Confession

Sometimes, when I am on the metro listening to my music, and a really good song comes on... you know, one of those songs that sends shivers down your spine cause you love it so much. I get this uncontrollable urge to break out into dance and song right there and then. then, I day dream that I am part of an elaborate dance troupe that goese secretly onto the train, just to whip out a ghetto-blaster and dance elaborate moves to the song. Or, I am part of a music video, being filmed right there and then, and all these people would admire me for my talent, and just sit and watch as we all perform for this random music video we're making.

Sigh, and then I usually arrive at the station, usually I barely get off in time, cause I was so immersed in my day dream.

Homework, and Jobs.

Argh.

I applied for a part-time job at Holt Renfrew here in Montreal last night. I am excited for the opportunity to work, and to take some of my extra time on my hands and make it productive. However, I am not really all that excited about working in retail. Especially given the fact that I am not terribly experienced at it, but who knows... I am excited for the opportunity of a change, and I am one of those people who really hates not working, lol, which sounds weird, but is true.

Now, just after applying for the aforementioned position, I decided to sit down and work on my readings, and really compile a list of all the assignments, projects and such that are due. Mainly, I don't have too much due over the next week... but the week after next I have a SHIT-load of stuff due, so I am gonna start it tonight. Also, I have realized that I hate my distance class that I am taking through UVic. Its a management class, and its hard, and the final project involved interviewing 4 people about management, writing a freaking 3 page proposal, and then a big paper on my results.

Argh. I HATE projects.

I HATE interviewing people.

And most of all, I HATE stupid management courses, honestly, its gonna be the same dumb questions, about dumb crap that no one cares about, and I cannot possibly honestly interview people with a straight face. Let alone, the fact that I don't have a clue who I would interview about management.

Sigh, but I will do it, because I need to get it done, this is my last hurdle.... but it sure as hell is a test from the heavens.

Maybe I shouldn't be working also, lol.... meh.

My Journal

Well, its cold today, I felt like an arab woman wearing a burka today, I had this big scarf around my face/mouth, and my big fur hat on covering my ears and head, and my big parka, with my long underwear with big wool pants, which kept we warm on my long walk home from the Metro station (well, like 10 minutes), and yea, it was cold today, like -25 with the wind chill, argh.

Anyways, I am watching this show called 'the week the women went' on CBC, its rather amazing actually. It takes place in a small town in Alberta, and they literally took all the women in the town (well, 90% of them, leaving the nurses at the local clinic, and some of the grandmas) and took them to a spa retreat for the week. Leaving the men, who are mostly married oil workers, who aren't used to doing much housework, to fend for themselves, and balance life and work and kids. Its amazing, because I think its about damned time, there are some single moms on the trip, who have gotten either nannies or their ex's to take care of the kids while they are away. They're response is that now the men will know how single moms feel, and thats totally true if you think about it, they do this all the time. Anyways, its a great show, and its going to be VERY amusing to watch how the men deal with the changes.

Anyhow, the show just ended, and I am gonna sit down and work on some schoolwork, and read some before bed. Its been nice here, and its nice to be able to enjoy the city and kinda feel like your travelling away from home... but I will be happy to be back in BC. I especially miss the weather, but I also miss my friends and family, and also just the little things that are familiar back home (you know what I mean...).

That being said, its been fun. This Friday we are going out for dinner with a friend here, and I am meeting up with an old friend from High School that moved out here 4 years ago for coffee on Thursday.

I am missing being settled, it will be nice to be settled wherever we are eventually and actually spend more than 10 months living in one place, and really get to put our roots down and build 'home'... plus, it will be nice to be done school. I am SO missing working, and I am really not that interested in school this semester, which I have to get over, cause it needs to be done.

Anyways, thats my thoughts, sometimes its nice to get it out. I guess this sorta functions like a journal for me. lol.

News.

Words cannot describe how much I love this guy, and his youtube videos, lol. So, after reading this, watch it, cause it made my morning, and I hope it makes yours.

So, I haven't written a blog entry in forever, I'm not gonna lie, its mostly cause I don't see much point, since not very many people read them anyways, and its also because I am lazy. Now, to clarify, I am not lazy all the time and about everything, I spent my morning cleaning the floors, doing dishes, reading an article for school and wrote a paragraph for my assignment due on Monday, but then all I wanna do is just lay around watching 'What Not to Wear' instead of writing this blog entry. I think Clinton isn't gay, many people think he is, but I just think he is really metrosexual (if you've watched the show, you might disagree.. meh).

Anyways, focus... umm... Oh ! Yea, so one thing that has impressed me thus far about Montreal, the grocery stores here sell alcohol, wine and beer. The wine is mostly crap, as we have come to discover, but they have some okay beers, and an assortment of vodkas and other liquors. This is definately a civilized way of grocery shopping, I also noticed that the alcohol section is the first section when you walk in the door. Thus, allowing you to choose the most important part of the meal first, and then buy other groceries accordingly.

However, Montreal is dirty, there is a certain overall grime to the city, which is part due to its age, but also I think due to obviously crappy maintenance on most of the buildings, metro, roads and general infrastructure. Also, we are spoilt by newer construction and more money for maintenance in the West. The city of Montreal has a huge budget deficit, which is part of why there is such crappy maintenance, and also why there is a Metro strike looming. Apparently the mayor said its too expensive for them to give ANY salary increases to Municipal employees for the next 3 years, and most of the unions were okay with that, but the Metro and Transit drivers are not, and it looks like a strike is looming for early March... but they will maintain 'essential service'. AKA they will have like 6 trains a day, only for rush hour, WOO HOO, DAMN YOU UNIONS !!!

Sigh. So, Cody was accepted to Air Traffic Control training yesterday, which is great news. Its well paid, and its a desk job, which is much better for his physical health in the long term than continuing as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer... but it means we have to wait and hear back to see when he starts his training... oh, and the training is in Vancouver. So, basically, we are going to have to return back, they give us about 4 months notice ahead of time, which is good, but it also means we need to seriously consider saving as much as we can. The tuition is cheap, only $3,500... but the main cost is going to be him not earning anything for a year while he goes to school. Argh, dammit, I am SOOOOO happy being the stay-at-home-mom for the dog, lol. thats not true, I'm also a full-time student, but you get the idea. And lord knows my starting wage won't be grand, it won't be bad, but not grand.

Anyways, so its good news, it just means we have to make it through the next year somehow... somehow. The key is for us to save and pay-off as much as we can while he is here making the rediculous money he is making. I'm going to apply back to the banks there, and hopefully get hired, and then maybe they will decided to promote me to Senior Vice President of the largest bank in Canada (RBC) and we will be good to go ! Yep, thats my bet !

Lol, Anyways, it looks like 2008 will be just as interesting and eventful as 2007 was !

Snow Day

Its snowing today, and I have errands to do, and class to attend, and I really don't wanna leave the house.

Its rather lovely actually outside, big fluffy snowflakes falling on the ground, and I have the heat nice and warm in here... mmm.

Well, I am off to read and then go do things. Hope you are all enjoying a snow(less) day !

And I am SO totally doing this the next time I am at an airport !! :


Feist - My Moon My Man (Canadian singer at a Canadian Airport, lol)

Land of the Bloody Cold

Well, I have arrived, its been very cold here in Montreal, it was -25 last Thursday, and we had snow banks on the side of the road over 4 feet tall, which was very disconcerting for a West Coast kid like me, used to my rain, and very unwhite winters !

Its been a fun experience thus far though, Montreal is very European, and very arrogant. As a city, the moment you meet any of the locals, you get the feeling that this is a city that knows its one of the oldest in North America (if not the second oldest, only to Quebec City), it knows its beautiful, and it damn well thinks its the best place on the continent. There is certainly an elite arrogance, and powerful pride to this city, which I view as both a positive and negative thing. I love the city's architecture, the old buildings, with their ornate decorative design, they just don't build great office structures, or even townhouses like they used to !!

And Quebec City just celebrated its 400 year Anniversary, which I am very sure makes it the oldest city outside Mexico, in North America, it was definately founded before any city in the USA... and as an interesting scandal, the Queen was invited to the celebrations, but she turned it down, due to the prominent arguments of many Quebec politicians that the British monarch should not be recognised in Quebec. I honestly do not know why Quebec is allowed to get away with what it does, I mean, we (the British part of Canada) won the war against Quebec, and conquered it hundreds of years ago, so just move on for God's sake ! But, alas, they insist for preferrential treatment, under a system that is unfair on sooo many levels (someone born in Quebec pays half the University tuition than any other Canadian citizen, double standard much?)...

Anyways, I am ranting, I love the city, I need to start taking photos, its absolutely a winter wonderland, and its been getting warmer, nearing 0 degrees C, which has been absolutely wonderful. There are such cute little coffee shops and wonderful places, and the Metro, LOVE the Metro, its a wonderful mass transit system that makes it soo easy to get around ! the underground city is especially wonderful... I especially love the shopping, yesterday Cody and I went to the underground city and got the ring resized, got our brows waxed, purchased a coffee maker, and went to see a movie, which we left (long story).. all while staying underground, and walking between like 7 different shopping centres, and hotels !

OH, I completely forgot to mention, My family and I and Cody all went up to a ski resort called Sun Peaks for Christmas this year... and Cody took me for a wonderful walk throught the ski village, and around the cute little shops in the valley, and then on the way back to our Chalet, he stopped me on the trail and proposed ! It was amazing, the snow flakes were coming down and it was very sudden that I didn't believe him at first, I was totally shocked ! It was absolutely lovely, and amazing, and the RING is GORGEOUS, its two bands, each one representing our corporeal bodies, his body is represented by a band of yellow 18k gold with 26 diamonds, and mine by a white 19.3 karat band with 26 diamonds, and then an intertwining weave of gold in the middle represents our intertwining spirits, and our energy joining. I LOVE that it was a custom made ring here in Montreal, and jeweler is amazing, very nice man... but the ring was a little bit too large, so we are getting it remade to be smaller to fit my finger.

Its very exciting, no date for the wedding has been planned yet, although we want to do it on the Summer Solstice, and its a secret how we want it done ! Either its going to be June 21 in 2009, or 2010. Not sure yet... we need to start saving, lol !!

I am right now snuggled with the dog, watching a documentary on Dubai on CBC, and holy Christ the city has changed a lot since I was there, there are entire sections that were once desert that are all now dense scyscrapers, but such is Dubai... and the more I watch, the more I remember that perhaps a couple of years there is what we need to jumpstart our careers, perhaps thats what we need to make the lives that we want for ourselves back home... perhaps.

But then I remember that our new found love, and our young enagagement, is completely illegal there... and I wonder if we could ever live there... even maybe for a period.