Archive for Montreal
December 6, 2007 at 10:26 am · Filed under Family+Friends, Home, Montreal
This is going to be a rambling mish-mash kind of post, but it’s my blog and I can do what I want.
After around thirty eight centimetres of snow in three days, Montreal is in recovery mode. The streets are still a mess but the snow clearers are out spending seventeen million dollars on the cleanup operation. The fact that I almost never drive anywhere means I’ve been loving it. Truly a winter wonderland, and even now that the snow has started getting dirty it’s still prettier than bare streets. Even digging the car out twice was enjoyable in a very strenuous way. I must confess that I haven’t been walking to work though, mostly because I’ve had a cold but also because it’s very difficult to walk on uncleared sidewalks. Maybe I should get snowshoes…
For my wife, the snow came at a bad time, she had to take Aidan to two doctors’ appointments yesterday. I knew after driving in that mess she would be completely frazzled when she got home so I tidied the place up a bit, got the teacups ready and prepared Aidan a snacky supper. I also built a fire.
I love living in a place with a fireplace, and having a father-in-law who generously provides us with wood is an added bonus. The only problem is that unless we have the windows open, the smoke from the fire refuses to go up the chimney. This means we have a nice toasty fire going, but the cold air coming in through the windows negates it. We could close the doors on the fireplace but that sort of defeats the purpose. I obviously need to study the physics of chimneys.
So we spent the evening sitting in front of a nice fire, feeling slightly chilly and eating sushi. We should’ve been getting the house ready for Aidan’s birthday party at the weekend, but procrastination won yet again.
November 22, 2007 at 9:55 am · Filed under Montreal
We’re having our first serious snow of the year today. Now anyone who knows me knows I love a bit of snow, but it definitely has its downs as well as the ups.
Walking through Murray Hill Park was the best part of the walk today; the snow was lying thick on the grass, the workers were out erecting the toboggan barriers, the dogs were frolicking in the snow but hadn’t started turning it yellow yet. Even the ice pellets falling from the sky eased up a bit as I walked through that Winter Wonderland.
Walking past Selwyn House School and the International School consisted mostly of dodging icy missiles as the kids enjoyed their first real snowball fight of the season. They were nice enough not to aim at me.
Getting onto Sherbrooke Street was the start of the downs. The slush on the pavements made walking very treacherous, and the slush on the roads was always threatening to come flying in my direction whenever a large vehicle went by. The Sherbrooke Street wind tunnel effect was also in full force, driving the ice pellets into my face so it felt like they were ripping the skin off. From Guy onward it became a matter of endurance to make it to work.
But make it I did, and I didn’t have to fight my way onto crowded metro trains or buses or try to figure out if it was worth taking my coat and gloves off for the short but sweltering metro journeys.
September 24, 2007 at 9:05 am · Filed under Geeky, Local, Montreal
Walking to work this morning I spotted the Google Streetview car touring the streets of Westmount. I will have to wait until Montreal goes online to find out if it spotted me.
Google Streetview is a fantastic idea; I love being able to take a stroll along Hollywood Boulevard without leaving my office (I’m really hoping the implement a “walking between two points” feature to eliminate all the clicking) and I love the idea of being able to explore a new city before actually going there.
Of course, it does have its privacy concerns, but it doesn’t bother me as much as other intrusions; I’m not sure how doing something on a public street can be considered “private” anyway. Having said that, I’ve always had a problem with public security cameras and the whole Big Brother fear so I have to consider what the difference is.
Firstly, Google Streetview is just a still snapshot of any one location whereas security cameras tend to be recording in full motion twenty four hours a day. The amount of information that can be gathered by the Google car about any “private” event on the street is minimal compared to what a video camera can capture.
Secondly, Google are doing this as a service to their customers, not as a way to monitor the public. The company motto of “Do no evil” has so far not been breached. I have to admit to a certain discomfort about the sheer number of services Google provide and how much data they are collecting from those services but until they do something overtly bad I’ll give them the benefit of doubt.
Finally, Google Streetview is a valuable service to me. I get no benefit from security monitoring. Some might say I would get a benefit if a crime was committed against me, but I’m guessing even if my bike theft had been caught on camera I still wouldn’t get my bike back.
September 20, 2007 at 12:25 pm · Filed under Conservation, Montreal
Today is supposed to be car free day in the downtown core of Montreal. The building I work in is in the middle of the car-free zone but I’m seeing a steady flow of cars going by out my window. Apparently car-free day doesn’t work, despite being conveniently positioned between the two rush hours.
“Montreal Car-Free Day” is more like “A Few City Blocks of Montreal Almost Car-Free Few Hours”. Even as a purely symbolic gesture it’s still incredibly lame.
Update: I just discovered that the perimeter is even smaller than I thought and doesn’t come as far north as this building. My point is still valid though.
August 14, 2007 at 8:49 am · Filed under Montreal
As I was leaving work last night, my bike suffered a malfunction, causing the back wheel to become wedged against the frame. With no tools, and faced with carrying my bike home, I decided to call Jen and ask her to come pick me up. Thankfully she obliged and I met her at Elgin Place apartments on Doctor Penfield and Peel. I threw the bike in the back, jumped in the car and we went home.
It wasn’t until this morning that I realised I’d left my backpack sitting outside Elgin Place apartments. My backpack with my two bike locks in it. My backpack with my ipod and a camera in it. Fuck.
I walked back there this morning, but the backpack was nowhere to be seen and the doorman hadn’t had anything handed in. I stuck a sign up but I don’t hold out much hope.
So, if anyone happened to find a green backpack last night, I’d love to have it back. If the contents are intact I’ll even give you a reward.
August 13, 2007 at 9:47 am · Filed under Montreal, Music
Last night I accompanied my betrothed to the Crowded House concert at Theatre St Denis. I’m not a huge Crowded House fan, but she is, so I just went along to keep her company. It was a crowded house, apart from a few empty seats in the front row which almost caused a stampede when Neil Finn suggested people should fill them.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. There were two other acts before Neil and his band took the stage. First up was Liam Finn, Neil’s son, who did a quick set of three songs on his own, singing, playing guitar, going crazy on the drums, and waving his wa-wa joystick about. It was innovative, creative, and slightly manic.
Second on stage was Pete Yorn, who started on his own with an acoustic number before bringing the rest of his band on for a fun set, in which he played the drums as his drummer had been “detained at the border”. The songs were upbeat and foot-tappingly good, and rounded off nicely by a rendition of Elvis’ Suspicious Minds.
Finally Crowded House came on stage to a standing ovation and launched straight into a couple of their hit songs, before settling back for a few less well known (to me anyway) numbers. In the breaks between songs the band joked with each other and with the audience, about lederhosen and Avant Garde underwear, breakfast in the John and Yoko suite, empty front row seats and whether or not they’d been to Montreal before.
Towards the end of the set they got the crowd on their feet before two encores, finishing the evening with an audience sing-a-long of Take the Weather With You.
I’m always very cynical about concert encores, especially when the band are so obviously guaranteed to be coming back, whatever the audience does. It’s even more obvious when the roadies bring on new pieces of set after the band have “said goodnight”. But the encores got the crowd going, and the concert finished very nicely with a group bow from the band before they all ran to the front of the stage to shake hands with the front row of the audience and Nick Seymour made comments to audience members further back.
So, despite not being a big fan, I enjoyed the concert. We had good seats, about 13 rows back with a clear view, despite the 6′ tall guy who sat in front of me at one point before switching places with his shorter friend. It’s always a pleasure to see a band obviously having fun and making an effort to interact with the audience, and the music was pretty good too.
May 2, 2007 at 10:15 am · Filed under Family+Friends, Montreal, Pubquiz, Toastmasters
Last night after work I headed over to El Diablo Rojo, a tapas bar on Peel for a very pleasant evening with my fellow Toastmasters. There was free beer and free food and good company, what else could I ask for? The food didn’t seem very tapas-like but it was still good. Who knew beef and bananas would be a good combination? The beer was the non-spanish quebecois favourite Maudite and was stronger than I realized. The company had me discussing gaming, the UK, domain names, Facebook and craigslist and made me totally lose track of time until Jen called at 8:05 to ask why I wasn’t at quiz yet.
I dashed over to Hurley’s to arrive midway through round one of the quiz to join Jen and our other teammates, Marie-Jo and her Scottish beau Jonathan. We didn’t win the quiz but we had fun trying, and everyone now knows I want to have John Cusack’s babies.
April 27, 2007 at 2:17 pm · Filed under Food, Montreal
If you love Indian food, there is an Indian food fair tomorrow (Saturday 28th April) night from five until ten pm at Lucien Page School (8200 St-Laurent corner Jarry).
They have the fair every year, and we went a couple of years ago so I can speak from personal experience when I say that the food is delicious and varied (although all or almost all vegetarian) and very different from anything you get in the average Montreal Indian restaurant.
Most booths sell their wares for one or two dollars per portion.
April 3, 2007 at 8:51 am · Filed under Montreal
One more annoyance about being a cyclist in Montreal is having your bike stolen on its first day out of the basement.
To the thieves: Thanks for carefully removing both my locks, relocking them and leaving them on the ground for me to find when I got out of work. Wankers.
April 2, 2007 at 8:47 am · Filed under Montreal
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As the weather has improved slightly, the temperature has risen above zero (just), and the snow has almost disappeared, I figured it was time to start cycling to work. Yesterday I dug my bike out of the basement, pumped up the tyres and went for a quick jaunt around the block to make sure everything was functioning correctly (I didn’t want to discover my brakes were broken halfway down Mount Pleasant).
It rained in the night, which almost put me off, but I braved the elements and headed out on my bike this morning. I had forgotten about the annoyances of being a cyclist in Montreal:
- Potholes - They sneak up on you so you have to take wild swerving actions when you spot one two feet from your front wheel.
- Motorists - Montreal drivers have zero respect for cyclists, giving you no room whatsoever as they hurtle by. They also have a habit of turning right without checking behind them for cyclists.
- Lights - I think I caught every red light along Sherbrooke Street, and I even stopped at most of them.
- Cold - Yes it was above zero, but I still should’ve had gloves.
- Racks - Apparently the Montreal city council deem April 1st to be too early to be out on your bike, so there are no bike racks yet. I had to lock my bike up against a parking meter.
March 20, 2007 at 8:30 am · Filed under Montreal
Here are a couple of views from my walk to work this morning. Commuting has never felt so good.
No, I didn’t leave a book up there.
March 12, 2007 at 7:58 am · Filed under Family+Friends, Montreal
When my family were visiting, we should’ve taken them here for drinks, they would’ve loved it!
March 8, 2007 at 9:43 am · Filed under Montreal
Montreal has been throwing it’s worst weather at me to challenge my pledge to walk to and from work every day, but I will not be beaten! Well ok, I was beaten once when stinging snow was flying in my face, but apart from that one day I’ve walked to and from work every day in these arctic temperatures.
Today I did a bit of speed walking to see if I could break the 45 minute barrier. As I was speeding along Sherbrooke, past the Ritz, what should come on my ipod? None other than the Chariots of Fire theme by Vangelis. Inspired, I sprinted (well, walked even faster) the rest of the way. I arrived at work in 47 minutes and pretended my cell phone clock was fast.
March 6, 2007 at 11:12 am · Filed under Montreal, Pubquiz
It’s the first Tuesday of the month, which means it’s Quiz Night at Hurley’s Irish Pub.
Every month we have someone different hosting the quiz, and tonight that someone is me! I have eight categories of challenging trivia for you to enjoy with your beer and bar snacks.
Here’s a sneak peek at my categories:
- S is for Science
- M is for Music
- G is for Geography
- F is for Film
- H is for History (I can hear the groans already)
- L is for Literature
- T is for TV
- The Mystery Category
I will also be setting a challenge at the start of the quiz, to be completed by the end of the quiz.
So come join us tonight at 8pm, upstairs at Hurley’s on Crescent below St Catherine. Don’t worry if you don’t have a team, we can always find a team for you to join.
February 9, 2007 at 1:41 pm · Filed under Montreal
Montreal is, allegedly, the sex capital of North America. We have sex shops, we have adult nurseries, we have a red light district of sorts, and of course we have the strip clubs.
On my short walk along St Catherine Street, I walk past at least four of the strip clubs. Each one usually has a guy standing outside trying to entice people to come in. Usually it’s something inane like “lovely girls inside”, but occasionally they get a bit more creative.
Here are two that have been yelled at me recently (I’m sure these are being yelled at all the guys who go by, or do I just look like a potential strip club customer?):
We’ve got tits and clits and jiggly bits, come inside!
Come on in, you won’t be a loner and you might get a boner!
