Snow, Sledding, Styrofoam, Pacques
Bonjour! Bonne journee!
Turns out, I'm a forgetful driver. Well, driving isn't actually the problem. It's the parking. I don't tend to remember where I've parked the car. This generally isn't much of a problem because I apply my problem solving skills and narrow the possible locations of the car down to a few localized areas and then just look. Turns out though this approach doesn't always work so easily. It's been snowing since last night and today, being day one of the plowing process, finds cars with snow berms on both the road side and the sidewalk side of the cars. There is enough snow that the berms are higher than the windows of my Saturn sedan, and the top areas of the cars are entirely covered too. One of the neighbors solved their car finding problem with their remote control car starter. Once the car started, and they could hear the sound of the engine, they quickly hit the remote control starter again to turn the car off. The tailpipe, after all, was a straight dead end into a snow berm. I considered walking around clicking the lock-unlock buttons of my key bobble to get the headlights and interior lights to flash on and off but the snow is honestly too thick to be able to *see* the lights. I finally gave up and took a taxi across town to McGill.
Turns out Mini Coopers handle a snow storm remarkably well. I watched a two door Cooper gun its way over a ten-inch snow berm and then up a long and steep hill. Obviously impressive.
It's still snowing, by the way. Later tonight when the snow stops falling I'll walk around the neighborhood clicking the panic button of my key bobble on and off till I hear the alarm. Then I'll kick the snow berms back out into the street and swim under the car to get the snow out from under there too.
Living in Montreal for over a year and a half now, I am no longer as caught by the shine of newness lighting up what is unique about Montreal. Early this week though, I had to notice how, between the eight students in the course on Hegel's _Phenomenology_ that I'm taking, we had the text, there in the classroom at that very moment, in the original German, and translated into French, English, and Spanish. The countries represented by the people present in the room also included Canada, the United States, Costa Rica, Italy, Germany, and Bulgaria.
A friend that has been visiting also pointed out that he was impressed by how intellectual the bathroom graffiti has been in Montreal. There is a high propensity of famous epigraphs from classical texts, as well as political arguments actually representing a dialogue back and forth between two sides. Apparently some people regularly return to the same bathroom. After my friend pointed out this bathroom feature I came upon an argument about the role of Israel in Palestine that transpired over at least twelve entries.
Down the road several blocks from our flat, there is an entire house being built out of styrofoam. It turns out this is a "modern" building technique that takes a number of forms. The house down the street is being put together out of styrofoam that takes the shape of cinder blocks with small metal connectors at each of the external corners. The building is at least four stories high. It turns out the styrofoam cinder blocks are stacked atop each other and then steel rebar is driven through the stacked holes formed by the blocks. Cement is then poured into the holes such that four story cement vertical "tubes" harden as the structure of the building. Cement floors are poured and built as usual (without the styrofoam). Then, sheeting of what ever type the builder wants is placed over the interior and exterior styrofoam walls using cement screws long enough to pierce the styrofoam layer and into the cement. The styrofoam is supposed to offer a cheap means of producing cement forms and is light enough to easily transport to the site. I watched one of the floors get "stacked" a month ago and it's obviously a quick method too.
Rachel has learned to ice skate. Parc Lafontaine, two blocks from our house, has a large lake in the middle that is turned into a skating arena in the winters. Her little hockey skates from last year (that she never used last year) survived her slow growing feet and have turned out useful and fun this year. One side of the lake is also a sledding hill. A few weeks ago we went sledding and it turns out the little saucer sled we brought with us from Flagstaff is fast enough that I flew well passed the hay-bail-lined trees, into the wild wilderness, and then off the three foot high embankment that borders the lake. And, it being a saucer sled, that all happened backwards.
We also got a pet cockatiel about a month ago. Rosie didn't eat the first three days she lived with us while she went through the adjustment to her new home. I've since found out that cockatiels can go as long as a week without eating during such a process and still survive. She's so well adjusted now that she calls to us when she hears us talking in another room from her. Then when we go say hello she moves through a stretching routine showing us her leg, tail, and wing colors. She likes to preen both her feathers and our ears when she sits on our shoulders too. Having her around adds a nice fullness to the day. Mornings now are when Rachel gets up, sings to her bird, and changes the food and water for her. In the evening Rosie sits on Rachel's shoulder to help with homework.
Valentine's Day passed uneventfully in Montreal. It turns out the two biggest holidays here, based on marketing changes in stores, are Christmas and Easter, or Paques. Stores that cover themselves with special chocolates, colorful baking goods and imported odds and ends for Christmas and Paques will only import one or two heart shaped chocolates for Valentine's Day. The thing to notice though is that when it comes to holidays, chocolate is the great universal.
We miss you all and are always happy to hear from you! I hope things are going well with you and your families! Rachel and I are healthy, and after a year and a half of tumult, our lives finally feel more steady. Rachel's also taken quite well to reading in French. She translates signs for me now.
Votre ami,
Lots of love to you all!
Your friend,
Elaine
Turns out, I'm a forgetful driver. Well, driving isn't actually the problem. It's the parking. I don't tend to remember where I've parked the car. This generally isn't much of a problem because I apply my problem solving skills and narrow the possible locations of the car down to a few localized areas and then just look. Turns out though this approach doesn't always work so easily. It's been snowing since last night and today, being day one of the plowing process, finds cars with snow berms on both the road side and the sidewalk side of the cars. There is enough snow that the berms are higher than the windows of my Saturn sedan, and the top areas of the cars are entirely covered too. One of the neighbors solved their car finding problem with their remote control car starter. Once the car started, and they could hear the sound of the engine, they quickly hit the remote control starter again to turn the car off. The tailpipe, after all, was a straight dead end into a snow berm. I considered walking around clicking the lock-unlock buttons of my key bobble to get the headlights and interior lights to flash on and off but the snow is honestly too thick to be able to *see* the lights. I finally gave up and took a taxi across town to McGill.
Turns out Mini Coopers handle a snow storm remarkably well. I watched a two door Cooper gun its way over a ten-inch snow berm and then up a long and steep hill. Obviously impressive.
It's still snowing, by the way. Later tonight when the snow stops falling I'll walk around the neighborhood clicking the panic button of my key bobble on and off till I hear the alarm. Then I'll kick the snow berms back out into the street and swim under the car to get the snow out from under there too.
Living in Montreal for over a year and a half now, I am no longer as caught by the shine of newness lighting up what is unique about Montreal. Early this week though, I had to notice how, between the eight students in the course on Hegel's _Phenomenology_ that I'm taking, we had the text, there in the classroom at that very moment, in the original German, and translated into French, English, and Spanish. The countries represented by the people present in the room also included Canada, the United States, Costa Rica, Italy, Germany, and Bulgaria.
A friend that has been visiting also pointed out that he was impressed by how intellectual the bathroom graffiti has been in Montreal. There is a high propensity of famous epigraphs from classical texts, as well as political arguments actually representing a dialogue back and forth between two sides. Apparently some people regularly return to the same bathroom. After my friend pointed out this bathroom feature I came upon an argument about the role of Israel in Palestine that transpired over at least twelve entries.
Down the road several blocks from our flat, there is an entire house being built out of styrofoam. It turns out this is a "modern" building technique that takes a number of forms. The house down the street is being put together out of styrofoam that takes the shape of cinder blocks with small metal connectors at each of the external corners. The building is at least four stories high. It turns out the styrofoam cinder blocks are stacked atop each other and then steel rebar is driven through the stacked holes formed by the blocks. Cement is then poured into the holes such that four story cement vertical "tubes" harden as the structure of the building. Cement floors are poured and built as usual (without the styrofoam). Then, sheeting of what ever type the builder wants is placed over the interior and exterior styrofoam walls using cement screws long enough to pierce the styrofoam layer and into the cement. The styrofoam is supposed to offer a cheap means of producing cement forms and is light enough to easily transport to the site. I watched one of the floors get "stacked" a month ago and it's obviously a quick method too.
Rachel has learned to ice skate. Parc Lafontaine, two blocks from our house, has a large lake in the middle that is turned into a skating arena in the winters. Her little hockey skates from last year (that she never used last year) survived her slow growing feet and have turned out useful and fun this year. One side of the lake is also a sledding hill. A few weeks ago we went sledding and it turns out the little saucer sled we brought with us from Flagstaff is fast enough that I flew well passed the hay-bail-lined trees, into the wild wilderness, and then off the three foot high embankment that borders the lake. And, it being a saucer sled, that all happened backwards.
We also got a pet cockatiel about a month ago. Rosie didn't eat the first three days she lived with us while she went through the adjustment to her new home. I've since found out that cockatiels can go as long as a week without eating during such a process and still survive. She's so well adjusted now that she calls to us when she hears us talking in another room from her. Then when we go say hello she moves through a stretching routine showing us her leg, tail, and wing colors. She likes to preen both her feathers and our ears when she sits on our shoulders too. Having her around adds a nice fullness to the day. Mornings now are when Rachel gets up, sings to her bird, and changes the food and water for her. In the evening Rosie sits on Rachel's shoulder to help with homework.
Valentine's Day passed uneventfully in Montreal. It turns out the two biggest holidays here, based on marketing changes in stores, are Christmas and Easter, or Paques. Stores that cover themselves with special chocolates, colorful baking goods and imported odds and ends for Christmas and Paques will only import one or two heart shaped chocolates for Valentine's Day. The thing to notice though is that when it comes to holidays, chocolate is the great universal.
We miss you all and are always happy to hear from you! I hope things are going well with you and your families! Rachel and I are healthy, and after a year and a half of tumult, our lives finally feel more steady. Rachel's also taken quite well to reading in French. She translates signs for me now.
Votre ami,
Lots of love to you all!
Your friend,
Elaine
posted by hawkbrwn at 1:26 p.m.
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