The Net Effect

Friday, October 17, 2014

For the first time in a long time, I am without Internet. I don’t know how it happened. I’ve had problems with it for months. Originally, they told me it was my router. Since it was 4 yrs old, I thought it possible, so I bought a new one for nearly $70. I don’t like it as much as my old one.

Today, the net went down again. For good. Tech support for the ISP said it was my modem. I went and bought a new one, for $96. No, I do not have a pot of gold. I don’t even had a wallet of quarters. I got home and hooked it up. Guess what. I still have no Internet.

After a second call to tech support they thought “something else” as going on that they couldn’t fix. I explained the economics of my situation to him in a fairly irate voice. I pointed out if my equipment was new then it must be his network that was the problem. He didn’t want to agree with me but when faced with my obvious knowledge in this area, he said, “I can’t fix whatever it is.”

“They why don’t you connect me to the person who can.”

A tech will be out on Tuesday morning. Yes, Tuesday. So, no internet between now and then. Oh I can go somewhere and get online and that’ll be fine. I’ll be at a writers’ meeting tomorrow afternoon. I can run over to the library or McDonald’s in the morning. I’m not upset by not having the service. I’m upset at the $170 I’ve spent on their say so. I don’t believe I even needed new equipment.

So, as Mike pointed out, “You’ll have plenty of time to write, Mom.”

This is true. 

October 21, 2014

That was then. I didn't write much. I spent the time doing laundry, at a writer's meeting, and at church. Today, the internet is up. The tech, James, came by and stood in the office door and said, "I know what your problem is. They didn't set up your modem in our system. Did he ask for your modem information?" 

"Yes they did. How do you know they didn't?"

He held up his phone. "I can see it right here."

He made a call and in moments the net was up and working. So, we chatted for about 45 minutes and he suggested I buy a Mac.  Hey, I paid for his time. 

That doesn't sound right but I'm letting it stay.

Now, the laundry has been folded, hung up, and put away. I have another load to wash soon but I'll give it a bit. I've answered NaNo emails, personal emails, and caught up on FB. I'll catch up on G+ but lately there's been precious little of interest there. I need new friends or maybe I just need a real life. November will give me lots to do. 

On Sunday, my new Co-ML, Tammy came by and we got out gift bags set up. I have some other items I need to run off and put in there. We're going to have our kickoff party on November 1 at the library. 

Sarah will be home shortly and my evening will become a bit hectic for a few hours. Once she's done her homework, she'll hit the road and play for a few hours before bedtime. I've spent far too long online this afternoon but hey, I did without for 4 days! I told Sarah last night we'd have internet back on tonight. 

She said, "Oh, I don't care." Then a few seconds later she glanced over her shoulder at me and asked, "When will Grimm be back on?" 

I laughed and told her I'd check. 

She said, "It's usually Saturdays."

For those uninformed, Grimm is a tv show based on the legend of the Grimm Brothers and the fairy tales. It is not your average fairy tale. When she was about 4 or 5 I was sitting at the computer watching it and she came in and climbed on my lap and asked me what I was watching. I wasn't paying attention but then realized, it might be a very scary show for a child that age. (It took me a while to get readjusted to younger minds.) Something slithered across the screen and I gasped and covered her eyes. "You don't need to be watching this!" 

She pulled my hand off her face and in her sweet, little voice said, "Oooo, what's that?" The deed was done. From that point on, she was a fan and has watched every show she could with me. Since I watch online I could always wait to watch until she came over and that was generally on Saturdays. Each week she ask, "When is Grimm on?" She never gets scared and thinks the werewolf is very cool. I do, too. 

In My Neck of the Woods....

One room done. Yes, one room. I worked on the Red Room all week and finally have it all sorted out, closet cleaned, and everything arranged. That is "Sarah's room", if she ever sleeps in there. 

After I did the one room I decided to just move down the hallway, one room at a time. I'm now working on the middle room, the smallest bedroom and where the desktop computer is stationed. I began work on the closet today. I did pretty good but there is still too much stuff.

The small room is like an office but I'm really tired of the huge desk I have in there. I need to get rid of it but I hate to just dump it. I don't know if anyone would buy it either. It is a beautiful desk but too large for most places. I just really want it gone. I have a smaller, more efficient desk at Mike's that I can get back. Just needs painting. And I should do it. It would make things much easier. I just have no place to put all the stuff in the current desk. I'd  have to buy a cabinet and that's just more stuff. 

I have way too much furniture and I think about getting rid of some of it but never do. Every stick is used. Except for all the seating. I seldom have company but when I do, I need it. My house is small with very little efficient storage. Even my bathroom has no cabinets. In the 50's people lived with less. So, I'm considering shelving in some areas. Sarah has my huge bookcase in her room because all her books and toys fit on it. 

Sometime in the last couple of weeks I've caught a cold. Sarah has one, too, so I've probably got it from her. I think it all started as allergies. We both have them. It has turned into to a upper respiratory issue. She's worse than me. She has asthma and her colds turn into something worse this time of year. 

I'm going to bed now. This isn't a very good post but it is what is happening here. Frankly, I can live with very little drama. 

Golden-Haired Angels and Monkeys with Leprosy

Sarah has two sock monkeys that she received as a gift from Jilly, my friend in England about three or four years ago, after Jerry died. When she got them she just loved them and played with them a lot. Then she grew bored and they ended up in the toy box. Because of their special nature, I put them in a safe place. Off and on she'd play with them for a bit and then forget them again. 

They're rather calm about it, as if they know Sarah's quixotic nature when it comes to toys. She never discards them permanently, each one has a name and a turn to enjoy her company. She decides when that will be.  

On Wednesday, Sarah brought in her green sock monkey and said, "Mawmaw, I think he has leprosy. Can you please fix him?"

I was briefly speechless. I looked at her, laughed and said, "Leprosy! What are you talking about." 

She held him up and said, "See, he's got leprosy. Would you fix him?"

One look and I realized that she was fairly accurate in her diagnosis. The green guy's left arm was falling off and his tail was in serious trouble as well.

 I looked at Sarah and remembered that some time ago, and I can't remember how long it was, I'd had this conversation with someone about leprosy and that you could catch it from eating armadillos. Sarah was present and overheard me. I remembered her asking what is leprosy. I told her it was a disease that causes nerve damage and explained the loss of fingers and other body parts as a result of it.  

I examined the patient and agreed that, indeed he had leprosy. I gathered my instruments and prepped the patient. Surgery took about 30 minutes. Recovery was rapid indeed and the newly renamed Socky was released to his keeper. 

Today, he is very busy. He, his brother/sister, and Sarah are involved in some sort of adventure in one corner of the living room. I've heard the word 'jungle' and am a bit concerned about the recurrence of the leprosy. Still, I suspect Sarah will keep an eye on them and report if there is any indication of a relapse. My instruments are nearby and I am certain we can repair any damage.

Doom, Gloom, and the Elephant in the Room

I sit here in my living room tonight with lot of stuff in my head. Some is good but I wonder if the worries will ever end. Sarah is asleep down the hall. She's moved in with me and it is very strange having a child here all the time. She's a fairly good child, if a bit spoiled. Our fault. Anyway, Mom asked if I would take her and I won't go into her reasons here but they were valid. I appreciate that she recognized the need and put Sarah first.

On top of other things, Sarah was having a very bad time at school. At the end of last year she was ahead of her class in all but Math and loved school. After a few weeks into the school year, she was a mess and hated school, the teacher, and was non-compliant. She was having headaches. She needed reading glasses. We held discussions with the teacher and the counselor and the principal and all were unsatisfactory. Basically, just make her do the work. Make her come to school. Of course, we did but it was getting worse. We asked about changing classes. They weren't willing to put her in a different classroom. When the teacher said she was fidgety and inattentive, I suggested that rather than putting Sarah in the very back of the class where she had her, she move her to the front to keep her focused and where she could see the board (another complaint of Sarah's). After another week, she still had not moved Sarah. So, as of three weeks ago Sarah was failing all subjects. Everything. Reading, comprehension, math, spelling. So, last week she moved in with me and started in a new district this week. She came home today smiling and giggling and saying she loved school. Her first papers have good grades.

I really don't understand some schools. It was obvious that the teaching style of the previous teacher was not appropriate for Sarah. Her 1st grade teacher had warned that she felt Sarah would not do well with that teacher but she'd not been allowed to have input in the selection. The fact that they wouldn't consider alternatives was just stupidity. A child doesn't suddenly start failing class work at which they excel. Anyway, for now, she's happy again and seems to be doing well. We were nervous that first day until we met the teacher. She's young and excited and shocked Sarah out of her shoes when she walked in and mugged for her. From that point, Sarah was caught and she loved this teacher.

I saw on the news that Ebola is now in Texas. I wonder how many stores that person visited in Dallas, a city of millions of souls who could now be at risk. Now what? We have this deadly virus on the ground. Viruses mutate and become resistant to treatments. How long do we think we can prevent a global epidemic when there are no longer any barriers to coming into this country? Poor Sarah heard me comment when I saw the report and I had to reassure her she wasn't going to die. But I can't promise that. We have a unrecognized virus in California and Colorado. It is in 45 states and it is killing or paralyzing children. We now have a second even more deadly and horrific virus in Texas. This one could wipe out this country. In a matter of months. Wake up, people. We've effectively brought about our own destruction.

Today I had lab work to check my vitamin D levels. As of 3-4 months ago my D level was 130. Toxicity is at 170, so they say. My doctor pulled me off D saying I was too high. Because she closed her practice I couldn't go back and have it checked again. I told my RA doctor last month that I believe my levels had fallen because I'm having unbelievable fatigue. I'm talking sit down and fall into a deep sleep for hours because I'm wiped out after 4 hours of any activity. The results were in by 5 p.m and my Vitamin D level is now 47. Still considered normal range (30-100). My concern is that it fell from 130 to 47 in less than 100 days. That's radical to me. It took me months to get it to 130. I felt very little fatigue at that level. It doesn't seem to impact the RA but the fatigue and brain fog have become almost impossible in the last several months. I've requested to start taking the 10,000 IU I was on before I reached the 130 level. See how that does and go from there. Obviously I'm not absorbing it well at all and it definitely had a huge impact on my ability to function. The RA medicine Plaquenil  prevents the absorption of D and I don't know about Methotrexate. My primary care doctor didn't know about Plaquenil and I suspect my Ra doctor doesn't know either.

I'm going to bed now. Have to be up early to get Sarah on the bus.

Happy Birthday!

At 5:09 AM on September 22, 1979, I was introduced to the most wonderful creature I had ever seen. For 35 years he has been one of the greatest loves of my life. 

Happy Birthday, Mike. I love you. You're the best son I could ever have asked for. Thank you for all you do for me. I'm so proud of you!