Yep, it’s that time again. My somewhat annual post so it seems. How does time fly by so quickly? Every time I see the date of my last post here I want to grab time tightly in my fist and slow it down. There have been some precious moments lately that I just hope I can hang on to. Milestone birthdays, graduations, new opportunities, overcoming challenges, they’ve all had roles to play over the past year and I am grateful for each one.

Speaking of roles to play, I took lessons from a local improv group and took part in an evening showcase at a café and while I wasn’t on stage long it was something I had challenged myself to do. I thoroughly enjoyed the classes and will hopefully take part again next winter.

The reason I have to wait until winter is because I interviewed for and was accepted as a member of a Community Emergency Response Team which has training dates in the fall on the same evening I was taking my improv classes. I’ve missed being part of the search and rescue team I co-founded and when this opportunity came up I jumped on the chance. I may not be as physically fit as I once was but perhaps this will incentivize me to work on that.

DS turned 19 and graduated high school the same week. He has learning disabilities that affect his ability to read/write, perform mathematical calculations, give his time and spatial awareness issues and a few other things so we couldn’t be more proud of his accomplishment. He also worked at a co-op in rough carpentry with a construction company which is his career goal. We are hoping that the contacts he made there will result in a full time job during construction season.

I moved into the role of President of the Toastmasters Club I belong to and have lots of ideas and goals that I hope come to fruition. I took over as President yesterday so we shall see how it goes. The other club members are all very supportive and have so much to offer as well. It is a fun group and I am looking forward to all of us developing our skills together.

There are other developments that have happened over the past year but I will save them for my next post.

Until next time… “Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman

~ Crimson ~

It’s been a long time since my last post and lots has happened.

First of all I joined Toastmasters and as I always do, I didn’t just jump in, I cannonballed in by joining the Executive as VP Education after only being a member for 3 months. It has been an exhausting but wonderful learning experience.

Shorty after that I applied for and succeeded in becoming a Regional Representative with Random Acts (therandomact.org). This organization is dedicated to conquering the world one random act of kindness at a time which is a cause I have been passionate about for more than a decade when I was involved with a group on Onelist (a precursor to Yahoo Groups) which encouraged participating in acts of kindness and sharing stories with each other.

In the summer I started a small home business by becoming a design consultant with Elanne & Ivy which is a jewellery design business that focuses on selling glass lockets and charms. So far I have only been developing my business by word of mouth until I have more time to dedicate to it.

Also keeping me busy is Air Cadets which I have become more involved with by taking on more responsibilities and more of a leadership or mentorship role with the Level 4 cadets.

Meetup has been a source of new activities and groups too where I have joined some fascinating groups involved in bushcrafting, meditation, adventure travel, and socializing. I even started two groups, one focused on random acts of kindness in my area and the other on geocaching. I am planning the first meetings for these groups in the new year.

School has returned to my life and I have missed it. Now I am taking online learning courses to get my Records and Information Management certificate from a community college.

Yesterday I interviewed to become a Social Media Officer with Random Acts in addition to my current role. If I pass that stage then there is a second level interview and tasks to perform before I will find out if I get the position. It will take a couple of months all in all for that.

So that is what has been keeping me busy and I have more stuff in my head to unleash on the Internet so I will continue to keep myself occupied for a long time to come.

Have a peaceful Winter Solstice and a new year full of kindness and love!

S and I have a busy winter and spring coming up for plays. He is in a production of Pippin as the little boy Theo who is the son of a young widow. I’ll be doing props and costume changes for that one. Rehearsals for that one overlap with a production of Oliver where he will be playing one of the orphans. I am not sure what backstage work I’ll be doing for that one if any. Then I have a production of Cabaret where I will likely be running the lighting boards. At least for Cabaret I won’t have weeks and weeks if rehearsals to go to, it will just be tech week and the run of the show. I adore theatre though so I am really looking forward to it.

S and I finished our last performance of ‘Gypsy’ today! It was a wonderful experience especially for him as his first play.

He has been asked to be in a production of Pippin so he will be playing Theo. Rehearsals start in January but this time I will be backstage rather than onstage. I used to always like being onstage but at this point I prefer being backstage so for Pippin I will be doing props and something.

In the spring I will be helping out for a production of ‘Cabaret’ running the lighting boards or something. Gypsy and Cabaret are with a theatre group I haven’t been a part of before so I have to work my way up from the bottom. I am hoping that in a few years I can work my way up to stage manager. I have been a stage manager before for a production of ‘West Side Story’ as well as ‘The Lion in Winter’ and I loved it.

I love being back in theatre!

My D is in her first year of Air Cadets and I volunteer doing administrative type duties. I am hoping to apply to become a Cadet Instructor once I have volunteered enough hours and then eventually become an Administrative Officer. There is some monetary renumeration for the work but I would then have to start wearing a uniform again and polishing boots. Eeek!

It can take up to a year for the entire application process. Now, I just have to hope I can pass the medical. 🙂

My trip is on for Brazil next August and my passport is in the mail. Of course I am still terrified of flying so I will have to take vast amounts of gravol or something to make me sleep through the flight and my demise should that be the case. I really should stop watching ‘Lost’ since has heightened my paranoia about flying to the nth degree.

On a positive note however I have raised $130 is sponsorship so far with 8 months left to go. Woohoo!

Work has been an endless parade of meetings but I like it because I get mileage for travelling and it makes the day go much faster.

Tonight I am taking my mother to an illusionist/majick show, should be fun!

I participated in a trivia competition at Rochester University this weekend and had a good time. While our team didn’t place well, individually I finished around the middle of all of the competitors which makes me quite ecstatic. I don’t do so well at the academic questions, I am more of a pop culture and random useless facts kind of person. Being a Canadian team we were at a bit of a disadvantage as the mojority of the bonus questions we got were about American politics, geography, and literature. I simply do not know what river flows through what state and ends in what lake. Yikes!

In some very interesting news, I am looking into a program called ‘Solidarity Experiences Abroad’ where I might be going to Brazil for two weeks next August. In the program you do a lot of volunteer work in the health sector for the underprivledged. It fits in well with what I am taking at University (Community Health). I just need to check on some safety issues before I decide whether to go or not.

School is going well so far, I am just getting burnt out already since I work full time and then go to school three nights a week on top of having two kids and a few clubs/volunteer organizations I am involved with.

I gave up the Improv club since I didn’t like the direction the new president was taking it. She is a nice girl and very talented, she is just inexperienced at what it means to be on an executive. I ended up feeling like it was becoming a dictatorship rather than a democratic process. Oh well, as long as the membership is happy with the changes, then that is what matters. I will also have to give up on the gaming club and anime club as I just don’t have time.

Well, that about sums up my little life for the week. Next week it is off to Ottawa and Montreal!!!!!!!!!!