Epic long post so that you will all forgive me

I had a horribly, monstrously busy weekend that involved two plays and a child birthday party. The latter was almost unexpected: the friend who was supposed to give me a lift had not given any sign of life until the last minute, and I had to rush out because I hate making people wait. I kind of died of adorable with the little ones, though.

The first play was fun - it was Boeing-Boeing, a farce about the down sides of polygamy, in 1960's France (which was adapted twice for the big screen, including in the US with *gasp* Jerry Lee Lewis!) The play was directed in Vaudeville style, with a local twist and some regional expressions. It was very enjoyable, aside for the bit where I was the only person laughing at the really funny jokes (wtf, audience?). I will never truly understand these people, I think.This was actually part of the Just for Laughs festival, which has been litterally on my doorstep these past two weeks. Every day, I got off work to wander into a street full of clowns and revellers. A bit surreal, but wonderful all the same.

The second play was Shakespeare's As You Like It, as directed by Repercussions. I enjoyed the fact that it was a bilingual adaptation, and adored the way it was directed. It was funny, witty, well done, and all in all very pleasant to sit through. It was also, alas, sometimes hard to hear over the popping of fireworks. You gotta admit it, life in Montreal is wonderful in the summer, even if one free activity actually gets in the way of the other.

And as I've taken to writing a lot of fan fiction lately (it's a good exercise in writing), now I must ask. Are there any curious readers, out there?

Hm.

I haven't blogged in a while. Not tweeted, blogged. As a matter of fact, I haven't twitted either. I blame mid-term rush.


Because I am remarkably lazy, I'm re-editing an email I recently sent to a friend about my current situation. Pardon the lazy.

I wouldn't go back on my choice to leave my traveling job for the world, even though I'm just about to enter mid-term rushes. To be honest, compared to the demands of my past professional life, it feels very palatable.

I took five classes, this semester. The Department Head is open to evaluating the possibility of sending me off to a Masters program in September. I have two Historical Linguistics classes, one focusing on French, the other in English. It's fascinating how the two languages were interwoven through out medieval history. I also have an epistemological class on Sexuality and Representation - though it may be a bit more abstract, it's fascinating, and I particularly enjoy the readings. Then I have two methodology classes which may be less exciting, but are interesting nonetheless, both in the matter of analysis, one in French, one in English, again. I am rediscovering through all this how I very much enjoy essay writing and research.

And so my life is really much like that of a studious monk, once again, but I am so engrossed and stimulated by what I do that it does not bother me one bit. The occasional weekly evening out with friends participates in the preservation of my status as a social beast. I still live at my mother's for now - the arrangement suits us both.

With mid-term rush over, I'm currently enjoying Reading week - and unfortunately getting distracted with writing fan fiction, which is most terrible, and at the same time very liberating for my inner geek.


I'm linking here to my profile on FanFiction.net. Feel free to read, and even more, to review. Comments, as usual, are love.


The Beaver

No longer a Hobo

So.

I'm home. I mean, really, really home.  I mean, home, for good.

So. 

If you are my friend in RL and you still have a set of fingers, use them and call me up for coffee.  Because I am HOME, Baby !  (But yes, I know, I know, and I am getting on that phone, yes, I promise.)

I just went to college today for my "English written skillz admission test". 

I rocked, of course. Because I rock. 

It's a bit like being on the recovery track after a long illness - I go to the swimming pool every day.  I eat well. I try to be a good girl about my own life.  I have about 60lbs to lose, and I'm working on that.  I also know my brain is going to come back in shape.

I'm on the mend, and that's good, it's really, really good.

Also, one of my pictures made it to Schmap for the iPhone. How cool is that?

Check it out here.

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

A bunch of random things

On the eve of this election, I urge you to watch (if you can find it), a "Clean Escape", by Sam Egan, which was the first episode of "Masters of Science-Fiction".If you can't find your hands on it, read this very detailed and adequate recap - but warnings, because it is SPOILERIFIC.This being said - I'll be watching, and crossing my fingers. The US is making history, in the next 24 hours. So what else is new?

------------------------

I fail at work, these days. Come to think of it, I'm fail at a lot of things - including NaNo, it's not even funny. I'm not sure what's wrong with me in that respect. For work, I know - I'm suffering from Short Timer Disease. Even if I'm trying to motivate myself with the desire to not let down .... Mr. Burns. (current boss, here, yes, he really, really looks like Mr. Burns, except he's actually nice, and I actually like him. No, that doesn't make me Smithers. **shudder**)

ETA: My boss just made an impersonation of Monty Burns. I am flailing inwardly.

------------------------

But for NaNo, I'm not sure. I like my story - it's a fun adventure thingie, where I get to be very cruel to my people. I created a fun pair of characters, and I like them. So. Why can I not write? Damn it! I feel so lazy, at night, it's not even funny. I told my mum about NaNo, and Burns, and also ... how do I call this one? I'm going to call him Wallace, for the Wallace in Sin City. No. He should be Helmholtz Watson, from Brave New World. Because he's perfect. Though I guess I could recast Mr. Burns as Bernard Marx, in that case. Which makes me Lenina. It even works because BMarx has been sort of hitting on me, much to my despair. I'd much rather it be HWatson. Srsly. Anyway. HWatson said he'd be my reader, which is cool. I like him, and I trust him. Too bad this is a one-time assignment together.

------------------------

I saw Sin City again last night. It was awesome. I love Marv. I love to hear him say, "That is one damn fine coat you’re wearin’ ". I love Dwight McCarthy so much, too.

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I've been rediscovering Pink Floyd. High Hopes feels so appropriate - I'm not sure why, exactly, but it feels like a good song for a place like Rwanda, were innocence has been so direly tested over the past 40 years.



Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun
Along the long road and on down the causeway
Do they still meet there by the cut
There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before time took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The nights of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide
At a higher altitude with flag unfurled
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world

****

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever

That's it. Tata. Sorry for being so random.

Yeah, I live

Apologies for being a horrible friend who doesn't keep in touch. Seriously.

Wow. I haven't updated here in about a couple million years. I think I need to write something, just to prove that I'm still able to. Seriously. I just haven't been keeping up with Facebook, or my own blog for a bit. Call it a thinking hiatus.

I realize that I didn’t write anything since my European trip - mostly, I got absorbed in the offline world and in Madrid - in Paris - in Luxembourg - in England. It was fantastic, and I moved on just in time to go to Aceh for my next assignment.

Aceh was alright - there were some pleasant moments with my team - I did manage to blog some then, thankfully so.

And then there was the summer leave during which I went to a family bash in France and got in trouble in England for being a bad packer. (Not a backpacker, though it could have been that too.) People, that swiss knife? Just leave it at home.

Then there was Haiti, again, otherwise known as Hell. I spent weeks and weeks locked up at work or in my room, waiting for it to be over - and still sort of traumatized by my English experience. I didn't update - I honestly had little to say or to tell. It was just a waiting time. Jachere. It was a good thing I had a long leave of absence planned after that.

So I had a long vaca - it wasn't lost, though. I made some decisions - mostly about ending my current gig, and going on to uni. I need to be in the world of Academia again. When I see those dorky professors and musty classrooms, I get all emo. So. Instead of going on like an idiot about how I need to change my life, I did.

I quit. I'm going back to school in January. One last gig, and I'm done with this slave trader of a boss. I admit, I'm going to miss my friends at work, though it's only a matter of time before they move on too - it always is in this business.

It's a big deal - it's my second degree, I know. I just need to be intellectually stimulated again. I want to think of Edgar Allan Poe's translations of Baudelaire. I want to reflect on the contruction of Finwean linguistics. I want to take time to write essays about how Jane Austen was repressed and how she is just like Madame de Cleves.

I'm going to be a lit professor.

Fuck joining the corporate world. It was never a life for me. It doesn't work for me, it never did.

And I also say, blah to trying to change the world. It's impossible - even the best intentions get twarped by politics. It's time to face the fact : I want to do things I feel like doing - not things that I have to do because I should fit in a mold.

I don't want a white picket fence.

I don't want 2.5 kids.

I don't want to give up my freedom just because it's a condition of being like everyone else.

I don't want to be like everyone. I want to be me.

In the meantime, I’m in Rwanda for another month and a half. I’ll live.

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Coming soon, Week 4 (Part 2)

Last set of notes... I'll be putting up some stories very soon, AND some pictures !

• A multi-lingual day ;
• A second home-coming ;
• Running errands in conquered territory ;
• Meeting the Lily ;
• Boot sales ;
• Fleeting ghosts ;
• Home at last.

There, you have it, all in a nut shell. I'm going to work on putting the stories up in the upcoming weeks, plus the current developments. I'm home, now, but traveling again, for work, this time, back to Aceh. There will be much to say on the matter as well.

Peace,

The Beaver
My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

On the road again....

So I had a short interlude at home (completely unplanned, mind you,) and now, I'm waiting for my flight to Cotonou, sitting on a hard chair in Charles-de-Gaulle Airport.

Thanks to Boingo, I'm connected, and so I can update.

Honestly, I have little to say, save for the fact that I am alive, and hungry for some happiness. I'm realizing I've been living in a state of emotional death for the last few months, and that it's not the way I should be.

Unfortunately, absence of strong emotions is starting to become a rather comfortable place to be.

Thoughts, anyone?

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Reflections on First World Contemporary Art

This is much belated. I’ve been having trouble with chronicling my life recently, for reasons I won’t discuss here. But it looks like cath up is coming at me. So here goes. This blog will not be only about Guatemala. I’ll also be catching up on stories of the past month, as they bubble up in my mind. Poof.

While I was home, I spent an afternoon at the Modern art Museum of Montreal. It was... odd. Modern art always does that to me. Three artists were presenting. A Brazilian whose art is basically... err.. huge pictures of representations made of epheremeal material. That's the best way I can put it. There was a Raft of the Medusa, in chocolate sauce. Weird.

But anyway, what he had to say about his work was this: "The object in the picture seemed to satisfy an eternal longing for its own sublimation. A body, freed from infinit materiality, meeting its own spirit." This is a note he made on a series called Individuals, basically 60 sculptures made of plasticine, though he recycled the material, so one had to be destroyed for the creation of the next one to be possible. So I guess, in his case, the final work of art was the photograph. That was the original. The things the human mind can come up with. Maybe I should start making strange, very odd things with paper clips and quit my day job. Or maybe not.

There was also a German fellow called Tomas Hirschhorn who exposed a... gods, I don't even know how to describe it. A giant set that I guess would qualify as a sculpture, except it took a whole room. The darn thing (I didn't like it, it was grisly, disturbing, depressing) was an allegory for globalization, I guess. I still took notes on it, at the time, wanting to discuss them with you - then, well, life got in the way. But here they are.

So... the thing is called Jumbo Spoons and Big Cake, and the "big cake" is our society of excessive consumption, while the "jumbo spoons" represent 12 twentieth-century utopias that have failed, in the artist's view. Examples include Fashion, Rosa Luxemburg, Degenerate Art, Rolex, the Chicago Bulls, the Moon, Nietzche, China, Venice. You know, I think in theory, I agree with him. But the presentation itself was... yuck.

Anyway, he did say something that I liked : "I realized that I had to make the choice to be an artist because only as an artist could I be totally responsible for what I did. The decision to be an artist is the decision to be free. Freedom is the condition of responsibility."

I guess I liked it because it resonated with me. I feel the need to be free. I'm slowly learning to accept to take this responsibility.

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Some news....

So... I haven't been posting at such as rabid pace as usual... that will likely keep on happening for the next month or so. On the up side, I do have a LIFE now that I'm home, and am very happy - with studying, seeing friends and family, etc. So posting may be lessened, but it is expected to go up in quality.

So, yes, I'm doing great. I have *my* head screwed back on. Had some great encounters/interactions, these past few days, and more to come.

I'm home at long last but don't have internet at my place (Yay I am at last settled in) and so I'm either doing the starbucks thing or hanging at my friends to have access. I have a radio - and my laptop plays MP3s - that's pretty much the set up in the appartment. I was able to latch on to my neighbour's network for 10 minutes today, but the connection sucks, so bleh - i'm back at Cafe El Mundo where wifi is free and chai lattes cost 4 bucks. The apartment is spartan, but comfortable, and I have internet tonight (surprisingly) so here's to unsecured wifi.

Amusingly, I have to live in French, which is making my life rather more complicated - I spent 2 good minutes explaining "nail polish remover" to the kid at the drugstore today. Couldn't for the life of me remember the French word. Considering it's my mother tongue, it's fascinating.

Amusingly, I happen to be plagued by a cold as well. My nose is just a little bit runny - enough to annoy me, not enough to warrant medical attention - and my throat is about as moist as the Sahara desert. But I'm still in a great mood.

I am enjoying the turmoil of a busy personal life and of fulfilling encounters, though there is a cynical part of me that is reluctant to die, fighting for dear life for its survival. I guess old habits die hard. A friend and I had recently been musing on the idea of crime fighting... coincidentally, today, I met a police officer, through mutual friends, who is willing to assist me in joining the provincial corps. Apparently, he thinks I would be great of undercover work. I am highly amused. My life used to be on the strange side, but should this materialize... Gods, I'll admit it would be beyond weird.

The Beaver
My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!

Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

AWOL on home leave

I am safe, I am home, and I am not blogging until I travel again... in early August.

Peace Y'all !

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Safe in sound in Pak

4 flights and 3 layovers later, I'm in Islamabad again, a year and 3 months after my first visit.

Spring in Pakistan is lovely, and the weather is warm. Flowers are blooming, and the locals are still as lovely as they were.

I came into the office and was greeted warmly by the staff.

The hotel is nice.

Why am I still yearning for home?

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Bowling in Burkina

Some people go bowling for Columbine. I go bowling in Burkina.

I’m joking about it, but there is a bowling alley right across from my hotel. That’s something new. For that matter, the whole street is new. So is the hotel. But somehow, the fact that there is now BOWLING available in Burkina is a schock to me. I have made to myself the solemn promise to go to the bowling alley and check that all bowling pins are there, and that they do indeed rent the shoes, as soon as I get back from Mopti, in Mali, somewhere 3 weeks from now. Curiosity killed the cat, but I have 9 lives.

Il y a ceux qui regardent Bowling for Columbine. Moi, je préfère le bowling au Burkina.

J’en ris, mais il y a une allée de bowling juste en face de mon hôtel. C’est nouveau ca. D’ailleurs, toute la rue est nouvelle. Ca inclut l’hôtel. Mais en quelque part, le fait qu’il est maintenant possible de faire du bowling au Burkina est un choc pour moi. A mon retour de Mopti, au Mali, dans 3 semaines, je me suis promis d’aller y faire un tour et de voir si toutes les quilles y sont, et s’ils font de la location de souliers. La curiosité est un vilain défaut. J’aime mes défauts.

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Time traveling in Ouaga

Anyway, not that all my life is about food, but it seems that it was because of lot of my memories are linked to restaurants. So I had dinner at l’Eau Vive (Running Water, in French.)

L’Eau Vive is an icon in my child memories. When I was very little in the early 80’s, my parents would take me there, and when the time came for me to go to the loo, I would lift up my skirts, pull down my panties, and thread through the whole restaurant butt-naked. Before you make any lewd comments, readers, keep in mind Baby Beaver was only 2 years old.

When we went back in 1987, we went again, and nothing had changed. One of the key features of the restaurant, aside from the fact that the food is great and the place is conducive to quiet talks and serenity, it that you would get interrupted in the middle of your meal and get invited to join the nun’s community in an Ave Maria.

Because it’s a bit naïve, it’s funny, and touching, and heart-warming. And even more so for me, because 16 years later, the hymns are the same. And so is the place. And so is the menu. Going there is a trip back in time, and I am loving every moment of it.

Enfin, ce n’est pas que tout ma vie tourne autour de la nourriture, mais on dirait que c’est le cas parce que beaucoup de mes souvenirs sont lie a des restaurants. J’ai donc soupe a l’Eau Vive.

L’Eau Vive est un icône de mes souvenirs d’enfances. Quand j’étais toute petite au début des années 80, mes parents m’y amenaient et quand il était temps pour moi d’aller au petit coin, je soulevais ma robe, baissait ma culotte et traversait le restaurant les fesses a l’air. (Avant de faire le malin, rappelez-vous que j’avais 2 ans!)

Quand on est retourne au Burkina en 1987, on est revenu a l’Eau Vive, et rien n’avait change. Une des caractéristiques du restaurant, en dehors du fait que la bouffe est excellente et que le cadre est agréable et relaxant, est que votre repas est immanquablement interrompu par une invitation à se joindre aux sœurs dans un Ave Maria.

Moi je trouve ca marrant parce que c’est un peu naïf, mais c’est aussi touchant pour la même raison. Et encore plus touchant pour moi parce que 16 ans plus tard, les chansons sont les mêmes. L’endroit aussi. Le menu aussi. Aller a l’Eau Vive, pour moi, c’est un voyage dans le temps. Et j’en adore chaque instant.

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

SM Syndrome

I had lunch over at my friend C’s mum’s house. I realize that I keep on referring to this lovely lady as “C’s Mum” in my head, just like when we used to go to our friend’s house in the teen-age years. I think I am going to call it “Stifler’s mum” syndrome, where one is referred to solely in their capacity as a parent. To cure myself of this SMS, I am going to refer immediately to her as Mrs. O.

Lunch over at Mrs. O’s was wonderful. She is a funny, warm, maternal lady, and her smile reminds me of C’s smile. We had food, wonderful food, more and more until we begged for mercy. It was great !!! We had attieke (cassava couscous) and Alhoko (fried bananas) and fish, and chicken, and beaufitul strawberries. One of the things that makes me laugh is that Beck’s always tells the story of how she hates cooked bananas and how it was a running gag with her siblings on Sunday mornings. Now everytime she sees Alhoko she thinks of it and still won’t eat any. It’s hilarious and it’s great: more for me!!!

J’ai été invitée a manger le repas du midi chez la maman de mon ami C. Je réalise que je ne cesse de penser a elle en tant que « la maman de C », tout comme quand on allait chez nos petits amis après l’école. J’appelle ca le syndrome de « la maman de ». Pour m’en guérir, a compter de maintenant, je l’appellerai Madame O.

Le repas chez Madame O a été merveilleux. Elle drôle, chaleureuse, maternelle, et son sourire me rappelle celui de son fils, une personne que j’aime beaucoup. On a mange, merveilleusement mange, encore et encore jusqu'à demander pitié. C’était formidable!!! Au menu, l’attieke (semoule de manioc), alhoko (plantain frit), poisson et poulet, et des merveilleuses fraises. Une des choses qui me fait rire, c’est ma collègue Beck qui raconte comment dans sa famille les bananes cuites sont impopulaires, que c’est une vieille blague avec ses frères et sœurs. Maintenant, chaque fois qu’elle voit de l’alhoko elle y pense et est incapable d’en manger. C’est mourant et surtout c’est génial pour moi : ca m’en fait plus !!!

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Back on JFK Street

I’ve been trying to revisit the places I loved. I located on Saturday the American Rec Center where I used to finish last in the swimming competition in P.E. The only major difference is that they now have a gym, with no air conditioned in it. The other change is that now you have to go through a US security gate to access it, since it’s on the street across from the Embassy and the whole street is closed to circulation. Probably a post 9/11 thing. They had the same set up in Dakar, as I recall.

J’essaye de revoir les lieux que j’aimais. J’ai localise le centre récréatif américain, celui ou je finissais toujours dernière en compétition de natation de mon cours d’éducation physique. La principale différence que j’ai observe est qu’ils ont maintenant installe un gym, sans air climatise. L’autre changement, c’est que maintenant pour aller au centre, il faut passer par une barrière de sécurité, puisque le centre est en face de l’ambassade et que la rue entière est fermée a la circulation. C’est probablement un truc datant d’après le 11 septembre – c’était le même système au Sénégal, si je me souviens bien.

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Updated pictures !!!!

In there you will find (just click on the pix to access the sets).:

- last pictures of Haiti (curtosy of Naya), including some sunsets and more shots of Moulin Sur Mer ;


- Pictures of Baltimore, including a visit of the port of Baltimore and some fireworks at the Washington Monument ;



- Pictures of Toronto, mostly street scenes and cityscapes ;


- Pictures of Montreal, street scenes and cityscapes mostly.

If you are my Friend on Flickr, you will also find pix of Nights out and holiday celebrations.

May 2007 be kind to you !



The Beaver


My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Introspective Post and Season's wishes

It’s a Tuesday afternoon, and I am not working. I just made eggs and toast for myself, jazz is playing in the kitchen, and the sun room where I am sitting is filled with the Toronto grey skies. It’s the first time I have in about a month to really sit down and reflect. It’s a scary thing. Last time it happened, I wrote a post called Cul-de-sac – and it was so very depressing and somewhat tragic.

This time – I am at peace. So much has happened between Cul de Sac and now. Last time I took the time to write an introspective post, I was in Haiti, sequestered, lonely, bored and depressed. This time, I am in Toronto, in one of my homes away from home, Pgwrox’s lovely townhouse where I have now been enough times to know my way around and feel at home. I am rested, sated, and somewhat content.

Christmas is coming round and I feel no fear, for the first time in a long time. Dad won’t be there, of course. CQFD will not be there either. My mum, PG and I will be celebrating the family thing together, as the tightly knit family that we are, despite distances.

My mum and I will be the 2 widows that we are, her in her own right, me…. in my own way. Last year, at this time, we were decorating the Christmas tree, CQFD and I, at his parents’ house. I was at peace, happy, in love. I felt like it was a day of days. I felt like that moment was immortal.

But all moments are immortal. And so while my 4 years with CQFD are suspended in time, so are my memories of my Yankee lover immortal, his warmth, and how I felt happy and at home in his arms, though I may never see him again.

And so timeless are the memories of my friend Naya, grilling red peppers while chatting with her sister at the other end of the world, and so are those of the Peacekeepers of Haiti, whom I may never see again but carry forever in my heart.

The Belgian crew in Bujumbura and the Philippinos in Aceh, and of course the orphans in Sierra Leone, the staff in Liberia and CMR & Princess, whom I met in Pakistan, now scattered in Zambia and Australia, my family in France and Canada, all of you will stay in my heart for ever.

All of my fellow officers are immortal. They are all unique and special and beautiful in their own way. And I love them all, in a way that is unique to them. I will miss them during this month of rest, and I will miss some of them more until I work with them again, sometimes 6 or 7 months from now.

This year has been a busy and eventful year. I have been ill. I have had my heart broken. I have also learned much and grown in wisdom and confidence through it all. Friends have died, and babies were conceived. Love was lost and friendships were found, built and nourished. Decisions were made, lessons were learned and through it all, the wheel of life kept turning, inexorably and timelessly.





So on the eve of Christmas 2006, may your time with your loved ones be rich, filled with love and may it remain suspended in time, shimmering and bright for you to remember, should hardship befall you. We are all immortal, timeless, evanescent. And all of you readers, may you find in this holiday season the power to love, forgive and to remember.

The Beaver

Back to Beaver Land

I left Baltimore yesterdau (much baking is going on here with my cousin/uncle/father figure - so it's not yesterday - it's yesterdough). I am now in Toronto where I am enjoying some heartwarming family time.

I have SO MANY updates to put up - it's frightening. But I'm not sure I'll have time just now. I'll just tell you that many things happened over the last 3 weeks - and that I have much to say.

Stay posted !

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Who EVER said Canadians were not patriotic ?

Here is all the reasons that I proudly bear the nickname "Beaver".

Thanks to Surind for posting this great video ! I'd seen the ad before, and still love it very very much !





The Beaver


My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Horror and Shame

Below is my personal take in a discussion that has been going on here.

Steven Harper, our conservative prime minister, newly elected in December 05, has been brown nosing with Dubya ever since. With now confirmed rumors that the US are participating in the Israeli attack plan, more and more canadians feel that Harper has broken the image of neutrality and tolerance that Canada usually has across the world.

Moreoever, his evacuation plan moves at snail pace, and he has NOT taken action since some Lebenase-born Canadian citizens have been killed in the attacks.

There are rumors that we will go in election mode again in the fall to get rid of this useless politician, and Canadians are down in the street to express their discontent.

My word is this: if your government is supporting the Israeli attack, go in the street and support the protest efforts.

If you are an American citizen, consider your options. The Democrats are not disapproving the Republican support to Israel, which I guess means a third road is starting to be PARAMOUNT.

As far as I'm concerned, if Canada remains conservative, it's likely that I will join the soveignist cause in Quebec or move to France. I have no interest in being affiliated with Harper's support to the massacre of innocents.

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
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