Today I made a new friend... his name is John. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of him, that is after all no way to keep new friends. You may eventually see a picture of him somewhere else... until then all you need to know is that his name is John, even then, it's not incredibly important to this story.
So I was walking up to my building and got a phonecall from Amar when I was about to enter - Hi Amar! - this call happened to make me hang outside the front of my building whilst talking. Not that I minded, today was gorgeous and I really should have found an excuse to stay outside for longer. While I was talking this scruffy looking guy smoking a cigarette was watching me, I don't blame him really, what else is one supposed to do while hanging outside the front of a building having a smoke? He was enjoying the fine weather as well, correct? After I got off the phone I walked past this dude and went in the building.
Right before I got through the locked door he burst in and apologised, he didn't realise that I lived in the building and that he felt he should explain himself. This is how I met John.
After exchanging names he asks, "do you like sci-fi?"
Ok, please no jokes here. I think we all know about my life-sized cardboard cut out of Capt. Jean-Luc, and all those taped shows, but really aside from some internet streamed X-Files I haven't been one for this scientific fiction for, well, years! Despite my recent drift from the genera I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. So I replied, "every now and then."
This opened up the gates, having lived in the building for 3 years John really didn't know too many people who lived there, and since the top 2 floors now consisted almost entirely of students he thought, well shit, he should change that. As a building warming, if you will, John had planned a gathering, some may even say party, that was based on the viewing of the start of the new season of Battlestar Galactica. Truly I was interested, if not for the show at least to see who else might show up. I really wouldn't mind getting to know some of the other people who live in my building. But as life has it Ashley's birthday celebrations are on Saturday, and really, I wouldn't miss it for this or any other world!
On a side note Meaghan and Youssef are probably going to hit it up, if anything to see who else is there. The benefit of going to a party in your own building is if it's not what you're into you can always say you left some water boiling. That is of course unless your landlord or janitor happen to be there.
The conversation went onto the fact that I was a Wildlife Bio student and he was rather excited. We talked about environmental philosophy and how religious and social beliefs and structures in the past have influenced our current cultural placement of the earth relative to us. He then brought up the fact that he has been working at a boy's camp for 4 years where they do all the hardcore stuff, like camping and portaging after you build your own canoe. The problem was that the camp's environmental policy was as old as it (about 80 years). The campsite area had over the years been cleared of all grass and herbaceous cover, leaving just exposed soil which obviously didn't last all that long. The current problem is that the circumference of the site is widening because the trees can not stand the degraded soil so they are slowly dying away. He asked me for my opinion so I'm going to look into it for him. Anyone who would like to help please let me know. We talked on and on until a friend of his came by and I let them have their chat. And thus ends my meeting of a new friend.
Now to explain the picture. The shuttle was full today so I missed my meeting with Connie, damn 211 - public bus arghgejsuble. I was going to have that as the picture of the day, instead you must settle for the corner of de Maisonneuve and Guy, featuring the entrance to the metro station. I am sorry... it's not even in focus. I tried to make it look like the fuzziness I prefer to see at most times, the reason why I don't wear my glasses or contacts much of the normal day. That was going to be my topic of the day until I met John, be greatful that I did. The fuzziness didn't really work out, owing to the fact that I tried to take it while not wearing contacts or glasses so it's just really fuzzy. I was really just taking the picture out of guess work and couldn't see the target area or the screen very clearly, the irony of my goal. I do sorta like it for the artistic appeal of people and cars in motion at a major intersection. Making it even funnier is that the guy in the beige tried to stare me down while I was about to take the shot. He didn't get away, I got him at a brisk pace, the sucker. But I do admit, it's a nasty photo.