Friends...

There are few gifts in the world that match or surpass friendship. I am blessed in having more than my fair share for to have one really good friend is special and to have more than one is extraordinary. Yesterday I spend an afternoon with my friend Mike. On Wednesday I had the pleasure of introducing two of my best friends, Paul and Margo.

Paul, who recently published his first novel, The Silent Time, was in Banff attending the Arts Centre and working on his next book. Margo graciously offered to drive me to Banff so we could have the afternoon together. It was wonderful to stroll through town and along the river sharing the sunlight and the conversation with both of them.

Today was a good day...

Today was a good day. I planted tomatoes and, lettuce, sweet peppers and cucumber, pumpkins and corn. But that was not the really good part. Nope, the really good part was spending the afternoon reconnecting with a friend, a buddy, Mike.

We've been friends for about 7 years and in that period we have share some interesting experiences. Today we shared some beer and french fries and caught up on the comings and goings of the past several months.

Today was a good day.

Intermittent holidays....

It seems I am going through a series of intermittent holidays. I finished my semester in April and headed of east - Newfoundland and then back to Toronto on the way to Calgary. Now I will be off to Vancouver for a week long conference and then a week of holiday in Victoria.

Then I head back to Calgary [sort of a yo-yo summer] to get ready to teach for six weeks. All in all I actually like this kind of routine where I never feel like I am in a rut. I certainly do not miss the old 9-5 grind that I used to be stuck in.

Not that I don't want to work - I just want to do it on my terms and at this point in my life pretty well everything I do is on my terms. I am finding the single life fulfilling in a way that almost surprises me. It really became clear to me while I was in India that I need this solitude at this time in my life. Not sharing a bed also means I don't have to share the decision about just where in the world that bed is and that is something I am really savouring right now.

In fact when my friend Margo suddenly asked me what it would take for me to marry again I immediately blurted out: "A lobotomy!"