Update on Life
Well, it has been awhile since I updated on my life. I am still yes addicted to all my brokeback stuff, especially all the magnificent fiction writing that is going on all over the place. I still cannot get enough and yes there is never enough time just never enough.
Since I last updated in October a lot of wonderful things have happened. In November I went to light up night with Katie, Pat, Stephen and finally got to meet Stephen and Katie's friend Tom whom I have heard so much about. He is a really nice young man and he has a lot of interest similiar to Pat's so it was a very pleasent evening. We had a later start then normal so unfortunatly we did not get to see all of the events of light up night in Pittsburgh as we usually do but it was still fun just being with good people.
Thanksgiving I worked and we had a very nice dinner with my clients at two of their homes and this was a success as well. It brings me such joy to see these people entertaining for the holidays. When I started working in this program over 10 years ago and worked a holiday it was just another day for these individuals no fanfare nothing. Now they plan and look forward to holidays like everyone else does. This year two different clients hosted Thanksgiving dinners at their homes and they ate lots of food/watched movies or television and talked it was great seeing them interact so well and I think it made it better for my staff as well who also worked. Yes, the food they prepared and served may not have been well lets just say like our own homeade fancy feast but the point of working with developmentally disabled adults who live independently is that they learn to do things themselves and yes it is easier to teach them to make stove top stuffing instead of real stuffing and to buy prepared pies and so forth then making it all the Martha Stewart way and the Turkeys turned out fine.
December was a whilwind like all Decembers not only getting my personal life in order for the big events but all the individuals and their events. On December 17, they had a very nice dinner at the Erie Maennechor club and this year I did not have to sing so that saved a lot of people's ears from hearing me singing and the clients sang for entertainment at the dinner then we moved to the Avalon Ballroom to enjoy dancing to DJ's and socializing it was a spectacular event that they all seemed to enjoy then a few staff joined me for a drink afterwards which was nice being social with some staff I'm normally not social with. Even if I had to bribe them to let me buy them one round and I actually had a drink which is rare these days but only one.
Christmas was busy our friend Randy came to town on the 22nd and Caroline came to well sort of spend the night drinking wine and talking until 4 am 3 days in a row even though I had to work some of these days it was great fun catching up with old friends. On Christmas Eve I drove to my parents and we had a quiet nice time since my sister stayed in England for the holiday. We visited two of my Great Aunts and they were very excited to have company also my Uncle Bob and his Wife came to town for the holiday and we played pinocle and sequence and ate way too much and talked and laughed the night away. The rest of my fathers 10 brothers and sisters do not usually come back to Clearfield anymore and stay in their hometowns but a few did come after the holidays to see my parents and go to events. I left Clearfield on Christmas day and drove back to Erie and enjoyed Christmas night with Pat's family and Pat's Ex my good friend Jim was home for the holidays and stayed with us as well. He bought me a very nice lithograph and two wonderful bottles of wine for my collection some day I will open these great wines I hope but I am always afraid to drink too much with my pills I take but what the heck we only live once and I love a good bottle of wine or scotch. Jim knows we love artwork and the lithograph his fantastic he gave Pat one also. I really enjoy visiting with Jim if we were not good friends we could have been lovers a long time ago. Some do not understand how I can let my partners Ex come and stay with us and spend holidays but he is like family and so that is the way it is. New Years all of our plans were well in the mud at the last minute but never fear we had a nice quiet dinner at a nice restaurant then home to watch the ball fall down. I then got terribly ill with stomach problems but I survived just felt miserable for an entire day. My doctor called 3 times from Japan he is still worried about some of my reactions to my new medecines for my tumor. I have been shaking more often and find it hard to concentrate sometimes but overall I'm still walking and I feel good most of the time so I'm not going to let it get me down. One little brain tumor is not going to do this guy in. My eyes are feeling a bit better also the laser treatments are doing a wonderful job and I love my new glasses even though most people do not say anything since they are almost invisible I spent way too much money on them but I love them. Only two more laser treatments on the eyes and hopefully all will be better. It worried me when they said I lost 70 percent of my vision in 6 months the tumor can do that but I think they have reversed the process pretty well thank god for great hospitals and great doctors. Too anyone who ever reads this do not go on the advice of one doctor look for others opinions. If I listened to my first docotor years ago I may have ended up in a wheelchair but I dance, do what I want and am living life and actually I have lost most of the weight that the tumor affected with my thyroid. I admit I gained 24 pounds over the holidays but I ate what I wanted so that did it. I will work it off and heck I was flirted with several times recently so I must look pretty good for a 42 year old man.
Ok well I hope to update again soon just wanted to clear my mind on things oh next time I will talk about the possible job change. joe
Since I last updated in October a lot of wonderful things have happened. In November I went to light up night with Katie, Pat, Stephen and finally got to meet Stephen and Katie's friend Tom whom I have heard so much about. He is a really nice young man and he has a lot of interest similiar to Pat's so it was a very pleasent evening. We had a later start then normal so unfortunatly we did not get to see all of the events of light up night in Pittsburgh as we usually do but it was still fun just being with good people.
Thanksgiving I worked and we had a very nice dinner with my clients at two of their homes and this was a success as well. It brings me such joy to see these people entertaining for the holidays. When I started working in this program over 10 years ago and worked a holiday it was just another day for these individuals no fanfare nothing. Now they plan and look forward to holidays like everyone else does. This year two different clients hosted Thanksgiving dinners at their homes and they ate lots of food/watched movies or television and talked it was great seeing them interact so well and I think it made it better for my staff as well who also worked. Yes, the food they prepared and served may not have been well lets just say like our own homeade fancy feast but the point of working with developmentally disabled adults who live independently is that they learn to do things themselves and yes it is easier to teach them to make stove top stuffing instead of real stuffing and to buy prepared pies and so forth then making it all the Martha Stewart way and the Turkeys turned out fine.
December was a whilwind like all Decembers not only getting my personal life in order for the big events but all the individuals and their events. On December 17, they had a very nice dinner at the Erie Maennechor club and this year I did not have to sing so that saved a lot of people's ears from hearing me singing and the clients sang for entertainment at the dinner then we moved to the Avalon Ballroom to enjoy dancing to DJ's and socializing it was a spectacular event that they all seemed to enjoy then a few staff joined me for a drink afterwards which was nice being social with some staff I'm normally not social with. Even if I had to bribe them to let me buy them one round and I actually had a drink which is rare these days but only one.
Christmas was busy our friend Randy came to town on the 22nd and Caroline came to well sort of spend the night drinking wine and talking until 4 am 3 days in a row even though I had to work some of these days it was great fun catching up with old friends. On Christmas Eve I drove to my parents and we had a quiet nice time since my sister stayed in England for the holiday. We visited two of my Great Aunts and they were very excited to have company also my Uncle Bob and his Wife came to town for the holiday and we played pinocle and sequence and ate way too much and talked and laughed the night away. The rest of my fathers 10 brothers and sisters do not usually come back to Clearfield anymore and stay in their hometowns but a few did come after the holidays to see my parents and go to events. I left Clearfield on Christmas day and drove back to Erie and enjoyed Christmas night with Pat's family and Pat's Ex my good friend Jim was home for the holidays and stayed with us as well. He bought me a very nice lithograph and two wonderful bottles of wine for my collection some day I will open these great wines I hope but I am always afraid to drink too much with my pills I take but what the heck we only live once and I love a good bottle of wine or scotch. Jim knows we love artwork and the lithograph his fantastic he gave Pat one also. I really enjoy visiting with Jim if we were not good friends we could have been lovers a long time ago. Some do not understand how I can let my partners Ex come and stay with us and spend holidays but he is like family and so that is the way it is. New Years all of our plans were well in the mud at the last minute but never fear we had a nice quiet dinner at a nice restaurant then home to watch the ball fall down. I then got terribly ill with stomach problems but I survived just felt miserable for an entire day. My doctor called 3 times from Japan he is still worried about some of my reactions to my new medecines for my tumor. I have been shaking more often and find it hard to concentrate sometimes but overall I'm still walking and I feel good most of the time so I'm not going to let it get me down. One little brain tumor is not going to do this guy in. My eyes are feeling a bit better also the laser treatments are doing a wonderful job and I love my new glasses even though most people do not say anything since they are almost invisible I spent way too much money on them but I love them. Only two more laser treatments on the eyes and hopefully all will be better. It worried me when they said I lost 70 percent of my vision in 6 months the tumor can do that but I think they have reversed the process pretty well thank god for great hospitals and great doctors. Too anyone who ever reads this do not go on the advice of one doctor look for others opinions. If I listened to my first docotor years ago I may have ended up in a wheelchair but I dance, do what I want and am living life and actually I have lost most of the weight that the tumor affected with my thyroid. I admit I gained 24 pounds over the holidays but I ate what I wanted so that did it. I will work it off and heck I was flirted with several times recently so I must look pretty good for a 42 year old man.
Ok well I hope to update again soon just wanted to clear my mind on things oh next time I will talk about the possible job change. joe