Blog Post No. 501
Welcome to the far side of 500 posts. Usually in the middle of June, I write a little post for my birthday. It’s usually short and sweet (like a little break for both of us). I may have a comment on the concept of birthdays, or my personal experience with my own annual holiday. Maybe I come up with something specific for the year (like last year’s pandemic birthday post).
Blog Post No. 446
It’s my birthday tomorrow and it’s one of the big milestone years. I haven’t really felt the same kind of excitement for birthdays since high school. Not to say that birthdays make me sad. I just see them as a marker of the years and my years are starting to add up. It’s all relative and as much as age is just a number, there are more battle scars each time the date rolls around. In my mind, I’m the same kid excited to get out of high school, sure that he’ll blossom in university, and bummed out that exams start on his birthday. That’s real, by the way. For all four years of high school, my first exam was on my birthday. Continue reading “A Short Little Post for my Birthday (2021)”
Blog No. 394
This year the stars have aligned and this post is coming out on my birthday. Like today. It’s my birthday. Right now (as long as you are reading this on the day it was released). Not that birthdays are all that big a deal. I suppose I’m at the age where only the milestone years are really celebrated (and my first big milestone is next year). I can’t remember when the switch happened, but birthdays haven’t really meant that much to me for many years. For a while I was content to just think of them as a normal day, but my mom pointed out how it’s as much her day as it is mine, and that makes a lot of sense, so I got a little more into celebrating them again. I suppose it’s nice to have a day a year that’s all about you. Where being selfish is okay (to a point). I’m lucky enough to have a close core family and some fantastic friends, so I get my moments to feel special throughout the year when they are thoughtful, kind, and supportive. Not to say celebrating isn’t nice too.
Of course, the pandemic is still ongoing (not that you would know with so many people not observing the proper isolation protocols). My birthday will be spent alone. Maybe I’ll play some games with my brother. Maybe I’ll just sleep most of the day away. There’s been a weird feeling hovering over my for the last few years that may be the extent of my mid-life crisis. Some things that were meaningful to me in my youth don’t exist anymore. It’s acute over my birthday since some of my best birthday memories were the co-birthdays I had with my friend Arvin at places like the Loop. Now he’s living in Toronto with his wife and kids and the Loop doesn’t exist anymore. It’s nothing more than nostalgia. We’re both doing well now, even if our youthful dreams didn’t pan out the way we thought, we’re working towards our current dreams. I’m inching closer to an ending for the Invasion Novel. I hope I can get there. (The endings are always more work for some reason).
Anyway. It’s my birthday and if you feel like doing something nice for me, you can do a review of any of my books that you’ve read. Goodreads or Amazon are good places for that. The Goodreads links are actually on the right side of this page. No obligation and feel free to be honest. Stay safe out there, and be vigilant!
Blog No. 342
I’m writing this on my birthday proper, but by now, it’s already passed. I really only mention my birthday because, as a gift to myself every year, I allow the post that falls on my birthday week to be phoned in. I still do it (you’re reading this is evidence of that) but I let it be short and way more to the point than I usually do. I think things are going better this year in general. I’m not in the clinic on my birthday like I was last year. I’m also getting more writing in over the summer. I’m not writing as much as I’d like (I never am) but with all the other things on my plate, I’m doing okay. Thankfully, now that Elly has joined the Writing Wrecking Crew with Christian and me (official name is not official) I have more scheduled writing sessions than I used to. It mean I’m not at Anchor nearly as much (sad face) and I drive out to Amherstburg a lot (sad car-face) but I am getting more done. It’s all a process. Anyway.
If you feel the need to do something nice for me because I traveled around the sun one more time, you can follow my facebook page. I usually just post about this blog and sometimes when I’m at an event. No pressure, though. I know how annoying social media stuff can be.
Blog No. 290
Something came up at the day job recently where a coworker had to go away for a last minute emergency. With a little scramble/planning we were able to free up the shifts (mostly by having me take them). Since I was taking this person’s shifts for two weeks, I thought it would be nice to give her some shifts of mine now. She would get some of the hours back, and I could finally get some free time to really focus on writing. Plus, the time would happen over my birthday, so bonus if I decided to do something about that (which was very doubtful). The thing with plans is that they don’t always work out how you like and I got pneumonia. So, since last Thursday I’ve been either in bed, in the bathroom, at the clinic, or half conscious in a chair with an old movie playing in the background. So, no writing getting done. Doing this post has been tough enough. I am, I think, finally on the mend. I’ve managed to sleep thought a full night and I actually ate something. Hopefully I can be better in time to go back to work. Yay.
Blog No. 238
Blog No. 237
Every year around this time, I go ahead and have a birthday. It’s a day where I mark the passing of another calendar year, thus adding to my numerical age. I’ve been doing it my whole life. I’ve even heard of some other people doing very similar things. I’m not accusing them of stealing, I think more than anything, it’s a coincidence. I’m actually kind of glad that I’m not the only one. Makes me feel like I’m part of a community or something. I do think I am the one who invented the term birthday. It’s because I mark my yearly numerical value from the day I was born. If you ask some of these copycats, I doubt you’ll get as quick an answer. Continue reading “Birthday Post!”
Blog No. 186
Last weekend was my Birthday. Since I had the weekend off (it’s the slow time at work) I decided to see if my friend (whose birthday is a few days before mine, making him old) was free for me to go and visit. Many moons ago, when we were both in high school, we often had a double birthday bash. It was much easier back then because we lived in the same city, had the same group of friends, and both of us were childless and unmarried. It’s a bit challenging when he has moved to Toronto, has a wife, and is raising his six-month-old child. Challenging, but not impossible. Continue reading “Dinosaurs and Pirates”
Blog No. 134
Like today. As you are reading this, I’m at work, but it’s my birthday. I’m not upset about being stuck at work. I don’t think it’s an adult thing either, where fun and celebration are less important that work and obligation. I just don’t care. While growing up, birthdays were a really big deal. We were very close to our grandparents, so not only did we have a big celebration at home, with dinner, cake, presents, and fun, but we would get to do it all over again a couple days later at my grandparents house. Continue reading “A Nice Little Post On My Birthday”
Blog No. 94
A couple days ago I was driving to work after a long hiatus. I had some time off to finish the basement (as in put up drywall in one room at one end of the still unfinished basement) and go to Toronto for a wedding with my brother. The work was difficult and the wedding was fun (but tiring) and it felt like I had hardly been away from my job at all. As it were, something peculiar was happening on my drive to work. The normally fast moving thoroughfare I take was backed up, moving slowly, and plagued with dead stops. I knew there was a lot of construction and power line maintenance over the summer, but nothing like what I was suffering though. Continue reading “Dinner in another Country”
Ben Van Dongen 