I just had one of those ‘friendly’ discussions at the all-women gym.  The topic of exercise and weight loss came up, and I pointed out that you can exercise all you want, but until you stop stuffing your pie hole you’re not going to lose weight.  Of course, there’s always someone in the crowd who wants to argue with me.

One of the members said, “I’d gain weight if I didn’t come to the gym.”  I said if I never came to the gym, and ate very little food, I would lose weight.  I told her I have come to the gym, eaten like a horse, and remained fat.  It was only when I joined Weight Watchers and stopped shovelling in the calories that the fat came off.

Of course I’m a strong proponent of exercise, and would never stop doing it.  But facts are stubborn things.  You can exercise all you like, but if you’re eating like Kirstie Alley, you’re going to end up resembling her in short order.

As you know, I’m trying to gather information from mom so I can write her biography.  Whenever I go to Osoyoos I make her tell me another two or three pages’ worth of things that happened.  That’s the easy part.  The hard part will be turning it into something readable.

And now another person is trying to write her own memoir, and asked if I would help her with it.  I met Ilona 20 years ago when Susan and I started Rucastle and Schiller Workskills, Ltd.  Our first contract was to help new immigrants find jobs.

Ilona and her husband Lajos were among our first participants.  She was a pharmacist and he was a television journalist in former Yugoslavia.  We somehow managed to finagle a job for her as a pharmacy tech at a local drug store.  I hadn’t seen or heard from her in 20 years, and on Sunday she called me.

She said she’d had a brain tumour removed last year, and had survived in tact and wanted to tell her story.  So we meet for lunch at Joey’s yesterday and I gave her whatever tips I know from my own writing project.  I told her to start to write, send it to me, and I’ll edit it for her.  It could be an interesting experience.

A nice woman named Tracey came to talk to me for a study she’s doing on behalf of the Economic Development Commission.  When she phoned I immediately tried to get out of it, as I said I don’t know anything that will help.  However, she said piffle to that, and made an appointment.

She arrived at the appointed time on Monday afternoon, and proceeded to ask me questions for their survey on local businesses.  It must be so disappointing for her to hear answers like this to normal questions.
Tracey: Do you have a business plan?
Me: No.

I always find it hard to explain the business.  I just said to her if I would devote myself to it, it would be a huge success.  But I said I also have to go to the gym, write, work in the house and yard, cook, and go to Osoyoos to visit mom and Gerry.  Give me Martha’s staff, and I will rule the world!