the longest january.

i just realized i have to start swimming daily again… if only to improve my energy and disposition which has lagged a bit recently due to a combination of stress, insomnia and intermittent despair. since the beginning of december, i have been pretty much inactive other than the occasional hike, and i need something more regular to give me the strength i need right now. everything seems like a lot of effort today, even though i did manage to get a good night’s sleep and i’m not even upset about yesterday’s election results (like all good canadian leftists, i feel it could have been much worse – and look! the ndp gained 10 seats).

have been turning over in my mind the possibility of stepping back from my union work somewhat as i have found it endlessly frustrating and rarely rewarding. i don’t know how to do that without quitting entirely, so i’m making a list of all the things i am doing in the hopes i can pare some of them off (or at least stop taking new cases on for the time being), to stave off the burnout i’m afraid i’ve almost reached.

we’ll see. i often think i need to “take a break” but rarely do it. i am looking forward to a visit from someone i haven’t seen in a few months this weekend and hopeful that the weather will co-operate and give us lots of less-wet openings to go for walks. i don’t know if it’s the election, the rain, or darren’ current legal situation – but this has definitely felt like the longest january ever!

my friend bear, currently traveling in thailand, sent me an email last night asking what was new in my life (he hasn’t been reading the blog obviously) – thus i could summarize my life for him in three major bullets: i’m planning on having a kid, my friends are facing multiple indictments or considered fugitives, and i shagged the neighbour on saturday night. yes, there is good and bad and weird in every single thing.

but – thank you ipod! gypsy brass is the soundtrack that makes it all seem better.