The Mega 80s Mixtape concerts are done now. A pleasant memory and a great time! Sean, Matt, and I (The Three Amigos) had fun emceeing. We got to be silly and stand in front of the choir instead of being at the back for the whole show. š We had even more fun planning and…
I started May writing a post about creativity. Here we are into the final week of the month and thatās the only post that Iāve written so far. But it has been a very creative month! Iāve spent my creativity in other areas than blog post writing. Itās been a great month for my playwriting.…
In February, I said that my word for the Year of the Groon 63 was ācreateā. Iām a couple of months into Groon 63 and itās been going well. As usual, I was a bit slow getting started with my creating. But by mid-March, I had a rhythm going of writing 100 words a day…
Around the Bay 2026 is done. And I survived. I completed the race in 3 hours 53 minutes and 36 seconds. I was about 4 minutes slower than my time last year. A mantra that I kept repeating to myself during the run was: You are running your race. You are only competing against yourself.…
Tomorrow is the Around The Bay road race 2026 edition. Iāve picked up my Race Kit: my race bib and shirt. I did my last training run yesterday. I can take it easy until tomorrow morning. I signed up for the race in September, so thereās been a few months to prepare for it. Unlike…
We just got back from Easter dinner at my sisterās place. And Iām feeling grateful. It was a lovely family gathering. Most of my immediate family was there. The only ones missing were our son and his family and two nieces and a nephew. But my sister also invited some of our cousins. We had…
This week, I was at a play reading committee for a community theatre group. We were discussing twelve plays that we had all read over the last few weeks. The group is trying to determine the playbill for an upcoming season. We come from different walks of life and have different tastes. It wasnāt easy…
The Around the Bay race is only two weeks away. The countdown is on. Today, I ran my last long run before the race. 26 km. Next weekās ālong runā will be half that distance. It was hard. I didnāt feel like running today. And I definitely didnāt feel like running 26 km. But I…
What lengths would you go to pretend you remembered someone’s name? Would you lie? Would you hug a stranger? Last year, I was at a talk that Alex Neve was giving. He was delivering his first of five Massey Lectures. Pat, Alex’s wife, is Deb’s best friend. Deb and I got married a couple of…
I remember when the book The Creative Act by Rick Rubin came out a few years ago. I didnāt read it then, but I was aware of it. I considered buying the book because Iām fascinated with creativity. I decided to take it out of the library instead of buying it. It wasnāt available at…
Sometimes I choose pain over comfort. Thatās why I’m running the Around the Bay race again this year. Running 30 km is a great way to test your will and stamina. I’m a bit behind in my training. As usual. The race is a little later this year, so I have a buffer. Itās in…
Sometimes I get mad at myself because I don’t write as much as I think I should. I don’t reach out to the people I want to touch base with. I don’t read the books I buy or take out from the library. I don’t exercise when I know I should. So many things I…
Last month Deb and I joined a gym. Again. We belonged to one before COVID. And after COVID, we never went back. But weāre getting to an age where we need to be in shape so that we can stay healthy. Not only for our kids, but for our grandkids. Deb has a trainer to…
Sometimes I talk myself out of doing something before trying.Ā A bit of writing. Or something else creative. I’m talking myself out of doing it because I’m trying to save effort.Ā Why do something if it isn’t going to work, right? Maybe.Ā Maybe not. Other times, I do it and see if it works. Last…
Iāve just finished my first week of being 63. The body is getting older but my spirit still feels young. It continues to be strange reconciling my mental image with my physical reality. This week, a cashier gave me the senior discount without even asking. They looked at me and applied it. Iām not sixty-five…
peter gruner 