. I'm so happy and grateful that I have the boy, but I need other friends too, preferably of the female persuasion. You know, so we can talk about clothes and periods and stuff that he has no interest in discussing. It is hard for me to meet people because in real life I am shy and awkward (as opposed to here on this blog-ha!). On another note, I now have two paid internships for the summer. They are both only temporary, but at least I'm pretty much taken care of for the summer months as far as employment goes. This buys me more time to find something permanent for the fall. The latest internship is at the Newberry Library and sounds really interesting. The Newberry is a special collections research library that I actually visited to do thesis research. It also makes an appearance in the book The Time Traveler's Wife, which I have not read but am considering checking out from the library before I start work. I'll be doing archival preparation and digitization for their Midwest Manuscripts Special Collections. I'm excited!