Busy Body

I was in the town pool yesterday when a woman swam over to me and my sister. She was a very pleasant person who joined our conversation. She was from a neighboring town and was not a pool regular. One of our other friends had left our "circle" to talk to someone else she knew. As we continued to speak to the woman she asked us a question about new land development in the town. No one knew the answer as it was in the very early stages. As a joke, we said that if anyone had the information, the woman who just swam away did. She is the eyes of the town. She knows the business owners by name. I am living here 36 years and do not know the name of the kosher butcher or bagel store owner. The new lady paddled over to the town busy body and we heard her ask about the land development. Within one moment, she was informed about the specifications of the buildings and given the developer's name. How did she know this? The land was just sold two weeks ago.  Isn't it amazing how some people make it their business to know the town gossip.

Wired

 Years ago when you plugged an appliance in, you were connected. Now even though it is plugged in, you do not know whether or not you are directly connected. We have three computers in work that are in the front office. We always thought that they were hardwired into the system because there is a wire connected. Yesterday I found out that somehow even though there is a wire, we are connected wirelessly and that is why our network is moving so slowly. We have no idea how it jumped from wired to wireless. All I know is that it will cost $280 to have it put back the way it should be. I just wonder how it got knocked off.

Semantics

I have been "negotiating" with Hewlett Packard over a broken work printer. I bought it 5 months ago and it has been giving us trouble since we bought it. I have a one year manufacturer's warranty and purchased a second extended warranty. I called Staples and they said to call the extended carrier. I called them and they said to call HP. I called HP and they did internal diagnostics. After an hour, the printer worked again but the next day it was erratic. I called HP to tell them that it was not working. The first rep told me all they could do was try again. I asked for a supervisor. The supervisor said I could get a refurbished unit in exchange. I said I wanted a new one. Mine was only 5 months old and on a one year manufacturers warranty. He said refurbished was "new". I said refurbished was someone else's broken model that had been worked on. If I wanted a refurbished printer I would have bought one in the beginning for half the price. He then said that the warranty says they will send refurbished. I told him to email the wording to me. When I read it, it said "either a new or a refurbished replacement". I read the wording to him and then said that I am choosing the "new" option. He had no rebuttal. The case is now kicked up to the corporate office and I will get a call within 2 days. 

The Bee

I stung a bee yesterday. That's right. I stung the bee. I was sitting at the pool and put my hand down on the chair rail. I did not see the bee that was silently sitting on it. My finger hit its stinger. I think I frightened it because it quickly flew away. The stinger was not in my finger, it just brushed it. It was enough though to make it throb. Thankfully, I am not allergic. I had never been stung before, so I was lucky. It still hurts this morning. What an odd thing to happen.

Exhausted

I got up late this morning. It was just 2 minutes late but I am 2 minutes off schedule. All night, I had weird dreams. I was chased by a polar bear in Brooklyn. I swam in a pool at an office building. I hiked through a local park trying to find my way home. I have no idea what these dreams meant. The polar bear segment woke me up with my heart pounding. The swimming segment was very nice as the water was warm. The walk was also pleasant. All I know is that it is the beginning of the day and all I want to do is go back to sleep.

Winding Down

Summer is winding down. People are already taking about the holidays. I have already begun to buy paper goods for the dinner I will be having. The past few days have a different feel to them. The air feels different. As much as I love summer, I look forward to autumn.

Weeks End

I am back on Long Island after spending the night in Brooklyn with my father. Since my sister has been on vacation, I had full custody of my dad. It was easier for me to sleep at his house last night and this evening I will bring him to my sister's house to sleep. By the time he wakes up, she will be home. It was quality time alone, just me and my dad. Priceless.

Clean Up Woman

I continue to be everyones clean up woman. I mop up other people's messes and solve their problems. Sometimes the problems are so absurd that I shake my head. Yesterday in work one of the psychiatrists called me into his office. He is a nice man in his 60's. His printer stopped working and he needed help. I asked what the problem was and he said there was a paper jam. I asked if he cleared it and he said that he took out the paper tray and it looked fine. I asked if he checked the back door of the printer and he said he did not. I leaned over, opened the back panel and pulled out a sheet of paper. Voila! The problem was fixed. What if I was not in the office? Would things come to a halt? I still cannot believe that I had to fix a paper jam in the office of a brilliant doctor.

Getting Things Done

There are people who get things done and people who talk about getting things done. For the last 9 weeks there has been a broken light in the waiting room of my office. The new maintenance man (boy), keeps saying he ordered the part and is waiting for it. He is new on the job and a bit of a weirdo. He has already taken off a day of work from a panic attack. This week he is off on his honeymoon so I called the condo company and demanded that my light be fixed immediately. They sent over the covering man and he assessed the problem. Within ten minutes he had the part, which he took from another empty office and the repair was done. If he could fix the problem why couldn't the other guy? From now on, I will have repairs done that day or there will be a big problem.

Food Critic

Yesterday we had a luncheon provided by a medical supply company. They catered in a Mediterranean meal. There was salad, hummus, grilled chicken, pulled beef, buttered rice and grilled vegetables. My long time receptionist is an opinionated woman who thinks that whatever she says is correct. When the food was served, the front office people took theirs first. Everything was delicious. When the doctors walked in to take their lunch, the receptionist yelled out, "The food is sh*t". I could only eat the salad and hummus". What? I then said that I thought the food was great. The doctors all took food and agreed that it was fantastic. They came back for seconds and some people for thirds. The receptionist kept saying how horrible the food was to everyone that walked into the room. That type of opinion is what is very concerning when a food critic reviews a restaurant. What one person feels is 1 star, another feels is 5 star. I hope there were leftovers for lunch today.

Remotely Helping

My printer at work has been having trouble. I have tried my best to fix it but the problem keeps returning. Yesterday I called Hewlett Packard to have it fixed. I was transferred to two people. Each of them was hard to understand. I was straining to hear their directions. After a while it became annoying. I need the printer fixed as my office cannot run without it. It is only five months old so this should not be happening. The tech tried to help and the problem is better but not fixed. After a while I just gave up because the language barrier was to hard. I asked the tech what country he was in and he said Costa Rica. That explained things. If Hewlett Packard is an American company based in California, why is their tech help in Costa Rica?

Cool Down

For the first time in a few weeks, the weather is cool. After a very long heat wave the cooler air seems so refreshing. I spent yesterday inside my house spending quality time with my father. There was nowhere to go and the weather was not nice so we sat in my living room reminiscing. It felt so relaxing. Since there was no time schedule we just went with the flow. I totally enjoyed the day.

Re(J)union

Last night was a family reunion. We went to the city to meet relatives that I had not seen in 28 years. It was a mending of a family that fell apart for various reasons. People, lifestyles and events all had a hand in the slow demise of this family unit. Looking back we can see clearer who the superheroes were and who the villains were. At the time, we only saw the villains. Our eyes had aged but their clarity was sharper. We walked into the restaurant and saw the familiar faces from times gone by. They looked frozen in time. Like they never aged. It was a warm loving feeling from the moment we hugged and kissed. We showed pictures of the new arrivals and spoke about the cousins that are now senior citizens like us. The conversation flowed and we promised to never stay apart again. I invited them for Rosh Hashanah and they accepted. Twenty eight years ago we said we would never speak to them again. The lesson is to never say never.

In The Moment

I am trying to live in the moment. This is the philosophy of Buddha. If you dwell on the past and worry about the future, you will have stress in your life. It is unrealistic to not think about things that have been done or things that will happen next. The idea is not to dwell or worry. Be engaged in the moment. If you are with people, enjoy the conversation. If you are eating, taste each bite. Give time to the things at hand. That is the problem with most people. We are always trying to be a step ahead. I just read an article about how the brain works. While many people think that multitasking is a good thing, it is actually detrimental to your brain.Your brain cannot do two things at one. The best it can do is flip from one thing to another. Each task actually takes longer and increases stress levels. I am making a concerted effort to change the way I live. It is not easy.

Aretha

Aretha Franklin died yesterday. I cried. I am not a fan of celebrities. I have no favorite actors. If I saw one on the street I would walk by unfazed. They are just people who do their job. To me, Aretha was different. Since my mother passed away, one of her songs holds a special place in my heart. So much so, that I have the title engraved on a charm and wear it on my bracelet. It started off as a freakish thing. The song repetitively played at special moments during the first month my mother was gone. It was as if she was letting me know she was in heaven and doing well. I know this sounds odd, but whomever I tell the circumstances to, agrees. Some things cannot be explained. They just "are". We need to take them at face value and not overthink them. Aretha Franklin's voice brought joy to many people and she will be missed. I pray that she rests in peace.

Questionable Judgement

On Tuesday my office had a pharmaceutical rep visit to give a lecture. Whenever a rep visits they provide lunch. This one went above and beyond. He brought salad, stuffed chicken, eggplant, penne pasta with vegetables and garlic knots. Each dish was in a large tray. When I left, it was still out for everyone to have more. When I got to work the next day, the salad and pasta were still on the counter. I threw them away. When my boss came in, I told her that the food was left overnight. She said that she and the evening receptionist decided that salad and pasta could stay overnight and be fine to eat the next day. I looked at her as if she was crazy. Isn't salad in the refrigerated section of the grocery store? This salad also had grated cheese on it. Isn't cheese refrigerated? Couldn't pasta grow bacteria? Where has quality control gone?

Proof Read

I love to write but I am not good at proofreading my work. My sister has that role. I write and she corrects. I guess that is why she is a good teacher. I was riding home on the parkway yesterday when I noticed an overhead informational travel sign. As I glanced at it, it looked like it said, "Deejays on parkway". It was meant to say "delays" but the light bulbs on the sign were missing giving the illusion of the word "Deejay". For a fleeting moment, I envisioned people dancing on the Northern State Parkway. It was just the opposite. The people were standing still.

Rainy Ride

The cloud that followed us up to the Cape followed us back home. For six hours the rain came pounding down. We saw five accidents. One Porsche was totally demolished and one pick up truck was on its side. At one point, the left lane was riding on the grass shoulder and the right lane was on the other grass shoulder as the fire trucks and police trucks rode down the middle opening. I had never seen anything like that before in all the years that I have traveled. Slowly but surely we inched our way home. By the time we got here, we were exhausted. If I had to do it all over again, I would, since the ride was worth it. Seeing my granddaughters is worth anything.

Heading Home

After a great visit, we will be heading home. We spent last night with the girls, eating and playing. By the end of the night, I was exhausted while they still were packed full of energy. They sang, danced, ran around and giggled. Now that the baby talks, we can bond even more with her. She knows who we are and even runs to us. In a few hours I will have to kiss them goodbye and have the sad feeling of parting with them. Skyping will have to tide me over until I can hold them again.

Rainy Cape

We drove for six hours in the rain and finally arrived in Cape Cod. My granddaughters were waiting for me at the small beach. I threw my bags into the room and went to play. Nothing is more fun than sitting in the sand playing with children. We made houses and sand soup. We drove a few towns down the road to eat dinner on the pier. We then roasted marshmallows on the fire pit. It was a wonderful first day.

Grandparent's Weekend

This weekend is the annual Grandparent's weekend. For some reason every year the weather is rainy. We manage to get one day out of the three with sunshine. The trip is always the same and I like that. We go to the same resort, eat the same food and swim in the same pool. The only real difference is that the girls get bigger each year. This year I am looking forward to speaking to my younger granddaughter. Last year she was not talking yet. The ride is long, but goes by fast. In one hour we will be on the road.

Prep Time

It is 7am and I already have dinner ready to pop into the oven. Today is "Daddy Friday". Every Friday I drive to Brooklyn to get my father and bring him to Long Island for the weekend. It is a shared custody situation. I have him Friday evening and turn him over to my sister late Friday night. She enjoys his company Saturday. Sunday she has morning shift, we share afternoon shift and I drive him back to Brooklyn in the evening. It is a good plan. Tonight I wanted to make something different for dinner but did not know if I would have enough prep time after the Brooklyn drive. I prepped the dinner now and will cook it later. I made a Chicken Shepard's Pie. I hope it tastes good.

Country Mouse

There are city mice and there are country mice. I am a country mouse. I like to live a quiet life. I am not a person that likes to run around. I do not need to be surrounded by people at all times. I love doing things and going places, but I like to space it out. Quiet time at home suits me the best. I do not have hundreds of friends and would rather limit my friendships to only a few people. We were having this discussion in work last week. It turns out that in my office, there were more country mice than city mice. I guess that is why we all get along so well.

The Difference

Is there a difference between not wanting to live and feeling that you have lived enough? Is there a difference between giving up and giving in? I think there is. I realized that most of my friends, like myself, have been blessed with parents that have had a long life. Some of them are in their late 90's. With age comes illness and when it gets to the point of a future without a quality of life, is the lifetime they have lived enough? I think that each person determines that for themselves but I am seeing that for many people, "enough is enough". When a very elderly person says that they feel it is their time to go, they are looking at life from a level that no one else can fully understand, unless you are living it. We need to respect that.

The Truth

I remember my mother saying, "I am old. I can say what I want to". By that, she meant she could speak the truth. It was always said in a pleasant tone and a positive way, but it was still the truth. As I get older I not only see what she meant, but I am living it. Over the weekend there was a nasty confrontation at the town pool that involved people I know. Yesterday the story was being recounted by the woman who started it. The problem was that she was telling a biased story. I never would have interfered but she asked me to back up her version of the incident. I did not agree with her so I told the version that I saw. I spoke the truth. She was saying that the young girls she fought with started the fight. I said she did. She said they were nasty but I said she was the aggressor. I told her that I was telling the truth to help her. If she continues to fight with strangers, she will get hurt. By the end of the conversation she admitted that she and her daughter were the first ones to antagonize the other people. My mother was right. I am old. I can say what I want to.

New People

This summer a new couple started to go to the pool. They had been there for two seasons but our group never spoke to them. This year the ice was broken and they are now included into the group. The woman that brought them in and initially spoke to them is our "camp friend". She is someone who we socialize with for the summer, but never in the winter. It is because her behavior is erratic. Yesterday her behavior went from erratic to appalling and she was almost thrown out of the pool for starting an alteration with some young girls. The new couple is now gravitating away from her and staying more with the "normal" people. They are lovely people and smart enough to spot trouble.

Brainstorming

I have been working on a jewelry project for the past few weeks. I know how I want it to look but I cannot find the right way to do it. I am working with a tiny space that I want to fill with something pretty. It is almost like a vase carved into a glass locket. My grandson has been working on it with me. Every day he asks how far I have gotten in the "workshop". I am at a standstill, so I have put it to the side for a few days until another idea comes to me. Last night at dinner, he asked me again, how the project was going. I said I still had a problem. He then made a wonderful suggestion about tiny beads. I could see that he had thought it out and was very specific to the type of bead he thinks would be good. He is right. He sized up the problem and offered a viable solution. I was brainstorming with a five year old and he was better at it than I was.

Cloudy Day

Years ago one of my aunts who lived in Florida used to say that when she got up on certain days she would say, "Oh shit, another sunny day". In the summer time, I know what she meant. When the sun is out, you feel like you have to do something productive. You cannot sit inside when it is beautiful outside. If you do, you have wasted the day. When you wake up to clouds, the day is yours to spend however you like. No pressure. If you want to lounge around in your pajamas, it's ok. If you want to watch television all day, that's fine too. Today it is cloudy. I will take a ride to Brooklyn to get my father. I do not have to take him to the pool. The day is open to do whatever he wants to do. He can choose to be inside or outside. Whatever he wants is what we will do. The sunshine will not rule us.

The Numbers

I never look at the statistics of this blog. I get up every morning, write it and continue on with the day. My sister proofreads it, since when I write it my eyes will not pick up errors. I will read them as correct. This morning I checked the page views and was very surprised. There were over 100,000 reads. I had no idea. There used to be an app on the page that said what country people were viewing from, but that ended last year. I remember years ago when I was only hoping to reach 100 reads. That was my milestone. I could never have imagined 100,000.

Umami

In recent years a new flavor sense has emerged. It is called Umami. It is not sweet, salty, sour or bitter. It is defined as savory, whatever that means. There should be a new name for emotions. I will name it Blech. It is not happy, sad, angry, fearful, joyous or excited. We have all felt this emotion but have never had a name for it. Someone asks us how we feel and we say "I don't know". You just can't pinpoint what is going on. That is where Blech comes in. It is the Umami of emotion.

Time Management

If people spent as much time doing the job, instead of wasting it talking about why they cannot do the job, things would get done. We have a new maintenance man at work. I should say maintenance kid. He is in his mid twenties with little experience. He is the son of the management company's supervisor so that is why he was hired. He explains every job that he does for us, step by step as he does it, as if he wants us to know that he is doing it right. This doubles the time he spends at the job making his day longer and harder to handle. There was a ceiling leak last week and the ceiling tile needed to be replaced. On Monday, the kid came in to explain that he was very busy at the building across the street so the tile could not be replaced until Tuesday. I said okay. Yesterday he came in to the office to say that the tile would not be replaced until Wednesday as he was still very busy with problems across the street. I told him that in the time he spent for two days telling me what he cannot do, he could have done it. I also said that he was going to replace the tile now. No more procrastinating. He looked like a scared rabbit. He left the office, got the tile and put it up, all within five minutes. Job done and hopefully a lesson learned.