Since getting back from Portugal, life has been a bit hectic. There’s a lot to do and too little time, as is often the case in my life. I’m looking to simplify, and I’m looking to find a way to be more focused and more driven. I am too easily distracted, and this distraction affects everything I do. I need to learn how to better balance play, work, and life. At least, though, I’ve been having fun adventures along the way. For example- Fete de Geneva is fully underway now, and I’ve already had a number of amazing nights with friends and live music out on the lake. Next week I’ve also promised to brave the rides (yay!)… Basically this summer has been about playing in the sun and having fun, and its been a nice relief after the tedium and darkness of winter.

In other news, I’ve finally gotten my Swiss visa card, which means I actually have a valid ID here other than my passport ( double yay!). Plus, a couple of my NOLA friends are gracing me with their presence for a whole 3 months, which is awesome, to say the least (ummm, triple yay!). I’m also trying to figure out what’s in store for me next, and I’m utterly terrified and have become paralysed into non-action. I’ve no idea what’s going to happen at the end of my project here. I can’t stay on in my current capacity. I literally can’t afford to. The small stores of money I’ve saved away are dwindling fast as is, and so I need to know what I’m doing. Now. But the problem? I don’t know where to look, because I don’t really know what I want. Wait, I take that back. I MOSTLY know what I want, but I don’t have the necessary background or skills to get there, and despite waiting for it, it doesn’t appear that any bright and shining beacon is going to light my way down the path to get there. So, I’ve got to figure out my own path. Yeah, sometimes it sucks to be a grown-up. I also don’t know where I want to be. This city is not the best place I’ve ever lived, but I could definitely do worse, and now that I’ve been here long enough to find some really great people, it’s not nearly as bad as I originally made it out to be. But if I theoretically DID find a job, and was able to stay here, the biggest thing I’ve learned is that I want to stop feeling powerless. I can’t do it anymore. Living the way I’m living here is not easy, and I’m always stressed out. My salary is not enough to afford the basics of life, and I don’t have the right kind of permit, so I can’t get an additional job. Also, even if I COULD afford the place of my choosing to live in, I can’t sign a lease, and instead have to deal with sub-lets and situations that are less than above-board. I don’t have any rights here, and I feel stuck and in a position that makes it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I want to quit complaining, and I want to stop worrying about all the big stuff, so I can just focus on improving the little stuff. I’m sorry, I’m just tired. Really really tired. And I should be sleeping, not writing…So.. anyway, before I carry on uncontrollably ranting about ridiculously emo and uninteresting ‘woe is me’ things, I am going to graciously and smoothly change the subject-

Let’s talk about Paleo. Paleo is a music festival in Nyon. A town right next to Geneva. It’s the biggest in Switzerland or so I’ve been told. Anyway, I have amazing friends who do things like give me a ticket so that I can come adventuring along with them to see the likes of bands/performers like Paolo Nutini, the Klaxons, Mr. Oizo, and others. Now, because my friends are so fabulous, and because music festivals are always fun, I decided to take the opportunity to document the entire affair with my brand new camera (which I am completely and totally head over heels in love with)(and which, PS, everyone laughed at when I took it out of my bag, as it is a bit of a monster). Thus, I am about to share with the world the hilarious, wine-soaked, and ridiculous evening/night/morning that started last Saturday Nyon. This photo narrative will hopefully be in a somewhat comprehensive order, and will somewhat chronicle our rockstardom/descent into debauchery.

(photography mostly by me, with help from friends- notably Bec)

Thank you all for a wonderful night!