My Favorite Quebecer

I have recently (since moving back to Canada) discovered an affinity for mixed martial arts. Not doing it, so much (and you... you know who you are... can stop laughing, now...), but watching it. I used to not be a fan... pure kickboxing or K1 just seemed to move so much quicker, have so much more action.

Well, it turns out that there is a bit of a learning curve in appreciating some aspects of the sport, and for me, that was the wrestling/grappling side. Now that I understand the submissions, I can appreciate what's going on in that part of the match, and it's made a huge difference.

I like: great creme brulee, the Flemish primitives, and UFC. And yes, they can all go together just fine.

It's caused another major shift in my world view... I have a new favorite Quebecer.

It used to be Ivan, a colleague in Switzerland. It was so, so fun working on projects with him: he allowed me to fully indulge my Albertan-ness by refusing to call himself a Canadian (he was Quebecois), and freely throwing separatist idealogy and language laws into casual conversation to get something going. Of course, we were both living in Geneva, so our national/cultural ties could easily have fallen under question, but we both had a ton of fun playing around with it.

But Ivan has slipped to second place, and Georges St Pierre (GSP) has taken over the top spot. The man is articulate, professional, has great fashion sense, and man... can he fight! Fast, powerful, aggressive... so much fun to watch. I don't know if he's anywhere near as fun to talk to as Ivan, but for now, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Calgary

Well, I finally decided to grab my camera and do a little walking, and see what I could find. This is what I found.

You can see some more here. Enjoy!

He's Not Heavy, He's My Cousin

Well, my cousin got married and he let me take a few pictures... my first try with my new camera, and while there were a couple of surprises, I'm pretty happy with how things turned out. Here are a few of my favorites.

You can see the rest here. And it's time to start writing again... more to come...

I Spent It All

So, I'm in Calgary now. It's really cold, and there's a bunch of snow on the ground, but yesterday I had Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers, and today I got to drive my own car. I have said good-bye to some amazing friends in the last week, but tomorrow I fly down to get Erin. I'm a lot further from anyplace that serves good fondue, but so far I've understood almost all the people who have tried to talk to me since I arrived.

Yeah, kind of strange.

As I was leaving Geneva, something happened that made me think of Derek - perhaps the only man I know who has more appreciation for a well-crafted analogy than I do. This is what it was.

I had 8.20 CHF left... all the rest I had deposited in my bank, or traded for USD, or gotten rid of some other way (like a roasted chestnut binge - I figured it may be a while before I get those again). I figured I'd get a sandwich and a drink or something at the airport. Well, I get past security, went to the sandwich guy, and looked, and most of his sandwiches were more than I had, just on their own. But he did have croissants, for 1-60 each.

I did the math... 3 croissants at 1.60 would be 4.80, which would leave me 3.50 for a coffee to go with them. So that's what I ordered. He gave me the croissants, gave me the coffee, and then told me the total: 8.50.

Oh.

I counted again to make sure and then just said, "uh, let's make that two croissants". He looked confused so I explained that I was 30 cents short. He just looked at me, kind of shrugged, and said "that's okay - no problem. " He took my partial payment, gave me the food, and I thanked him for being so kind and left.

And I realized that's a bit how I feel about leaving Geneva now... like I spent every last cent. I didn't run out while I was there - I had everything I needed, both to have, and to give, but I didn't have any left in reserve by the time I got on that plane. As hard as it is to say good-bye to the wonderful friends I have there, I've reached the end, and I'm ready for what's next.

It's going to be a pretty interesting few months.

Uncoordinated

The movers came today.

I have pasta in the cupboard that I was going to have for dinner, but my pots are on the boat.

No problem.

I have some ravioli that I can heat in the microwave. Or could, if I had my can opener.

I pulled a towel aside to keep it before they packed my bathroom stuff, but they saw it and packed it anyways. Thankfully, I had one in the laundry that managed to evade them.

I like my blanket - it's nice and fuzzy and warm, and I don't need a sheet with it. But it won't fit in my suitcase, so I had to either send it on the boat or leave it behind. It's on the boat. Hopefully, aforementioned towel will be dry by evening, because it's going to be doing double duty.

I kind of feel like having one of the special Belgian beers I had been saving for a special occasion.

Guess what's keeping the can opener company.


And it's only been 6 hours.


Oh well.

Christmas Came Early

I've been going through my apartment trying to get ready to move... figuring out what to sell, what to keep, what to give away. It's been interesting seeing how much stuff I have or have inherited and really, really don't need. A LOT of clothes, mostly.

But I did find something that was quite nice - some jeans that I had bought five years ago or so... they were my favorite ones at the time, from Roots, and it was tough to find them, so I bought 3 pairs, figuring that when mine wore out, I'd have replacements. Well, mine wore out, but I forgot about these ones, and so it was pretty exciting for me to discover them there. I still dig the cut and the color of the wash is good.... merry Christmas!

In other news, it's snowing outside. That's not really supposed to happen here, and does make me think that if it's going to snow anyways, I may as well be in a place that has chicken wings.

Oh, and so far, no movement on the yellow couch. It looks like it will be making the trip with me!

I'm For Sale

The yellow couch is for sale.





Not the idea, nor the blog, nor the domain name (I've checked), but the actual couch is, unfortunately, on the chopping block. First 500 CHF takes it. It is a wonderful couch, but when I started to look at the cost of actually moving it... well, it's going to be a bit pricey.

So if you're interested, let me know.


It's been a long time since I've written... I've been pretty busy trying to get all of my moving stuff figured out. Turns out that it takes a lot of energy, and I am SO looking forward to getting it done. In any case, the little chick and I are well; I hope you are, too.

Good Bye

It's been kind of a tricky year.

I like Geneva... I like it a lot. Sure there are things that bother me: the language, mostly. The fact that I live, more or less, in a parking lot, frequently populated by people who take the "outdoor voice" concept to a bit of an extreme. Oh, and prices; but then, with store hours being what they are, that's not much of an issue.

But at the end of the year, I'm moving back to Calgary, and so it's added a distinct sense of season to my life that wouldn't otherwise be there.

It hit me, again, as I was wandering through Montreux a few weeks ago, from the train station to the concert hall to see Alicia Keys: this could be the last time I do this. The last time ever.

My last spring, last YAGS retreat, last birthday, last concert season... and the list goes on. Now, I know, it's not like I've been diagnosed with a terminal illness, but still - it's tough.

I've always had trouble saying goodbye. I have tended to kind of shut myself off, to protect my heart, and to withdraw well in advance of the actual event. And I'm trying like crazy to change that now, to live here, and now, and to be open and available and vulnerable, but it's getting tougher.

My heart and my mind are starting to turn to Calgary. There are some wonderful, wonderful things that await me there... some I know, some I anticipate, and I'm sure there are many others of which I have no idea, yet. But I don't want it to keep me from still being able to experience my last fall, last winter, last vin chaud, last roast chestnuts, last fondue on Swiss soil. First or last, I don't want anything to get in the way of what I am living today - the people I love, the things I put my heart into, the things that I will see and do and know that will never be the same.

Where Are You?

It's interesting seeing how some of the demographics of people visiting TYC changes over time. For a while, Mac users were almost half of the visitors. Lately, they're down to 15%. Directly related to me not posting enough pictures? You be the judge.

Anyways, Canada and Switzerland have usually been about equal in terms of their percentage, but that seems to be shifting:



I'm not sure how to take this. Am I losing my Swiss appeal? Gaining momentum before my move back to the Great White North? Not talking enough about cheese?

Oh, and if you're reading from Italy - can I come and visit you?

It's Different

Well, the little chick and I are back in Calgary. It's good to be with my family again, but strange in many ways. It's very, very odd to try to get my head around the fact that, a year from now, I'll be living here.

Everything is so far apart... I haven't even been here a week, and I miss walking. I almost never drive at home, and here, you don't have much choice. I'm really not crazy about that.

Things are so inexpensive. We're about to head out to the grocery store, and I'm looking forward to it. We stopped in for a few minutes before, and I was shocked, again, at how much variety there is, and how low the prices are. There is a lot of variety in Switzerland, too, but in strange ways... there will be 300 kinds of olive oil, but only two types of salad dressing (with maybe 3 brands of each).

The people are really friendly. My parents were commenting that customer service has really gone downhill lately, but when we were in one store and just turning around to go back and get something we had missed, a guy actually stopped and asked if there was anything he could help us with. In Geneva, if you can find someone in a store, they usually make you feel like they're doing you some immense favor just by opening up and letting you in. If you're going to start asking questions, maybe you should just shop somewhere else.

That said, I'm looking forward to going to get some ranch dressing, and good tortilla chips, and probably a whole bunch of other stuff that I didn't even know I was missing. I just hope that I don't get hungry for rösti, fondue, and fresh truffles...

I'm A Soul Man

[EDIT] Version 2 is online. Same link, much better arrangement, I think.

Okay, my music collection reads like a stereotypical white-boy playlist: a lot of rock, some metal (for nostalgic reasons only, really), and a bunch of country and bluegrass (note to self: don't invite Ozzie friends and Rascal Flatts friends over on the same evening, again). The only thing I'm missing is Ice-T. Yeah, it's kind of sad, and I know it.

But I learned this week that the coolest Canadian band of all time (with The Hip falling in a close second place), The Philosopher Kings, have a new album. Okay, maybe not new - it's from 2006, but it's one that I didn't know about and haven't gotten yet. So, it's new. That's exciting.

They are fantastic. I've never heard anyone else mix jazz, pop, soul, and funk like they do. And those boys can play... oh, it just about makes me cry. And their music has soul just oozing out. Very, very cool. So, to celebrate, I wanted to sing with them.

Now, this isn't my usual procedure. Usually, if I decide to doctor a track and add some vocals, it's because I've listened to it and thought that something was missing. There isn't much missing on their stuff, and they use a lot of interesting chords that are so, so cool to listen to, but don't always invite a lot of additional vocals. Anyways, I decided to take a song I love - Lay My Body Down - and see what I could do with it. If you're going to buy one of their albums, I prefer this one, which is self-titled, to their second, Famous, Rich, and Beautiful, even though that's one of the best album titles of all time, as far as I'm concerned.

It's a bit different than any of the other stuff I've done... not much twang here. In fact, it's almost all falsetto. This is the first mix, and since doing it last night and listening to it on the train this morning I've already heard a couple things I'll change and a line or two I'll just take out, but I figured I'd give you the link and if you're interested you can check it out. Oh, and there were already some BGV's on the chorus, so that's not all me.

Oh, and for those of you who know him, I think my voice kind of came out sounding like Charlie Peacock. Could do worse, I guess.

Hope you like it. You can download it here.

Tonight Is The Night

Canada is playing the Cherry Blossoms as we speak. It's a defensive (read: boring) match: an hour in, and tied at 5 each. I know that we don't usually do so well in things that don't involve wearing skates, but come on, boys! Let's make Trudeau proud!

Bryan Adams

I'm facing a bit of a dilemma.

I have been enjoying blogging, and I really appreciate my friends who are reading regularly. And I want to tell you all about the show last night. I really do.

On the other hand, if I put everything here, it's going to reduce the impact of my annual concert review (ACR). And I hate to do that.

So I'll give you a bit here, but for the full story, you're going to have to wait. Here are the highlights:

1. This show was a little more ballad-heavy and acoustic than the others I've seen him do. That clearly suited a lot of people who were there, but, honestly, I was in the mood to rock. When I saw him last in Montreux, it was a really amazing, party kind of atmosphere, and I didn't have the same sense this time... fewer people around me were dancing, there was a lot more swaying... it was okay, but not the best I've seen him do. Still, when he rocked, he really rocked.



2. I got some pictures. Crap pictures, as is to be expected with a compact camera in a dark place, but proof, nonetheless, that I was there.



3. They played "Big Bottom" in the music before the show. I think it's the first time I've heard that.

4. The opening band was really, really good. The best opener I've heard since Maroon5, and maybe the best I've ever seen outside of Ted Nugent. ("Are you ready to rock? 'Cause Uncle Ted's got a little something called.... CAT SCRATCH FEVER!"). They were a Swiss band called Lovebugs, which, I think you will agree, may be the worst name ever in the history of music that wasn't proceeded by "the". But they could play, and they could sing... man, can they sing... and their songs were strong. I'm even go as far as to say that, in terms of tempo, they made BA look a bit weak. And that takes some doing.

5. Operation Blonde Canadian was a complete and dismal failure. "Baby, Since You're Gone" was performed by Lisa, a charismatic and apparently not at all shy Swiss-German who could not sing to save her life. A+ for effort, but it was a bit of a let-down. And that's all I have to say about that until the ACR.

6. I made a friend in the bathroom, playing the "hey, you're from Canada - do you know..." game (and I'm proud to say that I scored a direct hit on the first try, simply by the province he's from and the company he works for). I know what you're thinking... "yeah, Darryl, you're always making friends in bathrooms and stuff" but, you'll be surprised to know, that this is the first time this has happened to me, and since it occurred while we were washing, it was not nearly as creepy as I would have expected.

7. He still looks like Olli.

Next up is Lionel Richie (yeah, I know) if I can find the ticket...

Lunch

I had the best lunch today that I've had for a while. Grabbed an apple and wandered the mean streets of downtown Geneva (you've got to watch it on Rue du Rhone... the blood feud between the Valentinos and the Guccis is more furious than ever after the recent NY Fashion Week shows). I took a couple pictures I like. And I listened to Blue Rodeo, a wonderful roots-rock/country/folk band that you know if you're from Canada, and should know no matter where you're from.

Hasn't Hit Me Yet (from Five Days In July) - I tend to prefer songs where Jim (Cuddy) is singing... Greg (Keelor) has a voice that suits most of his songs well, but it's not what you would usually describe as pleasant. He puts so much feeling into this one, though, that it's tough not to love it. It's a sad song, but a good sad song.

Head Over Heels (from Five Days In July) - somehow, the 50's piano thing in the bridge that I would expect to kill this song just adds to it. There's a wonderful acoustic guitar picking part offsetting the piano in the verses, and the vocals have some moments of brilliance... "watching the rain through a crack in the window, it's the little things that get you through - like the same sun rising on me as rising over you". Nice.

Rain Down On Me (from Lost Together) - okay, this one is really, really terrible for walking, but what a song. The drums are simple and clean, especially at the beginning of the verses, bass just gliding along with the kick. The piano is putting down some light arpegios and chords in the background, with the classic acoustic guitar driving it all along. And then there's Greg's guitar answering the vocals... gutsy, gritty, just tight enough but just sloppy enough. It's amazingly, achingly, drummer-face-makingly good. And then when the instruments drop out and Jim hits that line: "I used to think I knew what I was waiting (fighting) for... I don't think that anymore". Man... walking pace or not... give me this song, a pair of shades, some comfortable shoes and I could go for days.

Then I fast-forwarded a few to get to Fallen From Grace (from Tremelo). This, unlike Rain Down On Me, would be a fantastic song for walking even if it wasn't a fantastic song. That guitar is just so funky, it's impossible to keep from grooving when it's on. And even, I dare say, a decent while after. Love it, love it, love it!

Christmas Potatoes

For our new year's fondue, my family (okay, mostly Jon and Erin) made me a giant baked potato. I really like potatoes, so I took a picture. Nothing says "I love you" like a really, really big potato.

A Night Well Spent

My quest to make up for the vocal oversights in my CD collection continues. Tonight, it was Jann Arden's turn... a Calgary girl who doesn't just have an amazing voice - she may be the funniest woman alive. Hope you enjoy it; you can download the mp3 here:

http://www.fileden.com/files/26600/GoodMother.mp3

It's a big file, so you should save it, rather than opening it directly from your browser. If you don't get the option to save it when you click, try right-clicking and choosing "Save target as". As usual, if you can't tell which parts are mine, I'll take that as a compliment. Not too hard with this one, though - I'm all over it.

Happy listening. And remember not to tell Jann.