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!

Winterlude!

Winterlude wasn't the only reason I needed to escape my boxes in my tiny apartment to go to Ottawa and hang out with friends... but it was a great one! Montreal has a similar winter festival, but for the first time in 25 years it was canceled due to a labour dispute. So, last Saturday morning I hopped on a bus to Ottawa. By the time I arrived, the sun was shining and the city was digging out of a major overnight snowfall. It was winter at it's finest - fresh, fluffy white snow, sunshine and it wasn't freezing cold. What better way to spend the day than having brunch with a friend followed by baking the best brownies ever. The evening was sort of a reunion of former coworkers and friends I haven't seen in years. Good food, good wine, and the sweetest little kids you've ever met running around.

Sunday morning started out snowy and cloudy as we headed to the canal. I haven't skated since, oh, 1998 or 1999, so at first I was taking tips from 4-year-old James. After awhile I found my skating legs... and James was skating piggy-back with his dad. By the time we stopped for Beaver Tails, the sun was shining and it was an absolutely perfect day. For my friends out west, Beaver Tails are an Ottawa must. It's a whole wheat, deep fried pastry roughly shaped like a beaver's tail - kind of like a crispy flat donut. My favorite is the Killaloe - cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice on the top. As we passed under the Banks street bridge, we stopped to look at the paintings on display - and laugh at a portrait of Wayne Gretzky from 1983. At the 5th street rest stop, we had a nutritious lunch of hot dogs and had to call it a day. I had totally forgotten how uncomfortable ice skate can be!


James and I spent the afternoon playing "spaceship" with the couch pillows, imagining we were flying around Pluto and capturing aliens who were plotting to destroy all the planets. For the record, that was completely James' imagination. I was just along for the ride. Playing with kids is a great way to feel 20 years younger :) By the time I got back into Montreal Sunday night I had made a new friend and I was both completely revitalized and completely exhausted. All in all, a perfect weekend!

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!)

How to Swear Like a Quebecer

Quebecers seem to swear a lot... at least the people I've been in contact with. Well, I learned tonight that swearing is just different in Quebec. (Don't worry, I'll keep this clean in both English and French.) For example, when speaking English a lot of people use the f-word very liberally, even at work! However, in French, it just doesn't have the same meaning or impact. On the other hand, one of Quebec's most famous profanities (the one refering to a tabarnacle) is the word that equates to the f-word. For the more curious, I added a link to a Wikipedia page on Quebec French profanity.

Where did I receive such a cultural education? I found a social networking group called Meetin where people, much like myself, are either new to the city and/or just looking to meet new people. The members organize events for people to get together and socialize. Gathering at a coffee house and learning how to swear like a Quebecer was one of those events. Tonight I met people from all around the world and from just down the highway. It was fun! The next event is a pub night at the end of January. I'm looking forward to it.

Welcome 2008!

Goodbye 2007! Welcome 2008!

The friends I spent Christmas with arrived in Montreal Saturday night. It was cozy in my "cute" little "junior suite" so it was bit like having a 3-night sleep-over. We spent Sunday shopping, mostly at Atwater Market. If you're the least bit a foodie, you must visit Atwater. We bought fabulous tourtieres, cheese, pate, teas, strawberries that were actually red inside and croissants that are supposedly the best in the world. We even sampled ice cider -- similar to ice wine, but made from frozen apples. One friend got addicted to wild Madgascar black pepper and proceeded to add it to everything (tea, red wine, you name it!) all weekend. Going to the market will now become a weekend ritual for me. At some point, I'll have to try Jean Talon market and compare.

New Year's Eve was spent at Les Trois Minots bar on St. Laurent. We knew one of the bands - Schomberg Fair (pictured above). The bar is a tiny alternative music hang out, reminding me a bit of Clark Hall Pub but the floors were not as sticky. All the bands were young and ranged from punk to alternative to rock-a-billy. It was a cool way to welcome 2008.

My friends had to drive back to Toronto on New Year's Day in yet another snowstorm, unfortunately. I had tickets to the Salute to Vienna concert at Place des Arts. The best way to describe it is that it's a Viennese classical variety show -- a bit of symphony, a bit light opera, a bit of dancing. Of course, one of the encores was the Blue Danube waltz with the dancers waltzing. It was also a trilingual event, confirming that my German is definitely better than my French.

All in all, a delicious and musical way to start the new year.