just take off your shoes, there's nothing left to lose

So, last semester, I used to freak out often about school work at Sciences Po. I had a lot of free time to get stuff done last semester, and I felt like I needed weeks to finish assignments. I've been a little more ambitious with my time management this semester, which is to say, I have less time to do homework now because I work around 24 hours a week, yet I still think I can go out. I've realized I only have a couple of months here, and if getting work done means pulling an all-nighter, so I can go out, I'm willing to do that because if some sacrifice means I'll get to do everything I want, then I'm doing it.

I still decide not to go out to things because I have work to do, but if the activity is big enough, I'll go. This Thursday, we all went to Social Club around Sentier for TIGA!!
Now, if you don't know who he is...here you go! He's actually not in the video, but he made this songgggggg. It was an early Paris classic from like back in September when Martin showed it to us.

So, first up, it was drinks at Nastasja's. I was having such a hot mess day, it was really humid out and I just wasn't feeling the night. But, Nastasja put on some red lipstick on my lips and the night got better! The power of some make-up. I'm telling you, I only discovered it at 20 years of age, so it all feels like an experiment.

We got some vodka instead of wine that night, which is unusual for us, and maybe contributed to the night being turned around for me. We also took a lovely group picture with my friend, Sarah Jin's coolest polaroid ever. Sometimes I regret leaving my polaroid(s) back at Penn. They are probably in that box in my friend's basement. Funny thing is that they're the result of my freshman year obsession with Ebay. I bought so many things on it! Cornucopias (I know, wtf), shisha (that then I refused to buy and got suspended from the system haha), countless books, 2 polaroid cameras, plenty of polaroid film, 35 mm film, etc.

I miss it.

But, after drinks at Nastasja's, we went to Saint Michel to catch the metro. Now, of course, it took like a thousand hours for the metro to come. The thing is it doesn't run as often at nighttime, even though it's always extremely crowded on Friday and Saturday nights because everyone is out late. Anyway, we made a video on the metro. Here are some snapshot highlights.

So, how do you feel about your life?"Pretty good actually..."

What are you doing this summer?"I don't know yet, don't interview me!"

"...I might intern in D.C. because a friend in the econ department sent me the forward, and the deadline was extended and like I want to intern in D.C." (you drink away, Nasty aka I'm living my life)

So, seeing Tiga was actually pretty great. I don't think I've had this much fun at Social ever. We danced nonstop for like 2 hours and he played most of the time while we were there. I'm not going to lie, but I was front-row and he kept smiling at me. He also said we could take a picture with him after the concert was done, all this from the stage haha. Tiga and I had a ~connection~. We would've stayed to make this picture a reality, but he still had not finished playing at 3:20 am, so we just left.

Saturday morning, I had a midterm! Good thing I started studying on Thursday. I stayed in all of Friday and studied all day. I stayed up basically all night to study, too, except for random 45 minute naps I kept taking. The exam was not at Sciences Po, but the Maison des Examens, a large building with a bunch of classrooms where students can take exams, on the outskirts of Paris. It takes about 15 minutes to get here by the RER, which is not part of the regular Paris metro system because it usually goes into the suburbs. What I find hilarious about this place it's that it's a large maybe 10-story gray building with large black letters that say "Maison des Examens" and it's so ominous, as in definitely foreshadowing EVIL THINGS TO COME! Everytime I see it or say its name, I think of the building as an establishment shot, in the night, rain, and thunder.

Like this. (This is the Addams Family House, btw haha)

Midterm was not hard at all. I feel like I overstudied, as usual. It was for my Réalités Internationales class, which is just International Relations. I met a gap-toothed Sciences Po cutie on the train. I lent him a pen, and now I really want to run into him at Sciences Po and ask him for my pen, his name...and his love, lol.

Saturday, I recovered from the midterm, ate, and slept. Saturday night was Laura's birthday, so we were off to her cute apartment in the Quartier Latin for a birthday shindig. They all live in a very cute and well-decorated apartment. My favorite quote of the night came from Robert D. Eisenhart III who said to me, "I'm crazier than you, but you get all the credit."

LOL maybe.