Pride day

Slept again at 6.00 am and woke up at midday utterly destroyed. Today is Pride. As a good open minded citizen decided to make it not to Pride but to diving training. Then off home, then met some friends by Bastille for a diet coke where Pride was taking place. Very bad music, crap crap crap and the people...oh the people. Off to Cafe La Perle with A.R., which was a bit of a relief then thai dinner then off to Bataclan to parteeeeeeeeee!

Met collegues I have not seen for ages, a friend came over as well with two of his mates. Drinks were gulped, drugs were circulating in the disco as many people were off their heads, like Louis who we had to take out by 4.00 am so he could do a pizza man and take a breath of fresh air and a cab ride home with Gilles. Ended up going home with A.R. and sleeping at his place as I could not be bothered to go home at 5.30 am. And no we did not shag, or did we? eeeeeerrr..........

Science day

Today subject is Jet lag.

Jet lag, also jetlag or jet-lag, is a physiological condition which is a consequence of alterations to the circadian rhythm. Such alterations result from shift work, daylight saving time, altered day length, or as the name implies, transmeridian travel as on a jet plane. They are known as desynchronosis, dysrhythmia, dyschrony, jet lag, or jet syndrome. The condition is generally believed to be the result of disruption of the "light/dark" cycle that entrains the body's circadian rhythm. It can be exacerbated by environmental factors.

Prevention can be as simple as good sleep while aboard the plane, and adequate intake of fluids (without excessive amounts of caffeine or alcohol) to reduce the effects of dehydration on the body, caused by the dry air at altitude and the interruption of regular eating/drinking patterns. Seasoned travelers set their clock to the destination time zone, as soon as it is practical, and join the new rhythm. Exposure to sunlight may be a factor to reset the body's clock.

The condition of jet lag generally lasts many days or more, and medical experts have deemed that a recovery rate of "one day per time zone" is a fair guideline. Good sleep hygiene promotes rapid recovery from jet lag: in fact sleep, relaxation, moderate exercise, and sensible diet seem to be the simplest recovery methods. However, for occasional flights, it can be an effective non-drug remedy to skip sleep entirely for one night and one day and then go to bed at a normal destination-area bedtime (it may work better not to sleep the night before the flight); this allows a relatively quick recovery for many people (much faster than one day per time zone). However the best recovery (especially for younger people) would be to sleep at night at the destination time zone.

However, since the experience of jet lag varies among individuals, it is difficult to assess the efficacy of any single remedy. Age may also be a factor on the severity of jet lag, as younger people will suffer worse jet lag than older people would

 

A recent study in hamsters showed that sildenafil (also known as Viagra) aided in a 50% faster recovery from forward shifts in their daily cycles.This result was found only for forward shifts (that is, eastward travel experienced by humans) and was effective starting at low doses. However, this use has not been tested in humans and is considered an off-label use by the drug's manufacturers.

 

Source: Wikipedia with some personal annotations as you could guess. 

 

Jet lag I

Home...all tidy and pristine as I left it. Got a rejection letter from Institut Pasteur adressed to Mademoiselle me and my ortensias are just as good as dead dried flowers: B. who was supposed to take care of my plants, sent me a mail stating proudly that considering the rainy weather in Paris, he did not have to water the plants...bliss!!! Though sparrow brain forgot that there are green things in the flat and that rain would not be able to water them unless I have massive holes in the ceiling.

 

Oh Paris...

Back home.....got a seat by an emergency exit, did loiter around as the plane was late and left 30C and sunshine for 14C and rain.......why did I get home?

Cosco.......

Played with another cousin I have not seen or spent time for more than 20 years. Basically he was already entering teenagehood when I just finished crapping in pants. As you would gather not much to say when I got through chilhood, puberty, teenagehood etc..he was always 3 carriages ahead. But as you grow older, age difference tends to erase itself and you find you can talk about many things and not talk about as many things.

Today I did discover Cosco. oooooooooaaahhhh..heaven for the bulk shopper where things do not come in individual packets but in sizes enough to feed half of Ethiopia for a week.Moi being of course weak, ended up buying a huge pot of peanut butter to take home for a ridiculous price. That is it I want Cosco to establish itself in Paris and preferably 3 minutes walk from home.  OK time for a peanut butter tasting.......sigh....say bye bye to summers 2009 till 2021.

Family Reunion

A cousin and her tribe I have not seen for 2 years arrived today in Ottawa. Got to play with them. Funny how time flies away and still certain things remain the same....

Outlet galore

One thing you do find in North America is malls. In addition you do find outlet malls and that is a killer when it comes to me. Wallet suddenly finds itself in big need of Intensive Care and moi...well moi, do not remember anything. I just wake up to the smell of reality with lots bags hanging on my arms. I did promise myself to be better at it but it is a lost cause by looking at what hangs on my arms.....sigh...

Niagara Falls

I have the impression that I got conned. I ended up driving all the way to Niagara falls even though we were supposed to share the driving burden. Cousin came with the excuse, I am so tired, cannot drive in the city and got used to you driving. Spot the "dinde"....

On the way there we got to see a nice accident. Three cars rammed into each other. It was home style accident where what you see is a mangled piece of metal with some blood stains on the side....oh dear, well at least help was quite quick to come here, over there people would stop to pick up what is left in good use of the parts before the ambulance even manages to get out of the hospital. 

Two hours later and what do we see?

 Looks a bit like the CN tower....maybe it is just a Canadian thing. And admire in awe to my touristic piccies......

 

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Yes, Yes I know I am good at taking pictures. To proove it, big falls need big remedies.......

Who from my Pétasse chic friends will end up like that once summer is over and broken heart is still lingering? To your keyboards and write down your choices!

Dreamworld

On the menu a trip to Dreamworld with all the kiddies. Basically your Paramount answer to Disneyland. Fun fun fun......roller coasters galore, colimators, vomit inducing rides, bumper cars, water rides and the bungee jumping ride that is a heart attack provider guaranteed or your money back if you are scared of heights and sensitive to strong emotions.

Then off to an indian for dinner. Toronto being swamped by indians the food was great, nearly as in par as what you could get in the UK and the vindaloo......scorchio!!!! Ages since I ate something that scorchio.....a delight for the soul and taste buds.  

Toronto

Headed off with a part of the family for a long week-end that would take up to Toronto and Niagara Falls. First part of the trip was Toronto, a mere four hours drive away. Got to drive!!!! I luuuuuurve driving 4x4 huge cars, you feel so secure in them and then they are not a space oddity like in here. But on the way there, the important coffee stop by Tim Hurtons and then the lunch stop by Maccadies!!!

Toronto.....famous for the CN tower

 A more idealised arty farty view 

 From up there you can view the whole of Toronto, the Ontario lake and down below the local baseball match taking place.

 So Toronto: your typical big stressy north american city mixing neo classical buildings dating from the start of the century with sky scrappers with the all mod cons that come with it: Trains, cabs, busses, crime, clean streets, billboards, hockey team, baseball team, restaurants, nice parks, nice water front, shops, delis, Tim Hurtons galore and the CN tower.

Now if you saw this picture would you be able to say it is Toronto, Dallas, Chicago or Montreal? Answers to be put on the commentary side and the winner can claim the prize.