Crossplanet

Yesterday was removal day (again!) and as usual everything went smooth, much easier than I thought. I'm so happy and so lucky to have such good friends to give a hand.

I spent my first night "at home", and I like it already! It reminds me of Lisbon. First because it's in Ménilmontant, a popular neighborhood, on top of the hill! Then because it's an old building, low ceilings, cats in the garden... I'll be happy there.

It's hard to believe but I'm moving again! Yes I know, last time was only a month ago... and I had hardly finish to unpack when I finally find the right place for me. No temporary solution, no somebody else's place, but a real apartment, on my own, in a nice neighborhood too!

I signed the rent contract this morning and got the keys of MY home! It seems that after almost 4 years of urban nomadism, I'll be able to settle down and unpack for a while.

Those 4 years were a pretty good experience but it was about time to enter a new phase.

We do not walk on our legs, but on our will.

Sufi proverb

Good news: I've got my ticket booked for Lisbon! I'll be flying on July 23 and stay there for 5 weeks. I'm so eager to be there, it feels like "going home".

No adventure planned for the summer, no fancy travels, however wonderful they may be. This year I just want to be with my friends, do nothing but spend hours on the beach with a good book and have nice dinners in good company.

Resumindo: praia, amigos e sardinhas! 

A donkey with a load of holy books is still a donkey.

Sufi proverb 

It's been a week now that I live in an "internet-free" appartment and I must confess that I find it quite agreable to be disconnected. I don't spend so much time in front of the machine, I don't even have to switch it on first thing in the morning, I don't check my emails 20 times a day... and I survive!

I can still get a lousy connection from a non-secured network of a neighbour, and when I really need to get online, I simply take my laptop and go to the nearby park where I get a free wifi point. Cool!

A few days and some cardboxes later...

Each time I move I'm amazed... what does it take to make a "home"? It's been 4 years now that I unpack in different places that are not mine. And each time it only takes a few hours to make me feel at home. This time it's even different, since I know from the start that it's temporary, for a few weeks, more probably a few months. So I didn't really unpack and most of my stuff will be stored in the basement. 

Each time less... am I going to the essential? A new step, a new phase, a new experience. And, thanks to my friend Kathy, probably the best place to be while searching a more stable solution. 

 
Moving again... the 18th removal of my adult life! I'm getting used and tired of it. The count is as follows:

- in Caen, France:  3 places in 3 years

- In New York, USA: 3 places in 2 years

- in Lisbon, Portugal: 7 places in 13 years

- in Paris, France: 5 places in 4 years 

Am I a new kind of nomad ? Is it really me that create that wandering ? Time to settle down? Anyway today I'm happy with it.