Craigslist, documented

So I've decided to document all my Craigslist transactions.

Craigslist tests my social anxiety (I have to pick up the phone?!) and paranoia (are they going to mug me?! tie me up and throw me in their trunk?!) but also feeds my addiction to bargain-hunting and thrifting. Only in my post-grad life would I have the time to actually leaf through racks and webpages to find buried, cheap treasure.

I was off of it for a good couple years: either I was too busy to be browsing, or I got the idea that Craigslist was too seedy an operation, or both. The last memorable transaction outside this summer was in 2008, when I started interning at International Action. I ended up interning there for 2 summers; it profoundly changed the way I thought about my education (and my career outlook); I made some great friends; and I still try to keep in touch with the staff there. That should have been testimony enough, right?

I wouldn't have went through the Craigslist gateway, if it wasn't for my friend asking for a favor...

The green couch-y chaise with cat hair all over it, picked up for friend

It was a pick-up for a friend who'd just moved into a new place and was looking for a chaise for her reading corner. My sister and I had the large vehicle and the time, so we agreed to pick it up. In retrospect, I don't know why I wasn't more apprehensive about picking it up... we just printed out directions to some random house in Herndon and were on our way, without thinking about what kind of neighborhood we were going to or if we'd have to go inside the house. (Now, I always try to have a non-residential pick-up location).

The woman (Kate?) sounded pretty harmless on the phone. Forgetting the $50 we were supposed to bring to pay her, I asked her where the nearest bank or ATM was. She had to ask her male companion for directions. I imagined her to be a 20-something living with her husband or boyfriend in a small townhouse or apartment.

We drove up to a humble single-family home, and in the doorway was framed a plump, middle-aged mom and her fit husband picking up their daughter to get out of the way, a curious cat in the background. This is how you disarm yourself to buyers, Joanne noted. Family. Young children. Noted. I noticed little sneakers in the hallway so it didn't seem like the kid was there slap-dash against her will. I told this to myself when the man told me that the chaise was downstairs in the basement.

When we were in the basement, he pointed to the small, seemingly empty laundry room and told us it was "in there," without actually going "in there" himself. I braced myself with an over-chipper optimism, hoping there wasn't some cage in there and that he wasn't going to slam the door and lock us in.

No worries--the chaise was there. It was about three times bigger and poofier than I thought it would be and was a pain to get through the door and the stairs up to the front door. I remember hugging the chaise and thinking I was doing most of the work: the man looked like he was really exerting himself to help us out, which surprised me, well, because I'm a girl? Stereotypes.

It wasn't until about 10 minutes later that I realized my neck and the side of my face was red and itchy. Effing. Cat. Hair. I was furious. For the drop-off I made Joanne move the bulk of the thing, I was so irritated.

A warning would have been nice, Craigslister. And a $5 tip for having to haul the cat-hairy thing out of the basement.

Reality

My dad is stressing me out and I absolutely hate it.

Brand New Day

31 juillet, jeudi
J'ai oublie ce que j'ai fait... euh...
Oh right!
Soon after I had my interview with the friendly and open Monsieur Brouillard, he emailed me saying that I left mon etui a crayons. Donc il fallait le recuperer. I got up a little later than usual, went to Bonaventure to pick up my pouch and drop off his consent form. I went to this convenience store (depanneur?) and bought ridiculously expensive postcards and a nice but also kind of pricey umbrella. After this I think I was lame and didn't do anything but sleep... so I woke up around 6 to eat and go to the Francos, where I saw Yves Desrosiers, Z'wa, Les Amis au Pakistan (so bad I had to leave), La Descente du Coude (much better), and Bombolesse, which was refreshingly really fun, actually. We danced around the dance floor (a droite, a droite, a gauche, a gauche, a l'arriere, en bas!). After that (ended about 30 minutes over; they were so popular they got an encore) and it took a while to extricate M. Jean from the crowd but we eventually made it to the Francofolies lounge where we conducted the interview (really interesting story...) and he was nice enough to give me a copy of the entire CD.

1 aout, vendredi
I can't believe I hadn't been on Ste-Catherine yet: it's the cutest cobblestone street closed to traffic and flanked by nice restaurants and friperies. And you could tell that you were around the Village because of the flamboyant stores and numerous male clothes boutiques. Anyway, the CBC Radio office building didn't look too impressive from the outside, but in the inside the offices were really nice--great views, signatures all over the door to the Bande a Part studio/recording room, posters and musique all over. This time I actually made it through most of the interview in French. M. Tremblay was also insanely generous and gave me some of their promotional materials and tickets to Tricot Machine! I was such in a good mood I actually stepped into a church for a bit and actually walked from the CBC building up Ste-Catherine and then up to Casa del Popolo (and interesting antique/thrift stores) and down St-Laurent back home.

The artist on the multicultural stage was one of my absolute favorites--Musa Dieng Kala. There was something visceral and yet airy about the music. Couples began to embrace each other in the romantic phrases, the woman on the stage went into a passionate display of dance...

Other acts I saw: Fonojone (good! last song), MeLL (good at first, got crazy), CEA (great kind of groovy hip hoppy pop), Naila (stayed for one song...), Dumas (typical rock, everyone knew their lyrics), Imposs (energizing, big crowd), Habana Cafe, by the time I'd gotten to Bonjour Brumaire I'd had enough of world music and music and festival and standing and staying out so I went home a bit earlier than usual.

2 aout, samedi
This was a good day! I can't remember what I did in the morning... I think I just did some groceries which brought me up and down St-Laurent and Mont-Royal again (I think this day I bought some CDs again, and there was a photo shoot going on in one of them!). I had broccoli and salmon and spiced potatoes (using Elise's old lemons and water-revived herbs from the balcon). Oh, and THIS was when I stayed at the 24-hour cafe to highlight some articles and this guy wanted me to open his water then bought me a water and stare d me down for 20 minutes... Ugh thank goodness he left and a younger rain and post-rain crowd came in. Whew.

Finally Elise came back and we got ready for Tricot Machine: we walked there in the drizzle and survived a couple collisons (with salt shakers and men) and almost-collisions with the ground in my case (my flipflops had no traction). It's been nice because Elise knows a lot about the post-college life and careers and she gave me a lot of advice whether or not she realized it. About 4 people asked us about seats at our table which was awkward. Tricot Machine (as I learned earlier, means like, sewing machine) was ADORABLE. I LOVE BOYS ON PIANO. There was a fanfare and the girl had a drum and the guy was on piano and they had guests (including this blue... mascot... thing). Their backdrop moved! and reminded me of Santa's Workshop because of the gears and white and red and green and the smoking stacks and the jingle bells cameo. During one song, snow came falling down on the audience! A sheep was animated in the background and in the middle of the show a clothesline of knitted clothing emerged from the side of the stage (which explained the mysterious scene change that covered the entire front--speaking of which the opening act was folksy mellow okay too). At the end there was more things from the sky--red confetti! There was a double encore as well. It was an adorable time.

A short stint and pretty-up at the apartment and we took (actually a long) cab ride to La Tulipe, where there was 80s night! This was a legit dancing venue! Some creeper old ones (Elise's boy Phillip, thank god, told this overweight gross old man that I had a boyfriend waiting) but everyone was into the dance and it was a great playlist. Phillip was nice enough to buy me cranberry juice (goodness knows I didn't have the volume or skill to order it) and actually some guy at the beginning asked if he could buy me a drink. Too bad he didn't find me when I was being stared down by creeperoldman. Elise and he both were reallyreally nice about having me there, even after Phillip's other 2 friends left early. A good time!! I'm glad Elise invited and I went.

3 aout, dimanche
Latelate morning. Actually, it was 1 o'clock when Elise told me she and her boy were making pancakes (well, crepes). When I had to leave at 2:30 I could smell the savory crepes and saw the jar of chocolat-noisette and strawberries... Mmm.

It was frustating because my go-to printing place C.O.P.I.A. was closed on Sunday so I walked many blocks down St-Denis looking for a copy place which I thought would be easy because I saw so many on St-Laurent and such. Not so. St-Denis has the hippest stores and the bestest of food places (wish I had the money time occasion to eat there!). In fact, I saw MeLL and a couple of her crew just walking down the street before I turned onto Mont-Royal to go to the first place I printed before my first interview with GEG. Thank goodness they were open (and very busy)!

Finally I got to Vieux Port and had some time to spare to buy gum and browse until 4pm. It was a bit unnerving because I didn't realize until I saw the actual diagram/map of Vieux Port that the SalsaFolie was actually at the end of the quai, right by the water! It was kind of bother getting in because of the language barrier and Annie la fondatrice wasn't there yet but some of the early dancers were very friendly. I met one woman with curly hair and another man with a festive shirt who encouraged me to go onto the front stage and participate in the lessons (which I'm glad I did, if only for 10 minutes! the instructor was very cheerful). Another lady was very nice about letting me know who Annie was and where/when she would arrive.

The actual interview went really well--she knew a lot about the community and the mindset and the music and you could tell she is very passionate about what she does which is great. I kind of regretted leaving because the foule was just beginning to get hot and I noticed there were some traveling types that had come alone and were learning and dancing for fun like I was. Definitely next year I hope I can bring my entire family to come dance!

Vieux Port is actually pretty close to le Quartier des Spectacles--there I met Veronique after some difficult phone exchanges (again, language, along with noise). She was super-nice and patient given my horrible colloquial French and her quick accented Quebecois. We loved the Thom Yorke-ish opener and the completement fou ("C'est quelque chose...") Gatineau (Laurent Saulnier, who was emceeing, really does have good taste). I decided to give my regards to the freeness of FrancoFolies by buying a massive hot dog epicee with banana peppers and drenched in ketchupmustardrelish condiments. Mmm. Karkwa was like a Radiohead (and I LOVE the guy on clavier) experience, and Malajube was better than I thought they would be because of their guitar (threw one up and broke it, in fact) and drum and percussion/piano jams in purple. I paid the Francos another salute by buying a massively huge crepe banane et chocolat-noisette (that enticing, aromatic creperie chaque soir pour 2 semaines!). The guy at the register was very friendly but I had to remind him about my change because he was distracted by the 2 girls talking it up at the counter, haha. Most amazing crepe ever, walking into the wind down St-Laurent back to le coin des pins et de bullion.

4 aout, lundi
Another late morning. Almost considered just shopping the day away or staying at home or on the balcony since I was feeling so lethargic. I spent like 2 hours snoozing in bed, eating 3 jam and breads, and snoozing on the couch procrastinating calling Mauro from Casa (unfortunately he didn't pick up and I didn't feel like leaving another message since the other day I had to stave off lethargy attendant at the sketchy 24-hour). I went to 4 freres (24 hours, would you believe it?) and finally got enough sun to decide to go to Osheaga.

$80, BAH I though door would cost as much as the daily online. Oh well. It was worth it. I spread out a blanket and put on sunscreen and my sunglasses listening to the folksy sounds of Matt Costa and the Weakerthans while writing postcards and clapping alongside the middle-aged Indian? man next to me. I was in the middle of Joanne's postcard when I had to stop because the Black Keys so commanded my attention, just that one set of drums, 2 sets of man, and a single plugged guitar. I was comfortable there, alone, surrounded by beautiful people and smiling children on the shoulders of their fathers.

An act from Toronto played at the Sirius stage--great to jello your legs to! After that I passed the time in the art exhibit where I was kind of dissatisfied with the displays (eraser paint dots of security videos, that weird twitchy still videos, some display with candles) except for the cartoons, pen line drawings, and some interesting digital photo manipulations. To my surprise, I was actually intrigued by the sculpture display: B&W cardboard cutout characters standing next to tree trunks with cubes of design hanging from the branches and a geometric encasement towards the back of the woods.

The GO! Team was late (goodness) and I spent 20 minutes tiptoeing through mud and squeezing in between people to avoid tall people in between me and my view of the stage. There was a female drummer and Asian guitarist and an afro'd singer and they switched places for different adrenaline pop songs.

Broken Social Scene felt like Montreal's... stars. 11-12 people on stage, double horns and 2 sets of percussion with bearded and hatted men and a middle-aged woman with a 17-year-old girl voice stirring up static shins into taps and bobs to instrumental melody and mixtures of voice and play complimented by invitations to primal screaming extended by trick encores. From Sala Rossa to Osheaga festival stage, they were at home and we the audience welcomed them.

During GO! Team Brendan finally texted me back, and the gracious guy that he is, was still up for coffee at 10pm. Getting cash while he got creme glacee, we agreed on an 11pm meeting back at the sketchy 24-hour where he (red hair) and his friend (pink shirt) occupied the couchy front area that I hadn't dared in the daytime. Outside of the (apparently kind of depressing bubble) interview, we talked Montreal and Williamsburg and DC (can you imagine they had had very vibrant music scenes?). They left with plans for east coast and Matoaka and I left with cherry danish and a cafe pour emporter.

Une nuit blanche suivra. Tchao Montreal! A la prochaine.

Chaque Jour

29 juillet, mardi
- Namori, Svinkels, David Marin avec Karkwa!, Kayans
- Classic rock et l'ami d'Elise
MUSIQUE DU JOUR: David Marin

30 juillet, mercredi
- Late awakening for entrevue avec Laurent Saulnier...
- Speed lunch of beans and burned garlic chicken before...
- Guy Brouillard a CKOI et Eric au bibliotheque (des speakers tres bons!)
- Ouanani, Yelle, Lilison de Kinara, La Patere Rose, Radio Radio
- Des drapeaux; drums!; la paix dans la salle et beaucoup de pensees; des claviers dingues; "Oh shit"
- Les claviers et l'accordion, c'est plus populaires que la guitare comme aux Etats-Unis...!
- Compte de faire l'entrevue demain au resto (filipino? haha)
MUSIQUE DU JOUR: L'electro-pop de Yelle et La Patere Rose

Je peeeense qu'il y a quelque choooose de dire de ce teeeemps et ces petiiiites artiiiistes

J’ai pensé que c’était temps de dire à tout le monde ce qui se passe dans ma vie montréalaise ici. Je voudrais beaucoup faire des postes longues toutes pleines de détails mais je n’ai pas de temps. Donc j’écris quelques notes et quelques listes chaque jour. Chaque note est un cahier des souvenirs et des mots… les voici :

21 juillet lundi
- Early morn train station
- Our old friend on the train
- Good views
- Fizzy Fish
- Crazy customs
- Arriving on the metro SANS handicap help (automatic doors,
elevators)
- "PUSH THE DOOR"
- Nice lady telling us directions to Rue des Pins, Rue de Bullion
- Crashing the cobblestone music party
- Finding Elise's apartment
- Sister has piano in the room!
- Le balcon

22 juillet, mardi
- Tartines at the Premiere Moisson
- Book package
- Hotel
- Chateau Ramezay
- Pointe a Calliere
- Gondola carriage driver
- Fire trucks and tricks (dollars, balloons, etc.)
- Maple Ice Cream (Delices de L'Erable)
- Mediterranean Panini and really good fries (Cafe by the Pier)
- Street musicians and dancers
- Spectacle de Son et Lumiere (Basilica)
- Resting by the Parc/Quai
- @ the Sherbrooke: Guitar, Sitar, Violin, etc.
- Buddy McNeill, Magic Mirrors, Les Breastfeeders
- Awkward seating, pas de boisson
- Pate Jamaican, running with a peach
- Freako creepo man with beard in a dark doorway
MUSIQUE DU JOUR: Les Breastfeeders

23 juillet, mercredi
- Bagel at St. Viateur
- Interview with Daniel Glick
- Bell Centre francais receptioniste
- Meeting Dustin Moores, Patrick, Foo Fighters, etc.
- Notre Dame/Mary de L'Univers
- Downtown Basha
- Marche Jean-Talon
- Bread and Cheese and "Wine"
- So You Think You Can Dance (Elise's friend Amanda)
- Feux D'Artifices Loto on the Jacques Cartier bridge
- Jellyfish and sparkles and lingering stars

24 juillet, jeudi
- Meeting with Professor Minorgan
- Music Castle with band inside
- Mont Royal discounts and stores and BecikVert
- Cafe Art Java: the alphabet, internet, saumon fumee
- Schwartz's MMM
- Rundown St. Laurent (best street ever that's right around the corner)
- Club Soda (Karkwa and Jerome's veste en cuir/jazz the best)
- Multiculturelle (Polka, Russian dance, Italian, all together, etc.)
- Ferris Wheel
- Electro Lise
MUSIQUE DU JOUR: Karkwa, Jerome Miniere

25 juillet vendredi
- Saw Claire off: depressing!
- Dishes and catchup
- Horrible humor and polka guy (best part: the constant dancer)
MUSIQUE DU JOUR: Navet Confit

26 juillet samedi
- Groceries à Mont-Royal
- 3 libraries du disque ("Tu as pense que c'etait Pierre LaPointe?")
- Later, la station centrale et la femme folle, le jus d'orange et la grande assiette a emporter a Schwartz)
- La pluie et les trompes à marcher!
- Elise finally comes back, at long last! Company!
- FrancoFolies: Saïd, ca va; Spaïcy, très bien set avec l'homme chanteur; Zebulon zéro; Kulcha Connection plus doux que je me suis attendue
MUSIQUE DU JOUR : Spaïcy (ça me fait beaucoup plaisir), Toutes les artistes francophones que j’ai acheté en CD (Grand Corps Malade, PIERRE LaPointe, Jérôme Minière)

BUY/BRING:
- Lotsa postcards
- Hat/Clothes/Bag for Joanne
- Mommy, Daddy...

Overwhelmed!

Professors Christopher Jones (C) and Will Straw (McGill) are my heroes. They've published some recent articles on popular music in Quebec which have been really reassuring. (I don't know how I didn't see these before... I was so concerned with understanding the broad basics of history and ethnomusicology that I don't think I realized that that will all come in time and I can always reference it if I need to.) I guess it makes me more sure about what I'm doing--that it's possible, important, legitimate. Coming from a background of high school science fairs it's a big step for me.

5 days until I ship off to Montreal! This is insane. I have so much to do... besides actually doing the research, I have a History of Music class I haven't worked on since the end of May, interning at International Action, and being a social, human being. And let's not even mention the biology 206 work I'm supposed to be doing/have done (in my defense, I didn't find the book until about 2 weeks ago).

La folie, that's the word. N'importe quoi folie, toute folie.

Starts and Sputters

I am going to Montreal.

Everything worked out so Claire's coming for the first 3 days to see the city and take it all in with me. And now, since I'm leaving 2 days earlier than I had initially planned, and my train tickets are $30-40 cheaper, I feel better about taking 3 days in transit and in New York to see Spring Awakening, Row G Orchestra.

I now have 2 definite interviews, 2 pending, and 3 pending inquiries:
Associate Dean for the Schulich School of Music, the VP of Programming for les Francofolies; Professor of Communications and Art History at McGill, Quebec Studies Professor; Jim Corcoran (A Propos radio host), Pierre Landry (Daybreak Montreal culture columnist), Osheaga, Salsafolie.

I've also got a very friendly invitation to coffee by a girl who I didn't rent a room from. How nice!

I hope I can get the interviews with the latter 3, especially because I can compare perspectives from 2 different music festivals and get points of views from people that have had a lot of experience studying the music and culture (and in the first case, actually a singer/songwriter in the music industry).

Now I have to work on:
- McGill graduate student in music
- More concert venue curators! (indie/large-scale)
- Recording studio execs/producers/employees! (indie/large-scale)
- Try others that work in radio? what about tv? Fuse?
- ARTISTS (sample a large variety: pop and folk and rock and diverse)

I should work out a schedule from here on out which books, internet sources I should cite and how I should research, exactly. Notecards? Printouts? Memory? What categories?