Scheduling, Messaging, Communication and Hockey - LOL

I had a rather annoyed message on my phone late yesterday. Apparently the nurse associated with Dr Emily (the doc who has been treating me post-surgically) had been attempting to contact me to schedule yet another underarm procedure. Frankly, I'm a bit bewildered, so I'll be contacting Dr Emily this morning for further explanations. The last aspiration we did earlier in the week was quite successful, but the procedure isn't something I want to keep coming back for again and again, and it's going to start bumping against my radiation therapy again too, which has already been pushed back a week once. 

The dance of healing is a complex dance with many 
different parts and partners. I'm trying my best to 
wend my way through carefully, but if I don't need 
a procedure, I'd rather avoid it. So, I'll try to reach 
my doc today for more explanation. 

It's a complex dance between departments, treatments, and one patient of hundreds. I can understand how and why things might be missed or overlooked, which is why I'm totally keeping on top of it to the best of my ability. Every morning I go onto the electronic chart and print out my appointments. Right now I have Dr Emily scheduled for tomorrow morning and yes, supposedly it is for another breast aspersion. But I just had one on Tuesday, so I'm confused as to why I would need a second one in three days. I'll be calling her office today for more information. Otherwise, I'd just have an office visit and catch-up with Dr Emily instead, which seems more sensible to me at this time. 

I like Dr Emily, she's been awesome, but I 
think we're duplicating a procedure here 
that doesn't need to be done two times in 
three days. 

DH is all about setting up appointments with an attorney at the Brokerage that we use. That's also important. We haven't really done much about end-of-life arrangements or dispersal of assets, and that needs to be codified and official. There's nothing like a life-threatening disease to get DH off his ass and into gear. And, of course, as soon as he gets an idea into his head, it's "Full Steam Ahead, Katie Bar the Door". Everything had to be done as of yesterday ... SO not going to happen - LOL. But I did go into my accounts and get the amounts I have it each one so that I can flesh out ideas on where I want my funds to be put if I die. It's a good idea to have these things legal and official. 

When we first moved up here, I was working for minimum 
wage as a clerk for the Hamline Law School, and DH was 
beginning work with his Dad in his Dad's business. Fortunately 
that job paid well. We lived in his Grandmother's home - she 
had been put into an extended care facility. So we were rent-free, 
but we also arranged to purchase the house over ten years. We've 
come a LONG way since those tentative beginnings. 

Finally Aearwen and I had a chance for our weekly chat. It's been what seems like FOREVER since we were last able to catch up a bit. We've been chatting every week for years now, though, and we understand that if something comes up - like my cancer stuff - we'll just pick up from where we left off when we chat the next time. I always look forward to these conversations. They're easy-going, life from the other side chats, nothing earthshaking, just catching up with each other and our lives, ideas, values and goals. It was wonderful to hear her again, instead of just exchanging emails stating schedule conflicts - LOL. 

This is SO true. In this day and age of cell phones and 
instant communication, friends are indeed right there, if 
needed. I'm blessed with wonderful friends throughout 
the world and they brighten my darkest days by just 
being small rays of sunshine - so needed and necessary. 

So, have an excellent day ahead of you. I'm going to try and have a "normal" day to the best of my ability. I'm going to work, I'll work for the day, I'll come home, re-heat dinner, and relax in front of the TV. The Boys High School State Hockey Tournament is now on - some of the best hockey of the year. We'll be glued to the TV for the rest of the week, watching whatever games we can catch. It's always excellent to watch, and some of these kids will be the stars of the future in professional leagues. Have a great Thursday, I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Phones and Communication - How It Has Changed (and Continues To Change)

DH and I had a rather nice true Anniversary day (Mondays, being a work day with other errands does not make for a romantic day). We dropped his truck off for a six-month checkup in the early morning, then drove to work. After work we picked up the truck, decided that I would pick up Chipotle for dinner, and then, shortly afterward, the drama began. 

We usually get Chipotle burrito bowls. I've been getting 
him beef and myself chicken forever, but suddenly he's 
now decided that he's supposed to get chicken too. *sigh* 
I wish he had informed me. I'll have to remember to ask him 
what meat he wants before I get it again. 

I was in line at Chipotle, picking out exactly what I wanted for my two portions, when my cell phone rang. Now, it's noisy at the restaurant, and even though I have the phone's volume at max, I'm barely hearing him. After some obviously incorrect answers to questions and a complete inability of me to hear him at all. I told him I'd phone him back after I was out of the restaurant. For some odd reason he was at the shop, and I was thinking maybe the alarm went off or something. 

It's rather remarkable how dependent we've all become 
on our cell phones. I've had a cell for MA NY years. 
I was traveling and also attending various bead 
shows, and I had to be accessible to my staff at the 
various stores I had. A cell phone was a necessity then, 
and it's still necessary now. I love my Google phone. 
Chickie and DH have Samsung phones and they're 
pretty happy with them, too. 

I got out into the parking lot, called him back, only to find out that apparently he was missing his cell phone and had driven back to the shop to see if maybe he had forgotten it there. No luck. So, I called his cell phone and it was ringing - from somewhere in my car. After a serious search (black phone, black upholstery and framework of my car), I finally found it almost buried in the flooring between his seat and the door frame. I called him back at the shop and told him. He was EXTREMELY relieved. Telling him I'd meet him at home, I headed back with the food while he went North towards home from the shop. 

It would have actually been fairly easy to find if it had 
dropped onto the car floor, or onto the left passenger side. 
But no, it was on the right passenger side, and wedged into 
a small space between the door and the seat. He's lucky 
it wasn't damaged in any way, and also wasn't lying 
on the tarmac at the car dealership. 

Apparently, since I don't have two holders in my car (I really don't need two holders, and my cup holders were filled with my travel mug and his travel mug), he had placed the phone between his legs. That only worked until he came into the Toyota dealership with me, to pay for the truck and retrieve my key (I used my key since getting his off his group of keys would have been a total PITA). He must have let the phone slide when he was getting out of the car. He was damned lucky it wasn't lying on the tarmac at the dealership. 

DH used to have a "portable" phone similar to this one 
for his car. He'd be on buying trips for the store, but he also 
needed to be available for consultation if we got an 
emergency issue cropping up with his own business. This 
truly was a brick - we could have seriously damaged 
someone's home if we had tossed it at a window. LOL

It's funny how attached we've gotten to our cell phones. And I'm including you, dear reader, in that large "we". I've had a portable phone for as long as they were available because I love technology. DH even had one of the very old traveling sat phones because he needed to be on call for an AOG (aircraft on ground) situation that might need one of his parts to get back into the air. So we've embraced portable phones for a long time. But we use them more to play games on, than to actually communicate. Still, I'd hate to go back to the old situation before cell phones, when we were all tied to physical, wired telephones. 

Getting everyone scheduled between my new VOIP carrier 
and my security alarm people will be like managing a 
dog and pony show. *sigh* With Chickie being on vacation 
next week, I'm not scheduling anyone until after she's 
back at the shop so that I have someone who can be on the 
sales floor while I'm busy overseeing the switch-over. 

And speaking of phones, my new VOIP phones were delivered to the shop yesterday. Now to get everyone scheduled so that we can get these installed. I think I'll have to wait for the actual switch over until Chickie is back from her vacation. I'll need someone dependable on the sales floor, and I also suspect it will take a bit to coordinate the install people from both the phone company and my security alarm company. I'll start working on that scheduling today. *sigh* Oh joy! LOLOL. Have an excellent Tuesday. I'm off to swim. I survived this week's vote and am still writing, just got my new topic last night. "Synesthesia". Time to do a little research and see what I can come up with. Slava Ukraini. 

GRRR and ARRGH - It Was That Kind of a Day

So, the communication Gods and Goddesses have joined forces to stand against me. Why they would bother to rally against one small older white woman is beyond my ability to comprehend, yet I am dealing with those Gods and Goddesses and they apparently are not very happy with me. 

My father was a scholar who adored Greek mythology. So, 
when it came to naming me, he picked an obscure Grecian 
demi-goddess' name. Mom agreed, bur also insisted that 
I have a more common name for my middle name. Thank 
goodness for Mom's common sense, since that "middle" 
name has been my primary name since I was 12. 

First of all - the land line phone. No, we still don't have a working phone line. I was on "chat" with a customer service representative of CenturyLink yesterday afternoon, who apparently contacted the assigned tech and got a confirmation that we were indeed on his list of assigned stops. All good and fine. But ... 6:30 pm came and went, and 7:30 pm came and went, and the daylight came and went, and the tech didn't show up and when I checked my account, it was still saying he/she/it would show up by the end of the day. Now, when I check my repair status, it's telling me 6:30 pm Monday (meaning sometime before 6:30 pm). Hmmm ... where have I heard that song and dance before? 

Keeping everything straight is turning into 
a real juggling act. Adding yet another song 
and dance routine to the act is turning into 
a total PITA. 

Of course, I wouldn't have a land line at all, except DH wants one. But, we certainly DON'T have one now, and I'm NOT happy about it. 

The upgrade was supposed to only last until 6:30 am 
my time zone, so I'll check that out once more before I 
wrap this up and head to the shop. Just one more thing. ARGH

The next thing is paying my gasoline bill. Usually paying my gas bill is a simple matter of logging on, printing out the invoice, and taking it to the shop to be paid. EXCEPT, the website is undergoing maintenance and I can't access my account right now. ARGH! I'll try again before I leave for the shop in an hour or so, but really ... it's just one more aggravating thing. 

Of course, since I was stuck at home waiting for the invisible phone tech to show up all day yesterday, I didn't get a chance to get to my bank for a replacement card for my personal checking/savings account. That's not really a problem, I can easily do that next week. I don't actively use the card often, I do almost all of my transactions on-line, not needing the physical card. I just want to know that my account won't be compromised since I can't locate my card right now. 

Although I could get my Real ID under my given name, 
that's not the name I use, nor have I used it since 1966. 
So, I now have more hoops I get to jump through. Whoopie! 

Oh ... and to top everything else off, I went to get my Driver's License renewed yesterday. I wanted to get the "Real ID" type so that I could easily travel - after all, I have New York coming up in August (if they ever get their act together and name a hotel). So ... I brought all of the appropriate documentation - birth certificate, naturalization papers, etc,  - the things that I keep together in a specific location of my house to grab in case of a tornado. BUT, I never use my first name - I haven't used it since the fall of 1966. When I had to use that name, I always shifted it to be a middle name, not my "given" name. Apparently, to get a Real ID (or a Passport, for that matter), I will have to go through the court system and get an official Name Change, which involves filling out a lot of forms, scheduling a court date, and having two witnesses present at the hearing. Just one more thing on my plate. 

I can still fly with the standard driver's license until 2025, and I will do that when I go to New York (if that actually happens), but I would like, and actually do need, a valid and current passport. I did find my original birth certificate, however, and if I want, I actually do qualify for a second passport from Germany since I'm German by birth. That opens some doors of possibility to me. But ... first things first. Time to get my name formally changed after having used it for more than 50 years. 

My friend who suggested looking into dual citizenship and 
dual passports to me, said he had looked into it because 
traveling with a German passport seemed to be a bit easier 
in some respects than traveling with a US one. It's 
certainly something to consider, even though I'm quite 
certain my birth mother is deceased. 

The excitement is overwhelming - such a life! LOL There are certainly times when my life is a piece of dog doo doo, for sure! LOL. However, it's a Saturday, I've got a nice hot cup of tea, and it's time for breakfast. I've got to enjoy that. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back on Monday, ready to climb back onto the wheel of service hell once again. Slava Ukraini. 

Caution (Ice Ahead) and Thoughts of Communication, Rhetoric and Dogma

Today is supposed to be icy - a road condition that I'm not fond of at all. Minion is excellent on ice, but it's not myself I worry about as much as other people. Although we do have experience with snow and ice here in the Frozen Northlands, the ice portion has never been one of my favorite weather conditions. Caution will be my code word for the day. 

Ice is my least favorite condition of winter (unless 
I'm on ice skates). I really don't like driving on icy 
roads, but today may not give me any choices. 

Have you found times in your life when caution was called for? Most of the time, in my own life, I exercise caution when dealing with other people. I enjoy people, and love to exchange conversations and observations, but I'm not always good at picking up cues from my listeners. I probably am, (or possibly am), perceived quite differently than I perceive myself. A person can love dogs, but still be a bit put off by a drooling, over-affectionate St Bernard. I'm probably a bit closer to a Whippet, but I'm sure you know what I mean. 

Conversations are interactions between people, but their 
individual perceptions of that conversation can differ and 
change, even from word to word. As people, we are 
raised to pick up on conversational cues - verbal and 
physical. All of those cues melt into the conversation 
to enrich it and clarify it. 

The difficulty in interacting with other people is your understanding of their perception of you. It's not that your friendship or viewpoints are unwelcome, it's that you are inserting that viewpoint into their own personal bubble. Your viewpoint may make cracks or lasting holes in their personal space. In other words, you may, intentionally or unintentionally, shake their world up a bit, change a perspective, or insert an idea that will grow like a weed, overtaking some of their carefully pruned thoughts. 

Just like weeds can take over a flower bed, ideas 
 can plant roots that may take over ideas that 
had previously been foundational. Ideas and the 
freedom of speech can be incendiary. 

It's no wonder we end up with conflict. Communication, although we practice it daily in many interactions, is really not a strong point for most of us. Often, when it comes to larger groups of people, communication is put aside and rhetoric takes its place. Rhetoric, although some people will still use the word as "communication" really isn't. Communication requires clarity and the ability to both listen and speak. Rhetoric demands a strict framework for that communication which entails the speaker with the right to ignore negative response to his "words of wisdom". Rhetoric leads to feelings of omnipotence which can lead to conflict and war, and rhetoric can lead to dogma. 

Rhetoric, what politicians often dish out, can be 
merely boring, or actually dangerous. Rhetoric can 
be learned and passed on, sometimes becoming 
dogma.  

So, as we live in a world with ever increasing communication, we also live in a world with more and more mis-communication - rhetoric, dogma, and perception/perspective. How will you be perceived today? Will you be an open, caring person who truly listens? Or will you filter the words that others speak to you through a screen of rhetoric or dogma? The choice is yours. Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Peace and love to all. 

I Won the Lottery - the Covid Vaccination Lottery, That Is!

Less than a month ago, I registered with the state for their Vaccine Lottery. Yesterday I had a text message, my name had been chosen for a new location in one of our southern suburbs. DH has not been chosen, and even though I spent quite a bit of time trying to get him an appointment also, it just didn't happen. But I'm heading to Eagan tomorrow, to the Minnesota Vikings Practice Center to get the Johnson & Johnson Covid immunization injection. Even though I'm needle phobic, I'll be there for my 12:30 pm appointment. 

The Covid vaccination center I'm going to is a new one - it's 
the practice center for the Minnesota Vikings. It should be 
fun just to be in the building, which was newly rebuilt 
just a year or two ago. 

I'm actually pretty happy about this. Being needle-phobic, having the one formula that only requires a single injection suits me just fine. The efficacy is lower, but the long-term benefits are longer and really, it's all a crap-shoot anyway until we finally reach herd immunity. After all, people still get the flu and we've been inoculating people against that disease for a very long time. We're trying to eliminate another pandemic, but we're not going to be able to eliminate Covid. 

I'm guessing, from the photos, this one might be run 
by the National Guard in Minnesota. Hopefully 
they're good with needle-phobic people. I'm pretty 
good at just gritting my teeth and getting things 
done that have to be done. 

Of course I texted DH to let him know I was getting the injection. I was expecting something on the order of "Great", or "good for you", or even, "I'm jealous". His response, however, was quite different. He said "There goes my weekend" followed by grumpy emojis. Really?!?!? Then, when he got home, I don't think he said more than eight words to me in the 2-1/2 hours between his arrival and my going to sleep. 

Every morning during my meditation, I'm casting a light of 
compassion over the entire world, I'm trying to make our 
angry world a bit kinder and brighter. But here I am, 
living with someone who lives in the darkness and 
I have no clue about how to get him out of it. 

So I was thinking about his attitude this morning and came to the conclusion that I married a man without compassion. He's a great guy, but has no ability to feel compassion or act with compassion. The various charitable donations made are all made by me. I'm the one who reaches out to my nieces and nephews and to other people. I'm the one who tries to think of the benefit of others and who tries to improve myself so that I'm the best person I can be for myself and the world in general. I'm not a super outgoing person, but I'm like Mother Theresa when I'm compared to DH. And I wonder how he learned this behavior, because that's taught. His mother was a sweet person, but very homebound, and his father was outgoing and friendly, involved in the church and community. I'm not seeing anything there that would cause this. 

To give compassion to others, one must first love 
themselves. Maybe his problems stem from that? 
I really don't know. I've been with him for almost 
half a century, but aspects of him are still the 
great unknown. 

But there it is, and it makes my heart sore. He'll get over it eventually, he always does, but it's very unpleasant living with him when he's acting like a spoiled five-year-old, and this lack of compassion bothers me a lot. Oh well, sorry to toss that out there, and I hope I haven't ruined your weekend. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday (vaccinated). As always, please be kind, stay safe and wear your mask. 

Happy 30th Birthday to the World Wide Web

The Google Doodle for the day celebrates the 30th anniversary of the World Wide Web. Wow. Just ... WOW! It's so difficult to think of a world that isn't instantly connected. A world where we can't be good friends with people across the country, or even across oceans from their home to yours, and interact easily on a daily basis. A world where knowledge is at the tip of our fingers. Want to know something? Google it. Google has become both an action verb and a noun, a part of the English language and maybe the world language. WOW, pretty impressive for what is actually the name of a company. 

Today's Google Doodle celebrates 30 years of the
World Wide Web. It's hard to remember a world
without the Web at our fingertips. 

I stepped onto this strange and wonderful road in 1996 with my first laptop (a B/W text-driven laptop that I might still have hanging around in storage). I had a dial-up connection and still remember that distinctive purr and tone I would hear as it dialed through and connected. On the other side of that phone cable were people who shared common ground with me, many of whom I'm still in touch with today, 23 years later. 

I remember the old dial-up modem set-up and the delays. They
were a part of my mornings. I would go on-line for an hour
every morning, then disconnect and start my workday. 

I had been on-line sporadically as much as five years earlier than 1996 with an even slower modem, a more code-driven context, and what was called a "Bulletin Board" community way back then. I remember being a bit miffed when I discovered that an ex-employee had stolen my 9600 baud modem in the mid-1990's. But it was so soon supplanted by faster versions, his triumph was quite temporary. 

These days cellphones are ubiquitous for people of all ages, including
children. Is this good? Is this bad? I really can't say. It's different than
the options I had as a kid, but that doesn't make it bad. 

Why write about the World Wide Web? Because I'm on that web every day. I have a cell-phone that's attached to it, I have multiple computers that are attached to it, I run networks on it, I receive orders on it, and I publish on it. The WWW is my playground, and it's hard to remember that it hasn't been there for my entire life. 

The phone of my youth was the rotary dial phone, sometimes
as a stand-alone, sometimes as a party line. If there was
a second (or third) phone in the house, it still worked
off the same phone line. Only one person could be
on a call at a time. 

I'm old, though. I look at the inventions of my lifetime and am amazed by how far we've come in worldwide communications. TV's are no longer black and white with small screens. Telephones are no longer stationary and relying on attached cords and heavy headsets. The WWW itself is no longer reliant on phone cords, and can be carried in my back pocket on a phone that would have fit easily into the Science Fiction plots of the early 1960's. I've seen a lot of innovation and I look forward to my next twenty years. Why not? The world is out there and I have a phone and the World Wide Web. 

Happy 30th birthday to the World Wide Web. When I was growing up
in the 60's and early 70's, the saying was "Never trust anyone over 30:.
So here's the question - are we supposed to stop trusting the WWW?
Have we ever truly trusted it anyway? 

Have a great Tuesday. I'll return tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'd better get today's Bingo story written and up for all to read. 

Two Ads I Loved from Super Bowl Sunday

I had an ideal Super Bowl Sunday for me. Too much really poor food, but it was all tasty. A game that was interesting, because the players just weren't able to actually score much until the final quarter of the game. A couple of cups of tea with rum in the later afternoon, and even though DH was crabby, he just stayed quiet instead of trying his best to pass on his mood to me. All things considered, despite the fact that I gained three pounds from poor food choices, it was a glorious day. 

Although there was more than one Bud Light Corn Syrup commercial,
I really loved the one where the King and his top dudes go from
brew to brew to find out where the syrup was supposed to be
delivered. 

There's something freeing about not caring which team wins. It lets the observer ignore teams and concentrate on plays and players, and that was a lot of fun. Some of the commercials were excellent. I loved the Bud Light corn syrup delivery commercial as well as the combination ad of Bud Light Knight's defeat at the tournament and the flaming dragon from Game of Thrones burning the arena up. The Stella Artois commercial was sweet and had a kick, and the Microsoft "equipment for everyone" commercial wasn't bad. On the other side - the worst commercials were the "Chunky Milk" and the "Buble" commercial which starred Michael Buble. Just my opinion, though. 

Carrie Bradshaw and "The Dude" both shocked the restaurant by
foregoing their usual drinks in favor of Stella Artois. It was
a very well done commercial. 

Driving our roads is supposed to be a bit rough this morning, so I'm going to wrap this up a bit sooner than usual. I don't want to be rushed as I head across town to my bi-monthly Chiropractic appointment. I can hope the weather didn't actually make the roads icy, but I'd rather not be rushed into making poor decisions. 

Have a totally excellent Monday and I'll return tomorrow. 

A Conversation With My Car

When I first drove a car, I inserted the key, turned it to activate the engine, and after the engine was purring, commenced driving from Point A to Point B. I'm sure that the goal is still the same - getting from one place to another. It's become more complex because cars have become more complex. Suddenly there are more things to pay attention to, and suddenly there are more conversations between the car and the driver. We're not quite at the "My Mother the Car" stage, but it's getting there. 

I was NOT a fan of the television show, but I loved the car.
The show aired for a single season - 1965-1966. The premise
was beyond stupid, but that car was stunning. 

Why think about driver/car communication at all? Because my "Check Tire Pressure" light came on yesterday. I couldn't get a service appointment at my local dealer/service place until tomorrow in the early morning, so I'm just hoping that I won't have any problems today - magnified by the fact that we've had snow throughout yesterday which will continue into the early hours today. 

In the movies, talking cars were carried to extreme,
although they were a lot of fun. Suddenly cars were
human with metal skins and feelings. With today's
LED lighting, some of these could be quite flashy. 

I know that some cars actually talk - don't just splash a message onto the control panel, but I think having a talking car would be a bit nerve-wracking. How would a person interact with a car? Would it be rather like carrying on a frustrating conversation with Alexa or Google? Are there social parameters that should be honored by both parties in the conversation? Are their niceties that should be explored first before getting down to the meat of the matter? 

Car: "Check tire pressure." 

Me: "Can't do. I'm driving right now, I have to be at work in a hour, and I can't take the time today to take the car out to the far ends of the Cities and get it checked out." 

Car: "Check tire pressure." Meaning ... "Well! How rude! You could just say you'd take me in for servicing tomorrow." 

Me: "Ummmm, that's really not up to me. I'll have to contact the dealer and get a spot on their appointment calendar." 

Car: "Check tire pressure." Meaning - "I should be a priority." 

Me: *sigh* "You ARE a priority - for me. Just not as much for the dealer who has to see a lot of you every single day. You'll be lucky to get in by the end of the week. How dire is the situation?" 

Car: "Check tire pressure." 

Me: Head bang on steering wheel. 

Maybe a nice cup of tea ... LOL. 

*Sigh* - Such is my life. So, tomorrow at 7:15 am, I'll have my car in to the dealer for an oil change, tire rotation, and a check out for the "Check Tire Pressure" conversation I've been mentally carrying on since I left breakfast yesterday morning. Oh joy! Still, the snow should be over by then and hopefully the roads won't be a issue. 

Enjoy your Tuesday. I'll be shoveling out our latest storm before making my way to the gym this morning. 

Instant Communication - Blessing and Curse

Momentary amazement at modern technology, and a very busy day at the shop yesterday, left me totally exhausted by the time night came. Usually my mail orders are made via email - thus the term mail orders. Yesterday I had email questions back and forth for one order, another order was phoned in, and an international order for my friend Shruti in India.

Mail order used to be something like the Book-of-the-Month Club
or Columbia House for music. These were easy to join, but so hard
to get out of. My mail orders are filled one at a time for specific
customers. No need to fear receiving unordered and unwanted items. 

Here's the thing, though. A few years ago what Shruti and I were doing to get her order figured out and finalized would have been impossible. She wanted colored cording to use in projects, and because of modern technology, I was able to talk with her via FB Messenger, send her numerous photos of what I was choosing for her, and finally get her approval for the colors, sizes, and number of items that will be packed and put into the mail to her later today. It's my day off, but I'll push this one through while I open the store. I'd rather not keep her waiting.

I'm not a huge fan of Facebook Messenger, but for this application
it was perfect. I was able to text back and forth with Shruti,
determine that the product she originally wanted wouldn't
work for her, switch to a different product, take photos and
send her those in real time, it worked great. Her package will
go off to her today. 

All of this action took place on my smartphone - the gadget that has grown from just being a portable phone to being a full-fledged portable computer. Although I don't type my invoices out on it, I do print the shipping labels out from my phone and do so many other things. I'm totally amazed at this small, powerful computer that fits into my pants pocket.

The Vietnam War was the first war to come into our living rooms
in "real life". It wasn't splashed across a newspaper headline, it was
announced by Walter Cronkite every night as we sat down to dinner. 

For my younger friends, a hand-held phone that can be used to read books, play games, communicate via voice or text, and surf the web is almost a yawn. It's common and everyday. But I'm a bit older than my younger friends. I remember corded land lines, even party lines (those were shared telephone lines, for those of you who don't know or remember). I remember operators at switchboards and pay phones - which actually probably still exist in a few locations. I remember when bulletins on TV brought us the latest news, and I remember the Vietnam War - the first war brought into our living rooms by the media.

Human beings react to news - good and bad - often emotionally and
without a lot of thought. Tempers can flare and in today's instant
environment, that can mean anger moving into action without
fully thinking through the consequences of that action. 

It makes me wonder if we've learned anything at all. We're still at war, even though our communication has gotten so good we know what happens across the world within seconds. Communication is a two-edged sword and sometimes a bit of time and distance can grant a necessary perspective. That small waiting time between speaking in haste and acting with thought often disappears within our modern technology. So, as you're interacting with others today, take a moment to think before you speak or text. Happy Tuesday - I have my day "off" today instead of tomorrow. I'll be messed up all week because of this - LOL ...