Oktober and the Case of the Insane Schedule

As the old adage claims, "time flies when you're having fun." No truer words could describe the last few weeks in Reims.

Classes are in full swing. We have had no fewer than 6 different professors, teaching a variety of subjects, and assigning group and individual assignments. School work picked up, as did my work for the Hay Group and my newest employer, a film studio out of Paris and Bordeaux. I've been trying to pack it all in, along with the standard 1 night minimum per week of partying. This is what I imagined happening before I came here, and it's been a blast figuring out how to work it all into these short 24-hour days we have.

Some important notes:

A little over two weeks ago, 5 days after my last post, was my birthday. I was surprised in my apartment at 0:01 by a group of my colleagues, who brought a bottle of Taittinger champagne to help celebrate the first day of my 25th year of life. We had class the next morning, but that was not important to anyone. It was a touching gesture, and so much fun. After class on the 17th, we continued the party in my apartment, then in a garden outside a different residence. The celebrations spanned more than 24 hours, including the time in between parties. I couldn't have asked for a better day. And the fun didn't stop there.

Some of the IM LUX alumni, back living in Reims, have consistently been throwing parties on a weekly basis, at a house halfway between the student rez and downtown. With several different student groups (current and past IM LUX, exchange students, etc.) mingling and dancing and drinking, the result is pretty fantastic. I will miss those particular alumni when they go off to find work in other cities or countries.

I've also had time over the last few weeks to reflect on some of the things that happened last time I was here, how adapting to the town has been different, and how many things have essentially stayed the same. The bank is still a nightmare to deal with, but the new tram can get you there in half the time the buses used to take. The internet is still mostly slow and choppy, but I can nonetheless keep up with TV shows, movies, and of course, people back home, as needed. The phone plan I have this time is way better than it was before; shame I don't require it for a minimum of an hour a day to call someone in Canada like I did last time, my plan almost feels like overkill now.

Interestingly enough, I don't think I'm really learning anything different or working on more difficult assignments, there are just more of them being assigned simultaneously, since this program does not schedule classes in 3-week modules with one assignment and one exam each. Instead, the French half of the program is split into two halves, where each half has 5 or 6 classes, each with an assignment, and most with an exam. All exams are written in a 2-day period in October, rather than at the end of each class. Then in November we start again, going until one week before Christmas, at which point we write more exams.

Another thing I'm doing at least as much as last time is travelling. The difference is, I'm going to Paris a lot (actually, I'm going to Rennes next weekend to visit some old friends, which will be awesome) rather than visiting new countries. This is actually not a bad thing, although I do wish I could see Finland or Ireland or something, but it will have to wait. The tuition bill is a lot higher this time, so come December, I will feel very poor, indeed. We'll see how much travelling I do once I move to Milan.

I am really getting into the groove here. I have enjoyed getting to know my classmates and re-acquainting myself with this town I am calling home for the second time. Unfortunately, it will be a very temporary stay. I am already only 10 weeks away from moving out of this apartment into a very new city. Here's hoping the hard work here pays off and the change doesn't come too hard or too fast. It's going to be an interesting transition, certainly a lot of fun, so I will try to stay focused on schoolwork and real work so that I can better enjoy the second half of this journey.

I look forward to visiting San Siro, preferably when Inter is playing. I look forward to seeing Blind Guardian live in concert in May. I look forward to eating Italian food nearly everyday. I look forward to the possibility of having air conditioning. I look forward to seeing more of my friends and family from around Europe. All in good time.

A friendly introduction

Good Evening,

I have just returned from a night on Place d'Erlon. The IM LUX group has concluded 3 days of introductory activities, where everyone in the program (all 41 of us) got to learn about the school, the cities we'll be living in, and about each other. We have visited champagne houses, surrounding towns where grapes are grown, participated in team-building activities, and generally had a good time. Fun note: less than 20% of students in the program are male. How's that for a statistic?

Anyway, here's a quick summary of some of the activities we've enjoyed over the last few days:

Wednesday, Day 1, was primarily an administrative day. Various people presented the different aspects of the program, and we were introduced to some our professors and alumni from last's year inaugural IM LUX class. We visited Champagne Taittinger, one of my top 2 favourite champagne houses, and enjoyed a nice lunch at the university. One of the alumni held a small party at his conveniently-located and spacious apartment, so we got to have a little late-night fun.

On Thursday, we joined forces with the MIM (Master's of Int'l Management) group, which is about half the size of our crew, to learn more about the school in general. We also had some team-building activities, which included building a structure which could protect and egg from a 3-metre drop, and creating a percussion ensemble, with full performance in front of a small audience. By the end of the day, I'd personally met 90% of my classmates, and a few MIM students, memorizing roughly 50% of the names. Somewhat of a challenge there, considering the variety of backgrounds, but hey, that's half the fun.

Friday was our trip to Épernay and Hautvillers, two towns just outside of Reims which house many of the most important vines and producers in the region of Champagne. In the morning, we visited the Mercier cellars, now owned by LVMH, and followed that up with a lunch at La Ferme des Presles, a beautiful country property where a woman in her 60s prepared a delicious lunch for about 80 students. Épernay is a beautiful town with incredible vistas. The lunch we had was delicious as well, and included foie gras, so you know I was happy. Following lunch, we drove to Hautvillers for a scavenger hunt. Divided into groups, we crossed the town looking for clues to solve a puzzle and win a prize. My group didn't win, but it was fun. I kind of wish we'd just had free time there; all the focusing on the map and the questions that were part of the game took away from attention that could have been paid to the rolling hills covered in vines, the half-century-old buildings and the parts of the town that the scavenger hunt led us to discover in the first place. A map and 2 hours of walking time would have been enough to appreciate the small town, without any added distractions.

After all the running around, we returned to Reims. I made dinner and then went downtown, where I was joined by about half of my classmates (those who were not too tired) for an evening drink or two (or five, whatever).

All seems to be going well. I am feeling lucky to be in a country I love, in a city I like, studying something that is interesting and useful, surrounded by intelligent, fun and frankly beautiful people. But enough of this introspective sentimental shit. Go check out some pictures on Facebook, where they are presently proving slightly easier to upload.

36 Hours in Reims

Good Evening,

I have arrived in the town of Reims, France, and am so ready to start this Master's degree. Here's a recap of what's happened so far:

- Got picked up at the airport, with 4 other people and all our luggage, by a man with a large Mercedes van. Sitting in the back seat of this van, next to my own luggage, was more comfortable than sitting in my seat on the plane. The drive from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the student residence at the Reims Management School is about 2 hours.

- Got my apartment. It's nice enough, about 260 sq. ft., with a kitchenette and private washroom. My room this time has an actual shower stall, rather than a bathtub and a shower wand thing. Bonus points for this room!

- The room is also on the first floor of the building. Way off to one end, granted, so there's not much foot traffic by my door, but I do frequently hear the elevator. Also, my view is of a tree and a road, which is not overly pleasant. The main difficulty there is that there are more bugs and people on ground level than on the 6th floor (where I was last time), so keeping the window and/or curtain open all the time is not practical.

- Opened a bank account at my favourite French bank. This is important for literally every single other administrative process I will have while I'm here, because everything here requires a bank account number.

- Looked for a good phone plan. Found one, but need to wait until all my bank info is processed to actually sign up.

- Bought a 6-pack of Kriek (cherry beer) for less than 60 cents per bottle. Fuck ya! Also bought some other food.

- Unpacked 75% of my clothing. This took about 3 hours.

- Ate a baguette, an apple, some barley (Ebly!), merguez sausage, and an almond-salted-caramel single-serving ice cream. Drank a bottle of Kriek.

- Watched several episodes of Whose Line to pass the time when I wasn't walking around town or unpacking.

- Slept 7 hours. Woke up at 5 a.m., unpacked some more, figured out how to operate the big steel blinds on my window, made the room pitch black. Went to sleep for another 7 hours. Woke up around 1 p.m.

- Got WiFi in the apartment. This took about 24 hours from the time I got my apartment. It's OK, though, because I got to go see the girl who works in the residence office for the second time in as many days. Tomorrow I'll try to go 3-for-3.

- Had the toilet repaired, since it had stopped working after less than 36 hours. Also had the repairman fix the shower, which did not work properly to begin with. The residence maintenance guy is really nice and very efficient. I should ask him if he wants to go for a beer sometime.

- Figured out the new tram/bus system. Basically, it works like this: if you take a tram, you will get to where you want to go. If you take a bus, you will not. They cost the same amount, but the tram runs more frequently, and is slightly faster.

- Took some nighttime pictures of Reims. Here's what I've got so far, including the apartment:

My front door.

Hallway with dining table, covered in non-dining things.

My view.

 

Window, book shelf (for clothing) and desk.

"Kitchen". Also, some furniture I'm not sure how to use yet.

Bedroom.

Bathroom with actual shower stall.

NEOMA Business School, Campus 1

Le Crédit Lyonnais and side view of the cathedral.

Closer side view. I actually forgot to take the front.

The theatre.

Fountain, Place d'Erlon.

Restaurant and apartment building with cool lighting.

One of the originals: Les 3 Brasseurs, Place d'Erlon.

Angel on a tower, Place d'Erlon.

The new tram, leaving the station in front of the university.
The hedges are grape vines. Everything here is grape vines.

Faculté des lettres et sciences humaines. Not my school, but nice building.

Will be back with more as the week continues to unfold. Stay tuned!

The Final Countdown

Good Evening Folks,

You might be thinking that it's a little early to be calling this the "Final Countdown", and it kind of is, but here I am anyway, writing about my last month in Ottawa.

It is August. It feels like October, weather-wise. The music festivals have long since wrapped up. Life in Stittsville is more or less what it always was: pleasant but imperfect. I suppose life in my apartment was about the same, generally speaking. Nothing really happens in August, although work is a little busier than usual.

Speaking of which, Hay Group has hired my replacement. I think she will be a good fit with the Ottawa Office. I was given 3 weeks to teach her everything I know and still get all my client work done. So far, so good. Need to add a trip to Bite in there for good measure.

Only two weeks until my flight. I am getting nervous about the enormous expense of this endeavor where tuition fees are concerned. Tuition ruins everything. Having a job in France and in Italy is pretty much a requirement at this point. That's not a bad thing, really, but it will take more getting used to than the standard "life in Reims" or "life in Milan" that I would have had to deal with anyway.

The next few weeks are filled with work, activities, good-byes, and packing suitcases. Should be interesting. Can't wait.

Toronto / Barrie, July 2014 - Let's Play Ball!

July is coming to a close, and boy has some fun stuff happened since Bluesfest! Well, not a lot, but I did have one really cool weekend.

This past Friday, I went for a drive to Toronto, to visit my grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousins who live there. We had a big family dinner, and it was fun catching up with everybody, for what might be the last time before my big trip.

Saturday, Mom and I went to see the Blue Jays at the Skydome (a.k.a. the Rogers Centre)! It was awesome! The Jays won their game (against the Texas Rangers), and I got a souvenir soda cup, featuring pitcher Mark Buerhle. I also got some pretty cool pictures of the stadium.

After the game, we drove to Barrie to visit my sister, who is currently stationed at CFB Borden, not too far from the big city. We picked her up, went for dinner at the Crazy Fox (which was quite good, by the way; try the sweet potato ravioli, or the bruschetta with goat cheese, or pretty much anything else). After that, we went to our hotel, all of us ready to crash from our respective long days of baseball/driving/flag raising/parades/etc.

The only respectable hotel for a reasonable price in the Barrie area is the Hampton, so we stayed there. For some reason, an entire wedding party was staying in our hallway, so we didn't sleep much. So much for that (I would like to make an aside here to say that this was possibly the worst night of sleep I've had in recent memory, and it wasn't even just the loud folks on our floor).

Anyway, the next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, then went to walk around beautiful historic downtown Barrie. About an hour later, having seen the entire waterfront and most of the main drag, we decided to have lunch at SkyBank, which is like SkyBar, but the building used to be a bank. Essentially, it's meant as a night club, but during the day, you can eat lunch on the roof. The food was decent and I enjoyed the cocktail I had (sweet and fruity, of course).

We then drove Frankie back to her work camp. Seeing the main part of the base (rather than just the entrance), I realized that it reminded me of the segregation camps in District 9. Anyway, she only has a few weeks left there, then she'll be home for good. No more cadet business for her.

The drive home was long, due in part to the fact that there was cottage country traffic, and also because it was raining, and everything always takes longer in the rain. Mom and I stopped for what turned out to be a delicious late dinner at the Fall River restaurant in Perth. Excellent spot, if you're ever driving by. Their Caesar and Smoked Arctic Char salads (2 different salads) were both delicious, and their Death by Chocolate dark truffle cake was to die for (sorry). Next time we stop in, we will make sure to have more time, and maybe order some of the signature entrées, all of which looked fantastic.

We slept soundly Sunday night. Monday was Mom's birthday! So we celebrated once I got home from work. Awesome long weekend all around.

Bluesfest Days 9 & 10 - The Lion Snoops Tonight, She Said

Bluesfest wrapped up some some pretty interesting shows. On Saturday, Bob Saget came to bring a certain immaturity and levity to the early evening crowd. Mr. Saget is a funny guy. Nothing about his humour is clean or respectful or appropriate, and that's the best part. He tells stories, sings songs, and shares with his audience his seeming endless string of tasteless jokes. It's brilliant. I even got a pretty good picture of him, since I was standing nice and close!

After Bob Saget, Deltron 3030 came to start off the hip-hop-flavoured part of the evening's program. D3030 are basically what would happen of the Gorillaz met Coolio and had their lyrics written by an IT guy. It's actually pretty good. They have an old-school DJ who loves to use the classic turntables (no Macs with software doing all the work) and some pretty awesome guys up front rapping about viruses and robots and such. They closed with Clint Eastwood (remember what I said about the Gorillaz?) and that would just pure awesome. I have made a point to look up their music and enjoy it in studio recording format.

After Deltron 3030, AWOLNATION took to the main stage, so I left and went to find Little Freddie King, a 70-something year-old blues guy from the Southern States. As with many similar artists, he and his band were very talented, providing a nice reprieve from the more modern and hip goings-on at the main stage. He also seemed to be enjoying himself, so I did, too.

When he wrapped up, I made my way to another show which promised "post-apocalyptic gypsy punk". Intrigued, I made my way to the River to see Nostalghia. Bad decision. "Post-Apocalyptic" was pretty accurate (or maybe just "apocalyptic"). Punk, ya, I can see that. I guess the "gypsy" part is because one person on stage had an electric cello. Well then. That was awful.

After 3 minutes I headed over to watch Childish Gambino, who is apparently a character named Troy on a show called Community, played by Donald Glover. Not Danny Glover, mind you, that would have been hilarious. He was ok, and provided nice background rap music for a conversation I was having with a friend of mine. Then, the world took a collective puff from their enormous joint.

Snoop Dogg (a.k.a. Snoop Lion) was the main performer for the night, and yes, he can perform. He put on great show, mixing classic Snoop hits with more recent collaborations and even covers of Tupac and Biggie Smalls. It wasn't bad at all, and the crowd where I was seemed a bit tamer than they were for Queens otSA or Cypress Hill, which was good. Snoop, wearing his Erik Karlsson Ottawa Senators Heritage away jersey, urged everyone in the crowd to lay back, smoke a joint, relax, and have fun. Well, standing in a crowd of over 20,000, watching the man himself up on that stage, I can assure you that I did at least one of those 4 things. An enjoyable conclusion to the evening.

Sunday was the final day of Bluesfest, and there was only one concert that really interested me. That was Collective Soul. More on them later. First up, the World Cup Final!

Germany played Argentina in what can only be described as a fairly average clash of soccer titans, with only one goal between them during the entire game, but a few great chances on both sides. I went to Bite to watch, and had a great feast of a dinner, ensuring that I would not need the services of the good folks at the Bluesfest concession stands.

I went over to LeBreton a little early, giving myself time to meet up with some friends and watch some shows that were more just background for me, including Sam Roberts. He has become more serious about his music-making and performing in the last 10 years or so. This makes his show less about enjoying the music and young talent on the stage, and more about just listening to some people performing songs you've either heard on the radio for the last 10 years, or have never heard at all. Not unexpectedly, his show was underwhelming, The real show came afterward.

Collective Soul! Aaaahhhh! I finally got to see this show live! And it was awesome! With a new album to promote, the band performed 4 new songs, which were mostly quite good, and brought out some classic tunes, which were also very good. There is a lot of talent in that band, and they put it on display quite well. The whole show really came together nicely, and it was a lot of fun to watch. Good on you, Collective Soul. I look forward to your new album!

Bluesfest Days 7 & 8: Some Interesting Juxtaposition

Thursday was a day I planning to arrive home at a reasonable time. After all, the Procol Harum playing with the NAC Orchestra at 7, Blondie playing at 8, and nothing of particular interest following the octogenarian rock star. Well doesn't festival season just enjoy proving me wrong all the damn time.

First off, Procol Harum was awesome. I mean, what a show. The songwriting prowess of Gary Brooker, the talent of his band mates, and the orchestra + choir backing them up, just a sublime show. Of course they played Conquistador and A Whiter Shade of Pale, and they played quite a few other songs as well. It was a wonderful show, and I'm glad I had a chance to see it live. It was actually in the middle of A Whiter Shade of Pale that my evening manage to improve even further.

I had the opportunity to meet up with someone I had only met about two weeks prior, through one of my colleagues at Hay Group. Since I don't actually have her permission to publish anything about her on the internet, I'll just call her "D". D is a student at Queen's who loves music. She sings, plays piano, and was really excited when I proposed that we catch a concert together at Bluesfest.While she does not acknowledge that anything of value was produced between The Beatles' last album and the 1980's, which I informed her on more than one occasion is in fact an inversion of the truth, she did prove to be rather good company for an evening on LeBreton Flats.

Anyway, I found her in the crowd about 3 songs before Procol Harum finished, and we made our way to a different stage to watch Blondie. This is an artist with about 2 or 3 recognizable songs, who hit her prime probably about 35 years ago. She is not young. Her name should be changed to "Whitie", to match the transition her hair has undergone. She looked like she needed a Personal Care Assistant on stage with her. She barely moved around the stage at all, and her voice wasn't what it used to be. After 3 or 4 songs, D and I left to go exploring.

Basically, LeBreton Flats isn't actually that interesting, except when it is filled with stages, food stands, casino games, and alcohol. Well, we had all of those things at our disposal, so we walked around and tried to see everything we could see. All this while waiting for the band she really came to see: The Band Perry.

First of all, The Band Perry annoyed me as soon as the lineup was announced back in March, because I thought two different groups named "The Band" and "Perry" were performing. The Band is friggin' awesome. The Band Perry is kind of a young, country rock sort of group and is composed of 3 siblings (I would compare them to Nickel Creek, except Nickel Creek has better songwriting and is more of a bluegrass band). The Perry gang is accompanied by 3 or 4 other musicians who provide backup on drums, bass, and whatever else. Their music is not particularly appealing; it is, after all, a mix of pop rock and country. The show they put on, however, is pretty exciting. The lead singer, the sister of the family, has all kinds of stage presence and personality, and damn, can she sing. I mean, she has a sort of country drawl and does those annoying voice things that you only hear in specific kinds of cringeworthy music, but hey, she and her brothers are talented. Credit where credit is due. Awesome show by The Band (Perry).

Friday brought a different sort of entertainment. The evening opened with Slash, feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators. These guys combined styles of Guns & Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, and whatever other hair metal / hard rock bands from that period you can think of. They were pretty good, showcasing the talents of each member, although I have to admit they weren't overly impressive. I guess Slash is a legendary guitarist, but it didn't really show with this performance. None of the songs was particularly complex or anything. Paradise City and Sweet Child of Mine (2 GnR tracks they played) are iconic, but nothing truly special. What I did discover, however, what that if Myles Kennedy had been the vocalist for GnR, they might have been a better band. Guy's got some serious chops.

Anyway, after that show, I went over to the River Stage to catch John Németh (not to be confused with Joe Namath). Mr. Németh is a blues guy from Memphis, TN, who loves to sing and play his harmonica. His friend, Percy Wiggins, was also there, singing along to a few of the tunes, and the backing band was quite good. The music style was pretty simple blues, and generally pretty light (lots of ballads, not too many heavy riffs or soloing). Again, though, not too impressive. Only one show left for the evening, and it was sure to be a good one.

Round out my Friday were the Bare Naked Ladies, a Canadian band I have listened to since I was a kid. Well, I did listen to them. They sort of lost me when they released the double-album BLAM (Barenaked Ladies Are Me / Barenaked Ladies Are Men) back when I was about to graduate high school (sometime between 2003's Everything to Everyone, which was quite good, and now). I hadn't seen them live for a while, and I knew they had some new material since I last paid attention to them, including the theme from The Big Bang Theory. Well, they played that. They played other new stuff from their 2013 album, and their upcoming EP. They played 2 or 3 songs from arguably their best album, Gordon. They are entertainers. They are talented musicians. But they really fell short for this show. They started playing covers of things near the end of their set, and it felt forced. They had been messing around throughout the show, playing parodied snippets of their own songs, or other songs, but when they went full-on into covers, they lost me again. It was like they were tired of their own material. Maybe they felt they'd lost their audience after performing If I Had $1,000,000. They seem to have lost their relevance, and that is really sad to me. They never took themselves too seriously, even though they were writing and recording amazing music. That was their gift to their audience. Not so anymore, it seems. Their new material was hit and miss (to be fair, mostly hit, but still, somewhat disappointing). It was a pretty forgettable show, and an anticlimactic end to the evening. I went home truly disappointed for the first time this Bluesfest.