active social life

On Tuesday my boss and I discussed what I need to do to prepare an abstract to submit for a conference in December, and gave me a small stack of papers to read that will help with that plan. I was terribly keen to get right on it, but clovis_t and I had planned to head to the weekly CouchSurfing gathering (those who pay attention to these posts might remember that I went to one on a Tuesday a couple of weeks back, and left early so as to be home before dark, and said then that I'd prefer to only attend when hosting a guest to go with me, so I wouldn't have to cross the city on public transit alone at night, so, with a guest here, I opted to go). This time we met at a different pub/cafe thing than last time, and instead of gathering at the outside tables, where it was really hot, and there were lots of smokers, the early arrivals opted to take over some tables inside and upstairs. There were a good 25 to 30 people present enjoying the Italian custom of buying one expensive drink (8 Euros) and then partaking of the free food that comes with the beverage. There was a good mix of locals and visitors from elsewhere, and most folk spoke English, but Italian, Spanish, and French were also heard that evening. Two of the visitors at my end of the table were from Venezuela.

By a funny coincidence, one of the lovely ladies I met at the bbq at a country house a few weeks back also e-mailed me on Tuesday saying that she was going out to a friend's birthday party, and the name of the pub she mentioned happened to be the same one that the couchsurfers were attending. So I let her know we'd be there, and after a couple of hours visiting with CS folk, she arrived, so clovis_t and I, and one of her other friends who'd arrived early looking for her and asked everyone present if we knew her, and I was the only one who said "yes", switched parties to join her friends outside (where it was *much* quieter without the walls to bounce the conversations off of), but, alas, there were a few smokers (though not as many as I had to deal with the last time I went out). during the first round of introductions there it came up that I'd only just moved here, and still need to find an apartment of my own, and am getting frustrated at the fact that rental agencies don't answer their phones or reply to e-mails. To which one of the ladies commented that two of the men in this group happen to have apartments they own for which they are seeking tenants, and upon talking to them, it turns out that one of them isn't far from uni. Not as nice and close as I am now--it is more like a fifteen minute walk, as compared to the four minute one I've got just now, but it will certainly be worth a look. He's getting it fixed up and ready to rent now, so I'll look at it later this week and see what I think. It isn't in an ideal spot, but it is the best real lead I've had so far.

We got home from that double party (the second one wandered to another location, where we left them when the smoke became noticeable) around midnight, and I was up early this morning to come in to uni while it was still cool. Then I went home for a short nap at 11:00 before my houseguests from Poland arrived. They are all uni students on holiday--five of them. Very nice people. We sat around a bit and complained about the heat as they each took a turn in the shower to recover from the walk from the train station, then we went first to get some gelatti, and then to a supermarket, where we purchased a picnic lunch and then spent a couple of hours sitting in the shade in a park enjoying food, conversation, and some silly games until it was cool enough for them to contemplate walking into the city center. I sent them off with clovis_t and I came in to uni and managed to do a bit of work this evening. I may do some sightseeing with them in the morning before they depart for the next leg of their journey in the evening. Now to head home and see how much of that reading I can accomplish before the hordes return from their explorations.

active social life

On Tuesday my boss and I discussed what I need to do to prepare an abstract to submit for a conference in December, and gave me a small stack of papers to read that will help with that plan. I was terribly keen to get right on it, but clovis_t and I had planned to head to the weekly CouchSurfing gathering (those who pay attention to these posts might remember that I went to one on a Tuesday a couple of weeks back, and left early so as to be home before dark, and said then that I'd prefer to only attend when hosting a guest to go with me, so I wouldn't have to cross the city on public transit alone at night, so, with a guest here, I opted to go). This time we met at a different pub/cafe thing than last time, and instead of gathering at the outside tables, where it was really hot, and there were lots of smokers, the early arrivals opted to take over some tables inside and upstairs. There were a good 25 to 30 people present enjoying the Italian custom of buying one expensive drink (8 Euros) and then partaking of the free food that comes with the beverage. There was a good mix of locals and visitors from elsewhere, and most folk spoke English, but Italian, Spanish, and French were also heard that evening. Two of the visitors at my end of the table were from Venezuela.

By a funny coincidence, one of the lovely ladies I met at the bbq at a country house a few weeks back also e-mailed me on Tuesday saying that she was going out to a friend's birthday party, and the name of the pub she mentioned happened to be the same one that the couchsurfers were attending. So I let her know we'd be there, and after a couple of hours visiting with CS folk, she arrived, so clovis_t and I, and one of her other friends who'd arrived early looking for her and asked everyone present if we knew her, and I was the only one who said "yes", switched parties to join her friends outside (where it was *much* quieter without the walls to bounce the conversations off of), but, alas, there were a few smokers (though not as many as I had to deal with the last time I went out). during the first round of introductions there it came up that I'd only just moved here, and still need to find an apartment of my own, and am getting frustrated at the fact that rental agencies don't answer their phones or reply to e-mails. To which one of the ladies commented that two of the men in this group happen to have apartments they own for which they are seeking tenants, and upon talking to them, it turns out that one of them isn't far from uni. Not as nice and close as I am now--it is more like a fifteen minute walk, as compared to the four minute one I've got just now, but it will certainly be worth a look. He's getting it fixed up and ready to rent now, so I'll look at it later this week and see what I think. It isn't in an ideal spot, but it is the best real lead I've had so far.

We got home from that double party (the second one wandered to another location, where we left them when the smoke became noticeable) around midnight, and I was up early this morning to come in to uni while it was still cool. Then I went home for a short nap at 11:00 before my houseguests from Poland arrived. They are all uni students on holiday--five of them. Very nice people. We sat around a bit and complained about the heat as they each took a turn in the shower to recover from the walk from the train station, then we went first to get some gelatti, and then to a supermarket, where we purchased a picnic lunch and then spent a couple of hours sitting in the shade in a park enjoying food, conversation, and some silly games until it was cool enough for them to contemplate walking into the city center. I sent them off with clovis_t and I came in to uni and managed to do a bit of work this evening. I may do some sightseeing with them in the morning before they depart for the next leg of their journey in the evening. Now to head home and see how much of that reading I can accomplish before the hordes return from their explorations.