i took baby blue (working name) on its first big roadtrip this weekend to montreal, canadia. i was struck by how radical the transition from vermont to quebec is. vermont is beautiful - rolling hills, little cutesy towns in valleys, patches of snow on the ground. but quebec is, well, brown. it is as if the entire province conspired to embody uglier shades of this daring band of the light spectrum, people, land, sky. the snow has melted away, and there are no trees or grass to hide the ravages of winter. and all the land for dozens of flat miles around my colorful mobile habitat has been conscripted for feeding the skinny socialist descendants of the proud galls, those original creators of our freedom fries.

that being said, montreal is really a cool, fun city. the french speakers are not mean, there are a lot of jazz clubs, good climbing gyms, fun places to go dancing, good food. aside from the 8-month winter, it's pretty solid.

lesson learned - even if you are bring something back to the US, which was originally purchased in the US, still gotta declare it. i didn't, and now my passport has a little stamp that says "alleged terrorist, handle with care".

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. i liked it. i have a hard time offering an objective perspective, i think i felt it too much. revision of the past happens a lot when it comes to relationships that don't work out, and so often that is a barrier on the path out. trying to contextualize the past in the present just makes it seem so unbelievable, and it's already so distant compared to the now. but denying it was ever real hurts infinitely more. unfortunately reality is far more banal than the movie - the mind does its own dirty work.

we had a company meeting today. the president's erudite presentation included a discussion of using our software to teach "asian-speakers" to converse in english. he also expressed "gratitude in abstentia" to one of the planned presenters who could not attend. but at least the CEO made fun of george bush, so that is something. i didn't think CEOs were allowed to do that since he is one of theirs.

busy weekend behind me, and wow, i actually have stuff to write about.

friday night. went to a party in central square to see jeff and his band Gigawatt - piano, sax, bass, drums, and a beatboxing/rapping fella named Gunther (you can get samples at http://www.bea.st/sound/delpino/index.shtml). it is just awesome to see five people creating a journey through bright, sax-infused peaks, thick, melty grooves, and brooding, evil valleys. jeff is clearly the most evil in the band - he now sports a hat with wisps of blonde hair below, but the eyes don't lie, and neither does the piano. as we got our drink on, bernard became the bridge between the band and the small living-room audience, dancing his ass off, in his contagious, passionate way. i also finally met b's friend watson, who does cool stuff at the media lab (the details of which i would remember if i had been a bit more sober), and also makes electronic music. given my goal of surrounding myself with people who can teach me everything i don't know about music (which is more or less everything), this was a good conversation.

saturday morning. i relearn the fact that cheap college vodka costs you more in the long run. a 4 hour splitting headache does not deter me from rearranging my place of living, and slimming down my repository of stuff - getting rid of things i don't need so i can breathe a little easier. left with only my toothbrush and two pairs of underwear, i compose my overzealous self, and go indoor rock climbing. it is when i attempt physically challenging things that i remember that i have never been good at physical activity, and yet i seem to enjoy banging my head against the wall (literally in the case of climbing). regardless, climbing is a sport with particular appeal because so much of the focus is not only on strength and endurance, but also on balance, both static and dynamic, something not addressed by things like soccer and basketball. and it is just damn fun, even if today i can't move the mouse more than a quarter of an inch without cringing.

saturday afternoon, a beautiful faux spring day, a walk with a friend, sun and happiness, and boston is alive. people smiling everyone shaking off the shackles of the cold, and laughing in defiance of the shit weather that is yet to come. leads into the night, a border cafe dinner in the non-alcoholic section, and the first perfectly executed surprise birthday party i had ever attended (in the prettiest home i have seen owned by people in my age bracket). a good end to a good (and very long day).

sunday morning. an early wakeup (with my head now in line with the sun's rays), and a new adventure. aram, rachel and i set out for wachusett (or wachusetts as aram calls it), which has come to dominate my ski resort associations through 10 years of exposure to their tv jingle (wa, wa, wa-chusett. [...] mountain skiing minutes away). it turns out "minutes" refers to ~70 minutes, so we miss the morning lesson. then aram and i lose our superior snowboarding partner rachel, and proceed to try and teach ourselves on the bunny slope. not knowing the theory proves detrimental, as i tackle an unsuspecting little girl on the bunny lift (something like a moving sidewalk going up the hill). aram and i did feel quite left out without matching pink uni suits, but he compensated with gold skating goggles that made him look like a crazy raver riding his trip into the morning sun.


the lesson proves useful if inefficiently organized. the highlight of the day comes when the lesson attendees mistake aram and me for the instructors. clearly at least we got the look down. rachel finds us (thank god), and takes us on a couple of runs (a green and a blue). the bruises tell their own tale, but despite the arduous crawl down the blue path, we finish happy and excited for the next time (with the season almost over). the runner up moment of the day was when i fell down hard while

the drive home. good conversation and music. a feeling of quiet happiness at a day devoted to personal enjoyment and self-improvement. a couple of good emails, and early to bed. a weekend in the life of ilya.

not being used to weekend where i don't need to work, i just feel happy. it is a good feeling. i am now firmly convinced this year will kick the crap out of 2003. after all, i'm gonna get to meet JAW.