Of Gender Equality & Adhesives

I forgot to mention a very exciting event in my life. You see, for New Year's Eve, the Portuguese concierge in our Parisian apartment building (you know, the Portuguese make such great servants, according to the R. family) decided to have a party in the entry hallway. The entry hallway, seeing as our building is more than 100 years old, was originally designed for a horse and carriage to enter, depositing the habitants of the building at the foot of a grand staircase...

Early in the 31st, I attempted to exit the building courtyard, only to find that a gigantic paper sign had been taped across the double doors. The concierge had brought in a vast array of assistants to appropriately decorate the horse-and-carriage-way. When I entered the entry hallway, I was jokingly informed that I was a bit early for the party. And then I was subjected to a speech about how one of the men responsible for the decorations was an "adhesives expert," responsible for "covering the stade de France." Needless to say, the offer to stop by the party and have a drink was declined...

[edited to protect the careers of the innocent]