Murphyslaw Strikes, then backfires!!!

Bonjour a Tous! I have a great story to tell you all. I had planned to go skiing yesterday with a large group of friends. We purchased a group package for 27 euros. In all there were 12 of us from about 5 nations and four continents that joined in on the plan. We all had to meet at Belle Cours by 5:55am when the bus was scheduled to leave. Although France is known for being late, when it comes to transportation they are usually right on time. So, I could not fall asleep the night before. Probably because I had been fighting sleep all day since I got home at 5:00am on Friday night from an international gathering the night before. I left at about 3:40am but decided to walk home so that I could get up early and clean the apartment before the landlords stopped by with the new fridge. I arose at 10:30am and cleaned the place with a nice hangover. Then, I went to the gym because they had not arrived. They said sometime in the afternoon so I continued to wait. Finally, I went to the store to buy groceries for the trip and eventually they arrived at 8:00pm. I guess that is technically afternoon! Then I watched the Miss Europe Pageant. I am not a paegent kind-of-guy but it was my brother Fred's show and he wanted me too watch it. I went to bed around midnight but fell asleep somewhere between 2:00-3:00am. The next thing I know my phone is ringing and it's Mad's. I thought she was calling to make sure I was awake but it turns out it was 5:55am and the bus was about to roll out. No chance to get there in 5 minutes so after having bought my ticket and renting my skiis I thought that it was all in vain. I received several phone calls from Maddy and Jo after that telling me to get a train to Grenoble and then hitching a ride or finding a bus. That seemed a little bit too much of a shot in the dark so I started to get back in the bed smoldering with anger and envy. Then my phone ribbits ( I have a frog chime ) with a message saying that the bus is en panne or broken down at a gas station. The station is only about 10 minutes by taxi and they tell me I have 30 minutes before the bus arrives. I hopped out of bed, called Allo Taxi, put some sandwiches and edibles in my bag and went straight down to meet the taxi! Amazingly, the bus was about 12km away and after another 22 euros for the cab fair I rejoined my friends and had a great day skiing. Moral of the story, never give up when you can call a cab!!!
Hope that you enjoyed that little anecdote, it will be a memory of mine for years to come. Yesterday I went to the Parc De La Tete D'Or with Maddy her man Mauricio, Anna, Claire, Lynette, etc... for a little fun in the finally warm sun!!! I rollered there in my skates that I got the 2nd month here. I did not fall yesterday so I think that I am starting to get my feet back. My goal is to be able to navigate the streets really well and have a proficiency in skating backwards since I would like to pick up hockey again when I get back home. For all those interested I am still in the "Zone." I have lost around 4-5kgs so far. That is about 10-12pds for those who are not savvy with the metric system. Which, by the way, is so much more efficient and easy to use than the fucking standard system that we use in the US. Americans need to jump on board and we should be more like the English in tranferring our youth completely to metric by teaching them both in school. However, with the bold and STUPID "No Child Left Behind" doctrination of our bumbling 4 more years President I think that we are sliding back in time.
OK, I don't feel like standing on the soapbox right now on such a beautiful day so I am going to the gym, class, and then maybe even the Generation Roller tonight. That is a 15km skate around Lyon. They shut the streets down in front of and behind a huge group of roller bladers. Going to be some fun tonight!

Toodles...