http://www.bernardletendre.com Personal page of Bernard Letendre, photographer, videographer, lighting designer and writer Copyright 2006, Bernard Letendre en-us http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/060703.html This past weekend was a holiday weekend. For most people in Canada, July 1st, known as "Canada Day", marks the anniversary of the foundation of our country but here in the province of Quebec, it is also known to many people as "moving day". For some reason which I was never able to figure out, there is an official moving day in this province. Leases, which are signed for a firm duration of twelve months every year, run from July 1st to June 30th and upon expiration, many people decide to change places, creating the weirdest game of "musical houses". Mon, 03 Jul 2006 22:56:00 +0100 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks11.html I never thought I would end up adding another chapter to these Chronicles. It has been six months now since we left Belgium and the living conditions have been much better. Of course it's nothing like the luxurious lifestyle we had in North America but it is better. Can't get much worse than the Sunparks anyways! Unfortunately it appears that I will not be allowed to forget that little "summer camp" experience in Belgium just yet. Sat, 01 Apr 2006 01:55:00 +0100 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/060312.html Switzerland may be known for its ski resorts but I did not expect the winter to be so brutal here in Geneva. Sure, it's been snowing almost every day since we arrived, almost two weeks ago. Sure, it's the middle of March so it is winter. But a night like tonight, I never thought I would experience in Europe. Sun, 12 Mar 2006 23:48:00 +0200 Well, another year is upon us. After the subject came up in a discussion with a friend the other day, I became curious about RSS feeds and started wondering how complicated it would be to add one to my site. So this is how I began the new year. At my desk, on my computer, figuring out how to make this happen. It only took me a few minutes to get this page up and running of course but I never can seem to stop until I've explored every possibility. Yeah, I know I'm a geek. The truth is, this does not feel like the beginning of a new year just yet, it's just changing one number on the calendar. The real "new year" for me will begin in April. This is big. More to come soon... Sun, 01 Jan 2006 18:00:00 +0200 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks10.html After a few requests, I decided to put up a few pictures taken during my stay at the Sunparks. When I look at those images today, they don't seem so horrible. Perhaps with time I got used to living in those conditions. Or perhaps I was in such denial that when I took the pictures I managed to make them look "pretty". Mon, 19 Sep 2005 23:06:00 +0200 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks9.html All good things must come to an end. And fortunately, all bad things too. As I sit in my hotel room in Zurich, I read the last few posts and it seems almost unreal already. Was that really me living in that house? Or did I just wake up from a vivid nightmare? Wed, 30 Aug 2005 23:01:00 +0200 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks8.html When you run such a high-class establishment as the Sunparks, you need to make sure you have a security force which will be capable of maintaining order while upholding the high standards which you've set forth. But since the average security agent (not just at Sunparks, I have noticed a trend which spans continents) has the I.Q. of a bowl of alphabet soup, you need to make the rules crystal clear and leave no space for error or God forbid, initiative. Wed, 30 Aug 2005 20:00:00 +0200 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks7.html It is a pretty well accepted fact of life that shit happens. I just never thought that so much of it could ever (literally) happen to me in a period of five days. I just spent the past week (including my double dark) on the toilet. I had never been that sick before in my entire life. Stomach cramps, fever, lack of energy, lack of appetite, the works. Plus of course having to visit the porcelain throne every few minutes. Sat, 26 Aug 2005 23:54:00 +0200 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks6.html One of the particularities inherent to life on tour is that you are far from your loved ones. Of course, I have a wonderful group of friends here at Cirque and I love them to pieces but I also have a family in Canada and other friends who are not part of Cirque du Soleil. Yes, there IS a life outside of the circus, or so I've been told. And since I am about a gazillion miles away from all of those people, I cannot go to the movies with them, I cannot take them out to lunch or invite them over for tea. Sat, 26 Aug 2005 22:23:00 +0200 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks5.html In the first days after we arrived in Oostende, one of the most popular complaints was about the beds. They were too small, uncomfortable and in some cases, had some suspicious stains on them. I was a little surprised to see this become the focal issue of the "Sunparks Scandal" because my bed actually scores pretty low on my list of things to complain about at Sunparks. Wed, 24 Aug 2005 11:00:00 +0200 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks4.html Do Not Disturb. Do you understand those three little words? Apparently the people at Sunparks do not. I have been living in hotels for the past 19 months and it is the first time I encounter a place where the staff consistently disrespects this simple request when they see the sign on your door. Mon, 22 Aug 2005 22:00:00 +0200 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks3.html As I mentioned before, to reach Oostende from where we live, there is a tram which runs along the coast. It runs every ten minutes and on a good day, it will get you to the center of the action in about 25 minutes. The only problem is that to reach the tram stop in the first place, you have to walk a lot. First you need to walk to the front gate, then along a busy road which has no proper sidewalk, then through a forest to finally reach the tram stop on the other side. From my house, it takes approximately 20 minutes. Wed, 17 Aug 2005 14:36:00 +0200 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks2.html The next morning, I try to take a shower and realize that we do not have hot water. I catch a ride to work with one of the few technicians who has a car. We're a little early so we stop on the side of the road to take a look at the beach. It's not bad, a little flat for my taste but then, so is the entire country! I make plans to spend a lot of time on that beach during my stay. Unfortunately, one month later as I write this, I still have not seen "beach weather" on any of my days off. I can imagine how the people who came here for the sole purpose of sitting on that beach must be feeling! Sun, 14 Aug 2005 21:00:00 +0200 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks1.html Despite the warnings we were given before coming to Oostende, I had a shock when sitting in the bus, I heard "we're here!" and raised my eyes from the book I was reading, only to see a cow and a few horses through the window. The cow didn't seem shocked. I have a feeling it had seen other suckers before us. Thu, 11 Aug 2005 20:04:00 +0200 http://www.bernardletendre.com/writing/sunparks.html Yes, I am back, this time hopefully for good. I have had lots of adventures over the past two years, some of which I hope to bring to these pages in the coming weeks. But for now, here's a little something from the present. For the past month and a half, I have been living in a nightmare which keeps getting weirder and weirder by the day. A nightmare from which I just cannot seem to wake up! This is all about a match made in Hell, about a bunch of circus people living in a small european family oriented vacation community on the coast of Belgium. Here are... THE SUNPARKS CHRONICLES. Thu, 11 Aug 2005 19:00:00 +0200