A Repudiation of a Worthy Pursuit, October 5, 2021

 For someone who promised to write something most days I deserve the lash, or, at the very least a harsh reprimand for my repudiation of a worthy pursuit; but who will do that for me? Shall I start with excuses? Is it laziness, a change of heart or ambition? Perhaps it's all three, or could it be moving to 66 High foisted unavoidable distractions? Yes, that's it.

This mirror and den light are two of many interruptions to my pursuit: one in person at a local retailer visited four times before inking the deal. We received the mirror and the accompanying vanity for the Powder Room on the same day, with the light purchased on line and delivered three weeks later. The total number of days and visits to retailers in greater Mississauga, Toronto and Hamilton's Furniture and Antique Shops should have been chronicled in Evernote. They were not; suffice it to say these days are too numerous to remember.

But today I write about the experience of our move, and other interests I hope you enjoy. 

Friends who know of our move to 66 High have asked and every time I've replied that I didn't think I could have enjoyed the experience more because we had the good fortune to hire Hector and Oscar for Plan A of the renovation. But before we start there is the 'demolition.' Fortunately for Terryl and me we were not eating, sleeping and living inside that whirling dervish during this five-week period. We were living a block away. But after June 1 Terryl began shlepping Lucy's flat bed laden with all kinds of stuff from our apartment four times a day to our new home. She also states that this was her toughest move (one of twenty-eight) since she arrived in Toronto from Winnipeg in 1969. I can see why she would say that as she marches up and down that half-block between our former and about-to-be new home in Old Port Credit. The intrusion continued and we made decisions on what to renovate and added extra work to Hector's list. However, every time Hector and Oscar said, 'Don't worry we can get it done on time for you.' When we decided to renovate the second washroom Oscar said the magic words 'we can get it done.' The next day the ensuite washroom was totally gutted. Two days later Hector very quietly said to us 'Did my brother say we could get it done on time?' We replied that he had. Hector then apologized and said he was sorry it could not be done on our Schedule A, and that they would come back in two months to complete the work and any other we needed. And here we are on October 14, 2021 working on our second washroom and Powder Room with new vanity, toilet, mirror and Cushing Green paint job.

I have not rejected my idea of writing on a regular basis. However, doing all of this with Terryl and our new best friends Hector, Oscar and Scott has reduced my available writing time. To compare this time with that of last winter when I woke at 06:00 and made a coffee and proceeded to my favourite Leopard Chair and lazy desk, read the news and explored the Internet from morning till night. Covid-19 was also in full flight demanding isolation and reducing all kinds of socializing and personal contact that gave me tons of time until 19:00 hours when the TV comes on and binge watching Netflix and Prime consumes the rest of the night.

I play golf every Friday at the Brampton Golf Club with Ray, David and Paul. Today, the course is closed to  any member or guest who is not registered to play in its Pro/Member tournament. Today is October 15, 2021 and at 11:00 they start their game and I’m on the outdoor deck enjoying a cup of coffee with two tangerine oranges. Unfortunately I'm without a book to enjoy. A charming young waitress walks by and asks if I am enjoying the day and I reply, 'It couldn't be nicer, thank you for asking.'

I like solitude especially when I'm outdoors enjoying a pleasant weather day. Overlooking our Golf Course is such a place. Many years ago I proposed a reading room would be a nice addition to the Club, if it had been approved this is where  I might be.  

Today the sun is shining as we drive to Hamilton Ontario a short 36 minute run on the QEW. It's also October 19, 2021 with a temperature of 20C arriving at Millionaire's Daughter and Robert's Antiques on Ottawa Street North (a street filled with all kinds of retail dealing with second-hand goods). The Daughter drew us into her arms following a casual accent chair that might fit with the others in our living room, and Robert's Antique where we purchased a Chandelier that was missing a few jewels that Robert promised to provide after we looked at the missing string at home. We left without the chair, but did receive a string of precious jewels to complete the chandelier at no extra cost. [An unfortunate addition to this post is that Terryl has changed her mind; it's too low and doesn't fit her taste any longer. As of January 20, 2022 we are looking to trade this for that or sell it at the buyers price. Robert Antique Shop has declined to buy-it-back but will take it on consignment at 50% of the sale price. This story is far from over.]

It's October 20, 2021 and the weather was reasonable with scattered clouds and a few rain showers that didn't bother the other golfers with a temperature reaching 19C. But it did me. I was an almost perfect bum out there today. This was our regular Wednesday game where 15 guys showed up and waged $10 each in a low net best ball game with skins as an additional prize. I didn't contribute a single point to my foursome's score; and that's bad for me. I earned 25% of a skin won by Charlie and left it on the table to show my distain for the day's effort.

Let's just say that I might do better at the keyboard these days. Does this sound like I'm giving up? Not a chance. We'll tee it up on Friday if the weather is okay and next Wednesday too. Thank you for putting up with me. This is a sunset over Catalina just to make us happy.

It's October 24, 2021 and of course I'm at the keyboard. I've read a rather large article on the Internet which was all about the absolute size of the thing. Miles of screens glowing red and green and other lesser colours tell those that watch which systems might be down at this very moment. It's described like Google maps showing roads that are currently sluggish with extra traffic and delays marked in red, and others that are green indicating that traffic is moving along in a normal fashion. When the watchers find a down system (red), depending on its size, they switch 'things' and you're up and running once again. That's the Internet growing by leaps and bounds 20 or even 50% in the last two years. Does anything grow that quickly, especially really big business? The Pandemic did it when millions of people stopped going to the office for work. They are on WiFi at home demanding faster service which is normal when working in the large offices with their fabulous systems under-utilized. Ask AT&T who might be one of the largest of the  suppliers, and when they are in trouble Microsoft, Google, IBM and Amazon with their incredible bank of systems in 'The Cloud' can take over (for a price) thank you very much.

                                        

Where am I today? Four hours ago I was in a chair in Oakville’s Prism Eyecare Institute’s brand new facility being tested and examined for possible cataract surgery that had been suggested to improve my vision, especially for my left eye having some aging issues with cataracts originally detected by Dr. Jung on August 31, 2021.

I’m having a cup of Green Tea in the Dixie Outlet mall on October 25, 2021 at 1:45 thinking about my eyes. Dr. Brar had said he was okay with Surgery A, B or Do Nothing at this time. He also said he wanted me meet Dr. Rai in a few minutes. Dr. Rai’s evaluation was very different. He persuaded me to do something because my left eye wouldn’t pass the Driving Test even now, and suggested my right eye was doing all the work. He convince me to do it before losing my license to drive. 

On my first drivers' test sixty-four years ago on Spadina Ave. with the tester in the passenger seat of my brother’s ‘49 Chev and my perfect seventeen-year-old eyesight I hit (just ticked it, but he heard it) a parked car. Furthermore, he told me I was speeding at one point during the test. "No license for you today young man." Two weeks later I tried again and left with the proud document indicating I was growing up.