Good Week.. Good Weekend (I Hope)
It's been a pretty darned good week.
Let's start with Wednesday... We've been hiring people left and right in the Marketing department. One of the most recent hires, this dude named Bernard is kind of an interesting individual. For instance, I've had to work with him on rebuilding the phone tree, but beyond that, I have no idea what the fuck his job is! Well Wednesday, Bernard, Marc-Andre (who is a director in the Marketing department) and I grabbed lunch together. We went to this place called Boris Bistro which was an outdoor place, rated one of the best terrasses (terrace for the rest of humanity) in Montreal. It was 'reasonably' priced for a nice lunch in Old Montreal. I paid like $30 for a Buffalo Steak, French Fries that were fried in Duck Fat, and Creme Brulee. It was the first time I had ever had a steak made out of Buffalo (or Bison) meat. It was nice and tasty. Service was good too, but it was pricey. Either way, while we were eating, Marc-Andre and I got to hear about Bernard's "life-decision" 5 years ago to never wear ties again. We also heard about how he never used to drink coffee until he spent some time in Italy and brought back an espresso machine. And not just any espresso machine... This one is hand operated and learning how to brew with it takes months to get it just right. He also told us that he goes to this specific coffee shop in town and how he has the guy there grind the beans to a specific texture so everything is "just right". Whoa... There's a dude with way too much time on his hands. But Marc-Andre and I will probable eat with this dude a few times a week going forward just for the stories!
Then came Thursday. The day of the "big meeting". There are a few moments in my professional career that I can say were truly rewarding. This was probably the most. The Sales VP, myself and our GM met to discuss what was going on. The stuff he started with is exactly what he's been pulling with me for the last 6 months. That got put to rest early on. It was extremely amusing to watch someone practically self-destruct. Kind of like in the 'Untouchables' where the dude got snuffed in the elevator and gangster wrote on the wall in his blood "TOUCHABLE". That was kind of the realization that happened Thursday. Going into it I was confident that things would change for the better, but I figured I'd have to do at least a little compromising on my part, but that wasn't the case. It was win win for me. The part that was even better was how his sales reps on Wednesday were all confident that it was going to be my head on a platter. Well next week is going to be a bit of an eye-opener for them. So that was the icing the on the cake.
What else? umm. oh yeah.. I'll be coming back to Massachusetts for meetings on Monday. I was supposed to fly into Boston but a flight from Montreal to Boston was like $900. The company would obviously pay for it, but it comes out of my budget and since I have P&L responsibility, I figure I'll drive for a fraction of that price. And when I drive, the mileage reimbursement means I'll make a couple of extra bucks. Works for me. So I'll probably leave sometime Sunday, hit up a few local establishments back home and go into the office first thing Monday AM. Pretty cool.
As for today... It's raining out again. I'm just going to take it easy. The Mirror, which is one of our local free rags (kind of like The Advocate) has their annual Best of Montreal ratings. They're kind of like the Advocate's Best Of The Valley or Best Of Springfield. I'm going to review them today and provide you with a summary of some of the more interesting findings.
One thing that's a little interesting is today's Gazette. I haven't read it just yet but you can bet I will in a few. The front page headline says "Sovereignty 'Quebec Paradox'". It also has a big graph telling me that if an election were held today 54% of Quebecers would vote for Quebec becoming it's own separate country. There's been all kinds of political turmoil and uncovered scandals talked about mainstream recently and as all this has been going on, the discussion of Quebec separating from the rest of Canada has gained some momentum. That could be good and it could be bad. Good in that I enjoy a little political turmoil now and then. Bad in that from what I understand, the only reason anything in Quebec is in English is because the rest of Canada speaks English. Quebec would want to become a 100% French speaking country. That would have some negative impact. Also... Unlike events down south 140 years ago, there'll be no spectacular battles or anything should Quebec secede. Canadians are too lazy to really give a shit. The one thing though, if that happens, my stay up here will be limited as I don't have any desire to put up with the bs that would ensue should that happen. I doubt it will, but well, we'll see. I'll keep you all posted on what transpires.
That's it for now. Check back later. I'll be reviewing The Best of Montreal!
Let's start with Wednesday... We've been hiring people left and right in the Marketing department. One of the most recent hires, this dude named Bernard is kind of an interesting individual. For instance, I've had to work with him on rebuilding the phone tree, but beyond that, I have no idea what the fuck his job is! Well Wednesday, Bernard, Marc-Andre (who is a director in the Marketing department) and I grabbed lunch together. We went to this place called Boris Bistro which was an outdoor place, rated one of the best terrasses (terrace for the rest of humanity) in Montreal. It was 'reasonably' priced for a nice lunch in Old Montreal. I paid like $30 for a Buffalo Steak, French Fries that were fried in Duck Fat, and Creme Brulee. It was the first time I had ever had a steak made out of Buffalo (or Bison) meat. It was nice and tasty. Service was good too, but it was pricey. Either way, while we were eating, Marc-Andre and I got to hear about Bernard's "life-decision" 5 years ago to never wear ties again. We also heard about how he never used to drink coffee until he spent some time in Italy and brought back an espresso machine. And not just any espresso machine... This one is hand operated and learning how to brew with it takes months to get it just right. He also told us that he goes to this specific coffee shop in town and how he has the guy there grind the beans to a specific texture so everything is "just right". Whoa... There's a dude with way too much time on his hands. But Marc-Andre and I will probable eat with this dude a few times a week going forward just for the stories!
Then came Thursday. The day of the "big meeting". There are a few moments in my professional career that I can say were truly rewarding. This was probably the most. The Sales VP, myself and our GM met to discuss what was going on. The stuff he started with is exactly what he's been pulling with me for the last 6 months. That got put to rest early on. It was extremely amusing to watch someone practically self-destruct. Kind of like in the 'Untouchables' where the dude got snuffed in the elevator and gangster wrote on the wall in his blood "TOUCHABLE". That was kind of the realization that happened Thursday. Going into it I was confident that things would change for the better, but I figured I'd have to do at least a little compromising on my part, but that wasn't the case. It was win win for me. The part that was even better was how his sales reps on Wednesday were all confident that it was going to be my head on a platter. Well next week is going to be a bit of an eye-opener for them. So that was the icing the on the cake.
What else? umm. oh yeah.. I'll be coming back to Massachusetts for meetings on Monday. I was supposed to fly into Boston but a flight from Montreal to Boston was like $900. The company would obviously pay for it, but it comes out of my budget and since I have P&L responsibility, I figure I'll drive for a fraction of that price. And when I drive, the mileage reimbursement means I'll make a couple of extra bucks. Works for me. So I'll probably leave sometime Sunday, hit up a few local establishments back home and go into the office first thing Monday AM. Pretty cool.
As for today... It's raining out again. I'm just going to take it easy. The Mirror, which is one of our local free rags (kind of like The Advocate) has their annual Best of Montreal ratings. They're kind of like the Advocate's Best Of The Valley or Best Of Springfield. I'm going to review them today and provide you with a summary of some of the more interesting findings.
One thing that's a little interesting is today's Gazette. I haven't read it just yet but you can bet I will in a few. The front page headline says "Sovereignty 'Quebec Paradox'". It also has a big graph telling me that if an election were held today 54% of Quebecers would vote for Quebec becoming it's own separate country. There's been all kinds of political turmoil and uncovered scandals talked about mainstream recently and as all this has been going on, the discussion of Quebec separating from the rest of Canada has gained some momentum. That could be good and it could be bad. Good in that I enjoy a little political turmoil now and then. Bad in that from what I understand, the only reason anything in Quebec is in English is because the rest of Canada speaks English. Quebec would want to become a 100% French speaking country. That would have some negative impact. Also... Unlike events down south 140 years ago, there'll be no spectacular battles or anything should Quebec secede. Canadians are too lazy to really give a shit. The one thing though, if that happens, my stay up here will be limited as I don't have any desire to put up with the bs that would ensue should that happen. I doubt it will, but well, we'll see. I'll keep you all posted on what transpires.
That's it for now. Check back later. I'll be reviewing The Best of Montreal!
posted by Surviving In The Burbs at 5/14/2005 09:07:00 AM
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