Chapter 20: Crazy Train

nerd blog post #21

There was nothing crazy about the train. But 20 points to Ozzy for a hit song. It's before 8am here, and Doctor is safe and sound on the train to Paris. He then switches train stations by metro and takes another train to London. Then tube to Heathrow, then shuttle bus to Warwick University. We were up at 630am and I just got home from seeing him off. I was going to go back to sleep, but I'm not so tired yet, so I'll nerd blog. It's about 2am in Canada. I hope some of you are NGH right now (Beach Slam!?) and that others are snoozing well.

The rest of the visit was great.. We went to Barbie and Kenland on Sunday night for a pint, just the two of us. There, we had an interesting conversation about Canadian liberalism, and whether or not it was colonialist to want to spread it around the world. Ponder as you wander. (This point is not, however, a request for a sub-blog comment war)

To bed early (earlier than previous nights, anyways..), we got up in order to get to campus for my 915 class. I taught for an hour, met Doc for coffee, and then taught another hour. He saw some of my students, met Fabien and the co-head of the department, saw my office and the English department, and worked on some prep for his school while I taught. He also experienced the cute Rennes metro.

After my long day of work was complete, we went to the slum so I could check my mail. I had two interesting letters:
1. One from my grandpa, who is very old.. It's the second letter I've received from him in my life (my grandma was always the b-day card writer) and it was all in French. He doesn't really speak French, but what is impressive and inspirational is that he has the confidence to try, and to use what he has.
2. A big envelope from a dear family friend, with a letter and a newspaper article about Jean Vanier's 80th b-day. Jean Vanier is the founder of L'Arche, and my biggest unmet hero. He has many points. This friend is a German-Canadian who went to Canada for a year over 25 years ago, and is still there.. Her letter was all in German, and it was fun to try and understand it all!

Then we went to Speed Rabbit Pizza, but it was closed.... So we bought frozen stuff and it was delicious. In the afternoon, we had a small nap, and then got up for dinner. Doctor treated Cynthia and I to a most tasty Breton meal. Galettes and crepes. (Galettes are the salty crepes that are eaten as a main course.) I had had one at the market last week, but this was far superior. After dinner we went to O'Connells for a drink. O'Connells is the Irish pub where the bartenders are from the UK. The crowd is a little older, and more international. It's a nice experience to go, but I prefer the more French ones..

I've been in this new pad for six nights now, five of them with Doc. It feels emptier now. The send off was sad. I went down to the platform with him and waited until the train was out of sight. I was there with the officials of the train, and four bfs. I wanted to ask them if they wanted to hang out and talk about goodbyes, but instead came home.

On the first or second night he was here, I had a dream in which I was trying to present the various employment opportunities for him here in Rennes, using a grade 5 style bristol board presentation. I would love it if he could just stay here, but that's selfish. This was a small vacay on his way to his great adventure, and there's no more purpose for him here than there is for me there. Plus, it's comforting to know that the time difference is only one hour, and that we can see each other soon enough. It was soo fun, though. We laughed so hard at many funny things, and I was glad he was able to see my life here.

I don't work today, and will go to the slum motel to clean the room and move the last few things over here. If there's time, Cynthia and I will go to the museum to check it out.

I am going to write a book, entitled Hincks' Helevator Hetiquette. I'll study HH around the world, and then publish the book, so that travelers will know how to properly conduct themselves in an elevator. This is how one behaves in a French one:
1. Enter the elevator.
2. Greet the fellow riders with a "bonjour" or "bonsoir."
3. Face inwards.
4. Ride in silence.
5. Say "au revoir" upon exiting, or when any fellow rider exits.
It's different. A nod is not a greeting. Facing the door is weird. And no small talk plz. I think it will sell like hotcakes.

The only good thing about Doctor's departure is that blog reading will become more interesting as his will not be Rennes related anymore. Fans of my nerd blog and of his online prescription renewal service will now have two train tracks to follow. And I look forward to seeing how things go for him in jolly Britain.

And so, as the city is becoming brighter and the sadness is lifting at the thought of you all tallying your points and excitedly t-bombing one another to announce the publication of the latest nerd blog post, I will have a small snooze before really starting my day.

Love to Canada.

Solo, sad, sleepy, and signing off,
Hincks.