1999

the hits, misses, rants and raves that constitute my life

1/5/99: I'll be in Paris at the end of next week.  Is that news enough?  I CAN'T WAIT.  Au revoir!

1/31/99: We came back from our brief stay in Paris last week to a pile of mail and a lonely and desperate cat, but yours truly managed to escape the desperation which accompanied last year's return from Europe.  This is due in no small part, of course, to my dear Amaury.  At any rate, there's no point in blathering about the trip, because we didn't do too many tourist-type things (we were busy with family and friends of Amaury).  We had a great time, though, and I got a new leather jacket, purse, wallet and Shiseido compact.

2/1/99:  We had simultaneous seaweed wraps done at a salon this weekend.  It was a good idea--and we had fun doing it--but I think a plain ol' massage would have been less stressful.  Between the paper underwear, the nakedness, the jumping and down every 5 seconds for a new shower, I don't think I'd do it again any time soon.

2/4/99: I have now added a picture of Amaury on the "potty" (or some facsimile thereof) in Paris.  Check it out by clicking on his page!

2/10/99:  I was mentioned in our basketball captain's weekly recap of our games: "DePasquale in particular took her newly-acquired boxing out skills, combined it with a well-placed hip, and really hustled for rebounds and boxing out."  Woo-hoo!  The problem, of course, is that I have no idea what she means or how I did it, but look, I'm doing something out there.

3/16/99: We went skiing with Francois last weekend in Snowshoe, West Virginia.  I spent two days crying down the slopes and badly injured my right elbow.  We all argued incessantly on the drive back and I was hurt at having skiied mostly alone, but I have decided that I like skiing.  We therefore trudge onward to Whitetail this weekend, to give it another go (sans Francois).

4/8/99: I went to the Hotel Del Coronado (on an island-type thing outside San Diego) for a knowledge management conference and never once left the island.  I did try jetskiing....that picture will go up when the roll has been developed, assuming I look reasonably slim (fat chance).  All in all, a fairly enjoyable getaway, but be advised:  AmericaWest sucks.

4/29/99: We went to lunch last weekend at Amaury's assistant's house, and I met one of the translators at his firm, whose parents are missionaries in Barbados.  I cannot think of a person with whom I have less in common.  The lunch did not rise to the level of "mildly entertaining" but I did get sick from eating too much meat.

5/99: Jill and I have been published in a real book!  Making the Harm Visible: Global Sexual Exploitation of Women and Girls, Speaking Out and Providing Services is hot off the presses from the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women.  This book contains an article for which Jill and I share copyright credit, "A Commitment to Living."  They even included small bios on all contributing authors.  I don't know if I can include any more headlines for a while, as this is an accomplishment of which I am immensely proud.  I think I may now be a real author (at least, that is the illusion I am now laboring under). 7/13/99: I've been pretty depressed over Amaury's incessant studying for the New York bar (2 bar prep courses, which means I only see him one night a week).  Still, it's over soon.  In the meantime, I've gone on one of my yearly "benders," fought with people on the subway and joined the firm's volleyball team.  Oy. 8/1/99:  I've put up one of the best articles I've read in ages, with the permission of the author.  It's essentially the anarchist's take (I daresay, the thinking man's and woman's take) on the JFK thing.  Well-written, clever, sarcastic and right on the money--read it.

8/11/99: The pricks on our firm's volleyball team have caused me to quit, but I'm still playing.  Amaury has a ball and my apartment complex has an outdoor (sand) court; we recently had a game at my apartment.  Email me if you want to play in the future; I've finally found a sport I love! 8/12/99:  Amaury bought me a new Sony mini-stereo, to celebrate being done with the bar exam!  In return, I updated his page; check out the new picture, new layout and new music.  8/13/99: Last night, there was a huge silverfish in my apartment, and then a huge palmetto bug, which I haven't seen since Florida.  It was a very stressful night.  8/31/99: We (Amaury, Mark and I) went to see a wildlife refuge (primarily a bird sanctuary) and then Don Rickles in Atlantic City on Friday; we all had a pretty good time. Don Rickles was funny--$45 funny, I don't know, but OK, we knew his shtick in advance.  At any rate, it was neat to see huge birds in person (like herons and egrets), as well as fiddler crabs.  There were a lot of buzzing insects and I hit my ear with my camera trying to swat them off.  I also broke a wine glass at a restaurant.

9/23/99: Amaury and I went to Chicago this weekend.  How was the trip?  Well, we missed our flight Thursday night by 2 or 3 minutes, because it left the gate 10 minutes before its scheduled departure time.  In the history of flying, there has never been a more on-time flight.  At any rate, we waited 2 hours for the next flight; then, about 20 minutes before it was to leave, the entire airport was shut down for the night, due to Hurricane Floyd.  We went back to Amaury's house to stay overnight, sans luggage/clean clothes, and about 1 1/2 hours later, the power went out.  Did I mention that the flight we missed left 10 minutes before its scheduled departure time?  Still, we had a good, albeit short, time in Chicago. We went shopping, had some nice dinners and walked around Lake Michigan. 12/23/99:  OK, I had to take some news items down.  Every time I turned around, someone at work had "found" my home page; I figured if it kept up, I'd soon find myself out of a job.  More importantly, though, the more I thought about it, the more I felt that I'd somehow sullied myself by dropping down to my detractors' level, and I didn't like that feeling.  So, many of you will notice that the last two updates are missing--that's why.  If you really want to know what went down, email me and I'll be happy to fill you in. At any rate, we're leaving for Paris in two days, and I am very excited.  Amaury's dad bought us tickets for Falstaff on New Year's Eve at the Opera Bastille (and that's just the beginning of the evening).  The day before, we will spend a day at Francois's parents' country house.  We'll be getting me a new coat, and I also plan to get some new clothes, make-up, and maybe even a new purse.  In short, we are planning to have a wonderful, fun and relaxing vacation. When we come back, things should be moving forward for me professionally--and our volleyball team will play its first game! Happy New Year!