Anybody Miss Me???

Yeah, I missed all of you.... aw, shucks. I woulda, coulda, shoulda posted last night but thought I'd best concentrate on getting myself set up for a fresh week here at work. Then I caught myself up on all my regular blog reads; if you all wouldn't write so much I might have had some time left to write something myself. Ahem..... er.... maybe not.... by then my eyes were too tired. First night back is always a long one.

So, no really big news here except Lynda had arranged for her brother to install some hardwood flooring in one of the main floor bedrooms. That worked out well. He and his son made a beginning on Friday night, worked away on it all day Saturday and finished up around 9 that evening. By days end Lynda had decided to bite the bullet and fork out the cash to buy an equal amount of flooring for the bedroom right next door. That installation is supposed to happen this coming weekend. It's so nice to have family close by who are handy. I managed to lend a hand occasionally but otherwise stayed out of their way. Now Lynda can apply some of what she has learned from watching hundreds of hours of home improvement and decorating shows.

Toward the end of last week I spent much of my time outside working around the house and yard. We had a couple of sunny, chilly but wind-still days that made for good working conditions. I was able to strip off a couple of the usual layers of clothes and still work up a bit of a sweat. A good deal of time was spent raking the front and back lawns and getting all the leaf debris bagged. Most of it had gone into a neighbours trailer for a trip to the dump but late in the day Saturday I headed back out to do a bit more before the sun set. Foolishly I left a few bags sitting in front of the shed door. Early Sunday after letting the dogs out I heard Lynda freaking out and shouting at Milo. I ran for the nearest window in time to catch him body slamming and tearing into one of the bags with his teeth. He managed to demolish two of them before even letting on he heard us hollering at him to STOP IT!! Then he gave us a look that said 'What's the matter with you two?? I was just having a bit of fun here!!' Lord, leaves everywhere again!! Gotta love him!

One thing about blogland is that over time you come to think quite a lot of, and about, the people you come to 'know' here. Sometimes I comment pretty freely on topics that are written about; other times things can seem too close to the bone and I find myself holding back. I get in a dither wondering if input is welcome at times, or not. Every once in awhile I extend myself in hopes that what I have to offer will be considered in the light and spirit it was intended. Hell, I'm no authority on most stuff but hey, I've been around quite a long time now and been through some stuff of my own. There were many times I could have used some unbiased advice about many things. Anyway, it's nice when those things get acknowledged in a positive way when I've offered some encouragement or let someone know they are being thought of. A feel-good situation, to be sure.

Last night I had kind of an odd conversation with a woman who I thought initially was looking for treatment information. Then it got twisted when she said she had been led to believe we offered aid to abused women. I thought at the beginning of the conversation that she was drunk which wouldn't have been at all unusual for our callers. Something seemed wrong though so I kept her on the line instead of redirecting her. Seems she had been calling a variety of resources during the night and kept being passed off from one agency to another and she was getting increasingly frustrated. It turned out that she wasn't drunk at all; she had a historic brain injury that affected her ability to form thought, translate those thoughts into speech, to speak clearly and be fully understood. Slowly, over the course of an hour we explored the resources she had plugged into and had lined up; reviewed her medical conditions, medications and their side effects; checked into what other local resources might be of help in her situation; and had a plan together for her to follow up on come morning. She was able to go to bed with some clarity of direction and the knowledge that she had been heard. God bless her - I hope she finds the most appropriate help.

Floating An Idea

Tonight I spent a good deal of time hemming & hawing about, then eventually writing an email to my boss. Earlier in the evening I was reading the plaque mounted on the outside wall near the entrance and noticed we're approaching the 20th anniversary of when this treatment facility opened. Plus this house will be 150 years old!! having been built in 1859. What a great excuse for a party!!

I laid it all out for him - notify the three local papers and 3 radio stations to get spot ads. Invite municipal, provincial and federal politicians who represent this area. Have an open house for local residents who have displayed some curiosity about the place anyway. Involve local businesses - raffle a selection of their donated products and services. Contact past clients and their families to invite them for a BBQ lunch - there are literally thousands of past clients. Set up a stage and have an open jam for entertainment. Bring staff from head office and our other two residences out to the country for a break from the city. Tie it in with the Canada Day long weekend.

It went on and on..... and I hope the idea will be met with some enthusiasm. It's a good opportunity to promote ourselves and what we accomplish here. Enabling people to effect positive life changes through abstinence from mind and mood altering substances via the application of 12 Step recovery in their day-to-day lives. That's what we do and we do it well.

We have three months to plan and pull together this shebang. I hope the idea gets some backing and action.

Possessed of a Worried Mind

They say, whoever 'they' are, that bad things come in threes. I feel like Damocles waiting for the final sword to fall. Two so far; one to go.

Lynda arrived home shortly after I'd gotten up for the day. 'You look like hell. Your cold isn't any better?? You're going to feel worse once I tell you this.....'. She'd gone to pick up her youngest son from his workplace and deliver him home. He was in a stormy mood when she picked him up and when she asked what was wrong he unleashed a string of 'expletive deleted' curses and told her he'd been fired. One of the owners of the company had mis-read a situation and begun targeting him early last week. Today his supervisor was forced to let him go against his own wishes. They lost a good worker there. His room-mate had just started a job today after being out of work since Christmas. Couldn't we just get them both working and paying rent at the same time... consistently??

One of Lynda's idiosyncrasies is that she rarely ever calls me at work - maybe once or twice in any given year. Tonight she called around 10 p.m. and my automatic question was, 'what's wrong?' She'd gotten word that her Mom, Mother Mary, had been rushed to hospital late in the afternoon. By the time she was called they were into doing a bunch of diagnostic tests, had her stable and comfortable on morphine, and were monitoring her closely. Half a dozen of Lynda's siblings were at the hospital and relaying updates to the rest of the clan. I'd been hoping for an update myself but Lynda might be in transit back to her hometown. It seems every time something important happens I'm at work. I'll get a fresh read on things when I get home. In the meantime prayers for a speedy recovery will have to do. I love that lady like she was my own Mom.

** update on Mary ** She's been released from hospital and has a daughter or two keeping an eye on her and helping out. There are more tests to be followed up on before a treatment plan comes together. Whew!

Keeping Still

Of late I haven't had a lot to say here because, increasingly, I've been in an ongoing state of pain. You see I can't be comfortable for very long whether I'm sitting, standing, walking or lying down. There are a number of factors at work but number one I'm sure is age..... and all the stupid things I put my body through when I was much younger. Likely just too much snow shovelling this season; too many working hours; not enough rest, blah, blah, blah. It has resulted in a flare up of old back problems, tendinitis and renewed pangs from arthritis. Stretches and exercise aren't having any positive effect.There is a medication I used to use which I might have to get back on but the side effects on my stomach were enough to make me stop using it a couple of years ago; time to give it another shot, I suppose. Increasing multiple doses of ibuprofen aren't working anymore.

I'm finding the pain is wearing me out; wearing me down. Lately sleep has been my refuge and I have slept solidly. There's just that occasional problem of changing positions or eventually getting up out of bed. Creak, crack, crunch,.... snap, crackle, pop. The swings in the weather don't seem to be helping either - going from mild and damp to bitterly cold and dry - I feel it all in my bones. Friday saw temps drop 30C in 16 hours from a damp +9 to a bone chilling -20; brutal on the body and psyche.

During my week off I accomplished little and didn't push my self very hard. Some light housecleaning and cooking was about it..... oh, and looking after the pets. I'm not the only one around the house who is feeling off. On Tuesday I had our younger dog, Milo, to the vet for a procedure on his ears. One ear is infected and he's on meds for it. Friday I took Freedom up as well to get her checked out; her hind end is seizing up; she's having difficulty when she first stands to walk and with climbing stairs. She's on a couple of meds including a glucosamine food additive. Oohhh, the joys of getting older, eh, girl??

In a nutshell that's why I've been keeping to myself a bit more than usual with little to say here and not so quick to comment elsewhere. I'll continue to cull any photos I think are worth sharing and get them posted. For right now though this has been enough sitting - time for a walk about the house. Yeah, I'm back for another 7 night stand and I've already been asked to cover a series of dayshifts starting 24 hours after I close off this week. Later....

This and That and That and That....

Newsflash!! I feel good today! / tonight! It's a nice change because I haven't been very energetic lately. Part of might be that this 70+ hour work week will be over in a few hours. Hmmm.... could be.

The other thing might be that tonight Lynda and I laid eyes on one another for the first time this week. A sight for sore eyes, fer sure, even if it was for only an hour. I had everything on the go for our BBQ dinner by the time she got in from work - the grill warmed up; peppers, onions and garlic chopped and heating in the pan; potatoes peeled and on to boil. I think it was probably late November or early December the last time I fired up the grill; lord, I was ready for a good steak. And it turned out great! I wolfed mine down, grabbed my coat and keys and had to dash for work.

Quiet night here at work; I've been killing time roaming the blogs and firing off comments and emails.

Birthday greetings went out to two great ladies who both turned 50 this week; Lazy Buddhist on the 2nd and Lea Kelley yesterday on the 7th. Now the real fun starts girls!!

Kel at 'xfacta' was good enough to post an update about their local conditions in SE Australia where they are being plagued by wildfires. Put my mind at ease somewhat after seeing reports on the evening news. An incredible heatwave with sustained temps over 40C have left everything tinder dry.

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On another note entirely.... The counsellor I'm working with tonight gave me his copy of a book to check out through the night tonight. One I'd never seen before. It's re-written Bible which relates 12 step recovery directly to scripture and is chuck full of daily meditations and other resources. For a full description, for anyone interested or to pass along, see this link: http://www.amazon.com/Recovery-Devotional-Bible-Verne-Becker/dp/0310936756. There are times when I feel spiritually 'stuck' and this has come along at an appropriate time.

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A couple of posts ago I described my work schedule for this week..... besides that, when I get up early Sunday afternoon Lynda and I have a few hours of work to do during the afternoon. Dinner, relax, bed... then up for work Monday. After work Monday I'll have enough time to dash home, change and eat before going to set up my home group AA meeting. Home, bed and up for work Tuesday on into Wednesday. Get off work Wednesday morning, head home and collapse into bed for the day (I hope). Back to work Thursday. C'mon Friday!! Lynda and I are intent on keeping our dinner date but haven't decided whether to go out Friday or Saturday for Valentine's.

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It's 4 a.m. and it's a balmy +4C outside!! Positively short-sleeve shirt weather. Glorious!! I'm not sure how long it is supposed to last but I'm thoroughly relishing it while it's here.

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I have no clue as to when I'll be able to post again but I'll be checking in for comments when I can..... and roaming blogland looking in on the regular crew. Have a great week; mine is just about over. Toodles.

Slow Motion Man

By the time I got home this morning I had been up for 21 hours and surprisingly felt pretty good. I had gone through a tired stage through the night and that was why when I posted I kept it on the short side and to the point - a bare bones account of the weekend. It seems that tonight is when I'm paying the price. The dogs had me awake around mid-day and I've been up and around ever since. Ever feel like you're slogging along wearing a heavy damp cloak long after your energy has run out?? That is me tonight on 4 or 5 hours sleep. During the day I kept busy with household stuff - laundry, dusting and vacuuming, and cooking - and managed to get away from the house to make it to work a bit early.

Primarily for our youngest dogs benefit (Milo), Lynda and I have adjusted our work schedules so he is well tended to. We had a talk tonight and decided we've done this long enough, he is grown enough that this shouldn't continue to be necessary. So, at long last she and I will have some common time at home instead of an hour here and there spotted through the week. Hallelujah!! Lynda will go back to her regular day shift and occasional rotation into a week of afternoon shift instead of every other week. We will enjoy having the chance to actually go out and do things together again.

We haven't had any sun since getting that dumping of new snow but I did get a couple of pictures that could be alright to post. There also hasn't been a breath of wind so everything has an 8 to 12 inch hat of pristine snow atop. Looks pretty damned cool. Really must get back into posting photos on a regular basis again - there's a worthy goal.

Today marks 6 years since Lynda quit smoking; or 2192 days.... and she has never looked back. Doesn't miss it and has no cravings. Pretty remarkable since she went along with my sister and I to the hypnotherapist not really intending a serious quit attempt. Right time; right place; right outcome. Sister Linda is coming up on a year soon via a different method. I'm back pretty well where I started; smoking daily but not as heavily as before.

Family Times

It's been a busy weekend spent with Owen and his Mom, Mom's friend Lynn and then at Saturday night's dinner both of Lynda's other 2 sons, plus one of their g'friends. Owen's Dad will be in Australia for another week working on a project. He finally had a day off for sight-seeing Sunday after a solid week of 16 hour days.

Owen and I coloured and drew pictures, counted, read, played with cars, planes and helicopters. Between times I shovelled snow. He decided again to sleep with his Gramma and I, and once again made it through the night. Owen and Milo are best friends except when Owen decides to cuddle up to Freedom. Then Milo and Freedom put on a play wrestling demonstration that is hilarious to hear and see.

It started snowing late Saturday afternoon and didn't let up until tonight. In total we had about 14 inches and it had me leery about attempting the drive to work tonight. The roads were lousy but funnily the worst part was getting off our own street - the drive took double the usual amount of time. Then I got to work and found our plowing contractor hadn't been here to do the job and almost got stuck in the driveway. Oh joy!! I managed to slide the car into a spot and will be moving it if he ever gets here tonight. The plus side of this is that the very cold weather is over for awhile - the milder temps brought the snow. That cold snap was a trans-polar airflow straight out of Siberia, btw, and it felt like it, too.

Back at work here for another week of nights so I've organized myself and reviewed the new admission's files. Very unusual but we have three new guys straight out of jail so there is some posturing going on, lots of street talk and gangsta stuff. (Knock, knock, knock.) 'This isn't jail, so knock it off' is the general message. Good house, growing in numbers finally.

Although I'll be sleeping during the actual ceremony I'm very much looking forward to Obama's inauguration on Tuesday. (Is anyone truly disappointed McCain didn't get in?) I can catch the highlights on the news or CNN when I get up that afternoon. Lots of good wishes to my Obama backing friends south of the border. Cheers to a brand new era in American politics.

Week - Ender

Whew! Another work week done, down and dirty in another hour. That's not a 'whew' as in I've been terribly busy and run off my feet. It's just I find 70+ hours a bit much and by the end of it I'm bushed and ready for a good long rest. There is a short sleep waiting when I get out of here; I need to be up early for that funeral. But you can be sure I'll be hitting the sheets early Sunday night and sleeping in as long as I can bear to lie there.

I haven't a clue what the week holds. There are some appointments to keep and personal maintenance sorts of stuff to do - dentist, haircut, oil change (on the car, not me). I'm not expecting call-in shifts but I may get lucky as there are lots of colds and flu going around. (Knock on wood, it doesn't land on me.) Must get Mom out of her house for lunch or shopping.

It's about time for another quit smoking attempt. The anniversary of Lynda's successful quit is approaching so I might aim for that and adopt it. It'll be 6 years for her. I so wish I hadn't blown off the 7 months I had under my belt but no sense crying about it. Pick a date and stick to it. Do anything else except pick up.

Through tonight the temperature has dropped to -20C with a wind chill of about -30. So cold it would freeze the ............... you know the rest. As cold as a witches heart at midnight on All Hallows Eve........ you get the picture. Lord, I live at the wrong latitude. There must be some alkies and addicts in warmer climes who need a little counsel.

Have a great week; I'll be around soon.

Shotgun!!

Just sayin' - this will likely be a mish-mash of everything, all depending on how long I can continue typing away here.

New Years..... a couple of people have asked. We were undecided about which option we might choose and it was the weather that eventually determined we would stay in to celebrate. Through the day I went food shopping and picked up a small roast of beef. I slow roasted it along with some onion, garlic and sweet potatoes in a simmering sauce I threw together; did up some beets for a side dish. Lynda was home by 4; we ate around 6. I kept popping outside with the dogs and the temperature kept on dropping through the evening until it was down to about -20C. If we had to park and walk to the arena we had planned to go to we would have frozen by the end of a couple of blocks. We decided quite happily to stay in. Lynda was asking me where all our games had gone. Neither of us could remember if we had thrown them out back when we split and I moved, or if I had taken them with me to the townhouse where they would be gathering dust in the basement. So no Yahtzee, no Boggle, no cards, nothing.... we watched a 2 hour show on TV, then headed to the basement for bed. Lynda found the event we were going to attend being broadcast on the local cable station so we got to see the festivities and music acts anyway. Unfortunately we were both so tired we didn't manage to stay awake until the countdown at midnight.

New Years Day was full with some housework, a bunch of phone calls to family spread across the country, and packing my gear for that overnight shift Friday. I tried to find time to post from work Friday but that idea didn't pan out. I was the guy on the bubble here that day; short staffed to boot. My workload was actually light as my admission didn't show and the guys due to be discharged had left a day early. I ran one afternoon meeting session and hosted the in-house evening meeting. After 17 hours on the floor I was burnt and ready for bed. Unfortunately, as often happens to me here on those shifts, I was unable to sleep with the details of the day swirling through my brain. Back up at 6; woke the clients at 7; ran the census meeting at 8:30 with the Saturday cousellors; home by 10.

As I was getting in Lynda was on her way out on a mission for a couple of hours. Within a half hour her eldest son J arrived with his son Owen for what we had expected was a day long visit. We were happy and surprised they had packed to stay overnight. Once Lynda had arrived back home and we all had a chance to visit together for a couple of hours I wound up crashing into bed for a while. The bunch of us had a late pizza dinner while we watched hockey. The moments leading into the game held one of those incredibly precious snapshots when Owen's dad told him that the anthem wouldn't be sung until the end of the game because it was a Juniors tournament. He promply stood up and sang the entire Canadian anthem with his hand over his heart. Lord, times you wished you had a video camera!! Following the game Owen decided he wanted to sleep with Gramma and Pops so all three of us headed down to climb into the king sized bed. When he has done this in the past he has lasted at best half an hour before heading back upstairs to sleep with his parents. This time he made it right through the night; Lynda on one edge of the bed, me on the other and Owen lying horizontally between us. His feet on Lynda's belly and his head firmly planted between my shoulder blades; so comfy. The child slays me.

Owen turns 5 next month and he is as sharp as a whip. (Brag, brag, brag...) Counts past 100, knows the alphabet, recognizes letters and letter combinations and associated sounds, picks pictures that start with the appropriate letter, adds simple sums. He sat down with a couple of books Lynda had bought him for Xmas and was quite happy and interested to work away on them. Wait til he hits kindergarten.....

When we were up Sunday morning the bunch of us drove over to the townhouse for breakfast with stepson #3. He was foolish enough to ask us; we took him up on the offer. Bacon, eggs, sausage, home fries, toast, coffee and tea. It was all great. All it cost was Lynda's and my time doing up the dishes afterward while the two brothers had a visit and played with Owen. J and Owen split for home and Lynda and I had a full afternoon until I laid myself down for an hours rest in preparation for tonights shift. We had leftover turkey - hot turkey sandwiches - before I came to work.

More food - there is always a dinner left for me here; whatever the guys in-house eat, I also get. So, besides all that other food I've eaten since Sunday morning I also had a quarter chicken dinner a few hours ago along with dessert and a few sweet goodies along the way. I won't be losing these few extra pounds anytime soon if I keep this up.

What else?? I'm looking incredibly scruffy these days because I decided to change the line of my beard. Normally I keep it trimmed just above the jaw line but I've let it grow all up my cheeks until I figure out where I want to crop it. 10 days to 2 weeks growth now and I can't get over how much salt is in amongst the pepper. Grey, white and silver with the dark brown and black. Nice....

Mood wise I'm good. Lynda and I are really good. Much as I enjoy the holidays I'm happy and relieved they are over. It was a drag working nights through Christmas week again this year.

Thinking wise, these days, primarily I am grateful. That I have a wife, family and friends to care about and who care for me. Many people don't have that. That I have a home, and warmth, and a bed to sleep in. Many people don't have that. Back to food - can't forget food - I have a refrigerator and cupboards full of food and drink to quench my hunger and thirst. Many people don't have that. I enjoy good mental, emotional and physical health (I know; the mental part is debatable). Many people don't have that. That although I'm displeased with my job I am happy in these times to have meaningful work. Many people don't have that. That my addictions to alcohol and drugs have been relieved, my obsession has been removed. Many people don't have that. I don't have to search very far or deep to find reasons to be grateful today. T.G.

Hmmm.... about an hour and a half typing. That's enough, that'll do. All the news that fits.

Fat Pants, Skinny Pants

By the end of last week I couldn't bear to squish myself into the pants I usually wear and searched my closet for some older, roomier ones from a few years ago. Seems I've over-indulged somewhat at mealtimes and had a few too many sweet snacks between times, idled too much. I wrote awhile ago about reaching the 150 lb mark; when I stepped on the scale the other day I found I'm nudging 155. Just enough to feel I'm being cut in half when I wear my regular assortment of pants.

Ah well, better to have to wear old clothes than to have to run around pantless, n'est pas? And what's a guy to do in this situation??? Why,.... buy new clothes of course!! Maybe even a pair of those ones with elastic waistbands. (Nice, eh?) Exercise; bah!!!

Or I could resolve to eat less, eat smarter, and be more active. Whatd'ya think??

Anyway, hard on the heels of that last run of work this has been a busy week of catching up, running around town, doing a bit of visiting and trying to catch up on some rest. I was supposed to work today and tomorrow dayshift but the boss reneged on that (putting me into a foul mood for the day yesterday, which I had a tough time shaking out of). It's all in the perspective though - I'm due for a break and should enjoy the time off much as I could use that money. I still work Friday - one of those 26 hour sleep-over shifts.

Lynda was happy to walk into some yummy aromas last evening on arriving from work. I had browned some pork chops and then slow simmered them in mushroom soup with onion and sherry and spices - served over a bed of rice. Good stuff. Then we watched some of the best TV that we had seen in a while - the 2008 Honorees of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It was a great tribute show which included video highlights of each persons career and then performances of either dance or music. 2 great hours spent honouring George Jones, Morgan Freeman, Twyla Tharp, Barbra Streisand, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend.

Our plans for tonight, New Years Eve, are weather and energy dependant. We're either going to an alcohol free city sponsored skate and music event; heading out of town to Lynda's brother's house party; or hanging here at home. It is supposed to continue cold with some snow forecast so we'll see. We'll see how energetic Lynda is after work.

Hey friends!! All best wishes for a happy, healthy new year. It has been wonderful sharing '08 with all of you. Let's keep sharing all the good stuff and helping one another through the rough patches. Blessings on all of us.

Winter Wonderland

We had a small snow storm earlier this week but now we're into a cycle which will bring accumulations like we haven't seen since last winter. One system is coming east - cross continent from California -, another is slipping north from the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters are saying there are 3 storms backed up that we have to face one after the other. When I got up today I was expecting to see some snow but it didn't start until about 8:30. Now already at 11 my car, driveway and walks are completely covered. They're calling for up to 35 cm before this one is over and up to 60 by the end of the weekend. (That is over 15 inches today - over 25 inches total) We will be digging out for quite awhile; where to put it all?? Mom and I were supposed to go out to do some running around town but we thought better of it.

Yesterday after I left work I arrived home and put some beef ribs in the oven to slow roast through the day. Then I got into cleaning; with 2 dogs and 2 cats dusting, sweeping and vacuuming is a necessary daily routine otherwise the fur and dust bunnies quickly get knee high. (A slight exaggeration, but you get my drift.) A few loads of laundry and then it was time for a lie down before getting cleaned up in time for Lynda's arrival from work. We had dinner, cleaned that up and headed out to do some shopping for household supplies. I was surprised the stores were so quiet this close to Xmas. There wasn't much of interest on TV when we got home so we caught an early night.

Lynda has been caught up in a cycle of increasing pressure at work. They've lost a couple of people through buy-outs and so her workload just keeps increasing despite the fact she's very good at what she does. She is burnt out and about ready to blow a gasket. Overdue for a break. I put a call in to her earlier suggesting she leave early today as driving will get increasingly dangerous.

After that 11 day stretch of work, and different shifts, I'm pretty burnt out myself and trying to go easy. Quick rests when I feel in need of them; lots of water and tea; small frequent meals; vitamin supplements; whatever seems appropriate. I really don't want to be sick over the 'holidays'. (Holidays in brackets because I don't get any time off.)

I've had a look at a few blog buddies sites so far today and hope to find time to get completely caught up on blogland later on. Have a good one. It's time for me to find the business end of our snow shovel.

Tonight I'm Grateful For....

.... standing amidst gently falling fluffy snowflakes this still, silent night and appreciating the beauty of the moment.

..... an hour long phone conversation with my daughter out in Vancouver. We did a thorough check in with where we are in our lives, talked about our joys, sorrows and high hopes. We laughed.... and told one another how important our relationship is.

.... a rare and unexpected email from my son. Wonders never cease; independent cuss.

...... a break in the lousy weather that allowed Lynda and I to walk the dogs after she arrived home from work. Walking and talking - a good way to start my day and wind down from hers.

.... an hour spent with the overnight counsellor reminiscing about the foolishness and insanity of our drinking and drugging days. Dumbfoundingly amazing that we survived our stupidity. Knee slapping funny to talk about though. 20/20 hindsight and all that....

..... friends - you know who you are.

Satisfied I have enough......

Cold Snap

Snapshot of the weather - We've experienced our first really cold couple of days. Back on Friday when I did that sleepover shift it got down to about -12C. Natch it was the first day I forgot to put on my longjohns before coming to work. Shiver and shake, baby! Thankfully it warmed up into Sunday and the forecast looks pretty good for the days ahead, hovering near freezing.

I took an unplanned break from blogging as I worked Thursday, and Friday into Saturday and so Saturday was a write-off. There was very little sleep to be had Friday night with the details of 6 admissions swirling around my brain most of the night. The day was spent goofing around with the dogs and the evening watching TV with Lynda; early to bed. We had a full day Sunday before I came to work. By the time I get off work & get myself home come morning I will have been up for almost 24 hours. (So, if this reads kind of choppy you know why.) But I thought I'd best post something here even if it's just a little update. Later, folks.

Downtime??

Hah!!!

These weeks off are something else. I'd blog more often but my time is taken up doing all the things that have built up that I shoulda, woulda, coulda done through last week but..... wasn't able to.

Sunday is a brain dead day; doing as little as possible and getting some rest. Monday is forcing myself up early and beginning to tackle the to-do list. Yesterday flew and it is Wednesday already - amazing. Mostly I'm in and out of the house every few hours on account of the dogs - don't want them cooped up for too long.

Besides checking on-line for new job postings I haven't spent much time at the computer. A few checks here and there on blog friends but not much nor often. I have heard from a few - talked with JPW a few nights ago and caught up on some news. Emails from BJ and a couple of blog friends. Get well soon Martin - harsh luck.

As to things at work; 'the house'. Now that we have complied with clearing the house we've been instructed and allowed to build up the client resident population again. Geniuses, I tell ya. I work a day shift tomorrow and one of those 26 hours sleep over shifts Friday into Saturday morning. The back to my regular series of 7 night shifts come Sunday night. Woo-Hoo!!!!

Yesterday I had to break off clearing up the last of the leaves because a band of snow showers came through so heavily I had to quit. Now I have a couple of hours to devote to cleaning up the rest of them - that should do it for this year. Off again.....

Unreality

The last of our clients left early Friday morning but 'the powers-that-be' want staff on the premises around the clock until we find out at Monday's meeting exactly what the future holds. For a big place that is usually so busy and bustling with life it seems surreal coming in here and rattling around mostly on my own. No one to look after. Each night there will be a counsellor doing an overnight sleep-over shift so I'm not completely alone but still.....

The guy I'm on with tonight doesn't sleep much and stayed up talking for hours. Plus we watched an old movie - Simon Birch. Picture a couple of middle aged old farts watching a sentimental tear jerker and getting all weepy. Ah well. It did give us something to do for a couple of hours. Saturday night will be concert night I think - probably Crossroads Festival 2007.

Dazed Days

Although we're enjoying a brilliant warm autumn day outside the weather between my ears isn't so good. Chuck full today with anxiety, fear and uncertainty. This too shall pass.....

In the meantime a shot of colour seems approriate. This shot is from our trip to Vancouver 13 or so months ago and if memory serves correctly Lynda took this one. We visited a few different gardens so I can't credit this one with any certainty.

I attended a meeting yesterday morning up at 'the residence' and things are still very much up in the air. Regular daytime staff have been assured of an income through until the end of the year. My status is yet to be determined in that regard. I might get pulled in with other staff to run day programming, or not. I know I'm supposed to work a shortened week next week into Friday morning. That is crunch day.

Lynda and I are talking out the various angles around these issues and mainly it's providing a way to vent and discharge the negative stuff but also brainstorm some creative solutions. Time to get back to working on some cover letters.....

What's Ahead??

The plan is to try and do the quicky shift switcheroo so I can get my days and nights flipped around to 'real' world hours. I'll have a much abbreviated sleep after I get off work in the morning so I can be back in bed early Sunday evening, back up and semi-functional Monday morning. I intend to report to a couple of temporary employment agencies to see if I can line up any sort of work for the balance of the week. The hope is that I can make a positive impression somewhere and get hired on a full time basis. At the very least I can make some contacts and get a line on who is hiring in the area.

There are a couple more CVs and cover letters to be sent out; a couple of follow up calls to make for others I sent out previously. One guy I know works for a printing firm and had mentioned the possibility of a CSR position opening up - gotta track him down and bend his ear. I used to work in print.

What else? The countdown is on for that Dylan concert here in town next week, the 12th. Woo-Hoo!! I'm glad I splurged for those tickets. Here's hoping he has a good night. Hmmm.... let's listen to some 'Modern Times', shall we? Get online and check some reviews and set lists.....

Lynda will be working her later shift this week so maybe I'll try to take in a couple of extra AA meetings - get out and see some friends.

I'm also looking forward to the American election Tuesday and to see what the result will be. (Plus it will FINALLY!! be over.) It has been a long, exhausting process. All rhetoric aside, in a political sense Obama fills the bill for me. McCain is too much of a hawk for me. And although expectations are that this will be a close race I do hope there is a clear winner.

Enjoy your week - I'll be back around when I'm able.

No Good News

Following todays work meeting I had a brief email from my boss and then got the full low-down from the duty counsellor I'm working with tonight once I got in to work. Apparently there were a lot of shrugs from the muckety-mucks where it comes to concrete information about whether we have to close or not, or when. The ball isn't in our court and it's a wait and see proposition; decision pending.... and then scramble.

So I've spent some time cruising the job postings on-line and not finding much of anything. It's given me some time to chill - I get angry when things get so disorganized and the people you depend on for answers don't have any. Then I get a little reactionary........ and have to resist the urge to spew here. Take a deep breath Norm.

Thanks to blog friends for distracting me with your words and pictures and music. Aaahhhh!! One more night and I can put this week to bed.

BTW - We had a perfect evening for the little ones to be out trick-or-treating. Mild with clear skies and a light breeze.

When I get back to work tonight I'll be working with my favourite weekend counsellor who is a music nut like me. He brings in his portable hard-drive and we listen to all his new stuff. Woo-Hoo!! Let the good times roll.

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.

Silent night

Lord it's quiet here sometimes. It took a few of the guys a couple of hours to settle for the night but no one has stirred for the last few hours. Phones aren't ringing tonight either. I'll enjoy the peace, I suppose. I haven't even bothered to put any tunes on....... ssshhhhh.

I've kept myself occupied doing some book work and filing, catching up on some emails, crawling the blogs for my regular reads, and reviewing some AA service meeting info. I have to be up early Sunday to attend said service meeting. Later on, on Sunday, stepson #3 has invited Lynda and I over to the townhouse for a roast beef dinner. We just have to furnish the roast; he's cooking it.

Earlier today, after I'd gotten up mid-afternoon, I headed out to do some running around. I presented myself at the return desk of the library to return the books and cd's I had on loan. The gal started flipping through the cases and noticed one of the cd's was misssing and I'm thinking, 'Crap! What have I done now?' Just then an announcement comes over the P.A. saying they are closing in 5 minutes - make your choices and bring them to the desk. I have her check the cd back out to me so I can search for it, dash down the aisle to where I know the biographies are and grabbed the first one that looked interesting. Looking through it a few minutes ago and it's one I read a few months ago - this one is the softcover edition instead of hardcover but hey, the contents are the same. Crap. At home I checked the computers disc drive; no cd. Get to work and check this station; no cd. I have no clue where the damned thing is cuz these are the two places I've played it. Double crap.

So, Lynda was going out with her East Indian Trini friend after work today figuring she would be home around six. She's late, which is par for the course when they're out together, but around 6:30 she calls to say "Go ahead and eat, we're running behind.' Damn, here I'm looking forward to some tasty roti and samosa and hot & sweet dipping sauces for brekkie / dinner. I got my stuff together and stopped at Arby's for a bite on the way to work.

I made it here in time for the in-house AA meeting - each week a different AA group puts it on as a service meeting. Except tonight the group pulled a no-show. Luckily there were enough of our Friday night regulars, mostly alumni, to put it on with the help of a few of the clients doing some of the readings. The show must go on......

Another day almost done -- time to gather my gear, get ready to clear on out of here and home to bed. Have a good one.