Paris Street ScenePARIS, Mar 1, 2004/ FW/ — I was still in the process of checking in my hotel when they handed me three plastic bags of invitations that they have been holding for me.

That is one thing I like about the hotel we stay in here in Paris. During the fashion season, journalists and photographers stay here, so the hotel management is used to receiving invitations.

So even before the bell captain brought my bags to my room, I was already going through the invitations when he knocked on my door.

As expected, although officially the season does not start until tomorrow, there are already shows today.

Starting at 3:00 PM Paris time, the Paris Prêt-á-Porter Fall 2004 began.

Ah, no rest for the weary!

I was still in my traveling clothes when my phone rang. A journalist friend of mine who lives in Paris wanted to know if I was going to the first show.

I had to beg off, saying that I have not even gone through my invitations yet, and that I have not even taken a shower yet. We decided to meet for the 7:00 PM show.

That left me about 3 hours to finish everything, take a shower and get ready!

Today was one of those days when I ask myself why I go through this thing. Since January, when the menswear season started, I probably had 3 days when I had 8 hours of sleep!

It had been non-stop, and it will not stop until Los Angeles Fashion ends on April 4.

Shaking my tiredness from the almost 10-hour flight from Dallas, I continued going through the invitations and put them on my calendar.

I barely had enough time to take a shower and get dressed to make it to the 7:00 PM show.

While putting on my black pants, black blouse, black shoes and black coat — my “work clothes” during the season, I began to get psyched out for the season.

“I love this life,” I told myself in a moment of epiphany. That is the reason why I go through this every six months.

I like covering fashion. I like the people I work with. And most of all, I owe it to FashionWindows, the website which we had been nurturing for the past 7 years.

So, when I walked out of the hotel in my “fashion work clothes,” (meaning, all black), with only the beige Torrente muffler (a gift from the House of Torrente) as the only color, there was spring on my feet as I walk towards the Metro stop to go to my first show of the season.