Hungry Ghost's Daily Diet (TM)

Today:

L'enfer c'est les autres - was what I learnt in 1992 from reading Huis Clos. But a quick digression. The play totally fascinated me with its first few lines, which roughly translated went something along these lines:

"...but I don't have my toothbrush"

"Ah, the vanity of men..."

And just thinking about these words have put me in such a sudden good mood that I'm not going to describe what petty little thing that happened at work today, nor the little people who made life just a bit hellish. The actual machinations were petty, but the instigator of the chicanery was not. In fact, this person is the very high up in the administrative staff the spawn of Voldermort, and really should know better.

Let's just say that despite being denied the access pass, the student in question got around the problem of the locked doors by putting a pen into the works of the door. Literally so the doors stayed open.

Glorious, I had a good chuckle at the ingenuity of the student in question. He will go far. He shows initiative, has a healthy disregard for petty officialdom and is determined enough that a locked door will not stop him.

The Voldermort and dementors of our building will not prevail - this is why I carry a stash of chocolate around with me, it's the best antitode against the evil that lurks in the hallway and lifts of our building.

I'm keeping too many late nights at the moment, but how to help this - the film festival is still on and I've got a few more to watch.

Tuesday night was Les 3 P'tits Cochons, un film de Patrick Huard, which undoubtedly was one of the funniest and poignant films about the imperfections of life, our best intentions gone astray, the mistakes we make and just, as one of the characters says, "La vie, c'est tough" although he could also have added, that sometimes it's assez fun.

Don't let the description of the movie put you off. It's about three brothers whose mother is in the hospital, and how all three of them deal with their various entanglements and their need for sex - same sequence of events, but seen from their three perspectives. Uniformly good acting and a high energy film that could really only have come from Quebec; I can't see the French making such a movie.

The situations, the use of English slang at the most unexpected, but oh so appropriate moments, reminded me of the summer in Montral when everyone goes a little bit crazy in the heat and humidity after a long winter and (probably) a cool and very short spring. Goodness, it was a good film and to think I almost missed it because I was feeling tired after a day staring at the computer.

Wednesday - that was yesterday wasn't it? A little bit crazy at work mostly because of a last-minute presentation that I had forgotten about. Also a meeting where I was suddenly stuck into another committee where I shall have to remain silent and polite. The presentation went well enough, although not quite up to the standards I normally like to maintain. Ah well. Sometimes, you just have to let go and this was one of those times.

Didn't make it to the 6:30 run, which has returned to the Roundhouse, but managed to get a 40 minute run in anyway. MB, who was also working late, dropped by on his way home so we ran each other and entertained (well I less than he) delusions aspirations of completing a sub-40 10K. I snorted at the time, but later found out from PJ that it was quite reasonable to do a sub-40 10K...gulp. Hmmm. I rather suspect that some hard running is ahead of me now although I shall aspire to a sub-50 first. Then work my way down the timing ladder. That or I could just lie about my times. Or get a ringer. Chocolate milk drunk and limbs stretched, MB went his way with Francis Cornish.

I on the other hand joined the two DWs, JB, ML, G, PT and NB for eats at Milestones - which incidentally has redecorated in the most awful way possible. Then went and visited with DW¹, CA and JB at Toro's place for a while. They watched telly - Gossip Girl, some new show, which was quite frankly quite incomprehensible to me. What is it about telly these days - they get 30 year olds to play high school kids who are scheming to get into the Ivy League Schools. Just ridiculous, no wonder we all have a distorted image of ourselves.

Today was more of the same at work except I've found this really, really, really neat and fun game. Basically, you wait until WD is working on one of her excel files with a bajillion numbers that she has to focus really hard on. You go up to her chair and push the down lever so the seat sinks taking her down with it so that her chest is parallel with the desk. She'll swear at you, but she can't do a damn thing because she's can't lose her place on the spreadsheet. It's fun. Don't feel too sorry for her, she's whined succesfully at me to get her muffins and coffee too many times.

Tonight another movie - Breakfast with Scot (with one T). Excellent adaptation of Michael Downing's novel. Excellent, can't say enough good things about this one either. But some other time.

For now, I have to do as Mr. Pepys says, and away to bed I go. Tomorrow - 8 am. Dentist. Fix the damn crown finally.