Monday, January 07, 2008

souvenir from colorado

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

bonne année, grand nez!

another year has gone by, with 3 extra stamps in my passport (hong kong, macau and mexico), the exploration of the countryside (and country) along with a few visits to the neighbor's country. it's been a year of food and of wine. a year filled with a good job, good friends and the satisfaction of no longer owing money. there's also been lots of love, which is also a good thing.

every new year people go ahead and make resolution, and since it served me pretty well last year, i've decided to do so again this year. i will jump on the bandwagon and hopefully will not wake up one day down the road and realize that i'm on the wrong track. or something to that matter!

a fair waring to my readers (the 2 or 3 of you): my resolutions this year are very similar to last years and aren't very exciting. because let's admit it, we all pretty much want the same things.

* go to the gym & pool regularly to get myself in shape (and stay that way)
* put aside money from every pay cheque in preparation for the next big trip
* try to do even more cultural things this year
* keep on reading a lot
* take a picture a day (the concept of 365 pictures has been appealing to me quite a lot lately. do not be fooled into thinking that this is an easy task.)
* write more
* be more vocal, expressive
* let go, more often
* be happy

----------------------------

in order to be able to take a picture a day, i need to start taking my camera with me everywhere. for instance, what in the hell will i be taking a picture off today? i already missed two great shots by being camera-less. for example, tonight, while walking home through a park, a big great white dog was sitting on a concrete table, making him look like a sculpture. as i walked by, i saw an other white furry shape beside him. i kept looking, expecting to see a cute little puppy. but to my surprise, it was no puppy, but an albino bunny. that's right! a dog with his bunny friend , on a table, in a park. i swear, it was priceless. but you'll never know, will you?

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

winter wonderland

well, i'm back from beautiful, snowy and cold colorado. i am tired, and i'm glad that there will be no more flights for a while (5 airplanes in 4 days is a bit much) and that i am no longer residing at over a mile above sea level. altitude can get to you - it can get hard to breathe sometimes or go up a flight of stairs. i am also glad that it is no longer cold. i mean, that i'm no longer cold. at points it got very cold and i couldn't get rid of the coldness... made me realize what living in vancouver has done to my upbringing in quebec.

colorado was gorgeous and i very much enjoyed it - we stayed in crested butte at a picturesque lodge on the side of a river. the scenery, the snow, the icicles, the crispness of the air, the cold (often staying at around -20°C) was all perfect, as if it had all been planned carefully and put together purposefully. i was constantly amazed at how the snow stuck to the branches of the trees, even after an evening of strong winds. the town was especially quaint and picturesque, with colourful old buildings... covered in snow! it is also the only place i've ever seen where people are stubborn enough to use their bike for transportation regardless of cold, snow or ice.

while crested butte is a ski town, i don't ski. i did partake in some winter activities though, namely snowshoeing, snowmobiling, sitting by the fire, collaborating on a puzzle, playing pool and drinking. there was also a lot of eating. of the outdoors activities, i very much enjoyed snowshoeing as it brought back plenty of memories from my childhood. the snowmobiling was fantastic while we were riding in tiny, windy trails through an evergreen forest covered in snow. it was not so fantastic when the visor of my helmet got completely frozen over and i couldn't see. it was also not so great when the trail was bumpy - our ski-doo was missing an handle in the back, and so i had to hold-on to the driver not to fall off. note to self and everybody else: do not attempt this, unless you enjoy constant helmet bumps, feeling like you need to hold on for dear life and spending a lot of time looking at the ride's dials instead of the scenery. i never experienced ski-doos as being a form of exercise but i am not sore all over.