Any time there’s a moment of silence in a large, usually noisy place, it gives me chills. Seeing large crowds of people, particularly when it’s a crowd of excited sports fans, coming together in silence is incredible.

Last night at the Bell Centre, that’s exactly what happened. The crowd of fans and the teams all stood or sat in silence for a minute to offer their respect and sadness for Laura Gainey, daughter of Montreal Canadiens General Manager, Bob Gainey. Laura was swept off the deck of a ship by a rogue wave last Friday; the Coast Guard searched for 70 hours but never recovered her body.

Obviously, Bob Gainey wasn’t in attendance at last night’s game but he sent his thanks to everyone for their support in his difficult time. The Canadiens went on to beat the Bruins last night.

Everyone looks so harried these days. Everywhere I go and everyone I talk to seems to have a million things to do, and all before the holiday. 12 days left, don’t ya know. At work, there’s the extra tasks everyone must do to be ready for the absence of many workers at the end of the month. Let’s not forget shopping, at lunchtime, the underground city is a madhouse, like the streets of New York. But the look on everyone’s face is so stressed! Not the holly jollyness that would match the piped in holiday music everywhere.

I had to get out, it felt like a pressure cooker down there. So I popped up to street level and bought some hot roasted chestnuts from the vendor at Square Phillips. I felt the chilly wind on my cheeks and admired the festive decorations on the La Baie department store building. There was an old man tossing bread crumbs to the pigeons and I started to get a better sense of the holiday spirit.

How many days left ? I dunno, who cares.. All I know is Christmas falls on Monday which gives me the entire weekend before Christmas to shop.

No worries.

However, having been around town to visit friends and to pick up the usual supplies, allow me a few tips on where to shop if you are a masochist.. Not if you are buying for a masochist, but if you ARE one.

1) Carrefour Laval. Going to Laval alone IMHO, is masochistic enough. But head off to Carrefour Laval on a Saturday.. say around 11am. There, you should see a lineup to get into the parking lot that runs straight down to the 440. Then, beat off hordes of people to find a spot, only to have to go shoulder to shoulder with stressed out shoppers in a huge mall. Mmmm, fun.

2) Steve’s Music Store. The trip to Carrefour wasn’t enough ? Head down to ol’ Steve’s around noon on a Saturday (just when most musicians are starting to move around) and just buy strings.. or better yet, a Marshall Stack.. ask to try out various amps with guitars and then buy it all. First you’ll have to beat off competing buyers for a salesguy. Then, try and overpower the other amps in the shop being played by guys who are trying to overpower you. Once you decide on your instrument/amp, wait in line as the salesguy punches your card. Wait in line again to show your bill to the cashier, then fight off all the people walking into Steve’s as you haul your gear to the security guard as he checks all of your items.. all the while bumping with other guitarists.. it’s enough to make you want to play the Oboe.

3) So now after having clubbed your way through shoppers in Laval and Steve’s it’s time to get some grub. Head on down to La Vieille Europe. My personal favorite shop for my cold cuts. Peak masochistic time is 14:00 on a weekend where you can go toe to toe to try and get your favorite order of prosciutto. Once you’ve pushed your way to the cash and paid, you can then finish off the Christmas mayhem shopping by visiting Schwartz’s.. Only go however if the lineup goes past Coco-Rico. Otherwise, it’s not worth it.

Best bet is to do this with all your masochistic friends… consider it their gift!

Yesterday, I spent the day at Galafilm helping Alex audition actors for his short film. It’s tentatively titled Twelve Ways to Say You’re Sorry (adapted from a witty book called How to Be a Canadian, by Will Ferguson and Ian Ferguson). The premise is that in Canada, we say “Sorry” all the time, but rarely to express genuine regret. The film is a series of short — and often hysterically funny — vignettes that illustrate what we really mean behind all the politesse.

Naturally (this being Montreal), nothing will be filmed before spring. I told Alex that someone who knew Canada only through film and television might assume we have endless summer here. Everything is always shot in warm weather. For example, my vision of Saskatchewan comes entirely from episodes of Corner Gas, which has never featured a single snowflake.

Yesterday I had to take my youngest daughter (can I still call her a baby now that she’s just over a year?) to the Jewish General Hospital. No big deal, it was just a regular check-up and immunization but our family practice is located in the hospital. However, with the outbreak of the gastro virus, I was a little concerned about germs flying around. I’m not usually not even close to a germaphobe, but everyone in our family is still recovering from a nasty cold and I don’t want anyone to be sick at Christmas. Kids are notorious for touching stuff and then putting their fingers in their mouths.

I guess everyone is taking extra precautions now because I noticed that all over the hospital they have new hand sanitizer dispensers. I know they used to have a few scattered randomly about but they were everywhere – you couldn’t go more than ten feet without seeing another one. My oldest daughter, four, often grumbles about washing her hands at home but she must have cleaned her hands at every available pump she passed. She was disappointed when one was empty but we were right near the elevators and they actually had FOUR pumps, one next to each elevator door.

Like I said, I’m not a germaphobe and think that over sanitizing with anti-bacterial everything is more harmful than helpful but in the cold and flu (and gastro!) season, I was grateful to know that the chances of bringing home some new bug to make us miserable were lessened due to the hospital’s extra vigilance!

With December comes Christmas parties, outings with friends, celebrations of Christmas and New Years, etc. And with these often come drinking! As we all know drinking and driving can kill people. And to prevent that “Operation Nez Rouge” was created!

“Essentially, it is a volunteer driving service provided during the Christmas Holiday Season to all drivers who have been drinking or who do not feel fit to drive their own vehicle back home. It is an original and free way of getting a safe ride in our own vehicle without driving it!” (ONR)

So on Saturday I volunteered for this service! They need teams of 3 volunteers… I was the partner (also called secretary because I handled the paperwork) and I found two other girls, one was the driver (drives the client’s car with me in it also) and our escort (the third team member is in her own car and follows us so that we can get aboard with her once we’ve dropped the client home).

I was a bit scared because I went to the meeting point/base on my own and didn’t know anyone but they quickly teamed me up! They also give you a little 15 minutes training session when you arrive so you know exactly how everything works. They provide volunteers with snacks and beverages (coffee, soft drinks, juice, no beers of course!) and are generally very happy you’re there!

The evening went quite well. We had 6 clients… It was a nice mix, the older lady, younger guys, a couple, a bunch of friends. All were very thankful for the Nez Rouge ride home!

It’s not too late to register to volunteer. Once your application has been approved you can just show up any night you feel like volunteering. Operation Nez Rouge runs through December 31. And if you had a bit too much fun at a party and think you can’t drive home, call them! In the Montreal area: (514) 256-2510.

The pin I got for volunteering, proudly pinned on my Winter coat…

Every year, I find that putting up the Christmas tree is a constant struggle. The darn thing never stands straight and it takes forever to screw in those little knobs. Of course once you think you finally got it done, you realize that the cheap plastic at the the top of the stand is cracked and that it’s only a matter of time before the whole thing comes crashing down.

Off to Canadian Tire I went, determined to buy the most high-tech contraption that I could find. In the end, this one worked exactly as advertised which is a good thing since it costed me more than the tree did.

I do wonder if the choice of the blonde model on the box was intentional or not.

Last week I had changed my player’s jersey from a Latendresse to Huet. This week, the change goes to Koivu.

There are those who follow the Habs who state that Koivu is not a true leader, a true captain. This past week has silenced those critics. Twice in one week Koivu picked a lagging Habs up off the ice and carried them to victory.

Two games of note. The first was last Saturday’s match against the Leafs. A match in which after the first period, the Habs looked sluggish and destined to lose. By the end of the first down 2-0, Francis Bouillon solidly checked a leaf only to be charged against the boards,face first, by Darcy Tucker. Bouillion, without hesitation, drops his gloves and goes after Tucker (a move which Champ Car driver Paul Tracy should take note). Tucker, leaving his gloves on throws a couple of punches when Bouillon lands a solid right hook to put Tucker down. This changes the momentum of the match.

Down 3-0, Perezhogin scores one in the second to bring the Habs within 2.

In the third, Koivu scores two to tie. Habs and leafs go into OT and then a shootout.
Koivu, in the shootout puts a spectacular patented move on Raycroft and with a surprising goal from Souray, the Habs leave with a win.

Last night against the Islanders, again Koivu puts on another spectacular performance to lead the Habs with two goals in a 4-2 effort. Rivet and Latendresse scored the other two.

This goes with two dissapointing matches from the Habs against Boston and Devils. These where two matches which where in grasp and the Habs let slip.

The Habs are still in 4th and play the Sabres at home.

The New Balance store is opening today downtown in the Complexe Les Ailes. I can’t wait to peruse the footwear and gear. I’ve worn New Balance for a few years now and in my opinion, they make the best shoes for running. Whenever I put on a brand new pair, to paraphrase a line from “That 70’s Show” when Red gets a new pair of shoes from his neighbour, “it feels like I’m walking on baby ducks” *sigh*. Running in a new pair of sneakers puts a little extra spring in your step. Too bad I’m not due for a new pair yet. They’re a bit pricey but worth it for the functionality. So to all the runners out there or their loved ones scratching their heads over gift ideas, this might be worth checking out. hint hint