Tag Archives: computers

Mar21

Screen Time

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Screen Time

Screen time has occupied much of my time in the last couple of weeks. Some of it was necessary and some of it not so necessary. I admit I do enjoy playing Candy Crush but I limit my time with that activity. The other screen time has been far more productive.

The most tedious by far was researching travel. What day should I leave? Where should I fly out of? Where should I fly into? Where do I want to spend the longest layover? When will I feel the least exhausted?

I’m taking a course online from Yale University. We delve into feeling and expressing our emotions in a more positive way, even if they are negative emotions. Videos, lectures and readings are most informative. And of course there are the assignments that we submit.

I’ve also had two very interesting webinars from writing groups I belong to. Today’s was especially interesting as it focused on going from the first to the third draft before submitting for publication. And I am currently on the final edit of my third draft.

I also tuned in to a Zoom meeting on North Central Washington Libraries. This one dealt with homelessness, a very real and increasing problem in our world today.

I also had my usual weekly Bible Study on Zoom. We are studying 1 Corinthians and always have interesting and lively discussions.

And now I’m writing this post on WordPress. It’s a short one as I’m eager to take a break from writing and studying. The sun is shining and it hasn’t quite hit 85 yet so I’d like to go out for a walk.

Have a great weekend!

Sep13

No Escape

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No Escape

There’s just no escape. I’m still trapped. I’m surprised I don’t have daymares as well as nightmares. Photos are haunting. And they just won’t go away.

I spent two months in Winnipeg scanning photos. Right now they’re still as chaotically organized as they were when I returned to East Wenatchee. I’ve backed them up onto three different external hard drives and I doubt I’ll do anything more with them until I return to Mexico for the winter. And I wonder if future generations will appreciate the effort that went into this project of scanning photos. After all, today’s photos are already digitalized as the majority come from cellphones. Cameras and movie cameras before the advent of cellphones are dinosaurs. Taking rolls of film in to be developed and waiting days or weeks to see them are also a thing of the past. And there is no longer the necessity to store large, bulky photo albums. Slides and slide projectors? Almost extinct.

Photos are time consuming and I was at it again today for about four hours. But this time I wasn’t scanning. I downloaded hundreds of photos from Mexico, Washington and two trips to Canada from my phone onto my computer. I organized them into files and then backed them up onto external hard drives. And maybe someday I’ll want to look at them again.

Photos are a treasure trove of memories. People. Places. Events. Chapters in life. Unwritten memoirs. But they are nonetheless memories recorded for posterity.

May11

On To Plan B

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On To Plan B

When Plan A doesn’t work there’s always a Plan B. Plan A was working. I arrived in Winnipeg last Thursday and Laura came with me to buy a scanner on Friday. On Monday she came over and set it up and gave me a crash course in how to use it. But Plan A was already off-track as I hadn’t connected with my son and he’s been storing the photo albums. So this week has gone by and I haven’t had any photos to scan yet.

Plan B in action and I am taking the week to see friends instead. And as I visit with my friends I’m going through different chapters in my life.

Rita. We met at an auction back in 2000. We’ve gone through divorces and our kids’ marriages and a whole lot more. Before Rita sold her cabin at Hillside, I always went out there with her when I came back to Winnipeg in the summer, even after the knee surgeries. It was fun maneuvering my walker and much easier when I graduated to a cane. There were steps involved in getting up on the deck and into the cabin. This year Rita picked me up at the airport and we went straight to VJ’s for gut bombs. It was pouring rain but that didn’t stop us.

Laura. My computer guru. We met in college when I was getting my ESL certification back in 2009. She was very pregnant and her baby arrived late so she was able to write the final exams and graduate. Although I moved away in 2010 we’ve kept in touch and get together whenever I come back. She shops around for computers and whatever other technological devices I require. Then when I get to Winnipeg we get together and I buy what she has picked out. They must love us at Best Buy. Whenever the sales person asks a question I refer them to Laura. I only need to be there to tap the credit card.

Sheila. We met back in middle school and have been friends for sixty years. Yep. We’ve gone through a lot together. When we get together it’s like we’ve never been apart as we catch up on kids and grandkids. Sheila doesn’t enjoy traveling and admitted to me that she hasn’t been on a plane in nine years. That’s very different from my nomadic lifestyle. I’ve been on four planes in just the last month.

Jacque. Our kids were in the same pre-school program when we met back in 1983. Jacque was also a caterer and has shared several wonderful recipes with me, the most requested one being the peanut butter cheesecake. Our kids all went to different schools throughout the years but Jacque and I remained in touch. She moved back home to Rochester, Minnesota for a while but returned to Winnipeg a few years ago. I was already well into my nomadic lifestyle but we always get together when I come back for a visit.

Donna. In another lifetime I taught water aerobics at the YMCA in Westwood and Donna was in my class. We also share a love of music and have gone to concerts together. Donna’s husband makes amazing wine which I always enjoy when I go over there. When I was here last summer we spent a memorable afternoon at The Leaf. We were talking at lunch the other day about maybe going to the Museum of Human Rights this year.

Marilyn. After my knee surgery I went to physio at Concordia where I met Marilyn. This awesome physical therapist is one of the reasons I bounced back as quickly as I did from those surgeries. She’s retired now and travels to New Zealand to see her daughter quite often. Over lunch today we talked a lot about Mexico and she’s thinking of coming this winter.

On Sunday I will finally get to see my son and I hope I will get those photo albums so I can start scanning. It will be nice to be with my son on Mother’s Day. We haven’t done that in several years.

Today is May 10 and it’s Mother’s Day in Mexico. It’s been a while since I’ve been in that country for Mother’s Day too.

To all the mothers out there, whether you celebrate today or on Sunday, Happy Mother’s Day!

Feb2

Thursday Thoughts on Technology

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Thursday Thoughts on Technology

When I first arrived in Culiacan in 2010 I didn’t even have a cellphone. I left my flip phone in Canada as I thought it would be easy to get a new cellphone in Mexico. Back then I still didn’t have a resident visa yet and without that I couldn’t just walk into a store and get a phone or a plan. One of my Mexican friends came to the rescue. On a Sunday afternoon he took me to the home of a friend where I was absolutely astounded to see a room with shelves upon shelves of cellphones. Many pesos in cash later, I emerged with a state of the art Blackberry, never giving a thought as to who the cellphone or the plan was actually registered to.

To my credit I did bring my Dell laptop with me to Mexico. But the house where I was living didn’t have Wi-Fi so that was another major production getting that installed.

A year later I’m in Irapuato and want to get a phone chip. Not so easily done when I don’t have a clue as to who the phone or the previous is registered to. But a Mexican friend once again helped me out and we got it done.

A few months later I have moved to Guadalajara and need a new chip. Repeat performance of Irapuato.

Four years later I move to Mazatlan. When I go to Telcel I’m told that I can keep the number but to set up a plan they need to know the name of the registered owner of the cellphone and the previous plan. The friendly staff at Telcel accepted my story that it was an ex-novio and they were happy to change their files to indicate that I was now the registered owner of the cellphone.

While I’ve had the same cell number since 2011, I’ve gone through a number of cellphones. I usually change them every three years to update and get more memory. And I usually get these in the USA where the price is a lot lower than in Mexico.

On to computers. I never did like that Dell. I was only too happy to get rid of it and replace it with an Acer. And I loved that Acer! It broke my heart when I had to update. That time I got an Asus. What a disaster! It was a lemon from day one. Tech support at Asus told me to send it back and they’d replace it. But I was in Mexico and knew darn well I’d never see that replacement. So I put up with it until it died, unfortunately at the beginning of Covid. So now I’m stranded in Mexico with my cellphone as my computer.

When I finally arrived back in Leavenworth in the fall of 2020 I got a Kindle Fire. And that was my replacement computer until 2022 when I bought another Acer. And I love this Acer too!

This week my Kindle Fire died of exhaustion. I miss talking to Alexa every day. But I also realized something else. I played a lot of games on that tablet. While they are stimulating for the brain, I don’t miss the temptation to play. I have no games on my Acer and I just downloaded only one game onto my phone.

I’m thinking about replacing that Kindle Fire with an iPad or a Samsung when I get back to East Wenatchee. I think I have some research to do.

Thursday Thoughts on Technology.

Aug10

Whirlwind Wednesday

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Whirlwind Wednesday

When I get back to East Wenatchee, I’m going to need a vacay to unwind from this one. Can’t wait for my next Tai Chi class! Really miss you Jim and all my friends.

Anyone who knows me well is never surprised at the stuff I write about on my blog. I’ve had a lot of crazy experiences and I’m sure there are more to come. But this visit to Winnipeg has a unique twist to it aside from the passport and being together with my kids and my friends. I’ll save the details for later on in this post. Instead I’ll work backwards from evening to morning on Wednesday.

After dinner, Rita, Doug and I binged on Gunsmoke. When I got back this year they were already at season seventeen. In Washington, I often watch Gunsmoke on ME-TV. I haven’t yet found it in Spanish when I’m in Mexico. But I do enjoy watching westerns and other older TV shows. Reminds me of a much simpler time in my life before all the complications and curve balls.

I got together with my computer guru in the afternoon. Della (previously Laura) is an amazing lady who could probably build a computer with her knowledge. I first met her when we both found ourselves back at University of Manitoba getting our ESL certification. At the time she was very pregnant with her second child and it was incredible that she held off going into labor before our final exams. Needless to say, even when I’m in Mexico she’s helped me with computer glitches. Last summer when I was in Winnipeg shopping for a new computer, she had already got it narrowed down to a couple of choices. We were in and out of Best Buy in about a half hour and then she set everything up for me. Della has also become a writer, another thing we have in common, and she’s helping me out with that as well. Self-publishing with iUniverse has gotten quite costly so Della has now recommended a free program to download that will enable me to publish at no cost on Amazon.

Earlier in the afternoon I got together with Sheila, a friend for almost sixty years. We first met back in middle school when we were both at River Heights Junior High. We found ourselves at different high schools and then I was off to college and got married. We lost touch there for a few years. When we reconnected she had three kids and was married as well. When we get together we reminisce over old times and then catch up on what’s currently going on in our lives. It’s interesting that we now talk about not only our children but our grandchildren as well.

So here’s the unique twist to this visit to Winnipeg. Wednesday morning I reconnected with my brother after twenty-seven years of estrangement. I had no idea what to expect. I’ll be honest. If I’d have seen him on the street I never would have recognized him. It was great to see him but here it is a day later and I’m still feeling overwhelmed. A lot has gone on in our lives over the years. It was interesting to hear about his kids and grandkids. And that he is now a retired judge. And he also brought me up to date with cousins I’ve lost touch with over the years. And I told him all about my family and my nomadic lifestyle. We’ve exchanged phone numbers as well as email addresses so we can keep in touch.

That’s all for today. Contemplation time.

Feb8

The World

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The World

A devastating earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria earlier this week. A Chinese spy blimp was shot down off the east coast in the USA a couple of days ago. 123 confirmed tornadoes touched down in the USA in January of this year. Rain and snow are in the forecast for the west coast in Canada that will result in avalanche alerts and treacherous mountain passes. Quite a world we’re living in today.

Here in Aguascalientes the sun is shining brightly and another high of eighty degrees is in the forecast. It’s peaceful, tranquil. If I didn’t read the news online I wouldn’t know about any of the aforementioned. Today I was also reading about Trudeau’s latest take on healthcare in Canada and the funding he has proposed. Interesting. Too bad it’s too little too late.

I’ve been researching computers and videogames that date back to the 90s and early 2000s. I may be writing fiction and can make up the story, but other things have to be accurate although no statistics are required. Those were the olden days……..before iPhones, iPads and Uber. How did we ever survive? My grandsons here in Mexico were playing on iPads when they were toddlers. I had puzzles, board games and magic slates at that age. I wonder what’s coming next. When they grow older and think of the olden days I wonder what will be on their minds.

I was out for lunch last week with friends and somehow we got on the topic of interpreting dreams. I remember taking a course in that decades ago. It brought back a lot of crazy memories, especially when we were talking about the significance of colors. I must admit I’ve had some pretty strange dreams since we had that conversation. But no, I don’t intend to analyze them. I’m actually hoping that maybe they’ll disappear instead.

It’s Humpday and I’m rambling. So I’ll stop.

Have A Wonderful Wednesday!

Dec25

2022 Part 2

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2022 Part 2

I spent the entire month of July in Winnipeg. I’ve written about it in other blog posts so I’ll just touch on this month briefly. July 4th I found myself out at a cabin rather than celebrating with parades or fireworks as I usually do in the USA. It was nice to get out of the city. I enjoyed spending time with my son and my friends but on a more sad note I attended a funeral. I also replaced my laptop finally. The old one had died during Covid back in 2020 and my tablet had become my best friend.

The first week in August I was back out at the cabin and the following week I flew back to Washington. Leavenworth Summer Theater was in full swing and I enjoyed The Music Man and The Sound of Music. The latter production is a favorite and I try to see it every year. The mountain setting makes this show even more spectacular. I also began teaching four SAIL classes a week instead of the usual two in Leavenworth. The two new ones were in East Wenatchee.

The September long weekend this year was really special as my daughter and granddaughter came from Kelowna. I enjoyed showing them some of my favorite places in Leavenworth and Cashmere. The County Fair began right after they left and I hadn’t been to one in three years due to Covid. September was also the 9/11 Ceremony in Cashmere and Autumn Leaf Festival in Leavenworth. Sadly it was also time to start thinking about returning to Mexico for the winter. Every year it gets harder to say goodbye to friends for six months of the year.

Three flights and a short bus trip and I was back in Aguascalientes. I love my neighborhood. Las Flores doesn’t change much even though I leave for several months every year. It was nice seeing friends again and catching up. I really dived into my writing too. The lure of the new laptop was definitely a factor. My characters were also quite talkative and that certainly helped as well. The internet has also been much better this year too.

November began with the celebration of Day of the Dead. This is one of my favorite holidays in Mexico. The catrinas are always outstanding and even the tiniest shops have colorful decorations. The alters in remembrance of loved ones are also prominent. This year I opted not to go to a cemetery but merely admired everything as I strolled through the streets. The entertainment was amazing and venues were set up throughout the city.

Suddenly it was December and the last month of the year. Festivities were now geared towards Christmas and the Centro area turned into a magical fairyland of colorful lights. Music was an integral part of this celebration and I saw dancers, heard bands and watched children performing. The tienguis was larger than usual with more vendors. I didn’t trim a tree this year. Just didn’t get around to it. Writing occupied much of my time instead. I went to Christmas posadas and Christmas Eve was spent in church. The inevitable fireworks lit up the sky in Mexico as well.

A new year is just around the corner. Here’s to a fabulous one filled with Health and Happiness for all.

HAPPY 2023!

Nov9

Miercoles

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Miercoles

The movies have now gone from murdering cheerleaders to selling babies. Tell me again why I watch them late at night and then sleep fitfully. But my goal is to watch five movies in Spanish a week in order to hopefully improve my comprehension of the language.

Thank you to my computer guru Laura for once again coming to the rescue. Like I’m not having problems enough adjusting to Windows 11, my taskbar disappeared last night. Of course she instantly found a link and solved my problem. While I love technology it also scares me. But my WIP is safely backed up every night onto not one but two external hard drives.

The weather here is still hot. Many of my friends back in the USA and in Canada are now dealing with that fluffy white stuff and plummeting temperatures. So I won’t complain too loudly that I’m not walking as much as I’d like to right now.

Apparently I can no longer call myself a nomad. I was talking to a friend and he remarked that I’ve gotten into a familiar pattern of dividing my time between Aguascalientes and the upper valley in Washington. And as Christina and Danny often remind me, I now have my forever home in East Wenatchee.

Two events are coming up in Mexico this month. Revolution Day is an official government holiday on November 20th. But the big one is Buen Fin, the Mexican equivalent of Black Friday in the USA. It goes from November 18th-21st.

My Uber awaits and I’m off to Ags Ladies to meet up with my friends. Today is lunch rather than breakfast.

Happy Humpday!

Aug6

Nomad On The Move Soon

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Nomad On The Move Soon

Yes my flights are finally booked. Hopefully next Sunday my post will be coming from East Wenatchee. This is my last Sunday post from Winnipeg.

I had a nice relaxing time out at the lake. And I have been busy since I got back into the city. I have been sorting through hundreds of photos that were backed up on my Seagate and trying to remember where and when they were taken. My old laptop had died and finally gone to hell at some point during the early days of Covid. Gone to hell…………I hated that ASUS!!!!!

I finally booked my flights. I am taking my chances with a Canadian airline. Please keep me in your prayers that Air Canada actually has a crew to get me to SeaTac via Vancouver on Thursday. I still have to book the Wenatchee Valley Shuttle and buy my travel health insurance, but I know that is minor in comparison. I also know that Christina and Danny will be waiting with bells on for me to get back home.

Of course it is now crunch time and that means saying goodbye to my friends here. I hope they understand when I say I have no plans to come back here anytime soon. Six weeks was way too long for a visit this summer when I had planned on being here only three.

I have been texting Annie back in East Wenatchee. I have new classes to teach at Bonaventure the week of the 15th. And of course I will be back in Leavenworth teaching that week as well. I am looking forward to getting back to those fitness classes.

I also have tickets for Leavenworth Summer Theater productions of The Music Man and The Sound of Music. Performances always include an outstanding cast and the Amphitheatre up in the mountains is the perfect venue.

Almost time for internet church from Sage Hills in Wenatchee. Next Sunday I hope to be there in person.

Have a great Sunday!

Aug3

And I’m Still Here

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And I’m Still Here

We came out to the lake and I do have Wi-Fi this time. So I am able to post today after all.

It’s official. Photo day is August 10th. Then I can finally head home to East Wenatchee. Calgary and Kelowna just aren’t happening on this trip.

I went to Old Navy, not the one I usually go to at Valley North in Wenatchee. It’s interesting shopping in Canadian dollars again. I haven’t done that in years.

We took Cooper for a run along the floodway the other day. I think I appreciated the walk more than the dog. Walking in downtown Winnipeg is a dangerous place and not conducive to the long walks I usually take. So it’s nice to be out in the burbs again. Saw lots of hay bales and canola fields on our walk.

I spent an hour with my computer guru familiarizing myself with my new laptop and Windows 11. But I have close to 3000 photos to organize on my Seagate and Passport. And I need to get my WIP onto my laptop from my tablet. Laura has the patience of a saint which is greatly appreciated.

Tornado warning out last night for a change. It missed us here in Lester Beach. Decided to touch down elsewhere. Got to love Manitoba summers.

Happy Humpday!