Sunday, February 11, 2007

It has been a GRAND day... mostly

Working Sunday sucks. I love the work I do, but the fact that I have to do it weeknights and weekends when I'd rather be doing a lot of other things really tempers things.

But things at work are getting better. We almost have the new automation tamed, although it does throw some unexpected curves at us occasionally.

Another thing getting me down today was that my hockey team was playing the first game of the playoffs, and I couldn't be there. But the boys won 4-2, and apparently played a great game all around. On the up side, I can go to tomorrow's game, because Monday and Tuesday are my days off. So put two ticks on the plus side.

After work, I went to my sister's place for my birthday supper, albeit three days late. (And yes, we call it supper, not dinner. My parents and grandparents always used "dinner" in reference to the midday meal that most us now call lunch). The roast beef with mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, Yorkshire pudding and tomato sauce cake were all excellent. Another big tick on the plus side.

Here's what made it a GRAND day: Also awaiting me at my sister's house was a birthday card with some lottery scratch tickets inside, and I won a thousand dollars! A grand tick on the plus side.

When I got home, I told Little Bro Dan on MSN about winning the thousand bucks. He phoned right away, to give me his mailing address, so I would know where to send his share. Talking to him is always a tick on the plus side.

But he also phoned to tell me that a young guy who played on a hockey team I managed in the early 1990s and with whom Dan has worked a couple times, committed suicide. My heart is aching for the young guy (early 30s, I think) and his parents, who are wonderful people.

That kind of puts a damper on my grand day, while also putting life into its proper perspective. It also makes me that much happier that I can spend some time with my hockey team tomorrow night. I've really missed the boys the past couple of weeks, with my schedule and theirs not meshing. I saw them briefly last night at a pizza get-together after their practice. They all seemed genuinely happy to see me, with several of them telling me how they've missed me, a couple of them asking whether I would be at today's game, and settling for the consolation that I'll be there tomorrow. All that, too, provides proper perspective on days like today.

On MSN, under my name, the signature line or whatever it's called has a motto that I like to think I live my life by. I first saw it on a plaque that my cousin has at her beautiful cottage in the North Laurentians : "Work like you don't need the money; love like you've never been hurt; and dance like nobody's watching". Amen to that.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

NGB, does this mean I can expect flowers on Valentine's day?? I'm sorry about the young man as well, having almost been there done that, I know that life is delicate. Have fun with your grand...now you can go post-Christmas shopping!!

Anonymous said...

Way to go Bobby!
My mailing address is ... lol

Maria

JB said...

Congratulations on the 1000 bucks, and also the Yorkshire pudding. I could eat that stuff all day.

Our family also referred to the evening meal as supper, and to lunch as dinner.
...Another sign we may be brothers from different mothers, perhaps.

Maria said...

Good for you NGB... I never thought anyone actually wins anything more than a FREE scratch ticket on those things. Glad you did.

JB said...

Actually, a free scratch feels pretty good every once and a while, too, Maria.

Ma Horton said...

Grand is grand .

Maria said...

LOL JB...
Sometimes I wish someone would scratch my back. But both my kids know when I am going to ask for one and thats the time they pretend to be sleeping.

N@ Lauzon said...

Condolences re: the young man. ERGH.
Sometimes we gots to just shake our heads.

And also---nice work on the moolah. :)