jhegner's Xanga

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 08:55:28 GMT

Dang Xanga, always seems to get away from you. To be honest though, I am as 'anti-blog' as they get. I've got a blog-esque element to my website if that interests you. I call them 'frequents'. Check it out.

So I live in the Alps now. I am an intern at a small Protestant Evangelical church here. I mostly preach, make films and lead a small group. It is a real blast. The added bonus is that I live in a postcard.

I'll be an intern for two years, then I might try my hand at a master's degree in sociology at the university of Geneva in neighboring Switzerland.

So that is that. I really don't want to spend too much time on this site, but I've loaded some pictures nonetheless, just to please the people at xanga. Go to my real site. The password to get in is 'jonboy'.

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Sat, 20 Nov 2004 15:41:50 GMT

An interesting bug decided to visit me, and has been making my waking hours somewhat of a nuisance... come to think of it... my sleeping hours aren't all that great either. A good thing about being ill is the chance to cancel all obligations and take a good rest. Funny how I seem to wait until I'm taken sick to schedule a break.

Sorbonne classes are a hoot. I'm learning lots about locutions, concordance de temps, and accordance du participe passé. Fun stuff really... but it seems this whole foreign language thing is a bigger piece of pie than I first reckoned it was.

So plans are for sure now that I will move down somewhere near Annecy next summer... presumably near a beautiful single french woman who is attracted to foreign protestant pastors... and some mountains that I can look at in the evening with my tea. Plans are also in motion for the arrangement of hounds... but these are not as certain.

Less than a month and I'm in Wisconsin... sipping hot cider, eating chocolate and watching the snow fall. I'm very content to go there for Christmas as there is little to nothing in Europe for me... as far as family goes... at least not yet.

I'm off tonight to see an American friend play her harp for a contemporary exhibition focussing on the future practical lives of super models... very relevant indeed. Should be good for a laugh. Only in Paris.

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Tue, 12 Oct 2004 19:15:15 GMT

so i guess i'm updating this monthly now... still more often than my neglected website. good thing there are no laws against website neglect. it is comforting to know that my life revolves less around the internet than i would have first thought.

i'm back at the sorbonne now, taking superior level grammar, phonetics, a french politics class and another on the approach to life in general in france. no new friends yet, though there are some potentials. i will ask for their applications soon.

in the meantime, i've started my new nightly schedule of soup cooking... and eating. it is especially good with some nice creamy french cheese and a baguette. je suis presque français.

as for this christmas, it is official now that i will hop on a plane the 18th of december and get off of it in snowy appleton... where there is highly anticipated mexican cuisine. i'll be back on this side of the pond the 2nd of january. how God has indeed smiled upon me.

oh, and i'm letting my hair grow out. a new picture will come when i'm satisfied with it.

Monday, September 13, 2004

Mon, 13 Sep 2004 14:06:53 GMT

it is possible to burn one's lips to an incredible extent without the use of scolding coffee or freshly baked pizza. i burned mine with the cunning use of salt water from the mediterranean sea and a good dose of southern french sun. once burned to that extent... lips actually peal... but not before they form really funny looking scabs that induce one to look in the mirror a few more instants before going out on the town.... or dropping the pursuit of a social life altogether.

after a few days on the côte d'azur soaking up the sun and visiting such places as st. tropez, cannes and monaco, i have returned to paris. i am not yet involved with classes, as they will start sometime beginning october... i should probably look into that more closely.

i left the balmy south in order to search for my parents at charles de gaulle international airport... and with much skill... i found them and brought them back to my apartment so they could slowly shutdown... they are sleeping in my bed at the moment.

we plan to do and see much, but nothing is more pressing on our agenda than to sit and stair at each other for a while. it has been over a year since i have seen them in person. how God has indeed smiled upon me!

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Wed, 04 Aug 2004 17:58:36 GMT

holland is a place where biking and sailing within community living has been perfected. it helps very much that the entire country is flat... imagine riding a bike for hours without even a small hill.

and their bikes there: they are really heavy... not just, 'oh i can't lift your bike with one hand, it must be really heavy'... the bikes they have there are like cars... or at least like bikes that came out of the 70's... truly heavy metal... strictly function. people insure their bikes in holland. also, you don't have to find a lightpost or a sign to chain it to. they have convenient little built-in bike locks. everyone seems to respect that enough... and if not, you're insured.

this past weekend was my first time sailing. i really liked it. i think i could really get into sailing and its ajoining image: dark, leathery skin... lots of chest and back hair... some stubble... eyes that seem to forever squint... the rope burned hands. sailing is really peaceful... and in being concerned with a sport that is just that... one can pull off the style of "i can't be bothered with anything else but sitting in a boat, playing with the wind." ... which is a really cool style.

i recommend holland if you get the time. granted, i wasn't in amsterdam or any other big city. this was perhaps my first vacation where i focussed only on spending meaningful relaxing time catching up with a friend. it was terrific. i'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Friday, July 30, 2004

Fri, 30 Jul 2004 08:28:24 GMT

i just got back from a three week english class gig in chantilly (the unfortunate horse capital of france) ... well worth checking out... if not only for the 'english store' that sells iron-bru... very nostalgic if you've ever spent time eating fish and chips wondering when it will stop raining.

in a couple of hours i head to the land of dutch people to search for the long lost jason niemeijer... who apparently has moved back to his homeland for a couple of months. i hear the netherlands are flat... decent food though, i suspect. someone told me that they eat like americans there... that is to say that they eat around 6... instead of the european mean time of 8ish to 10ish. i've noticed my own eating practice beginning to follow the later model. i guess there is a feeling of coolness that goes along with eating late... like you are better than doing anything else but the pleasurable ritual of tucking in the day with a stylish meal enjoyed with friends... or maybe its all in my head.

chuck and bryan hyde checked into the hotel a few doors down from my pad a few days ago. we spent two days seeing how long our legs could carry us if we walked unceasingly. paris is a great city and all, but the amount of walking necessary to see everything is a little overdone. we made a great time of it though. they really liked the food. i really liked the food. the french know how to do food.

i was in brussels last weekend for a short day trip. good waffles there. also, just a little outside of the main downtown area is a chi-chi's. i had good chips and salsa for the first time in 11 months. fortunately or unfortunately, belgians seem to keep bizarre breeds of dogs.

for those of you who really wanted to know: lance armstrong, though breaking a tour de france record for most consecutive wins, is now officially the third most unpopular athlete in france... only behind michael schumacher and nicolas anelka... so case in point: there are some disadvantages in dating sheryl crow.

Saturday, June 26, 2004

Sat, 26 Jun 2004 12:41:14 GMT

apparently the going rate for getting into your parisian apartment if you've forgotten your key is 60 euros. seems a tad expensive for some chap to park his scooter outside of your apartment and take a regular screwdriver to the little metal thing outside of your door and then slide a thin piece of metal into the space to unlock it... i guess this is why smarter, more thorough people attain a higher level of wealth.

Friday, June 25, 2004

Fri, 25 Jun 2004 21:47:56 GMT

seems like it was meant to happen someday: france losing to greece in the eurocup quarter-finals. seems, even more, there are a truckload of disenchanted parisians having trouble sleeping tonight.

i've just returned from a 3 week vacation of sorts... yeah, 3 weeks is a long time to be living out of a suitcase. i trekked south where i helped a chap out with a website for his church. in the process, i gave a small schpeal for the service. i wrote down every word i was going to say the night before, but left some room for 'freestyling' it when i had the chance.

the next day in front of only 20 or so people, i read every word as planned but bombed on every 'planned' freestyle. someone said it would be like that... i was kind of hoping i would be able to prove him wrong... it was worth a shot.

not a week later i was sitting on the lawn of the chateau outside of chantilly, yeah, like the cream. i was watching a fireworks competition... yeah, apparently there are fireworks competitions... why not? as expected, they were pretty impressive... though it lasted somewhat long. in my world, if i've seen 10 minutes of fireworks, it really doesn't matter if it stops or not... everything after that is just repetition.

i'll have to give a public 'cheers' to the guy who put his whole 15 minute show to pink floyd hits... i'm certain that is what i would have done.

...a moment of silence for the france national team. it's been emotional.

Monday, May 31, 2004

Mon, 31 May 2004 23:12:06 GMT

tonight i asked nora jones to marry me.

confusingly, she said thankyou and smiled rather politely... then concluded her set. i'm not sure what that means... though i'm starting to think more and more that our marriage, if it were to come to pass, would never last. yeah, nora is a top-selling recording artist and all, but i think there would be too many political issues in the way for us to live an entirely peaceful existence.

the singing me to sleep in my ear by the moonlight part would be pretty sweet though.

after the concert, a friend and i went to an small paris institution: l'entrecôte. we had the steak and french fries... the only thing on the menu... there needs be nothing else... seriously.

my friend is 37... and feels as if he's had a good run of it. he seemed obviously very troubled that i have been in paris now for quite a while and have not found a woman to kiss while looking at the eiffel tower. he told me that he really was confused over this issue... i felt strangely appreciated. he offered me advice: 'let it flow' ...in an israelian accent this phrase sounds somewhat sinister.

to my surprise, and to his delight, i suspect because it wasn't himself, he began talking to the waitress about a knockout girl who had sat down with some people in the booth behind me. he was throwing in the 'action' card... i felt somehow afraid... very afraid.

my friend was asking the waitress what would be a good dessert to send the girl, care of me... and the plan was that, further along, when the dessert was delivered, i would turn around and give a little smile... but since when has turning completely around and smiling ever been a suave move?

i guess in my mind i've always been about the suave action... truth is, being suave takes a lot of guts, or easily translatable stupidity.

my friend was sold on his plan for action. i told him it was a good illustration for 'letting it flow' and not taking the dating scene way too seriously... but that he should let it drop with the knockout girl... whom the waitress informed us was sitting with mere family... ending the argument that perhaps she was already called for.

my friend inquired of a young frenchman next to us what should be done, appropriately, so as to win the attention of the facing really pretty girl. the frenchman seemed somewhat knowledgeable, but mostly flattered that he would be asked such a question... had it been my choice... i wouldn't have placed too much money on his advice... though he also sat with an equally good looking woman.

the plan then evolved into a small message on a piece of paper: 'vraiment, tu es belle'. or something like that... with my phone number. i asked my friend if he always met girls like this... he gave me a smile and said, 'never' and 'i'm not one to do this sort of thing'.

i finally reasoned my friend and his new french cohort into the belief that she hadn't seen me all night, save at the door... and that she would be obviously confused over the matter and that it would have been a 'fine' plan of action had i spent the meal making eye contact or something.

my friend and i got up to leave soon afterwards... somewhat defeated, somewhat triumphant.

for good or for bad, the note never was written, the girl never talked to, and the acquaintance never made... though i am convinced that my friend was right: if nothing else, it would have made a great story.

Friday, May 28, 2004

Fri, 28 May 2004 13:16:49 GMT

had my first runin with the 220 volts that run through my wires in my apartment today. i was doing some painting and various handyman work, what the french refer to as bricolage, and i thought it would be a nice day to feel out the exact amount of current in an electrical socket that i had pulled apart.

it caught me off guard. i was being particularly careful, though i knew it was inevitable that i would make its acquaintance at some point. the dreaded moment arrived, because of some strange alignment in the stars or by some bizarre coincidence between two homeless guys, called clochards here, betting on the reactions they are getting from passing tourists... or perhaps more likely, God thought it was to his good humor to see me jump rather awkwardly and sit somewhat stunned for a minute or two... that's what i would do if i were him.

that extra 110 volts really does the trick. my mind went whirling for a few seconds, my whole body seemed somewhat poised to explode or implode or something worse. my thumb was burned a little in the incident... not like it would be in a fire, but a less noticeable but equally sensitive burn. i graduated into the world of 220 volt electricity today, with expectable results.

it could have been worse though... i imagine if i had been in the local french pool sporting my skinny and playing the electrical game... i could have faired much worse.

on a different subject:

i saw the film called 'the day after tomorrow' yesterday. it was great... for the mass destruction and chaos involving certain elements of natural force... but i'm into that in somewhat of a morbid way.

i could have been the only one who really liked it when in that movie with the big meteor, not Armageddon but the other one with tia somebody, the smaller first meteor wipes out the west coast and causes devastation and everything in the society to come to a halt.

i don't know exactly what it is about destruction by natural forces, or alien forces for that matter that peaks my interest. i don't think i'd actually like to see that happen or think that it would... but perhaps there are deeper issues inside of me that need resolving, like the desire for conflict in other people's lives... but what am i saying... this is a xanga site.

isn't jeff foxworthy hilarious?