Dalbir was working in 1998 at KPMG, and Bobby’s dad needed advice, then asked Dalbir to teach his son, Bobby. The family key to success was to pool their assets and purchase property. Dalbir, in 1986, bought his first house near BCIT for $93,000 and the math used to work. It doesn’t work anymore. People are working just as hard, but the cost of living is so much more challenging.
John bought a new Audi E tron Q4, following Debbie S.’ advice. He is collecting passports to resell to pay Rotary dues for his car.
Carolyn is on Zoom, as her shoulder is still stopping her from sleeping and she has a hard time getting up early on Thursdays. She is on a waiting list for 24 months, but now has chosen to go privately, and has an appointment on Jan. 30. She will try to get up early to see us but can’t promise.
Garth is going to Palm Springs next Monday.
Chris M. might be getting squeezed out of her house. She has happily donated her sewing room to be the nursery for the soon-to-be-born first grandchild. But her son-in-law just bought a Mitsubishi Outlander hybrid, which needs to be plugged in, without an extension cord. Chris is giving up her spot in the driveway and might be walking through the dark path to the street in the subdivision behind their house – her new parking spot. She will stamp her feet, rattle her keys, and shine her flashlight to ward of the families of raccoons who roam around there.
Mary Lou thanks Garth who helped with the closing of her dad’s safety deposit box at Coast Capital – there were brick shares and an Australian coin. She has Oscar today. On the weekend, she had a great dinner, hosted by a member of her book club who loves to cook, with wine pairings. She is going snowshoeing and tubing with Oscar on Cypress.
Chris P. was again the greeter and is recruiting others for the position. She tells Carolyn that if she has leftover painkillers from her upcoming surgery, she wants some.
Debbie S. had 3 birthday events this week. She used to pick berries as well over the summer and bought her first bike with that money. She won’t be here next week as she will be in Palm Springs.
Marg is back at work and had dinners with friends this week. A good friend had a major heart attack last year, was scheduled for an operation in December which was postponed, but hopefully it’s happening today. The medical system is a bit behind.
Judy had a great time in Palm Springs for New Year’s and is leaving next week to Miami for a cruise.
Debbie M. had her mom here for Christmas and did lots of family stuff. She did a 30-day dance challenge, and thought she could do the advanced salsa and hip hop. However, she didn’t consider the fast tempo of the advanced level and looks like she’s lost complete control. Miles was walking through the house thinking she looked funny. (Ed. note - it has also kept the crows away.) When she was 10, Debbie was looking for a summer job, arriving at the Fraser Arms parking lot, where farmers would pick people to work, but she wasn’t chosen because she was too little. She is going to Palm Springs next week.
Kal is taking up jiggle dancing.🕺🏿 He will be on cruise to Victoria next week. Back in the day, they had a bidding war and beat out the Mays, as, due to flooding in Chilliwack, they had to move here. Otherwise, we may never have known Kal.
Peter says his garage door opener no longer works when he pushes it, and he wants to move into Jane’s spot. His granddaughter was in a tournament on the weekend in Seattle, with great success as they were playing a huge team in the U16 division, when they are U14. She is the fearless goalkeeper and dives for the ball.
Chris B. didn’t wait to be asked when she is moving, and says she doesn’t know her date yet, but a few days here or there won’t matter, as they will then be there until they die. Her 12-year-old grandson is a swimmer, now number 1 in Alberta and number 3 in Canada! She went to Edmonton to see him swim in 5 races. His 11-year-old brother is also a very good swimmer, but not as competitive. She is back to work teaching, working in the EA program, with practicum supervision.
Sam wishes he hadn’t bought all that avocado toast. While talking to friends over the holidays, including one who recently bought a home in Kits, they agreed that everyone needs to get help and that no one can buy if they don’t have help from their parents. Last week, he was doing adult gymnastics. He can now do a cartwheel and competed in an amateur competition, three events, (placing in the top 2 or 5 in trampoline events and 1st of 2 in the team event)🥇. Justin feels they should have had levels for winning and getting on the podium, as the current system was discouraging for beginners.
Jeannette thanks Dean for coming and doing the official induction. Welcome to Henry.
Larry is still learning how to drive his car, which is so wide that he has to close his eyes driving up River Road. His car has zero buttons and is 100% voice command, but it keeps saying ‘pardon’. It’s a challenge. He is booked on Jan. 30 at the UBC hospital for reshaping his head, so he might look normal again. This is the first operation he’s excited about.
Pat has kept her 2005 Mazda forever, but ordered a new Toyota Hybrid Rav4 and just got it a few weeks ago, and is sure she’ll never learn all the buttons, although has had lessons. The other night with dinner club they went to Sector 7 which used to be the Kingswood Pub, a neat little place.
Peachy is doing home care for three weeks, focusing on quality of life for a palliative patient, with stage 4 cancer. He has a team taking care of him and it is gratifying to see how much the family loved their father.
Susan was her mom’s secretary when she was only 7 years old (as Mom gave private music lessons) and, during lessons, she couldn’t answer the phone, so Susan was the scheduler. At 12, she had lots of jobs, and thinks the more you do, the more confidence you gain. Work is an awesome way to build your self-confidence and she admires Bobby’s story. It’s good to include the kids.
Sandra was on date night at Nando’s and saw Dalbir. She has many memories of growing up in Richmond all her life, and even grew pumpkins to buy boots. She is feeling melancholy today as her mom passed away 27 years ago, when she was only 34, with 3 kids.
Amanda got a rescue cat 🐱(who was recovering from a broken pelvis) for Graham for Christmas and named him after the assassin Jaqen H'ghar in the Game of Thrones. He purrs a lot, and they were told he would probably be chill during his convalescence. However, he’s not a chill cat, and is growing quickly in confidence and mobility, going on the fridge and in cupboards. But Graham loves him. Amanda was in Saskatchewan, then recently talking to her oldest nephew, who nonchalantly told her that he was engaged to Angela, his girlfriend of over a year, and that he might elope in a couple of weeks. (Weather report - 38 in Swift Current)
Henry thanks Dean for the induction. He is sorry he was late as he woke up late today. He missed last week, not looking at the calendar which he usually does, but missed five other events in the last two weeks.
Joyce also started working at a young age, but in a worker’s union and wearing a hardhat. She is back after two weeks in California visiting kids and grandkids.
Dean was encouraged to do more in the district and is looking forward to three years of training before becoming District Governor. Gord helped him. Dean only had one girl introduced to him and is envious of Bobby. Richmond has 4 clubs and 3 DGs, so Sunrise could prepare for one of their members to step up.
Gordon remembers the formal types of speeches from Rotary International. He was given good advice - take about 12 different speeches on topics and keep them on hand, so if someone asks you to say a few words, you open it up and have one ready. He is happy to hear that Larry will be normal again. He reflected on getting older and on how his doctor always finds something new to test for Gordon. After agreeing to a whole-body scan, Gordon was uncertain what to think when he looked at the report and read that the patient is ‘unremarkable’. Congratulations, Gordon!
Bob thinks all immigrants have that first story. His own family came in 1975 and he delivered the Province Newspaper in Burkeville, which was scary. His parents made small salaries but were able to buy their first house. He thanks Sam for introducing us to the scones back in September as they have become a favourite. He was in the Okanagan last week and is glad to be here as it will be -28 degrees there soon. He is off to Whistler next week for work.
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