should old acquaintance be forgot...

We were in Montreal over the weekend for my (gasp) 20 year high school reunion.

I have to admit that the evening was tame in comparison to some of the banter going back and forth on facebook in the weeks leading up to the event. I was picturing people swinging from chandeliers (granted there were none) and partying til the wee hours. In the end only a few people stayed up until the sun was about to rise.

Marc and I arrived on Saturday afternoon after dropping the kids at my mum's (she's the best, this is such a plus to moving home) and then visiting the accountant to sign some papers for my dad's estate. It was pouring - absolutely dumping down - but Old Montreal is so pretty that it almost (almost!) didn't matter.

The reunion was held at a a new(ish?) hotel that was a few old banks renovated to make one really nice hotel. It was quite - well, quite upscale. While I liked the room and the shower (it had one of those shower heads hanging from the ceiling the size of a dinner plate that felt like rain) and I was thrilled to spend time in Old Montreal... well I couldn't help but feel that we were all dragged down there to show how cool someone (who helped organize the event naturally) had turned out.

We walked around Old Montreal, met up with Arian, my best friend from high school, for a quick coffee (she was also one of the organizers). I haven't seen Arian since my wedding - she moved to the States not long after and then to Calgary. We met Janet and Andre for dinner later and had wonderful Montreal Style Smoke Meat and greasy fries at a little hole in the wall deli - that is one thing I love about Montreal, the tiny restaurants with great food.

The "event" started at 8. There were a few people there early, and by about 10 the room we had was packed and people were spilling over into the bar.

All in all, nothing shocking. A few people looked a lot older than I feel. A few others had turned out really well and were people I would want to hang around with now. There were also people there that I had been to elementary and nursery school with, so it was a long trip down memory road. There were a few who had yet to mature (one who announced at 1:15 am that he was going to be calling his mother to pick him up - it's a 35 minute drive at least!) ans seemed to still be stuck in 1987.

My only complaint would be the venue - it just felt a little pretentious to be in what is supposed to be one of the Montreal hotspots (so proclaimed by Mr.Cool of course - he was strangely evasive when asked what he does for a living and by the end of the weekend the rumour was that he is a drug dealer). I guess I am getting old, but my premature deafness seemed to reach a new high - it was difficult to hear over the blaring music and announcements (there were at least 2 for someone's 20th birthday... I was not alone realizing the irony).

I may be an old fogey (I am after all pushing 38) but I would have liked to have actually been able to talk to people without screaming.

Oh - and the effects of long term smoking were apparent on a few people - pretty girls who looked way older than me, sleep deprivation and all... there's an ad for not smoking somewhere in there.

Leaving on Sunday morning we had trouble getting onto the autoroute because of construction and ended up driving around a bit - along Cote St Antoine to Atwater near the old Forum (I was appalled that there is a Future Shop where the Canadiens used to play!! Wrong, just wrong I tell you!) It was a bright sunny morning and I saw places I haven't seen in almost 15 years. I had forgotten what a beautiful city Montreal is - and how much I love it.

Now if they could just resolve the whole ridiculous separation issue once and for all... it would be a great place to live.