Seventh consecutive 14-hour day: GIVE ME MORE!

I told the chef I make bad coffee. That helped me circumvent what could have been another full day of kitchen duty. Honestly, since I don't drink it, I can't honestly say I know whether I make a good cup, right? So, I feign stupidity (you put scoops of coffee grounds where? directly in the cups?) -- and voila -- I'm off the hook.

I spent the first part of the day translating a script from French to English so the aforementioned Australian actress understands what her role is. That was fun, and since it's an action film about the mafia, I got to learn all sorts of expressions that the mafia "Boss" might say if he were French. These are not expressions I would repeat to my mother.

After that, as I'd hoped would happen, I tagged along with director Mathieu Drouin, an incredibly nice girl named Diya from France who's taken me under her wing, a guy from France named Didier (who also goes by the name Ray Mandrake, interestingly), and an actor named Idunno Buthe'skindofcute to shoot part of his film. The premise of the film is very interesting--it's questionably a dream sequence. I even got to offer a little creative input at Mathieu's request, since I said something that intrigued him. (Loved that.) Aside from that, I got to carry his equipment and help out with the shoot. It was all incredibly fun.

The evening ended with a nice shoulder rub from Patrick, otherwise known as He Who Brings Me Grapes. (Nothing romantic here--he's just one of the nicest people on the planet.)

'Tis a very good sign when, even with a schedule like this, I'm bummed about having to leave at the end of the night, and excited to head back the next morning.

Optional reading (yes, the rest is mandatory--there's going to be a test).
A couple of quick words about safety in Montreal. It's supposedly the safest big city in North America. As evidence of this, I was asked long after dark tonight to walk to the metro station, take the metro by myself (haven't done that before, so call me "lost"), get some groceries for another shoot tomorrow, walk past umpteen homeless people on my way back with armloads of groceries...and the only thing that happens is that a homeless person comes over to help me open a door. Last night, I walked home around midnight (it's about a 30-minute brisk walk from the office), and I didn't feel in the least bit uncomfortable. Everyone here agrees this is an extremely safe city, and I've polled a number of women who say they'd walk anywhere, anytime, by themselves.