No 13 Thursday 25 August 2011
When I started these blogs I mentioned that I hoped to post them roughly weekly. For some reason (probably laziness) this comes two weeks after its predecessor. Oh well, at least I've got around to it at last and you can rest assured that all is (reasonably) well.
I heard recently that I'm going to become a great-grandfather in February - that is when my eldest grandson and his wife are expecting their first child. Funny how 'eldest' goes - I was the eldest of four, my daughter is the eldest of three and this grandson is the eldest of five. I suppose this is a logical progression but not certain - my mother was third out of four, the others being childless.
Sayings are funny things - not necessarily funny ha-ha but usually funny slightly peculiar. They seem to run in families at times, and others are picked up along the way. Two which I have gained from outside sources are "Dogs have owners, cats have staff" and "Keep smiling, it makes them wonder what you've been up to". My father and his brother, in their young days, used to attend a high church where the vicar used to conclude future plans, either spoken or in the parish mag., with the term "D.V." (which is the abbreviation for the Latin "God willing"). As a result they used to conclude comments about future plans with the comment "D.V. and weather permitting". I was, for a long time, under the impression that this was only our family's viewpoint, but, while playing a Johnny Cash CD a little while ago he sang a song entitled "If the Good Lord is willing and the creeks don't rise" which strikes me as being very similar to ours. Obviously there could not have been any possible connection between the sources of the sayings.
In my last blog (No. 12) I mentioned that I found it difficult to write cheques, as required by a bank into which I had planned to invest some money. I eventually decided to cancel my request to invest with them and wrote to tell them so. Thus far there has been no reaction from them. Also in a previous blog (No. 11) I explained about my need for a weight reduction. I put a few ideas into action and they seem to be having the desired effect - a very gradual loss of weight. I only weigh myself on a Monday morning but feel that gives a reasonable pattern rather than a daily system. The things I have adjusted are cutting my banana intake from two to one per day, severely redicing my consumption of chocolate and sweets, cutting out cakes and (as far as practicable) eating lower calorie ready meals. There are so many different physiques and weight problems that I hesitate to recommend any particular plan - but any system needs a certain amount of will-power to have any chance of success.
Mike
Happenings
No. 12 Thursday 11 August 2011
Companies are funny things. Some of them have entered the digital age fully and communicate by using e-mail and accept payments by internet transfer or debit card and others use various parts of outdated systems mixed with their ideas of digital operation. This does not depend on the size of the company, as I found a couple of days ago. I have some of my compensation which I want to put away to gain some interest until it is needed and accordingly I searched out a suitable bank on the internet with which I hadn't had previous dealings. Their web site accepted my application - but they insist having the payment by cheque!! This bank is a very large one, much larger than a building society with which I had similarly dealt with (and which took payment by debit card) and massively larger than a local laundry whose monthly bills I pay by internet transfer. I am still considering whether to comply with their stupidity and write a cheque (a major task as writing is rather difficult due to limited hand use) or whether to tell them (politely) where to put their savings bond.
In blog No. 9 I mentioned that the footpath at one side of my bungalow needed attention. Well, last week it was thoroughly attended to - the contractor (which I used for the front and back 'gardens') took on the job. In a couple of days the inaccessible jungle path was converted into one which matched the front path and side drive and which had proper drainage. The exterior pathways now look fully organised and very smart. Their work is so good that I've given them a free hand to let future tentative customers come and have a look.
Back at the start of my legal case, something like five years ago, I made two lists - one of things I could not do (due to my disability) and the other of things which were difficult for me in various degrees. If I still needed these lists there is a fairly recent addition which I could make. This has come about because, some time ago I realised that my hearing wasn't up to scratch, so I had some hearing aids produced. Much testing was done to find the exact level of amplification that I needed, and how they would fit with my limited hand control (to put them in). The pair of aids which I ended up with are superb at improving my hearing but, because they are so small they need the batteries changing roughly every ten days (which they signal by a four-note chime when about to run out). This is the problem, it takes about ten minutes to do a job which would normally take only a minute or two. The main reason for this is that the batteries are only 8mm across and about 3mm thick. Adding to the problem is a protective sticker on one side which has to be removed before use. I am getting a little better at changing these batteries - when I started it took fifteen minutes so maybe it will get a little easier in time.
Mike
Companies are funny things. Some of them have entered the digital age fully and communicate by using e-mail and accept payments by internet transfer or debit card and others use various parts of outdated systems mixed with their ideas of digital operation. This does not depend on the size of the company, as I found a couple of days ago. I have some of my compensation which I want to put away to gain some interest until it is needed and accordingly I searched out a suitable bank on the internet with which I hadn't had previous dealings. Their web site accepted my application - but they insist having the payment by cheque!! This bank is a very large one, much larger than a building society with which I had similarly dealt with (and which took payment by debit card) and massively larger than a local laundry whose monthly bills I pay by internet transfer. I am still considering whether to comply with their stupidity and write a cheque (a major task as writing is rather difficult due to limited hand use) or whether to tell them (politely) where to put their savings bond.
In blog No. 9 I mentioned that the footpath at one side of my bungalow needed attention. Well, last week it was thoroughly attended to - the contractor (which I used for the front and back 'gardens') took on the job. In a couple of days the inaccessible jungle path was converted into one which matched the front path and side drive and which had proper drainage. The exterior pathways now look fully organised and very smart. Their work is so good that I've given them a free hand to let future tentative customers come and have a look.
Back at the start of my legal case, something like five years ago, I made two lists - one of things I could not do (due to my disability) and the other of things which were difficult for me in various degrees. If I still needed these lists there is a fairly recent addition which I could make. This has come about because, some time ago I realised that my hearing wasn't up to scratch, so I had some hearing aids produced. Much testing was done to find the exact level of amplification that I needed, and how they would fit with my limited hand control (to put them in). The pair of aids which I ended up with are superb at improving my hearing but, because they are so small they need the batteries changing roughly every ten days (which they signal by a four-note chime when about to run out). This is the problem, it takes about ten minutes to do a job which would normally take only a minute or two. The main reason for this is that the batteries are only 8mm across and about 3mm thick. Adding to the problem is a protective sticker on one side which has to be removed before use. I am getting a little better at changing these batteries - when I started it took fifteen minutes so maybe it will get a little easier in time.
Mike
Time etc.
No. 11 Tuesday 2 August 2011
Time is funny stuff. I don't mean actual time, which is regular, but "perceived time" which seems to stretch or shrink. For example during a day my idea of time varies considerably and some things seem to have happened quickly once they are past but seem to drag while they are under way. When I go shopping it seems to take a while getting to the supermarket, making my purchases and travelling home, certainly longer than the hour which it usually takes. However, looking back on it in the evening it seems that the whole episode was over in minutes. Similarly when I am expecting something to happen in the future it appears to take much longer than its calendar time, but once it is past it seems that the happening was only days before - when it might, actually, have been weeks. There must be an explanation for this - perhaps it is something to do with ageing.
I really must try harder to get my weight down nearer to what it should be - it has been consistently about 2kg above my target which is, in turn, about 2kg above what the medics say is the ideal for my height/build/age. Being (mostly) wheelchair bound exercise is close to impossible so I have to control my weight by what I eat i.e. watching the calories - of which, being relatively inactive, I need fewer than normal. A panic reduction would probably not be good for my health so I am trying a very gradual reduction, in steps, in my calorie intake over quite a long time. Perhaps I will start seeing results in the not-too-distant future !!
During the last couple of days people I have spoken to have complained about the heat. I am finding that, at last, it is comfortable for me. The probable reason for this is that, having spent the best part of 33 years in hot countries, I have acclimatised to higher than normal temperatures. This is despite the 12+ years that I have been home. This, oddly, has had another effect in that I still have difficulty getting used to the UK public holidays. Of course every country has its public holidays but very few seem to co-incide or even have similar names. Which leads me onto an occasion when I firmly "put my foot in it" - deliberately. In Tehran my wife worked for an American company so they invited us to a Thanksgiving party (Thanksgiving is in November). During the party, when most of us had reached the "happy" stage, one of our hosts commented that we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving in England. The rest of the conversation went thus:
Me "Yes we do"
Him "Oh, when is it?"
Me "The fourth of July"
Him "Gee, that's our Independence Day"
Me "That's why we give thanks!"
Fortunately they didn't throw me out, and even saw the funny side of it !!
Mike
Time is funny stuff. I don't mean actual time, which is regular, but "perceived time" which seems to stretch or shrink. For example during a day my idea of time varies considerably and some things seem to have happened quickly once they are past but seem to drag while they are under way. When I go shopping it seems to take a while getting to the supermarket, making my purchases and travelling home, certainly longer than the hour which it usually takes. However, looking back on it in the evening it seems that the whole episode was over in minutes. Similarly when I am expecting something to happen in the future it appears to take much longer than its calendar time, but once it is past it seems that the happening was only days before - when it might, actually, have been weeks. There must be an explanation for this - perhaps it is something to do with ageing.
I really must try harder to get my weight down nearer to what it should be - it has been consistently about 2kg above my target which is, in turn, about 2kg above what the medics say is the ideal for my height/build/age. Being (mostly) wheelchair bound exercise is close to impossible so I have to control my weight by what I eat i.e. watching the calories - of which, being relatively inactive, I need fewer than normal. A panic reduction would probably not be good for my health so I am trying a very gradual reduction, in steps, in my calorie intake over quite a long time. Perhaps I will start seeing results in the not-too-distant future !!
During the last couple of days people I have spoken to have complained about the heat. I am finding that, at last, it is comfortable for me. The probable reason for this is that, having spent the best part of 33 years in hot countries, I have acclimatised to higher than normal temperatures. This is despite the 12+ years that I have been home. This, oddly, has had another effect in that I still have difficulty getting used to the UK public holidays. Of course every country has its public holidays but very few seem to co-incide or even have similar names. Which leads me onto an occasion when I firmly "put my foot in it" - deliberately. In Tehran my wife worked for an American company so they invited us to a Thanksgiving party (Thanksgiving is in November). During the party, when most of us had reached the "happy" stage, one of our hosts commented that we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving in England. The rest of the conversation went thus:
Me "Yes we do"
Him "Oh, when is it?"
Me "The fourth of July"
Him "Gee, that's our Independence Day"
Me "That's why we give thanks!"
Fortunately they didn't throw me out, and even saw the funny side of it !!
Mike
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