Happy birthday two of my lovely friends: Darlana and Emily! I hope your days are as bright as the spring sunshine!

It’s a gorgeous day in Montréal. Everyone is out and about in tank tops and sandals, walking with friends, jogging, sitting along the streets at outdoor cafes. It’s glorious.
I sat on the fire escape and studied for about an hours and I’m looking a little pink. Now I know, sunburn=> skin cancer=> bad, but it really is a bit of a thrill to have the possibility of getting a sunburn after this looong, cold winter. In the late afternoon me and suz were both hungry, so we went to the Vietnamese place down the street and got spring rolls (how appropriate and delicious they were).

On a much heavier note…The snow is almost completely gone, and left in its tracks by the side of the road, chained to fences, light posts, parking meters is the winter’s road kill:



The cruelty and neglect of these poor bicycles breaks my heart. Just left out all of the harsh winter to be mauled by the snowplough. Now I know garages and places to keep bikes safe are few and far between, but really! Almost everyone has a balcony, but it up there where it at least won’t be destroyed by the snowplough, you could even put a tarp over it to keep it from rusting. Or even better, incorporate it as a piece of décor or artwork in your living room for the winter!
I’m calling for a new campaign, a new movement here people:
STOP CRUELY AGAINST BIKES!

mission accomplished. hot water and patience did the trick. i was even able to ride it home and it was kind of fun biking in the snow. makes me tempted to try winter biking eventually... too bad a don't have my semi-truck like Gt Palomer anymore, it handled really well in snow, could have been really good in montreal if i could have winterized it.

in other news, i'm still keeping busy even though i'm finished with my class-work is going well, although i'm not getting as many hours as would be ideal. have a meeting and planning for MIE this week and some work to do for MA language program.

i'm getting super excited for this weekend and next week. this weekend holiday house party- decorating our adorable 3 foot tree (which is making our living room so nice and piney) ((pictures up soon)). and, next week a good friend is coming to visit from waterloo! it will be tons of fun to show her around town.

bisous

my bikecapades

conditions have worsened for my bike retrieval. I was working all weekend and i wasn't able to get it. monday was going to be the day. BUT, sunday night "un tempet de neige" descended on montreal. covering us in 2 feet of snow.

still, after my final class at mcgill for the term (whoopie!) yesterday afternoon, i was ready and determined to retrieve my bike. I waded through the thigh deep snow with a thermos of hot water in hand to get to my locked bike. i pulled out my key, jammed it into the icy keyhole, and started pouring water over the shaft of the lock. it seemed to be working, but still the key wouldn't turn. in my impatience, i pulled the key back out, and noticed that as i had been jamming it in, i had bent the rather flimsy key a bit. without thinking i tried to bend it- AND IT SNAPPED! S*&^ D**^#@^^%$(*&**FFFF
I walked home defeated yet again. luckily, my lock came with two keys, so its not as bad as it could be. but i think i'm going to try to get the 2nd copied before i go breaking it. today i'm going to go try a third time (hopefully the charm). i'm going to try to warm the lock more slowly, and not jam the key in. the worst part is that if i ever do succeed in unlocking my f-ing bike i'm going to have to trudge with it about 2k back to my apartment, and then carry it up 3 flights of stairs. pauvre pauvre moi.