Well, phase deux of summer guests has already passed. This is the furthest north that either of my parents have ventured, and I'm glad to report that their impressions of Montreal have been surpassed. My mom stayed for about two weeks while my dad only stayed for one. Unfortunately he regretted not booking his stay longer...though, I suppose its better than feeling like you can't wait to leave. I know that by the end of it all, they both came to understand why I gave up my home state for this place. As my parents said themselves "Whats not to like?". Summer in MTL is something to behold, for certain. Although, I have this reoccurring dreams where winter comes suddenly without any warning or transition. Everyone around me just says "Oh well, thats how it goes!" while I'm dying on the inside. Summer, why can't you just hang around forever? Blah, I shouldn't be lamenting summer just yet...we are still in the heart of it!


As wonderful as is to be in my current state, there is one thing that eats at me... Its the fact that I am pretty much suspended from doing anything interesting on my own. My pending residency prevents me from working, attending school, leaving the country to visit friends and relatives, or even driving (the non-driving being the most irritating). I know once I get my precious residency things will finally become accessible. But for now I'm stuck in the no freedom zone. There are worse things, I suppose. It will all eventually come to be and I will be free to complain about other superficial shit.

• Our first wave of summer house guests has already come and gone. Matt's friend from university, Silvie, came from BC to stay with us for a couple of weeks. By the end of the trip it became obvious to her that she had to move back to Montreal. I think this city has that enchanting effect on people...it certainly got its teeth into me.

• After much unneeded apprehension, I have actually started to bike around town. I had to get over the mental hurdle of biking in a busy city and just calm down. The last time I actually biked anywhere was back in my old neighborhood out in East Texas. Back then I would usually just ride down to the lake to go harass some ducks. Montreal is a perfect city for biking with all of its extensive bike paths and numerous parks (with plenty of ducks to harass). Traveling by bike makes everything in the city seem so much closer and connected. And I promise I won't be like those biker-assholes who blow through the red lights and get themselves killed.
  

• The second wave of guests is upon us! This time its the parents and I'm so excited to finally have them see my happy little life here. There is so much to see, do, hear, eat, and buy that I don't even know where to start. I just hope it won't be as blistering hot so my dad won't melt away. I know he thinks that Canada is supposed to be a year-long cool temperature paradise...but SURPRISE it gets hot here too.
  

• It has been agreed upon by our friends that Matt and I are "the power couple". We commonly hear the compliment that Matt and I "don't act like you're married", or that "you guys never fight, its as if you actually like each other". I don't mean to ring my own bell here, but I have to admit that he and I are very pea-in-a-pod like. There seem to be a lot of people who believe that a relationship is hard work and that arguments are inevitable. Maybe its just me, but I beg to differ. Relationships should be easy. If there is so much in-fighting and disagreements, then maybe it isn't meant to be. Life can be hard enough, why bring those hardships into the sanctity of your relationships? I dunno, he and I might have it a little easier due to our laid-back personalities.

• I might be totally late on this scene, but I just discovered the blog, Hyperbole And A Half and I can't stop from reading it and giggling hysterically to myself. Her little illustrations kill me...

• I'm not usually the type to stress out about going to the hair salon, but this last trip opened up some pretty tense feelings about the whole experience. It all started when I saw some adorable shop girl in this amazing vintage store in town. She was pretty much exactly what I wanted to be (I hate that!). She had the cutest bright pink dress on, a pair of vintage heels, and this super short, bright blond pixie haircut. I pointed her out to Matt and I said, "I want that to be me". So I had it in my head that I was going to get my hair bleached and cut uber short. After much deliberation and flipping through magazines to find the perfect style, I made my appointment at the Funky Toque. When I arrived Saturday morning at 11:30 with a slight hangover from the 200 Mojitos I had the night before with Silvie and her friends, I was feeling a little less confident about my brash hair decision. The receptionists sat me down with the haircolorists and I explained to her what I wanted...she pretty much said no and made me choose another color. I went for a lighter, more coppery red. After the dye job I was feeling at a loss as to what to do for my cut...my plans had been dashed and I was scrambling to find something that I wanted. It needed to be different enough to justify spending the cash to have it dyed and cut by expensive city-people. The color actually turned out much better than I thought and the hair stylists sensed my confusion about a cut and gave me this ultra mod bob. I was a bit apprehensive at first, thinking that I would look like one of the Back Street Boys. But to my reliefe it turned out wonderfully swinggy and sophisticated...whew!

• I realize that most of the text on the post went to talking about my hair.