Daniel Ferrante

My last girlfriend - some two or three years ago - lied to me. Not a small lie. She lied about being in college, she lied about her relationship with her family. She lied about her ex-boyfriend.

When I found out, I kicked her out. She was cried. I simply told her, "Less crying, more packing." Immortal words now among my friends.

This saying has become a sort of in joke among my friends - and even appears on occassion in Fark conversations. However, in Dijon, it transformed into my own personal warcry.

Once I received word that I hadn't received the teaching job in Japan, I was ready to head back to the US to job hunt. The only thing that kept in France was my girlfriend. Other than that, I was burning time and money in France…

But, I received good news in March. The person who replaced me at Apple had moved to another position and my former job had opened back up to me. Granted, I had to reapply for it and there was no special treatment, but hey - a genuine job opportunity for me!

I applied. And of course, I got it. I was happy. It was then that I realized I had spent so much time being stressed out over work, that I hadn't taken any time to enjoy life in France.

I was so stressed at times that I couldn't sleep or even function. It was sick.

So, I told myself what I told my ex so many years ago, "Less crying, more packing"

I've since left Dijon and returned to San Jose. I regret not having enjoyed myself more in Dijon, but I leave for Europe again tmw to see my girlfriend. I'll make the best of every last second with her.