Taking care of myself

Note: sorry about the funky use of color in this post...I can't seem to fix it...hopefully it's just a temporary glitch!!
Anyway...
I have to admit I was lonely Friday and yesterday, which is rare for me. So, today I did something I've not done before. I went to a "MeetIN" event. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept, MeetIN is an organization dedicated to helping people who are new to an area meet other people in the same situation. It's specifically advertised as a "non-dating" group that focuses on friendships rather than romantic relationships. Sounds good to me.

I'm so glad I went! We met at a gallery to see Sophie Calle's exhibit, "Prenez soin de vous." This translates to "Take care of yourself." Because the gallery's website explains it better than I could, here's its gist of the exhibit: At the heart of this exhibition is a break-up e-mail that the artist received from a lover, which ends with the line “Take Care of Yourself”. Sophie Calle decided to do just that: “I received an email telling me it was over. I didn’t know how to respond. It was almost as if it hadn’t been meant for me. It ended with the words “Take Care of yourself”. And so I did. I asked 107 women (including two made from wood and one with feathers), chosen for their profession or skills, to interpret this letter. To analyze it, comment on it, dance it, sing it. Dissect it. Exhaust it. Understand it for me. Answer for me. It was a way of taking the time to break up. A way of taking care of myself.”

Contrary to what it might seem, it was not a depressing exhibit at all -- most of it was enlightening, funny, or otherwise cognitively interesting. It was fascinating to see how women in different professions interpreted his same words (the accountant's perspective versus the police officer's perspective versus the poet's perspective, for example). I highly recommend it for both men and women if it ends up in a city near you. (There were plenty of guys there.)

Afterwards, four of us went to get a beverage. I cannot possibly express how much I enjoyed my white hot chocolate. (Not "white hot" in the temperature sense, although I did lose a couple of taste buds--think white chocolate, hot. Yum! This could be my new vice.) I really got along well with one of the girls, Johanna, so we may get together again. I walked home through old Montreal (here's a pic of Notre Dame Basilica). I'm feeling much less lonely this evening.

By the way, I received an email saying that if I want to stay in this apartment in Montreal until January 5, I can. Hmmm....how badly do I need a paycheck? I probably need the paycheck, but...hmmmm.....