Blog No. 202
I managed to make it all the way to October before bemoaning not having anything to write about. There was that one bit in the summer, but it was part of the intro where I did come up with a topic. This week, I feel like I’ve actually got nothing. Which is strange, because it’s not like I’ve been in a hole for a week. There are certainly times when I get overwhelmed and spend my evenings searching through Kodi for old movies I forgot about. Nothing happens those weeks (other than stuff my my fave with too much junk food and the movie watching). Surprisingly, while that used to be the way I lived (though with network TV) those weeks are getting farther apart. There always seems to be something going on in my life now.
This week was another (my third) Fogolar Flea Market with Christian and Ed. It wasn’t as cold as the first one, but even better, we sold fewer books. There was a bird show going on the same day, but that wasn’t relevant to our event. Later in the week, I went to see the latest Bourne movie with my brother. I’m not a huge fan, but we watched the previous ones recently at home and we hadn’t been to the movies in a while. I’m a huge fan of going to the show. I almost don’t care what movie is playing. Even better, this time the theater was mostly empty, though we did cause a scene before the movie started, laughing at a lame bird joke we’d come up with (inspired by the bird show at Fogolar and memories of our father).
The rest of the week was full of preparing for the Gala. Christian and I went shopping for prizes and gift bags to hold the prizes (bit thanks to Anchor Coffee House, my second home, for providing a generous gift card for the event!). I brought a blazer to be dry cleaned. I practiced my reading. I put together the gift bags and sales bags. I cut stickers, got change for the till (cash box), packed my bag of tricks, and so on. It was busy, but not full of stuff I’m excited about sharing in detail.
I suppose I should talk about the Gala. It was the biggest thing to happen last week. I just can’t bring myself to be enthusiastic about it. What is there to say? There were good things. The Sho Art Gallery was really cool, but not at all what I expected. The books looked good displayed on the walls. The service provided by the Gallery and the members who came to show their support were excellent and welcoming. 
The readers did a good job. I suppose I felt less involved that I normally do. A lot of decisions were made without me. That’s not a bad thing, but it took me out of the moment. I was constantly running around, unprepared for basic things. It was a lot like the first event I did in January, but then things were hectic because I had no experience. After this year of events, I feel like it’s old hat now (or it should be). In the end, it was a fun and successful event, what more could I ask for?
October 21st and 22nd, I’ll be at Fogolar for the last time this year. With me will be my Fogolar buddy Edmond Gagnon and maybe Christian, depending on his availability. If you don’t know what to do over the weekend, swing by and say hello.
Ben Van Dongen 