MontREAL FUN

SOOOO I spent this morning getting ready for my next tutorial group (hereafter known as the "Kermit Conference," thanks to our official mascot and Concordia's habit of calling tutorials "conferences," as though anything half official happens in them)... I made up an official list of poetic term "which ever student of the Kermit Conference should know." I'm a bit concerned about what they go home and tell their friends about me, but more just glad I have a chance to do with them what I will! And I will do plenty! They seem a willing group ... I had some of them performing interpretive dances of the poems we're studying... when I suggested they do said dances, I meant it as a joke (more or less), but before I knew it they were doing pirouettes and violent tap sequences while their classmates read "Leda and the Swan." I resisted the urge to say, "Dance, monkey, dance!" (but only barely). They are good kids. Together we will learn like there's no tomorrow!

Anyway... after busting my brains to get the next Kermit Conference ready, I headed for the hills... or, at least, the Montreal version of the hills, aka the mountain. I set out on an exploring mission to see what's what in my neighbourhood (so far I've really only explored Parc La Fountain around here, figured it was finally time to go above and beyond). It was a good day to go out walking, not only because of the snapping-clear weather, but because there was some sort of big marathon happening along Rue Rachel, so the street was closed to traffic and people were just strolling along, watching the runners (B & A: your next marathon should be in Montreal!!!). I zig-zagged through the Plateau in the vague direction of the mountain, which I sort of thought was a long way off, when all of a sudden, that's where I was! Special news announcement: Parc Mont Royal is crazy on a Sunday afternoon! First there was the huge drum circle and its associated ragamuffin crew of dreadlocked dancers and loungers... then the elaborate medieval-esque jousting tournament, whose joint ridiculousness and incredible, contagious enthusiasm drew me over there... and then the trails and trails and trails of forest hiking! It's like a vast wilderness in the middle of the city!

Speaking of vast wildernesses... in the last couple of days, Tycho and I have resurrected the old habit of going out for walks together, avec leash. He can only handle going up and down the alley so far, which is fine with me. When we're out there he acts as if he has never seen sunlight before in his life, running from one patch of the light to the next, rolling around in the gravel to soak it all in, purring like a maniac. Eating lots of grass. Lots of grass. I hope he is not like Meg, our old dog, who would suffer an unmentionable bout of digestive disruption after chowing down on outdoor greens. BUT I was in a pet store today during my adventures, and found out from the friendly pet store people (I think that was their official name) that eating grass can help cats digest other nasty things in their guts, like cat hair (and I hate to think what else). Of course, I ended up buying a tray of "cat grass" for T, so all of the FPSP's talk could have been a ruse to get an obviously gullible cat owner to buy something from their store. We'll see. It's just that I can tell how much Tycho enjoys being outside, and I feel badly that the other 99% of his life is spent running from window to window in this little apartment, so maybe some grass could give him a little variety in his day.

That's all! I started this blog as a list - "Things I Learned In Parc Mont Royal," but alas, my wits are not as sharp tonight as such a list would require, so this is what you get, folkettes. Oh yes, and this: Friday night's potluck party was a huge, cake-filled, wine-induced good time, and and I am thickens closer to feeling settled in this strange place. Also this weekend: I read Michael Crummey's The Wreckage. Part of the reading happened while sitting among the drum circle crew this afternoon, and it was quite the jarring reality check to be reading a very intense narrative about a Japanese POW with a massive drum-beat soundtrack in the background. Now that The Wreckage is over for me, I have that just-read-a-book-in-two-days lonely feeling... as though the people in the book became my friends, and now that the book is over, they've all ditched me... I feel used by literature... time for a Harlequin, so I can use literature right back!

WAIT, DON'T GO!
I need to do some shout-outs first:
1. Happy birthday to Mark, whos turns... uh... a very certain age tomorrow! (yes, Sept 11th!)
2. Happy thesis defending to Jen, who steps up to the podium on Tuesday!
3. Happy TAing to Derek, who begins his top-secret o25 Blackmore assignment this week! (and booo to him for not having a blog I can link to... I will use this very Derek-ish link instead!)
4. Happy running to my Waterloo Crew (mom, sis & bro-law), who are exactly two weeks away from running the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon!