Sorry for the unimaginative title and the shortness of this message; I just wanted to give a brief update before more things occur and my post ends up being monstrous.
On Monday, I did go in for work at the grocery store and the training & work were fantastic. My availability, however, was not what my boss thougth it was and therefore I couldn't maintain the position. This is sad but I did get a call from Canadian Tire this evening in response to my demande d'emploi so I will hopefully get a po-to-the-isition with them.
That's it fer now!
Wednesday, 25 May 2005
Sunday, 22 May 2005
Montreal Project 2005
To-day marks the fourteenth day I have been away from Ontario on a summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ. Two weeks is a long time to hear French everyday. I like French but I don't necessarily like speaking French to people whose first language is French. If anyone else around here is as meticulously anal as I am with the use of their first language, then I'm in trouble. However, I have faith that, in no time flat, I will start to get the hang of this.
On Monday I am going to be trained at a grocery store called "Les 5 Saisons" which will hopefully be sweet!-a-la-sweet. I am both scared and excited. I am excited to be working, especially at a grocery store. However, I am concerned that I might not do well. The impression that I recieved, upon hiring was that there were very high standards for the cashiers at this place. Oh well. If I do my best, I can't lose. I hope the Francophone patrons will be patient with me.
Last night we (about 20 projectees) went to a jazz club called Upstairs. We waitied about 56 hours to be seated but I personally say it was worth the wait. The 3,50$ drink, on the other hand, I am not so sure about. But there we are. There was a pianist, a bassist and a percussionist. Guess which musician had all of my attention for the duration of their set? It's a shame that I was seated directly behind him and couldn't see his hands most of the time. My eyes started to hurt after a while because I had been staring for so long. It was good, it was very good. The phrase I used to describe how I felt afterwards was, "I feel like I just got hit by a train." For every second they played, I was trying desperately to listen; to identify what I was hearing (the pitch, the rhythm, the fingering, the shape of the piece); to imagine the pianists hands; and mostly to learn. I think that's where the train wreck feeling comes in: I tried to internalize all that I heard and that was taxing. The first song they played was a composition by the pianist that was in 5/4 time. <-- This entertains me. The second song was a Miles Davis piece but I don't remember its title. While listening, I was brought back to the days of my ESA theory class where we analyzed songs according to metre, color, dynamics - everything. I would love to tell you all of my observations but I would bore you. Let me just say that I was totally riveted and my jaw did drop a time or two (and this was without seeing his hands!). It was a YAMAHA baby grand.... and he used the left pedal like I have never seen. It was exciting. The night before that (Friday) we watched a Quebecois film called, "The Seduction of Dr Lewis." It was awesome & fantastic. After that, a Euchre party somehow organized itself in our appartment. My table played until 4. I am still disgusted. But, we did win 3 of 6 games and I am OK with that. (It was technically 3 out of 5 but some people count a shutout for two matches. Ahem.) On Saturday, we did some outreaching in China town and at two other metro stations in the city (Cote-de-Neige and Mont-Royal). This week we were offering people "JESUS" DVDs. (I've never seen the film but apparently most of the entire globe has.) The team I was part of was in charge of handing out flyers for a screening we offered in a Chinese church of the JESUS film. This was hard for me, ladies & gentlemen, I won't lie. At the end of the day, I did feel as though I had copped out a bit because it's hard to talk to complete strangers and offer them the most offensive idea ever. There is also a big part of me that says, "You're bothering people," "You're infringing on their space," "They're busy..." It's hard to get rid of that part of me and I'm not entirely sure I'd like to lose that mechanism. Anyways, it wasn't a complete bust and I believe things will get better week by week. Here's a brief detail about my roomates: Hiukei is still in school (here at McGill) for the summer. She just completed her undergraduate degree and is now following a one-year program in psychology. She is one of those people that will quietly utter, "You're not going to sleep to-night," and you are not sure if you should take her seriously or not. (She did say that to me - rightfully so - after the first time I called her "Hiukei Piukei.") I would definitely describe Hiukei as pleasant. She does what she needs to do and doesn't make bones about anything. She seems also to have a good handle on what her strengths and weaknesses are. 9 out of 10. Just kidding. 8. Sara goes to school at Briercrest College in Saskatchewan but hails from Windsor which means I don't her red-and-white blood. She just finished her first year and joined the project on a whim. To date, I have seen approximately four distinct sides of Sara and I hope they never stop showing themselves. There's the time-to-be-serious-about-God side; there's the oh-I'm-flustered side; there's the I-just-met-you-and-you-scare-me side; and finally the I-am-Sara-hear-me-roar side. Guess which one's my favorite. I would like to try to describe the last facet but it's very difficult. Part of it is that her though-speech filter is extremely coarse, part of it is her observational sarcastic humor, part of it is the unpredictability and part of it is her blunt self-narration ("Wow, I am totally embarrased." or "Wow, I am so rude.") The dead-panning tone is also great. I'll write when I write.. enjoy what you can. Any posts outside the month of May will be unrelated to MTL project and of little interest. Viewer discretion is advised. P.S. I saw the Bell Centre. :D I didn't see the actual stadium yet but I saw a sign in one of the metro stations that had the Habs emblem and I stopped in my tracks. My face went BZOING!! and I started fidgeting, trying to come up with an excuse to steer my travel partner's path in a different direction. We made it to the connecting tunnel and then we had to turn around. I am saddened by this. Did I mention that I have been to the all the current Canadian NHL team cities? Yes, I have (only since this summer) and I want that stinkin Bell Centre!
On Monday I am going to be trained at a grocery store called "Les 5 Saisons" which will hopefully be sweet!-a-la-sweet. I am both scared and excited. I am excited to be working, especially at a grocery store. However, I am concerned that I might not do well. The impression that I recieved, upon hiring was that there were very high standards for the cashiers at this place. Oh well. If I do my best, I can't lose. I hope the Francophone patrons will be patient with me.
Last night we (about 20 projectees) went to a jazz club called Upstairs. We waitied about 56 hours to be seated but I personally say it was worth the wait. The 3,50$ drink, on the other hand, I am not so sure about. But there we are. There was a pianist, a bassist and a percussionist. Guess which musician had all of my attention for the duration of their set? It's a shame that I was seated directly behind him and couldn't see his hands most of the time. My eyes started to hurt after a while because I had been staring for so long. It was good, it was very good. The phrase I used to describe how I felt afterwards was, "I feel like I just got hit by a train." For every second they played, I was trying desperately to listen; to identify what I was hearing (the pitch, the rhythm, the fingering, the shape of the piece); to imagine the pianists hands; and mostly to learn. I think that's where the train wreck feeling comes in: I tried to internalize all that I heard and that was taxing. The first song they played was a composition by the pianist that was in 5/4 time. <-- This entertains me. The second song was a Miles Davis piece but I don't remember its title. While listening, I was brought back to the days of my ESA theory class where we analyzed songs according to metre, color, dynamics - everything. I would love to tell you all of my observations but I would bore you. Let me just say that I was totally riveted and my jaw did drop a time or two (and this was without seeing his hands!). It was a YAMAHA baby grand.... and he used the left pedal like I have never seen. It was exciting. The night before that (Friday) we watched a Quebecois film called, "The Seduction of Dr Lewis." It was awesome & fantastic. After that, a Euchre party somehow organized itself in our appartment. My table played until 4. I am still disgusted. But, we did win 3 of 6 games and I am OK with that. (It was technically 3 out of 5 but some people count a shutout for two matches. Ahem.) On Saturday, we did some outreaching in China town and at two other metro stations in the city (Cote-de-Neige and Mont-Royal). This week we were offering people "JESUS" DVDs. (I've never seen the film but apparently most of the entire globe has.) The team I was part of was in charge of handing out flyers for a screening we offered in a Chinese church of the JESUS film. This was hard for me, ladies & gentlemen, I won't lie. At the end of the day, I did feel as though I had copped out a bit because it's hard to talk to complete strangers and offer them the most offensive idea ever. There is also a big part of me that says, "You're bothering people," "You're infringing on their space," "They're busy..." It's hard to get rid of that part of me and I'm not entirely sure I'd like to lose that mechanism. Anyways, it wasn't a complete bust and I believe things will get better week by week. Here's a brief detail about my roomates: Hiukei is still in school (here at McGill) for the summer. She just completed her undergraduate degree and is now following a one-year program in psychology. She is one of those people that will quietly utter, "You're not going to sleep to-night," and you are not sure if you should take her seriously or not. (She did say that to me - rightfully so - after the first time I called her "Hiukei Piukei.") I would definitely describe Hiukei as pleasant. She does what she needs to do and doesn't make bones about anything. She seems also to have a good handle on what her strengths and weaknesses are. 9 out of 10. Just kidding. 8. Sara goes to school at Briercrest College in Saskatchewan but hails from Windsor which means I don't her red-and-white blood. She just finished her first year and joined the project on a whim. To date, I have seen approximately four distinct sides of Sara and I hope they never stop showing themselves. There's the time-to-be-serious-about-God side; there's the oh-I'm-flustered side; there's the I-just-met-you-and-you-scare-me side; and finally the I-am-Sara-hear-me-roar side. Guess which one's my favorite. I would like to try to describe the last facet but it's very difficult. Part of it is that her though-speech filter is extremely coarse, part of it is her observational sarcastic humor, part of it is the unpredictability and part of it is her blunt self-narration ("Wow, I am totally embarrased." or "Wow, I am so rude.") The dead-panning tone is also great. I'll write when I write.. enjoy what you can. Any posts outside the month of May will be unrelated to MTL project and of little interest. Viewer discretion is advised. P.S. I saw the Bell Centre. :D I didn't see the actual stadium yet but I saw a sign in one of the metro stations that had the Habs emblem and I stopped in my tracks. My face went BZOING!! and I started fidgeting, trying to come up with an excuse to steer my travel partner's path in a different direction. We made it to the connecting tunnel and then we had to turn around. I am saddened by this. Did I mention that I have been to the all the current Canadian NHL team cities? Yes, I have (only since this summer) and I want that stinkin Bell Centre!
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