What better way to get back into the swing of things than with a well-worn topic: the monthly review!
WordPress has changed a lot since 2021 — so much that I feel like I have to relearn everything from scratch. I’m trying to get everything back in order, but there’s still a lot of work to do. Thank you for your patience!
Another diploma!
The big news this month: I’ve finally completed my graduate diploma at HEC! It took four years, as I took the courses one at a time, quarter after quarter.
I finished with the highest GPA in my cohort. I’m happy to have discovered this hidden ability : when I have time, I am able to excel. In terms of the quality of learning, this experience was much better than my bachelor’s degree, where I had to cope with five courses per session plus a part-time job.
What’s going to change now? Probably nothing: I got the job I wanted in the middle of my degree. I have no plans to change jobs for the time being.
Trois-Rivieres
In May, I also had the opportunity to spend a night in Trois-Rivières. The room at the Delta Hotel was great, with a view of the St-Lawrence directly from the bed.
I went for lunch at the Lewis Café, which describes itself as a third-wave café offering a vegan and vegetarian menu. A very pleasant riverside atmosphere.
I also wandered down Notre-Dame Centre Street, where you’ll find a few secondhand shops and boutiques that are well worth the visit:
- La Meraki: Boutique featuring products by artisans and artists mainly from Quebec. Perfect for finding an original gift. For those who spend more time on site, the boutique often organizes creative workshops.
- Les trouvailles de Justine : A home decor store featuring beautiful wooden furniture made by local artisans, along with high-quality secondhand pieces.
A Changing Montreal
Like all big cities, Montreal is constantly changing. Although the quadrangle had been derelict for months, I stopped dead in my tracks when I discovered that the Da Giovanni building had been demolished.
I’ve never eaten at the restaurant with the famous jingle, but my parents, who attended UQAM in their youth, often talked about it. A monument that disappears at the same time as The Bay closes its doors.
“A month like the summer in Glasgow”
That’s how my colleague described this May in Montreal, and I think it captures the current climate perfectly:
- The heat pump has been cycling between heating, cooling, or being turned off altogether.
- The flowers beds haven’t been planted because it keeps raining on the weekends.
- The lawns are incredibly long — there’s rarely a good time to mow, and the growth conditions are ideal.
I finally managed to get the mower running during my lunch break during a bit when the weather was nicer. It was hell, because it’d grown so long that the mower choked when I pushed it too hard. Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t able to finish the job that evening because the thunder reared its head during the afternoon.
And how was your month of May?
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