I have spent my last work week sequestered with 14 mid level/senior level IT managers from our current client reviewing the results of a significant RFP (Request for Proposal). The ‘winner’ of this RFP will be awarded a multi-million dollar contract to provide services province-wide. The participants have all analyzed the responses from the qualified Vendors in detail, and we’re now meeting to establish consensus. My role is to monitor the ‘fairness’ of the process, and not really to provide opinions. This stuff is really interesting… seriously. I’m listening to this group rationalize their scoring for questions such as “Supplier … Continue reading End of the Week

J. had her surgery yesterday. Everything seems to be just fine… she’s as annoyed about everything as she ever was. The real challenge with J. and the surgery is that, as a nurse, she knows too much… it contributed to the anxiety. We don’t have the final results, or a statement from the doctors yet, but are expecting a phone call today with details. Continue reading J.’s Surgery

We’ve had a death in the family… one of my father’s sisters passed away during heart surgery. It leaves a huge hole in my father’s family. And it has made me realize that that entire generation of my family is heading for the threshold… its an odd thing to contemplate. I suppose I’ve been in denial about all of this, in spite of my father’s cancer (hell, I’ve been in denial about my own!) and the loss of my mother’s oldest brother (one of the younger boys passed some time ago). Somehow, one just assumes that they will always be … Continue reading Certainty…

Lately I’ve found it rather odd knowing who is actually reading this drek… which is partially why I haven’t written for the past couple of weeks. I’ve found it kinda disconcerting that certain family members are quoting from it… I find myself editing because of that… and waiting to write until I’ve got something to say that is totally innocuous. Dumb, eh? I do, however, enjoy the thought that friends who I don’t speak with enough, in some cases not for years, check in occasionally. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I believe that the expectations of me (and … Continue reading

Unfortunately, we missed the show at the Citadel last night… G. is suffering from bronchitis and was not in any condition to spend 3 hours at a show and socializing… I am a bit disappointed. Surprisingly, it didn’t take quite as much to psyche myself up for the return to that building than I first thought.The other shoe finally dropped about J., the oldest of the two girls. The tests have come back indicating that it is NOT lymphoma, but active CMV (cytomegalovirus), instead. Its not as bad as what it could have been, and what else they were testing … Continue reading

Fall is upon us! The weather here began to turn over the weekend… cool early mornings, moderated temperatures at midday, cool evenings, and rain! This morning at 6 am the temperature was +2 degrees C. A frost had formed… And no, I didn’t ride my motorcycle to work. In fact, I haven’t ridden it any morning this week. Monday it was raining too much. Tuesday threatened rain, and I needed some extra reference material at work that wouldn’t really fit on the bike safely. This morning I was running late, and the cold spooked me. Its currently lovely and bright, … Continue reading Mid Week Update

Well, its the end of another week… and still not much to say.I did write those two ITIL exams on Friday and found them more challenging than the previous three written two weeks ago. The format still makes me cringe a bit, and the wording, the UK-centric language, and the murky answers all contribute to a questionable value. The five exams are part of the testing, or piloting of the exam cycle… and if I want to teach any of the knowledge areas that the exams are centred on, I do need to pass the exams and get certification first. … Continue reading End of the week…

It would appear that I’ve missed posting the results of a pertinent appointment or two… the first was a followup with Dr. Williams, my surgeon, on the 19th, and the actual face-to-face with Dr. Naiker on the 20th.Okay, so let’s deal with Dr. Williams first.We started off the session by being evaluated by Dr. Williams intern, Gugan… and I am embarrassed to say that I didn’t get her last name. She was great, however. Funny, personable and quite thorough in her questioning and probing.Dr. Williams was also in pretty good form… We ambushed him off the top with a ‘hello’ … Continue reading Filling in the blanks…

And when I got home from work on Friday afternoon, I found Gail in a terrible state. She had spent the afternoon ruminating on what the medical receptionist had said, and was absolutely freaked out. A friend of hers, Nancy, had actually come over to the house to try to keep her calm while they waited for me to get home. And she had ‘blown off’ a fairly important meeting because she was so distraught.We talked… and I was so frustrated with her interpretation of the phone call, and actually quite worried about her state of mind that I called … Continue reading …and when I got home…

Oddly enough the recent battle with cancer has resulted in more planning for the future, rather than less… we have spoken with people who are focused on ‘taking it one day at a time’. For us, it has become about finding a through line to retirement and what I can only refer to as ‘contentment’. Gail is completely reevaluating her career strategy. In an ideal world, she will retire in 6 years. Also, in that ideal world, she will suddenly rediscover job satisfaction. Will she be able to do both? I don’t know for sure, but I do know that … Continue reading