Friendship | Richard's Ramblings

Well, Whattaya Know – 3/4 of A Century

So, today I made it to three quarters of a century.

With all the talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI) lately, I thought I would have some fun.

First, I asked ChatGPT to provide the meaning of 75 years old.

Following that I asked ChatGPT to provide the meaning of three quarters of a century old.

It seems that they are not the same, however both are interesting. You can read them here.

I will rejoin you below.

Turning 75 years old carries multiple layers of meaning:

Longevity: Reaching 75 is a significant achievement in terms of longevity. It reflects a long life, often filled with rich experiences, and is celebrated as a mark of resilience and vitality.
Wisdom and Experience: By the age of 75, individuals typically have accumulated a wealth of knowledge and life experience. This age often signifies a deep reservoir of wisdom, shaped by decades of personal and professional experiences.
Reflection and Legacy: At 75, people often reflect on their life’s journey, accomplishments, and the impact they’ve made on their families, communities, and beyond. It’s a time to consider one’s legacy and the contributions they’ve made throughout their life.
Family and Generational Connections: Many individuals at this age have witnessed the growth of their families across generations. They may have children, grandchildren, and sometimes great-grandchildren, making this a period to celebrate family bonds and the continuity of family traditions.
Health and Well-being: Health becomes an important focus as people age, and reaching 75 often involves managing health conditions and adapting to changes in physical abilities. It’s a time when maintaining well-being and enjoying a good quality of life are priorities.
Cultural Significance: In various cultures, turning 75 is celebrated as a major milestone. It’s often marked with special ceremonies or gatherings that honor the individual’s life and contributions.
Reflection on Societal Changes: A person who is 75 years old has witnessed substantial societal and technological changes over their lifetime. Their experiences offer a unique perspective on how the world has evolved over decades.

In essence, being 75 years old is a time of celebration and reflection, honoring a long life lived and looking forward to the future with appreciation for the journey so far.

When someone is described as “three quarters of a century old,” it means they are 75 years old. This phrase adds a layer of formality and historical depth to the age. Here’s what it conveys:

Historical Context: The phrase highlights the span of 75 years as a significant period in history, suggesting that the individual has lived through a considerable portion of modern history, witnessing and experiencing many changes and events.
Significant Milestone: It frames the age as a noteworthy achievement, emphasizing the milestone of reaching 75 years. The term “three quarters of a century” underscores the considerable duration and the importance of the individual’s longevity.
Reflective Perspective: Using this phrase often implies a reflective perspective on the person’s life, acknowledging the depth of experience and the impact of their journey over a substantial period.
Formal and Poetic Tone: The expression lends a formal or poetic tone to the description of age, making it sound more grand and significant compared to simply stating “75 years old.”

In essence, “three quarters of a century old” celebrates the achievement of reaching 75 years with a sense of historical and personal importance, highlighting both the length of time and the depth of life experience.

I have to admit, that I do like the poetic aspect of “three quarters of a century”. It has a bit of a ring to it don’t you think.

Reading these items does indeed cause me to reflect.

I won’t go into great depth today but would like to highlight a few things.

Reflection: It has been an interesting journey thus far with still more to go. My intent is to share some of my life’s journey and accomplishments using this blog and other parts of my Wee Internet Empire, as I have done already to a degree with more to be forthcoming.

Family: As some of you know, I have, for many years, been working on our family history, and am now back to the early 1600’s. Learning where one comes from and where the extended family comes from is quite facinating. As far as the current group, Kim and I have a blended family. Three daughters, one son, one cat, one daughter in law, two sons in law, four granddaughters, three grandsons, three grandcats and one granddog, spread across England, Canada and Malaysia.

Health: Generally things are going along pretty well, although it seems I’m slowly becoming more bionic with a hip replacement last year and an implantable cardiac device just recently. The idea is to say around for a while longer.

Societal Changes: I certainly will have to write more about this subject. We are all familiar with the current technology, and for comparison, I can remember when we got our first huge sized black and white TV. It would seem there is much inbetween. Then we have the myriad ways that the world community has changed and modified over the passage of time, some ways good, some ways not so much. Yep, to look back is quite something.

All in all, the fact that I am on the good side of the grass, am able to do more or less what I want, with whom I want to, and am in a position to help and support others, means things are going pretty well, and I am thankful for that.

As always, any thoughts or feedback that you might have are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for visiting, take care of yourself, and when you get a chance, look out and take care of others.

Kiwanis – Making My Heart Feel Good

For most of this century, thus far, I have been a member of Kiwanis.

Upon reading that, some will nod their head and smile knowingly. Others will cock their head to the side with a puzzled look on their face. You see, not everyone knows what “Kiwanis” is.

Put simply, “Kiwanis is all about kids”. That’s what I respond when asked, and even when not asked, that’s what I tell people.

Kiwanis is an international, community based, organization comprised of people who care about children and youths. In many ways we consider ourselves to be a family, a family comprised of close to 450,000 members around the world.

The mission statement for Kiwanis International is: Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. The most commonly used hashtag is: #KidsNeedKiwanis.

I became a member of the Kiwanis Club of South Edmonton in 2001, and over the years have filled a number of positions within the club, such as Secretary, Webmaster and President. I have also been Division Six Lieutenent Governor, and Western Canada District Governor.

Also, my wife Kim has been a member of our club since 2004. As some of you may know, Kim and I consider Malacca, Malaysia, to be our second home, and both of us are involved with Kiwanis Malaysia District, being members there as well for a number of years.

Now, my intent with this blog post is not to tell you all about Kiwanis, although I do strongly suggest you read more about this fine organization by clicking on the links above. Rather I will be sharing a few of my Kiwanis experiences to try and explain how and why Kiwanis means so much to Kim and I.

I should let you know that I do not “grade” my Kiwanis experiences as they are all equally special to me. As well, the time frames make no difference. So, in no particular order, here we go.

Back in the late 1950’s our club decided to develop some lakefront property west of Edmonton into a camp for children with disabilities. In 1960 Camp Health, Hope & Happiness (Camp HeHoHa) opened and it has grown larger and stronger since. Along with fellow club members and others, I have visited the camp regularly for many years. While there we get to witness how powerful the camp experience is for those children attending. They feel free because all those around them have some form of disability as well.

It was on one of my visits that I had, what we often call, a “Kiwanis moment”. At the camp is a climbing wall, about twenty metres high, and it gets quite a bit of use from the campers. On this day, I watched a young disabled child climb the wall, by herself, all the way to the top. You can tell by the look on her face after she came down what it meant to her. While watching her I was thinking that our Kiwanis Club made it possible for her being able to be there and climb that wall. I still marvel at that to this day, and it makes me feel very proud.

While in Malaysia, when a person says Kiwanis, people often think of Down Syndrome, and when people mention Down Syndrome, folks often think of Kiwanis. In 1989 the Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur decided there should be support for children with Down Syndrome. From that came the Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation and five Kiwanis Down Syndrome Centres around the country. Kim and I have been often to the KDSC in Kuala Lumpur and frequently volunteer at the KDSC in Melaka, where we live while in Malaysia.

One of the activities at the KDSC Melaka is their Annual Sports Day, with a great many activities arranged for the children to take part in. The children, parents and Kiwanians, all have great fun and laughter together.

After the games were over, it was time to eat and then time for prizes. There were awards for all participants as these games were not for serious competition, but for fun and the joyous enjoyment of doing things together. As I was a “distinguished visitor from Canada”, being Kiwanis Western Canada Governor at the time, I was asked to present some of the prizes to the children. This I was more than happy to do. And it paid me big time. While I was presenting a prize to the young lady in the photo she looked at me. It is difficult for me to describe how I felt at that instant, but every time I tell people about it I cry, as I’m doing now while typing this. To this day I say thank goodness Kim was taking many photos and happened to catch that exact moment.

The third moment I will share today is a program that our club has had for a very long time. I was of course introduced to it as a club member.

Certainly a great many folks are familiar with Reading Week, where local celebraties and others will go to schools and read to the students there. This usually happens towards the end of September. The program offered by our club (and other clubs), is similar however is an ongoing event, several times a year. It is called “Reading Is Fundamental”. Our club member would go to an inner city daycare and not only read to the children, but give the each child a book, including the one that was read to them. For many of the children it may be the first book they have ever had, and at times the only book that they might get. My parents made sure that I grew up reading books, for which I am thankful. Knowing that our presence at the inner city daycare could make a difference in a child’s life is indeed a good feeling. After the reading there would be a healthy snack for all.

Now these are but three of the aspects of Kiwanis, however I hope they give you an idea of why Kiwanis means so much to those who have been lucky enough to become members.

Doing things for the children of the world, whether they be in our own communities, or on the other side of the globe is both necessary and rewarding. Click the links above, read more, check out the Kiwanis Club in your area, they’d welcome your questions and your membership. The emotional awards can be great.

Thanks for joining me today, I hope you enjoyed my blog post. Your feedback is alway welcome and appreciated. Until next time, look after yourself and look out for others.

Can We Just Talk – Like We Used To

Today, I’m doing a little reminiscing about years gone by.

Back in the early days of Twitter, now “X”, Edmonton was known as a hotspot for activity. We were known, not only locally, but much more widely, as one of the most active Twitter areas in the world.

Back in those days it was indeed a “social” network, as we would actually talk to each other, share thoughts and ideas. There was essentially no animosity. We would of course at times disagree, however that would usually result in a discussion, and often there would be a resolution of the matter.

Even better than that however, we would meet. Yes, meet. Face to face. We would have a “Tweet-Up”, where we would get together and chat, and in so many cases, become friends.

Some tweet-ups were planned, but many were spontaneous. Someone would tweet that they would be at such-and-such mall food court for a while, giving a time. Lo and behold, while they were there someone would stop by and join them for bit. This actually happened quite often. Planned tweet-ups were usually in the evenings and would be more of a social gathering. At times, we would gather to benefit some organization, such as having a mini fundraiser.

It was essentially through Twitter, and these Tweet-ups, that I got to know so many people in Edmonton, a large number of whom I remain in touch with to this day. They were truly great times.

My reminiscing today comes as I am making a small effort to perhaps recreate some of those times by starting what I’m calling a “Chat-Up”, on a weekly basis. As I write this, I’m sitting at the designated location for my second Chat-up, waiting to see who might drop by. The first time I did it there was one person who dropped by.

After posting the event on social media I did get several responses, however to this point only from those who said sorry but they were out of town or unable to come due to work, but they liked the idea and would try next time. But it’s a start. You know, the “Rome wasn’t built in a day” concept.

My thinking is, with all the crap that seems to be going on in our world these days, the odd get-together for plain and simple friendly conversation would be a good thing. I really miss hearing people actually discuss something without the fear that fisticuffs would transpire. I do have hope.

Here I am, home now. It was a quiet time at Koffee Cafe again this morning. However I do like the owners there and the atmosphere is friendly. Have been going there well over ten years.

I will post the “Chat-Up” time and place again for next week and see what happens. Regardless it’s a nice place to have Friday morning tea.

What are your thoughts? Do you still meet for chat in person, or does that even appeal to you these days?

For me, I like to keep in contact with as many people as possible. My choices are, in order of preference:

In person
By video
By phone
By messaging

Would you like to chat with me, in person or otherwise? You can find out more about me by visiting my Wee Internet Empire and subscribing to my Old Guy, New Tricks newsletter.

Thanks for reading, I do appreciate your support. Until next time, look after yourself, and watch out for others.

Two Goods – Samaritan and Service

So this past Sunday afternoon, wife Kim was at work, cat Otis was sleeping, the sun was shining, and my motorcycle called me from the garage. I answered, and we set out for a wee ride.

It was a nice ride, mostly secondary roads, not much traffic, quite relaxing.

Well actually, it was mostly a nice ride. I rode south from Edmonton, then headed west through Wetaskiwin, north to Carvel and then east towards Leduc.

Just after leaving Carvel came a loud rumbling kind noise to the rear of the bike and the bike began to shake. Came to a stop and tried to diagnose the issue. Accelerating, noise. Coasting, no noise. Hmm… seems to be powertrain. Crawl under the bike, grasp the drive shaft… oh oh, it’s not supposed to move like that. Conclusion… seems to be an issue with the rear end/differential.

Action taken. Four way flashers activated and call AMA (Alberta Motor Association) to arrange for a tow home. Approximately 1900 hrs contact made, location confirmed and tow request made. Told I will receive notification when operator is dispatched. About 2030 hrs call made to AMA to update status.

Once again getting an excellent phone operator, I was told they had good news and bad news. The good news being that I had been assigned a mobile operator, Justin. The bad news, he was currently involved with a call in Stony Plain, and once complete would have to travel to Leduc to pick up the appropriate service vehicle for my bike, a flat deck truck. Anticipated time of arrival would be 2245 hrs.

No worries, it was a pleasant evening. However, I noted that my 4-way flashers were becoming dim. Oh oh, and battery was too low to start bike. Oh drat. Now getting dark, and I should mention Hwy 39 is a very busy highway. On top of that, the friendly neighbourhood mosquitos decided to come and visit. Maybe no longer such a pleasant evening.

And then, a small red car passed by, slowed down, turned around, stopped on the other side of the road, and the driver crossed over to see what the problem was.

Lisa, the good samaritan, had arrived. She introduced herself, indicating that she rode with her biker boyfriend, and that she knew many bikers in the area, so she felt that she had to stop. She offered to see if she could get someone from Calmar or Leduc to help me out. I told her thank you much, however AMA was on the way.

Seeing that my 4-way flasher was not working she turned her car around, parking behind me with her 4-way lighting up the road. She then offered me a seat in her car, shielded from the mosquitos, staying until Justin arrived with the AMA service truck. While we waited, she spoke with Gord, her boyfriend, letting him know what was going on, and I spoke with my wife Kim, so that she would not worry. We had a great discussion, becoming friends, in person and on Facebook.

When Justin arrived, she gave me a hug and headed off home. We also arranged that Kim and I would see her and Gord on Tuesday at bike night.

Justin, from AMA, immediately proceeded to load the trike on the flat deck, working with great efficiency and keeping me engaged with the process as well. Once loaded, off we went, heading to my place, chatting about a number of things along the way. Justin was from the north, had been doing this work in the Edmonton area for about ten years. He very much enjoys his work and likes the company he works for.

Upon arriving at my house, Justin arranged his truck so that bike, when unloaded, was right in front of the garage door, where Kim was waiting, and it was an easy push to get it into the garage. Great work all round from him.

Justin was the good service.

Even though an unfortunate event had ended my ride early, the day was, in my consideration, an overall positive event. I got to meet Lisa, the good samaritan, and Justin, the good service provider.

As an addendum, Kim and I did go to bike night, met up with Lisa and Gord, and had a great time with them and a number of their friends. We are staying in touch and will get together with them again.

Same Thing + Different Circumstances = Different Feelings

After having a seemingly empty brain with my social media “Wee Internet Empire” since just prior to my surgery three weeks ago, over the last couple of days I found myself to be quite reflective. Ergo, a blog post appears.

During the past three years I have gone through several phases of doing the same thing, however each phase was for a different reason.

The same thing that I have been doing is staying home, keeping to myself, doing little or nothing with others and even, at times, doing little outside my home office, or at times, in my home office as well, by myself.

So… the first circumstance is probably the most obvious one to most of you. Covid, the pandemic, whatever you want to call it.

Upon returning early in March 2020 from our trip to Malaysia we went immediately into lock-down, or was it locked-in, or perhaps locked-up. Regardless, the aspect of any form of personal contact with others, even family not in the same domicile ceased to exist, we all became persona non grata, pariahs, potential carriers to be avoided or even shunned.

Sure, I could leave the house, but couldn’t go anywhere there were people. It seems that effectively narrowed it down. As the summer weather arrived I would go for the occasional solo motorcycle ride to nowhere, meaning I would ride out in some direction for a while, then turn around and head home. Later on I was actually able to ride with a few fellow veterans. On these rides we would usually remain on our bikes when stopped, maintaining a two metre spacing between us.

For the first year, the weather was pretty agreeable and I was able to ride from about mid May until December. Yes, my last ride of the year was 06 Dec.

Winter then put a kibosh on things, particularly as many restaurants were shut down and the usual family Christmas was by phone.

With the weather being accommodating, I was back on the bike by mid-March, with the summer becoming more or less a repeat of the previous year. Then the bike developed a serious ailment and was at the bike doctor for two months.

It was about this time that the first circumstance was winding down. Covid was still present, however generally society had adapted and some semblance of routine was beginning to emerge.

For me however, I was preparing to enter my second circumstance.

My hip was now bothering me more and there were often times when I would not even attempt to ride my bike as it was painful to do so. This resulted in the bike going into hibernation in September and remaining there until April of the following year, 2022. After that for the next few months, outings did occur, however were very sporadic and the bike was returned to hibernation in September.

At the same time, a combination of factors caused me to be in a very bad head space. On the medical side, I was going through some problems with my lower legs resulting in hospital visits and regular home care visits, all of which had placed my hip surgery on indefinite hold. Mentally, the aspect of not being able to physically do a variety of things I had been doing all my life, combined with the feeling of being a burden with others having to do things I should be doing, had me basically isolating myself at home and partaking in few activities. Interestingly, I knew that these events were part of life, and that I shouldn’t be having negative thoughts about what I was going through. The problem was, knowing that, but not doing that, made things worse as I would beat myself up for being such a dolt, and, as most of you probably know, nobody can beat me up any better than I can.

Anyway, that was basically the second circumstance.

The third circumstance is happening now, as I write this blog post.

On 27 April I finally went in for my total hip replacement surgery. The surgery was successful, I came home the next day, my recovery started, and at this writing (23 days later) is progressing very well. So I am required to use my crutches and walker, exercise and am instructed not to drive for about six weeks. As a result I am dependent upon Kim to drive me to appointments or any other outings, requiring her to take time off work or change her work schedule, to do so. This is something I try to avoid doing, so I am home most of the time with Otis the cat.

This was the point where I became reflective about the three times l was more or less isolated at home, each for different reasons. As an aside, while reflecting on this I was reminded of a 1963 hit song (Alone) In My Room by Willie & the Walkers, a popular Edmonton group that I enjoyed while growing up.

So… three times I did the same thing, staying at home for an extended period of time. Each time was the result of a different set of circumstances. The first time due to the Covid pandemic, second due to my mental state, and the third due to my surgery. Not only was there three sets of circumstances, I realized that there were three completely different sets of feelings.

Cue the feelings comparisons.

Circumstance Number 1 (Covid) – During the pandemic, collectively we had a most serious situation, and staying home was one of the ways that I could support addressing this situation. I wasn’t fussy about it, however I did feel it was something that could help. I was also introduced to the previously unknown term “Zoom Call”. Basically my feeling was, this is not great but it is necessary, so let’s deal with it.

Circumstance Number 2 (Head Space) – During this period I would have a variety of feelings. I would have periods of low self-confidence, low self-esteem and even low self-worth. I would have periods of self-pity, but more often I would be mad and frustrated because I felt I was causing a burden to Kim and others around me as they had to do extra work and I felt I could not do activities which I considered it was my responsibility to do.

Circumstance Number 3 (Post Surgery) – Physically after the surgery I’m feeling fine, I like not having any pain, I feel my mobility getting better all the time. I know that I need to follow the post-surgery instructions, and pretty much am doing so. So what are my basic feelings? I’m bored and lonely. Everything is in place for me to be out and about whenever and wherever I would like except for that one thing, post-surgery instructions.

So how do these three sets of feelings compare.

I much prefer Circumstance 3, as I know the future is good and I just need to be patient.

Circumstance 1 was not a fun time, however it was something shared between millions of people and, in my view, was most necessary. Let’s work on not have to do something like that again.

Circumstance 2 was an unpleasant time. I know it’s also a type of time that many people go through, in some form or other. To let people know they are not alone in that regard was one of the reasons for writing this blog post in the first place, and sharing some of my not so happy feelings. Thank goodness Kim was able to deal with my mood swings, it was difficult for her for sure but I’m blessed that she stuck with me.

Well, there you have it. A few snippets of my life over the past three years. Of course I have not done “chapter and verse” of absolutely all that transpired. I just wanted to pass along some basic circumstances and the feelings associated with them.

Thanks for reading. Catch next time. Please take care of yourself and look out of others.

So… What’s Up, What’s Happening, What’s Going Down

This morning I was starting to put together my latest newsletter (you can subscribe here), and I was going to use the words above as my lead in as it’s an expression that I have been using for a great many years. Then I thought about it and decided that I would write a blog post with those words as the title.

Just for interest, I then Googled them. The first things that came up were a 1992 song from 4 Non Blondes called What’s Up? and a 1966 song from Buffalo Springfield called For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound).

As it turns out, as an old fart, both of these songs are quite familiar to me, and both have developed a large following, being considered as either a protest or an type of anthem by those at the time.

For myself, I feel that both could be entirely applicable to events of the current times.

That being said, these songs were not what generated the thought process for this blog post.

Rather, it was a bit of contemplation of recent personal happenings.

Top of mind, yesterday, along with several Kiwanis colleagues, I attended a memorial service for a friend and long time club member. Ed Bean was a member of the Kiwanis Club of South Edmonton for sixty-five years, caring deeply about anything which would benefit young people. More than that, he was a pillar of the Edmonton community. He helped create and maintain Crystal Kids, an organization teaching, mentoring and nurturing at-risk, inner city kids, named after Crystal Glass, a company he formed in 1949. He was involved, over the years, in a great many community positive happenings as well as being a member of the Edmonton Investors Group which owned the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League from 1998 to 2008. A true people person, Ed will be sorely missed, however his heritage will live long.

I recently set up and started a private family Facebook group, designed to introduce and acquaint diverse family members with each other. Like many families, as time has passed many of us are not familiar with distant cousins, and even may not actually know that we have these cousins. (And no, I’m not providing a link for this blog post, that’s what private is all about.)

As I’m working on this group, I have been delving more and more into our family history. It keeps getting more interesting, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the odd time someone shows up that I knew about, but didn’t know we were related. I do imagine there are many families which may be like that. Check into yours, never know what you’ll find.

Another thing going on, there is a chance that I may actually have my hip replacement surgery on the horizon. As a result, I’m once again going through a battery of tests, procedures and activities in preparation. Perhaps this time it will actually happen. Fingers crossed.

There are a few other things going on that I won’t bore you with. Be it known however, that snow, ice and cold weather are still “in vogue” here in Edmonton and as such the trike and SLK are still ensconced in the garage. (Now I’m making a sad face.)

Bottom line… life is proceeding in it’s unique fashion and our job is to do our best to adapt to it’s flow. It seems to last longer that way.

This Retirement Thing

Today I have been thinking.

Now, to some who know me, that would be considered a dangerous thing.

Perhaps not, today anyway. However it has been an interesting thing for me. A bit interesting that is. You see, it’s a holiday Monday, here in Alberta it’s called Family Day.

One might imagine that due to the day, I would be thinking about family, and I did a little, however my main thinking has been about my retirement, and some of the factors which have been affecting it.

It is no surprise that topping the list has been COVID. I use capital letters here because that was the way it arrived. Now it has become more like #@&%*$ Covid.

For millions of people, the ramifications of Covid threw the proverbial monkey wrench into the system. My thinking today is more limited to retired folks, because I are one.

Back in late 2018 I retired for the final time, and yes, I even had plans. More than just plans, they were being put into practice.

For a good portion of the winter I would be in Malaysia, based at our apartment, spending time with family, friends and just doing some traveling around. My wife Kim would join me for part of the time as she was still working. The late spring, summer and early autumn would involve quite a bit of time on my motorcycle, going on rides with mates and fellow veterans, or just by myself touring around Alberta. On the weekends my wife and I would relax and travel around a bit, as well as being involved in weekend motorcycle and other community events.

For 2019 most went according to plan. I spent three months in Malaysia, Kim with me for a month. Summer saw some 6000 kilometres put on the bike and we were involved in various activities most every weekend. Right up to the end of the year we took part in both Kiwanis and veterans events. Life was doing okay.

2020 started out quite well, however there seemed to be ominous rumblings. Mid February Kim and I were off to Malaysia for six weeks. For the first three weeks we were joined by our daughter and her husband from Edmonton. For me this was a big event as she would meet her two sisters in Malaysia, in person for the very first time. (If you have been following my blog posts over the years you’ll know we have a blended family.)

After we arrived, the ominous rumblings increased, and people started talking about this Covid thing. The first three weeks went well, daughter and her husband headed home, and the rumblings increased. After another week they were more than rumblings and we reluctantly made the decision to err on the side of caution and headed back to Edmonton ten days earlier than planned.

Turns out, it was a good decision, as air traffic was essentially shut down shortly after we got home. We had to do our two week quarantine and then Kim was laid off as her workplace was shut down (only for about three months it turned out).

I’m sure that everyone is pretty familiar with what followed for the remainder of 2020 and basically all of 2021, so I’ll just talk about how this affected the retirement thing.

Now is a good time to touch on another factor affecting retirement, that being my health. I have always had a pretty robust immune system, however I have had some mobility issues, particularly in the last ten years. I was diagnosed with a bad hip and the decision was made to put me on the list for a total hip replacement. For those who have experienced this, it is an interesting process. Immediately I was scheduled for a whole battery of tests, including, but not limited to x-rays, heart tests, lung tests, dental tests, nervous systems tests, and more. These are all intended to determine if I was suitable for surgery.

All the tests were completed, however our friend Covid had laid a beating on all scheduled surgeries. Then, towards the end of 2021, I was notified to expect surgery in January 2022. About the same time I received a small injury to my lower leg and it was slow healing, which they thought likely due to me being diabetic. Injury, small or not, has a risk of infection, hence the surgery was cancelled.

Turned out that over the years I have developed poor circulation in my lower legs, causing my legs to be discoloured, and have extremally thin skin, which can be easily abrased, and any wounds would be very slow healing. Following that determination, there came extensive treatment by the wound clinic and home health care (kudos and thanks to these awesome medical professionals). End result, I will now be wearing compression stockings for the remainder of my time.

Good news is, the surgeon seems happy with my condition now and I may be looking at surgery in April of this year. After still more tests of course.

Now, back to this retirement thing.

Of course, any social activity had become a non-starter during 2020, so it was just me, or Kim and I, for the majority of the time. With my hip issues, I made the change from two wheels to three and bought a trike to ride. This made Kim happy and she now rode with me quite a bit. Between the two bikes I managed to put on over 8000 kilometres in 2020. As well the weather was helpful as Kim and I had our last ride of the year the first week of December. Throughout the year our riding was mostly solo. On the odd occasion we rode with others, whenever stopped we would be outside and maintain the suggested two metre distance.

For 2021, social activity remained at a minimum. Kim would go to work and get groceries, being masked and maintaining her distance at all times. Basically I would just stay home, so much that even Otis the cat was getting tired of me. Between the weather, a blown radiator and my leg issues, less than 4000 kilometres was accomplished on the bike. Veterans gatherings were almost nonexistent, while Kiwanis took on an extremely low profile.

2022 was more of the same, however we were starting to get out for our weekly dim sum, socially distanced of course. For me, I think Otis was starting to maybe like having me around, or not. He’s a cat so go figure. Very little riding this year, only about 4000 kilometres again. For my legs they were doing regular appointments as well as home care, so I had to be cautious and was not able to plan much. Come summer our veterans group was having weekly gatherings once more, however they were socially distanced in a parking lot. Oh well, at least we were getting together. Then in the fall, we were able to get together, actually inside. With some of our members being immune compromised, they were not comfortable attending. For Kiwanis, meetings were by Zoom only.

In September, we were lucky enough to add a vehicle to our garage. Defined as a Classic is our 1999 Mercedes SLK 230 sports car. For the next couple of months it was able to steal a few thousand kilometres from the trike, however they seem to get along well anyway. The nice thing is that it expands our ability to have some fun travel, day runs on the trike and longer with the Merc.

So now, here we are in 2023.

Soon it will be three years since we have seen our daughters and grandchildren in Malaysia. Otis and I have held down the home front with me getting out of the house for a few hours averaging one day a week. On occasion maybe two. Right now, this is retirement for me… my house. What day of the week is it? Oh it must be the weekend because Kim is home on Saturday and half of Sunday, and sometimes on a holiday (she works most holidays).

But, things are looking up. As I mentioned, possible surgery in April. Late last year I had a coffee with a friend, then with another friend in January, and now one tomorrow, this with a regular coffee mate from before Covid, but now for the first time in about two years or so. The two “summer rides” are resting in the garage, awaiting Spring and the opportunity to get out and about. An increased level of activity with Kiwanis is being contemplated. Our veterans group is getting together more often. And… we hope to be back in Malaysia about a year from now.

So… the retirement thing, what’s it all about. My experiences have been up and down, back and forth, good and bad. Well, that’s what life is, not only for me, but for every person experiencing the retirement thing. We are all different, not better or worse. All unique!

I’ve thrown a bit of light on my retirement thing, how is yours going?

Want to share? Please do! It would be great to hear from you.

Until next time. Ciao!

A Lot On My Mind

My readers may have noticed that I have not published a blog, or done anything else on my Wee Internet Empire, for over three weeks. As indicated, with some humour, by the graphic to the right, I have had a lot on my mind and been going through a few things, both physically and mentally, for the past while. A combination of events, and non-events, have caused me to withdraw and basically isolate myself from most things, witnessed, and lovingly supported, mainly by my dear wife Kim and resident guard cat Otis. I have also appreciated having support from my friends Margaret and Rob.

I guess I’m kind of a funny guy. Not funny Ha Ha, but rather different from the way many would imagine. Of course, like everyone, I am an individual, unique each in our own ways. Years ago, a friend of mine coined a word, which I use to this day, to describe someone, even perhaps me. He called them una-que, kind of a play on unique.

Although I like people and am at times considered a people person, I am, and always have been, pretty much of a loner, used to spending lengthy times alone, be it at home, or at work before I retired. I also tend to be a square peg in a round hole kind of person. Or maybe a round peg in a square hole, never could figure that out for sure. Because of this, on occasion the aspect of “blending with my peers” can be a bit difficult, resulting, at times, in less that full involvement in activities. As I say, we are all a bit different.

Recently, during the last couple of months, for various reasons, it seems that I have been in a real funk, with an extremely low motivation factor. You may have heard some version of this expression from different people — “that my get up and go has got up and went”. In my case, my get up and go never appeared in the first place. Over the years I have learned that if one doesn’t do anything then absolutely nothing gets done.

So… how does one get out of this situation. In my case, I am working on a few different things. For one, I am writing this blog (although it is taking a while). For another, just recently I went down to my garage and fired up my motorcycle, which had not been run for over five months. Something about winter and snow on the ground. It started right away and was talking to me, asking me when we could get out and back on the road. I am wondering the same thing, however the time is getting close.

Another thing of interest is that I have developed a couple of friends on TikTok and SnapChat (go figure) who are encouraging me to get the Wee Internet Empire active again. This support is appreciated and does provide some incentive for me to push forward.

I will at times talk about different aspects affecting me and my intent is to inform, to indicate why I may be doing things in a certain way. I try to totally avoid “crying the blues” as these are my issues, not yours.

A couple of positives lately. Our oldest granddaughter, who lives in Malaysia, is now close to recovery after having tested positive for Covid-19. Also, Tracy, a friend of ours recently completed her cancer radiation therapy and was able to “ring the bell”, signifying the completion of successful treatment.

It is often said that writing, or doing things, is therapeutic. I like to think that, and so am embarking on “doing things”, or to put it succinctly, “get my ass in gear”, with the support of my “world wide” fans (hey, I can wish… right?).

Plans are in the works for a couple of podcasts, some photo updates to Flickr, maybe some video to Vimeo/YouTube, and even a YouTube livestream (Rob has placed a burr under my saddle for this).

I invite you to visit my website, where you can learn more about me and see some of the things I’ve been up to. Also, why not subscribe to my newsletter, to be updated on my activities and see links to others who are doing their own great things.

As always, thanks for reading. Comments and feedback are always welcome.

虎年 – Year of the Tiger

2022 年 2 月 1 日

February 1, 2022

新年快乐！恭喜发财!

Happy New Year! Wish you prosperity and wealth!

对于我们家来说，农历新年是按照中国传统来庆祝的。我们是一个混合家庭。我的妻子是来自马来西亚的华人，我们有两个女儿，他们的孩子住在马来西亚。在我这边，我们有一个女儿和她的丈夫在加拿大，一个儿子和他的妻子在英国

For our family, the Lunar New Year is celebrated with Chinese traditions. We are a blended family. My wife is Chinese from Malaysia, on her side of the blend we have two daughters, with their children, who live in Malaysia. On my side of the blend we have a daughter with her husband in Canada and a son with his wife in England.

由于农历新年对我们家来说是一件重要的事情，所以我选择用中英文写这篇博文。我使用谷歌翻译，它做得非常好（虽然不完美）。

Due to the fact that Chinese New Year is an important event to our family, I have chosen to do this blog post in both Chinese and English. I use Google Translate which does a most excellent (although not perfect) job.

在新的一年里，我代表我自己和我的家人，向所有人致以健康、幸福和成功的祝福。愿我们在和平、和谐与理解中生活在一起，共享这个地球。

For the coming year, on behalf of myself and my family, I sent along wishes for good health, happiness and success, to all. May we live together, sharing this earth, in peace, harmony and understanding.

谢谢！- Thank you!

Internet Empire – The Back Story

Firstly, for clarification, I am using the term “Internet Empire” in a fun way.

As I have indicated in a previous post, I have been doing things on the world wide web for well over 40 years. I have been doing blogs, in various forms, as well as Facebook and Twitter, since 2008, for work, volunteer organizations, and myself.

As we all are quite aware, life has changed, some would say drastically, over the past couple of years. For me, it goes a bit further back.

I retired from my final job at the end of 2018 with the plan that I would spend some of my winter time in Malaysia and my summer time enjoying my motorcycle here in sunny Alberta. That worked to a degree for a couple of years, but, as often happens, life got in the way.

The pain I had been experiencing in my hip got worse and was eventually diagnosed as arthritis, to be remedied at some time by a hip replacement. This impacted a number of things, one being my overall mobility, and another my motorcycle riding. It’s hard to ride when one cannot swing one’s leg over the bike. For a biker, not being able to ride creates an unhappy place to be. Over the course of the next two summers I went through two more motorcycles, eventually coming to the one I have now. It is a trike that I am able to mount properly and now I don’t have to worry about my leg strength for stability.

Then, along came COVID-19 (followed by how many variants we have yet to find out). Now traveling to Malaysia is out, for who knows how long. It has also put a severe crimp on social and family gatherings, motorcycle events, volunteer group activities and activities with my local veterans group. As well, it has created another factor into the potential scheduling of my hip replacement surgery.

As a result, I’m literally sitting like a bump on a log at home, retired, mobility challenged, Covid restricted, and in the middle of a -30C (at times) Alberta winter.

Quite honestly, it was depressing, and I found myself imitating Jerry Seinfeld and doing nothing, although it seemed to work way better for him than for me.

I would like to say, then came an epiphany, however that was not the case. It was more like a gradual thought process. It started with the thought that, as an amateur photographer for many years, I might have some photos or even some videos that folks might like to see. Obviously, they are not doing much good just stored on my computer or in a trunk in the garage. Then came the thought that I like to write, and I do have some good stories to tell from the last 70+ years. After working with different youth groups over the last 15-20 years I have become familiar with various smartphone apps like WeChat, WhatsApp, Telegram, SnapChat and so on, so that I could stay in touch with them. They were impressed that the Old Guy could actually do that.

After pondering these thoughts for a while, I figured, maybe I can put all these things together (and perhaps some others as well), give myself something to do, and have fun doing it. Maybe even provide a commodity others may find interesting as well.

Hence came into being, the concept of an Internet Empire. It may not be grand in scope, however it is meaningful to me, and in the end, maybe that’s the most important thing.

This Internet Empire is moving along. I now have a website, LeSueur.ca, with links to my various internet platforms. Just recently I have have created a newsletter, Old Guy, New Tricks, where I can notify folks when I update any of my platforms (like this blog) or share other information. I invite you to subscribe.

As this process has moved forward, I find I am contacting with more people from all over. Now I subscribe to a good number of blogs (as you can see off to the right), quite a few YouTube channels, Flickr sites, and such. In addition to being very interesting, I have been able to learn many new online techniques as well.

So, this is a bit of the back story for my Internet Empire. You are welcome to have a look around, comment on things and share with your friends. All are welcome.