Month: November 2005

The wicked witch is, well, not dead, as such. Seriously ill, perhaps. I’m sure I heard the witch sneeze.
Thanks to an overwhelming non-confidence vote yesterday evening, Canadians are headed to the polls in January. We are, by and large, nonplussed.
These are our candidates. I generously did not use the Village People Harper picture, but I am not above including it as a popup.
Why is this election special? Because it serves no purpose whatsoever, other than ridding Montreal streets of mayoral election posters to make room for federal election posters. Chances are, two months from now, there will be a minority Liberal government. With Paul Martin at the helm. With Layton on board to provide NDP support. And Harper across the floor. Near Duceppe.
Plus ca change…

The end of the semester is two weeks away.
Needless to say, I’m planning a serious revamp of the old blog look, a good top-to-bottom cleaning of the house, a long-awaited alphabetization of the DVD collection…
I’m trying to get all my outstanding corrections taken care of this weekend in anticipation of getting a slew of final papers, grammar tests and exam papers in a matter of days. So I’m plowing through a pile of essays this afternoon.
Heidi is helping.

…or, revenge of the jasmine
For the last three summers, I have optimistically bought a jasmine plant for the garden, with the intention of wintering the plant inside. Each summer, the plant has done reasonably well outside, so that every once in a while on a warm summer evening, a lovely waft of jasmine-scented air drifts across the patio. The last two winters, however, have spelled doom for Jasmine.
Apparently, this year I got it right. I brought in this year’s jasmine about three weeks ago. I washed off the pot, gave the plant some water, and gave it a week to get used to its new spot in the living room window before feeding it last weekend.
On Sunday, there were buds all over it, and I was excited.
On Monday, there was an open blossom, and I was thrilled.
On Tuesday, there was a lovely waft of jasmine-scented air from the two or three open blossoms. (Seriously, I walked in the door Tuesday evening and thought suspiciously to myself “what the heck? Why does it smell so good in here? Has someone been cleaning??”) I was ecstatic.
On Wednesday, the plant was in full bloom, and the lovely waft of jasmine-scented air practically knocked me over – in the hallway. An hour after I got home, I was nauseous. By suppertime I was popping Advil for the headache. By 7:30, I made Dr. T. relocate the plant to the guest room, where it will live until it’s finished flowering.
Oh, and now the gardenia is budding…

You know you’re a Montrealer when you are the World Scrabble Champion.
Adam Logan is the latest Montrealer to take the title – following in the venerable footsteps of Dave Boys* (WSC 1995) and Joel Wapnick (1999). In the history of the World Championships, there have been 8 champions, three of them from Montreal – and one other Canadian, to boot. Considering that there are players from about 40 countries, that’s a pretty impressive record.
*DB, of course, is also a new daddy, but still managed to place 7th.

Yes, you are fine around others. Fine. But you wish you could have just a *little* more alone time. Okay, well, a lot more alone time. In fact, you’d be happier if you didn’t have to go out nearly as much. You get along very well with the period, who tries mightily to take up as much of the load as he can. But fools will not listen. You want to scream, “Cut it out, for the love of Safire!” But, all of that notwithstanding, you do your duty. And, if sometimes you feel like a Chicago street hooker, you also remember that you really do have an important role to play. Your soul remains pure. Hold your head high!
The Which Punctuation Mark Are You Test written by Gazda on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test
Via Magnificent Octopus

Last March, I started compiling a list of things that identify a true Montrealer. The list generated a number of clever additions from the loyal readers, and the end result still makes me giggle.
Imagine my surprise when I opened the Gazette this morning and read Mike Boone’s column:

Put on your Canadiens tuque and check out this email from expat Evan Wiener, who is living in Raleigh, N.C. (A long way from home, but at least he’s watching decent hockey.)

You know you’re a Montrealer when:

You pronounce it “Muntreal,” not “Mahntreal.”

Your only concern about jaywalking is the possibility of getting a ticket…

Yes, folks, my list has been lifted. The irony is that I am (1) not an ex-pat but an actual, current resident and (2) a Gazette subscriber. Ah well, at least the laughter is getting passed along!
If you missed the list the first time around, please take a moment – and feel free to add your own “you know you’re a Montrealer when…” in the comments.

And I quote:
The blogger’s philosophy goes something like this:
Everything that I think about is more fascinating than the crap in your head.
Scott Adams’ blog.