Scenes from a suburb: final instalment

At lunch time today, I walked down to the front entrance of our office building, and stepped out into brilliant warm sunshine. Spring is here, at last there is no doubt. People are outside again, having cigarettes in their lunch breaks. I've no idea where they all went in the winter; perhaps addicted Québecois have worked out how to quit for the three coldest months?

Away in the distance, the skyline of downtown Montréal was shimmering: fifty storey skyscrapers daring to match the height of the Mount Royal. My five month sojourn in the suburbs concludes today. I've handed in my notice to my employers, and to the agency that handles me. The former will have to manage without my skills in Microsoft Excel; the latter have to manage without a 53% mark-up on my salary. Another interesting and wholly different job has come to an end, and I can now add Excel-wizard to my list of previous occupations (petrol station attendant, delivery driver, printer technician, architect, supermarket stocker, barman, assistant librarian, call centre monkey etc etc etc).

I crossed Jean-Talon Est to the Marché Galleries d'Anjou for the last time, and did a final farewell to the commercial lots that have distracted me most days from 12:00 until 12:30 ... a few Dollarama purchases were made as a final gesture (some baby wipes and a sudoku book for a certain long journey that lies ahead).

My life has generally undergone a major change every six to nine months in recent years. Something happens and a change of scenery or circumstances follows. The next month will not just be a stand-alone holiday, but could also mark the change of my personal situation. Doors close, doors open, and James carries on exploring.

*j*