Dispatches from a happy Hullian

I can see green grass here and there now, and my cycle commuting is back on track after a snow-related interruption earlier this week.

I've had some good news lately… the post-vasectomy test results came back all clear, and the promotion process I started in the fall has declared me qualified to gain a level — with any luck I can continue working on similar stuff to now but training and managing some help, but that's for management to decide.

I was slated to do some teaching internationally somewhere in the Caribbean (for learners from across the Caribbean) but the project has been bumped over to more senior people. Which is mostly a blessing because I have plenty going on, and it got bumped from February when going somewhere hot sounds appealing, to June, when 40 degrees happens. It stings a bit to be pulled but it's for the best.

I did get to teach locally, though — a Positive Space training with a new set of materials and approach I developed with Deirdre. I think it went quite well, and it qualifies more volunteers at StatCan and Health Canada to do listening and referral.

Elizabeth has been really busy with music — open mics, house shows, a show in Wakefield coming up… it's nice to have that heating up after a long fall but it has been an adjustment in terms of time and energy available for her and me. We're off to an afternoon open mic today with the kids… it's been a while since we've had kids take in her music in a venue. I hope they'll let her do her thing, cheer at the end and munch on fries during (rather than rush the stage)!

Next week I'm contract bargaining most of the week… I hope we make some good progress toward a solid agreement. I get to draft the bargaining updates. I'm learning a lot and think I'm making a difference.

I've been carrying around a list in my head of things to do while I'm 32 years old; now I'm committing it to the Internet. I've seen bucket lists and life lists, but the time horizon doesn't speak to my procrastination-prone and tactical nature, and I of course see New Year's resolutions, but I think going by my years rather than calendar years is more personal, and protects me a little from the list elements being fresh when the invariable collapse of many resolutions happens in late January. Also, some elements of the list were really dear and salient to me in the summer, so it made sense to hang them on my birthday (even if it's taken months to post them here). So, here are the things I would like to do or improve significantly this year:

• Floss more days than not.
• Make a conscious and courageous-when-necessary effort to improve my relationships in ways that make me happy.
• Make deeper use of this journal, as part of trying to be less guarded with people that I trust.
• Wear through multiple massage bars.
• Get the deposit back on beer bottles at smaller intervals and more reliably.
• Wipe out the mortgage and direct the resulting savings to a mix of responsible and fun things.
• Replace the chain-link fence with a durable, attractive, Oscar-resistant one.
• Get a check-up this year and renew my vaccinations; it's been too long on both counts.

In general, I think I have more guiding values than long-term specific goals, but here are some things (somewhere between values and goals) on a longer time scale.

• Have fewer secrets.
• Be entrusted with more secrets.
• Raise competent, well-adjusted kids. Do so with good humour, love and trust in them.
• Make our house more comfortable, energy-efficient and adjusted to us.
• Take care of my body and try and make my list of aches and pains not increase monotonically.
• Get family doctors for all of us in the household.
• Continue to like my job, be good at it, and be worthy of the respect of my co-workers.
• Keep learning new things, and consolidate dabbling into competent in new areas from time to time.

A meeting ate my afternoon at work today, but I think I planted some seeds of good ideas and solid methodology.

We planted a couple of potted basil plants on the weekend. Alas, something seems to be nibbling on their leaves that isn't us. The peas and leafy greens are doing very well, and both irises are in bloom!

I think we now have a plan for the floor upstairs — there will be ripping-out in our future followed by levelling, sub-flooring and a nice hardwood floor.

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Some questions from fuzzyila:

1. What is your favourite vegetable? To grow, kale. To eat, asparagus.
2. What do you believe will be the most rewarding part of fatherhood? I'm sure my understanding of fatherhood will change drastically once I'm there, but from where I am now, watching our kid get good at things I've taught them, and branch off in new directions, will be pretty incredible.
3. When you're sick, do you prefer to be left alone or do you want company and babying? I prefer to be stoic and cocoon for the most part.
4. If you were in a museum and it caught fire, and you have the choice to save either a Van Gogh painting or a small yipping poodle with an overbite, which do you choose? I think I can run faster from the flames carrying a small poodle.
5. Have you ever stolen an object larger than your hand? What was it? When I've stolen things, they've been small, intangible and/or debatable.

These question memes traditionally have an offer of contagiousness; if you want questions then comment and say so!