Epiphanies Are Great

While on the phone with Dell, after fixing the computer, I was writing down the case number of the call when suddenly I realized: why the HELL do I have a Winnie the Pooh notebook?

How do you say poseur in French?

This past weekend I experienced Montreal for the first time and it was definitely a wonderful experience. There were, however, some things that I wish I could have changed. For example, when I went to the McDonald's in Dorion (a small suburb of Montreal) and went to order food. Here is the conversation I had with the worker there.

Me: Bonjour, Trios sept et huit, s'il vous plait.
Stupid McDonald's Worker: What?
Me: Sept et huit. (While pointing finger at the sign for combos)
SMW: What?
Me: Give me a combo seven and eight, please.

Now, by no means do I know French fluently but I think asking for combo seven and eight in French is pretty elementary. So after that, my confidence in my French was (wrongfully) shaken. Once we arrived in the small village where Ken's friend lives, my faith in my English wasn't very strong either. Here's a conversation I had with the worker at the local bakery.

Me: Hi, I'll have one cheese croissant and one chocolate.
Stupid Bakery Worker: Okay
Me: Oh, and can I have an orange juice too, please.
SBW: (Gives me a blank stare and says nothing)
Me: Orange...Juice?
SBW: (Continues to stare)
Me: Jus d'orange?

She still said nothing but she got me my orange juice. So, sure lots of things happened while I was in Quebec this past weekend but I seemed to learn that either I have no grasp on either of Canada's languages or they need to change the drinking water and/or mating habits in the countryside around Montreal.

Now that I've made my horrible ethnocentric comment, I'll continue on with the day. While Ken and co. went to the Warped Tour, Har and I went exploring through Montreal. We skipped Rue St. Catherine and its....er, shopping experience mostly because the majority of the shops were stores such as Thyme Maternity. I've never understood that about most people: they go on vacation somewhere else and then shop in stores that they have at home or they shop at places that basically carry the same things that are at home.

Anyway, I'm not about to list our itinerary for the whole day but I will just say that Har and I drank wine at 11:00 in the morning, ate poutine, bagels and fondue while there and also had the most beautiful waiter at the fondue restaurant. Unfortunately, we did not see Celine Dion but there were posters for Garou's new album everywhere we went. And by everywhere, I mean everywhere. I even saw one in a washroom I used.

Oh, and I got a shirt that says "Tabarnak!" It was the one time I allowed myself to be a horrible English person who buys a shirt that phonetically spells out a foreign swear word. And you all thought I wasn't white trash.

Musaq of my Heart

Well, I'm stumped for what to write today but I want to write SOMETHING. So here goes Volume Two of my revealing, tell-all music preferences. MSN Messenger has decided to install a feature in the music player that lets everyone on your MSN list know to which music you're currently listening. I used the feature for awhile mostly because my friends and I would laugh at the horrible music I had but I noticed that some people who use the feature seem to only listen to music that is either ridiculously snobby or, at the very least, bordering the label of "music snob." Of course, then I have friends who willingly announce to the whole world when they're listening to Paris Hilton's new single and, somehow, the world seems alright again. Anyway, here we go:

1) Goodbye To You - Michelle Branch. No, I'm not a teenager. And I'm not angst-ridden. And I certainly don't write high school poetry. Yet, despite all this, here is Michelle Branch on my playlist singing about losing love at the tender age of 19. I particularly enjoy how "the last three years have been pretend" for her. From 16-19, I was at the mall and playing video games, not mourning the loss of the love of my life. Oh well, now Michelle is married to some 40 year old and is half of a country music duo. Sounds like she should be mourning now.

2) Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson. Other than the horrible spelling, I love this song. Anyone who can't find some small amount of love for Kelly Clarkson is a monster in my books. A cold, unfeeling monster.

3) Kajre Re (Special Mix) - Bunty Aur Babli Soundtrack. Thanks to Hardika (well, and admittingly, Hanif Kureishi and Meera Syal as well) I have a new love for Bollywood. This particular song is from one Bollywood movie that is guilty of every stereotype (consciously, of course). This "Special Mix" is a sped-up version of the song in the movie and the video is exactly the same except it throws in clips of Aishwarya Rai's bare stomach dancing. Which reminds me of the Indian wedding I went to a few weeks ago. Two girls did a dance routine to some song (much to the chagrin of everyone on the bride's side) and, since I was so bored, I looked around and noticed that all of the "uncles" were watching rather intently. Proof that racism is unfounded: old men are perverts in every culture.

4) White Houses - Vanessa Carlton. As if Michelle Branch wasn't bad enough, I also have her evil twin, Vanessa Carlton. I just wish I knew what the hell Vanessa was singing about in this song. I think it's about her losing her virginity but she talks about living with five people at some point too. I hope that doesn't mean it happened in an orgy or something.

5) The Adventure - Angels & Airwaves. Wow. I'm almost cool. Well, I would be if I were 15 years old and had a lip piercing and jet black hair. Hey, isn't that how Jared Leto looks now? Ew, I just mentioned Jared Leto in my blog. I need to take a shower.

What I did while I didn't write in my blog

Nothing.

It's good to be back.