getting chilly

Chilly winds, falling leaves, dark mornings, wool coats, daily cups of hot tea.
It's getting cold in Lyon...


Getting cold means less frequent trips outside of the apartment. It actually took a lot of effort and self-motivation to get myself out of my warm bed, explore a little bit of Vieux Lyon with my roommate and a friend, a quick trip to Virgin Megastore, and an attempt to study for upcoming midterms at a fast-food place. Finding a place to study took all day. We didn't want to stay indoors in the apartment, but we also didn't want to study at the park because it was really chilly, so we went from cafe to cafe hoping to see an appropriate place to bust out our books, but every place was either closed, getting ready to close, busy, or not appropriate for studying. So at the end of the day, we went to an indoor mall and found the only place with tables that was open: Quick Q. It's equivalent to a McDonald's meets a Dairy Queen. The environment was definitely not something like Border's or Barnes & Nobles, but it was do-able. I still didn't get much accomplished because I was with friends, but I am hoping to squeeze in a few chapters of reading before I sleep. It's already 3 am and there is an all-day trip to the Beaujolais (wine-producing region: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaujolais) tomorrow...so we'll see how much I actually get done. One of my goals that I set before I came here was to manage my time more wisely. Most of my time has been distributed into settling in and getting comfortable with my environment (people and places), and the rest of my time was put into keeping in touch with my family and friends back at home, and getting things done for my next co-op. I do admit; it's tough trying to stay in touch with everyone you want to keep in touch with. I have to push time aside to make phone calls, write postcards, and even to write Facebook messages. There aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do! But I know that if I was to be given more hours in a day, I wouldn't take advantage of it. I would merely waste it on sleeping or eating. A goal I am setting for myself starting...NOW is to be more punctual. The French time is rubbing off on me and I'm being more lenient with commitments that I need to attend to. If it wasn't for my roommate, Claire, I probably wouldn't have been to half as many 8 am classes as I went to. Thank goodness for her. All my friends back at home know me as a bear when I go to sleep. Nothing can wake me up - not even an earthquake (this has been proven true after we experienced a small tremor years ago). But turning back from my little tangent, I would like to commit myself to a more punctual and organized lifestyle. Time management is key anywhere and everywhere. In school, at work, with friends, meetings, etc. Wish me "bonne chance."