(Port) Coquitlam Odysseus

Ship of Souls window from Oxford Cathedral

Music for the End of the Year

…I can see that many changes have occurred in my life. This last year saw us leaving Sookmyung Women’s University and South Korea. When I arrived in Canada, the job that I had thought was lined up did not pan out. I was fortunately able to enroll in a Vancouver Community College intensive TESOL certificate program, and after a month, landed a contract five-week job with the Immigrant Services Society of BC. That proved a challenge because of the nature of the program I was in (teaching language skills for employment, as well as computer skills). Following that, I landed a job at the University of British Columbia in the ESL department for one month, and then a whole semester in the writing unit. Starting on the seventh, I will be back in the ESL division at UBC for a three month, full-time contract.

Chae Young has had an intense time adjusting to life in Canada, but she is doing well, and I am proud of her. Young Telemachus continues to be the world’s cutest and funniest baby, and is becoming a toddler now, at 19 months. My friends Ian and Brian, both of whom have greatly enriched my life, were able to spend a few days with me in Canada. My parents and family helped us move into our present apartment, which is lovely and which meets our needs for the present time. Other friends have continued to give us their love and support throughout the year.

Amidst the turmoil of the past and future, the Oxford Cathedral window Ship of Souls, seen on the Naxos record label for its CD “Psalms for the Soul,” from which the music above comes, serves as a good visual metaphor. Herbert Sumsion’s “They that go down to the sea in ships” is the musical embodiment of that metaphor. However, the music I have linked to here comes from the end of the CD, where there is a lovely recording of Sir Charles Villiers Psalm CL, the concluding psalm of the Hebrew (and Protestant) Psalter.

And so, at the end of the year, this ceremonial deist finds himself grateful for all that went well in the transitions that took place in his life. Here at Port Coquitlam Odysseus, I hope you enjoy this rich and beautiful music, a fitting “joyful noise” to end the year.