<blockquote> I know you'll be very pleased to learn that I am typing this letter to you on Emacs. I can't claim any great degree of expertise with it. In fact, I am still fumbling around with the navigation and editing shortcuts. But I suppose this is a start. I should get around to various plugins and eventually planner pretty soon. </blockquote>

— Dominique Cimafranca

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! =)

Welcome to the Dark Side. The Collective. The Church. ;)

Mwahahahahahahahaha!

E-Mail from Dominique Cimafranca

In the middle of a thorny reflection on who I am and what I'm doing here, I heard a lovely aria float through the windows. Quite a feat, considering I'm 5 floors up and the windows are insulated because of the weather.

I slipped a leather coat over fluffy pink pajamas and hurried to the courtyard to see what was going on. I found two girls leaning over the balcony. One, the singer, had an absolutely marvelous voice. Sure, she paused every now and then to chastise herself for to-me-inaudible faults, but her voice was so well-rounded and resonant... Wow. The other, her friend, occasionally broke in with encouragement and reminders. What an amazing pair!

I applauded and asked if I could keep listening. They didn't mind. Turns out they're not residents of Grad House, but they like the acoustics. Cool!

At the prompting of her friend, the singer launched into Ave Maria. She then segued into Don't Cry for Me Argentina and another song I couldn't recognize. Then a residence adviser poked her head out and said it was all very nice but it was a bit loud. I suppose 11:30 PM is not the best time for opera, but still...

I forgot to ask her name. Now I won't get to tell you, "I heard her before she was famous."

What a wonderful treat! =D

Yay! Yay! Yay! =D

Poutine is this strange glop of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds. It's okay, I guess, although I like my fries a bit drier. =) Thanks to Calum for insisting I try it. Apparently, it's one of those Canadian things.

It's a lot more palatable than dinuguan or balut, for sure.