This was my first full week at work without Leigh here to take care of me. In the simplest terms things went pretty well- I ate every day, I didn't injure myself with a kitchen knife or set fire to anything, I made it to work every day and kept all of my appointments. I even ran a few errands that needed taking care of and....drum roll please.... I got paid! Woohoo! It's amazing what waking up to a direct deposit will do for one's mood.
Speaking of moods, this has been a tough week. Every day that I didn't have to work I had to struggle to get out of bed and do something. The days I did have to work I was curt with my students and sometimes a bit overly assertive with my colleagues and superiors. Every little thing pissed me off and I had no trouble telling people about it. I think I'm having a serious mood issue right now and I don't know what the cause may be or, subsequently, how to address it. It would be too easy to say I'm just adjusting to not having Leigh around anymore, but we have spent extended periods of time apart in the past. Our relationship has weathered this storm before and we are fairly accustomed to it, so I don't actually think that is the problem. At this point I just keep hoping the funky mood will pass.
On Wednesday afternoon I managed to get myself dressed and showered and then got a haircut. The haircut is not good, really not good, but it is shorter so I no longer resemble my 14 year old male students quite so strongly (the floppy short haircuts are really hip here in Cote d'Azur, so I try to avoid letting my hair grow to the "floppy" stage). I'm pretty annoyed that I spent 20 euros to let a middle aged woman hack away at my hair with her clippers. Please note that she only brought out the actual scissors to trim 5 little hairs around me ears. The rest of the haircut, including the finer points that make a haircut look decent, was done entirely with clippers and an old comb to guard my head. I haven't been this disappointed with a haircut since I was 7 and the hair dresser chopped my hair off completely without asking me what I wanted.
Hair aside, I also had my first private tutoring session with a student at the lycee. For a first pupil I couldn't be more fortunate. She is both smart and hardworking and her problems are mostly strategic and lack of self-confidence in her writing. I already have so many plans to help her prepare for her next exams. I hope her grades improve greatly in the next few weeks so 1) she can feel better about her grade and 2) I can keep my tutoring gig. I might even be picking up a second pupil, a young lady who wants to attend my lycee next year but needs help preparing for the English section placement exam. I hope that works out too because I have met her already and she is very motivated and has great potential.
In other work news, I have tossed my hat in the ring to be considered to teach during the winter holiday for a few days. Not sure if that will turn into anything, but it would be great to have the extra work to keep me busy since I'm not traveling as much. If I don't get that position, or if it doesn't require me to work every day, I might plan a trip to Arles for an overnight. Who knows?
You may notice another entry in the "Coming Soon" sidebar- I bought my ticket to see the Cranberries play a live show in Marseille on March 14. It was literally the first thing I did once I noticed I had been paid and I started feeling a little bit better right away. I don't know if I'm addicted to spending money or if I'm addicted to having something awesome to look forward to, but either way it did the trick. At this point I have no more than two weeks to wait between events and activities. This may seem excessive, but I'm currently battling some serious homesickness and require a lot of sensory stimulation/distraction to continue enjoying my time here. If I just hung around my apartment all the time I would feel like I was wasting these months. I could hang around my apartment in the US earning a shitty wage much easier than doing so in France, so I might as well capitalize on being in France, right?
Right.
What makes the concert even better is that my dad is on Facebook now and he saw that I was attending the concert soon after my birthday, so he said he'd cover the cost of the ticket! This was completely unexpected and a big deal because the ticket equals what I would normally spend on groceries in two weeks. I had budgeted for the ticket and the train fare and even found someone to host me for free overnight. By covering the [rather pricey] concert ticket my dad has freed up a good deal of spending money for me this month, so his generosity has bought me not only a concert ticket but also some peace of mind and relaxation as well. Thanks Dad!
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