Montreal Metblogs » mont_heather

An evening with Anthony, the Johnson’s, and Coco Rosie

mont_heather — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 20:04:32 +0000

The Anthony and the Johnson

Run for the Cure

mont_heather — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 15:44:29 +0000

The CIBC Run for the Cure is coming up this Sunday, October 2nd. I figured I would just make a big donation on my own and forgo passing around a donation form. It’s been over 15 years since I passed around a sponsorship form in order to raise money; the last time I was in elementary school and I can still remember how embarrassed I was going door to door for the donations. Yesterday over dinner I mentioned to my family that I was running the 5K and they immediately asked why I hadn’t passed around the form. I feel sheepish asking for money, but they were all so enthusiastic. Internet web sites make this kind of quick decision a breeze, within a few minutes had I printed out copies of the form with my Bib number on it and all my family members were signing up. I expect to have over 300$ for the cause; not bad for an impromptu decision to collect donations after all.

I hope the weather next Sunday will be decent for the run, but if not, I highly doubt it will change the mood of most the walkers/runners. There is camaraderie at these runs, especially for a cause like breast cancer. As for me, I think it will be my last race of the year. I don’t care about my finish time because the Montreal Marathon was my goal race for the year, so I can spend time at this race to take in my surroundings instead of focusing inwards like I usually do. I’ve made a promise to myself not to yell ‘On your left!’ at anyone – but this one time only! :-)

Like the leap year, Medicare renewal comes but once every 4 years

mont_heather — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 20:25:16 +0000

A couple of days ago, I received a letter from the S.A.A.Q informing me that my Medicare and driver’s license were due for renewal. This letter filled me with dread. Other than applying for or renewing a passport, there is no worse administration task than getting your Medicare/driver’s license renewed. The hours for the offices are appalling, the locations are inconvenient and the line ups are grueling. Oh, and the cheerful people that work there make it even more special! I am thankful that this process is required only once every four years. (Please, oh please tell me this hasn’t changed!)

This year I will prepare myself for the experience, I will bring magazines and an iPod, but what I’d like to know is the trick to navigating the experience. Is it better to go in the late afternoon or early morning? I always though early morning was better but the line ups prove otherwise. Is it better to try a weekday or a Saturday? Is there a specific location that is less busy than others? I know this information is like gold, but I ask nonetheless – is there actually a good way of doing this?

A University Ritual

mont_heather — Thu, 15 Sep 2005 15:28:24 +0000

A traditional activity of the Concordia student every semester is the bookstore line up. Any one who has experienced this should have a sense memory of the aggravation and irritation felt in this line up. Some how, perhaps as self perseverance, the mind tries to forget the trauma but when the time rolls around again you quickly remember how much you hated this part of the semester.

A couple days ago, with 40 minutes to spare, I tried to pick up some of the textbooks I needed. The line up is two fold, the first section is downstairs, which lets you upstairs to the second line up to pay. The first one goes fast, which helps in the deception. The second line requires luck – there are four queues to choose from and I always chose poorly. I like to pick a marker, someone who is at the same place as me in another line, to gauge how slow or fast things are going. My marker was paying for his books while I was still 18 people back in my line (I actually counted). It

Running towards the Montr

mont_heather — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 16:53:31 +0000

I have spent a good portion of the summer running at the gym and around Montr

Neighbourhood Watch

mont_heather — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 14:32:19 +0000

First installment of the “Love thy Montreal neighbor” series.

After the big move to our new home last fall I started to notice a trend with my new neighbours. When I would leave in the morning, people were sitting on their balconies watching me. When I returned at night, people were sitting out there watching me. I stuck my head out the door to get my mail and someone is within my field of vision, watching me. I value my space and privacy so this has been a huge shock. I

Summer Reading

mont_heather — Fri, 12 Aug 2005 18:31:24 +0000

I’ve spent many of my summer evenings in school in order to finish my degree, which has left little time for me to enjoy summer reading. My last class for the summer has just come to a close, and I now have three full weeks of summer left to enjoy some leisure reading before I have to go back to textbooks. So far, I have decided on Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre; it’s got great reviews and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into some good fiction. I will also take a gander at Saul and Patsy, by Charles Baxter (his book ‘Feast of Love’ was wonderful, read it!).
My question, for those inclined to answer is: what books have you read this summer?

Counting down to the Semi-Finals

mont_heather — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 15:12:52 +0000

Both Roddick and Hewitt are out of the Rogers Cup Tournament. All the players that I wanted to see are out except Nadal and Agassi. Wait a second, Nadal versus Agassi… that would be an incredible match up! Old guard versus young blood, flashy colours versus clam diggers, it was predestined! I can be hopeful, can’t I?

And this little piggy got fungus

mont_heather — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 16:54:38 +0000

I’ve been on the net this morning trying to find a podiatrist downtown. It seems that I have become a real member of the running community, I now have one black toenail and another that appears to be travelling across my toe to another location. Just writing about it activates my gag reflex, its bad when your own feet turn your stomach. And so, I have been on the search for a foot doctor, someone that will take a gander at my mangled tootsies and suggest something other than ’stop running’. The problem with podiatrists (sounds like an exciting movie title, doesn’t it?) is that they don’t always take into consideration the needs of an athlete and that simply stopping an activity is not the solution. My internet search has not proved to be as fruitful as I had hoped; it seems that not too many Montreal podiatrists have their own websites. I wish they had a BOM category for foot doctors. Maybe I’ll suggest it as a new one for next year, I’m sure it will be a wildly popular category.

Flirting for Food

mont_heather — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 20:43:35 +0000

On my way to my summer class last night I did a bad thing. I had just finished a 10 kilometre run at the gym and I was dying for some sustenance. It was 20 minutes past 6pm, and the Lebanese resto that will remain nameless was obviously closed for the evening, but the guy that is usually there was still behind the counter. I scurried over and asked if they were closed, knowing full well they were. This guy normally flirts with me mercilessly, and for the most part my reaction is one of tolerance. But damn it, I was HUNGRY. I gave a pleading look and, my god; I think I even pouted a little. I flirted for food and voila! Instant shish taouk sandwich!

I only really realized what I had done later on while I was choking back my sandwich on the metro, and I was a little ashamed of myself. I’m not the kind of woman that flirts for things; I think it means that you have to deal with reciprocal flirting. Generally I am offended when guys flirt with me when I just want a chillatte (that’s right you second cup barista, I got your number!) or a shish taouk. I