.: 58 Penrose Place is the address of the last house in which I lived in St Boniface (Winnipeg), Manitoba. My family moved there in 1971 – I can’t remember which month – and stayed there until 1985, when my folks moved to a mobile home in St Vital. I moved to Edmonton in the fall of 1978, but the time I spent living at 58 Penrose Place was memorable for many reasons. While living in that house, I attended the University of Manitoba, where I met many new people and made the first new friends outside of my school years.
58 is also the age I am as of today, 28 June 2011. I was born at 01:05 MDT in Winnipeg on this date in 1953. With each passing year, I become a little more nostalgic about parts of my life, less so about others. Regardless, it’s good to be alive, there is always much for which one can be grateful. I work in one of the best library systems in one of the best universities in North America. I have great colleagues who have tolerated my moody behaviour for almost 28 years! The job has afforded me dozens of opportunities to travel, including a trip in February 2011 to India. My parents are still alive and in decent health, as are my brothers and their families. I live in Edmonton, a great city in perhaps the best country on Planet Earth. I have a seemingly unlimited supply of good friends in many places, and am surrounded by people who care about me. So on this day, I give thanks for all of these blessings.
In 2011, I have already traveled six times in the following order: Chennai and Mumbia in India, Winnipeg, Cambridge MA, Winnipeg again, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Please check the photos and videos from my trip to India, which was a work-related visit, but perhaps the most fascinating trip of my life. It was the first time I’d been to country other than Canada or the USA. I hope to make the time to write more the India trip, and the other trips, sometime soon.
.: Recently I received an email telling me that I was chosen receive the SLA (Special Libraries Association) 2011 Engineering Librarian of the Year Award. At first I thought a mistake had been made, not feeling I deserved such an accolade. But eventually it sunk in, and I began to realize what an honour it [...]
.: Late November 27th, I flew to Boston to spend a week hanging out in Cambridge MA. I had been in Boston during the same week over the past three years, each time to attend meetings at a conference. In 2010, those meetings had ceased, so I wasn’t invited back to the conference again. But [...]
.: Hard to believe at times that I am 57, living in my 58th year. Recently I received two new credit cards, and found myself staring at the expiration dates, both of which are when I’ll be in my early 60s. I find it next to impossible to comprehend such numbers, but I’m grateful to [...]