Happy Birthday, Sarah

Happy birthday!

Fun weekend

Lots of pics in this post.

The career fair on Fri/Sat was alright, but tiring. Had to speak in French quite a bit, but it wasn't too bad. I guess it's easy when all you have to say is "No, we're not hiring. Check the website. Take a poster!"

Today was a gorgeous day so I walked around the city with Mariah (CSA gal) to check out the sights. We met up with Valerie (another CSA gal) to eat some crepes for dinner.

STILL don't have pics from the weekend Phil/Ernest/Mike came up. Will put them up soon as long as people send them to me. And by people, I mean Phil.



"Hi, I'm a complete waste of $500 million dollars." - Mirabel Airport



The CSA kiosk



Ice Man. Ice Cold. No Mistakes.



The square at Mont-Royal Metro station



Fairmount bagels. I don't think they have enough



Loving the Portuguese pastry


Entrance to Parc Jeanne-Mance



People sitting around enjoying the weather



Tam tam... with some weird people dancing around aimlessly



Ok, this was weird. It was basically an open field with like 100 people fighting each other with plastic toys. Think "Gangs of New York" meets "Toys-R-Us"


This guy will be sitting in his cubicle tomorrow programming Windows Vista



Found the volleyball courts!



Language police. Maybe they can explain to me why the response to every question is "Ouais c'est ça."



The bistro we went to for dinner



Relaxing in Square St-Louis

Getting more involved

This Friday and Saturday, I'm representing the CSA at the Salon de carrières en aérospatale at Mirabel Airport. Basically, it's a career fair for students and engineers to find out about jobs in the aerospace industry in Quebec.

The fact that I'm representing the CSA at this bilingual event is odd for the following reasons:

1. I'm not bilingual, even though my boss' boss seems to think I am.
2. I'm not working in an aerospace engineering job.
3. I have no intention of coming back to the government after I graduate.
4. I'm not bilingual.

At least there's overtime pay. And I get to see some cool airplanes on the tarmac of the airport.

Will bring my camera and take pics of me wearing my snazzy CSA vest.

Still waiting for pics from the weekend...

Slow updates

Sorry for the lack of frequent updates. Things here have been pretty crazy, and I haven't had much time at home to really sit back and think of something profound to write. I guess that's a good thing - I must really be having fun here.

Had a great weekend. Will upload pics when I get them.

The city is awakening

Not many deep thoughts in this post... just wanted to put up some pics from the things I've been doing lately. Montreal is starting to come alive. It really is a totally different city in the spring/summer. Looking forward to more random outings, hanging out in cafes, taking advantage of the 5 @ 7 (happy hours), and checking out more clubs.


The Old Port


Walking on St-Denis


On the steps of the Quebec Court of Appeal


Montreal Science Centre


His ball landed 2 feet in front of him...


... and my ball sliced wayyyyy to the right


Me trying to be Tom Cruise after watching Mission Impossible 3

Happy Mother's Day

This year is the first year that I can remember that I'm not home for Mother's Day, and the only thing I could do was send my mom flowers. Just made me reflect a bit...

I remember the conversation we had when I told her I was leaving for Montreal. She tried to convince me to stay, using the stubborn rationale that mothers often use when their kids do something they don't approve of. And when she saw that I was set on leaving, her eyes watered, and said she would miss me.

But I think she knew that going away would be good for me. And really, that's what mothers do: helping their kids grow to be good, complete people.

I owe any achievement that I've had to the influence my mom has on me. She has pushed me to the limits, more than any job or formal education has or ever will, always ensuring that I do my best in school, work, and life.

And if I can be half as successful as her, with both family and career, I would consider myself to be incredibly lucky and blessed.



Often we take our mothers for granted. So sometimes, it's good to have a day like this, especially for me being away from home, to let them know that we love them. Cause when it comes down to it, that's what it's all about.

I'm still alive

Working for the government has sucked out of me every ounce of optimism in our tax dollars, any sense of potential happiness for a long term career in the public service, and any remaining belief in the willpower of the human person to change the surroundings which supress and stomp out any last sense of hope and free thinking.

(Maybe that's an exaggeration... I'm just bored)

Saw Mission Impossible 3 today, and I don't care how crazy Tom Cruise is - he's still the coolest guy ever next to Mavrick from Top Gun. Oh wait, they're the same person. Sweet.

Things outside of work are pretty good. Going out a lot, enjoying the weather, and trying to get the most of this great city.

Toronto what?



Went to the driving range today. Life is good again.

More lessons learned

Finally checked out Cafe Campus last night for a McGill end-of-exams party. This place is a complete dive, but has a fun, relaxed atmosphere. Typical campus bar-type place.

Some more lessons learned:

1. "$7 dollar pitchers" does NOT mean "Drink as much beer as you can because it's $7 dollar pitchers." Similar to the "It's all you can eat, not all you can carry" argument at buffets.

2. Inebriation makes speaking French easier. Because I think I had a conversation with the cabbie entirely in French. I have NO idea what I said. Then again, I could've just been repeating "Oui c'est ça."

3. Shish Taouk doesn't prevent hangovers. However, this wonderful Lebanese delight (chicken in a pita) does taste mighty fine after a night of heavy drinking.

4. Tuesday is before Wednesday. And Wednesday is not Saturday. Therefore, one must go to work on Wednesday. Sitting at your desk popping Cheerios with your right hand while holding your head up with your left hand does not constitute work.

I'm way too old for this.