T-day 2

Hello blog readers!

This weekend was fun; unfortunately fun tends to be unproductive.

Got a lovely care package from G&G! Awesome tuque (what they call the warm winter hats here), merci beaucoup. Also, the Utah chocolate and other goodies were much appreciated. I feel so spoiled, I think the place where I pick up packages knows my face by now.

Had my last full day of French class this Thursday, have an oral exam this coming Thursday, and turn in my play. Next week I have the French final and then I'm through with my semester.

Friday, I met with my group for playwriting and got a little bit done, had dinner with Graham in China Town, and saw a one man theatre piece based on the same story that Tom Hanks film, The Terminal, is based on.

Last night our house hosted American Thanksgiving as an excuse to pig out. G&G - we used that red white a blue USA scarf as a banner. Among other things there was turkey, taters, mussels, risotto, quiche, and lots of desert. Because our place is so small we opened up the divide between Tim's room and mine. I didn't think we'd be able to fit that many people but it totally worked with all Tim's floor pillows. Plus it made for a fairly intimate gathering because we were all sort of forced to lounge around and talk. It was very special for me. I was happy to say how thankful I was to have a good portion of the people I made friends with here all in one room.




This evening we had dinner at Tim's moms house. DELICIOUS pasta with mushrooms and tomatoes. Tiramisu for desert. YUM. We were entertained by his little cousin Tina who drew pictures of everyone and sang for us. Haven't been around kids in a while, or in a car so that was nice being in the suburbs for a bit.

Well, I'm very sleepy so I'll be signing off now. Apparently it's supposed to snow tonight! This November really hasn't been bad. Mostly sunny, cold, a little bit of rain. But I want my white christmas.

Fiya

This is an old image but I really love it. It's a photo I took from our rooftop when the trees were still full of fall leaves.

This one is on our balcony and an accurate depiction of the trees now.

I'm about to leave for a class at the Y but I just wanted to do my check in. I figure if I keep up one a week I'm in good shape and I missed last weekend.

Two more weeks of school! Yeyeyeyey!

All I've got left is studying hardcore for my final French exam and working on the rewrite of my play before the final class date. I can't believe my first semester here is almost over but I'm glad for it because I've needed a break.

Last week I invited a bunch of people over and then we headed over to Divan Orange. There were two French bands playing at the venue and both were very cute and dancey so it was well worth the evening. The first band dressed as sailors and the second band had three saxophone players.

On Sunday I checked out a show I've been waiting for with Ryan and Emilia. We saw the band tUnE-YaRdS and The Dirty Projectors. I didn't know the last band too well but they were pretty fun; however, I went for the first one. Merrill Garbus is the lady behind the music. She loops sounds and beats right in front of you and has a powerful voice that vibrates to your core. Just check her out for yourself on her myspace - she's well worth a listen. I went to buy a CD after but they were sold out. She was there so I said something lame like, "hey, that was really great!"

Hello Sunshine

It's been beautiful and sunny all day so I was hanging out on our balcony to soak it all up. I feel tons better: I joined the YMCA so I could take some classes and keep in shape, and I'm much more calm about classes now that things have sort of settled.

Graham helped me study for my last French test and it made a huge difference! I think I'll repay him in food as I'll need his help for the final.

We had another burrito dinner yesterday. Really hit the spot, as I've been craving, of all things, Taco Bell. At least we made a healthy, more authentic version of the stuff. I've kept up the vegetarian eating since summer and I just realized it's been about 6 months! Go me, but something about the 6 month mark is making me really crave greasy meat. I'll admit I ate the lard created refried beans that Morris made. I just couldn't help it, the craving was too strong.

This weekend I also reunited with some friends I haven't seen in a month. It was really nice because they're some of the first people I met here and we all really bonded over trying to find housing together.

Nothing much else to report. Grandpa sent me the second installment of Proust's In Search of Lost Time - sometimes all I want to do is curl up and read it until I'm through. I'm glad it's come in time for winter, it will make the snow all the more beautiful as I make my way through his page long sentences.

This week I'm going to see the Waterhouse exhibit at one of the art galleries in Montreal and I'm going to have to go to a theatre performance or two in order to write my review for class. La vie! J'aime Montreal!

Write a Novel

I've been pretty sick lately, not sure if I had swine or what, but I've got a pretty awful hacking cough and residual sleepiness from sleeping too much.

I rested up so that I could at least dress up for Halloween, though. Look how cheap I was! (Is it weird that I'm always excited for my thriftiness) Found an umbrella lying around outside and turned it into a bat costume. Here is me hanging with Heather (dressed as an apocalypse goddess - can't remember the name), street fighter: Chun Lee, and swine flu.

My hard drive keeps warning me it's going to crash. It's pretty weird turning on my computer and getting a message of its impending death. At least it's warning me. The people at tech support said there is nothing I can do, that my lap top is just nearing the end of its life. No sympathy from the man behind the counter, no words of comfort, just a cool glance and the assurance that I better not get too attached. I should take what I can from it and save all the memories it has elsewhere.

Unlike a beloved pet though, I'd really like a new computer. It's just not really something I want to spend the time and money on. Especially because I just lost my phone as well.

This month is NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month! http://www.nanowrimo.org/ is a month designated to writing a novel of at least 50,000 words. It's about quantity not quality, which is kind of assuring. Write like mad and then go back after to refine, if you like. So I'm gonna do it. I don't know why it isn't called international writing month. I think it originates in the states but it's open to anyone.

Waaachaaa! Unfortunately, in the mix of it I'll probably have a dead computer on my hands. Here is something I miss about Sonoma: readily available computers. Not so much at Concordia. Too many students everywhere to provide for that. Plus, campus is pretty far from where I am so I'm never that interested in heading over if it isn't school related.