Today was, for all intents and purposes, St. Patrick’s day. I base that merely on two facts. The first was that a large group of Irishmen descended upon my condo and started tearing it apart. (I had apparently paid for this privilege.) The second was that I had dinner at an Irish pub.
Let’s cover these in more detail.
My condo is having major repair work done. So, today I had to work from home and let them in to my place. They proceeded to remove every window and door from its frame, do some weatherproofing in the hole left behind, and then put them back. I was the first person they did on the south side of the building. Which meant they were up and at it before I was even finished brushing my teeth. And they never came through the front door; they attacked from the windows.
They were pleasant enough and seemed very professional. Although it was scary watching one using an electrical saw mere centimetres from his own power cord. I tried to be a cordial host and offered them cookies. They were also nice enough to take some time out from their other work and take a look at my front door.
I had a chiropractic appointment in the early evening, so I walked there. Along the way, I passed O’Byrne’s, an Irish pub. They were having an all-you-can-eat fish and chips nights. I was intrigued. Yesterday I hadn’t eaten enough, which had left me somewhat lethargic. Today wasn’t much better. This is dangerous, because right now I need to be eating as much as possible in anticipation of my race this weekend. An all-you-can-eat would probably help.
Unfortunately, I asked my chiropractor about my plan, and she wasn’t pleased. Too much grease and oil. She’s probably right, but there was a quality of life issue. The issue being that I didn’t want to go to Pita Pit for dinner. So after my appointment, I went back to O’Byrne’s. I don’t feel I was as ambitious as I could have been. My dinner size was downright reasonable. But I do feel sated now, which is a nice feeling.

Back in 2008, I tried the dating service “It’s Just Lunch”. They would do research and set me up with compatible women and then I could meet them for lunch, or drinks after work. It cost me about $1000 and in that time they set me up with about 14 women. Towards the end, it felt like they weren’t even trying. The women did not meet a lot of my requirements. So I did not have a good opinion of the company. They even closed down the Edmonton office, so I was being matched by someone in Florida who had never met any of the people she was matching.
They tried a couple years later to get me to sign back up with the excuse that they now knew me better and I would have better matches. If they hadn’t figured that out after 14 matches, I didn’t think they would with another 14? And it is not cheap!
Last week they started trying to contact me again. I figured I would give them a chance to do their spiel and then politely decline. But they had a new strategy this time; ask me to update my profile. Really, you want me to talk about myself? Sold!
But after that, the hard sell came. They had two women they think I would be perfect for. And their limited time deal for $200 would let me meet those two (and probably only those two.) When I asked to think about it, they actually got mean. They pointed out I’m getting old, so I can’t afford to wait.
That left a sour taste in my mouth. And actually caused me to get depressed. Very depressed. With money being tight, I decided I was leaning towards “No” and told them so. Maybe I might go for it, after talking with my friends that evening. That gave them the interesting tactic that I shouldn’t depend on friends for this important decision, because they may not care enough about my interests. According to that logic, I should go with my default “No”.
In any case, I was in a bad funk for awhile. I think I’m better now. It also helps that I’ve read about a lawsuit against the company.
I made the right decision.

I went to Montreal last weekend and had a great time. It has been about half a year since my last vacation, so I was due. (I am, of course, not counting vacations that involve prodigious amounts of running.) This was a chance for me to connect with a circle of friends I only seem to see when I travel. I term them the Level 3 friends for ease of categorization.
It was great to see them again. And I made full use of my time by sleeping as little as possible. I was regularly up until five in the morning. I still managed to have somewhat productive days. On one day most of us went up to Mont Royal and took a lot of pictures. On the Monday, I did a 22km run across the seaway.
That run was very illuminating. A friend, from Mexico, joined me on it. Well, she was in a bicycle, but it still counts. She gave me an appreciation for my country. She was amazed at all the different trees in close proximity. She was emotionally overcome when crossing the seaway itself. Basically, she liked the rocks and trees, and trees and rocks. (And water!)
I did have one embarrassing moment. I did enjoy it at the time, but I don’t want to talk about it. If you were there, go ahead and laugh. But if you weren’t, why would I want to let you make fun of me?
The one thing I really appreciate about these friends is how huggy they are. It was nice to be with people who had no discomfort about public displays of affection. I took advantage of at as often as I could. I don’t get enough physical contact in my life.
Everyone was very supportive of me, and I am feeling better about myself than I have in a long time. I have faith in the future again. And it is nice.