Beer, A Second Round

Jon, looking erudite as he mulls over Hello Kitty Psycho Killer...or maybe she was just a chair that he grew fond of and started to hallucinate that she was a Real Girl. If none of this makes sense, congratulations! You're normal. Keep reading...



This is the second entry in an occasional series of beer-tasting notes, also from the sunny locale of Pub Italia. Read the first here.


Kichessippi Cask

(Jess' first beer.) According to their website, Kichesippi Brewery does do a monthly cask, but what they described on their page was not what Pub Italia was serving. According to our waitress, however, this Cask was a mix of 1855 and the Natural Blond. It was a bit strange-tasting. It was warmer than beer normally is, and didn't have quite the zing it could or should have had. Jon said it's the guy you go out a date with, where you can't figure out if the Transformers shirt that he is wearing is being worn ironically or not. You need to go on a second date to figure it out, and it turns out that the answer is a resounding no, not ironic. Ouch. Jess and I both think this beer met a lot of good criteria, it checked off a lot of boxes re: what you are looking for in a relationship, but overall: "Meh." There's just something missing. Upon further reflection, Jon declared it to be unique, but in a bad way. We might start out being friends for a bit (after that second date when you decide that is not going anywhere), but then realize we are having the same conversations over and over. Jess offered that it's like you meet his parents (aka 1855 and Natural Blond) and they are really cool and awesome, leaving you to wonder how on earth these two great people managed to create someone so boring.


St Ambroise Oatmeal Stout by McAuslan Brewery

My beer. Full disclosure: I've had this beer before, though not for a very long time, and I'm not sure if I've ever actually drank a whole pint to myself (rather than just tasting others' pints). I ordered it because I'd had a very busy day full of much errand-running, and I only had 20 minutes at home before I had to leave to go to Pub Italia, and so I had oatmeal for dinner. Still somewhat peckish, I figured oatmeal for beer could count as a second serving of supper.

Anyway, I quite liked this. When I tried it before, I wasn't into stouts, and found it too heavy. But it's not (for a stout). It's very smooth. But then, after listening to it drip past our taste buds for a while, we wondered: It's almost too smooth. In fact, it might be the smooth talker who intrigues you at first, but eventually wears off, or far worse, the smooth talker you end up staying with because it's better than being single, and it keeps talking you back. A very dangerous beer to get involved with, obviously.


Flying Monkeys Netherworld Cascadian Dark Ale

Ahh, Flying Monkeys. The first time I bought one of their beers was a 6-pack of Hoptical Illusion from the LCBO, entirely because I liked the psychedelic packaging and the funky name. There also may have been a dare from a sibling involved. Anyway. Netherworld - Jon's beer, his theme being "animals" this week - was new for me. Jess found it to be too bitter for her, but said she'd definitely hook it up with a friend (and not just an acquaintance). I liked it, and would visit it when I'm in town, but we would never have a relationship together - just too different. Jon was slightly fascinated by this beer, labelling it the emo goth whom you date for a while, possibly even quite a long while, even though you sort of think that whole fashion and lifestyle scene is ridiculous, just because, well, you can, because for some weird reason, Emo Goth Girl likes you, too.


Cochonnette (Vapeur Brewery)

Jon's second beer, of course, pictured above. (A cochon being a pig. Apparently, a cochonnette is a bit lewder. I'll let you Google it. Don't do so in the presence of young children, or your grandmother.) Jon and Jess thought this beer was okay, though Jess admitted she would just want it once. Jon didn't know what to make of this one: Sort of like the guy in the Transformers shirt but darker. It's in a bottle, it's then poured into a giant goblet, and it's a really sweet beer. It's like the girl who says she likes Hello Kitty but that she kills hobos in her spare time. Two very opposite things - one loveable, one really really not - that just should never be together. This beer, for Jon and Jess was the fling you have over Spring Break; a summer romance would be far too long. As for me, my reaction was definite: This is not even a beer. This beer is not a relationship, not a date, not even a man. This beer is a lamp-post or a fire hydrant. It doesn't even merit me looking at it - it's not even a decorative lamp-post. I took one sip and asked Jon if he was sure it was even beer he was drinking. A second sip confirmed I hated this beer. I'm not even sure I hate my worst enemy as much as I hated this beer.*


Rogue Dead Guy

My second beer. There were no other oatmeal beers - at least none that the waitress could think of off the top of her head (and I didn't see anything in the Beer Bible - so I tried this at random. I also partly picked it since I had tried a beer called Dead Elephant at Pub Italia last summer, and it amused me (in a horribly morbid way) that there was another Dead Something beer (by a completely different brewery). I quite liked it. Jess did not have a strong reaction any which way. Jon said it was lovely, in that way that it's the beer you want once you've been married and then divorced, and you just want to settle down with someone nice, with no more drama ever again. I don't have a problem with that. I do suspect that part of the reason why I liked the Dead Guy so much** is because it did, in fact, immediately follow the traumatizing experience that was the Cochonnette.


Palm Speciale

A nice Belgian beer, which Jess ordered. For her, it's not the beer you stay with forever, but the one you have a fun fling with, and then wish each other super-well, actually meaning it, and move on. Jon is not so enamoured: for him, it's the beer that if he had common sense, he'd date, but since he doesn't, he won't, even though he probably should. It's not that he can't have a beer like that, but rather, that he can't seem to want a beer like that. I have no such qualms: It's nice, simple, clean, and no drama. Sometimes that's all you want in a beer. OK, maybe I'm still suffering trauma from the Cochonnette. *sigh*


Old Speckled Hen

Jon's third beer. Having gotten over the train wreck that was Julie Meets the Cochonnette, I am coming out of my dating shell once again and getting bold. I'd go out with this beer once or twice. We'd have a fine first date, and I'd probably agree to a second. But I'm not sure there's much more for me there. It's fine, and will do in a pinch, but I want more than just comfort. Jon, on the other hand, is more generous. While all 3 of us agree that it's not quite what we want in a long-term beer, Jon says that if this beer made a lot of money, he'd be willing to let it be his sugar daddy. I'm not sure that's a ringing endorsement, but there you have it.


Lasko Zlatorog

Jon's fourth beer. Yes, there's an animal - a goat - "long live the goat". It's the first beer you date. You later see it at parties of at least 30 people, where it's easy enough to tell it that it looks great, but you can then move on without getting trapped into a lengthy tête-à-tête. It's the beer of the insincere smile. It's the beer you go on your first date; you know, the one when your mom drives the two of you to the movie theatre and then picks you up again after a couple of hours. Jess says that any later than mid-teens, and she would not even give this beer her phone number. Jon says he'll take offensive over boring anyday. I am already halfway in the tank by this point (I was really tired!), and even I just want to leave this beer and go home alone.



UPCOMING:

I didn't take notes in situ, but I will tell you soon about the night I drank 12, yes twelve, different beers.



* Pure hyperbole: I don't hate anyone, really, and I certainly don't have any enemies...at least, none that I know of.
** OK, when I put it that way, that just sounds wrong. Definitely have no interest in necrophilia. Blech.

Of Beer and Men

Last year, I made only one New Year's resolution. It was a good one, and I managed to keep it all year. I enjoyed the execution of that resolution so much, in fact, that I made it again this year (plus a few others).

I resolved to drink as many new and different types of beer as possible.

Those who know me well (and, OK, even those who know me not so well) know I like beer. I'm not a heavy drinker, but I do like a good beer.

Last year, not entirely coincidentally, I also started frequenting Pub Italia, an Italian-restaurant-meets-Irish-pub just down the street from where I live. Truth be told, its food selection is mostly mediocre, but you don't go there for the food - you go for the Beer Bible.

Usually when I go, it is with my friends Jon and Jess. Jon is a beer nut - he wholeheartedly endorsed my 2012 resolution as well as my decision to trudge it out again for 2013. He has, however, no pretension to be classy about beer. Every night at Pub Italia with Jon is an adventure. He decides on a "theme" - beers in great bottles, beers with the most vowels in the name, beers that start with P, etc. One of the more memorable evenings was the night he kept challenging the waitress to bring him the most awful beers she could think of - we had some terrible ones that night, but one or two were decent.

I am not as dedicated to the cause of beer as Jon is, and as I'm usually only having two beer in the evening (and only rarely a third), I want them to count. Jess is the same way. So we don't always go all-out and join Jon in his theme, though we do of course engage in much aiding and abetting.

Sometime this past summer, we came up with a great rating system. Forget beers that have "notes of oak that last with you like a lingering summer breeze", forget a standard ranking from 1-10. Our rating system is visceral. You just GET it. We rate beers like relationships. The Kronenburg White with Frulli on top? It was like that time in college when you decided to experiment with, ahh, alternate relationships. Titillating at first, but ultimately not your thing. There was a beer that tasted like smoky bacon (I forget its name, unfortunately), that was like that guy you just couldn't shake out of your mind - the bad relationship guy where you knew it wasn't going to last; he was going to run off with that redhead in the end; but you just had to keep going back for a little more each time. You knew you shouldn't like him, but you couldn't help it. And the beer that is the gold standard, the one that is so good, the one you want to be still waking up next to when you are 80. For me, that beer is Innis & Gunn. There might be more exciting beers, more refreshing beers, more beers that have more punch or zing or zip, but in the end, I'll come back to my Innis & Gunn. Bliss.

The problem last year is that I drank a lot of new beers, but didn't keep track. So I decided 2013 would be different. 2013 would be the Year of Beer Documentation. We'll see. I'm not as good at keeping resolutions that involve some kind of regular, recurring action [see: blogging]. But I'll try.

A couple of weeks ago, Jon, Jess, and I went to Pub Italia, and I took notes. Yes, I am just that nerdy. But now, you get to read them!


Yellow Snow IPA from Rogue Ales
Described to me by the waitress as "citrusy with a bitter finish". I was in a weird mood, so anything with bitterness at the end struck me as being very à propos. This beer was kind of like the guy you date for a month or two - you want to like him more than you do, and you wish he liked you more than he obviously does. So you keep agreeing to another date for no good reason, even though you know there are better beers out there. (Full disclosure: I may have been projecting a prior failed why-did-I-bother relationship onto this beer.)


Mickeys
One of Jess's beers. Comes in a cute bottle (a stubby). There's a rebus puzzle in the cap. But as Jess said, the beer itself is the one referred to in those generic Canadian beer commercials, where the guy says, "If you wanted to drink a lake, you'd drink from a lake. Get yourself a real beer." The package is pleasing, but the product is boring, dull. This one lives in Barrhaven.


Hawaiian Pale Ale from Spearhead Brewery
Jon's first beer. (Challenge: beers with lots of letters. In the menu, this was listed as an Indian Pale Ale, so there are 2 more i's and one more a for you.) Starts out great and makes you go, "Wow," but fizzles off into empty feelings soon enough. A good time, but not The One. Which is sometimes all you ask from a beer.


2XIPA from Southern Tier
Jon's second beer. This one was the friend who ends up at the bottom of your favourites list. He's a nice enough guy, but nothing more there. You'll call him if you're having a big party and inviting everyone else; otherwise, you probably won't bother. Sorry, Double IPA.


Hacker-Pschorr Weisse
Jess' second beer. It was really very good, but in the end, not the beer for me. It was, as Jess said, the beer you don't want for yourself, but you want to set up with someone awesome.


Westmalle Abbey Tripel
My second beer, a Belgian Trappist beer. Not for the faint of heart. A sophisticated beer. Jon instantly thought that it could very well be the beer for him. I was not convinced. But then, later, I realized the beer had a hidden sweet note, and it was growing on me. Will definitely revisit this one (all - eep! - $15 and 9.5% of it).



Wellington's Iron Duke
Jon's third beer. I've had this many times before. I think it's good and deserves a good go at seeing if a relationship could work out, but not for me in the end. Would I set it up with a good friend? Sure! Jon and Jess think, on the other hand, that I need to give it more of a chance - that it could be one of those beers that start out weak but end up developing into an amazing relationship, as it has a lot of subtle flavour that creeps up on you.



There have been other beers in the last couple of weeks. I went, for example, on a tour of the Kichesippi Brewery which is just off Carling Avenue in Westboro. I love Kichesippi beer as a good, honest, friendly beer that never disappoints. Sad to see their seasonal Logger go - pictured above is the last growler I enjoyed - intrigued by the replacement seasonal Wujack (sp?) Black IPA. Richard is not crazy about the IPA; he finds the aftertaste too strong. I know what he means, but I find it oddly compelling.

Everything in its own time...

So with the exception of 15 months in 2006-07, I have lived in Ottawa since September 2004. That's almost 7 1/2 years now. And you know what I did today for the FIRST TIME?



Yes, I know. Amazing, and kind of sad, all at once.*

I have walked across the Canal once or twice in the wintertime in my boots. But I don't think I ever went skating. Maaaaaybe once, but I don't even think so.

So today, after Settlers' brunch,** I walked down to my friend Emily's place in the Glebe, and we went to the Canal. We got on near Fifth Avenue, and skated all the way up to the National Arts Centre, where this photo was taken (as well as the following ones). Then we skated all the way back down to the Bank Street Bridge, which is as far as the Canal is currently open, then back up to Fifth.





It was awesome, and I plan on going a few more times in the next couple of weeks for sure.


* And as an aside to myself, next time I get my picture snapped whilst wearing my backpack, take off the waist strap. It is just not flattering over a puffy winter jacket.

** Some friends of mine have been meeting every Sunday for 2+ years for brunch at one of the pubs on Elgin Street to play Settlers of Catan (Cities & Knights). I started going in mid-November. Such a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

All's quiet on --SPLAT!

Last night I went to Trailer Park Bingo for the first time ever. A couple of friends of mine go almost every week. This week, Kate and I decided to go as well (she has been before).

I won a bingo! Very exciting. I had to roll a ring down the "Blingo" board to see what my prize would be.




There's loads of great and not-so-great prizes you can win. Old board games, VHS movies, tacky wall hangings, etc. Mostly, the prizes have the "kitsch that's kind of kitschy but is so ending up back at Goodwill" factor. But no. I don't win one of those. No way. Nothing quite so pedestrian for me.

Twice my Blingo ended up on "Mystery Box", but there weren't any boxes left. Then I ended up on "Nut", which is where you pick a number out of this large wooden nut, and then Flash Cadillac, the Bingo caller, matches up the number off his list of prizes. I won "PIE". Then, I had to pick out of a second, smaller nut, to see whom I would be pie-ing. The piece of paper said "EWE".

There's sheep at Trailer Park Bingo???

... ...

Aww, crap.



Yup, on my very first-ever Trailer Park Bingo, I managed to win, via a very circuitous, labyrinthine route, the prize of being pied in the face. C.P., one of the guys who works the bar, got to do the honours.

My post-pie reaction? "Mmm, tasty!" It was whipped cream and raspberry/strawberry drizzle. I am apparently lucky - one of the guys we were with, Alex, has been pied in the past, and his pie was alphagetti and grenadine. Kinda ick.

After helping me clean up, C.P. gave me a free beer and shots for my table.* I debated drinking them all myself, but I was nice, and shared with the 4 people I used to consider my friends.



For the record, whipped cream detritus makes your hair really crunchy and stiff. It also makes you smell nice, if a little flowery :)

* Alex also said he didn't get any free booze after being pied. So I win!

You Bought A Zoo! I Went Swimming!

When I moved to my new neighbourhood in October, my good friend Kate, who lives right near here, made me promise that we would go swimming on a regular basis at the newly-renovated community centre pool which is literally a 2-minute walk from my place (and about 7 minutes from her place). Absolutely, I said!

Well, as you can probably guess, what then ensued was a weeks-long-turned-months-long set of creative excuses, day after day, why one or the other of us couldn't go swimming the next day. As Kate said at one point, we're such hipsters we stopped swimming before we even started. Ha.

But now! We are swimming! Last Friday, we actually made it out. Kate went another time this week as well, and then we went again tonight. And while I don't remember swimming ever being this...EXHAUSTING...it's fun! Tonight after work, I bought swim goggles because I realized last week that I'm slightly panicked about putting my head in the water and not being able to see (I wear contacts so I have to close my eyes).* I'm used to snorkeling and scuba-diving, see, and a key feature of those activities is that YOU CAN SEE. That's kind of the point, actually. My new goggles rock! Though it turns out I am TERRIBLE at swimming. It's a lot of work when you don't have a BCD or flippers! I may look into remedial adult-swim classes later this winter. In the meantime, there's absolutely no shame in swimming with a flutterboard in the slow lane, right?


* Wearing contacts, which I only started doing just over a year ago, is a definite plus. One of the reasons I was always reluctant to go swimming in the past is that I couldn't find my way around. Swimming is no fun when you can't tell the swimmers from the sharks in the pool.**

** When I was a kid, I was convinced that if I took my eyes off the deep end, a shark would swim out of one of the water-exchange grills. This was particularly a danger at the pool at my grandmaman's old condo in Quebec City, which was kind of dark, shadowy and mysterious, at least to a 10-year-old.

What's she building in there?*

Recently spotted in my bedroom. What could it be???




Too small for a hat.




Too round for a pair of socks.




The stumpiest, most unattached gloves you ever did see?




A ball for the dog, perhaps?




Complete with oozing green stuff.






But yes, of course, it's another Elefante!

I made this one for my friends Rebecca and Jonathan's little girl, Jada. I love this yarn. It's self-striping sock yarn, so it looks more complicated than my last Elefante, but it wasn't. This one is smaller. The ears went on a little wonky, however, so it looks a bit more like a mouse with a very long nose than an elephant. But so easy! And so much fun to knit! I'm planning to make at least two more in the near future.

* With apologies to Tom Waits.

So this one time? In Vancouver?

I went to a conference in Prince George, B.C.,* near the end of June, and afterwards, spent a day and a half in Vancouver visiting with my good friend Donna.



I first met Donna 18 years ago when my family moved to Thornhill. We used to walk home from school together, about a 40-minute walk.** Donna and I have not lived in the same city for well over 12 years now - probably longer - so I only get to see her once or, if I'm lucky, twice a year. Not nearly enough.

Arriving late in Vancouver on a Friday night and then leaving just after lunch on Sunday afternoon means you call your visit "a day and a half in length", but it really is just one day. We had grand plans for our day together, the majority of which were quickly scuttled by car troubles. Doing the Grouse Grind*** had to give way to walking to the Canadian Tire to buy a new car battery and then walking back to Donna's place with the car battery in the baby stroller and the baby strapped to his mom.**** In the rain.

But we did get to chat till late together, and we did get to go for breakfast together (twice!), and we did get to wander the streets together, and we did get to generally hang out and catch up. Later on the Saturday, once the car problems were resolved, the sun was coming out so we drove out to West Vancouver to meet up with Donna's husband Matt once he got off work, and we walked the seawall.

That was the point when I remembered I had packed a camera:







I think something is wrong with my camera, however. Because other than the one I posted above, the only picture I got of my lovely hosts is of their backsides:



And despite him being one of my favourite babies of all time, I didn't manage to get a single photo of little Jacob, though I did manage to get no less than 5 - five! - shots of this little guy:



Neither as cute nor as cuddly, not by a long shot.

You can see the full set of West Vancouver seawall photos, including a surprise a little cuddlier than the giant slug, on my Flickr pages.


* It rained the entire time in PG. And my hotel was in the middle of nowhere. The conference was about copyright issues, so not very photographic. So I have no pictures of PG, other than my hotel room.

** We never walked to school together, just home. I think because I mostly would get a ride down with my dad in the mornings. There was also a school bus that I avoided like the plague - I think I took it to school about 3 times in one year.

*** I'm not saying we would have done the Grouse Grind, just that it quickly became not-an-option.

**** I got to pretend I had a child, as I pushed the stroller, albeit a child with wires and acid. LOL :)

(Knitting) update

So remember back in April? When I posted that I had 6 days to finish a certain project for a certain baby?


Goodness gracious, great ball of --???


I was supposed to bring this as part of a baby shower gift...happening the day after I took this picture. From the advanced state in which it is clearly in, needless to say, it didn't get finished in time.

I ended up working on it only occasionally, and then finished it in time for a trip out West in late June, where my friend lives. Of course, being me, I did the final touches at about midnight the night before seeing her!


Hey li'l guy, why so shy and scared?



Awww, no wonder he's so shy and scared. He can't hear or see!



Ahhhh, that's better.


This is Jacob's Elefante. I love him so much, I want to make 17 more. But I'll probably stick to 2 or 3 for now.






I even made him a buddy!




Or, well, maybe not.


Jacob's Elefante discovers mirrors, though his skill with sink taps is not yet very well developed.

You Know What We Did Last Month?

We were in Cairo! There were markets! There were no protests! Kate and Sally were there, too! It was humid and rainy and dusty and FANTASTIC!

Pictures will slowly follow. I have been sick and under the weather since our return. I will also blog about some of our trip, as it was quite blog-worthy (even without protests threatening our departure). However, I am also going to pick one photo from each day to continue the Shutterbug Challenge which I set myself at the beginning of the year.

Knitting help, please?

I had* to go to Michael's last night because I wanted to pick up some size-5 needles for a project I am about to start. However, because I am not able to ever leave Michael's with only a reasonable number of items, I also picked up this project**.


Painted Circle Scarf

It looks fun and pretty, and a girl can never have enough scarves, right? Besides, I think I already own a bunch of the recommended yarn (albeit in a different colour), and I have no idea what else to do with it.

The instructions are 9 lines long, which is about a million lines shorter than most things I've attempted to knit recently. Though they look, on the face of it, relatively simple (reproduced below), I am a newish knitter and stumped by the following, which I've marked in italics:


Row 1 (WS): Purl.
Row 2 (RS): K17, turn; leave rem 5 sts unworked.
Row 3: P17.
Row 4: K12, turn; leave rem 10 sts unworked.
Row 5: P12.
Row 6: K7, turn; leave rem 15 sts unworked.
Row 7: P7.
Row 8: K across 22 sts.
Rep Rows 1–8 until piece measures about 56 in. (142cm) at widest point, end with a Row 8.


So, "leave remaining 5, 10, 15 stitches unworked." Fine. What do I do with those stitches? I don't understand! I'm sure I could look this up online, but it is far more amusing to see if any of you know.***

It's also just an excuse to direct my readers to some pictures of my most recent creation, an inchworm neck pillow for my friends Mala and Mark's daughter, due in mid-July.




* The term "had" is perhaps not used in its most technically accurate form here.

** It was free!

*** By "you", I really mean "Rebecca". Though other help is, of course, welcome as well. C'mon, knitters, get out of the woodwork!

Photoblog: Olympic Fever!

My friend Kate got the chance to be an Olympic torchbearer when the flame came through Ottawa a couple of weeks ago. Her run was at 7:45 a.m., December 14, 2009, in Orléans (east end Ottawa), right near our place.


The police get St. Joseph Blvd. blocked off.



Is that the fl- no, just a car.



Vancouver 2010 - "Flame Arrives..." something something something.



Eagerly awaiting the flame at the corner of St. Joseph and Place d'Orléans Blvd.



Kate's leg of the run was sponsored by Coca-Cola. And their people were far too perky for 7:45 a.m. on a Monday morning.



First glimpse of the flame! St. Joseph Blvd. and Edgar-Brault Street.



Go Kate! (Sorry for the blurry photo.)



Go Kate!



Kate, looking fantastic!



Kate, looking somewhat blurry.



Kate handing off the torch to the next runner.



Well done, Kate!

Halifax, Day Four

Went to two really excellent sessions today: The Technology of Law, and Best Practices: Training Our Users. The first was a presentation by a law professor who runs the website Jurist, and was about the need to teach law students (or other legal practitioners) not only how to be information-literate, but also how to use technology to its full potential in the practice of law. Very interesting, and I plan on learning more about what is happening in this field. It has inspired me! In the "Best Practices" session, we heard from 3 speakers on tips and ideas for training library users. The first spoke about telephone training, the second about social media and Facebook and library guides, and the third about teaching across the generational gaps. Some good ideas in that session.

I skipped out on the last session with the intention of going shopping. Ran into David M. from Dal Law Library, and he joined me on my brewery and art gallery tour, then we went for a drink and a bite on the waterfront. It was so nice out, we sat out on the patio overlooking the harbour. It was just lovely. Then I headed back to the hotel, with another quick store stop or two. Dropped my stuff off at the hotel, combed my hair, then headed back to the conference hotel via cab with Margo.

This evening was the closing banquet. I made a giant mess of a delicious lobster. Then we were entertained by Irish and Scottish dancing, and regaled by a band with an extensive repertoire of Irish songs and sea shanties. We were also taught how to play the spoons, though I don't think I'm very good. Robin N. and I left around 11:30. I dropped her off at her hotel, then came back here. Now I just want to sleep, but we have to check out tomorrow, so I should probably re-pack my things first. Tomorrow morning there are a few more conference festivities, and then I am moving myself and my things over to the Dalhousie residence hall for two nights.

I don't know if I will have access to the Internet at the Dal residence, so this might be my last entry for a few days, unless I hit an Internet cafe, a wireless hotspot, or, god forbid, a library.

Halifax, Day Three

I have less than 10 minutes before we head out of the hotel again. Thankfully, and as a direct consequence, this will be a short post.

Today dawned bright and sunny and mild. (It's still May in Halifax, so I hesitate to use the word "warm".) So I put on my sundress, my flats, a jean jacket and a big scarf, and headed out to the conference hotel with Margo around 8:00 a.m. They were serving free breakfast, so it was worth our while to get out so early.

Plenary session at 9:00. Topic was recent developments in Canada's immigration and refugee policy. Speakers were Markham MP Paul Calandra and Halifax immigration lawyer Lee Cohen. Session was interesting, though not overly informative. Calandra talked about all the great things the federal government is supposedly doing; Cohen told some heartfelt stories. I think I know too much about immigration and refugee issues, and so am a bit cynical. Sorry.

The next session I went to was on embedded librarianship. Basically, this is the idea that librarians don't need to be in the library, but are often more effective outside the library, working in their organization directly. The session was interesting, though not earth-shattering (for me, at least). Working at the Library of Parliament last year, I already was a kind of embedded librarian - I was nowhere near the actual library, and I worked alongside, with and for, the analysts in the legal division. The library, at the LOP, was more a concept or idea than an actual physical place, at least for those of us in the research divisions. Anyway, the only thing truly controversial about the session was a couple of comments the speaker made about how she didn't think library schools were taking in the right types of students. I don't think that is necessarily true, though to some degree, library schools are more interested in filling seats with bums than with brains. I think the problem is more that library schools, at least in the U.S. (where the speaker was from), do not always teach library students the wide range of skills that they will need to survive once out in the real world. Some library schools focus very closely on technical skills. Many U.S. schools do not teach management skills, or how-to-deal-with-people skills. That's the real problem, in my opinion.

Anyway, must move on.

Lunch was served in Pier 21, just behind the conference hotel. I sat with Robin N. from LOP, and Mark and Maggie, friends of mine from library school. We ate salad, chicken in a cream sauce with veggies, and a delightful custard pie of some sort for dessert. There was an awards ceremony, and thankfully all the speeches were short and sweet (a skill I must still learn, obviously). Then we were regaled by Bruce Nunn, a/k/a Mr. Nova Scotia Know-It-All. I used to listen to him on CBC Radio, and would sometimes see him on CBC News in Halifax. He was very entertaining.

Post-lunch sleepiness having kicked in, I went back to the conference hotel for a session on sharia and talmudic law. It was very informative and two areas of law I think we will need to acquire resources in over the next year or two as they become more popular.

Margo and I skipped out on the last session to come back to our hotel to unwind for a bit, but now we are heading back out for the first of two back-to-back receptions. Then I am headed to The Fireside again for post-reception food (might not be hungry for the salmon, however, depending on how much they feed us) and drinks (on the other hand, there is always room for more drinks).

Happy Birthday, Randal

The ever-elusive Mr. K.*

Today is Randal's birthday. We don't have anything crazy planned, though we did rent a car for the weekend so we could tool around town. Tonight we are going bowling with some friends, tomorrow night we are going out for a nice fancy dinner, and Randal also took Monday off from work (lucky duck - I have two classes to teach and am not so fortunate).

He is, of course, turning 27. Give or take a decade or so.

* I like the almost-artsy feel of this pic, or at least the fact I can pretend it was planned to take it that way, rather than merely a bad cropping job after-the-fact or one of those unplanned moments where the subject suddenly turns his head as the shutter snaps. Plus the fact that there seems to be (my) fingers growing from his neck adds a certain Lovecraftian element, no?

Finally, travelling...

So we are off in the morning for 4 days in Québec City. This is our first real trip since returning from overseas, unless you count trips to visit family in Toronto and Winnipeg. Though I guess our 3-day, cross-Ontario drive to Winnipeg and back last September shouldn't be so readily discounted. Fine. This is our second real trip since returning from overseas, and the only one that involves no family component whatsoever.[1]

Randal has never been to Québec City, so it will be fun to show him around. It won't be a total Greatest Hits of Julie's Early Adolescence, since, really, I'm sure he's not that interested in the church hall where I spent countless hours rehearsing with the Québec Art Company for their latest musical, nor in Place Laurier where I spent way too much time shopping with my girlfriends and dodging boys I had crushes on[2], nor even Jessica's old house where we whiled away hours and hours in the basement putting together the QHS Scoop newspaper or watching Guns N' Roses and New Kids on the Block videos.

[As an aside, click that NKOTB link for a good laugh. They're getting back together! And, well, they're just not as cute as they used to be......]

Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, the Tour of Québec City. We are staying at the Hotel Acadia, which I stayed at the last time I was in Québec City, about 8 years ago, back when it was called La Maison Acadienne. It's a hotel in a heritage home, and really, really nice. It's right in the Old Town, so we will be well-poised to visit all the Old Town sites. Don't know about a ride in a calèche, but maybe.

The ulterior motive of the Québec City trip, however, is to attend a reunion of sorts at my old high school. This is a muddled story, and it hasn't quite turned out the way I'd hoped, but oh well. See, 2008 marks 15 years since I graduated from high school. Originally, a small group of people were trying to get together some kind of reunion to take place in either Québec City or Montréal. But that fell through. Then we found out that the school itself was hosting a reunion for all alumni, Back to School 2008, as one of many events being held in Québec City over the next few months in celebration of the city's 400th anniversary. So I decided I would go, since it gives us the excuse to take a short vacation in a lovely city![3] The only problem is, now, I only know of FOUR other people from my year who are also attending. I mean, I guess there will be teachers there that I may know, and others may show up of whom I did not know they were coming, but generally, it's just not going to be the great "how-nice-to-see-you-after-15-years" event of the summer. Which, now that I think about it, is kind of okay, since I really don't want to be reminded that I am old enough to have been out of school for 15 years.

Anyway, that's where I'll be if any of you are wondering why this daily-updated blog is suddenly no longer being updated daily.


And now, without further ado, I am off to watch Grosse Point Blank, the movie that has taught me everything I need to know about how to comport myself at such an event, only I'm not actually a professional killer, so when the guy comes to bump me off because I bumped off some other guy's dog (by mistake!), I may just beat him senselessly with my shoe and cry.[4]


[1] Well, sort of. I plan on going to visit my grandparents' gravesite, but that doesn't really count, does it?

[2] OK, that only happened once. And I'm sure Jen is going to whack me upside the head the next time she sees me, for the mere fact that I still remember this incident. Also, Place Laurier had this excellent hat shop that I frequented numerous times in the hopes of finding the perfect Debbie-Gibson hat. (Not the jacket, mind you. That would have been too uncool.) But, alas, it never happened, and thus ended my dreams of a musical career.

[3] i.e., a city that isn't either Toronto or Winnipeg, though both of those are lovely cities in their own ways.

[4] It was either that or Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, and I figure that I'd just never pass for a blonde bimbo. Besides, GPB has John Cusack, and what more could I possibly want in life? :)

A resolution or two...

So seeing as how it's the New Year, a good time to take stock of one's life, I thought about whether or not it was worth my while to make any resolutions. Is there any point in trying to improve perfection, I ask you?

But what could I possibly resolve? I couldn't resolve with a straight face that I'd start going to the gym, since I already am going to the gym, having taken out a membership at my local Goodlife back in early November. And I've been pretty good about going since then, with the exception of the past few weeks which were largely spent traveling here, there, and everywhere.[1] I in fact like going to the gym and I will go again. Tomorrow.[2]

Other ideas that crossed my mind were: travel to an exotic land, learn a new language, search out old friends now lost. But you know what? 2007 was a good year. I traveled to Japan and a myriad of other exotic Asian countries, I at least pretended that I was learning Japanese (that one could perhaps use a new resolution), and I reconnected with a bunch of folk from high school and elsewhere thanks to the wonders of Crack -er, Facebook. On a related note, I might take a trip to Quebec City later this year - that's pretty exotic.[3]

Some people resolve to get a better job. Well, seeing as how I've been unemployed for over 5 months now, I figure almost any job is a better job, if of course you subscribe to the silly notion that sitting around at home playing with the dog all day is not a job.[4] At any rate, I already belong to the best profession in the world, and couldn't ask for a whole lot more.[5]

I entertained the idea that I might give up, once and for all, procrastination. But, you see, I've worked it to somewhat the level of an art, and would feel bad giving it up now. Maybe next year.[6]

What else? I already cut my hair short (what? I didn't mention that?), learned to knit, take the dog for daily walks, read as many books and watch as many old(er) movies and play as many boardgames as I possibly can, and am in the process of memorizing all the words to all the ABBA songs ever recorded[7].

I decided, then, to make two simple resolutions:

1. I will drink lots of water, somewhere near the recommended 8 glasses if possible.
A weird resolution, I know, but something that is recommended time and time again by doctors and nutritionists and healthy people. I did it for a while a few years back and I felt great. But all too often, I spend my days nearly dehydrated. So look out toilet! I'm going to visit more often.[8]

2. I will learn to cook.
Of course, I know how to cook. I even enjoy cooking once I get down to it. However, my repertoire is rather, shall we say, limited. I have 7 different variations of pan-fried chicken[9], I can make mashed potatoes and rice[10], I am locally acknowledged as the maker of delicious hot dogs, and I did fry up two hamburgers the other night, but really, there's a wider world of food and cooking out there that I want to discover. I've had some really good cookbooks on my bookshelf the last few years, and I plan on using them. But I'm slow as molasses about getting anything ready, and I don't try new things. Maybe I will occasionally share some of the cooking successes (and/or disasters, since it's possible there may be more of those) on this site.

And on that note, since Randal had his first day back at work today, I'm going to look into making some dinner. I think I might try a soy-simmered chicken, though I note I have neither star anise or cinnamon sticks- Do people really keep those kinds of things in their kitchen on a regular basis? *sigh* I have so much to learn.



[1] Also known as Toronto three times and Winnipeg once.

[2] Or maybe the day after. I mean, today's almost over, which means tomorrow is almost here, which means I need tomorrow to do the things I was supposed to do today.

[3] There's been rumblings of a 15-year high school reunion back at QHS. 15 years? Yikes. I'm sure I'm not old enough to be attending that.

[4] 'Course, I don't get paid for it. I should really try to negotiate that.

[5] Someone actually pays me to sit around with books all day long, research interesting topics, help people find what they are looking for, and even teach. Well, when I'm actually employed, that is.

[6] It also occurred to me that such a resolution might entail the inclusion of timely updates of my blog and my photos on Flickr. I just can't espouse the adoption of a resolution that I am inevitably going to break, and in record time, too! But you know what? I'll try to be better.

[7] OK, that's not true. I in fact am fiercely proud of being, perhaps, the worst person in the world for singing along to songs for which I have absolutely no idea what any of the words are: "It had to be you, it had to be you, dee dee blah blah blah, something something blah blah, no matter whooooo..."

[8] On that note, don't ask me how much water I've had today.

[9] With soy sauce, with mustard (preferably dijon), with honey and cayenne pepper (my favourite), with Thai chili sauce, with beer (I love cooking anything in beer, actually, since you then have the "excuse" to drink the rest of the bottle), with hoisin sauce, and with apple slices and white wine (OK, I've never done that one - I needed to come up with a seventh - but it sounds kinda good, no?).

[10] Not together! Those are two separate entities. I haven't mastered the art of noodles yet; they scare me.

Post, Interrupted

So I was writing a nice, long post about today's sports day (how's that for timely???), but one thing led to another and I realized it was almost 9:00 and there was just no hope in hell that I was going to get the post finished and all the accompanying pictures posted tonight, plus do all the other, non-computer things I want to do (I know, gasp!), and still get to bed at a reasonable hour. Just not going to happen.

So instead, I've decided to test Elliott and see how long it takes him to retract his comment to my previous post about the Kagoshima pics. To test this theory, I've gone ahead and posted a bunch of purikura from our trip to Flickr.



I'm surprised - there are at least four electronic copies of these pictures floating around, plus the originals of course - why am I the first to post them online? Does this imply something about me???

Anyway, for the unitiatied, purikura or "print club" photos are basically Japan's answer to the boring little photo booths that we have at home, that friends crowd into and take their pictures together in. Except these are photo booths on LSD. After you take a series of pictures (usually 8-10 photos, depending on the booth), you then all run around to the other side, where there is a counter and touch screen with magic pens to then decorate your picture further. Japanese teenagers are absolutely fantastically creative with these purikura, and it's a bit of an addiction for many of them. Case in point: I asked my students to make out name cards at the start of this school year (which is in mid-April here), including a drawing or photo of themselves, and I told them purikura were OK. Instantly at least half a dozen of the girls had whipped out small plastic cases, like pencil cases, that were just FILLED with tiny purikura of them and their friends. Just amazing.

Also in Japan, these purikura booths are not standalone booths stuck in an obscure corner of the local mall (like our photo booths seem to be). In most malls and shopping arcades, there will be at least one large roomful of them, often near or combined with a videogame arcade. There will be anywhere from 5 to 20 booths to choose from, each of which offers its own range of photo styles, colours, and decoration options.

I myself have only done purikura pictures once or twice this year, plus once a few years ago when last in Japan (with Rebecca T.), but I think I need to get another set or two before coming home.

Timely as always

I just finished putting up some more pictures from our Golden Week travels. This time around, we go to Kagoshima, near the southern tip of Kyushu.

In a nutshell:

Day One: We get lost.
Day Two: We get lost again.

God, I love traveling in Japan.

You can view the whole set (currently Fukuoka to Kagoshima - Nagasaki will eventually appear) here.

Once upon a time in Fukuoka...

After being harassed/goaded by unnamed person(s) on Facebook, I am slowly putting up my thousands of pics from the Golden Week travels. "Slowly" being the key word here. Fukuoka, the first city in Kyushu that we went to, is now online. I'm pretty sure we were in Fukuoka with Erin & Elliott, at least part of the time, though my pictures don't do a good job of proving this. I think Randal has more on his camera, but I haven't had a chance to steal any from him. When I do, I might add more pics at that point.

In a nutshell: Fukuoka was great. We were both really impressed with the city. It was vibrant and there was a lot to do and see. We proved this by completely exhausting ourselves by walking halfway across the city and back, visiting a mall with a canal in it, a castle, a giant park, a small park, a few temples, a glass-encased 234m tall tower (yikes!), a beach, a few good restaurants, and a video arcade or two (probably - I don't have any pictures to prove it, but I'm sure we did - we always do). Next time, I think we need to better acquaint ourselves with the city's public transportation system.

I have a friend who taught English for 4 years in Kyushu, 2 1/2 in Fukuoka and 1 1/2 in Oita, which is about 50km away (I think), and I can see why she liked it so much.

Anyway, still to come, of course, are Kagoshima and Nagasaki. Not tonight - I must sleep.


In non-Fukuoka-related news, I also reviewed the books I read in April (all 2 of 'em!), so knock yourselves out in the stacks.

Post for Stuart.

*sigh* OK, here goes.

On Facebook, the new evil in my life, Stuart named me as one of the people he wanted to do this quiz. Since I am a sucker, I did.*

Three Names You Go By:
1. Julie (shocking!)
2. Jules
3. Oozle. But if anyone other than my brothers try to call me that, I'll have to send my goons over to beat you up.

Three Parts of Your Heritage:
1. French
2. Canadian
3. uh, French-Canadian? Really, there is no third part! Throw me a frickin' bone here!

Three Things That Scare You:
1. Birds. Holy f**k.
2. Heights. (sometimes)
3. Cataloguing. (LOL - couldn't resist.)

Three of Your Everyday Essentials:
1. Eating something chocolate.
2. Spending time with my dog...which is currently sorely lacking from my life.
3. Facebooking, apparently.

Three Things You Are Wearing Right Now: This is easy!!!
1. Pink fleecy PJ top.
2. Red and white plaid fleecy PJ pants.
3. Blue slippers with white snowflakes on 'em. It's getting late here!

Three of Your Favourite Songs Right Now:
1. Staralfur by Sigur Ros (will always be #1, I think)
2. anything from the Katamari Damacy videogame soundtrack - too perfect to not listen to while walking through Japanese life!
3. ummm, 3 songs? I've listened to the same songs for the past 5 years... OK, "Front 2 Back" by Playgroup off the "Blue Crush" soundtrack. (I'm so embarassed...)

Three Things You Want in a Relationship (other than Love):
1. Honesty
2. Humour
3. Curiosity about the world

Two Truths and a Lie (in any order):
1. I have a weakness for redheads. (Hi, Stuart!)
2. I am a real redhead. (Ask Randal!)
3. My first boyfriend was a redhead. (Have to stick to the theme.)
[answers at the end]

Three PHYSICAL Things About the Opposite Sex that Appeal to You:
1. Hands. (sooooo important that he has good hands)
2. Drownable eyes.
3. Height. (Tall is good.)

Three of Your Favourite Hobbies:
1. Reading a good book.
2. Pretending I can make paper crafts.
3. Sleeping. (My students always put this as one of their hobbies, and I'm jealous - I never get enough sleep.)

Three Things You Want to Do Really Badly Right Now (But Can't):
Other than the obvious ("see my dog"):
1. Eat a Toronto Roll. Holy, do I ever.
2. Watch a hockey playoff game. Especially since (or despite the fact that? I'm not sure) it won't be the Maple Leafs.
3. Retire on the proceeds of the book I'm never going to write.

Three Places You Want To Go: Only three???
1. Vietnam
2. Prague, Czech Republic
3. France

Three Things You Want to Do Before You Die:
1. Travel as much as I can.
2. Read books till my brains fall out.
3. See the northern lights. (I never have! What a bad Canadian I am.)

Three Ways That You Are Stereotypically a Girl/Guy:
1. I was a NKOTB fan. It was a long time ago, and I was young and foolish!!!
2. While I am no Imelda, I am often chastised for not owning any "sensible" shoes. (I own three pairs of sneakers - what a lie!)
3. I believe that videogaming is a perfectly honourable way to pass one's time ... wait a minute. Which of the two gender stereotypes am I trying to prove again?

Three People I Would Like to See Take This Quiz:
On Facebook: Keith, Marie-Lyne, and Brandon.
On Their Blogs: Rebecca and Mark, who can both also Facebook it if they so choose, and Randal, who currently refuses to join Facebook, and I am having no luck in the art of persuasion on that point.


Oh yes. The answers to the 2 Truths and a Lie. I do indeed have a weakness for redheads. I swoon at the sight of them. Archie was my god, growing up. And Rick Astley, oh my. This is largely why I wish so much that I were a redhead. But as Randal and my hairdresser can both tell you (though their information may come from, uh, different sources), I am not. Miss Clairol is my best friend. And Brandon now *has* to carry on this meme, since I was kind enough to mention him as a true redhead (which he is) and as my first boyfriend (which he was). So. The truth is ugly, but well, it's out there.


* If nothing else, perhaps this will stop the incessant Facebook poking. At least for a little while.