Finally the long weekend.

On Wednesday after my last blog posting, I went to a seder hosted by my Aunt and her finance. This made me reflect that this was the first year that my Zaida (Yiddish for Grandfather) did not lead the seder himself. Given that he is now95, I don't think he will ever lead another seder again. Thinking about this leaves me with a lingering sadness. It makes me think back to those seders we would have when I was a kid. How we would sing songs and read the Hagada and be together as a family. It was something I always enjoyed, but now I fear that without my Zaida leading them, they will never be the same again. My father doesn't know all the prayers, or at least he is quite rusty with them and my Aunt's soon to be husband, Howard, is somewhat too religious and too Jewish nationalist for my tastes.

I love my Zaida and it is hard for me to see him ageing like this. My memories of him were of someone who was full of life. He and my Baba (Yiddish for grandmother) would always go for walks and swims. He loved to go out. Now, he has trouble walking up the stairs to his apartment. I am very grateful that my Baba and Zaida are still healthy enough to live on their own in their own place. I have heard about the quality of life in old age homes and I would not want to see them in a place where they do not get the respect they deserve.

In the past two days I have had my first non-work-related social contacts with my coworkers. Yesterday I went to see a movie about English teachers in Russia with Mick. The movie reminded me a lot of my life in Beijing. They teachers drank and smoked and swore and just lived the lifes of expats. Really, the only difference was the people in the background and the language they spoke. It also made me think that we, as North Americans, are very lucky not just to be able to teach English anywhere, but also that we are able to go anywhere and not feel pressure to assimilate. We can be accepted as expats in almost any country for as long as we like. After the movie Mick and I went for all you can eat sushi at Kishapopo. I must say that it is obvious that the place is run by Chinese, and not Japanese, people. But, it was still nice to stuff myself with raw fishand talk to Mick.

Today, I went to see another movie but this time with Ash. We saw lucky number Sleven, which was pretty good. After that we went for a beer in Yaletown and then a walk around. Although I did not ask point blank, I think Ash is older than I had originally though he was. He also had some interesting things to say. Ash wants to do business and wants to have me as a partner. I don't know what I bring to the partnership, but I would be willing to give it a try partly for the money and mostly for the experience.

I guess this is what office life is like. It is not particularly stimulating, but there are some good people around. At the same time, I really appreciate how many people say that university was the best time of their life. The university atmosphere full of young people thinking and discussing almost anything that can be thought or discussed. The sheer numbers of people, although alienating, also gives you a chance to find people you want to be friends with, not just friends of convienience. This is then all held together by the leisure time which enables the thinking and socialising which defined my university experience. Looking forward, I feel very lucky to be going back into this environment, even if it is only for one year and without the same leisure time I enjoyed as an undergraduate.

But its the working life for me now...