anaem medical for carte de sejours

sorry to tell you but it may make you feel like cattle. first i was rushed into a room for weight and eye exams. later disrobed from the waist up for a chest x-ray. then i had to meet with a doctor. the bad news...at 5'7" and 165lbs i was told to lose 25 lbs. i'm not sure i see where the 25 pounds will come from...but i will continue on my path of slimming down. the good news....i'm healthy. more good news...you will probably be reminded that there are free preservatifs (condoms) available. ahem!

persistence pays off.

sometimes you just have to persist. I had a vonage account for several years which I LOVED. Our relationship soured when i chose to move to another continent. For five months ...well actually about six months I tried to terminate my service. I tried to stop billing by AMEX....and I tried to email, write and call Vonage. It was really annoying. I finally submitted a complaint via the Better Business Bureau. Finally just now I received an email indicated my account was (finally) terminated that I refund was being issued. Oddly the song, "White Flag" by Dido was playing...when I got the email. I thought it was funny....persistence.

Thank you vonage for righting a wrong. I respect that.

at least someone understands - and Thank You Egypt

A direct quote from an article on CNN.com - John Ging, head of the United Nations Relief and Work Agency in Gaza, called the exodus "the desperate acts of a desperate people." http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/23/israel.gaza/index.html


hallelujah! Someone understands! They're not throwing rocks and making rockets because of their nature....they've been repressed, depressed, alienated ... for generations.

Palestine

Only a newspaper under the thumb of the Israeli Embassy's PR machine could print a story in which they say the only time that Palestine is on the front page is for violent acts and that the PR machine known as Hamas has outfoxed the Israeli's.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1705816,00.html?xid=feed-cnn-world

No, this is not the time to debate the name "Palestine". That said, the truth is that Israel keeps finding excuses to; build around Palestinians - suffocating them, refuse issue of building certificates and tearing down houses that are built without - all the while with many many still living in UN Refugee Camps, and (best of all) they continue their illegal occupation.

The truth is that the Palestinians are not an innately violent people. And the Israelis are not so peaceful. As long as Israel occupies land siezed in 1967 I will consider them the agressor. The state of Israel began as an idea, then a de facto state, then a torturer.

I say torturer because the "state" of Israel continues to suffocate the lives of Palestinians and all the while accuse them of being violent. Find me an intelligent person that wouldn't start to heat up and boil over when their everyday life was disrupted on many levels by a trumped-up de facto state created and sustained by funding of foreign countries...that stifles your economy, blocks your travel to employment and education, restricts water...while next door to you, in their de facto state....your Israeli neighbors have swimming pools, lots of drinking water, no travel restrictions.....ability to travel within their own de facto state and well...the world!

I don't think it is reasonable to expect an entire supressed people to live next door to such wealth and remain quiet and completely peaceful. Really! People in a poorer Los Angeles downtown city area were OUTRAGED by the lavish building of Our Lady of Angeles Cathedral adjancent to abject poverty. It's not surprising. If that causes such uproar....imagine the other.

And why oh why does America continue to fund Israel? You could say that since the US supplies weaponry and funding to Israel, that perhaps they should bow down to Lebanon and help build what Israel destroyed last year. Hey why not? If it wasn't for such funding by the US Israel would not be able to stand on its own two feet.

And here is my disclaimer: Anyone who starts thinking I am anti-semetic must stop that drama immediately. I am merely opposed to the philosophy of giving a safe haven to one people and as a result displacing others. Futhermore, those given the safe haven became the aggressors themselves. Well at least their government did. But it was more important that they had a country after all.
K

anti american

I'm a Canadian living in Paris. I'm frustrated to share with you that I occassionally experience anti-americanism. I have even been accused of lying about my nationality.

For example, on Sunday I was walking along Rue Mouffetard. I was a NIKE posterboard...but I was out getting exercise and in the land of Liberté why should this be a problem? New digital camera in hand I was trying to get some pics to send to friends living vicariously though my abroad experience.

A Frenchman rammed into the back of my leg with his Velo (bike) and started to chastise me for walking along the middle of the narrow road. I quipped that the road is closed on weekends for pedestrians and I, like everyone, had the right to walk along the road. There was plenty of room for him to pass. He began berating me for being American and shouting about how he detests Americans. So what....he saw the sporty attire and camera and chose me as his target? Believe me, he is NOT the typical Frenchman. He's just an asshole. But I was shocked that he accused me of lying about being Canadian. Surprised he pushed me again. Surprised, as a woman, that he was surprised when I rightfully pushed him back.

Whether I am American, Canadian or North American is not the point. I was doing nothing wrong.

If anything I can tell you that my experience abroad has made me think a lot about the duty of citizens. There are many people around the world who chastise Americans abroad because of their discontentment with the American government.

Living in the US during 9/11 I became very curious about politics. I chose to complete my degree with a minors in political science and philosophy and a heavy emphasis on law. I berate the US Supreme Court for their judicial activism. I berate the government of such a strong country for allowing education to be so expensive many are ignornat of their own country's foreign policies. You see, it's not that Americans are ignorant or oblivious. Their own education system fails them. I took on a heavy burden of student loan debt because I wanted to be educated. Not everyone sees the possibilities. Not everyone has the opportunity to do what I did.

Nevertheless, freedom of speech and liberty to do not seem to entitle one to push me in the street because of their hatred of another country's policies. Talk about predjudice. I took on great studies, posed many questions... I learned to study the Constitution. I leared to write legal briefs. I learned to think philosophically. I learned to be open to different arguments against my beliefs and gut feelings.

And that said. I worked tooth and nail to move to France. This was a personal choice. For a long time, I studied the language, the culture, the ins and outs of daily living. And I made a choice to fork out a huge amount of savings to pay the tuition to complete a Masters degree in France. I plan on staying here.

To push a woman in the street because of preconceived notions is proof that a 40 something man is still in his infancy. Had I been more proficient in my language skills I would have told him that my grandfather spent 4 years in France during WWII away from a newly wedded wife to fight for freedom on the continent of Europe. My birthfather's ancestry is French. Since childhood I have wanted to live here.

I guess he is nothing but living proof that ignorance exists in all lands. And the only way to counter that ignorance is to build tolerance .... through education. And perhaps the occassional trip the doctor for a psych eval isn't out of the question for some.

But finally, when I recant such stories, in French, to my French friends.....they are embarassed and angered AND unsupportive of such irrational behaviors of their own countrymen.

Just as I am still embarassed and angered over the Canadian who attempted to charge me after Christmas for my invitation.

So remember.....the moral of the story: regardless of race, national origin, religion...etc....there are assholes and ignorant people everywhere. Do not you yourself generalize.

bisous!

K

Citi and other insitutions...no shock

In 2002 I began working for Wells Fargo Bank. I was constantly being pressured to source new clients for home equity and mortgages. I found that many of the consumers were taking on a dangerous amount of debt and insisted on consulting with them on the entirety of the papers they were signing. I was constantly in trouble with my manager "Mark" for not sourcing more clients.

I moved on to Citi as a Business Banking Officer early in 2004. The trend continued even in a business focused role. There was a lot of pressure to lend to anyone who could possibly meet the guidelines.

At the time, with a credit score over 730 I was offered a mortgage of half a million with a salary of only $40k.

I despise the fed for any bailout notions. I'm sure there were lots of people like me who could've made more commission had we been willing to ignore the obvious. People were buying more than they could afford and borrowing on 2nd mortgages beyond their means.

I was written up, I was given warnings, my job was threatened. But had more people acted with the common sense and professionalism that I did....the problem would never have become so great. Maybe someone should give me a bonus check for not having booked more risky loans. This is capitalism run a-muck. And even though i did my job - the fed is using my tax dollars to relieve the mistakes of idiots, selfish thieves?????

Please.

K

christmas contined...

so i got a text message that said, "hi I hope you are well. we never got to settle with you for xmas dinner. we settled with our mutual friend. please give us the 30 euros you owe us for dinner. thanks see you."

i answered so unpolitely, "well i hope you use the 30 euros for a book on ettiquette."

really? you invite me to dinner and bill me?

should I deduct the costs for the wine i brought .....not knowing i was being billed for dinner? should I deduct costs for cleaning up? should I deduct costs for the ignorant crap i had to endure? should i deduct for not reporting this clique's illegal purchasing of counterfeit bags in france?

oh wait...by the by....who the hell in their right mind would spend 180 euros for a six person fondue dinner?????? was there dom and i missed it?