Well I'm deep in it now! I got a job as an office manager for a non-profit organization. It's national and international (our "head" office is in Toronto) but the workplace here is entirely done in french. I have so much material for this blog! The problem has been sorting it out (plus my finals and grad school apps that I just got all done). Now that I will have some time and tons of information and ideas to share, I will be back on a more regular posting schedule. So stay tuned!
As for the ripped up sidewalk out front, they actually came and repaired it! I was quite pleasantly surprised. Of course, they didn't do a proper repair, filling it with asphalt instead of concrete. But it is level now and it makes a big difference when you are coming off the last step, especially when carrying a bike. One thing, the day it was done, two different people walked right through it, a man and a woman, at different times, leaving their shoeprints permanently embedded in the black surface. And then the day after that, someone let their dog leave a nice steaming turd right in the middle of it. That actually went on quite regularily for days until I put a sign up. Discouraging.
Finally, I am doing a research project on francophone comic books and chronicling it in what was my 50 books blog. So if you are interested in learning a bit about that incredible world, take a look.