Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The jobhunt is open (again)

Ok, some of you may have heard already: I am leaving CSC (my current job). Not that I really have a new job (yet), but I was just so sick and tired of this job, the company, the nightshifts. I mean, it's kinda difficult to keep motivated for something you hate doing. Especially if your bank account can back you up for a while, so I quit! The exact reasons for me disliking the company can't be published on my blog (since I signed this big secrecy contract and since it's an American company they'll probably sue the shirt of my back for breach of contract), but I'll be happy to explain all the details in a tete-a-tete.

Actually the story is a bit more complicated. I did a couple of good interviews at a cool webdesign agency and they wanna hire me, but not just right now. I think they're waiting for some big contract-deal going down. Unfortunately, I got a mail yesterday that the whole thing is on hold for an undetermined amount of time. So carefully reading between lines: I gotta get myself a new job! Which is a shame really, coz I would've loved working for them, but I guess I shouldn't wait for things happening on their side. (But why do interviews if there is no real job opening?)

Anyway, that means I'll be unemployed *again* and I can start worrying about finding a job all over again. In fact, I did another interview last week, that I miraculously screwed up coz I was too sleepy, not alert enough and wasn't able to show my enthousiasm for the beautiful metier of advertising and my passion for the business and how I'd love to work for their boite. But the blame is on CSC, because if it wouldn't have been for their "Night of the living dead"-shifts, I would've been my normal, bright, stunning me ... Ah well .... we'll see, maybe it wasn't all that bad after all. Carpe diem and some other freaky positive new age shit (did I hear Bond Zonder Naam??)

Good thing about me being home again, is that I can take care of more things around the house. Tinneke seems to be getting in a very stressy final months of work/study at university where she needs to finish a lot of papers, presentations and projects. So she really feels relieved as well that I can take some of the physical duties upon me and give her full moral support instead of hanging in the couch like an ol' grumpy Bigfoot.

So these are my last couple of days at the company, and Tinneke and I will be celebrating this fresh start by an unwinding weekend in Les Laurentides with fine dining, winter fun and lying around the fireplace with a nice glass of Single Malt. So this will recharge our batteries for all the stuff to come.

And 2,5 months from now, we'll be visiting the mothercountry. EE phone home! So I guess we should get our agenda's out and start planning who to see when, coz it'll most likely be a very busy 2 weeks stay. We'll be in Belgium from May 15 until June 3. Tinneke is probably flying down a couple of days earlier for a seminar in Brussels.

And so since, it was my last couple of days, I thought: let's do the utmost Canadian thing for breakfast: let's go to
Tim Hortons. (founded by a Canadian hockey star) So I went for a large coffee double-double (that's coffee lingo for double sugar, double milk), a Timatin (a breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese and a sausage) and a maple syrup glazed donut filled with cream. Their coffee was crap and only lukewarm, the "sandwich" was kinda like an applejack without the apple, very buttery. It kinda looks like a hamburger, coz the so-called "sausage" is actually a burger that tastes like a sausage, or should taste like one, coz the omelette, the processed orange chemical cheese and the sausage where kinda fighting for the Blandness Award, coz I couldn't distinguish if I was eating the cheese now or the egg or the sausage. So after I gobbed the whole thing down, without mustard or ketchup to mask the taste, I thought the donut would bring some highlights to the very disappointing start. But after the wasteland the Timatin left because of the nuclear warfare with my tastebuds, the donut just sought its way to my intestins, not leaving a very lasting impression. Soon after that nausea, upset stomach, and indigestion started kicking in. Time for Pepto Bismol!!

Monday, February 26, 2007

And the Oscar goes to ...

One of the good things about living on this side of the ocean is that I don't need to get out of my bed in the middle of the night to watch the Oscars ...

But then again, I never ever did. As a matter of fact, I used to be a real movie buff, but with all these transatlantic moves, nightjobs and what else I can use as a poor excuse not too move my lazy butt to the nearest movie theatre, I haven't seen any of the nominated films. Good thing is, most of them are already released on DVD here, so I guess I am gonna do an Oscar Night of my own.

Best film: The Departed by Martin Scorcese??? Gimme a break, a film that's a remake?? I mean, the original Hong-Kong "Infernal Affairs" really kicked ass, and ... Heck, what am I talking about? I haven't seen it, so I am in no position to pass judgement.

To be continued ... (for sure)

For now: counting the days to our snowfun weekend in Les Laurentides! To all: please send an e-mail to Tinneke minimizing the risk of snowboarding! And don't gimme that cr*p that it's lethal. You have far more chance of dying by crossing a street.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

W.E.E.K.E.N.D. it's weekend!

This is how we party in Montréal!

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Our old new flat

So the whole painting/renovating things is done .... lookin' gooooooooooooood!!! (as Cat of Red Dwarf would say ... don't know Red Dwarf .... it's a cult Britisch sci-fi comedy of the late 80ies) Here are the piccies!


Before: me, working my ass off.


Before: me again, busting my balls


Before: our new IKEA furniture safely tucked away


After: behold ye mortal the dining area


After: for da bedroom (action)


After: our pimped living room (notice the guitar rack)


After: la cuisine, the most sacred place of the house

Monday, February 19, 2007

Where does all the snow go?

Long time since my last post, it seems ...

Well, I'm back on night shifts and that sucks my energy away ... But not for a very long time anymore...

Anyway, Montreal (to be precise other parts of the USA and Canada) was hit by some serious snowstorms last week, and we had 40cm of snow and -30 degrees. Fun fun!

So if a little bit of salt don't keep the roads clean, especially at -30 (it turns it into an ice capade), snow plows can. Some of the snow of it is piled up at the sidewalk, so there is a small walking area and then some 50cm high snow barrier that separates the sidewalk from the road. On parking lots, the snow is piled up into meters high heaps of snow. But on the roads ... well, it just has to get scooped up and taken of. But I was wondering of course, where do those truckloads of snow go to?? Tinneke said it was probably dumped in the St Lawrence River, but I know that's not true coz that snow is heavily polluted and salted from defrosting and it would damage the river's eco-system. So I went on a little quest on the internet and I've learned that the snow is taken to a water treating plant where it is first filtered and eventually released into the river.

if you wanna know more about snow removal in Montreal, check this out. Actually, I could have a very promising future her in snow plowing ;-). No lumberjacking for me, Snowplowing is the real deal!

And to give you some idea how distorted my head is: have you ever wondered why Bananas and Ananas are only different by one letter but still so different fruit wise? I just can't wrap my head around it. Any ideas? There has to be some ethymological explanation...

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

BREAKING NEWS

Avenue du Parc will stay Avenue du Parc. Mayor Tremblay of Montreal has abandonned the plan to rename after Robert Bourassa.

More information


This to parody all the breaking news that isn't so breaking at all. But this is of course to some interest to us, coz we live on Parc Avenue, and the name chane was completely ridiculous and not very democratic. No public hearing was ever held to consult the locals. And for Parc Avenue, the locals were the first Greek immigrants seeking a better life. As soon as opposition rose against the name change, the mayor persevered his madness, despite members of his own party not fully supporting the motion. Finally he backed of ... or at least that is the official story.

Ok, if you're still reading this, you might wonder who the heck is this Robert Bourassa fella? Why try to explain if we have a good knowledgable friend WIKI P. !.

Reading between the lines of the whole story, it's of course just politics. The mayor tried to push something through to make a point that would make him more appreciated. And so when the never expected fierce opposition rose, he could not give in to it, coz a leader showing weakness is not worth being a leader. In the meantime, his decision needed to be approved by the Provincial Toponymy Commission. And while they kept on stalling their verdict, it stirred even more uproar. The Bourrassa family were very sad about the whole controversy and disapproved the unilateral decision of the mayor. And I guess after some provincial pressure, pressure from his own party, Bourrassa's family not supporting the idea and a recent outburst of critics of the president of Tourisme Montreal saying that MTL is filthy and the city is not doing enough, add the local elections in a couple of months, I guess Tremblay decided he was not willing to take that heat anymore and to drop the renaming. Because isn't a true leader, someone who listens to the public and not afraid of admitting he was wrong? Irony, oh irony, where shall I be without sweet irony!

You see politics, wherever you go, it's all the same bollocks. Whether it's some mayor looking for re-election or Flemish politicians wanting a francophone prime minister so they have something to trade for more regional responsibilities.

Toconclude: why do I care so much? And why should you, dear reader, take the smallest amount of interest in petty local Quebecois politics? Coz I was interviewed by CTV on the issue, and finally the first step is taken of my way to Canadian Stardom!! ;-p

READ THIS FIRST: for those out there not very interested in local politics, just a small note. When the president of Tourism Montreal said that MTL was a filthty place and thus the reason why tourists are staying away, I can guarantee that BXL and A'pen are worse. But gotta admit, a city without wildpissing, isn't a real city. (Trust me, I've done my share already!)

Sunday, February 04, 2007

WARM <-> COLD

Some people think -2 Celsius is cold .... well the past couple of days instead of the regular -18 degrees outside we were treated with a couple of sunny, mild and snowy days of just below zero. It kinda feels like summer. People are not wearing their gloves and hat anymore, walking around straight up, instead of tucked deeply away in their coats, coats are open, etc. I even saw a woman brave enough wearing a skirt showing some real naked legflesh!! So warm or cold, it's how you look at it.

A couple of funny things I saw this weekend: a bulldog wearing special dogshoes for walking in the snow and a stripper in fuck-me-boots and a fur coat shoveling snow in front of the stripclub! That girl's gotta work for a living ...

Still working in the flat, next week it'll all be over, my nightshifts start again after that (not looking forward to it :-( and this month I'm gonna buy turntables, JBL-speakers, an LCD-television (if I can convince Tinneke .... wait a sec .... right, I am the one bringing in all the dough, so I guess I CAN DECIDE WHATEVER I WANT ;-p ), a new bottle of Single Malt (If ya get a chance, sample Highland Park!!), go eat @ HELM ( a brewpub/resto around the corner), buy our iron bird tickets for our "holidays" in good ol' Belgique and book a cosy little B & B somewhere in Les Laurentides for some hardcore wintersport!

Oh yeah, we went to see Baptiste and Ian Kelly on friday on Théatre Corona, a beautiful 19th century theatre. Unfortunately we were too late for the full set of Baptiste. Guess I've gotten so used to bands starting too late ... but though luck, this one didn't ... oh well, that's life .... There will be no next time!

LMOTP

'Little Mosque on the Prairie' episodio très aquí!!