In Which I Learn About Linens

As I was informed yesterday that I needed to buy sheets for my apartment, I voted that today would be a good day to do it.

I woke up around 2pm to the sound of a lot of children and someone's smoke alarm going off.  I voted to lay in bed longer and eat some cookies before I took a shower.  My shower is one of those awful ones that I remembered using when I was in France like 4 years ago.  It's a bathtub with the shower head on a hose that you move around.  But unlike the one in my actual apartment, this one cannot attach to the wall so you can at least pretend you are taking a normal person shower.  Fortunately, it is also unlike the one that we used in a hotel the first time I was here, as there was indeed a shower curtain, so I did not flood the bathroom like I did previously.

Shower?  #achieved

Then I found some directions to the Monoprix and set off to go there.  My garmin vivofit that I am using as a watch was still set to Iowa time, so I tried to quickly sync it before I left.  It refused to even be seen by my phone.  So I tried a little harder and about an hour later I re-paired it to my phone and still have all my previous data, as well as the correct time on my wrist.

I walked to Monoprix and discovered that the map on my phone is wrong a little bit in that neighborhood-area-place, but I got over it by going in a general direction.

The Monoprix turned out to be in the mall, which I suppose I could have guessed as it was right next to the words "centre commercial" on my map.

I went downstairs to the section where one would buy sheets.  However, I have no idea how big my sofabed is, or any of the words for sheets or pillowcases.  I picked up something that seemed like a sheet in the smallest size, and then I went to look for pillows.  I was amazed last night at the stupidly large size of pillow I was given, it looked like one of the square decorative ones you're given at hotels, and I was displeased.

Turns out, all pillows are that stupid size, so I got one.  Then I saw a lovely old woman and I told her that I had a bed that was also a sofa, and did this size of thing seem like it would be the right size?

That's when I found out that what I had actually picked up was a duvet cover, and I what I needed was the thing that I thought was a bedskirt.  (This is also where I found out that I don't think you can purchase a top sheet in France, but idk)   So the lovely woman and I walked over to that section and she pointed and explained and so now I have something that I think will be the right size.  She got out a tape measure from her purse and showed me how big each of the things were so I could pick the one that looked closest to the size of my bed.

I walked back, stopping in some food stores and the Librairie Mollat--which was way enormouser than I expected.

When I got to my room though, I couldn't get my key to work.  I'd had some issues with it yesterday, but today that stupid thing just wasn't having it.  After like 20 minutes, I knocked on the door of the old couple and asked for help.  They were originally upset with me because they thought the whistling smoke detector sound (which is still going off) was coming from my room, but I said "no" and they seemed okay with it.  The old man tried to help me with the key, but the woman made him go back inside.  She informed me that he is sick mentally with the Alzheimer's and that's why she sent him inside.  She tried the key a couple times, and like two seconds later the door was open.  She was very pleased that the sound wasn't coming from my room (you can barely hear it in here when I have the fan on, just sounds a bit like tinnitus).  And informed me that someone should call the police because it's impossible to sleep.  I agreed with her, though she is very difficult to understand.  She says I have some pretty bad luck, and I agreed with that.  I thanked her a lot and sat down to write this blog.