Reunited and It Feels So Good

I have woken up with the refrain from that song stuck in my head every single day because it's exactly how I feel. Jason has been here for just over a week and life has been awesome. We still have a bunch of work to do to get fully established here: the housing situation is still not resolved and we're still in this tiny dorm room. Jason still does not have a bank card or a cell phone. I still have no plan for the fall. But somehow it seems so much more manageable with him here. It's strange because now I have twice as much to do since I am taking on the administrative duties for the both of us, but it seems much less stressful because I enjoy helping him out.

When he got here last Tuesday, I took Jason on a walking tour of the city. He thought it was really beautiful and after seeing Centre Ville, he understood why I was in such a hurry to leave Mérignac. It's not that bad living out in the suburbs, but if you could be living downtown, in a way better apartment for not that much more money, it doesn't really make sense to stay out here.

We stopped at Auchan on the way back from our tour and picked up some stuff for a nice dinner. Jason made me magret du canard with duck fat fries and roasted brussel sprouts. I thought I was doing well in the kitchen and then I remember that Jason really knows what he's doing and I am happy to reclaim my place as sous-chef. Some day soon we'll have a real kitchen again and then it's gonna be on like donkey Kong.

We'll be all making toast... LIKE A BOSS

Wednesday was a nice chill day in the house, listening to music and watching movies on Netflix thanks to AirVPN. Another six hours of class toute seule on Thursday so poor Jason was home alone all day but we made up for it by going out for dinner at Parlement des Graves, right off of Ste Catherine. Jason's boss recommended it and it certainly did not disappoint. I explained that this was our first real French meal together, and our server really took the time to pair each course with a good wine and was super attentive. It was a very bordelais meal and I was very satisfied. We stopped next door for a beer and then wandered around before grabbing a night cap on our way home. It's pretty much how we'd spend a nice evening back home except this time with 100% more French!

We slept in on Friday and went to Jason's new lab in the afternoon. Amidst a sea of technical difficulties, it took us a while to find the right building. Technology is only cool when it works. But it was nice seeing the new place and it sounds like it's a pretty ideal situation for Jason. We met a bunch of his co-workers, including this guy Guillaume who has new best friend material written all over him. I was there with some ulterior motives and lamented about our housing situation to anyone who would listen, hoping someone would take pity on us and offer to be our "garant." They all agreed that it seems a bit excessive for this woman to ask for so many documents from us and from a "garant" and they advised that we look elsewhere. It's obnoxious because I keep getting so many conflicting messages about what is normal and expected and what's not, but I will leave the gory details for a post about finding housing once I get it all figured out.

We went to Ed's place in the country on Saturday to hang out and it was a stellar day. It was sunny and warm so we grilled out and it was really fun. His wife and kids are really sweet, too. Good company + good weather + good food = good times, if you ask me. We ended up staying until 11 or so, and I felt kind of bad because Ed had to drive us back to the city in the middle of the night. If they didn't live so far or we had a car of our own, we might hang out there more often.

We wanted to go to the Capucins market on Sunday but we got home so late that we ended up sleeping a little later than anticipated and it didn't happen. Laundry day it is. I was out of socks and underwear anyway. There was also talk of meeting up with Hunter for dinner but Jason wasn't feeling so great so it was probably for the best that he never called me back.

This week it's back to reality. Jason started work on Monday and I am back to working my regular hours. We're going on a field trip tomorrow morning and then I have a test in the afternoon. Ashley and Guillaume have invited us for dinner tomorrow, which should be nice. Friday will be an errands day, like always, but then it's the weekend and I am very much looking forward to spending it with my man.

It's pretty amazing what one really awesome person can do for your mood, isn't it? LOVE IS THE BEST.