Care Packages

Nothing cures a case of bad weather (+lonely, +sick) blues like a care package.
I had today off due to yesterday's holiday (Dave wasn't so lucky) so I started the day running errands. I walked to the post office with two delivery slips and walked out with two boxes and a padded envelope, feeling like the most loved person in the world. I was starting to think I'd forgotten my own birthday or something.

I staggered home and tore everything open. There was origami paper, candy, books, a "pimp" mousepad (niiiice), hairsticks, a wedding invitation and jelly bracelets. Most importantly, there were handwritten notes from my friends and Dave's mom, all making me a just a little bit homesick.

I put on the jelly bracelets and walked to the bank. Last week a woman from the bank called and asked to have a meeting with me. She said since I was a new customer, she wanted to meet me and make sure that all my "needs" were met. Well that sounded sweet enough but I was skeptical and not too happy about giving up my free time to go to the bank. I felt a little bit like when HR asks to have a meeting with me: wary.

The bank is just a few blocks over the Paris border and a nice 20-minute walk. I waited in the lobby for my appointment and was greeted by a formal middle-aged woman who escorted me upstairs to her office. She plainly explained that I had "a lot of money" in my checking account and really should open a savings account to gain "interest". While I was highly amused by a banker telling me I had "a lot of money", I didn't understand why she felt the need to explain the benefits of a savings account to me.

I tried to explain to her that I because I am paid in the States, I prefer to open a savings account there and eliminate the losses incurred from transferring money back and forth. Seemed like a perfectly logical argument to me, but maybe she didn't understand my English because she jabbed at her computer screen with her finger and said "Yes, but you have a lot of money in your account...." I wanted to say, "Yeah, well, I'm going shopping this afternoon and paying rent next week. It won't last long."

Instead, I told her I'd discuss it with my husband (the best excuse to get out of just about anything), and she gave me some paperwork with the current rates.

I secretly hoped she wondered why a girl wearing jelly bracelets had "a lot of money".

I spent the rest of the day in Chatelet shopping. The weather cleared for the afternoon and was actually balmy. I was on a quest to visit a shop I'd read about in a guidebook and got distracted along the way by rue Rivoli. I was happy for the detour because in the end the store wasn't all that interesting.

I decided to go home when it started to rain. On the way from the metro I walked by the flower shop that had converted over from a lingerie shop a few weeks ago (only in France). They were advertising 7 roses for 1.90 euros and who could resist that? I bought some lovely peach roses, my favorite color, and walked home smiling.