The Cosmopolitan Blog

I just turned 33. And I just had the best birthday week i could have hoped for. See, when you’re 33, birthdays are just another day, I don’t necessarily care that i’m at work that day or that i won’t end up drunk and passed out somewhere by the end of the night. Apparently, in your 30s, you also realize that whether or not you actually get drunk is not the deciding factor on whether you had a nice evening or not.

So this year, i decided to leave it to the Gods. I made no plans, had no expectations, didn’t pre-warm anyone that this day was coming up, and even had a laundry list of errands that i was perfectly willing to run on my birthday weekend. And you know what? When you have no expectations, it’s amazing, because ANYTHING that happens is a bonus. Seriously.

For starters, there’s facebook (hahaha, that’s funny… it’s my birthday post and i’m commenting on how awesome a piece of technology is… *sigh* there really is no hope for geeks like me). Anyway, as one of my friends posted on my wall, “facebook means never missing another birthday”. Because there’s this little thing on the right sidebar that tells you a days in advance when someone’s birthday is. So all these people i connected with wrote on my wall, sent me free gifts, remembered to send me e-greetings, it was all very um… e-fun! Ok, so the number of physical birthday cards (you know, those that you can actually touch and that you receive through your mailbox, you know, the mailbox outside your house, remember that one?) decreases a little, but it’s ok, i’m in my 30s, which means that people of my generation actually still know what they are (phew, there is still hope for the world) and i still got a few.

ok, so my morning (at work, may i remind you) was filled with birthday calls, birthday wall postings and birthday e-cards. I imagined that was going to be the most fun i was gonna get that day, but then, 5 of my colleagues (remember, this is a company where no one does anything for anyone’s birthday apart from sign a card that always ends up on your desk a couple days late anyway) got together to buy me a cake and left it on my desk for me to find when i got back from lunch. So i invited them all to tea and cake in the company kitchen, it was lovely. Meanwhile, all my college friends from Boston called me, one at a time, so we got to catch up on a whole lot of gossip. Of course, by then, i had done NO work whatsoever… ssshhh, don’t tell anyone. So then, 2 other colleagues bought me candy from the local store downstairs, and if that wasn’t enough, the owner gave me a 3rd one free after realizing it was my birthday.

So after i had put on 10lbs in one afternoon, i went home and vegged. It was Thursday, so i knew that nothing would happen until the next evening. The good thing about having family in town is that, if they love you just a little, in theory, they’re gonna do SOMEthing, even tiny. So, i just assumed my sister would get me a cake, invite cousins over and that would be that. But no, somehow, this wasn’t the case. And it was awesome, because i didn’t expect it. She picked a new place, a Brazilian restaurant i will review shortly, planned everything from the guestlist to the transportation to…. yep, coordinating the surprise arrival of my best friend and her hubby, all the way from Ottawa. It was awesome, we were all at the restaurant already when the surprise guests showed up, and i was totally not expecting it. I got some awesome gifts, my uncle was even considerate enough to throw in a couple toys for my cat!

Saturday, i had a potluck brunch with all my girlfriends, where i was showered with even more gifts and cards, and then went out for drinks in the evening with a couple other people. I spend Sunday seeing other friends and spending a leisurely afternoon in the sunny Old Port of Montreal.

So i want to thank everyone who made my birthday so special.

Too often, we assume that because it’s a birthday, or it’s New Years Eve, or it’s Valentine’s Day, then something special HAS to happen. We put so much pressure on ourselves! Instead, relax! Why not just go in with no expectations, seriously, try it, I highly recommend it. Any event then takes on a whole new dimension of awesome!

I work in Marketing, so finding one’s niche is extremely important. And I applaud Al Gore for finding his. He found the right mix of serious and “hip” (waow, that dates me, right?) to appeal to as large an audience as possible. He mixed the in-depth understanding and reading (books, presentations…) with the entertainment aspect (concerts), and i do feel that global warming has reached an aweresness level that wasn’t there a couple years ago. Granted, this is my impression, living in North America, maybe, in Europe, things are still unchanged.

And he’s been smart. I think he has good advisors. The success didn’t go to his head, he didn’t suddenly imagine that he could conquer the country and win an election. Many people encouraged him to run, especially since this seems to be a race where everyone and their dog is interested in running, no one would criticize a man with an actual cause for running.

But he knews that his passion and his niche is elsewhere. I don’t think he will run, and good for him, he can do better as the main advocate for a cause than as a “could have been… twice!” president. But i was a little surprised actually, to find how low his ratings were as a potential candidate. Goes to show, you can be successfully pegged at one thing, but unsuccessful at others. I think Al Gore, with all his wisdom, knowledge, experience and tact, makes a great expert, but not necessarily a great president. You’d think a country would want a president that has MORE knowledge than the average Joe, more education, and more experience… But it seems, at least from the past 2 presidential terms, that the US wants a president they can relate to, someone who speaks at their level, who makes mistakes they would make, who acts like he’d be happier on a ranch or playing with toy soldiers… and giving credit were credit is due, maybe through luck, maybe through some really smart planning, George W. has achieved that, giving the average Joe a option that the Democrats hadn’t given for a long, long time.  Anyway, let me digress no further…

I want to congratulate Al Gore on winning the Nobel Peace Prize …and on finding his niche.

A group of us went to this restaurant because of the all-you-can-eat buffet, and what i find is this: know what to expect and you won’t be disappointed. This is the ideal place for a large group with various tastes and budgets. What this place will NOT offer: a grand culinary experience, a trendy atmosphere, service excellence.

But it’s a decent meal out if you plan on concentrating on the company of your friends / family.

Ok, so about the food. It’s a good size buffet, there’s a chinese food section, with about 20 different warm choices, and 20 appetizer choices, as well as about 4 choices of soup. I recommend the schezuan shrimps, the crispy chicken and the soups. Then there’s the sushi section. I consider myself relatively educated in matters of sushi, and if that’s how you consider yourself, then don’t go there for the sushi. There’s your basics only: california, kamikaze and a couple other combinations. There are about 2-3 vegetarian rolls, and your basic nigiri sushi: salmon, shrimp and eel the day i was there. The quality of the fish is mediocre, to give you an idea, it’s just one cut above the boxes of sushi you find in the grocery stores.

And if you haven’t stuffed yourself enough, there’s a full salad section, and a full desert section. Personally, since i don’t have a sweet tooth, i would have liked to see more choices in main courses or sushi, rather than desert, although everyone seemed to recommend the jello

Service is decent, and fairly efficient. Note that on groups of 6 or more, then added a 12% service charge straight onto your bill. The prices are what makes this place worth it: buffet is $10 at lunch (less seafood choices) and $15 for dinner.

1240 Stanley, Montreal, Quebec H3B 2S7 - (514)871-8099

I haven’t commented on celebrity gossip in a while, but since this one involves a dog, i had to give my 2 cents. So we all know the story by now, Ellen De Generes, super funny sitcom star and talkshow darling (i’m a big fan, personally, she keeps it light, she mixes it up, she shows she cares for pets, the elderly, supports her hometown of New Orleans, she donates and gifts a lot, and she’s not afraid to get personal) is in the middle of a doggy controversy.

Basically, she adopted a dog from a non-profit place called “Mutts and Moms”, but things didn’t work out, the dog didn’t get along with her cats, so she decided to give it to her hairdresser who has 2 daughters. The dog stayed there for about month, and as we all know, that’s plenty time for little girls to fall in love with their pet. Then, suddenly, turns out the non-profit place took the dog away from the hairdresser, because, in their contract, it said that if a dog adoption didn’t work out, the original adopter (in this case, Ellen) was obliged to give the dog back and wasn’t allowed to give it to someone else.

The non-profit agency’s case: It’s to protect the dogs. And i get it, it makes sense. This is their business, they take pride and care in placing dogs in families that they approve of, they often have rigorous interview processes (i remember adopting my cat from a humane society and remember thinking “it’s harder to get a kitten than having a baby”, they told us there was even a chance they would come to our house to check out the living situation). So, yes, i get it, their policy makes sense.

Ellen’s case: She also gets it. This is why she was in tears, openly, on her show the other day. She apologized profusely for not doing the right thing and not reading the contract. She felt so guilty for the dog being carter around from one place to another and for breaking the hearts of those little girls. But her point is, this time, this ONE time, instead of sticking to their guns and their policies, why can’t the agency just come over, see the dog’s living arrangements in his new place with the hairdresser, and THEN, based on that, approve or not approve this adoption. Because she knows that these people will treat the dog right, and her only interest is the dog. She feels that the non-profit place is just sticking to their guns for the sake of it and for publicity.

Obviously, i side with Ellen here. Why? Because i’m just a softie that even just a picture of a cute dog or cat makes me ball. So thinking that a puppy has just spent his first 2 months in like 3 different homes is upsetting. I think this has gotten ridiculously out of hand, because, had Ellen not been a celebrity, they would have problably settled this ages ago, and, with respects to that, i think both Ellen and the agency are to blame for purposefully dragging it out in front of the cameras…

So, for now, the dog has gone back to the agency. The police and the courts are involved. I’ll keep you posted

If you want to read more, see here. To see Ellen’s tearful plea on her show, see here (you may have to sit through a commercial first).

So, an alternative to Digg and del.icio.us is Technorati… I’m looking into this now, because, instead of “digging” every post, the aim here is to have people favorite your blog, it’s a one time thing, and then posts are regularly updated, so basically, you can keep track of all the posts of your favorite blogs in one place. Yes, it’s kinda like an RSS feed i guess.

Then i can add a neat little widget to encourage y’all to favorite my blog…

*sigh* the things i do in the name of learning…

There’s a new poll on connectivity, remember to vote! http://astralmarketing.com/blog/ thx to all those who voted in the previous one!

ok, so what’s the deal with Twitter? I mean, so, you set up an account, and then all you do is keep updating your status? That’s it? and then you get to post a widget (see right hand side column “what i’m doing”) that gives a live feed of what you’re doing, as long as you keep updating it.

The good news is you can update by IM (not sure why you would want to) or by cell phone SMS (that is handy, this morning, as i was running for the bus, i SMS’ed “I’m running for the bus” and hey presto! my blog readers knew i was running for the bus)… so, short of knowing when i went to the bathroom, you guys know everything i did today… but, um, what’s the point? we all know i’ll be bored with this, this time friday…

ok, so you can follow other peole, and, technically, the widget on the right could have the updates of all these other people. Right now, i’m following Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple has time to twitter, apparently) and Mark Zuckerberg, founder of facebook… how do i know it’s even them? …and again, I ask, what’s the point? Do i care that Bill Gates has Vista SP1 on his PC right now?

HELP! someone please explain twitter to me….

Located on trendy McGill Avenue, just on the edge of Old Montreal, an area I really don’t know that well, but really want to discover, it really has the latest and hottest places to wine and dine.

So Holder is trendy without over doing it. It’s a french brasserie style place, high ceilings, lots of wood, noisy, lots of activity, cute waiters offering efficient service with an accent and wearing the typical french towel/apron over their black pants, fancy dishes and beautiful plating… I went on a Tuesday and it was bustling. They have a bar, and what i liked about it was that the bar wasn’t to one side, it was right there, in the middle of the hubbub… I recommend their Kamikazes, super lemony, not very french but oh so yummy.

So we had a couple drinks, and then moved on to our table. Great thing about this place is that it’s really, really busy, and yet, they didn’t seem to have problems seating us, once we were ready to go to our table, they were ready to show us there.

The menu is not extensive, 4-5 dishes in each category (appetizers, soups, salads, fish, meat…), but some classics. Presentation & plating of each dish was impeccable. The only negative, which i found out later, was that our waiter forgot to tell us about the specials, they were actually up on a big black board on the wall, but too far for us to read, and, had he told us about them, i might have actually tried the entrecote out.

One of my friends had the beef cheek (sounds weird, but it’s a super tender part of the beef) in bourguignon sauce, a twist on a french classic, very nice. Another person had the salmon, the menu said “on a bed of mashed potatoes” (oh, sorry, no, purée potatoes ;-)), and they weren’t kidding, it really was a bed, very generous portion. Another friend had the seared tuna, I can’t remember the description on the menu, but he wasn’t as excited as we were with our dishes. He was expecting something very saucy, but like i pointed out, tuna rarely is in sauce, and this seemed really good, it was lying on a bed of lentils, peppers and other grilled vegetables, and again, a generous portion there. My dish was the lobster ravioli, it was delicious. Good portion, very rich (but not too rich), and i appreciate that they kept the sauce to a minimum, it really brought out the lobster flavor.

Oh, i should talk about the appetizers. I had the goat cheese, and I recommend it, seriously. It was perfect warm temperature, and filled our mouth in a way that only goat cheese can. It was on a crispy biscuit, and was served with a delicious and very generous portion of olive tapenade. Very yummy. Other apetizers around the table were, the classic and Holder favorite steak tartare. Being 1/2 french, i’m used to having the waiter prepare it table side, but here, they don’t. They take your order and ask you if you want it spicy or not, and then it comes already plated. This would never fly in France, but then France can be snooty that way. This was efficient and perfect.

A note about deserts, we were all so full by then, that we could only go for one desert to share. We chose the trilogy of creme brulées, and what a good choice…. Very yummy and good for sharing, just ask them for extra spoons. I saw on the menu they had a selection of french and Quebec cheeses, which was tempting too.

Wine list was very decent, wines from all over the world, with no specific emphasis on France (just how i like it). All the cocktails you could want from the bar. Pricing is extremely reasonable, my lobster ravioli was $19, the beef cheek was $22 i think.

Only thing i can suggest for improvement is the sign on the door. The door is actually the entrance to the office building 407 McGill, but it’s not at all obvious that it will take you into the restaurant as well… You have to actually walk up the couple steps before realizing they have a tiny sign there. But hey, if that’s the only nitpick, then really, shows what i great time i had… I’ll definitely be back.

Holder -407 McGill - 849-0333 - $30-$40 per person for 3 courses, not including tax or drinks.

It’s been 2 months since i’ve posted, and if i still have anyone reading this blog, then i’m extremely lucky!!

Dear readers (all 2 of you, one of which is probably my mom!!), yes, i’m still here. The past few months have been filled with family visits, trips overseas, religious festivities, a couple migraines, and the highlight of it all, the acquisition of my very own PDA, finally! Yes, i know, once a geek always a geek…

So this is my resurfacing post… Worth noting, in an effort to stay as present as i can on my blog, i’ve added the twitter plugin (see right column), so you’ll always know what i’m up to… I’m new to twitter, and apparently, no one i know is on there, so i you want to add me as your friend, i’d be eternally grateful… lol, needy much?

Next, i’ll post a review, i guess i owe you all at least that!