What would we do without them? So much character. And we’re just staff.
Archive for June, 2006
What, this isn’t rugby?
I’ll miss you.
Packed: Camera, PowerBook, PSP, Treo, fiction, pen and paper, sunglasses, beach hat, Maissoneuve, sandals, gifts, sense of adventure.
Forgot: My iSight. No Stars of the Web-ing for me just yet. Boo-hoo.
In-flight entertainment: François Péloquin’s latest short film, which he has asked me to subtitle; EnRoute/CBC prizewinning short stories (one of which doesn’t seem to have any periods, but commas galore and more, you like that eh, hmm I think this a bit gimmicky, it’s a style, could wear thin, I guess you might have a point there, sigh, look out the window and the clouds are pouting too, et cetera et cetera, yet it’s a funny story, you should even read it but don’t try holding your breath it might be fatal, you’re a wise guy aren’t you, stop it, no really I’ve had enough… THREE PERIODS, oh my gods that’s such a cliché, hee-hah); iTunes featuring Orchestra of Bubbles (sounds even better above the clouds), Foe Destroyer (“How I love … les filles !”), and Katerine; écouter les agents de bord tenter de parler français (hmm, je suis peut-être un peu snob là, mais pourtant c’est vrai que c’est parfois pas très fort…)
On-board menu: Yuck! Air Canada, what are you doing to your brand image? You call that food?!!? After learning the hard way the last couple of times I flew, this time I grabbed a wild mushroom and goat cheese sandwich at La boulangerie de Montréal before heading though security. Surprisingly filling.
Things that have me looking for a parachute: the crying baby in the next row (I do like kids but why are the non-stop cryers always my frequent travel partners?) and the lowered seat in front that has me so scrunched down in front of my PowerBook that I will need a massage by the time we land in VanCity (lucky I don’t have a 17” or I wouldn’t even be able to get the lid open). Maybe this blog will make me wildly rich and I’ll be able to travel in first class forever after… Yeah, right.
On ne peut plus être absent de nos jours. C’est contre les moeurs. On a beau être physiquement absent - du bureau, de chez nous, de nos amis et ceux qu’on aime - mais on garde souvent une présence virtuelle. Le chat, le téléphone mobile, les Blackberry, le courriel, même les blogues nous empêche d’être rééllement absent.
Il y a une partie de moi qui résiste à ce phénomène, surtout quand je suis en voyage, et une autre partie qui trouve ça à la fois rassurant et pratique. On peut demander si c’est sain. On peut aussi se questionner sur la manière dont cette situation affecte l’expérience d’être physiquement ailleurs. Est-ce qu’on vit une voyage de la même façon si on a aucun contacte avec tout ce qui nous est familier ? Peut-on vraiment décrocher tout en restant en contact ? Ou est-ce que, au contraire, le fait de décrire notre expérience aux autres pendant qu’on le vis le rend plus clair dans notre esprit ?
À suivre…
Announce to your entourage that you’re leaving for some distant place, even for a short time, and inevitably a large number of invitations will come your way. “We have to see each other before you go!” Naturally, you are far too busy wrapping up the details of travel, packing and work to accept them all. You might have preferred a get-together upon your return, but rarely are the invitations of a post-travel nature.
What is the source of this universal urge to see someone who is leaving? Are we afraid on some unconscious level that they may never return, either due to some unfortunate accident or the overwhelming attraction of a place that they may adopt as their new home? We might live in the same city and go months without seeing each other, but as soon as the other announces their intention to leave, however briefly, a get-together is required. Perhaps we wish to share in their experience by seeing them just before they leave, and greeting them upon their return. Whatever the case, it’s always pleasant to see that people will miss our presence.
And so, to all the friends I could not see before leaving: I’m looking forward to getting together when I get back!
Certains d’entre vous me taquinent (avec raison, j’avoue, le temps que j’en parle) en se demandant si cet élan poursuivra au rhythme actuel. Je vous assure que je viens de découvrir un nouveau drogue. Je ne serai pas arrêtable. Attachez donc vos toques les zamis, c’est parti!
This week Montreal switched to 10-digit dialing. I keep forgetting and am repeatedly subjected to the “Le numéro que vous avez composé est un numéro local…”
Which makes me wonder: how many things do we do every day without really thinking about it, simply because we’ve always done it that way? Perhaps there is no progress without the kind of rupture that forces us to examine our routines and unconscious gestures.
I guess that’s the beauty of travel: it shakes up your schedule and makes you confront your environment in conscious ways that would never happen at home where so much is familiar.
The power just went out. Down goes my Net connection and with it access to a growing number of essential tools. I use Termium, a Web-based terminology database for translators, as well as a number of online reference tools. Then there’s online banking, Google Maps, my blog admin tool and the list goes on…
At times like this, I’m happy to have a laptop with a couple of fully-charged batteries. I’m also happy that I haven’t switched to VoIP. At least the landline still works. And I can still get my email on my Treo.
All of this makes me think how dependent on electricity our modern society has become. The more networked we get, the more everything grinds to a halt when the current stops flowing.
I’m off to Vancouver on Thursday. Time to go get grounded on the Left Coast. A zillion things to do before I leave, but that’s to be expected.
I’ll be away for a month, visting friends and family and taking some down time. VanCity, Victoria, Seattle and the Kootenays are all on the itinerary.
Of course, you’ll get to read all about it right here…