Oh my goodness... I nearly died today.

OK, so I wrote the title to be a little more catchy, but I am being a bit melodramatic. I didn't have a near death experience, except for going to the Step class at YMCA at 5:30 p.m., and it lasted until 6:30 p.m. Oh my goodness, during the middle of this class, I nearly died! But I ended up okay, and I walked out feeling better. I need to get back into the habit of doing step classes and hi-lo classes.

The instructor was a guy, good build, shorter than me, but kind of cute. But I have my eye on the guy at the counter. He winked at me today, when I was leaving. I don't know what that means... He's cute, I like him, but maybe he was winking at someone else behind me. And who knows, with my luck with men, he's probably straight. And playfully winking at me... Who knows.

I also got my Hydro Quebec bill today. I actually didn't use that much electricity, I was surprised, the electricity, without adding the $50 account creation fee came to about $29 with tax. So, I used about $25.50, which is what the previous tenant quoted me.

A quick note

I finally figured out the whole timing/time zone thing on blogger. I have now switched into the correct time zone. Starting with this post, everything will be in local time. But notice that blogger switched the times on all my posts, wow, the wonders of technology!

Trust the Man

Tonight, I went to a preview screening of the movie: Trust the Man, featuring David Duchovny, Billy Crudup, Julianne Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Eva Mendes.

The outline of the story is the two major couples of the story: Duchovny and Moore, and Crudup and Gyllenhaal, who have relationship problems. One of them are married, while the other one has been together for seven years. The story is about each of the men making a mistake, realizing it, and then making amends so that they can be with the women that they love.

It appears that every couple that was featured in this movie, except for Gyllenhaal's flings, were cheating. Do they not know what it means to be in a relationship, or to be married? I realize that sometimes, people have difficult keeping their eyes on their partner, and I also know that people do cheat. But every major couple in this movie cheated! What does this say about the society's perspective of a relationship?

Also, it raises an interesting question. If someone ever cheated on me in a relationship... How would I react? At first, I would think that the person would be out the door, and never get a second chance with me. However, after watching this movie, I think my stance has softened a bit... The person would get a second chance, but there would be some drastic changes! Of course, I hope that I never cheat on someone, and that someone never cheats on me. And I wish that no one would ever have to suffer the hurt of being cheated on, and possibly cheating on someone, but I know that this is far from an ideal world, and thus, cheating will go on.

I also tried to make some poutine tonight. The most important part of the poutine is the gravy. And my gravy was too watery. I have some of it left for future attempts (as I still have fries left in my fridge). Perhaps next time, I'll heat up the gravy first, to make it thicker, and then pour it over my fries, and cheese. I took the fancy route today, and I bought grated mozzarella cheese, and put it over my fries, and then put it in the oven. That's a good way to do it, and the cheese turned out well, it was just the gravy was too wet. Even though the poutine was not as good as it could have been, I am full, and I will go and do dishes.

I also walked out of the movie with posters for Trust the Man. I will put one up in my room, I will give one to my friend Laura. And then I think the third one will go to Gabriel, if he wants it. If not, I'm sure there will be other friends who will want the poster.

An Inconvenient Truth and Lady in the Water

Boy, do I have a treat for you today... I went and saw two films, and thus two reviews.

I saw the films in the order presented in the title, but I will review them in the reverse order, since the first film is clearly the better one.

The latest film by M. Night Shyamalan, Lady in the Water, did not get great reviews from most film critics. They found it confusing, and that it was a film that should not have been produced. Some people say that he has run out of originality, and that he really makes bad films. It was Sixth Sense that's a fluke, to have been a good one. Some people say that the reason why Disney didn't want to produce it was because it was confusing, and there was no story. I don't necessarily agree with that.

The premise of Lady in the Water is that Cleveland Heep (Giamatti) discovers Story - a narf (Howards), who is trying to go back to her world, after completing her mission. This story is about Heep trying to get Story back to her world safely, and in the process enlists the help of other people in the apartment complex. During the story, he also becomes confident with himself, and grows as a character. Of course, most people who know Shyamalan's work were very surprised that there wasn't a surprise twist in the story. The only thing that could be considered as such was when we discovered that Cleveland Heep was not the guardian, and that someone else was. (You'll have to watch the film to see who the guardian turned out to be). The story was not as bad as many critics claimed it to be. There were very few confusing parts, and perhaps the reason why many critics didn't like it was because Shyamalan wrote in a part about a film/book critic, but then ends up killing him off in it. That probably didn't resonate well with most critics. The film was beautifully shot, and Giamatti and Howards' acting was awesome! I believe that I will be adding this film to my DVD collection, when it comes out.

The other film I saw tonight was an Inconvenient Truth, which is a film that talks about global warming, and Al Gore's attempt to make people in the world aware of what direction we are going. Not only did I enjoy Al Gore's slideshow, I also enjoyed the way the information was presented about global warming, and even though it made me wonder about if we can do anything (this was later answered in the film), I went out of the film with hope that there is still time, and that we can fix this problem. I highly recommend you to go and watch this film, if you haven't already done so. You can also visit the site: http://www.climatecrisis.net to learn more about the film, global warming, and what you can do to help.

I also saw a trailer for the movie A Good Year, featuring Russell Crowe. I liked the trailer, because they used Alizée's song - Moi, Lolita in it. This usually means (though not always) that the song made it into the movie.

Patience is a virtue...

Last Friday, I asked Gabriel, whom I think is a nice guy, and is attractive to go to the preview screening of Trust the Man with me this Wednesday, since I have two passes. I just got an e-mail tonight from him telling me that he believe it's too tight. He works until 7:00 p.m., and he really doesn't think he can get to the cinema for 7:30 p.m., which is when the preview screening starts. He also told me that he's going to Toronto this coming Friday, so it'll be two Fridays before I see him again.

I'm not saying that he should make the movie, I mean, goodness. He works until 7:00 p.m., that is totally understandable. And when he told me that he works until 7:00 p.m., I was thinking that he wouldn't be able to make the film. I'm glad that he at least tried to ask his boss about what time he would be kept until, and the like. Maybe there will be other opportunities, who knows.

I just have to remain patient. Signs appear to be good, that he may be mutually interested. Patience, yes that's it... Patience...

My first aerobics class in French

Today was a real test of my language skills, as I gave my first aerobics class in French.

It was an interesting experience, but it appears that most of the students left satisfied, so that's a good thing.

I taught two classes today... One 1-hour aerobics class (floor hi-lo), and one 45 minute muscle training/conditioning class.

It went well, I'm not dead, but when I was walking up the stairs to my apartment, I had the thought of "Oh my god, these stairs will be the death of me." but obviously, I was being melodramatic, since I am typing this entry now.

I also had a friend who is attending the Montreal International Film Festival. Last year, he sent his reviews to his friends via e-mail, with e-mail address hidden of course. This year, he sent a mass e-mail about how he's going to put his reviews on a blog. He chose blogger, and the eery thing is, he chose the exact same template as me. Oh well.

I was so tempted to leave a message on his reviews, but I thought. Well, I can just IM him and tell him my comments. I don't need him and all his friends to read my comments.

Also, my friend Roman is off to St. Jean de Richelieu for his army training today. One step closer to being sent to Afghanistan...

Second Cup tonight

At Jeunesse lambda tonight, we had a historic tour of the village. This concluded at about 9:30 p.m., so we as a group then headed over to the terrace of Second Cup in the village.

While I was there, I had an orange-mango tea, and when I went to get some more hot water, I bumped into Claude. I was civil, and I said hi, but he was with a friend. At the end, when he left, he also came to say goodbye, and I wasn't upset, but it was a little bit challenging. Oh well, the step of saying goodbye to someone who dumped you is over. So, the next time, it'll be less difficult.

Gabriel, on the other hand, didn't have dreads this week, and he looked very cute with his outfit. He had these white shoes with his black dress pants, looked very sleek. Since I have preview passes to Trust the Man next week Wednesday, I decided to invite him. He told me that he's working on Wednesday until 7:00 p.m., but I told him that he could e-mail me with his decision. So, we'll see where this goes.

Regional misunderstandings of buses

I only thought that it was in Kingston that the bus drivers don't understand signals, but that is not the case, it is also the case in Montreal as well. Let me explain:

In Kingston, if you are running after a bus, with arms madly flailing in the air, this signal, to any normal person, would suggest that you want to get on the bus that you're running after, because in Kingston once you miss a bus, it's a minimum of a 15 minute wait for the next one that takes you to where you need to be. Realistically, it's a half hour, and that's if the bus that you wanted doesn't disappear into thin air.

And when I got to Montreal, I thought. OK, this is a bigger city, so the public transportation system should be more organized. And I am a lot happier with it, I mean I was thoroughly blown away by the metro system here... It is at least ten times better than the one in Toronto. And I also thought that the network of buses was very efficient. But, I was sadly disappointed today, because I realized that drivers don't understand a different kind of symbol.

I was waiting at a bus stop, for one bus in particular. However, at this bus stop, there are five or six routes that stop there. As each bus that came by, that I didn't want, I would signal to the drive with wild shaking of my head, and/or wild shaking of my hands that I did not want to get on that particular bus. However, time and time again, the driver would stop, look at me, see that I didn't want to get on the bus, and then move on. I mean, I could understand that if someone on the bus needed to get off at that particular stop, or if there were other people waiting at the stop with me. However, after the first bus that stopped, there was no one at the bus stop, except me.

In my opinion, my hands were shaking so evidently, that if I were any more evident, the tune of TLC - No Scrubs would start being played from my hands, or the guy from Karate Kid would come by and tell me, "No, you're not doing it properly... Wax on, wax off, like this."

And the reason why I went downtown this early on a Friday morning? Because I left my Nalgene water bottle somewhere, and I discovered it was at the photocopy place yesterday evening. So, I thought I would go to the business early in the morning (when it opened) to retrieve it. I am quite happy that I didn't lose my water bottle, and I am quite surprised (and grateful) that it was still there after at least twelve hours. I believe it's more like eighteen, since I went to the photocopy place at about 1:15 p.m. yesterday. Anyway, I'm just glad some dishonest didn't run off with my water bottle.

Pluto is no longer a planet...

Today, I read that scientists have removed Pluto's status as a planet, because the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has voted on August 16, 2006 on a new definition as to what a planet is. The definition is as follows: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit."

And since Pluto's orbit overlaps with Neptune, it is no longer a planet by this definition. It is however, a "dwarf planet", which is a category for minor planets.

I do not understand why scientists felt it was necesary to redefine the definition of a planet. The study of planets, is not a social science, and new terms are not being constantly constructed. Is this study becoming so boring that they need to redefine new terms so that there is meaning to their work?

What I find troublesome and flawed with this new definition is that Pluto is no longer a planet, because its orbit overlaps with Neptune, but an asteroid (mostly Ceres, discovered in 2003) can be considered, since it is a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

And thank goodness that the series Sailor Moon has stopped production. Because if they haven't, they would have needed to change the name of Sailor Pluto, since she can no longer be a Sailor Scout, as Pluto is no longer a planet. They would have to kill off the guardian of time, or rename her Sailor Ceres or Sailor UB313.

What's next? Scientists redefining definitions in biology, because they believe the cell should be required to be seen under the naked eye in a student-model microscope? Anything that is smaller needs to be classified as a dwarf-cell?

A Scanner Darkly

Today, my friend and I went to see the film A Scanner Darkly, based on the novel by Philip K. Dick.

This was a different style of animation... It's not the usual type that I'm familiar with... It looks very real, but at the same time, a bit surreal. The story is about a society that's hooked on this drug called D, which are these pills that come from a small blue flower. In true Philip K. Dick fashion (as I've been told that he's hard to read), the film was also hard to follow at times. I cannot comment on whether or not the film was true to the book, since I have not read the book.

The reason why the story was so hard to follow was because there was a bit of backstabbing going on between characters, and also because the main character (Keanu Reeves) is having a battle himself: His left and right hemispheres of the brain are competing.

This film was not the best film in the world, but it was enjoyable. I wouldn't see it again, and I don't have the urge to buy it on DVD, but it was fun, for the hour and forty minutes that I was in the theatre. Also, there were no horror trailers, which was appreciated. (Sometimes, they put horror trailers in Science Fiction films, because the two crowds tend to mix - This happened when I went to see District 13 [Banlieue 13], most of the trailers were for horror filcks)

After the movie, I called up Roman, to see what he was up to. I did say that I was going to call him after the movie, and I did exactly just that. It was good timing, as he, Anthony and I had dinner. After Roman bought me a movie, I saw Bon Cop, Bad Cop again, and then I went home. The other two decided to go to a gay strip bar. I don't get it, why is it that people feel the need to go to a strip bar? There's nothing there, the people there are stripping to tease you, and then if they want to strip for you, it's because they want your money. I do not find such an establishment fun. In fact, I find it boring. It kind of makes me depressed, since I think about how I do not have a man in my life. But I guess different strokes for different folks.

If I accept a dance from someone, it would be from my partner, who would be dancing for me because he likes me, not because he likes my wallet.

The beauties of nature

I believe sometimes people do not pause to look at the beautiful things that nature provides us.

Today, there was this very beautiful, small bird with almost a full body of yellow feathers that was chirping outside my bedroom window. It was a very beautiful bird, with a very cheery and nice chirp. I tried to get a picture of it with my webcam, but I couldn't, since the webcam only saw the white of the light coming from outside my window.

Doing some research about birds in North America, and cross-referencing with yellow feathers, I have narrowed it down to the following list:

American Goldfinch
Lesser Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak
Scott's Oriole
Hooded Oriole
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Western Tanager
Yellow Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler

And after doing some looking up of pictures on the internet. I believe the bird I saw was either a Yellow Warbler, or a Wilson's Warbler. I believe it's more the former, because I do not recall seeing a black crown on its head.

Anyway, the joys of watching a nice bird with a yellow coat. That reminds me, I should probably unpack some of my stationery...

Videotron calling card - Ridiculous

Today, I got these calling cards from Videotron, because they are my new telephone provider. Their rates on these calling cards is 15 cents a minute to anywhere in Canada or U.S..

What type of rip-off deal is this? I can get calling cards at dollar stores or whatever, $5.00 for 400 minutes, or even ones where it's $1 for 200 minutes. The latter, however, suffer from the syndrome of disappearing minutes... When you get a quote about how many minutes are left on your card, you usually end up talking for half as many.

With deals like this, I would much rather just by calling cards, even if they are the rip off loonie cards with disappearing minutes...

Shopgirl Revisited, Date Movie

On Saturday, August 19, 2006, I popped by the Movie Land downtown, where they had a sale of Buy two get one free on previously viewed DVDs. I bought Shopgirl, Date Movie and Mrs. Henderson Presents.

I have seen Shopgirl before, and the first time I saw the movie in the theatres, I thought it was boring, and that it was an hour and forty minutes of my life I'd never get back. What prompted me to buy this DVD? It was because of the quote Mirabelle says in the movie regarding romance (she was played by Claire Danes): "So, I can hurt now, or I can hurt later... [pause] Now, I guess." And I guess this movie resonates differently when you have had the experience of loving someone who doesn't love you back.

I also watched Date Movie tonight. I wanted to see it in the theatres, but I never got a chance, and now, I have seen the unrated version. I don't know what the difference is, between the rated and unrated versions, since I did not see it in the theatres. However, the difference according to imdb.com is that the Unrated version is two minutes longer. I thought that Date Movie was not as bad as the critics say it was. It is a slapstick humourous movie that parodies romantic comedies and good films. Although, I have to say, I don't know if a Date Movie 2 would fly.

Wow, I'm a bit out of shape...

Today, I went to YMCA Guy-Favreau, to sit in on the classes that I will be supplying next week. I missed the first class, because I was late, and I got to the YMCA at about 10:00 a.m., which means the class had already started for about fifteen minutes. So, I got some time on the elliptical machine to warm my muscles up, and get ready for the muscle toning class...

And oh boy... Did I discover muscles that I never knew I had... I'm a bit sore right now... Quadraceps, triceps, biceps... Etc.

Next week, more compound exercises, and not as much "focused" exercises.

Nice guy, but I'm not sure yet...

Last week, a guy by the name of Gabriel came to Jeunesse Lambda. He's a French Horn player, and wants to become a music educator. We had some interesting conversation, in between when I didn't have to run any games.

This week, Gabriel returned to Jeunesse Lambda, and he had his hair done in dreads. I was quite surprised to see him at first, because I didn't recognize him. However, his new hairstyle is starting to grow on me.

Gabriel is an outgoing guy. He appears to be nice, and he doesn't like Valentine's Day, because he's always alone. I think Gabriel is a good looking guy, and I wouldn't mind dating him. But, I don't know if the attraction is two ways, since he avoided kissing me goodnight tonight, though he did it last week. He did give me his e-mail tonight, which is a good start, and he wanted me to keep him posted regarding the Concordia orchestra. I will definitely do that, but I also hope that perhaps this will the beginning of something...

I am doubting a bit myself, since he's newly out of the closet, and we know that people who are freshly out of the closet tend to not know what they want. And he's young... He's 19 years old. And people who are young also tend to not know what they want. This seems to be a lethal combination. But at least he has come out to himself, and I'm not forcing him to admit to himself and his parents that he's gay. So, it's one step up from Roman's ex, I guess.

Trophy wife at a laundromat?

Today, I needed to get some laundry done, so I went to the laundromat around the corner, and got my laundry done. The following story, I swear to you, is true!

A woman walks into the laundromat, with a bunch of clothing. And then she went on to ask how these laundry machines work... So, I told her that you need to put the money into the machine for them to work... And then she was asking how to sort the laundry (whites and lights vs. colours). She was doing laundry for her son, but it gave me the idea that she is a trophy wife, and she has never done laundry in her life! She didn't even remember to add the detergent to the machine for her clothing... I had to remind her!

I was just flabbergasted, to say the least, at her lack of knowledge of how to run a washing machine with coins...

First outing after break-up

Today, Claude and I went to see a movie, and then went for dinner. I wouldn't say it was awkward, but Claude did some things that made me wonder what the hell or why the hell he'd be doing that, since he told me clearly that he doesn't want a relationship with me. For example, my food arrived, and I was waiting until he got his food, so that we could eat together. At that moment, he came and took some of my rice... That's something that a boyfriend would do... I would never take some of my friend's food, unless either he offered it to me, or I asked him/her to see if I could taste some.

I suppose Claude also did the whole break-up thing with the returning of gifts. He gave back the bag of prawn crackers that my mother gave him for helping me to move. He told me he doesn't eat snacks, so instead of throwing them out, he would give them to me, because he knows that I do.

As I said before, and I'll say again. Nothing a little ice cream and power music can't fix. Though, I can't do the power music right now, since my neighbour is sleeping. I met my neighbour today under the most embarassing circumstances... He heard my stereo... And he wanted to go to bed. We agreed on 10:00 p.m. when I shut off the stereo. I will also try to maintain that for the weekend nights (i.e. Friday night and Saturday night). But I'm glad that he was at least nice about it, and he's kind of good looking. His name is Jamie. But hey... We can always dream. He's probably straight, or not into Asian guys, even if he were gay. Oh well.

Dinner for my friend's birthday

Tonight, I went to dinner at Grillade Barcelos for my friend Peter's birthday. This is a Portugese restaurant, famous for their cuisine, as well as their barbecued chicken. Their calamari was great to begin with. I really enjoyed it. I ordered a calamari to start, and then the 1/4 chicken (leg) and lamb chop special. I had a Portugese egg tart as a dessert.

However, in my main course, there was a fly in my food. As my friend Peter puts it, you have all the luck, and Peter's partner Jonathan said, "He has a lot of luck, just not good luck." Anyway, it's insects in food, and you get it changed. I was very nice about it, and the waiter apologized. He also gave me extra chips on the second round, and at the end of the evening, he gave me a shot, as well as the birthday boy - Peter. I got the shot because he was thanking me for "not making a scene earlier."

Maybe if this keeps up, I'll win the lottery.

Yet another reason why I hate BMO (Bank of Montreal)

Today, I finally got a confirmation from the tenant of my previous apartment, and she wants the half a month's rent. This is fair, so I set out to try and deposit it into her account today.

However, to my dismay, I discovered that the Bank of Montreal branch close to my house, has the following hours of operation for Monday to Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.. What type of major banking establishment closes a branch before the end of a business day, which is typically agreed on to be 5:00 p.m.? So, on Monday through to Wednesday, I have five hours to get some counter banking done? What a great way to grab potential customers, because there are people who don't have any money with your bank, and are there because they need to deposit money into other peoples' accounts.

All I can say is, this is yet another reason why I will not use BMO. I have complained before how they have tons of branches, but only at most 50% of them serve walk-in customers. And now, we have these limited hours at branches. What's next? I have to hop on one foot while waiting in line, and then when I finally get served, I have to speak pig-latin in order for my transaction to be processed? Though BMO is offering university students no fee banking, I'd still much rather maintain accounts with other establishments, and I'll keep a minimum balnace so that I don't get charged a fee. I hate BMO. I would stay with TD (known as Technical Difficulty) instead of changing my account to BMO.

On a lighter note, I stumbled across to the website of Montreal Public Health today, and I discovered that they have finally got a fact sheet on bed bugs (punaises de lit). I suppose this is in response to the news article that says it's an epidemic in Montreal. Wow, so it takes a newspaper to tell the public it's an epidemic, rather than experts at public health. Boy, don't these people need to be whacked on the head.

La Ronde, Tabla, thoughts on relationships

Today's post will be a bit of a pot-pourri, since I am in a bit of a mix and match mood today, if such an expression exists and/or can be visualized.

To start off, today, I went to La Ronde with Roman. I wanted to get the most out of my Season's pass, and I wanted some fun to forget about the fact that I have been dumped. I was reserving at least one trip with Claude, but since he's dumped me, I decided that I would not push it. Claude also has not expressed interest in going to La Ronde. He at first told me he wanted to go, maybe a weekend in September, but then he told me that he didn't want to go. That's fine. Roman wanted to go a second time, and we went today. I just need to go a third time to get the value from my Season's pass, and I have coupons that people can use to save money.

I had an enjoyable day at La Ronde, but the food there is so expensive! For example: Comparing prices at the Subway at La Ronde, and Subway elsewhere. A six-inch veggie delight sub at La Ronde (Subway) is $4.39 plus tax, while at other Subway locations, it's $2.99 plus tax. The foot-long veggie delight sub at other Subway locations is $4.99 plus tax! Thus, I did not have any food at La Ronde, except for a bubble tea. This was the result however, of a special event that La Ronde ran in conjunction with Services à la famille chinoise. So, the $4 bubble tea was about the same price as to what I would have paid elsewhere.

Roman and I went on many rides, including a lot of the more extreme rides that I didn't get to go on last time when it was his birthday. Some were good, some were not so good. The boomerang, which is similar to the bat at Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a roller coaster where it first goes forward, and then it does the same trip backwards. It was actually quite fun. I enjoyed the Goliath again, of course.

Then, after La Ronde, since both of us haven't eaten all day, we decided to go and grab a bite to eat in the village, since we could just hop on a bus that would take us very close to the village. First, we went to Resto du village, where I had a greasy spoon breakfast, and he had a French Onion soup with a coffee. The reason why we did this was because just in case the Indian restaurant that we tried didn't have good sized portions, it would not cost us a fortune to fill ourselves.

After, we went to the Indian restaurant, Tabla for some food. We had a table d'hôte for two people, with some substitutions. We substituted the Bombay Aloo with Saag Aloo, and the Beef Bhuna with Aloo Ghobi. We kept the Chicken Tandoori. It also came with papadum, shrimp pakora, onion bhaji, basmati rice, nan, and a dessert, which turned out to be galab juman.

The food at this restaurant was mediocre. Granted, the tandoori chicken was good, but the saag aloo and the aloo ghobi were okay. Also, the galab juman was also okay. Thus, the whole meal itself was mediocre. The price, however, was $39.50 for two people with tax and tip. Needless to say, I will not be returning to this restaurant. I will be returning there if someone invited me, and I do not have to pay for the meal. I might be returning if someone invited me, and I have to pay at most 50%.

While Roman and I were on the ferris wheel, we had the opportunity to talk to each other about relationship stuff. And I found out that he apparently had already planned his entire life with Patrick, in less than a month of knowing him. He was going to move in with him and get married on their one year anniversary. No wonder things fell apart, they were moving too fast. I could not imagine myself going that fast in a relationship. I could not make up the decision to marry someone after meeting them for a month, I just cannot. I may be able to make this decision after knowing them for about a year or two.

He also told me that the biggest difference between him and me is that he had expectations, while I didn't. I don't entirely agree with that statement. I do have expectations, but I do not expect to get married with the person within a month. I like to take time to get to know the person, and to make sure that I really am compatible with him, and that I won't fall out of love with him before I launch into life-altering decisions. Therefore, if things didn't work out as planned, then I'm not devastated, since I have to replan and/or rethink many of my life's plans. I also believe my expectations are not concrete criterion, such as getting married, which seems to suggest to me it's similar to a to-do list, or a trophy case. My criteria are more subjective, I believe... If this makes sense... For example, my expectation is that we (the person whom I'm interested and me) would have no trouble communicating. Or, my expectation is that he respects me for who I am, and he gives me my space. These are subjective things, and these things take time to learn and see.

Of course, I am by no means an expert, and since I have not held any steady relationships, I'm sort of just ranting about my experience with men, really. Therefore, you may wish to take everything I write with a grain of salt.

Bon Cop, Bad Cop

Today, I went to see the Quebecois film Bon Cop, Bad Cop. It starred Patrick Huard, a prominent French-Canadian actor, as well as Colm Feore, who is a very well-known Hollywood and English-Canadian actor.

The story is an action/drama/suspense film, about two cops, one from Ontario (Feore) and the other from Quebec (Huard), who have to work together to find the Tattoo killer, who is murdering people responsible for selling a Canadian hockey team to the United States in a fictitious hockey league. There are also some guest Canadian stars, most prominently: Rick Mercer.

Of course, this film goes and makes fun of the typical Anglophone and Francophone differences, and their stereotypes. I thought it was very funny, and very well done. There were also some very funny explanations of Quebecois culture (like swearing, for example).

This was a very well done mixture film. Usually, films that try to mix two or three genres fail miserably. This one however, does it marvellously. There is just enough moments of drama, enough moments of humour, and enough moments of explosions to make it a comedy/drama/suspense film.

Also, people who are unilingual (only French speaking or only English speaking) do not need to fear about not understanding the parts of the film in the other language... The transitions are very smooth, and there will be appropriate subtitles to help out the unilingual viewer. Provided of course, you go to the right version that will be shown in the cinema. (I.e. if you are an English speaker, don't go to a French version, because that's the version where they will have subtitled all the English parts in French, and vice-versa).

And if you are outside of Quebec, try and find it in a cinema that is being played in your city, because it is definitely worth the watch. And of course, it's much more hilarious if you have knowledge of Quebecois culture, and Anglophone stereotypes.

Gloria, my diva

So, I think my neighbours are starting to hate me now, since I have been playing the same songs on loop in my CD player.

Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive;
Willa Ford - A Toast to Men (explicit version);
Anastacia - Paid My Dues.

But I'm feeling better. So, that's always good. It's nice to be able to use music as a way of getting rid of your pain/hurt/negative energy. And Roman now knows that I've been dumped. Oh well.

Here we go again...

So, today... I got the talk from the guy whom I'm seeing. And basically, he told me he's unsure about certain factors, and that he feels that he cannot provide me with what I want... This was basically, in my opinion, a very nice way of being dumped. Yes, I got dumped. Again... Surprise, surprise...

And this time, what bugs me the most is that I feel very used. When I first met this guy, he apparently really liked my appearance, and so basically had intercourse with me. And even though he was honest, polite and told me the truth, which I appreciated. I feel very used. I feel that he used me to get his nuts off, and that was it. Perhaps I'm being melodramatic, but that's how I feel. If you weren't sure of what you wanted, don't act like you do... And don't have sex with me. Cuz at first, he looked like he knew what he wanted, and now he tells me he doesn't. Or he feels that what he's looking for is different than what I'm looking for at the moment. And he may re-examine where things are going/leading in the future. This is just basically a nice way of dumping.

I really need to buy that book, Love: A Polemic. Perhaps when I have more money.

I also just got off the phone with my parents... I did my dutiful calling to them... And my mother told me that I have to be careful when I go to those gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans-identified meeting places, because they are dirty, and they are the source of the infestation of bed bugs. Clearly ignoring that the source is unknown, and that most researchers believe it's due to increased international travel, as well as the banning of substances such as DDT, which reduced the number of bed bugs drastically, and the illegality of the fumigation of insects. And I was talking to my brother, and he had a field day. He started saying that all the world's problems are with the gays... World Hunger exists, because of gays. HIV/AIDS exists because of gays. The war in Lebanon exists, because of gays. Being someone who works in public health (even not as a PHI), how can he/she be so misinformed in regards to bed bug infestations?

On goes the power music... Welcome back, Willa, Gloria and others who provide the music that I so need.

Barnyard: The Original Story and some thoughts

On Tuesday, August 8, 2006, I went to see the movie - Barnyard: The Original Story. It was an animated feature, where my favourite joke of the movie was in the trailer.

The story is about the coming of age of a teenage cow, whose father was killed defending small animals of the farm. There was a lot of humour that was suitable for adults, more so than children. The animation was mediocre, and the storyline was predictable. I do have to say that some of the animals in the barn were very cute and/or adorable.

I also noticed that Wandy Sykes has continued the Hollywood tradition of double dipping in movies... (Or in her case, it's triple dipping). I like Wanda Sykes, I think she's very funny, and very talented. However, right now she is in the following movies: Over the Hedge (as the skunk), Devil Wears Prada (as the boss) and now in Barnyard: The Original Story (as Bessie the cow). So, she's triple dipping in movies... In the great tradition of other actors and actresses.

And onto some other random thoughts.

Roman is still hung up on Patrick. He feels that Patrick has made a big mistake and that he wants him to realize that they are meant to be together. And he was also telling me how his biggest fear was being alone... This fear, however, is unfounded, since within six months of his coming out, he has had about six flings (regardless if they're one night flings or if they are short relationships), and me, I have come out for about six years and I have had about six flings. Maybe a tad more... So, in my opinion, he really has nothing to worry about.

He tells me he feels lonely, and he misses Patrick. He refuses to believe that Patrick really wants him out of his life, and is asking to see if there is any way for him to win Patrick back to the gay side. I'm of course being civil, trying to tell him that things end for a reason, and if Patrick wants to live a life as a heterosexual, then it's his choice, and Roman can't do anything, really. I really have to hold my tongue and not say, "Maybe it's a crush" or "It's just a crush" or "I don't understand why it hurts so much, it's just a crush."

He also told me that he really missed me when I went home for the weekend. OK... I'm not so pleased about this either way: 1) Either he's regretting his decision about dumping me and/or keeping me as a friend - which is less likely, since he's a man to never go back on his decisions. Or 2) I'm the dumping bag that he uses when he's not dating someone meaningful. If it's the former, than tough bananas... You should have treasured me the moment I crossed your life... Now, it's too late. If it's the latter... I have been the dumping bag for so many people it's not even funny. And I'm getting tired of people who only hang out with me and talk to me when they have no one in their lifes, and then when they have a significant other, drops me like a hot potato. I tends to drop myself from people like that (if they haven't already isolated themselves from me through their partner) or distance myself from people like that. I mean, I don't expect much when you're dating someone, but a phone call once in a while, just to keep in touch would be great to keep lines of communication open.

Tonight, Roman and I had a good meal at an Italian restaurant in the village, and then we went to the karaoke club. At the end of the evening, there were two people who left the bar, and on their way out, told me that I did a good job singing, and that I had a great voice. I was flattered. I hope that they weren't saying it just to be nice, and that they actually meant it... Some people can be fake in this world... I have gotten comments about good voice and/or singing before, so I'm thinking it's sincere, despite the fact that I wasn't quite good tonight... I was off-key in certain parts of certain songs, since they always end up being different keys than when I hear them. Anyway, not a big deal. I love music, and I love singing. Maybe I can be Canadian Idol one day. :-p

I also was told that a friend of Roman's was taken advantage of by her ex-boyfriend... Now, to me, I was ringing bells that she needed to report this, since to me, it was rape. However, I guess it's ultimately her choice whether to report it or not. I remember a poster in elementary school or high school regarding date rape: "No means no; maybe later means no; I don't feel well means no; I don't think so means no; I am not ready means no; Not tonight means no; [...]" This seems to suggest that if someone were too drunk, or if they did not consent by saying the magic word of YES, then it's rape or non-consensual intercourse.

Oh well... Stop the complaining and off to bed.

A few thoughts over the weekend

So, I went home this past weekend, because I had an optometrist appointment, and I needed to get it done before my coverage ran out from my mother's company.

It was a good weekend, I enjoyed my time with my family, but there were a few things that kind of stuck out in my mind.

One of the major things was the fact that we were listening to this Chinese radio station, and it was now the hour for this Christian show. This particular week, the show was featuring an Ex-gay called Kelvin, who was not satisfied with the homosexual lifestyle, so he found God, got married to a woman, and the whole nine yards. This was kind of disturbing, because of course, you heard the usual rhetoric of how homosexuality is a sin, and that you can overcome it by finding God, etc. etc. etc. Of course, I didn't really agree with this, and my brother was having a field day just poking fun at his story, and running with the phrase: "Jesus/God loves you." I believe that this phrase has replaced his "Naani", which is "what" in Japanese.

My brother also had a car crash on Friday, and even though he wasn't hurt, the car is totally trashed... Of course, it can be fixed, but it's going to cost about $4000 (and of course, it'll be fixed through insurance). So, the insurance policy is probably going to increase again next year, since my father had a ticket that was six points, from the stupid fucking township of Morrisburg, where their major source of income is from traffic infractions. I would not be surprised a few years down the road, leaked documents suggested that they blew their money on something illegal. And now, my brother has been charged with careless driving, but hopefully he'll be able to get off, since there are so many factors in the air right now. Basically, the accident happened like this: My brother was driving, and the driver in front of him stopped suddenly, and he braked right away, but didn't have enough distance, and tried to swerve to the right to avoid the car. But he couldn't avoid the car in time... Of course, my parents nagged him a little bit, but they started letting up on Sunday and today. I'm just glad that he's fine, and that it's only monetary damage. However, I kind of feel bad about the possibility of asking them for some money to tie me over until September, since well, they'll be out with lots of money now... I just hope maybe that I get some part-time jobs next school year, that will help me out with the OSAP. So that when summer hits again, and I'm still working on my courses or my thesis, I'll have some money backed up, I hope.

I also broke my CD walkman... It's not a major break, it's just that it fell while I was choosing new frames for my new prescription. The player works fine, except I have lost the lever that opens and closes the CD player. However, the latch was lost in the car, when my mother was busy nagging my brother with stuff. * Sigh * Oh well. I suppose it's time to get a new CD player anyway. Right now, it still works fine, and I hold it closed with an elastic. So, if it gets more damaged, or it no longer works, then I'll think about purchasing another one.

I am also perhaps interested in buying a laptop. I noticed that on the way to Toronto, and from Toronto, I ended up sleeping or resting my eyes. If I had a laptop, I could have worked on my research proposal, but oh well. I'll cross this bridge when I get there.

My experience at a Strip Bar

On Thursday, August 3, 2006, I was meeting up some friends from Kingston, who have come up to Montreal for pride and for some of the Outgames events and festivities. So, I was able to meet up with them last night, and catch up with them.

First, we went to Club Date, where we had a great time with karaoke. Then, they started heading home, and then we proceeded to Stock Bar, the strip club in the village.

Needless to say, the only reason why I went was because I was a little buzzed from all the beer that I had. I wasn't sick, I didn't throw up, but I was a bit tipsy, and I was feeling good. Under these circumstances, I agreed to go to a strip club.

Here's what I found: The men there all look the same... It's like there's someone backstage who's responsible for getting people to come out on stage, once every 2 - 5 minutes. But, he's responsible for screwing a head onto many copies of the same body, maybe with tattoos moved around. All the strippers looked the same, if you put a paper bag over their eyes. And of course, they look good, since they are probably hand picked by the manager.

I was also offered a dance by one of the strippers there, a private dance... There was a second one who tried to make eye contact, and winked at me, but I believe he just thought I would actually pay him to dance for me... This guy, who was bold enough to strike up conversation with me, got me into the booth, and then I asked, "Is this the part where I pay you?", to which he replied, "Yes." and I said, "I'm sorry, I don't have that much cash on me, but I thank you for the opportunity." and I walked out. I was in the booth for about 10 - 15 seconds, max. Why waste someone's time when he could easily get a lot of easy cash by some rich sugar daddy or working dude who's horny and probably willing to blow anywhere between $20 - $100 for a dance of about 10 - 15 minutes? Did I look like I was the type to blow that amount of cash on a body that looks nice, but I really couldn't have? I always believe that honesty is the best policy, but I guess that's not so much the case in a strip joint. At least they were male strippers though... I really don't think I could have handled female ones.

Scoop

Today, I went to see the latest Woody Allen movie, Scoop. This is a drama/comedy/mystery that was written by Woody Allen, and as well stars him as one of the characters.

This movie did not get many good reviews on rottentomatoes, especially from the Cream of the Crop. However, I saw this film, and I really enjoyed it. But then, I only have two other Woody Allen films that I can compare it to, one being Match Point. I thought that Match Point was very poorly wrapped up. Therefore, after seeing Scoop, I was pleasantly surprised. The writing was great, and the ending wrapped up very nicely too, and not done too quickly, which is a good thing.

This movie is about Scarlett Johanssen's character: Sandra Pransky, who is a Journalism student, and she stumbles across a very hot news story that could give her the big break in reporting. Howver, the person whom she's attempting to investigate, she ends up falling in love with him. (Hugh Jackman). How the movie ends? Well, I will not give it here, so that it doesn't get spoiled. However, I do believe that this movie is a well-done one, and that you should go see it. It was much better than Match Point, in my opinion.

Also, Hugh Jackman was very hot in this film. The last film I saw him in was X Men 3: The Last Stand, and I really didn't think he was attractive with that haircut and that beard and sideburns. Mmm.... Very yummy.