The Shortest Day of the Year

The shortest day of the year, or winter solstice, was just 10 days ago.  But, already, I am noticing that the days are growing noticeably longer in the evening.  Just a few short days ago, it was dark  enough by 6 PM that I did not want to take the trash out into the alley to the dumpster.  Today, it was not that dark at 6 PM, although getting there. 

There is a second factor involved.  That during the time approaching the shortest day of the year, we had some very cloudy weather that made the evening seem to darken even faster than usual.  But it is the day length that is changing, and I know it is.

That is one of the things that really struck me about Lubbock, when I moved here:  The summer days are so very long, staying light till well after 9 PM in the summer.  And the day length changes very noticeably whenever we pass a solstice or equinox.

I really like the very long summer days. I really like the fact that the short days change very quickly after the winter solstice.  

Nuts and Sunflower Seeds

I have previously written that my cats like the Friskies Sunflower Seed treats http://www.friskies.com/Cat-Food/Cat-Treats/Natural-Sensations-With-Real-Chicken.  Well, tonight I was standing at the kitchen counter cracking whole nuts for a snack for myself.  I bought some whole nuts last year at the holiday season, and had a few left but bought some more this year. Especially because the news is out that just a handful of whole nuts is a good snack or treat. 

Well, Taki came into the kitchen and kept pawing at me and reaching for the counter.  She does not jump on the counter, although Sake and Haiku both do that.  If I have something on the counter that they want to check out, they help themselves, although, lately, Sake has not been able to jump that high very well. So Taki would go away and then come back, paw at me and reach up again, and again.  I finally offered her a small piece of nut, but she did not want it.

So, I check the dishes that hold the treat foods.  And, there was dairy and chicken treats left, but no sunflower seed treats.  So, I put some in the dish, and Taki started eating right away. That was what she was asking for.  It is conceivable to me that whole nuts have enough aroma to stimulate the thought or idea of wanting sunflower seed treats.  This I will have to keep in mind.

The Open Computer

Well, I screwed up yesterday morning.  I had turned on the computer, thinking to look up something quickly before I went to work.  I got distracted, and never did look anything up, and did not shut the computer down before I went to work.  I thought about it on the way to work, but decided it would be okay.  In retrospect, it was probably not the best thing to do.

I know that the cats like to sit on the computer, I think because it is warm.  I keep the house cool, but not cold, and cats like it to be warm.

When I got home last night, I realized that someone had been on the computer: there were lots and lots of windows open, including 48 searches for files.  Well, this was easily tended to.  But today, when I tried to type numbers, I could only get the symbols to come out.  I am not sure what I did, but I went into some controls, and changed somethings and then was able to change numbers.  I really did not know what to do to fix the problem, I am just lucky that it got fixed.

Lesson learned.

New Year's Resolutions 2013

I wrote about New Year's Resolutions last year.  Maybe this will become a tradition, that on December 31, I blog about New Year's Resolutions.  Doing something two years in a row is a sort of tradition in and of itself, already, wouldn't you say? 

So, I have already indicated I wanted to make a change or improvement next year, in a previous blog:  I want to read more books in 2014, than I have read in 2013.  I ended up reading 49 books this year.  That should be a goal I can keep, given the fact that I really do enjoy reading.  I am not sure that is a real improvement, because I frequently read a book when I should be doing chores around the house.  But I believe that reading is a very good past time, and it is not time wasted. I believe it challenges the mind and keeps your mind active, and helps you to learn.  Although, I have to admit, I read very little non-fiction.  But I like historical mysteries, and mysteries with a theme that gives me new information (a specific topic, culture, science.)  And, I have started reading more non-fiction. 

Handwriting vs. Penmanship

When I was in elementary school, we learned to print in the first grade (I did not go to kindergarten.)  We had large lined papers, like Big Chief Tablets http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Chief_tablet and pencils that were fat http://www.pencils.com/all-pencils/jumbo. 

I think it was the third grade when we started having penmanship.  It was not handwriting or even cursive, although sometimes it was called cursive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursive.  But it was penmanship.  And, my school system used the Palmer Method of Penmanship http://palmermethod.com/. With that, you would think that all of our handwriting would be very similar, but the truth is, that was not the case. We each put our own distinctive style in our handwriting, no matter how much the teacher tried to get us to make letters that looked like the examples in the Palmer books.

As the years progressed, my hand writing has changed some. It actually can change in the course of a few minutes.  A colleague noted that one time when we were in a meeting, that my handwriting got larger and sloppier the more stressed I was.  That day, there was a great deal of noise outside the meeting room, and as the noise continued, my handwriting got worse. When the noise stopped, my handwriting became more what I normally wrote like.  That was not something I cognitively realized about myself, although I did know that when I am stressed, my handwriting changed.

I do not do much handwriting anymore.  Most of the documentation I do at work is on the computer.  So, when I have to hand write something, my handwriting is jerky. Another colleague noted the same thing has happened to his handwriting. My printing is usually better, but very often I will start printing something and it will evolve into a kind of cursive that is not full cursive but is not printing, either.

I recently read a book, The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester.  He commented on the writing of "the madman," Dr. William Chester Minor, which was a form of Copperplate.  He had very neat handwriting.  I suspect the presentation of the information he shared was very important to him.  Sometimes, I feel the same about my handwriting, but mostly, I do not even notice it.

Early Morning Crescent Moon

This was unusual. There was an early morning crescent moon, and it was a waning moon http://lunaf.com/english/moon-phases/lunar-calendar-2013/12/30/.  The official new moon is on January 1, 2014, and the moon will start waxing. The morning sky was so neat today.  I am so thankful I took a few minutes to look at the early morning crescent moon. 

The moon in Lubbock is very interesting.  Who expects to see the moon in the morning sky?  But we do.  Who expects to see the sun in the east and the moon in the west in the early morning. But we do. Is it the wide open spaces? The latitude? The longitude?

I am not an astronomer even by avocation, so these questions are not some I could even begin to more than ponder.  But I love the wide open sky of West Texas.

The missing phone.

I mislaid my phone the day after Christmas.  I ran into a friend at the library, and as we shared Christmas stories, I embarrassingly added that one.   As I was leaving for home after the library, she agreed to call me in a time frame, allowing me to get home.  What a great help that was: my phone was charged, and I found it right where I had put it, in the pocket of the folding chair I have in the kitchen!  I have what used to be a state of the art flip phone, but is now a non-smart phone.  It is small and slips into nooks, crannies and pockets quite frequently.

I Very Grey Cold Day

It is very cold today, but at last look, it was 34° just above freezing.  But it is grey outside, and the wind has been strong, and from the north, which makes the wind chill make the temperature feel much colder.

It is winter.  Cold weather is to be expected. This is the kind of day that it is nice to stay inside and stay warm.   I am thankful for my house.  I wish I had a wood burning fireplace, but that is not the case, so it is what it is.

Reading

I have read 48 books this year.  I may finish one more book before the end of the year. I am not sure how that number compares with most years. I know there have been times in my life when I have not done much reading.  I am not one much for making New Years' resolutions, but I think my resolution will be to read that many books next year, and try to increase that number.  Ideally, I would like to read 52 books a year, but a book a week will not always occur, and then sometimes, I will read more than a book a week.  That happened this year. 

We shall see.

Losing Track of Days

During this holiday season, we have had a lot of days off.  They have been interspersed with work days:  Work December 23, off December 24-26, work December 27, weekend, work December 30, off December 31 and January 1.

This has resulted in my not really being able to keep up with what day it is.  This morning, when I woke up, I thought I knew it was Sunday, but I had to review my Saturday activities, and double check, to make sure I did not have to go to work today.  I figured it out. 

I do not do well with change and lack of structure.  I feel lost, out of place and unsure of myself.  I do better with routine and structure.  I try to be flexible, but still like the routine and structure better.

Cats and Sunshine

Since I have been home a lot because of the holidays, the cats have become very attentive and seeking attention from me.  So, one day, I was sitting in the sun shine in my kitchen. If I open the back door in the kitchen, which faces south, I can sit in the sun.  To the left of me when I sit in the sun is the refrigerator.  Haiku was on the refrigerator, and she decided to jump down on me.  She scratched me, I am sure unintentionally, as she landed.

During this holiday time, the cats have sat with me in the sun on various occasions.  Sometimes, Haiku or Taki sat on my lap. Sometimes, Sake wanted me to hold her and just sit. I have accomodated their desires as best as I could to my understanding.  I am not sure I always understood their desires.

Premium TV - We Did it To Ourselves

When the "premium channels" for TV came out however many years ago that was, people bought into the idea.  They could get new movies and special programming for an additional fee. So, they paid.  Maybe the mentality was that it was like paying for going to a movie.  I remember that mentality. We did it a few times when there was a special sporting event in the late 70's or early 80's.  We would generally have a party, and everyone chipped in to cover the fee.  We did HBO for a while, but found the selections too limited for the price.

So, more and more, many of the sporting and special events on TV are on premium channels.  You have to subscribe to the "sports level package" or the higher than basic satellite package. Or some other subscription service. The NFL channel. The Yankee channel. The NBA channel. The MBL channel. And, stupid, we do it. 

What would  happen if people stopped paying for these extra premium channels, and said, "No thanks, I'll stick with the basic, and when you do not offer quality programming, I will turn to alternative entertainment: board games (not online premium games), card games, dominoes,  books, music, conversation, or hobbies that do not involve media.  Or, I will go to a movie at a movie theater. Or a local concert. Or play. Or, whatever.

Well, of course, this will never happen.

I often question if I really get my money's worth of the Cable service I use.  I like the access to NASCAR events, which, so far, do not require a special network access, and the Weather Channel, the programming of which has gone done hill, now that they do not offer continuous weather but they offer canned programs (yuck).

I blame the consumer.  The supply is out there, and we watch this schlocky stuff instead of tuning out and finding something better to watch.

I am as guilty as the next person.

Over the last 8 or 9 years, I have become more discriminatory about what I watch on TV. I do not have the TV on for background noise, as I used to do many, many years ago.  I use other media including books (they are media) CDs, DVDs, and because I have a good turntable, vinyl, for my entertainment.

Attack

I spent some time this evening doing laundry.  The cats were trying to be helpful when I hung clothes, but they were involved in the middle of my trying to hang clothes, and grabbed and clung and otherwise interfered.

Taki, especially, was trying to be helpful.  But she lunged at me, and grabbed at my abdomen with her claws. My howl scared her. I did not mean to scare her.  But her sharp claws did hurt.  And, she caught skin, not laundry.

I love my cats, but sometimes, they are more aggressive than they realize. It is a trade off. Yesterday, inadvertently, I stepped on Haiku's tail. I did not mean to, and I hated that it happened. Sometimes, though a cat is underfoot, and I do not realize it. Which is what happened yesterday.

Mostly, I try to make the household quiet and calm, and a place where the cats do not have to attack or otherwise be aggressive. Sometimes, they are, with each other, but not viciously, just assertively.

The Missing Glove

So, sometime yesterday, I discovered that I was missing a glove. I have a pair of gloves for every jacket that I have, and the pair that I had for my winter jacket was missing the left glove. I knew I had it when I started my shopping chores yesterday morning, but could not recall when it went missing.

So, I put a different pair of gloves in that winter coat for the mean time, and decided I needed a new pair of gloves.  I could think of several scenarios in which I might have inadvertently lifted the glove out of my pocket. The most likely was when I took the disposable camera out of the left pocket of my jacket to get the pictures developed. So, since I had to go back to Wal-Mart today, I spent the less ten minutes in line to see if they had a match to my missing glove in lost and found. They did not. They had a lot of other detritus of shoppers, including a scarf and someone's keys.

No big deal, so I bought another pair of gloves. The selection was minimal, but if the pair I purchased is not as good as I would like, I can always buy another.  The pair that had one missing was not the best pair I ever had: they are Thinsulate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinsulate  gloves and they let through cold air and moisture in the webbing.  However, when I was doing laundry tonight, the missing glove appeared.

That was great. Now, I have options regarding winter gloves. I could return the new pair I purchased today, but I think it good to have a spare pair.

Curling

Curling is a sport I do not know much about, and do not understand.  There is a curling club within 20 miles of where I grew up, but really, we never watched them perform.

Curling has been an official Winter Olympic sport since 1998 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling.  But, curling has been demeaned, ridiculed, and satirized.  The comments about curling likened it to watching bowling on TV (I like watching bowling on TV) and watching grass grow (I like watching grass grow.)  At the 2010 Olympics, curling was wired for sound, and it TOOK OFF.  When you can hear the comments of the participants, all of a sudden, curling takes on a whole new dimension.

I do not understand the rules, and I will need to read up on it, but I think curling is a great sport.

A Wild Hair Day

I think I have talked about my hair before.  Until 2007, my hair has been always straight and thin, except when I was a child and my mother made me have a permanent.  I finally, after some years, got my way and convinced her I did not need my hair permed.

For years, I wore my hair long.  It was thin and stringy, and I probably should have kept it short.

When I finally started wearing it short in 1992 or 1993, it seemed thicker.  But it was straight. I sometimes wore a middle part, but just as often or more often, wore a side part.

Well, sometime after 2007, my hair started to wave. So, I changed my hair style.  Now, I still wear my hair short, but have it layered. That way if it sticks out here and there, it is part of the layering.  Most days, my hair sticks out over my ears, and it gives me a "Dutch Girl" look. 

I do the same thing every day: I wash my hair in the shower and then comb it out afterwards. I comb it the same way.  But for some reason, yesterday, there were places my hair stuck out where it does not usually stick out.  I could not re-direct it, and stopped trying after a bit.  It was just wild. 

Today, it looked less wild. I do not know why these vagaries occur, but they do.

Physical Therapy, Gregorian Chants, and Learning to Relax

Okay, so I learned about relaxation therapy many, many years ago when I was a teen pregnancy counselor, and accompanied many of my clients to their Lamaze classes and deliveries. The principle of Lamaze is that if you teach the pregnant woman to relax and do relaxation breathing during the labor contractions, she can sustain herself without medication, or with less medication. Another principle is to be educated regarding what to expect as the pain intensifies or changes, and to be able to adapt to that.

Now, as a social worker who works in a psychiatric prison, one of the basic coping skills we teach is relaxation exercises:  deep breathing, diaphramatic breathing, or progressive muscle relaxation.

Well, with this knowledge, I have powered through my pain for years.  It might be sciatica, caused by a bulging disc of my spine.  It might be something else. For now, it is being treated as if it is sciatica and a result of the bulging disc.    I am awaiting a pain management consultation. 

I have endured this pain for some time.  It would be nice to be able to resolve the pain, but I have limited hope:  Hope that this can occur, but awareness it may not.

The Saga of Sake

Sake seems to be doing better. She is eating more regularly,  if not at all meals, but she may be eating in between, when I am not around. She expressed her desire to eat, and ate the smashed liver I give her.  It used to be she did not like smashed liver or paté foods. She liked chunks and gravy.  But now, she is eating smashed liver. 

Tonight, for the first time, I saw her eat some hard treats.  That was after she ate some paté and then some other food that was out. I think she was hungry.  I wish I could find the right combination of foods for her to eat, so eating is not uncomfortable.  She did not lap up the baby food.  I put out some finely chopped turkey, but that did not interest her, either.

Well, the blessing is, the liver paté will sustain her.

I will continue to offer her options, and hope that one or more is palatable to her.

Latino Americans

PBS is airing a series called Latino Americans http://www.pbs.org/search/?q=Latino%20Americans.  I have watched some of this.  I believe it is a very well done series. It explores the various aspects of the Latin Americans, and their many, many stories.  Latin Americans include the historical Americans who were of Spanish descent in the early years of the United States. It includes the people from Mexico, from Central America, from Puerto Rico and Cuba. 

Although somewhat less dramatic, but not totally less traumatic, especially for the individuals and families involved, the discrimination against Latin Americans was not always as intense and ingrained as it was against the Afro Americans. But even as the discrimination was perpetrated, it was hurtful and inhumane. It was inexcusable and unacceptable. And it continues to sometimes relegate Latino Americans to second class citizenship.

No discrimination is acceptable. Although the United States has legislated equality, those laws are not always enforced as intended. There are still many, many barriers for peoples to overcome.

Maybe the series about Latino Americans will shed some honest light on their history, and offer some source of pride to those Hispanic Americans who watch the show.

Physical Therapy

I have written about going to physical therapy.  It was a very good experience. For the time being, I will not being going to PT until some other medical procedures are considered, and more information is known, analyzed, and a plan is developed. 

The PT experience was excellent:  The staff were knowledgeable, friendly, communicative, and worked as a team. I learned some things about my body, and gained some flexibility, strength, and endurance.

I was given a lot of information about self care and a lot of homework (exercises) to do. If I do the regimens as assigned, I am exercising about an hour and 15 or 20 minutes a day.  Most of my co-workers and friends who do home PT exercises do 20 or 30 minutes a day. I have to admit, I sometimes skip a day, especially if I have another activity that day, and my time is limited. But I do participate in PT regularly, and plan to continue to do so although I will not be going to the PT clinic for a while.

When I do PT, I sometimes have the television on. But just as often, I play Gregorian Chants. This has the effect of turning my PT regimen into a very soothing, relaxing routine.  Which I so appreciate.

PT has been good.

Physical Therapy

So, I have been going to physical therapy for quite some time, to try to help the pain in my lower back, hip, and the cramping in my right leg and tingling in my right leg and toes.

This is a problem that I have had for years, and I cannot remember when it started, but well after my mother died in 2007. So maybe 2009 or 2010.  Maybe later in  life.  I do not know.

What I do know that I have a strange tingling sensation in my right hip.  It advances down my right leg, and numbs my right toes.  If I am walking, and I am experiencing these problems, I also experience a "foot drop" because my right foot is asleep. I can power through these problems, and have done so for years.

However, as I have had other medical problems recently, I decided to address this with my medical provider:  She ordered xrays and authorized physical therapy.  The physical therapy has been good.  I have regained some strength in my right leg.  Combined with the NSAID celebrex, I have had Some pain relief. I am stronger.  I have more endurance, flexibility and stamina.  But I still have the pain.

Most recently, I have had an MRI: I have a large area of bulging discs, with one very prominently bulging. The next step will be a pain management clinic.

I may be facing more invasive treatment in the future.  I hope not. We shall see what becomes of this.

More Cat Care

Well, Sake ate pate as well baby food this morning. She did not act as ravenous as she did last night. But she ate well.   She avoided me as much as she could, but came around to eat.

Soft and hard food was available during the day.  I hated it, but I got involved in something at work, so left from work late, and still had to go to the grocery store for more foods, including liver and baby food, for Sake.  I was late getting home.

Sake still ate a good meal, but she avoided me today. I think this is a sign that she is better. She is either angry or hurting enough to not want me to mess with her, although she accepted food, when I brought it to her "hideout."

The Ongoing Saga of Cat Care

Well, I was amazed that I was not awakened by a cat looking for breakfast until right before the alarm went off.  I delayed my rising on purpose. I wanted to delay feeding the cats because I thought it would be prudent to put Sake in a crate right before I fed the cats, so she did not eat.  So, I did every other early morning preparation thing that I could do, before I fed the cats. Then, I crated Sake, and fed Haiku and Taki.  Haiku took a couple of licks of human tuna, and Taki booked: she hates having the crate in pre-eminence, although, at that point, it was just on the closet floor. So, neither she nor Haiku ate.

I thought, when I returned home from bringing Sake to the vet, that they would have eaten some, and if they did, it was not moist food. The treats dishes were pretty full, and the dry food was not vastly depleted.

I took Sake in for her treatment, and the vet and I talked about medication vs. surgery, but with Sake's disposition and failure to respond to a second antibiotic treatment, we agreed on surgery. Late morning, the vet called me and left the message that Sake had done well during surgery, and was recovering. They would normally keep her overnight, but given her "attitude" (a kind word from the vet) they said she could come home tonight with me.

I brought Sake home, and at the recommendation of the vet, left her in the crate.  But she kept head butting the door, and trying to get out. Early in the evening, I tried letting her out and she could not wobble anywhere. I kept offering her water every 30 to 45 minutes.

A couple of hours later, I tried letting her out again. She wobbled towards the food, and lapped quite a bit of baby food chicken and even more paté style cat food.  She wobbled off under a dining chair with a throw over it, so she had a tent.  Later, she made her way to the top perch of the cat stroller.  She has been up and down a couple of times from that perch. She is back in the cat stroller. She looks like she is resting as comfortably as she can be, given the assault to her body today. 

I hope this resolves the problem. The vet tells me that some cats have ongoing mouth issues even after their teeth have been removed. I pray Sake's issues are resolved.

Kitty Kat NPO

For the regular reader, you know that Sake has been ill with a mouth infection, and has not been eating well.  I waited a long time to get her to the veterinarian because it is so traumatic for her. The first trip was amazing: she was so sick, she even let the veterinarian do a precursory exam.

Since then, we have been back twice.  I am not really having trouble getting her in or out of the carrier, but she has been very hostile in the exam room. During the last visit, just a consult, she screamed, growled and howled and finally escaped into the carrier.

The veterinarian was not sure she wanted to do major dental surgery.  I am not sure I want to do that, either, but they are not offering any other treatment options.  We did schedule surgery, and tonight Sake is NPO for food, although she is allowed "some" water.  I have some options: put Sake in a room with no access to food, or remove all food for the kitties.  I opted for the latter.  And, about 45 minutes after I lifted the food, both Haiku and Taki wanted a snack. So, I gave them a snack, and supervised, but Sake did not even appear. 

Blessedly, Sake ate well tonight, comparatively.  She goes about 4 meals eating minimally, then chows down, and tonight was a chow down meal.  She has options: pate style cat food, slurry style food, pureéd baby food meats, and smashed liver. She prefers smashed liver.  So she ate smashed liver tonight.

I am anticipating that early morning, 3 or 4 AM, I will be awoken by one or more of my cats:  they are accustomed to having food available all the time.  Even if they are not hungry, I suspect one of my cats will want to be sure they can have something to eat!  Just to be sure they can.

I am worried about what I will need to decide tomorrow about Sake's care.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela died December 5, 2013.  I did not know who he was until I was a freshman at Cornell University in 1970.  We prayed for him every day at Mass, and wished for his freedom.  I now know that he was a freedom fighter, trying to get equal rights for Black or Native  South Africans vs. white South Africans.

Sorry to say, after I left the Cornell community, I lost track of Nelson Mandela. Until years later, when he was freed.

And even years later after that, I was re-awakened to his story by the movie Invictus.

Mandela was a member of the African National Congress that advocated equality and the demise of apartheid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid_in_South_Africasystem in South Africa.  Apartheid was like the Jim Crow Laws http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws in the United States.  Although the laws said separate but equal, there was nothing equal about these laws and they way people were treated.

The resources, services, treatment of persons, and whatever was not only inferior to black citizens, it was intended to denigrate, and other wise demean the black population and continue to keep the black population as an underdog.

The Civil Rights movement in the United States  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movements_for_civil_rights  worked to change these conditions. Although it has been somewhat successful, I will sadly say that there is still a lot of undercurrent of racism in this country.

We have so much to learn from Mr. Mandela.  Mostly, we need to learn forgiveness and conciliatory behavior so we can co-exist peacefully.  These are hard lessons. But the way for all nations to exist.

The Sound of Music Live

So, I so do not usually just watch TV. I am usually working on the computer, knitting, doing a puzzle, or even doing chores around the house. So, when NBC broadcast "The Sound of Music" http://www.nbc.com/sound-of-music/ live, on Thursday night, I sat and watched the musical.  Without doing anything else.

This was a great presentation. I really enjoyed it.

I will remark that I had heard a Carrie Underwood interview, that there were some new songs.  Well she was not quite right. The "new" songs she referred to were songs from the original Broadway production that were not included in the movie, so might be unknown to folks who do not have the music of the original Broadway production.

Frankly, the songs from the play, deleted for the movie, make the show much more politically relevant regarding the role of the wealthy and the impact of the Germans in Austria after the  Anschluss, or the take over by Germany of Austria.

No matter, the live production of this show was GREAT!

Tire Pressure

So the major cold front blew in Thursday night.  Along with freezing rain and ice and snow.  It took me about 20 minutes to defrost and scrape the ice off of the Vue when I left work. And, as I was driving home, the tire pressure indicator light came on.  Well, this might be to be expected, as the colder the weather, the lower the air pressure in the tires.   However, I could have actually had a flat tire.  I pulled off when it was convenient, and check the tires, and there was not a really flat tire.  So, I decided to deal with it in the morning.

So, in the morning, I went to a local self service air pressure station, and succeeded in deflating the tire even more.  Around the corner was a Firestone store.  I used to use them regularly, when I trusted the service manager. When he left, I was never sure if I was being taken advantage of or not, but use them from time to time, most recently, when I needed a flat tire repaired. When I explained my problem, the service manage told me to get in line.  The service technician who inflated my tires told me they have had multiple requests per day during the cold weather. This was a free service! 

We do not get much free service these days.  I wish I trusted these people because it was so nice to use them when the service manager was one I trusted.

Page Views

Recently, my page views skyrocketed for a couple of days, to over 150 a day. That is a lot for me. I cannot tell why or what postings prompted that. I suspect it does not matter. I suspect it was some automated service that scans blogs for keywords.

The biggest reason I suspect this is that I do not get any kind of feedback. Which tells me that no one is reading for content, but some automated program is "reading" for keywords.

Well, I do not understand how this works.  I wonder if some automated programs will eventually refer me to other readers.  I doubt it. I think these automated programs are a dead end.

The Third Person

I had a return visit to the optometrist today, and it went well from my perspective. People were much more explanatory and communicative, and personable than the last visit.  I signed in as I was supposed to but did not get taken to my appointment in a timely way. The nurse I was to see came looking for me:  the front desk was so busy, they never told her I was there.  She understood the problem.

Something happened that disconcerted me, and I am embarrassed to say that I did not speak up, but should have. At one point the optometrist and his nurse were reviewing my record and talking about me in the third person as if I were not present.  I understand this phenomenon. I try not to do this when I am talking about a patient with another provider, but it is an easy mode to fall into.  I did not feel comfortable enough to say "Hey, I am in the room, talk about me as if I am present."  By the end of the visit today, if that had happens again, I would have felt I could say that. 

Before today, my last visit was as had been on a previous visit to this optometrist: I felt like I was treated as a number, a case, a non-entity.  Today, largely because of the personableness of the nurse who did my field of vision test, I felt as if I was being treated as a person, an individual. She even offered me a drink!  Wow!

Anyway, they repeated some tests that they did last time. Last time, one attendant put me in front of a machine that had me sitting in a very uncomfortable position, and although I complained to the attendant (she may be a nurse) she just blew me off. This time, she made a point to ask me if I was comfortable.  The other test they repeated that I had a problem with was frustrating. Last time, the same attendant just "powered me through."  This time, after having dealt with the really good nurse, I asked for time to rest my eyes between session, and asked for the machines to be adjusted better.  I still flunked the test.

Even the optometrist this time was more personable, and talked to me as if I was present, instead of talking over me or talking at me.  I cannot say he talked with me, but he did better.

I am reminded of a situation that I was in some many years ago at my current place of employment. We were in treatment team, which involved a variety of different professionals: social worker (me), psychologist, medical provider, nurse, security and probably some ancillary therapists meeting with a patient.  The patient was Spanish speaking and we had a certified interpreter present. As the meeting progressed, I talked to the patient when it was appropriate for me to talk, and the interpreter did the interpreting. Part way through the session, the psychologist said something that maybe I should have said but did not.

The psychologist said that we were not using the interpreter appropriately, that we all should be talking to the patient and let the interpreter do his job.  That we should not talk about  the patient with the interpreter as if the patient were not present. He also said that he suspected that the social worker in me caused me not to confront my colleagues about the fact they were not behaving as they should, but I just continued to model appropriate behavior so the rest could figure it out for themselves.  You could have heard a pin drop.  Everyone in the room apologized to the patient that they were not talking to him.

I have to wonder how long that lesson lasted with the professionals in that room.

I am reminded about that session because of the way the optometrist and attendant behaved today. I am determined, when I go back for my 6 month follow up, if they behave that way, that I will speak up and say do not talk about me as if I am not in the room, talk with  me and to me.

Did I Ever Tell You?

Did I ever tell you how difficult it was for me to adjust to the semi-arid desert of Lubbock, when I moved here.  I hated the flat, dry, brown lands.  When I needed relief, I would go out to Ransom Canyon or Buffalo Springs Lake, for the hills, and water, even though the water was brown. So often those early years, and even now, I miss the hills, green, trees, and water. I would frequently go out to the canyons and hills in the parks of Lubbock, or outside of Lubbock, and sing to my self the songs I could remember from "The Sound of Music."  Specifically, I would sing about the hills being alive with the sound of music. Mind you, this was before tape players were inexpensive, and other sorts of music players were not even invented. My singing is atrocious, and I could not remember all of the words.

But, I made Lubbock my home.  I learned to adjust.  In fact, when I go back east, and the trees, and buildings close in around me, I feel claustrophobic, because I cannot see the wide open spaces and especially the sunsets. 

I still have nostalgia for the love of hills that I have.  I have become a flat lander, though, because I need the wide open spaces.  The assimilation of this is when I am at the top of the hills and can see the wide open spaces.  That is the best!