Back on Track

Well I've done a little traveling the past week so I thought I'd update this blog since it's been a while. I had a colleague over from the Netherlands and we did some work here in Montreal and then headed down to Grand Rapids Michigan in the US for a couple of days before we both split up and went home. Had a great time actually.

My colleague Bart is a world traveler. He's been all over the globe and the thought of him coming to Montreal in February was sickening. This is a really great summer city, one of the best in North America in my opinion but in winter it's cold and ugly as hell with all the slush and dirty snow, pot holes and icy sidewalks. It's a living hell in some respects and the last thing I want is people coming here during this seasonal mess... but somehow I showed him around, took him to some incredible restaurants, managed to hit all the right sites and in the end he said he really loved it and wants to come back with his wife and family. So I was pleased. We also had a really great time in Grand Rapids and both of us came away impressed with the city and the people. Best of all our American colleagues as well as my colleagues here in Quebec were really nice to him and I think if anything he was surprised by how friendly everyone was. I've learned many of my Dutch colleagues have a really negative opinion of Americans and North America in general but once they actually experience it a lot of their beliefs are proven wrong and they end up liking it a lot. Perhaps not everyone but it's not as commercial, cold and tasteless as they might think. It helps to have the right person show you around too.

Sheila, I'm pleased to say is back on the mend. She had a very serious if not major case of the flu which led to pneumonia. She's still not 100% now 5 weeks later but on Saturday we went out for supper and argued politics and well I knew she was back to normal LOL! :) It's great to see.

My personal life is still as bland and boring as ever. It was nice having Bart here because it gave me something to do after work. I find the nights long and lonely and it helps to have someone to go out and do things with. Lately I've been playing around with photography and posting my pictures on Flickr. It's kinda fun and somewhat obsessive. I really struggle to get away from it some days. Oh well.. better than just watching TV I suppose. Anyways here is a random selection of some pics I've taken over the past year or two that I like. Hope you enjoy them