It's January 17, 2015. It's currently -54. It actually hit -59C last night with windchill. It's not the coldest I've experience in Iqaluit. That would have been in 2006 when it hit -63C and the transmission in our car froze solid. But it's cold enough to do damage if you're not careful. Skin freezes in minutes. Car batteries get sucked dry in no time if they're not plugged in. Water pipes freeze and explode.
I turned 45 today. I find it amusing in a way I can't really explain that the temperature is colder than my age, but I do.
I was kind of all right with being 44. It was a year of mercifully minimal drama. Forty-three had highs like going to Sri Lanka with a bunch of my friends for a wedding. Which was awesome. I'll remember that for the rest of my life.
But then you have a low like being told by your employer that they've decided to eliminate a few positions because they're restructuring and, hey, you're one of them. Thaaaaat sucked.
But no, 44 offered calm. On the positive side I got to go to Hawaii and Las Vegas. My new job became a permanent new job, which relieves a little of the pressure of, you know, paying mortgages and stuff. About the most drama I faced during the year was when I got a new job offer and had to decide whether to stay where I was or take the new job.
I decided to stay put. My bosses were, thankfully, amused when I said I sooner the devil I know.
Forty-five years old....still having problems with that brain-to-mouth filter.
The only downside is that some of the weight I worked so hard to lose when I was 42 came back. I put on about 25 pounds in the last year. Which is infuriating. But vacations, a few nagging injuries and a loss of focus did the trick. I think I'm back on track now. I'll probably never be back to where I was a couple of years ago. And to be honest, Cathy is ok with that. I was 183 pounds at one point and was freaking out a few people.
(I can only imagine how I must have looked when I was 155 back when I wasn't eating right during my time in South Korea).
A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Ed Hollett and asked if I would be interested in writing a piece of his blog. It turns 10 this year. And because my brain works in a certain way, it occurs to me that I had a lot of things going on in the past on occasions when there was a 5 in my age. So let us take a look back...
35. On the upside I was engage to Cathy and would be married in seven months. On the downside I was living with my dad (who is a lovely man, but you don't want to be living with your dad at 35 even if you are trying to save a few dollars), Cathy had just gone back to Rankin Inlet to teach (saving money for our wedding) so I was missing her pretty badly and I was beginning to realize how desperately I hated working with The Express and needed to leave. Oh, and later in the year we moved to Iqaluit.
So yeah, ok, but not great.
25. I was in journalism school in Halifax. So I still have that optimism about doing great things in the world as a journalist. However, I was single, lonely and a few days away from a fairly spectacular soccer related injury that wrecked my life for about six weeks (stitches, followed by almost getting emergency dental surgery, followed by strep throat, followed by the flu) and caused no end of academic chaos. Plus, the rest of the year was trying, mostly unsuccessfully, at finding a job post-journalism school.
15. I was mostly harmless, but deeply clueless at 15. That makes me a pretty typical 15 year old. I just had worse luck with girls than you're average 15 year old. I also transitioned from junior high, where I had friends, to high school, where I had none because all my friends went to a different school than me. So I was fairly angsty and miserable. Typical 15.
5. Was awesome. Can't remember much, but I'm sure it was pretty cool. Things are generally pretty awesome when you're 5. There was colouring, playing, and Lego.
Which brings me back to 45. When there is again Lego as Cathy bought me a set for my birthday. Funny how things come full circle.
Honestly, things are pretty good as I hit 45. I'm content. I'm hoping to shake off at least 20 of the pounds I've put back on. I'd like to continue to make progress about staying out of the "spin cycle" I get into sometimes during high stress moments (where you're so busy being mad about a situation you're in, rather than trying to focus on solving the problem). We're going to Europe this summer for three weeks to celebrate our 10th anniversary and in October I'm hoping to get back to the New York Comic Con.
As for the rest, healthy and happy will do. And maybe to be a little less sucky at updating this blog. But one miracle at a time...
Last Five
1. Complete control (live) - The Clash
2. Strangers - Amelia Curran
3. High & Wild - Angel Olsen
4. Up on cripple creek - The Band*
5. Southern Pacifica - Josh Ritter
I turned 45 today. I find it amusing in a way I can't really explain that the temperature is colder than my age, but I do.
I was kind of all right with being 44. It was a year of mercifully minimal drama. Forty-three had highs like going to Sri Lanka with a bunch of my friends for a wedding. Which was awesome. I'll remember that for the rest of my life.
But then you have a low like being told by your employer that they've decided to eliminate a few positions because they're restructuring and, hey, you're one of them. Thaaaaat sucked.
But no, 44 offered calm. On the positive side I got to go to Hawaii and Las Vegas. My new job became a permanent new job, which relieves a little of the pressure of, you know, paying mortgages and stuff. About the most drama I faced during the year was when I got a new job offer and had to decide whether to stay where I was or take the new job.
I decided to stay put. My bosses were, thankfully, amused when I said I sooner the devil I know.
Forty-five years old....still having problems with that brain-to-mouth filter.
The only downside is that some of the weight I worked so hard to lose when I was 42 came back. I put on about 25 pounds in the last year. Which is infuriating. But vacations, a few nagging injuries and a loss of focus did the trick. I think I'm back on track now. I'll probably never be back to where I was a couple of years ago. And to be honest, Cathy is ok with that. I was 183 pounds at one point and was freaking out a few people.
(I can only imagine how I must have looked when I was 155 back when I wasn't eating right during my time in South Korea).
A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Ed Hollett and asked if I would be interested in writing a piece of his blog. It turns 10 this year. And because my brain works in a certain way, it occurs to me that I had a lot of things going on in the past on occasions when there was a 5 in my age. So let us take a look back...
35. On the upside I was engage to Cathy and would be married in seven months. On the downside I was living with my dad (who is a lovely man, but you don't want to be living with your dad at 35 even if you are trying to save a few dollars), Cathy had just gone back to Rankin Inlet to teach (saving money for our wedding) so I was missing her pretty badly and I was beginning to realize how desperately I hated working with The Express and needed to leave. Oh, and later in the year we moved to Iqaluit.
So yeah, ok, but not great.
25. I was in journalism school in Halifax. So I still have that optimism about doing great things in the world as a journalist. However, I was single, lonely and a few days away from a fairly spectacular soccer related injury that wrecked my life for about six weeks (stitches, followed by almost getting emergency dental surgery, followed by strep throat, followed by the flu) and caused no end of academic chaos. Plus, the rest of the year was trying, mostly unsuccessfully, at finding a job post-journalism school.
15. I was mostly harmless, but deeply clueless at 15. That makes me a pretty typical 15 year old. I just had worse luck with girls than you're average 15 year old. I also transitioned from junior high, where I had friends, to high school, where I had none because all my friends went to a different school than me. So I was fairly angsty and miserable. Typical 15.
5. Was awesome. Can't remember much, but I'm sure it was pretty cool. Things are generally pretty awesome when you're 5. There was colouring, playing, and Lego.
Which brings me back to 45. When there is again Lego as Cathy bought me a set for my birthday. Funny how things come full circle.
Honestly, things are pretty good as I hit 45. I'm content. I'm hoping to shake off at least 20 of the pounds I've put back on. I'd like to continue to make progress about staying out of the "spin cycle" I get into sometimes during high stress moments (where you're so busy being mad about a situation you're in, rather than trying to focus on solving the problem). We're going to Europe this summer for three weeks to celebrate our 10th anniversary and in October I'm hoping to get back to the New York Comic Con.
As for the rest, healthy and happy will do. And maybe to be a little less sucky at updating this blog. But one miracle at a time...
Last Five
1. Complete control (live) - The Clash
2. Strangers - Amelia Curran
3. High & Wild - Angel Olsen
4. Up on cripple creek - The Band*
5. Southern Pacifica - Josh Ritter
3 comments:
Happy birthday. :)
Happy, happy birthday! And keep safe and warm from Nuuk, GL. :-)
Happy belated birthday from the rock!
Post a Comment