Traffic

This is one of the biggest issues that has made life much easier here than it was in Chicago. Let me start by some comparisons. I have experienced a few different types of traffic in my life.

First is the fairly civil type of driving. Drivers let you merge when you put on your signal. When two lanes merge, it's one lane after the other. Drivers don't honk unless it's truly warrented. Drivers don't block intersections. I think you get the idea. For the most part, this is the type of driving that I remember when I was a kid and when I first started driving. Also, in general, it is the type of driving I have encountered here. Of course there are exceptions, there's always someone out there trying to sneak ahead and when traffic is bad the stress pushes people to do stupid things. But in general that is the state of it here. Somebody let me know if my recollection of driving in the 70's and 80's is correct. This subject also goes back to that 70's feel I have noticed here and mentioned a few months back.

The second type of driving is dog eat dog. I have experienced this in my limited driving experiences in Paris and New York. It is partly a game of chicken and partly whoever is farther forward has priority. The Avenue de Paris which leaves Versailles is six lanes wide with only one yellow line down the center. Everyone just jockeys around until they find a spot in the traffic. It's kind of a controlled madness. The stress level is high and I could not deal with it on a daily basis, but is can be fun for limited periods of time. Also as long as you're not pressed to get anywhere. I had a blast a couple summers ago jockeying a rental car down the length of Manhattan. It took two or three hours and the car didn't get a scratch.

It's the last type of driving that I find difficult. It is a situation where there is a mix of the other two types. This seems to me to be the current situation in Chicago. I also probably find it more difficult that others because I'm trying to be more like type one than type two. Maybe from now on, I'll just drive like type two when I'm in town. My thinking is that as cities become larger, they make a transition from type one to type two. Chicago is currently stuck in between.

This is a topic I would really like to hear your opinion on. I will probably revisit it in future posts.

Stealth visit

My apologies to my friends for not notifying you that I would be in town last weekend. I came with the kid and the trip was intended solely for the family. It was for my sister's graduation (Masters in History). My mother was also in town, so we all got some good quality time. So I used some of the available time between chasing and recovering from chasing the kid to verify some of my observations. We will all be coming for the last two weeks in July. We hope to see you all at a much more leisurely (It's our vacation) pace than the last two visits.

Two Years

Well, it has now officially been two years. I guess I can say we are pretty settled. We have a house, my French is now as fluent as stated on my resume, I can think in metric, and I have actually started following Canadian politics. The house is probably the biggest of those. It was a bigger step than I had thought. Having an outdoor space larger than a patio makes quite a differnce. I think I have enjoyed it more because I'm able to build things (fence, compost bin, sandbox) that does not need to be as finished as something inside. Tending to the plants is fun also, though I don't plan to become one of those fanatical suburban lawn keepers.

"Do I miss back home?" has been a common question both that other people have asked and also been in my mind. Last year I said it was that I was more nostalgic for the time spent there. Much like any other place or time period in my past. At the time of moving here, we were starting another phase of our lives with the kid. Lately, I have thought differently. I do miss some things about back home. Spending time with the people I would see often, or attending special events with family and friends. The flip side is that when we go back, it is a special occasion and we see everyone. Some people we actually see more often now. It is a bit shallow, but I do miss the food. Or at least the accessiblity to it. We have found some new places here and some substitutes, but I still look forward to having my favorite foods at each visit.

As far as the places, I have always been interested in change. Maybe it is because I have been in the construction industry, I find the transformation of an urban environment or a building being built interesting. To some degree I am also interested in the demolition, but not when the building is worth keeping. So I really like seeing how the city has tranformed or adapted since we were last there. As a kid, I like damming up streams of water, then see how the water would adapt to the situation. Kinda the same thing. But like many places I have been to, you don't need to be there to see the transformation. You just have to return. For the most part places such will remain the same.

Lastly, events are something I miss. Things you can't see unless you are there year round. Mainly summer ones. The Air Show, the Taste, 4th of July fireworks (though they have damn good ones here), the Indy 500, the occasional Cubs playoff, beach volleyball, and watching the lake and it's moods through the year.

As far as what I don't miss, this blog has done fairly well at covering those points. I still have a long list of observations to post. Some deep like the last one, some shallow.

Patriotism

Here's a post with some heavy issues.
What is patriotism? In the dictionary it is called a love and zealous support for one's country. Zeal is defined as intense enthusiasm, ardor, fervor and therefore passion. I bring this up because I have questioned whether I can consider myself patriotic considering my disagreements with the actions taken by the US government and the views expressed by many citizens in the US. Here are my two main sticking points.

First, I believe it was not correct to go into Iraq without a few other major world nations. I believe the world should act together. Going to war should be the last resort. Bush says it was and all other possibilities were exhausted, but I can't say I believe him. The main reason for going to war was to stop the spread of terrorism. Another reason for going to war, if you believe Fahrenheit 911, that it was Bush wanted the oil and to finish what his dad started. I find it very hard now to believe that any action by the government does not have a hidden motive. In Bush's case, it seems everything is directed toward the betterment of big business. War means defense contracts. A war in Iraq means access to their oil supply. They hide behind conservative values and small government, but I believe that is primary motive.

Second, I believe that many people in the US have become xenophobic after 9/11. People seem to have become less accepting of people different from them. I find it disturbing that so many had this reaction. Society had been slowly moving toward acceptance of others, and that event pushed everyone back a few steps. Also, judging by the past election, I do not agree with the values of half the US. The country seems divided sharply between conservative and liberal.

So the question is, can I be patriotic given the two points above? I guess another question is whether being patriotic also means being proud to be an American? Can I be proud to be an American if I don't agree with the foreign policy of the government? The war only reaffirmed the view by many in the world that the US is war hungry or a heavy fisted police power. And if I don't agree with the general psyche of the average American, can I be proud to be an American. I am very proud to be from Chicago and of my family and friends even though we do not share the same views. I am proud of the university that I went to even though I'm sure I don't have the same views as everyone who went there. So can that logic apply to my country. Granted, my family, friends, school, and city did not go to war.

Lilacs

It's that time of year. Lilac trees and bushes seem to be everywhere up here. And they are all now in full bloom. The other day walking home from work, it seemed like the whole neighborhood smelled of lilacs. I'm not sure why they are more popular up here, but it makes for a nice start to the summer.

Thunderstorms

Here is something from Chicago that I would not be able to experience unless I moved back there. The frequency and force of thunderstorms. Science, nature, and therefore natural phenomenon have always been of interest to me. In Chicago we would get about a dozen thunder and lightning storms a summer. Here in Montreal, it seems it is more like one or two. Ironically, we lived in a high rise apartment with an uninterrupted view of the horizon when we first moved here. A great vantage point to watch them roll through at night. But I was only able to see one display during our two summers there. While in Chicago, where we lived only had a limited view of the surrounding sky. Other natural phenomena that I would like to see or experience are volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, and earthquakes. The first of those I would not be able to experience here in Montreal and the other two are pretty rare.

Bicycle!!! Bicycle!!!

They are everywhere. Two wheeled transportation is more popular here than back in Chicago. That includes motorcycles which I will talk about more later. I would have thought with the colder climate that they would be less popular. As long as there is not a significant amount of snow on the ground, the bicycles are out there. I have even seen studded bicycle tires for the first time in my life. If it's raining, there are less out there, but everyone else dresses for it and pedals to their destination. My wife pointed out that there are probably more people biking because people here choose it over running. I have read that hockey players prefer getting exercise on a bike, but I'm not sure if there is a correlation. There are even people dressed nicely for work (suit & tie) who ride their bikes. There seems to be a bike repair shop every few blocks also. As a friend pointed out this weekend, there may be less people wearing helmets, but I could not say either way. Sometimes when you are driving, it can be a bit frustrating sharing the road with so many of them. But since I'm becoming more and more ecologically minded, it's nice to see one less car out there and to see others getting some exercise. I'd join them if I commuted to work alone, but the distance, time, and a two-year old passenger would be difficult to manage.

Obesity

One of the major differences between here and the US is frequency of obesity and the size of people in general. Whereas my weight was considered fairly normal in the US, I tend to be more on the big side here. This is probably more of a US issue than that Quebec is thinner than usual. The three times I returned to the US from living in France, it was the one thing that always stood out and was almost a bit surprising. Just getting off the plane, I immediately noticed the difference. The odd thing was when I was going to France that I did not remark that people were thinner.

Though now living here in Quebec, I do notice the difference in the people I see on the street day to day. I would go as far as saying that the difference is about 20 pounds. If you live in the US and imagine yourself minus twenty pounds, that's the difference. The opposite applies for people here in Quebec. Now there are the normal difference in each population. Suburbanites tend to be bigger than urbanites. People tend to gain weight as they grow older getting that beer belly or whathaveyou. People who go through major crisis sometimes gain weight. And sometimes it really is genetic, though I think many people are trying to use that as an excuse. Not that being overweight is the fault of that person, though measures can be taken.

The people I see that I have still not gotten used to are those with thighs as thin as my upper arm. It just seems unnatural, like they should have trouble walking or something. Thing is it's probably more natural, and maybe just genetic.

What are the reasons? Here's just a few. First the portions you get when you go out to eat are made for one person to eat. They don't give you enough for two meals as it is becoming the trend in the US. Also I am pretty sure there is no supersize here. Second, people seem to exercise more here. I don't think people run for exercise as much, but it seems like bicycles are everywhere. Though I don't know if they are making up for the lack of exercise over the winter. As far as diets, people seem to eat pretty much the same types of food as the US. Lastly, part of it can be genetic. French Canadians tend to be smaller that the rest of Canada from what I know. Or it could be just the dietary tradition.

Unfortunately, after two years here, I still have not followed along with the population and brought my weight down. Hopefully that will change.

Books

Does anyone know of any good books on the history of Montreal or Quebec? Granted I have not had or spent much time looking into it, but the times that I have, there had not been anything concise. I am looking for something in English, mainly so I am sure to understand, and also so I can read it fast. That may be my main problem. We have the historic atlas of Montreal in French which is a great resource. I have looked at Pointe à Cailiere and the Chapters downtown. I would like to learn more about this place like who da heck is Rene Levesque. Or what was the silent revolution? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Corruption

First a superficial topic, then a philosophical one, now a current event.

For those of you who are not keeping up with news from Canada, here is a brief update. A decade ago, the province of Quebec held a referendum to separate from the rest of Canada. It lost by 0.6 percentage points. The government either before or after set up an campaign to promote the Canadian identity in Quebec. Currently there is an investigation into corruption in the campaign involving the dominant political party (the liberals) funneling money back into their coffers. All of this has raised the issues of another election. They had one just last summer. It works differently here. Only the prime minister or the parliment can call for an election and they can do it whenever they want. It has also raised the topic of Quebec separating from Canada again. FYI, the two major political parties in Canada are the Liberals and the Conservatives, then there are two smaller parties, the New Democratic Party and the Quebec Block, then the Green party is very small but growing.

I'll talk about the separation idea later. Corruption is everywhere in our society at all levels. Of course, with large amounts of money it is more tempting. In the US, large corporations is where the money and the power is, so the corruption is there. It filters into government like George W and the Halliburton thing. Big business as government. Here the government holds more power and money because of the socialist system. So it is not surprising that there is corruption there. Now of course corruption also happens in US government and Canadian businesses. My view is that since the corruption here falls inside the government, the people will be held more accountable for their actions. I feel there is corruption in large US businesses that is accepted or is not caught. And don't get me started on the travesty that CEO are making millions while requiring their workers to earn less than the poverty level at minimum wage.

These last two posts have ranted a bit against US capitalism, but after seeing George W last night provide all the PC answers to all the questions kinda got me worked up.

Socialism

A fundamental aspect of society here that reaches into almost every other aspect is the socialist government. I bring this up because I have grown in favor of it since moving here partly as a reaction against capitalism and consumerism. This is because I feel that nobody needs to be earning more than a million a year, much less a quarter of that. Really anything over 50K and you are becoming a major consumer. At the other end, no one who works a full work week should be making less than the poverty level. If you are working, you should be able to provide for your family. Also, those who are at a disadvantage and for legitimate reasons cannot contribute to society (orphans, handicapped, injured, retired) should be provided for by those who have been fortunate to not have suffered any of those. Now, I would not go as far as communism which allows for no rewards for hard work. I think the best option is a government that regulates incomes through taxes so that people fall within a certain range. Yes, everyone would love to be rich, but does a person earning a million a year do work that is twenty times more valuable than what I do? Do they work twenty times harder than I do? Do they use the talents they have been given twenty times more than myself? Do they really need that extra 950K? I feel that consumerism in the US has gotten out of control. The distance between rich and the working class is headed back towards the middle ages of lords and servants. Only now the servants are better off and feel better about themselves because they have things. By bringing these two extremes closer together, people will feel more equal, there will be less animosity, and everyone will feel part of a society. These are aspects I have noticed since coming here and it has been a very nice change.

Beautiful People - Part II

Another long delay between posts. Hopefully that will change.

Anyhow, since posting the previous post, I have had time to think it over further. I do now think the French influence has major role in the people looking better here. In general, I am comparing the people in the center city (Lincoln Park vs. Plateau Mont Royal). Trendy areas with alot of young people. This is because I lived in LP and now drive everyday through PMR.

Now onto less superficial topics.