sweater and shirt

packing for paris was scant i had to carry my machine*, which goes with me everywhere, which leaves little room for much else. three shirts, the pair of pants i was wearing, underwear and socks to last five days (3 of each), a book, a camera, a journal and a pocket full of dreams.

(some dude just dropped his smokes on the floor)

my sweater, the sweater, was not on the list. it was on the list until the pack was too heavy and i took the sweater off the list. i should have just lightened my load by first not writing the list on granite rock and, more importantly, subsititing the list for the sweater it's self as it wears substancially less than a list written on granite rock. i wouldn't have done it if simon birch hadn't sold me on the idea, highlighting the versatilty of the product.

(some dude won't listen to me get his attention so he can have his smokes back)

not having the sweater meant that i wore my winter coat everywhere with just a couple of t-shirts underneath, which was fine except that i was hot on the street and cold in the shops. i should have packed my sweater, the sweater.

(some dude the third notices the smokes and i throw a thumb in some dudes direction)

as i was checking out of paris i made a few last friends at the terminal while i went through the scanner system. to get through the scanner system i had to my carry-on, keys, wallet, change, belt and my coat even. i successfully set off the scanner and was then subjected to that test they do to see if you're magnetic. the wand didn't stick to me as they waved it around and i was free to go about my day. i suppose i am thankful that they do these tests because i wouldn't want magnetic people getting on the plane and messing with the controls or causing my wallet cards to demagnitise.

i hadn't thought about it that morning, mostly because i don't register thought until about the noon hour and morning had somehow found me at around the 6:30 mark, but i had really dressed to impress. i hadn't noticed until i had successfully fooled the magnet detector and moved towards my gear to reassemble myself. i felt an arm on mine and was turned around and thuroughly examined by a french (female) guard. she looked at me and smirked a bit and kind of did a little jig. i kid you not, a jig.

smirking, she called to another guard. french french french she said, to the best of my knowledge, to her. french french french came the reply. the french (female) guard did her jig again this time singing what was written on my shirt. she then asked me what it meant and carried on doing the jig. by this time i had assembled myself, with left over parts for some reason but that always happens with things you assemble yourself, and was awkwardly moving towards my nearest exit.

as i smiled to myself everybody poops, everybody poops, everybody everybody everybody poops followed me down the hall.

some good news

yes. lets talk about something that involves good news.

- i sucessfully avoided spending €400 on a camera that i really wanted but new i couldn't have. this might be the first time i've avoided a purchase such as this one. i don't know if that means i am growing up, learning what money actually is or simply enjoying the luxury of eating too much.

- one of the glengarry cast, pete, offered me a job in washington dc as a bartender in the event that my travels were to take me there. i never once thought that being a bartender could take me around the world, but now that i know that ...

- i went dancing after work on saturday night with the glengarry crew. they left the following morning, so this was a sort of goodbye party from me to them that i never told them about. i didn't know that the golden compass was set there; that certainly is magical and i am excited to see what's in store there.

- we get our house on friday pending my ability to get to the office and file the paper work. having a bed of my own that i don't have to move out of every few days will mean the world to me. elliott is looking forward to spreading his stuff out all over the room. him and i have decided to bite the bullet and take the single rooms because they'll be cheaper.

- since i've added the clustrmap to the side bar there have been 268 hits to salutmaman from four different countries, with over a hundred of those from southwestern ontario. thanks for tuning in, i only hope i can keep you entertained.