Back in Time

Me: "What I really hate is when you play something that you think sounds neat, and then you go, that sounds just like something else."
Neil: "It doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter."

So we left Alec and Alex on the metro, because we didn't want to face the heat and crowds on a day when we would have to leave early, particularly since everyone got to Alec's later than they were supposed to. And the first place we went was Ariel's sanctuary, the Berri-UQAM library. It's four or five floors high, has an extensive music collection, and membership is free. Oh, and it has a revolving door. Guess where I'm going this summer.

After that, we pretty much walked around with no idea where we were going. Upon finding ourselves in the gay village, we sought refuge in a metro station, where we attempted to walk down the 'up' movingsidewalkthing. And then we went to Monkland, and then we went to Isabelle's, where her dad entertained me by playing Thelonious Monk records and giving me E. E. Cummings poetry to read.

We then decided we wanted to go swimming, or rather Kelsey, Ariel, and Isabelle decided they wanted to go swimming. Which, as I should have predicted, resulted in me being dragged into the pool (fully clothed) by Kelsey and Ariel. (And I mean dragged. At least they took my watch off.) So we splashed around there for a bit, then went to the sauna.

Now, I have a problem with heat. I don't like it. But the sauna was fun because we just sat around in there and talked, and I like that. That's what I'll remember later. Talking with friends. Actually, leaving was painful because it brought to my attention just how wet I was. I ended up borrowing Isabelle's entire gym uniform.

Before leaving, Isabelle took us up to the sundeck, thirteen stories high at the top of the building. The view was actually spectacular. I could stay up there all day long. In fact, we did stay up there for a long time -- until some bizarre character on the street below us started yelling at us in thickly accented English to get off the deck. On our way down to the lobby, we ran into the same guy, accompanied by someone who may have been the caretaker, who told us "There is no more sundeck."

Isabelle replied that she had not been aware of this, but the two men didn't seem to take her seriously. Last I saw of them, they were heading up to the roof to "make sure there weren't any more"...obviously these two were not the sort of people to understand peacefully enjoying a view. And whether they had any actual authority over Isabelle is questionable, but better than a fight will be Isabelle's continued insistence on climbing those stairs.

Kelsey decided we were going to walk back to Montreal West from Isabelle's, and Isabelle decided she was going to accompagny us. That works out to walking more than the distance to guitar. It was a very enjoyable walk, actually, though poor Isabelle had to go back on her own. Walking on one's own can do strange things to one's mind, you know.

Then I had guitar, and, well, that was interesting. We didn't actually play a complete song. Right after we tuned, my teacher played a bizarre scale, and right away we started talking about modes. If there's one thing that interests Neil, it's music theory. So that went on for...forty minutes. (My lesson is forty-five, but it frequently goes very overtime.) Then he taught me a progression he came up with one day, and then I left via the fire escape at the back (the front door is blocked due to construction).

I love guitar.

Later on, I discovered how difficult it is to get the paint from the can onto the walls. That was wednesday.

Summer happiness.