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I attended a meeting for our local drug and alcohol awareness strategy team.  We started slowly – we had an hour time frame to work with.  We reviewed previous information we had discussed; reports were given on progress.

Then, one of those serendipity things happened.  A member mentioned a ridiculous idea.  One of the members mulled it over.  Then another.  Soon the idea took a reasonable shape.

And all of a sudden people sat up in their chairs.  They began to see timelines and possibilities that had been merely concepts until then.  By the end of the meeting we were walking away with assigned homework and an expectation that was unexpected when we arrived.

Now, that’s what I call a meeting.

Our seniors group met today.  Around 45 of them.  All set to hear from our local RCMP staff sargent. 

He was called out on an emergency and could not make it.

I’m left leading a meeting with a “hole” of about 30 – 45 minutes.  Once I explained that to the group, we ate slowly, sang favourites and generally sat back and relaxed.

Not a bad approach.   Those present will probably remember the meeting because it was totally unexpected.  That’s often the way our memories are best built.  We tend to remember the unusual. 

So, perhaps today, we built some good memories.  May that be true!!

I sat with a young friend and her family over lunch yesterday.  I had learned recently that she is writing a book. 

I’m personally interested in writing.  I’ve been a part of a writer’s group and have taken courses in writing.  I write this blog regularly.  I prepare sermons.  I have served in an administrative role where reports are constantly required.  I love words and their meanings.

So . . . I enquired about the book. 

What was the plot?  She mentioned that it stretched over an eight year period, was about a young couple and their life.

I probed a bit for further information.  To which I received that classic line of all good writers.

“You’ll have to read the book!”

So . . . she’s got my order!

I’ve been switching over to a number of Microsoft software programs lately.  They tend to be more universally used and (I must admit) do the job.

Today was a learning curve on Excel – a spreadsheet program.  Amazing the things “Help” provides!  As I went through, I figured out how to color rows and columns, how to increase and decrease the print area and even how to change the page setup.

I didn’t figure out how to get all the information inputted without typing it in myself.  I was working with small sheets of scrap paper and full sheets of foolscap.  Thankfully there was time, which helped my learning curve immensely.

I wonder what program comes next?