Category: College

NERAASA, school, and home…

Johnnyboy

I spent last weekend in Portland, Maine for the NERAASA Convention.  For those who do not know, it is the Northeast Regional AA Service Assembly.  This is a working weekend about service.  By service I do not mean coffee makers or chairing meetings.  The service I am talking about is the type that gets literature to the outside world so parole officers, nurses, doctors, judges, clergy, and treatment centers know what AA is and, more important, what it is not.  It is a convention of GSRs, DCMs, Area Delegates, Trustees, and so forth.  These are the 15% who do all the work.  It is because of us that AA groups (as opposed to ‘meetings’) have a say in the affairs of AA worldwide.  What’s the difference between a meeting and group?  A group has a ‘group number’, a vote in the governing structure, and a firm connection to the program.  A meeting does not.  It is easy to become a group.  Go to the next District meeting and sign up.  Then you hold a business meeting, elect officers for the group, and proceed in the bigger world of service to the alcoholic who still suffers.

It was a great weekend and I learned a lot about the program of AA and myself.

School is moving along and I have a lot of work to do this week.  I still have to finish that damn Digital Art and Design course from last semester before April 10th…

Mom is doing brilliantly.  It seems as if the Synthroid is working very well.   Her under-active thyroid was dragging her down.  Now she has more energy during the day and all that.  I can breathe a little easier.

That’s about it for now…

Johnnyboy

School, photography, family, and more photography…

Johnnyboy

Life goes on here in Somewheresville. Nothing gained, nothing lost. I have been working diligently on my Senior Thesis–writing, re-writing, submitting, re-writing again…etc…This could go on forever, except that eventually my faculty mentor will tell me it’s done.

I am also reading ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller for my “From Page to Stage’ course.  This is an interesting class, with a diverse group of adult students.  Some of us have had theater experience and know things about art, etc…the rest are not as knowledgeable but bring a certain naive charm to the room.  One student (the youngest at 22) is very morose and has a ‘been there/done that’ attitude, which is fun to look at, seeing as I used to act that way, and still can on occasion.  In any case, lots of reading to do for me.

I have added two more photography links on the blogroll.  One is for my dear friend Stephanie, who is a wonderful photographer and the other is another dear friend, Barbara, who is also pretty fabulous.

I am still working on my resentment towards my sister.  Although my amends have been made, our relationship, or lack thereof, still irks me.  There is a small child-like part of me that wants her praise and love, and I am not going to get it no matter what, at least not today.  I go for months without a thought about it and then, like a frost heave on a winter road, a small bump appears and grows.  As it subsides I repair the internal psychic damage the best I can, but as soon as the weather shifts, there it is again.  It is becoming a drag more than anything.  A real nuisance.  I have an appointment this evening with my sponsor before my weekly Step meeting  and we will hash this out some more.  I really don’t like feeling this way about someone I should love.

My friend and I will be going over to a nearby place tomorrow morning to take pictures of pro/am ski jumping, as in the long-distance Nordic style, not freestyle.  He is hoping to get a lot of great images so he can post them on his new website.  He told me the other day that taking pictures of sports is similar to taking pictures in combat, except it is much safer and, for the most part, people are having fun.

Johnnyboy