Crystal’s Neighborhood

Before and after

mcco12
4 hours ago
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OK. Bad pictures (our digital camera broke a while back so we only have the iPhone camera), but this gives an idea of some progress our kitchen is making.

This is Ken (Masa's brother).

Two befores and one after. Still not done but coming along! Notice the floors, too!

We still need to install a shelf above the tiles (above the sink) to keep all the cookbooks. And this is just one wall! Still coming along, slowlyslowlyslowly....

Before - July 2009 (#1)

Before (July 2009)

After (December 2009)

Unions: good or bad? Discuss.

mcco12
2 days ago
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Union jobs: what a waste!

I have mixed feelings about unions. On the one hand, when workers were/are truly exploited, they save lives and prevent suffering. We wouldn't be where we are as a society (vacation time, five day work weeks, maternity leave options) without unions and all the work they have done in the past.

On the other hand, when one lives in a developed country, they spoil people rotten. They can make people lazy. And selfish. And unproductive. They take the competition out of many fields, I think.

Case in point: this college I work for. I have to come in today, bill for seven hours, though I have less than 40 minutes of actual work today. I mean, I can find SOMETHING to do, but since everyone's job title is very specific and clear, the union I belong to has very clear rules about what can and can't be done in the position I have. God forbid I accidentally do part of someone else's job.

So I surf the internet, read books for fun, write emails, text, make phone calls and annoy people I know (who wants to chat on the phone in the middle of the day on a Monday?). And get paid for it!

Basically, I was told that since they have this position budgeted until the middle of this month, I need to keep coming in, even if there are no students.

I'm not complaining. But it sure is a waste. Somehow doing work for another company (which I could easily do today) feels like crossing a line (and I'm sure it violates the union rules somehow anyway), so I don't dare do that.

So I write a blog post instead.

First party, job interview, optimism.

mcco12
4 days ago
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OK so we're having our first party tomorrow night. It kind of happened by accident: a good friend of ours is headed back to Tokyo for the holidays and will miss another mutual friend's Christmas party in two weeks, so I said "Oh, we should have a party for you before you go" and suddenly, that's what was happening. Then she invited some other mutual friends and I invited a couple of people and now it's a party. It's not dinner (we have no dining room table yet) but we're going to get some snacks, get a Christmas tree and some wine, and just decorate our tree, drink, snack and hang out. Should be fun, but I have to admit that I'm a little nervous. Our house is FAR from done but it's definitely coming along. We haven't ever had more than two people over to our place, even in our old place. So it will be a new experience.

And if it goes well, maybe we will have a New Year's party here. Maybe. It's always such a dilemma, what we should do on New Year's since one friend wants to have a big party, another friend wants to have dinner in a restaurant, and some other friends want to go party hopping. I'd rather just have 6-7 people over, order some take out, sit on the floor and watch TV! Ah, which reminds me: got to get a new adapter for our TV since we haven't been able to even turn the thing on in three months.

So I had a job interview today. It was so random. The other day when we were at Service Canada getting M's SIN, I sat down at this empty computer for 2 minutes while we waited and started just browsing through their job ads. I'd never done it before though I've been there 3-4 times recently. I don't know why I did it, actually. Usually it's busy and Wednesday it was very quiet. I don't need any more work, in all honesty, so it was more out of curiosity: what kinds of jobs are on offer in Quebec (I never look for jobs in Montreal), etc. I scrolled through several pages: lots of fitness instructors needed and hairdressers. Odd. Suddenly I came across this job that was like written for me. Seriously: it was exactly the kind of background and experience I have. Weird. I don't do anything fancy or technical but my experience and "expertise" (if, indeed, that's even the right word) is extremely specific. Hence, the reason I work for all these international organizations. It's very surprising that a Quebec company would be looking to hire someone with my kind of background.

Anyway, I printed the job ad off, came home, took a nap, then zipped off a cv while I was getting ready to do some work. Literally 15 minutes later I had an interview scheduled. I went to it today. I'm sure they are going to give it to me. Well, pretty sure. The only hitch might be that I probably charge more than they want to pay. Maybe. Hard to know. Anyway, it's only a PT gig (or I told them that I was only interested in a PT gig) but it'd be a nice new challenge. I'd have to drop something though: I have far too much work as it is now. But something about working for this company, doing this job, is very appealing. Imagine going into work and using French every single day all day. Woah. I get a headache just thinking about it! Anyway, we'll see...

I just feel optimistic about things generally. I get to worrying about work, about the future, and then suddenly something totally unexpected comes along. And even if I don't get a contract with them, it makes me more optimistic to know that anything could happen tomorrow...

merry f'&*ing xmas

1 comment

LOL

gamany
5 days ago

Same story, different country.

mcco12
6 days ago
2 comments

This story shocked me.

Amy Goodman, a champion of democracy rights, detained at Canadian border by Canadian officials.

Seriously scary stuff. Makes me cringe and make me embarrassed that BC is in such a huff about the stupid Olympics. I can understand their fears about security but if what she says is true, they are getting more than a little paranoid out there in the West.

Incidentally, I read her blog and watch her show just about every day and while I certainly don't agree with everything she says, the world needs people like her in it.

Ve haf vays of making you talk - ey

A true Quebecker.

mcco12
7 days ago
2 comments

So we finalized all of M's paperwork: now's he got his healthcare card on its way (thanks, Quebec), a Social Insurance Number, etc etc. We expected to stand in lines all day today but it actually went pretty fast and painlessly.

After the Regie d'assurance maladie we went over to Service Canada to get his new SIN and the only hitch there was the guy was somewhat of an ASS.HOLE. Why do people like that have to ruin a perfectly nice day? Grrr. He sort of snarked at us (because of something his colleague had told us earlier) and I snarked right back. Actually, I got a bit angry. It was dumb, I should have just let it roll off me, but I hated his entire attitude. My feeling was that he was homophobic and he was just being rude and of course I could totally have been wrong but he made a big production of asking who I was ("Are you his translator?" Masa says, "Uh, I can speak English...") and he didn't look pleased. Then again, I could be wrong and it could have been my imagination. But sometimes, one just gets a feeling. He didn't say anything but of course he wouldn't say anything because he'd be in trouble if he did but....anyway. His snarking was on the surface unrelated but my sense was that he was just taking his uncomfortable feeling out on us.

Honestly, I forget that we are "unusual" in that sense 99% of the time. And 99 times out of 100 in Montreal, no one gives a shit anyway. But once in a while, I am reminded that we are not the standard couple and it always seems to be a stark reminder.

Whatever. He tried to smooth things over kind of after I yelled back at him...Masa always keeps his calm. When I started to get upset, he just put his hand on my arm and didn't say a word, just tried to cool me off.

I rarely lose my temper anymore. So it's good to know I've still got it when I need it once in a while. But definitely glad I had Masa there to prevent me from really losing it and throwing something at the jerk.

Next step is getting him a driver's license. I don't know why but I find it hilarious to think that Masa will have a Quebec driver's license. I guess that means he's really becoming a Quebecker...

Maybe he just hates his job.

Experimental Spanish novels, winter soups, Ian McEwan, cheese souffles, and Julia...

mcco12
7 days ago
2 comments

*Cooking a lot the last few weeks. I guess it's my way of getting ready for winter: I've made chicken tortellini soup twice, chicken fettucini soup, chilli, cream of cauliflower soup, popovers twice, meatloaf, plus I've baked cake twice and cookies several times. Oh, and I'm making real oatmeal every morning with omelettes. It's kind of getting a bit out of hand, all this cooking.

*Talk about getting old (comment from yesterday)! Last night I stayed up past 3.30 watching Julia Child videos on youtube. Why? I don't know, I guess it's all the cooking I've been doing. I much prefer the older episodes from the 60s and 70s to the more modern ones from the 80s and 90s when she stands around while other people cook. You can watch some on pbs.org, too. I want to make a cheese souffle because it looks like fun to make it. But I've never made one before. Come to think of it, I've never really eaten one before. Do people eat souffles anymore?

*Cold and rainy/snowy all afternoon, so I got into bed and watched "Atonement." Meh. It was OK. Beautifully filmed, but a little odd and the director is rather in love with his own vision, I think. Long directorial asides that are visually pleasing but also distracting. I don't know, I guess I have mixed feelings about it. I like Ian McEwan a lot (Black Dogs is one of my most favorite novellas ever), but it's a hard book to translate to the screen since so much of it is internal. I also felt that the war scenes were very....like they were under glass, museum pieces. They lacked depth and rawness, though, again, visually, they were beautiful. Makes me want to read the book again since I haven't read it since probably 2002.

*I agreed to take this Spanish novel (in translation) under my belt for a book review and what a mistake that was. It's all experimental, no sentence breaks, just rambling associative form, nearly impossible to read and enjoy (for me). AND I have to be able to write a coherent book review for it and sound halfway intelligent. Blech. It's going to weigh on me for the next month! Why do I agree to do these things?

puke happens

gamany
Nov 30, 2009

...came home to find mint green doggie puke on my favorite chocolate comforter. (no more Nutri Dent chews for the pooch.)

This.

mcco12
Nov 29, 2009
3 comments

You know how life gets to feeling stale some days. Blech. Lately just in a funk or something. I tend to get a bit mellowish when winter starts but it's not really depressed. First off, I don't really have much to get depressed about. I guess it's more a twofold sensation: 1) I work so hard and for what? This place we're living in? Not regretting it by any means and we do love it, but it's an adjustment being an owner. It's only been four months (feels like four years already) so of course it's more expensive in the beginning but it's getting old, all the things we need and all the money we are spending. Whatever. 2) I am having to readjust my own view of who I am in some ways. Since I was 20, I have always been a traveler and that was how I defined myself. Living all over and moving so much became part of my operating procedure and since we feel rooted to some extent here, I am having to consider what it means to not be a traveler. I know that we will travel more in the near future, but I don't really see myself moving anywhere, really. No more 2 year adventures in Africa or joining the Peace Corps or living in Vietnam. My life is too present here, I have too many responsibilities for that now.

And that sucks.

There is a way, I guess, but it takes a different kind of approach. And I guess I can deal with that. Or maybe I'm wrong and something will crop up and surprise me. Maybe we'll head back to Japan for a while (my sister's there now). Or maybe not. Maybe somewhere else. But we'll definitely come back and this is definitely going to be our "base" for a long time.

I'm not complaining. I have a lot to be happy and thankful for. But it's a new way of thinking about my future, living here permanently. Or at least for a long long time. I used to love the big question mark of the future but it's not a question mark in the same way. Now it feels as if I am already planning for the future and living this mentality that I mainly despise: planning ahead, being practical, stifling all the adventures I still want to have. For what? Security--which is an illusion anyway. I guess teaching my way across Asia opened my eyes to certain realities: that I don't want to be a 50 year old with nothing, living paycheck to paycheck. That's fine when you're 25, but when I'm 50, I can't live like that (shit, I haven't been able to live that like since 30 perhaps). Not that I want to be rich, God no. I just want to feel like I have something to show for all the years I have spent working hard.

Then at other times, I remind myself that it's all just stuff: all the furniture we are buying and all the things we are spending money on: it's just STUFF and if I put the iron too close to the curtain some afternoon, it could all be gone in a flash. So it's not worth getting attached to any of it. The place we love but it's just as much because it's an investment in the future as it is a place to live. We were just as happy in our small one bedroom apartment with 1/2 the stuff we have now. But owning this place is like having money in the bank and as much as I hate the practical side of that sentence, it's something to consider.

Still. I hate thinking about bills, retirement accounts, credit scores. When 10 years ago I just lived my life with no debt, spending whatever I made, and enjoying my life. I hate being grown up. Why can't I just toss caution into the wind and return to the carefree life I once had when if I wanted to quit my job or move to another country or take three weeks off at the drop of a hat, I could?

I just have to remind myself that this is all part of some greater plan: a few more years of working hard, socking money into this place and we could rent it out for a year, travel the world, make money by doing nothing, literally. We're not there yet but all this practical living is just part of the plan. I hope I don't lose sight of that!