Sundays & Sewers

Well, it's Sunday. I'm currently chilling in my living room taking a break from Les Mis (the book, not the movie.) I got the unabridged version for Christmas and I've been trying to get through it ever since, but it's been hard because of school and work, and I just don't have the time for it. Les Mis is a book you have to be able to concentrate on, it's not some light fluffy read. It's also highly frustrating in some parts with the exorbitant amount of details on pointless matters. For example, I'm to the part where Marius has been shot and Jean Valjean is dragging him through the sewers. Except, we can't read about that, because we need to read about the sewers of Paris for...15 pages. It talks about people who inspect the sewers, where they run, blah blah blah. It truly is a test of patience to read this book.

But it's funny, because I just transcribed a show at work about big cities, and the last one was on Paris. I'll let you guess what they talked about. Jeopardy style:

Contestant #1: "I'll take..."Subjects of Shows You'll Never Watch for $1600."
Alex Trebek: "All right. 'This Paris feature is talked about in the unabridged version of Les Miserables for approximately fifteen pages, but don't plan on visiting it with your good shoes on'."
[contestants furiously clicking their little signal-things]
Alex: "Contestant #3."
Contestant #3: "What is the Louvre?"
Alex: "Nice try...Do you even know anything about Paris?"
Contestant #3: [lowering head in shame] "No..."
[more furious signal clicking]
Alex: "Contestant #2."
Contestant #2: "What is the sewer?"
Alex: "Correct! Contestant #3, you are terrible at this game..."
Contestant #3: "Yeah...I cheated off my neighbor in the auditions..."

Anyway. That was a very long, drawn-out way of saying that I transcribed an hour-long show on the sewers of Paris. Want to hear some fun facts? Well buckle up, because you're going to get some anyway.

• The average life of a sewer worker in Paris is 57 years.
• There are many ways to die or get infected in the sewers, i.e. discarded drug needles, rats, noxious gases...Just use your imagination. Or...don't.
• I can't remember how many, but a few sewer workers die in Paris every year, either from drowning or an accident (they use all sorts of machinery to clean out all the sand and other stuff from the sewers).
• Paris plans to be the first fully-connected wireless city by putting fiber optic wireless internet routers or something in the sewers. Apparently pretty soon you'll be able to get wireless internet anywhere in Paris. 

Sorry guys, that's all I can remember. Four facts is good, right? Right? Yeah.

I'll keep you posted on when I actually finish this book. I'm hoping by next Sunday. :)

Wish me luck!

-K