With (a) great car comes (a) great responsibility (to go on road trips)

A few weeks ago, long before we'd even thought about acquiring a car, my friend Nicole mentioned that at the end of August she would be in Montreal for a few days.  At the time the distance, though it is only 200 km, seemed almost unimaginably far.  And while I hadn't completely written off the idea of somehow making it to Montreal for a visit, it certainly seemed a little unlikely.

Of course once we had our car in hand travelling the 200 km to Montreal didn't seem so challenging (and what better way spend time with a new car than by taking it out for an extended test drive?).

So with the transportation issue out of the way I now just had to play catch up and get the dates of Nicole's visit.  Amazingly, after what seemed like just a few minutes I got a response back from Nicole indicating that she'd just arrived that day.  Within a few emails we'd arranged to meet for lunch the following day.

Though we had to deal with a few construction related delays while making our way out of Ottawa, the trip went relatively smoothly (though had our air conditioning been working it would have been even more pleasant).  The only noteworthy aspect of the trip, which was remarkably straight forward, was the traffic.  Though I haven't made the drive before it seemed that there was a fair bit of traffic for a Saturday morning in August (though this feeling may just be because I'm still unfamiliar with the traffic patterns).

In just about two hours from our time of departure we were in the Mile End neighbourhood of Montreal.  Despite the fact that I hadn't spent much time in the area there were a few names and locations that were familiar.

After a short stroll around the surrounding area we made our way meet Nicole (it being a hot and sunny day we were looking forward to not only our rendezvous but also the restaurant's shade and water).

It was really great to catch up on post-library school goings on a hear a little about life in New Zealand.

After a very pleasant lunch and chat we made our way over to my old stomping grounds.  I was able to show Jeannette where I used to live, work, and shop.  Unfortunately because of one-way streets and an unfamiliarity with streets from the perspective of a driver the trip to this part of town took a fair bit longer than it should have.

Despite the fact that I tend to think that I don't really miss Montreal all that much it was really nice to see the place again after about four years.  Despite the fact that there have been quite a number of changes in my absence, there are a remarkable number of similarities.  Maybe now that we're only a two hour drive away I'll have the chance to head back a little more frequently now.

Apparently 50 years does nothing to change youth culture in Montreal

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Aside from the absence of longboards, I'm pretty sure this sums up the Montreal of today as much as it is a representation of Montreal in the 1960s.

Hitting the big time (again) with my hot vids

Moments ago I received a request from CPAC to re-post my video of the recent Green Party rally with Elizabeth May. Not surprisingly, I agreed to allow them to re-post the video. Hopefully in the near future I will be able to post a link to the new home of this video.



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Amazingly, particularly given the (low) quality of most of my YouTube videos, this isn't the first time I have had interest in my videos from deep cable channels. As some of you may recall, a few years ago I licensed some of my YouTube vides of the Montreal hockey riots to the reality TV show Most Shocking.



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Every time things like this happen I feel a little more legit and a little more like a citizen journalist. Of course every time I post about going to the grocery store and buying butter or doing my laundry I feel a little bit less like a citizen reporter and more like a person just filling space to make Montifax look like an active blog.

On the Train 12

Kirsten and I just arrived in Montreal. After a quick stop at an office supplies store to pick up some headphones for Kirsten we made our way to the special line for passengers taking the sleeper car to Halifax.

That we made our way to this line was something of a coincidence, as I didn’t know that it existed or that we should be on the look out for it. Only because it was next to the first class passenger lounge, which we were looking for, did I happen to see it.

Once we reached the front of the line we had to hand in our tickets, which I found a little strange as we haven’t even seen the train yet. I guess that they do this with the sleeper cars to know what is going on (meaning whether or not every one has arrived) before people board. At this point we were also able select our dinner seating (I chose the late one so that we would have something to do in the evening). Hopefully we have enough food to tide us over until we get to eat at 8:15.

Once we checked in we made our way to the Panorama Lounge, which is where we are now. In about ten minutes, and after we have consumed as many complimentary beverages as we can, we will be able to board our train.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that I will be able to provide many further updates on our trip as it seems likely that we won’t have much internet access once we leave the station. Of course both of us are hoping that are suspicions are incorrect and that we will actually have regular internet access at least as far as Quebec City. I guess I will let you know if this is what we get.

Oh, it turns out that there was a couple from Newfoundland sitting behind us for some period of time. It seems likely that they will be going to Halifax with us as well.

A Few Quick Notes 424

-While this morning was beautiful (clear and warm), things have taken a slight turn for this worse this afternoon. The sky is now overcast and the winds have picked up. All of a sudden the thunder and lightning that have been forecast for this evening seem much more reasonable than they seemed earlier today.

-Just as a point of comparison on the changes in conditions of the weather in Halifax, here is a photo that I took early this afternoon.



This photo was taken just after 4:00 PM, the switch to a grayer sky is quite obvious.



-It seems that today is election day in the UK. It was about a week after the last election that I left Keele after my year as an exchange student in the UK. After the last election the Blair government retained its relatively significant majority. According to recent reports the present election isn't expected to produce such a clear result. The Globe and Mail is providing live coverage, as is my favourite newspaper, The Guardian. Hopefully I will be able to follow (at least intermittently) the coverage of the election results tonight.

-In April 2008 I posted a few videos on my YouTube account of the riots/violent celebrations that occurred after the first round success of the Montreal Canadians. Not only did these immediately become some of my most popular content, but I also ended up licensing them to the TV show Most Shocking. Anyway, after almost two years of YouTube obscurity these videos seem to be generating renewed interest with the current playoff success of the Montreal Canadians. I guess I should make it clear that 'renewed interest' only means that they are now sometimes receiving upwards of 30 views a day (I guess they are still relatively obscure as far as YouTube videos are concerned).

If you are interested, this is the most viewed of the set of videos.



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-Since I started working on this post it has started to rain intermittently. Tonight should be fun.

-This afternoon I finally motivated myself to move my old filing cabinet and place the new one.



Unfortunately I have not yet been sufficiently motivated to start filling the new filing cabinet. Also, hopefully within a few weeks the pots on top of the filing cabinets will be filled with plants.

-Yesterday I had the good fortune to pick up and start reading a book of essays by John Stuart Mill. Though it is not my habit, in this case I started reading the introduction. The introduction, at least the part I have read, describes aspects of Mill's intellectual development and charts his thinking on certain topics. One of the aspects of Mill's life (which seems to generally well known) that I found most impressive was that Mill's father, in association with the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, developed a program of education for Mill that was intended to create a perfect utilitarian. Perhaps not surprisingly after such a regimented upbringing Mill eventually moved away from some of these ideas and even went so far as to actively criticize Bentham's utilitarian positions. I am really looking forward to reading the rest of the introduction as well as a few of the essays.

-I had an ultrasound yesterday afternoon. It seems that I still have at least a few big stones, though I will likely only get the formal confirmation of this in a few weeks. That this is the case wasn't surprising in the least.

Good thing that was obvious

This morning I read a story about a woman in Montreal who was handcuffed and ticketed for not holding the escalator handrail in a Montreal subway station. It seems that the pictograms showing someone holding the escalator's handrail aren't a safety suggestion but rather an order that can result in a ticket if not followed.

This story was somewhat of a shock to me, someone who has spent a fair bit of time on the Montreal subway system. I had absolutely no idea that such an outcome was possible. I had always assumed that such signs were suggestions, not rules that could result in ticketing if not followed.

It seems that there are at least two very substantial problems with this situation. Firstly, the signage that is presently in place does not make it clear that failure to hold the handrail could result in a fine. If this is the case, as unnecessary a rule as this may be, it should at least be made clear that it is a rule rather than a suggestion. Secondly, in this particular case, it sounds as though the police officers involved issued a ticket for something that is basically never enforced. Apparently even the STM authorities do not issue tickets for this infraction. This suggests to me that the not only should the rule no longer be in force, but also that the police involved were going out of their way to harass a commuter. I can't help but thinking that the police could have handled this in a much better way, one that didn't involve tickets worth $420.

Halifax vs. Montreal

Halifax has



Montreal has



Halifax: 0
Montreal: 1

Beans, where are you?

For some reason while reading the Globe and Mail this morning I happened to read the Review and Sports section a little more thoroughly than usual and came upon an article by Russell Smith (whose work I tend to like) about a relatively new blog called Look At That Fucking Hipster. The site consists of photos of hipsters that have been given humorous captions, many of which I found incredibly funny (but maybe that is because of my time in Montreal).

On a related note, a few days ago I was talking with a friend about the recent influx of hipsters in Halifax. It seems that between October 2008 and now the number of students who I might classify as hipsters has really grown. When I was here in 2008, while I still lived in Montreal, one of the things that I found quite appealing about the place was the more limited hipster population. Unfortunately by the time I made it out here Halifax seemed to have caught up with Montreal, or at least come close in some regards (they still don't have as many hipster bars or events). I am kind of curious to see what the return of the student population in September will bring with it.

Sint Maarten: Day 17

At about 5:15 AM I woke to find that my father had already risen and showered. Almost immediately I went in to clean up. Once I was done in the bathroom I packed our dirty clothes and my belongings. We then went down to the main floor to check on the continental breakfast and the shuttle.

As it happened, they were loading a shuttle as we exited the lobby. We thought that we would head over just to check things out, and maybe to find the schedule. It also became clear that again there was a bit of a backlog and that things may take longer than one would want. As we approached the shuttle it was clear that many people weren’t going to make this particular journey. Somehow, just as this was becoming clear to us, one of the individuals who wasn’t going to make the trip because of space constraints pointed out to the driver that we didn’t have luggage and that we would fit. So at the last moment we made our way onto the shuttle for the three-minute journey to the AirTrain station.

Unlike like our first trip on the AirTrain, our second journey required us to visit all of the terminals, even those we had no interest in seeing. Fortunately, the train wasn’t too busy and seemed to move quickly from one stop to the next.

Once in the airport we were able to go directly to security as we had already checked our bags to Montreal. This was a relatively quick process, and certainly more painless than in smaller North American centers, but nowhere near as painless as Sint Maarten.

Soon enough we were through security and on our way to our gate, which we thought we would check out before getting some breakfast. As we continued walking we realized that our gate was quite a ways out, and that we likely wouldn’t be able to make it back to the restaurants at the beginning of the journey as they were just too far away.

Fortunately, just as our gate came into view so did a final food service establishment. After a quick examination of the menu we learned that they sold basic breakfast sandwiches for reasonable prices, and even dropped 30 cents if you didn’t have cheese. Even more pleasant than the low price was that the fact that the sandwiches were actually relatively large, and very satisfying. I was also very satisfied with the coffee that I purchased, it was much better than I expected.

Soon enough we were able to board our plane. For the first time on our trip my father and I were actually assigned seats next to one another, which was a pleasant change.

Both of us fell asleep very quickly, before the plane even left the ground. I ended up waking up and reading while my father continued to sleep. Eventually both of us were up and served drinks by the very competent and pleasant flight attendant. Unlike most Canadian flights, the flight attendant actually came back and offered us a second round of drinks (and this is on a flight that is only about an hour long).

Once in Montreal we raced off the plane and to the immigration screening area. We were the first people, possibly of the day, but certainly of the flight, to make it through. Though we were asked a few questions there were no problems.

We then moved down to the baggage claim area where I went to the bathroom. By the time I returned our bags were making their way along the conveyor system. Our only real delay then was that my father also wanted to use the bathroom, causing us to wait a minute or two during the entire process.

Customs was even less problematic than immigration and we were able to exit the secure area and enter the arrivals area.

While at the airport we went to the ticketing counter to try to change my flight itinerary so that I could spend some time in Halifax on my way to St. John’s. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me change the schedule without paying a change fee and the cost of the new fare. This made the trip impractical, as one of the main reasons was to reduce shipping costs, which would be less than the change to the itinerary.

We then made our way to the shuttle bus. While at the ticket counter we were told that there would be another shuttle at the main bus station that would transport us to our final destination, which we thought would be McGill. Soon after taking our seats we were on our way, reaching the bus station in a very respectable time. Soon after arriving at the bus station we noticed a particular individual who seemed to be associated with the bus company. My father was convinced that this particular man was the shuttle driver. Eventually my father approached this man and learned that he was in fact the shuttle driver.

Much to our surprise, instead of ending up a Sherbrooke Street hotel, the driver dropped us off at my door. This was particularly nice as by the time we boarded this second bus it had started to rain, and was raining quite heavily by the time we reached my apartment.

Soon after arriving and dropping off our bags we went out to Place Milton for lunch. As it happened to be a holiday they were only serving breakfast, meaning that I wasn’t able to purchase the hamburger that I had hoped to order.

Once we had finished lunch we started on the packing. Basically we needed to back my belongings in both suitcases and boxes by the following afternoon, at which point we needed to head out to the airport to catch a flight to St. John’s.

Amazingly, we were able to pack about 6 boxes and the better part of four suitcases in a number of hours. By time we finished packing for the evening it was dinnertime, meaning that we had done what we needed to in about 4 or 5 hours. This was a much more efficient operation than I had originally expected, but that is fine with me. Our productivity meant that we had a much more relaxing and productive day the following day.

After dinner, which we ate a restaurant on St. Catherine, my father and I hand-trucked a load of beer bottles over to the local grocery store. I was able to get about $14 from the load, which was nice. The only downside was that it wasn’t quite enough to cover the dozen beer and bag of pretzels that we were purchasing.

Shortly after returning to the apartment Liam arrived for a poker game that Nithum was arranging. Eventually Dougal and Nithum also arrived, allowing us to start the game. Eventually one additional player arrived. As it turned out, the latecomer was the big winner.

Soon after finishing playing poker we hit the sack. Both of us were able to get to sleep relatively quickly as we were going on about 4 hours of sleep.

Sint Maarten: Day 16

To continue the trend my father and I awoke before 8:00 AM (though I did think that I had slept in when I got out of bed). This early rising time was actually quite good as we were expecting the physiology department chair to stop by at about 8:00 to pick up the new visiting faculty member. While at the apartment there were a few things that my father was to pass over, concluding his work of the university.

At the appointed hour the department chair arrived as planned. Shortly after arriving she invited my father and I to join herself and the new faculty member for breakfast in Marigot. Without much hesitation we agreed to go. I was particularly keen to go, as we didn’t really have that much food left in the apartment.

The selected breakfast location was a bakery/pastry shop in the centre of Marigot. Almost as soon as I walked under the awning I was pretty sure that I would be able to find something satisfactory on the menu. Eventually I ordered fried eggs and bacon (which also came with some bread). We also had a basket of croissants for the table. As it turned out, though this was not my plan, I had two of the four croissants. Much to my surprise, these were some of the best croissants that I have had in years, they alone would have been worth the trip.

Soon after finishing breakfast my father and I started to make our way back to our apartment while the women with whom we had breakfast continued on to Pinel Island, which is just of the coast from the beach at Orient Bay.

Once back at the apartment my father finished a few practice questions that he promised the students while I continued with some recreational reading. Soon enough we were both in a position to head to the airport to check in. We had decided to do this to beat any afternoon rush that might occur.

Upon arriving at the airport it was immediately clear that we had definitely arrived before any possible rush. From the time that we entered the airport to the time that we had deposited our bags and were heading back to the car was less than 15 minutes, qualifying us for free parking.

Instead of waiting for our arranged ride to the airport at 1:30 we decided to just head down here almost as soon as we were back at the university. Arriving early wasn’t such a problem, as we basically just would have been waiting around no matter where we were.

We did try to contact the gentleman who was to give us a ride, but we were without luck. My father suggested that we just try to catch the bus to Maho and then walk the rest of the way. While waiting for the bus to arrive a taxi pulled up. While my father was discussing matters with the driver a couple from the US offered us a ride. Since the taxi would have only been able to take us after he dealt with another fare the couple’s offered seemed like the way to go.

It turned out that the couple was from New York. After a few minutes of conversation we learned that the male had actually likely worked on various construction projects (including the demolition of a Con Ed plant) just blocks away from where I used to live in New York.

Almost as soon as we arrived in the airport we passed through security. This process, unlike similar processes in the United States and Canada, was relatively painless. When I walked through the metal detector with my belt the guard allowed me to remove my belt and try again. In most parts of North America such an obvious problem would cause the passenger to be subjected to a full body cavity search. The other thing that was impressive was that the screeners were clearly capable of picking up offending items while also moving people through the process at about twice the speed. It also didn’t hurt that the staff were much more pleasant than their Canadian counterparts.

Once in the secure section of the airport my father and I walked around for a while. We checked out various duty free places and available restaurant options. Eventually we decided to buy iced teas a convenience store like shop. While this wasn’t the classiest facility, it didn’t seem to be as outrageously priced as some of the other options.

Once we finished our iced teas we continued our journey through the departures waiting area. Soon enough we came across the business lounge. A sign on the wall next to the door that the admittance fee was only $20 and that a range of foods, wine, and services were available. As we had at least two hours to kill until boarding time we decided to go for it and pay the entry fee.

Almost as soon as we entered the lounge it was clear that we had made the correct decision. My father immediately grabbed a few of the warm meaty snacks while I went for a few of the miniature baked goods. Both of us were also able to take advantage of the free beverage offerings. I had a number of cups of coffee, at least four, while my father, if I recall correctly, had something to drink. Eventually, we both switched to wine (I had some white while my father went for the red) and ended up having three glasses apiece before boarding the plane.

During our stay in the lounge we were also able to take advantage some of the other services. Both of us were able to sit in comfortable chairs with easy access to tables (something that was particularly important as beverages and food were on the scene). My father was able to use the public access internet terminal to take care of a few internet related matters while I was able to use the free wireless internet connection to do some email and other web type things.

Before boarding our plane we noticed that there was a 747 at the airport, the first we had seen in Sint Maarten. Immediately both of us thought about how exciting it would have been to see it land as well as to see the impending take-off.

Soon after we boarded the plane and then pulled away from the jet-way it became clear that we were likely to be delayed for some time. It seems that the 747 was in the line ahead of us and needed to take off from the ‘end’ of the runway, rather than the ‘beginning,’ as is done by most planes.

Not only did this change in protocol mean that the plane had to make it all the way up to the other end of the runway at a slow rate of speed, but also that a few approaching planes were allowed to land before the runway became occupied by the large plane’s trip down the runway.

Eventually the 747 took off and the new backlog of landing planes was cleared. 50 minutes after our scheduled departure we were finally able to make it into the air.

While still sitting on the runway my father, who was sitting across the aisle from me, started talking to the couple seated next to him. Due to my proximity to the conversation I was able to hear what my father was saying, and some of what the couple was saying. One thing that was immediately clear was that these people seemed to be a relatively friendly and talkative couple. It seems that the couple, who were from San Francisco, were on the island for a friend’s wedding. On and off throughout the flight my father spoke to these people about a variety of matters.

The couple sitting to my right were a very different matter. Almost as soon as they were seated they opened a variety of snacks and proceeded to chow down. The strange part about this was the way in which the seemingly picky female member of the couple went about this. Instead of deciding that she wasn’t interested in something, or that she was interested, she seemed to rip small pieces (or take small bites) of the food that was in the male’s hand. For some reason he seemed to be in charge of the food and all acquisitions made to suit his tastes. Eventually these roles were somewhat reversed when the drinks cart came around and the female seemed to be in charge of ordering and allocating quantities (the drinks were also kept on her tray).

Strangely, neither my father nor I was able to sleep on the flight. Actually, my lack of ability to sleep may have been caused by the iced tea and four or five cups of coffee that I had recently consumed. I don’t know what was working against my father. This lack of sleep meant that when the started showing the second movie that we both ended making the simultaneous, but unrelated, decision to watch it.

As I didn’t really have much else to do I can’t really say that I wasted time by watching the film, but I can say I wasn’t particularly impressed. It seems that the filmmakers were particularly taken with the use of green screens, or whatever that technology is properly called, instead of actually visiting a location or hiring stuntmen.

Soon after the end of the movie we started our descent into JFK. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make up time, as had been suggested by the pilot, and instead ended up losing an additional twenty minutes by the time we reached the gate. I guess I should be clear that much of this time loss occurred while we were sitting on the tarmac waiting to approach a gate.

Eventually we were able to de-plane and head through immigration, or whichever branch of Homeland Security is taking care of that first stage of the process. Aside from a few circles on our declaration card there were no problems with this process and we were able to proceed to the baggage claim area.

After a wait of about an hour we finally were able to acquire our bags and head on to the next step of the customs/immigration process. At this step we again handed over our declaration card to an agent. Upon examining the various circles he noticed that we were supposedly bringing some kind of plant life into the country. He asked what it was we were bringing in. My father then pulled an apple, which happened to have been grown in the US, out of his pocket and handed it to the agent. After briefly inspecting the apple and setting it on a table the agent asked us if that was all we had. Once we informed him that that was it we were allowed to go on our way. Oddly, the apple made it into the country even though it was being dealt with as though it was a potential threat. It seems almost as though these things are considered threats only if you aren’t making money on them. We all know that huge quantities of produce are shipped into the US from foreign nations every day, including from various Caribbean islands.

Once we passed the final staged the customs/immigration charade we started to look for the baggage drop-off point. Though we were staying in New York for the night our bags were checked al the way through Montreal. Eventually we did find the location. Instead of it being like most places where one can just drop their bags, in this case there were airline agents and a line. Eventually it became clear that all kinds of people were trying to re-book flights at the drop-off location, and that in some cases the workers at the drop-off station were actually helping them.

After waiting a few minutes we were told that the station was closed and that we should go to the third floor. As this made absolutely no sense we just stayed where we were in line and continued to wait. Eventually, after several exhortations to move to the third floor, we finally were able to talk to make it clear that we just wanted to drop off our bags and be on our way. Not surprisingly, as it was a baggage drop-off point, they accepted our bags without further hassle.

We then had to figure out how to go from where we were to our hotel, which we both believed was in the airport. After examining various signs and information boards we eventually gathered that we had to make our way, via the AirTrain system, to Federal Circle. After encountering several misleading and conflicting signs we eventually made our way to the nearest train station. Fortunately the first stop was the one for us. We then had to make our way from the train section of the station to the airport shuttle section of the station (which seemed a little strange for an airport that was at the airport).

As we continued waiting for our shuttle it became apparent that we weren’t the only ones going to our hotel. Actually, most of the people that had been there a long time were going to our hotel. It seems that for some unexplained reason our hotel’s shuttle hadn’t come by in a very long time.

After a relatively long wait one woman who had a reservation at our hotel made her way over to some waiting buses to see if they could be persuaded to give us a ride, or if they might know how we could walk there. When she returned she had learned that walking wasn’t really a possibility, and they clearly hadn’t agreed to give her a ride.

As we were in the hotel shuttle area we weren’t near any taxis or other forms of transportation that could take us where we wanted to go. This was very frustrating as it was clear that our hotel shuttle was not operating on a regular schedule.

Eventually the woman who had investigated other options and the man with whom she was traveling decided to try to take a cab to the hotel. As much as I like the idea of getting there quickly I knew that this would mean heading back to the train, waiting for the train, riding the train, and then making my way to the taxi area to wait for a taxi before finally being on my way.

Eventually, after we had been waiting for about an hour, the hotel shuttle began to approach. As it neared the curb a mass of people, maybe half of those waiting, raced to the door. As soon as the door opened pushed their way aboard. Fortunately, due to a good location in the waiting area, and the fact that we weren’t slowed down by luggage, we were able to make it aboard the over crowded bus.

As the bus closed its doors and started to make its way towards the hotel a man started to chase the bus and try to get the driver to stop. Whether the driver did or did not see the man was unclear. What was clear was that my father asked the driver to stop and he did not.

At about this time the shuttle started to make its first turn on the journey back to the hotel. As soon as the shuttle entered these turns it became even more apparent that the bus was overloaded. The floor began to twist and buckle with the first turn as we as with each subsequent turn. As the ride progressed I became very worried that the bus was just going to fall apart on the way to the hotel. Feeling the floor twist below one’s feet is certainly not pleasant and does not make for a relaxing journey.

Fortunately the ride was short, only about four minutes. This actually caused us further confusion as to the cause of the delay and why the online description suggested that the hotel was located in the airport.

Even though it was after midnight there was a long check-in line in the lobby of the hotel. The people from the shuttle managed to make the line seem monstrous. As neither my father nor I were particularly pleased with the situation my father thought he might try calling the company through which we booked are room.

Moments after he left me to wait in line while he made the phone call the couple that had left the shuttle area to find a taxi arrived. It seems that once they made it back to the taxi area they couldn’t immediately find a driver that knew how to get to our hotel. When they finally did get a cab the driver made a wrong turn, delaying them again.

Eventually my father returned from his phone call and reported that he had not been able to make any progress. He then suggested that he head to the hotel bar to pick up a few beers for us to have while we continued to wait in the live.

Within a few minutes of his return we were able to sign in and head up to our room. As we left the elevator and started to head down the hall to our room we noticed that the room doors were very near each other, much closer than one would want.

As expected the room was quite small, basically just big enough for two beds and two dressers. The bathroom was also quite compact. In both cases the facilities were large enough for what we needed, but certainly not luxurious.

Shortly after stashing our things we returned to the main floor to visit the hotel bar for another beer. This time we sat at the bar to drink. Something that was quite strange about the bar was that it was recessed, meaning the bar tender’s head was close to level with ours, though we were seated on regular height chairs. Though the bar didn’t sell any food and the restaurant and kitchen were closed my father was able to rustle up some food. He found a wine decanter full of bar snacks that he then proceeded to eat rather quickly. I had a chocolate bar and pouch of crackers when returned to our room.

Unfortunately, the delays and subsequent trip to the bar meant that we only had enough time for about 4 hours of sleep before we needed to head back to the airport to catch our flight to Montreal.

Sint Maarten: Day 1

Upon awaking at 3:00 AM on Saturday morning, my father and I quickly prepared for our impending departure. Fortunately, we didn’t really have all that much to do as most of our packing was complete and we had previously decided not to eat breakfast at my apartment.

Within about 20 or 30 minutes of waking we were able to call a cab, and compete for service with those just leaving the bars on St. Laurent. Luckily, we were not faced with a particularly long delay and were thus able to make it to the airport on time, or actually early.

Upon arriving at the airport we were able to change our seat assignments on the first flight. We then had to pass through customs before we were able to proceed through security. The problem with this step of the procedure was that we had actually arrived before customs actually even opened. This meant that we had to wait in a line with hundreds of other travelers.

Once we finally reached a US customs agent we were processed pretty quickly, which should be the case as we were two American citizens who were not even planning on stopping in the country.

After customs we were able to check our bags and head to security. Neither of us received any special probing, which is good as neither of us remembered our K-Y.

Once through security it became clear that we had plenty of time on our hands before our flight’s scheduled boarding time. The first portion of this time was used to acquire some breakfast food from the only available source in the secure area. Each of us had breakfast sandwiches, which while edible, were nothing to write home about. The coffee that accompanied my meal was notably sub-par.

Eventually, we were able to board our plane and take our assigned seats. Both of us were able to fall asleep relatively quickly, something that was quite important as we had only had time for about three hours of sleep the night before. The only sleep related problem that we encountered was a baby who started to cry rather aggressively about 25 minutes before the flight landed. This crying prevented both of us from sleeping for the remainder of the flight.

Once in Dulles we had plenty of time to walk around before our next flight. Eventually we purchased a copy of the Washington Post and stopped at a pub for some warm beverages. While reading the Post I learned that they have a much different approach to obituaries. The Post publishes many more obituaries than the Times (of London), the Guardian, or the Globe and Mail. The largest portion of these are short professionally written obituaries of local citizens, many of whom were civil servants.

Our attempts to be seated together on the flight from Dulles to Sint Marteen were unsuccessful, as were those of several other traveling groups. Fortunately we were seated close enough to each other to be able to pass things back and forth across the aisle. And in some ways we might have both benefited from our respective seat-mates. My father was seated next to one of the students at the university at which he is to be teaching. The student was able to give him some relevant information about the university and the related areas. I was seated next to a couple from Indiana who are regular visitors to St. Martin. I think that some of the information they gave me about being a tourist here will pay off, as some of it seems to have been confirmed to information that I received subsequently.

After passing through customs and collecting our bags we were met by a professor from the university and a pleasant temperature. The professor was kind enough to give us a tour of part of the island (we were made aware of several nice beaches) as well as the (small) campus. One of the most important things she showed us was the local grocery store, where we were able to buy important supplies (food and beer).

Obviously we were also able to visit our apartment. For dormitory accommodations it is pretty nice. We have two bedrooms, each with beds that must be close to king size. My father’s room has an en suite bathroom set up and a walk in closet. My bathroom is located just outside of my room and is supplemented with an additional closet just next to the bathroom. Additionally, we have a kitchen area with a full size fridge and stove. The living area has a dining table and chairs, couch, lounge chair, and TV (which seems to have a cable hook up). The apartment also has a balcony with two chairs and a table.

It seems that a pastime of many of the newly arrived younger male tourists is to stand on the beach or next to the fence at the end of the runway as jets take off and land. In both cases the machines displace sizeable amounts of air, ‘blasting’ these people with great force. In particularly good instances, such as when a 747 takes off or lands, you might be hit with so much air that you would be blown into the sea from the beach. Of course there are signs warning of the associated dangers of the activity, all of which are ignored. At some point it is likely that we will head back to this location to both collect video footage and to possibly experience the effect of being ‘blasted’ by a jumbo jet.

In the evening we were then shown part of the French side, known for its fancier restaurants and shopping (and its use of the slightly more valuable Euro). While on the French side we met the university’s librarian and her husband for dinner.

The restaurant we were taken to was of the French persuasion with the serving staff likely being seasonal imports. Though many available dishes were fish, several beef and chicken dishes were also available. One of the exotic dishes was (not indigenous) kangaroo. After some initial hesitation by my father and I decided to go with this dish. Though I largely opted for this selection because I felt I was unlikely to have another opportunity to try kangaroo I would recommend it to others on its merits as a dish. The meat was red, like beef, and quite flavourful. Though not filet mignon, the meat was moist and tender. The meal and accompanying conversation were in all ways pleasant (which is surprising as we were working with only three hours of sleep plus whatever we got on the plane).

Upon returning to our apartment after dinner we were able to sit on our balcony and enjoy the comfortable temperature and pleasant breeze while consuming some Caribbean beer. I would guess that we will end many of our evenings in this fashion.

Clips from Habs Celebration

Below are a few clips that were filmed during the victory celebrations that transpired after the victory by the Habs in game 7 of the first round of the play-offs.

The first clips are of the crowd and festivities before the riot police started to break things up. The latter clips are of the initiation of street clearing tactics by the riot police.













[Embedded video]

A Few Quick Notes 171

-Today, though momentarily moderately overcast, has largely be quite beautiful. Like past days, today hasn't been too hot, but quite nice for walking and participating in outdoor activities.

-I must be 15/88 on this year's Roll Up the Rim contest. While buying a coffee yesterday, my father and noticed that the woman was just about to double cup my coffee with a second contest cup. Unfortunately she was intercepted by a more experienced employee who only allowed her to give me one contest cup.

-My father had a brief but successful visit to Montreal this weekend. Not only were we able to do some socializing with my friends, but we were also able to buy a dozen pint glasses and pack a selection of my possessions (meaning that I have already started the move).

In a few weeks he will return and we will pack up the remains of my life in Montreal.

-This afternoon I attended a picnic on Mont Royal. We ate next to the battle re-enactors and their entourage.

While we watched the unending fights we shared food and listened to a few of the picnic participants perform on a mandolin, a banjo, a clarinet, a glockenspiel, and a trumpet.

A Few Quick Notes 170

-Today, as well as yesterday have been particularly nice. Environment Canada is claiming that it is presently 23 degrees. It seems that similar weather has been forecast for the next few days.

-It seems that I must be somewhere near 14/85 on the year for Roll Up the Rim. It seems that my end of year drive has failed me. I am presently on a pretty long dry spell, which may be permanent as places are started to run out of contest cups.

-Nithum returned unexpectedly today. With him he brought a friend. Once my father arrives tomorrow we will have a pretty full apartment.

-On Wednesday I was able to hand in my final library school assignment. Assuming that I pass all of my courses I will soon be able to call myself a librarian. A few years ago not all that many people would have guessed that this is a path that I would have taken.

-In preparation for my summer employment, I obtained a haircut yesterday evening. The hair cutter was Nick, a co-worker. We did the deed on his balcony so that the wind was able to take care of most of the clippings.

The result is that my hair is very short on the sides and in the back, longer on the top. What I got was exactly what I was looking for.

-Last night, while playing around with my camera, I decided to take a picture of the street in front of my building. Upon stepping onto my balcony with my camera I heard someone muttering something. I soon realized that the muttering was coming from someone sitting on a planter across the street and that he was muttering about someone taking photos at that time of night (1:30 AM). I think he may have been suggesting that I not take a photo of him (which I wasn't planning on and did not do). I did take a photo of the street next to where he was sitting though.

Some period of time later, maybe a half an hour or so, someone (whom I believe to be the individual from the planter) was having a minor dispute about money with two other individuals. Eventually things were settled and all three faded back into the night.

My theory is that it was a drug deal and that the first guy wasn't particularly pleased to see someone taking photos (as he knew what was supposed to be happening in the very near future). Fortunately, this individual's displeasure with my photographic activities didn't lead to any further actions on his part (something I was mildly concerned about last night).

A Few Quick Notes 169

-Today has be largely overcast, though with clear periods, and occasional periods of precipitation. This is quite a change from the weather of a few days ago, which was close to perfect. At least we are generally heading in the right direction.

-It seems that I am now about 14/79 for this year's Roll Up the Rim contest. I received a bit of a boost in my numbers yesterday when a new employee double cupped my coffee with context cups. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to convert this good fortune into further wins. Hopefully I can really kick it up in these next few days as places are starting to run out of cups, meaning that it is really now or never.

-It seems that with changes in weather we are also starting to get other signs of spring, most notably plant growth. Just today I noticed that leaves (or 'leafs' for our hockey fan readers) are starting to sprout on some of the trees outside of our windows. Not only with this be a pleasant sight, but it will provide Nithum with a degree of privacy that we haven't experienced since last Fall.

-Last night I attended the library school end of year party. The event was largely successful and people seem to have enjoyed themselves. I was particularly pleased that I was able to speak to a number of people to whom I hadn't really been able to speak with much these past few weeks. Also, the turnout seemed to be pretty good.

Though I missed much of the performance, we did have a male stripper who danced to "Another One Bites the Dust." Those who did see the show seem to have been quite pleased with what transpired.

-For about an hour and a half I have been trying to do laundry. Every time I head down to see if there are any empty machines I find people loading recently vacated washers. Hopefully I will find some empty ones tonight. It will be very disheartening to have to re-make my bed with a dirty duvet cover.

-In the past few days I have been making curry quite frequently. I am not really sure what explains this recent trend. As this seems to be working out relatively well I don't think that I will be doing all that much to try to break myself of the habit.

A Few Quick Notes 168

-These past few days have been close to perfect. The temperatures have been quite pleasant, maybe near the ten degree mark, maybe a little higher, but certainly nothing unpleasant. Furthermore, the sun has been out and the days bright. Hopefully we can keep this trend going for another couple of weeks, though word on the street is that we are due for some less than pleasant weather in the coming days.

-It seems that I am now 14/74, though I wouldn't be surprised if my count was a little off. My goal of keeping my win rate up has fallen on hard times. Maybe I need to re-group and re-energize and bring my best game to next few days of the competition.

-I have been busy with school work these past few days, which is the reason for my shortage of posts. Hopefully my failure to post hasn't caused you too many problems. In the next few days I should be back on the wagon and supplying Montifax with regular posts.

-Today, as I was walking home from school a guy in a fancy black car honked at me as he was approaching, and then waved his finger at me as he drove past. I really have no idea what his problem was as I was on the side of an intersection waiting to cross the street. My only idea is that he thought that I was going to walk out in traffic in front of him, but I really don't know why he would have thought that, as my actions were no different than most people approaching an intersection.

-On Monday I was able to submit two final assignments. A third was submitted yesterday. My fourth, and final, final assignment is due next Wednesday. Fortunately I have already done a fair bit of work and am not at all worried about having the work done on time.

-While in Lobos today I noticed that they were selling raspberry flavoured malt beverages for 69 cents. Not surprisingly, I was suckered in and went for the impulse buy. After refrigerating the beverage for some number of hours I eventually decided to give it a try. Much to my surprise, the experience wasn't too bad, though it wasn't all that great either. The raspberry flavour was quite strong, certainly much stronger than the malt flavour. I may try to go back and pick up a few more before they well out.

-Today, while waiting in line at the library a guy cut in front of me. Upon realizing that he cut the line he turned around and said "Sorry, did I cut in front of you?"

I indicated that he had cut in front of me. He seemed to acknowledge this, but then went on with his transaction.

Why ask if you are going to do nothing about it?

-For the first time in some number of weeks I baked some bread. I am not all that pleased with the way things turned out, mainly as some of it is a little closer to burned than I would have desired. Hopefully it tastes good.

A Few Quick Notes 167

-Today was another pleasant day in the slightly above zero range. It is now possible to see almost all of most sidewalks and diminishing, but still sizable, snowbanks. More importantly, for the first time this year, I was able to spot an early bloom (reminiscent of a crocus). I guess all of this is to say that it is starting to feel like spring.

-As of moments ago I moved to 12/54 on this year's Roll Up the Rim. As you can see, I am still playing hard. I hope to keep up my momentum for the rest of the contest.

-While walking to school yesterday morning I noticed a seagull in the air above me. It seemed to be swooping around rather frivolously. Moments later I noticed and heard a splotch of bird feces. Fortunately, I was unhit, but only narrowly. Had my right foot and attached leg been about 6 inches further to the right I would have been nailed.

-Upon returning from school today, I noticed that one of my recent bean plants has started to sprout. Nearby there seems to be another sprout, though at the moment I don't know exactly what it is (as I planted beans, peas, and peppers simultaneously).

-As the temperatures begin to rise as we enter spring, the level of heating in our apartment remains unchanged. This means that while it is only a few degrees above zero, I am able to sit comfortably in shorts and a tee-shirt while the living room window and balcony door are both open. (I am also blasting the Planets).

-In the past few days I have really begun to notice that Nithum and I seem to generate a large amount of garbage. This is striking because we both take care to recycle many items, and additionally don't eat many foods with excessive amounts of packaging.

It is possible that part of the issue is that we don't fill our garbage bags completely before tying them off. This is largely because of our relatively small main garbage can, which seems to only accommodate a few items before we are required to engage in some pretty complicated stacking activities.

-A few days ago I recall coming up with a great idea to post. I was thinking that it would be well received, and also useful. Of course, now that I am ready to post, I have no idea what it was I was going to say. I need to start writing these things down as I come up with them if I don't want to forget them.

A Few Quick Notes 166

-Today was another nice day, though a bit on the chilly side. My understanding is that such weather is not to hold, snow or some other form of precipitation has been predicted. This is rather unfortunate as just now the sidewalks are starting to clear and the snow disappear.

-I must now be 11/51 on this year's Roll Up the Rim contest. The decision to pick up my game that I made several days ago seems to have paid off. My win ratio has definitely started to improve. Hopefully I will be able to manage this level of intensity for the rest of the competition. If you are curious, my strategy is to play for more smaller prizes, such as coffees, rather than the big and rare prizes. So far this seems to be working.

-I was able to do some laundry yesterday. Once I started the process did I realize that I had less to wash than I expected. What caused this to be the case still baffles me, particularly as it seems that it was about the standard interval between washes.

-I am really having a hard time getting down to work. Though I have been trying all night, I have managed to make very little progress. Maybe if I take a walk I will be ready to work when I get back.

-A few days ago I heard an interview with George Saunders about his work, which tends towards satire. This motivated me to see if the library had any of his work, which they did. I was able to check out two of his books, one of which I completed that day. Generally I have been impressed and would consider looking into other of his works.

-A few days ago, at the Purim party, some of the guests noticed the 'take a book, leave a book' box and found some content that interested them. In class today someone gave me a book for the box to replace the one that he took. I am glad to see that this has finally worked in the way that it was supposed to, though it took much longer than I expected (but that may be because of the limited number of people that visit my apartment).

-A few days ago I planted some beans, peas, and peppers. While I am hoping for some action on the growing front before I depart, I don't know if this is actually going to happen. So far all three seed varieties have disappointed me, but it may be that I have not given them enough time to sprout.

-When I returned home from school today I found that the north-bound lane of my street was closed by a police car. At the end of the block I was able to see some more flashing lights, as well as a few at the end of the block to the south of my apartment. Fortunately, my apartment doesn't seem to be in any immediate danger.

I should note that this is all after there were two police car outside of the building to the south of mine. As these cars didn't have their lights on I assumed that there wasn't much of an emergency, though I am now wondering if something developed during the course of their visit.

A Few Quick Notes 165

-Today is like the past few days in that it is pretty beautiful. The temperature is a few degrees below zero, with a crisp bone chilling breeze. Skies are clear and the sun is shining. This is a significant improvement upon the somewhat overcast skies and precipitation of a few days ago.

-It seems that I am about 10/49 for this year's Roll Up the Rim Contest. I seem to now be immersed in a solid two time a day habit.

-Today is Easter, but one would have a hard time telling from the appearance of our apartment. Much to my chagrin, the Easter bunny seems to have skipped our place. Also, some seeds that I planted yesterday have yet to sprout and give the sense of re-birth, or birth.

Anyway, things will certainly pick up on the Easter front later today when I slap my baby turkey (A.K.A. a chicken) in the oven and prepare a bit of a solo feast. I presume that my chicken will be accompanied by some vegetables (frozen green beans) and mashed potatoes, and maybe some carrots as I have a bunch kicking around.

-Shortly after waking this morning I decided that I needed to head out and hit the last day of the butter sale at one of my local grocery stores. While on my way there, I stopped at another store and picked up some celery.

While waiting in line to pay for my celery I noticed that one of the professors from my school as behind me. This is somewhat funny as the last time I was in this store buying only one item she was in line with me. In previous year and a half of frequenting this store I have not seen her there once, nor have I every made such specific purchases. I guess I will have to see if the trend continues (though I am running out of time).

Once I finally made it to the final destination grocery store I was able to find the butter and also some margarine (of the soft, easy to spread variety). After picking up my main selections I decided to browse the herbal tea section. While kneeling down I saw some cheaply printed white bags that reminded me of candy surprise bags of my childhood. After further inspection I learned that they were actually host cuttings, the sections of dough from which communion hosts are cut.

As it is Easter, and these of religious in nature, I thought I would splurge and spend the $2.49 for the 115 gram bag.

-This morning Nithum was noting that Montifax was a little out of date, which is certainly true. Sorry to all of you who have noticed this and not received your regular dose of Montifax during the last couple days.

-On a related note, there should also be a Purim Party/Good Friday rundown later today or this evening.

A Few Quick Notes 164

-Today was a beautiful day, the first in a while. The weather was quite warm, certainly warmer than reported by Environment Canada, and the sun was out, making it a nice day for walking and being outdoors. As the night progresses, the temperature has begun to drop, a somewhat common trend.

-With two more loses today I am now 8/38 with this year's Roll Up the Rim contest. My attempts to pick up my game have clearly failed. Maybe if I try hard I will be able to improve tomorrow.

-As my milk was about to go I decided to bake some bread today. This seemed to go relatively well. As I was doing laundry at the same time I didn't really waste too much time.

-My laundry washing was also quite productive. Though I am beginning to become somewhat frustrated that each time I wash my duvet cover items seem to migrate inside, and then don't dry properly.

-As term will be ending in a few weeks I need to start thinking about moving. Unfortunately, it seems that this is going to be a somewhat unpleasant process, particularly as I will likely be forced to leave things in Montreal and then re-buy equivalents where ever I end up next year. I guess it really isn't worth moving crap half-way across the country though.

-For some reason my library use seems to be way up this term. Particularly my checking out of monographs seems to be way up. I would guess that I have checked out more books this term alone than in the three previous terms combined.

-It seems that Sunday is now my big podcast day. Both Jordan, Jesse, Go! and This American Life Tend to release new episodes at around the same time on Sunday evening. The downside is that most new podcast content is consumed withing about a four hour period. Maybe I will try subscribing to a few additional podcasts to fill the void.