Happy Halloween

Here it is again - All Ghouls Day. What are you going out as?? I won't be able to tonight but in the past I've enjoyed dressing up to hand out candy to the kids who come to the door.

Anyway, after a couple of nights from hell here at work it's nice to have a quiet one tonight. A couple of posts ago I mentioned having a project underway...... because of how the last couple of nights went I haven't made much headway. Too many interruptions to accomplish much of anything.

On arriving here tonight there was some disquieting news that we may have to shut the centre down on a temporary basis for some renovations. There is a meeting in the morning with both our CEO and Director of Operations which is supposed to clarify the situation and provide us with some hard information. If that does happen it looks like our current crop of clients would be able to complete their stay; we won't be taking new admissions. If my work is suspended my bank account isn't going to like it at all, at all......... Maybe I should go check the on-line job ads again, ya think? Sounds like a plan to me. Bye.

Ramble on

My assignment to cover for a sick collegue is over; I started back on nights Wednesday night. That's fine, too. I knew it was a time limited thing and it was good while it lasted. I enjoyed taking an active part in the guys early recovery. Last night was a busy one getting organized for the balance of the week. It's a short one - just 4 nights instead of 7. Even with being busy I had an opportunity to write here but chose not to as I was in a pretty lousy mood. I put it down to my lingering cold - I can psych myself to put up with one for a week or so but when it drags on into 11 or 12 days well, enough is enough. 'Nothing that a big bottle of rye wouldn't cure.' - stinking thinking.

I took time to check in by phone tonight with my son Russ in Calgary and daughter Sarah in Vancouver. Russ is busy working 2 jobs getting himself into better financial shape and fitting a busy social life around his work. Sarah is struggling through this early stage of pregnancy; she's prey to sudden mood swings and admits she's hard to live with and be around. I encouraged her to make a conscious decision at the beginning of each day to make the best of it.

One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately is making another attempt to quit smoking. The plan is coming together but needs more work. The date has been chosen but I need to sit down and write about positive expectations & benefits as well as minimizing the negative aspects i.e. severity of withdrawal. It was brought home again today when talking on the phone to Lynda - a good friend of hers at work was in remission from one type of cancer and has just been diagnosed with another in both lungs. Death sentence. She's younger than us and has never smoked. Lynda is coming up on 4 years smoke free and is very supportive of me quitting. If I get much more 'cleaner-living' I'll soon be eligible for the sainthood. What's left??

After lights out tonight I had a long wide-ranging discussion with one of the clients who was having trouble settling for the night. What I'm finding is that it's often harder to lead someone back to faith once they've lost it rather than introducing a faith-based solution to someone who has never had it. I wound up telling him that we'd have to change his name from Peter to Thomas (of the doubting variety). If you've ever read 'Games People Play' - this guy was playing a perfect game of 'Yes, but...'. Always another challenge, doubt or question. Close your eyes, believe, get off the gunwale of the boat and start walking. When you open your eyes and see you're walking on the water you'll have your proof that faith works. Don't ask for assurances up front. Believe and then find your own evidence.

Enough sermonizing for now - must check on my charges.

Wool-gathering

Here it is, the wee small hours of Friday morning, back at work. I didn't work Tues or Wed nights so as to attend Shorty's funeral Wednesday afternoon. As funerals go this was a good one and aptly so - he was well loved. The clergy did a good job with a thought provoking talk about life and loss, celebrating a life while grieving. Five people gave brief eulogies including my daughter Sarah. If I'd tried doing that at her age (25) I'd have been a puddle. (good job!)

Still sorting out impressions of people who were there; a few I've seen fairly recently, most I hadn't seen for 15 to 20 years. Among them were high school friends and old room-mates. Time and circumstance have been much kinder to some than others. A motley crew raves on.

Following the ceremony and reception Lynda and I took Sarah to collect her things and had a quick dinner at an Indian restaurant in north Toronto. Sarah is vegan, Lynda is omniverous and I'm a carnivore - we were all happy. Great breads, spicy sauces, tender veggies and meats. We then dashed to the west end to drop Sarah at the airport for her flight home to Vancouver. She was to repack, get some rest and fly off to Hawaii with her new fiance Daniel for a week.

Yes, I didn't blog about that before - I wanted to talk to Sarah a bit more about her engagement before writing about it. Over dinner we heard about their early plans for the wedding. Then she pulled out her cell, rang him up and handed me the phone for a quicky introduction. What can I say? He sounds like he truly loves her ... she's happy and obviously loves him ... good enough for me!!

Tonight we meet up with my son Russ for dinner and a chat before he leaves town Saturday morning for Calgary. He thinks he can drive it in 3 days - I think he's pushing it. 1 day to Wawa, another to the Manitoba border and another straight across the prairies to Calgary. I dunno; it's an awful lot for someone who isn't used to driving much. That's what young people do though, isn't it? Push their limits to find out what they're capable of. Anyway, I'm looking forward to having some time with him - it doesn't happen often enough.

Work has been fairly quiet tonight with just a few restless souls getting up for a drink or a smoke; walking off the effects of bad dreams; having a quick talk with me. They sure aren't lingering outside - the weather has turned cold and wintery. Snow in the forecast - oh joy!!

Actually one of my occassional favourite winter moments is to pick a windless night when it's snowing, take a flashlight outside and point it straight up, tilt my head back and watch the snowflakes fall randomly about me in absolute silence. Mesmerizing; I could do it for hours if it isn't too cold. The visual is so strong that.. it's...difficult....to.....think.......a........complete.........thought.
Imagine that...............................bye.