Sometimes your paradigms need a little shifting...

...especially when it comes to my impressions of Parisians (well maybe only need to do the shifting for the African Parisians).

It's 1:13pm/13:13 in Paris as I write this. I am sitting in Air France's Business Lounge I bogarted my way into. This has been but one part of a series of events that speak to the good fortunes I have experiencedsince boarding my flight in LAX. As soon as I landed I started time strategizing for what I thought would be an impossibly lengthy layover. Given that most airlines will not check your baggage more than 5-4 hours before a flight, I was thinking about a master plan for dividing the 9 hours before my next flight. Since I did made the bookings, LAX-CDG and CDG-TUN, separately, my luggage did not continue on to my final destination of Tunis. I approached the ticket counter with my apprehension given that I was an American who was going to "ask for something altered." Afterlaughing at my Arabic pronounciation of "Tunis" (as it sounding like me saying "To Nice" in English), the Air France ticket counter clerk told me it was my "lucky day" and checked my luggage in 9 hours before my flight. I then re-entered terminal 2 with my carry-ons. As I was unloading my electronics on the scan trays I realized my phone was missing. I was sure that I left it out at the chairs by the ticket counter as I was re-arranged my the content in my carry-ons to consolidate three bags into two. As I walked back, my mind was racing, preoccupied with "next steps": find wifi connection, go onto my mobile me account, locate and wipe the phone, etc. I thought it was long gone within seconds of leaving my sight. When I returned, I saw a young woman on a phone that appeared to be an iPhone. She looked at me and realized it was my phone. She was calling mycontacts to find out the owner's name! I thanked her profusely and returned to the security line. And now here I am at the Business Lounge I probably was not suppose to be in feeding on chevre, perrier, and free internet with French news playing in the background.