TGIF.

Getting ready for the trip to Vancouver, got my bags packed, just a few more things to go through before I am ready. I went to the club today and helped peel potatoes for lunch, I had a chicken salad today, it was ok. I had a good chat with Crystal, she is a homeless Aboriginal woman who is desperately trying to get off the streets. She has been to rehab and she is going for treatment again, I tried helping connect her to CMHA's Horizon housing programs.

Victor, Greg and I are planning a trip out to William Watson Lodge in early July, when I get back from BC. I am looking forward to it, it will be nice to relax in the mountains.

A good reason.

I wonder about the world sometimes, all the effort that is put into trying to get ahead, is it ever in vain? Or if there is a purpose in all the madness?

What Viktor Frankl talked about in Man's Search for Meaning. The idea that a person's story and the meaning in it, is the best way to try to solve their problems.

I guess there are equal amounts of good and bad in the world, it is an age-old struggle between the forces of good and bad. It is like each person has to wage war on their own personal demons.

What can we say for certain about the world? Well we know a fair bit, and it is increasingly becoming easier to access that information.

To me the clubhouse movement is about recognizing that people despite their issues and challenges deserve to be recognized as human beings with intelligence and heart. When I went to Worcester to train at Genesis House, the notion of Radical Equality was talked about. One becomes very gentle when you realize that everyone is facing a struggle and has a hard battle to fight.

Anyway, I made a delicious tofu curry today and it was scrumptious. I had a couple games of Yahtzees with my neighbor Giuseppe. He scored two Yahtzees in the first game, and I scored two Yahtzees in the second game.

I also researched about things to do while I am in Burnaby with my daughter.

A more personal look..

I have been trying to resist the inertia I feel sometimes, I go to the clubhouse as a kind of therapy to help motivate me to work on my goals and eventually get back to full-time work. Most of all, I wish to produce more art, high quality art, and try to exhibit it in a venue.

My weight loss has been going well. I have lost 40.2 pounds since January. I am currently at 349.8 pounds. Still feel like a porky pig, but let's be honest, there's a lot of toxic food out there. I had hit a point where I said to myself I can't gain anymore weight, this is just nuts. I have talked to my doctor and we have agreed to lower my dosage of Paliperidone to 75 mg and then assess if it goes well from there.

Mental illness is interesting, because it makes you realize just how vulnerable and fragile we are. I went to the Rocket Custom Tshirt shop and got a Tshirt made that says: FIGHT CRAZINESS WITH compassion. I wanted this shirt for the conference, and I feel is a bit of an activist piece about the crazy world we live in and how so many people fall through the cracks.

Today I went to the club and worked on the presentation for the conference. I also called some of the other clubhouses in Alberta to network for future development.

There was an announcement on the news that a $200 million donation was made to the University of Calgary for medical research by a wealthy businessman. What a generous gift, eh.

I talk to my daughter frequently, and we have Skype video chats which is nearly as good as being together in person. She is doing well, she got her bangs cut and she is growing taller every month. The teachers are on strike in BC so she is finished school early. Summer has begun.