FROM BUTTS TO BIRDS TO BACH TO BYE-BYE'S

ON THE HUNT
Well, the hunt for a place of my own is on! I’m hoping for a place that is relatively close to work, close to the subway line so I can get around the city without a car and a place that will take care of itself (I barely have enough time to take care of myself!) I seem to be gravitating towards the Yonge and Sheppard/Finch area where there is a plethora of condo apartments that are relatively young. I have a list of 15 potential places and now it’s just a matter of setting appointments to view them. Kind of a pain in the butt...

SMASHING THE BIRD
…Speaking of pains in the butt, I am REALLY sore (in the butt area) from playing badminton this past weekend. My aunt and uncle are part of a badminton club, so, they invited me to join them. It’s been a while since I wielded my badminton racquet, so it felt a little foreign to me. Being more used to tennis, my timing was terribly off. Despite all that, I had a great time! We played for a good 3 or 4 hours and I was just drenched in sweat at the end of it. I am surprised by how long it took for the pain to hit (almost a day and a half later) and how long it’s taking me to recover; I am getting old…

BACH TO LIFE, BACH TO REALITY
…But never too old to help out. The Toronto chapter of Habitat For Humanity organized a fundraising concert in partnership with the Pia Bouman School of Ballet and Creative Movement. The concert was held at Eglinton St. George’s United Church, a beautiful stain glass church that had amazing acoustics. I put on a few hats that night, from greeting people at the door, selling drink tickets for the intermission, collecting tickets and handing out programs. I met another volunteer from Habitat named Anna. She has a very interesting story. She shared with me her struggle for the past 15 years with a physical debilitation. She has chronic fatigue syndrome, yet that didn’t stop her from being a build volunteer. One time, she was at a site and they hoisted her to the roof so that she could do some work up there! She was also at the Keith Jarrett concert that I attended this past winter with Debbie and Ze’ev. She actually went backstage to meet this very famous pianist. By some fluke, Keith happened to not be surrounded by tons of people and Anna and her friend approached Keith. Before long, they were talking about chronic fatigue syndrome, which Keith is also suffering from. So, they traded remedies and solutions, and now Anna is trying a new rehab regiment that Keith had suggested…

FIRST OF THE 3 MUSKETEERS TO GO
…Back in September 2002, myself and 2 others were hired to work in Regulatory Affairs at my current company. Though the marketplace has changed drastically over the past 3 years and though we all have migrated into different roles, we still maintained a rapport that is unique due to our common history. Well, Chris recently announced that she was offered a position at the Ontario Energy Board. She is returning back to her “roots” and will be working in Regulatory Affairs once more. This time, instead of ensuring that a company will be operating in compliance to certain policies, she will be the one enforcing the policy. So, this is rather sentimental because I still recall our first week together, trekking down to the door-to-door sales agent meeting, getting all set up with our own back-to-back cubicles at the call centre, and the many meals at Congee Wong (where she knows more of the menu than I do even though she’s not Chinese!) Still, it’s good to know that she’s still in the industry and that I will inevitably run into her in our regular business dealings.