07.13.2010     22h57

Did you know that British people tend to say "swimming pool", whereas Americans just say "pool"? I always thought it sounded weird to say "swimming pool" all the time, when "pool" gets the point across just fine.

Anyway, back to the story at hand. I've recently started swimming as a means of getting some exercise and seeing my friends. Going to the pool in France is pretty social, as a lot of people do laps as they chat with each other, or they hang out at one end of the pool to chat. Ciara, Celine and I tend to swim laps, stopping briefly for a chat before another set of laps. I'm not a very strong swimmer, but it's good cross-training, especially when it's too hot and humid outside to go for a run.

[Side note: As I'm typing this on the couch, Damien is sitting on the opposite couch reading stuff on the Internet about upcoming comic books or something, and he just said, "Trop cool Raoul!", which made me laugh out loud.]

After our swim, we changed back into our street clothes. I was finished first, and was waiting for Ciara and Celine to come out. As we started to walk out to the car, I realized that my glasses were not on my face, and I started to freak out. "Shoot!" I said to Ciara and Celine, "I left my glasses on the changing room bench." I ran back inside and looked inside every single changing room ... and yep, you guessed it, my glasses were nowhere to be found.

I ended up asking the woman at the front entrance, and then i went back inside and asked the helpers in the changing rooms, and then inside again to see the lifeguards. Nobody had turned my glasses into lost and found. As I frantically searched the changing rooms again, I had that sinking feeling in my stomach that my glasses were gone forever. And since they never called me today to tell me that someone turned them in, well, I'm pretty sure that I can kiss those glasses goodbye. And the cherry on the cake? I had also forgotten my keycard in the locker door, and I had 7 entrances left on it. I called them and they blocked it, though, so for 2E I can get those 7 entrances left. Although this whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth.

I mean, come on, who sees a pair of prescription glasses on the changing room bench and thinks either "ooh, i'm gonna throw these away!" or "nice, i can take these home with me." The keycard i can understand, because the person thought they were going to get free entrances to the pool. But my prescription glasses?!

Luckily i have a backup pair, and I was thinking about changing my glasses anyway (it's been three years since my last pair), but now I have to try to get an appointment in the next few days - which is next to impossible, especially since tomorrow is Bastille Day - and then try to get my new pair of glasses made before Saturday, July 24. I think i'm going to be wearing my backup pair until we get back from the US, since I get a 200E reimbursement from my insurance if i buy my glasses in France.

[categorized as   French Life   friends   problems ]

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