Tools of the Trade - The Audio Recorder

Every good ethnographer knows the value of an excellent audio recorder. They're great for capturing

1. the sounds of the field,
2. any interviews you might conduct, and
3. all the silly pop songs you write during your isolation.

Now, I'm no ethnographer, but I will likely be conducting some interviews, and we all know how much I love writing silly pop songs.

Lucky for me, my mom and grandfather gave me an excellent - nay, superior - digital audio recorder for my birthday this year. With its multidirectional, stereo microphones (that's right, plural), its easy-to-use interface, and its ability to record around 4 hours of low-quality and 20 minutes of super high-quality sound, the Edirol R-09HR Recorder deserves every bit of praise heaped on it by cnet.com, and more.

So far, I've used it for (you guessed it) recording myself, most playing organ or guitar and singing (my quasi-fake band, The Somervillains, even recorded a demo!). But I also used it to record a recent concert I gave at the assisted living facility where my grandmother hangs out. You can hear the recorder on its lowest-quality setting here:

I'd post a high-quality recording, but the files are humongous (which is necessary if you're planning on professionally editing the recording); hopefully this gives you enough of an idea. If we're both lucky, I'll get to interview Madeleine Milhaud (widow of eminent composer Darius Milhaud) while I'm in France, and I'll be able to post excerpts for your listening pleasure!

Tools of the Trade - The Computer

Nine months of research abroad constitutes a legitimate reason to invest in a lightweight, long-battery-life, superfast computer, right?

Dude, I'm getting a netbook.

It's all Maggie's fault - as her 7-year-old Macbook grew feeble, she invested in an Asus Eee PC 1000 He, which captivated me with its 8.5 hour battery life, not to mention its 3.2-lb. weight. Meanwhile, my 3-year-old Dell Inspiron, also quickly reaching its last legs, gets around 10 minutes of battery life (on a replacement battery, no less!) and weighs a whopping 7 lbs!

So, with a little over a month before we leave, I decided to similarly invest in something that would be convenient for research, if not online movie watching. (I'll bring the Dell along for that very purpose, since we won't have a TV in our apartment.) The new Asus netbook is the Eee PC 1005 Ha (ha!), and it supposedly gets an epic 10.5 hours of battery life (under ideal settings). It also has a 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB ram, and a 1.66 ghz Intel Atom processor. Pretty sweet.

This will be perfect for spending 10.5 hours a day at the library doing research (read: at a cafe, googling). I can't wait!

Travel guide

Louis and I were recently awarded a $30 Amazon gift certificate for our continued participation in a relationship study.

We're contemplating purchasing a travel guide in advance of our departure for France. Today we browsed Amazon but discovered that there are many, many choices for travel guides: Frommer's, Lonely Planet, Fodor's, Not For Tourists, Michelin, and so on.

We haven't quite decided which guide we'll ultimately purchase.. somehow I feel as though there may be some strong opinions out there regarding the "best" travel guide. Do you swear by one particular travel guide publisher? Do you have a travel guide recommendation for aspiring foodies who also appreciate history, arts, and local flair?

Panda as Puppy

As you may or may not know, we adopted Panda in October, 2008, after she had been abandoned in a back yard in Georgia with her 5 siblings and her mother. When the rescue brought her to us, she was already around 6 months old - still a puppy, but full-grown. We never knew what she looked like before we adopted her.

Well, now we know.

The woman who probably deserves the most credit for "rescuing" Panda - the neighbor who realized that these dogs had been abandoned, and who cared for them while the local dog rescue found homes for them - recently sent us pictures she took months before we adopted Panda. Prepare to be devastated by Panda's extreme cuteness.

[10 bucks says your heart just melted a little.]

She's ready to go!

Phew!

Panda's travel documents came in the mail today, signed and sealed by our state vet. Thanks, Louis, for getting all the forms together and making sure Panda is ready for her big adventure!

Certifying Panda

Way back on May 1st, we posted a "to do" list for our trip. With nearly two months to go, we've completed most things on that list:

Get long-stay visa

Arrange health insurance

Find a place to live (ideally 1 bedroom, not a studio)

Find subletter

Make monthly budget

Contact French scholars

Email French friends/family

Find/take a picture to headline this blog

Figure out Panda's travel arrangements

Book flight(s)

Find other useful Americans-in-Paris blogs; steal their ideas

Sign up for classes

It may seem silly that the most important figure in this blog - Panda! - is the last one to get set to go. But yesterday we made progress in rectifying that situation.

Panda and I went to the vet after having acquainted ourselves with all the rules and regulations concerning exporting an animal to France. We got her microchipped. She got two out of four yearly vaccinations, as well as year-long Heartguard and Prozac prescriptions (why Prozac?). And most importantly, Dr. Ulrich filled out both a USDA International Health Certificate and the French health certificate, both of which we'll need to make it through customs. The USDA certificate I mailed (along with a rabies vaccination certificate, the $34 fee, and a pre-paid, self-addressed envelope) to the Massachusetts State Veterinarian (find yours here!) so they can stamp it and send it back to me.

What remains? Panda needs to go back to the vet two days before we leave to get her last shots (apparently they need to be given 24-72 hours before leaving), which will be recorded on the French health certificate. The vet will also fill out one more (different) health certificate for the airline, which promises that Panda is capable of withstanding normal flying conditions. The rest happens at the airport (more on that later).

Cliff's Notes, just in case that was confusing:

Panda needs . . .

• to be microchipped (✓)
• to be up-to-date on rabies, tick, worm, and other vaccines/treatments (½ ✓)
• a USDA International Health Certificate, filled out by her vet, stamped by the State Vet, and returned to her owners (½ ✓)
• a French/European Union Veterinary Certificate, filled out by her vet, submitted at customs (½ ✓)
• a certificate, filled out by her vet within 10 days of leaving, confirming her ability to withstand normal flying conditions

Panda is well on her way!

Time

You'll notice from our countdown widget (at right) that we are only 55 days away from our arrival in France. Can you believe it? I can't. Hopefully sometime in the next 55 days it stops raining here in Boston... I'm starting to think we'll never see the sun again!

This past weekend we had a yard sale to clear some space in our attic. One thing I am not looking forward to is packing up our room and putting it all in the attic. I think we cleared enough space but I really have no idea how much room all our stuff takes up when not in our room!

Can't Leave Home Without It

Dear Everyone,

We got our visas!!!! (It only took two weeks!) (We're still glad we started early.)

Sincerely,

Louis and Maggie

This is Cool/Dorky

Saw this on one of 3,406 "American in Paris" blogs (Maitresse to be specific). One day I hope to understand all these anagrams, but for the moment I'll just be impressed by the idea and execution.

For a larger version: http://www.gef.free.fr/metro.html