I’ve been a bit absent lately. The big news is last week I graduated. Okay, actually I guess technically I convocated. Because I actually graduated last fall. But it was a non-event. I did nothing to mark it and OCAD, my alma mater and my employer, doesn’t have a fall convocation event. I wasn’t going to do it originally, but when I got my official invite I decided what the hell, why not? How often to you get to invite all your co-workers to your graduation?

Anyway, it was a lot of fun and there was lots of hoopla when I crossed the stage. Now it all feels official.

I’m hoping now to settle into something of a summer routine. Work ought to be much more manageable for the next few months (notice I say “ought”, not “will” — nothing is guaranteed). I really want to get my big butt back to the gym on a somewhat regular basis and get back on track with my goal of increased fitness and hopefully weight loss. Getting back to the gym will be a major factor in improving my general mood and outlook. I’ve been feeling a bit depressed lately, and I don’t just mean that as a figure of speech. The loss of my dog, and my cat only a couple months before, has been a bigger blow than I anticipated and I find myself really struggling in those quieter moments to keep motivated and to find purpose. I know they were “just animals”, but they were also my closest, most accepting, constant and loving friends.

Also, the saga of our “place of residence” has recently reared its ugly, dramatic head, and this situation continues to fluctuate between the positive and negative on an almost daily basis. I know this is incredibly cryptic but I have alluded to the issue before, and until this resolves itself and I have something concrete to say, I’m not going to go there.

On a musical note, I have to share that I am SO loving Nickodemus’s new album Sun People, especially the ever-catchy single ‘Sun Children’. You can download the tune for free from Nickodemus’s site. Sun Children is in my opinion, a perfect summer drivin’ tune. And I just might get to play it in my new car in two more sleeps!!