Paris in the early days

Le printemps est arrivé: il fait très beau aujourd’hui et je n’ai pas envie de bosser. Mais, c’est comme ça, il faut travailler tous les jours, et j’en ai marre. J’ai raté la date limite d’ECCV (les résultats n’étaient pas encore assez bons mais je pense qu’on n’est pas loin) et donc on va essayer pour BMVC, à la fin avril. Pendant ce temps, il y a beaucoup de choses qui me rendent heureuse. Frédo est ici jusqu’à la fin août et il est en train de chercher un appartement qui soit bien pour les dîners et bien pour l’Oiseau. Je vais jouer avec YAKA à Paganello, à la coupe féminine, à Bruges, à Amsterdam, et à PRAGUE. Ma mère va me rendre visite très bientôt et on va voyager dans le sud, puis rendre visite à ma tante et mes cousins à Lyon. Et juste après la date limite de BMVC, je vais aller en Caroline du Nord avec Frédo et voir pas mal de mes amis au mariage de Su*Wu.

I was going to write this in French but I’m too tired. Two and half weeks to ECCV and it’s really nothing but work from here on out. So many disconnected thoughts…really looking forward to the latter part of March, all of April, and the long Parisian summer. Spring has begun arriving here, florists tempting me with tulip bulbs that Annemarie rightly points out are not likely to survive another cold freeze; and indeed, we ran together in bright sunshine on Saturday, and Sunday a bitter wind blew through the city and threatened to rip my flower boxes clear off the railing.

I bought peach blossoms from the very nice woman downstairs (that is, downstairs at work), who informed me that they come from Italy. Bought a vase-like device to put them in at Carrefour and brought them home. Put water in the vase and was in the midst of cutting the stems when Bird knocked it over, the better to lap up fresh water. Needless to say, he has performed this trick multiple times since, even though I no longer bother putting water in the vase. Sigh. They are pretty though, aren’t they? And he’s a handsome creature despite his evilness.

New mix for you, what I’ve been listening to lately, mainly lots of new music. Hot Chip just recently put out a great album, and I’ve been loving Mumford and Sons. Sort of cheesy lyrics but so honestly sung. The Yeasayer song is also quite addictive. Charlotte Gainsbourg is super famous here, and her album was well-received in the US. The first song is a duet with Beck. She’s the daughter of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, who duet on “Je t’aime…moi non plus”, which I had to include for completeness. Joanna Newsom is not an artist I’ve loved in the past, mainly because her voice is so weird, but I like this song quite a bit. The Elliott Smith song was in Up in the Air, a reminder of how much I love him.

Finally, Sia…well, if you’ve got that tight feeling in your chest, like you just have to cry but can’t, listen to this song and I guarantee release. Beautiful backing track to both the series finale of Six Feet Under and the best of Post Secret (which I came upon via so I saw this thing, shameless plug for a blog I contribute to). Enjoy!

1. Your Hands (Together) – The New Pornographers
2. I Feel Better – Hot Chip
3. White Blank Page – Mumford & Sons
4. Heaven Can Wait – Charlotte Gainsbourg
5. Madder Red – Yeasayer
6. Airplanes – Local Natives
7. Odessa – Caribou
8. Little Lion Man – Mumford & Sons
9. In the End – Charlotte Gainsbourg
10. Waves – Holly Miranda
11. Breathe Me – Sia
12. Angel In the Snow – Elliott Smith
13. Here Comes the Sun Again – M. Ward
14. Good Intentions Paving Company – Joanna Newsom
15. Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus – Serge Gainsbourg

Frédo était ici (par hasard, pour le jour Saint Valentin). Il a pris beaucoup de photos flatteuses de moi. On a déjeuné à la Grande Mosquée de Paris, qui est très jolie. Il va rentrer juste après la date limite pour ECCV (très pratique!)

Mon programme est vraiment plein. Je bosse, je vais à les entraînements physiques de Yaka, j´appelle aux Etats-Unis, je dors, mon chat me mord car je ne suis jamais chez moi. Après la date limite, c´est encore pire; presque tous les week-ends sont chargés. En avril, je vais aller à Paganello avec Yaka le premier week-end; ma mère vient le deuxième et on va aller au sud; il y a un stage avec Yaka à Paris le troisième; et au fin, on va jouer la coupe féminine. Le mois du mai commence avec un tournoi à Bruges, et puis je vais voyager aux Etats-Unis pour le mariage de mon amie Su*Wu (et pour le frisbee sur la plage à la Caroline du Nord). J´aimerais que je puisse aller dans toute la France les week-ends suivants, mais on verra.

Et il y a beaucoup choses à faire. Il ne reste pas beaucoup de temps avec Annemarie, donc on va déjeuner ensemble à un bon resto toutes les semaines. On peut-être prendrait un cours de cuisine ou un cours d’œnologie. Je voudrais faire du ski; j´aimerais rendre une visite à mes cousins à Lyon et à Dijon. Oui, ma vie est dure.

Last Saturday I went up to Senlis to visit Elisabeth and Witold, friends of Dad, and we all went to see Château de Pierrefonds. It really beautifully dominates the landscape – it’s on a very high point, and it’s enormous. Originally built in the 12th century, it was completely gutted by fire during the time of Louis XIII, in one of those endless intra-aristocratic skirmishes that pretty much define a millenium of French history. (Incidentally, it is around this time that Les Trois Mousquetaires is set, which I have yet to finish; not to mention Proust, recommended by Witold’s son. In both cases I am 3/4 of the way done and have been for months. Though, to be fair, with the Proust I am 3/4 through the book I own, which is volumes 1-3 and not even half of the complete work. Instead I have finished both The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (excellent) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (good, though too violent for my taste) and I am making steady progress on Au bonheur des ogres.)

Anyway, the castle was redone by Napoleon III about 150 years ago, and it’s lovely, though a bit Disney-fied for my taste. I’m looking forward to seeing more châteaus this spring and summer. Suggestions welcome. Otherwise it’s work, frisbee, sleep for me until the ECCV deadline March 17.

Some pictures:

I’m old.

Not in any global sense, of course. I am not old enough to be President of the United States. I am not as old as my mother was when she had me (although she’d had her first child by now). I still get carded on occasion, which I consider quite a compliment.

But this may be my last season of elite women’s ultimate.

I’ve been extremely lucky in that I’ve never had a serious injury in 12 years of high level play. This in spite of the fact that I am less mindful of my body’s condition than others – I’m very bad about stretching, I hate warmups, and I hate running in general so each winter I allow myself to get thoroughly out of shape. Over the past three years, what with going through a hard breakup, writing my dissertation, and moving to France, I’ve found myself in the worst shape of my life. (I think the low point was February 2009.)

And now, at 30, getting in shape and retaining it has become so much harder. I am quite measurably slower, in both endurance speed and quickness. Luckily our team has already begun the process of training for Prague, with nothing but track workouts twice a week (i.e., no frisbee) for the first two months of the year. This is already helping, of course. And I’m pretty excited to actually be in shape for Yaka – they’ve never seen me play anywhere near as well as I can. My play makes a difference, too, with this team, more so than with Viva, because the team is smaller and my role is bigger. I am on the field all the time; it’s like college all over again, except I don’t have to captain. It’s really exciting and fun.

But it’s beginning to feel like the end. Like the competitive drive within me has died a little, or been replaced by my career. Like the other things I get from frisbee – camaraderie, an athletic outlet, the reward of hard work – I can find in other venues, like book club, soccer, dinners with friends, my lab. Frisbee is a kind of obsession, and I don’t think I really noticed that when I myself was fully obsessed. Track workouts are harder and harder. Practices take up a good chunk of time. Tournaments pepper the summer and fall weekends, making it difficult to embark on any long term project, or even to spend a lot of time with people who don’t play frisbee. Travelling is expensive and leaves less room for pleasure trips.

I love the sport still. And I know this is the time of year when everyone over a certain age, even Brett, starts talking about retirement. Talk to me mid-season, or at Prague, and you may well hear a different story.

But my playing years are numbered. Hard to envision a time when ultimate won’t be central to my existence. Hard, but no longer unimaginable.