No sandwich treat this Friday

Last Friday, to treat myself after a rough week and a month that was ending, I had decided to treat myself with a decadent (yet healthy) sandwich in maybe the best sandwich shop in the area. Unfortunately, I couldn't do it today, even though I had wanted to treat myself in the same fashion and was looking forward to it. I actually wanted to make it a Friday tradition. But today, there were many technical problems at work, which meant that I could not work much, if at all. Now one could think that it meant that I had plenty of free time, but that was not quite the case: the little I could do, I had to do it three times slower. I had to assist a client with no resource whatsoever, which took ages. So instead of taking my lunch break at a normal time, I took it quite late in the afternoon. When I arrived at the shop, it was closing and they had nothing left. I had to walk all my way to the center town and buy something at Greggs. Not quite the same treat.

But two good things came off from this chaotic, messy, frustrating Friday. First it was a short one: I left work an hour early, when there was nothing else to do and no one to help. Secondly, before I left the closing sandwich shop, the guy behind the till, understand my angst and frustration, gave me their phone number. He told me that when I am taken at work at lunch time/opening hours and don't think I can make it there on time, I could just call so they can prepare the sandwich for me. If I cannot show up later on before closing time, they will even deliver it for me at the working place. I used to love this place, now I adore it. This is what I find a serviceable, friendly, professional service. If I ever do business in catering and open a sandwich shop, I want my shop to be like theirs.

Question existentielle (90)

Alors, puisque Noël s'en vient à grands pas, j'ai pensé poser une question existentielle à ce sujet, la première depuis longtemps d'ailleurs (la dernière datait du 22 novembre). Il y aura bientôt une centaine de questions existentielles sur ce blogue, il va falloir que je fasse attention à ne pas me répéter. Cela dit, je crois bien que celle-ci est encore inédite:

-Quelle est la pire chanson de Noël? 

J'ai mon idée là-dessus, en fait j'en ai toute une liste, mais je vous pose la question...

Christmas is coming

...the goose is getting fat, as the old song says. I never had goose for Christmas, only turkey (and in more recent some veggie/vegan substitute). It is the first day of Advent today, as I already blogged in French. First day of December too. I kick-started the month and the Season with a very profane Christmas pic, I will carry on with one of the first English Christmas song I knew, something that is semi-profane. I grew up with Harry Belafonte singing it, in what remains one of my favourite Christmas records. I didn't understand anything about the song, I just loved the voice and the music. And well, since Christmas is coming, I thought it would fit to upload here a Christmas song which is not so much about Christmas day itself that the whole spirit of the holidays, also of the general feeling of trepidation one gets into when Christmas is coming. It shows the better nature of the Season, both festive and generous. Sure, there is an allusion to God, but hey, I don't mind the old man too much when I get in the spirit. You can read about my feelings and opinions about Christmas here and here (two posts I am quite proud about). I will blog more about Christmas, obviously, put more pics and carols and I will try to be original. Until then, well, Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, be generous, be giving, be merry.

Premier jour de l'Avent

Il ne reste plus que 25 jours avant Noël. Enfant, l'Avent était un long, long mois à attendre le congé des Fêtes à en apprendre plus le petit Jésus. L'histoire de sa naissance à Bethléhem, racontée jusqu'à plus soif. Avec un calendrier de l'Avent religieux. On me pardonnera donc cette photo profane pour marquer le 1er décembre. Maintenant, l'Avent est le temps de préparer les Fêtes: acheter des cadeaux, acheter les victuailles (végés ici, mais j'espère quand même manger de la viande), acheter l'alcool, manger le chocolat du calendrier de l'Avent, se préparer mentalement à tous les niveaux. Ce sera difficile cette année: c'est la troisième année d'affilée que je passe les Fêtes hors Québec et pour empirer les choses je ne pense pas que c'est parti pour neiger ici. Je vais me consoler comme je peux. Au moins, s'il n'y a pas de neige à Noël, il y quand même cette ambiance hivernale que les Anglais savent reproduire dans les vitrines. Voir la photo plus haut. Décembre n'est pas tout à fait décembre sans neige, mais au moins on a les lumières, les décorations, la musique, l'alcool, les bouquins à lire. Je crois que je devrais survivre.

Judging a book by its cover (and why not?)

It used to be a "tradition" I tried to follow when I started this blog: to upload the picture of an old pulp magazine (Detective Tales) every month and comment on it.It was a picture from a magazine published at the same month of my  I don't know why I stopped it. I guess I started working. I was unemployed for most of 2008, when I first started this blog, so I had more time to waste thinking about topics like this one. But I barely had any readership to speak of and I think those posts about those book covers were interesting for me mainly. But now I decided to upload one again, mainly, I love the aesthetic of old pulp magazines and because I read a lot of crime fiction these days.

So here is the cover from November 1936. I wonder if there was any story attached to this cover. I hope so, as it was a good one. Maybe not as melodramatic as this one, but still very good. When I want to read, I don't often judge a book by its cover. By its title, yes, absolutely, but not its cover. Except for pulp fiction and comic books. Covers are an art form by themselves. You need for the crime genre a specific sense of drama, atmosphere and character, the book cover has to show it. Here, you have the squared jaw, sharp eyed hero, probably a private eye, the blonde femme fatale next to him, fighting for their lives an unseen adversary, who already made one victim. Was it intentional? Was it accidental killing? It doesn't matter, we know the protagonists are in danger. And there is the setting, the dark smoky casino den, the roulette that reminds us that what is gambled here is life even more than money. I just love it. If there is no story about this image, there should be one written.

Chronique d'une fin de mois

Nous sommes le dernier jour de novembre et je suis raqué (ça s'épelle comme ça?). Ce fut un étrange mois de novembre: un peu trop doux (cela dit pas assez pour qu'il soit trop chaud), que j'ai bien aimé, même si je ne l'aime d'habitude pas du tout. Il faut dire que j'ai fait beaucoup d'efforts pour l'aimer. J'ai donc appris à l'apprécier cette année. Il n'y a pas encore eu de neige, ce qui est d'habitude ma condition sine qua non pour commencer à l'apprécier. Cela dit, il n'a pas beaucoup plu. D'habitude il pleut ici en novembre, des cordes, pendant des semaines. Je me plaindrai donc moins de l'absence de neige.

Et puis il y a eu beaucoup de brouillard. Or, j'adore le brouillard. C'est un peu le phénomène météorologique qui a caractérisé novembre 2011 ici. Différents pays, différentes températures, différentes manifestations de changements saisonniers.  Je considère que l'hiver, en tout cas l'hiver anglais, est arrivé. Je ne sais pas exactement quand ce fut son début, mais il est arrivé ce mois-ci.

Novembre termine mieux qu'il avait commencé. Je craignais une longue déprime de trente jours, je m'y étais résigné en fait. Pour terminer le mois, j'ai pensé mettre ici une photo de ce brouillard qui l'a caractérisé.

Keeping morale up

The end of the month has been frantic so far (one more day, one more day) and I am exhausted. I am trying to keep the morale up as there is no holiday or snow in sight (don't know which one I will miss most). Being happy, or not too unhappy, is sometimes a question of will and discipline just like anything else. It holds in an accumulation of little pleasures, Here is what I try to do daily:

-Eat at least one treat, whether it is a full meal or a dessert.
-Sing or hum a song at least once when I walk. Especially in the first steps of my commute, when I get out of the house. it improves my mood tremendously.
-Listen to music when I do chores.
-Read a few pages. This book at the moment, which I am about to finish, but also many others which are piling up by the bedside and coffee tables.
-Write a few lines. Of a blog post of course, of a rough treatment for a story, some characters ideas, whatever.
-Wear something comfortable. Seems like a small thing, but it improves a day, the general feeling one can have. Comfort can go a long way. This is something I love about not working in a school anymore, I can be casual.
-Have a few minutes walk outside at lunch time and enjoy the fresh air. Borderline essential, whatever the weather may be.

Portrait chinois

Cynthia de Sur un Boeing Bleu de Mer m'a tagué dans un questionnaire, un "portrait chinois". Je dois donc répondre à dix questions commençant par "Si j'étais", choisies par elles. Alors allons-y. Donc, si j'étais:

1-Une couleur. Bleu. Bleu sombre. Celle que préfère porter. J'ai hésité entre le bleu, le noir et l'orange, que j'affectionne toutes pour différentes raisons, mais étant québécois je penche pour le bleu.

2-Un élément. Est-ce un des quatre éléments des alchimistes ou un vrai élément chimique? Peu importe, le choix est évident: l'aluminium. Ca me vient à l'esprit parce que ma mère est originaire d'Arvida et que c'est là où l'Alcan est.

3-Un film. Choix difficile, mais je dois choisir A Clockwork Orange, parce que ça demeure mon film préféré.

4-Une maladie. Mais quoi choisir? Une pneumonie tiens. Parce que quand je suis malade, je tousse comme un damné.

5-Une langue. L'italien.

6-Une oeuvre d'art. Je pense que Cynthia voulait dire une oeuvre picturale ou une sculpture, mais je vais dire: Don Giovanni de Mozart.

7-Un nom d'animal ridicule. Ornithoryngue si c'est le nom d'une espèce (bien que l'animal est loin d'être stupide), Tendresse Cherry si c'est le nom d'un animal de compagnie. Pourquoi Tendresse Cherry? Parce qu'on m'a donné ce surnom stupide un soir de beuverie (longue histoire) et que ça serait un nom parfaitement stupide à donner à un animal de compagnie.

8-Un sport. Je ne fais pas de sport. Mais si je devais en être je serais de la natation, le seul où je sois un peu bon.

9-Une saveur de chips. Sel et vinaigre de Yum Yum.

10-Un meuble. Le sofa vert que j'avais à Montréal.

Bon, alors à mon tour de taguer trois personnes:

-Loulou
-PJ
-Prof Solitaire

Si vous étiez:

1-Un titre de roman

2-Une créature mythologique

3-Un crime

4-Une époque

5-Un manteau

6-Une scène

7-Un instrument de musique

8-Un condiment

9-Une affiche publicitaire

10-Un proverbe

Skyfall

I don't go very often to cinema these days and there are a number of movies I was curious about, even interested, which I didn't see on the big screen. I don't know why exactly. But now I got really enthusiastic about Skyfall, the next James Bond movie. As my long time readership knows, I am a big fan of James Bond, both in movies (especially the early ones) and the original novels. I try to read one every year, this year it is going to be The Spy Who Loved Me, which Ian Fleming didn't like. But I am curious about it: the Bond girl character is from Québec. Since the story is set in winter, it will be my Christmas reading treat. Oh and don't you like the book cover? Very stylish!

I was becoming blasé with the movies until Casino Royale in 2006 and the way Craig played the role. I became enthusiastic again. Now I didn't find Quantum of Solace nearly as good, but I still enjoyed it and found the plot quite inventive. I also thought the casting was flawless. In any case, it was still a solid, intelligent movie. Now I am skeptical about some elements of Skyfall, but I am reasonably confident. I have mixed feelings about Sam Mendes as a director (American Beauty is maybe the most overrated movie I ever saw, but I really enjoyed Revolution Road and Road to Perdition). I don't like the idea of a young Q (why?), the fact that one Bond girl has to be yet another spy (why not a damsel in distress? or simply, like Sylvia Trench, someone oblivious to the world of espionnage?) and I am bit concerned that they go back to the heavy gadgetry (not necessary). That said, I love the casting, albeit it is made of more famous people than the previous two films. And I love the title. Skyfall. It sounds like something from Ian Fleming. It is sharp, ominous, it feels like danger. Just for it, I cannot wait.

Grandeurs et misères du capitalisme

Aujourd'hui c'était Cyber Monday. Or, je travaille dans les ventes. Je devrais être heureux, mais j'ai trouvé la journée pénible. J'en ai encore mal partout. À l'heure du lunch, j'ai eu le temps de lire l'éditorial de Mario Roy. Quand même La Presse trouve que la journée en est une de capitalisme débridé, c'est que c'est vraiment une fête excessive. Je ne suis pas un socialiste radical, ni même un socialiste tout court, en fait je me suis graduellement réconcilié avec le capitalisme, en tout cas le petit capital, le mien. Le merveilleux monde du commerce me fait gagner ma croûte décemment et la vente est, comme on dit, une compétence transférable. Cela dit, aujourd'hui j'en avais rien à foutre. Je me sentais un peu comme Sisyphe. Au moins moi je suis payé...

Any whisky drinkers?

I love Facebook, but I am the first one to say that it is not necessarily a great intellectual medium all the time. That said, it is a great source of great unknown lines. This one is, again, from my brother. Any whisky drinkers among you? I haven't had any in years (last time I had a sample in , but every time I drank whisky I was hooked. A friend once bought me a small bottle of Scottish whisky, which I stashed in Montreal for a special day. It was drunk by... a friend of my brother, once I was away on a congress. It seems that she hooked my brother on the spirit too, as today he wrote on his wall:

"Whisky should be illegal. But I would still buy some."

This is, in a nutshell, the relationship one has with whisky. It hurts like hell when one is hangover, more than any other alcohol. But it's tastes so good.

Des t-shirts en novembre?

Je faisais la vaisselle plus tôt ce matin et j'ai jeté un coup d'oeil à la fenêtre: il y avait pleins de gens dehors, portant des t-shirts et sans manteau. Je ne m'y fais tout simplement pas. Je sais, nous avons eu et avons encore l'automne le plus chaud de l'histoire météorologique de ce pays, après ironiquement avoir passé l'été le plus froid depuis dix-sept ans. Quand même, c'est bientôt l'hiver, ce l'est même déjà à bien des degrés: je suis sorti aujourd'hui et ce soir et il fait froid. Je crois que bien des gens nient la réalité et les changements saisonniers.

A website for bookworms

My Italian friend (I mention her from time to time) gave me yesterday the details of aNobii, a website for book readers. Good. I am a bookworm who does not read enough these days. So I signed in to this one. I don't know if I am going to do much about it, I barely use Shelfari, I never write book reviews (I am into critiques, not reviews, if that makes sense) but I thought it would be nice to connect to the world of literature, so to speak, via a website, and to stay in touch with my friend in a more intellectual way, via a more intellectual medium than via Facebook (FB can be intellectual, but let's face it, it often is not). Hey, we met at university after all!

J'ai manqué la Sainte-Catherine

Ca n'arrive qu'une fois dans l'année, mais j'ai pour certaines raisons carrément oublié la Sainte-Catherine hier. Pas que je fasse grand-chose à la Sainte-Catherine à part me rappeler que c'est le 25 novembre et bloguer là-dessus (un exemple ici). Il y a des gens qui fêtent encore parmi vous? Au Québec, durant mon enfance, on la fêtait beaucoup plus, surtout à l'école. On faisait de la tire, "comme Marguerite Bourgeoys", laquella a paraît-il inventé la friandise au Québec. Elle est sainte aussi, ce qui faisait que je la confondais avec Sainte Catherine. Mais bon, à part la tire, la Sainte-Catherine est une fête pleine d'austérité, étant celle des vieilles filles et étant fêté au mois de novembre. Alors autant prendre mon mal en patience jusqu'aux Fêtes...

Sandwich (the Friday treat)

Anybody in for a trivial post for this Friday? I am sure it was a long week for my readers just like it was for me. I know that it was Thanksgiving for the Americans yesterday and today is Black Friday for them, a sinister name for a day of consumerism. Maybe it is fitting. I am somewhat at peace (or at least I made a truce) with capitalism now that I work in the private sector, but I find buying frenzy difficult to deal with. But that is another story (which I probably told already)...

Anyway, there is one kind of business I am always happy to encourage and see prosper: the local sandwich shop. When it is a quality one, that is. Because they give you soggy sandwiches filled with Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise, then I don't like. I like professional sandwich makers, people who know their craft and their trade. And I found just the right place recently, near work. So on Friday, when I don't feel like preparing my lunch, I go and buy a sandwich there, with a small Coca Cola and a bag of cashew nuts. There is a nice variety of sandwiches, they make them fresh with fresh ingredients, the staff are efficient and friendly and just chatty enough. So today I had a smoked salmon baguette (I guess I was feeling like having something akin to my Montreal Friday meal), with Philadelphia cheese, lettuce, onions, salt and pepper and a dash of lemon juice. The guy at the counter told me that for future references, radish sauce would taste great with the salmon, but not mix well with the Philadelphia cheese. I said: "I will certainly check this out, as I want to try every sandwich in this shop. Well, not all at the same time of course." It was a good enough punch line to make them laugh. And it is a good enough punch line to be classified as a great unknown line. The guy told me afterwards: "You are most welcome to do this, we won't complain sir!".

That is one thing that struck me this time actually: being called "Sir". I mean I used to be called "sir" by kids at school, but this is different to be called like this by a grown up man. When I was a student in Montreal, I used to go and have my Friday lunch (after my class of medieval literature) at the Binerie Mont-Royal. It was then my Friday treat: pea soup, meatball stew or trout or vols-au-vent with salmon béchamel sauce for main and trifle for dessert. And the owner used to call me "jeune homme" (young man). Now I am called "sir" by men who are probably older than me. Still, I feel like a kid in a candy store when I buy myself a Friday treat. And I will go back to try as many different variations of sandwiches as I can.

Mon billet le plus populaire

C'est confirmé par le nombre de commentaires, la photo du mois du 15 novembre, Le bout du monde, est mon billet le plus populaire jusqu'ici, depuis les débuts de Vraie Fiction. Je n'y suis pour rien, ou pour si peu, puisque c'était un billet écrit dans le cadre d'une activité de groupe de la communauté blogueuse expatriée francophone. Alors forcément, quand on commente sur les autres blogues, on reçoit également des visites. Tout de même, je suis heureux d'avoir attiré un lectorat francophone, de même que d'avoir pu faire un peu d'esprit dans ma langue maternelle.

Cela dit, pour la prochaine photo du mois, ce sera difficile de battre le thème de novembre...

The story of my mornings

I found this video on another blog. I found it so funny I had to put it here. This is the story of pretty much every morning I have during weekdays, captured in all their dreadful misery. Especially after a night of struggle with insomnia, which is unfortunately very common these days. Except I don't have a cat.Which is also unfortunate. So enjoy. I will watch more of the work of Guy Collins, if it's anything like this one it will cheer me up.

Ca ne rajeunit personne (chronique pas vraiment nostalgique)

C'était peut-être une mauvaise idée: j'ai jeté un coup d'oeil sur le site de l'école pour laquelle je travaillais en 2009-2010. J'y ai vu les vidéos (des photos en fait) du bal des finissants. Donc voilà, sans doute une mauvaise idée. J'ai connu ces enfants-là lorsqu'ils étaient... enfants. Et bon, même s'ils le sont encore (year 8, ils ont entre 12-13 ans) de les voir habillés glamour pour un bal, ça m'a comme donné un coup de vieux.

Ce n'est pas vraiment que je m'ennuie du travail, parce que j'ai fini par le détester très vite, et le milieu encore plus. En fait, je détestais tout vers la fin.Je veux dire, vraiment tout. Mais bon, pas tous les élèves étaient des monstres, en fait beaucoup étaient attachants (beaucoup plus que les vipères que j'avais comme collègues). Alors de les voir vieillir comme ça, ça cogne un peu.

The fog was back

This picture was taken last Sunday, but today was also foggy in the morning until around midday, albeit not as thick as last Sunday, so I decided to put that picture here to illustrate this post. Which is about nearly nothing really, but after the meatier, sanguine,controversial post of yesterday, I thought we could have something soothing before bedtime.

So there was fog this morning. It was deliciously cold and foggy. Sadly the train arrived on time so I didn't read much. But it was still lovely walking in the fog from home to the station, it almost makes me forget that it is part of my commute. I am trying to make peace with the month of November, which I often find gloomy. It seems to be working okay, at least when it is foggy outside.

L'athéisme est-il tabou au Québec?

C'est une question que je me pose souvent, beaucoup trop profonde en fait pour que j'en fasse une question existentielle. J'y ai repensé hier soir après avoir écrit ce billet. Parce que, malgré une laïcité parfois bruyante, on n'est pas particulièrement gâtés au Québec en ce qui concerne la perception de l'athéisme. Même s'il est vilipendé, le cours d'ECR passe l'athéisme sous silence et cette frilosité est je crois symptomatique d'un certain dédain, d'une certaine timidité envers le mot. La sympathie envers la croisade grotesque de Jean Tremblay indique aussi que l'intégrisme religieux, on le connaît encore. Après des siècles de domination catholique, nous avons encore certains réflexes déplorables. Suis-je le à penser que le mot est tabou?