J'aime Montréal

S had a wonderful idea – theoretically at least. And in her defense how was she to know that it would pour. A road trip was a wonderful suggestion to celebrate her birthday – so healthy bond inducing. Montreal was the chosen city. The date was agreed upon (and changed – thanks to me) and the peepz confirmed, including D. My oh my! That was the first of many anomalies.

On my end, M was apprehensive about the trip. I abruptly discovered the Type 2 Diabetes thing on Tuesday of that week. And started a new med on that very same day. On Wednesday, my body seemed to be rejecting the meds and I was concerned enough to hit the walk in at queen and spadina. SO, M’s trepidation was acceptable given the situation. But I desperately needed it. A couple days where the focus was on anything else but me and my dysfunctionality. He was sweet though. Endearingly so.

He explained his fear to me, rationally and in a very M-esque manner. And I understood. Once again, my boy was fighting to hold on to me. Fighting to protect me. And fighting to make sure that he could guarantee my safety. I love it. I’m so loved and so blessed ( I know I know, its getting quite redundant – but I can’t help it folks – its awesome to be loved so much- a part of me is certain that there has been some kinda colossal mistake that GOD made – I couldn’t possibly deserve so much love in one lifetime).

We left after the others and drove up in our trusty civic. The drive was memorable to say the least – I got some shut eye, we talked, laughed until I nearly peed my undies, discussed things until they resembled dead horses and cuddled the entire way. He’s lovable. And adorable. And loves me. Gosh darn it; I couldn’t possibly get any luckier.

The rain descended upon old-world Montreal leaving it grey, wet and dreary looking. It was all right though, cuz we sat in the car for a bit and just chillaxed. That’s when the group arrived. And the weekend became a slight blur from that point on.

I’ve probably mentioned this many a time – I love M’s friends. They are the sweetest, most passionate group of people – each with a personality that is larger than life. It’s so easy to immerse yourself in great conversation and hysterics with the lot of them. Thankfully, S liked her birthday gift. I was wiling out about the Guess bag – I mean gosh, it was bronze with snake skin – and since B grimaced when he saw it – I was certain that my shopping intuition had failed me. But yeah, it still works. Kinks and all.

We decided to hit the Casino. My first time. The energy was unbelievable. It was a gorgeous building. Architecturally awe-inspiring. But then again, most of Montreal looks like it were designed by a group of European artists – everything oozes of old world charm and culture. I love it. God damnit, why can’t the Tdot be more like that. I blew $20 on the slots. Not a big deal. It wasn’t hugely fun. I won some, lost some, won some more and finally played to lose cuz I was incredibly bored. I had such a good time watching the little Elvis impersonators though. Not that they were little people – like midgets but little as in cute and cool. They were awesome – period costumes met period music and brought forth good times. I loved it. Oh and the stereotypes about seniors and casinos – so true. I got beat down by an old woman who tried to jump the escalator before me. What did she use? You guessed it – her god damn bag. Could it get more clichéd than that?

After the casino, we hit an urban club. Urban being the word that night. The DJ had ADD. He couldn’t decide what to play and once he threw something on – he killed it by either interrupting it with another tune or his own unintelligible voice. The crowd was ghetto. A bunch of youngin’s trying really hard to emulate all them hip hop music videos. A bunch of inappropriately timed bumps mixed in with a few badly designed grindin sessions and you had a club filled with frenchies who had no rhythm. Needless to say the Tdot massive was peeeeved. I had an okay time. But then again, all my hoey ass needs is some beats and it does its own thang. Sad but true people. In my old age, im still a big club-hoe. I don’t plan on giving that up anytime though – I plan on being a ‘dance like nobody’s watching’ minx until gravity does its number on me and things start to hang to my knees. That’s the cut off point. Once my tits touch my ankles – I solemnly swear to resign my dancing shoes.

The Chinese food after the club was niiiice. N took great care of me. She is so effin nurturing that it makes me envious. I mean think about it folks – she doesn’t hide the fact that she’s a princess, loves to shop, is totally feisty, unbelievably charismatic and NURTURING? Gawd. I hate those nearly perfect people. But then again, the entire group is blessed with just enough of everything – that’s what makes them - them. Either way – hate pushed aside, N took care of me. Made sure I had something to eat in the smoke filled restaurant.

Okay – in Toronto you can’t even smoke in the doorway to a patio without a burly know-it-all bouncer butting it out. In Montreal – they’ve got great architecture, awesome cobble stone pathways, the most romantic waterfront and you can friggin smoke inside a restaurant. ALL THE TIME. EFFIN CLAP. I wanna move to Montreal.

Now.

Anyways, a couple verbal altercations later – we hit the sack. I slept like a baby despite the fact that J was snoring loud enough to wake the sleeping giants that live under the bridge or so I was told the morning after. I heard noises in my head – which apparently I also made out loud. Embarrassing yes. But was I sorry? Nah. I was just glad that M was there to hold my head close.

Breakfast was yummy. And then it was off to Raman’s. His kids are adorable. I think I actually heard the slight whirr of that dreaded biological clock. I mean gosh, something stirred in my cardio-arterial region and I involuntarily sighed. They are the cutest little people. Personalities and all. It was good to see him. And it felt good to introduce him to M – after all, dude is definitely a cornerstone on Amma’s side of the gang. It was refreshing to my spirit. I hope that their lives are filled with delight and utter goodness – pure in its sanctity.

The drive home was sweet. The trip was tiring. I vowed that sometime this summer – the home crew would most definitely plan a weeklong trip to MTL. A trip to absorb the culture. A trip to expand our souls. A trip to experience a European lifestyle on a budget. I love MTL.

And sure, the trip was filled with sniffles, flared tempers and general scuffles – but that’s half the fun of traveling with family. It’s not so much the way you interact with people during the awesome times but the way you hold them close during the rough ones. Everyone is allowed to have an off day or two and nobody is perfect. And when you love people as much as the group seems to love each other – everything is forgivable. And in time, ouchies become bygones.

The crew (M&C, N&J, S&P) is gearing up for their week long sojourn in Mexico. I’m envious people – green – a putrid green at that. But I sincerely hope that they have a fun filled week to celebrate all their many accomplishments and changes in the last year. They most definitely deserve it.

And me? I’m just glad that the back-blogging is done. Starting tomorrow – this blog will return to featuring my daily rants, raves and emotionally driven doodoo. After all, for some of you – I have become part of the daily morning routine. And for others, what the heck are you waiting for??

Be blessed.

MTL – we will return.