An Eventful Weekend

Hello everyone. It's been an interesting past while. On saturday, I hooked up with Mark and Wendy for a very good burger and fries with copious delightful conversation as my main condiment. They're doing quite well and it was good to spend a couple of hours in their company. As has happened a little more frequently these days, I dozed off during a chunk of the afternoon. It seems to happen even when I think I've gotten a good night's sleep. Sandy thinks it has to do with the change of weather and I suppose there could be something to that. I hope it doesn't last too long. I find it a tad disconcerting. That evening, I went down to visit Sandy and our new friend Cesar. He lives in a house which is part of the complex that includes my building. He's had an interesting life. His conversational English is quite good. He wants me to help him with his writing which I'm very happy to do. He's been helpful to Sandy regarding furnature. Sandy did an excellent job, despite not getting full instructions, cooking the pizza and fries we enjoyed. Yes, it's been a particularly heavy potato weekend. Good thing I never get tired of them. Thank goodness he can now use his oven in addition to the elements. The CNIB is at last going to bat for him in fine style. He's also found some more friends willing to help when he needs it. We've heard from Mr. Morgan who's getting recombobulated after returning from England. He's got quite a bit on his plate but I'm hopeful he can come round to see Sandy and I soon. Sandy is eager to get his computer set up in a better safer location than where we chose and start digging into learning the keyboard. That's when I can start helping him in the way I had originally figured I would rather than in the surprising ways I've tried up until now.

God certainly likes to throw some interesting curveballs my way. A couple of nights ago, I was awakened once again from a dead sleep by a fairly loud knocking which I thought came from my door or the wall of my bedroom. This has happened on a number of occasions since I've gotten here but hasn't been consistant. Until now, I had chalked it up to my dreaming. However, last night's episode involved at least six loud knocks that I was conscious of. The last way I wanted to meat my neighbours was after having done something to cause them grief but I was at the stage where I had to try to figure out whether I had in fact done this or merely been hearing things. I went to the apartment directly above mine where I met a shift worker who wouldn't have been disturbed whatsoever had a bomb gone off down here. Right adjacent to my apartment where I figured would be the only other likely place where anything I did might be noticed, I met a nice man who hadn't heard anything either. I'm always happy to meet good people and pleased that I haven't inadvertently disturbed their slumber. However, Sherlock Holmes's saying about the impossible, however unlikely, having to be the truth once more likely alternatives have been eliminated does tend to point to the unsettling conclusion that I imagined all those knocks. Of course, there also could have been hammering or knocks somewhere else in the building which carried through it to me. Still, the more I think about it, the less certain of their reality I become. At least I've now introduced myself to my vertical neighbour as well as my immediately horrizontal one. It's nice to have at least a minimal sense of who's close at hand. Thanks a bunch, Mr. Holmes. GRRRRRR!!! Hopefully, I won't be needing the modern day equivalent of Dr. Watson any time soon.

Yesterday, [monday], was grocery day again. I got pretty much everything I ordered this time. Only two minor substitutions of junkfood. Not bad at all. Everything's stowed nicely away. I know I dozed off during part of the day again. It would be damned annoying if I had anything I needed to get done. As it is, such short dozes are merely erksome to my sense of how a day ought to be lived. Rebellion against the effects of age? Perhaps. It just isn't what I'm used to. I wasn't awakened by any knocks in either sunday or last night. One acomplishment other than storing the groceries was editing Cesar's second essay. Doing that to a piece of writing about how happy he is to have met me certainly has a way of making yours truly acutely selfconscious. I'm very happy to have made a good and selfless man like him happy. He seems to be getting better with each attempt. I had to correct fewer sentence oddities and it was much easier to follow his train of thinking. Apparently, his wife wants some help with her English pronunciation. Doing things like that certainly makes me feel far more like I'm living a good and useful life. When days can go past without much consequence or interaction at all, it's easy to lose that sense of connectedness. I thank God for all the people I'm encountering here and through the church. I've felt so hung out to dry for so much of the time since Janene left me. That sense has retreated marvelously over my residency here. Over time as more people come to know me, I believe I'll have a more sustained positive impact.

Monday ended with an email from my friend Steve Murgaski. He's coming over to visit tomorrow and will be the very first guest to make use of the ability of my futon to turn into a bed rather than the couch that it normally is. It'll be damned good to spend some time with him again. I called my worker for Halton Housing to inform her of this as I've been instructed to in my leace. She sounds like a pretty conscientious woman. I think it's safe to say we'll get along well enough. It feels damned odd to have to do that before a friend stays over. Very unnatural. Presuming I ever get into a serious relationship again as I'd very much like to, it'll feel even more awkward meetting that condition. So much for spontenaity. They can't refuse me the right to have guests stay over but it almost feels like one is asking permittion rather than informing them of one's plans. I guess I'll get used to it over the years ahead. In all other respects, it's hard to imagine being in better circumstances as a single man. I can certainly deal with the odd sour note like that. I'm not going to have people stay overnight all that often in any case.

Things are as ready as they can be. I figured out how to transform the futon couch, tidied up, stocked the fridge with drinks and made damned certain there are icecubes aplenty. He couldn't have timed his visit better as I've just gotten my groceries. We'll have a couple days of excellent conversation, doubtless listen to some digital audio of interest from our respective collections, and very likely meet up with my parents for a meal out and to test my Trekker Breeze. No, dear reader. The update still hasn't arrived from the folks at Humanware. I figure that the longer they work on it, the better it'll be. I'm a patient man even if I'm dying of suspense to see what they've come up with for the little gadget. Until I kick the bucket, there's always tomorrow. My Snowflake microphone arrived today. It seems to be quite an excellent microphone. I still have to test it more with my netbook and may try doing a better audio tour of my apartment for Blindcooltech. I'd be able to record directly into mp3 using Goldwave. We'll see how that goes.

It's approaching eleven o'clock as I sit here at my desk. I have a nifty piece of instrumental music from the Lady in the Water soundtrack called Charades. It has a wonderful adventuresome feel and blends well with the forest soundscape generated by Aura. I feel tired and hope that tonight will be a restful one. Guess I'll post this entry and find out.