The New Floodgates of the Mind

So it’s Wednesday – Hump Day. Mmmm. 🙂

Tomorrow night after work we begin our long drive up to Lac St. Jean. Even with all the extra stops we’ll be making, we should still get there by midnight. This will give us two full days plus half a day on Sunday to enjoy our time in Metabetchouan. Outside of some studying I have to seriously get into, the only other thing on the agenda is to sleep, relax, and read. And considering how much I’m enjoying The Mists of Avalon, I should consider bringing up The Lady of Avalon as well.

My brain hasn’t been on much outside of the list of things to do (in terms of Family, Friends, Creativity, etc), but still I feel a calm about it all. A list might ensure everything is taken care of, but at the same time the enormity of it would probably freak me out. 🙂 At least my taxes are done and all that’s left is to file. That’s always a good thing.

Hm. Not much else to say, it seems (except that I’m very happily enjoying my fix of PB&J :)). Maybe I should go take a walk to Cafe Depot and relax with my book and a specialty coffee…

So, I quit today. Not my day job, my volunteer work as the Secretary of the Parents Council at my kids’ school.

I just looked over my calendar and realized that my time with the Parents Council seemed to be done. I’m keeping the dates for the future meetings in my book in the event something changes, but right now there are (mainly) Pre-Natal activities that will be taking up all my time until the baby is born in July. This is not to say that I’m giving up one set of kids for my new son – rather that I’m confirming priorities. Right now, my wife needs me more than Twin Oaks school does. James and Melyssa benefit from my having a relationship with the school, not by my being the Parents Council Secretary. My duties there help the Council but they’ll continue with or without me. I just made it easier and more professional for them to have complete and formatted Minutes (be it for distribution or for the web)

All this said, I bow out from my duties which is a real shame. I liked what I did there for the last three years and wished I could have done more. Unfortunately I feel so completely out of the loop of the goings-on at the school that I usually end up being frustrated and depressed at being left out. No fault of any particular person, of course, it’s just that “schools” in general don’t seem to know how to properly deal with divorced parents who truly want to be involved in what their kids are going through.

For a non-custodial parent, you have no idea how important things like up-to-date web sites are for being kept in the loop of communications, bulletins, calendars, events, etc. That’s the first/ main entry point into events, followed by contact with the teachers. And contrary to what I’ve been lobbying for the last couple of years, they aren’t ready to make a full and true committment to upkeeping their site. (shrug)

Such is life.

I always enjoy sifting through my old document directories. Every now and again I’ll rediscover a piece of fiction I wrote many years ago and totally forgot about. Then, re-reading it again (almost for the first time) I suddenly remember why, what, and when I wrote the piece – allowing me to enjoy it in a new way. Best of all, I have never hit upon an old story I hated. Sure there are some I could easily see myself tweaking, but most I prefer to leave alone and stand as a piece of history.

The funniest, though, is coming across proposals which never saw print anywhere. One such piece I found last year and was going to present in Comicopia when I decided it would be better suited to a specific issue. Another one I just came across today really depended on an artist for the full comedic effect to stand out (I proposed it again just now, though, so who knows). But still, I laughed. And thus laughing, put me in a good mood – up a notch from the sombre I’ve been feeling.

Ah, writing. What Magical Powers exist therein…

Random thoughts:

– The Mysterious Minute-Men Year 2: The Big Fat Thrill weighs in at 11,641 words (smallest of the collections – as expected). Paper edits done for Y3 now need to be typed on the computer.

– The People’s Gospel Choir of Montreal sang at our Palm Sunday service. Wow. What incredible, positive, energy! I don’t have their web address handy, but there is a write-up from the Montreal Mirror online you can read.

– Saturday night was the annual Standard Life Dinner/ Dance. Another incredible event, this time with mini-performances from a small Cirque du Soleil troupe. Holy Mackarel. These folks can actually perform the physical stunts I read and write about in my comics fiction! Jaw-dropping.

– Shout-out to my NanoFriends: How’s April 8th for another supper evening like the first time? Considering all our schedules, I figured I’d make it far enough away to give plenty of advance warning 🙂

– My Loma 311 – Business Law for Financial Services Professionals exam is scheduled for the morning of March 31st. I’m not ready for it. Much studying left to do.

– Going up north to Lac St. Jean for Easter Weekend. Looking forward to getting away and “closer” to nature, as well as visiting Chantale’s GrandParents. Hope to recapture some inner stillness/ peace while there. Will probably use the visit to pick Grandma’s brain in terms of what she likes to see on Television in the furthering of brain sparks for ideas.

– Taxes. Need to complete them. Chantale’s entered the data of what we have, I need to include my Savage Enterprises work reports and file. The sooner the better. Bills are piling up.

– Brain won’t stay quiet. Need to reign it in. So much desire to do so much more…

because, after all, the alias you choose really is a part of who you are…

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The Knight
You scored 50% Cardinal, 30% Monk, 29% Lady, and 54% Knight!
You are the hero. Brave and bold. You are strong and utterly selfless. You are also a pawn to your superiors and will be lucky if you live very long. If you survive the Holy wars you are thrust into you will be praised for your valor and opportunities both romantic and financial will become available to you.
I didn’t want the other data, but if you want to run the test, you can do so at: The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test

they don’t deserve to raise MY kids…

I had a very interesting offer thrown my way earlier this week.

A friend of mine, whom I see and speak with every day, has a sister who’s a Television Producer/ Director. Coming off a highly successful two year project on French television, she’s now back in Project Development mode. The company she works for deals in Television, Stage Plays, CDs, etc. Basically, pretty much everything out there to do with entertainment.

Anyhow, my friend offered me this promise: should I have anything I would like to see developed in any of those mediums, he would get the proposal on his sister’s desk the very next day and/or set up a personal invite with her to discuss. And yesterday, he and I got to talking about the business of production and creation including some of the other stuff I’ve done and future plans.

Needless to say, my brain has been going full-gear on this all week. If anything further happens, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, the rush of creativity has been a blast! 🙂

You scored as Sadistic Humour. Congratulations, you scored Sadistic Humour. You find the little things in life to be funny, and have a great sense of humour, whether it’s stupid or dark. You’re probably young, and older people don’t understand why it’s all so fucking hillarious. Either way, check out: Clerks, Mallrats, Napoleon Dynamite, Wayne’s World. Sadistic Humour 80% Mindfuck 80% Sci-Fi/Fantasy 70% Artistic 60% Drama/Suspense 40% Romantic Comedy 10% Mindless Action Flick 0% Movie Recommendation. created with QuizFarm.com

silence.

peace.

serenity.

quiet.

i just want to go somewhere and spend the day in a cocoon of silence… wrapped in a blanket, nursing a warm beverage, drifting to sleep or immersed in the written dreams of other worlds and writers…

Last night Chantale and I went to our first “Parent Information Session” at the local CLSC. It was all about preparing for the changes that being pregnant brings as well as information on proper Nutrition. It was a really good session and we didn’t even notice the 2 hours fly by! During part of it, we were given life-size rubber models of the fetus in various points of its growth (5 weeks, 10 weeks, 20 weeks, 30 weeks) so we can actually SEE how much change occurs in such a short time. Let me tell you, holding that 20 week fetus in one full hand was really an incredible feeling. In fact, it made me want to share something. I’ve been kicking around this letter for a while now and figured this was just the spark to get me to finally type it up.

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Dear Little Baby,

So, you’re a boy! Imagine my surprise to learn that at Mommy’s last ultrasound! I was so certain you were going to be a girl that I had the technician repeat it a few times to make sure I heard correctly. Please understand that I am not disappointed in this bit of news, just simply surprised. After all the dreams and visions I’ve had these last few months of a little girl with long black hair, a part of me was expecting her to be you! Of course, all things considered, that could very well HAVE been you telling me that although you are a boy, you will be born with a very sensitive side. How appropriate, then, that you’ll be a reflection of me 🙂 The first thought that came to my head after that announcement was “Wow. James really needs you in his life for you to come now!” And that thought comforted me because I know that James and Melyssa already love you and can’t wait to greet you.

Boy, or Girl, it doesn’t really matter. You were conceived in love and you will be raised that same way. You’ll find that your Mother and I have an abundance of love to give and, lucky you, you’ll be the main recipient 🙂 Life will be quite the adventure and throughout the good times and the bad times you will learn that we will be your staunchest supporters. We will be here to guide you, teach you, play with you, sing to you, work with you, and most importantly, love you. You will definitely learn how powerful Love truly is and just how many things can be accomplished when you’re surrounded by a positive and loving family.

Every night, as I lie there next to your Mother, my hand on her belly feeling you moving around, I wonder. I know I’ll be a good Father and I’ll always be there to protect you from all harm. But I do wonder how you’ll enjoy being on the “outside”. How you’ll look when you sleep. How you’ll smile when you hiccup. How you’ll cuddle into me when I cradle you. I wonder if you’ll feel safe and happy. I wonder at how you’ll play with James, Melyssa, and Casey. And I wonder how life will be like as we all become planets to your little sun – revolving around you and surrounding you with warmth and caring.

And, as I drift slowly to sleep, I know one thing is true: no matter how much I may wonder, there will be nothing like the Wonder that will be You…

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