le sneeze

I got a cold on Wednesday night, and when I woke up on Thursday morning I felt like le mort rechauffé. My first two days of work, therefore, have been days of quaffing orange juice and tea and sneezing - and not in a classroom sharing antibodies with small people. Despite the sick days, it's the mildest cold I've had in a good few years, which doesn't speak wonders for my immune system but I'm pleased nonetheless. I predict all systems go by Monday.

On Friday morning I remembered that I was meant to hand an RIB into the Inspection Académique, so fuzzy as I was I went for a wander in the morning and on the way back I managed to find the biggest supermarket I've seen here so far. I still haven't really gotten the hang of grocery shopping here (where is the vegetarian food? what can I buy that doesn't involve saucepans? why can't I find baking potatoes?), so I must have looked somewhat suspicious staggering around bleary-eyed and pale with a basket full of various odds and ends (biscuits, coat hangers, iced tea, tangerines and a pack of 100 envelopes). Impressively, I only got lost once on the way back to the résidence (and once on the way to the I.A.). I'm getting the hang of it, slowly.

My Amiens geography might be on the up, but the apartment hunt isn't going too well. I've had a browse on appartager.fr, and most things on offer are, I suspect, out of my price range. I haven't exactly worked out a budget but I think spending more than 1/3 of my monthly income on rent would be pushing it. Right now I'm paying something like €175 per month which is pretty incredible, but I feel like I might lose it with this place sooner rather than later - especially if whoever keeps throwing up in the toilets keeps not flushing. Excluded housemate criteria: junkies, kitchen fascists, and now bulimics.

Also, my dad has now made THREE references to "Foxy Knoxy" and the Meredith Kercher case in regards to my search for accommodation. It's getting somewhat unnerving.

There's a bar in Soho called Garlic & Shots, whose speciality is a "Bloodshot" - which consists of vodka, tomato juice, garlic and chillis. I have been craving one for a while now, I suspect it would really clear my head up... I might have to make do with brandy.