Bliss

This long weekend "thing" where the weather is incredible and I get to spend time with family and friends has been pure bliss. It is also a nice transition between two jobs. I finished my contract with the non-profit on Friday morning and start a new job at Cirque du Soleil (woohoo!) on Tuesday. I'm very excited about the weeks ahead, can't wait to see what it is like to work with the circus people.

Yesterday, I experienced getting a pedicure from little fishies. I went to the salon Tami Beauté des ongles on Duluth where they have large tanks with tiny little Garra rufa fish that are the size of minnows and seem to like eating dead skin. Patrons sit on a bench after having their feet inspected and washed (to make sure you don't introduce diseases into the tank) and lower their legs about mid-calf into the tanks where the little guys get to work immediately (they must not feed them too often). The sensation can be compared to soaking your feet in bubbly water with a light massaging sensation. I'm a little bit ticklish, but not to worry, there are only a few instances when I starting giggling and it was because a fish was nibbling at the space between my toes. My friend Dina and I (she discovered this place) sat for about 20 minutes and then moved on to a more traditional pedicure in a massaging chair at the back. The entire experience, from beginning to end, was a bit long, almost two hours, but hey! it was two hours of very relaxing girl time with my good friend. When then went for a stroll on Saint-Denis with our feet in sandals (to show off the perfectly applied nail polish) and shopped for dresses before heading home. April 3, yet it felt like a Summer day. Bliss.

Today is Easter brunch with the family and my grandma, then probably some spring cleaning and relaxing at home. It's a bit windy outside, but still really warm. Bliss.

Walking

It's 8:10 am on a Sunday and I am as awake as can be. I've had my first coffee, toast, and the dog has been walked and fed. She is chewing on her Nylabone while I catch up with the latest Olympic news online. Jenna doesn't know Sunday from Tuesday, so most mornings start at 6 am sharp. Did I mention that I haven't used an alarm since November?

Thing is, once I'm out on our morning walk, I'm really enjoying it. We walk at a fast(ish) pace, sometimes are the first ones to step onto fresh snow, and we get to see the city when it is still very quiet. We're out there when the oil trucks are finishing their run and filling the last few tanks. We're out there when the newspaper delivery guy throws a few copies of The Gazette (or La Presse maybe) before running back into his car. It used to be that we would leave the house in the dark, and return in the dark, but for the past few weeks, it's light out when we head back home.

I've been so busy these past few weeks that it has impacted my ability to head to the gym or go climbing. I would feel sluggish if it wasn't for those daily walks. The morning walk lasts around 30-40 minutes and I am always warm when I take off my coat. The evening walk can be short, or very long, depending on the weather and the behaviour of the dog. Sometimes she is just too excited to take on a long walk. And there are occasional lunch-hour walks, very short because I only have a limited amount of time to walk Jenna and eat before I return to work.

Having a dog is a lot of work, but it also has many rewards. Being forced to spend time outside and exercise daily are two excellent rewards.

A new year, hopefully filled with lots of new experiences

So it's 2010, and two days after the start of the year, I am sitting in the kitchen, warm slippers on my feet, wearing a thick sweater, enjoying that I am indoors on such a cold, windy winter day. There's a crazy storm pounding Montreal right now, I know because I've been out a few times to walk the dog and shovel snow. I was originally going to accompany my dad, sister and brother to the chalet for some snowshoeing. However, with the weather being a bit cold for comfort (damn wind) and my fighting something right now (I feel very tired and my throat has a tickle), I decided to stay home and have to admit that I'm glad I did.

A few changes in my life probably also help explain why I am feeling so tired these days. The puppy Jenna, even if she is great to have around, is a handful. She needs to be walked early in the day, usually between 6 and 6:30 am. That's my shift for now, as I started working in December and have to get up anyways. Brendan looks after her during the day, an arrangement we'll have to adjust when he goes back to work on January 18. Since my work hours are flexible, I will probably drop by the house at lunch time to feed her and let her out, at least until she is old enough to stay in her crate for 8 hours at the time. It's also hard to relax when we're always keeping an eye out for her. When she is not in the same room as us, we tend to regularly check up on her to make sure she is not destroying shows, walls, baseboard, or chewing on tea towels. Yes, puppies chew on everything, even when they have their own toys to destroy.

Work! Yes, I haven't mentioned work until now. I started a short-term contract with a non-profit organization led by a friend of mine. I am helping him figure out his business and technology strategy. A big part of the work being done by the organization evolves around a web-based community of members, so technology is a key part of their day-to-day concerns and it brings its share of trouble. The organization has pretty much set its strategic objectives, but it now needs to translate these objectives in concrete action plans, something else I am helping with. The contract was signed for two months, it might stretch a bit into February depending on the progress of various initiatives. I am not sure however that there is a long-term position in the works for me, so I am keeping my eyes open for other opportunities. Working a bit for a few months is really good for me, it keeps me busy and allows me to further develop a few skills. I am grateful for this opportunity.

Next week, I start school. I can't wait, I will be studying about a subject that I am highly passionate about. I made a large purchase in preparation for the semester: I bought a Mac Book Pro. I needed a laptop for school, to be able to take notes in class, and I only had a desktop at home. After researching the different laptop brands, I chose the Mac Book Pro. It is not the greenest laptop on the market, but it was designed with low energy consumption and recyclability in mind. The change to the Apple OS and software has not been too difficult until now, although I have only used a very small part of the available software to browse the Net and sort my pictures. I'll have to see how easy it is to work with the iWorks suite, and to convert some of my old PC files into Mac. I have to admit though that having a laptop has been really convenient. I can sit in the living room to work and I have purchased an adaptor that allows me to connect the computer to the TV to watch movies in high definition. Very nice.

Holidays were great this year, except for my grandma ending up in the hospital on Christmas day. She is OK now and under observation, but it is possible that she is no longer able to take care of herself and needs to be placed. This is not bad news, my parents have been worried about her ability to look after herself for a little while now. I will call her tonight to see how she is doing.

Family time

One of the key reasons I decided to move back to Montreal after spending six years in Vancouver was to be able to spend more time with my family. It's just not the same when you are a five-hour plane ride / three timezones away. I missed being able to be part of the little, no-reason-just-because get togethers and meals. Now that I am living in NDG, a 15-minute walk away from my parents (and with my sister living upstairs), family time has been a somewhat regular occurrence.

On Saturday morning, family time had a purpose. We met at 9:15 at my parents' to canvass one block of their street for the 2009 NDG food depot Christmas food drive. Everyone was there, boyfriends included. All seven of us managed to fill my brother's new car to capacity (and he drives a wagon which has quite a bit of trunk and passenger space). Folks on the street were really receptive and generous. I'm not surprised, the NDG food depot is a great organization with many programs to help people who are facing difficult times. The numbers have been growing with the slowing economy and donations are sometimes hard to get. Hopefully the annual Christmas drive helped fill the warehouse (located near my place, at the corner of Oxford and Maisonneuve) and will contribute to many filled bellies.

After the drive, we met at my place for a lovely brunch prepared by Brendan. Our bellies were definitely full after this meal! What a great way to spend family time!


FYI: We might be part of a story in L'Actualité on food banks sometime in the next few months. A reporter from the magazine followed us around during the drive and she might even get a few pictures of that morning in the article. I'll keep you posted...

Welcome puppy!!

Well, we didn't think it was going to happen so quickly, but yesterday we adopted a puppy at the SPCA. She is a three-month old Shepherd mix, someone thought maybe she was mixed with a Border Collie. I can see that with the white paws and she doesn't have the Shepherd ears, but her true origins remain a mystery.

Currently responding to the name Jenna, our little girl is an exceptional dog. Although she is a puppy and does go through silly phases where she throws herself all over the place and wants to play, she is also gentle and attentive, and loves to get cuddles. After a few incidents yesterday, as she was discovering her new surroundings, she has been constantly going to pee outside. I've never trained a puppy, but the SPCA had this free DVD on how to train a dog that really helped us understand when she was most likely to need peeing and how to encourage her to go outside. Next steps are leash training and making sure we establish our authority over her so she doesn't think she owns the place. Basically, letting her know who is alpha. Brendan is taking that role very seriously and she has responded wonderfully to his lead.

I posted a few pictures we took yesterday on Flickr.

Environmental management

I recently received the news that I was accepted at Université de Sherbrooke, in their program called Gestion de l'environnement (graduate degree). Courses start in January at their Longueuil campus (brand new building), as long as they manage to sign up enough students. Fingers crossed.

I really like the idea of going back to school (again!!). I got so much out of my MBA, not only from the courses, but also from the other folks in the program. So many became friends and we get in touch every now and then, to see how everyone is doing.

The two-year, part-time diploma at Sherbrooke has a very interesting curriculum and has the benefit of allow me to add a few courses and a thesis to transform it into a Masters degree. I could not believe the tuition for this graduate degree either. The entire diploma costs about the same as three graduate courses in BC. I say this is an excellent reason to continue learning.

Frustration

It will soon be almost three weeks since I started looking for work seriously (approximately since my return from Paris) and my efforts seem to be in vain. I did not expect to find work quickly, the more senior and qualified you are, the longer it takes to find a job. However, I would have appreciated an interview or two, or even a screening phone call from HR at the very least... some show of interest from the companies where I am applying. I got nothing. The automatic e-mails you receive when you apply online don't count. I even applied for a few positions through contacts already working at the company in question, which I think should have increased my chance of exposure to the right individuals.

The silence is frustrating.

But I guess this is the price to pay when you leave a place for six years. My professional network in Vancouver is rich with folks working across industries, thanks to past jobs and the MBA. In Montreal, my last job was as a technical writer and it ended in 2002. The contacts from that position are few.

I'm positive things will eventually solve themselves and that my resume will end up on the right desk at the right time. It will just take a little longer and I have to learn to be more patient. In the mean time, between resume writing and e-mails, I'm keeping myself busy with house chores, reading, and a bit of exercise.

Fantastic weekend!

Although every day feels a little bit like the weekend right now, I can still enjoy a festive weekend with everyone else. Since Brendan was working Monday (he gets American holidays off, not Canadian), it wasn't a long weekend, but Saturday and Sunday were spent away from the computer, the job listings, the research and reading that typically fill my sabbatical days. This week, I will not invest much on the job-search front as I am leaving Friday for ten days in London and Paris. I won't be available for interviews during that time, nor will I be answering my phone. Not calling back a potential employer is a sure way of sending a resume at the very bottom of the pile.

So, weekend update. Brendan's mom and her boyfriend Glen were visiting from Toronto and arrived Friday night, fairly late. This wasn't the first meeting with the family, as we had visiting them in Ontario in the Spring.

On Saturday, much to our surprise, we woke up to a sunny morning and decided it would be unfair to spend the day inside. Our first little outside trip after lunch was a walk to Westmount, where we needed to make a pit stop at Bureau en gros. We walked a bit further to check out the Westmount Library Greenhouse. Now, I recently purchased a new camera, a Nikon D3000. This Nikon model is not a high-end camera, but a good basic camera for someone who wants to get serious about the pictures they take. That would be me. So obviously, I brought the camera along and took lots of macro shots of flowers. You can see a few shots here. Note that some of the pictures are from a previous trip (back when wearing a t-shirt outside was still an option, remember the good old days?).

Later in the afternoon, we took the car and drove to Mount Royal to admire the changing of colours currently happening across the city. There were very little clouds in the sky and we were hoping to catch a breathtaking view of the city from the belvedere Kondiaronk, the large terrace viewpoint from which you can see most of the city.

We were not disappointed. I took a few shots and posted them here. The belvedere was invaded by tourists, but also by many montrealers who were clearly enjoying their mountain. I hadn't been on the mountain for such a long time, it was very pleasant to reconnect with this place where I spent many weekends of my childhood crosscountry skiing.

We returned home to prepare dinner: tandori chicken from Akhavan, rice and peas. It was warm enough to fire up the BBQ, something I think we will dearly miss during the winter. I don't think we plan to use the BBQ during the cold season, it would require shoveling a path all the way to the end of the deck, where it sits now. We thought of bringing it close to the house, but it would probably not be as safe.

We then took the metro to the Notre-Dame Basilica, where we caught a show called "And then there was light" that narrated the history of the famous church. The show was very entertaining and well designed, with an ending that reveals the true beauty of the interior using coloured lights and majestic music. I really enjoyed it. At the end of the show, visitors are encouraged to spend 15 minutes walking around the church to admire the workmanship and detail in the decoration of the inside structure.

We all slept like babies after a day spent in the fresh air.

Sunday, well, as expected, was all about the turkey. However, we did manage a quick trip in the morning to visit Brendan's cousin Benoît on the south shore (Iberville). Benoît and his wife prepared a kick-ass breakfast and we spent most of our time there talking about their new baby, an eight-month old Chesapeake Bay Retriever called Virgule. Boy the energy on that dog!!

The turkey dinner was prepared by Brendan, with a bit of my help. It was all together delicious, even if the turkey had to make a return trip to the oven. It was probably not all thawed when we started cooking it and the meat thermometre we were using, equipped with a wire that connects to a digital reader outside of the over, probably left a small crack in the oven door's seal which meant that one side was not as cooked as the other. Live and learn. Now we have lots of leftovers for sandwiches and I made a turkey soup with the carcass last night. Yum!

Lists

Sorry if I disappeared, but I have been busy reflecting, networking and researching, a time during which I did not feel too inspired to write.

Today, however, I am sharing two lists I prepared based on a little exercise given to me by Brendan. I have to admit, my discovery and job-hunting processes have not been very organized and this exercise will hopefully help me focus my activities and energy over the next few months.

10 things I want (in no particular order)

1. A job where I can make a difference, where my contribution matters.
2. To spend more time with my friends.
3. A better camera so I can develop my photography skills.
4. To feel energized and in shape.
5. To write a book (or many!).
6. To influence others on changing their habits and protecting the environment.
7. To learn how to meditate and calm my mind.
8. To feel more positive.
9. A dog.
10. To travel.

20 things I am grateful for (again, in no particular order)

1. My healthy and supportive family.
2. My boyfriend who makes me laugh and tries to understand me.
3. My beautiful home that feels inviting and warm.
4. The clean water I can drink from the tap.
5. The delicious food I can prepare or that is prepared for me.
6. Books that open my mind.
7. My close friends.
8. Affordable education (especially in Quebec).
9. My health.
10. The chalet and being able to be close to nature.
11. The Internet and being able to stay in touch with my friends from Vancouver.
12. My neighborhood.
13. Being able to afford taking a break from work to think.
14. Great co-workers in many of my past jobs.
15. Feeling safe in the city where I live.
16. Public transit taking me pretty much everywhere I need to go.
17. Being able to speak two languages.
18. Not being punished or diminished for being a woman.
19. Having learned how to manage money early in life.
20. Being Canadian.
21. Nutella! (LOL, Brendan said this one didn't count)

What is interesting about these lists is what I can do to address my wants, while always keeping in mind the things that I already have.

He was such a good boy

Finnigan died this morning. It was indeed the parvovirus.

Hang in there, Fin!

A short post as I am expecting my friend Sarah who is visiting from Vancouver, but I had to give you good and bad news. The good news (great news!!) is that Brendan and I have adopted a puppy from the SPCA. Finnigan is a one-year old Otterhound mix (possibly with an Airedale) who was a stray and was brought to the SPCA in late August. We saw him for the first time on Saturday and returned on Sunday to complete the paperwork. You can see a couple of pictures we took while on a walk with him here and here.

The bad news is that he is sick. Fin might have parvovirus, an infectious disease that affects puppies, causes vomiting and bloody diarrhea, and can be deadly. Fin was neutered on Monday (standard procedure when you adopt at the SPCA) and this morning, I got a call from the clinic to let me know that they were going to keep him under observation because he wasn't well. I was supposed to pick him up today, so this was a terribly sad news, but I was happy to hear that he was being monitored closely by a veterinarian.

Tonight, the clinic called me again to tell me that they suspected he might have parvo, and have started an aggressive treatment. They couldn't start it earlier because he was recovering from the surgery. If the test for the virus comes back positive, he will be fed intravenously and be treated with proper medication.

He is probably staying at the clinic until the weekend, possibly longer. I guess we'll know a bit more tomorrow.

Hang in there puppy.

I'm gonna make it to the Y-M-C-A!

My bum is sore. (Isn't that the best first sentence to a blog post?)

Yesterday, I reactivated my membership to the Y (it was on hold for the summer months) and had a session with a personal trainer who prepared me a program for the gym. The program is short, six exercises in all, but each one works out multiple muscles at once, making this workout very efficient. For example, instead of lying down on a bench and using dumbells to work out chest muscles, I am hovering above the ground, shoulders and neck resting on an exercise ball, legs and abs balancing my body and keeping my butt off the ground, while I use the dumbells to work out chest muscles. The exercises have incredibly long names that reflect their complexity like "one arm dumbell row box position isolated hip extension".

Today, I feel the impact of my new workout. Oy.

What I really like about having a membership at the Y is that I can visit any Y in Montreal for classes, gym access, pool access, etc. Actually, I believe my card gives me access to any Y in North America. The Y closest to home is the NDG Y, but I could also visit the Westmount Y that has a great pool, or visit the Parc Avenue Y to train with Lara. I like the downtown Y because it has a huge gym.

Sabbatical

What is the one question that people who first meet you are likely to ask? "What do you do?" would be my guess and starting today, well... I'm not "doing" anything. I was chatting with a friend on Friday and was telling her that I was now unemployed and she thought that didn't sound very good. "Call it a sabbatical" she recommended. Sure. A sabbatical sounds good.

Except that I am not taking a year off, and do not have the objective of traveling the world or writing a book (although one day, I might write a book, I just haven't found the topic yet). I'm taking some time off to figure out what I'm going to do next. Maybe I should call it an extended spa day for my career, after which I hope to feel rejuvenated and ready to embark on a great adventure.

This week is however a bit different. I'm on vacation this week. I'm not thinking career plans, not spending lots of time researching and networking, I'm resting. I needed a vacation, haven't taken any time off since April and that includes Victoria Day, Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Canada Day. I think I took a day in replacement of one of the three holidays to move. Or pack. Not really to rest. The move has also been really exhausting, mentally and physically. Thank goodness I had some help, because I came pretty close to suffering from boxeritis, where the sight of an unpacked box is giving you nausea.

I have a few modest plans for the week. I reactivated my membership at the Y and have an appointment with a trainer on Thursday to get a program. I have a 5 à 7 with colleagues to celebrate (?) my departure. Everyone was on vacation last week. I am meeting with a lady from FEM International where I will be volunteering a few hours of my time in the next few months. On Wednesday, I will help mom and dad prepare Annie's apartment, so she at least has a bed to sleep in when she arrives Friday. And I have meals to cook. I promised Brendan that I would cook dinner more often, because he gets home so late from work and if nothing is ready, we end up eating dinner really late.

Nothing ambitious, just enough stuff to keep me busy, but also give me enough time to read, go for walks (maybe to the library to get a card so I can start borrowing more reading material), and prepare for week 1 of my sabbatical.

Gutsy move? Only time will tell...

This week is my last at work. On August 13, I told my boss that I was leaving, and I told him why. It wasn't that I didn't like the team, or the challenges, or the company. It's the type of work we do that I don't like and unfortunately, that's really hard to change unless you move on to another position in another company. I don't have another position in mind yet, even less another company, but I knew it was time to leave. So I did.

Don't get me wrong. I work with good people. But I also work with workaholics. Nothing wrong with being a dedicated worker if you are passionate about what you are doing. I wasn't. There is no half measure in my line of work, you either love it, or you don't. I didn't. I didn't like that we did all this research, thinking, analyzing, interviewing, and reporting only to leave at what I consider the most critical time: execution. I realized that I am an action-oriented woman. Give me a task, and I'll get it done. When my task is to make recommendations that I will never see being implemented (because we leave the client with this part of the task), I feel very detached from my work. It's too abstract, too theoretical.

I also didn't like the short-term relationships we developed with clients. Part of helping a team or a company realize something is to understand their culture and the rich web of relationships that exist between people. When you work with a clients for a few months, and most of the time from a distance, you cannot understand culture. Or maybe others can, but not me. I'd like to have a more personal relationship with the people I work with, be it clients or coworkers. But that wasn't possible in my line of work.

There were other reasons for deciding to leave, but these were the main ones. And one week before my last day, I feel that more than ever, I've made the right decision. I also took the time to sit down with each of my colleagues to explain to them why I was leaving. I work with smart, exceptional folks and I don't want to leave in bad terms, with lots of questions hanging about my motives.

Today, I updated my status in Facebook to let friends and family know what I had decided to do. I was really surprised by the show of support and the well-wishing tone of the comments overall. Not that I doubt the support of my friends, but at the same time I was wondering if anyone would ask why, wonder about my sanity for doing this. Nobody did.

Last week. Doesn't feel different. It will next Monday...

The pug is driving the car

I really love this weather. Although it has made unpacking a little slower than expected, I will not complain about the sun and heat. Not after the summer we've had so far.

We’re already nicely settled in, key areas unpacked and operational (kitchen, bathroom and closet), and we're now focusing on clearing out the remaining boxes before the weekend. Brendan’s grandparents are visiting from Sudbury, our first house guests!

Yesterday, after spending the morning unpacking, we decided to have brunch at the Orford Café, a small restaurant on Sherbrooke street not far from where we live. We’d been there once and the food was great, albeit a bit expensive. We sat outside, right at the corner of Orford and Sherbrooke, and ordered our meals. While we were waiting, we noticed a car slowing down on Sherbrooke, down to a halt before it crawled onto Orford at a snail’s pace. We check out the driver only to realize that it was a man in his 50’s with a fidgety pug standing on his lap. Speaking of things that will distract you from the road… I’m surprised the guy wasn't also speaking on his cell.

The car drives around a second time and the driver parks it right next to us. He gets out, along with a slender blond woman, and proceeds to get a table in a shaded area on the patio. That’s when we realized that they had left the engine running, with the AC on, with the front-seat window cracked open an inch, I’m assuming so the dog did not feel too locked in and stressed.

They left the car idling… Both Brendan and I are dumbfounded, even folks sitting next to us are staring back at the car, slightly amused and in disbelief.

We get our meal and start eating, still under shock, when we realized that we are starting to smell the car exhaust. On days where the city air is thick with smog, this idling engine is simply outrageous. I place my utensils on my plate, stand up, straighten up my dress and walk over to the table where the couple is now enjoying their coffee.

“Excuse me”, I say “you've left your car idling and we’re sitting at the table right next to it, we can smell the exhaust.” The first response the guy gives me? “Why don’t you change table?”

I see. The comfort of your dog not only beats any concern for the environment, but also the comfort of the people around you. I guess this is not one person I would win over with arguments of air pollution.

“We already started eating, and we don’t really want to move” was my next comment. He then looked around, annoyed, and pointed out to the busy Sherbrooke segment in front of the restaurant to show me that there were no other parking spaces available. There was a space a few buildings away, but he wanted to keep the car close so the dog could see them.

Oh brother.

“Why don’t you take the dog with you instead?”, I asked. After all, we’re sitting literally on the street and I've seen others have breakfast with a dog lying down at their feet. The man asks the waitress if he was allowed and she reassured him that it wasn't a problem at all.

“Yeah, I guess I can do that. Yeah, see that’s a good solution.”

I thanked him and walked back to my table. As I sat down, Brendan gave me an inquisitive look as if asking “how did you do that?” Well, no reasonable argument was going to convince this person to turn off his car engine. No argument other than the comfort of his precious fur child. I was happy of the outcome, that’s for sure, even if the reason for the change in behavior seemed completely wrong. I smiled as I saw the dog twitching on his owner’s lap as the man was trying to eat his eggs.

At least I don't have to water the tomato plants

I can't believe it's raining again.

Still alive, but so busy with packing, unpacking and cleaning that I can only think of a good night's sleep when I'm done with my chores. Fortunately, I have been sleeping like a baby as we have purchased a new mattress for the duplex (incredible comfort), our neighbourhood is really quiet in the evening and the new home doesn't get as hot and humid as the apartment on Saint-Antoine (thanks to all the lovely trees). We don't even sleep in the apartment anymore, we make the trip every night to NDG to catch a snooze.

Now if only I could figure out how to keep the squirrels out of the plants (they haven't touched the tomatoes yet, but I'm not holding my breath). One of the pepper plants dad gave me had a tiny green pepper growing on it. It lasted two days. Damn furry rats. We're debating about purchasing a Super Soaker, but maybe a watering device attached to a motion detector would be more dissuasive. If we want to build a garden next year, it will probably have to be enclosed like the one my parents have up north.

Done!

Papers are signed, I have more keys than I know what to do with, and I am, as of today, legally responsible for a really nice duplex in NDG. Woot! I can't wait to move in. Now if I can just get all the paperwork from the Vancouver sale and the all the money transactions to be completed, I will be one happy and blessed woman. Can't say this transaction was difficult or complicated, especially when I was surrounded by very competent folks. My real estate agents rock, my notary rocks, and even my banker rocks!

Now I just have to invest in a filing cabinet to store all the paperwork I've been accumulating for the past few months.

One piece of paper that I am not looking forward to receiving is the invoice from the city of Montreal for the privilege of buying a property. Montreal charges a "welcome tax" to home owners, and apparently not just first-time buyers. Every time you buy a property in town you pay this tax. My bills will be around $4,275, not cheap. I was curious to find out how this tax was used by the city, because honestly, Montreal also charges you also quite a bit of money every year for municipal taxes. A quick search of the city's web site returned nothing. I then turned to my trusted Google. And I found this really interesting description on the web site for the city of Hampstead:

The phrase "welcome tax" has a history which came about for reasons other than a "greeting" tax for new residents. In short, in 1976 a new method of municipal financing was proposed by a judge named Jean Bienvenue and, when adopted, became known as "la taxe de Bienvenue". Because "bienvenue" translates to "welcome" in English, the tax became known as the "welcome tax".

Interesting. But what exactly does this new method of financing finance? That I could not find, only that this tax will need to be paid within the next 60 days.

Welcome!

Holy storm batman!

We will have no shortage of water in Montreal this summer. It's not as if anyone would care to water their lawn or garden anyways, we seem to get rain every day. I was testing my yoga legs when it started (and failing miserably) and an hour later it is still pouring outside, and windy, with the occasional thunder and lightening.

I was really looking forward to my first summer back in Montreal, but so far, have not spent much time enjoying any kind of sun or fresh air. I did get to visit the chalet on two occasions, have made it to the Jazz Festival once, and just the other night went to see a live comedy show at Zoo Fest (poor man's Just for Laugh), obviously set indoors. But no lazy Sunday afternoon at Picnik Electronic (we walked home in the rain after stepping out for groceries today), not many drinks with friends on terraces, no Old Port, biking around town, etc.

I guess you can't win them all. Hopefully August is nice and September, spectacular!

Little boxes, on the hillside...

Little boxes everywhere in the apartment that is. Yikes! I know it might seem a bit early to start packing, but there is a lot to pack and nothing is going to happen during the week. So early packing it is. Books are packed, so are the DVDs, CDs, some of the dishes, decorative stuff... Today, I am going through my clothes and sorting out what I want to keep and what will end up in the Salvation Army bins at the corner of Guy and Saint-Antoine, joining the shoes and booties that I already dropped off on Monday. There will not be much to give out I'm afraid, I already went though this exercise less than a year ago when I left Vancouver.

Slowly but surely, things are sorting themselves out. I visit the notary on Wednesday to sign all the paperwork that will confirm my ownership of the duplex. That means that next weekend, Brendan and I are already busy prepping the place (a bit of painting and cleaning) before moving in. His stuff is in storage at U-Haul, we'll take care of getting all his things back next Sunday. My stuff is partly in Montreal (moving date is August 14) and part in Vancouver, being picked up as I write this. No idea when the things from Vancouver will make it in town, my guess is around the 8th. At least, that is what I am hoping. Then, we also need to coordinate deliveries, a mattress and bedspring from The Bay, appliances from Sears for the unit upstairs (Annie gets brand new kitchen appliances!!), and possibly a sofa and dining room chairs from Structube.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a nice sofa that does not cost $2,000? Let me tell you about that. We initially started by visiting IKEA, thinking maybe one of their models would suit us and not break the bank. Well, unless you really like the style of their Ektorp line (I already have a two-place Ektorp sofa bed), IKEA has nothing to offer. Most sofas other than the 100 variations on Ektorp are leather or really square. Not my thing. We then visited another few places, Mobilia on Maisonneuve (so, so), The Bay (expensive) and had a look at what Sears had to offer when we went shopping for appliances (ugly). Finally, last night, as we were walking back from work (Brendan was shopping downtown and came to pick me up), we stopped by a tiny Structube store on Sainte-Catherine. Not a huge selection, but it did include a nice, dark brown, three-seater and very comfortable sofa. For less than $1,000. Score! We also liked the style of one of their dining room chairs. I have a dining room set, it's pretty modern and right now Marc has it at his place (and offered to buy it). I have an old, oval table from my parents (it's a loan) that can easily sit 8 and will be perfect for the dining room. I just needed proper chairs.

Brendan is planning to buy a flat-screen TV in the fall, so our place is really going to start looking quite sharp.

We just have to get there first.

Little boxes...

Thank goodness for fans

It's hot tonight, really hot. We had a formidable storm around 7 p.m., with hail and a heavy downpour. Somehow, it didn't clear all the mugginess that's been accumulating all day. The heat makes me sleepy, I'm think I'm gonna head to bed early for a change.

I'm thinking about a lot of things lately. Coordinating two moves (stuff from Vancouver coming back to Montreal and stuff in Montreal moving to the new place), changing my address all over the place, but also I've been wondering how come I haven't been spending much time with friends. We're all pretty busy, that's understandable, but I think there's more to it than packed schedules. I cannot speak for my friends, but I do know that I've been feeling rather tired these days. I think work has a lot to do with it.

I haven't been terribly happy with work, I'm realising that maybe consulting is not really my cup of tea. There are things I work on that really interest me, but the entire context under which the work is undertaken does not appeal to me. Consulting is a lot of politics and really more a sales job than I thought it would be. Fortunately, at my level, we do not have sales targets, but as I look at the career path that awaits me if I do well and one day get promoted, and it's all about selling. I'm not a sales person. My brother is a natural at sales, but I'm not. Well, I can get people interested in something, and I have managed to raise quite a bit of money for breast cancer over the past few years, but it's just not the same.

I'm thinking that I might start looking around at what else is available. It's the summer now, not a good time to look for work, but come September, kids will go back to school and business will return to normal.

I'm a bit sadden that I feel this way about my new job, but at the same time, when your heart is not there, it's really hard to get through the day. And right now, I'm working on a really stressful project while trying to wrap up two others, so it doesn't help. I end up working nights, evenings and weekends.

Maybe I'll even take a break in September. With a bit of money coming in from the sale of the condo, I might be able to manage a few weeks off. Since Christmas, I have only taken a week off to visit Vancouver and half of that week was spent taking care of unfinished renos and other errands to get the condo on the market.

Now, quick shower before going to bed and I'm sleeping with the fan on tonight. So happy my apartment has a ceiling fan in the bedroom, woot!