Just a Blog

With the passing into a new month, and having a weekend to myself for the first time in two months, I thought it was a good time to update my blog. Then I started thinking about what has been going on in my life since Thanksgiving. It's been less than a month since my last blog post, but it feels like much longer.

Insanity at work continues. I once worked with a project manager who compared long, difficult projects with giving birth to a baby. I think it's a perfect description for several of our projects at work. The biggest "baby" is taking most of my time and energy and trying all of our patience. It's confirming my long held belief in the importance of adequate project planning and having simple processes to deal with and communicate change. For anyone who has complained about their project manager, please imagine what life would be like without one at all. Just think about what it would be like to work in chaos. For those of you who work with one, go give your project manager a pat on the back. Mixed in all the project fun was, I kid you not, a 40 minute debate on the word "yet" in one of our soon-to-be-published company values. I know words are important, but c'mon, that was unnecessary.

On a better note, my social life is active and I'm trying to pace myself well.

D and I did a road trip to Cobden, Ontario to see his sister and family. I was looking forward to a drive filled with Fall colours. Instead, it was pouring rain. We had better weather on the drive back, but many of the trees were bare from the storm. On the way up we stopped by La Gantoise in Lefaivre, Ontario to pick up some Belgian Blue Beef. I was told about this place from xtreme foodies friends, who also wanted me to pick up orders for them... which they forgot to place. Oh well, I now have a couple of exceptional roasts in the freezer. It was great to see the in-laws, which I haven't seen in about 3 years. The kids are growing up fast!

Halloween is big in Montreal. Two sets of friends, one from Kingston, one from Kitchener, came up for the event. Halloween night I had two events - a birthday party at a great cocktail and tapas place called L'Assommoir, followed by meeting the out-of-town friends and D at a goth club on St. Laurent. Both were costumed events and I amazingly pieced together a French Maid outfit from clothes already in my wardrobe. (Yes, pieces of it were from another costume.) The festivities didn't end with Halloween night. The next day, L wanted to go to mass at St. Joseph's Oratory (pictured above), which gave me an opportunity to see that Montreal landmark. That night was a French Cassoulet dinner followed by accompanying the out-of-town friends to another goth club on St. Denis. Unfortunately, I was so tired from staying out late the night before and the rich cassoulet dinner that I had to call it a night relatively early. After two nights dressed in black for goth clubs, I didn't wear any black on the Sunday.

I watched the US election at home and was happy to see that my American friends had a real choice this election. I was also happy to see that America was ready to elect Obama. He has a big job ahead of him...

One MEETin friend is heading back to Nairobi this week so a few of us had a send-off dinner at a local Vietnamese restaurant near Jean Talon market. We all hope A gets another UN project here in Montreal and we see her here again soon.

Last night I hosted an Alumni event - a university hockey game against a long time rival school. I'm happy to say that the few Alumni and students in attendance were good ambassadors for my Alma Mater. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the host students, particularly those from the Rugby team. I remember what it's like to be a student, cheering for your team and putting down the other team, but these students only put down the other team and rather viciously at that. It just made them look bad.

Whenever I log in to update my blog, I check out the latest Blogs of Note. I'm adding a link to the One Minute Writer blog. I highly recommend my writing friends check it out. Now I just need to follow my own advice...

Fall Vacations!

Mental note for next year: take my vacation in the summer with everyone else. Considering I don't have children, that statement seems like I've lost all sense of reason. Why would I take vacation at the same time as everyone else? Well, insanity set in after everyone else got back from vacation after Labour Day, so my fall vacations felt like great escapes worthy of at least a little respect from the great Houdini.

The first escape was to Quebec City the first weekend after Labour Day. This year is Quebec's 400th Anniversary so I wanted to see Vieux Quebec before the end of the year and before the winter. It was also a weekend getaway for D and I - the first in over a year. We had a great time walking around the old city and the Citadelle. I was even treated to a horse and carriage ride. We're thinking we would like to go back for the Winter Carnival.

The next weekend I flew to San Francisco to spend a week in northern California. It was basically a photo vacation; I had to show California to my new camera. It was also an opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet some of their new babies. It was nice to have an extra week of summer weather and visit almost all of my favourite places. I took about 138 pictures in San Francisco, 160 pictures at Stanford, Los Gatos, 17 Mile Drive and Point Lobos, and a whopping 320 pictures at Yosemite. The 17 Mile Drive and Point Lobos were as spectacular as I remembered them, but the entry fees doubled over the past five years. (It was still worth it!) Because it was mainly a photo vacation, I made a point of exploring almost all of Yosemite Valley and even drove up to Glacier Point. I saw more of Yosemite on this trip than I have with all my other trips their combined. Capturing wildlife with my camera, though, was more challenging on this trip. I had some great potential shots of pelicans at Point Lobos and deer and racoons at Yosemite, but I didn't have my camera ready. The exception was the squirrel at Wayburn Point - it was like he was a professional model. It was tough choosing that as my favourite picture to post on this blog.

The weekend after I got back from California, I joined the xtreme foodies gang on another trip to Vermont. The mission this time was microbrewery tasting and viewing the fall colours. Most of the day was spent on a very scenic drive through Vermont. The fall colours were gorgeous and we were treated to rural postcard scenes with cows, sheep and even a camel (!). The beer samplers in the group enjoyed the offerings at Otter Creek microbrewery and other microbrews over lunch and dinner. We made it to Magic Hat brewery... just in time for closing. At least we got some interesting photos there. It was the same case for the wildflower farm. Another mental note to self... pass on Vermont red wine. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't worth ordering.

In addition to the vacations, both MEETin and my alumni association have been active. For Alumni, we held a successful wine tasting at a lovely home in Outremont. As we walked to the metro, we spotted a wild fox hanging out in the very civilized neighbourhood. The MEETin "in search of" dinners are starting up again with a Portugese bistro. A group of us went the the Chinese lantern festival at the Botanical Gardens where we viewed and photographed the largest display of silk lanterns outside of China. We also started up a German conversation group which will be meeting monthly, which I fear will continually affirm that my German is better than my French. I really, really, really need to start going to the weekly French conversation group. Yesterday was the inaugural event for a series of teashop visits. For $4 per person, we sampled three different teas for which our hostess made two large tea pots for 7 people. Needless to say we were all well caffeinated after that event. Good thing I could balance my tea buzz with red wine and lots of cheese at a party afterwards.

I missed the homestyle Japanese dinner with my Mom's visit over Thanksgiving. I more than made up for it by cooking a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner. It was the first time my Mom has been in Montreal since landing in Montreal when she emigrated from Germany 48 years ago almost to the day. While she was in Montreal, I showed her Old Montreal, Atwater Market, Jean Talon Market and a bit of the shopping in the Underground City. We had gorgeous sunny weather - a perfect time to visit here. I love Fall in this corner of the country.

On the move

It has been another adventure in moving this past month. The previous owners moved out of my condo in mid-June, so I have been spending the past few weeks making it home. I've painted the bedrooms, moved in most of my stuff and I am in the process of getting settled - finally! The move itself went remarkably well, but my new appliances are late, so I'm living without a fridge and stove until next week. Good thing I always plan an overlap when I do local moves, so my refrigerated and frozen food is still living at my old place. I still have some odds and ends to take care of at my old place, so at least my food isn't getting lonely ;) Meanwhile, I'm learning all the good or not-so-good take-out places in my new neighbourhood.


I have also been on the move with various road trips. On my birthday, I drove to Ottawa to order a digital SLR camera as a gift to myself. It was a beautiful summer day and a roadtrip was a great way to spend it. The next weekend, the Extreme Foodie group from MeetIn did a roadtrip to Marieville in the Eastern Townships for the Slow Food Festival, followed by wine tasting... somewhere around there. The Slow Food Festival featured a variety of locally produced food, mostly organic. The week after was the St. Jean-Baptiste long weekend, so I drove to Ottawa to pick up my new toy, then to Stouffville to visit friends, then to Whitby for a pig roast and hot tub party. Men in a mid-life crisis really should avoid the alcohol and hot tub combination. I was merely an observer, but it was like watching a train wreck. The next morning I drove with a friend to Kitchener to hang out there for the weekend. We decided to try out my new camera in Stratford - the most photogenic town in the area and one of my personal favourites. I drove back to Montreal the next day. At least I'm putting the kilometres on my car before I sell it this weekend. A blog exclusive picture from Stratford is above.

I'm still maintaining my local social life, though at a slower pace. To add to the list of MeetIn dinners, we experienced the best of Malaysian, Northern Indian, Persian, and Italian. We also went to see U2 3D at the Imax, followed by a late dinner in Chinatown. For an event of a different pace, we also had a strawberry picking event in the West Island. One of the best things about summer are strawberries that are red all the way through the fruit. For a 40th birthday party from the Alumni crowd, I experienced a very trendy Greek restaurant. It seemed like the place to be that night. Speaking of the Alumni crowd, we held our first Alumni award dinner in five years -- a cocktail dinatoire at the McCord Museum. Everyone had a great time and I got to wear "the perfect dress". At work, the movie night in June was to see Kung Fu Panda. Ever since I started working in the game industry, I can't watch 3D animated films the same way. Every once in awhile I caught myself looking at the art and wondering what techniques were used to create it. I do have an increased appreciation, though, of what goes into those movies. OK, so maybe it would have been better to say my social life was at a slowing pace. The rest of July and August will be slower.


Summer is festival season in Montreal. I enjoyed bits and pieces of the Jazz festival on my way home from work every night, since the festival was literally next door. I tried to attend the big Bran Van 3000 street party after a quick MeetIn dinner at a cafe in the Gay Village (yes, that's what it's called). According to the Gazette the next morning, there were 100,000 people crammed in the street between Place des Arts and Complexe Desjardins. After spending the whole day painting, my tolerance for crowds was at an all-time low so I felt like toothpaste in a tightly squeezed tube. I tried to find a better spot with no luck, so I went home... where I promptly fell asleep. Just For Laughs is on right now. I plan on going to see the street performances in the Latin Quarter tomorrow night. I have been too swamped with moving to get tickets to one of the shows. Next year...

Art, Wine and Movies

February was definitely a series of adventures in Montreal. As many of you may have seen on Facebook, I officially became a homeowner again. Buying property in Quebec is an adventure in of itself, partly due to Quebec property laws and partly due to a fresh, newly licensed notary handling my rather complicated transaction. The condo is 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1000 or so square feet in the heart of the Plateau - near St. Denis and Mont Royal. I'm looking forward to living there... in July. Everyone tells me the neighbourhood is worth the double move.

Socially, February was a roller coaster ride. The MeetIn group had a lot of fun events. I had a chance to check out Montreal's Chinatown during Chinese New Year when a group of us met at Mon Shing, which apparently has the best wonton soup in the city. The next weekend, four of us met for brunch and then went to Le Musée des Beaux-Arts to see the Cuba Art & History. It took over two hours to walk through the exhibit. Since it covered Cuban art and history from 1868 to today, I also learned a lot about Cuba. I'd love to go someday. Maybe next winter... It might be interesting to go now after Fidel Castro resigned the Presidency. As for the museum, I only saw a small section. I need to go back and see the other exhibits. Last weekend was the monthly meet-n-greet on Saturday and watching the Oscars at a local movie theatre on Sunday. The meet-in-greet was at Brutopia on Crescent Street. About 40 people of all ages and backgrounds showed up. I even met someone who lived near Kelowna airport for several years. Small world! In addition to MeetIn, I also got back involved with my Alumni Association... and became the branch Director of Communications. The down side to February was Valentine's Day, which was particularly hard this year, followed by the final exchange of stuff without even a single word exchanged. Now all I can do is wait until the year is up.

On a more positive note, my apartment is pretty much unpacked. Yay! Now I can really spend more time enjoying Montreal!

Human Nature

Last week I attended my university's Business Club event where the author of Gimme! The Human Nature of Successful Marketing presented a summary of the book and his research. It was absolutely fascinating! The discussion was less about marketing and more about how we received and retain information and how our senses and emotion tie in. He referred a few times to a few of the mistakes Starbucks has made over the years. The experience of going to a Starbucks has changed, which even Starbucks' former, now current, CEO identified in a memo last year. I hadn't thought of it, but the sights, sounds and smells have changed over the years, changing the experience. Frankly, though, all the major coffee house chains are guilty of it. Good reason to go out and support the independents!

The event was introduced by the Dean of the School of Business. He talked about all the great things that were happening with both the undergrad and MBA programs. It was really good information that, personally, I think should be shared with all Alumni, especially those in a professional field. One comment struck a nerve, though. He was describing the revamped Science and Technology MBA program and said that the focus is on changing who people are. Hmmm. Am I the only one who finds this a little disquieting? The former Science and Tech MBA attracted people with Science and Engineering backgrounds... who are likely leaders in Science and Tech companies... managing scientists and engineers. I completely agree that the MBA program should develop an in-depth understanding of business principles and create a bridge between traditional rivals - engineers and marketing/management (take your pick). But changing who people are sounds like we're just adding to the divide. You're either in the business club or you're not. That's my opinion. I'm sure one day I'll finally decide to do my MBA and officially become part of the club. Change can be good.

I'm glad I am in the game industry where diversity (cultural, artistic, technical, business... ) is the norm and is required for the industry to work. For my friends in the game/movie industry (and fans of computer graphics), you might find the Character Design blog interesting. I added the link to my links list.

(Wow! My first semi-rant on a public blog. I hope I didn't offend anyone!)