The Hours and Times

There are a few strange things about life here in Montreal that we didn't really pay attention to at first. Like, Videotron, our internet company, keeps track of how much you download & upload, and charges you by the gigabyte if you go over. We've gone a bit over our limit....like, doubled it. So we have to change our internet plan. Shaw didn't really care what you did so long as you paid your bill on time, and I wish they'd kick their eastern expansion up a notch so we can switch providers when our contract is up.

The other thing that we've noticed for a while but have only recently begun to appreciate, is that channel 25 here has the audio & video mixed up so what is on screen has nothing to do with what's being said. We've started watching just to see what will come up. So far the funniest mix we've had is someone reading "Treasure Island" to clips of a young man being interviewed. There's a clip of him in the shower and the voice over says "...began to choke Long John..."


We finally had Montreal Chinese food last night. They don't have ginger beef, which was disappointing, and the egg roll wasn't that great, but the General Tao chicken and crispy sesame beef were good, and the salt and pepper squid was just the same as home. Also, it comes packed in tupperware, not those stupid foil and coarboard beasts, so much easier to handle.

We were watching Kyle Shewfelt early this morning/late last night and were both holding our breaths for every routine, praying that nothing snapped. I can't believe he broke both legs on a landing, and came back from it. If that had happened to me, I don't think I'd go anywhere without one of those blow up sumo suits for cushioning just in case I fell. But he's back doing harder routines than before, and we're rooting for him.

Did you catch the mens road race? The six and a half hour bike race.....holy crap. Some people watch the Olympics and think "Hell, I could do that", because the athletes make it look so easy. I have no illusions. There is not a single sport at the Olympics that I could do. I can't serve a volleyball over the net, I can't barely ride a bike uphill, I know I don't have the coordination for rowing, most gymnastics scare the bejesus out of me, and no one would let me do a floor routine that consisted entirely of somersaults. Running.....just reminds me of junior high and the damn Turkey Trot. This took place before Thanksgiving each year. They made all the students run around the school grounds, and for each grade, the first one done and the kid who came closest to their guessed time (we weren't allowed watches so there was no cheating) got a Cornish Game Hen. Not a Turkey. But the Cornish Game Hen Trot doesn't have the same ridiculous ring to it. I think I'd been out of school a couple years before I realized not every school did this. In fact, I'm pretty sure only Delburne does this. Because people are strange out there.