he rides a moped, wears plaid shorts with thick, high, maybe colored socks. he looks tres bizarre on that bike but it doesn't matter because he's cool. it works for him. he earns his euros at someplace like monoprix or the newstand, and only eats a baguette all day until dinner when he always has a beer. he knows where to get the best bread, a good beer, and smiles at least one smile to a stranger each day. he grows stubble and then shaves it off again. he can't decide. he goes to a free internet cafe where he knows a guy and always scores a free coffee. he likes to wear his headphones when he e-mails. sometimes the french keyboard still frustrates him.
he listens to good music and drinks a carafe of wine while he sits at the jazz cafe. a busty brunette locks his eyes from across the room. he is used to this but still acts awkward. girls fancy him on many days but mostly he's scared of really letting someone know him.
he runs at parc monceau and the surrounding streets. people notice him because he is tall, and his feet hit the gravel loudly. he often stops to watch the old men lazily play their games. they are always smoking and someone sits on a bench in the silence. he wants to be like them. they are comfortable with life.
on sad days he visits le jardin du luxembourg and imagines himself running at the pigeons. this always makes him chuckle. he buys a cheap panini from a vendor on the street and always savors it. sometimes, on these days, he rides the bus just to feel like he's going somewhere.
he thinks about how when he's old he will come back to paris and in a park hidden away from the crowds he will play le petanque with the old men. he has a manual camera with a brown leather case. he takes photos of everything. he hopes to work at a photostation soon.
he likes to sit pres de sacre coeur and look at the tourists. people often think he's german. he takes pictures for them sometimes and prides himself on a good shot. later, when he is at home drinking coffee and listening to his favorite record, he thinks about this and feels good.
he still plays the drums. a little girl once told him he panicked while playing. he liked that and told himself to remember it. he misses the food channels and once or twice a month he watches them at a friend's flat on his day off. then he cooks for someone, usually a girl. and after, he has a good time with her. he finds a reason to put on his shoes and leave quickly.
he listens more than he talks and sends postcards to his family. his sister likes them best.
he misses his grandpa on most days.
he has friends visit but mostly they come to see paris. he feels good about being here and like his life but knows this is only one chapter. he's okay with it and does what he can.
he has a small wooden nightstand with a lamp from IKEA. he always reads a psalm before bed and checks his alarm three times before switching off the lamp. once during a fete du cinema, he went to the movies seven times in three days. he made sure he watched only french and spanish films.
once he washed his socks by wearing them in the shower but after they felt mushy. he usually washes his white t-shirts in the sink.
he sketches the eiffel tower from a picture in his mind.
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