Ou est l'ete

Montreal is a city that throws itself into the arms of summer wholeheartedly and without reservation. Having been brutalized, battered and bewildered by the onslaught of another unexpectedly dreadful winter, the summer is greeted with festivals and outdoor cafes and live events, each topped with layers of glistening, newly revealed flesh, begging to be bronzed.

Right now we have the Jazz festival, the Zoofest, the Comedy Festival, Piknik Elektronik and a whole bunch of other things going on to ("Haiitian drumming fest? well since you're asking Parc Jean Drapeau, turn right at the water fest")

People here say things like "Life is short, summer is shorter" as they throw off their clothes and head for somewhere mortifyingly public.

So when summer is late and clouds spoil the sparkling blush of your second glass of Rose people get upset.

It's not as warm as it should be here. 23c rather than 28c. It's not as sunny either - humidity bringing in clouds in the afternoon. And people are pissed. They've been cheated. Out of the arms of brutal winter into the arms of a summer that turned out to be flaccid? Hell no! They won't stand for Summerectile Dysfunction... and they're out for blood.

Me? I'll admit that when the sun shines brightest the place is amazing. That its rays are transformative. But I'll settle for a watery sun here over the oft brilliantly blue skies and searing heat of Michigan. As I write - the sun is pouring through the window. I have a Cafe au lait in my hand, the cup that holds has the most beautiful graphic (it's from Toi, Moi et Cafe - si vous adorez le cafe) and I can hear birds in the trees outside.

Am I feeling cheated? Only out of the comedy festival... I had tickets for shows between July 20 and the end lined up and now need to be in New York all of that week. But that's money in the bank... and money in the bank means less time here in the winter.. so all is good....

Peace out

A change of plans

So the Seattle based thing may have become a New York / Atlanta thing - which is much easier for me and a lot less time in the air... hurrah

Still really interesting too.

Plus it gives me time to work on Burlesque Fest with the lady pictured above (I'm a HUGE fan of the strategically placed fan and volunteered to help in any way that I could, it's time to get involved with something good again after the A2 hibernation)

And I get to carry on with French... another good thing

Anyway this is short and hurried (like Napoleon on the retreat)... heading into the bank now

Something thoughtful soon... promise

Filling up fast

Next week is looking busy and not just with French classes....

- I have to fly to Seattle (an 8 hr meeting that means 16 hrs of travel)

- I have friends arriving from the US

- I have a meeting in Toronto

- I have meetings with the business people at the bank

And I have a few follow-ups to do with people who have expressed an interest in 'The Fish'


Might not sound like a lot - but looking at 16 hr days here...

Youch

The first day in the saddle

Today felt like the start of a new routine here. We got up, we went to French lessons "comment vous-appelez vous?" etc.
Four hours then Jude leaves level 4 and heads for home and I leave Level 1 and head for gym.

Home, homework, arrange dinner for tomorrow with an old friend who has a very cool company here.
Watch some TV - Lie to Me with Tim Roth

Call old friends who are in New York for a week (from Norway)
Head for bed

Good to have a new routine, however dull...

No need for panic

I didn't get my scans before I left the States. Not for the want of trying, but it seemed that once they got a sniff that my policy was up at the end of the month the good people at the insurance company stalled time and again in a bid not to have to pay for the last scan. But it's now been 6 months and 2 weeks since my last scan.

So when I woke up this morning with swollen glands I was convinced that death had found me (I'm a HUGE fan of the schlocky Final Destination movies) and that this was it. After all the sun was shining, we're in a city that we really like and may well come to love, we'd just come back from a BBQ with interesting people, the canal was abuzz with the young, the fun and the vibrant, there was a photo studio for hire at the end of the street, Jude had a job that met her exact requirements and an office with a view that surpassed them, I had the job that I'd been after forever and the start of something that seems even better and we'd just eaten amazing food from the market. It was too good to be true. It was in fact that way that our lives seem to others. It had to come to an end - surely we weren't allowed to be this happy?

We'll see. The glands are still up - but so are Jude's. Summer cold? Result of Jude having (already) spent too much time in the doctor's waiting room? Or cancer? Who knows... but the fact that I have to ask bugs me...gnnnrrr.

On a happier note - loads of kids at yesterday's July 4th BBQ... here's a pic