Distant Dreamer

The airport

2009-07-12T00:47:00.000-07:00

I have finally arrived. There were a few complications with the logistics of the flight itself. It was my first time travelling international with Air Canada...and probably the last time! I am thankful that they were transparent about cancelling our flight due to mechanical vibrations in the plane...Although the way they organized the flight changes was a complete fiasco. I am yet still surprised of how all still was being operated:

- All passengers had to embark at the next gate, and everyone would be called by name to get a new boarding pass + new seat;

- all of a sudden, people were being called by rows to abord the plane (apparently a new boarding pass was supposed to be obtained at the previous gate...);

- a bunch of us are at the initial gate, but only to be dissapointed (we were about 50 people who couldn't get on the next plane, because APPARENTLY there were no seats left for us!)

After all this fiasco, the plane which was supposed to leave at 18:10, was scheduled to leave at 23:00! I had to change, and no phone... I released my stress out by munching slowly on my $8.00 tuna sandwhich, which I had bought with the compensation voucher given to us.

My plan was to get on the plane and sleep right away...but now I had another 4 hours to go through...I tried to make small talk with some of the passengers, but most people were so dissapointed and eager to fly that the small talks were more a sweet medicine for our sour feelings. (A French lady who's retiring from Air Canada, complaining about the company and Montreal winters and not wanting to visit her mother in France...)

Thankfully, the flight was smooth, and the flight attendants were very accomodating.

A few hours later, I finally hop in my cousin's little red renault. The trip begins...

Departure

2009-07-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

6 months have passed, and the wait is almost over. My rate of excitement would vary during this period; between spurs of intense joy to spontaneous desires of wanting to change my flight for an earlier date. All this to say, I am now at peace with these palpitating feelings.

It's now time to sit back, and enjoy the flight...

Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz

2009-01-09T22:49:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to write about this book for quite some time, but never found the inspiration to do so.

Until today, this subject came up by a friend of mine.

"Why is our generation facing a higher level of unhappiness compared to other generations ?"

This question dawned on me at first. We can be unhappy about certain choices made in life by us or by others, certain events that occur around the world, or by inaction placed towards these actions.

In some ways or another, yes it might be true that we see today's generation as being more unhappy than others. Although, maybe it is more apparent today because of how explicitly we can express ourselves; not only the way we express ourselves is done more explicitly, but the message can be spread more rapidly, from a local to an international scale. This is largely due to our current communications technologies, such as the internet, and let's not forget about our infamous television and radios.

There was a time when only men were able to speak up about their thoughts freely in public. There was a time when human beings were not even exposed to what we call today "democracy" (I put this term in quotations marks since the term can debatable in certain parts of the world). There was also a time, when men and women faced rather simplistic and fundamental life choices that mainly revolved around marriage, having a family and work.

Today, we are swamped by choices and endless opportunities.

I will take this opportunity to mention about this book (one of the many) that I am currently reading: the Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz.

Schwartz explains how most people today are unhappy, which is partly due to the fact that we CONSTANTLY re-evaluate the choices we make. We compare the choices we make in life with other potential alternatives. Why? Because we want to MAXIMIZE our level of happiness.

Even though we think that we might have made the most conscientious choice at the moment in regards to a job position held, a boy/girl that we are dating, this shirt that we bought, or even this insurance plan we chose, we will remain unhappy in the end. Why? Because we'll always have in mind the other options available to us.

Schwartz also mentions that the we have become paralyzed by these endless options, and also our general expectations are really high, which increases our level of deception according to the choices we make. This results in the contribution of unhappiness.

I could go on about this book for a while, but I will post this video instead, which also available on www.ted.com (By the way, in case you haven't checked out this website, you should do it now!)

Ottoman

2008-10-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

Dedidace pour Cece:

Ca te dit quelque chose cette photo Cece?

Apres avoir vu le film Nick and Norah's Infitine Playlist, j'ai decide de me procurer la bande sonore du film. Imaginez-vous que je suis tomber en amour avec cet indie band (bien sur): Vampire Weekend. En fait, c'est assez special ce que je ressens lorsque j'ecoute leurs joyeuses melodies dans le metro. On dirait que le monde autour de moi est tout joyeux, c'est le meilleur remede pour te remettre sur tes pieds, surtout apres une mauvaise nuit de sommeil!

Mais le plus drole dans tout ca, c'est que j'ai tombe en amour avec le chanteur principal. Cece! Je ressens les memes sentiments que tu as eu pendant un long moment avec ton fameux James Franco! Ca doit etre ses cheveux bruns boucles avec ses yeux bleus! Pour les curieuses, c'est le mec qui est debout et qui tient son livre! Il est mignon non?!

Ca y est, je lance ma declaration d'amour, qui sait, peut-etre que j'aurai la meme chance que toi Cece et que je le croiserai dans les rues de Soho :)

Bon bon assez avec les fantaisies, voici une des chansons que je prefere du groupe:

2008-10-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

I assisted a conference from Hubert Reeves about astronomy and ecology. Let me introduce him to you. He is an astrophysicist born in Montreal and graduated from the University of Montreal and from McGill University; he currently resides in France. I dedicated this post for him, because it was the first time that I assisted to one of his conferences since the first text I read from his book "La plus belle histoire du monde". For your information, this was 6 years ago, when I read it, therefore it was even more exciting to have seen him today. On another note, I strongly recommend this book if you had a strong curiosity about the universe and astronomy in general as a kid.

He mainly discussed about issues about how the earth is finite, which clearly meant that resources on this earth are infinite. Of course, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand that, but try explaining that to certain politicians who are in denial and just won't get with the program. I won't mention any names here, but if you are familiar with Canadian politics then you should have a good idea of whom I'm speaking of. Could it be because they are lost in translation within their own electoral campaigns that they don't have the time to even step outside and notice these climate changes? Hopefully during next elections they will take place near winter time, and who knows, the climate changes could bring a snowstorm up to their driveway and these politicians won't even be able to use their cars...then they might get the message.

At the end of the conference, someone in the audience asked Mr. Reeves about solutions that the current generation should take in consideration in terms of politics. His answer revolved around the fact that us, as part of the current generation, should continuously put pressure towards the "current" party in power instead of focusing on who's going to be elected next.

I do agree with him that putting continuous pressure on the current government is a must, and that by voting for a certain party automatically labels an individual. Although if each individual abstains himself of voting for a specific party, then which alternatives are there to create a "significant" amount of pressure towards the government party in power?

Even though the tone of the conference was "pessimistic" due to the challenges caused by climate change, Reeves inspired me with his last words quoted from Jean Meunier.

What matters is not the side you pick between the pessimistic or the optimistic way you view or deal with a situation, but mainly the "determination" you maintain which will push you to do what's best towards that situation.

2008-10-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

A must see movie if you are a fan of indie rock music (such as myself!)

I enjoyed the authenticity of the movie; instead of the free-for-all hollywood drama or the usual lovemaking scene. The movie made me reminisce about how easier it was at a younger age to encounter or develop genuine relationships.

Xavia

2008-10-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

This is where it all started...