Cruel summer

Disini lagi musim festival nih. Sekarang ini lagi ada Francofolies, minggu sebelumnya ada Juste Pour Rire (Just For Laughs), dan minggu sebelomnya ada Jazz Festival. Itu yg gede-gede. Pada saat yg bersamaan, ada festival2 mini seperti Haitian Music Festival dan Les Nuits Afriques. Maklum, lagi summer. Terus terang, gua suka banget summer disini, soalnya gua bisa berkeliaran naek sepeda kemana-mana. One of the most fun things is discovering a nice looking restaurant or cafe in the middle of nowhere. Resenya ya... humidity-nya itu. Mesti mandi dua tiga kali sehari. Ganti kolor dua tiga kali sehari. Numpuk deh yg namanya cucian.

Aaaanyway.

Gua baru pindah nih, by the way. Akhirnya, gua punya tempat tinggal sendiri (dalam artian tinggal sendiri, walaupun masih nyewa) tanpa embel-embel roommates. I live in a small three and a half, a real-estate term here which means a place consisting of three rooms (bedroom, living room and kitchen) plus a bathroom (the half room). One thing I learned from moving to my own place was that moving is expensive. And I'm not only talking about the furnitures. I'm talking about inexpensive little things like a dish sponge, a broom, cleaning products, plates, cups, tea towels, kitchen knife, chopping board, and so on and so forth. In fact, I didn't have to pay much for furniture. The only thing I bought was my bed. The rest, like my coffee tables (x2), bedside drawers, and sofa, I picked up from the street. I love this city.

Except for one insane incident a few weeks ago.

It happened on Avenue Mont-Royal around 10pm. The boyfriend and I just got out of Tim Horton's, the donut shop, and we were walking back towards my place, not too far from there. At the same time, a young man was walking in the opposite direction on the same sidewalk. As we passed each other, I noticed a yellow-coloured something around his neck. Something that moved. Something that ressembled a... a... a... oh for fuck's sake, it was a snake! I screamed my lungs off as soon as I realized what I thought it was. For your information, at this point, I wasn't 100% sure that it was a real snake. I didn't think it was legal to walk around with that thing around your neck (but the shock was so great that I screamed anyway). I mean... hello? We're on a street lined with boutiques, restaurants and cafés! But then the man, hearing my anguish-filled scream, turned around and said, "Don't worry, it's not dangerous!"

My ex-roommate later confirmed that it was indeed a living snake, capable of breaking all the bones in your body (ok, this last point's an exaggeration), because he had seen it at Tam-Tam's, a weekly Sunday event at Parc Mont-Royal. And... as if I wasn't emotionally bruised enough, last week there was another snake-related incident about three blocks away from where I live. A woman discovered a python under her bed, and it was not hers.

So it's confirmed. I live in a neighbourhood that, God knows why, attracts snakes. Alright that's it. I'm going to start sprinkling salt around my windows and doors. Either that, or I'll have to see a shrink and get my phobia fixed.

Never dreamed you'd leave in summer

Two weeks went by without you, and finally, two days ago we met again. Our meeting, let me describe it in two words. Dark chocolate. Our conversation was sweet, and we were sweet to each other. And yet, an air of bitterness hung in the air, above our steaming cups of tea, a quietly persistent reminder of how not too long ago, our conversations were constantly plagued with questions, whose answers I could not bear to hear.

There is someone else I care about now, and for once, I'm going to let my head rule my life. I have placed too much trust in this thing called instinct. And it has let me down.

So I guess, this is where we part. Somewhere on a leafy street, in front of your car, one sunny late afternoon in July.