Axim Axher, just get on with some real work Nut!
Good morning … Just me. It’s already very late in the morning and it’s a Monday, so I am doubting that I will be able to write long this morning. We are giving ourselves a firm two hours, and if we can do it in less time, we get extra points! Woo Hooo just got a comment from TJ! New toys, YES! Hehehe
Ok, ok … we can only go there a little bit. We had some good and bad with all that yesterday. V. broke out bubble with a little reality. As much as we’d thought everything was taken care of with placing the new orders, he brought to mind that there are other variables like calling the cable company and checking on routers, adapters, and video cards to get everything connected proper. We did not react toward that entire thing so well. We kind of froze up, hmm, or maybe it was more like a melt-down. We were so lost and confused trying to read everything that he was sending us for information and we couldn’t make our mind grasp it all … we became much too overwhelmed. We know we’re over our limit, because we yelled at V. Everyone that reads my blog knows that V is the salt of the Earth. We felt terrible. We got out of the danger point, by letting him go, taking our medicine, going for a walk, getting in the shower, and then pouring a cup of coffee. We were too chicken to go back into it, but when our friend signed on line he told us that he would help us get through it. It might take a trip to Best Buy. We also wrote a letter to Jacob, but at best odds it’s only about 10% probability that he will even open the email and read the “Help needed” paragraph. That I think is the part that pushed me over the edge. I was thinking that I’d have to do all this by myself and it was more than I could bare, especially, because I don’t have the phone to even call the cable company and I won’t be around my work phone for a couple of days. Everything had been feeling urgent. Our friend said he’d try to stop in a few minutes sometime during the day and he’d let me use his cell and we’d make some plans.
Maybe we’ve gotten then to the point that we can talk about the purchases again a little bit? Our friend was better about the whole thing as far as scolding than we had feared. V too! V was like neat toys! Our friend’s first reaction was something pretty close to umm, you don’t need all that. And, we were like, uh huh … so what’s the point? Being the good friend that he is he said why don’t you come and rub my back and I’ll let you talk about it. Hehehe … that’s like one of our favorite compromises. And, he did! Let me rub his back AND talk to my hearts content. He made sure to giggle at me, because we were feeling so guilty that there was no room for him to really add on that score. He knew we were doing it to ourselves, although we were pretty sure we could blame SOME of it on him! Isn’t that what having a friend is all about? I mean the sharing the blame stuff? Ok, well, maybe not. But, sometimes we like to blame him, just because he then feels so much better when we say, no, I know it’s not your fault! I don’t think he gets that in his life a lot hehehehe.
*Sigh*
Woo hoo. Just checked!! Our package order has shipped at 12:25 this morning to FedEx and is expected to be delivered by 3 pm tomorrow afternoon! That's the GPS receiver kit. The Dell monitor is in transit to our local carrier, and the Axim has shipped yesterday as well with an arrival of tomorrow at 3 pm.
Well, I’m telling you one thing for certain. Tomorrow is the wrong day to have taken off work! *Sigh* Have to figure that out. Let’s see I’m leaving here to go in at 9:15 to arrive at 9:45, so we can leave the center at 10 am for a 10:30 meeting that will last until 12:30. From that point, I’m off again. Maybe the thing to do is to go back to work … cuz, that’s where the packages are going to be delivered. But, because I am off work, maybe I can work on my papers there. At least until the packages arrive. I will forewarn the front end that they are on the way. Sometimes UPS is late, but usually before 5 pm. I know … not much of a day off. But, I can send away anyone that comes to my door on official business. Yep, yep that sounds like a plan. Maybe I better send Sr. an email.
Dear. Sr. Tess,
My plans are as they were drawn up last week. I will be off today and tomorrow with the exception, I will at the center tomorrow from 9:45- 12:30 to escort Group I to the meeting with M. I told her about the meeting already.
As luck would have it though, I am expecting three packages to be delivered by tomorrow at 3 pm by Fed Ex. There will be one large package and two small. The bigger one is a new monitor for my home computer and the other two are electronics. What I am planning to do is stay at work after the meeting until Fed Ex delivers. If it is alright with you, I'd like to maintain my vacation status and not be on the clock. I will bring things to do for my paper. It's just that I'm pretty excited about getting the packages. Please let me know if this would be ok.
Much appreciated,
Ann
AHA! Right on target! YAYYYYY! That Dell! You gotta love him for speedy deliveries!
Ahh, now I’m all really excited. Again, we’ll talk to our friend and the Cable Company today that will help in making the set-up plans. Oh man oh man do I love new systems! I’m back to using a fairly new system for at home … in that I’ve got my Lotus organizer program started like I wrote the last time. I love it! All this time and I never knew I could maintain a small efficient 7x5” little journal on my screen … man oh man am I going to love this new monitor to pieces! I am going to conquer my problems of time management if it kills me! Well, I hope that it really doesn’t kill me, but you get the drift!
I’m hoping that I will be able to transfer the Organizer to the PDA, but I’m preparing myself for needing to use the Outlook program just in case. Hmm, that reminds me, we might want to start using our brief case thingie again. Well, not exactly a brief case, but some kind of reasonable woman size leather business thing. I forget what you call them exactly. I’m thinking that the PDA is going to be skinny enough to fit within the outside pouch. I do love efficiency. I’m thinking of it now because although it has a very nice titanium case, I don’t usually carry a purse. I get by with deep pockets at least during the winter, but it is getting too nice out there again. Hmm, that’s another thing. We still need to get our driver’s license. Hmm, maybe after this next week and school is over until April 3rd. I’ve explained some of the thoughts that went into the purchasing of the new screen. The purchase of a PDA isn’t quite as obvious maybe.
Well, first off … I know that it is a luxury. After all I’ve managed without one for the the first 46 years of my life. My friend did us the favor of pointing out that I don’t usually go too far except work and home. I think that he is right. BUT, maybe now the PDA will encourage me to go a little further. I’ve got two things going in that direction. The PDA is going to have a GPS tracking system, so I CAN go out further without getting lost, and I am now able with the walking to go a little farther. I have been watching our friend use the GPS computer system that he has in his 2005 Accord. He’s named her Selma. Hmm, I don’t know, but it would be neat if we too have the ability to choose between a female or male voice. You gotta know we’re going male all the way! I would have to hear his voice before I named him though. Hehehehe
Yes, that’s the reason … I am getting a new man servant. YAYYYY!!
Well, maybe I didn’t get it for just that reason, but I still have stars in my eyes. Actually the GPS idea came later along the line of the purchase. I had seen the price and decided not to get it, but then later by the time I was checking out, something had changed and I realized that Dell had added it automatically to my purchase as part of a package deal. Originally, it had cost an extra $175. I saw it was being billed on the total as $125. And, I thought yup yup … sure as hell need that! YAYYYY!!!! I had envied my friends greatly. Matter of fact … it was me who convinced him to get this specific car just because Honda’s are so damn good, AND they were offering computerized GPS systems at a reasonably good price. I had seen one in my son’s BMW and I thought … yup, yup shouldn’t ever buy a car without one!
There are a lot of other good reasons to get a PDA. For me one of the bigger reasons is for my own security and peace of mind. I have gotten myself into this computer rut, where I have a hard time leaving sometimes from home, because the stress is so great of leaving one computer before I can get to the other computer. I had first looked into getting one of the tablets, but they were too expensive for the quality I wanted. Then I saw a smaller tablet which was still pricy without the extra’s you know I would want (because I am just that way). BUT, the PDA’s I was looking at was starting at about $400 and I thought that is plenty of room to build. And, build I did. I walked out of the showroom so heavily loaded, I needed assistance getting out the electronic Internet door. What’s included? Hehehe I’m so glad you asked!
My package PDA starts out as an Axim X51v 624 mhz sweetie from Dell! She’s fully powered with 256 MB ROM, 64 MB SDRam, and has a 3.7 inch VGA screen (802.11b). She has as an extra 1 GB extra digital memory card and we got the external folding keyboard. Next is the USB cable and cradle to repower her and put her in sync with other computers. We added then not only the 3 year warranty, we also got the 3 year complete care accidental damage service that will replace her no questions asked. We got the external video out cables so that we could hook her up to a monitor, TV, or projector for viewing impact and possibly meetings like the staff training or the Thinking Group. She also has the mobility cables so that I can utilize either a regular plug or the cigarette lighter in my car. Damn I sure hope that is working! We got a second battery (1100 mAh) and a triple set of extra stylus pens and a screen protector. Like we said we got the extra hard case Titatnium rhinoskin and we got the headset that includes earphones and microphone. Did you know this baby also acts as a recorder?? Hehehe Then last of course, you knew we got the GPS Map system.
SOOOOO, this is basically, what we mean by getting her fully loaded! Umm, we’ll gloss over the final price by just saying that at this point, the school money is gone. Easy come … easy go.
We’re considering this whole thing a quality of life improvement. We reminded our friend how much money he puts into vacations and fishing trips each year and how for us this was a much better deal than all we could imagine him doing with his spare bucks. I live and breath around the computer. I get all teary eyed thinking of what my life would be without this medium. But, then I’ve been breathing it in now for the last 22 years. Yup yup started with an Apple 64 K and now we’re up to a PDA with 64 MB memory … That’s quite some distance traveled. And, it just keeps getting better and better!
I know that my time is almost out, but I just wanted to note for the record some of the other thoughts I have toward a PDA. When I first started looking, I wasn’t sure all what they were about, but I had the impression, they were used for scheduling and checking email while on the go. I’ve since learned that they are, or at least mine, is programmed with a Microsoft Mobile package that includes MS Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer and PowerPoint. The system has a few games too like a race car driving thing and pool played on the top of a desk. It also has a game called something like Enigmo that’s supposed to look pretty darn cool in 3D. That’s just the goofy stuff though. Although, I appreciate that sometime I might get stuck waiting in line somewhere where they’ll come in handy. Hehehe, or in entertaining one of the boys. They are like me going from one computer usage of time to another. There fingers like mine, need to be pushing buttons to feel fulfilled. Eh, it’s just like that. It’s suppose to work great with MSReader and eReader which both store books for you and then reads them back to you. The PDA has Windows media and the capability of doing mp3’s. It has also got some kind of function so that you can download and watch movies. In general it has a special multimedia accelerator with special dedicated video memory. It’s got both Bluetooth technology, Windows Mobile 5 and Wi-Fi which does all kinds of fancy things like connecting it to Starbucks and such. Hehehe V. says that in one year Philly, and in two years Chicago will all be hooked up to wireless Internet. It is going to be quite some world out there and its all just right around the corner.
It doesn’t have a phone or camera like some of them, but that’s plenty fine with me. It’s not worth the extra cost and inconvenience of being connected to the problems people want to share with you over the phone. I’ve still got a great camera with the Olympia, so that feature was also unessecary. The fancier HP pocket devices start at an additional cost of $200 more. The Axim also has something because of all the fancy stuff its got where you can’t lose information when your battery goes dead. That was a big concern of mine when thinking of this purchase before. We are notoriously irresponsible concerning things we’re supposed to do like recharge batteries. The pictures are supposed to be supreme. I understood from one reviewer that you can use them to control every TV and stereo in the house, but I’m pretty sure, we’re not going down that path. It’s got a special picture viewer for snapshots and video and somehow you get to choose whether you use the machine in either portrait or landscape mode. The one last thing that everybody is commenting on is she’s a beaut … fast, efficient, ergonomic and a real good looker! The customer support is supposed to be very good as well.
ACK! I’m going to need to stop selling both you and me to the machine I’ve committed ourselves to. I’m noticing someone is already an hour off schedule … damn! We just have one more turn of a card we want to play out. It’s something that I haven’t been able to get a handle on yet. Besides the obvious beauty of being able to take V. with us as we stop by Foster Beach overlooking Lake Michigan, what is this new need all about? Why do we need this baby sweet thing that she is? I know there is a part of me that has always been keen on making life quality improvements, especially toward technology and certainly being more mobile has a lot of benefits. There is still questions about why the need to be connected to the computer world is so gosh darn significant that I’m not fully comprehending. It as if the keyboard has become my alter ego to the degree I feel like I am not breathing if not connected. But, why is this? How do I become more me with the addition and ability to place words out there in the blogosphere or document files?? Am I still me with or without?
It’s like I know that the computer is like more an add on to my skeletal structure. Although we’re pretty sure we’re still cosmically aligned by invisible connectors while we break away to sleep. It’s true though that I sleep no further than 5-6 feet away from our computer. It’s like crossing a huge divide. By the nature of being somewhat of a psychology practitioner, I have to think that to some degree my first love should be human beings. Ok, or kitty petterer. Somehow though, that’s only true indirectly. I seem only able to process people directly in my space to a limited degree. I value them, don’t get me wrong here. But, somehow I feel more known to the world, by what I can enter from my screens. It’s not that I don’t like an occasional hug. I super love being ultra mushy with my love. And, when I am in that space all else stands still. Shoot, what am I trying to get at here.
I remember when I used to see Dr. W. now 9 years ago. We had spent 7 years together in therapy. For many of those years, we wouldn’t talk to him. We sat at his computer next to him and his desk and for every communication between us … we typed. He talked and we typed. He would read what we typed and respond to it. We’re talking over a three or four years where we would not talk. There were other years where we rarely left the space of our younger parts who would sit on his floor in a corner and rock or cry. Somewhere during that time, Dr. W. labeled for us the need we have for connecting to people through the computer. He stated that it was the ultimate distance for us. We’ve always had extreme safety issues. It doesn’t bother me to go to work and bypass people for a good majority of the day. Periodically, during these times, I will walk down the hall and perhaps stop in a room. Whether it is Sr.’s office or Group II where people jump out of their chairs to cheer my arrival and shake my hands, that all is a huge leap of faith for me. I know people are going to draw me into their space. Rarely, do they ask me where I’ve been … mentally that is. They could guess I’m in my office most often doing something on the computer or at my writing desk (which also has a computer). But, no one asks, including my boss how my time gets managed. There was a time years ago, where Sr. would show up at my door and say, “Hmm, what are you working on anyway?” But, that is very far back in my past. Now when we see her, it is to drop off something we think is of interest to her, or sometimes she will call me to the floor to add on another task she wants me to do for her. We say yes ma’am, and then disappear back to our office to manage it into the whole of the scheme for the day.
There are times we have specific meetings with people like the admin meeting, the behavior meeting, staff training, annuals, goal training, or Thinking Group, etc. During these times we have to step out of ourselves. Our real selves. We become this person who puts on a face, stands or sits up properly and conducts some kind of business or another. It seems at those times … whatever is called for we’ve prepared for to some extent or just show up with the knowledge it seems the others are in need of. Sometimes we go to meetings just to listen to what others need from us. And, sometimes there are informal meetings. Usually, these are staff or client directed where they will show up at my door for some reason or another. Usually, I am helping them … the people figure out something. But, what is lost during all these occasions is that I don’t seem to need these others. I know this sounds terrible. But, I think it is true. Very infrequently do I go searching out people. Like we said sometimes we have something for Sr. to progress then nation of the centers centeredness. Or, sometimes in our processing we come up with a paper that needs somebody’s signature. But, we rarely go out looking for someone to solve OUR problems. That seems to be something we bring to Dr. M., our friend, or V. primarily. The rest of our needs? The computer resolves all of them. This is even now more pronounced with Dr. M. so receded into the background of our lives. It is this relationship between me and it and then vicariously to you that we live life.
Am I making sense here? Could you even have the briefest of understanding how significant these last couple of day’s purchases is to us? Shoot, shoot … we’re probably sounding a little crazed. Maybe because it is we find a sense of desperation … Maybe we need to think more about that rock and cave we placed ourselves on and in the other day. But, see that’s just the thing. We know with everything that is inside us, it is more important to understand people … to help. And, we need some hugs or back pats. Sometimes. For the most part though. We need to shuffle thoughts between us and this machine. Have I stepped off the deep end here? Hmm. Looking at that wonderful organizer now sitting on the corner of my desk world. Says we’ve over extended ourselves here by a couple of hours. Maybe it is time to move on to the next task. We’ve got another paper in front of us. Always there is another paper, and when we get done, we’ll go comment on some other people’s papers. That’s kind of like our life now. And, inbetween those times we blog. That’s all … we just blog. Could life ever be considered more perfect? I can’t think so. Except … when we’re snuggling. That’s pretty darn fine too. *Sigh*
Tornadoes rip across Midwest ...
shoot, shoot ... wasn't aware all that was happening, though it looked so scary out my window last night when I woke up ...I had to shut the curtains. Just remember something about so much wetness it was blinding to see across the other side of the street. forgot about that in my excitement over the electronics. Somebody knock me around and inundate me with some common sense?? My prayers go out ...
Tornadoes Rip Across Midwest, Killing 10
By JOHN O'CONNOR
Associated Press Writer
Published March 13, 2006, 10:12 AM CST
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Swarms of tornadoes killed at least 10 people across the Midwest, shut down the University of Kansas and caused so much damage in Springfield that the mayor compared it to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The violent weather started during the weekend with a line of storms that spawned tornadoes and downpours from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley.
On Monday, a second line of storms raked the region, with rain, hail and fierce wind tearing up trees and homes from Kansas through Indiana. To the northwest, the vast weather system pulled cold air in Canada, generating blizzards that cut off power to thousands and shut down schools in South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Illinois' capital was hit hard twice in 24 hours, first by a tornado and then strong wind early Monday that blew debris through the city. Power lines were down across Springfield, trees uprooted and windows blown out.
"It's just amazing how devastating it is," Mayor Tim Davlin said Monday after daylight let him see the extent of damage. "It looks like the pictures we saw a couple months ago after Katrina."
Most major roads into the city were closed, and police searched damaged homes and businesses for people who could be trapped, said city spokesman Ernie Slottag. At least 24 people were treated for minor injuries.
Two hotels looked like they were still under construction, with missing roofs and blown-out windows. A nearby Wal-Mart store had also lost its roof.
Even the five-story Illinois Emergency Management Agency building was damaged, its roof partly torn off and the top floor flooded, said IEMA spokeswoman Patti Thompson.
Missouri appeared to have been hardest hit by the weekend storms, with at least nine people killed and hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed or damaged. Hail as big as softballs pounded parts of the state.
Bobby Ritcheson, 23, said he watched as a neighbor was killed south of Sedalia, Mo.
"The trailer came down right on top of her," Ritcheson said.
Homes were destroyed along a path of more than 20 miles south of St. Louis, officials said.
At the University of Kansas, where 60 percent of the buildings were damaged by weekend storms, Provost David Shulenberger said classes were canceled Monday because of safety concerns about debris falling from roofs. The Lawrence campus was littered with trees, roof tiles and window glass.
Two trees fell through Rhonda Burns' mobile home in Lawrence early Sunday.
"If the wind had shifted that tree just a few inches, I wouldn't be talking to you," she said.
Tornadoes also destroyed dozens of homes Sunday in Oklahoma and Arkansas.
"It was over before you knew it," said Greg Kospar, 41, of Bentonville, Ark. "The house is gone."
In Illinois, the tornado that struck Springfield on Sunday had made a two-hour pass through central Illinois.
The Chicago area was struck by high wind, with gusts to 70 mph in suburban Tinley Park, and roofs were blown off apartment buildings in suburban Bridgeview. Localized flooding was reported in the Chicago and Quad Cities areas.
Thousands of people were without power in the state Monday morning, including about 15,000 in the Springfield area, down from about 65,000 at the height of the storms, Thompson said.
Davlin said his brother's restaurant and bar in the nearby town of Jerome was heavily damaged.
"I had to call him and tell him that his roof was four buildings away," said the mayor, whose brother was out of town during the storm.
The vast weather system arose as moist air from the Gulf of Mexico collided with cold Canadian air, said Philip Schumacher of the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, S.D. The system dumped 20 inches of snow in parts of western South Dakota and knocked out power and closed schools as it moved into Minnesota and Wisconsin.
"It is a sign that spring is coming," said Schumacher. "You start getting stronger low-pressure systems, and they're able to bring in stronger south winds, which tend to bring up more moisture."
Missouri authorities reported nine people killed, including four whose bodies were found in the rubble of homes near the town of Renick.
Another storm victim was found in Indiana, where several people had to be rescued from cars stalled in rapidly rising water. Flood warnings were posted Monday for large areas of southern and central Indiana.
* __
Associated Press reporters F.N. D'Alessio in Chicago, Noah Trister in Bentonville, Ark., David Lieb in Sedalia, Mo., Garance Burke and Margaret Stafford in Kansas City, John Milburn in Lawrence, Kan., and Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report.
posted by Ann Marie @ 3/13/2006 10:51:00 AM
Comments: 9
