Don't Look Back in Anger

I figured out how to get more castpost space, so I'm back with a song for Khris. Since I leave for Chengdu tomorrow morning there might be one more post tonight, so check back, people.

There's the song, now for my evening. I called most of my friends in Montreal and told them "I'm leaving for China in 17 hours, do you want to hang out?" So I've had a hectic evening of meetings and goodbyes. The catch was that I have no real group of friends here, so I had lots of one-on-ones. There was some overlap. Round 6:30pm I was sitting in a chocolate café (mmmmmm) with Anna from France, Steve from high school, and Brendan, my American friend from translation grad school, all strangers to each other. Prior to, I saw Irina from France and afterwards had dinner with Steve at my favorite restaurant ever so I could see Ruru, who works there. I missed out on my former roomate, Rachid, and Rina and Vera, from CEGEP. All this and now I'm packing to move to Chengdu for who knows how long.

The pictures are from this weekend down at the marina in Plattsburg, NY. The flower looked like the last hurrah of summer (on the cusp of November!) so I took its portrait. Geese were flying overhead and it was a crisp sunny morning on Lake Champlain.

Going Through New York

In coming back from new Haven after my last post, I had just enough time to pass through New York before my 12-hour train ride to Montreal. It was 7am and it was sunny and I love New York. There was a year recently where I spent all the time I could in Brooklyn, but that's over now, so it's nice to pass through whenever I can. Back in Montreal, I had a quick sleep before meeting my friend Jessica for a weekend camping and moving my stuff out of Québec city.

Now for today's request, Khris, I finally put together some Britpop for you. Oasis' Don't Look Back in Anger. Tomorrow I'm leaving for China, so you see, I did finish your request before moving! Here's the problem through. My castpost account is over quota so I can't upload it. Anyone with good advice should please let me know, cause otherwise I guess I can't post songs anymore...

Back in New Haven

I'm in beautiful New Haven, CT, visiting Laura before I leave for Chengdu. I've also been boning up on my Mandarin before I leave. I took a class about 4 years ago, but basically.. it didn't stick very well. Bu hao. New Haven is lovely as usual. I spent a couple of hours Thursday climbing trees on the green (it's one of those classic New England cities, built on a grid planned out around a central town green.) And you'll see some pictures from a beautilful maple I went up (more here). Then I visited Shonu, at the DeStefano campaign office, where I interned on a temporary U.S. visa last summer 2004. She invited me to a debate the mayor was in that night, sponsored by the NAACP, which was part of the upcoming mayoral election, not the gubernatorial. I went, and it was good. They talked about IDs for illegal immigrants, economic growth, bike crime, all the good stuff. It was fun. But mostly, I've been spending time with Laura, which is the whole point of being here.

Today's song I recorded a little while ago. I don't have a guitar with me, and Yale's dorms have thin walls anyway, so I haven't been able to give any love to Khris or Lizzie's requests yet. So for today, it's "Black Diamond Bay" by Bob Dylan, a story-song about a mysterious woman on some island resort. There's a love interest, a suicide, and a volcano ends up erupting and sinking the island. Walter Cronkite also figures in peripherally at the end. Hope you like it.

All I really need, plus a plane ticket to China

Today is the day I finally bought my ticket to Chengdu! That's in China, folks, but I'll be referring to "moving to Chengdu" from now on, just so you don't forget the name. November 2nd is the day I leave out of Montreal. Return date: who knows? The picture up top is the official seal of the city, which makes sense, cause it's close to the mountains where most of the world's giant pandas live. I'll give you more details later, and I know it's hard to remember Chinese place names (I couldn't remember the name of the cities my friend Per has been in for 2 years) but for now just remember: Chengdu Chengdu Chengdu! And pandas.

Tonight's song is "All I Really Need" by Raffi, a kid's singer whose records were the soundtrack to my early childhood (up until grade 6, when it was Bryan Adams and C+C Music Factory.) The song wasn't a request, but I'm posting it because of Canadian Thanksgiving, which just passed.

The picture of me is from last night, my very last shift at the souvenir shop here in Quebec. I knew it would be quiet because of the rain, so I brought along my guitar and played Leonard Cohen songs late into the evening to the tourists who wandered in. Does it seem contradictory to hear me singing "All I Really Need" over a picture of me selling shelves-full of touristy junk? Probably. Tomorrow I give my last English class at the National Assembly, and then I'm done my Quebec obligations. Before I fly out to Chengdu, though, I have people I need to say goodbye to, starting with Laura down in New Haven, CT, this Wednesday. Hallelujah it's raining awesome stuff in my life (and men, according to the song.)

Guantanamera

Cam, who requested this song, is going to Antarctica in 2 weeks! So this is my modest send-off to him. The song is Guantanamera, verses taken from "Versos Sencillos" by Cuban poet José Martí.

The picture is from this Thanksgiving, at my Mom's place in Ottawa (my mom took herself and the two youngest of the litter from Montreal to Ottawa in 1997, so they now form the Ontario-immigrant faction of the family.) We took an autumnal stroll in the woods on the old estate of William Lyon Mackenzie King, weird former Prime Minister of Canada. Every so often there would be placards along the path displaying info on the estate and less-than-insightful quotes from King along the lines of "My new estate is truly lovely. Ah, but the woods are a peaceful haven. -1936" Deep. From left to right, we're: Alan, Richard, my mom and her little dog, too, Nicholas-the-Firstborn and me, trying to spell "blood" with my fingers. I'll be looking over my shoulder for crips from now on, I guess. The picture was taken by Karine, Nicholas' girlfriend (and common law wife, thanks to liberal Quebec laws), the first of two francophones to join the family (#2 is my dad's wife, but that's a whole other story.)

Just Wait - Blues Traveller

Here's the weekend edition since I'm leaving for a 35-hour whirlwhind tour of upper and lower Canada tomorrow (Québec-Montréal-Ottawa and back to see my mommy for Thanksgiving.)
Today's song was requested by Jenni who definitely deserves at least one fulfilled request since she's been holed up in a hospital room the past few days. If you listen to the song you'll hear a little surprise (read: mess-up) at the end, but I decided not to record it again, either because I'm keeping it real or because I'm afraid I couldn't do any better. A little bit of both? It also goes out to Seth Anderson because he played it for me in his car while we drove from Ottawa to New York in September.
(Feel better, Jenni.)
Today's picture is from a Saint Roch underpass, where I trek down the hill to get my groceries. That area is a hub of public art in a formerly ugly neighborhood, which is awesome. There are a million more beautiful things I also pass on that walk. Visitors to Quebec are welcome to come strolling with me and I'll show you, but you'd better do it quick, because I want to be out of here and apartment-hunting in China by hallowe'en!
(Latest dilemma: Shanghai or Chengdu? Maybe Chongqing? How to decide?)

Have a good weekend, all you workaholics.

Monday morning rock #1

(The Gare du Palais train station and the industrial port of Québec)

It's Monday morning and you all need to start the week off well, so I'm trying to do my part to help by not playing a depressing song, but rather a pretty kicking song, by the Violent Femmes.
- Happy Monday, you busy bees.

In other news (and speaking of busy) I have a second job as of last Wednesday. I wanted to pick up some more hours working somewhere, and I finally got hired at a souvenir boutique in the old city. Here's a picture. It's minimum wage, but just what I needed cause it's the kind of job I won't feel too bad quitting in a few weeks so I can run off to China. So for now I sell stuff, I mean junk, to tourists, as well as teach English to bureaucrats. I've already gotten to practice some Portuguese, Spanish and Chinese at work. Tourists are fun! (Bureaucrats are ok, too. They'd better be, cause I've got a full day of them today).

Sock it to me,
Matthew