A few Measly Steps a Day

Good luck with your freezer, your interviews, and your research study. I've been reading about your heat wave. What's with that??????
Me, speaking of heat waves, I might be going to Washington DC.
Other than that, I'm writing up a storm.
Take care,

I had a backyard party with one of my writing groups. Yay! I have a second one happening next week.
Here's an issue I'm grappling with right now. I have a lot of friends who are great people except for some quirk that drives me crazy. Usually it's that they talk non-stop or that they are control freaks. Here's the thing. They are good people otherwise, and I don't want to throw away friendships because they're not perfect. So I'm trying to 1. accept and find ways to deal with the issues in such a way that I get to enjoy the good things about these people. and 2. make my feelings known in such a way that doesn't hurt anyone. Not an easy task.

Meanwhile, I'm having fun writing. I looked up Louisiana accents on the Internet and found a couple of helpful You Tube videos. Amazing what you can find.
Jody might get dumped into a swamp. And she might go over to the dark side. I'm posting that info, because Jody lead a life so much more interesting than mine. And because writing about Jody and talking about her gives me ideas.
. I'll be going to my all-you-can-eat- Indian/Pakistani restaurant, and hopefully I'll figure out what to do with Jody.

Take care.

Swoosh, more life happens.

So thrilled you had a successful party. Social gathering building momentum all around.

Freezer: new compressor and some other parts. Still within their 10 year parts warranty we didn't know about. No warranty on the service.

Sprint phone. Got a message last week that Tello needed me to change my phone to one that works with T-Mobile. Did so surprisingly fast, but considering I've idled several hours looking at phone the past year, not really.

Going with the Alcatel Go Flip 3 "feature phone." Activating and porting went amazing well. Had the idea of moving my 32GB mini disk into the new phone and it imported all my saved contacts.

Tested the sound and it's great. What's also interesting is that it uses wifi for calls when it can, so I don't spend minutes since I pay as I go.

It has a few other perks, which I view with caution as I want to be alert and attentive when I'm about.

Now, what do I do with the two prior flip phones? Sometimes I use them as timers/alarms.

I guess I've needed to catch up on rest as I've been napping/sleeping more than usual.

Enjoy all you can Pakistan and write like the wind.
R

Resting feels so nice. Just keep putting off the non-resting stuff. Still, a busy week.

Teeth cleaned. Always stressful, but I managed. They staff ask, "how are you today?" Not a great beginning. While in the chair I began to think what else might they say? A. Hi John, i hope the commute wasn't too bad. B. Hello again. Have you been managing the [recent weather conditions or season] ok? C. Miss you. Anything sparking joy of late?

On the way home the car stalled when I shifted gears. We've been suspicious something might need checking. So, rather than risk another stall I called for roadside service. Five (5) hours later, a tow truck arrived and took the car, and me, to a new garage for us. The next day I got a call. They found nothing wrong. Went to pick it up. NO CHARGE. I said, you guys really know how to build your business.

Oh, I just got a new flip phone active on Sunday and was testing to see how long the charge lasted, naturally, when I had this stalling problem.

Other than that, nothing much of note.
Revu2

5 hours!!!! Eek. Was there some sort of disaster in Washington that I'm not aware of that might have caused the delay? (My inappropriate sense of humor at work.)

Me - I'm hitting a lazy streak - which is too bad because there are things I should be doing. My writing - I almost like where my plot is going, I have Jody in a tight spot - and - a not-very-interesting way to get her out. There has to be something better, but I don't know what it is. Meanwhile, I think I insulted a friend. We both have fragile egos, and I think I may have done a number on hers. Not on purpose. She pointed out that my indenting is inconsistent. I told her that I was copying some of the books I've read. She apologized and said she'd quit commenting on my grammar. I don't want her to stop. She catches all my typos and other mistakes. That's valuable. And I don't want to lose a good friend.
I think I'll go shopping.

Hi world. The backstory on the other side of the text messages is a carefully kept secret of State Farm. My own assessment is they should contract with several tow companies and, like the ambulances, the first company to the client gets the business and the rest get nothing. What they do now is send to one company that is overwhelmed (more cars out breaking down, lower staff due to covid, yada yada) and so there's a delay. THEN SF asks another tow truck to come help.

The good side is that I have found our new mechanic!

Bridge playing two days in a row! Rusty as a vintage iron nail. So these games are my spring training to shake me awake.

Tomorrow brunch, then getting our small deck ready for repair/resurfacing.

Mon - Wed, the actual work.
###

I wonder what other tow services do. I think one hour is the longest I've ever had to wait.
My friend who is an English professor and who has helped me with typos emailed me. She had misunderstood my comments, she wasn't offended, and she'll continue catching my grammar and spelling mistakes if I like. Yes! I like. Sometimes it pays to look for the good.

I do hope that today ends my lazy streak - in writing and in life. One of the hazards of retirement.

Happy you & your friend worked things out. Keep writing.

Ay, I wasn't calling a towing company, I called State Farm insurance, and they called the towing companies. The competition, AAA by name, has it's own fleet of contracted trucks and makes a point of quick service. SF contracts out, as I mentioned, and their bot said lower staffing and higher demand than staff on hand could handle would mean delays. They thought 2 hours, and couldn't get the est. time of arrival right. Kinks to work through, for sure.

ST's system is broken, clearly.

I suffered a tiny bit from it, but a First World concern. Given that it's road service, my first time in 15 years calling on it, I'm good to let it go. If they ask, I'm happy to help them refine their communications. Not holding my breath.

Also, we pay $9 a year for this coverage, vs a 2-person membership $101 for AAA. Assuming with adjustments for inflation an average of about $70-$80 saved per year for 15 years left $1050 to $1200 in our pockets.

The only change I would make is to keep my phone charged so I can keep calling back. My partner picked this up for me from home and this shook something loose and the truck finally arrived.
Revu2

Good news, of sorts. SF customer service rep called and took my details. At the end of the chat, he said SF was giving me a $50 VISA balance.

Very good. Pays for this coverage for 5 years.

We've finished our deck work, so tonight putting stuff back on it.

This weeks goal is to enjoy an online conference I signed up for and help a friend get onto an app I recommended to her.

Revu2

Yeah, a real study in the dispersion and cohesion of online connections. I'm in regular monthly contact with Inspire Success. She's had a tough time.

Today's goals: working on a book review [paid] which I feel slightly behind pace on getting done.
Attend online workshop. Since they are keeping us mute and our video off, it's very cas.

Start calling the City about some needed tree trimming. The branches are on our side of the property line, the trunk and roots on theirs. Called last week and, gee, their tree maps didn't show these big trees (maple and pine). The branches are too close to our chimneys and pose a fire risk.

Look for a gap in the rains to take a walk.
All for now, R.

Ingenuity! I get it.

So I've been out of town. Washington D.C. with the kids and grandkids. We saw most of the museums and monuments. The Smithsonian was opening up; we saw the Native American museum the day that it opened. Highlights of the trip - hands down - being with the grandkids who are getting bigger by the minute. For me the Native American Museum was the most interesting because one of the characters I'm writing about is a First Nations elder of Canada. No, it wasn't as great as visiting the Yukon; native tribes each have their own history, culture, legends, traditions. But It was the best I could do.
Low point. The day we were to leave, I felt sick. Not really all that sick - just a little bit like something was wrong. Tom got me a COVID test kit, and Lisa gave me the test. Negative. Whew! I wasn't sure what you do if you come down with you-know-what in a strange city.
Anyway, a good time was had by all.

Hi world. D, happy your trip was mostly successful. I have no idea what one might do if sick with The Virus out of town. I guess millions of people over the past year had this experience, but now with vaccines ... like with most things one might have to improvise.

For a month I've worked hard to get read to ask questions of a Famous Author. Read his books, blog, and tweets. I reached out a few days ago and asked if he would mind answering 5 questions. I've asked 2, and both times he said "I find it impossible to answer ... " whatever I'd asked.

So, I wanted to reach out, I did, I'm basically rebuffed in a way. So I'm calling it, and stopped asking my questions and apologized for troubling him.

His works still resonate and will be quite helpful.

I did my part and asked, and must resign myself with either having missed how to frame my questions or picking the wrong topics, or some other X factor.

Sigh, dusting myself off, and getting back in the race,
Revu2

Hi, have a boost in my spirits from completing something quietly necessary but under-done about my condo situation. Namely, we have one owner who has studiously not participated actively in the 7 years of ownership. I made it my goal to reach out and offered a proposal at the annual meeting to get official, collective, clearance to proceed. This turned into a clown's routine of misunderstanding, cross purposes, and more so I officially stopped the committee and later reached out again, alone.

And eventually I got handed to the adult children of the stated owners, who are partners in their LLC, and who we never had heard about before. Talked with them yesterday and the conversation went well. They agreed to be added to the googlegroup and that I send them 8 articles about condo governance I had sent to the other owners right before our annual meeting.

Can't say exactly why this lifts my heart so, but it has to do with a feeling that this is our first step up from our collective "bottom." All intuitive sensing, yet that is 'data' as clear as a math equation sometimes.

Fresh Goals
Finish the Introduction and Start-up Kit for my Mutual Muster concept.
Reach out to Mutual Aid and Disaster Aid groups to learn what they need and create more.
Post works on a google site and announce on twitter/linked-in.
Prep every day for a bridge event at an official bridge center. Most of the games I've been playing have been rubber bridge in people's houses or as part of the Parks N Rec dept.

Yuck Goal
My MacBook Pro needs a new battery, $220. Also needed new adapter today, $90. 3 to 5 days in the shop, but I have my MacBook Air for backup service, the e and o keys stick or jam. I'll d- my b-st n-t t- us- th-m.
R-vu2

Be sober. Wash dishes. Exercise. Watch a movie or part of a movie.

Goals tomorrow/keep daily gainlinking™ for a new major grant I'm drafting; 2 or 3 conference calls; practice bridge for 30 minutes.

Sorry, I've been AWOL for a while. Apparently, if you're sick and out of town, you stay in the hotel $$$$, have people bring in your meals. My latest goal - start tweeting. Yes, I've said that before. And it still feels like foreign territory. And I may not ever figure it out, but my plan is to write up a word document with a bunch of possible tweets and then start tweeting. Just the thought of it makes me nervous. I'm going to read your posts and then reply to them.

Good luck to everyone reading this.

HI, Little Earthquakes. I love your logon.

Of course the other thing to do if you're sick and out of town is to not tell anyone. I would have to be very desperate to do that. I have strong feelings about keeping my germs to myself. But of course the thought crossed my mind. Another possibility is to rent a car, sleep in the car, at campgrounds, and then tell the car company to do a thorough cleaning job. I think that's probably what I would have done if I'd tested positive.

I'm glad you were able to make contact with your condo resident's kids. I think it lifted your spirits because we humans want to be heard. At least that's a strong issue for me.

Yes, greetings Little Earthquakes.

My 11 year saga to get our siding replaced has finally reached "The End" of the saga. Today, on our own deck, we had the long delayed (supply chain issues) screen installed. Nothing else to be done. Checkmate.

Where the action is: a random walk around SF led me to several other similar threads.

Looking for accountability partners (task check in) #2

What is the next thing you're looking forward to #2?

Something you're proud of

Revu2