so i went out on friday night to meet a woman i'd been planning a date with since before i met aaa, already assuming that it'd just be a pleasant evening. the metro was overloaded, apparently due to line issues, and i walked out of the vendôme station into the pouring rain. there was a long line for the bus so i decided to walk instead, which seemed like a mighty good idea when i arrived at sherbrooke to discover that most of the road was missing. which would kinda explain the traffic.
i enjoyed walking in the rain; it wasn't too cold... i was about halfway there when i received an sms from aaa which was pleasantly positive! good timing :P
i walked into honey martin and was met with a heavy bar smell, thick air and drunkenly loud, friendly voices from cozily crowded tables and benches. it was welcome respite from being drenched! my date arrived five minutes later, both of us quite pleased that i'd managed to secure a couple of seats.
it was a really nice evening! if it wasn't for aaa, i would definitely invite her out for a second date. we'd just started on the second round of guinness when she dropped a bomb: "i don't understand the whole dating scene. i only ever go out on first or second dates..."
oh, man. and here i was setting her up for another of those?! what a shitty move! and we'd had (and then continued to have, in spite of my guilty conscience) such a good time connecting on so many different topics, including raising children - this is relevant because she's got a five year-old daughter. oh, i knew that before, in case you were worried. i'm cool with that.
she gave me a ride to the metro station and i said goodbye in the nicest non-committal way i could, grateful that she didn't push me into saying anything final. i walked off wondering if there's a delaying tactic i could use to see if aaa and i work out first? is that totally uncool? it feels uncool. but that's society for you, you're not allowed to like more than one girl at a time... and aaa was pretty clear before we met that she's not interested in open relationships.
...
aaaaaaanyway, there was a terrible, funny moment when the bartender came to our table to take orders, which she hadn't done before. i'd received changed from the first round and given her half, but my coin pouch was in my wet jacket so i kept the remaining coins in my hand or on the table. this girl didn't hesitate, she glanced at the table and just lifted them! i wasn't going to argue with her because that's definitely not alright, but she totally forced a double tip. i was not impressed.
...
it was really, really cold on friday night. maybe it was the moisture, because the temperature wasn't low at all.
i slept great, though i woke up with my back still uncomfortable. i rewrote my resume according to what one of the recruiters had told me - though i think she's an idiot so the rewrite may be a mistake - and that entailed trawling through my blog to line up dates. which led to me labelling a bunch of unlabelled posts, which is always engrossing.
...
on my way to yoga the woman from h&r called. she's managed to reduce the rate from $300 to $160. ummm.... no. thanks, but no thanks.
...
i had ten or fifteen minutes to warm up before my instructor arrived, so i wrapped up and worked on one of the bags for a while. i wear one of my pairs of '99 mr. price specials for yoga, and didn't think it'd be a problem for kicking (i wore them when i started taekwondo in 2001)... so i wasn't impressed when they split down the front. at least it wasn't so bad, but i hate the fact that my favourite clothes are falling apart. anyway, i went to do pull-ups and was surprised to find myself holding my body almost horizontally and doing them with ease, right until the last two which surprised me by throwing my back out completely.
bad, bad timing. DAMN.
anyway, the yoga wasn't bad and my frustrating back didn't get in the way too much. one of the guys from boxing joined us and was just as impressed with the instructor as i am :)
i tried taking a hot bath when i got home but that did nothing for me. i made pasta (using the medium-firm tofu and runny sweet-and-chilli sauce) and it came out a bit rough, and finally spoke to my toronto cousin who i've been playing telephone tag with for about two weeks now. aaa and i chatted a bit and she's still sending mixed signals. it's a thing, i think.
i spent an hour or so sewing my pants while watching house which has just become available on netflix. nice! i ate a lot of junk food. yesterday and today. i'm not entirely proud of that.
i found a digitized copy of my discrete math book and loaded it onto my kindle, reading it on the metro and in starbucks* just before entering résonance for the mile end poets' festival event for the evening**.
* a woman was describing some dramatic event to her friend so loudly that it felt as if the drama were happening right there. not very nice.
** i've missed all the other events, which is a shame.
i arrived five minutes late, they were just beginning the sound check. after enough time spent waiting for events to begin in montreal, i have reached the conclusion that montreal and israel operate on similar ideas of time and truth about time. it's unprofessional.
anyway, the sound check was actually pleasant to listen to, as opposed to the horrors i'd associated with the place.
first, my criticism regarding the restaurant. it's hipster vegan. i wish that didn't mean anything, but the table i sat down at was filthy and had the previously seated's half-eaten meal on it. i was there for about two hours, and the waiter only cleared that shit about ten minutes before i left. when i ordered a cider during the intermission, i was asked where i was sitting and i pointed my table out. i returned to my seat and resumed reading my kindle; the waiter, when he arrived, softly asked the people at the table next to me if they'd ordered anything. i only registered that something was going on after he'd walked away, so i had to run after him to get my drink. i almost felt bad for asking "would'a been nice if he'd asked everyone, huh?" so loudly, but didn't because the whole hipster-apathetic thing doesn't do it for me and, after a cue from the main poet, i began to suspect that the dude's glasses weren't prescription. just sayin'.
okay, first up: jason. is it this jason? i'm not sure. but the dude is essentially a one-man band playing deep, dark sounds that i would've been even more excited by had they not been so darned LOUD. because they're discordant, in an impressively touching way. reminiscent of godspeed you black emperor.
second: karen fennel. she's funny, and has some extremely clever ideas, but i didn't like her actual performance. at all.
third: ian keteku. holy crap, what i've found on him online doesn't do him any justice. clever, beautiful poetry presented by a guy with a good sense of humour who knows how to flip to dark and serious on a dime. i see why he's famous on the slam circuit.
finally: emma frank and her band. really not my taste in music, though it was obviously great for what it was. at some point i just couldn't take any more, though, so i upped and left. i got home to an email from aaa, and i responded. then i responded again to clarify. then i realized that i'd just sent a mixed signal of my own. i hope she got the right meaning.
i slept well, woke up slowly, then got up and found my back still hurting. over breakfast i was listening to french radio and i really feel like my listening's improving...
i went out for coffee and shopping, the stunning sunny morning was sweater weather and i really, really wish that i could dress precisely like that all year round! everything felt right with the world ^_^
...
the guy ahead of me at starbucks had forgotten something on the counter and jumped across me to get it. i immediately stepped to the left, right onto the toe of the idiot behind me. why - would - you - stand - so - close - to - me???
oh, she's arabic. that's why. middle-easterners, i'm trying to escape that shit. please let me go.
i don't know if she was trying to be cute by repeatedly complaining after i repeatedly apologized.
...
today's been off and on as far as focus is concerned, i hope i'm going to be ready for tomorrow!
i've been sitting at a table for the past couple of weeks when using my computer and i've decided that that might be why my back's unhappy. so i returned to my standing desk a couple of hours ago and it seems to be helping a little.
oh, and fp called to tell me that this evening wouldn't be good for a quick visit, and asked if i wanted to meet during the week. so i bit the bullet and told her "not really". she's clearly unhappy that i'm not interested in giving her another shot, but as flattered as i am by that i'm looking for something with a bit more spark.
over the phone or in person, that doesn't feel very good.
right, coffee and studying. and then an early night.
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