A surreal moment

Folks, I'm having a moment. It's a chilly, gray, rainy day in Paris. I'm sitting in my office, listening to Julie London perform a jazz rendition of Light My Fire. Perhaps it's the melancholy atmosphere that surrounds me that has caused this moment to happen. Perhaps it's that the lack of seemingly constant stress on my shoulders has been lifted. I am not sure. This moment for me is surreal. I have just realized that the title of my blog is no longer accurate. I have been writing entries on this blog for almost an entire year of my life.

At the time when I started this blog, I had moved to France. At that point in my life, I had simply moved from one place to another. Now, after nearly a year, I feel as though I live here. My name is signed on another lease for an apartment. I have a receipt issued by French government allowing me to collect my national ID card in September. I have a bank account here. I have only a French cellphone number now. I have favorite restaurants. I actually live in France. I didn't just move my belongings here, but rather my entire life.

I have evolved. I have progressed. In France, one of the most famous comedians is named Gad Elmaleh. I remember one night in the beginning of October, one of my French friends and I watched some of his stand-up. He was laughing hysterically, but I mostly chuckled along with audience and smiled, not really understanding what was being said. Yesterday, I watched some of his stand-up again for the first time since October. This time I actually laughed, and not just because the audience was laughing.

I am proud of myself.
True life: I moved to live in France.