So, what've I been up to lately? (This is mostly for friends that I haven't talked to recently.)

Our Friday night coffee group still meets in various restaurants. Last night we had a typically hilarious time, although we were disappointed that Pierrot didn't do the "ketchup song dance". I gave Todd credit for introducing me to the world of blogging, so you can blame him if you want.

Some of the things that I started doing again when I returned from my trip to Asia are attending the Tuesday night meditation group at Mick's house, teaching ESL at the Saskatoon Open Door Society, and being a tutor/marker for the Grammar and Phonology course in the CERTESL program at the U. of S.

There's lots of news on the theatre front. I had a play ("The High Road") performed at the Globe Theatre in Regina on Feb. 13. It was part of their "On the Line" festival of short plays and went very well. They laughed in all the right spots!

From May 1 to 3 I'll be playing the lead in "Send Me No Flowers", a very funny play that David is directing as a fundraiser for St. Thomas-Wesley United Church in Saskatoon. It was made into a movie in the 1960s, starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. In case you're wondering, I'm playing the Rock Hudson role.

In the second week of May, my one-act play "Dancing Backwards" will be part of the Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre's Festival of New Plays, which is in Saskatoon this year. There will be a couple of days of rehearsal, followed by a staged reading, probably in the afternoon on Sat., May 10. I'll let you know for sure when I find out.

I was very pleased that the Globe Theatre and the SPC chose my plays for these festivals.

I also had a play in the Globe's "On the Line" festival in 2002. "Fishing Buddies" is about Jesus and the Buddha going fishing together. It was a big hit in Regina, so I'm glad that Campbell and Company will be doing it and "Dancing Backwards" (after I make more revisions to the script after the Spring Festival) at the Saskatoon Fringe Festival at the beginning of August. David will be the director, I'll be one of the actors, and we'll have to find one more actor.

So, you can see that I'm very busy, but I'm happy about it!

Take care, everyone. Stay warm!

I just got my hair cut by the second best barber in Iraq. To be more specific, one of my ESL students came in second in a national competition for barbers when he lived in Iraq. He recently offered to give me a haircut, which he just did after class today. It looks and feels great. He also refused to take any money, which made it feel even better. I guess there are some perks to being an ESL teacher, even though we make less money than "regular" teachers.

[Note that the time given for my postings isn't local time.]

Whenever I hear other people complaining about this winter in Saskatchewan, I remind myself of how I got tired of sweating most of the time during my trip to Southeast Asia a few months ago. Then the cold doesn't bother me. However, I miss the cheap and delicious tropical fruit!

This is my first entry, so I won't say much. That, of course, will be a great relief to many of my friends! That's all for now.