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Gary's Online Journal

Since I haven't got time these days to e-mail everyone regularly, I thought I'd write some stuff about what I've been up to here for all to read. I'll try to add updates here when I can.

5/20/2005 1:40 PM

They want us to use up leftover vacation days by the end of May, so I'm home today and instead of doing the housework I should be doing, I'm writing here! I hoped to do some gardening, but I seem to have misplaced the key to my shed, so gardening tools (and the lawn mower) are not available! Typical me. So I guess I should be cleaning up and maybe I'd find the key! I'll get to it. Work has been very busy lately, the end of a semester always is, and it looks like it will remain busy (renovations, etc.) for at least the next month. June 24th I'll be on vacation! So it's good to have a really long weekend (Monday's a holiday) to relax a bit.

LATER THAT EVENING...

I cleaned up the living room and not only found the lost shed key, but also found my cell phone, which had been missing for awhile! It pays to clean up once in awhile!

4/25/2005 6:13 PM

Three years later!  Now that I have a blog of sorts at myspace.com , I decided it was time to write here as well. Work at John Abbott is good, always busy. Add youth leader and chair of the congregation to my involvement at Trinity.  Got to spend a relaxing day at home today after driving 39 km each way to and from work. The faculty at the college were on a one day strike, so we had to go and attempt to get in, but if blocked by a picket line, we went to a designated spot to sign in and after standing around awhile, they sent us (support staff) home. At least I get paid for the day. Didn't sleep well last night, so it's good to relax. I'm partway through putting together a new barbecue (it's in my living room at the moment!) and I'm making my Mom's macaroni recipe for supper.

2/21/2002 11:13 AM

Well, what can I say, I just never seem to get around to writing here.  It's hard to believe that it's almost a year since my Mom died, and more than a year since my Dad died.  We're still sorting out the estates.  I'm officially a home owner, and have been experiencing the joys of trying to get the heating system working right and replacing old wiring.  I've officially joined Trinity United Church and I'm already an Elder, singing in the intergenerational choir, helping teach Sunday School, and about to start leading a confirmation class!  Work is good, I've been enjoying the olympics, my kid-figures continue to be a big part of my life, and as usual, I'm always too busy.

9/25/2001 6:13 PM

My goodness, how time flies when you're having fun!  A year and a half since I last wrote here, and so much has happened.  The most important thing that's happened is that, sadly, both of my parents passed away last winter, and I miss them very much.   My job became full time this summer, which means everything is great at work, and I have a lot less time off than I used to.  This summer I had the interesting parenting experience of having a good friend with three children live with me while their flat was renovated after a fire.  I've come to the decision that it might be time to switch churches, now that I'm living back in the east end, so I've been attending Trinity United, which was my home church in the seventies.  With that and living in the house I grew up in, it really feels like my life has come full-circle.  I'm always interested in contacting old friends, so send me e-mail!

08/16/2000 11:08 AM

More time has passed! Life is so busy, I just don't seem to have time for these webpages.  It has been gratifying, however, that a few old friends have found me by searching for my name or nickname and ending up here.  It's always good to get in touch with old friends, so please do e-mail me if you visit here.  It's been a good summer, I moved (e-mail me for address and phone number), haven't really unpacked yet because I moved into my parents' house which was still full of their stuff.  Someday I'll sort it all out.  Work is extremely busy with a new semester at the college about to start.  I'm about to be a godfather for the third time, this time to Don, one of the three kids I've become a father figure to over the past while.  Life is good!

03/29/2000 9:48 PM

So a year has passed! What can I say.  I got a permanent job at John Abbott, I've been going through a very lengthy process of moving into my parents' house, which should be complete later this spring.  Hopefully once I'm moved I'll be able to update this more often!  If I know you, feel free to e-mail me for my new address, although I'll probably send out a mass e-mail to everyone when I have an idea what the final moving date will be. I also bought a new car so I'm broke!

02/07/99 5:54:36 PM

So my definition of "regularly" is open to question, what can I say? Life has been busy. Still working hard at John Abbott, still busy with the youth group and Optimist club and CASA and parents. I finally decided to get rid of frames on these webpages. I have a rotten cold but otherwise I'm fine.

11/27/98 10:01:03 PM

OK, so it's turned out to be far from regular updates, what can I say? I've been busy as usual working at John Abbott, started a new youth group at Verdun United, and I've recently become a Director of the St. Lawrence Optimist Club, an ambassador for the Contemporary A Cappella Society and a local arrangements person for a big United Church Conference happening at John Abbott next June. All that leaves me with very little free time for anything else, but I do manage to visit my aging parents and spend a little bit of time with friends. But obviously not much time updating my webpages!

7/11/98 1:13:40 AM

More than a month has passed since I've written here. It was a month spent mostly working, often 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, a schedule I wouldn't want to keep up for too long, but it's over now. I have to take everything that's offered to me now because the future is uncertain. I've had most evenings off this month so far, so have been able to enjoy some of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, a wonderful annual event here. I was recently named an ambassador for CASA, the Contemporary A Cappella Society, so count on more info about a cappella music soon on these pages. I also have plans to put together a nostalgia page for Montreal BBSers, with pictures from GTs. And I'd like to put up more info about the St. Lawrence Optimist Club, I've been elected to the Board for the next year. All this takes time, of course, and my main purpose for these pages is still to learn all I can about HTML because I've been asked to be the webmaster for John Abbott College's Centre for Continuing Education. To see the pages I'm editing and creating there, click here.

6/07/98 1:33:23 PM

The new webpages are uploaded and I'd appreciate your comments. I'm also taking a poll as to whether links to other pages (other than mine) should open up within my main frame, leaving my page's menu buttons in the small frame at left so you can come back to my pages, or whether they should take you to the other page fullframe and leave my pages completely. Let me know what you think by e-mailing me. I'd also appreciate hearing about it if any of the new pages are particularly slow to load.

I participated in a beautiful church service this morning as two of the young people from my church got confirmed. Now I'm off to spend some time with my Mom at Grace Dart hospital, then plan to spend a quiet evening at home in preparation for several 6-day weeks at work. I just got a contract to spend the rest of this month replacing the Receiver at the college full time, and I'll continue to work 12 hour Saturdays for the Continuing Education department. I should have some free time in July!

6/04/98 8:52:17 PM

Finally I'm getting very close to uploading my new webpages, please check them all out if you have time. I'm back to working full time and more so time for playing with webpages is rare. I'll now be working every Saturday (it's a particularly good time to e-mail me and expect a fast answer!) 8am - 8pm. Not much is new.

5/27/98 2:37:04 AM

[Wedding]Here I go again, up much too late for my own good! I've been working on new webpages to replace these, learning about frames and inserting text in graphics for menu buttons. Fun stuff! Now that I've started it I want to get it done, but there just aren't enough hours in the day! My friends Kevan and Darlene got married in a beautiful service on the 16th. Work has calmed down a bit, and I've had some time for cleaning up around here and tending my balcony garden. Still making enough to pay the rent, and able to enjoy our lovely weather here in Montreal. Who could ask for more? My aging parents are stable, although my Mom had a bad day today. She perked up a bit when I went out and bought her some french fries to partially replace an unappetizing meal.

 

 

5/14/98 11:19:19 PM

[Wedding]Wow, a few weeks have passed! Connie's wedding in Toronto was beautiful (see picture at left)and the drive home was long and late. Being the chair of her Lay Committee, I had to get back for a church luncheon honouring our student minister for the past year, Lise Kuzminska, on her last Sunday with us. This weekend another wedding, as friends Kevan Durrell and Darlene Turriff tie the knot.Work has slowed down a bit, but I did have an interesting experience this week. I work part time as a computer technician for the Continuing Education department at John Abbott College, and whenever I'm needed for the Facilities department, doing whatever needs to be done. In the past I have done manual and AutoCAD computer technical drawing, taken inventories, replaced several people on vacation or leaves, and even moved furniture. This week a janitor was needed elsewhere so they needed someone to replace him for two days. I'm not proud! It was really interesting to really live the blue-collar life for a couple of days. I got to see a lot of women's washrooms! [grin] Who knows what's next, it's day by day. I'll continue to work for Cont. Ed. most Mondays and Saturdays.

 

 

4/22/98 11:35:07 PM

Finally the 12 hour days end .. at least until Monday! Staying busy anyway, Optimist club dinner after work tomorrow, friend's wedding in Toronto on Saturday, luncheon in honour of our student minister's last day with us on Sunday! Who has time for webpages anyway! Guess it doesn't much matter, these pages haven't seen too many visitors in the past couple of weeks.

4/19/98 11:41:00 PM

After a full week of 12 hour days at work, I had a busy weekend! Such is life these days. The Sunday School and youth group had a great sugaring off excursion Saturday. Back to 12 hour days for a few more days this week, then things should calm down a bit.

4/12/98 12:16:47 AM

It really was a long day at work today, over twelve hours. But it was a good day, finished my HTML training and learned how to FTP to the college's webpages, so I'm ready to get to work on editing them. That will be fun. It's good to be learning something new. Tomorrow will be my only day off, looking forward to it! The college's Internet appears to be down, not answering anyway, so this likely won't get uploaded until Monday.

4/09/98 7:34:02 PM

It seemed like a really long day at work today even though it was really shorter than most. I'm just really, really tired, I guess. I'll be working all weekend except Sunday, but at least I can sleep in a bit tomorrow. Visited my Mom in hospital after work, she's about the same. Today is the Silent Angel's birthday, and you'd have to have known me a long time to know who that is!

4/08/98 11:18:06 PM:

[Danvers]It's becoming really busy at work lately, which is good, because I'll need money to pay income taxes soon! I'm working for two different departments at John Abbott College and enjoying it. For the next couple of weeks I'll have more work than usual, often working 11 or 12 hours per day and sometimes 6 days a week. I did have a bit of a break last week when I visited my aunt and cousin in Massachusetts.

[e-mail Zonker]


Main Biography a cappella music Friends
Online Journal Music Optimist Club youth work