More thoughts on blogging

Here it is, Canada Day; a little over a year since my last post. It's obvious that I haven't been inspired to write. Lately I've become reserved toward writing publicly about my life and daily ramblings. I really enjoy blogging though, and years ago I had developed a following of a diverse and eclectic crowd. I love how the whole blogging community spiderwebs: you read a blog, comment on it and sooner or later someone else with an interest in that blog is reading yours and it snowballs - especially if you post something noteworthy. Perhaps that's the key: noteworthy. I know my sister used to look to my page for an update on my life, especially if I'd been out of touch for a spell. I'd heard that there were several folks who would lurk the blog (read but leave no indication of having been by) and that sometimes made it worth writing something - anything. The last year has been full and rich, happy and sad, fulfilling and disappointing. Much like any other year, I suppose, with the exception of my Mom. She passed the day after her 87th. birthday. When one year rolled around last Friday, I reflected on what was happening then. I had taken some contract work with another firm. They were keeping me really busy at 40 hours per week. In fact, there was so much going on in all facets of my life, Mom's passing seemed something of a blur at the time. I guess that was something of the landmark event of 2012. So far, this year has been filled with a lot of catch-up. Painting, cleaning, organizing, building. I have, finally, what seems to be a normal workload, offering me a chance to give back to my house, which I have been neglecting (aesthetically, anyway) for some years. In February the laundry room got spruced up with a fresh coat of paint and some neutral, but new and refreshing colours. My office (currently located within the furnace room) is sporting a bright orange hue these days along with new LED dim-able light fixtures. Quick update - I moved downstairs a year ago to enable more passive cash flow by way of rental. The downstairs dwellers moved upstairs, and I took a University student room mate for the other bedroom downstairs. It's working out rather well. My current downstairs tenant is a linguistics student from the U of C who has, not so surprisingly, had a prof. through his undergrad that I know. That made the interview process comfortable immediately. Recently, with Calgary's flood fiasco, I've been putting in time at the Command Station set up in Montgomery. After they moved the station to Bowness, I worked an evening at the University. We signed in to the residence buildings several evacuees, mostly from the south end. The story seems to be the same wherever you go: there are more volunteers than positions to fill. That night at the U., they'd put out a call for 10 people. 22 showed up. They were expecting 150 residents - 25 showed up. I had my van handy, so they put me to work fetching bottled water from the nearby Brentwood Safeway. I felt useful, if only for a half hour or so. I'm glad, in a way, that the numbers were down. One can hope it was a sign that the need for support was less than expected. We're gearing up for Stampede Week, and this year it should prove interesting at the very least - given that downtown Calgary has been all but shut down as of late. The water restriction was lifted this weekend, so I managed to throw some water on the vegetable garden, which is something else I've not kept for some years. That's it for today's update. Happy Canada Day!