The unbearable weight of gravity…

So, as you know, my online ‘brandname’ is jamesbrownontheroad. This suffix was largely influenced by the vast number of people with the same name as me who’ve managed to grab every easy-to-remember and logical email account at all the free email providers… Well, today I lived up to that name and managed to successfully identify myself as a non-Canadian when I took that name and gave it a new meaning, by stepping onto a pavement and doing a loop-di-loop on a glassy sheet of ice.

The painful bit is that I was very close to my office (actually, that’s a lie, the painful bit is my hip…). I’d just stepped off the bus, managed to cross two icy and thinly gritted streets and get about 20 metres down another icy and thinly gritted street towards the office where I’m now working… and then it all went tits up. Or rather I went tits up. Only my tits aren’t that impressive and they didn’t offer much cushioning for my fall, y’know? A number of Québecers were walking past me on the way to work. Did anyone of them stop and help or offer words of sympathy? Of course not, although that’s probably because they were all having enough difficulty staying vertical themselves. My sincere apologies go to the middle aged woman I very nearly took down with me when my arms flailed around in desperation… you were very wise to swerve out of my way.

*j*

Snapshot: Ryan on Rue Boyer

Saturday afternoon, on the way back from the Jean-Talon Market, and the annual Montréal Expozine comics and alt culture fair.

This is what an Englishman looks like…

…when he overdresses for the cold weather. Our first clean crisp day of nice snowfall, so of course the incentive to go crazy with the camera. Plus some good news at last; a semi-permanent job offered to me through my agency which should see me through until January when Beatrice comes to visit. Not architectural or design related, but then it doesn’t sound like it involves being economical with the truth with exploited Yanks. $13/hr, and reachable by métro and bus.

1) Rue Boyer, just off avenue du Mont-Royal Est, looking all Christmas-card-ish.

2) Here’s Ryan getting all happy because he’s seeing what a little bit of snow can do to perk up the disposition of his English friend. And yes, for my distant English friends, that Esso station really is selling unleaded for 89.4c/litre … about 44.2p… And Canadians think that’s expensive. The truth is gonna hurt ‘em…

3) Icicles forming on parked cars opposite our local supermarket (you ain’t seen nothing yet, everyone assures me…)

4) Avenue du Mont-Royal, near to the apartment. Notice how the plastic signage for the Couche Tard (trans: ‘Go to bed late’) convenience store opposite has been designed to be enhanced with just a little bit of snow… :)

It’s actually not that cold

We’re in the zone, folks… the snow’s falling, but it’s not too cold… a nice crisp -5 to -10, which makes for a happy James. It could almost be England. Only there’s snow. But you get my drift. I’ve had a fairly low few days between the end of a short mandate placement (see below), desperately sending out CVs for jobs that only get me half-excited. This photo was taken on Wednesday night, as I tried to write my loyal, luscious, and loving girlfriend a letter. It’s really not that easy when one or more cats choose to park their furry frames on my pad. Not that I’m complaining, Cucu has been a lot more friendly lately, and she seems to be taking more care of herself, after a particularly dandruffy stage…

Good news, though, fans… I have a job starting tomorrow. Two months up in Anjou doing something that doesn’t sound too exciting or taxing for $13/hr. Watch this space for first day reactions. Now that’s snowing I just want to get my head down and work; it’s not easy being a layabout, y’know :)

*j*

Farewell Sam…

Sam, winner of the ‘World’s Ugliest Dog’ competition for the last three consecutive years, passed away at his home in California on 18 November. We were just talking about him today, and then when I went to find out more about discovered that we were just a few hours too late. He died of progressive heart and kidney failure… this statement is reproduced from Sam’s blog…

Sam, a Chinese Crested Dog entered in our World’s Ugliest Dog contest and known throughout the world as Sam, the World’s Ugliest Dog, has passed away. He was fifteen. We were notified of his death during a phone call with his owner, Susie Lockheed, today.

Anyone who has spent anytime with Susie and Sam would know that she adored him, and, he adored her.

Sam helped Susie through some difficult health issues and Susie also credits him for helping her find her fiance. In addition to the love she showered on the little dog, Susie likely also saved his life when her fostering him on a temporary basis turned into an adoption.

Sam was getting on in years, not the most social of dogs and very hard to adopt out as a result.

Susie saw something beyond his looks and brought him into her life.

Their story illustrates the point DogExplorer.com had hoped to raise through humor with our World’s Ugliest Dog contest. That older, less photogenic dogs, not only deserve homes, they can enrich the lives of those who adopt them in ways unimaginable.

Our deepest sympathies go out to Susie at this difficult time.