Old years night (tout en anglais)

Cirque Bouglione

Someone is excited hehe

      

Tigers and big cat turns in general are impressive in my opinion, but I can't not think that these savage animals live in cages, and are trained, maybe beaten. We can tell that they are almost crazy, like something goes wrong with them. Could you imagine such a life?
You sleep and live in a very small box, when your specie is used to big spaces, plants, nature, running, hunting. You get orders and lashes to do things that you absolutely do not understand but which another type of Beings seem to enjoy, like jumping from a bench to another one, turning around yourself, raising a leg... why? and sometimes, you do the same thing, but in a bigger cage, in the dark, with color lights, and hundreds of other Beings, similar to the ones who train you are watching you, and making sometimes a strange noise all at the same time, probably with their hands...

I'm sorry, it may be my human feelings, empathy, compassion but I find they eyes sad.

I enjoyed this show (see below). Diabolo in french, not sure about the english.
The guy failed his turn at least 4 times, but he kept trying until he succeeded.
In french we say : " Au Cirque, quand on rate, on recommence" ( " in Circus, when you fail, you start agin" ). I like this idea, for life in general by the way.
And in such a perfect show, I think we usually remember more the ones that had a little glitch and showed determination and passion at fixing it, rather than the perfect ones.
And I liked the light scenography.

      

OK, the show ended, the race starts.

Organizing old year's night was a real challenge.

I personally wanted to enjoy myself, ok but my concerns were really more complicated than that.
I had my Barbadian love to impress !!! No, but seriously, I wanted him to have a blast as well. Because I want him to be happy in life lol, because he paid an expansive flight ticket to come, so I wanted it to be worth it, and because I want him to come back to France sometimes, so showing him how AMAZING France is was THE problematic of this vacation.

When he asked me somes weeks ago what I wanted for my birthday, I said, as people usually answer I guess :" I don't know". Then I thought of it, I saw nothing that could make me happier that him coming to France with me. But... naahhh it was crazy.. I couldn't tell him that. He would have found it cute maybe but just too much and not reasonable at all.
I still decided to tell him, but more as a dream, not something I really expected to happen , just some idealistic idea I found sweet to share.

He said : " Yes, ok, I can come"
...
Wh..wh..a.. wha.. whaaatttttt???
Someone pinches me please !!

The following days he had to sort things out to see if he could make it, but I still didn't believe he said Yes, and he was actually starting to organise the trip.
That was the most beautiful gift I could have wished, ever !
So I really wanted to organise the best vacation possible for him.
Old year's night was an important part of it.

So, the ingredients needed for a nice time were obviously: nice place, nice atmosphere, nice people, and people who could speak english.
You will have understood that after the flight tickets, we both were pretty broke. So all these nice stuff just mentioned for cheap !
- Big parties for Old year's are extremely expansive, like nothing under 75 euros, and for what in concrete terms?
A buffet that is ruined in the first 30minutes anyway, champagne, and breakfast if you stay after 6am, yes you may get some industrial frozen pastries.
But, the beauty of a Parisian prestigious night Club has is seducing aspects and no language is required.
- An appartment lime in Paris would be a typical parisian experience, I got some nice friends, really fun and speaking english. But all of them are chain smokers and I've been sick of spending time with tens of them if tiny flats. So.... Plus they haven't answered any of my Old Year's night requests. I want Rohan to have fun yes but if possible with people I care about and who care about me as well. You see how intricate is the problematic?
- A restaurant, on a boat in Paris? Budget problem.
- A simple bar? friends choice problem.
- By my parents, with my uncles for example, they can speak english. But they certainly have plans already and I'm not sure it would be the funnest for Rohan.
I was initially thinking of doing something with my parents as well, because the purpose of this time in France is them, my family.
But they are more a "couche tot" ("sleep early") type and they don't feel comfortable enough with english to hold a conversation without feeling embarassed. So...
- By a friend's house? but which kind?
- With who now? As I said, I want a quality time, I'm in France twice a year, I don't want to waste time not seeing my really loved ones. Shirley is working. Cecile Sc has plans. Fabien has plans. Stephane isn't sure.
Stephanie had plans, but they seem to be canceled now. Livio is having a party, but would Stephanie enjoy it? I want her to have a good time too. Caroline !! But she needs an answer quite quick to organise something else with other friends if needed, which I understand. But I haven't decided yet what I will do, and I can't keep her waiting on my plan if it's to tell her at then end : sorry, i'm staying with my family. Same thing for Cecile Sa & Alan.

Can you feel the pressure?

Oh this message from Michael !! Him and his friends were with me in High School, I haven't seen them almost since then. A party at his house, in St Germain-lès-Corbeil. With a theme. We have to bring food and drinks, sounds fair.
Ok !! Here is the idea: Going by Michael first, and then Livio. With Steph and Caro. We can adjust how long we want to spend in each.
It would be half-half, 2 drastically different types of parties. A big house, wealthy people, mostly white french people, smoking and drinking a lot, while liming or having fun crazily, listening to international pop music. And a smaller place, in what people would call a " ghetto", mostly black with different origins people, dancing on afro-caribbean tunes. He lives very close to my parents house, Livio is one of the sweetest friends I have, always there to support and laugh.

I think I have it !!! My plan !! Everybody would be pleased, have fun, and experience things that change from what they are used to. And Rohan would see 2 different aspects of my France. And I would be with people I really want to be with.
ALLEEELUUIIAAAA !!

So, after leaving the Circus, as I was saying: the race !
We have to:
- get home (Ris-Orangis from Paris, 3e.)
- get ready for the parties ( yes, "ies")
- go to pick Caroline up in Juvisy
- Stephanie in Evry
- be at the 1st place in St Germain, before 12.
If you have no idea what those places are, it's like going from Animal Flower Cave to.... Miami Beach, then back to St lucy, then and back to Miami. Knowing that we don't know exaclty where are the actual meeting places. In 2 hours. Sounds possible to you?
Let's see if I made it !

We were late to pick Stephanie up. We got lost in Juvisy. Poor Caroline had to wait for us alone in the dark outside this scary suburb train station...
I was driving crazy, taking the risk to traumatize Rohan, I ran a stoplight... We got Caro !
We have 23 minutes to get St Germain before 12.
The last thing I want is my friends to spend the "3...2...1... Bonne Année !" in a car, plus, it's what was my "Happy New Year" last year, in a car.
The police can't arrest people for speed excess at a quarter to 12 on december 31st.
11:53, we are in Michael's Gap. Which house is it??
11:58, we found it !!!! No where to park... aaaaaAAAHAhaahAHhhHHHHHHH

Let's park badly, just run inside, scream Bonne Année and take care of the car afterwards.
2...1... BOOOONNNNEEE AANNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!
We did it !!!!!!!!!!!!
Ouf.... I can breath... I can't believe I made it, I can relax now and have fun.

     

We had special party mates that night.
Did you spot Bob the Sponge and Mona Lisa in those pics?