It had been too long since my last trick or treating, over 20 years! Tonight I got to dress up and go out trick or treating with my nieces. This was priceless since I never to get to do this in normal circumstances – I normally go home for Christmas, not Halloween. I was a gentle priest, my brother was a creepy clown and his daughters were a pretty princess and a cute Hannah Montana. I don’t have clear souvenirs of my trick or treating days as a kid, but I can say with certainty that the folks in St-Eustache, a suburb of Montreal, put on a great show for Halloween. There were awesome costumes, a light show on somebody’s front lawn, a loud speaker playing “Thriller” in a loop that you can hear from two blocks away, smoke coming out from under the front porch with creepy sound effects, and the best of all was a reproduction of a car accident scene where a mannequin was stuck under a car! Tonight was a highlight, I had a lot of fun! (photos)
Other than the photos above, I’ve been pretty timid with my camera. Maybe it’s because I know Montreal so well that I don’t feel I need to document it. It could also be the crappy weather we had all week. I was driving back from visiting Geneviève’s grandmothers from up North (3 hours) and the scenery was spectacular! If it hadn’t been for the rain storm, I would have beautiful pictures to show you. The province of Quebec has a colourful treat for your eyes every Fall season – the maple leaves turn yellow, orange, red or brown. It’s really pretty when you go on a road trip to the country or near any Provincial Parks. I’m sure I’ll be more camera-happy in FOURTEEN days when we go to Sydney!
So far, Gen and I have had a lot of fun visiting our families. For the most part we were together but there were a few visits when we had to split up because there are simply too many people to see. I’ve been crashing at my brother’s since day one but I always make a point of having dinner at my parents’ house. If you tasted my mom’s Vietnamese cooking you would understand why – my momma made me fat!
In the next two weeks, Gen and I will try to see as many friends as possible. I’m looking forward to a mini school reunion with classmates and friends from my university days. And also, a dinner among cousins next Thursday should be a memorable one too! We’ll be probably exhausted by the time we board the plane heading to Australia but I’m sure a few days at Bondi Beach will take care of that :)
It has been a week since I left Calgary. I don’t miss Calgary and my cowboy friends yet but I am sure that will come. Leaving Calgary was particularly tough on Geneviève: we were holding hands on the plane when the tires lifted from the runway, minutes later I turned towards Gen and she had tears running down her cheeks. She was obviously very sad to leave her friends and good life behind, for now. This feeling hasn’t hit me yet as I am more of a laid back guy and this type of feelings will hit me later when I’ll be miles and miles away. Maybe it’s one of those “women are from Venus and men are from Mars” things :) But I do care and I am sad to leave Calgary and my great friends behind!
Before I left, the BRSA guys (swimming) presented me with an awesome gift: all the swimmers chipped in and got me an original Flames jersey. It was such a great gifts! I didn't pack the Jersey because I didn't want to risk losing it, but I'll be cheering with you when the Flames are on. Thanks so much guys, I will miss you. I’ll let you in on the Australian secret about swimming fast when I find out in a couple of weeks. I hope you KSC guys had a good meet in Lethbridge, it’s going to be weird not coaching for a year but I’ll try to follow you online. Have an awesome season!
So that was my summary of week ONE. Hope everyone is staying warm and out of trouble, talk to you soon
