William Matheson's Journal - August 3rd, 2007

01:17 am - thoughts from the Holiday Island, on the way to the real island

(Typed August 2nd, in the early evening.)

I’m on the MV Holiday Island now, and we’re just leaving Caribou. Wow, it’s hot. I was hoping there’d be a breeze, and I had dressed accordingly. Maybe it will be different out on the Strait. I tried using my notebook on the top deck, but I couldn’t see my screen under the sun, so that was a no-go. And yeah, comme d’habitude, no Wi-Fi. =)

I heard some Quebecois tourists speaking French (you could tell they weren’t Acadians, because they weren’t saying things like, “J’ai parké ma car dans le parking lot.”), and I kind of wanted to just stand near them and listen for a few minutes, but I couldn’t look too obvious about it. I soon gave up and found other things to do.

I really like the boat. It’s a great way to travel. The only thing I don’t like are all the kitschy “amenities.” The “arcade” consists of a machine that can go back and forth between Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga. Oh, verily, you can’t beat the classics, but there’s also a TV in the lounge, and right now it’s showing what will be on for Live at 5, and when I first came up on deck, the first thing I heard was the Dr. Phil music. Way to habitualize something that ought to feel at least a bit exotic.

Even the safety recording is very tired-sounding now. It’s another sign the ferry is in decline…

“Your attention is drawn to the safety instructions, in the form of pictograms, located throughout the vessel…

“In the event of an emergency, a signal consisting of seven long blasts followed by a short blast, will be sounded…

“For your convenience, there is a cafeteria and a coffee shop, located on the boat deck…”

The MV Confederation, the other vessel to ply this route, is a bit cooler. She’s from Scandinavia and has more decks, passages, quiet lounges, and even a Cows ice cream outlet. The Holiday Island was inherited from the former Marine Atlantic crossing (now spanned by the Bridge), where she and her sister ship Vacationland helped take the bite off the tourist traffic in the summers. Along with the ice-breaking Abegweit, all were purpose-built vessels that have proved difficult to use anywhere else but the Northumberland Strait.

Okay, time to translate the rest of “La Femme Peintre!”

Current Mood: hot

09:10 am - test post

This is a test post I will soon delete. Facebook isn't importing my entries automatically. It's really annoying!

10:51 am - La Femme Peintre (“The Paintress”) - English Version

(Original La Femme Peintre - in French)

La Femme Peintre (“The Paintress”*) – English Version
A very short story by William Matheson

( La Femme Peintre - English Version )

* - Just as waitresses and stewardesses have become waiters and flight attendants; paintresses have long since become painters. In French it’s a little different (for example, a male student is un étudiant, a female is une étudiante), and gender distinctions apply to professions, nouns (especially) and even adjectives. Since the title in French had to be “the (woman) painter,” the English title should reflect that.

It should be noted again that this was much more valuable to me as a language exercise than as a story (although it’s the first story I’ve completed in a very long time). I hope it comes off as being simple rather than just simplistic.

** - One thing this story loses entirely in English is the transition from formal to informal methods of address. In French, this was a useful storytelling device, and could be used to great atmospheric effect. You will have to imagine the characters using “vous” towards the beginning and “tu” creeping in towards the end. You’ll also have to imagine most of the first paragraph being written with forms of be (être) and have (avoir), the passé simple, that are not used in everyday speech. The best I could do was write “There was one time” in Middle English.

*** - This phrase unwittingly emulates most of my French expression at Sainte-Anne. You can also tell I was getting lazy at the keyboard; in English, I would probably not write, “Oh… oh, ok,” – I would probably write, “She nodded with understanding.” But that would mean I’d have to look up ‘nodded,’ et ça ne marche pas de tout! Je suis un auteur vitesse.

Current Mood: rushed

11:24 pm - Voice Post

VoicePost 254K 1:29

“Oh hi everyone, my name is Gary & it's all dark & quite you could hear a noise. A little ___ joke. Now it's oh it's real & everything is dark ___ flash lighting & haven't stop the sholver on across the St. with the kids & the entire reason pretty entire & allow noises impact. I think seems to have encourage them because there's nothing else that possibly can teach just still nice here now. I just wish I could get in, I wish I could communicates ___ regarding to level & ___ tomorrow then other work day & I can behind my sleep so & I think it's time to get fun cos they are no desecration oh I really hope ___ If I've no way seeing it live anyway take care everyone, play safe.” Auto-Transcribed Voice Post