06.01.06: Arrosage, Nues, Gratuit

If I were the type to keep score, here is how the week is shaping up: 1 glass of champagne, 4 breasts, one glass each vin rouge and rosé, and 1 shot of Chinese saki, all gratuit.

Went to the local market on Sunday morning. Our market, sort of like Findlay Market, but all grown up and very comfortable and relaxed in its role. About twice the size of Findlay, open on Thursday and Sunday. Excellent selection of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and fish, and around the periphery, street sales of clothes, and shoes, and also gloves and scarves on colder winter days. Oh yeah, and within waking distance of our house. Bought a nice pork roast and some chops for the grill from the regular boucherie. Since it was the first Sunday of the year, the boucher gave each of us a little pocket calendar. A mundane fleur-de-lis design on the cover for Jen, a naked woman for the design on mine. Not sure when was the last time Si Leis allowed the vendors at Findlay to hand out pin-up girl calendars, probably not even a Ben-gal on playoff Sunday.

Monday, at work, just before lunch. Assemble in the Comité for an arrosage. Good to learn some colloquial language every day. Arrosage: a watering. In practice: celebration initiated by one of my colleagues that he has been in his new position for 3 months; celebration enacted by champagne all around at 11:30 AM on a Monday. Sharing champagne has a bit more cachet when it is the family business, and you can pull out bottles that all have the family name on the label. One glass of champagne, gratuit encore.

Tuesday, at work, at lunch. Michel's birthday was Sunday. He decided to share a little of the celebration with us. One bottle of vin rouge, purchased at the company luncheon canteen. Shared around. One glass vin rouge, gratuit encore encore.

Wednesday, at work, at lunch. Céline signed off on and moved into a new apartment this past weekend. She decided to share a little of the celebration with us. One bottle of vin rosé, purchased at the company luncheon canteen. Shared around. One glass vin rosé, gratuit encore encore encore.

Thursday, evening. Walked down to the local Vietnamese/Thailandaise resto for dinner. Nice little dinner of bœuf au sauce piquante. When a guy with a french-asian accent tells you your french is improving, is this a positive? Am I now sounding slightly asian with my french pronunciation? At any rate, after dessert (apple beignet, nicely dusted with a little sugar) M. Serveur offers me a shot of Chinese saki as a digestif. Proudly he pours me a shot in a special shot glass that has an image of a naked woman in the bottom, but only as long as there is alcohol in the glass. As you drink the digestif, the woman mysteriously evaporates, diaphonous and tawdry ..... Now this is truly a conundrum. If you chooose to drink the alcohol, the naked woman will disappear. I think I have had this experience before. Not sure I have always made the best choice in this situaton. I choose the saki. Saki and two more elusive breasts, gratuit, encore x 4.

As the nudity dissolves into a blurred image and the saki dissolves into my bloodstream, I realize the distinctions between the familiar and the unfamiliar are starting to dissolve also, bit by bit, étape par étape.