Fuck this fax machine

So fax machines are ghetto and practically useless to begin with. But you know, sometimes they come in handy (for photocopying, or printing from my computer) so I'm glad I have one in my apartment. But the chick who bought this one last year cheaped out and bought the ghettoest model that requires thermal-transfer ink and special thin fax paper. WTF. And what's better is that neither of these things were in the apartment when I got it so through trial and error I've had to figure out where this shit is even available. And I don't think I can send faxes to the US which is just totally pointless. There is a copy store downstairs I've been going to but it's a rip off and I kind of said that to the guy who works there so I don't really want to go back. Basically I printed something off of my jump drive and he charged me as if I'd used the internet for five minutes while I was futzing with Windows. Douche bag. So now I'm determined to figure out this fax machine and just send print jobs to it from my computer so I can stop bothering with the printing store. And I still have access to big, laser-jet Xerox machines at work.

In other news, I went into the bank yesterday and of course I had to make an appointment for a pre-arranged time.. Those tricksy French! Perhaps the idea is that I will feel special because the one-on-one time an agent has spent with me to open this account -- but I am American and I want it and I want it now and why can't I just walk in and get it? That's the way it went when I opened my US bank account anyway. Whaaaaatever. Tuesday morning I will present myself at the BNP Paribas between the Pantheon and the Eiffel Tower and I will suck it up. And then I will present all 93475904 papers proving my student and job status even though I don't have a carte de séjour. Unfortunately the paperwork that says my card is in process hasn't come in yet. But I suppose there's always tomorrow for that.

This morning I forced myself to wake up as soon as I first opened my eyes. I usually wake up early and turn over and sleep until 11 am, but I need to get myself tired to enough to go to bed at 10. So ridiculous. But it's not very practical to get on that kind of schedule for every night. I mean if I was waking up at 6 on class days I would be miserable.

(Side note: one of my neighbors is cooking green beans or something and totally stinking up my apartment. Fack)

Also, travel plans are about 80% done. The main forms of transportation to each city are arranged, plus the hostel in Amsterdam and the bus to get us from Stansted airport to London. Left to be arranged transportation from London back to Stansted, and the shuttle that will get me from Beauvais airport back home to Paris. Oh and Barcelona hotel and a cat sitter. Man this is going to be epic. I've been looking at apartment rentals in Barcelona because it's four nights and there's four of us and it's nicer than a shitty hotel room. Plus I like the idea of having a kitchen and a washing machine (as I'm packing very lightly for an 11-day trip and I will probably run out of clean shirts). We'll see how it goes.

In a perfect world, I would get my bank account on Tuesday and be able to send in paperwork to the Ministry of Education to get paid right away. Then I would be able to put most of that money toward my mounting credit card bill. And I would be able to put back all of the rent money I've been borrowing to pay for my gym membership and my metro pass (which hasn't arrived yet gah).

I really cannot wait to be settled.