I've been shopping for an apartment in Paris for a week next September for a vacation with a bunch of fellow bears, and I've repeatedly come up short. It's amazing, but all of the good ones are already booked out for next year. As a result, the only stuff I'm finding that's actually available and the kind of place I'd like to stay for a week is not centrally located, e.g. this place. So... we'd all save money, but be a 20-minute metro ride away from the happening Marais. Is that so bad?
Work continues to be dull, but hopefully that'll change with some super secret unannounced products that should start ramping up in 2008. We'll see.
I'm also settling into the routines of San Diego utility bills. I think we're paying less for TV and internet - at least compared to DirecTV + Verizon phone + Speakeasy DSL - which is good. However, the local water utility is annoying: they're charging us for sewerage based on an average San Diego home, which is what we're definitely not (we have super low water usage appliances, there are only two of us here, AND we don't take long showers). This is set to change next summer, but until then we're paying about triple what we should be paying, and they don't seem to refund you once you've proven that you're not wasting water. Ah well. The gas and electric bill seems eminently reasonable, especially as we're not using any gas for heating (so far). It's nice to live in a warm climate.
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