Published inFiction by BJR·PinnedJake and the ButtonThis is the first work of fiction I’ve “published” since I was in high school. Here goes nothing. Back Entrances It was always back entrances now. Jake wondered when the next time he’d enter a building from the front would be. The last six weeks, the same routine. A black, American-made, government-issue…Fiction24 min readFiction24 min read
PinnedBJR’s Yoga of TruthAs a part of trying new things, I spent a weekend at a Yoga retreat in March, only to discover that it was Hari Krishna oriented and staffed by volunteers. At least the vegan food was yummy. As many instructors talked about the light within us, the heart chakra, and…Yoga3 min readYoga3 min read
Aug 20Moving Mom into a Nursing HomeThe ongoing story of Mom’s dementia, from my recent trip to the US in August 2023. Saturday was my first day to see Mom. When I came into the restaurant at Harmony — the assisted living facility that Mom has been living in — Mom smiled at me, but she…Dementia7 min readDementia7 min read
Jun 13Mission: PhilippinesLast year in June (2022) was my first visit to the Philippines! I had three missions: Help Leigh pack her apartment up in Manila to rent out Get to know her besties Spend quality time with her family Missions accomplished! Much of my enjoyment of the Philippines was because Leigh…6 min read6 min read
May 18Historic BJR photos discoveredIn helping organise Mom’s apartment last year, I found a number of photos that I scanned in so I could have copies. Here are some parts of “The Story of BJR” in photos:Bjr2 min readBjr2 min read
Apr 30Losing someone one day at a time(from the end of February — early March 2023) My mother has dementia, and as I’ve written before, it’s a cruel disease. Every time I see Mom, there is a little bit less of her. For my sister, who sees Mom every week, it is an ebb and flow, some…Dementia Care4 min readDementia Care4 min read
Apr 10A small reminderI ducked into the Uber and said, “Hi Monika.” I put on my best smile. Inside I felt disoriented, out of place, and needed to just get through the next 30 minutes to get back home. At home, I could decompress with the Philip K. …3 min read3 min read
Sep 4, 2022Cluxing along the Scenic Rim TrailI am known globally as a trend setter and so much of our modern vocabulary originated from my own creativity, like Unclets or Auntlets: The plural for nieces and nephews (and Vic, again, niephews is not going to happen). And, now I would like to introduce “Cluxing” — it’s not…3 min read3 min read
Aug 14, 2022Five weeks of joy with Omicron BA.5I caught COVID. It was not fun. But I was not hospitalised, ventilated, tickled, or spanked, so it could have been much worse (or much better?). Here’s an overly play-by-play account of all that went down. Since I’m a kidney transplant recipient and take immunosuppressants (to prevent rejection of the…Transplant10 min readTransplant10 min read
Jul 27, 2022The cruelty of dementiaI spent three weeks in the US in April helping out with my mom, and while what I saw was very difficult, I have a lot to be grateful for. I’d been fortunate enough to visit Mom twice even while Australia’s borders were closed, and had the pleasure of two…Dementia6 min readDementia6 min read
