I’ve been working on comedy routines. The current one is “what happens when my inner Buddha meets my inner Hitler” (hint, Buddha doesn’t always keep his teeth) and the inner Gord. I am having lots of fun, as Gord just said something entertaining which I need to write down.
I’m off to visit the Luddite tonight and have food with him. I tried to get him to cook for me but he made grim pronouncements about burning things so I think we’re going for Chinese. It’s certainly a treat to meet somebody more optimistic than I am.
There’s another goddamned foot of snow on the hill here. I am sure the ski operators are peeing their snowpants with glee but I had to heave a bundle buggy full of crockpot and crockery and food through it both ways yesterday. I had to stop about three times coming back up the hill and check my pulse to make sure I was in the right zone for my fitness level.
Right now I am very happy. I know that what I am about to describe will sound like the third circle of hell to some people, but my girlfriend Tammy phoned last night and we spent TWO HOURS on the phone, role-playing ‘difficult conversations with people we love’. Tammy’s got more training in this than I do, so I’d say, blah blah need to talk to you about something are you ready to hear it, and she’d say. Yeah.
So I’d say my thing, and she’d say, “You’re not quite getting it. You need to only talk about one thing.”
“It is only one thing.”
“No, it’s two. This and this.”
And I’d pout, and try again.
“You’re still trying to talk about two things at once.”
“F)ck, no I’m not!!”
“Yes you are. There’s this… and there’s this. Two separate issues. You have to respect the person you’re talking to by only dealing with one issue, that you’ve thought through, at one time.”
“AAAAAAAAAAARgh.” (More briefing? More briefing.)
She’s right of course. I almost had the hang of one corner of it by the time we signed off. And this morning I’m happy, because as I prepare for a ‘difficult conversation with someone I love’ I’m a little closer to getting my half of it right. Is it a particular person? A particular conversation? Nope. It’s just life. Be prepared – and if you can’t be prepared, be present.