First of all, it feels like summer here in Paris. I’m seriously getting more sun, and sweating more profusely, than I did in all of July and August! It feels great and reminds me why I love Paris in September so much.

Despite the weather, we’re definitely not on vacation and I’m getting back into the swing of taking the morning metro. While it’s hot and stuffy (especially right now), I’ve been secretly enjoying the ride simply because it forces me to “take some time to myself” and do whatever I feel like for 40 whole minutes (each way). I know that sounds strange, but the 7:30 am metro isn’t crowded or noisy (my fellow travelers are predominately a handful of students reading over impeccably written notes on their way to class). So, I’ve been either reading a book (all but Molière which I told myself I’d read before going to see Tartuffe in 10 days), jotting ideas in my journal or reading the free newspapers waiting at the metro entrance.

Today, I saw this headline: “Alerte officielle sur le bisphénol A”.

Isn’t that old news? I feel like we’ve been talking about BPA in plastic for a while now. Isn’t that why I said goodbye to my much-loved orange Nalgene bottle a few years ago? (Though my friends tell me there are now PBA-free ones). Isn’t that why I’ve been avoiding buying tomatoes in tin cans (often lined with such plastic)? Isn’t that why I think my brother should get a KleanKanteen baby bottle for my two-month old nephew? (I know. A baby drinking out of stainless steel seems a bit drastic, but why not?) Isn’t that why I’ve been using only plastic food containers marked with a “5” on the bottom?

BPA, as I recall, is what turned me into a PPP – person paranoid about plastic.

Isn’t this biphenyl A alert coming a bit late? Or, maybe time travel really does exist and I got a flash from the past on the early morning metro. I was still waking up after all.