MJ tribute in Montreal...

This is the shit. Only because I love this MJ song.

Tits-up

My kindness towards strangers is quickly screeching to a halt. Up north, people you meet in the street are friendly and polite. They wave at you from their cars as you walk (or jog) past them. They ask you what you're doing in town and genuninely make you feel welcome. Even my encounters with drunk people were (somewhat) pleasant (if not slightly amusing and horribly sad). In the city, well - I have already provided numerous examples here of strangers who talk to me and generally creep me out. Once again, they did not disappoint:

On Saturday, I took the metro up to Laval to meet the fam (well, the ladies and my uncle) for our annual excursion to Hudson - browsing Finnegans (the recession has exponentially increased the amount of crap people sell there) and dining at Le Maxime (a cute bistro with kick-ass sangria, which really hit the spot when the sun came out and started blazing down on us - and no, that's not a complaint!).

Anyway, as I was waiting for the metro to arrive, I noticed this scraggly homeless guy wandering around, begging. I put on my headphones and attempted to avoid eye contact (maybe this makes me a bit of an asshole, but I had nothing to offer him). This did not work as he sat down right beside me. Then he turned to me and started talking. He started by saying he was homeless (that much was clear). Then he asked if I had any food in my bag (I did not). He then asked if I could spare him some change (I could not, I had no change). THEN he looks down, looks back up and says, "Tu as des beaux seins" (translation: "You have nice breasts").

I was both speechless and disgusted. All I could muster was a "wow, that's nice" (loaded with sarcasm, an art I have perfected over the years) and got up and walked away. Thinking about it afterward, I couldn't conceive of how I could have better handled the situation. Slapped him? Called him a disgusting pig? Would he have even cared? I clearly saw him look down at my chest, which in itself was unsettling, but I certainly didn't expect any comment. What kind of response was he expecting from me? A thank you?

Apart from that incident, the rest of my weekend was fantastic. Got to spend some quality time with my aunt and uncle (whom I adore), enjoyed dinner at the Rosemere Golf Club on Saturday with mon chum and his family, and went to my little second cousin's baptism on Sunday (she is just absolutely adorable, she looks like a pixie).

Now we're back to Monday, which means back to transcribing interviews. WHOOO HOOO!

(And in case you're wondering how much longer I'll be comparing everything to up north, well - that's to be determined.)

"Definate" musings...

I was reading the link Dr. Comet Hunter (!!) posted about this Defying Gravity show (and yes, I was assuming she meant that the show was literally Grey's Anatomy in space), and I couldn't help but notice the multitude of spelling and grammar errors in the piece.

I truly feel that any sort of writing loses its credibility when the author doesn't bother to take the time to correct typos. I know I make typos in my blog (very rarely, of course!), but I'm not a serious writer trying to reach out to the masses (in fact, I think I have a steady readership of about 3 people right now, myself included). When you have google offering to check your typos for you, there is just no excuse for shoddy writing. Of course, if you're barely literate to begin with, I strongly recommend you learn to read and write better before you start your own blog and broadcast your ill-conceived thoughts to the uinverse.

The actual point of this post is to call out the people who mis-spell "definitely." I'm so tired of seeing this typo - it actually annoys me to no end when I see it spelled incorrectly. Why, oh, WHY, do you think it is spelled D-E-F-I-N-A-T-E-L-Y? Do you say def-in-ATE-ly? What part of the pronounciation of the word leads you to believe there is an "a" in this word? Get a frigging dictionary, already.

Yes, I'm feeling a little on edge today. How did you know?

It just so happens that I have started (after a week of trying to avoid it) to transcribe my interview recordings and notes. It's tedious work. Also, I didn't realize that the sound of my own voice could irritate me so much. Dear friends, I commend you for not tiring of my voice, which up until today, I thought was soothing and lovely.

It could also be that I have realized why everyone was complaining about the so-called summer in Montreal. Grey clouds are so gloomy. However, they do help me get through this boring stuff because I am not longing to be outdoors. But, mark my words, Mother Nature, you WILL cooperate this weekend because my aunt and uncle are arriving from Vancouver and I NEED to work on my tan (ok, I WANT to work on my tan, I don't really NEED to increase my risk of skin cancer... but I digress).

Ok, back to work.

Wait, before I go, best story ever: So last night before bed, a bunch of (drunk) girls thought it would be a good idea to hang out in the alleyway behind my apartment and be obnoxiously loud. Clearly, I was not impressed by this as I require at least 8 hours of beauty sleep a night. So, mon chum decided we should throw something out the window at them. He grabbed a little cherry tomato (I reluctantly allowed him to do this because they are sooo tasty) and he launched it perfectly (and totally inconspicuously) out the window and hit one of the girls over the head. The one who got hit starts yelling, 'who the fuck did that, I'm going to call the cops! Then I'm going to sue you!' And then she says, 'so you think we're loud, how about this," and starts SCREAMING as if she her limbs were being chopped off. Classy.

Meanwhile, I died of laughter. Dumb broads.

Oh dear

How embarrassing is it for me to admit that I am totally digging the FarmVille app on facebook?

... To the point where I may be a tad obsessed right now?

... Because my squash, eggplant, and cherry tree are at 99% growth and I keep checking every 2 minutes to see if I can harvest them or not.

...

Yeah, sad.

UPDATE: My squash are ready! YAHOO!

Ok, ok, got it - I need to get off my computer.

Trying to get back into the swing of things...

I'm starting to feel more at home now that I'm back at home.

My first full day in the city, I witnessed some dudes being arrested. What was supposed to be a simple traffic violation turned into 4 cop cars surrounding the offending vehicle and the cops finding drugs in one of the dudes' pockets. Nice.

I came home later that evening to discover that my new neighbour (who thought that my subletter lived here full time and that mon chum was her boyfriend) has his stereo right up against our shared wall and therefore I can hear whatever he is listening to. Yes.

Getting reacquainted with the insanity of the city has taken some time. I certainly didn't miss the rude people, the pushy people, the pretentious people, or the obnoxious people. I've spent the last couple of days downtown, reimmersing myself into city life. I've done some shopping (I scored some kick-ass, not quite acid wash jeans and they rock my socks), got a much-needed pedicure (running 4 times a week DESTROYED my feet ... and now my toes are neon pink!), spent a night out on the town (at B-side, where else?), and chilled in Rrrrrrosemere with mon chum and some buddies (saw Brüno - gasp! ... is all - and drank beer and played pool at the Citadel). Though I was reluctant to come home, it is nice to be back, and spreading the word about how awesome Waskaganish is.

I've brought home with me a new perspective on the way I want to live my life. For a city as "laid-back" as Montreal is said to be, it seems people are always in a rush, stressed, or panicked. Certainly many of my friends are this way. Even I tend to be that way (see: the first year and a half of grad school). Yet, up north, no one is ever pressed for time or in a hurry. Everyone just ... goes with the flow. People just aren't stressed. I can think of a couple of people I know who are constantly stressed - and being around them makes you feel that way as well. Well, no more. I've decided to embrace a slower pace - why rush all the time? Life will just pass you by. Of course, my friends all say that it will only be a matter of time until I revert back to their ways. Thanks for the confidence, guys.

Now a couple of words on "motivation" - since I've returned, I've been quite reluctant to immerse myself into the data analysis. Truth be told, I am dreading it. The thought of being chained to my computer for the rest of the summer does not excite me at all. Today, for example, was a gorgeous day, sunny and not too hot - why would I want to be stuck inside letting my brain rot at my desk? So I found some necessary reading (ok, stuff I should have read while I was away) to do and spent the afternoon enjoying the sun at Jeanne Mance park. No bugs (a welcome relief)! I don't feel I'm lacking the motivation to work (I do want to convocate next May after all), it's just that I am more into taking advantage of beautiful weather (since everyone here has bitched about it since I've been home) and enjoying the great outdoors. I consider it part of my mandate to enjoy and appreciate everything around me more. It may also be labelled as "procrastination" - but I DID do some work today, so...

I think I had a point to all of this, but I lost it somewhere along the way. Oh well.

In other news, my kitty is back in the city with me, and he was all snuggly and cute last night. He's not going to like the impending heat wave this week because I have no A/C here. I sense many visits to the homestead in the near future. What? I can work poolside. I can work even harder with a mojito by my side (virgin, obviously! ... Not.). Sure, they may be predicting rain for later this week, but I refuse to believe it.

Anyway, it's time for me to get ready for a jog. I can't believe the sun sets so early here.

Yes. I will be making references to Waskaganish for some time to come. Get used to it.

Home again

Well, I'm back.

It was hard to leave. I had settled in quite nicely to the lifestyle up in the north, so being back here where it is dirty, noisy, and crowded is a bit of a shock.

I don't miss the 10 degree weather and overcast skies we experienced over my last 3 days. I don't miss the big, ugly bugs that were constantly in the way.

But, I do miss everything else.

Don't get me wrong - I was really happy to see mon chum again, and really glad he came to meet me at the airport. I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends in the coming days.

But, I think I've left a piece of heart in Waskaganish. I just loved being there.

Welcome home to me...

201st post

Wachiya!

It’s time for your weekly update!

First off – the weather report. Up until yesterday, we were still experiencing mostly hot and sunny weather. Yesterday, like last Friday, was cool and cloudy (perfect running weather though). We have also had some quick rain showers over the last several days - they typically last 5 to 10 minutes and then it clears up again. On Canada Day, we had our first big thunderstorm of the summer, or so I hear. I was inside the gymnasium at the Gathering Place and missed the whole thing.

And now, the week in review:
On Saturday, the day started off looking like it would pour with rain, but by the afternoon, it had cleared up and it became hot and humid. My roommate and I decided to go for a walk in the woods, but it was short-lived since the bugs came out in full force to greet us. The flies here are huge and nasty. There are some that look like wasps and they will gladly take chunks of your skin away from you. For some reason, these ones like to swarm cars. I haven’t quite figured out the purpose of doing this – perhaps they think they will be able to penetrate the vehicle and get at the people inside? At any rate, all of the bugs have been vicious lately. It makes being outdoors frustrating at times. I now understand why the people here go out into the bush in fall, spring, and winter – and not summer. Even when I go running the bugs are in the way. The other night, there was no wind and it was as if I was running through a force field of mosquitoes. I must have ended up with 6 in my mouth, and as many more up my nose or in my eyes. Brutal. The turn to cooler weather has definitely helped with the bug situation, and I am quite thankful for it.

Anyway, apart from the bugs, all is well here. I did have a couple of setbacks with interviews (mainly people not showing up and the like) and may have had a mini-meltdown earlier this week (it took 3 and a half weeks for it to happen – pretty good if you ask me) because just about everything was going wrong. Fortunately, there are some incredible people here who are always willing to help, so any potential crises were averted. I am so grateful to be surrounded by such kind-hearted people who really want this project to be a success. I don’t know what it is about here – but every time I feel like things are spiralling out of control, there is someone there to help get me back on track. I truly love this community and I’ll be sad when it is time for me to leave (which is probably why I have been so non-committal about choosing a departure date).

The last few days have been insanely busy as I try to wrap up my interviews and focus groups. I took a time-out for Canada Day, which is a HUGE deal here (unlike la fete nationale, where I saw one person with a Quebec flag on his car). There were activities planned for the whole day, and people really got into it. Canadian flags were flying everywhere. I don’t remember the last time I saw so much red and white in Quebec! I managed to get recruited as a judge (along with one of the lifeguards here for the summer who may also happen to be really good-looking – in case you are interested, single ladies, he’s 24 and lives in Ottawa) for the various contests taking place during the day, including “Most Canadian Person” (people get dressed up in all kinds of red-and-white outfits), “Best Hat” (a Canada-themed hat, obviously), and best decorated car (I gave bonus points to the car with Habs flags. Note – thanks to Rob for all the updates concerning the team). Later in the evening, I was invited back to judge the Canada Day cakes (there were 7 to taste, which I only learned after eating a huge meal at the physicians' house – which included delicious bannock, homemade bread, and my own (fantastic) cookies (I know I am tooting my own horn here, but the doctors’ 7 year old daughter, said they were the best cookies she had ever eaten. So...).

Anyway, at 11 pm, the fireworks started. I wasn’t expecting anything huge, but man oh man, did the firefighters put on a show! I was absolutely blown away. For 30 solid minutes, we were absolutely dazzled. Just when you thought you had seen an awesome grand finale, they kept going. It was incredible, especially for a small community – they definitely put the Rosemere fireworks to shame. I’m looking forward to this weekend because I just got my fishing permits (you need to get one from the Band Office to be able to fish on category 1A lands in and around Waskaganish) and we are supposed to go with one of the guys from the Clinic. Apparently there are a lot of walleye right now (which are really tasty), so I hope I catch a big one! On Sunday, there is talk of going canoeing on the river and out into Rupert Bay with the doctors (they are awesome – so friendly and outgoing). I love being out on the water and I love boat rides, particularly when there are no storms (some of you may recall the great fun I had on a boat from Phuket to Ko Phi Phi when I was in Thailand... enough said).

Next week is the big General Assembly where everyone in the community is invited to hear about the latest developments in, well, everything. One of my community contacts wants me to prepare another booth with information about the anti-diabetic medicines project. So I’ll be busy with that, along with finishing up everything related to my project. Then – homeward bound! Expect to see my smiling face back in Montreal by mid-July (July 14th to be exact, just booked my flight back this morning) because I won’t be going to Nemaska, at least not this summer, if at all.

p.s. I’m opening up my social calendar for any and all events, particularly those that involve sangria or mojitos and swimming pools...