First Week in Paris

On the picture, the white monument @ the end of l'Avenue de la Grande Armée is la Grande Arche de la Fraternité. This shot is taken from l'Arc de Triomphe. La Grande Arche is located in the business district of La Defence west of Paris. I work in one of the towers beside the Arche. A cool thing about my workplace is that it has 2 squash courts :)

So here goes my first 2 weeks in Paris. There was allot of work and going through my task list. I had to open a bank account, shop for my cell phone, shop for Internet, find an apartment which will be in the 3rd district until I find something better, in between Le Centre Pompidou and Le Louvre ...

Currently my hotel is in Neuilly, a rich neighbourhood of Paris really close to where I work. I guess I wouldn't mind staying @ the hotel more than the 2 weeks planned. Since I've been here, We've been working hard, the project we our working on was kind of doomed and we are trying to save it, but let's say french politics are quite different and we've been having a hard time to have a good chain of commands. Plus we are outsourcing part of the programming to Vietnam which has not proven a successful partnership up to now.

After all the hard work we go out for diner or for a drink with a bunch of Alex's(Alex is the guy that brought me here) friends, he knows so many people. Last Saturday, after I learned that I couldn't go to the Vitalic concert because it was sold out, I went for a chill night by myself to a cool little restaurant playing house music beside my hotel. It's called Epices Riz - Tapas y Pasta and it's a mixture of Italian/Spanish food. I ended up meeting a bunch of people staying @ the restaurant with the staff and friends and drinking their private collection of wine and champagne. A couple of "Someliers" Mathieu and Charlotte invited me to stop by the store to taste a few more wines when I'll have time. Since then, Ive been eating to that restaurant every night I can, Alex loved it also.

On the week-end I went running twice in les Bois de Boulogne located right beside the Hotel.
I also went for a walk/shop @ l'Arc de Triomphe and Les champs Élysées.

Last night we went to a Pierre Lapointe concert @ La Cigale with a bunch of Quebecois, it was a good show and we had a great time goofing around @ the concert and @ the bar after that. Going in to work this morning was a different thing though. Every Thursday night there is le Pot Québecois, a gathering of Québekers going for drinks somewhere in Paris. We should be looking that out tonight.

Pirates of Silicon Valley

Great movie online on the recent history of the software industry big players Pirates of Silicon Valley (1 hour & 1/2).
Steve Jobs is tha man, apple is tha shit!!

Friday The 13th was a scary night. it was my Goodbye diner in Montreal, I had a few drinks with a bunch of friends @ Maa and later we had diner @ Taro were a few dj's had us grooving for a great night out. The evening was simply amazing, I couldn't imagine a better way to miss this beautiful city. Thanks to everyone that showed up.

I got in Paris on Monday morning, went to work in the afternoon and slept for 13 hours straight after that. The arrival is great, almost everything feels just right. Went to visit my miniature apartment last night, randomly met my buddy Alex going to catch my train and I later met a dude Faycal that was working @ Oracle a while back in the subway. Small world. I am now writing these lines in a nice little cafe. Keep it real ya'll.

My last concert in Montreal, Placebo @ Metropolis

Last night, Dave invited me to the Placebo soldout concert. So I joined the 4 Delierre brohers for the evening. We pre-drank @ Mars & Venus watching the habs fighting the leafs for a playoff spot. People were nuts in that place, when the habs scored 4 goals in 10 minutes, we just felt like we were right there @ Bell Center.

We left in the middle of the third to catch Placebo playing their first song. Great concert, great crowd, great times. Placebo is a British alternative band with a great voice. The song from the video is one of their best ones and it really rocked last night. Thanks Dave for the invite.

Paris, France

Aight, here it goes. Last Monday, my buddy Alex wrote me on msn, that IBM was looking for java developers in Paris for next Monday, joking I said "I'm in". The next day, I had a phone call from Phil, a guy working for Acti, a company that specializes in sending expatriates from Montreal to France and England. That means I get to work in France while not paying taxes in Canada nor in France.

I had one day to make the move. On one side I had to leave a great job at Oracle, with the best group of people you can find to work with, great conditions and a great project. I had to decide to leave far away from my family and friends, from Marie-Claude, from the best sport club in the world, from a great apartment. But there was no way I was going to let that stop me from the adventure of moving to another continent, to face new personal and professional challenges. From the time I got the official phone call from Phil, I had 36 hours to give my final decision. That was a hell of a 36 hours. But here I am now, moving to Paris in 12 days .... for a 12 month renewable contract. Hope you can come to the old continent to visit!

For you Parisians reading this I'll be looking for an apartment in Paris, preferably furnished.
For people in Montreal, I haven't officially subleased my apartment, fully furnished, so you might still have a shot.

My goodbye party should be on Friday April 13th so keep this free in your agenda.