Mais ce n'est que des futilités

Could write about...

2009-11-04T00:08:00.000-05:00

It’s not that I don’t want to write, here, it’s more that for the past couple months, I don’t know what to write about. But the thing is that, there’s plenty to write about; I’m pretty sure about it. And school is taking more of my time, I’ve had a couple of mid-terms and even if they were open books exam, they were hard. I haven’t really had time to finish any of the mid-terms I’ve written so far, or only barely had time to finish. Could write about The Boy, but I don’t know what’s going on with him (no clue whatsoever), so what is there to say? Or you guys might have a different perspective. Could write about the fact that I have to find a research project for my master, but my supervisor is pregnant and on bedrest and I don’t really want to go to her place to discuss it. But I know I should since I might be doing the project over the summer rather than during my last semester. Oh, and there’s that master degree offered in Quebec City that a friend showed me and it looks so much better that what I’m doing now, should I think about it? There’s also my computer being more and more stupid (ie, slow and giving me error messages for no reason), might want to change it since laptops are not too expansive these days. Could also write about how I’ve been enjoying playing Guitar Hero World Tour (guitar and drums, I don’t sing) at my brother’s since he bought it, so much so that I asked the game for my Wii for my birthday or Christmas. Might be better to get it for Christmas, otherwise I might not study as much as I’d like. The new apartment is better than the other one; there’s heating! So I haven’t been freezing like in the previous one. During the lab sessions at school, I’ve learned that working with wastewater is disgusting (as if you didn’t know) and gloves is not an option. I’ll try to remember that when I’ll have kids one day during diaper changes.

There might be plenty to write about if I just sit and think about it for 2 seconds.

Learning to be more patient

2009-10-03T00:15:00.001-04:00

I think that this is one of the things that I have to learn; or let’s say to become more patient when it comes to some things. In one of my recent posts, I’ve briefly mentioned that I’ve met someone and wasn’t so sure of where things were heading. I think that The Boy is going to teach me to become more patient (he’s being called The Boy since one of me very good anglo friends already calls him like that since she can never remember his insanely long and very uncommon French first name). For the last few weeks, he’s been amazingly busy and has had to cancel dates a couple times. So, trying to be patient with him and just accept that he’s busy (he has a job and plays hockey in a league twice a week with his friends); even if it’s not that easy. The friend I’ve mentioned earlier on told me to move on since he’s not being serious; but I want to give him more time since we’ve talked and texted and he seemed to be somewhat sorry and apologized, but she reminded me that patience should have a limit, not matter what and no matter how you appreciate someone (but I do not really agree on the last part).

Since we’ve met, I’ve also learned not to rush things and to let things go slowly and to try to enjoy it; not always easy since not knowing where we’re heading is not always the fun part.

What has someone taught you recently?

North

2009-09-13T13:53:00.004-04:00

When thinking about the kind of job I could get in the future, I’ve always known that there are certain things I wouldn’t want to do and others I’d love to do. But this summer has changed this a bit. I was given the opportunity to spend a week in James Bay, which is where the field site of one of the projects is located. If James Bays wasn’t remote enough, the only way to get to one of the field sites (and is very convenient to go to others) is by helicopter. A bit less than a 10 minutes flight to get there; and we had to go everyday. Think I liked it? By the way, before taking the plane to get there, I had never been in planes or helicopters. I loved flying and I enjoyed working in such a remote area.

The only things you hear over there, when the equipment is turned off, is the wind blowing; on windy days it can get somewhat strong. It’s also peaceful to be there (depends with whom!) and even more when you’re done with the field work and that you’re waiting for the helicopter to come, lying on the wooden platform is quite relaxing. It’s a big contrast from the everyday life in a city when there is always something going on.

However, days spent in the peatland could get long and boring; so there was nothing better than an iPod and tiny-foldable speakers. On days that were cloudy and colder, listening to Stars, City and Colour or whatever L could fin on my iPod made a huge difference. (made you forget that you were wearing a bugjacket and that mosquitoes were still trying to bit you) It made me learn to enjoy music a lot and made me realize how big of a difference it can make on your mood. And I’ve also learned that it shouldn’t be taken for granted, since the battery on an iPod can die.

The thing I really like about being out there was to almost be stress-free, it’s very different than the city! Sure some days were stressful when things broke or something went wrong; but in the end, we always came back to thinking “you do you’re best with what you’ve got out here”.

The not stress-free morning was the first one, when it was the first time I got in a helicopter. The pilot was experienced, which made it feel safer knowing it’s been a while he’s been flying. But I didn’t like it when he told me what has to be done in case we crash and he dies and told me where the survival equipment is… however, flying was fun, the first pilot loved to fly few meters above the water (had to fly over a Hydro reservoir and over a river) or above ATVs trails. He was also doing some crazy things, which were not that crazy compared to what he told us he’s done in the past, but feeling G forces in a helicopter is fun (like a rollercoaster ride, except that there are no rails, so you don’t know where you’re going and when it’s going to stop). And on days on which he was flying “normally” it was also quite fun since you get to see this fantastic landscape from the air, which makes it look a lot better than when you’re on the ground.

That week spent up north taught me that worming in remote areas can be enjoyable and that flying is fun (I have no motion sickness whatsoever, which helps). But I’ve also learned to relax and to enjoy the time spent over there; to look around and realize how wonderful nature really is; it’s nearly impossible in the city to look around you and only see vegetation or not to hear all kinds of engines running.

*Have to admit that it may be a bit scary to know that the only way to go back to camp is by helicopter and that under some weather conditions it is impossible to fly.

Everything is different

2009-09-09T11:39:00.003-04:00

I haven’t posted here for quite a while, it may be that Facebook is so much easier when it comes to posting pictures and changing status. Or simply being lazy? Having to commute a lot over the summer and spending time in the field?

Anyhow, school started 2 weeks ago, I know it was early; and I think I’m going to like it even if it looks like it’s not going to be easy. Now it feels like I’m getting so much closer to not being a student anymore… in 2 years (minus few months), I’ll be done with grad school. However, that’s somewhat scary. At the welcoming session, one of my profs asked me what were my career objectives; to which I answered: “I’m not so sure yet, I’ll see we the courses I’m taking this semester”. He didn’t look quite satisfy. However, it’s the truth; I don’t know if I want to work more with drinkable water or wastewater or a mix of both, or research? Work as a consultant, somwhere in the government? But I do know that water is an interesting field of study; is that a good start? And working as a research assistant for a prof that studies greenhouse gases taught me that it’s an interesting field of study but may not be my favourite. However, getting the opportunity to work in James Bay for a week (where they do research) and flying in helicopter everyday to get to the field site taught me that this kind of research is fun; remote area and flying in helicopters (have to write more about that in another post).

Things are also quite different now that I’m done with my undergrad degree… meeting new people, good friends moving out of the province which means that I don’t get to see them on a daily basis as usual. And living without a roommate is also different, has pros and cons. And I met this guy, and it's still the period where things hasn't been clarified. And going to a French university is also making a huge difference, I’m glad that I did my undergrad in English (not afraid of English textbooks) but I’m also happy to study in French since it’s somewhat easier.

Just lots of changes in the last little while, do you like changes or you'd rather keep a routine where things are not changing too much?

Answers

2009-04-03T23:55:00.002-04:00

I know it’s been a while since I last wrote here, but school is simply hectic and having to write reading journals in a class is pretty much time consuming (the amount of reading is insane, at least I’m not used to it being a science student). Anyways, still have few essays to write, some are going to be fun and others are going to be painful. However, I do have good news that I wanted to share with you guys. And I will be back later in the month.

This week, I learned that I have been accepted to do a Master in Civil Engineering and the week before I got an offer to do one in Geography (I also applied for a certificate as I was very scared of not getting in)… I sat down with myself on Wednesday night and decided that opting for engineering would be the best for me… I did not get an entrance scholarship for the eng. degree but I don’t really mind since I know I will probably like it much better. It was a hard decision to make knowing that I could have gotten over 14,000$/year from some department… but still, I thought about the long run and engineering wins. I’ve been taking a bunch of courses related to issues with water and water in different location on Earth (general courses, hydrogeology, water in rivers, in lakes, in wetlands… a lot). And engineering seems to be a logical route, plus the option I chose is centered towards the environment, which will be fun.

I don’t fully realize it know, I don’t realize that I’ve been accepted where I most wanted to go… I guess that it will hit me at one point… I learned it right after my final oral presentation in a “cartography” class (geographic information systems/science), the teacher just told me that we did a great job and then I went to check my file and here it was: accepted.

Plus, it means that I won’t be doing some preparatory work for a Master and that I can accept a research assistant position with one of my profs… so I have a summer job and it was soooo easy to get; the teacher knows me quite well (he taught me 4 courses). It should be a very fun summer… will be working in a marsh and maybe on a reservoir (+ the less fun stuff: lab work). He was so happy for me when I told him I got in (he wrote a reference letter for me, so he knew about the application) and he was happy that I accepted the job... so was I.

Anyways, it was just generally a great week… now I have to tell my roommate that I still move (she found someone, finally!!!) but that I’ll stay in Montreal… it’s gonna be much better for me, more expensive but it will worth it.

How was your week?

Hectic time of the year

2009-02-02T18:52:00.004-05:00

This is how I feel due to the fact that I have a gazillion things to do this week... can't wait for this semester to be over... Mostly because I'm taking an advanced class in Environment and it's more like philosophy and environment... which means a lot of readings, a reading journal to write twice a week and did I mention the readings? We are currently reading a book by Polanyi (The Great Transformation), and I'm not thrilled by the idea of having to discuss this in class tomorrow and basically having to finish the book within the next 16 days.
Yes, the picture is the snowstorm that hit Montreal last week.

Can't wait for the calm after the storm, which is going to be this weekend more or less, or the real calm will come at the end of February during reading week... taken this Sunday while going to the grocery store.

Challenges

2009-01-25T23:03:00.002-05:00

I never thought that it would be that hard to write letters to apply for grad school and research proposal. But after one weekend of doing that and a bunch of other things, I think that I’m done, well, I’ll still have to apply to one place before March 1st but it will be a piece of cake this time. And I also realized that it was the first time in the last three year that I had to write something really important in French, it was hard. It seems that my brain is now a weird mix of French and English!

What seemed to have made writings these letters even harder is that I had the feeling that January blues were coming this year again, plus the bunch of questions that I’m currently asking myself and the scary unknown. All of these together have made me feel a bit, I don’t know how to say it but sad and scared at the same time. But I’m lucky since I have good friends and that they know me quite well. Saturday night one of my best friends (if not my best friend) and I went for diner at a new Asian restaurant. It was really good and then she thought that some chocolate might be a good idea for me. So we went to the best place in Montreal for chocolate lovers, a restaurant where there is chocolate in basically everything I would say. After a good coffee (espresso and chocolate) and a brownie I started to think that those January blues were not going to get me this year. And this morning one of my good friends, called me and said that he would be at my place in few minutes. I guessed that he sensed that things were not that right when we talked earlier this week and that having a good chat might help. It did help, just talking about our fears and what is bothering us can make a huge difference. And sometimes, a long hug also makes things better. He is one of my friends with whom I have that feeling that I can talk about everything and I like knowing that we can count on each other when things get a little bit rougher.

The last challenge of the day was to tell my roommate that I might leave in July but chances are pretty high that I will. I’m applying for grad school in Montreal and Quebec City… and don’t know where I’ll go. I felt that it wasn’t right to tell her that we should resign our lease together, not knowing what I’ll do next year. She wasn’t really thrilled, but I know that being honest with her (and now) can pay off. She still has plenty of time to find a new roommate for our awesome apartment. And I’m starting to think that leaving in my own place, not shared with a roommate would also be really great; L and I don’t fight and have tremendous respect for each other but still, I’d like to have my own place.

And I'll try to post a bit more often, but this Environmental Philosophy class is keeping me way too busy! Too many readings to do!

Can’t things stay like this forever?

2009-01-12T21:10:00.001-05:00

I’m not really looking forward for next year; for various reasons, but one in particular that might seem a bit silly but in reality isn’t. In the last year and a half, I’ve made friends, good friends actually, and comes the end of this semester we’ll all be doing something new. Some are staying in Montreal, others are planning to go to grad school outside the province and others are going to get a job. It’s kinda sad that it might come to an end sooner than we thought. Those are people that know me and that I know that I can count on. They’re the friends that make it really fun to just go out to a pub, drink beer and just talk and laugh. Or with whom we go play hockey, just like we did over the weekend. We went to Parc Lafontaine (a huge park in Montreal) and joined people that were already playing; it seems to me that it’s a very Canadian thing to do. I must admit that I have bruises on my knees cuz I felt a bit but it was so much fun. So was drinking hot chocolate at L’s place after it.

At the same time, I’m looking forward for next year since, things might change a lot since I might go to another school, meet new people and experience new things. But this feeling of being at home when I’m at school is definitely going to change. Such as walking in the lounge around lunch time, sitting on one of those red couches, eating lunch and enjoying it because people in the program know each other quite well and some times it feels like it’s one big family. Sadly, a bunch of them are going to graduate in May, and so will I.

By the way, I’m so lost with what is going to happen for me next year; I ran into my subway buddy from my old job the other day and he started to ask questions about what I want to do next year and what are my goals… he asked few questions; I talked with profs about grad school and they made me think about things I didn’t thought of, but I’m now asking myself a gazillion questions.

Back?

2008-12-14T23:13:00.002-05:00

I don’t think that I could even say that I was a blogger for the last few (have to admit it) months. School took over I guess, and all those never ending assignments (and those that required good writing skills were more of a struggle for me). But now, this semester is almost over… one final to go and a final paper to write; and I’m so not motivated… Even if it was a hectic semester, filled with field trips in the first month (3 weekends, back to back), I think that I enjoyed it (and even with the crappy schedule that I had).

I can barely believe that at the end of the next semester, I’ll be graduating… it’s hard to imagine. But at the same time, it is extremely scary. I’ve been looking at grad schools, and if there’s one thing that I hate in science is that in order to be accepted for your master, quite often you have to bring your own money… and those scholarships can be pretty hard to get. I’ve talked to few teachers in my fields of interest, will do more of it when this semester will be over… but I’m starting to seriously think about doing a master in engineering, even if it means doing one more year since I did not take advanced calculus in university… or do a non-thesis master…

I can’t promise that I’ll write a lot here in the upcoming months, but I’ll try, because I realized that I missed it. I went to see Stars for my birthday (and loved it) and at the end of the concert, I thought about how I’d like to share that with you guys. (It was so good, I just loved it and would like to see them live again) I hope that I’ll have time to write… I’ll try to take the time to do so.

Rain and NYC but not together

2008-08-07T21:56:00.001-04:00

Rain would be the word that I would be if one asked me how the summer has been so far. Rain, rain and even more rain oh and coldish, I mean, not really hot. However, I have to admit that I managed to get away from the intense rain: I drive a lot for work and most of the time, I ended up going to places where it was not raining while it was pouring rain in Montreal. It's great when I'm working and that I am not doing inspections (driving in the rain is not my favourite thing): it doesn't feel really bad to be in an office when the weaher is not nice outside. But I have to say that this summer at the office has been amazingly different and I don't know if it's in a good or in a bad way. It might not help that the people working at the office have changed: a lot left and there are a few new ones.

I also spent few days in the States during the weekend: we went to see my grandma's sister and her family. We spent Saturday in Long Island, it was raining for a good part of the day but at least it was sunny in late afternoon: the house was sort of crowded. My cousin was sort of surprised to see that my sister and I could actually speak English. Then on Sunday, we went to Manhattan and we walked around Central Park and in Upper West Side. It's a part of Manhattan where I never went to and it was quite fun. We also went to Times Square after diner and that was the coolest part of the day, I wished that we could have spent a bit more time there, but going there was great. I managed to take few good shots, a lot more have been posted on my Facebook page.

And for this rainy weekend, I'm going to spend few days at home, as summer comes to an end really soon and it might become a bit hard to go home. Plus most, if not almost all my friends, are outside the city this weekend, so it can be sort of boring (they've been outside Montreal during lots of weekends)... despite the long bus ride, it should be good to spend a bit of time at home.

Driving a Prius

2008-07-25T22:25:00.003-04:00

Have you ever tried one? Saw the "keys"? Tried to start it?

On Thursday, I spent the day away from the office, going to a bunch of places for work. When I came back, in the visitor parking lot, I notied one Prius with the Quebec's stickers on it, and the only nearby office that I know that has one is the one in Southern Laurentians. I walked into the office and ran into my subway buddy from last year, who moved to the Southern Laurentians office in mid-July. He was leaving and asked me if I saw "his" car, and if I wanted to try it as he had a little challenge for me: Try to start it and drive it... I put my files on my desk and the keys of my "so nice Ford Focus", told my partner that I was done for the day and left.

Next to the car, S put the "key" in my hand and said, "bring us to the next subway station, I don't have enough time to bring you to your place, but want to see how you'll do with this car". The keys that he gave me are not real keys: a little black box. I unlocked the doors and sat in the car... is there a key in the little box, how does this thing work?... he sat next time with this huge smile on his face and said "Figure it out by yourself" I saw a little hole in which the box fits, he did and I saw two little green lights next to it... but still, can't turn it like "normal" keys. I looked at around, and after what seemed like an eternity, saw a power button (just like on your tv or laptop!) and pressed it. The screen went on and all the lights in the car... but still, when I tried to put it on park: could not work... Subway buddy was happy to see me struggling, as it meant that he was not the only one having trouble with it. I pushed the button again, and bingo! And to put it on Park, you guessed it, you just press on the P button... it's a sweet car much better than the Honda civc hybrid that my parents own.

I never thought that I would start a car by pressing a car and using a car being mostly powered by electricity if not only. But, I felt so dumb for not being able to start to car at first, at least it was a friend, not my boss!

Sir Paul

2008-07-21T21:46:00.003-04:00

Right, I went to Quebec City for the weekend with my mom and sister and we went to see Paul McCartney on Les Plaines d'Abraham... 250,000 people, it was simply insane. The wait was not too bad as we did not get there super early. We thought that we would have to be at the back since we were not in the first ones to get there. We managed to get a "place" "close" to the stage, in the area that they called A: we could see the stage and the people on it and the giant screen that was installed on the left. Sure, they were really small on that huge stage, but even if I'm kinda small, I managed to see them.

The Stills opened the show, they were really great despite some sound problem. I really enjoyed their part; much better thant Pascale Picard, the girls who played right before McCartney. It might not help that I don't really love what she does.

I've never been a huge Beattles fan but, it seemed to be the once in a lifetime type of thing and my mom offered to go. I do not regret going! I was so glad to see him play songs such as Hey Jude, Let it be, Sgt. Peppers, Give Peace a Chance, Live and Let Die, Yesterday as those are the ones that I know quite well. People around us kept singing the whole time, those guys (in their fifties) seemed to enjoy the shoe quite a lot. It was funny to see people from different generations.

I'm sure that you've heard quite a lot abou the show in the news. For videos, YouTube it, you'll find a lot!

Oh and Saturday, we went to see the Image Mill, which is a forty minutes visual and audio production projected against the grain silos in the Port of Québec. The concrete structure becomes a narrator that tells the tale of Québec City's 400 years of history.

It consists in a sort of animated mosaic that, moving from engravings to paintings and from photos to videos, creates an impressionistic portrait of the city over time. The work consists of four movements corresponding to the city’s four centuries of history: waterways, the age of exploration and discovery; road building, clearing and developing the land; the railroad and industrial expansion; and finally, the age of air travel and the development of communications.

"from: monquebec2008.sympatico.msn.ca"

This was also pretty cool, different kind than the Pauln McCartney concert! But it was really great to see Québec's history being unfold on this giant screen; no words were needed to understand how things changed in 400 years, pictures and music was enough and it was quite powerful.

Anyways, this weekend is going to be less busy; might go to see the Fireworks on Saturday at LaRonde (nearby) and then we're going to New York City the first weekend of August... busy summer!

The White Screen

2008-06-30T22:46:00.002-04:00

I've been trying to write something coherant for the last hour or so, and after few lines I realize that it's not really good or that things don't make sense... it's been a long time since the last post (very few posts this year I should say). I'm moving tomorrow and will only get internet back on Friday, until then I'll only have access at work, but it means no Facebook, nor Blogger.

In the next posts I'll post a summer reading list (a bit late, but it's never too late for that I guess) and a list of places where I want to go this summer. I won't have a lot of days off, so I'll try to do things on weekends and discover Montreal and its surroundings. I'm living here and now know the city but there are so many thigs to do in the summer that i should not be bored.

Should be back now

2008-06-26T22:29:00.001-04:00

After a long hiatus, I should be back for a little while. Things are now settling down and I guess that I’ll start to have more free time in the upcoming weeks. I’m back at my old job from last summer, working with the same guy; and he slightly changed and we now get along ok. I also have a supervisor, and he is a great guy, we’re having fun with him. We still have stinky coordinator and Mr. I want a gazillion inspections as the regional director. Otherwise things are the same, different cubicle though, which I’m not super happy with; it’s in the part of the office where the AC sucks and it’s further away from my friends from last summer and from the Analysts with whom I had fun last summer. Oh and few of the fun people of the office are leaving, working in different offices or different jobs; no subway buddy in 2 weeks (anyways, he lost his transit card and is driving to work quite a lot). But there are new people, which is really fun as it brings down the average age of the people in this office. However, I now understand why my subway buddy, as we shall call him, told me to try to stay away from my old job.

Otherwise, I’m moving on Tuesday. Much bigger apartment, it is further away from work and school but with a friend. And my brother left for Japan on Sunday, he’ll be back in late August, it’s going to b weird to be spending a summer in Montreal without him. I realized this week that I’ll miss him, I’ll miss hanging out with him after work and drinking beers while cooking together and making the silliest jokes.

Otherwise the summer should be sort of busy in a good way, and I’m trying to convince my Grandma to go to New York to visit her sister. The last time they saw each other was 6 years ago and it would be nice for them to see each other.

And I’ll graduate in a year; I realized it when I went to my brother’s convocation last week. I started to look at masters degrees in geography, hydrology but also civil engineering. Application deadline are early to get grants, but I learned that as a French speaking Canadian it can be slightly easier to get an NSERC, but it still has to be proven.

I wanted to post some pictures that I took during my Field Class (lots of them are on Facebook) but I'm not using my laptop as it broke again. They gave it back with a new keyboard and hardware but with Windows in English, have to bring back the laptop to get Windows in French...

Back from the 2 weeks field trip + 1 week "field" trip to the library

2008-06-07T15:46:00.002-04:00

Things I learned during field class:

Sweet potatoes taste good, despite what my mom told me.
Cinnamon bread is good: butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, even better at midnight and sitting on the counter in the kitchen
Tofu can be quite tasty
Cooking for 8 can be a challenge
Chocolate chipits cookies with Nutella on top is the best
Chili is good, which I knew, and is not that hard to cook
Too many people in the kitchen can result in funny fights
It was more about hiking than actual science
Working until 2:00 AM on assignments with friends can be fun and staying at the library until 2 can also be funnish
Playing Scrabble on Facebook is cool, however it’s hard in English
Science can be fun when you are in the field but it can also be frustrating
Do not hit a rock with your fist, it will hurt, a lot (I did, I was trying to put a stick in the ground, it broke, my fist hit a rock)
The water in the stream can be really cold in Mid-May, see above point
Measuring the discharge of a stream was not a good idea for my independent project
I’m not in good shape at all
Put the red in the shed when using a compass
Playing (cough, working) in a gravel pit can be kinda cool, but you literally end up with sand all over you, and in your clothes
Bunk beds are dangerous: I woke up one night (sleeping on top) with one arm hanging in the air and then woke up with my feet hanging in the air, right I moved all the way down to the bed
Bunk beds are dangerous: when sleeping on the bottom, if you wake up and sit, it hurts your forehead
Sharing room is not fun: mostly when the roommate snores really loudly at 2:00AM and that you go to bed after finishing the never ending assignment
Lentil patties are really good, at least the one that one of the guys made
Rice Krispies Squares are fun to eat while doing assignments
Steeled toes rubber boots are a bad idea
I hate mosquitoes
Apples and cheese is a good midnight snack
My roommate (a guy subletting for the summer) did not understand what it meant when I told him when I would be back from my field trip: I walked in the apartment and felt like the whole place was his room.
The roommate does not understand that he is not my dad; I can go to bed whenever I want, if I’m tired the day after, it’s my problem; he does not understand
And I met new people, we quickly became friends; 7 students in a class is perfect
And I think that it will be weird to go back to work on Monday, since May 19^th, I’ve been with the same 7 other people most of the days
Extension on term paper is also fun, but I’m not looking forward to writing it and then finding a tutor (in the summer) to correct it (The university closed the English Center or I don’t know how they called it and replaced it by tutors, but it’s not the same)

Little Squirrel

2008-05-13T11:09:00.003-04:00

Things are sort of busy around here, well, it depends on your definition of being busy; last Thursday I went to the dentist for the dreaded appointment: I had my 4 wisdom teeth removed. Let's just say that the next time that something important has to be done to me, I'll ask for Ativan, which is a drug that makes you less nervous, it's a sedative and muscle relaxant. My aunts, whom are nurses, did not quite understand why my dentist did not give me some, as the dentist knows me quite well.

But it's almost over, my face is still a bit swollen, but I can now open my mouth and talk (might be weird but English is still kinda hard). But since Thursday, I've been taking Advils or Tylenol every 4 hours. But things are much better, I look less like a squirrel and more like me.

Will be back to Montreal on Thursday and by then, I guess that everything will be a lot better and should post once I'll be there.

Habs: on vacation

2008-05-05T10:25:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the few weeks without posting. My second year as an undergrad is officially over, last Tuesday at noon I finished writing my last exam. But I still have one thing to fix before leaving Montreal: I have to find an apartment. Here’s the problem: I found one, it’s perfect, a bit expensive but the place looks so great that we don’t really mind (it ends up being the same as what I’m paying right now). However, the superintendent of the building is sick, so the owner is in charge of finding new tenants. I haven’t met the woman, but she’s really unsure about having tenants that are students, she’s afraid that we are not going to pay, even if our parents co-sign the lease, she’s not sure that she wants to have us. She knows that they are not living in Montreal, and this is the major problem for her, which I don’t totally understand because if we don’t pay the rent, she only has to sue me or my parents (but my superintendent told her that I’m paying on time)… anyways, should get news from hear today, otherwise we have to find another place.

And you might have heard about it, the Habs lost their last game against the Flyers, so playoffs are over for them. It was great, the city was hockey: flags on police cars, huge flags on fire trucks, paintings on fire houses, a lot of people wearing Habs shirts, bars and pubs were full when they were playing (it was hard to find a seat half an hour before the game start), on the city buses you could read the number of the bus and then “Go Canadiens Go!”… it was all about hockey. Now, we’ll just have to find something else to do, watching the games was a good way to waste time.

2008-04-22T23:48:00.003-04:00

Earth day list, inspired by Barbara’s post. I thought it was great so here’s my list, which might change as I will think about more things

Things I do right:

Walk to school or take public transit but rarely a car
Try to sell old school books: reuse!
Bring a re-usable mug when I buy coffee
Use re-usable bags
Give old clothes to my little cousin
Have some fluorocompact light bulbs
Have phosphate free detergent for laundry
Put plastic in windows in winter
Don’t have AC in my apartment
Convinced my parents to buy a hybrid car and to get tinted windows (I think that it uses less the AC, but honestly it was for us passengers on the backseat)
Don’t eat meat in every meal
Study in Environment, if that counts
Recycle as much as I can
Buy fair trade/organic coffee
At school, buy coffee at the student run café, where they sell organic and fair trade products
Use an electric mower when I’m at my parents’ house
Use a laptop rather than a desktop, uses less electricity

Things I do wrong

I don’t compost
I own way too many clothes and a lot of these are made in Asia or somewhere really far from here
Have too many incandescent light bulbs
Take showers that are too long
Use a lot of paper, but try to print on both side or re-use the sheets
Don’t use a divacup
Buy products that are not always locally grown and that are not organic
Often forget to close lights when I get out of a room
Drink beer, which requires a lot of water
Eat food that I ordered to go: a lot of packaging

Will add more to the list... or find solutions to what I do wrong...
any thoughts on that list?

Procrastinating... only one exam left on the 29th...

2008-04-22T23:18:00.001-04:00

This amazingly insane semester is almost over, almost. It ended up with so many things due on the last 3 weeks of school; a lot of sleepless nights last week… the good point of having a bunch of essays due is that in some classes I don’t have finals, so I only have 1 exam. On the 29^th, at noon, school is officially over. And I wrote an exam last week, it was way too long, I did not even had enough time to go over my answers.

The upcoming summer should be quite busy; wisdom teeth will be removed on May 8^th, my summer class starts on the 19^th, and it includes a 2 weeks field trip, with plans to come back to Montreal in the first week of June. Then have a week to write a final paper and prepare a presentation for the Friday, which will also involve a good lunch, wine and beer. Unfortunately, the job starts on the Monday the 9^th and ends on August 29. And right, back to school on September 2^nd…. I’ll have time off in early May, time which will be spent reading a coursepack about physical geography. And I’ll go back home after the 4 hours trip to the dentist. And within all that, I’m moving on July 1^st! Can’t wait to live with my friend… the roommate is driving me crazy. And profs reminded us that us, U2 students, have to start thinking about Masters and grad school… also have to think about that over the summer, to start applying during the Fall semester (to try to get grants or to get a place with a good prof)… busy summer, but it’s the way I want it to be in June; my roommate is subletting her room to a guy, which I’m not very happy about as I do not approve him so I’ll try to be as busy as I can and spend as less time as I can at my apartment… at least the campus is nearby and it’s a great place to read, the Old Port is “within walking distance” sort of, and my brother is leaving for 2 months in Japan at the end of June, so I’ll try to spend some time with him. And I’ll have to pack my things once again, lovely activity to do… very sarcastic.

And I went to the Bell centre twice in two nights on the 11^th and 12^th, I saw the guy who played the surgeon in Bon Cop, Bad Cop, the guy is quite famous in Quebec. And then, on Saturday night, I saw the second game of the first round playoff games of the Habs, it was insane but not as insane as on the night they won the round. In the big crowd exiting the Bell Centre, my friend ran into the parents of her best friend (who’s living in the same building as her), they offered a ride as they were going to see their daughter. We were happy to avoid the subway after the game but we walked for 20 minutes on Ste-Catherine, it was loud and festive. It had to be like that: they won in overtime.

Still have to find an apartment however... might have found something great in internet... will see it on Friday!

Might have been another lie...

2008-03-19T20:08:00.003-04:00

Almost a month without blogging... might stay like that for few weeks... However, I do have to say that I know what I'll do during the summer: summer field course + go back to the old job... and amazingly good news; I'll finish my undergrad studies next Winter, I'll graduate in May next year (I never thought it could be possible due to the program change), and my advisor is trying to convince me to write an honours thesis, which I'm not so sure about... I've never thought about that previously, as I thought that my grades were not good enough, but it turns out to be just ok. However, I've figured out what classes I'll take next year, well I think and I'm starting to see a trend: hydrology... lots of Hydrology classes... Anyways, I'm alive, just busy for the next few weeks, one oral presentation done, 2 more to do and 5 term papers to hand in... Easter week-end? Should be called working week-end around here... I'll be back in somewhere mid-April and I'll tell you more about the stupidities my roommate did... can't wait to move on July 1st, next roommate is a friend, and we should get along pretty well (hope so!)

When I'll be back, should have more posts about the environment and stuff like that, more thoughtful posts, as I've learn amazing things this year... I think that I'm in the right place right now... a good hint of it was no January-blues this year, mostly happiness, sleepless nights but it worth it... a lot of things might influence that; more friends, closer friends, no thoughts of "I hate my classes, but what I'm I going to do?"... I'm reading your blogs, just not commenting much right now...

Back!

2008-02-23T20:44:00.001-05:00

It’s reading week, finally! It started with a good 10 hours of sleep last night, and a day watching Gilmore Girls DVDs and doing laundry (after 2 weeks, there’s a need for it, I was stuck with all the clothes that aren’t my favourites). No new Mac however, I forgot that it might be harder to get one with a French keyboard at the computer store of the university (they are cheaper than in store)… takes about 2 weeks to get it, and I haven’t ask for one yet.

And the struggle for the summer job is back… decision time… I’m meeting a teacher next week to talk about job opportunities with him, my advisor said that he’s looking for students and I’m pretty sure that I’ll get the job at the gov’t again and if I work there, I should be able to get a job as an English teacher for my month and half that I would have off… Money wise, the gov’t plus teaching are better, for experience, working with a teacher might be better… I don’t know, I don’t know what I want… I guess that I’ll know more after Thursday… I enjoyed working at the gov’t even if I also hated it and working with a teacher means that I could work with a friend (which is good and bad) and I could know more about hydrogeology or atmospheric measurements… you’ll hear more about it in the next few weeks.

And I also have a question, might seem like a dumb question but I’ll ask… I’m going to a spa next week with some friends and I’ll also get a massage: first time in a spa and first massage I’ll ever get by a professional… question: what are you suppose to wear and not to wear when you get a massage? I asked my sister and she said that she was wondering the same thing: she ended up saying what I thought, no top but keep panty… stupid question, I know, and I’m not really feeling like asking my friends… It is the kind of question that if I would ask my dad he would say that I’m in university and it’s the kind of thing that I should know

Now, time to catch up on all of you by reading your blogs

Off for few weeks

2008-02-06T08:58:00.000-05:00

I thought that I should let you know that you won't find a lot of new posts here until the last week of Februrary: Spring Break starting on the 25th (well, the Friday before so the 22nd)... The next 2 weeks will be very busy... but I'll catch up on your blogs. Oh and the next post might be written on a new MacBook... I decided to change my laptop and my Dad bought my laptop... so should switch to Mac just before the Spring Break when things will be less busy... but it won't be a MacAir, it looks good but not exactly what I'm looking for, and don't even get me started with Vista, it won't be a new PC even of a notepad would be useful.

A picture of Québec City, where I went few weeks ago while you are waiting.

I need my vital space back, I really do

2008-01-20T21:27:00.000-05:00

In September, I moved and got a new roommate… I tried to adjust, but we are profoundly different, she needs to talk, a lot. I also do, but differently… I simply hate it when she knocks on my door, when it’s closed and start talking about unimportant stuff, and even if I try to let her understand that I don’t want to talk, that I don't have time, she keeps going… I’m typing and she’ll keep talking… if I’m in a good mood and have time, I’ll answer and it won’t be a monosyllabic conversation but it often is one. I tried to let her understand that I’m busy, school but also other things, friends and family also.

Before Christmas, she talked about the idea of going back home every weekend to work for her father during the Winter semester … and she does: leaves on Friday at the end of the afternoon and comes back on Sunday before 5pm… which is great, I have the place for myself on weekends, but it’s hard on Sunday to have her back: “what’s your plans for the week? Are you going out? With whom? How’s that class? Where were you last night? When are you coming back tonight?....” I was talking about it with my brother recently and at one point, when he realized that she kept asking when I was leaving and coming back to the apartment, he said; “you might wanna try this; tell her that you don’t mind if she has sex while you are there, it can be a boy or a girl, that you don’t really mind, unless it gets really noisy and that you’ll make plans to let her have the apartment to herself”. Haven’t tried it yet, but if she starts to ask too many questions about where I am after school, I’ll definitely try it, mostly because she told me that she never brought a guy here so it should be a bit fun. Anyhow, I think that she’s starting to grasp the concept that she’s a roommate, not my mother nor my best friend, she doesn’t need to know where I am and with whom and that she doesn't need to know who all my friends are, I talk to them on the phone, in my room, but she doesn't need to know everything about them...

And I’ll think about moving with a friend, might be better mostly because she wants to sublet the apartment for the summer; I’m not a fan of the idea, living with someone new each and every summer? and she wants to do one semester in another university. But the drawback of moving, means taking the subway, but it isn’t that bad… Had to rant sorry about that… a sweet summer picture to try to make up for it, and to forget the -20C forecasted for tomorrow.

Marché Maisonneuve and the Olympic Stadium

Found in a Park somewhere in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood

It was a lie, sorry

2008-01-11T23:09:00.000-05:00

Last post should have ended with, pictures to come one day, but don’t know when…

I think that receiving dvds for Christmas is a good and a bad idea… mostly if you wait until school starts to watch them… and that you got Season 7, but don’t remember seasons 5 and 6, so watch them again…

Anyways… and school is fun this semester. The thought of having a class with a teacher from the theology department scared me a little bit (the other teachers for this class are from the philosophy dept and anthropology). I didn’t grow up in a very religious family, even if my grandparents are. And I know that religion can be a touchy issue, it’s why I avoid it as most as I can with them and with people that I’m not so sure about their views of it… but you might ask: Theology right? Aren’t you an Environment student? When the prof talked about the Genesis and how, some people think that one word has been mistranslated from ancient Hebrew… I started to love this class… it gives a different perspective on things and also put things into context. And I learned a lot about the saints and the different ecological messages found in the Bible. And, the names are sometimes so different from French to English. Sadly, it was just a small fraction of the class about the Bible, it was fun and it would be great to have more about it (I never thought that I could write that one day). But I won’t talk about this with my grandparents…

And I’ve been busy with friends also and travelling between both campuses… but it worth it, I missed my friends that are there, I’m glad to have classes there again...

Now, pictures, I know… but now, with all the rain… part of the snow is gone, which is sad.

Kangaroos: in the snow. Apparently, they also like to play in the snow.

Pretty cool lion... he kept walking in the same little track... I wouldn't get close to it

Transported to Russia for few minutes... attempt for an "artistic picture" as my little sister asked: "You know that our brother won't make any artistic shots, so take them"

Zebra! They were eating when we arrived, so we could really see them. Usually, my dad's jokes are really bad, but this one was better than his average: People say that God was crazy when he created the world, I agree, look at the Zebras, it's psychedelic
But zebras are cool, I looked at their pictures for quite a long time, the lines are amazing

Again, little sister asked for bird pictures... and I like this one

Second attempt for something artistic... it didn't work that day

Yes, I wanted to hug this little one, he stayed there, looking at us and putting his hands on the glass sort of trying to reach us...

little poney

Home sweet home

Even more zebras, I like them, can't you tell?

Happy New Year, sorry I'm a bit late

2008-01-05T22:46:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone is enjoying 2008 so far.

Sorry, I haven't been around much lately, had to talk with a friend before Christmas then went home for Christmas and had fun with the family, then to the Eastern-Townships for New Year with the grand-parents and back to Montreal on the 2nd, to start classes on the 3rd.

Christmas was fun with the family, spent a lot of time with my little sister, it's been such a long time that we haven't been together like this. Saw some friends that I haven't seen since high school ended and others that it's since cégep ended. It was nice to talk to them, especially the ones that I haven't seen for so much time. It's weird, but it's with them that things changed the less, we haven't talk for years but it was has if the last time we talked was yesterday, just had to have some updates on everybody, well mostly me, because they see each other once every two weeks at least... I just have to say that I'm not a good bowling player at all... I lost, we were 4 and barely reached the 250 marks for the first game.

Also went snow shoe walking with my dad, cousins, sister and German student... it's hard for a 17 years old boy to see 2 girls doing better than him at something like that... oh well. My dad asked my sister and I to go in front, and it didn't take long for us to be 100 feet ahead of them. And walking in the forest was so much fun.

But New Year was weird, you know, when there are family member that will never be there again. But it's part of life I guess, and next year will be different.

And we went to the zoo, right in winter... Zebras in the snow, and kangaroos, lions... pretty cool. And the zoo wasn't crowded, that was great.

We spent a lot of time in family, not the whole family together, as it is hard to be all there at the same place together... it's part of the deal of being 4 kids living in different places. But we enjoyed being with each other, we had fun and didn't fight... we did things together and liked it and planned to do it again... who could have thought that we would enjoy snow shoe walking so much? And I spent some time with my dad, we talked about a bunch of things, living away makes it hard sometimes to talk a lot and I've never been amazingly close to my dad. We did talk, about a bunch of things and he called this week to know how were things and if I like my classes and to know if everything is ok... sometimes, time with family and old friends feels so good. Pictures to come tomorrow (Sunday)... a bunch of winter pictures