Okay, okay, I'm writing. I have been taken to task for not keeping up. Sorry, guys. I just haven't been in the mood. Truth of the matter is, I'm bored, and if I'm bored with my life, I can't imagine you guys being interested. Anyway, if I want to keep my fans, I better start writing....
I left you a few weeks ago. Around that time, I reconnected with Deb, a former colleague and friend. We had lost touch for any number of reasons, not least of which that she was having a rough time, both for health reasons and a messy divorce. Both conditions have resolved, and she invited me to her lovely home in Morgan Creek for dinner. We gabbed, and ate, and gabbed for four hours; it was good to catch up, and we vowed to keep up the friendship. It should be easier, since she also plays bridge at the White Rock duplicate club.
That was followed by a quiet week, work only being interrupted by bridge on Thursday. We didn't do very well, Robin and I, but, well, I'm not as competitive as Robin is. As long as I don't disgrace my myself, I am happy, and for me, not making any bonehead errors and coming in the middle of the back counts as not disgracing myself. Unfortunately, however, the bridge marathon I was expecting did not materialize. We had a sectional tournament going on in Burnaby, but both people I was meant to play with got sick. I got a substitute for one session, and we actually placed (i.e., got masterpoints) and had a really good time, but still, having expected three full days of bridge, well, it was a bit of a disappointment.
Continuing on the bridge theme, I have been going through withdrawal, from playing bridge three times a week in Palm Springs to playing every once in a while here. I finally researched bridge nearer to home, and found that there is a sanctioned game (i.e., by the American Contract Bridge League) closer to home, actually, in the community room of a synagogue four blocks from my house (which, by the way, I didn't know was there!!!). I emailed the director, and sure enough, there was someone looking for a partner. Long and the short of it, not the best player in the world, but any evening playing bridge is a nice evening, and apparently I was competent enough to be asked back. So, another regular bridge event in my future.
.....followed by a lovely dinner with friend Gerry (also known as The Juke Box Man), who came up my way for fish and chips at Pajo's. Again, we had't seen one another for a few months, so it was good to catch up.
Bridge again on Thursday and Monday, and otherwise, nothing but work, work, work, including the weekend. You can see how boredom would set in. Anyway, hopefully that is about to change; a weekend in Seattle coming up, including some theater and some movies, and a friend coming to stay next week,not to mention Bard on the Beach season upcoming. So do not despair - I'll try not to - and stay turned. Meanwhile, I promised you a book list.
Just finished Elizabeth George's newest, One Evil Act (good, but desperately in need of an editor - I mean, really, over 700 pages for a mystery!) and Louise Penny's How The Light Gets In. Still on the nightstand, another Louise Penny (The Beautiful Mystery), several more mysteries (two by Robert Crais and one by Ian Rankin), several classics (The Bostonians and The Sound and the Fury), three miscellaneous novels (by Jeffrey Eugenides - The Virgin Suicides - you might have read his earlier Middlesex - My Name is Red, by Orhan Pamuk, and Such a Long Journey, by Rohinton Mystry. And, finally, something serious, The Triple Package, a social science book, if you will, about why some minority groups are more successful than others. Of course, in uber-liberal Canada, it caused a big ruckus - heaven forbid we should acknowledge that some groups are more successful than others - but it sounded interesting.
And of course, I have just put in a huge order on line, including more background reading on Wagner and Bayreauth, in anticipation of this summer's trip. More on those as they arrive.
Meanwhile, the walks around Garry Point every night continue, so again, I leave you with pictures, to remind you - and me - that boring is not all that bad!
And, to close on a PollyAnna-ish note (sorry PA), the weather has been glorious. So, hey, this is why I write this blog. Ultimately, it reminds me of how lucky I am.
Back at you shortly!!
I left you a few weeks ago. Around that time, I reconnected with Deb, a former colleague and friend. We had lost touch for any number of reasons, not least of which that she was having a rough time, both for health reasons and a messy divorce. Both conditions have resolved, and she invited me to her lovely home in Morgan Creek for dinner. We gabbed, and ate, and gabbed for four hours; it was good to catch up, and we vowed to keep up the friendship. It should be easier, since she also plays bridge at the White Rock duplicate club.
That was followed by a quiet week, work only being interrupted by bridge on Thursday. We didn't do very well, Robin and I, but, well, I'm not as competitive as Robin is. As long as I don't disgrace my myself, I am happy, and for me, not making any bonehead errors and coming in the middle of the back counts as not disgracing myself. Unfortunately, however, the bridge marathon I was expecting did not materialize. We had a sectional tournament going on in Burnaby, but both people I was meant to play with got sick. I got a substitute for one session, and we actually placed (i.e., got masterpoints) and had a really good time, but still, having expected three full days of bridge, well, it was a bit of a disappointment.
Continuing on the bridge theme, I have been going through withdrawal, from playing bridge three times a week in Palm Springs to playing every once in a while here. I finally researched bridge nearer to home, and found that there is a sanctioned game (i.e., by the American Contract Bridge League) closer to home, actually, in the community room of a synagogue four blocks from my house (which, by the way, I didn't know was there!!!). I emailed the director, and sure enough, there was someone looking for a partner. Long and the short of it, not the best player in the world, but any evening playing bridge is a nice evening, and apparently I was competent enough to be asked back. So, another regular bridge event in my future.
.....followed by a lovely dinner with friend Gerry (also known as The Juke Box Man), who came up my way for fish and chips at Pajo's. Again, we had't seen one another for a few months, so it was good to catch up.
Bridge again on Thursday and Monday, and otherwise, nothing but work, work, work, including the weekend. You can see how boredom would set in. Anyway, hopefully that is about to change; a weekend in Seattle coming up, including some theater and some movies, and a friend coming to stay next week,not to mention Bard on the Beach season upcoming. So do not despair - I'll try not to - and stay turned. Meanwhile, I promised you a book list.
Just finished Elizabeth George's newest, One Evil Act (good, but desperately in need of an editor - I mean, really, over 700 pages for a mystery!) and Louise Penny's How The Light Gets In. Still on the nightstand, another Louise Penny (The Beautiful Mystery), several more mysteries (two by Robert Crais and one by Ian Rankin), several classics (The Bostonians and The Sound and the Fury), three miscellaneous novels (by Jeffrey Eugenides - The Virgin Suicides - you might have read his earlier Middlesex - My Name is Red, by Orhan Pamuk, and Such a Long Journey, by Rohinton Mystry. And, finally, something serious, The Triple Package, a social science book, if you will, about why some minority groups are more successful than others. Of course, in uber-liberal Canada, it caused a big ruckus - heaven forbid we should acknowledge that some groups are more successful than others - but it sounded interesting.
And of course, I have just put in a huge order on line, including more background reading on Wagner and Bayreauth, in anticipation of this summer's trip. More on those as they arrive.
Meanwhile, the walks around Garry Point every night continue, so again, I leave you with pictures, to remind you - and me - that boring is not all that bad!
And, to close on a PollyAnna-ish note (sorry PA), the weather has been glorious. So, hey, this is why I write this blog. Ultimately, it reminds me of how lucky I am.
Back at you shortly!!
