i hate driving. i really do. if i can walk, ride my bike or use public transit, i will. i try to avoid using my car at all costs- especially now that i live in montreal. unfortunately, circumstances led me to drive to work this morning. this in itself wasn't a major issue. it was the drive home that really cemented my dislike for cars, drivers and montreal traffic in general.
the drive home tonight took me some 50 minutes. it usually takes 20 (it takes 30 on my bike). the bumper to bumper drive was made worse by the fact that, for the most part, montreal drivers are a bunch of wankers. not once but twice on this particular drive was i honked at for not gridlocking. uh, hello- why would i enter the intersection when none of the cars are moving? i was honked at. then honked at again. then the car behind me snuck into the lane next to me (causing much more honking), slowed down with the window rolled down and gave me "the staredown". then i watched as they stopped 1/2 a car length ahead of me. good thing they got so angry. it really helped them on their commute. jerks!
i don't understand why people feel the need to do the slow drive-by. all it does is piss me off. and then there are 2 angry people on the road. it's not like i was doing something wrong. i was *not* causing gridlock. which, by the way, happens to be illegal (and comes with a decent fine). instead i got to watch people do just that and block traffic in all directions...which only added to the slowness of the commute. their self-righteousness drives me crazy. it's as though they think they're the only ones trying to get somewhere in a hurry, that they're the only ones who deserve to get home sooner then everyone else. that they, and only they, are wishing to be anywhere but their car.
i for one, was desperately missing my bike.
xo
June 30, 2011
June 26, 2011
la st jean baptiste
i have memories from my childhood, filled with street parties, bbq, dressing up in red-white-and-blue and trying streamers on my trike before parading down the street with my siblings and friends. it was a celebration of my french canadian heritage. it was la st jean baptiste.
la st jean (as it's known) has its roots in paganism, as many of our now-christian holidays do. it used to be a celebration of the summer solstice on june 21st until sometime in the 1st millenia (AD) when the holiday was appropriated by the christians and became la st-jean baptiste. it came to canada with the european immigrants (discovering the new land) and has been celebrated in "canada" since the 1600's (some countries in europe still celebrate it too: france, sweden, denmark and lithuania, etc) it didn't become a patriotic event for quebec until the mid 1800's.
in 1977, june 24th was declared as "la fete national du quebec", which is a somewhat controversial title to the celebration given that quebec isn't officially a nation. but whatever. after that time, it became a stat holiday for all quebecois, not just the catholics or french-canadian (yes, there are non-french quebecois folk). the celebrations slowly became more secularized until they are what we know now: a big rockin' party.
scattered amongst the province are musicians, festivals, parades, family-friendly events, and terraces over-run with drunken people. la st-jean is a celebration of all things quebec. no other province, as a whole, recognizes the holiday though many areas of french canada do have their own celebrations. hence the streamers, red white and blue and street parties of my childhood. many quebecers were surprised that i knew about la st-jean (because clearly, not being from quebec denies me rights as a french-canadian...but that's another post) but it really was a fun time growing up.
unfortunately for quebec, the weather did not cooperate this year. at least not in the montreal area. it rained all day. off and on but mostly on. grey skies. wind gusting. i for one, did not attend any festivities for lack of motivation to go outside in the rain. sad, i know. i would've liked to immerse myself in some quebec-culture (yes, its different from my own french-canadianism), listen to traditional french music, curse the rest of canada for not embracing this holiday as its own and maybe (just maybe) eat a poutine or 2.
xo
June 16, 2011
totem
working at the circus has a few perks. i get to treat (mostly) ridiculously fit, (generally) motivated athletes who injure themselves doing things that would hurt mere mortals just thinking about. i get to watch training sessions if/when i have spare time in my schedule. i get to tell people that i'm a carnie... and every now and again, i get to see a show. sure, we had to beg and plead for tickets, but my colleagues and i managed to get to the dress rehearsal of Totem, the current show living at the old port in montreal.
i'm pretty sure that totem tells the story of evolution. there's an "old guy" who plays darwin (who does a nifty juggling act), some monkeys, a few cavemen and nearing the end, some spacemen. i actually felt like i got the gist of this show. which, to be honest, may be a first. not that i've seen that many shows but i don't think i ever really "got" one before. (frankly, i don't think anyone gets them. but i digress)
the show opens with a human water-droplet falling from the sky (until i started writing this, i was convinced they were a disco ball but now that i think about it, it doesn't make sense. water it is). there is a lot of water in the theme- a lot of unnecessarily scantily clad folk (mostly men, so it was fine really) in beach-type scenarios. the monkeys, who bring forth a planet-of-the-apes sub-theme, also reappear often throughout the show. the monkeys are played by humans (because cirque never uses animals) and are incredibly lifelike. a few times during the show, i had to remind myself that they were just men in costumes, not monkeys.
the highlights of totem, in my opinion (without giving away too much) are the duo-trapeze number, the unicycle act, and last but not least, the russian bar routine.
though, to be honest, the whole thing was just amazing.
xo
i'm pretty sure that totem tells the story of evolution. there's an "old guy" who plays darwin (who does a nifty juggling act), some monkeys, a few cavemen and nearing the end, some spacemen. i actually felt like i got the gist of this show. which, to be honest, may be a first. not that i've seen that many shows but i don't think i ever really "got" one before. (frankly, i don't think anyone gets them. but i digress)
the show opens with a human water-droplet falling from the sky (until i started writing this, i was convinced they were a disco ball but now that i think about it, it doesn't make sense. water it is). there is a lot of water in the theme- a lot of unnecessarily scantily clad folk (mostly men, so it was fine really) in beach-type scenarios. the monkeys, who bring forth a planet-of-the-apes sub-theme, also reappear often throughout the show. the monkeys are played by humans (because cirque never uses animals) and are incredibly lifelike. a few times during the show, i had to remind myself that they were just men in costumes, not monkeys.
the highlights of totem, in my opinion (without giving away too much) are the duo-trapeze number, the unicycle act, and last but not least, the russian bar routine.
though, to be honest, the whole thing was just amazing.
xo
June 8, 2011
do you bixi?
bicycle + taxi = bixi. quickly becoming my favourite way to get around this city, the montreal-based bixi is a very popular bike share program. with stations smattered around the city (just on the island of MTL actually), it's a super convenient way to get from point a to point b.
the idea is that you go to the bike station (large bike racks on random city streets) and either pay for a single use or insert your bixi key-tag and unlock your bike. if you are a subscriber (which we are), you get to use the bixi for 45 mins before having to return it. to any other bike station around town. if you don't subscribe, it's only 30 mins.
the bikes are rather comfortable dutch-style bikes (or hipster bikes, as my friend noted) but have 3 gears and hand brakes. there are built in lights that flash when you pedal, and a rack at the front to hold a bag or 2. they are all easily adjustable for varying heights and easy to ride.
at first, we didn't know what to make of the bixis. we have our own bikes, so we thought it might just be an unnecessary expense. but as the stations started to pop up around town, slowly infiltrating the streets, we were intrigued. we weren't going to subscribe, mostly because the nearest station to us was about 1km away. not that convenient. and then one day -as if by magic- a bike station appeared about 200m down the road. we were ready to embrace our newfound chariots.
think about it. bixis eliminated the annoying part of riding a bike downtown. you lock the bike, go to the bar. move bars. move bars again. then have to get home. but now instead of trying to remember where you parked your bike, you just hop on a new one...at a station just around the corner. they also eliminate the risk of having your bike pinched. which i'm told is rather common here. they definitely eliminate the waiting around for the bus, or the price of a taxi. i'd like to say they decrease the quantity of cars on the road too, but i think that most people who use the system aren't those who generally drive everywhere anyhow.
the few downsides to bixi, in my opinion are these. first, very few people wear helmets when riding them. i see the occasional person, but it's definitely an afterthought for most people (myself included) when on the bixi. second, whilst it has encouraged many people to start riding a bike to the metro/work/bar, many of these people don't have bike etiquette (upcoming post...) and are giving good cyclists a bad name. and third, some people get frustrated when they show up to a bike stand and see that they're all full / all gone and have to wait a few minutes before getting their bike (this problem is all but eliminated with the right iphone app. which i have)
the bixi system isn't unique; there are plenty of bike share programs around the world (clearly a budding trend), offering cheap, quick and easy transportation around major cities. but it is fun. and it really is convenient.
so, the question remains: do you bixi?
xo
the idea is that you go to the bike station (large bike racks on random city streets) and either pay for a single use or insert your bixi key-tag and unlock your bike. if you are a subscriber (which we are), you get to use the bixi for 45 mins before having to return it. to any other bike station around town. if you don't subscribe, it's only 30 mins.
the bikes are rather comfortable dutch-style bikes (or hipster bikes, as my friend noted) but have 3 gears and hand brakes. there are built in lights that flash when you pedal, and a rack at the front to hold a bag or 2. they are all easily adjustable for varying heights and easy to ride.
at first, we didn't know what to make of the bixis. we have our own bikes, so we thought it might just be an unnecessary expense. but as the stations started to pop up around town, slowly infiltrating the streets, we were intrigued. we weren't going to subscribe, mostly because the nearest station to us was about 1km away. not that convenient. and then one day -as if by magic- a bike station appeared about 200m down the road. we were ready to embrace our newfound chariots.
think about it. bixis eliminated the annoying part of riding a bike downtown. you lock the bike, go to the bar. move bars. move bars again. then have to get home. but now instead of trying to remember where you parked your bike, you just hop on a new one...at a station just around the corner. they also eliminate the risk of having your bike pinched. which i'm told is rather common here. they definitely eliminate the waiting around for the bus, or the price of a taxi. i'd like to say they decrease the quantity of cars on the road too, but i think that most people who use the system aren't those who generally drive everywhere anyhow.
the few downsides to bixi, in my opinion are these. first, very few people wear helmets when riding them. i see the occasional person, but it's definitely an afterthought for most people (myself included) when on the bixi. second, whilst it has encouraged many people to start riding a bike to the metro/work/bar, many of these people don't have bike etiquette (upcoming post...) and are giving good cyclists a bad name. and third, some people get frustrated when they show up to a bike stand and see that they're all full / all gone and have to wait a few minutes before getting their bike (this problem is all but eliminated with the right iphone app. which i have)
the bixi system isn't unique; there are plenty of bike share programs around the world (clearly a budding trend), offering cheap, quick and easy transportation around major cities. but it is fun. and it really is convenient.
so, the question remains: do you bixi?
xo
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