Or at least according to Sopor Aeternus and that is how many things I wanted to accomplish this summer. I am not working this summer (except one day I was working at an ice cream store in the south shore to help out a friend...that was fun). So I figured it'd be a good time to have premium chillage, but also try and get some things done too.
1) Pack
Done! I moved, so things were successfully packed
2) Unpack
Done for the most part, but still in the process of arranging some things
3) Decorate my room
Done! But one thing is missing which will only arrive in mid-august
4) Plant things
Done! with moderate. There are plenty of herbs - especially all kinds of basil :) Garlic is kinda greens are sprouting everywhere. My zucchini's died early in the season due to too much rain. The tomatoes ripened...and were tasty, but no more are growing. I suspect the tomato plants drowned. Hopefully more will come. Cucumbers are showing promise...one is maturing quite well. One of the plants is 64 inches tall! My Cubanelle and Jalapeno plants grew and began flowering not too long ago, which hopefully means that they will start growing some peppers soon.
5) Learn MATLAB and the past tense of spanish
I've completely failed at this task. I started in May, and did one day. Then I never went back. The only reason I need to learn it is because I need it for my Masters. So I was thinking it'd be a good idea to learn it before I start in fall and am like holy shit, I dunno what to do. There's still time till August 27...but still :(
As for Spanish - I can only speak in the present...which I guess means I live in the moment. But, in all the other languages i know, I do know the past tense. So I thought it'd be a good idea.
I haven't done this yet.
6) Finish Anna Karenina
As I said below, I suspect it will continue on to next year.
7) Go Treetop trekking
I've been wanting to go tree top trekking for at least a year. So assuming nothing bad happens between now and August 10, all should be ok. I am scared of heights, but I'm thinking that since I'll be doing something in the trees and not just standing there looking down, it should be ok.
8) Learn to cook more international things
I consider myself to be a pretty decent cook and I've tried making a many things. Since I had almost 4 months off though, I figured, DUDE MAN! I can test lotsa stuff.
So far I've just done a wee bit of Lebanese and quite a bit of Mexican.
Lebanese - Baklava and Kafta (essentially fried meatballs with parsley and various herbs in them). I've never made either of these before, but they turned out really well and are pretty easy to do.
Mexican - I experimented with corn flour. It has an entirely different consistency from wheat flour. The good thing about it is it doesn't require any rise time/yeast. But it is tricky to work with.
Thanks to my awesome friend Cindy telling me how to make traditional mexican foodies, I was able to try out a bunch of things.
I made salsa the right way haha...but I am not a spice champion like Cindy (she has made salsa entirely with jalapenos, no tomatoes :o )
I made Cactus Quesadillas (dude man, zomg, happy drool face), Picaditas, Sopes, Pico de Gallo, Refried beans and Potato soup.
However, my hunt for queso fresco continues. I've just learned of a mexican epicerie around Marche Jean Talon, so I will have to hunt there.
There's still time to do more though :O !!! I must!
9) Bike around Montreal and check out as many places/parks as I can.
So I've done this with moderate success.
I've gone on a few rides but my biggest obstacles have been the weather (it's raining a lot lately and the weather network is kinda wonky sometimes :P) and injuring myself in June (limping around/general soreness for a while. Though I got my bike checked the week after, I didn't do a long ride till the week after that).
In terms of parks, I've been to Pratt Park (my fave little park), Parc Maisonneueve (premium bike path in there), Parc Lafontaine (it's big), Jarry Park (nice pond with duckies) and Parc Rene Levesque (at the end of the Canal Bike path westish. Awesome chill spot and view of the water).
I'm hoping the weather will be on my side and I get to go around more. I would at least like to go completely West (Cap st Jacques and also to Ste-Anne de Bellevue)and completely East (Pointe-Aux-Trembles). It'd also be cool to ride to Laval (possibly more North? haha) and to the South Shore :)
I also have to train to ride to school. I'm ok for long distance biking to some extent, but uphill kills me. I tried riding to Ecole Poly the other day and I was like a dead donkey in the desert. From my place to there, it's 3 km, but it's all freaking uphill. The entrance of Universite de Montreal to the actual Main building is comparable to going up Guy to the Montreal General Hospital :P
Coming home will be a breeze though!
10) Finish watching Queer as Folk
I started watching it during my Midterm break in winter. The show aired on Showcase from 2000-2005, but I never really knew about it. Somehow I found out about it and started watching it (showcase posts 1 episode every week - which started sometime in January). I watched all of the epis there, but then found out surfthechannel had all of them. However, I was a good student and limited myself to once a week till classes were over. I'm currently on Season 4 ep. 2. So I have about 26 episodes left. I figure I better watch it all now, otherwise I'll use it as a procrastination technique in the new semester.
What I like about it: Funny/witty characters (especially Brian Kinney), good music (apart from music shown on the show, their Club Babylon CD is quite good and dancy) and while a lot of the characters are homosexual, not all of them are and it focuses on not only the relationships, but other issues each character is having and issues of the community in general.
11) Try to go to random/interesting places & events in the city.
So far:
-Manhunt (only once though :( )
-Montreal Silent Disco
Running in the streets like a maniac (not really an event, but it was fun nonetheless - I was joined by an equally if not more hyper friend of mine, haha).
-Tam tams - I got to see the medieval fights too! I want to participate, but haven't gotten around to yet. We decided we'd be the Kitchenware Army with styrofoam frying pans/cauldrons and spatulas.
-Kinetik Festival - This is an industrial/electronic/hardcore festival. It lasted 3 days, but we (Paw, Oficeandashes and I) just went for the more electronic night. It lasted from 6pm to 3 am...and I think there were 9 or so bands. In anycase, it was really funny. I'd say it's a mix of electro and metal, easily dancable. I saw really interesting fashions and dancing too. I also got a shirt from there because it said E = 1/2mv^2 - I'm such a mecchy :P
- Jazz Fest/Canada Day stuff
- Festival Nuits D'Afrique (I got to see a band from Congo and Tribo de Jah :))
- Pow wow in Kahnawahke - So, it was a VERY rainy day. We were entirely soaked...but I did get some nice soap there. One of them smells like Sweet Tarts (yes, the halloween candy :D) I also got to ride on a dog scooter for the first time...post pow wow though.
- David Usher at the new Apple Store downtown - He decided to play a free concert there 2 days ago.
- Tried out Spirite Lounge (this place is whacky!, but awesome), L'escalier (general chillage). I have yet to try out Crudessence, Yuan, Cagibi and Le coin Mexican. Also, i'm intruiged by Ramen-Ya.
What's comin? - Divers/Cite, Highland games, Salsafolie...probably more that I forgot.
In addition I will be seeing Radiohead next week! (yay !!!)
So that pretty much ends my list. I hope I'm able to finish it...but I guess if I'm not...that probably means I got some rest, and after all that's probably what I need most before I tackle another degree.
That ends my late night posting. Perhaps I'll put up some pictures of the parks and make a review of the strange/interesting restos I've tried out.
I salute you, especially if you actually read all this.
1 comments:
Woo hoo! Number 8 (my favorite number)!!!
No worries, in no time you too will be a salsa champ. =D
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