Massive Update

No photo of my own to share with you this time, so I'm going with perhaps the best blogger ever, Doogie Howser M.D. No matter what, at the end of his day, he'd be banging out his thoughts on that old ass PC of his. I hereby pledge to be a more diligent blogger, like him! Hey I don't have many readers but I know some folks check in and would like to see more action here. On with it then.

I'm writing from Comox tonight, where I've been taking an intro course in marine safety with an aim to land a BC Ferries job sometime in the new year. I'm staying with family and having a wonderful visit with 8-year-old cousin Mya and SuperMommy Tammy. They've made me feel very welcome and well-fed. This course is just three days this week at North Island College, this area's answer to Camosun, a short walk from their home. Two other classes are required, both taught over in North Van. The prospect for hiring on the Denman runs seems pretty good, given what I've been hearing. So fingers crossed -- it's not a dream job, looks pretty boring actually, but it would pay well compared to anything else I could find without having to commute off Denman.

I've actually been working alot lately -- I have two steady gigs with somewhat limited hours: the recycling centre and the local café. Plus for the past few weeks I've been helping out a new friend as he builds his dream house on Denman. We actually met at Thursday night volleyball and hung out a bit, he learned I was looking for work, and he and his wife were looking for a helper. So on days I'm not working the other two places, I've been over there doing stuff like setting rebar, banging the frame together, we're about to pour concrete soon. It's one of these West Coast artsy homes, so it's being done in an interesting technique -- the footprint is shaped like a bumblebee! So this is a type of work I've never done, nice to be outside all day (usually), and it's great to learn how to use some tools I've not used before. It won't be regular work of course, but the build is just starting so hopefully I can keep busy with that for a while.

Bethany is, unfortunatly, having to drive into Courtenay to teach just about every day. It's a drag of a routine, and quite expensive. We're hoping she won't have to do this again next fall, but she's kind of stuck until June. But that doesn't affect her professionalism and enthusiasm at work, no no. She's once again working her magic on a school whose music program was in tatters when she found it. I've seen this over and over as she's gone to a new school every year since we met. She steps in, charges up a band program, energizes the staff, the kids fall in love with her, her concerts are amazing, the parents get involved and the school district start to buy in with more support. It's all happening again this year. She really is an amazing educator, very good at what she does, the kind of teacher the kids will remember fondly when they're grown. I'm very proud of her!

A neat new angle on this school year is the group of kids who live on Denman and also commute into town to Bethy's school. She has a special connection with them. Some have been coming over to our place for music lessons on evenings and weekends, and this past Saturday was their first chance to perform in small ensembles in front of their families. There was a rock gig at the Denman Community Hall, and the kids were able to squeeze in as an extra opening act. First it was a brass quintet lead by Mrs. Ireland on French horn. Then it was another couple of small groups doing a few tunes each (I sat in on bass for one), and finally the school jazz band assembled for four songs. Bethy's jazz band is made up of about two-thirds Denman kids, so they on their own still form a pretty solid crew. The drummer no-showed, so I got to bang the skins for them! The parents were all very impressed, and by the time the jazz band was on, the crowd had started to form. The kids got a great ovation, and a truly valuable experience performing in their own community. A rare thing indeed, but hopefully less so as Bethy's home studio "Water Music" kicks into full gear. I don't think she'll have a problem attracting kids for music lessons. She's become very popular on the island already, word gets around fast.

Back to me, this is my blog, get your own. Something else I've been trying for the first time is traditional Chinese medicine. See, I've had this on-and-off issue with excema on my hands for my whole life. No doctor or prescription had ever been able to help much, and it really wasn't an issue unless I had a job involving getting my hands wet (kitchens, car washing, etc). Well it came back again with this café job I'm doing. We'd heard great things about this TCM doctor on the island, from even the most hardcore skeptics and old school thinkers, so I thought I'd give it a go. So for the past month I've been getting acupuncture, rubbing ground plants on my hands and drinking a foul tea made up of at least a dozen herbs and organics (one of which is dried cricket shells by the way). Boy does it taste bad, less so after a while, but still pretty nasty. This eastern approach to medicine is totally different -- dealing with energy flow, emotional balance, magnetic fields. Sounds pretty out there I know, but it's all making sense somehow, and it's working. People go to great lengths to see him, even coming from overseas in a few cases.

We enjoyed some visitors in November, my mom came up for a few days of chillin'. Bethy's folks came up with another home improvement project, as is their wont. This time it was some sliding doors to section off what used to be the dining room -- now it's the afore-mentioned WATER MUSIC studio! They do great work and are very generous with their time. Allison came up the E&N for a couple of nights and we had great fun with her too.

I went down to Vic on the train mid-November for a couple of hockey games and some visiting. That's something I want to keep doing from time to time, as family and hockey are what I miss most about my hometown. It's also vital to keep in personal touch with friends and family -- email only gets you so far.

We recently got to re-live our wedding in the form of photos and video. Davin and Caroline presented us with a gorgeous photo book production, showing all their best shots of the big day. It tells the whole tale right from getting dressed up, deep into the night that we'll never forget. So we got several copies to present as gifts this Christmas, and one for our own coffee table. Thanks again Bergemot Studios, for the dynamite work and gift of your time! The video turned out great too, awesome to hear the reception speeches again especially. And the vows, the choir, oh man..... what a day. We are extremely happy we decided to have it documented so thoroughly and expertly.

So that's enough for now I think, thanks so much for reading. I'd like to get into more of a blogging routine, as I'm constantly having thoughts and experiences, even the odd photo that I figure would make good fodder for this stuff. I had a few good runs up and down Spongeknuckle Street before, so hopefully I've still got it in me. Bye bye for you!