Last night, I got together with my bro Martin for dinner at Carlos & Pepe. Our favorite (Chilean) waiter Alex was there, and of course immediately recognized us. We hadn’t been together at C&P (with him there to wait us) for a year or two. But we’re old-timers, so naturally he recognized us immediately. The service was (as always) great.

Then, after a mandatory visit to the Apple Store and Second Cup, we went to Club 6/49 (salsa club), where we used to hang out years ago (like, 3+ years). I myself hadn’t been there in ages. Not as much for Martin, but again, for the two of us together, it’d been many many years. It was class night (supposedly advanced, but many of the students were a little too “beginner” to catch even the most basic moves) and Sandra was teaching. She didn’t notice us at first, but then she spotted the both of us at our table near the dance floor. While the students were fumbling through the difficult routine, we started talking

And that was a fun conversation!

Martin & I got into why we hadn’t been there very much for so long (expats in Chile, etc.). That’s when Sandra acted all shocked and excited, because (as it turns out) she’s half-Chilean herself. So of course, we got into a little bit of Spanish, and I tried my best not to sound like a total dork. I think she noticed a slight Chilean accent to my Spanish, which looked like it struck a chord with her. And we talked about our stay in Chile, and the earthquake of 2010, and how much we loved Santiago. I mentioned I missed pisco sours, to which she replied that they HAD pisco at the bar, and the bartender could make us some if we wanted (YAY!).

So yeah, I think our salsa street creds just went WAY up with this. Enough so that a bit later on, Sandra came to our table with three shot classes and served us some good pisco (booyah!).

It’s just one of those nights where things just go your way and make you feel great. So even though I’m going through a tough project ending at work, this is the kind of little thing that makes my week.

J.

Isn’t it cool when snowflakes are so light, and the air so calm, that they just seem to hover in place, wander from side to side, or even just go back up because of a small draft?

I think so.

J.

Delivering a project is kind of like delivering a baby: it hurts like a bi-atch during the process, but once it’s out and a little time has passed, you’re just proud that you’ve done it. And even if your baby is the ugliest thing you’ve ever seen, it’s still YOUR baby and it’s dear to you.

At least that’s how it is for me.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to waddle to the bathroom, my bladder’s about to burst.

J.

…and now the wallet is weak.

My iPad 3 should arrive during the 2nd week of April.

*sigh*

I am a wimp.

J.

Must-see video.

J.

Great weather for St. Paddy’s Day yesterday — in the 20C or better, I think. I got out, wearing my winter jacket, and immediately turned around to get something lighter. Turns out even THAT was too warm, so I walked around in short sleeves for most of the afternoon.

And of course, girls were dressed appropriately for that kind of weather. Which reminds me why I came back to Montreal.

J.

You know you’re getting old when you’re visiting the dentist to have a tooth pulled out. In my case, it was a molar on the side, so it’s not too visible. That took a little over 90 minutes on Friday.

Barbaric as it sounds, they must first CUT the tooth before pulling it out. I don’t mind the sound of the drill as they do it; it’s the smell that bothers me most. It’s just not pleasant. (But then again, you don’t go there for fun.) On the bright side, though, it was utterly painless (until the numbing went away). Gotta give creds to my bro Paul, who’s a maestro at this. (If you need painless dental treatment, let me know, I’ll hook you up.)

So now that THAT’s done, I can start the process of getting by gallbladder removed. Before that, because of the infection in my jaw, it would have been ill-advised to undergo that surgery. It’s still going to take a few more months to heal, but at least I can start the process.

But you know what? Life’s still good. These are little foibles, and they don’t reduce in any way my happiness at being back in Montreal.

J.