Hey readers of the François Collins Blog and those who are wondering what is going on with me. Well I have been well without the internet and without time to really get to the basics of writing. I have been working on a trying to write and other things while I am in the country. I have been busy meditating and reading. Really. A few things have been really good to work with. On the subject with my book. Well on my birthday (this Tuesday) I am meeting Marie-Claire Blais to talk about my book and give her my pitch. I am in a way really nervous so I haven't really thought I could do it.
I am enjoying the countryside but at times it gets really boring just not doing anything without the internet. I have my own computer to write things but I think its better to post things here. Well I am enjoying Montreal, but I am also getting the stranger feeling that both me and my grandmother are getting old. She had to sit on every bench we saw and she was so frequently out of breathe, so was I after the last 4 benches.
I went to see a concert, at the park near her and boy did I feel like young it was full of geratrics. I never felt so bored at the concert. But I went cause my grandmother thought it would be a pleasure. The music, was in French, which I didn't have a problem understanding but I just thought the music was even terrible. I liked classic songs and music like Nat King Cole or Duke Ellington, but this was before there time. I do like some classic french songs from Edith Piaf and Fernandel and Jacques Brell but this was just crap. I told my grandmother I really felt out of place being so young and she even told me this was before her own time. So that says a lot for a woman who is 78.
While I was also in Montreal, 2 weeks ago I went to the Gay Pride Festival. That was pretty fun and all the gay guys looked like Malcolm. Tall with bald heads and with canes. The young gays were all like uptight preppy boys. It was just funny. I did feel out of my element, being straight, but I did enjoy seeing the hot lesbian women who were my age not the butch types who were mom's age. While at the festival, I did get an endless supply of condoms. Which of course, made me feel as if I was back in Ottawa and the Condom Fairy. (long story) but will tell it when I am back in Houston. But I have a lot of condoms one for every season as I told my own grandmother. She even laughed at the terrible joke. I was shocked.
I realized my grandmother and I have a lot of things in common, both of us feel like we are out of our own elements and that we sometimes don't get why people think this way or that way. My grandmother has really become an allies and she is a real friend for treating me as an equal, at times though she does have to give that motherly precaucion stuff that mom doesn't really do but tries to. She did sow my army jacket the patches I bought , so that was cool Now I can wear the jacket with my patches and look sharp. She also bought me my CanAm Pin that I was so looking for. So it looks cool on my jacket. The only downside of my grandmother is that she has slowly become slower in doing things and she won't change things. I guess I am kind of like that.
While I am spending the last two days with her I am going to make them best for her. So she will be happy to see me when she goes to Houston in November.
I am enjoying the countryside of Kingsbury. The mountains and the fresh clean air has really brighten my spirits and made me heavily enjoy the beauty of things. I do like that I am treated as a normal person and that I am not a member of the family but as a guest. The countryside and my rock where I have done my meditations has really been great. I find the weather at times unbelievably hot and the house has no Air Conditioning so I am stuck sweating like a pig. So I cool off in my room that has an electric fan and just plop on my comfy bed. I tend to sleep until 7 am by the time the sun hits the sheets its like oops I gotta get up. That is perfect for me, cause I need to get to the habit of getting up early so I can practice my meditation when I am in Houston before the humidity hits. The meditation I know this sounds stupid but it really works. I haven't had many achy muscles and I do feel more refreshed. Its not really a meditation but more of a dialogue with nature. I do this every morning and if I didn't do it in the morning I do it in the afternoon after I eat my lunch. The best part of my morning meditation is that I am totally at peace and though sometimes the flies drive me crazy with them buzzing all around me, I do close my eyes and try to relax. Its a simple thing I learned while reading the Dharma Bums.
I think I am becoming more spiritual while I have been here so I think that will surprise my parents when they see me. I won't be chanting around airports or going to be an extremist but more of an alert spirit and human. My head really does do wonders when I allow my mind to wonder. I still take a lot of medication but I am slowly learning that meditation has helped.
The downsides of being in the country is that I am usually bored and I get tired if I work to hard. I get this feeling that I am attached to something then ten minutes later I feel like boy that was boring. I tend to feel this way for a long time. The countryside is peaceful and the people I am staying with Therese and Stephane are really cool with me and they allow me to do my meditation without interupting them. I also have tried to help in what I could. Though I am enjoying my stay its kind of boring with there is no t.v. and listening to the same radio station everyday. I tend to realize yup I am in the country and I need to stretch.
I have been working on my project that I started but never finished when I was in Houston. My script. I spent half of yesterday writing at least 20 pages of script. Its pretty good and I am going to continue on Monday but today I am taking a break. Its the weekend, even though everyday seemed to be a weekend.
But today we are supposed to go the city of Sherbrooke which is supposed to be fun but I have a feeling I am going to be following them where ever they go and be stuck with an invisible kiddie leash. I want to explore the city myself and see what they have to offer.
Well I am going to take a break. I'll write more later.