Thursday, September 24, 2009

Here we go Again?

I guess if you are like most adults, there must be times when you wonder whether life doesn’t go in circles and cycles. God bless the French who have just two words for that feeling – Déjà vu?
As my family and I continue to settle in our new community, some activities are becoming routine even if not boring. Some would argue that the repetitive activities lead to some order while other free-spirited souls would prefer a different menu.
Since our last ‘chat’, Danju has completed his volleyball tryouts and made the school team. Now that has meant practice after school three days in each week and weekend round robin tournaments out-of-town. Two weekends ago it was Stony Plain and on Sunday last week it was at the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton. The tournament began at 11am, which meant that we had to go for Mass on Saturday evening or we’d have been in a deficit in that department of Mass attendance.
To make the 11am coin toss at the U-of-A tournament, I had to rush Danju out of bed early on Sunday, a fairly uncomfortable assignment because the previous evening was loaded with Mass and buffet dinner at Beijing House restaurant to celebrate (albeit belatedly) Sampi’s 17th birthday which fell on weekday.

So I did drop off Danju for his tournament and rushed home to take Papa to the ultra modern football turf at Riel Park in St. Albert for his game against the Millwood Grizzlies. This was Papa’s second game for his new team – St.Albert Colts. The coach uses him in two positions – punt return and running back. Does this remind you of the Cincinnati Bengals Ocho cinco 85? The game went well and Papa’s team won. Papa took a ding to the head in his 30 yards touchdown run and had to seat out the second half as a precaution. He’s OK though and looks forward to this Sunday’s game in Sherwood against the Sherwood Raiders.


Today is Thursday and it’s Air Cadet night at the Community hall in downtown St.Albert. The children registered for this last week and we haven’t stopped talking about the huge opportunities that becoming air cadets in Canada presents the children for leadership training, obtaining air glider and light aircraft pilot licenses, learning to play different musical instruments, mastery in the use of air rifles etc. And top these with university scholarship offers and getting paid during summer camps; all at no financial costs whatsoever for us parents. Not bad at all if you ask me.

By the way, managing all these activities calls for effective time management because schoolwork doesn’t take a break and neither do the chores and responsibilities at home.

Such is life really. We all have various stakeholders and obligations and juggle all these we must if we are to maintain a good balance in our lives. Did I start this by saying déjà vu? Yes indeed. Here we go again! Thanks for keeping a date with us; and your time is appreciated.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

St Albert it is.

It’s been one week since Sampi, Danju and Papa went back to their respective schools in our new location. I have had to pinch myself a few times to remind me that this is St. Albert. You know I am driving along and then I see a building that my poor brain registers as unfamiliar and I go “… has this always been here or…” then I recollect that this is not Oakville but my new home for the past one month – serene St. Albert, a quiet mini town of about forty thousand residents where I have been told a few times that everyone seems to know of everyone. This is no truer than the Catholic Parish on Vital Avenue where Sampi, Danju, Papa and yours sincerely are the only spice to the colouration. The children and I were talking last Sunday after Mass and we say this may be a golden opportunity to expand the horizon and positively shift the paradigm for some members of our Parish whose only contact with the world outside Alberta is what the ‘boob tube’ had fed them all this while. And we all know some of this, tends to be embellished for pure ratings anyway.

So to get ready for back to school, the family- Papa, Danju, Sampi, Siya and I went mini golfing last weekend. It was lovely goofing around on the course for two hours plus and we capped the day with dinner at the Earls.

We got home later and the children picked out (as if they had not done it many times before) what to wear for the first day of school. This was special though because it was the first day in new schools in a new town. I must say (even if it is with a little bias), that they looked very nice as they stepped out that Monday morning in August. Danju and Papa rode on the school bus and I dropped of Sampi all through the week. This changes from next week as Sampi finally got a seat on the bus to her school.

The children have made a few acquaintances at school and Siya and I have also gone to meet their homeroom teachers and be introduced.
There have been the odd homework and also pictures day at school.
Today is the first weekend since the children went back to school and we have all been basically in doors at home except for when Siya and I drove to her job to kick off a seminar she has for new intakes. We had planned to scoot over to the gym at Servus Place but changed our minds on the way back from Edmonton and headed home. Sampi, Danju and Papa have taken today as a rest day because Monday is a holiday and it just doesn’t feel wrong that all they have done is play computer games, eat and or get on the lap tops. I guess we have to cut them some slack some time and why not do so today especially after staying up into the wee hours of the morning yesterday watching movies as part of the family night.Well tomorrow is Sunday and to Mass we must go so I’d sign off the diary at this time.