Standing still less a pint

In which our Hero scribbles just to remind himself how, and bleeds for it

Had an appointment with the Vampires yesterday. The Canadian Blood Services people are good at guilting me, and my meeting schedule allowed for it, so I headed in and bled till I gave. The phlebotomist was probably my age, slight, and determined. She put that needle in my arm like she was landing an Olympic Javelin. Ouch.

Speaking of they Olympics, they are apparently retiring the ancient sport of Wrestling in favour of the… sport(?) of golfing. I get it, it’s better for marketing. And following principles I’ve ranted about at length in the past, Golf is a quantifiable activity, with hard definitions of how to score and how to play. It’s unambiguous.

But it’s golf.

The Pope has retired. Everybody is going on about how it’s the first time in centuries, how it’s a big change for the catholic church, if it’s good, if it’s bad, what will he be called.

But why has nobody else sat up in alarm at the fact that a human being leading a millenia old institution of people who collectively believe that he has a direct connection to the voice and mind of the maker of the world has just said, “Stop the ride, I want to get off.”

Kind of makes you wonder just what bullet he’s leaning away from.

I’m sorry, I’ve been wanting to make that joke for a while now, but I can’t figure out how to fit it into 140 characters for twitter.

How am I? I’m stressed. In the headlong rush of family stuff for the last few months, I completely forgot about a client till my master contractor asked me for a demo of the project. I’ve got two days left to put something together. I don’t think I’m sleeping much tonight.

My dad is home. My mom’s health issue persists but it’s better medicated and a specialist appointment is coming.

So we’re kind of back to a status quo of sorts. I dunno. It’s good, but it makes me talk on and then I get serious again, and I’m bored. I’m bored of being serious and mature. I’m bored of thinking about life and death thoughts.

The nurse doing the screening for my blood donation asked me if I was stressed by the approach of my forties. “I still feel like I’m a teenager, some days” she told me.

I told her a truth. “I’ve never felt like I was a teenager.” When I was a teenager, I felt bowed down by the weight of age. The youngest I think I’ve felt was my 20s. These days I mostly feel right.

I think I”m going to declare OD bankruptcy. I can’t catch up. I am so sorry, because it’s not the way I want to treat you, but like my family overseas, some of it is just life and I think it’s easier to outright say I’ve missed out than being perpetually behind.

Screw the allnighter. I need the rest.