I thought I was having a bad day on Friday by sleeping through the alarm, missing my first meeting (in person), forgetting my wallet and having a presentation fall apart. Then came the news alerts Friday night about what was happening in Paris. Since France is just on the other side of Belgium, it feels awfully close to home. I think some of the things I have realized over the weekend is that it isn’t understandable what happened. I am reminded that since no one of us is guaranteed a specific exit time and place, we need to make the most of the days that we have and the relationships that we have in our lives.

In my messed up presentation on Friday, I said to the audience “Do the right thing for the change you wish to create” instead of following a formula. They all looked at me as if I had gone around the yoga bend. I was surprised by myself and a little embarrassed but as I was thinking about on the way back to the parking garage, it really is a statement I could get behind. Kind of like my Mom’s tagline of “Do good only”. Last week I signed up do some volunteer work twice in the month. This week it will be homework help with youth who are struggling at school/home etc. And next week it will be with a group of female teenagers who are Muslim. The goal of their program besides homework help, is to give exposure to other possibilities for women. Both opportunities are centered on empowerment. I think that’s a message that resonates with me strongly.

Speaking of empowerment, R received a mobile phone from his latest family so he has been calling me fairly regularly. He usually calls when he is in the cafeteria at school. If I remember school food correctly, I can understand why he is looking for a distraction! Some calls are better than others, depending on his background audience. Either way, I am glad he calls, even if I don’t always know what to give him as advice.

I had my first glühwein of the year with Marianne on Sunday. We were at a potato festival of all things and next door to the festival building was a small wine bar. It is pretty powerful stuff, I would have thought heating it would cook the alcohol right off but I was a little wobbly navigating through the park after that 😉

Going for Indonesian tonight with a friend. We’re going to talk job opportunities and possibilities. I hope that I have something useful to add to the conversation. Tomorrow night, I am going to the movies. I want to see both Son of Saul and The Lobster. Obviously not in the same night 🙂 Thursday it is off to Amsterdam Noord for a Wild West theatrical production complete with banjo music. And finally, Friday to Utrecht for a housewarming party. Heh, I just realized that I am doing a good job filling up my calendar without intending to do so! The weather we are having, rainy and stormy, makes me want to stay home and hibernate so I have to give myself a little push sometimes to leave the house 😉