Get a Room
May 21, 2009
Springtime. You can see people now that they’ve put away their bulky coats, big boots and unraveled the scarf from their necks and heads. Girls in this town know how to carry off some crazy looks. If I get gutsier I’ll ask them for their photo and post here. Sandals, skirts, cotton dresses. It’s inspiring. We are all pale together so it’s not the crime it was in California.
Every terrace is open, adding another 30 or so tables to restaurants and cafes. Musicians take over walkways playing violin, cello, banjo, sax, harmonica. Businesses have their doors propped open and foot traffic sifts in and out. And the lovers, oh the lovers. Being alone here in the city I keep my head down when I pass them making out on the corner. It’s the season we earn after getting through a long winter. For me, it’s hard to watch it all and not have N. here to enjoy it with.
Old Montreal
May 21, 2009
The Old Port Montreal
Sometimes I think I could be in Europe.
Hello Bixi
May 16, 2009
As if recyclying, composting and neighborhood clean ups weren’t enough, now Montreal offers a public bicycle transportation program called Bixi.
Started in Paris, the concept is to offer the public short term use of bicycles at a low cost to cut down on pollution. A happy bi-product in Montreal will be freeing up sidewalk space where anything bolted down usually has a row of bikes locked to it.
Merging Gmail accounts
May 13, 2009
Monday night I merged an old Gmail address with my current Gmail address. Had I known what would follow that simple click that I agreed to (Merge accounts now?) I would have left well enough alone.
Approximate timeline:
Monday 10pm – commence merging old email address with new email address. The goal: never miss an email again from someone who hasn’t updated their contact list with my new info.
Tuesday 9am – approximately 500 old emails dating back to 2005 appear as New in my current email inbox. The realization hits me that every email sent or received since 2005 through my old inbox is going to trickle into my current inbox. One at a time.
Tuesday 10pm (24 hours after merge was initiated) – the trickle of old emails continues. I relived births, deaths, engagements, weddings, trips, canceled trips, visits from family and friends. All in a strange recap that appeared every few minutes in my inbox.
Wednesday 2pm – the final email sent from my old inbox to my new inbox was delivered. From my friend D. in London ‘What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?’
Approximate number of emails from 2005 – 2008 I had to look at: 2100. An exhausting and interesting exercise to say the least.
As someone I respect once said who I will refer to only as Aunt Sanity: “Smart people learn from their own mistakes. Wise people learn from other people’s mistakes.”
A word to the wise – do not merge your Gmail accounts. But if you must – click here.
Wildfire
May 8, 2009
Yet again Santa Barbara is ablaze. The Jesusita Fire started this week with high temperatures and high winds. It’s a beautiful place but it’s a tragic place. Thinking of friends who were evacuated from their home earlier this week and fingers crossed for some rain and no wind.
Swine Flu
May 8, 2009
Swine flu makes people put up crazy signs.
Radio City Music Hall
May 5, 2009
Radio City Music Hall - Dark Was The Night
Where was I last Sunday night?
At Radio City Music Hall
Among others at the Dark Was The Night event: David Byrne, Sharon Jones, Bon Iver, My Brightest Diamond, Fiest and finally after missing them three times in three different cities The National. It is a show that will go down on a favorite page of my own history book.
Daily Candy
May 5, 2009
Every day I walk by a privately owned dress shop. They have four windows that display new gowns daily. My own version of daily candy.
Coconuts Are Evil
May 1, 2009
I made a contribution to a friend’s new project titled Coconuts Are Evil (powered by tumblr.com). The caption for this one was Coconuts are peeping toms.
He says this little site gets a ton more traffic than his real blog which he adds fresh written copy and content to daily. Go figure. I guess peoples on the internets like to looks at pretty pictures.
Namur
May 1, 2009
In every city I’ve lived in, save for one year in Santa Barbara when I could trod to my office which was across the street on the same block as my house, I’ve worked in the armpit of each city.
Montreal is no exception.
I work in Saint Laurent.Saint Laurent is the equivelent of Jersey to Manhattan (so I’m told).
Goleta to Santa Barbara.
Kent to Seattle.
Union City to Atlanta.
You get the picture.There is one cool thing about my 45 minute commute out of the city – my destination metro stop – Namur.This reminds me of what Disney would have built if he’d seen Tron before he died:
