I Am Getting Old - Part Twenty-Seven

I am getting older because....I can't believe that another year has passed by. It is Thanksgiving eve, November 26. I am no longer in Arizona with the nice warm weather. As the song goes, I am back in Indiana. The weather, well it is the weather. Snow on the ground, cool and crisp today. There is more snow forecast for the remainder of this week and most of next week. I will close for now and say to everyone HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I Am Getting Old - Part Twenty-six

I am getting old because…Somehow, I twisted my knee last Friday and being the optimist I am (when it comes to aches and pains and there are millions of them now lol), I assumed it would quit hurting, I could walk and everything would be okay. How wrong can someone be? It is now Tuesday afternoon and the pain has only increased. It hurts to walk unless I stiffen the entire right leg, then it only hurts a little bit and I look funny when I walk. (Shades of Chester from the old TV show, Gunsmoke.) I have been taking Ibuprofen and that is not working very well. The pain is starting to gravitate up my thigh to my hip, probably because of the funny way I am walking.

I just started to look for a doctor in the area and have not had much success since there are lots of doctors here who do not accept Medicare, which I find hard to believe and is a story of its own. This may just accelerate the search or else I will have to go to the emergency room, and I really do not really want to. A trip to the ER may have an up side since a doctor would probably want x-rays and that would mean a second trip to the x-ray place. In either case, I think I need to get it treated. When I put my hand on the knee cap, I can feel “something” moving inside and I can “hear” the movement. It is hard to explain.

Enough about the knee for now and on to the hunt for my next topic which is, WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR SKIN WHEN IT AGES?. I always wondered why my mother had so many scrapes and bruises as she got older. Now I think I know. It seems the skin must get thinner as you age and is easier to scrape and bruise. It only takes a small pressure to damage the skin. Most of the time, I am not even sure how or when it happened. I was shopping the other night and the side of my leg started to itch. I scratched the spot (through my slacks) and that night when I dressed for bed, you should have seen what had happened to my leg. There is an injury about 3 inches long, 2 inches wide with red marks (I call them blood blisters) and bruising. Evidently, I am not aware of my own strength. lol I found a small scrape on the side of my arm. There are so many of these “injuries”, I am afraid that the doctors will think I have been beaten if I make the trip to the ER and a few months ago that may have been true.

I am not complaining. I am grateful that I still have my limbs and my skin. A few aches and pains are nothing compared to what others must feel when they lose a limb or burn their skin. I am very fortunate.

I Am Getting Old - Part Twenty-five

I am getting old because…well I forget why???? These days this is normal for me. Right in the middle of completing a task, I forget things. Like why am I doing this and what is next. I think part of it has to do with the fact, I feel unorganized. I am currently sleeping on my son's couch but the good thing is I have a place to sleep and a roof over my head and food. I have my important papers, etc., in a crate under the computer and am constantly worrying that I have lost something or something is missing. I just got through getting them organized, again, and I have not lost anything. Thank you very much. There is this canvas thing that hangs on the closet rod where I have my underwear and folding clothes. All in all it is not that bad. I am grateful for these things and thank God each night. I am looking for my own place and will have one before the new year. My son says to take my time and we will begin to accumulate household items, etc., so I will have some things to get started. If I knew enough people, I would have a housewarming party and get lots of gifts. lol I only know a few at this time, so the party will have to wait.


It is time for another cup of coffee and time for me to reorganize, again. lol

I Am Getting Old – Part Twenty-four

I am getting old because…I need peace, quite, understanding, tolerance and acceptance in my life. I wish and pray for peace for the world and all the people in the world. I pray for each of us as human beings to accept mankind and be tolerant of all people. We are all God’s children, no matter our skin color, the language we speak. I read the news each day and wonder how people can be so cruel to others and what they think gives them the right to hurt others. How on earth can one human being kill another? Do they have a conscience? Are they just evil? Are they insane? Will we ever know the answers to these questions?

Does this need for peace and understanding come with age? If so, then I wish there wish some way to instill this in us while we are still young. Perhaps the world would be a better place to live. As years pass it seems that we as a society are turning away from God and assuming an anything goes attitude. I will continue to live with understanding, tolerance and acceptance of others and hope that others around me may come to see this as a good thing and do the same.

I wrote this a couple of days ago when I was in one of those moods. That's another thing I found out. That as I get older, I get "moody". Hey, after 64 years, I am entitled.

I Am Getting Old – Part Twenty-three

I am getting old because…I am happier with less than I use to be. I have discovered or finally learned that material things are not the answer to all our needs. My needs are simple these days. I want a nice place to live that has somewhere for me to sit outside and watch the world go by and join in when I want to, a place to plant flowers and tend to them, a place to call my own and live in peace, sleep late or stay up all night, just do what I want to.

I Am Getting Old – Part Twenty-two

I am getting old because…the mirror tells me so each time I ask, mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all. Seriously, each day my hair gets a little grayer and there seems to be a new wrinkle that was not there yesterday. I can do something about the gray hair but not sure what to do about the new wrinkle. I know that I will never get a face-lift since I watched a special on Discovery Channel that showed how a face-lift is done. My face hurt just watching the special and decided then that I would consider the wrinkles a sign of wisdom and leave them alone.

I approached the issue of changing my hair color today by checking out hair salons close by. Some do not do color and the ones that do are WAY to expensive. I have entertained the idea of “do it yourself” color but then I remembered the times I tried this before and the results. So I think I will just save for a month or two and let someone who knows what they are doing color my hair. Then if it turns out badly, I have someone to blame and have recourse to get it fixed. I have been watching “the trends” for fall and it seems that the must have color is some shade of brown. The problem I have with that is when your hair grows, the gray will show through quickly. I may buck the trends and go with a blonde shade. Who knows and how trivial is this?

I have not gained any more wisdom, i.e., no new wrinkles today. Just think if I gain wisdom, I may look like a prune when I am eighty, assuming I make it to that age. This makes me think that maybe I am wise enough at 64; therefore, I will not get any more wrinkles. How dumb to worry about wrinkles. Due to good genes from my grandmother and mother, I have been blessed with skin that really does not wrinkle that much and for that I am grateful.

Well, it is time to move on for today and look for other reasons why I am getting old.

I am Getting Old - Part Twenty-one

I am getting old because…as I unloaded the washer, putting clothes in the dryer, my mind drifted back to my childhood and thoughts of hanging our clothes outside in the fresh air and sunshine. I remembered our Maytag wringer washer and big aluminum tub for the rinse water being filled on washday, which was usually Monday. I remember putting “stretchers” in the legs of the blue jeans that had been starched. I remember “cooking” the starch for the clothes and my beloved “can-can” slips worn with pride under full skirts to make them “stand out”. I remembered getting the ironing board and iron ready. No steam iron back then so we “sprinkled” the clothes with water and rolled them in a towel to keep them damp so they would be easier to iron. We ironed everything: sheets, pillowcases, handkerchiefs, clothes. Washday was an all day affair at our home and thank goodness it only came once a week.

It is funny how the simplest of tasks can trigger such good memories.

I Am Getting Old – Part Nineteen

I am getting old because…I am having a hard time spelling numbers out in words. I may have to change the title of these posts. lol I thought for a while that I did not have anything to write about but once I started writing, I found that I did. Have you noticed lately how many ads there are on television for medications for every ailment you can think of and some you cannot? It makes me wonder how in the world my parents, their parents, etc., survived. It seems that perhaps greed by the pharmaceutical companies may have created a pill for every ache and pain people have and given a name to the aches and pains. To me this is just fodder for hypochondriacs. The ads tell you to ask your doctor. Give me a break, you are lucky if you get to see the doctor for five minutes and if you have anything to ask or say, you better talk really fast. I have resorted to making list of the questions I want answered and still do not find out what I want to know.

If you listen to the side effects that these new drugs have, why would anyone want to take them anyway. I know, you get one of the side effects and there is a pill to take. Some of the “new” ailments are, PAD (Peripheral Arterial Disease), PVD (Peripheral Vascular Disease) RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) ED (Erectile Dysfunction), “going to much”, to name a few.

While writing this post, I did some searches and read some articles on WebMD. You might be surprised to know (maybe not) that smoking is listed as a major cause of diseases. Alcohol is listed as a cause of some of the diseases, far fewer than smoking. I am not being flippant but my previous physician blamed hangnails on my smoking so it was hard to take him seriously. Since it appears that smoking is really bad for you, WHY HAVEN’T THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES CONCENTRATED ON A DRUG TO END THE NICOTINE ADDICTION? Are they owned by the tobacco companies and is there a conspiracy to keep people addicted to nicotine?

Seriously, nicotine and alcohol addictions need to be treated as diseases themselves. The pharmaceutical companies should allocate R&D dollars to develop a drug to end the hold that nicotine and alcohol have on people.

I Am Getting Old – Part Eighteen

I am getting old because…well, I cannot really remember why. Recently I bought some Aveeno Ultra Calming Foaming Cleanser with naturally calming “feverfew” to use as a face cleanser. (Feverfew is a member of the chamomile family of herbs.) It does work as advertised for your face, reduces redness and calms your skin. Now if I can only figure out a way to buy enough to take a bath in it and “calm” my whole body. At approximately $6.47 for 6fl. Ounce bottle and according to my calculations, I would need at least 10 bottles. We are talking $64.70 in order to be calm. For $64.70, I could pay for one session with a psychiatrist, at least for one half hour.

I am once again in the midst of quitting smoking. I have not had a cigarette since 5:10PM, Saturday, June 16, 2007. I have been using the 2 mg nicorette lozenges and use fewer of them each day so I can get the nicotine out of my body quickly. I have also been taking my “nerve” pills so that I would not actually commit murder during this time. Just kidding. I am doing well so far even though I want a cigarette RIGHT NOW. The hardest time for me is when I eat a meal so I have decided that I will stop eating for a while. Not!

It is vital that I quit smoking because of my asthma and COPD with chronic bronchitis. I can already tell there is a marked difference in my breathing and it does feel good to breathe without feeling as if you are out of breath. It is stupid for me to smoke and I know that. I keep telling myself that each time the desire for a cigarette hits me. What is strange to me is that you are ostracized when people find out you smoke, but when you tell them you have quit or are in the process, they do not seem to care one way or the other. Oh well, at least I know I am trying to quit.

Enough about smoking and on to other things for another day.

I Am Getting Old – Part Seventeen

I am getting old because… I cannot hear the television unless the volume is on as high as it will go and I only sit about 5 feet from the set. Never fear though when the commercial comes on, it can be heard for blocks away. We bought one of those televisions that is supposed to deal with the “loud” commercials, but doesn’t work as advertised. Either that or the people who make commercials have figured out a way to override that feature.

Things I wonder about – How does a washing machine and/or dryer manage to turn articles of clothing inside out? Does the light in the refrigerator/car trunk really go out when the door/trunk is closed? Who decided how words are spelled and pronounced? When you ask someone how they are, do you really want an answer? Does your stomach really “stretch” when you gain weight? Is the earth really round (I know the surface has mountains, trees, buildings, etc.)? If the earth is round, why don’t we fall off or feel upside down as it turns on its axis? How does the brain accumulate and store so much information? How does your memory work? How do birds fly?

I Am Getting Old – Part Sixteen

(I managed to fix the problem on my own this morning. Somehow, the compose mode for my blogs had been turned off and I know for sure that I did not do that. I may be getting really old because there is now an icon for spell check and I do not remember it being there before. This post was written before the one titled help.)

I am getting old because…well, just because. If you remember, I got a new computer and downloaded a trial version of the Microsoft Office Suite. I use Word to write my posts and then copy and paste them to blogger. Something has to change. Either I need to find another word processor; use blogger to write (no spell checker so that is not a real option) or blogger has to do something about their formatting. I do not use any special formatting in Word so I do not understand what is happening when the post is pasted to blogger. Something happens to the spacing, the font and the justification. Heaven forbid if I use any of blogger’s formatting, which is limited at best. I do not want to do anything “fancy” but would like to be able to change the format at times without having to spend hours to undo or fix whatever goes wrong. It is almost enough to make me quit using blogger, (not really). I have used a few of the other “blog” sites and blogger works better than they do if you can believe that.

I do not understand what happens to posts days after they were posted. Case in point, I posted an item and viewed the blog and the post looked like I had intended it to look. Imagine my surprise when I viewed the blog this morning (a week later) and that one post had “changed”. Most of it had adopted the use of Italics that was intended for one line and the color I used for that one line. Makes you wonder, if someone or something at blogger has the job of “messing” up the posts so you will spend more time on the site “fixing” things. Maybe I just forgot and I am the one who posted it that way.

I Am Getting Old - Part Fifteen

I am getting old because…it is 2007 and I was born in 1943. Okay, I think you get the point.

I have been wearing my hair really short for the last twelve or thirteen years for several reasons. It is easier to take care of and I have never been one to “fuss” with hair styles. My hair has never looked like the hair you see in commercials. It has always been “lifeless” and dull. Never “swinging” to and fro nor shining. I have tried every shampoo and conditioner on the market and nothing has ever given me that kind of hair. I sort of resigned myself to the fact that my hair is what it is. Anyway, I think short hair looks better on me that hair with any length. Now to the thing that is really bothering me about my short hair. You would not believe how many times I am called “SIR” by salespersons or for that matter other people. I give them the benefit of doubt by thinking they have only seen me from the rear and cannot tell. If that is the case then, WHY DON’T YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE FRONT OF ME TO DECIDE IF I AM MALE OR FEMALE? I know I am not one of the “beautiful people” but I am reasonably attractive (at least my husband thinks so) and I do not look like a male. On the other hand, my husband has the same problem. His hair is somewhat curly and he wears it a little longer and he gets called “MAAM” all the time. I suppose we will have to “swap” hair styles if we expect to be referred to properly. But then again, we are not the confused ones, so to heck with the people who cannot tell the difference.

After many years of “coloring” my hair, I made a decision to go natural which meant that my hair is gray (salt and pepper ugly gray). My husband’s hair is black with touches of gray at the temple. Imagine my despair when he is asked if I am his mother. This has actually happened and is a real boost to his ego as you can imagine. We are the same age and I do not look that old. Once again, why don’t people just keep quite? Needless to say, in February of this year, I had my hair “colored” again to a warm blonde and now I look ten years younger and have not been mistaken for his mother lately.

When I was thirteen or fourteen, I decided that I wanted blonde hair and knew that my mother would never let me change the color. Since I was just an unsophisticated teenager at the time, I thought I knew how to “bleach” my hair blonde. I reasoned that if Clorox Bleach whitened clothes, that it should work on my hair as well. Yep, you guessed it. I poured Clorox Bleach on my head to “bleach my hair”. Needless to say, it did not work and I smelled funny for a while and mother wondered what had happened to her bleach. Another thing I did regarding hair was that when my soon was five and since he wore a “burr” haircut, I decided I would buy a hair cutting set and save money by cutting his hair. No wonder my son has a problem with me. lol After the first haircut I gave him, I gave the hair cutting set to the girl who did my hair at the time. You might wonder how you can mess up a “burr” haircut, well I managed to do it.

I Am Getting Old - Part Fourteen

I am getting old because…I really am. I went to the doctor Thursday, May 3rd and he confirmed that I have a pinched nerve in my left arm or somewhere on the left side. (WebMD was right.) I go back this coming Thursday, May 17th for an EMG to see where and which nerve is “pinched” so it can be treated. This brings me to the topic for today. WHEN SOMEONE HAS A PROBLEM, WHY IS IT ALWAYS 2 or 3 WEEKS BEFORE THE TEST CAN BE DONE? Now I know why people go to the emergency room rather than to their doctor. They can get an answer in a few hours versus a few weeks. I had an EMG several years ago and do not relish the thought of having needles stuck in my arm and neck again. The same doctor is also treating the arthritis in my knee and wants to use a new medication which is INJECTED into the knee once a week for three or four weeks. NOT! He led me to believe there was only one injection but the brochure he gave me to read says it has to be done for three or four weeks. I do not trust anyone to stick a needle in my knee or anywhere else for that matter so I have decided I will live with the pain in the knee for the time being and just get the “sleeping fingers” taken care of for now. That is way more needles than I can take for a while.

It is a good thing that I really like this doctor and do not want to go to anyone else because on the third, I had to wait over an hour to see him. His daughter was graduating the next day from nursing school and they had doubled up on appointments on Thursday so he could take Friday off to attend the graduation. Plus someone had x-rays taken of their back and needed to see a surgeon right away which was called a “patient emergency” and delayed the remainder of the appointments for Thursday. I know I am retired and most of the time do not have anything pressing to do but my time is just as valuable as anyone else’s. I think I should charge the doctor for the time I waited. I have always felt this way. I am not a very patient person and when I have an appointment, I am always on time and expect to be seen at the appointed time.

One last thing for today, the weather is finally warming up and with the good weather comes the flowers, grass, POLLEN and allergies. I have sneezed and blown my nose so much it is getting to be a nuisance. I think I could qualify for the Guinness World record for sneezing. This is the worst year I can remember for allergies. When we go to the store or out shopping everyone is sniffling and wiping their noses. (Makes me want to buy stock in Kleenex.) The pollen is so bad this year that our black car now looks sort of yellowish or greenish with all the pollen on it.

I Am Getting Old – Part Thirteen

I am getting old because…today I have nothing to say and haven’t for a few days. Just kidding. For some reason, I have been at a loss for words, if you can believe that. I am going to the doctor today, hurrah. There is something wrong with the nerves in my left arm and two of my fingers are not “awake”. You know the feeling you get when circulation has been restricted in a body part and it starts to come back (wake up). I do not have a medical degree but WebMD has me convinced it is the nerves. Today will tell me for sure if I can trust the site.

I just remember something to write about. Every time I “reboot” my computer, Vista, the super duper new operating system from Microsoft attempts to install a printer driver for my printer even though it is not compatible with Vista. Even though I click on cancel when the install starts, it does something to the driver I downloaded for the printer to work. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time reinstalling the correct driver so I can print. If you haven’t used or seen Vista you are in for a surprise. Vista sort of has the look of Windows but is really different and things are hard to find. I am beginning to learn my way around and still find new things each day. I downloaded a trial version of MS Office and that is really different. It seems Microsoft has revamped all their software to “make things easier” but they should warn the user how much different things are.

Since my cat Morris has decided he is going to sit in my lap while I type, I will close this for today and see what I can find for another time.

I Am Getting Old – Part Twelve

I am getting old because…Once again, this is probably not because of getting older but just something to write about. I recently bought a new computer and a printer. The gotcha is, as the salesperson kindly pointed out it was not his company but the printer manufacturer, a printer cable did not come with the printer. The cable had to be purchased separately. I should have remembered that from my IT days. Each time we bought printers, we had to by cables. You would think that since the cable is essential to operate the printer with the computer it would be included as an accessory.

At the time I bought the computer, the salesperson also told me that for the sum of $150.00 they would “setup the computer for me”. He indicated that Vista (Microsoft’s newest operating system) was hard to setup. They would “add the gadgets” to the desktop for me. Even after I told the salesperson what my job was for the past 20 years, he still said I would not be able to do the setup. I kindly told him, that I was pretty sure I could and I did. The setup process was so easy that even a person without any computer experience, could do it. The hardest part, even though there is some color-coding on the “wires”, is finding where to plug the monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, etc., into the back of the system unit. Once that has been accomplished, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH ALL THE JUMBLE OF CORDS? I have been thinking about how to invent something to solve this problem but have not come up with a feasible solution.

My other gripe about the computer is that MS Office Suite Software no longer comes with the computer. It too has to be purchased separately. Microsoft does allow the computer manufacturer to include MS Works. After I checked the price of the MS Office Suite, I decided that for the time being MS Works would, no pun intended, work for me. The student version of MS Office is 149.00 and the professional version is 399.00. As far as I am concerned, that is highway robbery. You would think that since Bill Gates and Microsoft are worth “billions”, he/they could at least give computer users a student version of MS Office. How much money does he need?

Other than these things I have written about, I really do like my new computer. My husband knows absolutely nothing about computers and he wants me to teach him. Even though I have taught classes about computers and software, I DO NOT WANT TO TEACH HIM. I would like to stay married to him so I keep putting him off. I am not sure how much longer I can avoid it. Oh well, I may suggest that he take lessons somewhere else and see how that is accepted. Until next time, so long for now.

I Am Getting Old – Part Eleven

I am getting old because…I found some more topics yesterday and as I examine them and write, I think these too have nothing to do with aging but are things that have always bothered my and now I have the time to write about them.

First is opening a new roll of aluminum foil. It is hard enough to get the flap open without getting a paper cut, which really hurts the thicker the paper is, but try to get the end of the roll pulled up so you can tear it off as needed. It gets turned in and will not pull or it pulls and tears so you have all these little edges at the ends of the roll and have to peal them off so it stays even. Then when I put it in the drawer next to the stove, the lid will not stay down and when I open the drawer next time, it gets hung on the lid of the foil. You would think that I would move it to another place like the top shelf in the cabinet over the sink but that is not where I want it. I want it in that drawer next to the stove.

Second is my coffee pot. It takes to long to “make coffee” and really makes to much noise while it does. I get up really early and of course, there is no other noise at that time of the morning so all you can hear is the coffee pot “gurgling and sputtering”. I am always afraid it will wake my husband up but so far, he sleeps through it although I cannot understand why. The other thing about the coffee pot is trying to pour the water in using the “pot” itself. Mine did not come with one of those pitchers to use. When pouring the water in, it goes everywhere but in the “water holder” or whatever you call it. It dribbles down my arm, onto the kitchen counter, down the side of the coffee pot, under the microwave. No matter how I hold it or try to move it, the same thing happens. It is enough to make me quit drinking coffee. NOT!!! I forgot the markings on the side of the pot. Mine is a “12 cup” pot. Give me a break. The cups I have are normal size and I am lucky if I get 4 cups from the pot of coffee. They must have used cups for a miniature tea set when determining how many cups the pot holds.

Third is trying to open the plastic containers that things are packed in when you buy them. I know they are probably made they way they are to keep people from stealing small items from a store but give me a break. I have tried using a knife, scissors and any other sharp object I can find to penetrate the plastic to remove my purchase. I just bought a new computer and printer with a new printer cable (which did not come with the printer but had to be purchased separately, another topic as well as the cost of MS Office Software, which I consider highway robbery. This is the topic of Part Twelve). It took me about a half hour to get the plastic package open to get the cable out of the package. That was a record for me as I usually can get in them in about fifteen minutes.

Well that is enough for part eleven. I am going to get the last cup of coffee from my pot that spills not only the water, but also the coffee when I pour it into my cup.

I Am Getting Old – Part Ten

I am getting old because… Lucky you, I came up with a couple of more topics just as Part Nine was finished. I looked up the word expound, to be sure it was really a word and not something I dreamed up, on a Website I use and this is what I found.

Definitions of expound:
Verb: state
Verb: add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing

The first definition makes sense and the second started out okay, then the last part threw me off course. Now I have to look up “discourse and a learned way” to ensure I know what they mean so I know what expound means. What I would really like to find is an online dictionary that uses plain ole words to give a definition and a few examples of how the word is used in a sentence would not be to shabby either. If you ask me, no one did, it is a vicious circle. One good thing is that I am learning many new words. I guess this proves the saying, that you are never too old to learn something new. Writing this brought to mind a teacher I once had. She told us we should pick out a new word everyday, learn and understand the definition. We should then use it 10 times that day in a sentence. Then we would own that word.

The other thing I thought of to write about is writing. When I was in school, I could hardly write one paragraph for a book report, theme paper or term paper. Now I cannot stop writing. The words come into my mind faster than my fingers can type and the result is that I leave some of them out of a sentence. That is why I have turned into a very good proofreader, I hope. When I type, I will look down at my hands and then back at the monitor. It looks like garbage because I got my fingers on the wrong keys during the glance down and back up. Then the hard part is I have try and figure out what I was trying to type. Either I have more to say now that I am getting older or it is just easier to type on a computer than to use pen and paper to write. For some reason I do not understand that makes me sad. Maybe I do understand, the hand written words have such a personal touch to them.

I now carry a notebook in my purse so when I get an idea or thought, I can make a few notes for myself because if I do not make a note, I cannot remember it by the time I get home. Not only am I getting older but also, my short-term memory sometimes takes a vacation at the most inopportune time. I know that when people see me grappling around inside my purse like a wild “person”, they must think I am strange. Remember the panic from clutter, not finding my notebook in my purse generates the same panic. I have to find that notebook before I lose the thought.

Until I find the next topic, so long for now.

I Am Getting Old - Part Nine

I am getting old because user ID's password/pin numbers and clutter are becoming an issue for me. One of the first rules we taught our users, was never to write your passwords down for people to see. We would find them on sticky notes attached to their monitors. Well guess what, now I am doing the same sort of thing. Only I made a list, which is conveniently, located right next to my computer. Not smart. I made a list because each website I want to dig deep into to see what it is about, requires a user ID and password. I try to use the same ID and password all the time, it is just easier that way. My preferred ID is 2feeleys (my son used that when he setup my email account).

Imagine my surprise when I get a message from a website that 2feeleys is taken. First, there are not that many people with the last name Feeley, or at least I could not find many other that my husband’s family. Second, I know I never registered there before so it cannot be me. Some sites have a feature that tells you how “strong” your selected password is. So far, the one I use is “strong” and the best part is I can remember it easily.

For email and banking, the password I use is very long and weird. (Our home network got “attacked” by “worms” and “hackers”.) I panicked and made that password weird so it would be harder to steal. Several mornings, before my first cup of coffee, I have started to login and forgot the new one. I have to wait until the coffee is done and I can get my eyes open and brain working before I can remember the password I made up. For this one, I used good sense and did not write it down. I hope “worms” and “hackers” have the same problem when they do whatever it is they do.

Pin numbers do not really give me a problem as long as I can start it with 0. I never figured out why some places that assign a pin number will not let you use 0 as the first number. Looks like a perfectly good number to me.

Clutter, now this does give me a problem. I have been this way for a long time so I do not think aging has anything to do with it. When I am writing and using the computer, I make notes on scraps of paper, sticky notes and anything else handy. I lay pencils, pens, notebooks and all sorts of things down anywhere I can reach. All of sudden I realize I cannot find anything I am looking for and then I panic. It is time to stop and get myself organized. It usually takes about 3 or 4 days to make the mess, but I am fast at getting it cleaned up and organized. I use File 13 for most of the notes, because by this time, I have forgotten why I made it in the first place. The feeling I get while sitting amidst the clutter is like, well imagine all the thoughts that you have in your mind becoming like a whirlwind, swirling round and round. Then they start to fly in all different directions and you cannot get them back together again. I had an attack yesterday, so for the time being, I am in good shape, except I just spilled “caffeine free diet Pepsi” all over my favorite writing tablet.

That about covers all I have to say on these topics, so I will start to look around for the next thing on which I want to expound. Until later, this is 2feeleys signing off.

I Am Getting Old - Part Eight

I am getting old because I seem to have more likes and dislikes than I did when I was younger. Does that really mean I am getting old or that I am willing to admit them at this time in my life?

One of my dislikes occurred this morning. I run the hot water in the sink while I was getting ready to take a shower. When I turn the water on in the shower and step in, I adjust the temperature so it will be nice and hot. Then I get the shock of my life when I pull the shower on. A blast of cold water hits me. Each time this happens, I think I am prepared but I am not. I know it is because there is cold water in the pipe and it has to come out before the hot water reaches me. It still does not make it any easier to take.

I like to get cards in the mail for whatever the occasion may be. What I do not like is if the card looks and reads like the person sending it exerted no effort to make the selection. I know all of us have received those kinds of cards. When I need to send a card, I read the verses carefully to see if it fits the person on the receiving end. Yes, it takes me some time to get the right card but I feel it is worth it.

I DO NOT LIKE automated telephone answering systems. When I call a place of business, I want to talk to a real person. In the past, you could trick them and press zero. Now the businesses have gotten smarter and now zero does not work anymore. Some of these systems give you the option to press numbers on the keypad of the telephone to navigate them. Other have gone to a system where you have to speak your responses and have some dorky voice repeats them back and says “please press 1 if that is correct, press 2 if that is incorrect.” I think I know why they use these systems. They do not have to pay a person “just to answer” the telephone. In a previous life, I was a receptionist and I can tell you it is not an easy job. There is more to the job than “just to answer” the telephone. How sad it is to think businesses are so greedy that they have lost that personal touch when it comes to their customers.

I neglected the things that I like so here are just a few of them. I like to see people smile. I like banana splits, ice cream cones, and cotton candy. I like people who say thank you, holiday seasons, and snow (as long as I do not have to be around it very long). I like the beach, the sun, and nice weather. I like people who are kind and considerate, people who say excuse me, and people who are happy. I like football games, chicken and dumplings (like my mother use to make) and peach pie. I like to take naps, to read a good mystery, and write my poetry. You see there are many things I like.

I will close this for now and see what comes to my mind to write about next. It is usually easy to come up with a topic because of things that happen around me. To answer your question, no my life is not that exciting that it is filled with the things I write about. In some cases, I just use my memories of days ago and my imagination.

I Am Getting Old - Part Seven

I know that I am getting old because I am more opinionated than I have ever been. I have been contemplating a question and I have never found the answer. The question is “Who is they?’. I am guilty of saying, they said or as they use to say. If a person asked me to prove my statement by telling them who they is, I could never answer. This is not a burning issue for me but comes to mind every time I hear or use the words, they said.

Politically incorrect is another term that makes me cringe when I hear it used. I use it in some of my writing, not because I like the term but it got the point across that I was making in jest. I searched the Web and this link gives a good definition and examples of political correctness. Wikipedia - Political Correctness

I must admit that I use politically incorrect words. Many times, I speak before I think about the words that I am going to say. It is not by intention, but a lack of thought on my part. The most recent example I can think of is using waitress rather than server. (As I typed the last sentence, the word waitress was highlighted. When I checked to see what was wrong with the entry, the options I had to use in its place were server or waiter. Waiter should not have been an option since it typically denotes a male waitperson.)

I understand the reasoning behind the term. I believe it is used to extremes in this day and time. I think the reason I personally have a difficult time with this is that I was not raised using politically correct words. My parents were not dumb nor do I remember any prejudices they might have had. Their parents raised them as mine did me and those “politically correct” words were not part of our vocabulary.

I did learn something today. I did not know this term was born in the 1900’s. Pardon my ignorance; I thought it was a term coined in the last 10 years or so. I also learned there are more opinionated people than I thought, not just me. Just goes to show you, I may not be getting that old.

Now I will climb down from my soapbox and move on to other things. See you in Part Eight.