THE SIMPLE LIFE

MONTREAL

What an experience! I had the opportunity to study males & their natural habits when I went to Montreal for the weekend with 8 guys. Needless to say, I was the odd one out but here are some things I learnt about the opposite gender:

-cars catch their attention like no other. We happened to see 7 or 8 Ferrari’s, 1 Mazerotti, 3 motocycles, (2 yamaha and 1 BMW), 1 convertible Mini and a bunch that I can’t remember. It was funny to watch their reactions and turning heads…the commercial with the boyfriend getting in trouble with checking out a girl passing by when he was really looking at the car is so true!

-food is a big topic. I’ve never seen guys get so excited about anything. I guess I never fully realized how right the little saying is: “The best way to a man is through his stomach”. Mind you, his stomach happens to be a very disgusting place. I spent the weekend eating like a man and feel disgusted by the weight gain is excess fat. I’ve decided that Montreal is like the Canadian version of Vegas – gluttony is ever so present! We went to Swartz’s twice; ordering the fatty smoked meat both times. Breakfast for half the guys was sausage, bacon, ham with eggs. Dinner was poutine and burgers and McDonald’s was our midnight snack. I myself had a helping of timbits and ice creams to add to this list. *shudder*

-guys can spend a lot of time talking about hair. Leg hair, arm hair, facial hair. This topic came up 2-3 times this weekend. Is this supposed to be a sign of masculinity?

-It’s possible to get 8 guys out of the house in half an hour when only sharing 1 bathroom. This absolutely astounds me considering the amount of time I spend getting ready in the mornings.

-Guys sweat a lot.

-They are also quite comfortable living in dirtiness.

-Their competitive and aggressive nature can show themselves in a simple card game.

For all their differences, they really are a sweet bunch. I got my own private room and the ONLY bed in the apartment while they all crashed on the floor. There were no complaints with my constant napping at and between every destination. They let me win both times we played Bang. I even got sympathy for my cramped calves that lasted the entire trip due to my stupidity in walking up a hill in heels (In my defense however, we went to the House of Jazz so I had an excuse to dress up!)

My personal highlights:

-watching Vanessa Rodrigues at the jazz festival. As Jon said, that one performance made Montreal worthwhile. I don’t listen to much jazz but it was the first time I had ever heard organ and turntables being used and it was awesome. Of course, DJ killa-jewel was female and pretty which made it doubly-fun to watch.

-the car ride back to Toronto. The conversations were hilarious and brought me to tears while being stuck between Jeff and Andrew can be the worst and best place to be.

All in all, I had an amazing time and would do it again in a heartbeat. It’s interesting to see what it would’ve been like to not have been an only child but to have brothers. I realized that regardless of their age, I would’ve still been picked on, teased and tormented! *grin* …Not to mentioned totally cared for and protected.

Of course, when my dad found out that I was the only female, his sole comment was: “If I had known, I would’ve told you not to go. All guys are the same.” *laughs* I love my dad and how in his eyes, no one will ever be good enough for me.