I went through a crisis of confidence last Monday. In the interests of privacy - and my own pride - I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say that it was made patently obvious at work that I was playing on the B team, not to be trusted with anything of importance. Oh, I've known it for some time now, but was cruelly reminded of it. Believe it or not, I actually shed tears, although, gratefully, not in front of anyone else. Nor did I stomp over to the corner office to resign, although, admittedly, I was helped in that resolve by the fact that the resident was not there. As always, I was also helped by my low tolerance level for boredom, and self pity is hugely boring. In short, I have gotten over it. I have decided on this narrative: I am still of value to the organization, even playing on the B team. It must be so, as they are still paying me. And, on the bright side, there are fewer expectations. So, onward.
Wednesday evening, played bridge at the club with Dennis. He hadn't been going to the club for at least a decade, and I am really honoured that he has asked me to go on several occasions recently. (In my opinion, he is hands-down the best player in our little group.) And we actually managed to eke out some points.
On Thursday night, it was off to dinner and the theater with friend Tom. We decided to eat at our old standby, Enigma, although we had gotten bored with it. Lo and behold, it has had a makeover...
and a change of ownership (not to mention a great happy hour menu). We were very pleasantly surprised - and with the theater as well. We saw A Few Good Men, by Aaron Sorkin. (Some of you, of a certain age, probably remember the movie, with Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruse, when he was still young and normal.) I had never seen the movie. Turns out, it was a very good play, and the Ensemble Theater Company did a wonderful job with it. Worth the sweltering heat - turns out, if they put on the air conditioner, the audience was unable to hear the dialog....
.....followed by bridge with the boys at John's on Friday night. (God bless him, he barbequed, and is really working at making hamburgers that are not the consistency of hockey pucks....) It may not be the best bridge, but we always have a lot of laughs...
......and more theater on Saturday, this time a matinee at the Arts Club on Granville Island. It was even worth battling the traffic, the parking issues (although I have to say, I have unusually good parking karma), and the hordes of people on Granville on a sunny summer Saturday. The play was Once, a musical (also apparently a movie, nominated for an Academy Award in, ohm 2009 I think. It wasn't a play so much as a flimsy scaffold on which to hang a bunch of songs. However, it was great fun, the audience (a full house for a change) loved it. I did too, although plays - and especially musicals - about love are always a stark reminder that I aint got none.....
Reading? Well, I still haven't finished Gulag. (It's not one of those books you can read straight through - too depressing.) In the effort to absorb all things Russian before my trip, I also read Panic In A Suitcase, by Yelena Akhtiorsk. It is about a Russian Jewish family from Odessa transplanted to Brighton Beach - written by a Russian Jew from Brighton Beach. I can't say that I can wholeheartedly recommend it, but it did provide a window of sorts into the Russian soul, which I am looking for right now.
Finally, I read A Coin in Nine Hands, a book written in 1934 about Mussolini's Rome. Again, I was not taken by the writing - or perhaps, a poor translation - but the descriptions of the leader, and the politic manipulation of a people, were uncannily apt. I am not sorry I read it.
Finally, I have to tell you that this is my first post on a new device. I broke down and got a NoteBook, for purposes of having something to take with me to Russia - so I can keep you posted from there. I have actually managed to get it set up (with only minimal help from the IT people at work), and it looks like it will work swimmingly.
I leave in a little over three weeks. I must admit, I am anxious - and generally speaking, I am not anxious when I travel. Oh, well, all reservations have been made, I have rubles and visas in hand, and a working credit card. What can go wrong?
In any event, you will hear from me again before I leave...
Wednesday evening, played bridge at the club with Dennis. He hadn't been going to the club for at least a decade, and I am really honoured that he has asked me to go on several occasions recently. (In my opinion, he is hands-down the best player in our little group.) And we actually managed to eke out some points.
On Thursday night, it was off to dinner and the theater with friend Tom. We decided to eat at our old standby, Enigma, although we had gotten bored with it. Lo and behold, it has had a makeover...
and a change of ownership (not to mention a great happy hour menu). We were very pleasantly surprised - and with the theater as well. We saw A Few Good Men, by Aaron Sorkin. (Some of you, of a certain age, probably remember the movie, with Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruse, when he was still young and normal.) I had never seen the movie. Turns out, it was a very good play, and the Ensemble Theater Company did a wonderful job with it. Worth the sweltering heat - turns out, if they put on the air conditioner, the audience was unable to hear the dialog....
.....followed by bridge with the boys at John's on Friday night. (God bless him, he barbequed, and is really working at making hamburgers that are not the consistency of hockey pucks....) It may not be the best bridge, but we always have a lot of laughs...
......and more theater on Saturday, this time a matinee at the Arts Club on Granville Island. It was even worth battling the traffic, the parking issues (although I have to say, I have unusually good parking karma), and the hordes of people on Granville on a sunny summer Saturday. The play was Once, a musical (also apparently a movie, nominated for an Academy Award in, ohm 2009 I think. It wasn't a play so much as a flimsy scaffold on which to hang a bunch of songs. However, it was great fun, the audience (a full house for a change) loved it. I did too, although plays - and especially musicals - about love are always a stark reminder that I aint got none.....
Reading? Well, I still haven't finished Gulag. (It's not one of those books you can read straight through - too depressing.) In the effort to absorb all things Russian before my trip, I also read Panic In A Suitcase, by Yelena Akhtiorsk. It is about a Russian Jewish family from Odessa transplanted to Brighton Beach - written by a Russian Jew from Brighton Beach. I can't say that I can wholeheartedly recommend it, but it did provide a window of sorts into the Russian soul, which I am looking for right now.
Finally, I read A Coin in Nine Hands, a book written in 1934 about Mussolini's Rome. Again, I was not taken by the writing - or perhaps, a poor translation - but the descriptions of the leader, and the politic manipulation of a people, were uncannily apt. I am not sorry I read it.
Finally, I have to tell you that this is my first post on a new device. I broke down and got a NoteBook, for purposes of having something to take with me to Russia - so I can keep you posted from there. I have actually managed to get it set up (with only minimal help from the IT people at work), and it looks like it will work swimmingly.
I leave in a little over three weeks. I must admit, I am anxious - and generally speaking, I am not anxious when I travel. Oh, well, all reservations have been made, I have rubles and visas in hand, and a working credit card. What can go wrong?
In any event, you will hear from me again before I leave...
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