Ferbent Got A Job!

Well, it's not official yet but he has been offered a job at a hotel in Paris. He's going to Paris this weekend and will sign the contract on Monday. I hope that's all there is to it and he didn't misunderstand. I'm sure she did say she wanted him to sign a contract so fingers crossed. I don't want to celebrate until it's signed but I'm pretty happy about the news and so is Ferbent, of course.

So this means we'll be moving back to Paris. Moving to Montpellier was only really meant to be a temporary move while we improved our French and so we had a base for job hunting, but I don't really want to move now. I know I'll be much happier in Paris because there are so many more things to do, I just don't want to go through the hassle of looking for an apartment and moving.

It's so difficult to find a decent apartment in Paris. I don't want to rush my search and then get something I'm not happy with, like here in Montpellier. I want to get at least a one bed apartment with a proper kitchen, timber floorboards, and renovated. We only pay 490 euros per month here but in Paris I think we'll be looking at closer to 1000. I did see on TV the other day when 2 girls found a renovated one bed in a really nice location for 900 but I don't know how old the show was.

Anyway, one thing at a time. Ferbent needs to sign his contract and then we need to find some kind of temporary accommodation for him while I sort out the new apartment and the move.

First Adwords Campaign

I started my first Google Adwords campaign today for my web templates website. I've read a little bit about Adwords on internet forums but I'm still not too sure what I'm doing. I'd like to buy one of the many books about it or even some software which is available to help with bidding prices and keywords. Unfortunately my budget doesn't allow that at the moment so the only option I have is to keep reading the forums and to use a bit of trial and error with my campaign.

The good thing is that Google allow you to set a maximum daily budget so there's not chance of my costs getting out of hand. I don't understand how to get a low cost per click. To get my ad in the top 4 places I have to bid around 70 cents per click, sometimes though it's over $1.20. I don't want to pay more than 10 cents so I guess I'll have to work on my ad copy and on the landing page. This is what I don't know how to do.

I'll keep reading over the next few days and keep a very close eye on my costs per click, just to make sure things don't get out of hand. There's not point in paying $1 per click and then have no sales. I'm a bit nervous about how it's going to go but I think once I get the hang of it there will be plenty of money to be made.

Juanes

I can't remember the last time I bought a music CD. I just don't listen to music anymore. However, I did see Juanes on TV a few weeks back and have become obsessed with him ever since. I know he's been around for a while but I never took much notice until I saw him that night. He was playing on the Tonight Show and, not surprisingly, all the girls were screaming at him.

I dropped a few hints at Ferbent and, very surprisingly, he bought his CD for me which includes a number of video clips. So now whenever I take a break from work, I put his music on, listening to his sexy voice as I sing along to the Spanish lyrics which I don't understand.

Spain is just around the corner from Montpellier so now it looks like I have another reason to start learning Spanish.

Do The French Floss?

The French seem to have a bit of a reputation for a lack of dental hygiene and if you saw the disgusting rotting front teeth of the concierge in my building you'd understand why. However, I'm a little confused. If you go to any supermarket you'll see rows and rows of toothbrushes and toothpaste. I never imagined they could make so many different varieties. The thing I don't get is where is the dental floss? They have all these different toothbrushes and then only 1 type of floss? Sometimes they don't have any floss at all. Today I had to go to the pharmacy to buy some. They only had one variety, of course, and it cost a whopping 3.80 euros. I don't get it.

In Front of the Computer

I seem to spend most of my time in front of the computer these days. If I'm not working on a new web site or maintaining one of my existing web sites then I'm taking a break and playing cards on the internet.

My current game of choice is Spades. I play this at MSN with a kiwi friend of mine. She initially got me addicted to Wheel of Fortune but I got bored after a while and moved on. Now I can't stop playing Spades. I get addicted to these kind of games so easily. At least it's not as bad as when I couldn't stop playing Sudoku. I would often do those puzzles until 2 or 3 in the morning. It got out of control so I stopped cold turkey.

Hopefully I'll get sick of playing cards and quit msn games for good. Surely I can find something more useful to do with my spare time, like reading one of the many books I've bought online from amazon.fr and still haven't read.

Men Are Expensive!

I don't know how everyone else manages but I'm struggling to feed my husband. He eats so much! I don't know where he puts it all and the most annoying thing is that he never gains weight.

We're going broke with the amount he eats. Today I had a small glass of milk, maybe 250mL, and Ferbent drank the rest of the 1L bottle like it was nothing. He thinks it's normal to eat half a packet of pasta and often buys 2 baguettes and eats them both himself. He's crazy!

Quick Trip to Paris

I spent the last day and a half in Paris. It wasn't much of a trip as the only reason I went was because Ferbent had a job interview and he didn't want to go alone. The interview went well and he'll find out next week if he gets the job. Apart from that it was a quick trip to Le Bon Marche for some Aesop makeup, which you can't get in Montpellier, and some delicious food from their fantastic food hall.

Surprisingly, Montpellier is only 3 and a half hours from Paris by TGV. I thought it would take much longer considering the distance. It was a nice trip, especially seeing we went first class for only 40 euros each, although I wasn't prepared for the bitterly cold weather when we arrived.

It's a trip I could easily make more often, to go shopping or just for a change of scenery. Of course I won't need to make that trip if Ferbent gets this job. It also looks like he'll have another job interview in Paris next week, which I won't be going to, so chances are we'll be moving to Paris. I'd prefer to live in Paris, having loved living there for a year in 1999, and I don't really enjoy living in little Montpellier, but I can't really be bothered moving. I hate the thought of having to find a new apartment and then to move all our things. Not to mention we'll probably pay twice the rent for half the size apartment there.

Anyway, the important thing is for Ferbent to get a job so I can get my carte de sejour and get a job myself.

Need Good Pizza

Why is it that the French can't make good pizza? I know the pizza here, or anywhere for that matter, will never taste as good as the original found in Italy, but you'd think it would at least be edible. Here they insist on putting blue cheese and emmental cheese on their pizzas, don't they know what mozzarella is? You can have mozzarella on your pizza but I've found you generally have to specifically ask for it. Even then the base is just not right. The French should really stick to making baguettes and leave it at that.

First Forum Post

I made my very first forum post today. I only really started reading forums in the last few months. I'd read them before but only if I was looking for something specific or if I came across something in a Google search. I now tend to read them on a regular basis to see what is happening in SEO or in affiliate marketing or whatever else takes my interest.

I started a CafePress shop about a week ago selling Albanian Designs on t-shirts and other products. I created about 20 simple designs, text designs for Albanian cities. It was only when I saw them in the search results that I realised I had made a mistake with the images. I couldn't figure out how to fix them so I had to post to the forum. I don't know why but I was a little nervous about it. I thought I really should have known the answer to my question, I am a web developer after all, and was a bit embarrassed to have to ask such a simple question. In the end I got a simple, polite answer and everything worked out ok. The only problem was that I then had to change the 20 or so images I had already made and recreate all the t-shirts. Not a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, believe me!

Studying French in France

When I first lived in Paris in 1999, I was studying French full time. I studied for 7 or 8 months and did a lot of travelling as well. It was difficult at first because I didn't know anyone in France and I didn't speak any French at all, I didn't even know the basics. It was about 6 months before I could have a real conversation. Those first 6 months were pretty hard going but things changed pretty quickly after that time. Once you know the basics you can start to improve quickly.

Just as I was starting to speak fairly well my visa was up and I headed back to Australia. I then didn't speak any French for about 5 years and on my return to France I was surprised how much I had forgotten. It really is true that if you don't use it you lose it. That's why I decided to study for a while when I got to Montpellier. I studied for 1 month and even though I felt like I didn't learn anything new, it got my confidence up (the most important thing when speaking a foreign language) and back into the swing of things.

I think the best thing about that one month course was becoming friendly with the Director of the school. Madam L loves to talk in detail (ie gossip) with us about everyone from her family members to the students at the school. Even on the first day we met she told us about which students thought they spoke well but really didn't have a clue, who were the constant complainers, and who never stopped bothering her with constant questions and demands. That first day she spoke to us for about 2 hours telling us things I'm sure should have been kept private. I just hate to think about what she had to say about us to others!

Organic Cotton Clothing

After spending hours and hours selecting the best organic cotton clothing products for my Buy Organic website, writing product detail content, and setting up links, the company has now gone out of business! I set it all up about a week ago so I'm not impressed.

I had a feeling it wasn't going to work out with them. I should have trusted my instincts and gone with another company. I'm now looking for a new retailer, hopefully someone more established this time. There don't seem to be that many organic cotton retailers in Australia, which is a shame. I'm sure I'll find something.

La Grande Motte to Carnon

I went to La Grande Motte yesterday, another small resort town with ugly 60's high rises. Actually, La Grande Motte is not as ugly as Palavas or Carnon (the other beaches near Montpellier). Some of the buildings are quite quirky and if you like Retro style then this is the place to be. The more time I spent there the more I became fascinated with the architecture. Again I was without my camera. I'm planning to buy a new digital camera in May, when the new releases come out, so I'll have to head back to La Grande Motte then.

Ferbent dropped his cv off at a few hotels at La Grande Motte and then we headed to Carnon. I saw on the internet that one of the hotels there were looking for a maintenance person. We stayed in that hotel for 2 weeks when we first moved to Montpellier and were looking for an apartment, so I knew where it was and what the rooms were like. I thought the job would be perfect for Ferbent so that's where we headed.

I thought the walk from La Grande Motte to Carnon would be around 5kms, 7 at the most. It was a nice, sunny day so we decided to walk there, along the beach. We'd been walking for about an hour when I looked back and realised we weren't even half way there. What a mistake it was to walk. In the end it took us over 3 hours. I worked out later the distance was about 12kms. Add to that an hour or so walking around La Grande Motte and the walk to and from bus station, I'd say we walked well over 15kms. Needless to say I was exhausted by the time I got home and surprisingly so was Ferbent. He never seems to get tired.

I wouldn't have minded being so tired if Ferbent had gotten that job but he didn't. When he went to the hotel in Carnon they said they didn't have any positions available. They didn't even take his cv. They had only advertised the position 2 days earlier so I'm sure it hadn't been filled. The guy was really abrupt with him, I can't understand why. That was the only hotel maintenance job I've seen advertised in the last six months so I'm really disappointed he didn't get it.

Buy Organic Products

Today is the official launch of the Australian site Buy Organic. This web site promotes the production and use of organic products such organic skin care, organic cotton baby clothes, organic chocolate, and organic herbs and spices.

We also provide articles on organic gardening, the benefits of organic cotton growing over conventional practices, and other environmental issues.

Any feedback is welcome, especially regarding articles you would be interested in reading and products you would like to find on the site.

Buy Organic

A Day at the Beach

We went to Palavas today, essentially for Ferbent to look for work but for me it was more about getting out of the house. I studied French for one month at Alliance Francaise when I first arrived in Montpellier but since then I've spent most days in my studio apartment sitting in front of the computer. I generally don't mind being at home alone but the lack of exercise is having a serious impact on my weight!

Back to Palavas. Palavas is a small beach town about 10kms from Montpellier. It has white sandy beaches but it's nothing like the beaches in Australia. Australian beaches have finer, whiter sand and crystal clear water. French beaches just don't compare. The weather wasn't cold but the wind was unbearable. I thought I was going to get away from the wind when I left Perth but it's just as bad here.

Ferbent dropped his CV off to a couple of the hotels in Palavas but most of them looked like they hadn't had any maintenance done to them in the last 20 years so I don't see why they'd start now. Still no job for him.

I don't really understand why there are so few hotels there. I know it's a popular place for tourists in summer. It seems most people going there rent a house or apartment for the summer rather than staying in a hotel. Maybe it's a European thing. Maybe it's because people going there don't have the money to spend on a hotel. It's not exactly a 5 star beach.

The funniest thing that happened all day was when I dropped a plastic bag. I sent Ferbent off to pick it up but each time he went to grab it the wind blew it further away from him. I was killing myself laughing! If only I'd had a camera with me.

Ferbent Returns Home

After 2 months apart, Ferbent has finally come home to Montpellier. He's upset about having been away for so long but has promised to make it up to me. His first goal is to find a job but I don't like his chances in Montpellier. Ferbent works in hotel maintenance and there are so few hotels here that he'd have to be pretty lucky to find something. Naturally I hope he does but if not we'll be moving again, probably back to Paris where there is a lot more work for him.

My First Web Site

I've created plenty of web sites before but in January I completed my first money making (hopefully) site for myself. Cheap Web Templates The site promotes and sells web templates and flash templates which people can use to quickly create their own web site. The templates are designed by professional designers, not by me, thankfully, because I couldn't design anything to save my life. The reason I started with this kind of web site is because it was quick and easy to set up and I can download web templates for my own use at a discounted price. The latter is pretty important to me because I couldn't create a web site without one of these templates.

So far the only template purchases have been from me but that's ok, for now. Maybe with a little advertising things will pick up. Who knows. Maybe.

Left Alone

Ferbent (my husband) decided to go to Albania for Christmas and New Year. He's originally from Kosovo but has lots of family in Albania. In fact he has family in Greece, Italy, Belgium, Germany, UK, US, Albania, Kosovo, and France! His family is huge, especially compared to mine seeing I only have one brother and 2 cousins. Ok, I have 3 other cousins I never see but I don't count them!

He went for 2 weeks and ended up staying 2 months. I knew he'd get stuck there. His family is so demanding, they always need him to do something for them and he always obliges. He spent a lot of time with his cousin who is very sick with cancer. He even escorted him to a hospital in Greece which was very kind but unnecessary. I know he wanted to help but I couldn't help thinking about the money he was spending, money we don't have.

During this time I was left alone in my apartment with very little to do. I work as a web developer and I have a few clients in Australia who I still work for but I was only spending about 10 hours a week working. I knew I had to do something else so I decided on internet marketing. It's the best option for me because I can work from home, the start up costs are very low, and I already have web building skills. This is my new full time job and so far I've earned $0. Yeah, it's going well.

New Life in France

I spent a year in Paris in 1999 and 2000 and loved it. I always wanted to return and when my husband suggested we move to France to be closer to his brother, I jumped at the chance. My husband's name is Ferbent and his brother, Nini, lives in Bourg-en-Bresse, near Lyon. We wanted to be close to Nini but didn't want to live in a small city so we went to Paris, my favourite city.

Paris is a very expensive city and as neither of us were working so we rented a tiny, tiny studio apartment, 20 sqm, for 800 euros per month. It's a lot of money when you're not working so we only rented it for 2 months to see if we could find work. My husband is Albanian but has a British passport so he doesn't need permission to work. He can work in France like any French person. I on the other hand, as an Australian, need permission to work and months later I still don't have it.

I speak French fairly well but Ferbent only understands a little. After 2 months in Paris we were both still out of work, mainly because of Ferbent not speaking the language. The bills were mounting so we decided to move to a cheaper city where we could take our time to improve our French and eventually get a job.

I don't really know why but we chose Montpellier in the south of France, not too far from Spain. We were lucking to find an apartment within a few days. We bought some basic furniture, moved in, and enrolled in French classes.

Ferbent didn't do too well in the classes and dropped out after a week. I wasn't too happy because he'll never get a job without French. The director of the school helped us out and set him up with a private tutor. This was much better for him and he slowly started learning. We were on our way to settling in to our new life in France.