"I feel like a weirdo, but I guess that's okay."

Last night was Rains' Stanford-wide graduate student party.

Very nice. A lot of fun.
Got to see some people I had met before, and meet some new people. Stanford is a MUCH smaller place than U of T.

Leslie, Alexis and I got there and... I recognized a guy I went to high school with!
Guillaume Chabot-Couture, the son of... Jacques Couture, prof à Garneau!!!
Vraiment bizarre.
He did not recognize me of course, but I did him. So he faked it for a while before daring to ask... "Where do I know you from?"
Mouahahah!
He later figured out that he had heard about me through his father. Hum. Quebec City is DEFINITELY a small place.

***

Also: Alexis and I met Guy A. Lepage... 20 years younger.
Here is the proof (although he looked more like Guy A. in real life...)



***

This morning, as always, I woke up early and went for a stroll on the party grounds. I looked around, picked up a bunch of empty beer bottles and brought them to a lady who was picking them up from the garbage bins. I saw a hummingbird, and a blue jay. In the fountain where FIVE PEOPLE fell last night out of drunkedness, I saw the poor goldfish and their new friends: a couple of beer bottles and a few plastic cups. So I went fishing for them... when a middle-aged couple arrived and caught me beer-handed. "I fell like a weirdo, but I guess that's okay," I said. They laughed, and we started talking. Very nice couple visiting from Virginia.

Continued my stroll, didn't find any gems, did my meditation outside and... came home for breakfast.

***

Now. We are picking up many great, important skills at the Stanford University School of Ed: to sound so much like you know what you're talking about that they believe you when you tell them you are going to save the world.

A guy named Rohan (I think that's how you spell it) asked me last night whether I had saved the world yet. "Maybe a soul or two, but not the world, yet. I'll let you know, though." "Please do!"
Interesting.

***

I saw Prof. P. climbing up the stairs yesterday, and thought I would take advantage of this random encounter to discuss my first week's experiences with him. "Prof. P!" I called while running after him. "Who can be calling me by this name..." he answered, "except a first year foreign student!"

I laughed. He laughed. Made it to his office and talked shop.

***

The first research group meeting was very interesting. Lots of interesting projects under way. And I might be able to do some research on them next summer, while in Toronto and Quebec city.
Yesssssss!

Enough blabbing.
Time to work.

Kisses!

Yip Man

Wow.

This is really worth looking at:

http://wingchun.stanford.edu/GMYM-CK.mpg

So VERY interesting.
It is traditional Wing Chun, a chinese martial arts...

I am looking around for training places. Hum.
All of them seem to be on the same schedule. Probably on purpose.
;)

Besides, everything is still going well. Lots of work, but all is manageable.

Cheers!

e!

Doudou à Paris! et les français pédants

J'ai eu la chance de me réveiler avec un courriel de Doudou ce matin. Il travaille à Paris, et m'a écrit ceci de son expérience:

> C'est pas mal... un peu chiant de supporter des Francais...

Je lui ai répondu en lui parlant de la crisette que j'ai faite ici à un de ces putains de Français pédants.

Ils sont partout ici. Et j'ai fait une scène en public lundi soir...
Un espèce de français pédant s'était mis à rire de moi et d'un autre Québécois et de la façon dont on parle. Vous connaissez la
qualité de mon français (de franglophone). Bien sûr, j'ai un accent. Mais de là à en rire!
Je l'ai traité de con, de puérile, lui ai dit qu'il devrait se la fermer parce que ça insulte vraiment les gens. Que notre français est différent, non pas risible.
Et que s'il voulait voir qui rira le dernier, on pouvait très bien parler en anglais.
;)

Il a eu peur, s'est enfui. Quel con. Français pédant.
Les autres autour étaient un peu inconfortables. Ce n'est pas vraiment la "façon Stanford" de gérer les problèmes diplomatiquement. Toutefois, tous les Québécois que j'avais rencontrés ici m'avaient parlé de l'arrogance des Français. Et je n'allais certainement pas tolérer ça.

Du reste. C'est fait, et ce pédant-là devrait se la fermer pour le reste du séjour.
;)

fake math and posted pics

Okay. A few things have to be set straight here and now.

I was sent this by Patrice:



Obviously, mathematically it is all logical. However, it is all false, since the first equation does not hold!

Instead of "Women = Time x Money", one should read
"Woment = Time + Money". The final conclusion then does not follow.

Clever, Patachou, but false.
Nia-nia!

Now, a 360° of my room. I posted my pictures on the walls today, so it looks much more homey now...

My bed, without a comforter yet, but with my Toronto girlfriends to protect me: Aziza, Nyla et Shannon.



It might not APPEAR to be so at first glance, but my bed is actually a double bed. Indeed, two people can easily sleep side by side in it (see Ulcer and Ear Ache), and as Mark suggested, can clearly be divided in two with the use of a bathroom sign:



On the wall beside my table, I posted family pictures:



My table, wide and uncluttered (yet), with pictures, obviously:



Then, to the left of the table, I have a full crew of bodyguards on my window side: Sir Sanctis and the Shadow Knight, my faithful protectors, fight evil spirits that would try to make their way into my room:



On my closet, I posted family and food pictures, to boost up my morale when I face the tough challenge of choosing what to wear (sigh!!!!!), as you can see here:



Between the closet and the bedroom door, I have a chest of drawers, surplombé des visages amicaux de mes amis québécois (Mark, Oli, Éric, Doudou, Greg), japonais (Yasu) et français (Sophie).



On my bedroom door, I make it clear and unmistakable that I am insane: I was stamped as such, I kiss mummies, I clean at Mark's and take pleasure in licking the tip of my nose...
Here goes the 8 year-old!



Et voilà, we are out and about to eat desert!

Yippeeeeeeeee!

Je pense à vous tous!

Elise
;)

Je suis presque mourrue aujourd'hui

I almost died today.
Really.

I logged into my Stanford ePay account to pay my health coverage fees only to discover that I had a bill of... $US10,500 waiting for me there, due Oct 15!
OOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHH!

My heart sank. I started to hyperventilate. Then I was certain I was having a heart attack.

My sister called, luckily, and I was able to share the bad news with her.
She was cool-headed as usual, and told me I should discuss the matter with my supervisor, that it certainly wasn't the first time something like that happened, and that most probably something could be arranged.

I painfully made it to our meeting spot, and R drove K and I to his office.

We discussed the matter, and almost everything is fine. I owe "only" $US3,500. A huge difference, by the way.
And my stipend (read fellowship) arrives on the 20th. So I should be able to eat all through the fall quarter.
Pfew. It was a close call, toutefois.
;)

Sannnnnnn Frannnnnnnn

Leslie and I went to Sannn Frannn Sunday.
Good times.


A view of the water:



An arc that looks like a boat:



At first, I thought they were mermaids in the distance. Then I thought they were terremaids (MERmaids, TERREmaids... ouhouh!)
Me, then, with the robots.



Some more flowers and fruits (very necessary):




At first, I forgot to comment on this picture:



It is an interesting sign, that we are not very likely to see in either Quebec City or Stanford, CA. Not enough hippies, I am afraid. Quebec City ones freeze in the wintertime, while those of Stanford go to Berkeley...
;)

Dr. Seuss' Political Cartoons... and taxidermy!

Something I stumbled upon while working for Azam yesterday: Dr. Seuss' Political Cartoons!

You can find them all here:

http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/Frame.htm

My favourites, so far:





Also, he did some funky taxidermy. I put together my favourites in this jpg. It fits my screen, so I used it as Desktop. It might also fit yours!

Yippee for Seuss!

Growing up working class

"Fewer than one percent of Americans break out f the class they are born into. Despite these grim odds, people like my parents still base their entire lives on the dream of class jumping. The television gospel told them it was not only possible, but normal. To not increase your wealth was more shameful, to my family, than a brown lawn, unusual offspring, and unemployment combined. They considered every day that went by without a yacht and a swimming pool embarrassing. And everyone else in the neighborhood who didn't miraculously obtain a new Cadillac or a vacation home at the beach, or who was still working construction or driving a cab, was equally shameful. To my parents, every day in this working-class neighborhood was temporary. It was just a matter of working hard enough."

Polyestra, in Michelle Tea, Ed. (2003) "Without a net - The female experience of growing up working class", Seal Press.

=======

Leslie recommended this book; I recommend it too. Wow. Some of the stories are just... amazing.
Quite inspiring.

Bumble-beeing my way around

Lots of buzzing around in my first week here. Found my store: the bumble bee's.
;)



Things are going very well. Registered in my classes for the fall quarter.
A very interesting class about women's status and education... Will very much enjoy this, I am certain!

Yippee!

Work, work now!

«Qui pourra arrêter Ségolène ?» and related (!) pics

In this post:

- Féministe enragée;
- Spelling;
- Juice bar;
- Pictures!

=======

D'abord, un court commentaire d'une féministe enragée. Dixit Christian Rioux, dans Le Devoir du 13 septembre:

"«Qui pourra arrêter Ségolène ?» se demande-t-on aujourd'hui dans les officines du Parti Socialiste, rue de Solférino."

À quand un tel titre: "Qui pourra arrêter Nicolas?", en référence à Sarkozy?
Argh! Pourquoi les femmes d'une telle evergure peutvent-elles toujours être appelées par leur prénom?

M'enfin.

=======

Deuxièmement. J'ai rencontré a fellow Canadian (!) from Edmonton two days ago at the Graduate Community Center. He asked for my email (!) and when I told him how to spell it he said: "My spelling is horrible." What???

You are at Stanford and YOUR SPELLING IS HORRIBLE? Compared to whom? And how did you make it here it if it is that bad??!!! Paradis: Paradise without the final "e". "E" comme easy.
;)

=======

I ordered a juice at a juice bar here on Monday. The guy asked for my name. I answered Elise.
He nodded.

When they called my name for me to get my drink, I did not recognize it at all.
"Mar-shk-il?"
That wasn't me. But it was my drink. So I took it.

The second time I went, yesterday, I said my name. The girl made a face. I repeated: "Lisa". And that was fine.
Well.
I had discussed with Patrice how things would change for me if I were to change my name to Lisa while I am here.
It certainly makes it easier when ordering food or drinks.
;)

=======

Picture time now!

The Stanford campus is nothing short of breathtaking. Really beautiful.
Some pictures now:

A superb flower that grew on the door step at Leslie's. It was beautiful one day, dead the next. I managed two pictures:





Some interesting white flowers, at the very top of a tree:



This one is for Brian and his very wealthy family (!):



This one is for Papa: You see! They use sprinklers!



These are lemons, in trees everywhere in Mountain View and on campus. Smells great!



This is one of the Stanford gates... with another one that we can see through it:



A nice orange flower, next to the Education building:



The palm tree we see coming out of Leslie's appartment:



Our home on the Stanford Campus! Moving in on the 18th! Yippeeeeeee!



A beautiful white and pink flower, found close to a posh restaurant in Palo Alto:



The flowers in the bushes at Leslie's:



Olives from one of the many olive trees on campus!



Some unknown funky fruit, with spikes!



I was stopped by a guy who thought I was lost when I took pictures of the funky fruits!

Mouahahha!

Beautiful!

Talk soon!

School of Americas et empreinte écologique

In Le Devoir, there was a letter to the editor mentioning the School of Americas, an "institution" which I had never heard of. I went online to try to know more, and found this quite troubling website, which I invite you to visit:

http://www.soaw.org/new/

It is part of the type of USA conspiracy theories put forward by Chomsky. Something to be careful about, obviously, but that is certainly worth knowing. Wow. The US really is a strange place.

Dans un même ordre d'idée, j'ai calculé mon empreinte écologique, à la suggestion de M. Vachon.

Voici mes résultats:



Vous pouvez calculer la vôtre ici.

I intend to add pictures of my new home town soon. Tonight, probably.
Let me know what you think of them.

Cheers!

e!

Leslie's Home Sweet Home

I have arrived at my final destination, and Leslie came to pick me up at the airport with all my stuff. Nothing lost, nothing stolen. I still have my head on my shoulders, and just a little bit of anxiety in my stomach.

I will survive.
;)

And so will Leslie, by the way. ;)
She, too, went through a period of doubt and anxiety two weeks ago. I guess it was meant to happen for all of us, newcomers.

Purple bear, Leslie the earache and Elise the helicobacter have finally been reunited. Pfew.
They also met their new friend: Homer Simpson the wiggly head.



The party is stil raging, and will probably be for days.

I am finishing my work for Azam today. Then it will be time to go to campus, meet the administrative staff (!) and confirm my arrival and willingness to undertake it all. Four years sprint. Or stroll. We'll see how it goes.
;)

Besides, a quote from Ron St-Amant: "There's a weblog behind every cool kid. Really."
Very nicely put, Ron!

And a little hello to someone who has not dropped by here in a long time: S.

Love you all!

e!

Le grand départ

Aujourd'hui était le grand départ. Celui pour la Californie.

J'ai déjeuné en famille. Dis adieu à Alex.
Raté ma chance de voir Chouchou une dernière fois avant mon départ parce que j'avais trop de bagages encore à faire.

J'ai fait du bricolage avec Pé (hehehe), elle m'a offert une frite au Pat Rétro (Rat Pétro).

Nous avons soupé ensemble, puis Papa et Maman sont venus me reconduire.

Toujours pas de nouvelles de Leslie, qui semble avoir disparu. C'était son anniversaire aujourd'hui, alors je ne peux pas trop lui en vouloir. Bonne fête Leslie!

Spoke with Patrice a couple of times, then with Greg once at the airport in MTL. We missed one another by very little. If I had been louder about my plans, it would have been possible to meet with him. That's life.
And me being too quiet.

I am sitting in the Lounge area at the airport. My plane leaves at 5am. Will get to the customs by 2am or even earlier. Just in case someone wants to be picky in giving me my visa...
In the meantime, you'll be surprised that I have some work to do: some stuff more or less academic stuff I need to get done before school starts, but also checking after my luggage... which is quite a heap.
Here are a few shots, just for the heck of it:



Enjoy the ride! Because I am not sure I will...
;)



Oh, and again: many thanks to all of those who showed up or tried to show up for my little departure gathering. It really was a wonderful time.

Love you all!

Nyla et moi aux Chinese Lanterns

À Toronto, vendredi dernier, Nyla et moi sommes allées voir une exposition de lanternes chinoises à Ontario Place.
Quelques photos prises là-bas:

Peach tree and bonsai:



Phoenix:



Crane (et oui, je pense au karaté! Crane and bear, yippee!)



Les dragons, maintenant:





Et un petit lapin bien sympa:



Ce fut une belle soirée, comme à l'habitude. Nyla et moi sommes expertes!
Je t'aime, ma chouette!

e!

Visite aux chutes Montmorency

Parce que Patrice était en visite, nous sommes allés faire un picnic aux chutes Montmorency. Une photo prise par Patrice:



Une prise par moi, avec ma petite soeur au premier plan:



Nous deux, en picnic:



Et un must: une fleur de trèfle. Wow. Je vieillis!



Bonne journée!