Slaying the dragons - one positive, wonderful thought at a time

It's been a while since I wrote a fresh blog. Nearly six months really, if you don't count re-prints, and though I write every day in my every-day job as a mild-mannered reporter for the insauga/indurham online newspaper conglomerate, there are still beery and personal things I want to to share that I can't in that forum.

Finding the time to write is tough but finding the desire to write when I already do that 9-5 is even more difficult, especially as I am still fighting my usual inner demons of depression and loneliness. Now, as my weight has got completely out of control since my knee surgery - I now touch the scales at just under 260 - I can add self-loathing to that list as well. All three dragons and no fly swatter in sight.

It shouldn't be that bad for me. I'm working in journalism again for the first time in a decade and the first time as a full-time working journalist in about 20 years and I absolutely love what I do. When the alarm goes off at 7:30 I am genuinely eager to roll out of bed and greet the day and I can tell you it's been an awfully long time since I felt that way.

Slaying the dragon - my new quest

I moved in with the folks in Downsview to help Dad take care of Mom (Alzheimer's) at the beginning of the pandemic and while I pay my share of the expenses, my bank account is flush like, well, never before, really. So that's a worry that was part of my life (and a part of most of my loved ones as well) that is no longer there, ready to strike at every month-end.

But there's a level of guilt that goes with that. I miss my kids very much and I very much want to get back to Oshawa to see them on the regular. I see Jake every six weeks or so but Cam and Matt only twice since this all started and Adrianne and her lovely family not bloody once. I can now afford to move back there (no more basement apartments for me) and much love to Mom & Dad and all, but the desire to get my own damn place is super strong.

But there's that guilt...

You see, Dad has his own share of 88 year-old difficulties and I really don't want to leave him right now. He doesn't move around that well and the duties I now do, like laundry and shopping, would be difficult (but not impossible) tasks for him. I can't stay forever either, but the move has been delayed and I'm not really sure when it will happen.

And let us not mention my older brother Brian and how he fits in this little family dynamic. Not today anyway.

And then there's my health. In addition to the problems caused by my knee replacement of 22 months ago and my weight gain, I have been experiencing a persistent cough lately, not unlike a smoker's cough, except I quit smoking more than 21 years ago. So I got it checked out, and while official confirmation will come after a new battery of tests next month, it appears I have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which is serious shit.

The prognosis is varied. I could keel over next week in a paroxysmal fit of coughing, or I could hang on for 20 years or more, and a lot of that is up to me. Lose weight, eat healthy, that sort of thing. And for the record, the 'idiopathic' part is not because I was an idiot (though some may disagree) but because I was never a miner, concrete cutter or worked with asbestos - the usual culprits with this lung disease - and therefore they don't know why it chose me.

Thankfully I haven't wasted any precious minutes with the 'why me? nonsense, so I thought I should start looking around at the good things in my life right instead of wallowing in self-pity.

Ain't nobody got time for that.

If I ever want to slay those three dragons, this is the only way to do it. In no particular order, here are a few reasons why the future looks bright, if not necessarily long for this chubby but still handsome old writer.

I Have A Job

Yes, I know I mentioned this, but it's worth repeating that I was given a new lease on life back in the spring when old college pal Steve asked if I was interested in returning to the world of newspapers, albeit of the online variety. God yes, Steve! Thank you, thank you and thank you to Khaled, my new favourite best boss ever (sorry Jessica).

Dental Plan

I've identified with Homer Simpson for many years - "Lisa Needs Braces" - as my front teeth started falling out and damn if I haven't really smiled for years because of my lack of chompers. Now I have a dental plan and a little extra cash for what may not be covered and I have started the process of getting an upper plate of some kind. I hope to be smiling for real early in the new year.

New Beers

This is a beer blog, so I thought I would throw something beery in it. I don't know if it's pandemic related but the majority of my favourite beers of 2021 are new-to-me beers. My best-of-show IPA list is up to 14 as I write this and a dozen were born this year. Nine out of a top ten list of Imperial IPAs too. Creative minds not resting on their laurels but continuing to create, I guess. I like it.

Beer People

This has been a tough year for craft beer. The industry has had to deal with the fallout from the stories of sexual harassment and misogyny shared by Brienne Allen, a production manager and brewer at Notch Brewing in Salem, Massachusetts, with some well-known people taking the fall in the aftermath.

I made the mistake of wading into the debate in the early stages and put my foot squarely in my mouth in the process, assuming all these stories of assholes in the industry were American and weren't we just peaches up here? And I got rightfully told (in a very nice way) to STFU, so live and learn. But what I really learned through the experience was that there are many, many truly awesome people in the business who are not afraid to say and do all the right things.

From brewers and brewery owners like Erin Broadfoot (Little Beasts) and Josh Hayter (Spearhead) to writers and podcasters like Robert Arsenault (Drunk Polkeroo), Robin LeBlanc (Thirsty Wench), Jordan St. John and Danny Brown - just to name a few - I realized there is a solid foundation in Ontario's craft beer community and with it, hope for the future.

Buist-ed for the second time

David Buist

Speaking of beer people, I have a beer pal who is destined for greatness, if for no other reason than he has immortalized me twice in cartoon form. I am far from the only one and it's considered a major coup to be thus turned into a comic book character of his invention. David is a noted children's illustrator and an illustrator of a few beer books as well and I really need to get together with him again just so I can get a few more pieces of art and get them signed. And maybe re-visit that cottage in God's Country. Next year if we can get through this damn pandemic.

Built a Bike

I kid you not. I actually built something. Okay, it's taken me three weeks and the pedal straps are still unattached and the control panel is not wired up, but I have (almost) successfully created an exercise bike from nothing more than parts, tools and a manual. I know, right? But it's a true story.

Friends

I don't get to see many of them (besides my best pal Jake) but I have seen my Oshawa peeps Steve and Brandon a couple of times and my Beer Bro, college chum (and now work colleague) Don a few times as well. I am, in fact, visiting him in his new St. Catharines digs this weekend. I can tell you I really look forward to our Friday morning virtual Huddle meetings at work, so that should tell you something of my desire to see friends again. (Christmas Party December 11 - yay!) And my dear friend Candice, what can I say about her? She and I have met up at least a half-dozen times to drink fine ale and share our tales of woe with each other. It's what keeps me sane.

North American Beer Writers Guild

Pretty fancy name, but then it keeps pretty fancy company and they have a contest each year to declare the fanciest of beer writers in a bunch of different categories and this year, I entered it. There was almost no chance of me winning anything but I knew I had at least three good blogs over the past 12 months (Appliance and Love Story are the others I chose) so I thought, 'why the hell not?'

Spoiler alert: I didn't win, but I was told there was feedback from one of the judges if I wanted to hear it and I most certainly did. This is what the judge had to say: Glenn's unique voice and self-awareness lend themselves to quality content. I laughed at the appliance bits. I teared up a little at the thought of the struggles of Glenn's Mom. This is an easy-reading blog with lots of personality.

It was well worth the $30 entry fee just to read that.

Christmas

I love Christmas but didn't always look forward to it. I was usually working one job or another through most of the holiday season and my most consistent holiday tradition was being broke. This year money is less of an an issue but the most important thing I am looking forward to is being with my family. That's four kids, seven grandkids, an ex and all the spouses and girlfriends to make an absolutely memorable reunion.

I can't wait.

Cheers!