C'est la Vie

I made it to Paris… minus a train ticket, a scarf, my dinner, and two and a half precious hours. I suppose US Airways values all of the money AREVA puts into their company, so they gave me a personal phone call Saturday afternoon to let me know my flight was delayed two hours. Ehh, I have never had any luck when I am flying, so it was to be expected. I met Meghan in the Philadelphia airport (my arch nemesis... Philly, not Meghan :), had a couple beers, and was off to France. I had my window seat that I always request and my flying mate was a French girl who looked to be about 8, but spoke as though she was 15. The first thing she told her father across the aisle was, “She is not French.” I said, “No dear, not even close.” I tried offering her gum and striking a conversation, but all I got was a finger waved in my face… “no, no, no”. After an hour she was asleep, lying on my shoulder, and for some reason it really touched me.

About two hours into the flight, at approximately 1 am EST I thought I was going to lose my cookies. I started sweating and my saliva became extremely thick. I had to wake the poor child up in order to make it to the lavatory, only to have my legs feel like jello and fall to the ground. I sat in the lavatory for about 30 minutes before someone asked me to come out. It happened once more on the flight before I fell asleep until about 6 am EST. I have no idea what came over me… motion sickness? Something I ate? Ehhh….

While in the Charles de Gaulle airport I realized my train ticket for the next morning to Lyon and Le Creusot was on my refrigerator in Lynchburg, VA. I am a pure bred genius. I called the travel agency and they said there was nothing they could do until my local office opened at 8am EST on Monday… 2pm in France and six hours after my train was scheduled to leave. Ugh.

I didn’t let it stop me from hopping into a taxi and taking Paris by storm in the eight hours I had. Let’s see, it went a little something like this…

Arrive
Taxi
Espresso
Hotel Check in
Espresso
Notre Dame
Crepe
Espresso
Louvre
Espresso
Metro
Eiffel
Metro
Sacre-Coeur
Metro
Espresso
Escargot
Wine
Metro
Hotel
Internet
Sleep for 4.5 hours
Espresso
Breakfast (fabulous for continental)
Gare de Lyon
Scarf stolen
Can’t communicate with the billets office to explain I left my ticket… have to buy a new one.
Spend thirty minutes trying to determine which train is mine out of the thirty in front of me.
Get on FIRST CLASS. So nice.

Before I left we had a family weekend with Mags and Josh at the Bobcats game and setting off our rocket we got Josh...

Groove Weld

The weekend came and went faster than seems reasonable, but B and I thoroughly enjoyed our Valentine's Day.

Being the Diva I can be at various moments, I love to be picked up from work. I cannot explain it, I just do. So Billy took me to work and picked me up from work on Friday, and when he picked me up he had a fabulous collage of quotes on a homemade card for me in the glove compartment [he knew I would dive in there once I got in the car to grab my sunglasses]. He also included a smaller version for me to keep in my wallet, as I love to keep little tokens of joy in there. Later he took me to Vinny’s for dinner and we watched 13 Conversations About One Thing together (no good, btw).

Saturday we spent the day running errands, filing taxes, and he had an interview late that afternoon, so I set up a mini scavenger hunt for him. Saturday was a designated "H&B party night", so naturally he couldn't be wasteful and had to finish his beer first.

I took him on an adventure to the XXX store (toys), the gas station (white chocolate), the ABC store (passion fruit vodka, Jose, and Jim) and back home for a cookout with me. After each clue and at each stop, he went in and asked the person working, “Do you have anything for Billy Arrington?” Then the person would reach behind the counter and hand him a little bag of goodies.











It got a little cold outside once the sun went down, so we went inside for our own dance party!

We also went out for the third time in Lynchburg, and actually had a pretty good time. We chatted up a few ladies in the bar, laughed a lot, and went home. Ohh we also decided to turn each other's name into an acronym while we were enjoying the ABC store goodies.

Sunday was pretty lazy. We watched Vicki Christina Barcelona… highly recommend it!

We also received our wedding invitation from Joe and Andrea, and we CANNOT WAIT for the wedding. The night before the wedding we are all going to see Dave Matthews Band at the Verizon Amphitheater. Their beautiful invitation is below...

Why, you ask? HAAAQUET

the better part of what i said
was still in my head
but you thought you understood
how could you
when i had yet
to completely
speak

my mind

I can be so odd sometimes which is why I really love my Boo; not only does he tolerate my oddness… he celebrates it! [ohh, and he is rather odd too]

Anyway the latest in my Quest for Enlightenment & Tolerance [here forth HAAAQUET, pronounced HA-ket, Hannah Audrey Austin Arrington’s Quest for Enlightenment and Tolerance], has landed me in church every Sunday. This Sunday I will be attending the Beluah Baptist, and I will probably visit a different one until something sparks my interest. Billy suggested that we dress as a homeless couple and drink some wine before we go in order to have alcohol on our breath.

“Why,” you ask?

I have no clue either, but I let Billy’s ideas run wild and acknowledge them with a simple “Hmmm, that’s one idea.”

I am also taking piano lessons.

“Why,” you ask?

Yeah, I have no clue about that one either. I bought a keyboard off of Craigslist about a year and a half ago in order to start a band with my roommate, Ashley, who had bought a guitar. Neither of us had ever played either, but it was a good idea, trust me. After Ash taught herself how to play “Hey There Delilah” by Plain White T’s on her guitar and my keyboard was used for late night jam sessions, they have only managed to be useful in collecting dust. Therefore I thought lessons were now in order.

If Billy is anything outside of 100% man-licious, it would be resourceful. Last night we were making buffalo chicken wraps and barbeque chicken wraps for dinner. On the way home from swimming at the Y, I realized we didn’t have any barbeque sauce, so Billy stopped at KFC, ran inside, and returned to the car with about 8 barbeque sauce packets. He is something.



I am probably going to send him on a scavenger hunt to inappropriate places for V-day. I am excited about what he has up his sleeve for me.



Speaking of me...


The Nautilus



Continued Growth : Throughout its life, the Nautilus continually grows, adding new chambers, new dimensions to its life and structure

Adaptability : The Nautilus easily adjusts to extremes of pressure by changing the water and air pressure in its chambers and it can live at immense depths

Durability : The Nautilus has survived and thrived for millions of years in the face of profound changes in the world around it

Distinctiveness : Inside and out, the Nautilus presents an appearance all its own: outside, a creamy white shell and wavy brown lines; inside, a lining of mother-of-pearl

not for naught

It's so much easier to let people be themselves.

I mean, I have a hard enough time trying to make changes in myself. Why would I want to change another person?

I think many people are so accustomed to others wanting changes in them, that they hear it from EVERYone, even when it's not really there.

I don't want you to change. I never did. I love you as you are. You never scared me-- I was fascinated by you! You are the breath that brought me back to life.

Relax. Be yourself. Truly.

Joie de vivre

UPDATE: The [only] other young person in my group will now be going to France with me!

My supervisor came up to me this morning to ask me if I mind traveling to France alone because he was not sure how much help he could really provide since I have been the only person working on this. Since I originally wanted to go alone anyway, I was thrilled, gave him the peace sign and went on with my work. This got me thinking about the other woman and coincidentally young person in my group. She is an exceptional engineer AND she seems like a really cool person (I haven't been able to get to know her because we are both bogged down with work and she lives over an hour away). Anyway, so I approached my supervisor with my thoughts about her accompanying me on the trip, and 8 hours later.... SHE IS GOING WITH ME!

Our hotel appears to be right in the mix of things (just a few kilometers from the Louvre and the Eiffel right on the Seine), so I guess we will just hop on the Metro and see it all in one day.


Ibis Hotel (in Paris):

Our hotel in Le Creusot is in the two pictures below:

My mom will be here in two hours!!! We are going to go out to dinner on the river tonight at the Depot Grill or at this awesome tapas place DISH. Tomorrow we will probably hit the market and do some biking. Tomorrow night I am going to cook Parmigiana-Reggiano Fillet Mignon then we are going to go see a band at Cattle Annie's!!!

Il vaut mieux faire que dire.

We just returned from a fantastic weekend in Charlotte.

Recap...


Friday:


Met up with all of Theta Tau at Wild Wing Café


Went over to Manan and Tim’s for some Cranium


Thought a Grey Goose Celebration would be a good idea.

Saturday:


Decided Grey Goose would no longer be my alcoholic drink of choice.


Went to Maggie’s alumni game at Queen’s (she is freaking good… she amazes me)

Hit up Joe’s Engagement Party… FUN FUN FUN

Watched my first UFC fight and actually enjoyed it – outside of the cauliflower ears

Caught up with Tiff and met her friend Trena

Sunday:

B went to play golf so I worked on my presentation.

Started to bore the shit out of myself with my presentation so I googled The Office and Office Space quotes to make myself feel better

Went to my first formal Pi Gamma chapter Theta Tau meeting.

Presentation went pretty well.

Was very impressed with the leadership (per usual), not so impressed with the chair positions’ effort thus far (per usual).

Gathered Maggie, Billy, and Ice up to take them to Joe’s house for a Superbowl gathering.

Watched the new episode of The Office, gave it a B-.

Overall, I would say we had a great weekend!

In two weeks I head to France, my first time in Europe. My time will be filled with work but I am so excited to be going over there. Originally my manager was going to travel with me in order to coordinate global design meetings with his counterparts while I am performing the testing; however he could not work those out to coincide so my supervisor is traveling with me instead. He probably is one of the best engineers I have ever met – a true problem solver at heart and extremely innovative in doing so. Thus, I am extremely happy that he is going now.

Itinerary

Saturday, February 21st
17:50 Depart CLT for PHI
21:05 Depart PHI for CDG

Sunday, February 22nd
10 :25 Arrive in Paris, France - Charles de Gaulle International Airport
Take RER into Paris
Spend the night in the center of the city at the Ibis Hotel

Monday, February 23rd
TGV to Le Creusot (~ 3 hrs south by car, 1.5 by train)
Pre-testing for Mk-BW product at Technical Facility
Spend the night at the Hotel La Petite Verrerie

Tuesday, February 24th thru Friday, February, 27th
Testing

Saturday, February 28th
TGV to Paris
13:00 CDG to PHI
18:10 PHI to CLT

The last couple days I have spent “researching” (term used VERY loosely… googling would be more appropriate) the country. They are obviously the most energy independent country with almost 90% of their power coming from nuclear; however I was completely unaware of their top-notch healthcare system. Two of my top three policy issues are taken care of in France…. Hmmm, French classes here I come!

On the other side of things, I am a co-dependant mess. Okay, not exactly, but I feel bad leaving Billy in Lynchburg for more than a week while I put my mark in France. He is a strong, strong man, but I feel like I dragged him to Lynchburg and now I am leaving him here. I know it is silly, but I just feel bad. At least Valentine’s Day is the weekend before so I can spoil him and show him how much he means to me. I really need some ideas of special things I can do for him!

Mama Christi comes this weekend. I hope for it to be mostly relaxing with bike rides and city markets trips in between.

Schrader

Ehh, I am not really sure what this blog is about other than B and I threw ourselves a party last night and then went out to dinner for some chicken, steak, and quesadillas. We are going to Charlotte on Friday and I am terribly excited. There is a RUSH event for my fraternity on Friday night, so I finally get to meet the new Brothers that were initiated in December.

Why I don't provide the background of Theta Tau - Pi Gamma since I have nothing else to talk about today....

In the Spring of 2005, two of my friends I had met through the College of Engineering Leadership Academy approached me with the opportunity to leave a legacy at UNCC. Joseph DeVoe and Christopher Roberts had noticed the desire among the students of the Lee College of Engineering to have a professional organization unlike the rest - an organization structured to embrace our choice to pursue engineering while preparing us for a career. Two and a half months later on May 3rd, 2005, we were initiated as the UNC Charlotte Colony of Theta Tau.

As an official Colony, we began pledging new leaders to help us build the dream we now shared. A true sense of brotherhood emerged as time passed, something not only felt by each Brother, but clearly visible to all whom associated with us. Along the way we lost a few and initiated almost thirty new Brothers. On August 25th, 2007, 22 Brothers of the UNC Charlotte Colony were initiated as the Pi Gamma chapter of Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity. Four of us had been there since the beginning - Joe Devoe, Nahir Habet, Tiffany Lemmons, and myself. The initiation represented the culmination of hard work, commitment and the beginning of a legacy.

Theta Tau is what comes to mind when I think of my college career. Theta Tau was not something you "joined" - it was a full time commitment. We strived to have eight RUSH events, three community service, three professional development, three fundraising, weekly meetings, eight weeks of pledging, and multiple social events each semester.

As a "founding father" Theta Tau is my baby and I am very sensitive to everything Theta Tau. Living in Virginia it has been even more difficult because I haven't been able to provide my input and participate as I would like. In fact recently it has caused me some headaches and heartaches because being so far away I feel out of loop and it tends to be like pulling teeth to get the information I need - and of course when I start to feel frustration or out of control I say and do things I typically regret. Hence is the case with Theta Tau often. I have got to find balance there - let go a little, observe and smile. If I miss out on pertinent information or feel out of the loop I need to just let it go.

In other news you have to search PS22 Chorus on youtube. They are a chorus in NYC and sing Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, and all the rest of my faves! They are amazing!!!

Dashboard

B went with me to my cardio kickboxing class last night – you tell me how many men you know that would be the only man in 40 person aerobics class!?!?! Anyway it was the most adorable thing I have ever witnessed in my life – a 250 lb man doing cardio kickboxing is a sight to behold. Anyway he did it for me since I really miss doing all the classes with my friends in Charlotte, and it was so sweet. He continues to amaze me.

I was fortunate to be able to watch the swearing in of Barack Obama as our 44th President today. Moving inaugural address – it brought tears to my eyes and provided a little glimpse of what it might have been like when Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King spoke. It would not be in my character to go without mentioning Rick Warren, an opponent of gay rights, gave the invocation, yet President Obama spoke “that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness". I guess he forgot to include except homosexuals. It needs to be articulated around religion and homosexuality that you can have your theology and also sign off on gay and lesbian civil rights and full enfranchisement, including marriage. You know, a lot of Christians think Jews and Mormons are going to hell. Right? And yet Jews and Mormons can get married in our culture. No one's attempting to strip Jews or Mormons of their civil rights in our dominant Christian culture. Addicts, rapists, Muslims… think about it...

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - The late, great Martin Luther King, Jr.

Eeeek. I am way off track and tearing up… I just do not get it. Regardless I am hopeful and excited for our country; I have enormous confidence in President Obama and I am electrified by his oratorical skills. Tomorrow he is expected to redeem his promise to begin the withdrawl of U.S. forces from Iraq, and I am ready!

Switching topics… back in the day I wrote a semi mission statement for my life after college. I hope to find it on my old laptop so I can post it here. One line stated that I must travel to see my favorite musicians in concert whenever possible. Live music by talented artists is AMAZING and I am not a music buff by any means. So, outside of all the astounding movies I am peeing in my pants to see, there are concerts GALORE in March. I already have tickets to see Elton John and Billy Joel in Charlotte on 3/7; however now Dave Matthews Band and Ani Difranco are playing in that timeframe as well. I thought I would go with Ani since the ticket prices are about ½ the price of DMB, but Ani is playing the exact same week as Elton and Billy in all my driving distances.

The Circus will be here in a couple weeks as well – I really want to go to the Circus.

So much to do, and so little time and money…

I started to plan a Mediterranean cruise for B and me late this year or next, but instead we have decided that before we go exploring other cultures we would like to see and better understand what our country is comprised of first (one of my co-workers from Colombia always refers to Colombia as “My Country” and I just adore it). So we are going to go all Jack Kerouac-Neal Cassady-Bonnie&Clyde-Thelma&Louise on yall – to be dazzled by the romance of a cross-country road trip. There is no better way to get a feel for the expansive size of America, no better way to see the diversity in culture and climate of the different regions of the US and Canada than a cross country road trip, and we cannot wait!



It is going to go a little something like this (if your name is in brackets I may be contacting you for a little visit ;) – a * means we may bypass):

Charlotte, NC
Nashville, TN [My fave cuz Leigh]
Memphis, TN*
New Orleans, LA
Austin, TX [Fuckface Kannen J]
Sedona, AZ
Grand Canyon
Las Vegas, NV
Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco, CA [Shmeggles]
Yosemite National Forest
Lake Tahoe
Provo, UT [Oldhams]
Denver, CO*
Mount Rushmore (SD)
Omaha, NE [Steph… this stop will alter depending on where Steph is living these days]
Chicago, IL [Bob Waninski]
Niagra Falls
New York, NY
Washington, DC [Kristen]
Lynchburg, VA

Additionally, if you happen to live in one of these areas and I was unaware, shoot me an email [Arrington.hannah@gmail.com] so we can drop by or you can provide some advice on places to see.

A little piece of my heart is reserved for StoryPeople, and this was on their blog on MLK day – thought I would share…

I don't know much, but I know this. Want to live for justice? You're going to have to make a few people uncomfortable.

Want to make a change? You're probably going to have to reach out beyond the already converted and the circle of friends. That's a clique, not a change. That's a tight-knit circle, not a movement.

Right now, as a nation, as a world for that matter (whether or not you voted in this administration), we have the chance to move out of rhetoric into action, from hope spread on whispers to thinking out loud.

This is our chance to start, as a nation, as a world, a great romance with life.