Sitting here in bed, semi-conscious...

...so I thought I'd resurrect my blog with a few random thoughts.

First of all, I'm sitting here with nothing to do because about an hour ago, while trying to install a new basketball backboard for my daughter, I fell off the topmost step of a 6-foot stepladder, landing flat on my face on the concrete, smashing the backboard and ladder to smithereens, in so doing. I'm still in a bit of shock, and wonderment, at the fact that I apparently did not break anything on my personal body, though my pride was severely bruised. I think the problem was, besides stupidly standing on the very top of the ladder, that I had my body half way through the actual basketball rim, trying to reach a screw at the topmost part of the backboard. That sort of prevented me from catching my balance when the ladder started to wobble, and worse yet, stopped me from jumping clear when I started falling. I had not finished securing the backboard, so that came loose when I pulled away and in some weird way I think it actually cushioned the impact. Of course, a car was just driving past when I fell, but it did not stop.

Anyway, to console myself a little bit (after I confirmed there were no fractures), I finally ordered a new digital camera. I just couldn't stand the research and the waiting for new models to come out, so when Costco.com today posted a good deal on a Canon a710 with a 2gb memory card, I jumped on it. It's not the dSLR type camera I initially wanted, but will probably be much more practical and hopefully something everyone can use.

The big Chilly Hilly bike ride is tomorrow and I was looking forward to spending a couple hours this afternoon tuning up my bike, but I'm hurting to much to do that right now. Hopefully I'll feel good enough in the morning to go on the ride, though my left wrist and the left part of my jaw are in considerable paint, at the moment.

What else has been going on since my last posting way back in October? Not that much really. I survived the holidays, in an uneventful, though somewhat melancholy, fashion and have been struggling a little bit to get traction in the new year. Did try downhill snow-skiing for the first time in several years. Unfortunately, it was in the midst of possibly the worst blizzard in a decade, and the resort was subsequently shut down after my third run. I got a credit for the cost of the lift ticket, which I'm still waiting to redeem....

I'm still working at the boatyard and that subject is probably deserving of its own posting, which I will try to do sometime in the near future. Suffice it to say that since late last September, when the office manager suddenly quit and I had to take over, it has been extremely challenging, and not necessarily in a fun way. But it has kept me on my toes and put me in an environment where I have to deal with people all the time. I'm happy to say that I have succeeded to a certain degree, though I admit that I have not totally committed to the idea of being in the marine repair business, especially with the prospect that my brother is going to retire in a few years.

So now it's later. 6pm the next day, to be exact. I diligently got up this morning for the bike ride, checked the weather, checked the ferry schedule, packed up my little collection of energy bars and packed away nearly two litres of PowerAde. I was totally convinced that my wrist was going to hold up but I thought it worthy of the attempt, inasmuch as I had been looking forward to this event for months. Though the entire left side of my body ached from yesterday's fall, I curled onto the bike and headed downtown.

It was an achy, uncomfortable ride and when I got to the ferry dock I knew there was no way I could deal with a 4-5 hour ride in my condition. By the time I got back home I could barely squeeze the front brake lever and nearly crashed into the garage door. Anyway, it was a good try.

I thought I'd better do something to be somewhat productive, so I ran to the store, got some fixins for a stew and got that started. Afterwards, I went to the garage and began resurrecting the old backboard, which mainly included some cosmetic fixes, including a new coat of paint. I'm sure Sav will be disappointed when I put it back on, but it served me faithfully for nearly 20 years and I don't really want to spend another $100 for a new one.

After lunch, I ran over to the Guild 45th Theatre to watch Peter O'Tooles new star vehicle, "Venus." Loved it. Though I don't really see an Oscar for O'Toole, it was a great performance, certainly worthy of a nomination. The film was touching, a bit sentimental, and for anybody over 50 years old or so, a potent reminder of our mortality.

That's it for now--back to the Oscars. By the way, the stew was great!