Rations

In this house, it's not food...
Or water.

It's heat.

As soon as you start feeling your toes, or the end of your nose starts to warm up, or you begin to be able to move your fingers properly, the heat is turned down/off/you were dreaming.

Spring, I await your arrival.

95%

19/20.

That's what we got in our (my) oral presentation.
One of the team members saw me waiting in line to get in the Gym before the math exam, and patted me on the back and said, ''Hey! We got 95%!''

Thoughts going through my head as a rush of sudden anger and hatred runs through my veins: ''Listen up, PAL. I got 95%. You got nothing. NOTHING, you hear?!''

This is the ongoing pattern with team projects. Now, I have repeatedly searched, and I have yet to find the precious little ''i'' which should probably be placed as a silent vowel in the word TEAM.

I don't know if teachers see the despair in my face when they mention ''group presentation'' or ''team project''. Everyone knows there's always that one member that does everything. That one person who hasn't completely given up just because, well, because.

''So today we will be discussing the final project which is due on december 7th. You will be placed into groups of 4 or 5 [...] (rest is irrelevant because Féli is already ripping her hair out and scratching her eyes out.)''

Glad I got that out of my system.
Also glad I got the grade I worked for.

Artificial Freedom

Ok well.
I have one exam left, the English Exit exam, which should be a walk in the park. All I have to do is pass it, so i'm not too worried about it at all.

So technically I am free.

But now that I am, I remember that I actually have very little to do.

I want to go downtown, but I don't want to go alone, and I can't find anyone to go with. Not now, anyways, people still have exams.

I need to go to Archambault....and maybe just walk around in the streets with someone who will dress warmly enough not to complain about being cold every 5 minutes.

You live in Canada, dress warm, okay? In case you haven't noticed, it's this cold every winter.

And it's not like you have to go out there looking like an eskimo either, layering will do the trick.

My room is so freaking cold, I think it would probably be the same if my window was open. When I sit at my desk, I feel a current of cold air coming from it, which is why when it's not sunny I don't open the curtains up. I need to go get one of those plastic things to cover my window.

I need to make a list, actually...

And i'm too lazy to even do that.

Time for another lazy day, I guess.

N'importe quoi.

I thought people wouldn't read this post because I hadn't updated in such a long time, but then I realized I had followers and you would probably get notified about any updates.

So I have an oral presentation on Friday. I despise oral presentations. I was going to write: ''There is nothing I hate more in the existence of life on planet earth and the history of human blah blah....than oral presentations'', but I realize I probably said that already at some point during one of my earlier posts.

Last night, I get an email from one of the team members, ''Give me a call, i'm getting confused in my discussion..''

We ended up talking on Facebook chat, and I was so angry I had to explain what they had to do...

I'm not going to complain about everything being done last minute as it always is with group presentations, but if you can't handle doing something last minute, then DON'T!

This morning, we had a group meeting in front of the library.

Nobody had covered ANY of the topics I suggested, and what they are talking about seems completely off topic and quite irrelevant.

I showed them my powerpoint presentation, and they said ''Oh...I'm going to have to try a little harder I think...''

...You....YOU THINK!?!? Oh you better. Because let me tell you what might happen during the group evaluation. I may have to write the number which is the closest to negative figures as I can get. A BIG FAT UGLY ZERO.

One girl on our team has a 60% right now.

I wish I could make her fail, she deserves it.

One always shows up late.

ANYWAYS. All this to say that it makes me realize that the world actually functions this way.

People don't change just because a group presentation because a meeting at work.

This is why I don't want to handle people.

I don't even know why I should try saving the planet, maybe extinction of the human species would....No, let me correct that: extinction of the human species IS the only possible way to avoid...No that doesn't even make sense, because we've created our own doom.

And I always ask myself, why have children, you're giving them life on an earth you left worse off than it was before you were born. It's like....A christmas gift you've already opened and used, and then you wrap it and give it to someone. Like....a candle, you've already used it, it's obvious, the wax is all over it and melted, and then you wrap it and you give it to someone else. Merry Christmas!....or, happy birthday, you're doomed :)

I saw this lady in the bathroom, she was trying to dry her hands, and she had left the tap on.

So I turned it off and stared at her with an ''I am so disappointed'' face, and walked out.

You know, I really wonder how many people brush their teeth without turning the tap off.

When I think about it, I just...what the hell?

This doesn't even have anything to do with people in Africa having no water or anything...I mean, it kind of does but....No, it's just that...There are such easy ways to reduce waste, and people just don't care. They can't care, they don't know.

Had I not taken this particular humanities course, i'd have never known.

People need....people need to know.

It should be a mandatory course....Not humanities, I mean, the knowledge of how our food is made, where it comes from, where it goes, what is in it, what it does to the environment, what is happening with oil, who, what, when, where, why...That kind of stuff. The information is out there, you have to shove it in people's faces. Shove it. Not put it....IMPOSE IT. Like ads are imposed, and...fashion...and all that useless crap.

Hey, hey, buddy, what happens to those numbers and those coins and those papers and plastic cards we call money when there is nothing left?

Oh, right, we panic, and we say ''Damn it, this sucks.''

See....This is why i'm going into Science, I probably won't even like it, but I feel I can't just sit here and take pictures or make websites for the rest of my life....And no, I don't want to make a movie or a website or anything ABOUT what is happening...I know I said we must SHOVE the information in people's brains, but I need to be implicated in finding better solutions.

And i'm not saying i'm that eco-friendly either, I take super long showers.

I just....ahhh there is so much.......crap...

OH. And the STM?

THE STM SUCKS!

No wonder nobody takes the bus, it never comes, or it's always full....or the bus driver stares at you as you stand outside in -40 degree weather, as he sips his cup of Tim Horton's coffee, which is probably not even fair trade, and then you stare with murderous eyes.

And plus, now that i'm 18, I only get a discount on the monthly pass.

GREAT, THANKS.

And to get that discount, I have to prove that I live in Montreal.

Oh, no, sorry, I live in CHINA, and I use the STM!

And every year, I have to stand in line for 2 hours to get my stupid face printed on the stupid piece of plastic, and they take my old Opus card, I don't even know what they do with it.

Never mind, they just throw it out, and there goes more garbage.

So, it's 12:35pm right now, and I have a math test at 4:oopm.

So i'm going to go study.

And on December 13th, I will run around the streets yelling, ''I'M FREE, I'M FREE'', so Nathalie if you hear someone screaming that in the street, it's probably me.

Have a nice day.

I forgot....

that I had to do as if I didn't have a cottage.

Any time I feel like going there to have a nice time, to enjoy the season's colours, to STUDY, to go kayaking....skiing...whatever thought pops into my head, I must IMMEDIATELY take my mind off of these ideas.

I do not have a cottage.

My family does not have a cottage.

A cottage, you say? I don't even know what that word means.

The World Is Sound Asleep

....It's 4:30AM

I can't sleep, this cold is keeping me awake.

....fun times.

fyl = f*** your life.

So I Was Told...

That people were waiting for pictures I took of Charlevoix.

I took very few, I didn't want the camera to be in my face too much, it was just too beautiful not to be looking.

Even though the red was already gone from the landscape, and only yellows and greens and browns were left, it was still really nice. It's because it's so much colder and windier there, the red leaves are already gone.

We went riding through the golden fields, it was a bit muddy, but who cares.

The horses weren't too energetic, to my surprise.

We had two trails each.

Spiders are invading the cave.

Uh...

So...I was just reading my blog from the summer, and I remember thinking to myself that once it was over, I'd remember mostly the good moments, and it's true. I just laugh at my old blog posts.

The four of us are planning on going back to visit during Thanksgiving weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing how it has changed, and what it looks like with all the fall colours.

School is good right now, I have a smaller class load, so less stress.

I have more time to do things I enjoy, see the people I didn't get to see this summer, although most of them are quite busy...

I talked with my friend who just recently moved to Switzerland, and she told me that if I wanted to come visit this summer, i'd be welcome to stay in her house.

Sounds exciting.

More writing to do than English class?

Didn't think I was taking ''WRITING 83404838 PAGES ABOUT YOUR LIFE AND WHY YOU'RE GOING TO DIE BECAUSE YOU DON'T RUN A MARATHON EVERY WEEK'' class.

Quick Hello

......So, i'm off to bed now, but I felt I should at least update this highly neglected blog, to say it was suggested I add cartoons to my blog.

You may see stick people appearing some time soon.

Good night, world.

Media.

I'm switching programs.

I'll keep my math, just so I can have that.

I'm going into Media Arts.

I think i'm going to be much happier.

I developed my first 35mm black and white film on monday.

Really nice pictures, here's one:

Homework

I did homework all day today.

It sucked.

And then I cleaned my room and emptied out old binders and books and stuff.

I realized that all I was throwing out were piles and piles of old homework. So many papers, so much writing...so much junk. And now i'm making more junk, by doing more homework.

I really don't like Sociology. I really don't care about Sociology, so I really don't want to analyze two articles which are related to Sociology.

I'm just discouraged at the amount of work I have to do, and how it will probably be of no use to me at any point in my life. Yeah, people always say everything you do in school is useful for something.

When you find me that something, let me know.

I'm just.

Lazy.

Now I have to go read 33 pages from my Sociology book, for a 'pop quiz' some time this week.

I will not remember anything I have read in a week.

Vitamin D

Today was a really nice day.

I fell asleep on the grass outside, before supper.

And then I woke up to Ombrerita staring at me, and Sue yelling ''IT'S READY!!!!!!''

And now, i'm going to sleep, I have a long day of homework ahead of me tomorrow, as I haven't done anything in a while.

USB Keys

...Apparently, there are many available in the house.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen one yet.

There used to be a gigantic pile in a plastic box.

I just need one. Can I have one?

I know you need to store your entire computer on it, but I just need one for pictures.

Thanks.

Talking.

I know people want to help me find my way.

I'm just tired of being asked what I like, and what I see myself doing in the future.

Honestly, I have no clue. Right now, I like nothing.

I hate it even more when people suggest I do what they do, because ''it's so much fun!''

And then I throw something out there, and ''it's too competitive...'' or ''it's really hard to get into...'' or ''you won't make much money there...''

Thanks. I'm already having enough of a hard time, and now you're making me even more depressed about my future.

All I know is, i'm running out of motivation. I don't even feel like doing my homework. I can't get myself to do it.

I don't want to sit in gym class, unscrambling letters to form words, like we did in sixth grade. I want to play badminton.

I don't want to sit in teams of four to discuss what the author meant to say through his poem.

I don't want to sit and listen to a teacher talk about something they're obviously super interested in and they want us to be super excited and WOOHOO...and then they go ahead and pile on the work...

I walk into class, sit down, I know I have to listen, I have to take notes, I have to concentrate, something will be in the exam, i'll miss something important, and then I stress out, because I want to get really good grades, or else people will think i'm stupid because i'm in Social Science. With Math.

I'm not even good at writing essays.

My teacher from last semester was really confused. She said my language and grammar is excellent, that my writing flows, but the rest is just crap.

This is an example of an essay topic from my English class last semester:

''Lewis believed that a powerful appeal of "fairy tales" is the presence of non-human characters who behave as if human. These non-human characters act as representations of human psychology and character types more effectively than characters in novels. Discuss how Lewis puts this theory into practice in LWW with his non-human characters such as Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Mr. Tumnus, and Aslan, among other possibilities. What character types or psychological or spiritual profiles do they represent? Consider the techniques of characterization that Lewis uses (description, dialogue, behaviour, and setting) as well as how well-developed, "round," and dynamic each of the characters is. You may also want to compare and contrast the character development of these non-human personalities to the human children. Include at least three direct quotations in each body paragraph.''

Do you WANT me to die?

So I can talk about fairy tales and/or animals who talk and/or psychology and/or other crap and/or shut up and/or WHAT?!!? Oh, and don't forget to include quotations!!!

Oh i'll give you quotations alright. I'll give you the WHOLE BOOK!

Here you go! Read it! That's my proof! I know you love the book. I know you love it, so you won't mind reading through the 900 pages just once more, just to see what I was talking about.

Ok, I actually have to go read a chapter from a book for my Humanities class, I hardly had any time to do anything this weekend, I worked Saturday, prepared for Jacques' birthday party on Sunday, and today I went to take some pictures for a Baseball game, and now i'm just, freaking out, because I really, REALLY don't feel like doing anything.

I wonder who is reading this.

To text or not to text.

Having a cell phone.

Do I really want people to be able to reach me every second of the day?

And then ask me why I never check my text messages?

And stress out about having it in class, in case it rings?

And then get addicted to texting?

...I don't know.

It could be really useful.

It would be VERY useful.

I could....use it to tell the time, because I never carry a watch, and I never know what time it is.

I could use it to...find people when my classes end early...or...find them when i'm downtown.

It would be more...convenient. For me. For others.

I guess I'm reluctant to get one because, everyone has one. It really sucks when I see people constantly checking their phones and texting with other people, instead of engaging in a meaningful conversation. I mean, I did take two buses and two different metro lines JUST to get to you.

I mean, sometimes it's not that bad.

Often it's not that bad.

Isn't Facebook enough?

Tsssss

That is the sound of my butt sizzling as I placed it on the bike seat.

Why is it SO hot outside?

Again?!

This time, I saw the mistake on a bulletin board...They used ''to'' instead of ''too''. I wanted to take a pen and correct it. I didn't.

I have a Linear Algebra quiz this friday. I want to get 100%. In order to do so, I have to shut down this computer right now and do some homework early so I can concentrate on math on thursday.

So that is what I shall do.

TTFN. (Just for Sue...)

To, Too, Two.

Dim Sum was delicious as usual.

I went to Photoco to get some film for my darkroom photography class. I bought the last ones...The rest of my class is screwed for tomorrow. Hey, that's what you get for being last minute. I'll bring some extra ones to class tomorrow, and i'll sell them for double. Good plan...I wonder how much they go for at the bookstore.

I must go do some Sociology homework...And Humanities...But I like my Humanities class. Which is a good thing, because it starts at 8:00AM. It's about food and how we're all going to die because of lack of it, or abundance of it, or....stuff we put in it.

When I read emails from teachers, I always inspect for grammatical errors or spelling mistakes. In a message I read just a few minutes ago, the teacher misused ''to''. It could be a typo. Let's see if it happens again, shall we?

If English were complicated, maybe i'd understand.

I'd like to see them learning Mandarin...

I just hope I didn't make any mistakes myself.

Vital Signs

...Still alive. And, mostly well.

Long days on Mondays and Wednesdays. Quite deadly for my head.

Still have to get all my books. Only one of the expensive ones I can get second hand, and I don't think for much cheaper.

Waited 2 hours in line to ''renew''/pay uselessly for my opus card to work.

Took the electric bike to school and back. Pretty cool to zoom past the line up of 200 people trying to fit into a bus.

Thursday, going to pick up a lens hood, and then to the orthodontist. They will tell me I need my wisdom teeth removed. I'll tell them they need their jobs removed. Probably not.

These past two days have reminded me how badly I despise school.

I look forward to december 20th. And then i'll look forward to may 20th. Then i'll probably be like, oops, I still don't know what the hell i'm doing.

My head hurts. Again.

Chicken.

I made the most delicious chicken in the history of life.

The one we always make at home...You shove it in a pot with carrots and onions and sometimes potatoes, and you let it cook FOREVER. Then you eat it and it's so tasty.

And then we had brownies for dessert. Retarded brownies, because Jeanne put 1/2 cup of oil and water instead of 1/4 cup. So then she added sugar. And flour. And Nesquik. And then some more sugar. And then some flour.

We went galloping through the fields, the light was insanely beautiful, the sun was shining through the rain, it made a sort of curtain of water, and the moon was out, too. Some people watched us race up and down the field closest to the camping ground.

I took some pictures during a trail to the cave. I looked like more of a tourist than the actual tourists.

Tomorrow morning, at 6:45AM, we are going on a zodiac again.

Those whales better be feeling sociable tomorrow...

1 of 7

So. Already, things are better, the trailer/kitchen is sparkling clean.

Éloïse and Florence left this morning, at around 9:15.

Aimé says he will buy us pizza to thank us for staying and keeping up the hard work.

One man showed be a picture he had taken of a humpback whale showing its tail, having been on a zodiac at 9:30AM yesterday. We discussed cameras a bit, he had a d5000. I will probably be going on another zodiac cruise some time soon. We just have to ask Dominic, though it would probably be at 7:00AM, when they have less people on the boats.

We went to Tadoussac last night, Jeanne and I went to see shooting stars again, but on the beach this time. We froze, as usual. On the 12th, the peak date for shooting stars, we went to an observation area, and sat on rocks which had been warmed by the sun during the day, so we weren't as cold. We saw more shooting stars last night than the night before. There was one that was so big that we actually saw the flames flaring out from behind it.

I am currently in the office...And damn it, I forgot to check the time at which I started working. I think it was 1:00PM...

**Edit: Not a bad day. I'm happy because my room is clean, the trailer is clean, and Jeanne made some good Banana Mookie (cookie/muffin...) and I know I will have nutella to eat tomorrow morning.

Not sure if we're leaving on the 19th or 21st.

I can't believe I start school in a week.

''Insert Swear Word Here''

I don't think it is possible for me to feel any worse than I do right now.

Nobody has any idea how badly I just want to be home. How much I just want to sit in my bed, take a shower in my own bathroom, and eat a good meal, in a clean kitchen.

I was counting down the days, the hours, the seconds.

Now, I may have to stay until the 20th.

Can't I just go home? Won't you let me just, go home? Can't I just relax before I have to start school? Can't I have a break? Just one?

I had no summer. None. And I needed it more than ever. And now, the only week of summer left, it might be taken away from me.

I have to call home.

2

2 days left.

Florence has decided to come home with us, too. Looks like Jeanne will have to die alone for 6 days.

We watched shooting stars again, but tomorrow night is supposed to be the peak time for them.

We went galloping on the beach, as promised, at last. They had gone without me the other time. I wasn't supposed to know, but it slipped out. This time we left Jeanne at reception.

Éloïse and Florence's parents will have to rent something to have enough space to bring all our stuff back without taking two cars.

Jeanne and I will go kayaking tomorrow. I think we will have the afternoon off. We may also buy t-shirts from some famous artist who is supposedly appearing on Tout Le Monde En Parle next fall or spring.

*

Jeanne and I stayed outside to look at the shooting stars after having taken the horses out.

We talked about life, and I compared the universe to a circle:

You can draw a circle, but once you've drawn it, neither the end or the beginning can be found.

It's crazy to think about how slim our chances of actually existing are. It makes me go slightly insane.

4 work days left.

We may come back for labour day weekend, Jeanne would drive us.

6

If I don't include next saturday.........


omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg

8

Ok.

Now i'm really, REALLY, looking forward to being home.

Just a few minutes ago, Éloïse left for a trail ride after Aimé came to knock on our door, saying he needed someone NOW for a trail. I'm glad I wasn't the one to go open the door.

They keep asking me if I want to come back next summer.

I keep wanting to rip my eyeballs out with plastic spoons.

9

Countdown continues...

I'm taking the time to write another blog entry since it's not too busy at reception.

I was looking on the John Abbott omnivox website at the employment center, and there is one job that is labelled ''multitasker''...It just sounds like odd jobs around the house, paperwork... I'M TAKING IT.

Thanks.

Some food left, and the dishes are done, so i'm not too cranky.

11

The countdown begins.

I'm so excited to come home, even though I have to find a job again when I get back.

I'm going to try going kayaking before I leave, and once more on a zodiac. We'll see.

Jo-louis are already finished. So is the pâté and french bread. We will be labelling each pot of nutella with our names, each person having one pot. I will finally be able to sleep well, knowing I will have something to eat for breakfast the next day. Just kidding, I sleep like a rock, Éloïse and I are both fast asleep within 2 minutes of closing our eyes. Which means neither of us know if the other snores or not.

But we probably don't.

Spiders are accumulating in the bathroom.

Time for the evil broom to come out. I swear, they're all going down.

11 days and counting.

When I get home, that Ombrerita will get the longest cuddle in the history of humanity, and she will probably scratch my eyes out. As for Poosh, he'll get adventures outside in his travel cage.

Horse Shit

Some people really don't know how to live.
I have met a few of these people.
Living with these people makes me want to rip my eyeballs out with spoons.
Working here is a rip-off, we are immensely underpaid, and our bosses are all over the place and have no clue how to communicate with their employees.
Though there are some fun moments, they are not worth the rest of the crap.
I look forward to my one week of summer.
I am not looking forward to another year at John Abbott, in a program where 99.99% of students lack motivation and/or brain, and in which it seems as if every day as I sit on a disgusting old wobbly desk, I am wasting my precious teen years on useless crap about something which may or may not come into use at some point in my life.
I will probably hate my next job just as much as this one, unless it resembles my dream job in any way as described in a recent post.
I hate people.
I did NOT sign up to clean toilets and showers twice a week, or to slave away cleaning dishes with disgusting old wet sponges that smell like rotten salami.

''Ça pue dans les armoires!!''
Yes, well, according to the laws of nature, stuff becomes mouldy if it stays wet CONSTANTLY BECAUSE YOU DON'T DRY YOUR DISHES. And no, I will not dry them myself because I am not happy, I will use paper plates and pollute the planet as you eat in your bacteria infested dishes.

My immune system is now ready to combat the Spanish Flu.
20 times.

Let's be slightly positive and mention one thing I enjoyed recently (last night): galloping in the fields in the moonlight, avoiding giant bales of hay.

I hope you are all enjoying my blog about my constant struggle against humanity, its stupidity, and my own stupidity. Oh, and let's not forget to mention: huge piles of horse shit. Literally and practically.

I want to come home.

The Sky Is Burning

So, I did quite a few hours again today, woke up at 8:00AM in time for the first trail at 9:00AM to the cave.

Éloïse and Florence are back from their day off with family. They brought back a ****LOAD of chocolate. Jacques would hyperventilate.

Tonight, when Jeanne and I were showering the horses, I turned around and saw the sky was CRAZY. So, I ran to get my camera, just in time to get a few good shots before the sun was too low and the colour in the clouds was gone.

The trailer is acceptably clean once again. Should last a good....hour.

Dead

So, I worked 11 hours today.

I wanted to die.

Cash was under 18$, I don't care, it's the first time there has ever been a problem with my cash.

Crazy insane busy day, Jeanne was gone with her family, then Éloïse and Florence left this evening with their family.

Up at 8:00AM tomorrow morning, a trail with 7 people at 9:00AM, more insanity, Éloïse and Florence are still gone.

Jeanne comes back tomorrow morning, in time for the trail.

Sleep now.

!!!

Stop

playing

soccer

against

the walls

of

my

room

!!!

Ruby

I took Ruby on a trail for the first time today.

They call him la maudite charogne.

He wasn't that bad.

I did 4 trails today.

My butt = finished.

Merci

They did the dishes.

Wow.

I'm going to go eat breakfast now, so i'll see if they left dishes in the sink again. They also went grocery shopping, so we are saved from starvation once again.

I'm trying to think about where I could apply for a job once i'm back.

Criteria for new job:
1-Involves absolutely no direct contact/communication with human beings
2-Gives me money.

I'm not sure such a job exists and no, i'm not going to go clean up animal poop at the Ecomuseum.

I'd want a job where at the beginning of the day, someone says "Sort these gigantic piles of paper in alphabetical order. You'll be typing them into a computer later on." and then shuts the door and leaves. And i'd hope the piles of paper were taller than me, so i'd be spending my entire summer/year in an ugly little room. It wouldn't matter if it payed 9.50$. It would require only time and no skill whatsoever.

We were sitting in the trailer one day, and we realized how little we were being paid for what we were doing. By remembering what we had been told about wages and how they could vary depending on certain factors, we realized that we were gigantic losers. Well, at least I did.

We're staying FREAKING far, we needed a certain level of experience on horseback, walking to the cave/riding involves physical danger, and the effort required to do all this work makes sure I fall asleep in less than 30 seconds every night...I understand they're giving us a place to stay...a room next to the showers with 2 beds for Éloïse and I, a shed for Jeanne and an old stinky trailer for Florence, but...You get what I mean. Or maybe not.

"You get to ride horses!"

Correction: I get to sit on a horse at slower than human walking pace with people who a scared/inexperienced...And when we go on trail rides at night, we ride the idiot horses (ponies**). They're not dangerous, they just lack training.

When I come back and find a ridiculous job that involves paper and sorting and no people, i'm going to take lessons again.

Thanks.

Minke

5:50AM, alarm rings.

Lift comes to get us.

We go to the dock in Baie Sainte-Catherine, put on our waterproof jackets and pants.

Waited about 10 minutes for Dominic to come get us with the zodiac.

...We saw two Minke whales and a seal.

It was a pretty bad day for whales. We went all the way to the middle of the river, with three boats communicating between each other, trying to see where there might be more. It was foggy towards the center of the river, so we listened out for larger whales.

Nothing.

I got a few shots of small Minke whales.

We may go again to see if there are more.

Oh, and no more food left once again.



**Edit: The trailer is absolutely DISGUSTING. I walk in to make supper, dishes are piled up, the table is FULL of crumbs and other nasty grub, there is nothing ready, not much to eat...I grab a pot to boil sausages, the bottom has some kind of weird crusty black spot, obviously left by someone who burned something and ''thought they wouldn't be able to clean it off.''

It's official, i'm going to live in a box, and it will be clean.

Zodiac

No...Not astrology.

Quite a busy day today, Éloïse and I took the day off, and so we went to Tadoussac. We hung around the boarding docks for AML zodiac boats for a while, looking to see if we might know one of the captains. We didn't see anyone we knew, so we decided to grab a bite at some restaurant nearby.

Then we went to get my hair cut.

Then we went to eat some delicious homemade chocolate.

Then we went back to the beach, and we saw Dominic, and so he let us hop on the zodiac boat!
It wasn't to go see the whales, it was to drop off a bunch of people who had kayaked all the way to Tadoussac back to where they came from. I brought my camera, most pictures are trash, we got caught in the rain so I sat curled up in a little ball with my rain coat, trying to keep my hair dry and my camera too.

We saw two belugas from afar.

Tomorrow morning, at 6:15AM, Jeanne and I have a lift to go see the whales for real. Let's hope they're feeling outgoing. I'm bringing my camera again, hopefully i'll get some good shots. The sensor is really dusty, i'll have to get it cleaned when I come back.

Oh, and I also cashed one of my cheques, I had to go by Éloïse's bank account because the lady told me she couldn't do anything with other banks. Stupid banks.

It was a pretty exciting day.

Back to work tomorrow.

I'm going to sleep early, i'm really tired, and an early morning for me tomorrow.

Click Click

I rode Sisi in the outdoor ring today, not for long because it was very hot.

I took Major's bridle and a western saddle because the english saddle doesn't fit right.

She was ok until it came to cantering, she kept going to the door and wouldn't respond to my leg.

Then I just rode around without stirrups for a while. The ground is really soft so it's really hard to try doing anything properly, trotting is really uneven...

I have two trails later on, so i'll get some hours done...

Jeanne hid the nutella this morning, but I found it, and now i've hidden it.

Let the games begin.

Crying Babies

Pretty much every morning, there are parents in the room next to us with crying children.

Why the HELL would you bring children camping?
Why!?

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Food

We went grocery shopping again today.

I had rice with peppers and onions for lunch.

I finished my pot of nutella.

Éloïse and I had to go put the horses out, and it was so dark even her cell phone screen wasn't good enough for us to see anything. We were scared shitless, but we got to the barn without being killed by some maniac with a chainsaw/axe/gun/anything more ridiculous you'd see in a scary movie.

We went on a trail ride without Florence, she was working. I took the english saddle, it's a cheap piece of crap and it's not fitted for Sisi either, so it wasn't that great. I used another bit with her too, she seemed to be better with it. We wanted to walk down to the waterfall, Éloïse forgot a tie-down, so we just went back but with a different trail, we came back after dark, people were worried something had happened to us, but we were fine.

Éloïse was riding a 2 year old who bucked once when we cantered.
I swear this horse is an angel.

Bleh, nothing else to report.

Last Minute

I'm staying here because I get tired of anywhere I go.

At Work

So, i'm in the office right now, and as it's not too busy, i've decided to take the time to update my blog.

Actually, every time i'm in the office, I get about 2 phone calls, and not very many people check in or come to reserve. I like it that way, because i'm still a bit confused and slow when it comes to doing anything...

We ate brownies with melted caramel chippits on top. Rather delicious.

I also realized it's quite hard for me to live without tomatoes and vanilla. Almost all meals i've been meaning to make myself require either of these ingredients. The other day, I made shortbread cookies, and since we didn't have any vanilla, I put almond essence, which didn't taste bad at all.

I wanted to ride Major in the outdoor arena yesterday, but then Aimé said that it was too soft to ride on, because he hadn't put the right foundations underneath the sand. I said i'd ride in the outdoor arena of the barn next door, but when we saw Major's hooves and how long they were, we had to call Guillaume for him to come shoe him, by which time I was in the office working.

Guillaume also brought us an English saddle with a gigantic girth, which means we can only use it on fat horses, which is okay because they are pretty much all fat.

Murielle was wondering when Hélène was going to come visit, and I told her I was wondering too, so i'm just throwing it out there for now, I know she watches my blog, so maybe she will see this message. Sue, I doubt you will have time to come down, maybe if you come visit with grand maman and grand papa, and you ditch Jacques at the store.

Come ride the fat ponies with me, thanks.

Up In The Air

We watched it last night.

I died instantly when I heard the French voice translate what was said.
Yes, we watched Up In The Air in French. I don't know if that is what made me hate the movie. Maybe it's because I hate movies in general, but when I watched the trailer in English, it seemed much better and deeper in meaning. Maybe I just didn't understand the high-pitched nasal French voices during the entire movie, with expressions i'd never heard before...and...when you look at their lips talking, it just confuses you even more. Actually, I think i'm going to watch it again in English.

I'm working in the office at 18:00.

Fog

We went to Tadoussac today, ate there.

It was pouring rain again, so I took my rain coat, rain boots, and umbrella.It's very humid and really foggy. When we took the ferry back, we could hardly see anything that was more than a few meters in front of us.

I tried to deposit my pay cheques, but the machine was Desjardins, so I couldn't.

Where do I go?

Francophone/Anglophone

They don't use those terms in the US?
I talked to some people from Michigan, they had come a few weeks back to the campsite. They had a special request for the trails, they wanted to trot and to canter, so Aimé took them.
They came back and took another trail, again trotting and cantering.
They were surprised at how little English people spoke here.

I worked in the office with Florence tonight, it wasn't very busy at all, so I wasn't really stressed. Maybe the fact I wasn't with Murielle helped a bit. I got very confused when one man came to buy firewood, actually the man from Michigan, and I remembered how much I suck at calculating how much change to give.

Éloïse and I went on a trail ride with two small children and their mother, so we both had a child with us on our horses. It was so SO so uncomfortable, no feet in the stirrups, sitting behind the saddle, half on the saddle pad, and not really on the smallest horse...All the way to the waterfall and back, up and down hills. When Beauty (my horse) started trotting to catch up a little, I died. Especially since her trot is not the most comfortable either. Plus I was holding the child, who was 5, who didn't know when his birthday was, who was called Olivier, who talked the WHOLE way, asked me every possible question on the face of the earth...I tried acting like one of those people who like kids, I guess it worked, he wouldn't shut up.

''Et quand ils marchent les chevaux, ça fait boom boom?''
''Est-ce qu'il fait caca?''

OH, the worse thing is when he started asking me about how he could defend himself against a grizzly bear. For some reason, he wouldn't understand that beating it with a stick wouldn't work.

''Mais si j'ai un GROS GROS bâton, un GROS bâton qu'il peut pas briser, est-ce que ça va marcher?''
''....Non.''
''Ok alors si j'ai un fusil je vais être correct?''
*imagine my face*
''Euh....Ben....Oui.''

Parents of the world:
How do you NOT slit your wrists?

I am getting quite good at finding stuff to make myself decent meals.
For breakfast, I remembered grand maman's trick for remembering a pancake recipe, though i'm quite certain I forgot some stuff.
1 cup of flour
1 egg
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of baking soda....

I didn't have vanilla, so I didn't put any.

I took out my beautiful jar of nutella that i've been hiding in a safe place...Well, not that safe, but the fact there is some left leaves me to believe nobody has found it yet. I then took out my beautiful bag of frozen fruits and some cream, and had a Chez Cora breakfast.

They die when they see me eat nutella. I kindly remind them that I die every time they double-dip their spoons into the nutella, or use their fingers to clean out the jar...Éloïse used her fingers to take butter the other day.

''I saw that.''
''...Merde.''

I ate late enough, so I just had an early supper.
Jeanne cooked ribs in a pan, and made the cannellonis in the toaster oven as I had told her to do, and I made myself pasta with tomatoes and onions.

Later on, after work in the office was done, I had the rest of the cannellonis, and the rest of the frozen fruit.

Jeanne made a gigantic mess because she made ....Des pommes d'amour? Apples with sugar on the outside, which is actually supposed to be caramel but...You guessed it, we have no caramel. I remember we used to eat those when we were younger.
Anyways, hers tasted like crap, and there was sugar on the ceiling, countertops, table, my hands, plates etc... And with no hot water to clean it, Florence had to scrub away for a long while to get it all off.

Earlier today when I was in the barn, I heard a funny noise coming from the saddle storage area, so I went to check it out, and I saw there was a small bird trying to get out by the window. It kept smashing into it, so I tried to catch it, but it kept wriggling out, much more than Poosh could. It finally fell into a riding helmet, and I got it in my hands, and let it go outside. It was so soft, and I was surprised it didn't bite me. I wish someone had had a camera, because it was such a pretty moment.

That's what sucks about being a photographer, you get good pictures of everyone else but yourself, though I must say I can't complain that much because Éloïse has been getting quite a few good shots of me.

I have to go with Florence soon to take pictures of her, because the others have some, and she only has one, and she deserves them.

Good night.

Hello

So when I was working in the office today, pretty much all the clients that called or showed up spoke English, which means I had to translate at the same time as I was on the phone taking reservations, still not really knowing what I was doing.

It was pretty intense, especially since I am really bad at translating. People who hardly speak any English are quicker than me when it comes to translating just one word at a time. That's how bad it is.

I worked 5 hours today...

I made shortbread cookies. They were so tasty.

We found out what smells so bad in the roulotte. We just don't know why. It might be because the sewers are full and are about to explode, in which case Florence might wake up wallowing in crap.

I'm so tired I can't even formulate proper sentences......ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz

$$

I worked 7 hours and 30 minutes today.

We went on a trail with Aimé, his friend, Murielle, Éloïse and Florence.

I brought my camera because we were only going to walk, most of the pictures are blurry.

I mowed the lawn, I worked in the office and...I did a trail to the waterfalls.

I'm really tired so i'm going to sleep now.

I had a headache because working in the office is stressing me out. It's so complicated.

Ring Ring

So they decided to train me in the office.

I worked there from 10:00AM until 1:00PM.

It's boring and quite complicated, papers all over the place.
Initially they weren't going to train anyone else, but the other two are having trouble.
I don't know if i'll be any good either, we'll see.

Dishes still all over the place, not mine, too bad, I clean my own as I go along.
It's quite difficult to do dishes when there is no room left in the sink.
Poor Florence, she has to live in that mess.

I have to go clean showers/toilets now.
Great.

It's cold again, and all foggy. I used my boots today, I was happy to have them. It rained this morning.

Good day.

2

So I decided i'd post something else to make up for not having put anything up yesterday.

I haven't been putting a lot of pictures up, they take too long to load.

It's 4:17pm, and i've done no hours today.

I cleaned my room, everything is well organized and put away nicely.
That makes me happy.

The others went on a carriage ride earlier, nobody came to get me.
That is why we need to be standing around outside all the time, waiting to be given something to do, or to be there to help.
I don't think I feel like standing in front of your horse, petting its face as you take care of its hooves, for free. In fact, I don't want to do anything for free, and I shouldn't have to.

Florence and Jeanne went riding in the outdoor arena. I didn't feel like it, it's kind of pointless.

Dishes are piling up in the kitchen, the garbage is full and so is the recycling.
None of it is mine, I clean as I go along.
I used a paper plate when I ate because there is no room in the sink to do dishes anymore.
The garbage in our room is getting full, I told Éloïse (then I asked her...) to empty it, and she told me there was still some room to fill it.

I would write an inappropriate comment, instead I will keep this blog somewhat clean and write this: @#$%&*?!

Air

Well, the first thing I noticed when I walked out of the bus, across the street and towards my room, was how cold the air was, and how good it smelled.

I didn't post anything yesterday because I didn't really get the chance to.

I worked about 6 hours. You must understand that working 6 hours only includes the trails. It does not include saddling up the horses, brushing them etc...

I brought my iPod on a trail to make sure it was really 1h10 long. It was 1h17, which is not what I expected. I thought it would have taken about 1h30 or more, especially since we advance slower than human walking pace.

I did the waterfall trail 3 times, and then the cave trail with Jeanne.....

At some point we were all together, Florence, Jeanne and I, on one gigantic trail (Florence followed us with her clients because she was going to the waterfall, and the cave trail passes by the waterfall first). Pretty much all of the horses were taken. Then, when Florence was hanging back so we could turn left with our group and she wouldn't be stuck having to pull the horses with her clients on them with her because they wanted to follow our group. Then, I heard a bit of a scream, and I didn't think much of it because people often freak out when their horses move. Yes, move. And then I heard a horse behind me. Kate was trotting towards us, her saddle on the side, and she looked a bit frantic. So I told Jeanne to stop, got off my horse, held Kate, and tried to get her saddle back up. Good thing Aimé had come to check on us, he went straight up to check on Florence and the girl who fell. I ended up dragging Kate by the reins behind me all the way to the place where we tie the horses before going to the cave. She was very calm, so I was happy about that. Aimé took the girl back with him on his quad bike, and then drove Florence to come take Kate back after we got down from the cave.

Now, I must say that getting to the cave is quite steep and slightly difficult.

I waited with a lady who kept on getting very tired, and we kept on having to take breaks. We finally made it and caught up with the rest of the group. (Which is good because I had the matches to light the torches inside the cave)

There was also this girl in our gigantic group that was on Fanny, and she always goes off to eat in the fields, so that is what she did and the girl couldn't pull her out, so I traded with her and gave her Tornade, who also eats and is very slow, but eats less. I kept telling her to use the whip I had given her to go faster, but she didn't know what to do, even though I had shown her how to. She kept on saying ''I want to go home, can I walk?'', yes she spoke english.

This is what I was thinking in my head, and I know Sue will piss: ''SHUT UP AND SIT ON YOUR DAMN HORSE AND MAKE IT MOVE.''

I have NO, no, NO, NO! patience for these people. I just...sit there and smile and tell them it's going to be alright and that the waterfall is very pretty. Which it is.

Oh. I also brought blue string to tie around the trees so I wouldn't get lost trying to get to the cave again. Jeanne told me where it was that I got lost, because Florence had given her tips on how to know where to turn...Which Éloïse had not done for me because I hadn't gotten lost when I was with her, even though I was walking in front.

I am keeping my gigantic jar of nutella in my bag, I haven't started eating from it yet. I'm keeping it for when we are starving children and we have nothing left to eat.

We went to the village of BSC last night, we all sat in front of the Hotel de Ville. We almost walked there, because our lift had forgotten us. Idiots...

Then they saw us walking, (which is what I hoped would happen, and I knew would happen, because they spend their entire lives driving their cars around, and it's such a small place we knew we'd find them.)

Actually, we were walking to try and find ice cream somewhere.
We found some in a little dépanneur across from where we were sitting.

It was so small we were surprised to find ice cream there....We bought a tub of ice cream and asked for little wooden sticks to eat it with. I can never remember the name of it, it's the one with strawberry, chocolate and vanilla...Everyone ate the strawberry one because it's just so damn tasty.

And then there was someone to the right on the street who was having fireworks in their back yard.

And then people started doing funny things with their cars, you know when you spin the wheels really fast but you don't go anywhere. Yeah...

Oh and there is no longer the 3h30 long trail ride because some crazy man went completely insane when Florence went, he wouldn't let them go until Florence and her clients gave their names, because he says it's his land, which it isn't really, but he went to court against the town about it, and he won, and ....anyways, he's out of his mind, so is the rest of the family. Thanks to him, Éloïse is very happy because she hated that trail. I had never done it.

Holy crap I just wrote a freaking short story.

So, to conclude this gigantic junk I just wrote:

1- Air smells good here
2- Girl nearly dies on trail
3- I hate people
4- That 3-flavored ice cream is good
5- People here like cars/wrecking them
6- No more trail to the Fjord

Almost There

So it's currently 8:42pm.

I am in Saint-Siméon, we are taking a 30 minute break before continuing on our way.

The bus driver will drop me off right in front of the Ranch, which is good because I have no cell phone or number to reach anyone out here.

I was surprised to find out how many people were actually reading this blog.

On one end, i'm being depressed and angry, and on the other end, my mother is pissing her pants as she reads my complaints.
Lovely.

I have a migraine right now.
Bus rides give me migraines.

I think I forgot my keys at home (no worries we have many sets...)

If you guys find them, please mail them, thanks.

Pause

...blog will continue on saturday, I am in Montréal until friday.

Living Quarters

''s.v.p faire votre vaisselle au fur et à mesure''

I actually had to write it down on a piece of paper.

That piece of paper survived three days, the message written on it lasted one meal.

Dishes keep piling up.

As soon as there is anything in the sink, things start to accumulate.

I often do the dishes, then I dry them and put them away.

Jeanne does not rinse the soap off when she does the dishes.

Éloïse doesn't put them away.

It also seems as if I am the only one taking the garbage out and emptying the recycling bin.

And sweeping.

And keeping the general cooking area somewhat under control.

There are dishes to do right now, I am not doing them.

(Because I leave tomorrow morning.)

Florence comes back tomorrow, and she will be the one stuck cleaning.

They even leave the cleaning sponges in the sink.

And they ask why they shouldn't leave them there when I tell them not to.

Ok then. Go ahead and wash your scum-covered hands over the stuff we use to clean the dishes. :)

Am I SERIOUSLY going to have to make a cleaning schedule?!?!!?!?!

Maybe.

That will not solve the ''drinking straight out of the milk/juice jug, eating right out of pots and containers'' problem. It doesn't bother anyone else, that's why it won't stop.

It's disgusting. Especially when there is some peanut butter or nutella smudged onto the jug because someone had some on their mouth.

I'm currently typing and watching flies wander around the room.

Why?

Because apparently a door doesn't need to be closed once opened.

If ever I move out, it will be alone, in a cardboard box, but at least it will be clean.

Champion

I took the highest horse in the stable on a trail ride.

He bucked when we started galloping, so I refused to gallop again.

More clients these days...

Food time now.

9:00AM

So, last night we went to celebrate la St-Jean in Tadoussac.

We basically sat around, talked with some people from Tadoussac and Baie Sainte-Catherine, went in front of the fire to warm up, and then went back ''home''.

It was fun to watch one guy throw up and keep drinking, until we felt sick ourselves and went to sit elsewhere.

Just before leaving, we were told there was a two hour trail ride that had just come up, but we decided to wait until this morning to go because our lift was coming to get us in about 15 minutes.

We knew it was going to rain, so it was decided that the trail would be at 9:00AM.

We woke up a little too early for the time we fell asleep at, and the clients never showed up, so I made eggs.

Jeanne left for Quebec city yesterday, she should be coming back at 1:00PM today.

She will probably go straight to sleep.

There is supposed to be a fire in Baie Sainte-Catherine tonight, I doubt we will be going.

We'll stay in our room until it stops pissing out there.

Edit**:

Clients came back later, Éloïse went with them.

I stayed back in case there was another trail ride.

A lady came with her two grandchildren by the time Éloïse was back, so we both went on that trail.

We didn't know they wanted to see the waterfall and the cave, we had understood ''2 heures à cheval''....So we kind of improvised when we saw they really wanted to go to the waterfall.

As for the cave, it is way too steep of a climb for a rainy day with 2 children and an elderly person.

The lady lost her keys on the trail.

We went to look for them for quite a while, they still haven't been found.

I don't know where they are now, or where they are staying, but they live in the Laurentides.

People need to stop losing their stuff.

The other day a group of teenagers went on a trail and one guy lost his wallet, but we found it later on that day when we went on our evening ride.

We ate pillsbury muffins a few minutes ago.

We also decided not to go to the fire in Baie Sainte-Catherine

Reasons:

1. We're all dead tired

2. We don't really know anyone

3. Yesterday was mildly boring

4. No lift...

Talking about cars, since they have so little to do here, they all fix their cars up.

That's what they do.

At least that is our theory.

Pretty much all of their parents, themselves, relatives...Work on the ferries going from BSC to Tadoussac. Luckily for them, I don't think it's possible for a bridge to be built there for some reason.

Tremble

I was on Skype with Sandra earlier today, and she said she felt things shaking over there, that she was seeing the house in front of hers tremble.

No more than 30 seconds later, I felt my room shake ever so slightly.

Nobody else noticed because they were all outside.

I felt the earthquake too, even all the way out here.

Good Morning

Almost didn't find the cave.

Turned around twice and finally found the right way.

Oops.

I missed a day.

I made myself useful, that's why.

We went to take pictures in a field with Tornade...

I painted tables and mowed the lawn.

Now i'm dead tired.

Late Breakfast

We were woken up by Jeanne who came knocking to tell us it was time to do the groceries.

Éloïse said we were not ready, so she just said it would have to be before noon.

Then, Aimé came knocking because he was looking for Éloïse. He needed her to help for the carriage ride with clients.

After much lack of communication, the clients left because they were waiting too long, and I left on a trail to the waterfalls with 2 clients (before breakfast, because we had nothing to eat at that point.)

I am getting very tired of everything, especially cleaning and cooking and thinking ahead for all suppers or else we end up eating kraft dinner.

Plus, I really don't like their attitude towards me, I often wonder if they see I have two legs, two arms and a head, because they seem to think I am incapable of doing anything alone. For example, I was back from a trail with 4 other people, the horses were all tied outside (which is not usually what they do, they usually just leave them to stand there and call them in when it is their turn to be unsaddled), and I was bringing them in one by one. Then, I hear Aimé say through the intercom to Jeanne and Éloïse that one of them come help me because he thought I would have trouble.

Also, before Florence left, she said she was tired of hearing them talk behind our backs, because then she had to come speak to us and pretend she hadn't heard anything. I wanted to know what they were saying, I already knew, they were saying that I wasn't really doing anything.

It's true, I mostly sit in my room.

I don't feel like painting tables, cleaning showers and toilets, or being followed by Aimé as I mow the lawn because he also thinks I am unable to do that. The last time I mowed the lawn, I checked the gas tank because I found it smelled strong. Turns out it was still open. Lovely. When I told him, he just asked if I had lost a lot of gas. I really felt appreciated.

As you can tell, I am having so much fun.

3 Musketeers

Florence left for Montréal yesterday, she needed to concentrate on studying for her last calculus exam. She is coming back on the 27th, I think.

So now, it is only Éloïse, Jeanne and I.

We ate chicken drumsticks and pasta last night.

I have to go check what is left in the freezer in terms of meat.

Now I will go mow the lawn.

Woohoo.

Edit**:

Kraft Dinner for lunch, even though we ran out of milk.

I had forgotten how good that crap was, I remember we used to buy cases full of it.

I took some steak out for tonight.

Should be good.

Darkroom

So, I did my schedule for school yesterday, the first class I tried to get was photography.

That's all it said on the schedule of classes.

''Photography''

It didn't say digital or darkroom.

Now I look at the course costs, and I am quite certain it is darkroom.

Which makes me angry, because I did not think that was what I was signing up for.

John Abbott is so great for these things.

How wonderful a school.

At least I have thursdays off...

...to work.

Edit**:

I went on a trail to the cave with Éloïse, now I know how to get there alone.

We have to climb up some steep rocks to get to it, but it's not too tiring.

Tomorrow I will mow the lawn.

Trails

So I had 6 clients today, two for the first trail and four for the second one.

It was the first time I was alone on a trail.

The trail is pretty simple, so it's pretty impossible to get lost.

They gave me a walkie-talkie, and when they tried to contact me, it never got through, so Aimé came to check on me on his 4-wheeler.

...Yeah.

We ate cannellonis for supper.

In Training

I woke up very late, and went to see if there was work to do.

Instead, I was sent to see two horses being trained.

One was two years old, the other was an older pony who was very disobedient.

He actually attempted to jump over the fence of the round paddock and managed to get over it. He almost got tangled up in the wires.

I just stood there with my camera, not taking pictures.

Great photographer.

Later on, I went on a trail ride with Éloïse and two clients to the cave.

I was afraid to go inside at first because it looked like a tight squeeze, but Éloïse assured me it was larger inside.

We lit a few torches and I hesitantly followed.

I was a bit more comfortable inside, I am glad it isn't very deep because I was starting to worry I wasn't going to be able to turn back to see the light coming from the entrance.

It was humid and quite cold inside, but it was refreshing after the climb up.

We are quite certain the chickens are hiding their eggs from us, so tomorrow we will remove all of the bags of grain in the way, and hopefully, we'll find a pile of eggs.

If we don't, our chickens are useless.

Unfortunately, we can't eat them as they are not fat enough.

I cleaned my half of the room again, searched for my riding pants again.

My clothes were finally dry, so I was able to put them away.

One Paintbrush.

So Jeanne came to knock on our door to wake us up to go do some painting.

We took our time, had breakfast, I did a wash, and when we got down the hill where the tables were, we were told there was only one paintbrush.

So I left.

I went back to hang my clothes anywhere I could find. I used a chair, my tripod, hangers, drawers, anything that will hold stuff up, I opened windows to aerate the room. It is too windy to put things on tables outside, otherwise, I would have.

Wood Chuck Chuck

Woke up, did some cleaning before breakfast.

Was lazy most of the day, then went to help move some wood from one big pile to a neater one.

Then, we took three Haflingers on a trail, I took Sisi, Jeanne took Ruby and Éloïse took Major.

Florence stayed back to do some work. We went to the village and back, my stirrups were annoying because they were unequal, and when I fixed them, my saddle started sliding left and right. So, it was mildly unpleasant, but it was still very nice outside, a light breeze and the fields all golden with sunlight.

Groceries were done today, which is a good thing because I ate pizza for breakfast/lunch because there was no bread or nutella left. Only porridge, which i've been eating for the past few days and refused to eat again because I didn't like it in the first place (even when mixed with marshmallow.) Éloïse likes to eat nutella right out of the pot which makes me die a little inside because we run out so quickly.

There are fruits and vegetables, and I am eating those fruits and vegetables, so don't worry Jacques, I will not come back dead from lack of vitamins.

I am also abusing of sunscreen, so I think I am the only one who hasn't had a sunburn yet.

The benefits of sunscreen have been proven by scientists. Woohoo.

A picture of other saddle pads I decorated earlier...

Knock Knock

Every morning, we always wait for that knock to come wake us up for something to do...

So, every time we hear footsteps in front of our door we pray it's a camper going to the showers.

**Edit:

Today Éloïse and I were given the day off.

We went to Tadoussac...By bike. If I see another hill to climb on a bike, i'm going to rip my hair out.

We walked as slowly as we could around the town, visited the touristic rip-off shops, ate, and left.

I took this because I know Jacques is obsessed with this drink:

Music

We went to the Festival de la Chanson in Tadoussac last night, it was ok, I didn't know any of the artists but the music was good.

I woke up late this morning for the first time in a long while.

I have to go outside and face the real world now.

...yeah.

We will probably have a camp fire tonight, i'll bring the guitar and attempt to sing something somewhat decent.

hhaahhaah

**Edit:

We had some help to get our fire started, they put gasoline to help it start up (they seem to have many uses for it other than running their cars...)

I brought my guitar and my camera, sang the first song I learned and the first song I wrote, and took some very low quality pictures due to the lack of light.

We cooked sausages on the fire, then marshmallows.

Then bread, nutella and peanut butter, though I skipped the peanut butter.

Earlier, we went on a trail ride and the three others all took Haflingers, but we ran out of moderately safe/sane ones to ride so I took Fric again.

On the last gallop I made him go full out, it was pretty intense, all their little ponies couldn't keep up.

We also went into the river with the horses because the hill to get there was dry enough for us to descend without them slipping.

Me learning Dust in the Wind by Kansas.

Éloïse, Jeanne and Florence.

Beauty and Champion...

On wednesday night we took them on a carriage ride to the village...

I brought my camera, most pictures are blurry, though.

Yesterday I went on a trail ride with Florence and 2 clients to the waterfalls.

It was pretty long.

Last night we went on another trail ride, this time with Amélie who was riding Style (who had only been ridden about 5 times, ever). He got himself all tangled up in a fence, Jeanne sat on his head, he ate grass, and we waited for someone to arrive with something to cut the wires from the fence to get him out. Apparently he has done this a few times already.

Today we stained the deck, (and my hands).

Carriage ride on wednesday:

Bleh

I'm getting way too lazy about this blog.

Today we woke up a little earlier than usual because we had a lot of stuff to get done...

I did some mowing, then some painting.

I had to wash my hands with gasoline because they were full of paint. (Jacques, calm down I didn't breathe it.)

Then...We rode the horses in the outdoor ring.

I rode Fannie.

None of the horses were ever properly schooled so it was pretty chaotic.

3 of us tried to make Kate gallop, only one succeeded.

And then we took Champion and Beauty out on a carriage ride on the 138 and through the woods.

I was there looking like a complete tourist with my camera.

It was cool.

Too lazy to upload pictures.

Food time.

Needle and String

So I've been sewing little pictures next to the names of horses on their saddle pads. So far i've sewn one for Fric, Tornade and Belle...

Éloïse and Jeanne are doing some more painting of numbers for camping grounds.

Rainy Days

You guessed it...It's raining again.

Éloïse and I are sitting in our room being bored.

Jeanne is being trained at the office, Florence is gone to help bring some horses.

....now she is listening to Justin Bieber, so I will get my guitar out and drown the music out with some crappy strumming.

Edit**:

Failed attempt at a trail ride, we went about 50 meters away from the barn and it started pouring like crazy...We turned back, played hangman for about 5 minutes and decided it wasn't worth riding in the mud.

I also decorated Tornade and Tequila's saddle pads by sewing little images next to their names, which Éloïse had done before. I'll get a picture when it stops pissing rain.

Oh, and it turns out the farrier was talking complete nonsense, talking about the DNA of his horseshoes.....?!

Festivol

...I didn't make a spelling mistake in the name, that is what the fair was called...It was bird-themed.

As soon as we woke up, we had to go get the horses ready to bring to the fair for trail rides. I had a quick breakfast and went straight to the barn.

We went back to the ranch after by car, I brought some money and my camera.

There was a waffle and pancake stand...I had both. First I tried a cheese and egg pancake, then I had a dark chocolate covered waffle. Then a hot dog. I think I will be having a light supper tonight.

There was a farrier who has making his own horse shoes. He spoke english so I went to talk to him. He was slightly insane, but he seemed to know what he was talking about.

I took my first clients on a trail ride to the waterfalls, they didn't speak french, that is why they sent me...It was a bit long, I took Tornade. She is too slow for clients, I brought a twig to make her move a bit faster. I only have a problem with her when walking. Her other gaits are fast enough.

I took Cassy for last night's trail. She's the skinniest horse here. Apart from keeping her head a bit high, she was fine.

More on facebook...

(I'm having some problems with uploading the pictures, that is why they're too big and not centered...)

Bored.

We were woken up because we needed to take some horses to a small festival...We got a lift back but we will have to go and bring them back later. We went through the woods to avoid the busy road.

Then I did some cleaning for an hour.

And now i'm bored, and I don't feel like doing anything.

Edit**:

A bit more excitement, we went to take the horses back from the festival, nobody wanted to trot the whole way...So we basically galloped all the way back. It was pretty insane. Good thing I had Tornade, she is very calm so she did not go absolutely insane and try to pass everyone.

It was fun.

Lazy Days

Still not much going on today.

We will be testing the outdoor ring today with Fric and Sisi...Probably not another horse, i'm not sure we will all fit. I'm getting lazy with the pictures, also I really have nothing left to photograph.

Florence showed me a bit what to do in the office. Now we are waiting for the phone to ring. She is doing some math. I am sitting here being lazy.

Tables

So, I helped assemble a few more picnic tables.

I think I will be the one who mows the lawn.

As long as the bugs die down, I will be happy to continue.

I wonder when they will start training us to work in the office.

The groceries were done this morning, so no starving yet.

I don't know which horse I will take for tonight's trail.

If we are taking pictures, we will bring Tornade, she looks nice and is relatively calm.

If not, I might take Fric again, or I might try Champion (he's huge.)

Éloïse took him yesterday, and I was at the front and was galloping with Tornade, and she yelled to stop because her stirrup had flown right off into the long grass. And then my left rein detached. Lovely.

This is what our room looks like (I am staying with Éloïse) :

Edit**:

We went to take pictures on a trail.

We also climbed all the way down to the ''beach''.

It was muddy and very difficult to get to but we made it.