blogg! blogg!

what you've missed while i was out having fun.
1. fete des neiges
2. carnival in quebec
3. valentines day -- cute story, but i might not tell it.
4. chinese new year and the german speaking gang
5. lights festival all nighter, speed skating and not toppling people while we weave through them
6. engineering career networking and view of creepy chinese guy
7. jazz bar night
8. st. patricks day parade and my day in the bar

stories to be recounted in my other blog someday hee-hee.

Ok, here we go. This is how its gonna work. I am creating a new blog based on my true journeys through life, but with the characters' names changed. I will be taking on a new character name, myself, namely Félicitée and whomever that makes it into my journal have one chance to change their names (I don't want to go around changing all the character names in every entry once you already have a pseudonom). You can also stick in your requests right here. The blog will be hatched in the third-person. Please feel free to write in your suggestions on this blog, and leave your comments on the new blog of course taking on your new persona. I will initally assign random new names for people.

Ok, I know you that the topping is supposed to be carmelized sugar, but I can't exactly get stuff to carmelize right without an oven that actually works. So, this time, its maple syrup. (Last time I bruned a stainless steel container trying to make caramel) . Its not exactly the effect I want, but I'll take it. Its a bit sweet though. I wonder if dumping an equal amount of maple syrup vs crême brulée was such a good idea. Gotta run, I should be bouncing off the wall soon.

So the year 2006 ended in a big fat mess and I will actually start a new blog after my life finds it way back to normality.

Here is what happened over xmas break. this will be a long one, so brace yourself for a psychotic story:

Sometimes in early december i went to a "career fair," which wasn’t really one because it was more like a career conference, where they give talks about re-directing your career, or finding one. it was given by the engineering society of the plein sud. anyhoo. there was this chinese guy. who i know was paying attention to me. anyway, i left the conference at the end of the day before he can ever approach me, but i know he was looking at me. i dunno why. i can feel it. this was on a Thursday. the next week, i went to take this course in how to find a job offered by the govt. and lo and behold, he was in that class too!

this class thing has a size of 6-9 students usually. we had 7 people in our group. so i go in the first day of class and there were already some people there, so i go and introduce myself to everyone since everyone was sitting in silence looking at one another and i noticed that guy! so i go, didn’t i see you last week at that conference thing. and he says yes, and asked where i came from. when he heard where I was from, he immediately asked if i spoke mandarin or can understand it, which i answered yes and pafft, he started talking to me in chinese!

so the course goes on for 3 weeks, and every day he tries to get closer to me, asking me all these questions about my life and whatever. and i am getting much annoyed because he was inundating me with personal questions. he talks very loudly and he spits while he talks and he invades my personal space and three times during the course of the 3wk course, he had proposed that I go to his place!

Obviously for me, it was no freaking way, buster!!!!!! he was one annoying dude. basically he came from china, went to france to do one of those DEA, or i'd like to call half a masters degree, and then went to quebec because his friend was there, found out it wasn’t working out for him there and came to montreal. its been about 2 months since he's been here i'd say, and meanwhile he's very much broke. his “joke” amongst us was always that we feed him once we find a job. his line was "you're treating!" (and always in chinese, and it was always at me he would say it to).

anyway, to me he would always speak in mandarin. or sometimes in "polite" french to mock me. he imitates me and uses a very very annoying high pitched voice when he does. i've told him it annoys me but he continues. my new friend who was in the class with me, her analysis was this: he acts as an adolescent when he's around me. she can tell he is interested in me. but it drives me up the wall! completely immature is what i call it. this guy is like 10 years older than me too or more. i cant tell, really, but he says he's 38, meanwhile he also says he's year of the RABBIT! this doesnt add up, because if you're year of the rabbit, you're either 44, or 32 (or something to that effect). And according to my calculations, he said he had 7 years of experience in china, and if i had calculated that he did this 7 years after bachelors with minimal time wasting, he would have at least 34 years on him! so something is not right here.

so while we had class, my friend had a concert. she was in a choir. i had invited everyone along because it would seem rude to just invite one person. so he came along. this was our second outing as a group. the first time we went to a chocolate boutique, and during that time i found him quite rude too. i was listening to the other two people converse when he insisted on talking to me, very loudly, so that the other two couldn’t hear each other because we were sitting diagonally from one another. so at least i had two protectors with me that time.

this time since there was only me, the girl, and mr annoying. we went to a cafe and my friend (a girl) recognized someone she had met the week before at a shoe shop. she proceeded to talk to her instead and left us two alone! He, on the other hand proceeded to drill me with questions about my ancestors, my past, what i knew or seen while i was in my native country and all these things i don’t feel like answering. It was like the spanish inquisition or something!!! i felt as if i had done something wrong and was under a microscope.

anyhoo, it wasn’t the first time he had asked when i left my country, and when he asked again i was annoyed. in fact, he knew the answer to that one. so, his asking that question tells me two things: (1)either he asks to annoy me and he doesn’t listen to what i said, or (2) he doesnt believe a thing i say. so then i got really annoyed, and i told him i don’t have to tell you any of this information, and he gets all defensive trying to justify his questioning. in fact he insists that i tell him unless there was something horrible about my childhood that i don’t wish to discuss, in which case he would understand.

i told him even if something did happen in my childhood, i don’t have to disclose it!

so after that he completed shut up! i dont mind if we discuss current affaires, or opinion, but digging into my life is rude! so i tried redirecting the conversation and asking him question on those lines -- opinions, current affaires, and he wouldn’t say anything anymore. so fine, screw that! i took out my cell phone and started playing mini golf!

some time passed and my friend comes back. she notices something went amiss as we werent talking to one another. so when he went to the men’s room i told him he's being waaaaaay toooooo invasive and he can’t take a hint. so then at one point both of them went to the rest room before we took off to see the concert and i decided to pay for everyone’s coffee. so i paid and as we were going out, he started hounding me again, saying that he is not going to let me get away with just paying for coffee! he wants a whole meal!!!!!! and that if i were going to just leave it at that then he would pay me for the coffee now so that i would pay for his meal later!!!!

the audacity!

and he wouldnt let it go. repeat, repeat, repeat, and hounding me in chinese! anyhoo, i tried to be diplomatic. and i say, you should say thank you when someone pays for you and we will see what happens when i get a job! so then off to the concert. it ended well. i was glad to have gotten rid of him that night. They had a refreshments after and boy what yummy treats they brought. I had the best chip dip ever. The Italian pizza was delicious and so were the desserts. but holy cow what an episode.

during the class, he was not shy with me at all. he would ask if he can see my resume, and when i let him see it, he goes, i'm keeping it!!!!!! so at the time i didn’t realize it, but all my contact info is on it! my address, my phone number, my email, what have you! and when i was talking to my friend and telling her that i made a great list of questions to ask during an interview, he comes right behind us, steals my paper, and makes a photocopy without even asking! He interrupts my conversations with people all the time as if he is the center of attention and must have my attention at every moment when he requests it

my friend tells me he seems very interested in me and that he has good qualities, but after the xmas episode, i am rather freaked out.

he calls me on xmas night, wishes me merry xmas, and i wished him the same, and proceeds to tell me his computer is busted, that he thinks he has a virus because he is not able to connect to the net and that his home page has changed. he asked if i ever had an experience and i said yes and asked if i can take a look. i said ok sure. his next question of course "your place or mine?" in my mind, “you wish buster!! no way, not your place, not my place!!!!” i told him i wont be looking at it tonight as it is already late. i think it was like 8-9 pm. and so i told him i'd call him back the next day to see what we can do about it.

so i call my friend, who was working at the lab, and i told him, "dude, i need a favor. can you meet with me at a cafe tomorrow for like an hour or so to look at someone's computer?" he agrees. so the next day i call him and say we're doing it at a cafe! he said absolutely not!

1. he doesnt want to pay for coffee
2. its inconvienent
3. you dont have the necessary equipment there, and blah blah blah

he had told me it was a laptop! so it was certainly feasible. everyone takes their laptop to cafes and work there. they got frreee internet!

4. he would have to displace and so would i

so then i told him CAFE or nowhere, your choice! and he goes, no its inconvenient and blah.... getting silent but very adamant about it. so i tell him i'll call him back around 5pm (that’s when my friend said he'd be free) and i told him go think about it. so when my friend calls, i called him using the computer and asked if he was ready to do it at a café.

he goes "i dont know why you want to do it at the cafe?" then his voice is getting louder and louder to a point where he is practically yelling/screaming at me! reiterating the same reasons, plus more.

5. he doesnt know when the cafe will close,
6. he wants to see what i'm doing so that he can avoid the mess next time

and much more. he then accuses me of being difficult with a zillion conditions. he says he wants to see what i m doing and i told him, it might take more than a few hours, sometimes a full day. or more. so i told him drop it off at the cafe and i'll return it when i'm done. and he says he wants to see! so i told him, “look if you PAY someone to fix it for you and tell him you want to sit right next time him while he works, would he?”

he says “no, because I don’t know the guy but i KNOW you, you're MY FRIEND."

i responded "even if i'm your friend, that does not obligate me to let you sit next to me while i work"

he seems to have missed the fact that since it will take hours to fix, i will be obligated to fix it straight without any breaks if he wants to sit and watch. shouldn’t i be able to work at my pace??? anyhoo, thats an aside note

so, then he says “if you were going to take it home anyway, why not i just drop it off at YOUR PLACE and i wont even go into your apt, that way we don’t have to both displace.”

so i said, “fine, do it!” and somehow he doesn’t take it. he goes back to the café idea

“ how about we go to the cafe, and if you cant complete fixing it in two hours, you take it home?” he says, “but again i don’t like the cafe cuz i don’t know when it closes and such.

so meanwhile you know my friend is on my cell phone with me! and it’s taking more than 20 minutes for him to make up his twisted mind. so i told my friend, “looks like this guy’s psychotic, have a great night and i'll take care of him!”

so then i said, “look, since you aren’t willing to accept anything i offer, and you are so dead set on learning, lets not do it your place, nor mine , nor at a cafe, i'll give you instructions over the phone. now turn your machine on and press f8!”

“what??!!!! I can't hold the phone and control the computer at the same time!!?????”

oy!!!!! i give up. so then i told him, “well if you don’t want to do that either, then i give up, its getting late. i'm tired, good night!”

and he wont let me go! i told him i'll call him the next day, and he demands to know the time id be calling. and i say, i dunno. i'm kinda busy, if you're not there you're not there!

so i never called him back. He called the next day and left a message saying he's been waiting the whole day and wants me to call him back, and that his computer is still not working.

so that ends it. he never called back after the second call and i never called him back either. So in conclusion, i'm afraid of him. he was yelling at me through that last call!

He’s definately a sociopath! i hope to never hear from him again. And I’m glad that our apts have double doors. So there you have it, my psychotic holidays!

The fridge, I forgot to mention, is a model from the early 1970s or something. It has a very very small freezing compartment, that comes with a door that does not close easily. So, I've engineered a little system that will push the door in once the who fridge closes. You probably need a picture to see the hilarity of my system.

As my cell phone image transferring software has been removed from the computer, it might take a while before any pictures will ever show up on this bloggy.

Recently, I've aquired an orchid plant. I was at a friend's wedding reception, which was quite splendid. I knew more people there than I thought I did, but doh, no pictures from me. I've misplaced my camera! My friend, the groom has confidence in me that I will let it survive til at least 3 months. So, far I'm at almost 2 weeks. It still looks good, despite my crappy lighting at my apartment. I'm afraid to put my plants on my balcony because random people show up on my balcony!!!!!

The other day the concierge was found on my balcony, looking into his son's room! Apparently, his room was part of my apt at one point, and they re-walled it. Now his bedroom window overlooks my balcony. This is not the first time I've seen the concierge on my balcony. Its a total lack of respect for my privacy. I don't go on anyone's balcony without their permission. And he had removed things from my balcony before too. Anyhoo... that same day, some guys upstairs were playing some games, I suppose and threw 3 things onto my balcony. One was a tennis ball, and I didn't really see the second one, but the third one was quite huge. It looked like a water gun or some sort completely filled and made a loud thud. At 11pm, when this happened I got quite ticked, and started screaming at the to stop throwing things (in french). Two guys then popped out of the dark and came on my balcony!!!! No invitation! When I discovered they were opening the gates, I asked them if they were the ones throwing things. They denied the throwing part but insisted that they "missed" the objects.

The greatest part was before they were on my balcony, I was so miffed, that I knocked on the concierges' door and told them that somebody was throwing things on my balcony the hole day. The lady then tells me, she can't do anything. I was surprised, and asked why. She said the boys are crazy and that she was afraid to talk to them. So, now I have crazies who lives upstairs from me and concierges who would not do anything when tennents collide with tennents.

Sucksville!

That same night, there was a loud party in another building next to us. It ended around 2:30 AM but nobody even called the police. I was quite surprised because one time the concierge's boy played music the whole day quite loud until the police showed up at 11pm.

People are not very consistent with their behavior here, huh?

ja i had a virus. it was an instant messaging virus, which calls itself "wgav.exe" I didn't know I caught it at first since there were no information on the net about it. The next week, several websites have details about this thing. It was a good thing my firewall didn't go down, because it was the only way I was able to control it from reaching out to the web to contact more evil buddies. Then two days ago, my anti-virus caught it. woohoo! but you know that's not the end of it. it's still there despite your anti-virus saying it was caught and exterminated. This little virus changed and added many values to the registry. so unless you know how to look into your registry, its still there. it took a few hours for me to completely kill it. now i'm virus free!!! we must do the dance of joy!

on the frozen front... my fridge has been flaking out on me for about a month now. one day, all of a sudden, the door just breaks... I wasn't able to close it completely. after a few more days, the door descends every time i open it. you pretty much have to lift it and knee it in if you want it to close. i mentioned this to the building manager recently and he replaced it. of course he didn't show me the replacement. its either you take it or you let your fridge leak and consume energy through the leak while your stuff spoils.

So Canada day is coming up (July 1), which is known in Montreal also as the notorious Moving day . Some people are already moving, while others are getting prepared to move. For the last two days, somebody upstairs has moved and the other is in the process of moving in. What a rukus! So, around 11:20 A.M. today an annoying beeping started. I believe its the smoke detector! This is not the first time the smoke dector went off, so I know what it sounds like. The first time I heard it was actually in my own apartment. My smoke dector is just a few inches from my door, and the neighbor's cooking set it off. Smokes galore when I opened the door.

This time the smoke detector beeps are coming from upstairs. Its still beeping after 10 minutes. Dang neighbor! This is freaking annoying! Add to it that it has been raining since last night... bad weather, can't get out. The upstairs guy has been waxing his floor or something. I feel the presence of a heavy machine carefully going over the floors. Either its a waxing machines or I don't know what it is. Anyway, 15 min, its still beeping..... I hate my new upstairs neighbor already. I hope there isn't really a fire. But, then again, if there was, the guy is still there making some noise, although not as much anymore. Do you suppose he's suffering from smoke inhalation? Well, I don't see any smoke coming from atop or anywhere else for a that matter and apparently my music is not loud enough. I wish I knew how to send out waves that cancel that sound wave.