9/7/11
So since I’d been here I sort of avoided tourist attractions since I wanted to get to know the real Paris above all and I have the whole damn year to see all the monuments. So I’d been here for a week and a half and not made an effort to see the Eiffel tower or Notre Dame or anything too famous up close and personal…we’re taking it slow, so we don’t burn out too fast too hot, you dig? But I’ve been accidentally stumbling upon national monuments when I go jogging, and it’s fucking amazing. I choose a random metro stop that looks like a good location for running since it’s by the river, and voila, there’s the Notre Dame! And the next time I went jogging I saw the Eiffel Tower closer…so I jogged all the way from Le Marais, to it, as if I were chasing a rainbow for some leprechaun gold. It was so damn far, it took me about an hour to get there, and another hour back, and then add a 30 minute metro ride both ways [it’s the best way to kill a night in Paris, I think] …I really had to pee on my way there and I’m afraid of people not letting me use their bathrooms in restaurants, especially because I was in my jogging gear and obviously not going to sit down and pay for a meal…Anyways I got to the Eiffel tower and peed in their public bathrooms that smell surprisingly not offensive. There was a strong scent of French vanilla with only subtle undertones of turd. I think they have to make it smell so good because they have like 5 people working in those bathrooms! They have a little desk in there right next to where people are peeing to make sure there’s no funny business [hahahah]. At any rate I was actually much more impressed by the Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur than the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is more of a symbol to me an an impressive beautiful object, it’s all metal and not too detailed…eh. It’s also not that old so I’m not completely shocked and awed by a feat of architecture made in 1900. Beautiful, impressive, yeah, but other things in Paris are too, a lot more so.
Another thing, I love/hate the metro. This whole public transit on such a big thing just blows my mind!...bahaha. If you all didn’t know me my first year at UNM I was obsessed with talking about public transportation because I was pissed off at driving to school every day and wasting gas and decided to throw myself into trying to save the environment rather than deal with my emotional breakdown over Andrew…so much more productive! I even had meetings with school associations and the congressmen’s people. So, I love the metro in this sense. I also love people watching on the metro. People watching is a great hobby of mine, but I have to be extra stealthy about it here because everyone’s always saying you’ll get in trouble if people catch you staring [like in Paris I Love You]. So, I do my best but I can’t help it there are so many interesting people on the metro! And the city seems like it’s getting smaller and smaller and more like home each time I take it and don’t get nervous that I’ll get lost. It also gets smaller and more like home when I see people that I’ve seen before on the metro around. Like the other day I saw these giant trannies who looked like the guinea pigs of the pioneers of silicone injection…but I guess these ladymen are hard to miss. Yes, many interesting people, on the next train ride there was a girl who looked like she was on meth and she stuck her head out of the window of the metro—which is a very awkward thing to do—and then she started rubbing her boobs right in front of me…very awkward. The beautiful thing is how everyone coexists in this environment together for these few minutes of our lives. The ugly thing is how damn hot it gets and stinky it can be depending on who’s in the car you’re in.
9/8/11
Don’t have much to say about fashion night. I didn’t stick around for too long. I guess I had anticipated more. There were a shit load of really well dressed people, as one could expect; watching them was actually pretty entertaining. The Nina Ricci ‘party’ was really quite boring. There was flowing champagne and everyone was dressed on point but nobody looked like they were having fun. The most fun thing about the party was being able to be on the other side of the velvet rope and laughing at the shit load of people trying to get into this lame ass party. So we [Natasha and Vanessa the epically striking halfrican goddesses] left since we couldn’t get into Lanvin or Yeves Saint Laurent and Dior closed their doors. SALOPES. So we went back to Belleville where things are more alive…we stopped at Mac Donald’s WEIRD, I broke my vow on never eating MacDo since all the Parisians were doing it and…when in Rome/Paris do as the Romans do. A fucking Royale Meal is like 7/9 euros REALLY?? MacDo’s got much better PR in France, maybe all the French didn’t see or were not affected by Super Size Me. Eh. Whatever.
9/10/ 11
Today turned out to be one of those rare days that truly makes you feel alive and party of something magical, and it may sound like gooey doe eyed fluffy tail Bamby bullshit but it’s true. The way my spirits turned around was so incredibly epic. I woke up today hung-over as a motherfucker with Euros stuck to my face kind of sad. Sad because my night was so not as eventful as I’d wanted it to be, sad because I had nobody to share this [so rare] beautiful sunshiny day in Paris with, sad because my French teacher totally took my confidence down a few levels…so I stayed in bed until about 2’O clock until I started to feel a little too pathetic. Then of course I said to myself,” you can’t fucking lay in bed all day, you’re 20 and in Paris and going to have the time of your life goddamnit.”
So, that’s what I did. I’ve come to realize being alone can be one of the most beautiful things in the human experience. So often do we depend on other people to have a good time, it really is kind of pathetic. Anyway, life can be like going to the movies, yes it’s cool to go with your friends so you don’t feel lonely; but at the same time their commentary and can be disruptive to your enjoyment to the movie and hinder your ability to soak it all in uninfluenced. You have to be alone and concentrate to truly see all the subtle details and appreciate it on a deeper level. [this example is not applicable to American mainstream comedy movies, I feel a little trashy watching them alone]
So I dragged my hung-over ass out of bed and took a shower and got dressed sharp. I didn’t know what I even wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something touristy so I could speak shitty French or English without being embarrassed because French class yesterday made me a little scared of the world surrounding me. So, I chose the Louvre. Best choice I’ve probably made since I’ve been here.
After buying one of those gigantor American starbucks coffees that I love so much and battled with the ticket machine for a few minutes and finished wandering the corridors of the lobby lost and confused as to where the exhibit I wanted to go was…I found what I was looking for: The Greek and Roman and Renaissance art! All those idealized pictures I’ve been shown via slides since I was 8 years old finally made sense. I’ve been making and studying art since forever, but I’d never before appreciated the classics as much as I did today. I was completely floored. Without words, I was so excited I thought I might shit and or piss myself. When they’re projected from every class in the world and you’ve seen them year after year they sort of lose their effect and you can’t even begin to feel their magic until you see them in person. The pure scale and detail of these paintings and sculptures made hundreds of years ago! Jesus Christ. In my head they’re post card sized…the paintings of the French revolution gave me goosebumps with how much emotion and storytelling they could do on this ancient giant canvas. Mon Dieu! The last time I went to a museum I was pissed off I didn’t bring my sketchbook, so this time I brought it and my camera. The other best idea of my life.
So I plop my ass down on the floor in front of the first statue that made me feel something and started drawing. Then I realized I had an entire museum to see [which is impossible in one day] so I started speed drawing, and it was just so rewarding. I would go from statue to statue drawing on the floor [they don’t have benches everywhere]…and then [other] tourists started to watch me, staring over my shoulder as I draw these pictures, and smiling at me….at first it was way too awkward and I couldn’t even concentrate because I usually hate when people watch me draw [it’s like peeing], I kind of felt on display myself because I didn’t see any other people drawing which I thought was strange. But me being me I eventually started to soak in the attention and revel in my little artistic glory. I made it a point to set up my camp by the most viewed piece in the room, then more people look at me being an arteeeeest in the ceeeeety of loooooove. I love it and think it’s hilarious that these people from all over the world probably think I’m a Parisian artist or something.
So this brings me to my next realization; Holy shit I could sell these drawings to them for MONEY!!! WINNING. You always see people on the streets selling exploiting their talents for money, the guy playing the banjo for change, the guy who can walk on glass or lava or whatever at Venice Beach, the prostitute that gives a mean blowjob….I could do that!...not those particular things of course, but exploit the shit out of what baby Jesus gave me because I’m a broke as hell immigrant in one of the most expensive cities in the world. So I pondered this idea for quite some time, and I could probably A) make some decent money even if I only sell 3-5 drawings a day for 10 euro each. Think about it, these people obviously have money because they’re in the Louvre in Paris, they have cash for souvenirs. You know all those bitches wanna buy sunthin too, and why not a real piece of art made in the Louvre by a ‘seemingly Parisian starving artist’ [I may have to dress down for the part or wear a stupid fucking beret for the idiots, wait I would never do that]….so this could be my job! If that sclub over there can make a day’s wage peddling 1 euro water bottles and 5 euro Eiffel Tower key chains what’s to stop this guy from selling some art. NUTHIN. And of course I’ll be discreet as possible so the museum doesn’t kick me out, I’ll sell ‘em outside or whatever. So I’m going to buy a pass for the Louvre and amass a collection of little masterpiece copy sketches by going as much as possible after school, put the drawings in a binder in little plastic sheets with price tags and a schpeil about how I’m a broke college student tryin’ to get by in the big city [really true story]…but again, I’m not going to put all my eggs in one basket but this seems like an especially profitable basket.
This whole idea just sent me into such a state of bliss and for maybe the first time in my life I really identify and truly appreciate my skills. I’ve always been pretty handy with a pencil or brush or camera or what have you, but never considered myself ‘the artist’, just an artsy person because I don’t devote too much time or effort into the pursuit of it since all of my life I’ve been told it will take me nowhere without a business degree. But now that I’m here in the capitol of art with this situation at my disposal: I’m going to get serious. Here’s the plan: draw all of these pieces in the Louvre, and maybe make some fast cash (I can draw a decent picture in under 20 minutes). I’ll get better and better as the weeks go by. [I haven’t taken art history at UNM yet but I’m assuming I’ll pass the shit out of it without going] I’ll take photos of the drawings before I sell them, and maybe have a show in Albuquerque when I get back, and of course I’ll keep the best ones too. I’m also going to be working on a comprehensive photo essay trying to capture the essence of this city and print them all out later and display them along side with the drawings. Probably at Winnings, Satellite, or the Cosmos, and have an art show/ welcome home party.
It’s kind of unfortunate that I’m going to a business school here instead of an art school, after I have this realization, but if I were not going to business school in Paris I would not be able to go to school in Paris at all…so everything works out, I get my minor in International Management for UNM while I’m here and I will learn art history and have art studio on my own time. Everything works out just fine…So that I what I will concentrate on doing while I am in Paris. Now I’m tired. I will post pictures at my earliest convenience….now, time to figure out what kind of shenanigans I can get into tonight.
The ones at the beginning are just recent things from my sketchbook...all the statues were drawn in about 8 minutes. so don't judge how crude it all looks so far.
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