Elgan speaks
...and her words thunder across the land

How to pack a day�s worth of activities into a day.

Monday, May 2, 2005
8:12 p.m.
As hubby was on his way out the door this morning, I asked him if he would try to start the Volvo, which has been sitting idle on the driveway since it died on me on April 2 last. Several attempts at getting it started were in vain, but somehow the spark caught, and I had to cut a conversation with j-leem short so that I could jump in it and drive it to the garage, where I left it so that whatever was the problem could be fixed and the summer tires put on. Nancy (the receptionist and daughter of the establishment--talk about a family affair) very kindly gave me a lift back to town (L�ville from Sh�brooke) where I dropped off a video tape and my taxes at the post office and walked back to the university, from where I picked up the Subaru (which also needs some attention: the windshield wipers are acting very strange) so that I could drive to the Carrefour (that�s the mall, for you guys who are unfamiliar with our local lingo).

Hubby had ordered a CD called Liquid Tensi0n, which had arrived and which I retrieved from HMV, and I also dropped into Radi0 Shack and bought a headset to try out with Skype. Zitagsd and I had tried out this program a few days ago, and I found that the microphone and speakers in the computer just were not satisfactory for the job. Maybe this will work better. While in the store, the gentleman who served me, obviously not from around here as evidenced by his charming French accent, and I had a lively conversation en fran�ais, of course (he actually complimented me, saying that he wished his English were as good as my French), about how Qu�becois French is a living, evolving language, in spite of Bill 101, as opposed to how it is stagnating in France because of the iron fist of l�Acad�mie Fran�aise. This is not the first time French people have complained to me of this phenomenon. It is primarily in the area of technology that it is most evident. In France, they say courrier �l�ctronique or email; in Quebec they say courriel. That�s just one example.

Anyway, since I was at the mall, I decided to do the length of the place (as well as the height), and actually bought a white, cotton/spandex fitted blazer with 3/4-length sleeves, knocked down to $40 from $65, as well as a half-slip (something I have been needing forever) and a white camisole with a touch of lace that would look darling under said jacket. I figure that when I�m trying to lose weight I�m eating less, hence spending less on food. I have to do something with that excess cash!

Then I hit Costco where I bought stuff (I only meant to get mineral water, but, well, you know how it is) and then went home, had a nap, and started heading out the door to drop off an umbrella for Hubby and pick Patsy up for belly dancing. The phone rang. Doesn�t it always, just as you�re headed out? It was my garagiste informing me that the summer tires for the Volvo are shot and need to be replaced. Do I really want to spend $400 on new tires for a car that we are thinking more and more we should unload? Really now? I said I would inform my husband, who would call him back with our decision. Then I headed out the door.

We arrived at baladi to find that there was no teacher. Thinking she was perhaps just late, one of the more enterprising members of the class began the warmups, and we spent some time just going over various basic movements. Finally someone got ahold of Lise and informed us that she was ill and had been unable to find anyone else to take the class, so it was cancelled. So Patsy and I put on our coats, and I took her home. As I crossed the river, I saw Hubby walking home on the bridge, so I picked him up and drove him the rest of the way. Talk about good timing.

This has been a very long and boring description of my day, and if you have stayed with me this far, you are to be congratulated on your tenacity and dedication. As a reward for your perseverence, I will tell you that today�s mail brought many fun things, including Hubby�s DVD set of �The BIues� directed by Martin Sc0rsese, my order of Murchie�s No. 22 Blend tea, and both our cheques from the CPO, his for the balance of the symphony, mine for the copying. We�re rich! Woo hoo!

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