John van Gurp

Read my Chronicle Herald blog if you wish

1. Change oil
2. Check tire pressure

That’s all… whadda machine.

This is from June 23. Note the first company. I better put a railing on the stairs!

Fuck golf - that’s all I have to say about that!

The cottage is all tight now. The carpenter’s work is done and I’m on my own now but have offers of help from a few friends, so that’s nice. I found an almost new Franklin fireplace in New Albany. It’s being offered for sale by a guy I knew through PWGSC Headquarters and the Treasury Board many years ago. Back in around 1995 or so I published a web site with surplus federal properties and also made a slide show presentation explaining how useful this could be. Almost no one in the department seemed to clue into it, except for this guy who recognized the potential and made a case. I’m not sure if it had any influence on the approach to online marketing of government real estate, and given the ponderously unimaginative way the organization thinks it probably made no difference at all but I digress….

The inside stairs are done and the patrtition walls are framed. The electrician is doing his thing this week. Heather and I are going down on Friday to scope things out and buy a few bundles of shingles and make up the lumber order for the deck, etc etc…

First thing is to get a small counter space and a sink and enclose a bedroom or two. Oh, and I need to move the outhouse to the new location. It’s just far enough away from the cottage as to be discreet, yet not so far one would panic on the way there. The woodshed will be between the outhouse and the cottage so folks can carry a stick or two on their way back. It leaves open the possibility of saying “I’m going to get some wood” instead of “I’m going to the outhouse”.

We attended a fundraiser for Sierra Leone this week. Very nice, with some moving talk by my friend Thomas Turay. See http://cdpeace.com

Biking continues to be much fun. Half the fun is pushing the skills and getting better on cornering, even after all these years.

Must leave for work now!

(photo credit to jadz)

The not so funny part:

My pal Norman Smythe died on Thursday June 7 at 52 years of age. He had cancer and lasted three years and he even called me on Tuesday night to say good bye. Before his diagnosis Norm was a prodigious drinker. My god how he could pound back the beer - it was really something to witness. He could do this night after night. What a pro!

He was a cantankerous, opinionated redneck wannabe, but at the same time was a gentle and kind softy with a heart of gold and you would never in your life find a more loyal friend. His friends at work meant the world to him and we became his family while he was sick. He had a constant stream of visitors who took him to appointments, went out for meals with him, listened to his complaints on those very rare occasions when he complained about his situation. We stayed with him in the hospital and shared a closeness that is very hard to describe. We loved Norm.

When he died his brothers Gerry and Ross were each holding a hand and they felt him slip away. As the calls were made we grouped together to plan his memorial. I felt extremely privileged to be asked to MC the event and this was something that helped me in the grieving process. It was like a gift to have the attention of all Norm’s friends and to witness the outpouring of sincerity and love and also sadness. Being part of their important day was a way to bond together in community.

The funnier part:

This week we also had an office event to plan for the future of our organization. It involved all of our staff and therefore our colleagues from Newfoundland were in town, and hooboy these folks also know how to party and by party I mean “enjoy a drink”. I started around 5:30pm. At around 12:15am my cell phone rang. It was my lovely wife Heather just wondering where I was. I geelfully let her know how nice it was sitting in a chair in the backyard in the drizzle and eventually she came out to find me fast asleep sitting in a chair getting wet way back near my shed. I would like to pretend I recall exactly how things went but I’m no liar, Heather filled me in today while I laughed sort of sheepishly. She escorted me into the house while I mumbled and tried to dance a little jig on her arm and was poured onto the couch for the night.

In my mind right now I’m telling this story to Norm and I can hear his approving chuckles. He would have truly loved this escapade.

See the project page for details and photos.