So afterall last night I didn’t watch tele or eat a bowl of cereals. I started playing around on Photoshop and time flew! When I looked at the time it was already 23h30! So it was time for bed.

This morning I woke up to the sound of a thunderstorm outside… Thunder, lightning and heavy rain. My plants/flowers definitely won’t need any watering today!!!

I am supposed to work at 12h until 21h30 but if this weather continues work will really suck. I work outdoors with the protection of only a raincoat. So hopefully either the rain stops or my workday is cancelled. I don’t want to be all wet!!

Should I go to bed or watch a movie..? That’s the question I’m asking myself right now. I feel a bit tired but it’s too early to sleep… But then again a movie is at least 2 hours so that’s too late to sleep! I think I’ll just lay on the futon and try and find something to watch on the tele instead. Yep! I bought popsicles today. They are supposedly made out of real fruit from Del Monte. I had one already earlier. But now I feel like having another. I won’t though. That’s too much sugar. I’ll have a bowl of cereals. That’s a better choice. I also got croissants… Can’t wait for breakfast tomorrow morning!

In the morning of Wednesday after breakfast my boyfriend and I left Québec City at around 6h45. We drove to Montréal stopping for gas as well as the funky restaurant/hotel with dinosaurs. I remembered this place from when I was young and doing a holiday with my parents. And I love seeing it everytime I pass by when I’m on the bus between the two cities. But this time we stopped there! Yay! It made me all excited. Just like a kid would. We got in Montreal with plenty of time to spare before my appointment at the CLSC. That’s why we had to leave so early in the morning. I liked doing this trip… My first roadtrip with my boyfriend and hopefully not the last! Probably Toronto and Blanc-Sablon also…

Me not sure where to go… Car? Dinosaurs? Ahhh!!

My boyfriend waited for me at home while I went to the CLSC. After my appointment we hung out together at my place, doing not much, enjoying relaxing time. In the middle of the afternoon my boyfriend cooked a delicious meal… A veggie medley and some chicken. I was so hungry and it was really good! In the evening we went to the cinema. We got snacks (M&M’s, strawberry laces, drinks and popcorn) and saw Click. It was a good movie, I liked the ending a lot. It made me sad and then very very happy!!! After the movie I went to my boyfriend’s place. I like his big bed a lot! Spacious compared to mine…

Today we went to Home Depot and I liked looking and touching everything! My boyfriend bought what he needed after we had asked 3 different people where the item was located but no one seemed to really know…! Grrr big stores! We drove to my place and he installed a router for my computer (to make it safer).

My boyfriend left as the exterminators were arriving! So the last few days I’ve spent with my boyfriend. I really enjoyed that time. I find we get along very well. I am so glad he made me go to the Starbucks to see him to get that Sigur Ros CD!!! I think after spending 4 days (though not all full days) in a row with me he might want some time on his own…? (But not me!! ) We’re both working anyways… Maybe we’ll go to the Jazz Fest together as our next outing if our schedules match! We’ll see…

So exterminators… Yep… Since I’ve moved in my apartment I had little insects… On average 2-3 a day. It was not a dramatic situation or anything. They are small and not harmful but just annoyed and scared the hell out of me! I like an insect-free home. So they sprayed stuff around and told me the insects should all be gone within two weeks! Yay!

After that I went to pick up some groceries… I bought too many yummy things as I was pretty hungry while shopping… For example I let myself be tempted by cherries though they were really expensive…! But worth it in the end…! Mmmmmmmm! So I’ve been snacking all afternoon. I didn’t really cook a real dinner. I wish my boyfriend was here with me to cook! It’s much nicer. Anyways… That’s the resume of the last few days. Tomorrow it’s back to work! And I am looking forward to getting my work schedule for July as well!!!

I went to Québec City after my work on Monday. My boyfriend picked me up from there and we drived there. We got some rain along the way which sucks! But it was also nice on the way at one point when the sun went down and the sky was a brightly coloured, including some pretty pink/reddish shades! We went to my brother’s place for 5 minutes but he was all sleepy. We then left to go to my aunt’s in Old Québec. We drove a bit around her house but found a spot to park pretty quickly. My aunt was happy to meet my boyfriend. And I was happy to see my aunt again! She always makes me feel so comfortable when I go to her place.

In the morning we got up and ready to go out for a day of exploring the city! Too bad the rain had arrived in Québec City! Still armed with umbrellas we were kind of protected!

We first parked the car at the Carré D’Youville for the day and then started walking around. Along St-Jean Street, up through the Rue du Trésor, passed the Chateau Frontenac on the Terrasse Dufferin. We booked a walking tour of the Chateau but it didn’t start before 12h so we went out to walk some more! We walked along St-Louis Street up to the Parliament, a bit around the Citadelle and back.

The Terrasse Dufferin in the rain…

Then waiting for the tour we had some food at the café in the Chateau. I had a yummy chocolatine. Then the tour! I had already taken it years ago but this time was different. We didn’t see the tea rooms for example. And it was a different bedroom. And the tour guide was not a lady but a man, the “printer”. I liked the tour as it kept me dry from the rain outside!

Ladies in the Chateau Frontenac…

After the tour the rain had stopped! Yay! We went to Ashton’s lunch. I had a nice poutine. I can’t remember the last time I ate that… This one was really nice too! Then off to walk along the fortifications and down-hill to the Lower City. We walked a bit in the Petit Champlain area and then back up-hill!

My boyfriend wanted to watch the France-Spain soccer game. The first pub we went to had only a tiny TV! Not good! We walked further along St-Jean Street and ended up at St-Alexandre pub with a nicer bigger projection screen. We ordered beers and snacks (chicken wings & fries). We watched until the half of the 2nd half and went to my aunt’s house for dinner. I wasn’t too hungry because of the snacks I had eaten at the pub but still enjoyed the meal a lot!

In the evening after doing the dishes we headed back out! I had more things to show my boyfriend but they weren’t really within walking distance so we ended up walking back to the Terrasse Dufferin. We got some ice cream and ate it sitting on a bench. Then we chatted a bit. I really liked just sitting there together and talking!

A glimpse of sun in the evening…

Then back to the car park to bring the car back on the street closer to my aunt’s place. We watched one of my cousin’s movies, Big Fish. I was tired and towards the end was closing my eyes a tiny bit but I still really liked the movie… It was special at times with unusual/impossible stories and the end was sad and sweet at the same time. After my cousin got back from work and we chatted a bit it was time for bed!

But I’ve been away/busy!!! Tonight I saw fireworks at my boyfriend’s place! It was neat… I closed the lights… We sat on the comfy couch and looked out of the window to see the fireworks in the distance (but they weren’t so far away). I liked it! We also we to see a movie in the evening… Saw “Click” which was a cute film. Off to bed! Mmm! Yummy sleep!

So Saturday morning I left to go to the track after the third Free Practice (I watched it on tele). And there I enjoyed the activities that were on site. I went in the Telus big wheel. I really liked the view it offered on the track, the city in the distance, etc.

Then I walked to my grandstand to watch the qualifying. I was in the number 12 with some friends. There was a lot of people just outside the grandstand!

After the qualifying I went quickly to work! I had 2 hours to get there. I really rushed but arrived with 45 minutes to spare! So I went to buy a chocolatine pastry at the bakery, a 7up… Then I took my time to change into my uniform… Then I started working from 16h to about 23h. It was very relax…!

The next morning I woke up at around 8h. I left home at 9h30. I wanted to be there on time to see the driver’s parade! With my two friends we went near the track behind the fence to be closer… Here’s Fernando Alonso…!

After that we waited a bit more and the race started! For about 15 minutes two extra people tried to fit on our bench! But it’s already so tight with the right amount of people… So imagine with two extra!!! I said something to them and they just ignored me, saying there was nothing they could do about it… Yes there was! LEAVE! That’s what they eventually did thank god!

Then I was more comfortable for the rest of the race. It was nice to watch… Alonso and Kimi, Jacques and Massa, many off-tracks, many brushing walls or crashing like Jacques. I heard so many versions of what happened for that accident… Jacques said Ralf slowed down and he then had to go out of the racing line into tyre rubbish which was very slippery and made him hit the wall. On RDS they showed a slow version where we see Ralf go a bit off track, some sand goes on track, and then Jacques goes over that tiny patch of sand, slides off and hits the wall. I think that’s more what happened… Anyways! Also, too bad Michael passed Kimi just near the end of the race!! Still a nice podium. At the end of the race when Alonso got out of his car he did another of these crazy dances… This time he bent down and flapped his arms like an eagle or so. I wonder what it represented!

After the race we went to see the drivers… Most of them were really nice, taking photographs and signing autographs. Except Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella. They all just ran off and locked themselved into their cars to leave quickly. That sucked! Others though gave us a lot of time…

I saw a Dutch TV commentator like a few years ago… I said “Goede dag, hoe gaat het?” and surprised he answered “Heel goed, dank u!” Later with the Dutch driver Albers I also spoke a bit of Dutch “Dank u”, thanks for the autograph, and he replied happy with a smile “Alstublieft!”

I got autographs from: Heikki Kovalainen (Renault test driver), Flavio Briatore (Renault team principal), Ron Dennis (McLaren chairman and CEO), Felipe Massa (Ferrari driver), Ralf Schumacher (Toyota driver), Jarno Trulli (Toyota driver), Mark Webber (Williams driver), Nico Rosberg (Williams driver), Jenson Button (Honda driver), David Coulthard (Red Bull driver), Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber driver), Jacques Villeneuve (BMW Sauber driver), Johnny Herbert (ex-driver and now Midland technical director), Tiago Monteiro (Midland driver), Christijan Albers (Midland driver), Vitantonio Liuzzi (Toro Rosso driver), Scott Speed (Toro Rosso driver), Takuma Sato (Super Aguri driver) and Franck Montagny (Super Aguri driver). And quite a few pictures including these…

Albers…

Alonso…

Jacques…

All of my photographs are available here in the photo album…

In front of my balcony there is a tree. The grass was growing high. A lady used that space as her garbage. She saw me multiple times giving her bad looks when she’d drop her stuff there on the way out of the building but she just continued doing it. We’re supposed to bring garbage and recycling down in containers of the garage. But nope… She used the “carré d’arbre”. I thought about adopting that space, planting flowers, etc. So that way she’d stop putting her crap there! But this morning I saw my landlord took things in his own hands! He cut all of the tall grass that was growing… It’s now a bare square around the tree. And he placed a sign on the tree… Good!! Yay!! Hopefully she’ll stop now!! Because looking outside and seeing garbage on the sidewalk sucks.

“La personne qui met ses sacs de poubelle ici, c’est moi qui les prends et va les mettre dans le garage. SVP le devant n’est pas une poubelle de l’immeuble. Merci.”

Here are a few photographs of Friday’s Free Practice Sessions as well as downtown…

Car being towed away and man selling beer…

Car racing, grandstand 11 and the city…

Jenson Button…

Michelin on Crescent Street…

All of the day’s photographs are available here!

Tonight I went out for dinner with a few #F1 friends… Years ago I used to chat on the mIRC channel #F1. Now there is a tradition that we all get together at every Grand Prix for a dinner. There was tonight (in mIRC nicknames of course): falcon (and his brother and girlfriend), erose and jimmy. Too bad my boyfriend couldn’t make it, he was working. We went to Carlos & Pepe’s for some Mexican food. My food was good but very spicy! After dinner my friends went to walk downtown around Crescent and Peel but I had a headache so I decided to just come back home.

Tomorrow’s a big day as well… The F1 at the track… Then 2 hours to get to work right away but I don’t know if that will be enough time as just walking from my spot to the metro can take an hour or more! And finally work from 16h to who knows when… When the people celebrating St-Jean Baptiste want to go home! So I better be rested. I’m going to bed soon. Mmmm! Sleep!

I had a nice first day at the track! The last years I’ve been sitting in grandstand 11… This time I switched to grandstand 12 to sit with friends. It’s a different view but I do like it!

Today was two sessions of Free Practice. BMW Sauber did pretty well…! I tried taking pictures but I am sitting further away from the track so the cars look tiny on the photographs! My friend has a 200mm zoom so I can’t wait to see his pics! The morning I was a bit cold and then with the sun coming out in the afternoon it got really hot! There is no middle it seems!

It was really long to leave the track… Especially the first 15 minutes of the walk before crossing the 1st bridge! Man… I’ve never seen it that crowded on a Friday! It’s because of St-Jean Baptiste… I got home and I hung my big Quebec flag in the window. I think my lease said something about no flags in windows but who cares! This is Quebec’s day!

Today I went to the Open Pits day at the track. I left home at around 9h30 and got there at about 10h. At the track once again busses brought us near the pit lane (so less walking for me, yay!). It was just as crowded as previous years, not too much people that you can’t see anything but still enough to make it a success! I enjoyed walking around there. I saw mechanics working… I saw officials making sure everything was being done according to the rules… I was able to get closer into the garage at Toro Rosso and Red Bull to take photographs… I also spotted a few drivers! Fernando Alonso (Renault) walked the track with some of his team mates. Jacques Villeneuve (BMW Sauber) left his garage to go do interviews further on the track. And Jenson Button (BAR) driving to the Island in a white Acura. I left at around 12h30.

A few photographs…

Williams mechanic thinking…

Official looking at a car piece…

Fernando Alonso (in black) walking the track…

Jacques Villeneuve leaving his garage…

Toro Rosso noses…

All of them are available in my photo album.

Tonight for dessert I wanted three cookies. I needed a plate to put them on so I got one out of the cupboard and set it on the countertop… Or so I thought. A split second later I hear this hard shatter noise… My plate had fell on the ground and broken into a million little pieces!!! It took me forever to pick it all up… I wanted to be sure not to leave a piece there. I always am barefoot at home and wouldn’t like to get cut on the kitchen floor!!!

I downloaded the new Muse album and I’m liking it… The first song I heard while I was in the UK was Supermassive Black Hole. It took me a while to enjoy the song. And it’s the same with the whole CD… The more I listen… The more I like!

I was browsing through the Publisac earlier (I’m not a coupon freak… It’s just something to do… I’m bored!!!!) and noticed a trend… Canadian Tire and Cinema Guzzo don’t want to take sides it seems… They advertise both the St-Jean Baptiste and Canada Day at the same time!!!!!! That doesn’t work!

Well the Stanley Cup isn’t ours. Carolina won. Still I think the Oilers gave a really good performance! This series could have been over a long time ago!!! As each Carolina player held and kissed the Cup I noticed the “Stanley Cup beards”! The players were all very hairy! I also remembered seeing a Bell advertisement with the two beavers where one shaves and brings bad luck to their favourite team.

So I Googled it… And turns out it’s a tradition! One I didn’t know about… “By most accounts, the New York Islanders of the early 1980s are credited with starting the tradition, led by players such as Clark Gillies and Billy Smith. When they captured four straight Stanley Cups, just about everyone was sold on the power of NOT shaving — even though it only works for one team a year. (Yahoo, read the whole article here.)

Look how crazy it can get on this photograph of Commodore (and read the whole article about him here)!

I wish I was able to read people’s minds…

I like having a balcony facing the street… I like looking outside, seeing what’s going on. There are two cars parked near my balcony… A nice Mitsubishi and a sleek black Mercedes SUV. Nice, expensive and luxurious. To contrast with this someone from my building put an old 70’s style round table and two chairs near the sidewalk to throw out. About an hour later the three items are gone… Some guy lugged them away using his bicycle… Happy about his furniture find!

My lobster was delicious. I wanted it to be bigger though. I wanted more of the yummy meat.

I’m going to go take a bubble bath now. And later tonight I’m watching the Oilers play to win the cup!