Instant hot water and cold showers

The French have a lot of brilliant ideas. For example, my apartment has instant hot water. The kitchen and bathroom are on opposite sides of the wall so it doesn't take too much time for the hot water to get from the heater to the sink or shower. Instant hot water is very "green" because it means that you haven't heated up a 30 gallon tank that's not being used. It's very eco-friendly.

The shower - it's about 20 inches by 24 inches. Except that there is a faucet, a shower-caddy and a shower curtain, so the functional area is maybe 15 inches by 18 inches. Admittedly, I'm not a large person, but (actually that would be "butt") each time I turn around I burn my ass on the super-heated metal faucet. It seems there is no warm water, just HOT or NOT. The water comes out steaming and so I have to turn it off part way through the shower. After lathering up, I turn it back on, but you guessed it - it's COLD. So, each day I take a hot-cold-hot-cold shower. Now, "pardon my French" (to use an old expression) but it's a freaking pain-in-the-ass.

Last night, I finally sent an email to my landlord suggesting that there may be a problem with the thermostat, and the fact that the lights over the dining table do not work. It took thirty minutes to write the email in French. And THAT is how I spent my summer vacation.

[Okay, this post needs a better finish. How about "Trust me, I'll do a post later on all of the hot "derrieres" in Paris." Yeah, that sounds better. In the meantime, here's a bunch of asses (les derrieres des policiers Parisien) from the student protest. As Paris Hilton would say... "hot."]