From Where I Stand

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Location: West Coast, Florida, United States

A reader and a writer. A dreamer and a doer.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

For the next three days I will be very busy, so ..... no blogging!

Will y'all miss me??? I hope so!!!

Last week I had to buy a new mobile phone, because my old one died. Since that is my only telephone, I didn't waste any time replacing it. Just in time, because in the last two days, I picked up two new customers. One of them was just a "one-up" but, hey, money is money, and I never know where my next referral will come from! At any rate, they are paying me $30 per hour, so I'm happy. The job will take me 7 or 8 hours - that will pay between $200 and $250, so no complaints.

The other new client is a rental real estate agent I met a year ago who got really mad at her old cleaning service and fired them, because they were not doing a careful job. Now, she is calling me and asking if I can service her clients. (Shucks, yeah!!)

This week, I need to fix another technological problem. My backup hard drive doesn't have enough space to hold all my data anymore. The backup drive holds 40 gigs, and it is full. My pc's hard drive holds 100 gigs and I have used up 44 gigs on that, so it was probably inevitable that this would happen. I'm SHOCKED that I managed to fill up 40 gigs of backup space, but, whatever .....

I NEED to back up my data, because it is my lifeline - personally and professionally. So, I went looking for a new, larger external hard drive to back up my stuff.

I got a price of $92 for an external drive that holds 250 gigs. I guess that sounded alright, but ....

My computer tech suggested I check into a web service called "Carbonite." He explained that it's a web-based backup service. According to him, this is how it works: It costs $46 per year. When you set it up, you can specify which of your files you want to back up, so you don't have to back up all your programs, just your "personal profile" - the stuff that is unique to you, your personal, professional and business data. Once you have set it up, any time that you are online, the Carbonite server automatically and continuously backs up any and all changes you make to your designated files.

For example: if I purchased this service, I would designate my WORD documents to be "monitored" files. Whenever I was online (which means, whenever my computer is turned on,) Carbonite would immediately and continuously capture and update any changes I made to MSWord. So, whenever I am sitting at my desk, writing, everything I write is being updated onto the online server. My computer could crash in the middle of an intense writing session, and I would not lose anything I had just written. Same thing goes for my email program, my pictures, everything ....

The yearly fee makes it much more expensive than purchasing a new backup drive, but the sophistication of the service is enticing, and potentially very valuable.

Have any of you heard of Carbonite? If you have, what report can you give me? I am seriously considering it.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Today I'm taking an online course. It's tedious and boring, so in between chapters I have been working on various, assorted other tasks at my desk.

I've been paying bills online. Cleaning up "My Pictures." Filing some paperwork.

Checking international currency exchange rates. (The American dollar has been falling steadily in relation to both the Euro and the Bulgarian lev ever since I started tracking it. At this point, we are looking pretty sick on the international money markets.) Interestingly enough, the Bulgarian lev has also been decreasing in value in relation to the Euro. Boy, I wish I had bought a bunch of Euros a year ago!!

Emailing back and forth with Comcast, trying - for the FOURTH TIME - to resolve an ongoing problem with my account. It's an IT issue, and the people who work in IT seem clueless. I've given up on trying to sort this out over the phone, because that uses up hours of time on my cell phone minutes, during business hours. I finally got the email of someone who is supposed to be the "head dude" and emailed, but all I got was a reply from one of his flunkies. I'm trying to tell them that I don't want another underling - after six months of this nonsense, I want to talk to someone who can crack the whip and get to the root of the problem.

Emailing back and forth with Nadia, in Bulgaria. Over there, it is now late evening, dinner is over and she happens to be online. I needed some info from her, and she is teasing me, sending it to me written in the Cyrillic alphabet. I told her that my Bulgarian language books are packed away, and my brain is on overload, but she is ignoring me. So, I decided to try translating it and - I GOT IT!!! YAY!!! Turns out I remember more than I would have imagined. I guess that each time I go there and get immersed in the language, the more of it I absorb.

Meanwhile, I am giving my toenails a French manicure:


Breaking up the course study chapters with other things is helping me to keep my brain from exploding.

D'you like my toenails? :o)))))))

I know, I'm getting pretty goofy now. My brain feels like an overripe melon!


Monday, May 25, 2009

I had big plans for today - lots of things I wanted to accomplish - but after working like a dog for 6 days in a row, today I can't seem to get going. I didn't take my usual hike this morning, didn't take care of a job that is waiting for me "sometime this week" and didn't tackle a project here at my house that I wanted to get done. Instead, I'm wasting time and doing nothing. I can just feel my batteries recharging!

Here is a picture I took one evening last week at the beach, just after sunset. All those shades of blue enchanted me. Blue ocean, blue sky, blue clouds, and all of them with so many delicate shadings. I just love the drama of the skies here in Florida:


Saturday, May 23, 2009

Today started out with high drama.

I was cleaning offices in Naples, leaving the first one and driving to the second. I was exploring some quiet back streets, trying to find a shorter way to get from Point A to Point B. At one point, I was driving very slow - about 10 miles per hour - because I was "feeling my way" through the back streets.

Suddenly, from the sidewalk on my right, a bird walked out in front of my car, with three babies beside her. I gasped and jerked the wheel hard to the left to miss her, but my wheel caught her. I heard a soft thud.

Horrified, I pulled to a stop and looked in the rear view mirror. The bird was down, thrashing on the pavement, flapping her wings. The three babies were running around her. There were no houses on the street, and no other cars. I shifted into park and started to sob. Couldn't stop crying. I got an instant, throbbing headache and felt nauseous.

Shaking, I grabbed my cell phone and dialed 411, asked for the Collier County Humane Society and talked to the receptionist. She said they didn't take wildlife, but she would call the Naples Conservancy and they would send someone. I explained where the birds were and said goodbye.

A couple minutes later, I realized that the directions I had given her were wrong. I had obviously been slightly lost! I called back and a different person answered. She didn't know who had taken my previous call, so she gave me the phone number for the Conservancy. I called that number and got no answer.

Feeling helpless, I started to pray to God, asking Him to take care of those little babies. I continued on my way to the next job. When I was almost there, driving south on Goodlette Frank Road, I saw a sign that said "Naples Conservancy, next left."

Yay!!!

I pulled into the Conservancy grounds and drove around for a few minutes until I saw a sign that said "Injured Wildlife" with an arrow pointing down a dirt path. I drove down there and found a building. I rang the bell at the door and a girl leaned over a balcony and talked to me. When I started to explain, she said "Oh, I know about you. My supervisor is on the phone right now with the Humane Society. Just a minute."

The supervisor came to the door and let me in. She explained that there was nobody available at the Conservancy to rescue the babies, but she was trying to get in touch with a volunteer to go over and capture them. She said that they could easily get run over by another car, and their best hope was if she would give me some equipment and send me over to try and net them.

She told me that if I saw another adult bird with the babies, that would be another parent who would take care of them, and in that case, I should not capture them.

I was still crying, and of course, was willing to do just about anything to help the birds. So, I loaded the net and crate into my car and drove back to the street where I had hit the bird.

She was still where I had left her, but she was standing up. The babies were out of sight. I stopped the car, put on my four-way flashers, and got the crate and net out of the back seat. I figured I would net her and bring her back to the Conservancy, and maybe they could check her over.

She just watched me. When I approached her, she started walking away from me, fast enough that she beat me to the sea grape hedge beside the street, and while I was trying to maneouver my net into the hedge, she disappeared. I walked up and down, but never saw her again.

Sooooo .... I put the net and crate back into the car, climbed back in, turned off my flashers and started to drive away. About a dozen feet down the street, on the other side, I spied the three babies with another adult bird, and I felt wonderfully relieved.

I took the equipment back to the Conservancy and gave them my report. We all agreed that we hoped the poor bird didn't have serious internal injuries.

End of story. Babies are fine, I don't know about the mother, and I have felt ill all day. That was 'WAY too much emotion for me! I don't feel guilty, because it wasn't my fault. There was nothing I could have done differently, or better, than I did.

I was surprised at my strong reaction. I thought to myself "it's only a BIRD!!!" but that didn't help at all. Birds have feelings, too! I felt so bad for those little birdies, rushing to their mother's side, and for her, injured and unable to help herself. I am heartsick over it.

I learned a lot about the Conservancy today, and that was very interesting. They are open every day - every single day of the year - from 7:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. - to care for their rescued animals and to be available to help injured wildlife that is brought in to them. Some animals are rehabilitated and released again, while others need to stay there permanently. It's a wonderful organization.

Monday, May 18, 2009

This morning I set out a little after 7 a.m. to walk for a few miles. The rain of the past few days has made everything fresh, and walking in the cool, damp morning air was wonderful.

I saw a baby corn snake resting beside the sidewalk on Pennsylvania Avenue and a pair of ibises foraging beside the little lake along Arroyal Road. There were three mourning doves perched on the top of a fence beside Arroyal and lot of songbirds in the trees.

There was a small group of little kids in school uniforms waiting for their bus and I watched as two of them balanced on some large rocks lining a culvert, walking along the top edge.

A friend/neighbour of mine pulled out of his side street and onto Arroyal. He beeped and waved at me as he passed.

As always, there were other folks out on Pennsylvania Ave getting their morning exercise - walking, jogging and biking. Oh, and one guy on a bike, wearing a t-shirt from the grocery store and a pair of khakis - going to work, I assumed.

Flowers are blooming everywhere. Seasonal frangipani and magnolia wafted scent here and there. I smelled jasmine a couple times, but didn't see where the bushes were.

An hour later I was home again, feeling fresh and ready for the day.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Just got the phone call I was waiting for. All of Rocco's bloodwork came back fine. There is no problem at all with any of his organ functions, his glucose level is fine - no sign of diabetes or any other problem.

The doc quizzed me about the amount of water he is drinking, and I know how much his bowl holds, so I told him. He says that is normal for Rocco's size. I don't know why he has been drinking so much less all these years.

I don't know why he is drinking so much water all of a sudden, but as long as the tests are all good, I guess I can stop worrying about it.

WHEW!!!!!!!!

I felt so relieved that I called Rocco over to me and told him the good news, giving him lots of hugs and kisses. He has been lethargic all morning - probably picking up on my mood - but he perked up right away.

My little prince, Rocco, has been causing me some concern. I took him to the vet first thing this morning for bloodwork.

A couple months ago, I noticed that he was drinking an inordinate amount of water - much more than he usually does. I recalled that when people start doing this, it is a sign of possible diabetes. Just as I was starting to worry and think about calling the vet, this behaviour stopped, so I stopped worrying.

For the last week or two, he has been doing it again, even worse. Usually, he drinks less than one bowl of water daily. Now, he drinks one in the morning and one in the afternoon, maybe even more. Yesterday, I came home after being away for a few hours. He had spent the whole time resting on his bed, with no physical exertion, but he had drank his full bowl completely dry and peed his potty pad full. I refilled the bowl and he eagerly drank off half of it, very fast. I called the vet and scheduled an appointment this morning. I filled his bowl again, and by bedtime, it was empty.

I will get a call this afternoon telling me the results of the blood test.

If I have to give him daily insulin injections, this will be a major, huge, astronomical PROBLEM!!! I have a problem with needles. When Rocco gets a shot or a blood test, I have to leave the room - I cringe and cry, just watching it. I couldn't even give myself allergy injections. How I could manage to hold Rocco still for the shot, then actually puncture his skin with a needle and shoot the syringe into him, is something I can't even imagine doing.

Guess you could say that I am "pathologically non-violent."

He was begging for his breakfast this morning, as usual. But I couldn't feed him or give him water until after the blood test. When we got home I gave him his breakfast, and he refused it. He is probably too upset about having the blood test, and it has ruined his appetite. I am SO BUMMED OUT!!!!! Guess I will put the food back in the fridge and put out a bowl of water for him. Maybe he will eat a little later today.

Oh, I hope with all my heart that he doesn't have diabetes!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I figured it would be depressing, as it usually is.

Boy, was I wrong! Both my kids called me, and my youngest son talked with me for 2 1/2 hours. It was great to catch up with his news and listen to him talk about his life.

Also, yesterday I got started on a new writing project. The book I have been working on for over 2 years is stalled at the moment, waiting for me to finish researching. I need to go back to Holland to finish the research, and will go there this summer.

Meantime, I miss writing, so I sat down and started the next project. I figured out a basic structure for it, decided how to introduce the theme and planned how to build on the theme throughout the book.

All in all, yesterday was a very good day.

Friday, May 01, 2009

well, i finished the green beans at 3:00 this morning. i won't be doing something like that again for a while! i'm still bleary-eyed, but need to get my butt in gear and go to work now.

figured out the economics of this project. each of the 22 single-sized servings i have carefully packed away in my freezer cost me 58 cents, plus whatever the ziploc bags cost, but i will reuse them, so that doesn't count.

that's not bad - actually it's good value - but i'm not sure if i would do it again, unless i were lucky enough to live on a farm again and have a nice vegetable garden.

my son read the blog and left a comment. he reminded me that when i used to try making him eat green beans, it was world war three. i remember that! ha, ha! now, he tells me that he likes spinach. just spinach - no butter, no vinegar, just plain spinach. when he was little, that was the LAST thing he would have swallowed.