About

Welcome to my blog at GPJOA.COM

On this blog I will be creating posts with my views on various topics, with many of those related to issues that occur in and around the City of Ottawa and area. There’s lots happening around the nation’s capital with no shortage of issues on politics as well as the local music scene, and so much more. Many people will probably not like what I have to say or my views in general, but there are many people whose views I don’t like either.

Another Kick at the Can

I have had a personal website up on a few occasions under this as well as a different domain name. Unfortunately, I typically write a few posts and spend some time working on the various aspects of the site and then become bored and move onto other things. Now that I’m on the upper end of my 50’s and with my spinal stenosis getting worse, I’m starting to spend more time on my creative side. I decided a couple years ago that I wanted to learn how to play guitar and now I spend several hours a week doing that. I’ve become interested in websites once again as well as working with computer hardware that I’ve decided that this is probably the right time to get back into blogging and website development. I did some minor computer repair work for a property management company and since that time they have been giving me some work on sites they manage.


Because of my spinal stenosis and herniated discs in my lower back, I’m no longer able to work at a full-time job and have been unable to do so for several years now. I’m hoping I can perhaps earn some extra income on websites I develop while at the same time sharing some of my thoughts and insights with others.

Sunny & Gerald
Sunny & Gerald at PetSmart

Currently, my wife and I reside in the city of Ottawa. Our four children did most of their schooling in Ottawa and two of them now live in and near the city. We also have several pets, which include two cats and a dog. My wife has always had a cat since I first met her and a few years ago we went to having two cats and then to three and in October, 2017, to four cats. After the fourth cat, I decided it was probably time to get the dog I’ve been wanting to get for many years now. It’s been almost 30 years since I’ve had a dog and with my bad back, having a dog would force me to get out walking everyday. My doctor believes it will definitely benefit me as well. My wife and I have become very attached to our dog and he has become an integral part of our family. Unfortunately, in 2018, we had to put down our 8 year old Bengal cat named Ozzy as he was having congenital heart failure and medication was doing little to ease his symptoms and the very scary attacks he was experiencing. So in November, 2018 we had to make the very difficult decision to put him down. A few months later, our 19 year old cat Sweetness, got to the point that he was in constant pain from his arthritis and would cry all day and night. In his case, he did not want to take the medication and he was losing weight rapidly. Once again, we had to make the difficult decision to put him down as well. We had both cats cremated and they now sit up on our wall unit in their urns so we can honor their memories.

More Hobbies

1960 Les Paul Tribute
Me with my favourite guitar. A 1960 Les Paul Tribute in the color of sunburst.

I also enjoy photography and playing guitar and hope to be able to get out to care home in the area and perhaps provide some guitar lessons. I still try to get out and take pictures when my back problems allow me to. Some days it takes everything just to get out of bed in the morning. I’m hoping that in the near future I will be able to write and record some of my own music as I have some ideas floating around in my head. Writing helps me get some of my thoughts out and helps pass the time. Working on websites is considerably easier these days than it was a few years back as there is no longer a lot of coding required with content management systems like WordPress or Joomla.


Hopefully, people will relate to some of the topics I write about and provide feedback, whether it be positive or negative. Thanks for taking the time to visit my website and I hope you come back on a regular basis to see what’s new and contribute to the conversation.

Cheers,

GP Joa