Been awhile, been awhile. Pleased to make your re-acquaintance sirs and madams.
Update from the land of back...not really a clean bill of health but good news in general! I have arthritis in my back! Awesome! Just what I was hoping for. Basically the trauma of the now infamous snowstorm/car push incident degenerated an already degenerating disc in my thoracic region to pretty much collapse. From their it became infected which was why I had such severe pain, the radiating, burning pain, intense spasms and pain that would crawl across my upper body and stiffen muscles i never thought existed. All this could have been avoided if my doctor had taken me seriously when I complained of the pain I was feeling instead of dismissing me and with medication my pain would have had the strong possibility being tempered and resolved afr earlier than june/july when it started to ease substantially. I'm not bitter about it anymore, i've moved past that, but i confess to being disappointed and letdown by the whole process. There are two things I've learned and can pass on for others who may one day find themselves in similar positions (though I truly hope not).
1. The human body is a crazy contraption. The human mind is even more extraorindary. Have faith in yourself and your surroundings. Having good people around you helps this enormously, but if you start living day to day and believe in the old saying "this too shall pass," it will. It takes time and copious amounts of patience but it does work and you feel better for having endured.
2. If you feel pain, fight for it. Impress upon your physicians and specialists what the pain is like and DEMAND better care. It is your right. Don't just ask, being meek allowed my standard of care to be diminished and for my pain to circumvent what I am entitled to receive in health care. I cannot stress this enough, DEMAND more. Do not take no as an answer, harass the doctors until they fight for you, otherwise they won't and will just move on to the next patient and collect the money from the government. Take a cynical approach and that way you will fulfill your responsibility to yourself and force the health care professionals to take responsibility for their jobs and duty of care.
So i've been cleared to run and exercise with weights and I have a lot of physical body work I need to catch up on. I didn't quite forget how good it feels to work out, but it has become more fun than i remembered and I am by most accounts, happy and doing well. Thank you.
A quick shout-out to the dirty 'Shwa. I just want to applaud this once mighty blue collar town. In the midst of an economic crisis that saw their city crumble, that has decimated jobs in their town and has increased their unemployment rate due to their heavy dependence on American car manufacturers, they held their resolve and voted conservative in the federal elections. There are no accolades I can heap upon this city and its people to do it justice. BRAVO Oshawa, BRAVO! You voted for a government that scorns your labour, that has tried its level best to discourage investment in Ontario and is now looking to bail out the auto companies that have pissed away your pension and severed your jobs while your jobs will most likely not come back without proper investment in future technologies in your city. Once more, BRAVO! Ladies and Gents, a round of boisterous applause for Oshawa! A city hell bent on Hari-kiri.
The wife and I went to the old city of Montréal for our anniversary. We were debating between being in Ontario and going to Montréal and did we ever make the right choice. I swear that this is such a wonderful wonderful place to visit and walk and eat. When you get their you get stuck in time, feel the history soak into your bones in every breath you take. The cuisine is beyond amazing and the culture has no rival anywhere in Canada. It is such a fun city to be in at anytime and a very very pretty city. Trees line streets, the buildings do not impose on the skyline but rather are moderate in height and rich in character and architecture. One day I see myself there, once I'm a writer for real for real, just living and playing in that grand old city. If you have a chance, go to Montréal, go to tam-tams, l'avenue, la banquise (thanks meryl), schwartz's and most of all get a transit pass, hop off the train and just walk around. It is a city designed for pedestrians with its spacious sidewalks sprinkled with trees, its hills and a certain je ne sais quoi that gives life to even tempered hearts. Em and I went on walks at midnight through downtown, nestling close to each other and the ghosts of the city breathing in the fragrance of that beautiful place. Montréal Je T'adore.
Our 4 play pass to the Toronto theatre company Soulpepper just finished with our viewing this past friday of Top Girls. Extremely well done play and wonderfully acted. Every performance was stellar, the lighting was perfect, the music set the tone well and it was paced with veteran style. We had seats right in front of the stage and it was slightly unnerving to be less than 4 feet from some of the scenes but an experience that was eye opening and made me appreciate live theatre much much more. The other plays we saw this year were As You Like It, Uncle Vanya and Raisin in the Sun. All plays were great but As You Like It was the weakest of the four we say. The other three each had their merits and I cannot choose just one which stood above the rest. The actors they get at Soulpepper are phenomenal and the dedication of the staff and artists of the company show how seriously they take theatre. Soulpepper is one of my favourite things about this city and I urge any of you with even the slightest passion for art, culture or the medium of performance to check out a play. Its a great night out, the distillery is a nice cozy romantic enclave and there are enough restaurants and drinks to suit any discerning taste. They have some really great plays coming up in the next season like Antigone, Glengarry Glen Ross and Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf coming up in the new season, so if your looking for a night out, there's an idea. Also they have a student program where you can get tickets for any night (under $30!) and a 21-30 program where if you are between 21 - 30 years of age you can get a ticket to a show for $28 the night of by going to the box office. Really, what are you waiting for? Go now and support the arts in Toronto, support culture because Lord knows our government will everything it can to make this country into a sterile artless, brainless, formless country in the service of Godmoney.
Sorry for the delay folks, we've been busy and I haven't had as much time to update, but I will try to write some more in the coming weeks. Oh yeah, went to the Leafs-Habs game (HNIC BABY!) last saturday and witnessed a storybook thrashing of the Canadiens. Beautiful to watch and be a part of and nice to send the Habs off the ice with a NA-NA-NA-HEY-HEY-HEY GOODBYE chant with 5 minutes left in the third. As always GO LEAFS GO!
peacelovefreedomjustice
-s
"This has been a delayed broadcast from the Free City."
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance - Aristotle
