Lee-Anne's Grandma Passed

I should mention that Lee-Anne's grandmother passed away. She was 97 years old. She was in the hospital with her daughters as it happened. Lee-Anne and one of her brothers were able to talk to her before she moved on.

She'd lived on a farm until she was 93. She outlived her husband by a good length of time and was able to rely on her network for support as she aged. Eventually, she moved into a retirement facility.

She was sort of the centre of the family that kept everyone connected. Christmases, Thanksgivings, and the like were done knowing that it should be done as long as she was with us. This kind of reminds me of my great-grammy, who hosted family reunions until she passed. When that happened, it hit me a lot harder than I thought it would. I wasnt super connected with that side of the family, she was over 100 years old, and passed in a very peaceful way.

But there was a feeling of stability in that, while the world changed, she always seemed the same. And while I wasn't too attached to the people at family reunions, as long as Great-Grammy was around, there was always the option to reconnect with my roots. Sometimes, even when the world is gracious and fair, a loss can still hit hard.

I wasn't as close with Lee-Anne's grandmother, but I was at many of the family gatherings hosted in her honour. She was bright until the end. I remember showing her some of our wedding photos, and she recalled having taken one with us and requested a copy.

She was the inspiration for one of her grandsons going into farming.

She passed almost exactly one month after my granddad. I find that funerals usually happen shockingly quick, but hers was postponed until the minister that oversaw mine and Lee-Anne's wedding could host it. We went to it a couple weeks ago. I'm late in making this post.

In other news, I'd mentioned that me and Lee-Anne were going to talk to a neurosurgeon. We did, and this time it actually yielded what felt like a more substantive path forward. We were told what our options were, we chose one, and now we're waiting to have it scheduled. Still an annoying wait period, but based on previous experience I was worried that we'd be told to consult someone else, and then need to have some time allocated to making a decision. She could begin her treatment in two months, at earliest.

I'm not going to talk on the treatment right now, because all the options are icky and I'm just not ready for a public discussion. But I will likely talk about it as it gets closer to happening.

Now I will show more images of this absurd amount of snow that we've had

Buried fire hydrants actually seems like a safety issues. Yes, for that first photo to be possible, I have to be standing above it. There are paths of tamped down snow made by people traveling over unplowed sidewalks.

Romantic Shawarma

Last year on Valentine's Day, Relish Shawarma opened in Belmont Village. It was the successor of Bossman Shawarma, and Sam's Shawarma before that. Despite Kitchener having a plethora of options for the cuisine, both of those locations closed exactly a year out from their opening day. When Relish opened, we were skeptical that such a franchise could be successful in the neighbourhood. It appeared we were living in a shawarma dry zone. Which is too bad, as it is full-stop my favourite food.

As we made our first order, the owner was very friendly and shared that their opening day had been strategically placed for the Valentine's Day rush. This made us further pessimistic about their business sense, as it didn't seem intuitive that this would be a draw for shawarma.

It wouldn't be their only peculiar decision. For the past year, they've persistently kept their open hours far beyond the time everything else in Belmont Village closes. They've asked us for our opinions on their food and service, and if they should make any changes. They added a Philly cheesesteak to their menu, which felt like a move of desperation. 

Since moving into the neighbourhood, my mother's fallen in love with the place. I've told her not to get attached.

Me and Lee-Anne decided that, if they were still open, we would go there for Valentine's Day. I told someone from the neighbourhood this, and he made a light jab at the obsurdity of getting Middle Eastern food for such an occasion.

Not only were they open, they had a one year anniversary Valentine's Day special! Mom went before us and said she asked them how business wass. They said things were going well. When we went, the place had a good amount of traffic. I overheard someone mention to one of the workers that they seemed busy. He responded "Of course! It's Valentine's Day!"

Well. It appears that some of their unorthodox moves were wise beyond my understanding. While it doesn't seem obvious to me that shawarma is a romantic food, I'm ready to lean into it.

We had a more traditional celebration the day before. There's an Italian grocery near us called Vincenzo's. I've eaten food from there many times, but rarely have I been in. My coworkers sometimes go on sandwich runs, and because I don't drive, I'm not usually doing pick up. Once during the Summer Program, I helped take an order, and one time when I was a Direct Support Worker, me and someone I supported poked our heads in.

But I'd never been in since moving into the neighbourhood. Apparently Lee-Anne had once, and even Mom has at this point. During our wedding shower, one of the things we received was a Vincenzo's gift card. So we finally took the opportunity to use it.

We got a baguette, some camembert, chorizo, a few dips and spreads, and cannolis for dessert. We made a little charcuterie board. 

Also, they had marmite and vegemite. I always hear about how repulsive those are to people that don't grow up with it, so we got some of the latter since a quick Google said that it was the more intense of the two. We tried it, and it was fine. Just a savoury spread, kind of pleasant even. Don't know why people make such as fuss.

This doesn't fit in with the theme of the rest of the post, but I feel like I have to mention how much it's been snowing here.

Here's a picket fence

Here's a bench

Year of the Wood Snake

Happy Year of the Snake! Me, my mother, and my grandmother share this sign in the Chinese Zodiac, so the three of us should expect good fortune. Moreover, it's the Year of the Wood Snake. This is specifically Mom's element, so things should be even better for her. I'm Ground and Grandma is Metal.

Since my brother has an interest in reptiles, I asked him to match us with snake species, taking our elements into consideration. He said I'd be a Woma Python, a type of large burrowing snake, adept at crossing hot sand. He gave Mom the Brown Tree Snake, known for their cat like eyes and mouths, capable in the canopy as well as the forest floor. Grandma got Grey Ratsnake, their colouration meeting her element of Metal, as well as the fact that they inhabit places similar to where she lives.

My brother's a Water Monkey so I said he could be a Japanese Macaque, the only primate, save humans, to live so far North. They enjoy bathing in natural hotsprings, which relieves them of the cold of their snowy habitat.

Usually I do a Year in Review. My final post of 2024 was basically a review of every year except this past one, so it kind of turned me off the concept. Now we're almost through January, so we can just say I'm reflecting on this past Year of the Dragon instead. I'll probably still use Western chronology...

Previously, I'd said that the theme of 2020 was COVID. 2021 was learning to live with Lee-Anne. In my 1000th post, I'd noted that 2021 had my lowest count for entries, and fewer personal events than any other year of my life. The only thing of note was us adopting Finn. We hadn't even moved in together in 2021, we did that late 2020. But the theme of the year was creating a household together during the languishing period of COVID.

In 2022 I got my diabetes diagnosis and managed a surprisingly strong recovery. In 2023 me and Lee-Anne got married. For 2024, since she was slotted to have her intra-cranial exam for her seizures, I figured that year would be about Lee-Anne's epilepsy options.

Well, that didn't get to be as much of a focus as we would have liked. She did have the intra-cranial exam, followed by a meeting with a neurosurgeon. But they hadn't processed her data, so we had to wait for that. After that came in, we got to see the report, but we needed to wait for a neurologist to read it to us. Then we needed to schedule a meeting with the neurosurgeon again. This all took about a year. We've got a meeting coming up next week. It's always tough, because the opportunity to proceed with treatment is scary, but the constant postponements are disappointing.

In addition to this, 2024 was a real crapshoot. My mom and brother's house burned down. We had to evacuate their stuff, they had to move into our two bedroom apartment with us, we found a new place for them in our neighbourhood, and we helped them rebuild their household.

My granddad died. Trump won the US election with all manner of sinister promises.

We did get to visit my grandparents that live in Northern Ontario, which I hadn't managed for a long time. That was nice.

2025 New Year's Resolutions

 Last year I resolved to:

• Reach post 1000 on The Gryphon's Perch by adding 42 entries
• Make 60 posts total including the satelite blogs
• Walk 40 km on average weekly
• Do two strength trainings on average weekly
• Find a way to feel valuable

Let's see how I did:

Reach post 1000 on The Gryphon's Perch by adding 42 entries

I achieved this one! On December 31st, I made my 1000th post, which was a summary of the main events that happened each year that the blog has been active. Reading 14 & 1/4 years of my life to prep for it was trippy.

Make 60 posts total including the satelite blogs

I updated my food blog 20 times, with recipes for: General Tso's chicken, pork schnitzel, cream of broccoli soup, energy balls, chicken tortilla soup, Caribbean rice & beans, cheesesteaks, fresh pasta, zucchini fritters, quickles, jambalaya, fried okra, broccoli salad, dahl, macaroni corn casserole, tourtiere, chicken cacciatori, the "Do the Brussel" burger, fried green tomatoes, and loco moco.

Just by adding my food entries, this brings me to a total of 62, fulfilling my resolution. But I also made 5 reviews and I posted twice to my gallery. This brings my total to 69.

The gallery posts were both photos-based, one of Kenabeek and one of Victoria Park. I didn't do any paintings I felt were worth making their own posts for, but I did do these:

I also made a few attempts at an aurora borealis that didn't quite work out and another version of the tarot-style sun/moon with colour gradient. I tried drawing the tree in our backyard with coloured pencils too

Walk 40 km on average weekly

My average for 2024 was 44.3. Ever since 2021 when my goal was 25, I've been increasing it by 5 annually. I managed to get close enough to the next interval that I feel obligated to increase it again. I don't want to at the moment though. I was sick this week and wasn't able to do much walking, and we have a polar vortex going on, which is discouraging to go outside. I'll still make it a resolution to walk 45 km average weekly in 2025. My mom always aims for 50, so maybe I'll settle at that number when I get to it, having doubled my original goal.

Do two strength trainings on average weekly

I went long stretches where this was true. I came up with a game, where I have a character on an adventure that he only gets to progress if I exercise. I'd write a new entry every time I worked out.

After my mother and brother lost their house in the fire and moved in with us, it cut down on floor space, making it difficult to do strength trainings. After they left, I found it challenging to get back into a routine. So I'll make the same resolution this year, in the hopes that we don't have to host anyone this time

Find a way to feel valuable

I made this one because I'd watched a "How to ADHD" video explaining that people often fall out of allignment with their goals. She suggested that instead of asking yourself "What do I want to accomplish", you should ask "How do I want to feel?". I thought this was intriguing, and decided to try it for at least one resolution. I was able to identify that I wanted to feel valuable, but I couldn't find a way to do that, so I just left it as a goal to try and figure it out.

To be honest, I remember all this now, but I forgot to try and fulfill it shortly after the post. I suppose I proved my value incidentally after the fire, just by being able to provide shelter, help with documents, use my network and such, but meh. I don't really think I achieved this one.

I'll say I succeeded at 3 out of 5 of my resolutions.

Resolutions

I'm going to relax my posting schedule. I'd been wanting those 1000 posts for a long time. I don't want to give this blog up completely though. Previously, I'd set a minimum of 35 posts anually when I hit an all-time low in 2021. I kind of forgive myself for that particular year though. After doing my summary of the entire blog, I realized that 2021 was the least eventful. My brother pointed out that while we remember 2020 as the year of COVID, everything was still new and strange. The year following was when panic transitioned to languishing, so it makes sense that my inspiration was low at that time. We did get Finn that year.

Anyway, I'll return to previous years targets, and just say minimum 35 for this blog, 50 spread over the satelites.

As I said before, I'll increase my walking goal to 45 km weekly, and I'll try again for two strength trainings on average.

As far as health-based resolutions go, I found success in an area that was a surprise. After being diagnosed diabetic a few years ago, I've been on a health journey. I thought it would start with a focus on nutrition, then when I got comfortable with that, it would progress to activity, and eventually I wanted to try intermittent fasting. I even had it as a goal for 2023, which I never felt ready for and dumped the following year in favour of an emphasis on exercise.

But I did try it. I started with 12 hour fasts. It was surprisingly easy. If you're hungry, you don't have to ask yourself what you're going to eat or how much, you just have to ask if you're in your fasting window. I was comfortable enough that I increased it to 16 hours.

Something improved that I didn't expect. One morning I woke up feeling better rested than I had in years. I didn't think too deeply about it, but the next day and the day after were the same. At that time I had to ask myself if I'd been doing anything differently and I realized it was the fasting.

It hasn't helped much with weight loss (I've lost five pounds this year) but it has helped immensely with sleep, which is something I've always struggled with. I don't want to sound like a shill for this method. Everyone's body is different and I don't want to perscribe an umbrella solution. But it's been good for me, and I would like to resolve to continue with it.

I'm not going to bring back finding a way to feel valuable, but I will commit to an emotion-based goal. Lee-Anne's been reading a book on the sensation of awe. This is what you feel when you observe something greater than yourself. People associate it with nature, art, spirituality, moral beauty, confrontations with mortality, and connection with others. She wants to try and experience more of this in the new year, and I said I would try along with her.

I also want to cut down on my screentime, engaging in less media that is algorithm-based. I don't trust these corporations to have my best interests in mind when choosing the information I consume. So I'd like to spend more time with "cold media", things that can't immediately be changed, such as physical books.

So with all this being said...

In 2025, I resolve to:

• Make 35 posts to The Gryphon's Perch
• Have a total of 50 posts between my main blog and its satelites
• Walk an average of 45 km weekly
• Do strength trainings 2 times per week
• Commit to a 16 hour intermittent fasting schedule
• Seek out experiences that evoke a sense of awe
• Consume more cold media

Grattitude Jar 2024

This is the second year that I'm posting the contents of my grattitude jar.  Like last time, I've omitted confidential information. In 2023 I had 73 grattitudes, while this entry only has 53. The first one had things like "Living close to the Iron Horse Trail" which still holds true but I wouldn't bother repeating, so I don't think I'm less grateful this time around.

Since these were written on construction paper and thrown in haphazardly, I can't guarantee this is in chronological order. I did make an attempt to put them in "clumps" when they relate. 

Context occasionally given in brackets.

"Seeing what were probably bats on the Iron Horse Trail"

"Having two neurospicy coworkers" (I myself am neurospiced, which is why I'm mentioning this)

"Finding a good stick to use as a window jam" (Our window stopped working for a bit, so we needed to find something to jam it with. When winter came around, the regular lock started working again. Don't know why)

"Medical system progressing Lee-Anne's journey. Schedule for intracranial observation set"

"Being in a country with an accessible enough medical system to give this as an option for Lee-Anne"

"Living in a time where we can understand Lee-Anne's epilepsy"

"Lee-Anne's procedure is on Purple Shirt Day" (Purple Shirt Day is Epilepsy Awareness Day. Even her neurosurgeon said her procedure being set at that date was "auspicious". Some coworkers and members wore purple in her honour)

"Lee-Anne successfully getting through initial surgery for her epilepsy observation"

"Lee-Anne being supported to make a complaint after a bad experience with a nurse"

"Finding a 4 leaf clover token"

"Getting some time to myself to recuperate"

"Getting the salad bowl that was ordered for our wedding shower last year"

"Developing a strategy to keep workout routine engaging"

"Playing the new edition of Super Mario RPG"

"Having a good vet clinic" (One of our cats, Finn, had an emergency where he was urinating blood. We took him in. He was diagnosed as anxious with a delayed reaction from the Christmas season. We got him treated and he's been doing well)

"Finn feeling better"

"A workshop provider forcing some introspection on coworkers"

"The solar eclipse being cool and my boss bringing eclipse glasses"

"Running into the mother of someone I used to support and learning that he is doing well"

"Getting to experience Akira Toriyama's work" (The writer for the Dragon Ball series passed this year)

"QAM went well" (The audit system for where I work. I've been there for six years. Apparently they used to come in almost annually, but the pandemic backlogged them hard, so this was the first time I've experienced it) 

"Seeing a Via, Go, and Ion train all crossing the same spot at the same time"

"My mom & aunt made it to Kenabeek" (Where my grandparents live)

"My mom, brother, and their cats getting out of the fire alright" (When Mom was gone, there was a house fire that compromised their home. My mom, brother, and there two cats would have to live with us until they could find somewhere else)

"Family in Guelph having enough community to step in"

"Managed to get seeds to sprout sunflowers in each of the jiffy pots" (This is the only grattitude that aged poorly, as none of these sunflowers would survive. I grew three batches, but they were all eaten by pests)

"My mom and brother getting to try Graffiti Market and Thai Bistro"

"Getting the chance to show my mom and brother the Pokemon Go routes I've made" (Fringe benefit of them needing to live here is that I was able to show them some local attractions)

"Kieran & Finn and Castor & Pollux all warmed up to each other" (Our two cats and their two, learning to live with each other)

"My brother being supported by his partner in California" (My brother left to stay with his partner for a few months after the fire to collect himself)

"Finally doing Tie Dye" (When I couldn't find a purple shirt for Epilepsy Awareness Day, I remembered that I could use tie dye. I bought a kit, but also regular dye and wound up making a normal purple shirt. Eventually I made some tie-dye stuff)

"Went to the cherry festival for the first time and it was a lot bigger than I thought it could be"

"Harvested a lot of peas, got a tomato, and two cucumbers on the way"

"Hearing that an old teacher told one of our students that I have a beautiful soul"

"Being lent the complete works of J.R.R. Tolkien"

"Going to Central Art Walk and Frederick Art Walk"

"Running into some old coworkers and people I used to support at Frederick Art Walk"

"Getting new bookmarks, dryer balls, a sketchbook, and a calendar for 2025 at Frederick Art Walk"

"Getting to stay at St Jacob's for mine and Lee-Anne's first anniversary"

"Running into an old WALES member at St Jacob's Market"

"Running into my old boss and his wife at Stanley Park Mall"

"Seeing a fox outside Hospice Waterloo Region" (Not because anyone was dying. I was job shadowing someone, and when we left there was a fox)

"My mom and brother got accepted into an apartment right across the street, rent controlled with dishwasher"

"Pollux & Castor moved to the new apartment" (They didn't go right away, we waited until the place was filled out a bit)

"My mom and brother were given an armchair and couch from Lee-Anne's grandma's old place" 

"A coworker gave my mom and brother a coffee table and dining room table"

"Family friend helped us move the Guelph stuff out of storage"

"Finally getting that citrus painting from Lee Angold, which we first saw at the Central Art Walk" (Mentioning her name because she is a public fiure)

"Finally going back to Kenabeek, seeing it in Fall for the first time" (A place that was central to my childhood, but I hadn't managed to visit in recent years)

"Finding my old clubhouse in Kenabeek still intact"

"Reading my old childhood books in Kenabeek and showing Lee-Anne"

"Granddad got to be with his wife and daughters when he passed" (My granddad with dementia, not from the Kenabeek branch)

"Granddad passed while listening to his favourite symphony: Mahler #2"

Granddad's Memorial Service

Here is Granddad's obituary, mostly written by my Aunt with input from Mom:

https://obituaries.thestar.com/obituary/dr-barent-landstreet-jr-1092502209

His Memorial Service was held on January 2nd at the retirement community that he'd been living in with Oma. They have a lobby downstairs that is large enough to accomodate a gathering. It was held here because they wanted to make sure that family could make it, as well as friends and neighbours that were local to the community.

 It was a Quaker ceremony. I knew that we had some ancestry, but honestly didn't know it was immediate enough to count as our nearest faith system, at least on that side of the family. I liked it though. Quakers don't plan speaches, so they celebrate in silence, allowing anyone that feels compelled to talk to briefly say what's on their mind.

There was a very slight irony that the person explaining the format read the bit about not having planned speaches from a piece of paper.

I didn't quite have it in me to talk. I'm comforted a little by the sentiment that we were able to support with our silence. I wonder if my quietness comes from my Quaker roots.

I'll share a few of the thoughts I had while I was reflecting on my relationship with Granddad during the service. Nothing too profound.

I remembered waving to each other all the way until he was out of eyesight after his visits to Guelph.

I remembered that, during a road trip to see my Great Grandmother in Philedelphia, he was playing an audio biography of Beethoven. As an adult, it wasn't too sad, but it had some melancholy beats. I asked him and my mom why they would listen to something they knew would make them feel bad. The answer I got was that it was "sad in a good way" and when I said that didn't make sense, I was told that "I'd understand when I grew up". Well, I'm grown up now and I do know. I think this was the first time I considered that there was merit to life outside of happiness.

He was the reason I used to listen to classical music when I was trying to sleep as a child. I had insomnia and it helped.

I remembered that when things were hard when I was in high school, and our households were not speaking. We'd email each other and rendezvous somewhere for a meal and to catch up.

He's probably the only reason I had any real familiarity with restaurants before I became an adult. 

Here is a display in his honour set up at the service.

After the ceremony, we took his ashes to High Park. He used to run there regularly, as it was in his neighbourhood previous to retirement. I used to go on hikes with him there. My aunt gave the family 20 jars and invited us to either scatter them or take them home. After some thought, I figured that I didn't know which was a better way to honour him. So I chose a tree to scatter my bottle under, and Lee-Anne kept hers.

I thought that, because he was sociable I should put it somewhere that he could see people moving by. I found a spot near a walking trail and river, overlooked by this tree.

 

I also took note of a memorial bench nearby, just because those are always distinct and unlikely to be moved. A way to make sure I could find my way back.

He neighbours Marjorie and Stan Collinson. There's an engraved quote that says "Memories are precious, life goes along, fill it with caring and love"

Maybe not hyper-specific to our family, but it fits and it's a nice sentiment.

Mom thought similarly and split the difference with the ashes she was given, scattering some and taking some home. She says she wants to spread some near where they're currently living, and some near mine and Lee-Anne's place.

1000th Post

This is my 1000th post. I started this blog on September 12th, 2009. It took me 14 and a quarter years to reach this point.

I originally came up with the idea after doing something called the Ways2Work program, a pre-employment service for youth who didn't have a path forward after highschool. We used to do something called "check in" each morning where we would go around the circle and talk about what had happened to us the previous day.

Before attending Ways2Work, I had spent some time feeling lost and depressed after graduating highschool and breaking up with my first girlfriend. I couldn't keep track of time, and things fell into a sort of miasma. But when I was in this group I felt compelled to find something that I could at least speak to each morning, so I had something to say during check in.

After completing the program, my life became structureless again. This blog was made as a way of recreating that sense of continuity that Ways2Work's check in sessions provided me. Inspiration to do something worth talking about every day.

I originally named it "Lair of the Gryphon", a reference to an earlier blog I'd made on LiveJournal called "Lair of the Rat Sage". I don't know why I defined myself as such. That one had a similar initial purpose, but spiraled into my hyperfixation at the time, which was book reviews.

Eventually, I renamed this blog as "the Gryphon's Perch" after many years being known by its prior title. Originally, the subtext was "A daily blog about my life". Once I'd established a career in social work, I had to consider large amounts of my life confidential, causing updates to become less frequent.

This place has never been a huge public draw, although it has had two spikes in readership. After doing Canada World Youth, I spoke a lot on my experience in the village of Karadie, the only person at the time to do so. This meant that I'd be a primary source on Google for future teams going there. A lot of people in my own group found the blog ahead of time too. I also got some attention from people wanting to attend the Social Service Worker program at Conestoga College for the same reason. I've had two fans that I didn't know reach out to me.

At its prime, this blog was getting 600+ views per post. It's still one of the first hits if you Google "Gryphon Sibbald". Due to what I assume was caused by long breaks and inconsistency, it has dwindled to like... 10 on average. Some content was also filtered away after I made four satellite blogs: 

The Migrating Gryphon, originally KatimaGryphon, based on travelling and is simply an amalgation of my experiences in Katimavik and Canada World Youth. I was the group journalist in both programs and simply copy/pasted my entries into these for preservation. If I ever travel again, I'll update it again. As is, I haven't posted anything since graduating Canada World Youth. It was my first satellite, but the only one that isn't currently active.

Gryphon's Gallery, which started off based on photos. At first mostly from my neighbourhood in Guelph, just trotting around snapping pics on an old point-and-shoot camera. Eventually it expanded to include paintings when I got into that.

Gryphon's Reviews, harkening back to Lair of the Rat Sage. No one ever really liked this content, so I decided to spare the few regulars I get here and sequestered it in its own blog. Not just books now, it can cover anything.

Gryphood, my most recent but second most active blog, after this one. I found online recipes annoying, so I reformat them in a way that makes better sense for my brain. It started off as a pandemic hobby, but it became useful in adjusting to my life with Lee-Anne, and also to my diabetes diagnosis. I've also made a personal hard copy version.

I'm kay with the decline in readership on my main blog. The only views I cared about were those coming from my grandparents, who have kept up with my updates enthusiastically. One of those people was my granddad, who lost his ability to keep up as dementia set in, and who passed this December 23rd.

The original intent of this blog was to ensure that I had something to talk about every day, and it achieved that purpose. Once my life sped up and I no longer needed it as a tool for that, it became more about honing and maintaining my writing ability.

For this 1000th post, I am going to overview each year that it has been published and give a summary.

2009

I picked up Karate this year and talked a lot about that. I would later drop it for Katimavik, get back into it a bit after graduating, drop it again for Canada World Youth, and then never pick it up again. I did visit the dojo a few times after, and one of the instructors would later go to the same college as me, so we got to catch up.

I kept the friends I made there in an email chain when I was doing my two youth programs. I still have my old sensei as a Facebook friend. He stopped doing martial arts at some point, got into cars, and the dojo eventually closed. He's also now married to a friend of one of my coworkers.

I also talked about a small entrepreneurial business my mom had with a family friend. It was LGBTQ+ based homemade jewellery that they sold at the farmer's market. I helped making some of the items. My Oma still wears earrings from that old business sometimes.

I did my Katimavik paperwork but don't think I got accepted this year. I started my gallery blog. Me and my father reunited.

Something I noticed is that I spoke a lot more vulgarly. This makes sense, as I wasn't worried about maintaining a professional voice at the time.

2010

I got accepted into Katimavik, a youth travel-volunteer program where you are randomly given three destinations across Canada, living and traveling with a group of people. You're assigned a work placement at a non-profit organization and do volunteer events and workshops on evenings and weekends. People in the house take turns as House Manager, who get to take a week off work so that they can take on most of the responsibilities for cooking and cleaning.

Our first rotation was in Summerside, Prince Edward Island. My placement was at Community Connections, a day program for people with developmental disabilities. I liked it so much it was an inspiration for me to go to college for social work, and my career path wound up being with this population.

Second rotation was Thunder Bay, Ontario. My placement was with the Regional Distribution Food Association, better known as the RFDA. It was like the food bank for food banks.

Third rotation was Chisasibi, Cree Nation, North Quebec. We didn't get placements here, instead we had three major projects. One was helping to overseee a powwow, another was living in a traditionally Cree way on an island called Fort George, and another was helping to look after kids at a summer camp.

I was selected as the Chairman for the Katimavik Communication Counsel twice. I also became the resident bread baker. We weren't allowed to purchase processed food unless it was donated as a gift, so everything had to be homemade. For a long time after this, I would only eat homemade bread, and I loved giving it to people randomly. It's an easy thing to do, and no one ever forgets that you did it for them. The first recipe I uploaded to Gryphood was "Katimabread". When I was interested in Lee-Anne, I made her a loaf of bread. After the diabetes diagnosis, I chilled out with this. 

Mom got her Hepatitus C diagnosis this year. They got evicted from our apartment within a week of me leaving for Katimavik. While I was gone, they moved into the place that burned down this year.

After completing Katimavik, I applied to and was accepted into its sister program, Canada World Youth. But because my mom was struggling with her Hep C treatment, I rejected the offer and decided to stay back until she was well.

2011

I got my first real, full-time work this year. It was at Linamar, a car parts manufacturing factory, at their LPP branch. Got it through a temp agency. I put springs and rockers into car axels and clutches

I also made the notorious post "Depressiion", on January 16. I have opted not to take it down, but it was pretty humiliating. I got blackout drunk and made a post that starts out pretty coherent but which spirals into nonsense.

I only did that once, but I talked too much about drinking in general. I guess I was newly of age and it still seemed novel. I didn't drink much, but when I did I blogged, and I mentioned it. I don't really do this anymore.

Mom successfully completed her Hepatitus C treatment. She says that she can't remember anything from the year she went through it, or the one after. Even after you recover from the disease, it takes time to come back from the treatment. 

In the back half of the year, I did Canada World Youth. In this one, you live for three months with a host family and someone from another country somewhere in Canada. Then you and the person you were living with go live somewhere in their country.

I was selected to stay in La Pocatiere, Quebec, and live with someone from Mali, a West African country. We worked as florists. Then we went to the village of Karadie, as I mentioned earlier in this blog, and worked as agriculturalists. 

2012

This year had more updates by far than any other to date, with a staggering 163! My grandma printed out all the entries I did on my Malian experience and it was over 200 pages! That's a novel!

Even though I'd completed the program, most of my updates were about Canada World Youth. I'd updated my travel blog in La Pocatiere, but we didn't have Internet access in Karadie, so I had to wait to write on the experience. When I got back, I had things to say!

This was the year I went to my grandparents place in Northern Ontario so that my grandpa could teach me how to drive. I wound up failing "without making any disqualifying errors, but an accumulation of minor ones". I still don't have the next level of my license! Took another crack at it this year but because of some clerical stuff, I wasn't able to test.

Mali had a military coup this year, creating the breakaway nation of Azawad. This wound up not lasting long term.

Canada discontinued pennies.

It was reported that someone in my Canada World Youth group had contracted Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, and we were all to see a doctor immediately. Because I'd developed the same symptoms as someone else in the program, I contacted him to ask if he was the one that got the diagnosis. He had.

I saw my family doctor, who referred me to a specialist for my "scaly, multiplaying red leisions". That guy would delay my appointment twice, far beyond the recommended period Canada World Youth had told us to get checked. When I finally did see him, he said that whatever it was, my body had fought it off. I told him what the going theory was, and he seemed agitated that I had an opinion on the matter.

After this, I wouldn't see my family doctor for ten years. At this time, she read the notes this specialist made, and he'd copied what I told him, but wrote it as his own thoughts! Like a joke that took ten years to tell.

The infection left a ring of blotchy red markings around my ankle for years. I liked them, but at some point they decided to heal. I didn't know scars could do that.

I applied for Conestoga College's Social Service Worker Program. Despite it saying they were still accepting applicants, I was rejected based on the fact that I applied "past the time of equal consideration". They offered me the Human Services Foundation college certificate program as compensation until I could apply for my preference the next year. It didn't seem financially responsible to do an additional year of college when it was unknown if I would need to do it, but at the time I was just so sick of factory work that I took the plunge.

I moved into Student Residence.

I got my first cell phone this year. I quickly noticed that everyone else had one. I went out and got the cheapest pay-as-you-go plan I could find. I got a flip phone, which was outdated even by the standards of the time. I liked it though. I only had to charge it once a week, instead of once a day. It was durable and I replaced it when I was ready to upgrade to a smart phone, not because it broke. Sometimes I miss it.

My Great Aunt Linda passed this year.

 2013

This year I graduated from Human Services Foundation and was accepted into Social Services.

I joined the Respect Campaign and became an English as an Additional Language Partner. I got a job working at the Information Desk.

I managed to blossom my first sunflower, which I got on the campus for Earth Day in a jiffy pot and brought home to Guelph. This began my love of sunflowers.

I moved into a room in a nearby house aimed at students, where I would live until the end of college.

I had a falling out with my father this year and we became estranged again.

2014

A classmate and friend of mine passed suddenly due to a rare autoimmune disease. She was only 19 years old. My great grandmother would also pass this year, just shy of her 101st birthday. Another friend gave birth. The start of new life, one cut short, and one ended after a great length of time. I don't know if there's any meaning behind it, but it sure sparked existential feelings at the time.

I got selected to do my student placement at WALES this year, which is where I've been working the past five years as of this entry. I also got a job being a Respect Leader for the Respect Campaign where I'd been volunteering. In this position, I led meetings and helped run campus events.

I also worked my first year as a Summer Program Leader at Extend-a-Family, which I would do four times over five years.

I was given that first spice rack that I finally got rid of this year. I updated my flip phone to a smart phone.

 I became 25 this year. Since schizophrenia runs in my family, I was very relieved to make it to this age without developing it. Most studies say that the risk decreases significantly past this point.

2015

I shaved my beard for a fundraiser, the only time I would do this in adult life.

I graduated from Social Services. I made a really funny entry on April 19, called "Forest Adventures". One of my favourites of all time. Me and some friends walk into the forest, get ambushed by snakes, and we chase a guy down through the woods, weirdly thinking that he might hurt himself because of our fresh egos as social service work graduates.

At my convocation, I remember setting my phone to "Airplane Mode" meaning that it shouldn't be able to ring. After putting on my gown, I felt it buzzing in my pocket. Puzzled, as it shouldn't be able to do that, I lifted my skirt, reached into my pocket and took the call. It was Emergency Services. Apparently Airplane Mode doesn't prevent you from calling them. They told me I should shut my phone off, as I'd apparently called them three times. They were able stop their people from showing up, but I almost had Emergency Services crash our convocation!

Also, because of some weird mixup, my full name Gryphon Walter Barent Sibbald came up instead of just my first and last. I got an especially large shout as I crossed the stage to receive my diploma, with my huge name being called out.

I moved out of student housing and into a place that I sublet for a bit.

I got a job as an Independent Facilitator with an organization now known as Bridges to Belonging, but at the time named Facile, and I took on several Direct Support Contracts with Extend-a-Family.

2016

Moved out of the place I was subletting from, as the owners came back. Moved into a townhouse where I would live for the next five years.

I left my job as an Independent Facilitator but kept my contracts with Extend-a-Family.

Pokemon Go came out this year, which I still play.

There was a weird incident in my townhouse complex where a bunch of guys showed up in unmarked vans, came out dressed in body armour, weilding assault rifles, and dragged out the residents of a neighbouring unit. Later, we found out that someone who wasn't on the lease had been staying there, who was a wanted murderer from Quebec.

My first set of roommates post-college moved out and I got a new one.

In Guelph, my childhood pet rabbit, Moss, passed away. 

2017

This year both the house in Guelph and the one in Kitchener flooded at the same time, for two different reasons.

I got my job as a Safe Management Instructor, which I'm still doing. I also got a full time job at a group home, working the night shift. It was for displaced youth, not strictly in the developmental sector.

One of my neighbours passed away from cancer.

I had another roommate shift out, and another shift in. I'd live with this new guy for the next three years though. We'd part ways because I would move somewhere new with Lee-Anne.

I got accepted into the Social Development Studies program at University of Waterloo. I tried to quit my group home job, but they offered me sleep shifts. Getting paid to sleep was too good to pass up. This led to my most insane work saga.

I was working full time, doing four Direct Support Contracts, and five University courses. I didn't have a vehicle, so my schedule was so packed that I almost never had time to be home. I found ways to do every life necessity while working. I slept at the group home and did my laundry there. I kept my clothes in my backpack. I brought some people to a pool, so I'd bring a bar of soap and shower on the job.

And sleep shifts don't guarantee any rest. If things are going down, you have to address it. Eventually I quit the group home job.

At University I took an intro to art class, which is how I got into painting.

2018

I've got a fun post this year, titled "Malevich", posted February 28. It was about a presentation I did for a Russian Studies class, where I covered the artsyle Supremetism and sold the class on a piece called Black Square. I end the post saying "I should just move to Russia". Based on how things are right now, I'm really glad I didn't!

Another fun one is titled "Chocolate Favoris". One time, in Canada World Youth, we were at an ice cream shop. The person asked what kind of chocolate I wanted, I just said "non" reflexively. Later, I learned that the chocolate was there specialty. I used to joke that one of our cultural integration techniques of asking ourselves if we would be mad five minutes, five days, five weeks, months or years told me that I should be mad, since I still wanted that chocolate! Well, a branch opened in Guelph and this covers my experience there.

I also had "The Hat Man" on October 28. It was a good year for fun posts.

This year I got my job at WALES. I dropped out of University to take the opportunity. Unfortunately, one of the members that I had been looking forward to working with again passed, suddenly and unexpectedly, right before I could start.

Marijuanna was legalized in Canada.

The family friend that my mom had that entrepreneurial business passed away this year. I felt bad because she used to always say I would get married, and she looked forward to coming to my wedding. I told her not to count on it. But this year, I'd met Lee-Anne and was planning to ask her out. But I never told the family friend this, and she never got to meet her.

2019

This year introduced the ION Lightrail system. It was the cause of constant construction ever since I'd moved to Kitchener. I didn't have high hopes for it and even made a post talking about how it was nothing special after I tried it. But given time, I've become quite the fan. I almost never need to use a bus anymore.

There was a shooting near where I lived which really scared me. It was at 5 PM, in an area I often went, and two bystanders had been hit.

I changed the name of the blog from "Lair of the Gryphon" to "The Gryphon's Perch"

I asked out Lee-Anne this year. Our first date was at a bubble tea shop near the University of Waterloo.  I managed to grow sunflowers at the townhouse for the first time, which I took as a good sign. It's a big reason our wedding would be sunflower themed.

I adopted my cat Kieran this year! I partially did it to impress Lee-Anne, as I knew she loved cats. But I'd wanted one ever since I moved out, I just never felt stable enough. I figured I'd survived long enough on my own to put a little trust in myself.

In Guelph, beloved family cat Luna passed suddenly at only ten years old.

2020

Infamously, this was the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, we were put into lockdown measures and my work turned remote. Everyone was panic buying. Weird times.

Earlier that year, my Uncle Steve passed away.

My roommate developed kidney failure and I had to call 911 for him. He wound up recovering.

George Floyd was murdered, sparking a resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement.

I helped my Guelph family and someone else adopt cats. Both of them would die unexpectedly a few years later, making me not want to help anyone with adoption ever again.

I started my Gryphood blog. Found an old recipe my boss at the time gave us for a crockpot Thanksgiving Dinner on October 14. I was wondering if I still had it somewhere. Posting the date here so I can find it again.

I inherited the remains of a trust fund that I'd used to help me through college.

Me and Lee-Anne moved out of the townhouse and into the place where we currently live.

Granddad experienced an episode that would cause his to rapidly decline.

2021

Canada had its worst spree shooting in history. Some dentist in Nova Scotia went on a rampage.

We adopted our second cat Finn this year from Lee-Anne's sister in law.

Wow, not much happened this year. Lowest total post count of any year, too.

2022

Lee-Anne found my personal white whale for lost media, the Friends of the Forest theme song. I have it included in the February 5th post, titled "My Hot Ones Interview"

One of the Guelph cats, Blackavar, passed away. Peacefully and at a decent age.

I got reassessed for ADHD as an adult. I was confirmed to still have it and was even upgraded from the Primarily Inattentive type to Combined. They detected hyperactivity in me.

I visited my doctor for the first time in ten years and got diagnosed diabetic. I got on meds and made some quick recovery, dropping my A1C from 11.5 to 5.9 and losing 35 pounds.

2023

Randomly, me and two others were requested by the city's fire fighters to develop a workshop for them on de-escalation. We did a series of sessions until every one of them in Kitchener had attended.

Me and Lee-Anne got married! My coworkers threw us a wedding shower. I managed to blossom a record number of sunflowers. On our way home, someone had taped a single red rose to a beam in front of our home street. Must have been a coincidence, but it felt fated for us.

The two remaining Guelph cats, Cassidy and Thor, passed away. Thor was like 20 but Cassidy was ony seven or eight. This is when I vowed to not help people adopt cats. But it just so happened that Lee-Anne's sister in law had new kittens, and she, my mom, and my brother would all be at the same place because of the wedding.

So Castor and Pollux were adopted on the day me and Lee-Anne got married.

Near the end of the year, we all got COVID. I had managed to avoid it this long, as had my mom and brother. Lee-Anne had had it before, but she got it again. It wasn't too bad.

And that's that! 14 and 1/4 years of documented living. I'm not doing too much proofreading, this is really long. Hopefully it reads alright. With this, I have completed my New Year's Resolution of getting to my 1000th post with 42 updates.