Hello World. I know that you've probably heard it all, so I'll spare the cliches (I know, I'm missing the accent aigu) and tell it like it is, Pilgrim. I'm a Montrealer with way too much time on his hands but I have lots of stories to tell, so gather round and let me whisper sweet, sweet nothings into your collective ear.

I was formerly employed by the Deluded Informer, before that bastard Philip Shearing (Yes, that is his real name) fired me and replaced me with a paperweight. He doesn't realize how hard I worked for him and his gang of Loonies at the Deluded Informer but I know that one day, he'll learn his lesson. You can't keep a brother down forever, right?

Now, I'm looking for a new place to work (and a new place to rest my head). Hydro Quebec is only days away from cutting our electricity and it is damned hard to use a computer to write freelance without power to make the thing work. I thought about working on a mechanical device that could replace those enormous Hydro-Electric dams (Manic 3 et al.) but I realize that it would probably require more effort than finding a day job.

Do I want a day job? Why should I slog away at some menial task day in and day out? If I can eat and live without the burden of regular work, why should I do anything otherwise? (I suppose that a hard-working, ethical person would say "Do you want to live on the bare minimum? What are you, some sort of self-righteous mendicant who smokes like there's no tomorrow?" To this guy, I would say, "It appears to be so.)

On another note, I'm madly in love with a girl from Rochester. Yes, I love an American! It's hard to believe, especially since the U.S. would probably love to drop a sweet little Cruise Missile on my house. Yes, my views on U.S. Foreign Policy have long been known. I'm not as extreme as a friend of my former editor. He used to suggest mad, maniacal acts and we would often argue the pros and cons. Then again, he said that the two biggest let-downs of the spring were Saddam losing in Iraq, and the Montreal Canadiens missing the playoffs! He's mostly a nut-job, but I'm getting off the topic.

Kate is smart and beautiful and funny and a whole list of other things that make me smile and want to jump her in a dark alley. (That sounds a bit perverted but she has said similar things to me, meaning my obsession is warranted). I'm going to do my best to keep her attention. We've spent a lot of time together in the past month and I feel that she might be The One. Do we all have a Soulmate, wandering the earth like some sort of wraith, waiting for us to meet and fulfill each other's every desire? Odds are, if we all had a perfect match, most people's would be in China or India, mathematically speaking! Just the same, I think that Kate is awesome and you'll not convince me otherwise.

Now, I'm going to head up on top of Mount Royal to wait for the sunset. I'll talk to y'all tomorrow. Peace.