O Canada

The Great Wave in the photo is in a concourse at SFO. I’ve been in Montreal and Ottawa this week.

The Great Wave was the logo for the Workflow Institute. The world is so chaotic these days, perhaps I should adopt the wave for Internet Time Group. Or the Unworkshops.

When I am on a plane, I generally experience the opposite of the Great Wave. No phones. No appointments. Time to read. Time to reflect. I keep a file on my laptop entitled Aloft. It’s only thoughts that come to me in flight.

This is old Montreal. Charming. Made me feel like I was back in Europe. A new friend gave me a tour. Did you know that Montreal is an island in the St. Laurence River?

Great food in Montreal. I am convinced any food tastes better if you order it in French. Omble chevalier is more appealing than arctic char; it tastes wonderful right off the grill.

Operating in two languageis is bound to create lots of extra work for Canadians. At the conference I was attending, my presentation was interpreted in real time and my PowerPoint slides had been translated into French. The agenda and conference materials were printed in French on one side, English on the other. Even the glossy poster was French on one side, English on the other.

I enjoy reading signs in both languages and striving to pick up the meaning of what’s being said. It’s exotic. While walking in Ottawa a few days after Montreal, I tried to guess the language of passers-by from their appearance. The Francophones retain a touch of the fur trapper spirit: flamboyant, rough-edged, and enthusiastic; the Anglophones are more reserved, conservative, and complacent. I may be totally off on this one, but these oversimplifications helped me pin the language on the pederstrian.
The Tulip Festival was in full bloom in Ottawa.

Back-story: During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Dutch Royal Family lived in Ottawa. Queen Juliana gave birth to Princess Margriet at Ottawa Civic Hospital. Every year, the Dutch send tens of thousands of tulip bulbs to Ottawa in gratitutde.

Learning from Wikipedia: At the 1987 Tulip Festival, 12-year old Alanis Morissette made her first appearance.

One final bit of foolishness: My bed at the Marriott came with enough pillows to host an orgy. Going to sleep involves throwing pillows over the side.