Freaky: play both at same time

Change: the great constant

Have you ever had one of those days where it seems for a moment that your life has been put on fast forward? All the cosmic tumblers are spinning wildly; clicking in to place to unlock the secret of the mystery of your existence...

Ya, me neither.

I did have a day where my life seemed to change with each passing phone call and those phone calls and emails came in quick succession and seemed to carve out the next six months to a year in the time it takes to drink a coffee.

The week before I left for my trip to Ohio, I was planning on staying Alberta for a while and seeing what kind of future I could carve out in this land of milk and honey. But then I received a couple rejection emails from jobs that I had invested several interviews in, so that was the first sign of the mini-apocolypse. The next sign came in the form of a medical report from home that said my dad's numbers (blood test) are all out of wack and getting wackier. So what do you do when your heart has already embarked before your mind has the sense to follow?

I had an interesting chat with my former boss; a guy that you already know about if you've read much of this blog. His opinion of the whole thing is that my sole purpose in live is to be successful. Family it seems, in his opinion, is a fine thing so long as it doesn't hinder a man's ability to be free to capitalise and take his advantage. I won't say that I haven't considered the ramifications that any decision I make will have on my future.

Sometimes it takes hearing what you've been thinking come out of somebody else's mouth for you to understand how vile some ideas are.

"quod in omni vita facimus in aeternum resonat" Gladiator

The third sign came in an email / phone call double header, a program that I had placed on the back burner as a nice idea but not feasible, became seemingly plausible as an option and then as other opportunities passed away, the path became all the more clear. Like a dark horse the longshot came from the back of the pack and changed my plans completely.

Ok, enough fluff? I am going home for a period of about seven months to study entrepreneurship and to be close enough to help out at home if my Dad needs anything while he poisons his body with Chemo drugs. It seems like a strange game of chicken and I am going home to try and cheat for the home side.

Right now the business model that I am working on is a driving range. So if you have ideas or heaps of unused venture capital give me a shout. If you want to just say hi thats cool too.

Pictures: Niagara Falls: the Canadian side (1), Looking back to the American side (2)

Update from Mom

On Monday morning we had been asked to arrive a bit earlier as David has been chosen to be part of one of the research projects currently going on regarding CLL, and they needed five extra tubes of blood – which were to be extracted before 1:00 p.m.

When we saw Dr. Johnston (David’s oncologist) it was as we have suspected for some time, his recommendation is that David begin chemotherapy. It will be completed here in Dauphin under the care of a wonderful woman, Dr. Matheson. She is a kind and thoroughly dedicated doctor. David’s first chemo (Chlorambucil) will simply be pills, taken daily for one week of each month, for six months. If, after two months, the first medication is not doing what is needed to bring his levels back into a more normal range, another medication will be added (Fludarabine). This combination will continue for six months (or eight months in all).

David’s hemoglobin levels were of some concern and the possibility of a blood transfusion in the future is possible. In my discussion with Janet Olson tonight, a nurse in our congregation, she notes the levels of his hemoglobin changes are equal right now to about a pint of blood.

David is beginning to enjoy his retirement; when I called him today he had been shoveling the driveway and the pathways to his bird feeders and was filling the bird feeders when I came home from work. He has taken several pictures of the blue jays in particular, and is beginning to make lists and drawings of what tasks he wants to accomplish next. He does also reluctantly enjoy the call of his body to rest – falls asleep easily, and rests fairly well.

For those of you who don’t know we spent the week of American Thanksgiving in a trip that mean we flew from Winnipeg to Ottawa , visited with Rachael, and met up with Joel who had flown from Alberta , to travel with Mindy, to Ohio to visit with Josh and Jeanine and with Mark and Jill. We had a great time.

NONanoNOMO

It's over.
I have finished the race and unlike most races everyone who finishes this race is a winner. So like most people who have spent most of their free time for the last month typing without regard for whether or not what they wrote was ever going to be enjoyed by anyone else and having coasted across the finish line, to celebrate: I took a nap.

Now I have to go out and get a life.

I did go and get a new assignment. I went to the local newspaper and was assigned the task of writing a small article on my latest trip; the hidden side of Ottawa, the one worth visiting... I don't think the editor has a bias.

So IF they choose to publish it, then I guess that makes me a freelance journalist. (Have you ever seen a bigger if?)