On and on...

First off, I've been a little tardy with this. The main reason is that Blogspot sucks arse. The last time that I tried to post, it wouldn't accept it. So I lost about half an hour of time. And I haven't been able to find the motivation to try again until now...

Right then. So the last few days have been a bit irritating. I've been in Marseille for a few weeks now. The first two were spent waiting for a permit so that I could start work. Fine. The job seemed nice enough, so the wait seemed worth it. Working in a book store is a chance that most foreigners don't get. And after five days of working, everything seemed to be going well. The people that I was working either for or with seemed to like me, and the job was pretty laid back.

Then of course everything has to go down the commode. On my first day off I get a message on my voice mail saying that I'm fired. And after being told that I could work for at least a month, and be reevaluated at that point. So now I've lost three weeks. The strangest part is why I was fired. Apparently my accent is too strong. This would be an understandable reason to not get the job in the first place. The reason that I find the whole thing strange is that it's the same accent I had when I was first interviewed and hired...

Yet the last three weeks haven't been a total waste. Marseille is a nice enough city, and the weather really is lovely. Still, I don't feel like staying in the same area that I lived in before [the last time I was in France I lived in Nice for four months]. The only reason that I agreed to come back here was for the sake of having a job where I would interact with people, and hence improve my French as quickly as possible. On the other hand, it's irritating that I came back here solely for a job that ended up jerking me around...

So today I'll be heading for Carcassone, a town a few hours to the west. Though I don't expect to stay there long. I'd rather keep making my way north, as I'm told that the culture is quite a bit different there. It would be nice to get a feeling for the rest of the country, instead of always staying in the same region.

On a brighter note, I [finally] finished the drawing that I've been working on for the last month and a half. It's the most involved that I've ever done. I used about 14 pencils of different darknesses to bring out the shading, and I think it shows. And yes, Dave (Clark), I know you thought I was crazy for buying so many pencils, but check it out, and see what you think. For those interested, it's the picture of a little girl holding a rabbit, and can be found at http://driftin.deviantart.com

The photo that I based it on is found under scraps. I don't know why, but I find the emotion in it extremely powerful. A few people have told me that they prefer my drawing, which I take as a huge compliment, but I find the drawing is still much more beautiful.

Something that I've been trying to figure out lately is what the big stink is over the European Constitution. Apparently it's a formula for establishing personal and economic rights, and I tried reading it, but even I found it too dry to stay focused. The point is that France is holding a referendum [why is it that referendums aren't popular in English speaking regions? I can only think of one referendum in English Canada in my whole life] as to whether to accept it or not, and for some reason, the no side is likely to win. This is important because Chirac (the President of France) is so deeply tied to the constitution that if it doesn't pass, he'll likely have to resign. Apparently, for the people to reject this constitution would be somewhat comparable to Chrétien having seen the seperatists win by a margin just big enough to piss him off in 1995 [ie 51% wouldn't have really been enough to allow the country to break apart]. And Chirac resigning is a big deal considering that presidents here usually last at least 15 years.