Valencia post

We have fallen in love with all things Valencian. Serge said to me today that of all the places we've traveled together, this is his favorite place of all. I asked if it was better than Paris and Rome and he said yes. High praise for this city. Of course he hasn't been to Madrid yet. We've been feasting on the local cuisine and paella figures highly in our diet. You can see a large pan of it being prepared on the street behind me in the picture.

We are here for the festival Las Fallas which is an amazing thing to experience. There really is nothing else like it in the world. You can see a falla in the picture above. It is one of hundreds around the city erected for the week (though worked on all year) in a kind of competition. The theme this year seems to be the economy and there are many depictions of greed as you might imagine. Fireworks are a huge part of this festival and all day long you hear explosions as children and adults alike light firecrackers in the street. There is not 2 seconds that goes by without you hearing them. When they go off near you, you jump, though after three days we are starting to become numb to it. At night they shoot off the pretty kind of fireworks. I'm not talking sissy American fireworks, there are constant M-80s, roman candles and bottle rockets in addition to the city displays. In addition, everyone is drinking in the street and I can only describe the atmosphere here as pure merriment. If you ever get a chance in your life, come to this festival.

Even though it is an ancient and very European city, there is a modern side as well. They must be very proud of their city!

All day long there are marching bands and parades, and the senses are truly overloaded. I liked this shot of Serge and me.

Tonight, the 19th of March, all of the fallas will be set ablaze. A kind of purging of all the evils depicted. It is sad in a way, but awesome too. This is my second Fallas, and I remember this night to be one to remember. Really, what other city basically sets itself on fire. They bring in firefighters from all over the region to hose down the buildings before the torching begins.

Of course we had to visit a bullfight. I know there are many against this kind of spectacle, and I am conflicted. At best it is no worse than fishing for fun. I loved the moments where you get adrenaline, will the matador get gored or will he prevail. Pretty scary stuff to watch. I can't say I didn't enjoy it, because I did.

The parades are groups of traditionally dressed citizens and marching bands winding through the streets. The little girls are just adorable.

Beer with breakfast. When in Rome, well you know the rest. We're just trying to fit in after all. Plus it's vacation. Don't judge.

I don't know why but this is my favorite shot here so far. Tonight's the last night. Serge and bro are napping before dinner and then it's the big night of setting all the fallas on fire. Oh and a final balls to the wall fireworks show. Maybe tomorrow I'll get some sleep because during this festival, it's nearly impossible to get more than a few hours a day. Don't know when I'll have internet again, but until then adios amigos!

Lots more photos here.

Barcelona post

We made the six hour drive (with stops) to Barcelona on Sunday. You see these giant bull billboards everywhere along the way. Apparently they were a sort of advertisement for a liquor company and when the company shut down or changed hands, people had become so attached to them that there was uproar so they stayed. We kept focusing on the sizeable nutsack. Once you notice it, it is difficult to ignore. (Even my straight brother said so, so it isn't just me.

There is snow here. Well not here in Barcelona, but all along the way in the interior of Spain. It is getting warmer though (60ish, 15ish C ) so it will be gone soon. The weather has been perfect. A light jacket is all one needs and it has been sunny every day.

We were happy about availing ourselves of the duty free shop in Philly. We have had a nice little bar going since we arrived. I don't know what Serge ate but he has been the gassiest gasbag I've ever seen lately. My brother and I are avid farters and thus highly skilled at it, but Serge is truly the champion. So much so that....

It was necessary to buy this shirt. (Or at least take a picture of it and make it his screensaver tee hee.)

He has gotten a little better today though. This is down in the port of Barcelona.

There is a huge open air market off of La Rambla where you can get pretty much anything. The (I don't know the Spanish or Catalan term for it) smoked, aged pig legs are pretty good, but I get a little grossed out when I see the cloven hoof. Best to ignore that part. We have been picnicking on the patio of the folks' room for lunch with yummies from the market. Chorizo, foie gras, myriad cheeses, baguettes, olives, anchovies etc. etc.

Yesterday, I dragged Serge and bro over to the gay area of town to have a cocktail before dinner. It was dead of course, apparently things don't really get going until 1am and I am officially too old for that nonsense. I loved the decor in the bar though. We were saddened once again at the vodka martini that we ordered. It looked like it was going to be okay since it was served in a martini glass with olives. Unfortunately it was equal parts vodka and vermouth. Yuck. At least it wasn't like the one in Paris when they mixed it with sweet vermouth as that was unpotable. It was unpleasant to pay $8.50 Euro for it (twelve bucks) but at least we could drink it.

Cuisine is heavy on the seafood here. I like it, but it was a bit of work to eat these little guys. I didn't eat the heads though.

Today we went to the Sagrada Familia, the famous unfinished cathedral designed by Gaudi. We saw it a couple of years ago when we were here but didn't go up to the top then. This is the view from up there. That weird building in the background is known as the big cucumber (or dildo, or lipstick, the story seems to vary) Even though it was Serge's idea to go up, he really had a hard time with his vertigo. He always thinks he can handle it and then he panics at the top. Poor guy. Tonight is our last night here and we will dine at a traditional Catalan restaurant. Tomorrow we head to Valencia for the big festival. Driving into town will certainly be an adventure. Don't know when the next internet availability will be, but for now you're all caught up. As am I. Smooches!

How about 13 of 13

Blasphemous I know, but we've arrived in Spain in a place called Alcalà de Henares for a jet lag stay of one night. Instead of sleeping (like everyone else right now - fools) I thought I'd take advantage of the free internet and post. Who knows when the next free internet will be. This is in our hotel which is very modern inside but built in a 17th century convent. We almost didn't make it to Spain because our first flight to Philly was canceled and it was only because an earlier flight was delayed that we were able to make it to the airport and onto that plane. We would not be here if we'd missed it. You can imagine the panicked start to the trip. In the rush I forgot my ipod touch. No music, no checking email on it (or Grinder ahem) no books to read and perhaps most upsetting of all, no solitaire (for pooptime don't you know.) Let's forget that for now though.


This is looking up from the same spot in the previous picture. We didn't sleep much on the overnight flight to Madrid, but I'm planning to make up for that tonight.

We had a drink when we got here and then went for a walk around the hotel which is the old part of this city founded by the Romans. Cobblestone streets everywhere.

I thought this thing was so cool. If you required service, push the service button. If you'd like the check, push the check button. No craning one's neck looking for a waiter.

Oh did I mention this is the birthplace of Cervantes of Don Quixote fame. We toured his house located behind the smoking security guard.

All the raingutters here look like this. It reminds me of the detailed lamppost bases we saw in Florence.

There are all kinds of buildings like this around.

And there are storks nesting on all of them. I don't know the story behind it but I'll go check Wikipedia after I finish to see if there is one. There is!

Serge with the little brother. They are sleeping as I type. We were so gassy when we got off that plane but I'd have to say that Serge won this round of the festival of flatulence. You are so lucky you are not sharing a room with us. We are laughing plenty though.

I love shots like this. I don't know why.

This is the entrance to our hotel. Old and new blended.

The elevator is weird and infinitizes your image. Sorry for the dearth of pics of yours truly, but I was taking pictures of everything but me.

What a funny surprise to find this place. Quebec is simply everywhere.

Toodles

One more sleep until Spain. Unless you count the overnight flight. But I don't think I'll sleep much since I only really sleep on my stomach and that's impossible on the plane. Perhaps I'll doze. It'll be something like 4am my time when we arrive in Madrid and then the advice is to stay awake until it gets dark and pop melatonins to reset your clock. It worked fairly well coming back from Hawaii where the time change was the same. I'm sad about leaving Georgie for so long. I really would like to have another family to trade pets with on vacations. Maybe I should look on Craig's list or post something there to that effect. He has exercise time outside of the cage at the kennel, but it's not the same as sleeping with people in a real home. Plus the moolah. Over three hundred bucks for 15 days in the kennel. That comes to about five bucks a turd to pick up and five bucks a feeding. I told Serge we should turn our house into a mini kennel but he reminded me that we live on top of people who might not like the ticky ticky ticky of the pet paws constantly on the hard wood floors.

I don't know how often we'll have internet access but I'll try to update a couple of times during our stay. It's apparently unseasonably cold there with freezing temps still. It figures since we have been above normal for weeks. Sticky blocking patterns in the atmosphere this year.

I was looking yesterday for something like a GPS drive narrative for our long drives between cities in Spain. Something that would talk about the little towns we would be passing, historical tidbits and any trivial information. I was surprised that that didn't exist. There are plenty of podcasts in cities and walking tours, but not for when you're on the road. It would be a zillion dollar idea, no? Well, now somebody will do it and make all that money. I should have probably kept my mouth shut.

Don't miss me too much now y'all. Mwah!

Dull weekend update

The weekend went by so fast. I gave Georgie a bath, boy was he stinkified, so that we could take him with us to dinner at Serge's mom's house. He was pretty good though he piddled once down in the basement. I don't know why, he's fully housebroken at our place. We sure take a lot of pictures of him, a product of our obsession love I guess. Here he is in one of his favorite spots on the armrest of the couch. He loves to gaze out that window at the comings and goings of all the creatures. We live on a corner where only one is residential (ours) and the other three are commercial so there are plenty of goings on to entertain him.

Oh but before that, I attended the meet and greet for the flight attendant position. I'm only half serious about it and even less so after meeting them. Still, it might be a fun summer gig. I only applied for a summer position as I don't want to permanently change residences. Oh yeah, I'd have to be based in Toronto. Anyway, there were hundreds of people there and that was at the start of a two day recruitment session. They had a quick first interview with each candidate and we'll be called back if they're interested in giving a second interview. The interview had all the usual questions. Tell me about a part of your personality you'd like to change. Tell me about a time you were frustrated at work. Tell me about a time a customer was frustrated. Why do you want to be a flight attendant. Ugh. I think I did pretty well though. We shall see. It certainly doesn't pay well, I make much more teaching, but I imagine the travel benefits are decent. On Friday I found out there will be a bunch of 10 week contracts teaching beginning in April, so all of this may be moot anyway.

The rest of the weekend was okay. Took Georgie to the doggie park where he got pretty wet. The snow is nearly gone now, and though we usually get a big dump sometime in March, the long range isn't showing it. Went to the library to pick up the travel books for Spain. OMG we're leaving Friday, wheeeee! And generally puttered around. Didn't watch the academy awards but 60 Minutes had a full hour on bullfighting in Spain. Coincidence? Those don't exist. It was a nice travel amuse bouche. Okay let's bookend this with another Georgie pic. Here he is on Serge's lap. Oh how he loves to sit in our laps. It's nice for about 5 minutes and then your legs start to hurt.

This that and the other

This has been the best winter that I've experienced up here. One major snowstorm which we missed because we were in Cuba and then a couple of 4 inchers which didn't even trigger snow removal. I haven't seen a snow removal operation since this time last year when I was SOOOO over the copious snowfalls. February broke sun records and I bet this winter overall is going to be one of the mildest on records. It's weird, it's like all the nasty stuff went South this year which happens to be an El Nino year. We were really cold the last El Nino, but this year was very nice. We are in perfect maple syrup production temps right now. 40ish during the afternoon 20ish at night. I bet this is going to be a high production year up here.

OMG less than a week and we'll be in Spain. I picked up a couple hundred euros for pocket money and of course the next day the Canadian dollar surged. I swear you could make money off my timing for currency exchange. It never fails to rise significantly the day after I buy the foreign currency. I'll go the library later today and pick up a couple guides to the cities we'll be visiting. Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Toledo and Segovia are the principal cities we'll be exploring. I saw an article about how 80% of young people disagree with the tradition of bullfighting and that it may be dying out. I was aghast the first time I saw one, but that feeling lessened upon further visits. The art and pageantry of it finally was appealing. I don't know if we'll go see one, but regardless of my attendance, the matadors are still heroes for many and the sport has at least two decade legs.

There's another little brouhaha up here over the niqab this time. That's the garment that covers the face completely of a Muslim woman with only a slit for the eyes to see through. Apparently a new immigrant attending the free French language classes immigrants receive caused problems in the class. She had real issues about the males in the class, didn't want them near her or looking at her and it finally came to a head and the college kicked her out of the class. Now she is going before the human rights commission with a complaint about it. If she had been in my class, I would have said pretty early on that the teacher runs the class and if you don't like how it's run, go find another. Which I think is finally how it went down. Anyway, I love stories like this because my job gets so easy. Instant long conversation topic. A lot of people are offput because she's not assimilating enough into our secular culture. At the same time, she has a right to freedom of religion like everyone in our society. Most feel she tested the limit of that right by asking others to accommodate her wishes in the class. Some feel very strongly about it, especially those who see religion as the true evil of this world. I love teasing the students too. "Why can't you all just learn English and give up the ghost of French culture and assimilate already? You're 7 million in a sea of 330 million English speakers?" Ahh, but there's one big difference, they say, an immigrant arrives from elsewhere while we have always been here. I wonder what the First Nation's people would say about that.

Entrevue avec moi

Canadian Weblog Awards

Couple of downers

I got some bad news last Friday and I've been angsting about it ever since. It turns out the night classes that were supposed to start this week, well, aint. At least not for me. Not enough sign-ups is the word I got from the college. It sucks too because I reserved blocks of time for them and turned down at least one contract because of it. Anyway, it means I'm a few grand short going into (what now just turned into 5 months) a long summer season. As of April 7th, I've got no work. What I'd really like is to take the five months and enjoy it but then I'd have to pull from the (very small) savings account.

There are lots of options. I can teach for less money and pick up some work that way, but I get kind of burned out on the teaching and look forward to some time away from it to charge my batteries.

I could do a restaurant gig for the summer. I know I've said I will never do it again, and I probably won't, but that didn't stop me from putting out some feelers at the last place I worked.

Oh and Air Canada is hiring flight attendants. I may pop into the HR meet and greet thing this weekend. I went through that process before with TWA (that dates me) and was refused due to my 6'3" height. As I recall, the limit was 6'2" but maybe that's changed now. Plus I'd have to move to Toronto or have a pied-a-terre there.

The dinner cruise tourist boat will be hiring as well. When I mentioned it to Serge, he seemed embarrassed by the prospect of having to tell someone that his husband was working as a waiter on the riverboat.

In the end, I'm hoping an easy contract of a month or so will pop up for me teaching to tide me over. Universe, are you listening?

In other news, Georgie got sick the other day. He must have eaten something bad because he really shit brown water there for a day. Poor little guy. Oh and then yesterday, I took him on a really long walk and just as we were coming home there was a guy with his two unleashed pitbulls. He had a carton of milk in one hand and a carton of orange juice in the other and he started trying to distract his dogs from seeing Georgie by batting at them with his legs. This maneuver didn't work and one of them came running over to Georgie. Georgie wagged his tale and the pitbull started low growling at him. The owner started shouting at his dog as the other pitbull started to come over. I grabbed (dirty, muddy) Georgie in my arms, the guy threw down his cartons and grabbed one of the dogs while the other now started jumping on me trying to get to Georgie. I turned and started walking away as the guy shouted out, "Sorry about that man!" I said nothing, I mean what is there to say? It's shocking to be reminded of the level of irresponsibility some individuals exhibit, but I doubt my yelling at them is going to change it. What a freaking moron. It's called a leash dude.

Malady

Went to the show on Friday. Saw It's Complicated which, at $12.50 for a matinee, was a bit overpriced. I liked it though since I could pretty much watch Meryl Streep sleep and be riveted. And who doesn't like Jack Dona, oh wait, Alec Baldwin? The music really tickled me too which is why when I thought about it the following day, I looked it up on Itunes. Right there while I was seated busying myself with morning duties, I bought the theme song. It felt so 2010 plus the whole two birds thing. It is cool to be alive these days.

So I've been all narded up about my body again. It's so lame, I'm 44, nowhere near overweight, and yet the tire is developing cellulitey areas which Serge is quick to mention. (It's only fair, he gave into his buddha belly ages ago.I may have teased him once or a million times about it.) However, when I poke around to find what is supposed to be my "ideal weight", the result is about two pounds less than where I'm at right now. Two pounds. What am I a 15 year old girl? I was on the phone with em the other day and I asked her. "When is letting go a good thing and when is it a bad thing?" See because you know when you meet someone that you haven't seen in a long time and you think, "Wow, he really let himself go." That would be the bad kind of letting go, right? Em said, "Letting go is ALWAYS a good thing." I'm not so sure.

Things I've noticed:

* Pectoral jiggling while dancing. Moreso than before anyway.

* When I sit in a hard backed chair, it feels like a little roll of fat spills over the top a bit.

* My face looks younger.

* Two words. Pubic pillow.

Alec Baldwin takes his shirt off in the movie and acts insecure about his weight. (Well his character anyway.) I'm sure he'd be considered overweight, possibly obese, but he still looks pretty good. Plus he's in his 50's. I think once I hit 50, I'll stop trying to have the physique of a 25 year old.

*****

On Saturday, Serge and I hammered out the details for a will. When we got to the part about what happens if we both die at the same time, I was ready to put down pretty much anything because it seems like that scenario is the most highly unlikely, and how could I possibly care anyway, because I'll be dead. Serge agonized about who should get what while I kept saying, "Why do you care, you'll be dead?" He told me that I was the only one in the world who thinks like that. I don't know. I mean we don't have any kids and if the logical thing happens and we outlive our parents, who's left? He took it very seriously though talking about that practical certainty of both of us perishing in an automobile accident. Or a plane crash, after all, we do fly two or three times a year. We finally figured it out but now we have to take the next step and get it notarised. One thing I found out is that in the absence of a will, if one of us dies, the other only inherits 2/3s of the property. Ugh, what a nightmare that would be.

Hey, guess what? Today makes 20 months smoke free. Wahoomalunga!

Toilet paper meme

I don't go in for memes much. Don't do them nor read them. I don't know why. Maybe because they are masturbatory at best and narcissistic at worst, but either way, they're really solitary activities. All that said, I'm still going to do one because I couldn't resist the topic. It's all about the buttwipes. So here goes:

1. Toilet Paper: Over or Under. It doesn't really apply at our house because we use the 20 year supply of toilet paper that we inherited when we bought this place. Since it's a huge industrial type roll, we've mickey moused a system. I guess according to the picture, technically it would be under.

2. Who replaces the empty roll in your house? We both do. It only happens every three months though due to the size of the roll.

3. What do you use if you run out of toilet paper at home? That's never happened in my life. Do people really let this happen? I can't imagine.

4. Seat up or down? It's always down at our house. And we don't have a lid.

5. Do you leave the door open? I never close the door unless we have guests.

6. Does your love leave it open? He usually closes the door unless he's going pee pee. One funny thing he does is disrobe completely for number 2. On the odd occasion I've barged in on him (which he strongly dislikes) I've been highly amused at the pile of clothes on the floor and his nakedness on the throne. (And he's gonna kill me for telling you. So shhhh.)

7. Do you always check for toilet paper first in a public stall? If I'm there to poop I do. Of course job number one is to avoid pooping anywhere but home. Still, there are times.....

8. What do you use if you run out of toilet paper in a public restroom? Can't say this has happened either. Surely I would have told you all about it if it had. Hypothetically though, I'd probably rummage around in my backpack for napkins and in the absence of my backpack, I'd waddle out to grab some paper towels. If there were others in the bathroom, I'd humbly ask (or shout) for assistance.

9. Do you wait until you are alone in a public restroom? No. People are so fussy, as evidenced by the question itself. For the record, 99.99% of my visits to public restrooms are for urinating. I have no hangups about urinating around others.

I got this one from Jeep Guy. Feel free to participate.

This n that

Lots of rain and snow up in these here parts. Not too cold though, right around the freezing mark. Practically balmy for February. I'm off for a few days and then have a couple of big work weeks followed by two weeks in España. This trip we're taking is a gift from the parents, something we all did together (except for Serge) 27 years ago. I think that trip lit up my desire for traveling for life. It will be interesting to see how the place differs from my memories of it back in 83. We will be staying in Valencia for the most amazing festival. Falles en Valencia. That was the thing that impressed me most the first time we went to Europe. (The original trip was a 7 week Germany, Spain, France and Italy trip. A bit long.) The last night when they burn all the paper mache effigies and the whole city looks like it's on fire is something I'll never forget. Awesome.


I loved this picture I got at the doggie park yesterday. There weren't too many people there due to the weather, but Georgie played plenty with those two (I think they are) boston terriers for a long time.

That health care summit. Wow. I don't see how the sides can reconcile. It seems the Republicans are steadfast in their belief that health care is not a fundamental right, whereas Democrats think it should be. I fail to understand the heart of a person who believes people should only be cared for medically if they can afford it. And what logic is there in letting insurance companies decide treatments. I suppose the doctors are just advisers, and it's the insurance company administrators who know best, right? The system is broken and it's just gonna stay that way it looks like. That picture from the Olympics was funny. I pay through the nose in taxes up here, but I'm certain if I moved back to the states it would cost me more overall if I took an individual health insurance policy. Yep, I just went and checked. If I got similar coverage as here (actually impossible because there is no co-pay here) it would cost me $644 a month. If I would even be accepted, as I am an ex-smoker. I hear ex smokers are having more and more trouble getting insured. $644 a month and I've been to the doctor once in ten years. And the insurance industry whines that 12 billion in profit isn't enough. Broken broken broken. Happy to be in Canada.

Snippets

* We have two garages but we only use one to park our single vehicle. There is a no parking sign in front of the garage that we use, but not the other one. Serge gets really bent out of shape when someone parks in front of that garage, while I really don't care. Serge even threw an egg on the one girl's car who is a frequent "offender". That was funny because she obviously never washed her car as the residue lasted for months. Anyway, he gets really clipped about it as though that's our "reserve" spot. I told him just to buy another no parking sign if he feels so strongly.

* We're supposed to get anywhere from a slushy rainy mix to two feet of snow this week. I'm really hoping for the former.

* We got Cirque du Soleil tickets for the new show (still unnamed at this point). All the new shows start here and then travel around the world. We got a couple seats for a 4pm show in early June. I love the idea of a 4pm show. We can be home by dark.

* Showerhead in French is shower apple.

* Were you as traumatized as I was when they showed that luge guy having his fatal accident? I just can't understand why they did that. It reminds me of Dirk's blog title. Too disgusting to contemplate, too compelling to ignore. (And I'm sad that he changed his header. For the longest time it was a closeup of a cameltoe. Now it's rotting teeth which is definitely worse.)

* The light is definitely getting more springlike. Actually, it's the same light as we had back toward the end of October. But back then it was waning, so it was depressing. Now that it's gaining in strength and heralding spring, it is uplifting. Perception indeed is reality.

* Georgie isn't the brightest of the bunch, but I swear he reads my mind. Here he is as I was getting ready to head out the door yesterday. Somehow he knew I wasn't taking him. (In which case, he'd have been crying and jumping.)

* I start teaching a couple of new evening classes next week. I hate teaching in the evening since it encroaches on martini time. I take them though and tell myself, "It'll be good for you." And it probably is, but I still don't like doing them.

* Montreal is infecting my speech. I've caught myself saying "take a decision" and "open the computer" and "take a coffee" just this week alone.

* We watched Paranormal Activity the other night. I LOVED it! It was creepy as all get out and the constant shivers ricocheting down my body were so cool. I used to hate that feeling, but now it's kinda nice, similar to that which I get when someone caresses my scalp. I wouldn't like it if it were due to something scary in real life, but knowing it's just a movie made it okay. And at the end? Even though we had predicted it, Serge and I both screamed loudly, and then cracked up. Gotcha!

Rambling nothingness

My intensives are over so you would think I'd be an eager blogger. Instead, all I want to do is blob around. Four whole days without a post. That's some kind of record around here, vacations notwithstanding. Truth is, there's really nothing of note going on. Here's what I wrote yesterday to suggest what to write about this morning.

Butt kicked
intensives over
pay fuckers
nasal drip forever
Snow finally
income tax
Georgieness
Elton
tenant bathroom

And yet, when I look at that list this morning, I think, "Meh, so boring." Oh well, I guiss there's nothing to do here but let the boringness begin. So yeah, my butt is pretty kicked, but in a good way, all three of my intensive groups went quite well and though we have a few follow up half-day courses to do, I can go back to a more regular routine. One lovely thing that happened was that the college "forgot" to pay me for some of my work and when I asked about it, I was paid for it, plus the current work, plus the future work. About 6 weeks went on one paycheck. I should be happy right? Well, guess what happens when they put 6 weeks pay on a two-week pay period. You get taxed as though you made all that money in two weeks. (The program assumes you make that every two weeks.) So they took out 42 percent of my pay. About ten percent of my annual salary, in fact. Oh sure, it's possible I'll get some back......in April 2011. Then again, I may not. I've worked up the preliminary calcs for filing this year, and I can't believe we owe many thousands again. I figured that since much of my income was made with withholding done, I'd be good this year. Nope. At this point, for every dollar more I make, I get to keep 60 cents. I told Serge yesterday that my goal is to make less this year. It really is demotivating.

What else is on that list up there? Oh the nose thing. Yeah, I got over my cold weeks ago but I've had a little drip going on since then. It's like a leaky faucet that never closes completely. Is this normal? I hope not, because it's getting pretty old making sure I have kleenex on my person at all times.

We got a few inches of snow this week. Just enough to make it pretty again. The snow had gotten awfully dirty lately and this new layer makes everything seem so pristine and clean. Georgie really digs the snow and now the ice. There have been some freeze/thaw cycles lately which makes chunks of ice in the snowpack. He loves to dislodge chunks, carry them around, throw them in the air and finally gnaw on them.

On the way home Friday, I was listening to talk radio and they brought up Elton John's musing that he thought Jesus was an intelligent, compassionate gay man and he asked the audience if that was offensive. I suppose there's nowhere one can hide from sanctimony. So many people claim to know the will of God. Man alive, there's nothing meek about a fired up Christian. One of the callers basically said that homosexuals spread disease, so we should eradicate them. Here! In Quebec! Sure he was a cranky old guy, but still.

Okay the tenant bathroom is falling apart at the other place. Seems when the shower was put in, they didn't use the proper hardibacker and grout so water infiltration happened for years. We have to strip the enclosure of tiles and redo it. Luckily, Serge found someone to do it and it's going to be finished today. The money, she is a flowing.

T-minus 19 days until Spain. Peace.

A quick pop-in

When I got to work Monday, I looked up and saw what looked like a rainbow. Except it wasn't raining, it was snowing. So I guess it would have to be called a snowbow. It was a first for me. Apparently it's pretty rare, so maybe it's the only one I'll ever see. Pretty neato, eh?

Yesterday I had to review all the verb tenses in class. Then I had to show how they shifted when reporting what someone else said. For example, "I'm hungry." What did Torn just say, I didn't hear him. Oh, Torn said that he was hungry. I think I may have confused them more than I cleared things up.

My cuties. Always fun to come home after a long day at work. Today is especially brutal. Out the door at 8 and back at 9:30. At noon we'll be halfway to the weekend. Woohoo!

Weekend update

It was a pretty lackluster weekend. Serge and I don't observe Valentine's day, not that either of us dislikes flowers, candy or lovin', it's just that it's such a made-up day for the purpose of selling those items. So we don't buy them. Still being rebels in our forties I guess. I wonder when we're gonna really grow up. We did get some work done though and I started on the taxes. I have the privelege of doing the tax return for two countries. One country, we are married, and the other country I have to file single, since my marriage doesn't count there. So charming to be reminded of that each year. Up here, there is no distinction between hetero or homo, married or common law spouse. If you make a home together, you file together.

Georgie got a couple good afternoons at the doggie park. It's so amazing how much energy he has there when all he seems to do around the house is blob around. That's not true actually, he does spend a fair amount of time out on the patio, but I think it's more for observing the neighborhood happenings. At home sometimes he reminds me of a teddy bear sitting stoic on the couch or bed. He does this new thing lately where he comes in the shower to look at you while you're showering and then he licks the water off the side of the tub, the tile, and the shower curtain too. At first I thought he was going to come all the way in, but he never does.

Sunday was hard because I ate too much Saturday night and had indigestion dreams all night. I got up around 4 to start the cavalcade of bowel movements that ensued. Here's a pic.

I think it's the tartiflette that did it. (Fried potatoes, 0nions, bacon and ton of cheese) I know it can't be right but I weighed 4 pounds heavier than Saturday when I weighed myself Sunday morning. But maybe it is right, I'm fairly sure I expelled a similar quantity of matter yesterday.

I'm off on a new group intensive this week. I thought it would slow down after that, but things are shaping up to be pretty full until the end of March. AND, I've had a few inquiries for lessons from my business, including one from a long ago contract. And of course we must not forget, Spain in less than a month! I have to practice my Spanish. Have a swell Monday.

12 of 12

It's been a few months since I've done the 12 of 12 thing. That would be because we were in Cuba on December 12 and Hawaii on January 12. You saw all those pics, just not in this format. I remembered about it being the 12th just as I was getting ready to leave for work. I snapped this on my way out the door. You can see Serge's explanation on why he's sleeping on the couch on last Sunday's post in the comments.

I'm doing intensives this week and next which means a half hour commute out to the suburbs. It's trafficky but nothing like those going in the opposite direction, toward the city. The day started out bright and sunny like it had been all week.

This week's workplace.

Since it was Friday, the last day of the intensive for this group, we went out to lunch together. They all had to speak only English and I had to only speak French. They always get a kick out of that.

After lunch, it was time for our final activity - watching a movie in English. Who can guess what we are watching? I'll give you a hint. It was from 1973.

By the time we finished the movie, it had clouded up. This is on the drive home. Montreal is off in the distance behind the little mountain (looks like a hill from here) on the left.

Serge at work. At home. Which is really the same thing for him.

Where's Georgie? Oh there he is, amusing himself outside. He can spend hours out there by himself running around.

I had to run over to the market for a couple things which means I walk over the railroad track bridge. I know Java likes this shot. Still pretty wintery around here.

Came home, made some dinner and drinks, fed Georgie, and here he is waiting to go outside to do his business. He's still trying to eat his turds now and then. How can something so cute be so disgusting at the same time?

TV time together in the living room.

We watched a movie, J'ai tué ma mère, which was excellent. Even Serge liked it and he is a hard sell.

If you'd like to see other 12 of 12s from around the world, head over to Chad's blog and check the comment section for this project.

Purchases

I can't really express how tickled I am that finally this year we are not getting clobbered by snowstorm after snowstorm. Even the good side of getting a snowstorm, having a free "snowday", doesn't happen up here. Everybody works no matter what. I think in the ten years I've been here, they've only suggested working from home once. That was the day I saw people cross country skiing in the streets because the buses stopped coming. They didn't cancel service but all the buses got stuck until they could be dug out. Of course getting dug out here is pretty easy since they've had thousands of rehearsals. Since we came home from Hawaii three weeks ago, we've had maybe two inches of snow. I think this will end up being the sunniest February ever too. Love it. I also love the squealing by those getting clobbered down south. I know gloating isn't nice, but gloating and chortling I am. It's an act of gratitude, really.

Serge and I went out shopping on Sunday for phones for the house. Our old ones are acting up and he wanted a new set. So he bought a set at Costco but when he set them up, the answering machine portion of the ensemble didn't work. He called the help line and they troubleshot (shooted?) but couldn't solve the problem. So he went back and exchanged it for another set and of course, the exact same problem happened. It seemed most likely a programming problem. It would play the outgoing message partially and then stop and hang up. Weird. Anyway, after two tries and trips over to Costco, he decided to buy elsewhere. So I took him out. We checked Walmart first because they are a good gauge of good prices. We don't want to BUY there though. We checked the Source (Radio Shack), La Baie, Zellers, and Bureau en Gros (Staples) which is where he finally found the item he wanted at a good price. I felt like I was tutoring, but don't tell him that.

During the shopping excursion, my pants split open in the back. They've been getting tighter and tighter but you can only blame shrinkage for so long. No, it's time to own up to the new blubber butt. So of course we had to shop for some pants. Well, we didn't HAVE to, I mean, I was wearing opaque long underwear, so there was no skin, nor nasty hair business showing. But what better excuse for buying pants than when you split them open? So I bought pretty much the same make and model and the same size. I should have bought a size up probably, but my fragile ego is not ready for that yet.

When we got home we both cut each other's hair. See Serge has been bugging for a long while now about needing hair clippers. I know that hair clippers are a sucker buy, I mean really, how often are you going to use them. Well, when he bought the telephones at Costco, he also came home with the deluxe hair clipping set. Oh you should have seen how I rolled my eyes when he showed me that. Still, I figure we deserved to get some return on this wasteful expenditure. The kit even came with a (can't think of word) giant bib item to protect you from falling hairs. So we played barber and cleaned each other up. I figure we made half of the price back already. Happy hump day peeps.

Georgie in the park on Sunday

When I got up this morning, I didn't see Georgie. But then I noticed Serge on the couch using the cushion as a blanket. I can't believe they are both sleeping like this. It's awful cute though don't you think?

Georgie cracked me up yesterday. We were at the doggie park and he was running around like usual until he started seriously sniffing the ground near me where another dog had peed. This is easily evident in the winter as the snow-covered ground looks like a bunch of kids did some string painting with the color yellow. So he was sniffing a stripe near the fence and then lifted his leg to pee on the fence. For several seconds he stood there but no pee was coming out. Suddenly a large brown orb appeared from his anus and tumbled down his leg. He cocked his head in that what's-going-on way and then realized he was shitting and assumed the squatting position to finish the movement. So cute, so dumb. But I love him still.

Well this is it for a while. The next two weeks I'm working all out every day. Kinda like normal people. I don't understand how y'all work 40 hours a week year after year. It kicks my butt to do it for one week! But it's fun too, by the end of the intensive sessions, we've all bonded like family. I'll try to pop in during the week, if only for a quick photo or some such thing. Have a lovely Sunday.

Happy Friday

This gave me a chuckle. Classic advertising fail. But I suppose if you really needed their services, you wouldn't notice the error.

The comments on the shopping ethics post were funny. It was the same when I talked about it in class along with an article I have about a guy finding a hundred bucks on the ground in a parking lot and being conflicted about keeping it. (I would have had no confliction at all.) My students were like you, ranging from the prudish to the jaded. The lawyer was interesting, she said it's not stealing in the eyes of the law unless intent can be proven. Having worked as an undercover security agent prowling for shoplifters, she said the big problem is not the occasional cashier mistake, it's the incredible number of shoplifters that cause much more loss. As for "honesty", I'm as honest as can be if I know you. But I couldn't care less about the shareholders of a giant retail chain. A mom and pop store would have been totally different. A corporation has no obligation to be moral or ethical, their only objective is to generate a profit, regardless of the bullshit mission statement. Consequently, I have no moral obligation to them either.

More happiness about the Magicjack. When someone leaves you a message (yes, a voicemail box is included with your $50 annual fee) you are sent an email with a .wav file of the message. I love the convenience of being able to know if anyone's called just by checking my email inbox.

The weather has been pretty nice here. All the precipitation has remained south and although it's chilly, the sun has come out every day and it's slowly changing arc higher in the sky is heralding the spring. It makes me feel grateful.

Shopping ethics, or the lack thereof

Hey look who was passing through town yesterday. It's Franck who was on his way to Prince Edward Island. He had just been ice fishing in the far North. Come to think of it, I never asked if they had caught any fish. We had a quick meeting at the village Starbucks before he was off to the airport. The nice sunny day belies the frigid temps, though it wasn't too too terrible.

Later, Serge and I were at the shopping center and we had to go into the drugstore for a couple of toiletry items. When we met back up near the checkout, Serge had a new dvd player in his hands. Before I could protest, he said it was only 40 dollars, but then I protested anyway reminding him that we have a perfectly functioning dvd player, it's just the remote control that doesn't work (since Georgie ate it.) His retort to any purchasing protest is always the same, "I'm buying it." Knock yourself out, I then think. So it's our turn at the cashier and she scans all of our stuff and I notice that she doesn't scan the dvd player. The total is still over fifty bucks (we bought shampoo, vitamins and cold medication etc.) and as Serge is getting his money out, I'm thinking, "Don't say anything, don't say anything." And then he says it, "Did you scan the dvd player?" The cashier then said, "Oh, you got that here? I didn't know we carried that." And then she scanned it for us. Outside I said, "I can't believe you." Serge, not knowing to what I was referring, started to defend his purchase of the dvd player again. "I don't like having to get up and use the buttons on the machine instead of the remote. We needed it." I said, "No, no, no. Not that. Why did you ask her if she had scanned the dvd player?" He said he rued it after he said it, but that he is an honest person and proud of it. Sheesh. He never pays attention at the cashier, if they give him correct change or not, if the price scans correctly or not, but the one time he could actually score something, he blows it. Ah well, it's his money. I'm sure some of you will think less of me, but a cashier forgetting to scan something is not my issue, and I would never bring it up. Cost of doing business. You do know the ridiculous markup on everything you buy, don't you? I'm glad the honey is so scrupulous though, even though it's expensive that way.

This and that

Serge made this great thing the other night. It was a mountain of crepes layered with ham, cheese, and brocolli. He made some kind of herb citrus sauce too and it was just delicious. Then when he was cleaning up, he broke the crepe maker the crepe maker broke for no ostensible reason. It was a pretty old hand-me-down and we were worried that maybe they didn't make such a thing anymore, but lo and behold, Amazon of all places carries one. Our friend Dan has made crepes at our house a couple of times, always off the cuff, but last time I watched what he concocted and wrote it down. Since he wasn't measuring I eyeballed and came up with approximately this: 3 eggs, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk, a bit of orange zest and a smidge of salt. That's for dessert style, so you'll want to lower sugar and up salt for meal style crepes.

The weekend was pretty dull. I was puny and sickly the whole time, but it's just a cold I tell myself and then push through to do all the things I'm supposed to do. Chores, lesson plans, walking Georgie. We got out of the house a bit on Sunday, when we had a late breakfast and trip to Home Depot. Of course half way though I had to torque but I held it successfully until we got back home. Kinda like cigarette cravings, the urge eventually passes. Unless of course we're talking the squirts and then the only recourse is release, hopefully in a nearby public facility.

I've been really resisting acknowledging the eye failure going on with me. I do not want to succumb to having to wear glasses when I read, because the more you do that, the more you need them. Stave off the inevitable for as long as possible. The key is light. Usually I can avoid getting out the reading glasses if I find a bright source of light. We picked up a couple at the home depot, little spots at our desks that are perfect for reading things like instructions or directions which always seem to be in the smallest typeset possible.

Happy Monday peeps, only 4 more days to the weekend.