The week in a nutshell

Every once in awhile, I have a week where I pause and think, what am I doing with my time? How is it that another week is drawing to a close? It all just feels like one long blur. It feels like it's been a boring week but, in fact, it's been a good one.

French lessons: I started lessons with Josephine again. Every Monday and Wednesday morning. Now that I am doing more freelance and actually have a couple friends though, I wonder how much studying I will do.

Work: Busy, busy. We have officially won our two new business pitches, which will hit very soon. And we have the fourth quarter push on a lot of projects—some of which are really exciting. Oui, pressé. But it's great to be so engaged with work.

Milo: He's better, thanks. A couple apparent bald spots on his haunches, but fewer tufts of fur in the apartment.

Cooking: On top of the pie party, I did a lunchtime cooking class on Thursday. We made risotto with peas and squid. Have you ever cleaned and prepped squid? I seriously had to stop. The guts were so sticky, thick and slimy that I got queasy. Once it was cooked up, though, it was quite delicious.

Blast from the past: I saw a colleague from the 90s. That's right: the 90s. I worked with this guy 13 years ago, which is a scary thought. He came in for an interview one day and we had lunch another, and now it will probably be another 13 years before I see him.

Drinks and meeting people: We had a party at the agency last night to celebrate our wins. I thought I did pretty well, staying until 10. For me, three hours of quasi-following French is enough. But my team stayed until 3. Wow.

I also met Michael for a drink this evening as we had met the other night at a new spot with a very friendly and cute waiter. I gave the waiter one of the pies I made at the pie party and didn't want him to forget this American pie. But he wasn't there tonight. Sigh.

But I think the reason this week has been a bit of a blur is the insomnia. The thugs outside in the street have been on a tear lately. They wake me up like clockwork at 3 a.m. A couple nights this week, I simply couldn't fall back asleep. And the resulting sleep deprivation has been debilitating.

So that's it. I'm going to head to Nantes this weekend to see another pocket of this beautiful country. Hopefully my hotel room will have a tub and I'll be able to eat bonbons in the bath.