Qui m'aime me suive
I just read those were the words of Philippe VI de Valois in 1328. It's an expression I think of every so often. I was happy to organize a skating party with some non-busy friends last night. The expression helps me to understand some things.I am not sure of the English equivalent, but I often think about it at the same time as the Mexican dicho 'el intéres tiene pies.'

Here is a video of the skating rink last night.

Cool videos

Some friends of a friend made this video about a month ago, and I could have been in it but had made other plans. Regardless it is fun to watch. CLOWNS: binder flipping fun with Sea Water Bliss. Enjoy and happy new year !

A friend just told me about another site that's quite interesting too. Animations by Elisabeth Beliveau.

Remembering Spain
Last year at this time I was in Spain. To have a Spanish experience this year in October we hosted a San Froilan themed housewarming party. St. Froilan is native to and patron saint of the city of Lugo in Galicia. There it is a huge party with medieval costumes, wine, and octopus. Ours had the essentials, and the added bonus was an octopus piñata.

A new vent

The furnace company was supposed to come yesterday, but they didn't. Instead the landlord came. He went upstairs into my roomate's room and closed the door. From downstairs she heard loud sawing noises. When he left she found a new hole in the floor behind the door. Old house and home repair jobs seem to be our heating problem. Good thing it has warmed up to a nice 'balmy' -17 C today.

An Early New Year's celebration

In 2009 I celebrated the New Year three times. First at the beginning of January, then at the end of January for the Chinese New Year, and finally mid-March for Norooz the Iranian New Year. Mid-October I started celebrating 2010 with Diwali the East Indian New Year. To surprise my roommate Jayshree, my sister and I made a chalk rangoli on the basement floor. Then I went to Bollywood Sunday at the Broadway theatre with Jayshree to watch a very entertaining film called 'Dil Bole Hadippa' (Heart Goes Hurrah). Following this we had a couple of meals with curries, chapatis, papadum, chai tea, and other tasty things I don't even remember the names of. We tried some Bollywood dancing and were dressed up in saris. Another fun film we watched was called: 'Kuch Kuch Hot Hain'. You might be able to watch clips of these films on Youtube.

Quote from Education Building wall

"Exceptional teachers teach naked 'bare yourself' "

Too cold to bike?

I think it was about -35 C this morning. I bundled up with my ski mask and winter clothes. I had a few errands to run, since I lost my wallet last Saturday evening. I stopped a couple of places and then went accross the bridge to drop a book off at the University library. My toes were very cold, so I decided to stay a while and mark some papers there. When I finally got to work I went to take my metal water bottle, but it was cracked. It seems today was the end of my Regina Delta Devils Dragon Boat team water bottle. Also maybe a sign I should start taking the bus.

The shoes come out of the box

Finally after almost a year of sitting in a shoe box I wore the Flamenco dance shoes I bought in Madrid last January. A childhood friend was in town giving a Flamenco dance workshop and I got to wear my shoes. They felt a little small, but it was fun to wear them and learn some steps for a Tientos dance. Apparently 'Youtube' is great for videos to learn Flamenco rhythms.

Hidden treasure

Last Thursday night the landlord came over to look into the heating problem in the upstairs bedrooms. He pulled out a small teddy bear, some underwear, a magazine, and other random objects his son had pushed into the vent. It's nice to finally feel some heat coming into my bedroom.