Wow – it’s been a week, eh? Last weekend an ice storm came and made it look gorgeous outside and be treacherous to ride my bike. But we made out better than one of my colleagues who had her power knocked out on Saturday and didn’t get it back until Thursday morning. Lucky for her they have generators to keep the food cold and a wood stove to keep them warm. Then Wednesday night severe thunderstorms roared through and left another colleague with 30 fewer trees in their backyard. With that kind of weather I only managed to get on my bike twice.
Thursday I was home alone so it was time to start working on this site. So instead of cooking dinner, I took a 30 min bus ride over to Scarborough to Nantha, a Sri Lankan takeaway. Their food is delicious and there is no better value I can think of in the city. They give so much food that I was able to feed myself dinner and lunch the next day and give Daegan and Sage something when they got home and still have a few snacks left over for $27.
Friday night Sage and I managed to get out to have some Thai food and watch some improv. It was awesome to find a show we like that started at 7:00 PM meaning that even after the show ended and we had an hour ride home it would still be a reasonable hour. It was fun as always and we spent the trip home talking about the scenes and choices made.
Yesterday I had planned for an 88 km bike ride with Randonneurs Ontario but then the weather was looking nasty again: just above freezing and rain and gusty winds. Who wants to be out in the cold rain that could turn to ice? Not me. So instead I scheduled my second shingles vaccine for that afternoon since I heard that one can be a tough go with side effects. When I got home I worked on this site off and on with the help of AI to advise me how to do what I was trying to do.
I felt a little worse in the morning but by the time Hindi class ended at noon I felt as bad as I felt after my first COVID vaccine. Chills, achy and headache. I’m still getting over that but it’s mostly better though an ocular migraine just rolled in and there are flashing lights in my left eye because why not have all the fun? It still beats everything I heard about what it’s like to have shingles.
I’m really pleased, though, to have this site structurally where I want it. I wanted something to capture the impulse I have to write little Facebook posts about how things are right now. You can see those on the sidebar of my homepage. Then I have another area as a “Photoblog” to capture those “Instagram” impulses. And of course one last place for these sorts of posts. All of these go to Mastodon.
As I said on a post on the old site (to ask people to come over here). It feels like when you’ve just finished moving to a new apartment. All your stuff is in the new place. The stereo is hooked up so you can get some good music playing and you’ve ordered pizza because your kitchen isn’t fully unpacked. But you’ve got a home and it’s starting to feel like your place. So I’ve got some pictures to hang, a few rugs to put down but I’m so glad you stopped by.
I had a moment when Lakshmi commented on a post over here where I thought maybe people wouldn’t be able to follow me here. But as it turns out it’s no problem. I found out how to do it and set it up and you can now get posts by email or in your WordPress reader as you like by using the form on the sidebar. I did add a few of my readers who follow via email to the list by hand. But if you followed before, I’m hoping to see you here.
And yes, while the tariffs have arrived, there’s also been some really encouraging things as well.
Good Things in the World:
I somehow missed the fact that there were huge protests planned all over the US yesterday. There were so many videos on TikTok showing enormous crowds – and not just in traditionally Democrat areas but even conservative ones. People are not happy across the board. Let’s hope the pressure stays on. That’s the way to bring sanity back.
You can read some about the protests here.
I’m also cautiously optimistic about the election with our current prime minister, Mark Carney promising plans to build more housing. He is also promising $150M more for the CBC. He has also said “If the US no longer wants to lead, Canada will.” all of which makes me feel like rather than treating the US like a toxic boyfriend we want back, we’re moving on. Europe is also ready to move on it seems and it is really beautifully said in this piece.
Yes, I know, I’m bringing news and politics in and I apologize a little for it. But I also feel like the above news are signs of sanity and action to move forward with things we can control rather than arguing with an unreliable adversary. We are taking exactly the advice I’d give a friend who had a toxic boyfriend.
But there’s other good news too – like this:
In Idaho a man is closing the last video store in the area. However, he’s taking some of the videos over to his nearby convenience store to create “Christina’s Corner”. Christina, age 35, has Down Syndrome and is mostly non-verbal but her routine for 15 years has been to go and rent a movie. This is real consideration. You can read the story here.
Thanks to all of you who read and also to those of you who share your stories in your own blogs and social media. I may not always comment but I do always appreciate it. Your work and friendship matter. It may be scary times but we’ll get through it together.
