The big 3 0... it can only get worse!!!

Argh. So, last week was the big 3 0 !!! And nothing happened. I mean really, nothing happened. The sky didn't fall, there was no appocalypse, low and behold, I am still alive today, 5 days later.

I celebrated my birthday at Chris and Dion's place. Their regular wednesday night soirée was vegetarian (my choice) and was centered around the fact that 4 us have birthdays either on september 8th or september 9th. Wow. Well cudoes to Chris and Dion for keeping my mind busy while I wait for James to come home from Peru.

James has been in Peru now for over two weeks and I am going insane keeping my mind busy. It wouldn`t be so bad had it not been for my previous job. Yes, you heard me previous. I was hired on with promise of success and career growth to basically be let go 4 months later on the grounds they suck at drumming up business and cannont manage their clients appropriately. I will not point the figure at who I think is responsible for my current job situation, but needless to say, it is not my fault nor SMG`s if I was standing in line at the unemployment office.

So, lets recap :

• loose job


• boyfriend leaves for Peru for 3 weeks


• Turn 30 *gasp*


• no idea what to do with my life at this point

The funny thing about all this is that I told James a few weeks ago that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. That it was just too good to be true. I had my dream job, doing my master's degree, boyfriend, blah blah. Well the shoe dropeth.

I am so sick and tired of having this happen to me. Every couple of years its the same story. I go from sitting on top of the world to scraping the bottom of the barrel. If I hear from one more person :"oh you'll find something, don't worry..."

I know all you well wishers are well intentionned, but, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT. The fact remains that life is just a big cosmic joke. You spend your life working, working to the bone, to make sure you can keep your idiotic job and some moron, who is more concerned with his profit margins than human life, hands you a pink slip with a big smile saying "Oh, I tried!". Well, I hope this moron is enjoying his 1 million dollar house and his yacht not to mention his RV and luxuery vehicle that he puts in a company paid parking spot every morning. Maybe when he gets of his car tomorrow he can assign himself more stock options. Hey, asshole, I have a bike that I can't even offord to change the tires anymore, can I have a job, please?

So, there I am this afternoon, standing at the unemployment line, registering for my employment assistance check. Welfare. Thats what my bloody life has come down to, government assistance. I have been to funerals that were more fun than the line at the unemployment office. Looking around at the people in the room just made me feel worse. Everyone looking desperate contrasted against me trying to look suave and debonnair. Actually, I was just trying not to go postal.

When I was a kid, slaving away on my family's farm in the smothering heat feeling my skin fry under the July sun, I always kept my hopes up. I knew that one day I would work in an office tower, on a floor so high up that it would have a beautiful view of the city.

So, is there hope? Well, James is cutting his trip to Peru short, thank god, he'll be back tomorrow night. I started applying for jobs today. I applied for about 10 of them this evening. With any luck, i'll be off the couch and in a downtown office tower sooner than later. My application for employment insurance is complete and with any luck the checks will start rolling in 4 weeks.

Je me souviens... part deux!

Pour donner suite aux articles concernant le Québec...

J'ai eu une réponse de monsieur X, et il s'est dévoilé! A sa demande, je poste sa lettre ici. Mais je n'y répondrai pas. Je crois que sa lettre parle assez d'elle-même. J'ai pas envie de faire un forum politique avec mon blogue, mais je crois qu'il est important de donner une chance à Cédric de clarifier son point de vue.

Deplus, j'inclu quelques commentaires d'autres lecteurs!

merci!
Gabriel

Voici la réponse de Cédric:

Eh oui, c'est moi le "disgruntled french canadian". Étant donné que le blog ne nous permet plus de répondre directement aux messages, nous devons discuter par email.

Naturellement, mes commentaires ne pourront etre sur le blog pour me défendre (a moins que tu choisisses de les mettre).

tu as écris:

"Je devine que tu es Québécois. Alors, tu es sûrement né ici. Tu n'as eu aucun choix dans ta langue, ta nation, tes origines, c'est un concours de circonstances auquel tu n'y es pour rien. Par contre, j'ai choisi de m'installer au Québec. Pour sa langue, pour sa culture, pour son peuple, pour sa nation. Mon côté curieux voulait venir comprendre pourquoi un peuple de gens si choyé semblait si insatisfait."

Cela prouve que les gens de l'extérieur ne connaissent pas vraiment le Québec.. car le peuple est loin d'etre "insatisfait". Les gens qui pronent l'indépendance n'en veulent pas tous aux anglais ou au reste du Canada. En fait, la plupart respectent totalement le Canada anglais... mais c'est un pays différent.

Ensuite vous avez dit:

"Premièrement, votre arrogance ne dissimule pas vos complexes. Deuxièmement, je comprends que le Québec est une nation."

Si tu comprends que le Québec est une nation, pourquoi t'avoir choqué lorsque tu as vu que le parc du Mont Tremblant était un "parc national"? c'est pas logique.

ensuite:

"C'est clair. Ce que je n'accepte pas, c'est l'association de facto pour pays, que semble prôner un certain groupe. J'ai dit dans mon blogue : "You are not a country". Je n'ai jamais nié le statut de nation. étant moi-même issue d'une nation qui n'a pas de frontières, je peux comprendre que la nation se vit dans l'âme."

effectivement, le Québec n'est pas un pays. Pas encore.

Ensuite tu a "quoté" un paragraphe en ajoutant des "sic" et en m'accusant de faire des fautes de grammaire et d'orthographe. Je concède que j'ai écris le texte rapidement et que les fautes de grammaire sont présentes, mais les fautes d'orthographes elles? SVP me les indiquer, ca m'aiderait grandement. :) J'en ai peut etre manqué quelques unes... Voici le paragraphe en question:

"Un peu après vous dites : "Tu mentionnes les "basic human rights". Dis moi(sic) une chose... si tu vas habiter en Suède, vas tu(sic) juste t'attendre a(sic) ce que tout le monde parlent(sic) l'anglais, ou bien tu vas(sic) apprendre le suédois? Meme(sic) chose ici au Québec. Tu veux vivre ici, parle francais(sic). On ne peut conserver la langue si on ne la parle pas et si on s'assimile. Bien sur, étant acadien, on ne peut s'attendre de toi que le francais (sic) soit important ou bien que tu ne soit (sic) pas assimilé.""

Continuons...

"Oui si je vais habiter en Suède j'apprendrai le suédois. C'est normal. Par contre, est-ce que les autorités suédoises vont m'empêcher de mettre des affiches dans mon magasin, en anglais, même si c'est une propriété privée? Est-ce que les autorités vont rendre illégale l'envoi de mes enfants dans une école anglaise parce que je ne suis pas moi-même allé dans une école anglophone?"

Mon exemple n'était pas bon.. car la Suède n'a pas le taux d'immigration que le Canada a. C'est facile (juste en prenant comme exemple Montréal) de réaliser que si les lois d'affichage et les lois comme la loi sur les enfants des nouveaux arrivants n'étaient pas présentes, l'anglais supplanterait le francais dans les grands centres du Québec. La langue EST importante, et je vois difficilement pourquoi certains se choqueraient de voir ces lois implantées.

"Oui je suis au Québec! Cependant, c'est un droit de base de m'exprimer comme je le veux. Vous n'allez jamais dicter comment je vais m'exprimer. Si je veux m'exprimer en allemand, c'est mon choix."

effectivement, sauf que si tu veux te faire comprendre, parle le francais. Comme si je vais habiter dans un pays comme la Suède. J'ai le droit de parler chinois si je veux.. j'ai la liberté de le faire. Sauf que si je veux me faire comprendre, je parlerais le suédois. Les lois ici au Québec sont pour préserver la langue, rien de plus, rien de moins.

"Votre attitude est bigote, raciste et discriminatoire."

Bigote? raciste? discriminatoire? tu t'exprimes comme une vraie victime. Les anglophones feraient parti d'un Québec souverain comme toi et moi... il n'y a pas de discrimination la. Les anglophones n'auraient qu'a apprendre la langue du pays.. comme toi et moi l'avons fait.
Ou est la dicrimination? Comme j'ai dis plus tot, les lois sont en place pour préserver la langue.

"Si je choisi de m'exprimer en anglais sur mon blogue, c'est pour des raisons qui me sont personnels, "

et jamais je n'ai discuté ce choix, alors inventez moi pas des paroles..

"La première raison, c'est que j'aime les langues. J'ai une affinité pour les langues qui ne sont pas la mienne, et je considère mon blogue comme un moyen de pouvoir pratiquer mon anglais écrit.

bravo, j'aime les langues aussi. Meme si je suis un Québécois séparatiste, j'adore les cultures et langues différentes. J'en parle présentement 3, mais étudies une 4e. Je crois que tu as une très mauvaise impression des séparatistes ou de la cause souverainiste. Pour t'aider et te faire comprendre, j'inclus un lien:

http://www.pq.org/nv/media/acrobat/44.pdf

En lisant ce lien, garde un esprit ouvert. Comme c'est mentionné dans la deuxième page, au Québec, nous formons une nation par la langue que nous partageons sur le territoire, mais aussi par notre histoire, notre culture, nos institutions et nos valeurs collectives. Il est inutile de me lancer dans toutes les comparaisons avec le Canada (qui semble etre 4 pays dans 1), mais la souveraineté n'est pas un sentiment "anti Canadien", mais plutot le désir de préserver cette culture, cette langue, cette histoire, et d'avoir la possibilité de faire nos propres décisions. C'est d'etre un peuple autonome, qui tout en continuant a avoir un partenariat avec le Canada, sera NOTRE peuple.

"Je crois que c'est facile de porter des accusations sans connaître de quoi on parle. Ce n'est pas une question de "guts" comme tu dis, c'est une question d'identité qui va au-delà des cultures linguistiques. Nous, les acadiens, on est aussi canadiens."

alors tu vois, nous les Québécois, on est pas aussi Canadiens. Personnellement, j'ai AUCUN sentiment d'appartenance avec le Canada. C'est un peu comme les États-Unis pour moi.. ce sont nos voisins, mais nous sommes différents.

J'ai réagi vivement a ton commentaire sur ton blog, je l'admet. Cependant, ta réaction en réponse était tout aussi régie par les émotions. Tu accuses les Québécois d'etre bigots, racistes et discriminatoires, et tu accuse de violation envers les droits de liberté d'expression, et toi meme dans ton premier message, tu avais mentionné: "I am so fed up with the Canadian Government letting quebecers do whatever the hell they want. Sure sure, just let them churn out seperatism propaganda like it was ok."

N'est-ce pas un peu hypocrite?

J'espère que tu as passé de belles vacances au Nouveau Brunswick, et j'espère que ton retour dans notre belle nation s'est bien passé. J'apprécierais si tu pouvais afficher ma réponse sur ton site comme tu l'as fait pour mon premier message, histoire de me laisser une chance de défendre mes commentaires. Je comprendrai cependant si tu ne le fais pas.

a la prochaine!

Cédric

=======================================
Les autre lecteurs:
=======================================

Salut Gabriel,

Que les gens peuvent être faibles d'esprits et surtout n'avoir aucun "guts" pour ne pas signer leur message. Je ne vois pas comment ces derniers peuvent faire avancer une souveraineté ;-).
Et en plus quand il font des fautes de grammaire française ;-) et se targuent d'être des professeurs aux autres.
Qu'ils regardent ce qui se passent à l'extérieur de leur nombril et peut être ils comprendront. Un vieu proverbe dit : "Il faut balayer devant sa porte".

Il faut dire que tu as cherché les attaques en touchant des cordes sensibles et surtout chez les gens susceptibles. Ouvrir l'esprit n'est pas une attaque mais un moyen de se questionner sur les choses et d'avancer.

Lâches pas Gabriel, l'Acadie a besoin de toi et le Québec aussi ;-)
=======================================

Salut Gabriel,

Je viens de jeter un coup d'oeil sur ton blogue. Bravo, c'est une belle
réponse. Il aurait été facile de perdre les pédales et taper dans le tas
mais tu a tout mijoté. :o)

Tu le sais probablement, je suis séparatiste et indépendantiste jusqu'au
fonds des os mais ça me fait moi aussi royalement chier de voir le PQ
attacher le mot "national" à tout ce qui existe au Québec. Le mot
"capitale nationale" réfère à Ottawa, pas à Québec bordel... C'est la
même chose pour les parcs et les lieux publics. Vive la confusion
gratuire et inutile.

Ciao!
=======================================
Anonymous post from another reader, James X:

50 years ago people in Quebec were told to define themselves according
to religion and were manipulated and repressed by their own church.
They were kept as a cheap and available work force…exploited and
impoverished.

Is it a coincidence that the rest of North American in large cities
enjoyed salaries and lifestyles far above the Catholic Quebecois of
the time?

In 2004, church officials are now suit wearing politicians and tell
the Quebecois to define themselves according to language.

The lyrics are the same, but the music has changed.

If you keep a population fearful of the one thing than can make them
competitive on the international art, business and cultural stage, you
have an insular and ignorant populous who will continue to make rich
other Quebecois.

Wake up.

And about Acadians, they respect the rights of individuals more than
man made language and culture. Equal respect for all living things is
more important than dictatorial aspects of culture such as religion or
language, which seems to be the lens through which small minded people
view other human beings.

Go ahead and waste your life by resenting people because they don't
speak French. The rest of the world is busy loving, nurturing and
trying to be better, kinder human beings. Yes, this includes learning
as many languages as possible and traveling the world to learn that
separation and division only breeds ignorance and hate.

Language is a tool for communication, not a means to incite hate or fear.
=======================================

Management Finance Sucks

Yes, you heard me. I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE I HATE IT. I have 906 words to go before my assignment is finished. It is due at 9am. It is presently 4am. I have 5 hours left. Can you say "Coffee time"? THIS IS PURE HELL!!!!!!!!!!!

Six Flags - La Ronde

Larry Curly and Moe. The three stooges on the Orbit.

Dobson Trail hike!

Hello Everyone,

My friend Luc and I set out for a two day 20km hike in the Dobson Trail, in Riverview NB. The Dobson (as locals call it) was blazed in 1960 by Dr Dobson. This man set out with a map and compas and marked a trail to Fundy National Park (37 miles long). Today, many enjoy a fantastic hike to Fundy through this trail. I thought I would share some pictures of it with you.


Welcome to the Dobson Trail. Come on, can't you hear the call of the wild?

NB has some huge HUGE bugs.

View from the camp site.

Fire's burning, fire's burning. Draw nearer, Draw nearer, in the gloaming, in the gloaming come sing and be merry.

Luc's idea of a camp site.

My idea of a camp site.

Je me souviens...

Hello everyone. I apologize to my Anglophone readers, (who far outweigh my Francophone readers), but I need to address an issue today that was emailed to me anonymously by, I am guessing, a disgruntled French-Canadian. I might post a translation if I have time later on.

J'aimerais d'adresser ce blogue à la personne qui m'a envoyée un message anonyme par courriel dans les dernières 24 heures. Par respect, je vais lui adresser la parole dans la langue de Molière. Et, à la fin, je vais inclure la lettre en question pour que vous puissiez tous voir comment facile il est de se cacher derrière l'anonymat. Ce qui me rend le plus mal-à-l'aise dans cette situation, c'est que je devine, que si vous lisez mon blogue, c'est que vous me connaissez personnellement. Alors, si vous me connaissez, pourquoi n'êtes-vous pas capable de dialoguer correctement? Si vous croyez à vos propos, pourquoi n'êtes-vous pas capable d'apposer votre signature au bas de ce que vous dîtes? Avez-vous honte? Je souhaite que l'auteur du message se dévoile.

J'ai toujours cru que j'ai une habilité à déceler de mon entourage les gens qui ont de l'intelligence, le sens du débat et qui sont assez ouverts d'esprit pour accepter les points de vue des autres. De plus, si vous avez des choses à me dire, je considère que je suis assez homme pour me les faire dire en pleine face. Alors, je suis un peu déçu que j'ai choisi de m'entourer par certaines gens qui, évidement, ne sont pas complètement intègres.

Alors, sans plus tarder, je vais adresser les propos de monsieur ou madame X.

La lettre commence comme suit : "J'ai lu ton commentaire sur le Québec, et je ne pouvais m'empêcher de te répondre le commentaire suivant (dans une langue que tu sembles comprendre): if you don't like it, leave it."

Tu m'as très mal compris, mon cher X. Je n'ai jamais dit que je n'aime pas le Québec. Croyez moi, si je n'aimais pas le Québec, je n'y serais pas resté 8 ans. Pour ce qui est de la langue que je semble comprendre, en effet je comprends l'anglais, ce n'est qu'une des 4 langues dont je maîtrise.

Je devine que tu es Québécois. Alors, tu es sûrement né ici. Tu n'as eu aucun choix dans ta langue, ta nation, tes origines, c'est un concours de circonstances auquel tu n'y es pour rien. Par contre, j'ai choisi de m'installer au Québec. Pour sa langue, pour sa culture, pour son peuple, pour sa nation. Mon côté curieux voulait venir comprendre pourquoi un peuple de gens si choyé semblait si insatisfait. Alors, avec mes deux valises et 400$ je suis parti vers le Québec pour vivre la plus belle aventure de ma vie.

Plus tard vous dîtes : "Un peu d'éducation ne te ferais pas de mal non plus.. le Québec EST une nation. Pour commencer ta recherche, tu peux regarder les "bills" qui ont passé dans les 2 dernières années à Ottawa."

Premièrement, votre arrogance ne dissimule pas vos complexes. Deuxièmement, je comprends que le Québec est une nation. C'est clair. Ce que je n'accepte pas, c'est l'association de facto pour pays, que semble prôner un certain groupe. J'ai dit dans mon blogue : "You are not a country". Je n'ai jamais nié le statut de nation. étant moi-même issue d'une nation qui n'a pas de frontières, je peux comprendre que la nation se vit dans l'âme.

Un peu après vous dites : "Tu mentionnes les "basic human rights". Dis moi(sic) une chose... si tu vas habiter en Suède, vas tu(sic) juste t'attendre a(sic) ce que tout le monde parlent(sic) l'anglais, ou bien tu vas(sic) apprendre le suédois? Meme(sic) chose ici au Québec. Tu veux vivre ici, parle francais(sic). On ne peut conserver la langue si on ne la parle pas et si on s'assimile. Bien sur, étant acadien, on ne peut s'attendre de toi que le francais (sic) soit important ou bien que tu ne soit (sic) pas assimilé."

Premièrement, si votre langue est si importante, pourquoi faites-vous autant de fautes de grammaire et d'orthographe? Je parle français. Très bien même. Par contre, je sais que je fais des fautes, nul n'est parfait. à l'Université de Moncton, les Québécois se classent derrière les Acadiens lors des tests de classement de Français, chaque année. Votre français oral, n'est pas plus français que le Chiac des Acadiens. Alors, ne venez pas me faire la morale sur l'importance du français. Les acadiens se démènent depuis 400 ans pour le faire valoriser dans une mer d'anglais. De plus, les acadiens ne sont pas plus assimilés que vous l'êtes. La différence, c'est que les acadiens sont moins nombreux que les québécois, au Nouveau-Brunswick, nous ne sommes pas plus 300 000, grâce à la déportation. Oú étaient nos cousins Québécois et Français lorsque les Anglais brûlaient nos maisons, tuaient nos enfants ou dispersaient nos familles de 1755 à 1763? Si nous avons survécus 400 ans, c'est que nous avons une fierté que vous ne comprendrez jamais. Je gage que vous ne saviez pas que jusqu'au milieu du 20e siècle il n'y avait pas de programme en français pour former des enseignants? Oui si je vais habiter en Suède j'apprendrai le suédois. C'est normal. Par contre, est-ce que les autorités suédoises vont m'empêcher de mettre des affiches dans mon magasin, en anglais, même si c'est une propriété privée? Est-ce que les autorités vont rendre illégale l'envoi de mes enfants dans une école anglaise parce que je ne suis pas moi-même allé dans une école anglophone?

Oui je suis au Québec! Cependant, c'est un droit de base de m'exprimer comme je le veux. Vous n'allez jamais dicter comment je vais m'exprimer. Si je veux m'exprimer en allemand, c'est mon choix. Si je veux le faire en français, c'est mon choix. Votre attitude est bigote, raciste et discriminatoire. Je me suis fait dire plusieurs fois par des anglophones, au N.-B. : "You are in Canada, speak Canadian". Vos propos, sont identiques. L'ironie est remarquable.

Si je choisi de m'exprimer en anglais sur mon blogue, c'est pour des raisons qui me sont personnels, et qui ne vous regardent même pas. Mais puisque vous tenez à m'éduquer, je vais vous rendre le même service. La première raison, c'est que j'aime les langues. J'ai une affinité pour les langues qui ne sont pas la mienne, et je considère mon blogue comme un moyen de pouvoir pratiquer mon anglais écrit. Je suis relu par des gens qui sont compétents en anglais et qui peuvent me donner des trucs pour m'améliorer. Deuxièmement, j'ai des amis de part le monde qui ont tous en commun la même langue: l'anglais. L'anglais est la langue prédominante du monde des affaires internationales et sur Internet. Si j'ai choisi d'afficher mon site en anglais, encore une fois, c'est mon choix. La beauté de vivre dans un pays libre, c'est que vous avez le droit de ne pas être d'accord avec mon choix. Si cela vous tente, vous pouvez même faire une grosse affiche avec des slogans anti-gabrielrobichaud.com et manifester au centre-ville.

En parlant du mouvement indépendantiste vous dîtes : "je te répondrai que les gens de l'Est ont probablement pas les "guts" de le faire. Ils sont assimilés au reste comme toi. "

Je crois que c'est facile de porter des accusations sans connaître de quoi on parle. Ce n'est pas une question de "guts" comme tu dis, c'est une question d'identité qui va au-delà des cultures linguistiques. Nous, les acadiens, on est aussi canadiens. On est fier de notre patrie. On se sent bien au Canada. Alors, pourquoi nous séparerions-nous? Nos droits de minorité francophone sont enchâssés dans la constitution Canadienne depuis plus d'une décennie. Les politiques linguistiques du N.-B. nous satisfont, et lorsqu'elles ne font plus, on les change.

Ne venez pas nous accuser de ne pas avoir de "guts", parce qu'on ne survie pas un génocide sans "guts". Après la déportation qui a débuté en 1755 et une guerre qui ne finissait plus de finir, la France a tout cédé à l'Angleterre lors du Traité de Paris signé le 10 février 1763, mais on est toujours là. On est revenu à pieds, une marche qui a pris plus de 5 ans pour certains groupes, 2200 miles au travers des Appalaches. ça c'est du "guts". On est revenu réclamer nos villages ruinés, nos terres saccagées pour réclamer notre patrie. Ne venez pas me parler de "guts". Vous ne savez pas de quoi vous parlez.

Et pour clôturer votre éloquente lettre vous avez ensuite l'audace d'affirmer: "Tu vantes l'acadie comme un paradis.. pourquoi tu y retourne pas? Retournes y. Débarrasse. Le Québec n'a pas besoin de gens qui se foutent de la langue et parlent 2 mots francais par phrase qui sort de leur bouche."

Comment répondre à ces insultes? Je crois que vos propos montrent à quel point vous êtes ignorants de la culture acadienne et canadienne.

Respectueusement,
Gabriel Robichaud
Acadien, Canadien et Québécois!


PS: Voici l'intégrale de la lettre en question. Bonne lecture!

Bonjour,

J'ai lu ton commentaire sur le Québec, et je ne pouvais m'empecher de te répondre le commentaire suivant (dans une langue que tu sembles comprendre): if you don't like it, leave it.

Un peu d'éducation ne te ferais pas de mal non plus.. le Québec EST une nation. Pour commencer ta recherche, tu peux regarder les "bills" qui ont passé dans les 2 dernières années a Ottawa.

Tu mentionnes les "basic human rights". Dis moi une chose... si tu vas habiter en Suède, vas tu juste t'attendre a ce que tout le monde parlent l'anglais, ou bien tu vas apprendre le suédois? Meme chose ici au Québec. Tu veux vivre ici, parle francais. On ne peut conserver la langue si on ne la parle pas et si on s'assimile. Bien sur, étant acadien, on ne peut s'attendre de toi que le francais soit important ou bien que tu ne soit pas assimilé.

tu as dis:

"We have as many reasons to seperate as Quebecers do, if not more."

et je te répondrai que les gens de l'Est ont probablement pas les "guts" de le faire. Ils sont assimilés au reste comme toi.

Tu vantes l'acadie comme un paradis.. pourquoi tu y retourne pas? Retournes y. Débarrasse. Le Québec n'a pas besoin de gens qui se foutent de la langue et parlent 2 mots francais par phrase qui sort de leur bouche.

Etc.

Last weekend I went camping with some friends in "Mont Tremblant 'National' Park". I am so sick and tired of the arrogant attitude in this province. It is not a national park, its a provincial park. When I got to the parc, I was surprised to find out that this place is completely not canadian, but quebecois. I am so fed up with the Canadian Government letting quebecers do whatever the hell they want. Sure sure, just let them churn out seperatism propaganda like it was ok. What a farce. In a province where you cannot even put up a sign in english without getting a fine, clearly violating basic human rights, the government just ignores it. And, Today, I am sick of it.

Thank god I am going back to New-Brunswick on vacation next week. I leave on Friday, and I can't wait. Hopefully, i'll be able to do some photo-blogging while I am down there. So stay tuned. I am hoping I will get to go to either Fundy or Kouchibougouak National park. Real national park that extend for kilometers and kilometers, so cheasy knock-off in the boonies of Quebec. Don't get me wrong, the parc "national" mont tremblant was great, I had a good time, and more than likely one of the best provincial parks i have ever visited, but this national word just pisses me off. I am actually thinking of writting a complaint letter. I am so sick of this. Why is happeneing? I think I am going to write my MP and my MLA, oh wait, its not Member of Legislative assembly in Quebec, its Member of the NATIONAL Assembly. Are you kidding me? Are these people dilluted. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY, YOU ARE A PROVINCE. I am so sick and tired of all this seperatism. You have had two referendums, lost them both. GET OVER IT. You are a province.

Can you imagine how crazy it would look if Acadians decided to seperate? Create their own territory? We have as many reasons to seperate as Quebecers do, if not more. Yet, we aren't dumb enough to think that we can actually pull it off. Well, there were a group of really radical acadians in the 60 and 70's who created teh Acadian party and wanted to split the New-Brunswick in two to form 2 distinct provinces. They did not do very well politically, but they did get the message accross and were heard by NB political leaders. They eventually died out because their mission was accomplished. I think the PQ and Bloc could learn a thing or two from acadian history.

Acadian history teaches a lesson of cooperation and determination. It shows that two lingistic communities can live together in harmony without ever crossing out people's rights from the charter or churning out propaganda.

Same Old Same Old

*grumble* *GRUMBLE*

I have no Idea what to write about today. I feel like I should write about something but there really isn't that much happening. Let me see...

Well, last night I went to Chris and Dion's for pot luck dinner with James. As per usual there were quite a few people there. As usual a good time was had by all. My mood was something of a mystery to me last night. I was not my usual self. I felt inhibited. I think there is too much going on right now. Work is crap. I mean, CRAPOLA. I have no idea what the future is going to be like. But I guess I dont have much say in the matter right now. I should just hold on tight.

Lately I have been cranky and tired and impatient with everything. It seems I just can't get enough sleep. I need a vacation. A BIG LONG one. Which I am not going to have. I do get to go to New-Brunswick for a week. I leave in 15 days. That, I am actually looking forward too! I can't wait to get out of here for a while and not worry about anything and just relax and hangout and do nothing. NOTHING. I dont think I am even going to workout or anything while I am there. Well, not unless I really want too.

Speaking of working out, I am in a tremendous amount of pain right now. I must say, the home gym is getting lots of use. I am totaly in love with this machine. I am so glad I got it. It has brought a whole new dimension to working out. Doing stuff inside your own appartment rocks. No dumb jocks staring at you. No waiting around for machines to be free. No wipping off other idiots gross sweat of the seat. No gay sex addicts cruising you in the shower. Its fantastic. I am currently doing a three day workout. day 1 is chest and abbs, day two is shoulders and arms and day three is back and legs. Its pretty cool. I am still waiting on the replacement part for the upper lat tower. Its been a week now and still nothing. I will probably call Bowflex support when I get home.

I am scheduled to go camping this weekend with Jon, Suzanne, Chris, Dion and James. I think there might some others coming but I am not sure!! I am actually very excited at the idea of going camping somewhere!! It should be very cool. I don't even know where we are going.

Anyway, I better get back to my Detailed Requirements document review. Yes, its as exciting as it sounds.

My New Toy

Do you recognise this magnificient piece of machinery? Hmmm. I am sure you do. Late at night, munching on some chips and drinking soft drinks, you have seen this before. Its the Bowflex.

I have been monitoring the Bowflex infomercial now for a few years, and I have always been intrigue/fascinated with it. So 4 weeks ago, on a day off from work, I was relaxing infront of the boobtube and found the Bowflex informatial. We, next thing I knew I had just ordered one, for only 1415 canadian clams.


Yesturday, I received my Bowflex after a long battle with Purolator.  And I must say, that I am very impressed with the craftsmanship of the equipment. It is extremely well built and designed. I was impressed by how easily I was able to assemble all the components, and there were many. I took me about 3 hours to unpackage all 4 boxes, and assemble the machine. The only downfall was that one of the bars was dammaged during shipping, so I could not install the Lat Pulldown component, but I called customer service and they are shipping me a replacement component at no extra charge.

I was also concerned about the effectiveness of the movements. Well, they are all very smooth and really work out the muscles that are targetted. You have resistance in a very smooth natural way, it does not feel mechanical like in a ordinary gym.

So I am now preparing my workout schedule. I think James and I are going to set something up so that we can workout together, might be easier to stay on track that way. I will give you guys regular updates.

Evil Dead Part 1 and 2, The Musical!

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present to you, what can only be considered, as the most original idea for a musical since the Rocky Horror Picture Show: Evil Dead Part 1 and 2, The Musical.

My brother had suggested that we go see this performance after he had seen in Toronto. He said not to sit in the first few rows because there is a risk of getting blood splattered all over yourself. Well, he was right. He also said that my favorite part of the performance would be the song "What the fuck was that?" Once again, he was correct.

It was campy, it was funny, its was cute, and it was charming. I think the most endearing thing about it was that it was unpretentious. I mean it. The set, the sound, the "effects" the script, it was honest and visibly, true to the writers' artistic vision. I LOVED IT!

Mark my words people, the show will be around for quite some time. I predict a world-wide tour... Well, maybe not world-wide, but at least North-American. It pokes fun at campy horror movies from the early 80's. If you have ever watched Evild Dead, Friday the 13th or any other 1980's thriller flicks, you need, no you must go see this musical. It will tickle you until you can't laugh no more.

Word of caution : don't expect a high glam performance like you would see at the Place des Arts, but trust me, thats a good thing. If you want something refreshing, new and innovative, go see this play. Buy your tickets through www.ticketpro.ca or Just For Laughs website for more info.

Hot Times! Summer in the City!

 HA HA!!I got myself  a new Air Conditionner today! An LG no less!!   Thank you Future Shop for making my life so wonderful! It was so cheap, I wanted to buy two! But I stopped myserlf! ;)

In other news, my brother Joel is visiting this week! Thats always fun.  And James is coming back from Miami today! That is defenately cool.
 
More New For Out in the City!
The show is finally coming to the Life Network tonight at 10pm Eastern Standard Time. So if you didn't get a chance to see me on the french network, now is your chance!!

The Straight Men In My Life

There exists a great divide between straight men and gay men. I think that most straight guys do not have male friends who are gay. Or if they do, these friends are not usually close friends. I have always wondered why, in general, straight men treat gay men more like girls than guys.

Growing up, I was always surrounded by girls. All my friends were girls, and they naturally included me in everything they did. I was one of the girls. If I was going to an all girl event, it was ok. The girls would say : "Its Gabriel. He's one of us." Talk about confusing. I was lucky enough to have a couple of real guy friends. And I cherished their friendships immensely.

Marc
My first "guy" friend was Marc. Marc and I met when I was taking the bus for the first time in Grade 1. He was a third grader and I was in awe. I remember thinking he was so smart and so big and strong. He had all the cool friends. He was the big brother I had been longing for all my life. Pretty much for next 7 years, Marc was my big brother, my mentor, my advisor and he was very proud of that. I remember one day he even pulled me aside to tell me about girls. Explained it all to me because he thought someone should. He was probably the nicest guy I had ever met. At school though, I had to make myself scarce. I mean, who needs a yappy little brother around?

Jerome
Jerome and I met at Scout camp when I was 12. We became instant best friends. We made our parents drive an hour almost every weekend, for the next few years, just so we could hang out. Jerome was the first guy to treat me like a regular guy. We hung out, got in trouble, played in the woods, drove our bikes, picked on his little brother, did everything we possibly could think of together. I loved him to pieces. I think what I loved the most was that I truely was his friend. Like, a real, guy-guy friend. There is an incredible bond between men, when they are close, that is unspoken. Guys just simply won't admit that they have a strong love for their good friends. Jerome would have layed down in traffic for me, and I would have done the same. I wonder where he is sometimes. I have not seen him since high school, over 12 years ago now. I miss him dearly.

Tobi
Tobi and I met when he started dating my, at the time, best friend Nadine. I'll have to tell you about Nadine another day. Then, in grade 11 we had the same French class, and we ended up partnering up for some homework. Tobi was mysterious, dark and poetic. He was passionate about everything. He was also vulnerable. There was an honest vulnerability about him that was magnificent. He portrayed himself to everyone else as a tough guy, once you knew him and you could break through the walls he had around him, he was a sensitive guy. Tobi was the first of my straight guy friends to whom I spoke of being gay. It was a very difficult time for us both. He did get over it and our friendship continued for years. I have not seen him in almost 3 years. I don't even know where he is now. I hope he is well.

Mario
Initially, Mario and I were friends by default. His mother (who ended up being my grade 10 math teacher) and my mother were childhood friends. So, I went to Mario's house a lot and Mario came over to my house quite a bit. We were eventually together so often that we became friends. It was either sit there and stare at each other or do something fun while our mothers chit chatted for hours and hours. We became very close over the years. Mario was part of my gang when I was a teenager. The bond we all shared as part of the gang was very strong. Even today, that bond is there, even though we all have lives of our own, scattered across the country.

Luc
Some guys are just way too cool for their own good. My friend Luc, thankfully I am still in touch with him, is one of a select few that I can actually say I know, for a fact, that he doesn't see me any differently than any other guy. I think Luc is beyond cool actually, he is genuine and the fact that we can fight over the dumbest things and get mad as hell and still remain friends is not lost on me. When I told Luc I was gay, we went for a long walk and talked until the wee hours of the morning. He was the first person who actually listened to me about being gay. He has no idea what a big part he played in getting me to feel good about myself. Today, he lives not too far from my hometown with his wife now. Good for him. I am hoping to see him when I go to NB this summer. Its been too long since he and hung out.

Mike aka Duke
I met Mike, or Duke, at a summer camp were we both worked. We only started to hang out when he started dating my friend Gina (aka Willow). Eventually we became good friends, and then we ended up renting an apartment with his good Friend Tim. Our friendship lasted longer than his relationship with Gina. The year that Tim, Mike and I shared that apartment in Fredericton was probably the best year of my life. There was another apartment down the hall, "The Girls". We were "The Boys". It was cool.

Patrick aka Newton
I also met Patrick at summer camp. Patrick and I have been through everything together. I mean everything. We have cleaned shit, driven 16 hours on a bus, 12 hours in a truck, gone camping with psychos, done triathlons together, went swimming together, ridden together, and so much more. We have shared more cups of coffee and large pizzas than anyone else. I know all of his deep darkest secrets (hehehehehe) and he does mine. And for some strange reason, life keeps putting us in the same city. He is in Montreal now. I think our bond is probably the strongest of all. Patrick is my buddy.

My Father
There is one person with whom I had a different type of bond. This person defined me as a male, a boy and now a man. Without him acknowledging it, or maybe even without realizing it, had the biggest impact on my life... Not always positive, but that's life. That person is, my dear readers, my Father. My father taught me that to be a man you must stand up for yourself. My Father taught me that men don't cry, or act silly. Men shoot guns, hunt, fish and work with their hands. Men are the breadwinners, men are solid, men are brave and most of all, men fuck women. Well, you might think my father is extremely diseapointed as I am none of those things. But, I taught my father that men are sensitive, men are proud, men respect nature, men respect people, men laugh, play jokes, and men care for each other. Today, I know, my father is very proud of me. I am proud of who my father has become.

So to Marc, Jerome, Tobi, Mario, Luc, Daniel (aka Baloo), Michel B, Michel L, Jason, Kevin, Adam, Newton, Wolf, Duke, Yogi, Beast, Tim, Jean-Guy, Jean-Pascal and the Mis-Understood Venture Company and my Father : You guys rock!

Outta ma control

Ugh.

Well I managed to get an extension to my assignment that was due yesturday. YAY! Boooo. I don't know it just means I have more time to procrastinate. No. No. No. No. No. I will not procrastinate. I will bolt down and work hard and hand in my assignment on Monday after a well rested night of sleep. I will not be scrambling at 2 am to get my work done. I will do research and writing every night and every day until the deadline. I will not procrastinate. No sirrrreee Bob!

I am actually busy busy busy at work too. Website launches are soooo much freakin work. I have been trying to get these two websites going for a while now. Clients are being difficult, and there is tons of work to do. On top of if I have to do analysis on a couple of other projects at the same time. Did I mention there is only 24 hours in a day?

I don't know if its because I am getting old (the big Three Oh next September), but I need more and more sleep. I used to be able to get away with 6 hours of sleep. Now, I can barely get by with 8. This is a real problem for someone like me who is a night-owl. How the hell am I supposed to stay up all night and go to work in the morning (on time) if I need 8 hours of sleep? This is a huge delima in Gabeland.

JR is going to Florida next week. Hehehe. Good for him. I hope he survives the humidity and mean old people. I remember when I went to Frt Lauderdale/Miami, the only thing I could think of the entire time was : "Get me outta here!" I even cut m yi trip short by 2 days because I just couldn't stand it anymore.

Tomorrow night is the second and last episode for my show on Canal Vie. Cross your fingers, this could get ugly.

Reality TV... ok sure... reality.

Well, the TV show has finaly aired. Friday night, me and a dozen of my friends crammed into my appartment to watch the first of 2 episodes of which I am featured as a gay man in Montreal.

So far... so... well.. I don't know. I am not very excited about the editing. The comments I have been hearing so far are interesting. Some said the show was very interesting, others said, and I would have to aggree, that the way it was edited they saw a flaming queen on TV, not Gabriel. That part pisses me off. They portrayed me as this happy go lucky prancing queen, when I think in reality, I am more of a sarcastic son-of-a-whatever. Happy go lucky is defenately not what I am about. As for the prancing queen, well, I have my moments, but I don't think its 24/7... far from it actually.

So next week's episode should be of me doing the final big Esprit Triathlon and some stuff from one of my trips to Moncton. They made me keep a video diary of the trip I took when I went to Moncton in October 2003 so I got to play director and show off my family and friends. I am really anxious to see the results from that. You can go see the show synopsis for yourself.

Of course, I videotaped the whole thing. I am going to have to figure out if there are any ways of moving this into my computer somehow so I can email it around.

If you have seen the show, I would love to hear your comments in the comments link at the bottom of this article!

Happy Canada Day

I am sitting here watching our Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson, giving her speech on Parliament Hill for the Canada Day Celebrations. And I must admit that I was impressed by the acknowdlegement given to the 400th annniversary of the Founding of Acadia. There were quite a few Acadians waving starred blue, white and red flags. Living so far away from my Acadie its an amazing feeling to see your flag beeing showcased on national TV.

That makes me wonder about Quebecers. Next month, I will have been a resident of Quebec for 8 years. Its amazing how fast time flies by when you are having fun. And yes, I must admit, its been an interesting and fun 8 years. Through this time, I think I have managed to meet and interact with quite a few Quebecers and get a good grasp on Quebecois culture.

So why is it, that there are hundreds of thousands of Acadians, Happy Acadians, living, working, and having a great time in Canada while the Quebecois seem to be so disenchanted by the idea of being in Canada? They would like us to think that it is impossible to marry Canadian Culture with any other. Well, let me tell you...

Acadians were the first ones to arrive from Europe in Canada in 1604. They arrived in New-Brunsick in late June, first discovering the St-John River on June 24th 1604. It was so named in honour of St-Jean Baptist day, which has always been a staple of French culture, even in 1604. Do I need to remind you that June 24th is the Quebec "National" holiday? Acadians kept coming for next 150 years, until 1755. At that point there were tens of tousands of Acadians living very happy and prosperous lives in Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick and PEI. Quebec was also populated since 1606 and doing very well. So for the first 200 years or so French was the main language of pre-confederation Canada. Well, a few wars, a deportation/genocide and a confederation later, there is aout 1/2 million Acadians in Canada, living in french, proud Canadians, proud Acadians. That being said, Happy Canada day, EVERYONE.