Tony Koulakis, the founder of "The Famous Restaurant" Cosmos on Sherbrooke St West is almost as legendary as the eatery itself. The chain smoking, larger than life local celebrity has lovingly been referred to as "NDG's grandpa", "Captain Cholesterol", "The Lord of the Potatoes", and, after starring in Ezra Soiferman's award winning 2000 documentary by the same name - the "Man of Grease".

I am a balancing act.

Last year, I reached a tipping point.

I had been working for 7 years as an executive assistant in various industries, but an uneasy feeling had been growing within me. The sound of the clock would drive me mad. A frequent repetitive pattern. Waking up in the morning and chugging my coffee, going to work and punching in, ordering papers and answering phone calls and organizing all sorts of things over and over and over... Rhythmic consistency, empty. Boring. I felt soulless. I hated my work routine, which sucked up all my energy.

I grew up in Montreal-North, a working class east-end suburb of Montreal. Time stands still in Montreal-North, and from the time that I was a young child, holidays were spent with my large extended family, and days were passed with friends who I've known all of my life. Montreal-North is like a mother's embrace. I had moved around the city many times in my teenage years only to come running back to her warm comfort with every failed relationship, every abandoned job, and every curve ball that life insisted on throwing at me. After a while I stopped trying to fight the pull, and allowed myself to sink back into Montreal North's constancy, her routines, and the collective identity that I shared with those who were closest to me.