25 Things About Me

1. There is 15 years between me and my next sibling. I'm kinda like a footnote in my family's history.
2. I don't like to cook.
3. I quit high school to travel as a musician across Québec in the 80's, and studied jazz composition and arranging in Toronto before giving it all up to become a clerk in a stock brokerage. Weird huh? See #19 below.
4. Writing is one of the more painful activities I participate in. I love it.
5. I can't spell or tpye.
6. I love newspapers. (My faves these days are Montréal's La Presse, the Ottawa Citizen, of course the New York Times, London's Daily Telegraph, and Paris' Le Figaro)
7. I have travelled all over Canada (every province and territory except for Newfoundland, the Yukon and Nunavut ... so far), as well as to many parts of the U.S., Scotland, Ireland, Central America, Australia and, just recently, Mexico. And I'm not done yet.
8. I am an anglophone, which is, unfortunately, a declaration I feel I have to make these days. The ethnic police in Québec are patrolling the streets again.
9. I am a Quebecker. I consider myself to be a "Québecophile." I am fluently bilingual, have a weakness for French-Canadian women, live in Québec by choice (which makes me kinda unique among anglos) and consider myself a Québécois (even if most of the pure laines would disagree). But I really wish I could feel fully at-home here.
10. I am proud to be Canadian.
11. I see no contradiction in #8 and #9.
12. I see no contradiction in #9 and #10.
13. I drink way too much coffee.
14. The only thing I have ever won was a jar of jelly beans in Grade 3 for having correctly guessed how many jelly beans there were.
15. I am of Irish, English and French descent, with roots in Québec going back to 1632, and a descendant of Louis Hébert, considered to be the first farmer in la Nouvelle-France.
16. I spend far too much time defining myself by my labels, categories and identity. But I'll keep doing it.
17. My politics are on, what I call, "The Sustainable Left." This usually puts be in line with the Liberals, both provincially and federally, although not always (I voted ADQ in the last provincial election, as did a couple of other people, and federally, well, what choice did I have?)
18. Holy crap, I'm way more political than I thought!
19. So, ya, as I was saying, I'm a musician. Well, I used to be. I quit high school to play in rock bands all over Québec and Ontario. Eventually went back to school and did a year's worth of training in sound engineering and production, then a 3 year diploma in Commerical Music composition and arranging at Humber College in Toronto. I've played all sorts of music, and even came to close to stardom a couple of times. I met my guitar hero Rik Emmett and jammed with him at his house until 1 a.m., and almost joined his band after he split from Triumph. I also ran into the amazing studio player Bob Mann and took lessons from him for a bit. I even sat in for him for a bit at a gig in Toronto. I also played in a band called "Teeth" with Hugh Dillon, Trent Carr and Mark Gibson, who eventually became The Headstones. Today, I don't play as much, but I still try to approach the world as a musician.
20. I have no idea either what it means to "approach the world as a musician."
21. I detest only one thing: brussel sprouts.
22. Among the famous people I have met are former Ontario Premier Bob Rae, former Sex Pistol John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten), and, uhm, ok, that's all. An interesting pair though don't ya think? Bob and Johhny? There's also Roméo Dallaire and NDP Leader Jack Layton.
23. Despite my pride in being Canadian and a Quebecker, and my engagement in political questions, I firmly believe that we must learn to let go of our attachments to our nationalities, as a means of differentiating us from everyone else. We must learn to be One World.
24. I miss my kids. And don't understand why fathers are somehow less important than mothers, and are instead seen as simply a source of money for Mom to spend as she wants.
25. I realize no one really cares about any of this!! And if you've read this far, you REALLY need a hobby!

More as I think of things. Or make them up...