I'm A Believer

I know I have written in this blog before about miracles and how I seem to be all about, miracles. And it's probably not just me, I am sure that miracles are out there all the time but I see the miracles in my life or at least I think I see them all the chances I have no idea of how miraculous my life is. It's true though I'm a walking – – wait scratch that – – rolling miracle.

For the last two weeks at least I have been feverishly, aggressively trying to get some repairs done on my power chair. I'm getting weird messages on my control screen and I'm sure I am no one to blame but still I'm trying to be a little proactive and starting the process. Because if something is happening to my major mode of transportation and I don't take care of it I am going to be in the world of hurt. I live by myself am taking care of by people I rent three days a week. I would like to think I'm Mr. master of my universe, that I'm in control, but I know the reality I live in and whatever reality of independence I like to think I have attained is only because of technology and some relatively sophisticated technology at that. Two messages flash up on my screens one that the joystick is out of alignment and two that my charger inhibitor function is operational. In fact the last week when that last message at flash up on my charger by forward motion would cease and many times so would my backward motion was going backwards for one reason or another. I said my power chair was becoming more and more involved and I had to do something I needed to do something or I was going to be stranded somewhere and I would not be happy not in the least bit. So I made the phone calls, I did the best that I thought that I could. I contacted first Brian my assistive technology A T guy. He's the salesman that I buy my chairs through, Brian indicated a need to speak with the people at the wheelchair shop. So I call these guys tell them my problem and they advised that they would love to help me out but they cannot do anything until I have authorization from my medical provider/insurance. Insurance will not move until they get notification from my physician Dr. Cara Reddy. Now, I like Dr. Reddy I am trying to build a relationship with Dr. Reddy and am trying so hard to not believe that she is a flake but for two weeks I've been trying to get her to authorize rehabilitation on my power chair which the boys in the shop must have before they'll even look at my chair – – I thought I had time.

Last night I went through my routine. Watching television till relatively late then stripping down and diving into my newly made bed. I felt pretty good. I've learned to be very careful as I prepare for my nights sleep to make sure I have catheters, slick, water, dick finder, and probably most important my cell phone charged and ready to go. I also make sure that I plug my power chair into the charger to make sure I have power for the coming day and what I might need.I'd carefully sidled up next to the bed's as close as I can get. Then I make sure the chairs plugged in and then I reset the mileage indicator back to zero. Last night I got naked and societal next to the bed reached down and plugged in the power chair when I backed up of course the warning indicators splashed on my screen. I found that if I go ahead and move the switch that the screen will go back to normal now be able to move the chair well, the screen never went back to normal it stayed in the warning position beeping. I found that I can sometimes actuate the chair during this process but not this time the chair was not taking any input from me. There I was in the chair that would move with warning signs flashing on my controller screen.

Fortunately and this is the gist of this day's blog for one reason or another perhaps to hire intervention are just dumb luck my chair stopped right next to my bed and I tumbled in. I always check out my charger and it was not functioning. Something is wrong and I messed around with the plug and got the charger to indicate it was in charging mode. I hoped that if I let the charger charge all night that perhaps the chair would reset itself. It did not happen.

The miracle is: the chair chose to stop next to my bed at 1130 at night. It could is stopped anywhere I'd been the last couple days. At the market, on the bus, on the train, downtown and on and on and on. Someone/something is looking out for me and I believe that totally, thanks…

Morning Thoughts

This morning as usual I lay in my bed contemplating the day, waiting for the clock to reach 6 AM giving me the time I need to get myself ready before my staff gets here to shower me and give me ready for the day. First I got to thinking about the blog I wrote last week about having a gig. Then I remembered that one of the first gigs I had when I moved to Salt Lake was a stint as a telemarketer for an outfit called the Nice Corporation. Always thought that was a bit of an irony for a telemarketing firm to be called the Nice Corporation. Space is not sure how I got this job but it was part-time, I worked about five nights a week usually from six until 10 PM and then Saturday's from 8 AM until 1 PM.

Like I said, I don't remember how I got the positions are how I even found out about the position but the job was telemarketing, you know, calling somebody up, somebody I don't know then trying to browbeat them into purchasing something over the phone. Nice Corporation was an outfit that took on contracts and sold the products. When I started we were selling magazine subscriptions to this document called the Financial Freedom Report, conservative Republican rag. Leads are generated from large “tent shows”posted by this guy named Haroldson. Attendees would fill out tickets in hopes of getting a free subscription to the magazine if the names were picked at random at some point in time during the night. Of course that was all a ruse. After each event all the tickets, with the names and addresses and phone numbers were dropped off at the Nice Corporation, and then little data entry drones to transcribe the raw data into computer files which would then be fed into headsets telemarketers. We would call and tell 10 PM. We would work from a script which informed the individual that the name is been selected from their attendance the previous weekend and wanted to offer them the Financial Freedom Report magazine at a special attendee price. Then we offer them a special price if they wanted to subscribe to the magazine for two years rather than one. I was totally surprised at how much or how many people were more than overjoyed to purchase the two-year deal. I make good money doing this. It was kind of hard work especially after eight hours of a regular job but is also kind of fun at least at the beginning.

Salt Lake was an ideal place for national telemarketing. For example when I came online we would be calling East Coast we would call for an hour then it seven switch to central time zone then from 8 to 9 we would call Mountain and finish off the night 9 to 10 PM calling the Pacific TimeZone. We sold contracts for the big motor companies for people to renew their warranties on their new vehicles as well as timeshares in Europe. I was totally blown away at people who would put down thousands of dollars on on scene timeshare on a European property 6 to 18 months before they would even get a chance to use it. People had money and want to spend. Needless to say, I became a convert to telemarketing.

So as I lay there this morning I got to thinking why not do some telemarketing? Could this be your gig? I'm wondering if there are any small shops are phone rooms in this general neighborhood. Maybe some insurance guy, or vacuum salesman wants someone to generate appointments from leads.I don't know if I could do it now. People are different now, people are smart people have technology that screens phone calls long before they ever get a chance to make their pitch, to interrupt their evening and perhaps ruin their night. When I was doing my telemarketing I believed in what I was selling, I believe those offering them an option for a good deal. I can't do that now not that I don't have a good deal I just can't get through electronic guard on the telephone. I haven't completely given up on the idea of a telemarketing gig but there's got to be a gig out there somewhere something designed just for me…

I Cooked The mess DAY

Today really wasn't a bad day it was just cooler than it has been with a cold front which wandered in after yesterday's warmish 70°. I one point did go out to test the day to see if the day and sunshine was warm enough to sit out and read there was not enough warmth for me. However, during the night and one of the many times I woke I got to thinking about the possibility of making more be stroganoff. Remember last month I made maybe a couple weeks ago I made the stroganoff with meat that I got from the food bank. It turned out great and the day was a perfect day for such a challenge. I did not have beef like I had before. Last time I used still beef I got from the food bank frozen it worked out perfect. But, I remembered I did have canned beef.

The canned beef I gleaned from food boxes. When people get their food boxes on the third Friday of every month here at the apartment complex, they put all their food they don't want on the sharing shelf. I know I've talked about this in the past but a number of those offerings were cans of beef large number 303 cans of canned beef in juice. “In juice” is written on the outside the camp plus a lot of other federal writing. These cans of food/meet were canned by the USDA. I was a little intimidated by the canned beef until I forced myself to open one couple months ago just to see what it was and how I could use it. It was interesting. On a lark I trouble the Internet to find out if anyone had ever talked about the USDA beef or had any idea of how to use it and I found this great website of recipes from the USDA food program. The document was written in 1935 or 36, amazing! You will remember that. Was smack dab in the middle of the Great Depression which I'm sure is how the USDA got started at least these food programs. Over the years I've handled a lot of USDA food in different capacities and programs I worked in. Usually, delivering this food to low income folks. In Nampa Idaho when I worked at the clinics we channeled great quantities of USDA cheese, macaroni, fruit, beef and other food products. It's amazing. I think USDA works in contract with many many farmers purchasing their produce so that the farms don't go out of business yet must get rid of this food one where the other. Amazing, so much food.

Anyway, I figured canned beef is beef, I guess I could have the be stroganoff completed long before the other had taken but I let it cook all day anyway. I was a little bummed because what I thought were huge chunks of beef ended up breaking down during the cooking process. All the other reason I chose today to make stroganoff was I also had a packet of mushrooms sliced and ready to go. I knew if I did not use the shrooms today they would go bad. I know myself. Now most talk myself into keeping them out for pizza but I knew I'd better do the stroganoff I was up for it. I made it. It's a little more soupy than the other stroganoff was which kind of bums me out but I think it'll stiffen a little bit over time. I cooked the mess all day and I'm debating whether to do noodles are makes potatoes or something. But probably eat enough today. I really try to limit the amount of intake today and yesterday. I love my day of cooking but hated the sore butt that I have, hopefully tomorrow I will feel better.…

Beautiful Dreamer

I don't know if I'm dreaming more these nights or if the dream catcher hanging above my bed is actually working better than it used to but I seem to be having more dreams a bit more vivid than I used to. That's totally okay as long is it not nightmares. Every once in a while I do slip into a nightmare but I have not experienced any night terrors are spooky dreams for a while.

Last night or rather this morning just before waking I had an interesting dream. I've been thinking about the dream all day, probably because I actually did the technical equivalent of writing it down by dictating it on to my cell phone. Dreams are so weird in that they seem so real as they are happening are unfolding right in front of you/me.Like I said, the dream was and was not a scary dream per se but one which I thought was interesting.

The in dream unfolded as follows: I don't know why but I had somebody with me and as going out to the back parking lot to look at my van for what reason, I do not know. And just as I got to the van the back door opens some kid steps out of the van just waking up you can tell, is totally messed up closer all jumbled sphere is going five or six different directions (the more I thought about the kid might think the individual look very much like my James/Walter). He was unfocused and really not conscious fully. Then I did this weird sanctimonious parental type behavioral move by verbally attacking the individual and then duck walking him out of the van and through the back gate and if I'd been able to throw them out on the sidewalk. As it were out at the automatic gate close while he dumbfounded looked on. In the dream I felt all righteous just a little bit of a doubt.

It seems I immediately walk and I laid in bed going over the dream and begin to wonder why did I act the way that I did? Why did I act such like a Republican? Why didn't I offer the kid breakfast, or at least ask what he was doing in my van and how he got there since we live in a gated community. I could've offered him a couple bucks for breakfast or coffee are taking him out to coffee. I could've at least offered him the use of my bathroom just to get himself squared away the face the world. All these questions I wanted to ask the sleeper in my dream did not.

Today was brilliant sunshine most of the day and it was relatively warm at least in the lower 70s. I scooted around a little bit after the food bank. I even went to the market and got bananas for next week and even down as far as DI pass 70^th South. I then spent an hour or so outback reading next to my van in the afternoon sun trying to make as little noise as possible for fear of waking a beautiful dreamer in the back of my van…

Avengers Endgame

I really wanted to do my wash yesterday morning right after coffee but I was shocked at how many other folk had the same idea. I went three or four times into the wash area in the big machine was stuffed full and washing I finally realized that I just need to hang up with washing and figure out something else to do. I decide to saddle up and head down to UATP and pick up the foot blocks I had asked Tom Bowman to pick up for me and there there. But I'm getting sidetracked. This morning I washed clothes and dried of course and then decided to be totally irresponsible.

And of course, like the rest of the world, have been aware that Endgame, Marvel universes latest offering would be playing in theaters this weekend opening night to be Thursday. To be honest with you I had kind of thought this particular movie had already been released and I couldn't figure out what all the hoopla was about but begin to realize this was the opening weekend. I'm usually not a big fan of opening weekends, premieres in the such that something hooked me about this particular film. Perhaps, I become more and fault in the Marvel universe of late particularly as I have followed Ironman, and whatever subgroup is of the rocker, rocket, the tree kid, and all the rest. So I was kind of excited/fascinated with the concept of seeing them all together in this possibly final film. To be honest I began to get excited and I never get excited about this kind of stuff. I think of myself as to jaded possibly to adult in heaven forbid geriatric to be excited about a film's release and a film about comic book characters. But, I did become excited and I still am thinking back on the day.

I of course had to wait until the close dried enough that I could justify dragging them out of the dryer. I checked the times of the movies couple of times and decided that I would shoot for the 12 o'clock showing. This of course meant that I would not hang in fold clothes and opt to do but later on this afternoon or evening. I checked the bus schedule and felt comfortable that I'd be able to snag a bus to get down for the 12 o'clock showing. I know it sounds somewhat pedestrian but I wasted a lot of time searching for the my one chicken breast in the refrigerator (but I couldn't find it). I really want to cut my losses at the movie and bring treats from home. No drink, no popcorn, no candy from the theater. I really didn't believe finding seeding would be a problem but in fact actual showing Tribune sold out I noticed as I stood in line/sat/waiting to purchase my ticket. In fact I was really concerned that the 12 o'clock movie was going to be sold out it sounded like it was. I noticed that there was a seeding 1130 and I thought I was way too late for that showing these guys that film was in the RPX a specialized grandeur theater at least that's what they said to cost two dollars more than the other theater. On a whim, when I got to the box office I asked had the movie began and oddly enough he had not. I spent the extra two dollars and got to the movies.

All day long I've characterized myself as being totally responsible by dropping everything and headed out towards the movies. I should've been doing something more productive with my time and not spending the funds that I did for this movie. Sure I guess I could justify the fact that I worked all morning on chores, that I boot leg treats into the movie not spending inflated theater price for the treats and going to the super deluxe showing (and really you know I cannot even tell the difference over other theaters). It's nice to have the knowledge I'm in the second wave of Salt Lakers to see Endgame! Does it mean a whole hell of a lot but it was nice sitting under the big screen watching masters of the universe and all the rest battle, battle, battle…

I Wanna New Gig

I've always liked the word gig. Not necessarily how the word is used to describe digital memory like a gig of memory but more as the colloquial definition a small or minor piece of occupation. Probably synonymous with part-time job but even less formal. I know National Public Radio has done a number of pieces recently on the gig economy. Individuals who must or have taking on short-term/part-time pieces of work in order to make ends meet or to keep oneself occupied.

I have just come to the realization that I need a gig, not necessarily because I need money, who doesn't need money? I mean after all I am self-pay as far as my attendant care goes which is completely ridiculous I'm so thankful I can afford to pay for attendant care and still maintain a fairly decent lifestyle for what it is. In fact I got paperwork today , forms that I must fill out to take advantage of the renters rebate program offered to the federal government. It's going be a pain in the butt to fill out that I'm sure worth it if I can throw it in the account as buffer for continued debt.

I have to be careful that if I do get a gig that that has to stay within certain parameters in order not to count against my subsidized housing. It seems to me and I'm pretty sure this is the case that if for example I really get a gig of say working at the movie theater I've written about. Let's just say that I got 15 or 20 hours a week at five dollars an hour so a extra $400 a month maybe. I think I can use this funding to spend down on my medical needs which having to use attendant care it's certainly be one of them. So essentially I could spend an entire pile of money for my monthly attendant care needs this is certainly increase my income significantly. Even for a couple months this would certainly help out over the year. In college for example when I was living at the dorms I often got gigs working at the basketball gymnasium next door to our dorm. During basketball games are concerts the often used student “employees” for concessions as well as security. I would often get this security gig during the concerts which basically meant I would sit by the back door, which was locked anyway, and just sit there and get paid for it. I think I get paid 30 $40 for that shift. Other gigs I've had included making hotdogs for football games at the University I attended. Selling scrap metal and for a short while barn busting which I thought was a great gig.

I'm really now trying to find another gig which it help me out and not necessarily like I said that I need the money just want to have something to do to keep me focused and maybe out of the apartments and doing something productive. Perhaps when I spend more time on campus this summer I can apply for some of these “spot” jobs and see just see if I get myself a gig or two…

No No Mr. Busman

I just got passed by UTA bus, I know the guy saw me but I can't know that for totally sure cuz my back was to the bus I was running to get to the bus stop. I was almost there. So yes my back was to the bus but the bus was turning from Redwood Road onto 4700 S. I was flailing my arms to signal to the driver that I wanted that bus. I bet I was less than 30 feet from the formal bus stop but the big old beast just swooshed past me. I mean I was in this big old power chair cruising as fast as I can toward the bus stop the driver have to be pretty obtuse to not realize I wanted that coach.

I mean what can you do? I just sat there feeling humiliated and used. But, I wanted revenge which I know is somewhat juvenile. I would like to say my actions were led by an ultra stick vision of fair and safe treatment to all transit users like me to know what ? I just wanted to be a prick.I dug in my backpack grabbed by cell phone called Utah transit Authority Infoline and soon I was talking to Geraldine. Good old Geraldine customer service rep whose job was to handle pissed off callers about issues on the transit system. I wasn't going to explode on this person, it's certainly not her fault it is her job to handle the calls come in. It is a hard job I know I've had that job myself in various positions I've worked. However I did let her know what it happened and I was able to let her know in depth and not yell at her. I let her know that I probably knew the driver and I really did want to get him or her in trouble but I still want him or her to know you can't treat people like they did to me this morning. Geraldine of course is a good company gal and she began to justify the drivers actions by indicating that I was not exactly at the bus stop and therefore the driver didn't know if I really want a ride or not. That's the company line right out of the driver's manual and I know that – – but, to Geraldine's credit she also indicated that my mad flailing arms and driving chair to the bus stop should've and no doubt did alert the driver that I wanted a bus ride.

Geraldine was honest with me indicating that probably nothing much was going to happen except that a notification will be made to the drivers jacket, the jacket is like the drivers file folder containing things like citations and complaints. I know it will probably be nothing more than a mere irritation to this individual in his or her life at the Corporation but the call is still there and most likely always will be. I also know know this driver might be a friend of mine cuz I take the 47 a lot when you get to know these drivers over time and you cannot help but building some kind of a bond. Still, and I'm not altruistic but I know if this driver is doing this to me here she is doing it to somebody else and that's not right. Route 47 is a pretty good route the best part about Route 47 is that it's got 15 minute headways during the day which means is a bus every 15 minutes. A day like today sunshiny and warm, I built an extra hour into my travel time to get to my meeting I did not mind waiting another 15 minutes. However, the father you get from downtown the more sporadic the headways get. If I'm out in Sandy or some other almost rural area the buses come maybe once an hour sometimes even less but if you miss that bus by your waiting a long time, even on a good day like today that weight seems to take forever it's only worse in the rain, snow or dark. No one should have to wait if they don't have to just because the driver doesn't want to stop…

Early Morning Melody

I hear the birds waking outside my window this morning at 5:35 a.m. I know this because I've been awake since 3:35 a.m. and this is becoming The New Normal. It's really kind of weird to be laying in bed and all is quiet, as was quiet ever gets on Redwood Road, but suddenly I hear chirp and a warble and it really reminds me of somebody waking up. Like this is the first noises are making today. I had a couple birds like this when I lived on Utahna drive over in Murray. I made a point to sleep with the windows open as soon as I could because I liked listening to the noises of the night especially after I was moved to the upper portion of the house because the accessibility. There were a couple of birds in the neighborhood love to start their days right about 5:30 AM. This is only slightly bothersome sense I like getting up as early as I can most of the time. Today was kind of strange because I was awake at 3:35 AM never really got back to sleep.

I'm doing okay for just having a few hours of sleep. I've noticed with great interest I many times I wake up at 3:35 AM and not really get back to sleep yet at the same time I don't necessarily feel overly tired during the day. I get along just fine. I don't really blame it on anything perhaps with the exception of being elderly. I've been astounded to listen to some of the other folks who live in this building, of course world and I am, talk about their early morning activities. One lady who is nearly 90 and quite spry as mentioned a number of times that she likes to do her wash between 3 and 4 AM in the morning. The lady feels there's less competition for machines at this time. Another lady regulation scrubs the floor in her unit at about the same time. I'm surprised these two and others have not sought each other out for early morning coffee. Perhaps, they are like me and often are doing these chores at these hours naked. Not a pretty sight but truly functional.

Truly, at times the noise can be significantly rousing bordering on ruckus. Even at this early stage of spring and summer I don't have my window open yet but I hear the birds to the glass making their joyous sounds which might in some degree become annoying. Luckily once again I'm totally blessed enjoying getting up early I can. I guess I should just be happy that we have a professional gardening crew taking care what grass we have access to. We have a lot of grass on the other side of the fence at the park that's a whole mother trip – – these are city employees and they don't work until way after 8 AM.I have to admit I really do miss by Murray house in my room on the main floor and the noises and odors and the sites and the sounds of a neighborhood of individual houses waking up each day to face the day…

Paradise Lost

Once again my older brother came to my rescue the other day when he came over to the apartment to fix an item on my power chair – – actually, he came to restore my backup chair by cannibalized a piece of it for my regular chair. I got the part and replaced the original. Anyway, he brought a small box of photographs and documents that he thought I might enjoy. Is absolutely right I will enjoy these documents. I particularly like the old black and white photographs. Many of which I already had copies are copies of copies which ended up in my family photo albums my mom painstakingly put together for us children. I cannot believe the monumental work that mom must've had to do to put these volumes together. Even though I have, as I've said, photocopies of these photographs it's nice to have the originals to make it clean scan onto the hard drive.

Carl brought the images over on a Saturday and I really didn't get to look at them and tell Sunday afternoon when I spent a little time going through the box. I love boxes of treasures like this. What I found very valuable with these images is they are intact. My mother, bless her heart took a lot of images of us kids growing up. They must've been boxes and boxes of these images. As I indicated earlier she made albums for us kids. Sadly however and it totally drives me crazy is that she also took great efforts in cutting out individual images of these photographs so that each album was specific to that individual. What I really love about images that have not been cut up is that you can see lots of background and see lots of your old world before progress erased everything. So excited that some of these images escaped my mother's shares.

Image I've shown at the top of this blog is one of my favorite pictures of my brother Carl. In many ways he's my hero for all the reasons I've written about over the last couple years. Carl's always there to save me when he can. Carl is here photographed on his Allstate motorcycle which I used to think was so cool. I thought Carl was so cool. In those days he was the total heartthrob. He had that wild teenager look. Carl's always immaculate in his appearance. This image was taking just south of our house on Bergeson Street in Boise Idaho on a little farm. Behind Carl you can see the Hudson hornet, it was a brown fastback automobile that I really kind of like for some reason I thought looked kind of like a spaceship. Even further behind that you can see the foothills of the Boise Hills. I love that view and I love those hills. I love images that capture history this is a picture that captures a huge part of who I am little brother of a great guy brought up in Boise Idaho on a little farm with a picket fence and a Hudson hornet. At a time when the world for me was almost perfect…

Happy Easter

With the discovery of my biological family, last summer, I've really been doing a lot of thinking about family and about history, personal history, my history. Interestingly, my family history is a little bit different than most in that the family I count as family came about through merger and adoption. Fascinating you think about it. It seems natural to me just as my adoptive family feels natural to me. Forever they've been all I've ever known in the area family. I guess the new family, the biological family probably is how a person who comes into a family from the outside feels about their new adoptive family but not me, it's the other way around.

Yesterday I was going through some files trying to find one of my favorite Easter images and I found one similar to what I wanted but not the one that I was looking for. The image I was looking for was taken the same day more than 60 years ago. Images taken in my yard on Latah Street in Boise Idaho. We lived in a big old green shade house which I really loved. The people in the image of course in my family. My two older sisters, my two older brothers and me decked out in their Easter best with their Easter baskets. I'm probably not supposed to remember but I swear I do remember the baskets had the traditional green type grass stuff with candy Easter eggs. I of course was delighted with my basket and burn through my allotment of candy quickly. In fact I am sure that I was pretty will finished by the time we were posing for Easter family pictures. The image that I wanted to show was one where I was actually digging into my older brothers basket (the one I'm standing right next to) and he was getting quite annoyed as most territorial over his supply.I was getting quite panicky and actually begin to get that feeling of “is this all there is” a feeling that would prompt me probably for the rest of my days. My oldest adoptive brother is not in this image he is well off on his own, live in his own life at this point. And of course the four younger siblings had not yet come into the picture. I was the baby of the family and I was quite adorable… This is information that I've gotten over the years. The two sisters Fay and Irene for my first guardians which I say with a wink and a nod. When mom and dad were courting I was often dumped with the girls would have to take care of me. They say I was a brat and I was spoiled which is probably true after all I was the baby of the family, what a great place to be. One of my friends who saw the image indicated that a like spanking from Our Gang Comedies (that classic series of spanking our gang would seem to be on every Saturday television in the 50s and 60s. These images were taken right before this group kind split up. I sure miss that time when we're altogether for the last few months or years.…

Waiting…

I just hate it when there's a problem and no one seems to be around blame. I've been waiting a couple days now for someone to send me an information table for me to fill in data. The organization I work with the advocacy one is working very hard on becoming 21st-century. It seems we have tons of data lurking about our small office that we're going to try to update and put into digital format which I believe, is very good idea. I even volunteered to assist with the project. After all, it seems that it's only data entry and how difficult can that be?

When I volunteered the individual in charge of this portion of the project indicated that already built a table on Windows or open office or some other office program. The only problem is they have the document and I don't. Actually that's only part of the problem but I will get to that in a minute. When I volunteered I said sure no problem just send me the information. It never came to contact them again and they indicated that they needed my email address which is cool except I remember having giving it to these folks more than once but that's okay. Still, if not receive the information and I made contact again and the reply was they did not have my email address. This is hard to accept but I well.

When I met with the group on Wednesday and volunteered to do my part and given the data input assignment they also gave me a Rolodex of information cards of various contacts I imagine. This was the information they wanted me to input into the company electronic files. I wish I had taken time to look at the Rolodex at the meeting but I did not they just stuffed into a plastic bag and hung around my chair and I took off. His lawyer leader when I got home the next day or so that I opened up the plastic bag and pulled out the Rolodex started going through some of the cards.

I'm having two major problems with this project so far not counting the fact that I have yet to receive the file with electronic grid. I can even ask some of these questions until I see how they've filled the space is out before and how they want me to do it now. I can't do that until I received the files. Second problem is a lot of these cards in the Rolodex are quite dated going back decades in some cases that I can tell. A lot of the information I've noticed on the Rolodex cards is the same information I had when I worked for the state information referral and I know for a fact the programs are long gone. So my question is do I just not included the data that I'd know is wrong which I probably well anyway are what do they want me to do with some of the stuff I think is questionable. These are all questions I need to have answers and I can't do anything really until I get the electronic file. Just a bit of frustration when I'm sure it'll work itself out. But worries me is that the person that I'm working with is some I have a significant amount of faith in and if things don't change quickly I getting the feeling that I'm working again with a flaky organization. But looking on the bright side maybe this is the time that things can change when we can go through and weed out the bad information replace it with a lean mean information machine. No red flags yet just kind of pink…

Halt and Catch Fire

I wish I were smarter. I really do. It seems the whole life I'm trying to catch up I'm never going to be smart enough. Sadly, it's just the way the dice were thrown in the numbers came up the way they did. I mean there was never a chance for me either way. I used to believe that if I had stayed in my birth family, my blood family I probably would've been more of a success but that would not of been the case I can almost guarantee that. I got the best roll the dice that I got. And maybe, that's the way it was supposed to be. I think, that I was happy just to get by, I did want to be noticed I was happy with being average. That's all I wanted was to be buried in the middle and not rise to any kind of notability.

I first real exposure to computers was in college in a math class where the professor drag us all over to the business building and we sat in front of a computer and played with Fortran and early computer language based on mathematics particularly for business and computing. These are the big machines of the old days that took Compu cards you had to format through this giant typing machine. The mathematical concepts scare the hell out of me but I loved the machine aspect and interfacing with the computer as much as I was able. I never learned enough computer stuff where I should've to really make a difference on the systems I would be faced with in my life. When the assignments of that math class was to write a computer program. I muddle through a program to search for prime twins which totally blew me away the whole concept of prime twins. I loved it not enough to really understand it from the mathematical standpoint but I sure would love to have that ability.

Tom Stamm, a married friend of mine early on was enamored with the Apple computer way back in the 70s in Boise Idaho. Only the most robust nerds in those days messed with computers. They were the diehards they are the ones who would be the pioneers of what was the calm. I marveled at what Mr. Stamm was able to do. Later on in Blackfoot Idaho I was exposed to my buddy Dave Allen was also my boss was also enamored with computers and Dave got one of the first Texas Instruments/TI computer maven the TI 1000 I don't really remember. But Dave sure went town on the whole concept. Once again, I just marveled, he learned programming, he actually got computers into the company we work with. I tried to learn basic but that never went anywhere.

When I went to work at the Independent living center when I moved to Salt Lake my best friend and coworker was Kim who really was the major computer had in my life. He brought our office onto computers. Somehow, Kim wrote a grant or maybe Deborah and Kim did I don't know but they were able to small computers made by Compaq called the Compaq Portable I called them the suitcase. They were the computer with a handle that could be closed up and was truly portable the first of its kind. I love those little computers with the green screen. I don't know how lucky I was that is able to get one of the computers in my office which I begin to use on a daily basis to write with. It's unbelievable. Today I rarely type with my hands I dictate straight to the computer and it's written down. I can get by most the time with the computer and fix a lot of the problems that I run into without having to call my son Mark Anthony are even Kim if it's really bad. He still around in fact he was still at the Independent living center. His office is like a computer Museum. A bench under some of that pile of materials he has all over his office is the first Compaq portable. I envy Kim I wish I was smarter…

This Morning On The Bus

In an effort to be all that I can be I am trying to squeeze more into my conscious day. Even though I have the Kindle reader loaded onto my cell phone and tablets I'm fighting I just and frustrated when I try to read on this device. Sometimes I can find my place after I've read a bit on my tablet but most often I lose my place and it's just frustrating trying to get back to speed. Plus I really thwarted by not been able gauge how much is left of the book to read. It's like I am caught in the never ending read which is very frustrating. Oh sure I can intellectualize the fact that I have 327 more pages to go but I don't have a sense of completion as I go through the book on the tablet. It's something I'm sure I have to get over but as long as they keep publishing books on paper and have major depots of written material like at library giveaways and such I'll elect to go with the printed page. To that and I started dragging my current read with me wherever I go are trying to do so. This morning for example I fully intended to read my book in bound to UCAT. You righteous readers will remember that yesterday I was made aware that a major component on my tilt function of my chair was missing and I need to get it repaired immediately. I decided to forgo the coffee group. It's a beautiful morning, finally spring is here in the mornings feel like spring. I grabbed my book head out to the bus stop.

217, the route on Redwood Road runs on 15 minute headways – – this means every 15 minutes at UTA bus comes trundling down the road. Today is one of my favorite drivers I don't even know how to pronounce his name Subji or something like that his name is written on the shoulder patch of his uniform. He's big and has curly hair and always calls me “Boss” like he really means it. It's kind of silly but I like it. He's a South Sea Islander, not that makes any difference at all but certainly gives him coloring in a flavor it's hard to dismiss. He seems to like his job and he does his job, I think, very well. As we were heading north on Redwood Road a few stops from my pickup. A couple who were South Sea Islanders , a man and a woman,boarded the coach. All the sudden the man breaks out the joyous sounds and the language of the South Sea Islanders. He goes over and hugs Subji in the newcomer tells the driver the female he is with his little sister and is “fresh from the islands” and he's showing her the ropes. It never ceases to amaze me how big these folks are. He is dressed in coveralls, nylon jacket and work boots and both he and the driver had this grand reunion. I had my book out on my lap and I was prepared to read all the way to fifth South. Well of course, this never happened, I was so involved in listing to the conversation in the joyous meeting of the two. Like all little sisters after the initial introduction she was banned to stand behind the yellow line which I think was okay with her she is playing with her handheld device. I envied these two they were truly happy with each other as guys tend to be sometimes. The couple wrote only for four or five blocks thing got off by this laundromat but I don't think they were doing laundry. They made plans to meet like a Chapman song sometime later spring or summer by doubt will never be. At least I hope not I really want this drive to keep his job….

Drama Poppa

I really am not a big old drama mama but, it certainly doesn't show that in my life. Seems like everything I do looks like I'm trying to bring attention to myself and really, that's not the case, that's not the case at all. When my projects over the last couple of months has been trying to upgrade my backup chair. I've been getting strong vibes past couple weeks that I better make my backup chair viable and usable because I'm getting strong impressions I'm going to need to have one sooner than later. The couple months ago my right arm of my chair fell off. The joint where the arm attaches to a mainframe kind of disintegrated fortunately for me my brother was right there when I called and we were able to pull off the same arm off my backup chair and use the part needed to repair and secure the arm back to my main chair but is left my backup chair one arm short. I took the piece that fell apart went down to the program which used to be called CREATE, and now is called Utah assistive technology program or UATP, and they found the part that I needed to fix the chair. My brother's been busy is taken a couple weeks for him to get around to come on over to fix the chair but the day we are able to get together. I'm just amazed at his skills.

I've had a call into my durable medical sales guy, Brian about problems I'm having with my main power chair. This is the chair of trying to keep running until I can get authorization for a new chair which might be another year and a half. Besides having the repair the arm I've been sensing some weird goings-on with my chair. When I leaned my chair back often I hear loud crack! Nothing happens except for the noise so I kind of learn to ignore the crack. However, something tells me that if you have a piece of equipment screaming out like my chair seems to be I should pay better attention. Also when I took the chair back I get kind of a sick sluicing feeling as the chair tends to wave to one side. Not a lot, just enough to let me know that something's going on but again nothing seems to be too wrong. Chair just keeps going on which I greatly appreciate. However today, when Carl was here working on my other chair. I leaned back, like I always do, and there is the crack and I called his attention to the noise and he agreed that he heard too. I wanted to show him how the chair seems to slide to one side as I took the system back. You look to the chair, you look closely at the piston under the chair which tips the seatback. It was then he noticed that one whole side of my chair that tilts back has become almost completely free of the chair. Somewhere along the line I've lost a bolt anchoring the one mount to the body of the chair. Fortunately for me these thrusts are to do a side which I assume some sort of safety backup. But when the other struck leaves or breaks I'm going to be dead in the water that's if I stay in my chair because it'll probably break while I'm trying to help back. Now I'm totally anxious every time I tell back. Before, I just thought that was happening was an interesting fluke that I needed to check out – – in fact yesterday I did leave a message for Brian outlining this and seeing if it would be a problem. Today he got back with me, actually I did not talk to him he left a message on my cell that talked his technicians that possibly I might need to have this checked out. Possibly! Yeah.

So tomorrow, instead of going for coffee at the coffee group I'm going to saddle up in my chair first thing and head down to UTA P and once again to see if my buddy Tom can save my butt. He certainly has the bolts that I need to fix the one piece, I would like to know if he can actually fix the chair right then but if not if he were to give me the bolt then I can have my brother make the change tomorrow or day after. So drama mama? Or maybe drama Poppa I don't mean to be drama anything but I sure seem to be getting lots of drama anyway regardless…

Pony Boy

The rain was not torrential but it was raining and the rain was cold, kind of, but not enough that it would keep me away from my Assist, Inc. meeting scheduled this morning to be at the officespace downtown Salt Lake. This morning, like I do most Tuesday mornings, at 8 AM I make the call to my buddy David who runs the meeting at Assist, Inc. We are what's referred to as the Citizen Advisory Board. I've referenced this group before in this mighty blog and it is our responsibility to authorize the use of funds to be used in the repair of folks homes, who qualify, in the Salt Lake County area. In full disclosure David did give me an out by saying that if I thought the rain was too significant I could elect to not to attend and he would go to Plan B, whatever Plan B is. We did not have to find out what Plan B was because I showed up to the meeting.

I decided take my heavy hoodie. I like this jacket makes me look menacing and a little mysterious. I did not put it on however electing to drape the garment over my legs. I was wearing my heavy black sleeved tee and I decided the temperature was not cold enough to merit struggling into the hoodie. It would serve me better keeping the water off my legs. Will this plan lasted long enough to get me out to the bus stop outside my apartment complex where I took my hoodie wrapped it around my shoulders and down my back with the hood over my head. I bring your arms around my head and tie them in the not under my chin allowing me to snuggle into the hoodies cotton whatever fabric. It does feel nice. I tried something else this morning differing from my usual Tuesday routine, when I go inbound, rather than drive my chair pass the park to the bus stop I jumped on 217 which passes right past our back gate and swings into their community college or 47 comes through and I can catch the bus there. Today would be a good day to do this plan to stay out of the rain and it worked! True, accessing the 217 necessitates an extra bus trip but keeps me out of the rain and less wear and tear on my backside having to cross all those seams between the sidewalk squares.

Funny how just normal transit from point A to point B totally impresses able-bodied folks. It wasn't that big a deal, a few raindrops on my head, a little chill discomfort but nothing is better than entering a warm dry bus or light rail coach. I dally here and I dally there along the way, I pass through the city library and check out the new used books deciding that there's nothing I need on the book trucks today, knowing I will regret passing up this volume or that collection or that book on disc. But the truth is I can only pack so much into a backpack.

My friend Lori texted me this morning early and I did not notice but she one get together with our writer friend for lunch. This is before the 8 AM phone call that I was going to make and I felt pretty sure that we were going to have our weekly meeting. But I thought I let her know that I would meet up with them if my meeting was canceled.. Lori went back to bed and I knew that she didn't fully understand my message and to be clear I probably was less than clear on my message because later I noticed a number of text messages (again that I did not know I had received) inquiring whether I was going to make lunch or not. I would have liked to have met up with the crew at the Village Inn today. I went straight home following my meeting downtown. No taking myself out to lunch at my favorite Tocco Time on State Street or the IMC hospital cafeteria. I didn't even stop to use the restroom anywhere along the way. This pony had to go home…

I S P

I'm a member of this Facebook group, is that how you say it? You know, a group of like-minded individuals all promoting the same idea in this particular group focuses on Boise, Idaho history and specifically images of old-time Boise. This weekend the moderator and host of this Facebook group put up a number of images of the Idaho State penitentiary. I hadn't thought of Idaho State penitentiary in a long time. In fact is a little disjointed because I couldn't quite remember where the facility was which is weird because I grew up knowing exactly where the penitentiary was. The penitentiary is in South Boise down by the river. It seems like we used to go close to it when we go on our hikes up to the Table Rock. The luckily because of groups like “History of Boise Idaho 1863 to the Present” I was able to orient myself to know exactly where the old place was. I did further searches in a macabre sort of way I don't know of macabre is the right word may be voyeuristic might be more accurate.

Idaho State penitentiary, of course has its own website and it's very complex. I was kind of amazed. I don't know why the website shocked me as much as it did but there it was out in open for anyone to explore not only the prison itself but the inmates, their names, their offenses, the sentences and even their prison numbers. Having this much information at my fingertips my mind even twisted further on to see if my friend/acquaintance Bruce was listed. (For more information on my friend Bruce type in the name in the search box in the upper left-hand corner of this page. You'll see two or three postings regarding Bruce. But there he was, not only his name, his offense, his sentence even when he would come up for paroles in such. Maybe I just want to How strange is that? Is coming up for first option for parole in for five years somewhere in the 2020s. I'm sure eventually he will cycle through the system and end up back in the community. Strange. I know when I visited with my one friend who was as close to Bruce as some folks can ever could get in he had pretty much written Bruce off which she gave me permission to do the same which I guess I did. But for some reason today as I thought about the information I and covered this weekend. The website even gave the address and information on how to send letters into the inmates of the facility. I could do that I know how important this would be in the long run. It's a little scary for me to do to be honest but I think that what happened if it'd been me, I had in a moment of passion made a horrible horrible mistake and suffer the consequence of incarceration? I mean I somewhat feel forgotten now as things go by people who like me what if all these people chose to hate me for the bad choices that I made? I'm not trying to justify anything I'm just saying it would just be hard to be a non-thought to be totally invalid.

So I'm thinking about it. Maybe I'll write a post card since that's the best written “currency” in the penal system. In will be the consequences? I don't know. But it's something I keep coming back tofor one reason or another. Maybe I just want no if I have the social kahuna's pull something like that off…

Mechanical Man

I had my appointment with my physiatrist this past week. You remember, the appointment, the one I almost missed. I am still getting to know this new person who replaced my old physiatrist who retired last year. I like her a lot and have enjoyed getting to know her in fact now I can recognizer when I see her. We are talking about my skills at catheterization because have any problems in the let her know that I was doing just fine that as having no problems draining. For some reason that first, and I knew better, I use the word void and corrected myself and Cara indicated she knew what I meant. It was not verbalized but the fact that I cannot void was understood. Really strange when I started thinking about the whole concept “voiding” was active and “draining” was active but passive at the same time. In order to empty my bladder I must use a catheter and a catheter of course is a form of technology in short mechanical way for me to empty my bladder.

Sometimes if I ponder my situation life too much I get a little spooked at how much I rely on technology or mechanics. You will note, you the constant reader, I wrote about my motorized bed this last week. How much I rely on my bed to sleep and really could I survive on a non-mechanized bed? I thought about this a lot recently I think that I could provided I was either using my manual chair again (which I surely could) and if the bed itself was at the same height of either my manual chair on my power chair to rack and roll right on like I did with my old bed at the apartment before by stenosis issues. It would be difficult but with the help of my trapeze and being able to shift some weight and I could do it it would be hard though. And really right now there's no way I could do shower and bowel management without A T (assistive technology). I cannot believe how lucky I am to be able to do what I do independently as I do.

I shouldn't be too freaky I mean after all what's a butcher knife? A pair scissors? Are any manner of electrical appliances but assistive technology for able-bodied folks, and disabled when they use them or can use them. So should be to weirded out. I just have to make sure that I keep an eye on my assistive technology and to make sure it does not strand me somewhere or sometime. Right now the control mechanism of my power chair and acting very strange and I need to make time to have my device checked out but that means it's time without my assistive technology granted I have a power chair back up that I don't really like to use very much, only when I have to only when it's absolutely necessary that I could give my chair up for a day or so off I have to. The control box is flashing all kinds of weird signs to me as I use it or try to use it. The control box is not messed up to the point where it is cause my chair to malfunction and not work but it's obvious if I don't do something soon something will happen that will not be pleasant.

Whether I like to admit it or not I exist on assistive technology, I am the… Mechanical man.

Just A Little Settling…

When I had my first stenosis operation for five years ago now the surgeon must equip the nerve or something because I lost almost all movement on the left side of my body anyway my upper arm since my left leg was already fairly will compromised from the initial neurological insult. I thought about that issue a lot and I've come to the conclusion that the neurosurgeon goofed up big time. Other medical people I've talked to since the surgery of all indicated that the effort to release the pressure should of made my life somewhat better not worse of course it was. The night before my first neurosurgery I was totally independent. I put myself to bed got up showered shaved and dressed and Dianne took me to surgery. When I woke up I was a mess but the stenosis was gone supposedly. I could barely move my left side. I could no longer transfer into our out of bed, on our off the toilet let alone onto the shower bench. In fact I never went back to my bedroom that I shared with my wife. I'm not even going to get into the fact that I had to have machine food – – essentially everything was puréedso I could swallow and not choke to death. I could not believe that I was astounded.

My ex-wife is so cool – – I've said this before and I still believe this – – she can research anything in one of the things that she did initially before I could come home from the hospital was defined a bed that would work for me. She did this of course a great little bed that is totally motorized guy run from my control box at the end of accord. It's actually a great little bad I've loved it. Before, I would just roll up to the big bed I shared with Dianne (a king size bed) and would basically role in the bed from my manual wheelchair. And I would pull myself into the chair the next morning I got up. That was a no go now. The bed is a beauty, the foot of the bed raises up and down as does the head of the bed. The whole bed frame of the mattress actually rises about 6 inches. But nifty is that when I go to bed I can lower the bed significantly lower than my power chair which allows me to literally dive in the bed and roll when I hit the mattress the next morning, when I rise, I can raise the bid high enough to ride just do a controlled fall into my power chair… Sweet! This power bed really is a wonderful bed.

About a year ago I noticed my power bed was beginning to make weird noises during the night. The noise is bed springs settling, you know that sound Creek Creek click click then start all over again. The noise came on somewhat slowly so I didn't pay much attention. The noise always happened after I tumbled and bed and after a few minutes with settle down and I would fall asleep sleeping on my side. Over the last few months the noise is gotten worse. There been a couple times where I thought the noise you keep me up all night but eventually I must tumble off to sleep because I wake up and there is no noise coming from the mattress or bed springs. I contacted Puritan something, the folks at make the bed and even spoke to one of the technicians and he didn't know anything in fact he wanted me to send a sound recording of the problem. I actually have a recording which I'll try to attach to this posting, maybe not today but soon. The noise is gotten worse the last two weeks so come Monday I guess I will try to contact the manufacturer again. I assume this is only natural when you own something like this and use it every day/night. Things begin to wear out and maybe I've worn out the bed springs. Hopefully there's a fix for this. Otherwise, to get any sleep I have to lower the mattress all the way to the lowest position where this springs snug into the bed frame. At this point the mattresses entirely flat and I have a hard time breathing because my nose tends to plug up. If I have to learn to sleep this way I will buy sure don't want to I just think it's weird. Bottom line, I love this bed when it works right, really it's part of the technological package that allows me to be independent as much as I am I just love it noise are no noise onto a workaround… Thanks Dianne, great purchase

In Like Flynn…

Some days I totally amaze myself. I mean I just get things done now better than I've ever done before. Still not the big things like I would like to write the book and get another job and just live more fully the moment. After all, everyone knows our days are numbered. Yesterday of course be in Thursday, I had the standard coffee club and then with the time in between coffee and bookclub I had a bunch of hours the one to see if I can get something accomplished rather than just blowing the time off. The weather still relatively inclement very springlike storms and visions of storms some rain, cold wind the true time of transition. With the summer session of school coming up again I feel I need to turn every stone I can to get myself enrolled in the community College just down the street. When I left off Tuesday we had gone as far as we could and honest a return in 24 hours or so to finish the process. So, I was trying to adjudicate if I had enough time to do what I needed to do uptown at South Salt Lake campus, which is really one of the big campuses for the community college. It's where all the art instructors reside. When, the person I was working with on Tuesday, finished with me he said perhaps I can even go online and finish the process and go ahead and get the classes I wanted. So the more I thought about this the more I thought check out and I did check out online I didn't see anything different on my community college home page. So I figure why not just go down to my regular committee college, just down the street, and surely there people there can access the mothership we should be able to get things squared away.

I had an hour and a half or so to do this project before I had to get down to West Jordan library for bookclub. I was in a junk the bus and head down the library but the more thought about it I figured how stupid, I'm just going to zip down in my chair which I did. When I got to the college student center, the coffee shop and long closed but I found they had brewed coffee at the Stopped and Go, the little convenience store in the building. I got some great Starbucks coffee! Gotta remember this. I couldn't put off and wandered into the office and said Admissions over the door. It was a nice little office, two or three folks working one working harder than the others – – the others look like work-study folks. But Juan, was definitely busy working with a student or individual to be a student. Juan saw me standing there and broke off with the prospective he was working with and I waved them off saying no I can wait not a problem get to me when you can. I was impressed with the amount of attention Juan was giving this perspective. They eventually finished and Juan turned his attention to me. What a great little bureaucrat really many feel like I was announcing it mattered to him at that moment. I told him what I wanted I told him the trials that gone through all I wanted to do was to audit one class. Jaun furled his brow and tried to reason why it had such a hard time getting this one class. I told him everything I knew that then Juan saw saw this as a challenge. Together we checked classes, times and schedules. He explained to me that all I really had to do was pay for the class now that I had filled out the paperwork and I was in like Flynn. I should get notification on my community college email telling me when to contact the college and pay my “tuition”. I really have a feeling of completion now like it's finally done and why it's taken me two years to achieve this is beyond my comprehension. I really am smarter than this

Now, comes the hard part. I signed up for an 8 o'clock class which is going to be a bit of a challenge on Tuesdays and Thursdays was like for the half hours seems like. I have to confess I'm a bit intimidated but I really excited about what I might learn in being part of the college

Walking The Line

More storms today but it looks like it's getting a little bit better out there before I have to leave for bookclub out in West Jordan's afternoon. The picture I have at the top of the page is of Dutch asparagus, what I mean is that it's asparagus purchased by a woman who is Dutch and lives in the Netherlands my friend Elske. I asked Elske is she harvested the asparagus herself or had her son or daughter assist her in finding and cutting the asparagus. My vision of the Netherlands is that there are many ditch banks which would make sense that there could be a lot of asparagus growing on the side of those banks. Alas, sadly Elske replied no she purchased the cut asparagus at her local market.

My mind began to wander down good old memory lane as I chatted back and forth, texting my friend. As the dedicated reader knows I was raised in South Boise in the rural area on a small farm. We irrigated of course like most other farm types in the area. The giant sprinklers that ruled the irrigation process in the southeast Idaho area were not that prevalent in the southwest portion of the state. We had irrigation which means we had lots of ditches. I don't know when my mother realized there was free asparagus to be had for the cutting that soon my older brother and myself were enlisted in searching for and finding is much said asparagus is possible. After all, free food for a family of seven it seemed like a great deal. It's not like we got tons and tons of asparagus but we got enough to make a decent side dish to pot roast or steak that we often had for dinner. My mother had a powerful belief that asparagus fell in that group of foods that were almost medicine. After all, my family had quite a history of belief and health foods and restorative foods and asparagus and alfalfa were two of those which where green, I assume healthy and free to the taking when found in the “wild”. Alfalfa we would cut (which was easy to do, since we often raise alfalfa for our cattle)we would then take the cut alfalfa place it on some flat surface with good sun exposure and let cure. The herb now dried, high in vitamin C and iron seemed the perfect medicine for bladder infections and other urinary tract issues and the alfalfa is free.

It's best to “walk the ditch” in the early morning at least that's what we're told and had to do before school and even after school. It seems like asparagus sprouts overnight and I guess it wouldn't surprise me at some sprouts erupt while I might be at school. You have to be quick however and you have to be constant because once the asparagus goes to see you lost the plant for that season. So every morning, off we would go Ross and I walk in the ditch he on one side me on the other looking for the little spears pointing towards the sky begging to be cut and taken to dinner….

Silly Me,What Meeting…?

 

DRAC  office locked up tight!!!

I'm such a committed idiot! I do something if I Samba to do it at least I'll try the best that I can to make that commitment. As you know I I'm involved with our you could say that I volunteer with Disabled Rights Action Committee or DRAC. And once again if you type DRAC into that search section at the top of the blog page you should be able to get a fairly decent history of why I have volunteered for this organization over the 30 years or so I've been in Utah. DRAC is going through some reorganization right now and is taking a concerted effort of a number of the volunteers to meet and hopefully bring the organization through to its new reiteration. I have the time and the conviction so why not regardless of the weather.

Overnight the temperature dropped by at least 30° it seemed yesterday the temps were in the 70s and today it was the 40s the threat of snow and lots of wind as significant amount of rain. Cold day to be sure making the experience of traveling in a power chair on city streets riding public transit the challenge plus my butt hurts. Since today is Wednesday that means it's home health visitation day. Dana is coming I'm so excited. But she was a bit late and I've learned that she always notifies me when she's going to be late and I didn't hear any noise from my cell phone but I've learned to check because my stupid phone has developed a habit of silence in itself – – I think just for the fun of it – – and sure enough there is a message from Dana indicated she was running late. There is also seven messages which blew me away. I really should check my phone more often. Well, most of the messages were duds, a couple from kids and one from my positions office robot let me know that I have a doctors appointment this morning! The message came in on Sunday afternoon but like I said I didn't hear anything. 9:45 AM that was my appointment time. The first thing Dana said when she came in was the have anything to do today I would cancel it. That would've been nice but now it's a trip to the Intermountain medical Center's campus then inbound to the DRAC office 30 streets north.

I dressed in layers even taking my having ready and lain across my legs. I was wearing shorts of course. I didn't have to endure the punishment of the elements too long and I got to the doctor's office with about a half an hour to kill so I called the DRAC folks just to make sure the meeting was on. I couldn't get anyone of course. I called the one guy I really thought was on top of things he really is a busy person I quite like him. Left a message on his cell phone as well as is landline. I never heard anything back so I figured what the heck is going to be a meeting and I will be there. I took Route 100 N. bound which is State Street getting off at 3900 S. and for 300 S. it's three blocks east. It wasn't raining it was just cold and windy but I made it the meeting is for 1 o'clock I got there about 12:45 PM and of course the door was locked to the office. I figured as much but still I was just glad to wait inside. 3900S and third E.'s a bit of a rough neighborhood, broken sidewalks, fast food, check-cashing and money loan joints are all around. DRAC's office is in a office complex that truly is seen better days. It's kind of spooky. For an organization that services people with disabilities the building is not all accessible nor is the office they doing and have a lever handle on the door. Thankful to be in sight at least waiting I decided I would follow-up with another call to my buddy Ron our current executive secretary and financial guy for the operation and who I remember was one who called the meeting every Wednesday for the next couple weeks at 1 o'clock. I pick up and we have this weird conversation rethinks I'm another Mark Smith that he works with until he finds out that it's me and then I find out there is no meeting today. He didn't remember there being a meeting and there was no reason to be a meeting because they met Monday I had no idea.

Is no reason to get mad or upset just accept things as they are and move on and that's what I did as soon as is able to figure out a way to open the door to the outside of the building which was very much inaccessible…

Yes,We Have No Bananas.....

It's early afternoon and I'm sequestered dry and warm in my little apartment as the spring storm is trying to figure out what it's going to do drizzle are rage with lightning and thunder. There's been a few halfhearted peals of thunder have not seen any lightning, but that doesn't mean it's not there. The storm of course is forecast: rain with the following of temperature and possibly snow in the next couple of days. Spring is definitely on retreat for the time being but that's okay. I spent the morning doing some shopping over at the market across the street (even though I kind of wish to make the effort to jump the bus and go down a block or two to Walmart and made my purchases from them but I took the easy route). I know this storm is going to be fairly light and short-lived but I like to pretend that it's going to be devastational. I like to pack up make sure I have a nice stuff to get by whatever is going to happen. It's not like I have a freezer full of chicken and beef. I got some other essentials cottage cheese, grapes, Chinese noodles and bananas. Oh I got some olive oil as well. I'm pretty well set until the end of the week. Now it would be kind of nice if I did not have to leave the apartment and tell the weekend but tomorrow, during the worst of the storm event, I have an afternoon meeting with the DRAC crew down at the office. Then of course I will have bookclub on Thursday. And I guess somewhere in the next couple of days if I'm serious I need to get back down to the community college and finish my registration. It's kind of hilarious like the inclement weather will be detrimental I mean after all I wore shorts all winter long even on the coldest days nothing that the storm brings is going to be as bad as that.

I really like the market up the street at Walmart much better then little Fresh Market around the corner and easy access to my apartments. The prices aren't that much different either. However, I think is the quality of the food/fruit and presentation up at Walmart. Everything at Fresh Market looks tired and worn out. I really have not had complaints about the food too much. Sometimes the grapes are more soggy than I would like and the meat prices are a little higher than Walmarts which is kind of surprises me. I like the look of their vegetables more. Having said that I got some nice bananas (true, I had to get the vegetable manager guy to run back in the back to get them). I want a large clump a fairly green fruit so they could ripen up. I really gotten into feeding my home health person bananas. She really starts early in the morning with other clients about time she gets to me she sometimes hungry and always tired. I find if I send her away with a couple bananas seems to be a lot happier and I like that. She notified me on Monday that she probably be quitting at the end of the month is my home health person. This of course is somewhat disconcerting to me because then I have to deal with the trauma of getting to know somebody else. Not a big deal I'm finding out. I thought it was a big deal but I've been so lucky to have gotten such good home health people upon moving here that I shouldn't be worried. I'll take what comes and do the best with what I get are just keep trying until I find who I like. Trial and error that's what life is all about.

I was shocked when I got back to the apartments strapped to my front door handle was a bunch of very green bananas from Sam's Club. It was weird I don't know why I would've gotten such a “gift” there was a sales slip attached by tape to the bananas a dollar 95 or something. I don't remember talking to anyone about wanting bananas. And now I have two sets of bananas since I got a bunch at the fresh market this morning. Bananas are not expensive I found and that's cool. And I suppose they want be paid back with a wooden made such an effort of applying the sales receipt to the bunch of bananas. I do know what to do, I don't know who bought them and put them on my door knob is pretty kind I appreciate it. In fact I'm going to eat when my old bananas, to get them out of the way, and listen to the funder and watch a little bit of the storm…