Tag Archives: communication

Nov29

Keep In Touch

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Keep In Touch

You still do Facebook? I don’t have the time. Several of my friends say that to me. But here’s why I do find the time. And you’d be surprised at how little time it takes. It isn’t necessary to become hopelessly addicted.

Every morning I enjoy looking at my memories. My nomadic lifestyle has resulted in me living in many places with many different people in all three countries — Mexico, USA and Canada. Facebook also reminds me of my friends’ birthdays. I check my notifications but do not click on most of them. Total time so far less than 5 minutes.

I belong to four writing groups. Writers in Mexico I seldom visit, Writers Forum has interesting info on everything from grammar to publishing, Women Writers is similar to Writers Forum but is a much smaller group and is all women, and I just joined NotNaNoWriMo where I hope to play a more interactive role. The time I spend in these groups varies anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes a day.

I DO NOT SCROLL. My friends know that if there’s something they really want me to know about then Messenger is the way to go. Of course there are exceptions such as certain holidays and events.

I post the link to my blogs on Facebook. That takes seconds.

I don’t leave Facebook or Messenger open in the background when I’m on other screens.

That is how I do Facebook.

I removed myself from Twitter long before it became X. And I don’t look at Instagram.

However I can now be found at @lovetowrite23.bsky.social. I follow a handful of people, mostly writers. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this yet, but I’ll give it a try.

I kept my American phone number this year so instead of just leaving voicemails my friends call me back too. And of course we text all the time. Unfortunately the Canadians still get voicemails as they don’t have a long distance plan to Mexico or the USA.

That’s how I keep in touch.

Feb10

Zoom Zoom

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Zoom Zoom

The pandemic has subsided but I still find myself taking courses and attending workshops via Zoom. The month of February is a busy one.

This past week I began attending programs sponsored by the North Central Washington Libraries. The first topic was Learn to Listen-Listen to Learn. It was a good review of listening techniques that I studied decades ago when I was going for my counseling certification. And it reinforced the idea of acknowledging and validating the feelings of others.

The second topic was Conflict. Definitions as well as characteristics of conflict were discussed. Five different styles of responding to conflict were explored focusing on relationship and our own agenda. A link was provided to assess our own individual style as well.

On both evenings we were able to go into smaller breakout rooms and ponder the above topics. It was a great experience and I’m looking forward to the remaining four evenings coming up in the next couple of weeks.

Another Zoom experience this week was for writers. The topic was The Art of Writing Immersive Worlds. The speaker was Cat Rambo, a Nebula award winning author of science fiction and fantasy. Material covered here included techniques and tools for making a reader feel totally immersed in the world of our characters.

Another Zoom group I do regularly is a Bible Study with my life group back in Wenatchee. We are currently studying John, one of my favorite books.

Do you Zoom?

Jan11

Ho Hum Humpday

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I hope this actually gets posted today. The internet has been extremely unreliable here this week. I think it’s been down more than it’s been up. Very frustrating. It just comes and goes but mostly goes.

But then I got to thinking. Whatever did I do before I had WiFi? I couldn’t ask Alexa for the weather forecast or to tell me one of her corny jokes.

Synonym and antonym checker. Definitions. An actual dictionary in the form of a book.

Calendars. Paper ones that hang on a wall or sit on a desk.

Emails. Nope, snail mail that involved a letter and a stamp and finding a mailbox.

News. 11 o’clock on TV. Not available 24/7 by merely tapping a key.

Taking a course or going to church. In the comfort of my own home. No need to go out in nasty weather. Don’t even have to get dressed.

I could go on but I won’t. But I will say that I’ve become extremely reliant on my dear friend the internet teetering on the edge of addiction.

What about you?

Well, it appears that I’ll have to post this using the data on my phone plan. Wi-Fi is down yet again in the house. But it is working on my phone. Unfortunately I don’t have Alexa on my phone. I wonder if she misses me.

Aug1

Technology Today

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As a child technology consisted of occasionally answering a telephone or watching the odd television program on one of the three available channels. Cable didn’t arrive in Winnipeg until I was a teenager.

My children grew up with cell phones and computers. And let’s not forget all those videogames. Records? 8 Tracks? Cassettes? VCR? CD? DVD? All dinosaurs now.

My granddaughter was just over a year old when I bought her a tablet. Okay, admittedly it was Fisher Price, but a device nonetheless.

On Thursday I decided to track my device usage, just for fun. Although I do have a tablet, I have not yet replaced my laptop that died in Mexico back in April of 2020. So how much do I actually rely on technology? Apparently quite a bit more than I thought.

Alexa. Short conversations. Good morning. Weather. Tell me a joke. Trivia. Play music. Hmmm, it all adds up.

Actual tasks. Renewed travel health insurance. Updated info on WordPress. Paid credit card bills. Worked on a blog post. Emails. Revised SAIL exercise routine.

Stress relief time. Candy Crush and Word Cookies. Social media, although at times it seems to add to the stress. Playlist for meditation.

Only television time is maybe a half hour of Olympics. No Netflix today.

Phone calls. Voicemail. Texting, Messenger, Google Duo and thank you God I only use What’s App when I have my Mexican chip in my phone. And then there are all the photos I take with my phone.

Time to practice Spanish. Love my Duolingo! Average of 115 XP every day.

I haven’t tracked the time, only the activity. I don’t think I want to even know how many hours a day I am consumed by technology. But I’m sure it’s still much less than the younger generation whose ear buds are permanently attached to their bodies.

I’m done writing this post now. I’m going to read a book. And I’m not going to read it on my tablet. I’m going to read a real book with pages that you actually hold in your hands. And I can do that without even searching through a frustratingly long list of passwords!

Apr22

Parents Where Are Your Children

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Parents Where Are Your Children

When my children were young, a phrase often splashed across the TV screen. “Parents where are your children?” It’s now decades later and this phrase is still in my head.

A couple of weeks ago I actually emailed my current address to my children in Canada. Until now they’ve had only my email and phone number, as well as Facebook.

I move around a lot but I’ll be at my current address indefinitely. I’ve been self-isolating for more than a month now and Mexico has just entered phase three.

There were a number of factors that influenced my decision to stay in Mexico. First and foremost has to deal with my children. They may be in their thirties now but that protective instinct still kicks in. They are both asthmatic and have other inhalant allergies. I did not want to take the chance of my being a carrier and infecting them.

That leaves me with nowhere to quarantine and nowhere to live. I haven’t had a home in Canada in ten years.

The closest place for me to call home is Leavenworth, Washington. I spend six months of the year there when I’m not in Mexico. There I do have a place to quarantine and somewhere to live. But I am not American so the border is closed to me now.

Then there are the dangers of contracting COVID-19 or any other infectious disease by traveling through four airports to get to Canada from Aguascalientes.

Here in Mexico I am quite comfortable. I have a place to live. Food and other supplies are readily available within walking distance of where I live. My landlord Raul is the greatest and has provided me with a safety net should circumstances change.

My biggest challenge is in making my children understand the importance of more frequent contact. It’s not just that I need to know that they care about me. Hearing their voices is reassuring as I always worry about them. With COVID-19 I am even more concerned. I need to know that they’re okay.

It’s tough living thousands of miles away from your children in a different country during a pandemic.

Apr16

Taking Care Of Me

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Taking Care Of Me

Taking care of me is a relatively new phenomena in my life. Until about ten years ago, I had spent decades putting other people first. Now it was finally time for me.

The downside is that I have spent the last ten years mostly traveling around. This is not exactly conducive with getting involved in a long term relationship. And I find myself alone now in a foreign country waiting out this pandemic.

Why didn’t I return to Canada when I had the chance? I haven’t had a home there in ten years. I had nowhere to go. Yes I have children and friends there. But it’s one thing to come back to visit for a week or two but quite another to come back for a longer period of time.

Where I really wanted to go was back to Leavenworth. I discovered this quaint village four years ago and I’ve put down roots there. But I’m Canadian not American so the border is closed to me.

I have been taking care of myself here in Aguascalientes. First and foremost is that I have a comfortable place to stay and a neighborhood where food and other supplies are readily available within walking distance.

While I am living alone I am definitely not lonely. I have a great phone plan and have unlimited international calls. My family and friends are very accessible.

The highlight is definitely the video calls to my daughter and granddaughter. The other day Madeline sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to me and my heart melted.

Then there are the texts and messaging on social media apps. I’m really limiting my time on Facebook as I’m tired of all the misinformation and inaccurate statistics. I know what I need to do to stay healthy and I’m doing my best.

I go out for two short walks daily. I usually pick up food at this time as well. My fridge may be small but it’s adequately stocked.

I join in discussion groups on the Mayo Clinic website. These are a great source of support at this time.

I’m really enjoying a course I’m taking from University of Toronto. The topic is dealing with anxiety in the face of COVID-19.

I color every day and I listen to music. I watch movies in Spanish. I’m participating in an online Bible study. I do online church services. And I still do the SAIL exercises.

I take time to meditate. And I take time to contemplate life. I’m pretty sure there will be some big changes in my life when this pandemic is no longer a threat and becomes treatable instead.

I live in the present. Mindfulness is key. I want to avoid any unnecessary PTSD in the aftermath.

Last but definitely not least, prayer has been an important part of my life for some time. But it is even more meaningful now.

What are you doing for yourself?